...oh, right. Yeah. Kaito guessed that was all kind of bad to talk about. He had gotten caught up listening to the story, he forgot how that sort of thing affected Kokichi.

“...what about the metal-work class!?” Kaito asked, a tad too loudly, grinning at the mildly startled Hina and Sakura, “That must have been something! Tell us about that!”

“Nuh-uh, story for story! I want a Yuta story.” Hina said, recovering quickly from ‘sudden yelling Kaito’. “I’m hungry for them. You guys got to watch Yuta grow up. I want some stories about it.”

“Stories about Yuta… man, where to begin…” Kaito mused. “I mean, Shuichi was more familiar with him when he was young younger. Shuichi?”

“Well, as you know already, once you two made a run for it, that disqualified Yuta from the detective track. Miss Kirigiri had to give him back to the orphanage after that.” Shuichi sighed, adjusting his cap a little, “But Miss Kirigiri wanted me to still give him lessons. I think she was trying to negotiate his return to the track, and wanted to make certain he wouldn’t fall behind by the time she could manage it. But…” Shuichi sadly shrugged. It apparent that whatever she had tried to do, she had failed.

“I appreciate that she tried at all. Honestly, I was worried she might kill me.” Yuta said nervously, laughing a little, “She was surprisingly okay with me running away, looking back at it.”

“Considering what we know about her now? She probably liked you more for your rebellious spirit.” Maki pointed out. “But, yes. Shuichi stayed pretty actively part of Yuta’s life after everything was said and done. Couldn’t get him into another good career track because that’s what happens when you’re a runner, but that was alright. It just meant that when Yuta got obsessed with swimming, he had plenty of time to pursue it.”

“Right, which I know was thanks tooooo Kaito, right?” Hina asked, looking to the prince, “You got him in the competitions?”

“Soooort of.” Kaito said, scratching his chin, “I could get him access to the swimming lanes easily enough, but I wasn’t making a lot of headway into getting the schools to let him compete. Especially when they found out how good he was. Didn’t have any pull there and the people who did weren’t willing too… untillll--”

“Fuyuhiko!” Yuta grinned brightly. “I got the MAFIA on my side!’

Shuichi snorted. “Due to a weird series of events, I ended up confiding to Fuyuhiko our struggled in getting Yuta a spot in the competitions. And we weren’t friends yet, but Fuyuhiko basically said give him two days, and two days later, Yuta got a letter accepting him into the nearest school competition, as a full competitor.”

“Man, I have no idea what he did, but I bet you anything someone’s day was ruined.” Kaito grinned… before sputtering, “Though I’m certain nothing bad actually happened to anyone!”

Kokichi’s expression soured again as Kaito loudly and suddenly changed the subject, but he smoothed it out quickly to avoid another wasted ball of bread. That was why he had the impulse to just say that things were fine. And...really, they were. 

The structure in Luminary...honestly, it made Kokichi sick. When it wasn’t shocking, it made Kokichi’s specific brand of rage flare up, wanting to shape the whole world and ensure better things for everyone. 

But he knew that was not just unrealistic, but incredibly unhealthy for himself and others, so...sigh. Just because it made him angry and worried, it didn’t mean that they couldn’t talk about it. It just meant that Kokichi would keep quiet and manage his feelings. Kokichi really wanted them to be able to talk about these kinds of things, because keeping it quiet was even more unhelpful. 

...but Kaito got nervous and...it was another thing for them to talk through, he supposed. 

While talking about Yuta’s early acquaintance with them all was depressing too (Kokichi would always be endlessly elated that the program was dismantled now), it brightened enough for him to have a genuinely fond and intrigued look as his family explained how he got into swimming. 

Chuckling lightly, Kokichi shook his head and gave Kaito’s knee a squeeze under the table. “Man, Kai-chan and I have talked about it, but Fuyuhiko really does seem like such a cool guy from all your stories. That’s wonderful.”

“He is!” Yuta insisted, grinning brightly, “I really wish I could have said goodbye to him before we left, or introduced him to Hina, but Fuyuhiko’s been pretty MIA the last few years. I don’t even know where he’s living right now.”

“Well, I can guarantee he is still around. He sent Kokichi and I a letter… well, mostly me. With, like, vague threats towards Kokichi and an offer to work with him?” Kaito smirked, shrugging, “You know how he is. He always wants to be the scariest thing in the room. Even among friends.”

“To be fair, he usually is.” Shuichi pointed out.

“He’s not that scary.” Maki said, looking a little annoyed, “Without Peko, someone would have taken him out ages ago.”

“No one’s arguing that.” Kaito grinned weakly, “Peko was a machine. I hope she’s doing alright these days. There aren’t a lot of people I think would be down about the Indentured Program, but Peko took a lot of pride in her titles. Hopefully Fuyuhiko’s helping her through it. No way in hell would he abandon her, that dudes hopelessly in love.”

“...What!?” Yuta asked, eyes widening. “Really!?”

Shuichi rolled his eyes, “Don’t listen to him, Yuta. Kaito’s been accusing Fuyuhiko and Peko of being in love since we were kids. I’m surprised this is the first time he’s said it in front of you.”

“Why do people look at me like I’m crazy when I say that!? It’s obvious how in love he is with her! He wears it all over himself, you’d have to be blind not to see it!”

“I don’t know about Fuyuhiko,” Maki shrugged, “But Peko’s definitely in love with him. You can see it when they fight together. The tension coming off of her was palpable.”

“I believe that.” Kaito nodded, “You think they’ve finally confessed to each other yet?”

“There’s no way. I always got strong sibling vibes off of them.” Yuta said, shaking his head, “They did grow up together, basically.”

“I’m telling you, they’re in love. Considering their status’s and growing up together, my guess is Fuyuhiko was worried about trapping her in a relationship.” Kaito mused, scratching his neck, “Like, it’s hard for her to say no in that position, right? But is she loved him even half as much as he loves her--”

“She does.” Maki nodded.

“--then I hope they’ve figured it out by now.” Kaito grinned. “Get themselves a happily ever after!” 

Kokichi nodded with a smile as Kaito explained Fuyuhiko’s congratulations letter. Of all the letters that came from that round...well, at least Fuyuhiko’s had been nice. And maybe Kaede’s had been well-meaning at the time. 

But...unlike almost everyone else in his family’s lives, the new things he learned about Fuyuhiko (and Peko too) only broadened Kokichi’s respect for them. 

Kokichi raised his eyebrows in slight surprise as Kaito declared his working theory, this being the first time he’d heard it himself. The two of them had been described as quite the pair before but...ooooh, if they liked each other????

...well, now was probably one of the best times to think about it. There would probably still be some weird status stuff, but...Peko was a citizen now. While they’d had a certain dynamic their whole lives...well, Kaito and Shuuichi were proof that it could work. You just had to be willing to speak up and take a look at things. 

Silently, Kokichi wished them luck. 

Audibly, he gave a little, “Awww…” as Kaito rang out his own good wishes.

“I still think you’re way off base.” Yuta said, lighting up as a buff man came by and dropped off some steaming spinach puffs. The scent of warm dough along with melted cheese filled the table and he was quick to grab two for himself- ow ow ow hot- as he said brightly, “Thanks!”

“Thank you.” Kaito agreed, giving the man a curious look. “Sorry, before you run, I’m sure you’re busy… are you both related?” He asked, looking between the man and Sakura.

“My brother, Blossom.” Sakura explained, Blossom nodding his head solemnly. “Blossom, these are the friends I told you about.”

“Good to meet you.” Blossom said, before without much fanfare turning and heading back to work. 

“...” Sakura smirked. “I think you flustered him, Kaito.”

“I did??” Kaito asked, looking befuddled, looking over his shoulder at the man, who hadn’t spared them a glance backwards. “...nice. He’s a handsome guy.”

“I’ll tell him you thought so.” Sakura said, “I hate to be ‘that person’, but you haven't actually shared a story about Yuta yet.”

“We haven't?” Kaito mused, “Okay, okay… oh! I’ll tell you about Cassandra--”

“Noooo!” Yuta sputtered, turning immediately bright red, “No no no no!”

“Oh my god, who’s Cassandra?” Hina smirked, putting her hand over Yuta’s face and forcing him backwards as he reached over to physically stop Kaito, “Spill!”

“Oh, don’t be embarrassed, Yuta, it was a young crush.” Shuichi laughed lightly, “We all have awkward first crush stories.”

“Noooooooooo.”

“Okay, so, Yuta comes to me one day, saying he has to get more buff. Apparently, there’s a cute girl visiting from the next town over, with legs like a tree and biceps like rocks.”

“I see it runs in the family.” Sakura chuckled.

“I love you for more than your muscles!” Hina insisted.

“And Yuta wants to impress her, but doesn’t think his swimmer body is going to do it. So! He wants to come with me to the gym to get swol! No worries, I say, I’ve got you. So I take him to the gym, and it’s a lot of lifting weights, Yuta’s doing great, he’s gotta use smaller weights but that’s totally understandable, he’s only just started after all! When, all of the sudden, who walks into the weight room?”

Yuta ground, putting his head in his hands.

“So, Cassandra is there, lifting crazy weights, she recognizes Yuta and asks him to spot her. Well, Yuta handles himself pretty well at first, lots of flirting, a little friendly competition gets started, who can do more reps, who can hold longer, that sort of thing… and then it starts to escalate.” Kaito chuckled, “And escalates. And escalates. All of the sudden, cute, casual flirting has changed to him and Cassandra heading to the damn hardest obstacle course around and fiercely trying to out pace each other. Like, it quickly stopped being friendly, they were both out to prove themselves. Smack talk is exchanged, there’s an audience, bets are made. It’s a whole thing.”

“So, they’re getting through the obstacle course, and again, it’s just viscous. Traps are going off, there’s a lot of goading and teasing any time one of them gets ahead, they’re bruised and muddy and tired by the time they complete it, and briefly, when they’re announcing the times, Yuta thinks he’s won, and he just goes HAM celebrating.”

Grooooan.

“Just, dancing, laughing, pointing, very unsportsmanlike… and then he didn’t even win.” Kaito chuckled, shaking his head, “They just announced his name first to tell his time, and when they announced hers, she had like a minute less. By the time I caught up to Yuta, I ask him, ‘so…. Are you gonna ask her out now?’ Nope. Wouldn’t go anywhere near her.”

“It was too embarrassing!” Yuta insisted, looking red faced. “I made a total ass of myself!”

“Eh, you were both young and cocky. I still think she would have said yes.” Kaito chuckled. 

“Awwwww, you’re such a DORK!” Hina giggled, ruffling a groaning Yuta’s hair.

Kokichi thanked Sakura’s brother in turn, eager to snag a spinach puff himself while he still had a chance. Though, watching Kaito preen a little at having impressed Sakura’s brother was just as nice. 

While listening to an embarrassing childhood story was nice in a different way. Kokichi listened raptly, laughing a little at Sakura’s comment on the siblings’ preferences, feeling a sort of cute, fluffy feeling at Yuta wanting to become beefier to impress his crush, laughing with a groan as their friendly competition got heated… Becoming kind of confused by...nearest obstacle course? Traps?? 

And covering his face in second-hand embarrassment though he was grinning widely at Yuta mistakenly celebrating his win, and immediately never wanting to speak to Cassandra again. 

It was...kind of a perfect childhood story, and getting to see Hina tease her brother...it made everything feel right. 

That conversation went on. In exchange for the story, the girls started explaining the metal-work class, to Kaito’s interest. “A lot of it was just theory, at first, but as the semester went on we got to do more hands-on stuff. Sakura really impressed people! She could flatten anything.” Hina said a little dreamily, “Just put a hammer in her hands.”

Sakura humbly said she wasn’t as good with small detail work as some of the others in class, including Hina, but yeah, once they were out of the classroom, metal-work had been fairly interesting. They had made plates and arrowheads.

“Sakura also made friends with, like… every guard.” Hina snickered, “It was cute. She had a little guard fanclub by the end of it. They saw us off.”

“With all due respect to the Luminaries at this table… once you realize how impressed you all are with sparring, it becomes very easy to befriend you.” Sakura mused, Kaito and Hina laughing a little at that, Shuichi just nodding, “I’d just punch someone in the face and suddenly they wanted to drink with me.”

“Aw, you’re more charming than that, give yourself more credit, Sakura.” Kaito said, sipping at his pint, “But, yeah. I guess that’s kind of a cultural thing, generally. We get really impressed by, mmm… ‘physical expertise’? A lot of people are raised to be physically good at something, whether it’s fighting or balancing or swimming, crossbows or climbing, arm wrestling… we’re just physical people. Man!” Kaito suddenly lit up, putting his hand on Kokichi’s shoulder, “The first time I saw this guy climb a wall? Fuck, I was blown away. ‘Kichi could get it that day.”

Kokichi didn’t have much to say for the stories themselves, having not known Yuta until literally that day, and having not been on the trip, but he still found himself enraptured by the tales, asking the occasional question and providing his practiced role of being a wonderful audience member. Yuta had been a wonderful, dorky, bright kid, and while it had been dangerous, there was so much intrigue to the exchange trip. 

Definitely including Sakura’s glory in amazing every Luminary in her path. While certainly appealing to the Luminary sense of strength, Kokichi nodded emphatically as Kaito made the point that her charm was more than superficial--Kokichi’s own admiration towards here was a good example of that--though he chuckled through a groan as Kaito turned his examples onto him. 

“I still can’t believe we managed to convince Hajime-chan to lift you over the wall. Geez...it’s all so embarrassing, looking back and realizing that at any point of that we could’ve just gone through the front gate.”

“What, was the front gate stuck or something?” Yuta asked, cheeks full of food.

“Yuta, you’re eating too fast again.” Shuichi sighed, “Slow down before you choke… again.”

“Kaaaaay.”

“Mmmm…” Kaito frowned, “...there was a little miscommunication at the time. We thought we had to stay close to the castle, when we first met.”

“Because of the treaty and assassination attempt?” Yuta asked.

“No, no, there wasn’t a real assassination attempt, that was Timothy playing games.” Kaito explained quickly, “But… yeah. Treaty and stuff. They were trying to be safe with Kokichi, which led to a bunch of misunderstandings and stuff. But! It led to us flexing our rebellious sides a bit.” Kaito grinned, “Cause then we got to ‘sneak out’ and go to a party, all sneaky and stuff. It was fun. Reminded me of being a teenager.”

“When did you ever have to ‘sneak out’ as a teenager?” Maki asked, raising an eyebrow.

“...okaaaay, it reminded me of stories I’ve read about other teenagers.” Kaito admitted, laughing. “I was a wild child with no curfew. And man did I take advantage of that.”

“Did Yuta have a rebellious phase?” Hina asked, looking fondly at her brother. “Any ‘punk kid’ stories?”

“Not really. Beyond being a bit blunt with his observations, Yuta was a sweet and composed young man.” Shuichi said, looking a little proud. “A bit competitive, a bit braggy, but nothing actually all that aggravating. He’s a good kid.”

“Awwww, shut up.” Yuta groaned, looking flustered. “Thanks.”

“Reminded me of like...three weeks earlier,” Kokichi chuckled. 

...Kokichi gave Kaito a glance. It was true he didn’t have to out and tell everyone about the details of his struggles with mental illness--it was more than people usually volunteered for in a given conversation--but...hm. It was a close enough explanation, anyway. 

...and it had been fun to sneak out, even if they hadn’t had to. And the thing they were sneaking out to had been a cult meeting headed by people who wanted Kaito dead and Kokichi drugged and kidnapped… But, from what they knew at the time? It had been fun. 

Kokichi smiled fondly as Shuuichi sounded like a proud father to Yuta, though it was strong big brother energy through and through. Even with all the stories he’d shared of the younger man before...they were close, and Shuuichi was proud. 

...it really was incredible that Yuta and Hina were reunited, and could live peacefully together now, surrounded by friends old and new. 

The day continued on, and another pitcher of mead was brought over, along with some more warm food-- a plate of kebabs, this time-- and Kaito was finally starting to relax a little. An arm perpetually around Kokichi’s shoulders, the group shared a story with Hina about the brief but interesting time Yuta tried to start a rock band. “They did one show, it was terrible, we had a blast!” Kaito laughed.

“Man, it was terrible, wasn’t it.” Yuta sighed, “Turns out when ‘practice’ is just mostly you hanging out with your friends, by the time you have to perform, you’re not any good.”

“It was a lot of fun though.” Shuichi reassured, “And the bar gave everyone free drinks to celebrate your first and only show.”

They hadn’t, Kaito had slipped them some money and asked them to say that everyone was getting free drinks because of the band to endear the random audience members to the kids trying to screech out music on instruments they barely knew how to play. It had worked, the rowdy crowd far more willing to laugh along with the band due to the good fortune, and Kaito had kept to himself why the bar had been so generous. He just wanted everyone to have a good time. And to not boo Yuta. Mission success!

But as conversation went on, and Kaito started to feel the buzz come on… damn. Was he already buzzed? On this stuff? How? Oh, well… he guessed he was drinking less overall these days… and he was kinda tired all the time. Hm, he should slow down…

“...Sakura, how do you get biceps like that?”

“Protein and exercise.” Sakura told Kaito for the thousandth time. “Staying consistent for years.”

“Okay, okay, sure… but also, really. How?”

“It’s amazing, right?” Hina said, a little tipsy blush on her own face, as she nuzzled against Sakura’s arm, hugging her biceps. “They’re not just for show either. She could benchpress anyone here. Sakura, benchpress Kaito~”

Kaito’s eyes widened, a deep flush coming over his face. “Uuuh, maybe better not. I believe she could, but, uhhhh--”

Shuichi… pouted a little. Before saying. “Kaito’s strong too. It just doesn’t show as much on him. I bet really he’s just as strong as Sakura.”

“Uuuuuuuuuuh…” Kaito laughed sheepishly, “... I dunno about that. Sakura could crush me with those thighs--”

“You bet she could.” Hina sighed.

Maki rolled her eyes. “Honestly, you both need some water.”

“-- but, if we’re talking about something that requires a little skill on top of brute strength! I do have one thing that I think maybe I could compete in!”

Yuta looked curious, “Oh, are you gonna spar--”

“ARM WRESTLING! SAKURA OGAMI! I CHALLENGE YOU TO AN ARM WRESTLING MATCH!”

...it was really nice. The warm, cozy feeling of kinship only grew as they talked and drinks went around, and Kokichi happily basked in it. Sure...he was still a little nervous, wanting to be liked, and he didn’t even get close to revving up the motormouth, but his little comments and questions between stories still kept him feeling a part of things. Though, for a few people in their group...the warmth may not have all come from the summer day. 

Kokichi chuckled to himself as Kaito and Hina gushed over muscles, and it was just...inevitable, the challenge Kaito threw down. He’d still never gotten his wrestling match against Hajime, and while Kaito had kind of withdrawn in some ways, this wasn’t one of them. At least entirely. 

“I dunno,” Kokichi chirped with a laugh. “I’d put my bets on Sakura-chan for a lot of things, but sometimes you can never really tell with arm wrestling.” Raising an eyebrow, Kokichi gave his husband a mildly teasing look. “Think you could keep your form? Not do the thing where you just lower yourself more and more for leverage? I think that would be real impressive, hun.”

“You think I need to resort to cheap tactics to win!? My husband has no faith in me. SAKURA! ACCEPT MY CHALLENGE!”

“Mmmmm…” Sakura tilted her head a little, cracking the muscles audibly as she rolled her shoulders… before smirking. “Sure. Let’s do this.”

Shuichi, Hina and Yuta quickly went through the process of clearing that side of the table, while Maki sighed, “I’ll ref. Kaito, don’t break your wrist.”

“THAT ONLY HAPPENED ONE TIME!”

“It wasn’t broken, to be fair.” Shuichi reminded her. “He just popped the bones out of their sockets.”

“Wouldn’t have thought it from the way he whined--”

“You guys are the worst sidekicks ever. Just cheer me on!”

“Woooo, you can do it Kaito.” Shuichi said, waving his hat in the air slightly.

“I’m the ref, I have to remain impartial.” Maki said simply.

“You see how they treat me?” Kaito whispered to Sakura, as the two clasped hands. “The worst, right?”

“I think it’s cute.” Sakura chuckled, “Though, you’re going to hate how Hina--”

“YEAH! GET HIM, SAKURA! KILL HIM! MAKE HIM DEAD! WOOO!”

Kaito looked at Hina, who was already practically standing in her seat, cheering loud enough that anyone who hadn’t heard Kaito shouting earlier were now looking over at the ruckus. Shaking his head after a moment, he looked to Shuichi, “See? Handsome? That’s how you cheer.”

“Wooooo.”

Kokichi giggled as Sakura gracefully accepted the challenge, helping the others move everything to the other side of the table, making sure to put the more breakable things towards the middle. Out of hand crushing range, unlikely to bounce off to the floor if the table rattled. Though the table did seem pretty sturdy. 

...and breaking a bone made it grow back stronger so...Kaito’s arm was pretty sturdy too. 

...eeugh. 

Looking up at Hina’s exuberance, Kokichi giggled before beaming brightly at Kaito. “Can’t really match that, but you’ve got this, hun! Kai-chan makes the impossible possible, right? You can do it!”

“Damn right I can! Better be ready to give it your all, Sakura, I’m not giving you an inch!” Kaito grinned, baring his teeth at her. 

“Good to hear.” Sakura smirked, squeezing Kaito’s hand a little, the sound of the bones bending audible for a moment before she let up. Kaito’s expression just became more fierce at the squeeze, squeezing back. Not to be intimidated! 

“Elbows down. Joints up… go.” Maki called. 

“COME ON! COME ON! TAKE HIM DOWN! PULVERISE HIM!!”

“Don’t forget your shoulders, Kaito!” Shuichi pressed, now looking a little more openly into it as the two fighters started to push against each other, “Come on, you can do this!”

“HRRRRGH!” Kaito growled, wincing as he was almost immediately entirely on the defensive, his fingers red and joints white as he just tried to keep his arm up, “N-NOT GOING DOWN THAT EASY!”

“I’d be disappointed if you did.” Sakura continued to smirk, her elbow digging into the table as she tried to push his arm down, “Is that all you can offer?”

“SCREW YOU! I’M GONNA TAKE YOU DOWN!”

“KILL HIM, KILL HIM! DON’T LET IT UP!”

“Awww, I don’t know who to root for.” Yuta laughed, taking a swig of water, “Goooo both of you!”

There was no give for a bit, and Sakura looked a little red in the face, now… but that wasn’t anything in comparison to Kaito, who was now redder than his hair. Clearly putting his all into it, trying to twist his wrist in the right way and Sakura’s hand just not budging… “GAH!”

SLAM!

“YEAAAAAAAAH!!” Hina cheered, throwing her arms around Sakura’s neck, hugging her tightly, “SAKURA WOOOOON!!”

“It was a closer match than it looked.” Sakura said humbly, shaking her hand a little, “If I had given anything, he would have slammed me down too.”

“...ehhh, nah. You thrashed me.” Kaito laughed after a moment, flexing his hand a little, “Next time! I’ll get you next time! Congrats!”

Kokichi watched with wide, intense eyes, able to see the strain of two overwhelming forces pushed up against each other even without looking at his husband and friend’s faces. Sakura had more muscle mass, that was simply true, and while Kokichi didn’t know enough to say anything about how some muscle might pack more of a punch than others, Sakura was undeniably strong, and quite possibly one of the strongest people Kokichi had ever met. And the ‘quite possibly’ was just because he couldn’t definitively place her at spot number one--if he got to choose a handful, then she would definitely be there. 

But Kaito was right. There was more to arm wrestling than raw strength, and while the technique wasn’t quite as nuanced as, say, judo, it was still enough that someone without as much raw strength would still be able to win. 

Kaito definitely had a chance to pull it off. 

However…

The intense look in Kokichi’s eyes faded as the victor was declared, sighing but still smiling brightly as he gave Sakura a nod. “Congrats!”

But he soon turned his attention to Kaito, standing up from his seat a little to put his arms around Kaito in a hug as he placed a kiss to his cheek. “You did well, Kai-chan. In some ways, being caught in a dead battle in the middle is an even scarier display of power. Nice job.”

Kaito chuckled, grinning at the little kiss. “Ya know, I’d be more worried if you hadn’t already assured me once that you’d love me even if I could never look like Sakura… okay! Shuichi, your turn!”

“What?” Shuichi asked, looking dumbfounded as he was mid-sip of his drink, “My turn for what?”

“You gotta arm wrestle someone!”

“What?”

“I’ll arm wrestle him!” Hina crowed. 

“I think you should arm wrestle Maki.” Yuta pointed out.

“What? No! She’ll beat me!”

“Yeah, but you’ll beat Shuichi.”

“Much more fun! Let’s go, Shuichi!”

“Iiiiiii am going to walk away from this conversation.” Shuichi decided, getting up from the table and heading to the bar counter. “Bye.”

“Coward! Come on, handsome! You were talking so much shit earlier!” Kaito shouted after him, chuckling a little as Shuichi ignored him, “I love him. Kokichi, wanna arm wrestle someone?”

Kokichi was happy Hina had found the muscle-babe of her dreams but...Kokichi was more than happy with how Kaito’s body was. Though, in fairness, he’d probably love what Kaito looked like however he looked. Once he caught feelings, it was over. 

Snickering a bit as Shuuichi literally left the conversation, refusing to back up his talk, Kokichi straightened a bit with a gleam in his eyes. “I will lose immediately! But I’d love to.” 

Looking over their group of challengers, Kokichi was bright and fresh as a daisy, genuinely enthused to take on any of the group of athletes. “Who wants to go?”

“I’ve got ya little man!” Yuta giggled, scooting over a bit to reach over for Kokichi’s hand, “Give me a workout, don’t hold back!”

“I’ll ref.” Kaito grinned. 

“Don’t be biased.” Maki warned.

“Biased? Who’s biased? Alright! Hands together, elbows down, joints up! Let the best prince win!” Kaito laughed at Hina’s glare, before shouting, “Go!”

“Here Maki.” Shuichi said, coming back with a shot of whiskey for Maki, holding a shot of vodka for himself, “Just one.”

“Mmmm… alright. But it’s your fault if you vomit.” Maki shrugged, clinking her shot against Shuichi, “What are we toasting?”

Kokichi laughed, delighted. There was a bit of shuffling around so he and Yuta were facing each other, and not in the midst of everything on the table, but before long they were in position, Kokichi’s hand looking small even against Yuta’s, who was a smaller guy himself. Kokichi wasn’t going to actively sabotage himself, he did want to do this, but...well, he wasn’t quite as weak as he’d been before. There was some amount of progress he could make!

Grinning as Kaito counted them off, Kokichi tuned everything else out in his brain, not even looking over as Shuuichi came back to the table. Now was the time to put everything Maki had ever taught him to use. Don’t lock yourself up, don’t hold your breath. Your exhale is your strongest moment, and where Kokichi lacked in bicep strength, he had in flexible wrists and deft fingers (though he wasn’t sure that was really applicable for arm wrestling). Put his whole arm into it and--!!

Thunk!

Kokichi blinked, a smile breaking out on his face. He’d...actually lasted more than a second. 

“Hey, hey!!!” he cheered through a laugh. “Nice one, Yuta! Congrats!”

“Close match! Too close to call!” Kaito decided, “It’s a tie!”

“No way! You jerk!” Yuta laughed, while Hina stuck her tongue out at the taller prince. “I won that fair and square! You put up a good fight though, Kokichi!”

“There was some decent resistance there for a moment.” Sakura noticed good-naturedly, “We should see them face off again in the future, after some more training.”

“Who needs more training!? We basically won our rounds! I’m the ref now, I say we won! Good job, ‘Kichi!” Kaito laughed, putting his arm around his husbands shoulders and kissing the top of his head. “You did it!”

“Cheat! I wanna face you next Kaito!”

“Oh yeah? Bring it on, kid! I’m gonna wipe the floor with you!”

“Hm.” Shuichi hummed, watching as Kaito and Yuta set up for the next wrestling match. “...To family?”

“Cheesy.” Maki teased, clinking her shot on the table, as Shuichi did the same. “Sure. To family.”

They drank.

-

They ended up choosing the Monday evening debate. Briefly, Kokichi considered setting it up for them to get a late dinner after the debate was over, maybe talk about the points they listened to, but...well, he didn’t want to leave Shuuichi and Miya for too long and…

...he wanted to help Kaito. But especially after bringing up the debates in the first place...he didn’t want to trap his husband in conversation and a restaurant. 

So they ended up snagging some food from the dining hall a little early before heading over. 

The venue was outside in one of the parks, a low stage with a tarp set up over it (it wasn’t raining, but they were prepared) and a few extra chairs and benches the only set up, though there were plenty of people who had apparently been waiting excitedly for this and had set up little areas on the grass with picnic blankets like they were waiting for a band performance. Others stood around, some chatting with bright, confident grins, while others were hushed, brows furrowed in deep deliberation. 

Spotting an empty, smaller bench, Kokichi pulled Kaito towards it, nodding in the direction to explain himself. “Really, hun, thanks for coming with me.”

“Yep! Happy to be here!” Kaito grinned, allowing himself to be pulled towards the bench. Hell yeah! Bench time! They were Out! Look! They were Out at a Park even! It was a nice day out, and there were other people around, which was always a little interesting, and Kokichi was here. So that was great! 

As they settled down on the bench, Kaito took a look around, looking for parents with their kids. Any infants? Young infants? Seriously, how soon was it acceptable to take Miyako to a park? He wanted to let her smell grass and lounge in the sun. If Thalia was right, she’d love it. Kaito was so excited to get to share fun, easy moments in the park with her. 

And he could bring Tim! Tim and Chase could play around, and Kaito could finally let Chase sniff around Miyako, which they weren’t risking just yet because of germ warnings. And Miyako could watch her big brother and his big puppy run around the yard…

Kaito glanced at the stage briefly before ignoring it. Grinning at Kokichi he said, “You got your sunscreen, babe? It’s bright out today, last thing we want is your pale-self getting burnt.”

...well. At least it was nice being out and about. They could enjoy the sun--low in the sky, but not ready to set for a few hours still--and the chatter of people around them...though Kokichi really hoped that Kaito would listen to them. 

Nodding, Kokichi pressed himself affectionately against Kaito. “Yupp, I brought a spare bottle in my bag, but I lathered up before we left.” Pausing for a moment, Kokichi narrowed his eyes as he looked at Kaito skeptically. “Did you put on sunscreen? Even if you don’t burn, it’s still important.”

It looked like a few people were walking onto the stage, though they weren’t coming up front and center yet--Kokichi had been anxious about getting there with enough time to settle in. One of them, a fairly tall person with hair styled to the side, draping in front of one of their sharp-looking eyes, sneered without abandon at another, though there was a familiarity in the gesture that suggested that this happened pretty regularly, and without any major fallout.

Hiyoko, in turn, covered her mouth and snickered at them, raising an eyebrow with clear incredulity. Again, nothing specifically malicious in it, there was a clear familiarity between the two in this setting, but the woman had a way of… always looking like she was laughing at you. Because she usually was.

Kaito blinked at the blond on the stage. She was dressed formally. Like, he was pretty sure really formally. It looked like the sort of thing Kokichi had worn at the wedding and at harvest, but pink. It fit her really well, this woman had some curves. Huh… why did she look so familiar? He liked her crescent moon hair… who was this? He was certain he knew her… though he was distracted at Kokichi’s accusation. 

… Kaito didn’t really… liiiiiike sunscreen :(

So he grinned brightly at Kokichi and asked, “Aw, come on, babe, what’s the issue if I don’t burn?”

Kokichi huffed and reached into his bag for his bottle, glad he’d thought to bring it along, even if he was fairly sure the amount he’d rubbed into his skin earlier was enough to last him through their time out. “Skin cancer, at the worst. But just damaging your skin at all is bad enough. If you fuss at me over my health, I’m gonna advocate for sunscreen all day if I have to.”

Handing the bottle over with a pointed look--he wasn’t gonna budge on this, not now or all summer--there was an exaggerated clear of the throat from the stage. Waving with a flourish, seemingly unaware that the crowd had only quieted a little bit, Takashi grinned to the audience. “Welcome to our Monday evening debate! I’m your moderator, Takashi Souzen, and as you should all know, tonight our debators are going to be discussing the matter up for election--the decision of whether to pursue action on the creation of a new road system across Dicea. Remember to cast your votes at the voting office in the castle or your local community center by the first day of midsummer!”

“Now, I’ll hand things over to our debaters without further ado.”

Stepping aside, Takashi gave a great flourish to the tall person who stepped up, walking with a cocky, confident stride. They winked--and even with their hair covering an eye it was obviously a wink--at the audience, seemingly grinning even wider at the boos amid the applause. “Suguru Daisho! Arguing against the motion!”

Almost like a mirror, Takashi gave the same flourish to the other side of the stage, cuing Hiyoko to step up as well. “Hiyoko Saionji! Arguing for the motion!”

Kokichi blinked, shoulders tensing in his surprise for a moment before settling back down. Huh...long time no see…

Awwwww, darn it… he didn’t waaaannaaaa… 

Sighing, Kaito wrinkled his nose a little, starting to put the stuff on. Ugh… the smell. And he never liked the way it made him feel. His skin felt tingly and it always sorta felt like he was starting to burn almost immediately after putting it on. He had always found he’d rather just the slow burn of being in the sun too long than the immediate burn of the sunscreen.

...but. He also knew Kokichi had a point. Skin cancer was a thing. More than that, he wasn’t giving Kokichi any ammunition to refuse vegetable or hair time…. Mmmm… Kokichi’s new hair…

Finishing applying-- ugh. He already felt more uncomfortable-- Kaito handed it back to Kokichi before wiping the rest off on his pants, then putting an arm around Kokichi’s shoulders and playing with the small hairs near the shaved part of his neck. He really did like his husbands new look. His ‘Kichi was ethereal no matter what he did, but… the new haircut did make him look a little more put together. He knew Kokichi liked the random, ‘just woke up and doesn’t own a mirror’ look, but, well… Kaito was biased in the totally opposite direction. He liked the look of effort. The new hair was still pretty wild, since Kokichi didn’t style it in any way, but at least it looked like a slightly more conscious choice.

Kaito was so busy admiring Kokichi that he almost missed entirely that Takashi was here at all, until he recognized the voice, looking back at the stage again. Oh! Takashi was here! Huh. A curator huh? That seemed up his alley, actually. Kaito wondered if Byakuya was still paying him for letters… probably not. Kaito hoped not, anyway.

(“Stop being a dick, Itch! Kokichi-chan wants a drink too!”)

Kaito frowned. Re-focusing his gaze on the blond woman. What had Takash said her name was? Hiyoko?

...he narrowed his eyes.

“Okay, is it time to start yet? Or are you planning to keep embarrassing yourself peacocking like that, Takashi-kun?” Hiyoko smirked, before brushing her hair out of her face a little, smiling brightly at everyone as she said cheerfully, “I’m so excited to do this! I just can’t wait!”

Suguru rolled their eyes and sneered at Hiyoko, cocking his hip. “Ah, I can see why Mt. Erminea High always won the rallys back in the day, with you insulting the moderators right out of the gate. Or have you done so little research that you’ve even forgotten who’s supposed to be your opponent?”

There was a cry from somewhere off to the left of the crowd, a clear, “Fuck you!” Suguru just chuckled and casually sent the bird in that direction. 

“Enthusiastic as always,” Takashi laughed, seemingly resigned to at least some ruckus in this round. “If you two are ready, yes, we can begin--as usual, I’ll describe the issue, then you two can take it away. If someone from the audience has a question,” Takashi turned to the audience, charming as ever, “And real questions, please, people; then I’ll prompt each of you to answer it one at a time. If I call a time out, then we stop.”

Everyone nodding to the rules--Kokichi could hear a couple people scoffing at ‘real questions, please’--Takashi clapped his hands together. “Amazing~!”

“The motion up to vote is whether or not to pursue the creation of a new road system across the country. It’s not proposing where else to put those efforts, or the specifics of how the roads will be laid out, though those concerns may be addressed if connected to the central issue.” Getting a little more serious, Takashi gave both of the debaters a stern look. “Personal attacks aren’t part of the issue, and I’ll call the debate off if it’s looking more like you two just want to insult each other in front of an audience. And this is an all ages event, so keep any vulgarity to yourselves.”

Suguru looked almost affronted, crossing their chest like they’d never been anything but perfectly innocent their whole life. “Of course, Takashi-kun! We’re here to nitpick hard details, nothing more.”

The same voice from the audience shouted, “Bull!” and Takashi waved them off. “Just get started, you two.”

-

...well. This was the kind of atmosphere Kokichi had wanted to introduce Kaito to. He just hoped his husband wouldn’t brush it off as college kid antics. 

...or refuse to listen because of who was on the stage.

“Pffff, like I need to resort to being a curators pet.” Hiyoko snickered, every word out of her mouth like a bouncing, sweet giggle that also seemed to simultaneously double as a sneer. “But if you need to take Takashi-kun backstage to do some light ‘back and forth debating’ to win, Soguru, don’t let me stop you. Gotta give you a chance somehow.”

‘...you gave death cultists a secret and safe place to work and organize.’ Kaito thought, staring at her, ‘...it wasn’t even a year ago.’

Kaito winced, slightly, at the calls. No one else seemed to bat an eye at the callouts. He guessed that was normal. The angry jeers. Waku had said that when Dicean’s were mad, sometimes they voted people out, and sometimes they just had riots and raided the castle to force people out.

He placed his hand on Kokichi’s other shoulder, keeping his arm protectively around him. They… probably don’t raid castles over road funding disagreements. That’d be silly. Even Dicean’s weren’t that weird.

“...so, have you ever been to one of these before, ‘Kichi?” Kaito asked him quietly, “I mean the one at the parks, like this. Sort of thing you’d have snuck out for?”

“Alright, so, let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way first.” Hiyoko said, putting her hands daintily over her chest, smiling sweetly at the audience, “The roads are for the greater benefit of all, and any and all arguments my opponent, Soguru-trash here, could possibly come up with comes from the niche minority needs, who wouldn’t want to be inconvenienced by having to resource manage and do their jobs a little better. The expansion of roads would result in a greater diversity in wares for the average Dicean, increased earning opportunities for thrifty and ambitious entrepreneurs, and more opportunity for tourism based economies, which makes eeeeeverywhere funner! Well, Suguru! Admit it! You just hate fun and greater quality of life across the board! You jerk.”

Kokichi placed a hand over the one Kaito had curled around him, feeling Kaito start to tense up and bolster himself. Not quite like he was gearing up for a fight, but…

...well, like people were expecting things of him and that there were a million ways to fail, and failure meant that Kaito was dumb and useless. So Kaito was keeping himself very aware and trying to ride that line of success, whatever that meant, to whoever was looking. 

Kokichi so much just wanted to turn to his husband and say they could leave, but...Maki was right. Kaito couldn’t keep always expecting to fail. And at least right now, this wasn’t plunging into...much of anything. They were sitting on a bench, listening to people talk, and nothing would be expected of them afterward. Kokichi hadn’t even set up some time for just the two of them to talk (and now he was really glad he’d decided to ditch the dinner plan). This was as shallow a toe dip into the pool there could be. He didn’t need to keep shielding Kaito forever.

Still, he rubbed his thumb gently over Kaito’s knuckles. “A few times, yeah. And sometimes they hold debates in the theater in the castle, so I didn’t need to sneak out for those. But a lot of the time I’ve already been doing a lot of research on the issue, so I’m not really trying to make all the debates, you know? Still...you never know when someone’ll bring up a point that you hadn’t thought of.”

“Wooooow, such a surprise, hearing Princess Hiyoko say she only cares about those who scream the loudest,” Suguru drawled, his snake-like grin curled up in enjoyment. “The decision may be on a voter’s majority, but, as the reason we’re here at all, the votes haven’t been cast yet, and every perspective is worth taking into consideration. No person is an island, and we are not Diceans without our community.”

Looking at Hiyoko coolly, they continued, “No matter how considering the plan ends up being, the creation of new roads is going to take up space. Now, there’s a few fields out there I’m sure wouldn’t be impacted much with an extra twelve feet lane running down it, but--” They let the word linger, almost hissing it out as the anticipation built. “What about crop fields, our farmers giving up some of their land that makes their income and business, especially with the increased demands of late--a boost in trade which we’re already trying to adjust to. What about our forests and protected lands, carefully observed to maintain our fresh air and indiginous biodiversity, the very thing that keeps us all alive. Any small change could tip the scales of nature dramatically, as we’ve seen with the recent entomological surveys, and while you may argue, then, why not just go around our protected lands, the project of new roads has promised more efficient routes between our cities, and taking a forest-wide detour doesn’t quite seem like the definition of efficiency to me, now does it?”

“That’s not even to get started on the space concerns of things besides the new roads.”

‘She’s not a princess.’

Kaito grit his teeth, now staring at… what was their name? Suguru? Ready to fucking throw down. How fucking disrespectful. This cultist bitch wasn’t anything close to Miyako. The fucking nerve.

“Are there a boost in trades?” Hiyoko said, looking surprised and alarmed, before she seemed to shrink into herself as she practically coo’d at her opponent, “Oh no. Are the wittle farmers stwuggling to keep up with dwemands? Is bwuisness getting too difficult to kweep up with? Now, wait a gosh darn diddly second… why is there such a new rush in demand? Gee wiz, I’m so unprepared… Suguru-trash? Do you know why there’s a sudden uptick in demand? It’s on the tip of my tongue…”

Kokichi glanced over at Kaito in worry, almost able to feel the uptick in heat as his husband fumed. But he couldn’t give up just yet. This was the first step. Kokichi couldn’t chicken out right at the start. 

Gently, he put a hand on Kaito’s thigh, squeezing his knee.

There was a sound of retching somewhere in the crowd at Hiyoko’s baby talk, another person annoyedly calling out, “Leading question!”

Suguru rolled their eyes again, smirking a bit. “Well if you don’t know, there’s no reason in discussing it, is there, darling? I suppose I’ll just move on~”

“Something you actually did manage to push out of your mouth was mentioning a boom for tourism income,” they continued without leaving a beat for interjection. “However, that’s only true for the big cities, Usott, Pifet, Carbosi. But when the road goes right past Foncett, Theria, Ursa Falls, what is now a steady stream of traffic as people travel through will become empty memories.”

Suguru raised a sardonic eyebrow to his opponent. “You seem real concerned with materialism, rather than the lives of our neighbors.”

Hiyoko let it go, smirking at Suguru as they brushed right past the source of the sudden economic boom, honestly fairly convinced how much they didn’t want to talk about that in particular would leave more of an impression on the voters than anything else. For those who didn’t already know, curiosity would compel them to look it up. And knowledge people ‘discovered’ on their own was harder to shake off people than anything fed to them over a debate.

She huffed at their latest accusation though, pouting as she crossed her arms, “And you seem real short sighted, for someone who wants to help ‘our neighbors’. What’s easier? Putting out a house that’s on fire down the road, or putting out one that’s up a hill, around the corner behind a cluster of oak trees, on a rock ledge that you can only climb with that small, quaint rock staircase that our great, great, great grandfather was so proud to make with his bare hands? Claiming our neighbors are better off without direct and easy to navigate roads to the major cities with the major resources is so stupid that I it could have only come out of Suguru-trash’s mouth.”

“You’re also forgetting, sitting pretty in one of the most prosperous and resource diverse cities in all of Dicea, why Foncett and Theria and Ursa Falls are doing so well, what with their easy access to a range of quality of life stuff, like moooore shooooes~ and moooore dresses~ and moooore purrrses~ and mooooore medical equipment, tools manufactured by more than just the guy ‘down the road’, foods that aren’t local to that town that some poor schmuck isn’t allergic too.” Hiyoko rolled her eyes, “Girly, materialistic stuff like that. Our biggest cities have access to all that fun stuff because most of Dicea roads are already designed to make trade and population growth easier to navigate for them. And the eventual goal is anywhere becomes easy to get too, numb-nuts. Saying some towns are going to miss out so no one gets more roads is like saying there aren’t enough pretty, pretty kimonos to go around, so now we’re not making anymore.”

“...” Kaito frowned, brow furrowed… before leaning towards Kokichi, whispering, “She’s wrong, right?”

Ah, Hiyoko had always had a talent for metaphorical examples. She was a good one for making people think, even if it was just in fury trying to figure out how she was wrong. 

Still, Suguru wasn’t out of this yet. 

Scoffing out a laugh, they continued taking little crumbs of Hiyoko’s points, bringing up the issues they expanded out to. Really, the majority of reasons someone might vote no were ecological concerns and the ideas that smaller villages would be losing their ‘mark’ and independence from the bigger cities for a trade of convenience. And...honestly, that was just a matter of personal preference at that point.

Still, the debaters continued, acknowledging the heckling from the crowd, but staying focused on each other. 

Kokichi looked up, a surge of hope climbing up his chest. Kaito was getting engaged…

“How so?” he whispered back. “Like...what part of that is wrong?”

“...um.” Kaito glanced warily at Kokichi. “I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking. She can’t be right though. She’s evil.”

...maybe not. 

He didn’t look crestfallen, but there was some indication in Kokichi’s eyes showing the disappointment he felt. “...are you just deciding she’s wrong because you don’t like her?”

“...” Kaito glanced up at the stage, glaring at her. “She has to be wrong. You don’t get to be that kind of person and still be right.”

One of them, Kaito didn’t catch who, made some sort of joke, and there was equal parts laughter and angry shouts, apparently someone punching below the belt. The more Kaito remembered who Hiyoko was, the more he just… wished he could go onto that stage and punch her in the fucking face. Demand to know what the fuck was wrong with the audience, for not only giving her a stage but listening. Don’t you know who her friends are!? Don’t you know what she did!?

She had to be wrong about the roads. Or at least her arguments for them. Kaito wasn’t sure how she was wrong, it all made sense to him, but… well. Kaito was also a shitty, broken person. Kokich would know how to make the right argument. He’d know the right answer.

Kokichi sighed softly. ...maybe even this first step was too much. Kaito was the guy, after all, that cared about the person you were much more than whatever came out of your mouth. 

...though even thinking that made Kokichi feel gross, not giving Kaito enough credit. 

“...why, Kai-chan?” he softly asked. “Why can’t a person like her be right?”

“...she didn’t know they were drugging people,” he murmured even softer. “At least not more than, hey, this booze makes you horny. She just wanted to hop on a bandwagon. It makes her kind of thoughtless and self-interested, but...she’s young. Young people are like that. It doesn’t make her evil, or even a bad person.”

“...why can’t an evil person be right?”

Kaito almost couldn’t understand the question. To be wrong was to be evil. You couldn’t have one without the other. Being wrong was a moral failing. 

Was Kokichi testing him?

… okay, yes, obviously. This was obviously a test. The fact they were here at all was pretty obviously a test from the beginning. It wasn’t enough for Kaito to know the answer, Kokichi wanted Kaito to come to the right answer himself. Okay… understandable. His husband wanted Kaito to be better. Kaito was working on it every day. He wanted to be good, like his husband.

...but shit what was the right answer then!?

It’s okay. It’s okay. Just think about it. That was always his problem, he just didn’t think. And listen! Remember!? Half the time, Byakuya just straight up gave you the right answers, and you were too stupid and panicked to notice! Think and listen. What was the answer Kokichi was trying to lead him to…

...Kokichi was saying that Hiyoko wasn’t evil. That she had just… made a mistake. Kaito… supposed he could see Kokichi’s point. He still wanted to punch her in her stupid fucking face for putting Kokichi and Shuichi at risk, but… well, she wouldn’t be the first idiot taken in by horny drugs. Kaito had taken his fair share of drugs for sex, even ones he didn’t totally understand…

(No. That just made him and Hiyoko evil in the same fucking way.)

So Hiyoko could be right, because she wasn’t evil, she had just made a mistake. So her point about the roads could be right…

But then what the fuck was Kokichi saying with that last bit??

“...” Kaito bit the inside of his lip. “I mean… I guess someone who’s evil doesn’t have to be wrong about everything.” Kaito admitted. If Hiyoko suddenly screamed the sky was blue, well… yeah. “But you should still take a good person's word over them. They think about things wonge. You have to account for that.”

Kaito was panicking. Trying to find the “right” answer--the thing he thought Kokichi wanted him to say, so Kaito could prove he was a ‘good’ and ‘right’ person… 

Good vs. Bad. 

Kokichi opened his mouth, then closed it. Wanting to ask a million questions like, what does a good person look like? Are they always going to be good? Is a bad person always going to be bad? Do you really think people are static and that people are categorized into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and that all our choices mean nothing…

But that was unfair to Kaito. And it wasn’t what he meant. 

So...for a moment, Kokichi just stayed quiet, collecting his thoughts, and throwing away questions. He gave Kaito’s knee another squeeze. 

“...I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ person. So...that’s not something I can take into account when I’m listening to what someone has to say.” Kokichi’s brow furrowed. “...both Hiyoko and Suguru have points. But...they’re not arguing to ‘win’ anything, or prove anyone right or wrong. There is no right and wrong here--this is an issue entirely dependent on what individual people believe is right for them. And there’s no right or wrong opinion to have. It’s just your opinion.”

“Sure, when there’s no consequences.” Kaito murmured, “Anyone can say anything they want about anything, when it’s not going to affect anything. But all these people listening here are, like… collectively making the choice, right? So they need to pick the good choice. And like, uh… like they were saying.” Kaito said, pointing to Suguru, “There’s… environmental stuff. And… farm stuff. Hiyoko was making a materialistic and shallow argument.”

The fact that Kaito hadn’t found anything wrong with it really just confirmed it, honestly. 

Kokichi looked up at Kaito, concerned. “...there is no bad choice. There’s a choice that reflects what a person wants from life. And none of those wants are going to be exactly the same.”

“The consequences of this are--the motion passes, and admins and engineers and environmental scientists and all sorts of people are going to start working together to make a new road system. Which...like Hiyoko is arguing, will make travel easier for tourism and commercial use. If the motion doesn’t pass, then all that time and energy and resources will be put elsewhere, into other things that need doing, and the people who vote that way might’ve done it because they believe that those other things are more important in the meantime than what new roads can give, and they think the costs of terraforming and roadside industrialization and decreased traffic to smaller areas outweigh the benefits.”

“There’s no...blanket answer to that that’s ‘right’,” Kokichi said, really just...hoping to convey that to his husband. “There’s only what’s right for ‘you’, and if you don’t end up getting that, then...you’re not going to be hurt. There’s never any perfect answer that pleases everyone, but there are answers that don’t hurt people.”

“Oh what do you know?” Kaito suddenly barked, bristling at him… before he remembered himself, eyes widening with sudden guilt. His arm was still around Kokichi’s shoulders. He shouldn’t say something like that, not in that tone, not while his husband was literally in his arms. “Sorry, sorry… that was… sorry, I need a second. Sorry.”

Kaito disentangled himself from Kokichi, standing up from the bench and nervously glancing around, before running his hand through his hair. Using his free hand to grab the stone he kept in his pocket. “...There’s an ice cream stall here. I’m gonna go get us some ice cream.” He said, heading off.

(...there was always an answer that hurt.)

(Kaito had spent his whole life running into them.)

Kokichi blinked in shock, never having heard a tone like that from Kaito since…

...since they first knew each other. Since the days when Kaito had been trying to get Kokichi to fight. Since before Kokichi had won so hard Kaito stopped fighting. 

He wanted to stand up, take Kaito’s hands in his, talk it out...but Kaito was a physical person. His anger was physical, and the worst thing Kokichi could do was ask him to sit down and stay still. So...he let Kaito run off. 

…

Kokichi curled his hands into his lap, looking at the ground and...not really hearing the debate at all now. Which...was probably okay, since they had taken a question from the crowd about crimerates and how easier roads could be like a funnel, and of course we trust one another, but about the people who hadn’t promised anything to the social contract…

...was that how Kaito really felt? Like...he just had to nod along with Kokichi, even though everything that came out of his mouth was just absurd. ...not aligning with reality.

Kaito felt like a hotheaded idiot, but what else was new.

“One cherry, one chocolate,” Kaito requested at the stall, taking out his coin as he added in, “And, uh… for the cherry, that really decked out cone. Yeah, the one with the toppings. Thanks, appreciate ya.”

Taking the ice creams in hand, little napkins placed around the cones… Kaito sighed. Rolling his eyes at himself. Alright, you dumbass. Done with your stupid fucking trantrum? Go fix this.

Heading back to the bench, Kaito glanced at the stage, registering some of what they were discussing now… before he dismissed it. Yeah, yeah, Luminaries were dangerous. He knew. Whatever.

Handing Kokichi the cherry cone, Kaito grinned warily for a moment… before sighing. “Wanna go for a walk and talk about it?”

Kokichi just kicked his legs in the air a little as he waited for Kaito, beating himself up a little for the self-directed doubts. He knew they weren’t helpful too. Even if it was oh-so tempting to just...blame himself for everything. 

Looking up as Kaito came back, Kokichi smiled softly as he took the cone. Kaito had gotten him a dipped cone with sprinkles… Tuning back into the debate, Kokichi’s smile soured before he sighed, taking Kaito’s free hand and taking a lick at his ice cream. “Thank you, hun. ...yeah, let’s walk.”

As they got farther away from the stage, Kokichi sighed. “...I did genuinely want to come, but...there was a part of me that was hoping that if you saw a debate, you’d get interested in it. I’m sorry for pushing so much without being candid with you.”

There was something a little tired in Kaito’s gaze as he gently squeezed Kokichi’s hand, taking a lick of his own ice cream, before chuckling. “Babe, I love you, but… like, yeah.  I know. Kai-chan asks you to pick what he votes, insists on it, and now suddenly we gotta go to the debate? Maybe you’re not candid, but you’re sure as fuck not subtle, beautiful.”

“...this is hard, sometimes.” Kaito said softly, “I know that… I’m making this harder than it needs to be. I… I get what you’re trying to do, what you’re always trying to do. But it’s hard to be the kind of person you want me to be, without like… actively thinking and trying to. Or, no, that’s not… dammit, I mean…”

“... Kokichi, I’m just wrong a lot. And its hard, because when I answer, I’m wrong. And now, when I don’t answer, I’m still wrong. So now, no matter what I do… I’m always doing the wrong thing and… and I know I’m even wrong to say that, because you don’t believe that, and I’m so tired of disappointing you and…”

“...I’m not making any sense.” Kaito realized, shoulders falling, more tired. “That doesn’t even sound rational to me…”

Kokichi smiled wanely and nodded. He hadn’t meant for it to be manipulative. If Kaito had come out and hated the whole thing, then it wasn’t like Kokichi was going to sign him up for a local club behind his back. Hell, Kokichi wasn’t going to sign him up or volunteer Kaito for anything. He just...wanted to expose Kaito to something he thought might be good for him. 

Without telling him. Which was shitty. 

Kokichi nibbled a bit at his cone as Kaito talked, feeling...sad that Kaito was feeling this way, but also called out because Kaito knew that and… 

He sighed. 

“...I know it’s not just about the election,” Kokichi said softly. “But...can I ask what you think will happen if you vote differently than me?”

If Kokichi’s vote won? Nothing. Nothing would happen. 

If Kaito’s--

(There was a lot. His fathers fury, the courts laughter, eyes staring at him by the hundreds, just staring and watching, without pity or love as Kaito accepted Atua’s disavowment, his mothers turn, his friends abuse, Togami’s letter, the robbers eyes, Kokichi’s rage, Kokichi’s horror, Kokichi sobbing while seed leaked down his thigh, Kokichi choking--)

(All of that captured in the hot, burning image of a stick that was coming down on his shoulder again and there was nothing Kaito could do about it and he was going to deserve it)

--won?

“Something bad will happen.” Kaito said simply. Looking entirely certain, and exhausted, “And it’ll be my fault Because I didn’t listen. And…” Kaito chuckled. “Your patience isn’t exactly limitless, beautiful… you’ll get tired of me ruining things. I’d rather we just skip you having to realize what a screw up I am and just… tell me the right answer before I screw up.”

Kokichi had just looked at Kaito, waiting for his husband’s answer, but…

...the only way he could describe it was like touching a hot pan, though Kokichi had never actually done that in his life. But it was just a searing moment of NO before you jerked away…

And, taken completely off-guard by it, Kokichi stopped dead with a squeak, flinching, and by some miracle not dropping his ice cream. 

(...it wasn’t conditioning. It was just...abuse.)

Kokichi wanted to scream and yell and destroy that bastard all over again, wanted to deck Kaito’s whole family in the face, and everyone who had dared spurn the trust Kaito had put in them…

But he sighed instead, feeling a thick lump in his throat. “...you know I don’t believe that. I don’t believe you’re being punished because of your decisions. I believe that horrible things happen to you that you rarely ever had a chance to put a hand in the way of stopping, because other people made decisions and they didn’t care if it hurt you. Because if people really got what they deserved based on their actions, your life would’ve been so much more peaceful, and you would’ve had so many more people actually deserving of the love you have to share.”

...Kokichi felt like he was going too far, like he was going to set Kaito off again. 

“...you’re not evil, and you’re not a screw up, and bad things won’t come as a result of you choosing things for yourself. So...stop asking me to take things away from you.”

He closed his eyes with a wobbly sigh. “...I think we should see when we can go to Dr. Mariah next.”

“...Yeah.” Kaito said softly, “I’m sorry…”

Kaito knew Kokichi was different… but the world didn’t feel different. And, honestly, his husband was too… lenient with him.

Kaito spotted a tree that looked kinda nice, the debate stage far behind them, and gently he tugged at Kokichi’s hand, nodding to the tree, the same way Kokichi had nodded to the bench earlier. Heading over, Kaito sighed and plopped down onto the roots, putting his legs in the usual position they were in when he was offering himself as a place to sit, but okay with it whatever Kokichi decided to do. 

Licking at his ice cream some more, Kaito watched the people at the park…

“I pushed you into the dirt the first time we met.” Kaito reminded Kokichi. “I held a sword to your neck. I thought you were a kid and called you… I don’t remember. Probably a coward or something.”

...this sucked, but...Kokichi was really proud of Kaito. Before therapy...he didn’t even want to think about what they would’ve done to each other, having this conversation. 

Kokichi followed Kaito over to the tree, still licking his ice cream. He didn’t want it to melt, though...it felt kind of weird, having just a nice treat while having a difficult conversation. ...but it was really kind of Kaito to get it for him. 

He sat down in Kaito’s lap, comfortable but not plastered to Kaito’s chest.

“...you did,” Kokichi softly agreed. “It was a little childish and mean, but...we both were. And we’ve grown from then.”

Kokichi glanced up at Kaito for a moment. “...none of that meant you deserved any of the clusterfuck that followed. At most...we both probably deserved a talking to by an adult who actually cared about us and had their shit together, to get out of our own heads and stop being bratty. And that’s it.”

“...yeah.” Kaito knew. He knew that. Technically. The universe didn’t revolve around him, everyone didn’t do all those shitty things because he had done something shitty first and had it coming. He knew that. 

He just didn’t feel it.

“...I should have realized something was wrong on our wedding night.” Kaito said, “You were clearly… something was wrong. I should have known better… and you know what? Even if something wasn’t wrong? I was so fucking… forceful and aggressive and… it was your first time. I should have been gentle… I… god, I have so many regrets… I’m so tired of making mistakes…”

The hard thing about it was...Kaito was a person. A kind and wonderful and brilliant person, but a person that made mistakes and acted out and got lost sometimes, like any person. And while none of those things meant that Kaito deserved all the pain in his life...convincing Kaito that he could do wrong, and didn’t deserve to be punished for it was…

(Not impossible.)

(But something Kokichi didn’t know how to do yet.)

Kokichi sighed softly and nodded. “...if we could? I’d want to do it all differently.”

“...I know it’s something I should probably be more...I don’t know,” Kokichi shrugged. “Tough on, I guess. But I don’t blame you for anything that night. I blame Chisa and Tengan. To me...you were my amazing friend that calmed me down when I was mortified and made sure I got home, and made me feel so...loved and wanted in a way I’d never felt before. And when you did realize something was wrong, you immediately got me help, no hesitation.”

“...to me...there was so much good you did that night, that I can forgive the mistakes, you know? That...the mistakes don’t feel like they were bad. Yeah, we could’ve been better...about a lot of things...but people shouldn’t be punished for not being their best selves yet, when they’re still trying to learn. They shouldn’t be punished for trying to do what they genuinely thought was good, but wasn’t good enough, or for getting caught up and not realizing things.”

“Nothing you did warranted a punishment in the form of everything that happened after.”

Kaito could offer more. A thousand more mistakes, each worse than the last. And that was just towards Kokichi. He could go backwards. Offer mistakes from his youth. Mistakes from a year and one month ago. Two years ago. Five. Ten. His whole life. All of them his own fault. All of them making everything so much worse…

But as Shuichi would put it, after awhile, it was just Kaito being self-pitying and extra.

So he nodded, and leaned his head against Kokichi’s for a moment, taking comfort in him, in his kind words and kind soul.

“...I, uh…” Kaito sighed, bringing his head back and resting it against the the bark of the tree, debating with himself… fuck it. “...I used to play these ‘games’ with Byakuya…”

People made mistakes. People did awful, horrible, tragic things. Sometimes they did them on purpose. 

And for better or for worse...it didn’t mean they deserved anything. Maybe people wished it, wanted to believe in a type of cosmic karma...but that wasn’t how things worked. People could do horrible things with malintent, and they could live happily (...sort of. Kokichi had a theory about those people and how they self-sabotaged their own sense of love and satisfaction, but...that was a problem with them, not karmic retribution). People could live selflessly to their very bones, and have nothing but tragedy fall upon them (and...again, Kokichi believed that because of their deeds, people would want to help them out and things would be okay, but...that didn’t erase the tragedy from happening in the first place). And people could live in limitless fashions and have anything happen in their lives and...none of it would be because the universe had decided to punish or reward anyone. 

...people were the only ones who decided that. 

Kokichi had the impulse to call Byakuya a coward. 

“...games have a way to win,” Kokichi softly said instead. Games had a way to win them. What he did with Byakuya weren’t games.

Kaito scoffed lightly at that. He had wondered about that, sometimes… if the games had really been actually impossible. Sometimes, he wondered if maybe Tengan and Byakuya had even discussed that and Kaito hadn’t been able to listen. His memories of those sessions were both getting clearer and… just, weirder. Sitting and staring at nothing and telling himself he wasn’t hearing things… it couldn’t have actually been like tha--

Kaito suddenly looked startled. “Have I… I told you about the game already? I’ve been struggling to even really come to grips with them lately, I’m surprised I was able to really… even bring it up, honestly.”

Kokichi looked up, giving his husband a soft look. He knew that it was just...well...Kaito fighting against stuff in his own head to even be able to acknowledge things, even if it had started to get better over the past months. “Not...like the game. Or specifically any games. You did tell me that you and your brother were…” Kokichi sighed. 

“...you two spent a lot of time together without proper intervention when you were younger. And...knowing what you told me about how that asshole was “teaching” your brother, and knowing what the two of them are like…” Kokichi’s gaze darkened and he looked out into the park, not wanting to glare at Kaito. “...it’s not a stretch to assume that if you were playing a game...it wasn’t really a game.”

“...I’m sorry, though. I shouldn’t be like...piecing shit together when you’re trying to tell me.” Kokichi let out a deeper sigh, mouth ticking down as he felt annoyed at himself.

Kaito looked at Kokichi’s annoyed little face… and chuckled, grinning as he leaned in and stole a quick kiss. “You’re sweet. You don’t have to be sorry over every little mis-step, babe. You’re easily one of the best people I’ve ever met. I wish you were more smug about it, but nope: too good for that too. You’re so much, sometimes… I’m really lucky to have you.”

Kaito, almost, wanted to drop the ‘game’ thing entirely. He was starting to feel better, and as he always did when he started to feel better, he was starting to resent how he had felt when he had been feeling worse. So his childhood had been kinda weird, sometimes… who cared? The good things had more than outweighed the bad. Why was he burdening his husband fucking whining all the time?

But he also knew that trying to drop it now was probably more aggravating than just talking about it, for his long-suffering husband. 

“But, you were right, anyway… I don’t think they were actual games. Or, well… they were never supposed to be fun. That was never the point. The point was to teach Byakuya how to be a leader.” Kaito said, shrugging tiredly, “At least how Tengan saw it… though, looking back at it? I think… ugh,” Kaito rolled his eyes, annoyed, “I think for him it was fun. Honestly, I’m half convinced now that was the point. I mean, maybe he really was trying to teach Byakuya earnestly, but he kinda went about it in the most obnoxious way possible. That crazy old bastard was a sadist.”

...they still had things to talk about, but...it did feel better now. With that little stolen kiss… Kokichi was glad he was forgiven, and that the anger and frustration seemed to be waning from his husband. Snuggling back, Kokichi hummed lovingly. “I’m lucky to have you too. And while I’m thankful I didn’t hurt you...I should still at least call it out when I notice myself falling into bad habits. That’s how I get myself to stop doing them.”

Part of it, anyway. And...it was better to apologize for something Kaito wasn’t that bothered by, than get used to brushing it off and not call it out when it became Kaito did mind. They were both working hard to be better for each other. They both deserved that courtesy.

(The illusion of choice...something that had been given to both the brothers, though in different ways.)

Kokichi let out an annoyed puff of air, thinking about that dickwipe. “He was the worst. Honestly...I’d even go for saying that everything he ever said or did to you and your brother was complete horse hockey, and should just be disregarded as incoherent babbling…” He sighed more softly. “...but I know it’s not that easy to just let go all the way.”

“Yeah… I don’t know. I really hate thinking it had really all been for nothing.” Kaito admitted, shrugging… before looking actually, genuinely pissed off as he let him expand on that, “Like, cause it’s not like I’m fucking stupid. I wasn’t going through that shit, like, ho-hum, this is fine, I feel fine, nothing is happening. I fucking… knew. How fucking mistreated I was being. When it was happening, I mean. I’d avoid those sessions as much as I could get away with, and I’d fucking randomly just… lose it sometimes. Thinking about them. I’d get mad or freaked out, it’d be like every nerve in my god damn body was on fire and there was nowhere to put that energy so I’d just lose my damn mind.”

“But… I felt better thinking that as bad as it was? That there was a point. I was helping make Byakuya a good leader, and Byakuya was going to make Luminary better… I was helping. I was doing my part. It wasn’t suffering just for sufferings sake, I was being fucking… heroic. Doing the thing that hurt and felt awful and was scary and…”

Kaito was starting to tremble, his eyes reddening… before he scoffed. Aggressively licking his ice cream and wiping his eyes on his shoulders as he muttered, “I am not about to cry in public at the god damn park. That is not what is going to happen right now.”

(A little boy gleefully piling firewood into a study, grinning at the thought of setting it ablaze. The consequences didn’t matter, because it was a desperate attempt for it all to stop.)

Kokichi shifted in Kaito’s lap a little, putting an arm around his husband’s waist and pressing the side of his face to his shoulder. Holding Kaito as much as he could still sitting in his lap. Not being obvious about his comfort to people passing by. He rubbed Kaito’s side and listened. 

“...I can’t tell you what your life experiences were like. What they meant. But...from what you’ve told me, and from my own perspective...it looked like the point of those was to make Byakuya horrible at having relationships with people, and laugh at the results.”

Kokichi sighed softly. “...I hate that those things happened to you. I wish I could just...go back and lock Tengan in a basement somewhere forever.”

“...wanna be locked in your basement.” Kaito said, snickering to himself as he wiped a few more tears away, feeling a little more composed quickly, thankfully. “Is that sexy? It’s kinda sexy. In a fucked up way. I think these go back to my old ganon daydreams. Sexy tyrants doing sexy things… or I could be your tyrant, and not gonna lie, that’s pretty exciting too…”

Kaito was honestly just trying to make himself feel a little better, distracting himself on random horny nonsense. He chuckled at himself wanely. Stupid… maybe he was stupid. But, like, in a fun, horny way. That wasn’t so bad. He still knew a lot about astronomy… and was getting better at cooking! Little by little! So he had that going for him.

“Yeah, Byakuya did grow up to be a real piece of work, huh?” Kaito chuckled, looking a little phased out now. “He killed our parents. Did you know that? Happened like… I dunno. Ten months ago or something. Was a whole thing.”

“...” Kaito chuckled again, eating more of his ice cream, “Do you think I should worry about going crazy, or has that ship loooong since sailed?”

Kokichi snorted and held Kaito closer, nuzzling him more before getting to work on his slightly neglected ice cream. Thankfully it wasn’t melting through the bottom of the cone yet. 

There just...wasn’t an upside to the abuse Kaito had endured in his childhood. The best thing they could say was that it wasn’t happening anymore, and that Kaito had made it out. And while that was incredible!! ...it still sucked that it had happened. 

Lips a little cold but licked clean of ice cream, Kokichi placed a long, lingering kiss on Kaito’s cheek. “If you are crazy, then you’re no more crazy than me. And it’s not so bad. Therapy’s difficult and sometimes leaves you so emotionally drained ya kinda just wanna sleep for a year...but working through something that’s been bothering you for years is a great feeling, and knowing that you’re better equipped to handle life ahead is just...really wonderful.”

Kokichi shrugged a little. “Crazy isn’t the end-all, be-all. As long as you can still reach out for a future, nothing’s ever over.”

“Mmmm.” Kaito smiled at the chilly little kiss-- very his ‘Kichi-- before he said, “Therapy is the answer, but, counter-idea. I punch the king and Secretary Hideki both, just, straight in the face. Once. Each…. Maybe twice for Hideki.”

“Hear me out, hear me out… all my abusers are dead, and man, do those two make some pretty decent proxies for them.” Kaito grinned, eternally wincing at the ‘abuser’ word. That had slipped out of him before he had noticed, and he still didn’t like to think of it like that… but. Yeah. If there wasn’t some big, grander point to justify it all? If all of his suffering hadn’t been for some true greater good, Kaito heroically getting through it for the betterment of all?

Then, yeah… he had just been abused. Which was far less fun and cool and Kaito high-key hated it. He missed thinking it had all mattered. Kaito had been much cooler when it had mattered.

Kokichi snorted again and shook his head in Kaito’s shoulder. ...he was so proud of Kaito. 

(...Byakuya wasn’t dead, but...Kokichi doubted Kaito would ever get the chance to do that.)

“Honestly? You could ask. I think my father might actually go for it, though...Hideki-ji probably wouldn’t, though he could surprise me.” Kokichi knew his uncle, at one point, had gotten into some crazy stuff, but even more of the stories had been about Hideki refusing to get into hijinx without a tangible reason, even if the reason was just morbid curiosity. He couldn’t see his uncle being particularly curious about what being punched in the face was like, though.

“...I wonder how much my father’s actually been at home, the past week,” Kokichi hummed after a while. “This past year has been kind of an anomaly, you know? Usually Aiichi travels all over the place, going to weddings and funerals and inaugurations ‘n stuff… Since they first started the peace talks, though, he’s pretty much just been at home.”

Kokichi blinked slowly. “...if we got invited to that kinda stuff, would you wanna go?” 

Kaito suspected getting permission from them would ruin some of the fun of it for him. So would going to jail, for that matter… if not punch them in their stupid, asshole faces, maybe… make them some sort of pastry? But put salt instead of sugar… then play it off as himself being a dumbass if they mention it… THE PERFECT CRIME! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA nah that sucked. Pastries take too long for a prank like that.

Was it a crime?? To sneak into their rooms and throw mud all over their nice clothes??? That sorta felt like a crime to Kaito, but maybe just because he liked his clothes. Nah, that’d probably piss off Denji more than anyone… focus, Kaito, your husband is asking you a question.

“If you want to go? Sure.” Kaito shrugged, “Are these anyone in particular funerals and weddings, or just… people who ask? Or what?”

...if Kaito wanted to prank his family, Kokichi was all in.

Humming, Kokichi shrugged a little. “Sometimes it’s just people who ask. It can be really special for the leader of Dicea to come officiate your wedding, or say some words at a loved one’s funeral, or come to celebrate a new town rep or the commencement of...of like, a new sewer system or something. But a lot of the time it’s for town reps, or like...union leaders--they all keep in close contact with all the admins so it’s like...half doin’ stuff for friends, and also a good political thing to show that we’re still listenin’ to the concerns of any given town.”

Looking up at the sky, Kokichi considered something for a moment. “...I don’t think it’s exactly right, but...I think the closest thing would be like a rich elite family sending a wedding invitation to your family. You might actually be close, ‘cause you’re in a close status and have probably mingled ‘n stuff, but it’s, like...political politeness. I think.”

“Oh, yeah, okay.” Kaito nodded, relaxing slightly at the clarity. That made sense. Proper networking kept the wheels turning, after all. “Then, yeah, even more fine with it. Going to events like that with you or on your behalf was supposed to be one of my duties as a prince consort. You’d finally be putting me to work.”

Kaito was feeling better. He wished his husband just wanting him to make choices for himself didn’t make him feel bad. Kaito had been trying to explain that he… well, yeah. He probably knew why making choices felt bad, regardless of kind of anything? And he had been going to explain the rules of the games he used to play as a kid, but… it sorta felt pointless, right now. Kokichi was doing his best, but his husband probably couldn’t help Kaito untangle the sheer knots his mind went into.

Maybe he’d bring it up during group therapy… ugh.

Kaito didn’t really want to think about it anymore. He didn’t want his husband feeling bad for him all the damn time cause Kaito couldn’t keep it together. He’d rather Kokichi was just allowed to relax when Kaito was around.

“...your ice cream looks good.” Kaito decided, leaning over to steal a dollop between his lips, making a small little satisfied sound at the taste, before looking to Kokichi and, just as satisfied with himself, took a kiss from him too. “Mmm… definitely beats ice cream.” Kaito decided.

Kokichi laughed softly and placed another kiss on Kaito’s cheek. “As long as you’re up for it. While it is kinda business, they always seemed fun to me… Though I doubt we’ll get any invitations any time soon--I’ve never really been a part of ‘em before, and the whole country knows we just had a kid. In the future, though...it could be fun.”

...it was nice, thinking of a bright, fun future. And while the problems and demons they had to face seemed never-ending...Kokichi felt confident that they could face them in that brighter future too. 

Kokichi couldn’t help but smirk a little as Kaito leaned in to steal some of his ice cream in the most Kaito way ever, laughing a bit as he stole another kiss himself. “Mm, I dunno, but I do want kisses more frequently than I want ice cream, at least.” Eyeing Kaito’s cone, Kokichi grinned slyly at his husband. “Can I have a taste of yours too?”

“Mmmmm, in exchange for more kisses? Absolutely. Little chilly ‘Kichi kisses. Shuichi’s gonna be jealous.” Kaito mused, holding the cone out towards Kokichi.

Kokichi raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as he licked up a bit of the chocolate ice cream. Aaaaaah~ Creamy and sweet and a perfect cold treat~ Though he really had been expecting to be eating it from Kaito’s lips and not his cone. 

However, it wasn’t long before Kokichi was returning there anyway, giving Kaito his promised reward. “Mm, it’s good! Can’t go wrong with chocolate ice cream. And Shuu-chan’s absolutely gonna be jealous. If we include that we’re kissin’ around ice cream, he’s either gonna turn that cute pink and look away as it gets to him, or he’s gonna get pouty until we give him kisses and maybe promise to do something like it in the future with him.”

“Our Shuichi is the jealous type~” Kaito sang-songed out, licking his lips a little to pick up some leftover icecream from Kokichi kisses. “Honestly, it can be kinda flattering. I also thinks its kinda adorable when he gets jealous of both of us towards each other. He gets all pouty, like you said, and wants quick little reminders that we love him too… I dunno, I think it’s sweet. There can be too much of that, I had that with Bailsong, but I think Shuichi does a nice balance of it.”

“It’s alright, we’ll give him plenty of kisses…” Kaito assured mostly himself, looking around the park. It was so nice out. “...I’m… I can’t really think of a good reason to not vote for the roads, Kokichi. Except maybe that whole ‘Luminaries can get into Dicea easier’ argument, which like… kinda fair. We were just trying to invade the last decade and a half. I’d argue some security at least in the roads to Luminary would be important, in case we did ever try to invade again. But ya know… that’s like a separate thing than what this votes about, I think. I’m… sure King Aiichi is also thinking about security, regardless of new roads or not. Those fucking mountains sure don’t make invading any easier… gotta keep that advantage.”

Kokichi hummed in agreement as they kissed. Shuuichi rode the line of jealousy perfectly, keeping firmly on the side of ‘cute’ and not concerning or frustrating. And it made for very cute intimate times when Shuuichi felt he wasn’t quite getting enough attention. Or that he really wanted to give attention to one of them. 

After a few more smooches, Kokichi just rested against Kaito, enjoying the heat and sounds of people going around; the wind and the birds chirping in trees. 

“...if you can’t think of a reason not to, then vote for them,” Kokichi said softly, trying very hard not to let on that’s how he was leaning too. “And...I mean, we’re welcoming Luminary tourists and students and people on work visas and immigrants and...anyone who wants to come. Trying to keep Luminaries out by not making as quite a direct road is half-hearted in the most isolationist sense, and counter-intuitive for what we actually want for foreign interaction.”

“...” Kokichi sighed, his gaze lowering though he still looked out into the park. “...you can’t rush change. But...I really hope people start having better views of Luminaries soon. I guess that’s the fallout of war propaganda.”

It was also just going to be the fallout of two cultures who viewed what being ‘rude’ was in… wildly opposite ways. Kaito could hope the mixing of the cultures made those differences less jarring, but man, there was absolutely going to be a rough ‘in between’ phase.

He had half offered his opinion on the roads to see if Kokichi would try to talk him out of it. Since Kokichi wasn’t bothering, Kaito guessed either ‘Kichi didn’t want to sway him, or it wasn’t going against his own sense of morality. So… either way, he guessed it was okay. 

“I guess we should head back soon. Get back to our jealous boy and our sweet, deeply unimpressed baby girl.” Kaito grinned, “She’s a month old now, did you notice? That’s exciting! I think in a few months when she can lift her head and stuff, we should go get that picture taken of all of us.”  

“Yeah, probably. I’m trying to be more okay with it, but it still makes me nervous to...yanno, not be within shouting distance in case she needs something. Or Shuu-chan needs something. Or you need something.”

Carefully, Kokichi got out of Kaito’s lap and stood, stretching a bit as he chuckled. “...it’s crazy, right? A month… It feels like just yesterday we were all still hangin’ out in Shuu-chan’s hospital room…”

Grinning a little wider, Kokichi held out his hand for Kaito to take. “Got an idea of what you’d want her to wear for a picture?”

“Mmmmm… you know, you once-- at least, I think it was you-- suggested she’d look cute in a little wolf onesie? Now, okay, so hear me out, we take one picture where’s she’s dressed up all sweet and proper, kind of picture we can put on pamphlets for the holidays, like Aiichi used to do with you. But then we take another picture with her in a cute wolf onesie… oh! I could take a pic with her wearing my wolf coat, or, or, she could be on my wolf coat, taking a nap…” Kaito’s eyes were sparking, “...okay, I think at this point I want like five different photos. Are these things expensive? They’re probably expensive, huh…”

Kokichi scrunched his nose as he grinned, feeling warm, bubbly feelings imagining Miyako in cute little outfits. It didn’t render him down like Kaito, and there would probably always be a part of him that worried over her being forced to dress up, but...she was the sweetest little baby in the world. It would be adorable. 

Laughing, Kokichi squeezed Kaito’s hand. “They are kind of expensive, but...I mean, I don’t mind dipping into savings for something special like this. I want Miya to have all sorts of memories she can look back on when she’s older. And for us to coo over and exchange stories.”

“She’s too beautiful not to document excessively.” Kaito said, nodding solemnly. “Just like you were. Like daddy, like baby.”

Kaito looked down at his ice cream, frowning at it a bit. He was kind of tired of it… he better start really working to finish it, or ‘Kichi would fret over ice cream waste. And, suddenly, bidden by literally nothing, Kaito said idly, “I think I’m gonna balance you on my feet tonight.”

Kokichi rolled his eyes a little, but there was a sweet little flattered smile on his face as he leaned against Kaito. Already Kokichi had over a dozen drawings in his sketchbook of Miya, time spent while he was on baby duty, completely taken by his daughter’s presence. And he had a feeling their picture collection would be soon to follow in amount. 

Nibbling at his cone, Kokichi blinked before looking up at Kaito...and blinking again. “...yeah? Like...me standing on you? Like Tim does sometimes?”

“Nah, like, you standing or laying on the bottom of my feet.” Kaito said simply, looking non-plussed about it. Very much just Stating A Fact. “It’s in my head now, so we gotta do it. If you decide to try to stand, we’ll do it on the bed so that if you fall you have a soft landing. Maki and I used to do it when we were little, back when we were a little closer in size and I could still stand on her feet. Maki could do a handstand on my feet once… I wonder if she still could? She was like fourteen? I feel like it’d be harder now, even for her.”

Kokichi’s eyes gleamed with the spirit of competition. Maki could do a handstand, huh?

...though he’d never tried to do one on unsteady ground. Maybe it was something to build up to. 

“Mm,” Kokichi nodded. “Well, I look forward to trying it out, now. Think I could at least, like, crouch on your feet if I can’t stand.”

“...can you do cartwheels?”

Kaito thought about it, “...I don’t… know. I literally can’t remember ever trying before. You?” Kaito grinned, raising an eyebrow, “Actually, no doubt in my mind-- you definitely can cartwheel. I’ll hold your ice cream, babe, go show off.”

Kokichi snorted, Kaito cutting him off both before he could confirm that, yes, he could cartwheel, and, sure, he could show Kaito sometime. But apparently Kaito wanted that ‘sometime’ to be ‘right now’. 

Handing over his cone, Kokichi brushed his hands briefly on his shorts before heading out a few paces on the grass, making sure there wasn’t anyone too close by to collide with. Then, with a few quick, bouncy steps to build his momentum, Kokichi threw himself to his side, feeling the familiar circular force as he wheeled around one, two, three times. 

Giggling, he popped back up before brushing his hands over again, reaching out back to Kaito for his ice cream. “Yeah, I can cartwheel.”

Kaito watched with open affection as, as expected, his ‘Kichi was graceful in his balance. “Heck yeah, babe!” Kaito whistled, unable to clap due to excessive icecreams. As he returned, Kaito grinned at him proudly, “Didn’t surprise me, but man, I love watching you do stuff like that. You know what that makes me miss? Watching you ice skate. God, you’re so graceful, babe…”

Giving Kokichi his treat, Kaito also handed him his treat, saying, “Here, hold it just for a moment babe. Let me see what I can still do.”

Standing up, Kaito stretched a bit. “Alright! Cartwheel!” 

Kaito wiggled his body around, trying to figure out his hips, snorted to himself a little, already knowing he didn’t have the coordination for this, and closing his eyes, he went into a wheel… 

He landed on his butt. Staring dizzily at the grass, before looking over to Kokichi and grinning, “Well? Was it close to a circle? I couldn’t tell.”

It wasn’t. It started a circle and then sorta became a tumble forward.

“We’ll just have to wait until next winter for that,” Kokichi hummed, though he really wished to ice skate again too. Right now the weather was nice, and Kokichi wasn’t exactly dreaming of snow but...well, he might feel differently in a week or so. Whenever the first heatwave hit. 

Accepting both cones now, Kokichi looked on with excited expectation as Kaito went into his own cartwheel. Or...his attempt at one. 

Kokichi giggled softly and went to his side, gently clapping his wrists together. “Not exactly...you looked like you were gonna go into a standing somersault. Which, if you did do it? Very cool.”

“Ha! Yeah, I’ve never been terribly good at stuff like that. I just can’t figure out how to adjust to my weight when I do it… but~ I uuuused to be able to one cool thing that’s close to it.” Kaito grinned, standing up again and giving Kokichi a kiss. “Alright, step back, I can’t even kinda pretend I know what’s going on around me when I do this.”

Kaito stepped back from Kokichi himself too, considered Kokichi, took another step back. Squatted…

Kaito had been fairly confident he could do it before he did, but as he flipped backwards in place, landing on his feet in a thud, he let out a startled, surprised laugh. “Ha! I can still do it! ...phew! I haven't tried doing that in years. Ha ha!”

Going back for his ice cream, Kaito laughed again, “Can only do it backwards, don’t ask me why. I have no idea how to flip forward, just can’t do it.”

“Who-ooooooooooh!!” Kokichi smacked his wrists together harder, awing in wonder as Kaito did his back flip. “Kai-chan!!! That was so cool!!”

Laughing with him, Kokichi handed back his ice cream and leaned into Kaito’s side, nuzzling all he could to convey his excitement. “Front flips are haaaaard, so don’t worry about it. But! You can backflip and that’s super cool!”

Nosing into Kaito’s shoulder for a moment, Kokichi turned away to pop the rest of his cone in his mouth. “You know, seein’ you do that was real attractive. Makes me wanna see what other kinds of sorta acrobatic stuff we could pull off together.” 

...and he did mean that literally, there were some really cool partner moves you could pull off. But he didn’t mind insinuating some stuff too.

Kaito snorted, taking Kokichi’s free hand and starting to walk through the park with him again. “Welllll, they have, like, balancing bars and stuff at gyms, we could go play around with that stuff. You’d do great at gymnast stuff, and I am… strong enough to be able to hold you while you do cool gymnast stuff.”

“...could also go try to work those metal poles again.” Kaito smirked, “If I remember right, you showed some promise there. Put you in a cute outfit, get a nice workout… sounds like all pluses to me.”

“Yeah, no just one-on-one stuff?” Kokichi laughed with a snort. “But that sounds fun. Any chance I get to, like, flip through the air ‘n stuff I’m all for it.”

Giving Kaito a sly look, Kokichi shrugged a little. “Maaaaaaybe. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen one of the ladies we met at the club around the castle--maybe I could ask her if they’re planning on having lessons soon. Dunno how I’d get around to practicing but…” Kokichi winked. “I can think of one thing I can climb with ease.”

Oh! Right! The… the lady! Damn, what had been her name… Kaito couldn’t think of it, but he was sure he’d remember eventually, these things tended to come to him eventually-- THEA!

...not the lady from the club. That was the name of the girl with glasses they used to hand out with in freshman year. Thea. That was right. Man, what did that take… six? Seven months? To remember? Ah well, Kaito got there eventually. Thea… man, hopefully things were going well for her, she was a sweetheart.

As Kaito was mildly distracted by finally remembering the girl in glasses-- hopefully the lady from the strip clubs name would come back to him sooner than that-- Kaito glanced down at Kokichi, recognizing his husbands tone but taking a second to actually register what he had said... Before flustering a little, neck and cheeks going red, taking a lick of his ice cream-- well, more biting into the cone by this point-- as he gave his husband a considering look.

...he couldn’t help it. He snickered, giving Kokichi a curious look. “Someone’s frisky today. Something on your mind, beautiful?”

Kokichi grinned at Kaito’s snicker and pressed to his side. “I just like flirting with you. My husband is so sweet and cute and hot, and I like expressing that, especially when I can get you to smile or laugh or turn red and excited. We’re together! So I like doin’ relationship stuff with ya.”

“Unless it does bother you?” Kokichi asked. He didn’t have a shy or self-shamed tone in his voice, since he was pretty damn confident that Kaito liked being flirted with, but...well, communication was important. And just because someone liked something sometimes, it didn’t mean they liked it all the time. It was good to check in, even if you started feeling redundant. 

“You know I’d stop if it got to be too much for you, or it became annoying,” he assured.

Kaito gave Kokichi a fond, calm look. Bringing up his hand and giving the back of his pinky a light kiss, “My good ‘Kichi. Nah, it’s nothing like that. Just wanted to make certain I wasn’t missing some, I don’t know… major hints being dropped or something. It can be kinda hard to tell sometimes, when you’re being playful versus when you’re baiting me into making a move.”

“Not that I mind that.” Kaito shrugged, biting into his cone again-- burrr. Cold. “It can be fun trying to work out where your head is at. I just felt like asking directly today more for the novelty of asking, if I’m honest. I just feel like following my random impulses today. You know that feeling when you’re coming down from, like, big emotions? That sorta floaty, who gives a fuck energy? I am coasting that feeling right now. Things are very chill right now.”

Kokichi nodded a bit. He really was being playful, but...well. The truth was, most of the time when he was being playful, he wouldn’t mind if it turned into more. He didn’t want to lead Kaito on, and...he didn’t know. He wasn’t feeling like he wanted to makeout and get down immediately, but he wouldn’t mind it if that’s how Kaito was feeling. So...if Kaito took him up on his flirting then...it would just be nice! No one feeling pressured any which way. 

...maybe he should tell Kaito that. He thought he had before but Kokichi wasn’t the greatest at explaining himself. 

But Kaito was riding the aftermath of big emotions and...it was just nice to coast for a bit. 

Nodding, Kokichi pressed against his arm. “Mm, I get it. You think you’d just wanna chill out when we get home? I think Shuu-chan would be happy with a cuddle-buddy if he’s gonna finish his book after Miya-duty.”

“If ‘chilling out’ includes, ‘trying to balance you on my feet’?” Kaito grinned, “I’m into it. We’ll put on a show for Shuichi and Miya. Neither of them will be impressed, but I’m sure we’ll still get a pity applause from the bigger one.”

-

As the longstanding saying went, spring always came; the changing of the seasons was a predictable inevitability. Spring came out of the melted winter and gave way to the sunny summer…

...which always, always heated up much more than Kokichi preferred. And he forgot every year until it was happening. 

As the days in summer went on, Kokichi more and more started kicking their blankets off the bed in his sleep, then just outright refused to put anything more than a thin sheet over them to start out with. The castle windows started to to pop up, being open all over the building, doors left open where they didn’t need to be closed for privacy. PSAs on the community board and throughout town were bright and eye-catching, reminding people to drink water and stay in the shade where they could, touting several different tips for staying cool. And all the ponds started to be packed from sunup to sunset. 

But...it didn’t start being absolutely miserable until the week before midsummer. 

Kokichi didn’t even have energy to whine as he had been doing for the past week. Instead of slogging himself around, complaining about the stickiness in bed as he got up for the day...Kokichi wasn’t even in bed. Instead, he was lying on his bare back in just his boxers on the wood floorboards where their carpet didn’t reach, eyes closed in discomfort as he slowly made a puddle on the floor. 

The days had been getting, in general… a lot nicer.

The sun was always shining, the daylight lasted, like, twelve to fourteen hours, the air was crisp and warm and Kaito, finally, could actually feel himself start to warm up in the sun now. It felt so nice to sit at the window seat with the windows open and just bask in the daylight… which was what Kaito was doing, Miya in tow, right now, as he gave Kokichi an amused look, Miya kicking in his lap. 

“You see daddy, Miya?”

“G-phe!”

“That’s the future leader of Dicea, the country that beat Luminary after a fifteen year war. Brave. Proud.” Kaito smirked, while Miyako started to try to chew on her hand again, as Kaito played with her feet a little, “Durable.”

Kaito, on the usual midnight to morning shift (Shuichi did evening to midnight, Kokichi did morning to noon, and Kaito did the afternoon shift as well, assuming nothing went wrong and none of them needed to cover for the others) with Miya, had watched with some amusement as Kokichi, very much still asleep, had pulled himself out of bed, finally giving up on it, wandered over to the wooded floor, and just went back to sleep there. Kaito had tried to give him a pillow, at least, but Kokich had sleepily shoved it aside, even that level of cloth too much for him. His poor ‘Kichi… the heat was not being kind to him.

On the bed, Shuichi woke up, sweating and a bit uncomfortable himself (he had been spoiled by Dicea’s more temperate climates, and while in Luminary he had been used to the suffocating heat, even he was now having some difficulty adjusting, and this heat wave made him feel sluggish and a little sick) as he looked around the empty bed, before spotting Kokichi on the floor. “...is he dead?” Shuichi asked.

“Maybe.” Kaito said, “‘Kichi? Are you dead?”

“I wish…” Kokichi croaked out, his voice dry and defeated and miserable. Though, even in the middle of dying from a heatwave he sighed, raising a hand just a little before thunking it back on the floor. “...not literally. But I feel like I’m about two seconds away from dying from heatstroke anyway.”

Groaning, he shifted a bit on the floor, but even having his limbs over any other part of his body felt like hell. “Ugggggggggh! How can it even get this hot?! It’s unacceptable…”

Kokichi had looked like death warmed over too when he checked a thermometer the other day and saw it was in the low nineties. A temperature that simply shouldn’t exist out of an oven, he said.

“Mmmmm…” Shuichi considered Kokicho on the floor, sweat pouring down his own face…

“...see that, Miya?” Kaito asked, watching with even more amusement as Shuichi-- the heat being the thing that finally, after all this time, got him willing to sleep without his shirt even if it put his undesired chest out into the open-- got out of bed, headed to where Kokichi was, and with a thump, joined him. Far enough so that they weren’t touching, but clearly trying to find whatever cool spot in the room Kokichi was convinced was there. “That’s your dada. He~... should really not be as affected by this as he is.”

“It’s hot, Kaito.” Shuichi grumbled.

“We’ve been in hotter. Nineties is normal for our summers.”

“Luminary is a hellscape.” Shuichi said, pushing his hair up, trying to get it off his skin. Maybe he should take Kokichi’s cue with that… “And also it doesn’t feel like this in our buildings in Luminary. It’s nineties on the outside, but eighties or seventies on the inside, depending on where you are. This? The heats trapped in here with us. It’s ridiculous. I bet Maki and Tim are suffocating too.”

Kaito frowned at that, glancing at the door. He felt fine, but, well… Kaito was a little more naturally dark than all of his friends. The heat hit him a little different, he knew. Miyako, dressed only in her diaper, didn’t seem all that bothered either, though Kaito was keeping her by the cooling breeze of the window. Pulling her hand from her mouth, Kaito grabbed the pacifier before her startled whining turned into outraged crying, popping in the pacifier to let her suck on that instead. 

Kaito supposed Shuichi was right about the way the buildings were built in Luminary, to keep things cool. Everywhere was made of stone, and he was starting to realize, that really helped…

… Kaito’s eyes lit up.

He knew a stone room underground in the castle. It even had water to cool off in. You just had to… not use it for its intended purpose! 

“Let me check on something. I have a theory, but I don’t want to herd you all anywhere until I know the trip will be worth it. Also I’m gonna check on Maki and Timothy. Kaito’s on the job! Miiyaaaa? You wanna come with dad? Wanna come with dad and try to save your poor daddy and dada? Wanna go on an adventure? Where’s that baby carrier thing… anyone seen it?”

Kokichi sighed, something that should’ve come out as a pleased hum, had he the energy to put into it. Even though he wanted absolutely no contact, there still was something nice about knowing Shuuichi was right by him. 

He’d gone to the floor in an attempt at being lower and not being on cloth that would soak up his sweat and body heat. However...even on the floor, they were still three stories up. Unfortunately, going to the first floor meant having to put on clothes, and Kokichi was pretty convinced that clothes equaled more than two floors of heat. It was just math. 

“S’ridiculous,” Kokichi slurred grumpily. “D’ya hear what they said in the weather forecast? It’s supposed to be like this for, like, five days. That’s murderous. I can’t believe Luminary’s regular summers are like this…”

He didn’t even want to think about the buildings being cooler, though. If he gave himself any kind of fantasy-hope he was bound to really start succumbing to heatstroke. At least he hadn’t gotten any heat rashes yet. 

Groaning as Kaito absolutely just put some hope in his head, Kokichi tossed his head side to side on the ground. “They’re in the closet, hanging up with the ties and belts ‘n sashes ‘n shit. Be careful making sure it’s not gonna make her too hot, though… I know at least some of them are thinner.”

“Thank youuuu~” Kaito said, putting Miya safely down in her crib before going hunting for the carrier. Let’s see… ah, there they were. Little sash like things, with a bunch of sewing techniques that Kaito didn’t entirely understand, but he knew would keep Miyako sturdy and around his chest, laid out in the sash.

Grabbing the white, thin cotton one, the fabric stretching as Kaito testingly put his fingers against it. That would do…

Look, he’d be willing to leave Miyako behind, but if she started crying and throwing a fit? And poor Kokichi and Shuichi had to try to do the usual thousand different methods trying to calm her down, in this heat, pissed off and overheated? Yeah, Kaito felt better to just take Miya with him and let his guys focus on themselves.

Heading back to Miya, her carefully wrapped her up, Miya looking up at him with curious, golden eyes… Kaito grinned down at her, “You okay? Comfy? Alright, let’s get this on me. First times the charm…” 

Kaito, carefully, suddenly nervous, lessened his hold on her, making certain he could catch her if the fabric or the sash didn’t hold… and as she stayed secure, Kaito turned triumphantly. Miyako securely hammacked around his shoulders and laying on his chest as he said, “Baby secured! Mission is a go!”

“Stop… yelling… you psycho.” Shuichi grumbled from the floor.

“I’ll leave you guys some water before I go. Don’t worry, even if my idea doesn’t pan out? I’ll still bring up cold things to help, okay? I won’t take long.”

They were okay to take Miya outside--though pretty much everyone warned them that anywhere crowded would be easier when she was a few months old, just to avoid overstimulating her--but...well, Kokichi hadn’t exactly been rearing to go on any walks lately. He genuinely was thankful she didn’t seem to be uncomfortable in the heat, but he really couldn’t handle it so...no baby walks for him. 

Thankfully Kaito seemed to actually be thriving. The weirdo. 

Kokichi squinted his eyes open, quickly flicking sweat away from his face, and despite the misery he managed a smile at seeing Miya all snug and secure and ready for adventure. Aaaa...Dad and Baby adventures… It’d be a cute little comic…

(Even if the thought of simply touching paper made Kokichi full-body cringe.)

“Thank you, hun,” Kokichi sighed out, returning to his deadened pose on the floor. “Be safe. And I’ll love you forever if you manage to bring up some ice. Helps if you put it in front of a window with a breeze…”

If Kaito’s idea worked, they wouldn’t need the ice… but, it might actually be a good idea to bring up some to hopefully cool down the room before nightfall, maybe make it easier for his guys to fall asleep. He’d bring some up either way. 

“Alright, Miya, let’s go save the daddies.” Kaito grinned down at her, heading out. “Also maybe Aunt Maki and big brother Tim… let’s see how they are first.”

Maki’s room was closer, so he knocked on her door, waiting patiently and still looking down at Miyako every now and again, adoring her, at least for now, calm indifference to being in the sash carry thing. Such a good, strong, brave baby…

Kaito felt great today. He didn’t want it to be because Kokichi and Shuichi very clearly needed him to do stuff today and he was the only person with the fortitude of looking after Miya right now, he’d prefer to think of it as the energy of the heat boosting him up again after so long away from Luminary… but if he were being honest with himself, it was probably the first one. Kaito liked feeling needed… and an unfortunate requirement of that was, well… others needing him. He’d just enjoy it for now, there was no harm in getting the temporary mood boost when the key word was ‘temporary’. His guys would be fine relatively soon.

He only felt slightly guilty when he couldn’t help but grin sympathetically as she opened the door, and Maki stood there, looking exhausted and drenched in sweat. “Oof… let me guess. Sealing closed the window hasn’t helped with ventilation?”

“Shut up. What do you want?” Maki grumbled, her shirt drenched and clutching to her skin. She wasn’t wearing anything else that he could see, likely having literally only thrown on the shirt to answer the door. Which didn’t say good things for her sweating, considering the shirt was soaked already.

“I have an idea! You want to make a trip downstairs?”

“I want to die.”

“Well, no. That’s not the goal. But you want to be cooler, right?”

“I want you to die.” Maki grumbled, glaring at him… “...if you’re thinking of sitting in the kitchen freezers, I already tried. They kicked me out last night.”

“Oh my god, that’s amazing. Did you really?”

“I was hot. They have a cold room right there. What was wrong with me just sitting there?”

“Yeah, the kitchens collectively a bunch of bastards.” Kaito grinned, again, just… SO full of positive energy right then. “Don’t tell anyone I said that, I don’t want Chako to think I mean her, and also I don’t need that sort of push-back from the kitchens again. But, no, as fucking hilarious as that idea is, that wasn’t the idea. Put on a skirt, and… do you want to put on a bra?”

“No.”

“Alright. I won’t stop ya.” Kaito laughed, shrugging. “Though I am gonna insist on the skirt part. You can’t walk around in your panties, Maki.”

“I will walk around nude if I fucking feel like it.”

“No.” Kaito said simply, rolling his eyes. “Trust me, you don’t want that hanging over your head. People get different with you when you have that kind of reputation, and it never goes away… unless you move to another country. Come on, get dressed, I’m gonna need your opinion on the temperature anyway. You checked on Tim yet today?”

“He’s hanging out in his tub.” Maki said, “He was thinking of going to the pond outside the wall. Don’t think he’s gone yet.”

“Awww, my clever boy. Alright, I’ll go grab him, we’ll swing back for you. Get dressed!”

“No. Fuck you.”

“Yes, and no!” Kaito laughed, “Alright, Miya, Tim next.”

Kaito headed to Tim’s room, on the other side of the hallway break, knocking on the door. He grinned at Chase started to bark, muffled on the other side. She had started to do that lately, when he knocked. He appreciated that in the dog, that she was starting to get protective. Though he heard Tim through the door telling Chase to hush as he opened the door…

“...oh. So you and Chase were in the bath.” Kaito laughed, Tim’s legs wet but otherwise in a shirt and shorts, dry, and Chase just dripping. “Staying cool?”

Timothy shrugged. “I guess so.” He said, not looking nearly as bothered as Maki, Kokichi or Shuichi. But that made sense to Kaito. Timothy had spent a lot of time outdoors in the heat, though growing up at the border, Kaito had to suppose that this level of heat still wasn’t a year-around thing like it could be in some parts of Luminary. Still, while Tim looked over heated, he didn’t look as miserable.

“I heard you were gonna go to the pond later. That’s still fine, but let me show you a room where things might be cooler, so that when you get back you have somewhere to cool off.”

“If you mean the freezer, mom and I already got kicked out of there.”

“...” Kaito grinned, ruffling Tim’s hair, “I love you guys. Go dry Chase off with a towel real quick.”

“Kay…” Tim glanced down at the sash, “Is that Miyako?”

“Yep!”

“Cool.” Tim said, heading back inside.

Chase dried and Tim putting on some sandals, they went to collect Maki, who had apparently decided to change into a dress. “The sweat on the shirt was bothering me.” Maki said, “And I’m not putting on a bra or pants. It’s too hot.”

“...” Kaito listened to this blankly, very distracted. She was wearing a sundress. He didn’t even know she still had stuff like this. It was mostly thin straps and a dress that wrapped in bunches around her chest and then fell into a loose, flowey garment. It was… “That looks great on you, I am so mad this is my first time seeing this.” Kaito grinned, “No shoes?”

“No shoes.”

“Alright! Off we go!”

They trio (cuatro, including Miyako… cinco including Chase?) Kaito led the way downstairs, not seeing… really anyone else on their way. Seemed like everyone was holed away during the heat, he didn’t see the usual hustle and bustle of a busy work day. Made sense, and Kaito walked with a little more pep in his step. “See this, Miya? This is the mystical second floor. We never have a reason to explore this floor, so even after a year of living here, dad has no idea what’s on it. What sort of wonders do you think we’d find, huh? Today might be a good day to explore, actually…”

“Dad seems in a good mood.” Tim said to his mom. 

“He’s a freak.” Maki said simply, still sweating profusely. “This heat is ridiculous. It’s like the air’s become thick.”

“I don’t mind it so much, but Chase was panting a lot last night.” Tim frowned, “Thanks for helping, again. I was scared for her.

“She’s fine, dogs panting is how they sweat. And I wanted the excuse to try to cool off anyway.” Maki assured him, wanting him to know he hadn’t put her out. Tim had knocked on her door in the middle of the night convinced Chase was dying because she seemed to be hyperventilating, and… Maki didn’t know enough about dogs to know when overheating could kill them. But Tim had looked hot and she had been hot and Chase haaaad been panting a lot, so they had snuck into the freezer until they were eventually caught and kicked out. It had been enough to cool them down for the rest of the night, at least.

The dog seemed in good spirits now though, tail wagging and sniffing at Kait’s hip, clearly curious about Miyako. 

As they went towards an out of the way hallway on the first floor, Kaito still giving Miya a tour, “And that over there are some of the offices, including the kings and Hideki’s office, around the corner. King Aiichi and Uncle Hideki are gonna be the weirdest alive relatives you have, Miya, so be very careful… oh! I havn’t shown either of you this, have I.” Kaito realized, looking back to Maki and Tim, “Alright… I need you both to promise to keep this secret, okay? It’s a--”

“Hot tub room.” Maki and Tim both said at the same time.

“...how did you--”

“Followed you.” Tim said.

“Shuichi noticed weird spacing in the blue prints and I inspected it.” Maki said.

“He said he didn’t know about the hottub!”

“I told him it was a private bathing room.”

“Oh…” Kaito shrugged, “Alright. Well, keep up the good work, its still a secret though. Now, let’s see if its cool down here…”

-

“What if…” Shuichi blinked tiredly at the ceiling, “...we just… drenched the carpet in water? Flooded the room.”

“I’m already about halfway there through sweat,” Kokichi groaned. He felt about 90% liquid at this point, the rest of him becoming an overheated husk. He’d never gone well with high heat, always becoming overly lethargic and dizzy even before it got to dangerous levels, but this… this was torture. This was hell. And they had five days of it.

Sighing, there was a small whimper in the back of Kokichi’s throat. “The water would heat up anyway and then it’d just get humid too. The air already feels like it’s too thick to breathe.”

Kokichi shifted a bit, wanting to unstick himself from his puddle but not having the energy to move much. “...whaddya think Kai-chan’s plan is? I’m tryin’ not to get my hopes up too much, ‘cause it just makes me wanna cry and I can’t afford the hydration, but…” Another sigh. “...I wanna lie in a swimming pool of ice cream that never melts.”

“Mmmmm…” Shuichi smirked. “If you told him that, you know he’d actually try to do it, right? Not sure he has the power to make it not melt, but I guarantee there would be a kids pool of ice cream in the courtyard by the end of the day. And it’d be terrible. It’d be so sticky.”

“Disgusting,” Kokichi hummed in conference. “It would be miserable and a huge waste of food. But I can dream. And I don’t think it would make things worse than they already are to dream.”

Another sigh. Kokichi couldn’t even bear to keep his eyes open since the gross, sticky feeling of sweat was even in his lid folds. “...I think there are some parlors that do it year-round, but I know I’ve seen ‘em during Zenith… You ever have rolled ice cream? Now that’s something that would get me to sit up if Kai-chan came back with it. But I’d be horrified he actually went outside to get it. Especially with Miya.”

“...I want to say Kaito wouldn’t be crazy enough to do that…” Shuichi frowned, shrugging on the increasingly wet floor. “But Maki tried to talk me into going down into the freezer last night. I told her I couldn’t cause I was watching Miya. She said I should bring Miya. I told her she was crazy. She just shrugged… they’re very strange people, our Kaito and Maki.”

Kokichi sighed again (really, it kind of felt like the only way to breathe when the air was this laden down with heat). “That sounds nice… I wonder who kicked them out, though. As amazing as it’d feel to be in the freezer, there are a lot of food safety issues with that. And probably health...like, person safety issues too. I dunno. I’m not a healer.”

It was part of the reason he hadn't considered filling up the tub with as cold water as he could get and filling it with as much ice from the kitchen as they’d allow and getting in. It would be really dumb to give himself hypothermia during a heatwave. 

Humming at the strangeness of their friends, Kokichi nodded slightly, feeling drops of sweat drip off the back of his neck. “They’re kinda silly. And while I think he’s, like, superhuman for being okay in this weather...it does kinda make me happy that Kai-chan’s all pepped up ‘n stuff. Kinda wish it didn’t take feeling like death for him to get pumped feelin’ all helpful, but...it’s nice to see that kind of light in his eyes.”

Shuichi looked curiously over at Kokichi. Hmmm… had Maki gotten kicked out? Shuichi hadn’t seen her again after she visited. Shuichi had to assume Kokichi had picked it out of her head by accident… but they hadn’t even seen Maki at all that morning.

How far was Kokichi’s range?

Maybe that was an ignorant question. Shuichi knew that Kokichi could drop into Maki’s mind when she was all the way down into the courtyard and they were upstairs. Maybe range was a foolish question, but… idly like this? When he wasn’t even aware he was doing it? 

And he knew Maki had been kicked out, but didn’t know who had done it. So… was Kokichi just listening for specific people?

As for Kaito… “He did seem excited this morning, didn’t he.” Shuichi mused. “I hope he doesn’t overdue it. Kaito keeps talking about how hot it gets in Luminary and how this doesn’t compare, but we’re not out running around outside in this weather either. And indoors really does feel a lot better… it’s really not a good comparison, this heat and our heat. Luminary’s heat.” Shuichi corrected himself. “Plus, this air is ridiculous, and we don’t have anything like it in the capital. No wonder you never bothered to learn how to swim, you didn’t have too.”

“... maybe the heat just makes Kaito feel like he’s back at home.” Shuichi said, shrugging, his skin sticking and making a disturbing ‘peeling’ sound as he did so. “Maybe’s overcompensating, wanting to be okay in this temperature. Like, this is a ‘Luminary’ sort of problem, so of course he can handle it, sort of thing… or maybe I’m looking too deeply into Kaito just being a weirdo.”

“Could be it a little,” Kokichi hummed. “I know I definitely felt a need to be more okay during the winter while you guys were freezing your butts off.” Fuuuuck, don’t talk about being coooooold. “There was a certain kind of pride for me in being used to the weather, you know? And Kai-chan already kinda does that, always wanting the weather to be warmer, and not putting on sunscreen until I needle him about it.”

“...but I think at least partly, he is genuinely more at home in this,” Kokichi claimed. “He has enough in him to not be sweating absolute buckets, and he really doesn’t seem like he’s pushing himself to be walkin’ around ‘n stuff. And considering Miyako, who has no concept of ego or pride yet, isn’t wailing her lungs out...I’m inclined to believe that she inherited heat-resistance from him, and that they’re both, at least, more okay than the rest of us.”

“...uuuuuugh.”

With a great heave, Kokichi rolled himself over onto his stomach, letting his sweat-slicked and flushed back get the grace of open air for a little bit. “Not that that’s a high bar.”

Shuichi had, admittedly, already chalked up Miyako’s resistance to being a weird little plant baby. Maybe plant babies weren’t bothered by heat? He’d have to ask Temp how Addason had handled the heat wave. Miyako seemed unfazed. Even when being held by her furnace of a father. 

Shuichi wondered, idly, if he was still on the pollen, poppies, spores, all of that… would he have heat resistance? They had made him more durable in general. Kaito too. Kaito had fallen down two flights of stairs and landed on his damn back… and had gotten up and walked it off like it was nothing. Not to mention all the blood loss from the over the top blood letting he had been doing at the time. Forget running around kidnapping people, Kaito shouldn’t have been functioning that day. 

… Shuichi blinked.

Wait.

Was Togami a Flora?

As Shuichi stared putting together a few clues from the last year, along with his new knowledge of what the poppies actually did and why (why the fuck else would Togami have been having that… other?? Flora?? Dosing Kaito before kidnapping him? Wait, was it just for the personality effects? Shit, was Togami trying to prep Kaito for having a kid!? The fuck, Togami!??) there was a sound of a key turning in the door.

“Alright! I brought the ice!” Kaito said cheerfully, “Buuuuut we’re leaving it in here to cool the room while we’re gone. Get up you two, we’re going on a journey!”

“....nooooo.”

Kokichi made an odd sort of pathetic noise from where he was face-down on the floor, making no move to get up. “...where? I dunno if I can get up… An’ I feel like ‘m gonna pass out if I have t’ change into my swimshorts to be socially acceptable.”

Scrunching his eyebrows in, Kokichi made a hopeful plea. “...put some ice on my back first?” Sure, he didn’t exactly love it in some contexts, but...if he could just cool down even a little, he could hear Kaito’s plan out, whatever it was. Probably. Maybe he’d just start actually melting into the floorboards first.

“Some things are worth the hardship, guys.” Kaito scolded, placing the bucket in front of the window, “A quick trip downstairs wearing, like… pants. At least. Is worth it.”

“Just tell us where you’re taking us, Kaito.” Shuichi sighed, before squinting at him. “...where’s Miya?”

“Maki’s got her. I’m gonna bring down a baby bag too.” Kaito said, grabbing some ice and shivering, putting it back. Heading to the bathroom real quick, he grabbed a handtowel, heading back and, the towel protecting his fingers, he grabbed the ice again. “Shuichi? You want some ice too bud?”

“I want you to explode the sun.”

“That’d be such a bad idea for so many reasons.” Kaito chuckled, making an executive decision and going to grab another hand towel. Hell yeah, double fisting. 

Grabbing more ice, Kaito went to sit in the puddle between the two men, Shuichi stopping Kaito from putting the ice on his neck, but grabbing the handtowel, closing it up, and putting that on his skin, apparently not quite suffering enough to risk ice to skin contact. Kaito focused on Kokichi then, saying gently, “Ice is coming down, beautiful.”

Carefully, Kaito placed the ice on Kokichi’s lower back, tracing it up the pathway beside his spine. Kaito watched with… some interest, as the skin on Kokichi’s back reddened at the ice’s path. Ooooh… pretty…

“Yeah, so, I checked it out. Guys, it is really not that bad in the hot tub room.” Kaito grinned, “Like, the thermostat down there said eighty. Come on, tell me that’s not worth the trip? We could even put some ice in the tub and cool it down a little more, dip our feet in. Ehhhh? Tell me that’s not brilliant!”

Kokichi’s nose wrinkled at the mention of pants. He’d wear a towel, maybe. Though...his underwear was pretty much plastered to his skin at this point. Maybe he should just change into his swimsuit...even if the trunks were a little long and would stick to his legs and-

“Eep!” Despite himself, and despite the warning, Kokichi still flinched at the ice, the sudden chill shocking him. But it wasn’t long before he let out his tension in a shuddered sigh, groaning at the relief from the unbearable heat. Ooooh...he wanted to surround himself with ice…

...in the hot tub?

Kokichi chanced opening up a miserable eye, looking up at Kaito. “...I don’t think there’s a cold water faucet for the tub. Just ambient temperature...would need a lot of ice to cool it down.”

80 still sounded miserable. It was the kind of regular summer temperature that made him sweat and groan...but keep on with his day. 80 was better than 90. Ten degrees was a big difference. 

Huffing a great sigh, Kokichi started pushing himself up on shaking arms. “I’ll fawn more when my brain’s not fried… Okay. Okay. Let’s go.”

Kaito huffed, “You find a guy a cave with water in it and he just turns his nose up to it. Tsk.” Kaito leaned over to help Kokichi up, sitting him down… before he glanced at the ice. Ugh… “Alright, I got one more idea before we head down. This at least might cool you down enough that, well… you both can get downstairs. Or at least Kokichi will let me take him downstairs.”

“Take me down too.” Shuichi muttered.

“I can’t lift both of you at the same time.”

“Coward.”

“What? I… probably can’t! I don’t want to try while you’re both crazy slippery, anyway. We’ll try some other day. Come on, Shuichi, stop being over dramatic.” Kaito insisted, rolling his eyes as he helped Shuichi up too, who pouted at him.

“It’s hot.”

“You’re from Luminary.”

“Your dads from Luminary.”

“I… yes? Just hold up, hold on.” Kaito said, heading to the bathroom and grabbing two normal towels. Bringing them to the ice bucket and considering it… “What do you guys think about me putting these in the ice and then putting them around you? I feel like that’s going to be too cold…”

Kokichi grimaced as he sat up, practically able to feel the wake of his movement in the air. At least he didn’t feel like he was going to immediately pass out, so that was probably a good sign. ...shit...where had he left his water bottle..?

Looking around blearily, Kokichi groaned softly. “I can make it...Kai-chan’s gonna be too warm so...I can make it. Just need a sec…’n my…” He trailed off indistinctly, too tired and too hot to finish the thought.

Thankfully Kaito was still thinking just fine. 

At his suggestion, Kokichi looked over at him, eyes glittering with the most emotion he’d had all day. “Please. Gimme a shield so we can get to the safehaven Kai-chan found.”

“Heh, alright, one enthusiastic yes. Shuichi?”

“Please, yes.” Shuichi sighed, staring at his hat on the counter before deciding, blegh. No. No hat today.

“Alright, alright, little bit of ice for my little bits of partners… I mean, if this was an emergency? I could carry you both.” He said, carefully dumping both the towels and holding them there, shivering.

“Nope. You already said you couldn’t. You’re now weak forever, Kaito.”

“Weak!? Who’s weak!? I could totally carry you both! But you’re… so slippery! So slippery!” Kaito insisted, holding the towels just a little longer… alright, that had to do it. Pulling them out, he shivered again, before going to deliver, quickly putting the towel around Kokichi first, then Shuichi, before giving them both kisses on the tops of their heads. “My poor guys. Alright, Shuichi, shirt?”

“Yes.” Shuichi said, shuddering at the cold for a second… before feeling his body start to relax. Okay, actually, this was a good idea… “Can we ice the towels one more time before we head downstairs?”

“Sure handsome.” Kaito said, grabbing a black shirt for Shuichi, and deciding to grab Kokichi and Shuichi’s swim trunks. Even if they didn’t want them now, they might want them later. “Let me go put together the baby bag too. You guys want me to grab anything to bring down with us for entertainment?”

“My book on the desk, please, Kaito.”

“I don’t doubt ya,” Kokichi murmured, watching with focused attention as Kaito chilled the towels. “When Kai-chan sets his mind to somethin’, he does it. Especially if it involves carrying us.”

Kokichi couldn’t help the little shudders as he brought the towel around himself, but, like Shuuichi, it became heavenly soon enough. Or...just enough to let Kokichi blink and start his brain back up. Nodding a little to himself, Kokichi went over to the nightstand to grab his water bottle, a big, one liter, tempered glass thing, and plodded over to the bathroom to fill it. 

He hadn’t been drinking enough. Not by a longshot. 

Returning, Kokichi reached into the ice Kaito brought to squeeze a few chunks into his bottle, hoping to cool it some, before he shook his head. “I can’t even think about thinking. As soon as I’m not feeling like I’m gonna die? I’m snoozin’ or chattin’ with ya. Or jus’ watchin’ y’all chat. My brain is done for.”

“Alright, so, a pillow for Kokichi.” Kaito heard, finishing up putting the bag together, grabbing the books, and grabbing one of the pillows, throwing it on top of the bag. “Okay, okay, what else…” Kaito noticed Kokichi’s water bottle, “I’ll go to the dining hall and put together some cool drinks and cool, juicy snacks for you guys. If you guys do end up napping, I might take Miya and go exploring a bit too. The castle’s totally empty today, it’s kinda neat.” Kaito grinned, grabbing the hand towels that had been carrying the ice, dumping the leftover ice back onto the ice pile, and then taking the chilled hand towel and starting to pat Kokichi’s face dry with it.

“You sure you don’t want me to carry you? You swear you can make it down those stairs okay?” Kaito asked gently as he did so.

Aaa...some nice cold juice...or a smoothie… That sounded heavenly. Even if he knew the thing he should actually guzzle was water, it would be nice to shake things up a little with a treat. 

...he wondered how many people were actually at work today. Usually people tended to get the day off if there was extreme weather, but considering the castle, with its large, open rooms, might be cooler than someone’s home, they might’ve chosen to come in, and then just hung around their work area out of habit. He knew at least a few people were coming by to help put together dinner, at least…

...hhhh some cold noodles or...a cold rice bowl or a salad with a lot of fruit or something… That sounded really nice, at least for this moment he wasn’t terribly nauseous for. 

Sighing, Kokichi managed to give Kaito a thankful look as he patted down his face, this contact not unbearable. “If I’m not, yanno, runnin’ down ‘em, I think I should be fine,” Kokichi said softly. “Should get easier the lower we go, yeah? An’ when I’m not fightin’ my body, going down is pretty easy.”

Shooting Kaito a soft look, he promised, “I’ll tell you if I start getting dizzier, okay?”

“Okay. Remember, me catching you and you being warm will hurt less than falling down the stairs… probably.” Kaito shrugged, straightening up after placing a small kiss against Kokichi’s forehead, heading over to check on Shuichi next, using the second hand towel to do the same, patting him dry. “When I did it, not that bad. Probably wouldn’t test that twice though.”

Checking in on Shuichi next, insisting he stay close to Kaito and if he got dizzy to grab him, Kaito said, “Alright! One more towel dump! Then we brave the stairs! I believe in you two, you can do this!”

One more towel dump later and…

-

“We’re here!” Kaito called out to the sitting area before the hot tub room, holding the door open for his partners as he called to Maki, “She being a good sweet perfect baby still?”

“She’s ruined her diaper.” Maki said, Miyako gurgling in her arms, “You brought the bag?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it. Give me one moment, I’ll take care of it. Welcome, welcome, Kokichi, Shuichi, to hotel-- ten degrees cooler!” Kaito grinned, watching his men shuffle in, towels still wrapped around them.

Shuichi wasn’t entirely certain it was worth the whole trip down, but… he had to admit it did feel nicer, now that they were down here. It was more than a ten degree difference, and at least the air in the sitting room was considerably drier than it was their room, easier to breathe in. Shuichi still headed to one of the lounge chairs and laid out on it, sighing in relief as he took off his towel. 

“...probably shouldn’t take off my shirt down here, huh.” Shuichi sighed. “Can’t lock the door down here.

“Also I’m down here.” Maki pointed out.

“...ya know? Don’t really care.” Shuichi decided, “You’ve seen me worse. Just don’t know if I’d want any random person getting a peek at me.”

“I could threaten to murder anyone we hear coming down the stairs?” Maki offered.

“....hmmmm.” Shuichi hummed, considering it.

“Hhhhhhnnnnnn!” Kokichi groaned as they made it into the little lounging area, beelining for the empty loveseat bench and plopping himself down into it. Feeling much less body-shy than his boyfriend, Kokichi let the towel drop off him and act as a barrier between his body and the bench as he brought his bottle up for a long swig, swallowing before dropping his head down. 

...it was still hot. But it wasn’t as oppressive. 

Taking a deep breath, Kokichi looked up and sent Kaito a grateful look. Both for thinking of the basement, and for taking on diaper duty. 

Sighing and getting more comfortable, Kokichi nodded at Shuuichi. “You could always keep the towel, or even just your shirt acting as cloth, nearby and throw it over yourself if anyone doesn’t heed Maki-chan’s warning. It’s too hot for extra clothes.”

“That’s true…” Shuichi seemed to consider it, before looking at Maki, “You don’t mind?”

“Chest out, dick out, I don’t really care.” Maki shrugged, “I’ve seen you naked before. Remember when we went skinny dipping?”

“You know, I think I keep trying to suppress that particular memory.” Shuichi grumbled, taking off his shirt and tossing it beside himself, though leaving his swim trunks on for now. He believed Maki when she said she wouldn’t mind, but Shuichi wasn’t sure he’d personally feel comfortable just… being entirely naked.

Maybe in the water? Actually, that wasn’t a terrible idea. “I might skinny dip in the hottub, so long as its not… actually hot.” Shuichi decided.

“I’ll join you for that. Sorry Kokichi, you’ll have to stay out here. I don’t want to deflower your pure eyes being the first woman you’ve ever seen.” Maki teased lightly, as she handed off Miya to Kaito, who had set up a diaper station on the table.

“...huh. ‘Kichi, have you ever seen a lady naked?” Kaito asked, looking genuinely baffled by the idea. It had never occurred to him to wonder before. “Like… probably no, right? And if yes, how? I need the story. Don’t we need the story, Miyaaa? Yes we do, yes we do, let’s wipe your booty of all the poopy, get you all cleaaaan, wow, alright kid, did you have to go that hard? Lots of cleaning I see.”

Kokichi snorted and rolled his eyes, though he didn’t think he’d join them in the tub yet. He really was exhausted--the heat made it difficult to sleep, and while he’d had his eyes closed, Kokichi didn’t think he got any real sleep after he’d moved to the floor. Stretching out on the bench and dozing until snack time sounded just about like the kind of luxury he could get behind right now.

Story time was good before then too, though. 

“Not outside of art, no,” Kokichi shook his head. “Lake-nee was too much older than me for us to have taken baths together, and even during summer she at least wore underwear when we’d hang out. And I’ve never walked in on someone in the shower or sauna or anything.”

Pausing for a moment, Kokichi smirked. “I mean, I guess Miya technically counts.”

“Are you a little lady, Miya? Miyako, are you our little lady?” Kaito coo’d, finishing wiping her down and giving her little kisses on her stomach and chest, “My little lady. You’ve been up so long, are you tired Miyako?”

She wasn’t, was the thing. She just stared openly back at him, no sign of sleep in her gaze, her body wiggling as Kaito worked. She had already eaten, was now changed, and as Kaito glanced up to see the exhaustion on Kokichi’s face and Maki and Shuichi sitting up, clearly gearing up to follow through on their idea… “Alright, I’m gonna pack Miyako up again, grab you guys those snacks I promised and bring them down, and then I’m gonna go wandering a bit--”

“Don’t go outside, Kaito, it’s too hot.” Shuichi instructed, no room for argument.

“I won’t, I won’t, I’m just gonna take a walk around the castle.” Kaito promised, kissing Miyako’s stomach again as he finished putting on the new diaper, “Also, I’m gonna ask one of the guards to go check on Tim over at the pond. I told him to come back here when he started feeling too hot, but, ya know… kids. Think they’re invincible.”

“She’s really growing up,” Kokichi softly sighed, observing their very much awake daughter. “Can’t wait for the day she wakes up at 5 like it’s nothing. Sleep who?”

...he really needed to get some sleep himself. He was getting a little loopy. 

Grabbing the pillow Kaito had brought down, Kokichi stretched out on the bench, only having to bend his knees a little to fully fit. And with another swig from his water bottle, he gave Kaito a lazy wave. “Mm’okay. But keep a careful eye on Miya--she can’t tell us when things are only a little uncomfortable, and I’m nervous about her crying when it’s this hot out…”

“Have fun, hun.” The general hum quieted down as Kokichi sunk down against his pillow.

-

The castle was so quiet. 

Kaito looked around, marveling at it. “This is the secret, Miya.” Kaito grinned, peeking down at Miyako and gently rubbing her forehead with his finger, checking on her temperature. She seemed alright, and she didn’t look red or struggling or anything like that. Beautiful, gorgeous little girl… “The secret is to be healthy while everyone else is sick.” Kaito laughed, “Or at least not being hit by the same effects as everyone else. When that happens, the--”

("السفينة لك يا صديقي". ضحك كالب بهدوء ، "الأيام الأولى ، عندما يكون الجميع بدوار البحر. كل شيء هادئ. أحب الهدوء.") “The ship is yours, my friend.” Caleb laughed softly, “The early days, when everyone is sea-sick? Everything is quiet. I like quiet.”

“--ship is yours, baby.” Kaito said, pausing for a moment… before clarifying, “You know, metaphorically speaking. Though…”

Kaito sighed as he got to the dining hall, heading in. “What do you think the odds are that we’ll get real lucky, Miya, and literally the one person I can actually have a non-sucky conversation with will be working the kitchen today? If you say ‘the odds are bad, dad’, then you’re such a smart girl, you’re so smart Miya. Such a smart girl… alright.” Kaito sighed, knocking on the door. “Hello?” He called through, “It’s Kaito… uh, Momota! Anyone around?”

It was clear from the moment the kitchen door opened--more than it already was, being cracked open with a tilted dolly--that Chako was indeed not at work that day. The woman who did was taller, hair less blazing, and no-nonsense look not quite as intense as Chako’s was by default. 

“You don’t have to announce yourself by full name, Kaito,” Isabella sighed. She looked a bit haggard, but more or less alright, her hair pinned up and open-cut clothes loosely covered with an apron. And while she never...visibly looked bothered with Kaito’s presence, her expression did soften upon seeing Miyako in her little sling. “And Miyako too…”

“Are you looking for some snacks for the family? Because I’m not going to let you in the freezer either.”

Ah… dammit.

Kaito wasn’t sure why, but he had been half convinced he would see Chako there, even if the odds were slim. She was easily the hardest worker in the kitchen by a long shot (no, Kaito was not biased, when was he ever biased?? outrageous) and he had suspected she might volunteer to work on what would absolutely be a difficult day to work. But… well. It was supposed to be like this for five days, so maybe it was reasonable Chako hadn’t volunteered. 

But, no… Isabella. Not even one of those dorks that were content to just say stupid shit ‘behind’ his back when he could obviously hear (sure, none of that had happened in a long time… but Kaito was fucking petty, okay. He hadn’t forgotten. Snooty little fuckin--)

“Nny-ehhh.” Miyako whined, fussing in her carrier.

Kaito broke out of his stream of thought, giving Miyako a concerned look. She was starting to look fussy. Awww, baby… giving her his finger to suckle on to soothe her, Kaito pouted at Isabella, “Don’t scare her like that, miss. Of course we’re not going to stuff you in a freezer, Miya, noooo, course we wouldn’t.” Kaito gave the woman a slightly reproachful look, “What a silly suggestion. But! Yes, I am here to collect some snacks for Prince Kokichi and the family. I know it’s gotta be a little tough in the kitchens today, I know where everything is if it’d be okay for me to just come in and grab them myself… you all manage to have a full staff today?” Kaito asked, noting the lack of usual noise that usually came out of the kitchen, genuinely curious.

Isabella frowned a little, feeling sympathy for the fussing baby, though she did send Kaito a bewildered look when he scolded her, like his son and son’s mother hadn’t been camping out in the freezer that morning. They would never cease to be a strange bunch. Wasn’t Luminary way hotter than this?

Sighing, the head chef opened the door for Kaito to come in--he’d shown proper kitchen manners all the times he’d come in before, so she could trust him to not, like, hold his daughter over open food to sneeze on. Though, the only food out and about at the moment was a tall glass of lemon water Isabella had been sipping from, a book put to the side next to it. 

In fact, that was the only sign of life in the kitchen. 

“No, it’s just me until 4:30,” she answered, stepping back to the little area she’d claimed to let Kaito get what he wanted. “We talked about holding off on dinner until later, so folks don’t have to make the trek in the worst of it, but it’s more convenient for most of us to be able to run errands in the evening so we’re keeping the normal time. It’ll be the same through the week, so…” she shrugged a little. “If you had any meal plans you wanted to do, let us know ahead of time, and we’ll see what we can do.”

...talking about that seemed to spark something in the head chef’s mind, and as she watched the prince carefully pour out drinks there was a curious look in her gaze. “We generally have a plan, but...is there anything you’d want to request for Kokichi’s birthday?”

Kaito looked around as he worked, a little stunned. Even working the midnight shift with Chako sometimes, there was usually at least two other people doing prepwork wandering around. This was the most quiet he had ever seen the kitchen. Stealing his finger back from Miyako-- she pouted at him until he gave her her pacifier back, washing it clean from the lint in his pocket first-- he washed his hands and set about putting together the drinks first, since that’d be easiest. Water pitcher full of ice, and after a quick request for permission, pouring a few glasses of the pink lemonade as well, before grabbing the packet and refilling the pitcher, remixing more lemonade in before moving on. 

Next was getting the fruits and cutting it up into platters. Thankfully, summer meant the kitchen was overridden with fruits, and Kaito grabbed a good mix, taking care to peel the kiwis and cut them up since Shuichi wouldn’t touch the furry fruit otherwise. “Just you by yourself, huh…” Kaito murmured, again, giving a concerned look around. “Uh, I guess if I could make a request for dinner, it’d be… I dunno, any sort of chilled soup? And bread? I don’t think my guys could stomach anything else right now, honestly, the heats beating them up something fierce.”

Kaito kinda wanted to ask her if she was okay to be prepping food for later in the day all by herself, feeling a vague itch to offer to help, even if she wasn’t Chako and Kaito kinda hated her. But, “Oh! ‘Kichi’s birthday! Shoot, uh… let me think…”

As he carefully cut, swaying slightly to keep Miya happy, he said, “Well, obviously you guys know cinnamon rolls. That’s a staple. What else… he’s been really into fish for his protein lately? Maybe a nice smoked fish, whatever’s fresh? Uhhhh… noodles… oh, that reminds me, he asked me to bring down some cold noodles or rice or lettuce, we have any of that ready to go? If not that’s fine, I’ll just cut up some lettuce real quick. But, yeah, a soup noodle dish thing, he likes that stuff, and… I mean, probably any pastry would make his day, honestly, but he was gushing over strawberry cupcakes, like, entirely randomly the other day. I mean gushing, he didn’t even have any in front of him, he just wanted to praise strawberry cupcakes for awhile. I even offered to go get him some, and he sighed dramatically, like, ‘noooo, I can’t send you out into the heat like that.’ Why talk that long about cupcakes and then say no to cupcakes? Your daddy’s weird, Miya.” Kaito fuffed, finishing cutting up the fruit and wiping off the blade, heading to the refrigerated area to see what else he was working with.

Isabella nodded, considering the day’s (and following days’) menu. Chilled soups were a good option--easy to make in large quantities, filling without being heavy, and, well, chilled. As nice as some grilled or fried summer foods were, no one wanted to eat something hot when the entire day rivaled an oven. They could probably fix up some flatbreads too so they didn’t have to fire up the ovens…

Taking out a small notepad, Isabella wrote down some ideas for that, but started a new page when Kaito started talking about what Kokichi might want for his birthday meals. The young prince had always been such an expressive eater, it was always a joy watching him dig into something he really liked. And he was just a delightful person, the Light of Dicea! Of course they wanted to do something special for him. 

Humming softly as she wrote--cinnamon rolls, smoked fish, soup noodles, strawberry cupcakes--Isabella looked up with a raised eyebrow. “We have leftover rice in the icebox, but...did he just want rice? I can make up something a little more than that--I’m here for a reason.”

Kaito… got a little mad at himself.

Cause of course the response to ‘let me do my job’ wasn’t ‘Let me do mine for once’, especially when one of them had an actual, real job, and one of them was playing make believe to try to appease his increasingly fragile ego. Of course he should just… let her make something for his family. She was the chef. It was literally why she was here.

And he didn’t know how to make cold rice, like… tastier. Beyond making it warm rice and then covering it in salt and butter. So, rubbing the back of his neck and scolding himself, he turned and grinned gratefully at her. “Yeah? I mean, I think all he wants is for it to be cold, but I know he’d appreciate it being tasty too. Anything you can do to it would be a help, yeah.”

Isabella nodded, either not noticing Kaito’s inner struggle or deeming it completely not her business, and joined him by the ice box, taking out the large pot of leftover rice. Usually they always had some on hand from the day before for porridge or fried rice but...those kinds of warm, filling dishes weren’t exactly what people wanted right now. And, well, ‘the family’ when it came to the younger generation of the royal family could be four or five people at the least, so she could give them a little extra. More of a proper lunch than a snack. 

Paddling out a few servings into a mixing bowl, Isabella started seasoning the rice with sesame oil, mixing in black sesame seeds and sliced cucumber and water chestnuts and leftover chicken, adding in a bit more salt there, some pepper here, resisting the urge to put any sort of peppers in considering the palettes of...everyone besides Kokichi, and that anything truly spicy would just be mean. And...really, it didn’t take her more than five minutes to put together the dish, paddling it out into a proper lunchbox and securing a few spoons and napkins to it. 

“This should keep you all sated enough to not have to leave whatever reprieve you’ve found today,” Isabella half-smiled. “Though, I’ll still be here if you do end up needing anything else.”

Kaito nodded wisely, only a little disappointed at how beautiful the display was, especially in comparison to his slightly mis-sized cuts of fruits. Ah well, she was a professional, no use comparing. “Yeah, I’ve put them in a cave with a pond. It’s a little cooler, but this will seriously help. Thanks, miss.”

Putting it all together on a serving platter, Kaito bowed his head to her, “Thank you so much. Please stay cool today, I’m certain Prince Kokichi would prefer the kitchen staff work slow and safely.”

Isabella nodded back. “It’s my pleasure, and thank you for the concern. Keep safe as well.”

-

When he dropped off the food, Kokichi was totally out and Kaito wasn’t about to wake him, just leaving about half of the food and the water pitcher on the coffee table. Then he brought the other half of the food and the lemonade pitcher to Shuichi and Maki in the hottub, who were both… just lounging by the tub, dipping their legs in, naked and now eating fruit and sipping lemanade and….

Kaito had rushed out of there quickly, whispering to Miya with his face beat red, “Thinking pure thoughts, Miyako. Dad’s pure and innocent as a fresh layer of snow. Dada and Aunt Maki looked cute and comfortable and nothing else.”

Flustered and walking it off, Kaito headed back upstairs. Looking around… “Where should we go on our adventure, Miyako?” Kaito asked, still marveling at how empty the place felt. “... yeah, you’re right. Second floor.”

And then, heading to the staircase… he went, “Oh, wait, Timothy.”

Okay, so before that, he ran around looking for a guard, and found Katsuki, who looked basically unaffected by the heat, with the otherwise somewhat odd sight of seeing her dressed down a little. She wasn’t wearing her jacket, her sleeves were rolled up… she had some nice bicep muscles actually, wow. Kaito was sure to let her know, before asking her to check in on Tim. “I have Miya and we don’t wanna take her out into the sun on a day like this, he’s over by that pond on the south outer wall? Basically, if he looks like he’s burning, could you send him back inside? Just wanna make certain he’s not overdoing. Thanks Katsuki.”

She had agreed to Kaito’s relief, and with Timothy accounted for, SECOND FLOOR ADVENTURE!

Waku had never been made for heat. With her love of layers and large ponchos and her thick, multi-foot long hair, winter was where the small woman thrived. So, in 90 degree weather…

Peeking a flushed, weary face out of her open door, Waku sighed at the sight she saw, fitting the feelings she’d felt. Waku was wearing a halter-strap tanktop and a short, ruffled skirt, her braids looped over themselves in not-quite buns to keep them away from her body. 

“You two are way too comfortable for what it’s like today. I can’t even decide if it’s worse than hearing how miserable everyone else is.”

Kaito lit up, grinning wide as he basically trotted over to Waku, saying to Miyako, “Look, Miya! This is dad’s very good friend, Waku! You met her before, but you were just a few days old, and now you’re almost two months old! Doesn’t Waku look pretty?” Kaito looked back up to her, giving her an openly admiring look, “I know its hot and your miserable right now, but seriously, what you’re doing with your hair? I love it. It’s so cute. You beating the heat? I’m feeling pretty good right now, I can make a run for you if you need anything.”

Waku looked up at the tiny baby--though much larger than she had been when Waku first visited--and smirked a little. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone be so mundanely curious. All sorts of new things but you’re just taking them as they come, aren’t you?”

Sighing, Waku grimaced up at Kaito. “I’ve just pinned it up. If you wanna see something cool, wait ‘til Zenith--Denji wakes up at the crack of dawn to get everyone styled since they’re so popular. And, thanks, but you’re too late--Denji and I did Rock, Paper, Scissors to go get ice refills and they lost. And declared they didn’t lose, but I only promised to play them again if they got the ice. I’m a little surprised you didn’t see them if you were coming from downstairs, actually.”

Seeming to think for a moment, Waku gave her friend a conspiratorial look. “...I think you’ll have fun on Zenith. It’s really popular to make confessions, so a lot of people are gonna be dressed up--it’s why Denji’s so popular to style people.”

“Oh yeah?” Kaito said, looking behind himself like Denji might walk in right then and there, though he saw a distinct lack of stylist, “Must have just missed them.”

Heading further into the room, assuming that Waku wouldn’t mind, and if she did, she’d say something, Kaito looked around her room. Lots of water and cups, the usual mess of Waku just living somewhere. Kaito liked Waku’s space, it was probably one of the few places in the castle he felt genuinely comfortable, outside of his family’s hallway. Waku made it easy. He really did adore her.

“Oh man, Zenith is confession season? Oooooh, you’re right, that’s my jam. I love seeing that stuff play out. If it goes well, super sweet and cute! Poorly? Either interesting or, like, tragically hilarious… hey, I don’t think I ever told you! Okay, you gotta promise to not tell anyone if your heart stuff hadn’t noticed this yet, but you know Ryouhei and Takashi? Let’s just say if one of them confesses on Zenith, that’s just them letting us know. They are super a thing, I can guarantee it.”

Amid the water, Waku’s beanbags were strewn about, squished down in the way that indicated they were being used, and in front of one there was a colorful puzzle cube partially solved. Crawling over to the beanbag by the cube as Kaito entered, Waku flopped back on top of it, stomach down. 

Nodding sagely, Waku hummed. “They’re totally boning. I feel bad for Tomomi--first it was Takashi’s helpless pining, and now it’s the UST. But I found out when Takashi-kun came into work super embarrassed over something, and by the way he couldn’t look at Ryouhei the whole day, it didn’t take much listening to figure out.”

Waku tilted her head to the side. “...I think it’s good. Ryouhei’s already used to reeling back the drama queens, so he can reign Takashi in a bit, and Takashi’ll be good for keeping Ryouhei on his toes, keep him awake. They seem to really, genuinely like each other, so I’m happy for them.”

“UST… un...unquenchable sensual thirst?” Kaito guessed, going to sit down at one of the other bean bags, sitting carefully so that Miya wasn’t jostled too much as he gave her his finger to suck on again. “Honestly, Takashi should have just told Ryouhei ages ago, since I get the vibe this is something he’s been sitting on for a minute now. I’ll never understand why. People rarely react badly to a compliment, so long as it’s, like… an actual compliment, and not super creepy… which was what he did.” Kaito said, rolling his eyes a little, “Man, that ‘fake confession’ thing he did at the improv show. My stomach shriveled up and died.” 

Looking curiously at Waku, he asked, “So, you gonna get all dressed up for Zenith? Gonna go out and break some hearts?”

“You know, I think that fits them better right now than ‘unresolved sexual tension,” Waku hummed. Unquenchable Sensual Thirst...basically the honeymoon phase. Basically what Kaito and Kokichi were like when they were together, even almost a year later. Though to be fair, they weren’t like that at the start. 

Shrugging a little, Waku picked up her puzzle cube and started tinkering with it, sliding the interlocked blocks this way and that. “People are scared of rejection--rejection of their advances, or destroying a friendship they value, or being scared of being vulnerable, not wanting to be mocked or disparaged for their sincerity. For as understanding as the structure is of all types, people can be mean towards anything they see as ‘other’. Whether that just means coming from a different place,” she nodded to Kaito, “Or just personally being odd.”

Kokichi and Aiichi and everyone that worked in administration could try all they wanted to make sure that people had equal opportunities and that people wouldn’t be punished for their differences. But sometimes, no matter how many ways you said not to, kids would still jeer on the playground, and people would still gossip with sharp glances in the market. There would always be an ‘in’ group and an ‘out’ group--the admins had just made sure that being ‘out’ wasn’t life-threatening. 

At his curious question, Waku gave her friend a wink. “You know it. I find my fun in trying to call people out on their confessions before they make them.”

Kaito snickered, “Yeah? I’m gonna take that as a challenge. I’m gonna sneak a confession on ya on Zenith, tell you how cool and pretty and awesome you are, up to you to figure out when I’m gonna say it before I say it. Don’t worry, I’m sure ‘Kichi will understand. Sometimes ya just gotta tell people.”

Running his thumb soothingly against Miyako’s jaw as she sucked at his finger, Kaito leaned his back against the wall, “And I knoooow, I know, there’s lots of reasons not to tell someone you like them. I just haven't had that issue personally since, like…” Kaito tried to recall, before chuckling, “Okay, I was gonna say Shuichi, but I’m a liar. Maki and I did that whole dance our whole childhood. But, like, it’s not like we didn’t know we were doing it. It’s like we confessed to each other over and over and it just never stuck. It almost feels like it doesn’t count, cause she knew. But yeah, the last time I had a crush and they didn’t know about it basically immediately? Shuichi.”

“Okay, so… any potentially entertaining couples I should be keeping an eye out for that day? Have any tea?” Kaito grinned, raising an eyebrow.

That wasn’t so much a confession as just what Kaito regularly said to her, but it would still be nice, and it would be fun trying to guess exactly when he’d try to spring it on her. And, really, Kokichi would probably just be enjoying the holiday all the more if Kaito ‘confessed’ to her--Kokichi loved his husband’s love. 

Nodding, Waku was going to say something about how just because you don’t have a problem with something doesn’t mean other people don’t, so assuming that your reality was just how things worked and that other people were being silly (or stubborn or stupid) was an exercise in frustration...but he knew. Kaito was going through a couple different levels of frustration, but he knew. 

Instead, Waku tipped her head back and thought. “Well, teenagers are always amazing, at least being able to watch as an adult. It’s like they’re in their own world sometimes, and relationship woes are the most important things going on. And if you’re looking for something that’s as painful as it is entertaining, Lake and Nazumi, of course.”

“Oh, Kokichi’s assistant Nadya is famous, isn’t she? There’ll probably be people tripping over themselves for her that’ll be fun to watch. Mmm...well, a lot of people tend to hook up after Zenith too, so some of those might be loud enough to notice.”

...The ex-librarian tended to fawn all over her wife, and the wife would get really cute and flustered and that whole business was usually very cute to watch, but...even for someone who usually blurted out weird things, Waku knew better than to mention it. Kaito had started making some really scary sounds the last time Waku had mentioned Miss Umezaki.

“Oh, Nadya’s actually seeing a guy! Hopefully I’ll get to meet him soon, maybe he’ll show up at Zenith?” Kaito mused, lighting up at that idea, very eager to finally meet the famous Conrad! “But yeah, I’m sure a bunch of sports fans are going to take their ‘swing’” Kaito wiggled his eyebrows- ‘eeeeh?’, “at her regardless. And, man…”

Kaito sighed, thumping his head against the wall a little, “Man, the Lake/Nazumi situation made me so sad for so long. They’re so… tragic, ya know? Aren’t they? Am I crazy? Everyone else treats their relationship like it’s ‘quirky’ and ‘shy’, or awkward. But… I don’t know. I got really depressed the first time I realized exactly what was going on with them.”

“...kinda everyone here is really sad. Ya ever notice that?” Kaito mused, “Like, maybe not now. But their pasts? Tragic backstories is the rule. Me and my friends only prove the rule, really. Ya can’t live in the castle and not be a little tragic. I don’t know what Hajime’s tragic backstory is but I bet there’s something there.”

“Oh?” That was news to Waku, and she made a little ‘o’ shape with her mouth. To be fair, she didn’t cross paths with Nadya that often, and the woman was so incredibly professional during work hours Waku didn’t think she’d ever overheard any gossip either from Nadya or about her that wasn’t about baseball. 

Still, being in a relationship didn’t mean confessions were off the table. 

Shaking her head a little at Kaito’s terrible pun, Waku sighed as he went on to talk about Lake and Nazumi. “It is kind of sad, especially considering how they feel about it, but...it’s been going on for years, so I think most people can only laugh about it now. I am in the betting pool saying that they will eventually properly confess and all that, though. Denial may be strong, but I really don’t think they can live their whole lives essentially married and always darting around the issue and never talk about it.”

Things had a way of coming out one way or another. 

Giving Kaito a look, Waku shrugged a little. “Hajime’s kind of insecure, but I’ve never heard anything really crazy from him--honestly, I think when Kokichi got kidnapped on your vacation, that was the most tragic thing he’s been a part of. And I think that fact would make him even more insecure about how much he doesn’t stand out. He’s just a normal guy.”

“Which makes him kind of an anomaly in my theory,” she hummed. “There’s a hefty interviewing process, sure, but… I mean, there are all sorts of anti-discrimination laws when it comes to hiring practices, but you never really know what kinds of biases your boss will have, right? But it’s not like that at the castle. As long as you demonstratively promise to act as a liaison for the castle, they’ll hire anyone. So it’s kind of the safest bet for us traumatized weirdos to come to.” 

“...but it is kinda flashy, and people who leave get really good recommendations, so I can see why normies would apply too.”

“You sure Aiichi doesn’t have a bias towards tragedy?” Katio mused, “Maybe he gets a kick out of it… ugh, I gotta stop doing that.” Kaito huffed, giving Waku an exasperated look, “Would it be shocking to you that I kinda really resent the king? No, right? Because I am sooo unsubtle about it. I mean… I know. I know he’s a good guy, he’s helped a lot of people. He’s helped you, like, he… like, kinda took you in? Sorta? I mean, he raised you about as much as he raised ‘Kichi…” Kaito grumbled.

And then slapped his forehead with his free hand, “There. Did it again. I am constantly taking potshots at this guy. It’s not fair to my husband, I gotta, like… find some common ground with this guy. I know if you ask him he’ll say things are still tough with his dad, but I’m telling you, the guy loves him. I can’t keep trying to low-key trash on someone Kokichi cares about so much, it’s not fair to him.”

“As far as I’ve heard, it was like this during Fuse’s time as leader too,” Waku shrugged, the soft clicking over her puzzle cube providing a nice, rhythmic background to their conversation. “Her husband was foreign and a real shut-in--I think people said the guy had some real bad social anxiety or something. But they would invite and sponsor artist-types, who are always weirdos, and people felt safe around Fuse ‘cause obviously she was sympathetic to neuroses. Was probably like that for Nellis too, since history books always talk about how weird he was.”

“As for Aiichi, a lot of it just kinda fell in his lap. For, like, me and Lake and Katsuki...when we ended up here, we either had people outside who wanted to hurt us, or we were so fucked up we’d end up hurting others if we weren’t with the people we felt safe with so...we just stayed. And for how much it’s explained as ‘irregular’, most people have some form of trauma they’re dealing with. Life is complicated.”

As Kaito self-reprimanded, Waku raised an eyebrow at him. “Well, you know what it’s like at least, since your friends shit on people you love too. But if you think Aiichi really deserves some smack-talk, then don’t let him get away with it. Kokichi will call you out on it if it starts bothering him, and it might actually help you get it out of your system one day when he starts not deserving it. He’s an adult and the leader of the country, he can handle your resentment.”

Kaito winced at the slightly too on point reminder of how his friends talked about his family. “Yeah, well… that just means I know what it feels like. It sucks.” Kaito muttered, before shrugging, seeing Miyako start to blink sleepily, giving her a small smile as she kept steadily sucking at his finger. So cute… “And maybe he does deserve someone calling him out, but… I mean, you just said it. He’s not gonna care. I’ve never seen anything bother that guy. I think I could go and scream in his face and punch him and he’d just give me a long suffering sigh and lightly scold me. And Kokichi would have a damn heart attack watching… not that that’s a jab against my husbands health. I just mean it’ll matter to Kokichi way more than it ever will to Aiichi. The king doesn’t give a shit about me.”

Kaito winced again, before saying gently to Miyako, “Sorry, baby. No cursing around the wee little baby. No mean harsh language for her. Sorry… but, yeah. I think that’s what makes me resent him so much. Like… I know this is going to sound crazy. Because obviously he didn’t.” Kaito said, gesturing meaningfully to Miyako, “But… he also really kinda did? Ruined my life. The guy ruined my life for no reason. Like, the way I hear about it? Casually. He didn’t want me, or need me… there’s no purpose to me being here. Kokichi didn’t want me, Kokichi resented the crud out of me when I got here. I wasn’t needed for the treaty. I don’t even offer any, like… tactical advantages, or political advantages, or even financial advantages.”

“Heck…” Kaito’s brow furrowed, “...you can’t even make the argument he did it for Kokichi benefit. Kokichi was a mess when I got here, and he talked like… like if he didn’t take himself out? He was gonna drop dead of natural causes literally any day now. What, so… I was just supposed to come here, do a sham marriage for no reason, and add one more volatile element to his self-destructing kid who, by the way?? Only just legally became an adult here while I was literally on my way. And that was just going to be fine? No one even supervised us when we were together! I could have been anyone! Kokichi was in danger around me! A-and, what? I was supposed to come here and all of that would have stopped? He’d have just been happy? Better? What if that hadn’t happened!? And that wasn’t easy by the way, Aiichi.” Kaito said, suddenly gritting his teeth, lost in his imaginary conversation, “So I come here, and I marry Kokichi, and I’m, what… his last line of defense? Out of nowhere, without even a warning!? What if I had failed? Oh, here you go Kaito, marry this angry kid, oh, whoops, he’s gone, whelp, good luck figuring out what to do now. Time to make the trip back to Luminary I guess, a freaking… widow and…”

Kaito covered his face, shaking. “...sorry. Sorry. Wow, that came out of nowhere. Sorry.” Kaito muttered, digging his fingers into his eyes, “Sorry, Waku. You didn’t need all that.”

Waku paused for a moment. Aiichi not caring… That wasn’t quite right. Kicking her legs a little in the air, trying to create a little breeze, she hummed, trying to get Kaito’s attention. “You remember when you were telling me about submission bows and all that? And it is just a cultural difference, but...I think it goes even deeper than that.”

“No one here would be caught dead doing a bow like that as an apology here, not if they were serious,” she explained. “Because making a big production out of it, calling attention to yourself, making forgiveness everyone else’s decision...it’s shameful. Being loud about how sorry you are is like...it feels disingenuous and like you’re just trying to garner pity to avoid actually changing yourself.”

“If Aiichi doesn’t react much to you...I don’t think it’s ‘cause he doesn’t care,” Waku said, just barely softer than her usual blunt words. “Him and Kokichi making time for each other, him working with the local religious sect to establish an Atuan temple here, working to understand more about Luminous culture...personally I don’t think it’s enough, especially since those are things that mostly benefit Luminary visitors as a whole, but I think those are his attempts at trying to be a better person than the one who ruined your life.”

But as Kaito spelled out what that situation really had been...those things were nowhere near enough. 

Frowning, Waku waved Kaito off a little. “Hey, you’re almost making me forget I’m sweating out twice my body weight. It’s okay...even if you should really either tell that to Aiichi or your therapist.” Putting her chin in one of her hands, Waku considered it all quietly for a moment. “...it sounds really stupid, when you lay it all out. Like Aiichi was just...kind of half-heartedly hoping for a miracle like in a schlocky romance novel.”

Kaito laughed lightly at that, nodding to the water pitcher, “Mind pouring me a glass while pouring yourself one? I should probably drink some water too. Maybe I’m just feeling overheated.”

“...it was just… it was really hard, Waku.” Kaito said, lightly brushing Miyako’s hair as she dozed, “I have a hard time saying that to my therapist, and I can’t even imagine saying it to Aiichi… other than just now, I guess. Because, I dunno… it kinda feels like a betrayal to Kokichi to admit to anyone how fuc-- fuuuudging hard that had all been. My husbands not a burden, but, man… that whole situation? It was. It was a freaking nightmare, one that only got worse as time went on. Once you add all the stuff that was going on at home at the same time?” 

“Like, everything I just said was literally the situation not counting the fact that my personal life back in Luminary had just imploded in the most irreversible way possible. This was just, welcome! Kaito Momota! To this weird dose of tragedy! Give up your whole life, travel for half a year, marry someone, get to know them just enough so that when he widows you it’s gonna haunt you for the rest of your life as your weird, traumatic first marriage, and then… who knows! Try to live in Dicea with literally no one willing to help you with the culture difference, or take that long trip home, alone, cause Shuichi and Maki are not going back to be Indenturedes, have fun with all that brand new trauma we gave you for no reason. Good luck getting over that! Good luck with the rumors!”

“And none of that is fair to my husband.” Kaito sighed, “It’s all just selfish whining on my part… heh. Maki probably would have come back, actually. She had assassinations to do, after all... “ Kaito rolled his eyes, drinking his water before shrugging, “Again, it didn’t turn out that way. It turned out great, in the long run. But heck, Waku, if it turned out alright, it was despite Aiichi, not due to any help from him. It was despite everyone. I just… I get so angry about it. And I have talked to my therapist about that, and she just keeps saying I’m allowed to be angry, and like… what do I do with that?”

“And if Aiichi really is trying to be better?I got no reason to think it has anything to do with me.” Kaito said dryly, “I doubt the guy even realizes he did anything wrong. It took Kokichi outright telling him that he made him feel resented and unloved for Aiichi to notice it was happening, and Kokichi wore his hatred on his sleeve. How much Kokichi hated his father was literally one of the first things I ever learned about my husband. Kokichi hated everyone when I first got here… or, I dunno. He was playing up like he did. I don’t think even then he really did, I don’t think everyone would adore him so much if he was actually that hateful all the time. But man, when it came to me? I was suddenly the freaking… punching bag of all my husbands hatred for everyone. Like I was called here just to be the one who took it, ya know? So no one else had too. That’s kinda how it felt for awhile.”

“And for fudges sake, never tell him I said that.” Kaito said, giving Waku a wary look, “Again, it’s not fair to him. He didn’t mean any of that stuff, and if I say that’s how it felt he’ll get all in his head about it and internalize it and… I don’t even blame him. His situation sucked, I’d have taken it out on war-mongering stranger who pushed me in the dirt too. Also he just wasn’t well… I just resent how content everyone was to just let me handle it on my own. I didn’t even know him…”

As asked, Waku poured them both some water, pouting a bit at the lukewarm temperature. One day Denji would return with ice...but it was good that they didn’t walk in while Kaito and Waku were talking about this. 

Sinking down into her beanbag, Waku frowned. “...I won’t tell him. But...yeah. It wasn’t fair to you. I can’t really defend myself for how I let Kokichi be…” Waku sighed. “...looking back, I can say it wasn’t right, but...I don’t know how to explain what it was like then. He would just be...you know how he is, nice and thoughtful, but he was always just...kind of aloof. And teens are like that, becoming less interested in some stuff, going all in on others. And then sometimes he’d just be a huge prickly jerk and I think most people took it to mean that he just wanted to be alone, but that he was okay instead of being...on the brink.”

“Part of me wants to say that it might’ve taken someone on the outside to really see what was going on, but that’s just dodging my own responsibilities,” she sighed. “But it never should’ve been all on you.”

“There’s never really a way people recover from trauma, I think. You just keep living with it, and finding ways for it to hurt less.” For a moment, Waku gave Kaito an appraising look. “...I think your therapist might be implying that by letting yourself be angry about it, that anger will burn out one day, but from everything I know about you, that timescale isn’t really helpful. Your anger just goes to the back of the line when there are other, more pressing emotions to feel. I would suggest asking her what letting yourself be angry about things long term is meant to achieve, but I don’t really know enough about that kind of management to give you any real advice.”

“I’m still scared all the time. I just keep finding other stuff to focus on, and by the time the fear comes around again--the long term stuff, not like reactionary fear--I’m just too tired to feel it.” Waku wasn’t really sure her issues with paranoia were comparable to Kaito’s anger issues, but...it was her best shot. 

“Are you?” Kaito asked softly, looking over to her, “I mean… maybe it’s just cause I didn’t know you that well when I first met you, but you were super skittish and prone to running when I met you. But, that said… I was a crazy angry foriegn prince who threatened to kill you with a sword once. Like, that’s a really good reason to be skittish… but you know, out of everyone? I mean literally everyone, not even Kokichi really did this… you reached out to me when I was literally at my worst and most scary. Literally. I was dangerous and you reached out to me. And when I was so sad that I felt like I was falling into a black hole, again, out of everyone, you were the only one that reached out. I can’t really explain how much helping me with my shrine meant to me, especially at the time. It was the… honestly the nicest thing anyone had done for me since I got here. Just a genuinely kind gesture, with nothing attached to it…”

“I don’t know. You don’t seem like you’re exhausting yourself. You just seem really brave to me.” Kaito said with a small laugh, “Like, from my perspective? The bravest person here.”

Waku nodded a bit. Those early days of Kaito being in the castle...and all the panic around the poppies. It was arguably reactionary fear, but those days had been terrible for Waku. She felt constantly stressed out, afraid of finding the Luminaries around any corner, afraid of violence and pain and death and all the things that seemed to follow them around…

...but that was exactly why she reached out to Kaito. 

Smiling softly, Waku chuckled as she buried her face partially in her beanbag. “Aw shoot. You win this round--didn’t catch that confession coming.”

“...thank you, Kaito.” Huffing a little to get over those warm, gooey feelings (it was too hot for warm feelings!), Waku shook her head a little before looking back at her friend. “That was exactly why I reached out to you, you know? I was terrified of you...but I knew how it felt to be the person people were terrified of and didn’t know what to do with. And I remembered how much it meant for someone to reach out to me. So...I thought, why not me this time? I think I read somewhere that we try to grow up to be the person we needed growing up.”

Running a hand through her bangs--huh, her headband was gone too today--Waku sighed. “It’s not the same kind of exhausting as, like, doing long-distance running to avoid doing the dishes. It’s a lot of…” Waku considered her words. “...being thankful. And making fun memories. Going out to have fun experiences with people, or just having smaller, quiet moments that still mean things. And filling my time alone reminding myself of those things. No one’s coming to smother me in my sleep, because Hajime’s bringing us all tea in the morning for our all-hands meeting, and Denji’s going to help me untangle my hair before it, and Katsuki gets too anxious to sleep so she patrols all night and no one’s been able to sneak into the castle in years. I have friends that enjoy me being in their lives, and there are other people looking out for my safety.”

“Instead of fear, I’m loved and thankful.”

We are who we needed growing up, huh? Kaito had never heard that one before. Probably another Dicean saying, but he found he resonated more with this one. It made sense to him.

“That sounds like a good way to cope.” Kaito agreed. Not just blind faith in her friends, but knowing specifically how she could count on them, as individuals… Kaito was glad Waku had that. Waku deserved that.

“... you think Denji, like, passed out on their way back?” Kaito said, halfway serious, their name being mentioned reminding him the stylist was supposed to be coming back with ice. “Should I go check the stairs to make certain they’re not straight up dead?”

Waku glanced towards the door, frowning. “...it’s a possibility. Though I’d bet on them trying to spend as much time in the freezer as they could get away with before whoever’s in the kitchen kicking them out.”

“...would you mind? How’s Miyako doing?”

Kaito snorted, “The kitchen staff must spend so much time checking the freezers on days like this. I’d almost feel bad for them.” 

Making the always slightly awkward climb out of the bean bag, Kaito adjust Miyako against his chest and said, “She really does seem fine. Here, feel this,” Kaito said, heading over to Waku and kneeling down, showing her to put her hand against the bottom part of the carrier, where Miyako’s back laid against it. Placing her hand against Miyako’s back, it was easy to feel Miyako’s steady, calm breathing. “That’s why I’m laying my hand here all the time. And, if you brush your thumb on her forehead?”

Kaito showed her where, brushing his thumb over her temple, Miyako looked undisturbed by the touch, sleeping soundly, “Like… I’m not crazy, right? She really does feel fine… though, I guess I’m not really the expert at being able to tell when a baby’s too warm… how about this.” Kaito mused, mostly talking to himself, giving his daughter a soft but concerned look, “I’ll go check on Denji, make sure their alive and help them get back here. And after that I’ll swing by medical and see if they maybe have any cooling packs or something I can wrap outside the carrier. She’ll be the chilliest person in all the castle today. That makes sense, right?”

Peeling herself up, Waku followed Kaito’s instructions and gently touched Miyako, her face softening in slight awe over being so close to such a tiny being. And...Kaito was right. Against all odds, she seemed just fine, comfortably snoozing away and content to be held close to her dad’s chest. 

Groaning out a soft laugh, Waku sat back on her beanbag, giving Kaito a fond look. “You don’t know how jealous that makes me--a cooling pack pretty much the size of my body? Miyako doesn’t know how good she has it.”

“She does seem alright so…” The small woman shrugged. “You’re her dad. You might not be a baby doctor, but you know your daughter. Hope you don’t have to carry Denji up.”

Kaito felt proud at that idea. Miyako had it good… heck yeah she did. Kaito wanted her to be the happiest baby forever. Sure, ‘happy’ was a subjective term for his currently entirely uninterested in the world and fussy baby, but, well… like Waku said. She just didn’t know how good she had it yet. 

“Alright, I’ll be back.” Kaito promised, standing up and heading out. 

Once again, Kaito looked around, soothed by how empty everything was. Slightly humming to himself, Kaito headed down the hallway, turning the corner to head towards the stairs… before, almost idly, he called out, “Deeeeenjiiiii… you out here?”

There was a resounding groan in response, and with a few plodding steps, a familiar blond head peeked up from around the turn of the stairs. “I’m coming. Did Waku seriously send you to scoot me along? Course I’m not going to be sprinting around today…”

While their tongue hadn’t lost any bite, Denji looked just as miserable as anyone that day. Around the time they’ve given Kokichi his new haircut, they’d given themselves one too, keeping more or less the same silhouette, but chopping off all the extra hair that made up the braided crown they usually wore. Now the short strands were plastered around their face, and while Denji was a rare sight without gloves they were far more covered up than most residents. Though, the large, flowy robes seemed quite cool, seeming to billow around the stylist’s body rather than stick to it. 

It did kind of make them look like a walking cloud, though. Or those pretty drawings of classic mermaids. 

Holding up a pitcher full of ice in victory, Denji gave Kaito a nod of greeting. “Aren’t you looking like the energetic one today.”

“I am!” Kaito said brightly, admiring Denji’s outfit. Neat. Very flowy. Shame they looked so haggard. “And she didn’t send me to hurry you, she sent me to make certain you hadn’t passed out on the way back up. Need a hand?”

“How thoughtful,” Denji huffed, though there was some genuinity to it. “Yeah, lemme make some use of those muscles my dear brother’s always fawning over. I’m done dragging myself up these stairs.”

Extending their arm not holding the pitcher, Denji waited to get a little help.

Kaito considered their size a moment… yeah. It’d be fine. Steadying Miyako with his other hand, moving her slightly to the other side of his chest so she wouldn’t be jostled by accident, Kaito said, “Alright. Keep hold of the pitcher.”

And with that as a warning, Kaito swept them up, putting his arm below their backside and letting them catch themselves around his shoulder as he sat them against his hip. Giving himself a moment to steady himself-- they were not ‘Kichi size and weight-- Kaito made sure he could actually handle the weight… yeah. Easy enough.

“Alright, back to Waku.” Kaito said, heading back down the hall.

“Uuuwa-ah!”

Denji had meant for Kaito to give them a hand, to let them lean on him a little to get up the last bit of the stairs. And...Denji was by no means a Dicean giant, but they were a respectable mid-size, and while they weren’t a gym nut, they kept fit enough just by the demands of someone interested in making their own clothes. Sure, Lake could lift them, but she was freakishly strong, and otherwise Denji wasn’t used to being lifted. 

Wow. They knew the muscles weren’t for show, but wow.

Recovering with an amused look, Denji kept themself still and perched in Kaito’s arms. “Ah, I can see why Kokichi likes this so much. Definitely better than taking the stairs.”

“Actually, it’s kinda hit or miss if Kokichi likes this, on a given day.” Kaito admitted, checking on Miyako again. She had shifted slightly, but still seemed contently asleep. Good baby. “I like carrying Kokichi way more than he likes to be carried. He more indulges me than anything.”

Kaito knew that wasn’t entirely true, but he felt it was true enough to want to let people know. His husband being carried around all the time wasn’t Kokichi wanting (or needing) it all the time. It was Kaito wanting it. He liked being close to his husband, and ‘Kichi was ever patient and ever accomodating with him.

“Waku!” Kaito called out before he got to the door, triumphantly arriving with her prize, Denji and, arguably more exciting, the ice, “Found them. Thankfully they were not dead, just slow.”

Denji nodded consideringly. “That sounds like him. Still, I do know he definitely appreciates what he has in you. I’d be appalled if he didn’t.” True himbos needed to be properly appreciated, and even if Denji hadn’t ended up with one, and Kokichi who had always been looking to other types had, that respect was still due.

When they got back to Waku’s room, the woman looked up with a gleam in her eyes, immediately holding out her water cup for some of that sweet, sweet ice. “Thanks, Kaito. Glad you’re alright, Den.”

Dropping out of Kaito’s arms, Denji rolled their eyes and set the pitcher down for Waku to scoop out her own ice, shaking out their hand a little before whipping out a large, personal silk fan, starting to fan themself. “Appreciate that you were so concerned. There was a reason neither of us wanted to leave to get it, cut me some slack.”

Shaking their head, they turned to give Kaito a slight smile. “Thank you, though. I’ll be sure to brag about it later.”

“What are you up to, though?” they raised an eyebrow. “Obviously spending time with Waku is no abnormality, but I’d think you’d be fawning over Kokichi in this heat. I’ve never once convinced him to put on clothes during a heat wave.”

“I’ve hidden ‘Kichi in a cave with the rest of my family, so now he’s taking a nap while Maki and Shuichi are spending some time in the water.” Kaito explained, “It’s not a perfect solution, the temperature’s too hot there too. But I’ve left them a lot of chilled food and drinks and beyond…” Kaito looked pointedly at the fan, considering, “...maybe a few more tricks to help them out, there’s not much more I can do by hovering. I think I’ll take a quick trip to bring them down a bucket of ice to dip towels and handtowels in and keep refreshing that every now and again, now that the ideas occurred to me, but beyond that I think me fretting over ‘Kichi right now would keep him awake and frustrated more than anything.” 

“But, also?” Kaito shrugged, “There’s, uh… not too many opportunities to walk around the castle during the day without people… kinda everywhere, ya know?” People who made Kaito feel self-conscious and second guessing his actions and the impression he was leaving, constantly. “So, I thought it’d be fun to walk around the castle while it was bare bones! For the novelty! Take Miyako exploring. Even if she’s gonna be a snoozy baby through it~”

“Alright, so are you two good? Sure you don’t need anything before I move on?”

Waku raised an amused eyebrow but it wasn’t long before Denji’s eyes lit with recognition, and they murmured a decisive, “The basement lounge,” to Waku with a nod. A pretty good idea, if it really was cooler. While the lounge and hot tub were open to castle residents--whom Waku and Denji both were--neither of them really spent much time down there. While it was cozy and homey, the idea of being in a windowless basement stressed Waku out too much, and for spending their leisure time, Denji would much rather spend time with people than soak in a hot tub. 

However, the novelty of seeing the castle doing its best impression of a ghost town--even if it was just that its residents were just in their rooms--was something both of them understood. 

“It is weird, isn’t it?” Waku hummed. “Obviously people are around, but they’re all hiding out, and people aren’t coming and going all day.”

“Almost feels like a completely different place,” Denji agreed. 

Conferring for a moment, both of them decided they didn’t need anything with the fresh ice delivery, and they waved their goodbyes to Kaito, bidding him to be safe in the heat and have fun in his exploration.

Giving them a wave, Kaito headed off.

The first thing he did was head to the medical wing, catching one of the healers as he hung out by the window, an ice pack on his head. Kaito explained the situation, and after some deliberating back and forth, the healer taking Miyako temperature by placing a thermostat under her armpit-- (“Eh!” “I know, I know Miya, just give him a minute, come on, you’re okay… Miiiiiyaaaa~”) and finding it, surprisingly, not outrageous, still worked with Kaito to set up an ice pack around the carrier, buffered by a cloth pad. 

“Not too hot, not too cold, huh Miya?” Kaito asked, holding her while the healer set it up. “Alright, let’s see if this works. You’re gonna be a very comfy baby if so, huh? Did dad do good, Miya? ...oh, speaking of. I’m gonna take a wild guess and assume I might need some lotion for sunburns. My kid decided to go run around. Ha! Only true Luminary among them, I swear. Even my Maki’s all grumpy in the heat.”

Kaito shook his head, clearly tsking at them, before collecting the lotion and putting Miyako back in her carrier. Honestly, the icepack next to his chest wasn’t doing him any trouble either, and giving the healer warm regards, he headed down. On the way, he stopped by the dining hall to get another bucket of ice, before heading down with it… “Hey kid. You alright?”

Timothy, indeed pretty red in the face and shoulders, reading a book as Chase panted and rested next to him on one of the lounging chairs--a bowl of water next to her-- gave Kaito a disgruntled look. “Mom and Uncle Shuichi are naked in the other room.”

“I’m so sorry.” Kaito said genuinely, heading to the lockers to collect the towels and hand towels, “Also, come here. Let me show you the ice dump trick with these towels, it’ll help if you put them around your shoulders and stuff. And also I’m gonna put this lotion on you, since you got some color out there. It’ll help with the sting.” Kaito glanced over at Kokichi, who was still snoozing, “Do me a favor, kid? Make certain next time your uncle wakes up he eats and drinks a bit, he tends to forget when he’s uncomfortable. That’s my boy.”

That taken care of, Kaito headed out again… alright… where to explore next…

-

Malcolm really had been trying to get sober over the past few months. He knew it wasn’t really an answer to just get blasted out of his mind to...well, to avoid living, really, and while working at a bar had instilled a lot of bad habits and let him get away with more, the folks at the castle were real hard-asses. And, also, being a librarian meant he had a lot of data to read all the time, and having his head swimming made that a nightmare. 

But there was no nightmare like today. With the sun blazing high, people were too fed up to do a lot of their regular hobbies so, instead of like many residents who had the day off, the library was still seeing traffic. 

And he didn’t even have a hard lemonade or anything to get by with. 

Leaving his thin overshirt by the front desk--really just to keep him from sticking to the chair--Malcolm sluggishly walked the aisles of the library, making sure no one had passed out between the shelves. Even if that was starting to look like a damn good idea right about then.

Kaito had been a little disappointed to see that there was still people in the library. He had been half hoping it’d be closed and he could sneak in, making use of that universal key Shuichi still thought Kaito didn’t know about. 

Kaito had half-stolen that thing ages ago, and kept waiting for Shuichi to notice. It wasn’t that he was… trying to alarm his boyfriend. He had, at the time, been just a little pissed off that Shuichi had something like that and had been content to never tell Kaito about it. He didn’t know if Shuichi had just never thought to mention it, or was keeping it secret for a reason, or what, but… well, Kaito was just looking forward to the day where Shuichi might ask ‘has anyone seen this key I keep in the letter box,’ and Kaito could casually just say, ‘oh, this key? The one that opens every room? Shoot, yeah, totally forgot I had it, handsome, here you go. No big deal.’

Like, ha! Kaito was in on the secret too! For once.

But, the library was not only open, but, at least in comparison to everywhere else, bustling. And Kaito could see why. Big room, open windows, books… it wasn’t much cooler here than anywhere else, but at least it was slightly more breathable and came with entertainment and chairs. And all the tables had water pitchers on them. Like, the library was clearly trying to be accommodating.

Kaito wondered what the temperature down in the archives was like right now. Probably roughly the same as the basement lounge, honestly. Ah well.

Kaito had thought about turning around and leaving when he saw the library was busy, but then he remembered Kokichi saying there was a children's section in here, and now that Miyako was awake again, coo’ing softly in her new temperature controlled carrier, Kaito decided he wanted to go take a peek at it.

Now… where… was it…

Spotting Marcus-- that guy was the librarian, right?-- Kaito waved him down. “Excuse me, scribe? Could I get your help? I’m a little lost.” And then, because Kaito wasn’t sure if he had ever met this man beyond Kokichi pointing him out once, Kaito said, “I’m Prince-Consort Kaito. Kaito Momota. Ouma Momota… Prince-Consort Kaito Ouma Momota...” Kaito grinned, “That’s a mouthful, saying it all at once. I have a few titles I could add in too, to really spice it up. My name is Prince-Consort Kaito Ouma Momota, Second Luminary Prince, Luminary of the sta--”

The look Malcolm gave the prince was one of pure desperation. This guy...was far too chipper to deal with sober. Or in this heat. 

“...I’m the librarian. You’re Kaito, yeah…” Sighing softly, Malcolm put a hand to his temple and started rubbing a circle into it. “...yeah. What are you looking for?”

While Malcolm usually looked pretty put together, if not even fashionable, today the guy was shirtless, just wearing board shorts and sandals, though the thin headband keeping his curly hair out of his face was still present. Really, he didn’t look much different from anyone else in the library, only that a chunk of them who’d come from outside the castle kept their protective outerwear nearby. 

...he could hope the prince didn’t need anything from one of the taller bookcases around the perimeter of the library. The ladder to get up there was a nuisance on a good day.

Kaito tilted his head curiously. He knew that voice… where did he know that voice from… well, he was sure it’d come to him. These things usually did. Eventually.

“I am loooooooking fooooooor…” Kaito looked around, like he might just see children books spontaneously appear, “I guess a children's section? A library children's section? I heard you guys had something like that? I just wanted to see what your selection was like.”

Malcolm eyed the little bundle against the prince’s chest. Wasn’t their daughter a little young to be reading? But, he supposed, it was never too early to start reading to kids, and they had a ten-year-old too, didn’t they…

Nodding a little, Malcolm headed on and indicated for Kaito to follow him. “The children’s section is over here.”

In fairness, it wasn’t immediately visible from the library entrance, but...the section was pretty hard to miss. It was brightly colored and all the bookcases were painted with recognizable characters and scenes from well-known stories, all positioned around a few open areas with low tables and smaller chairs and beanbags, and even a stash of paper and coloring supplies and a few kinds of toys. 

While his eyes screamed death, Malcolm had never done his job half-heartedly. “This is the children’s section--all the orange bookcases are non-fiction, all the blue are fiction, and within the sections books are sorted by the last name of the author, like the rest of the library. However, they’re additionally sorted by intended age group--picture books aren’t mixed in with short novels. Are there any particular books you’re looking for?”

...awwwwwwwwwwwww.

Kokichi had probably spent so much time here. He could just imagine it, his little baby husband, sitting at one of these low tables with a crayon, writing all over a policy agreement that stick in the mud Hideki had put in front of him instead of a coloring book. Looking like a little itty-bitty baby professional among his kingdom of books. 

“Look at your daddy’s first office, Miya.” Kaito prompted, not concerned as Miyako didn’t so much as glance away from him, far more interested in looking at Kaito or vaguely up at the ceiling. “This is gonna be your first office someday too. Isn’t this a fun place? What a nice place to have just right downstairs.”

And no creepy librarians that sexually abused her dada in sight! Which was a relief, honestly.

Kaito looked around the kids section, openly admiring it, “This place is amazing. Seriously, you guys did an amazing job setting this up, I’m really excited for when Miyako’s old enough to enjoy this… um…” Kaito looked around uncertainly. “...the kids section wouldn’t happen to have a ‘foriegn’ section, would it? Like, books from neighboring countries, maybe…”

...sure. Okay. 

But it was really nice. Malcolm knew that the other libraries in town did similar things with their children’s sections, making it a fun and inviting place for kids to be, whether they were excited to read or just needed a place to play while their parents or siblings did what they needed to in the library, but Malcolm thought the castle library did it best. Even if figuring out what some of the kids were saying in their recommendations was an effort in cryptology.

Nodding slightly at the prince’s page, Malcolm hummed lowly. “Not a section on its own, no--all the books from other countries would be mixed in with similar content. ...I can look through the inventory sheet to see what particular works are from other countries, though…”

...he really didn’t want to do that. Flipping through countless spreadsheets with tiny text...ugh.

Kaito almost said ‘yes, please’... but then he remembered that today was kinda miserable. For everyone else. Especially for this guy-- DRUNK GUY!

Right! That’s where Kaito knew this voice from. He had heard it in the vents. The librarian struggling with the booze problem. Riiiiight. Kaito peered at him. Hmmm, alcohol with a heatwave… hopefully this guy was staying hydrated. Actually.

“Ya know what, no, that’s alright. Nevermind, this is a tough day to work, and it’s not like it’s urgent.” Kaito grinned, before reaching out and putting his hand on the guy’s forehead. Hmmmm. “You know you’re not sweating enough? Like you’re barely sweating at all. When’s the last time you had some water today?”

While Malcolm was relieved that this guy wasn’t going to ask him to sift through the entire inventory of the children’s section to find traded books, he could only blink in confusion as he pressed a hand to his forehead. ...what? Obviously he was going to be warm…

Raising an eyebrow, Malcolm mumbled, “Uh...like twenty minutes ago or something? I have water by my desk…”

“...what about you? You’re just waltzing through here like it’s early spring. I get you’re, like, from a desert or something, but seriously...it’s too much.”

“Nah, I’m okay,” Kaito decided-- and if he wasn’t, he wasn’t gonna think about it too much-- taking his hand back and wiping it off his pants. “And look! Little baby Miya has her own cooling system,” he bragged proudly, bending backwards a bit so Malcolm could see the ice pack system the healer had set up for her. 

“So we’re both okay. Besides, it puts me in a nice position where I can offer to help anyone else who might be struggling today. Like you! You’re struggling!” Kaito grinned brightly, clapping Malcom’s shoulder a bit, “So! Anything I can do to help? Other than maybe just leaving you be and not having you run around the library?”

Okay, the baby cooling system was pretty cool. It was a clever way to make sure she’d be comfortable throughout the day, especially if Kaito was bringing her along on his...helping people crusade. For people who were struggling. 

Malcolm’s face soured a little, screwing up the beauty mark by his lips before he sighed, resigned. “What I could really use is a drink...but obviously that’s not an option.” Shaking his head a little, the man shrugged. “I just need to finish up checking that no one’s overheated, then I’m headed back to my desk. Then...I’m waitin’ out until the evening shift comes. There’s not really much to do ahead of time.”

...well, he could check on the books that people had taken out to read to catalog and reshelve them but...who had the energy for that? It could be done later.

Kaito lit up at that, “Hey! That’s awesome, man! Heck yeah for it not being an option!” Kaito said cheerfully, happy to hear that the librarian was apparently getting that under control. Kaito couldn’t really empathize with the struggle of it, since rumors of his own alcoholism had been… sort of wildly exaggerated. But even knowing that, there was a part of him that was proud as the ‘other castle alcoholic’. Like yeah! Recovery! “That’s great.”

Taking a look around, Kaito said, “You came from that side of the library? Actually, nevermind, I can cover the whole area. Let me finish the check for you, you go back to the desk and get some water. I still don’t think you’re sweating enough, you need more water to sweat. I never really look through the library enough anyway, going through the aisles will give me a chance to get more acquainted with all the different sections! Right, Miya? Gonna go explore the outermost limits of the library! See the horizons from end to end!”

“G-weh.”

“That’s the spirit! She’s so brave.”

...honestly Malcolm had thought Kaito was pretty out of the castle gossip ecosystem but...maybe he talked to Dr. P or someone. The royal family was pretty accustomed with the medical wing. 

Still...he couldn’t be too annoyed with the praise. Most days kind of felt like hell, and still he couldn’t see why there was an issue since he could do his job just fine, but...it was hard. And...it was nice to have someone recognize that. 

Turning a little pink from something other than the heat, Malcolm shrugged a little before looking at Kaito in surprise. “...yeah? I really should finish it up myself…” Because a librarian’s job was to more than just the books themselves. But...today was already kind of an anomaly for duties. 

Sighing, he relented. “Alright. Thanks, Prince Kaito. Let me know if there’s anything you need, or send people my way if they have any questions. I hope you and your daughter enjoy the library.”

“Will do! Drink some water!” Kaito called again to Malcolms back, giving him a wave before saying to Miya, “He needs to drink more water. Can’t be forgetting to do stuff like that on hot days like this.”

Kaito had last drunk some water… the last time he was down in the basement? Or, no, the time before the last time… no! Waku’s room! Yeah! Hydrated! (Probably!)

The library wasn’t small, but considering he was moving with propose, Kaito didn’t actually take all that long to check all the rows. As he stumbled across more people in the rows, asking if they were good and generally getting polite nods, the only worrisome case had been a teenager sitting in one of the aisles, curled forward… but upon inspection, they were just reading a comic book and hadn’t felt it was worth going back to the sitting area. Which, understandable, comic books didn’t take long to read. “Just make sure you take breaks to go get water.” Kaito reminded them, “Maybe go grab a glass and bring it back here with you.”

And after a bit-- ooooh, cookbooks…-- Kaito reached to the end of the library-- ooooooh… yeah, those books over at the top shelves over there were definitely just smut. Kaito recognized some smut linings when he saw them-- and feeling accomplished, gave Marcus a wave on his way out.

...Malcolm.

Not Marcus.

Marcus is dead.

What a fake thing that sounded so fake.

Kaito laughed awkwardly to himself, before looking around nervously. His shirt was cacked in sweat. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been sweating this whole time. Kaito was handling the heat well, but it was still hot. Maybe he should head downstairs…

...no.

He was on an adventure. He didn’t have to go back.

He was doing something fun! He was having fun. He liked the castle all empty, and it was nice getting to talk to people a little, without it being… weird. Everything was always weird. All the time. But now everything else was weird, so Kaito was… less weird! In comparison! Did that make any sense? Maybe not…

Whatever. He was fine.

As Miyako stared up at him curiously, Kaito headed upstairs. Determined to keep exploring.

-

As Kaito would pass by one of the halls on the fourth floor, he might be intrigued by...a, er, peculiar smell. It wasn’t very strong, and it was only that it was different from the regular smell of the castle that someone would notice it at all. 

And, if he were to investigate the smell, oddly enough...as he came closer to the one room in the hall left closed, it would seem, almost...a little cooler.

Kaito looked curiously at the door, and perhaps oddly, put the back of his hand to it. He had the irrational thought ‘fire’, but… that made literally no sense in this context. There was no smoke, and the door was cool, but Kaito was getting the impulse of smoke. Like this unfamiliar-- and it was unfamiliar, Kaito couldn’t name it off the top of his head-- scent was associated with smoke, in his mind. Why…

Curious and without any sort of impulse control right now, Kaito knocked gently on the door. “Uh, hello? This is Kaito. Kaito Ouma Momota, Prince Consort of Dicea, Second Prince of Luminary, or, uh, ex-second Prince of Luminary, as in, like, hierarchy to the throne wise, Luminary Prince of the Stars, Dicean Prince-Consort of the cacti--”

There were a few moments of silence before a few low chuckles came from the other side of the door, the knob rattling for a moment before turning. And on the other side was Mikaku, glasses perched on his head and clad in a loose tank top and shorts even though…

...it really didn’t seem all that hot in the room. Just kind of comfortable. And while nothing as dramatic as a plume of smoke came out when the older man opened the door, there were a few wisps Kaito might’ve been able to see going out the open window.

But, more tellingly, the smell increased in potency a bit (though still not skunk-levels) and Mikaku’s eyes were a little bloodshot, his pupils enormous. 

“Kaito, Kaito, it’s all good,” the strategist drawled. “What’s going on, kid? Keepin’ cool?”

Wizard-hobo.

Wait, what was this guys name again? Mi...something. Mikodo? Probably Mikodo. Mik-- ”ANDROMEDA!” Kaito suddenly said triumphantly, “That was her name! I knew I’d remember!”

...why had he been trying to remember her name again?

Kaito rubbed his eyes a bit, his head a little foggy. Before giving Wizard-hobo a curious look, noting his pupils… “Man, how baked are you right now? You look out of it.”

Mikaku chuckled a bit at Kaito’s outburst, amused with how scattered the young man’s train of thought must’ve been, especially when he was the sober one right now. At least, he seemed so, and Mikaku hoped, considering the infant strapped to his chest. 

...maybe it was heatstroke. 

“Oh, I’m so out of it,” the strategist confirmed good-naturedly. “The office is only open for emergencies right now, and almost no one ever calls ‘em on days like this, so I’m taking full advantage.”

“...are you alright, though?” Mikaku peered a little closer before remembering himself and lowering his glasses with a small laugh. “I can offer you some water, if you’d like.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Kaito said, looking curiously at the room behind wizard-hobo. “Though, if you have enough to spare, I might take a cup. Though, if you don’t, I can go get my own… how are you keeping this room so cool? Um, shoot, I’m probably letting the air out. Sorry, I had this vague idea there might be a fire in here, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

Waving the young prince off, Mikaku turned to go farther into his room, leaving the door open for Kaito to peek or step as he wished. He’d fanned most of the smoke out, and used a sploof anyway to keep the smell from seeping into anything, but babies were delicate. 

“It’s all fine, and I’d feel better sending you with some agua.” Pointing over to a deep, round pot just off the floor on the side of the room, Mikaku started to explain. “Kichi’s probably told you I dabble here and there in chemical engineering, right? I had some dry ice left in my ingredients stash in my workshop and figured it’d be better used helping me keep cool this week. It’s an experiment in itself, anyway.”

Close enough to the truth, but Mikaku was far too gone to explain what was actually in the pot, even if he wanted to tell Kaito.

Laughing lightly, Mikaku handed over a mid-sized plastic tumbler cup. “Promise, this one’s only been used for drinking, and not for experiments.”

“Knew you were a wizard.” Kaito muttered, stepping inside, looking around in mild fascination. He didn’t mean to overstay his welcome, but he didn’t want to let out all the cool air the hobo had made for himself (if he clearly lived in a place, did that still make him a hobo?). Taking the water, Kaito gave him a thankful nod, before taking a long drink.

“Mmmmm… watery.” Kaito complimented, though he could taste the… tumbler-ness of it. “Thanks… hey, what’s your name? I know you’ve told me it, I know lots of people have probably told me it, I’m sure I’ve literally called your name aloud before… but it’s totally escaping me right now. Mik? Mik something, right? Mc? Mc...muffun.”

Kaito was maybe a little overheated.

Mikaku laughed a bit at Kaito’s observation. While knowing how to brew potions didn’t make you a wizard, the guess was still close enough. 

Looking at the younger man kindly, Mikaku wordlessly offered up one of the ottoman seats set up around the room. “Mikaku Fuji. My parents had a sense of humor--my name means ‘triangular mountain’ in Tradean.”

Settling down himself, at the very least Mikaku hoped Kaito would do better from spending a few moments in a cooler area. “Are you on an adventure today, Kaito? There are many things about the castle to explore. While I can’t imagine a lot of people would think today’s the best day to do it, well, that’s part of the allure, isn’t it?”

Kaito sat down at one of the little cushion seat things-- it looked like a mini elephant, which was pretty cool-- giving a slight, internal sigh of relief as an ache in his muscles he hadn’t noticed had been building eased up a bit. Sipping at his water some more, he said, “Triangle mountain...I don’t know if I get the joke-- oh! Fuji. Okay, okay, I get it.” Kaito laughed, grinning brightly, “That’s clever, you have to give it to them. Ya know, I looked up the meaning of my name ages ago, out of curiosity? ‘Kaito’ means ‘ocean’ and ‘flying’. Or, maybe it was ‘ocean’ or ‘fly’, however you want to interpret that. Maybe someone who flies in the ocean? But!”

Kaito leaned forward, almost saying conspiratorially, “Guess what ‘Momota’ means. It’s actually almost ridiculously on point: luxuriant. Too much! Too many! My last name literally means ‘greed’!” Kaito laughed, finding this much funnier now than he had when he had first found that out, “Wow, right? Isn’t that wild?”

“And yeah! Exactly! Literally exactly that! I’m on an adventure with my little lady here, exploring the castle! There’s, like… no one out there! It’s been pretty interesting.” Kaito admitted, grinning almost lazily, “I feel like I’m running around in, like… a forbidden wing or something. It’s weirdly exciting. Like being a kid and poking your nose where you’re not supposed to.”

The meaning of ocean seemed to fit Kaito more in Mikaku’s eyes, despite being from a desert nation, and all together… “Perhaps it’s a little wild for other members of your family, but...the luxuriant feeling of flying on the ocean? It’s quite the romantic evocation, if I may say. The kind of thing poets write about to inspire great feelings of freedom; or the kind of metaphor ‘Kichi’s prone to when he feels in awe of people.”

The kind of feeling Kaito was chasing in a smaller form in his adventure that day, probably. 

Humming, the freckled strategist nodded and moved his glasses back up to his head. “A certain kind of liminal space, definitely. Even roaming about the castle at night has that kind of quality, but it’s even stranger in the daytime. This space has so many memories of people streaming in and out through its halls, and yet the space is physically empty. It sparks a certain sense of wonder, definitely.”

“Kokichi’s prone to flowery language.” Kaito grinned, both teasing and fond as he said, “Cute little nerd. Though, if he was growing up around you? And, thinking about it… Katsuki too. She has her own sort of… flowery language. Or, maybe flowery’s the wrong word… man, I’m really not even sure how to explain it. She’s really nice, but a little incomprehensible sometimes, I’ve found myself just nodding along to her and, like, no idea what was going on when she’s talked to me before… man, sorry, I was saying something. I might have needed to sit down, actually, I just ran around the library for awhile and I think I overdid it a little… carried Denji around before that. Keep going up and down the stairs. Okay, yeah, I’m overdoing it. Thanks for letting me sit for a second, I’m really sorry to intrude like this.”

“...oh! I was saying! Yeah, everyone around here has sort of interesting ways of speaking. My ‘Kichi came out pretty poetic, probably listening to all of you. Actually, I guess I don’t know that. Have you worked here long? Lived here long, since...” Kaito gestured vaguely around the room, “You live at the castle?”

Mikaku held a hand up, as if to say it was no thing. “I enjoy company, Kaito, I don’t mind, and I’m more than happy to provide a space for you to rest a while. Today is all about relaxing as much as you’re able, it seems,” the older man wryly said.

“We don’t all have the same manner, but we can all be a little long-winded here,” he laughed. “I came to the castle fourteen years ago, though I had lived here for a time in my younger years as well, back when Fuse was around. As much as I enjoyed my travels, there’s a certain charm of home that kept pulling me back.”

...that, and they had needed a war strategist. Mikaku hadn’t trained as one, of course, but he did have the sort of mind for it, and Aiichi and Hideki had desperately looked to a more established adult to help them navigate the crisis undergoing the country.

Sometimes he wondered if Fuse had really thought things through. Aiichi, unfortunately, only did halfway for a lot of things.

“Oh? Queen Fuse?” Kaito said, looking curiously at Mikaku, giving Miyako his finger when she started gurgling and wiggling a bit. She always settled down a little if she had something in her mouth, that and laying his hand on her stomach? Worked sixty percent of the time, which for baby soothing? Good odds. “She’s the one who made the hot-tub room, right? I mean, that’s probably not her whole legacy, but it’s the one I’m familiar with.”

“So you’ve seen the Queen’s era, King Aiichi’s era… you’ve been here a long time. Or at least around…” Kaito mused, trying to think. This was a unique opportunity for him! Someone with history at the castle who wasn’t, like… raised in it. Or something. Or… Kaito frowned. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to grasp at. He just suspected that he had access to someone with a unique perspective on the place, someone who had had a life outside of it… there was something there! A question he wanted to ask! He knew it!

Ugh. He couldn’t think of it though. It was gonna come to him later, when he was trying to sleep, he knew it.

So instead, he asked, “What was she like? Queen Fuse, I mean. I mean, it’s interesting, because her reign was actually relatively recent, and it was a long one too, right? So, in a lot of ways, I have to assume that Dicea as it is now is mostly a reflection of her… that’s interesting. Ya know?”

Mikaku laughed a bit. “That’s probably her least known legacy, considering it’s a poorly kept secret of the castle. But she would be glad to know it’s being used.”

Leaning back a little, Mikaku considered his memories as a young man. He’d been raised in Usott and had spent plenty of time around the castle growing up, and while she had been an incredibly busy woman…

“She was fiery,” he landed on. “Even late in her life, from what I’ve heard from Aiichi and Hideki and others, there always was just...this passionate flame to everything she did. There have been a lot of changes since her passing, but...I believe that passion has stuck around. She believed that everyone had...their thing. A passion or a talent or an idea, that made them special. That was that person’s thing to contribute to the world.”

Shaking his head a little, Mikaku laughed, “It might’ve seemed patronising to some, but she genuinely would get so excited when she discovered someone’s thing, and would go on to emphatically encourage them to pursue it even more, going off on wild stories about how their little skill of, say...making daisy chains could change the world.”

“It’s no wonder she was such a big advocate of opening our borders more and welcoming immigrants. If every person had an amazing uniqueness to them that would change the world, then naturally you would want to nurture as many people as you could.” Fighting so fiercely for magic folk to join human society… Fuse’s philosophy was fine as a philosophy, but on paper, the inclusion and protection of magic folk in Dicea really did change the world, and likely would continue to do so.

THAT WAS THE QUESTION!

“The heck happened to--!?” Kaito paused, feeling like he was jumping to the question too quick without commenting on that other cool stuff. “No, no, wait, hold on, what I mean to say is… Queen Fuse sounds awesome. My kind of lady. She was collecting sidekicks! That’s literally what that was! That’s so cool!”

Kokichi probably already knew, Kaito doubted he’d ask Mikaku a question Kokichi himself hadn’t thought to ask about Queen Fuse. But Kaito still would likely gush about what he had learned to him later. Queen Fuse collected sidekicks! Hell yeah! 

“But, sorry, talking about immagration made me realize what I’d really like to ask, if you wouldn’t mind putting your two cents in. Since the only other person old enough to answer definitely won’t talk to me about it… do you have any idea why Luminary and Dicea stopped, like… talking? Or… did we have closed borders before the war? We’re next door neighbors, and as far as me and Kokichi can tell, our countries don’t know anything about each other. Do you have any idea why?”

Mikaku couldn’t help but laugh a little at Kaito jumping the gun on his own thoughts and he patiently waited for the actual question Kaito wanted to ask, though… Yeah. Fuse had been cool. People had looked up to her so much, it had been devastating for the whole country when she passed away. She really was one of those one-of-a-kind people that she believed in. 

As for talk between Dicea and Luminary, though…

“Ah…” Mikaku hummed, considering the issue. “Well...I can tell you that people didn’t really know anything about Luminary even when I was a kid, and from what I can tell? It was because of a few issues.”

Holding up a finger, Mikaku started with what they had already talked a bit about. “Firstly, Fuse put a lot of work into opening up Dicean borders and talks with other nations. We weren’t an isolationist country, we still had international trade and such, but...well, you at least didn’t really hear about any immigrants if there even were any around, and you would pretty much only find foreign goods in the big cities, and even then it was very few things.”

“In addition to that, though, there just...wasn’t a lot of information coming out of Luminary at all,” he continued. “In a way, back then it was much like how Danganronpa operates today, with the strict flow of information. So, with Luminary not giving out much, and Dicea not taking much, I can see how the disconnect started. There were likely other factors as well, but none I have been able to find evidence of.”

Shrugging a little, Mikaku gave Kaito a small smile. “Before Fuse, Dicea has been inwardly focused for a long, long time. Despite the zeal we have for preserving our own history, there’s a lot about the world we don’t know. Hopefully the years going forward will continue to change that.”

Kaito blinked at that, rubbing the back of his neck as he considered this new information. So, Luminary had information embargoes, huh?

...Kokichi was always so shocked by how little off their own history Luminary knew. Kaito wasn’t entirely certain if no one in Luminary knew Luminary history, but… it definitely wasn’t common knowledge, and Kaito definitely didn’t know anything before Momota history, which was only a few hundred years old…

...which yeah. Was like Danganronpa.

… how had Tengan gotten access to the poppies? Like, steadily? And known exactly how to give it to Kaito to not get caught for so long?

“Um… can I ask a weird question? Or, might be weird… I’m just not… I guess I’m not sure how to explain myself if you don’t already know… sorry. Do you know anything about Danganronpa? Their, ya know… ‘situation’.”

…

Mikaku brought his glasses down, looking at Kaito carefully. 

...naturally, Shuuichi had been a victim of the drug epidemic. But who had told Kaito…?

“...I did some travelling, in my younger years,” the strategist said carefully. “Some of that took me into Danganronpa. As you might imagine, considering their embargos, local and personal stories could get a little wild, as they never would’ve made it across the border. So...I am aware of how different some walks of life can be there, yes.”

…. Was that a yes? No? Kaito had no idea. Maybe? Maybe. 

“Right, right… ya know, maybe it doesn’t matter.” Kaito sighed, “History, right? Wild times. Oh! Did you really used to get Kokichi high all the time? You know, when I first met Kokichi, he took me on a tour around the city, and one of the first things he wanted to tell me about was the hulluciganics you grow at the gardens… can I buy some drugs off you? Could be a fun gift for Maki and Shuichi.” Kaito mused, “Not sure if Kokichi would like it though.”

Most of the time, it was just safer not to talk about it if you weren’t sure who knew how much. But...hm. Perhaps Kaito really did know more about the world than the average person. 

Letting the prince change the subject, Mikaku huffed in amusement. “Not all the time, no. I partake myself, obviously, but I’ve known friends who smoke or use other products to help chronic pain. Other than the massage oil, it’s not something I recommended to ‘Kichi, considering how young he is, but if he was going to experiment, it was safer to have someone knowledgeable helping him out. And I’m not half-bad at baking edibles, if I can toot my own horn.”

Grinning at Kaito, Mikaku leaned forward a little. “If you just wanted straight up marijuana we can make a deal, but if you wanted some edibles or another product, then I’d consider it a gift. Your anniversary both of citizenship and marriage is coming up anyway. Not to mention ‘Kichi’s birthday.”

“I dunno. Funnily enough, marijuana and edibles are the drugs I know least about. Actually, I honestly don’t know a lot about all drugs.” Kaito realized, tilting his head back slightly, “I used to just go to parties and people would just hand me stuff. I usually found out what it was afterwards. According to people the next day? I’ve taken… LSD, ecstasy, and this weird drug whose name I can’t pronounce but makes you sleep real deeply. I think technically my Atua ritual stuff counts as a drug too, but I wouldn’t call it the same thing.”

“But, yeah, if edibles are the same as mariajana? Sure, Shuichi used to really like that stuff. And if not, then I’ll absolutely make a deal for it. Don’t worry, I don’t plan to take any of it myself, I’d just supervise. Make certain everyone’s okay and that someone’s sober for baby Miya. Plus none of them are the type to over indulge and I am, ya know? Safer to make me the sober one…”

Kaito frowned. “I am being way too honest right now. Sorry about that, I get too chatty sometimes. Apologies for the TMI.”

“Ah, you liked to party,” Mikaku nodded in solidarity. As a rule of thumb, it tended to be a horrible idea to accept anything at a party that you didn’t see exactly where it came from, or knew exactly what it was. But, well, young people made bad decisions as a rule sometimes, and if you made it out, you’d have enough bad experiences first and second-hand to warn people against it. And enough wild stories to tell when you were sure they wouldn’t try to follow in your footsteps. 

Shaking his head, Mikaku waved Kaito off. “It’s only an issue if you’ve shared more than you’re comfortable with, Kaito. And, yes, edibles are just the edible form of marijuana. If Shuuichi’s familiar, and so is Kokichi, then they can give you the run down if you’re going to be the trip sitter. Are there any baked goods Shuuichi’s partial to? ‘Kichi was always a fan of my brookies.” 

“He used to really like corn-bread muffins, but these days if Kokichi likes it, Shuichi’s likely to like it. He’s got a real sweet tooth these days.” Kaito said… before laughing. “Man, what a weird day. Here, we don’t have to do this today, I don’t think they should be getting high during the heat wave… wait. Would that help? Should they be high during the heat wave? You think it’d help them sleep?” Kaito asked, suddenly lighting up, “Am I genius? Or no? I really don’t know how it works.”

“It’s probably not a good idea for them to get high for the first time in a while during a heat wave,” Mikaku laughed kindly. “There’s no major issues, but it can increase heart rate, which might be a little uncomfortable with the heat. The biggest issue, though, is if they start convincing themselves it’s even hotter than it is, or if they’re prone to drymouth, they might not want to drink as much water as they should be doing. It would probably be fine for them, but, yeah, if they haven’t gotten high in a while, now’s not likely to be the best time to get back into it.”

“That said, that’s just my advice. If they’re up to the idea, let me know and I can hook you kids up.”

“I’ll bring it up to them. Probably better to ask than to just spring drugs on them.” Kaito mused, giving the hobo wizard a light bow, “I’ve taken up too much of your time now. Thank you for indulging me. Please let me know if you need anything from me.”

And with that, he headed out again.

As he headed out into the hallway, Kaito– immediately noticing how much hotter it was in the hallway then it had been in the wizards room– sighed, “That was Secretary Mikaku, Miya. He seems nice… he’s never been very weird towards me. In fact, once, he took care of your dada when he was scared and sad! Your dad hadn’t done a good job looking after your dada, and Uncle Hajime had to look after him instead, and by the time I found them Secretary Mikaku was doing his very best to soothe him… Secretary Mikaku is probably someone you can trust, growing up Miya…”

Kaito considered the stairs…

He honestly didn’t know why he was avoiding going back to the basement. He really didn't. Shuichi and Maki were lounging in a hotub naked down there. His kid could probably use some entertainment and needed his dad. Kokichi needed looking after, the heat was genuinely dangerous for him… Kaito should go back… he should want to go back…

“...just a little more, Miyako.” Kaito murmured, feeling a splash of guilt as he headed the opposite direction, going down a random hallway. “Just a little longer, and then I’ll be good again. We’ll go back and you can go back to being the best, sweetest little baby around, and I’ll go back to being a good Kaito. Just a little… just a little more walking around.”

-

Kaito was now wandering the fifth floor, feeling loads better still since resting with the wizard, and now more aware that he needed to move slow and steady. He had wanted to show Miyako the observatory, and after introducing her to the portrait of her namesake– “Her name was Miyako too, Miya. She was a queen. I don’t know a lot about her, I’m sure Daddy knows more, but… she was very smart, and an astronomer. And she was kind, with a lot of friends that I’m sure she’ll get to see in paradise again. Isn’t that nice? …also apparently she was an itty-bitty cutie like your daddy. Wore heels a lot. I can’t remember who told me that. Probably your daddy.”-- giving the portrait a small, respectful bow before showing Miya off the rest of the equipment.

Kaito had wanted to go over some of the finer parts of astronomy with her, but the observatory was pretty hot, even for him, and soon with a sigh Kaito had to head back down, wandering aimlessly as he said, “So, protostars are little baby stars, like you, who grow up to big, massive suns, kinda like me. Your daddy calls me that sometimes… now, believe it or not, Miya, most stars are actually born with twins, called binaries, who were formed in the same gas bubble and end up orbiting each other. Our sun doesn’t do that, but we’re the exception, not the rule. So most stars have siblings… just like you! Isn’t that something? You and Timothy are binaries of each other, and because Tim is bigger and stronger than you, sometimes he’ll come by and transfer some of his energy to you. Lend you his strength to make you a little bit bigger. That’s what a good big sibling does… I’m certain Tim’s gonna be a good big sibling to you, Miya. Isn’t that a comforting thought? Isn’t my girl super luck…y…”

Kaito paused, hesitating. Someone was down the hallway. There were, in some of the corners of the castles, little seating areas at the edge of hallways, usually one or two chairs near large windows. Kaito almost never saw anyone actually sitting in any of them, he always got the impression the chairs were more useful decorations than actually in demand, but there was a guy there looking kind of, uh… sprawled out on top of one single armchair. Draped over it uncomfortably…

Kaito didn’t recognize the guy at all, which made him kinda want to walk the opposite direction, but… “Hey, man… you alright?”

There wasn’t much of a response first… before the pink haired man lifted his head up slightly, peeking out at Kaito. An annoyed, unimpressed look on his face, he grumbled something, but gave Kaito a small thumbs up, before flumping his head back down, still just… super uncomfortable looking.

Kaito supposed that meant the man was fine, but… he moved closer. “You sure? I can help you get some water, if you crashed on your way to somewhere. Or help you get there?”

“The heck are you, the hall monitor?” the man grumbled, before lazily lifting his other hand, “I got something for the heat. Just not using it right now. I’m fine.”

Kaito looked curiously at the devise, only seeing it for a moment before the mans arm dropped again, and deciding maybe the man was fine, he started to turn around– “Hey,” The man said, lifting his head, giving Kaito a bewildered look, “Is that a baby?”

“Oh, uh, yeah!” Kaito said, stopping and looking back to him. “This is Miyako Saihara. My name is Kaito.”

“...bullshit.” The man said, squinting his eyes at him, “Kaito who?”

“Uh…” Kaito worried about that kinda response, but… like every time before, Kaito found something both heated and excited rush through him, at the idea of someone being openly confrontational. Though he wasn’t sure if that was what this was… still, just in case! He squared his shoulders and said, “Prince-Consort Kaito Ouma Momota, Luminary Prince of the Stars, Prince-Consort of the Cacti-Fields, uh…” Kaito had been debating his ‘hero of the fifteen year war’ title, but now sorta felt like he was incomplete without a third title as he continued, “...Keeper of… like, a lot of kids… well, maybe not ‘keeper’, but definitely, like… ‘involved’. Or… hmmm… Kaito Ouma Momota, even murder children… no… wait… there’s gotta be a clever way to reference–”

“Are you overheating?” The man said, finally sitting up from his lay across the armchair, sitting it in slightly more normally as he peered at Kaito, “You’re rambling.”

“I don’t think so?” Kaito said, rubbing the back of his neck, before taking his hand back and looking at the sweat there, before admitting, “But I didn’t notice the last time I was overheating either.”

“Come here, let me use my thing on you.” the man said, standing up and gesturing to the chair. “The baby too. Why do you have a baby out here in this heat?”

“It’s hot everywhere. Where else is she gonna be?” Kaito said uncertainly, heading over despite Shuichi and Maki both screaming profanities in his head– don’t go to him when he says he’s gonna use some machine on you and you have no idea what he’s talking about, you idiot!!-- curious despite himself. He… was honestly mostly curious by the way this guy looked. He was really pretty, in a sharp, grungy kind of way, “Who are you?”

“Call me Soda, everyone does.” The man shrugged, “Sit. This kinda heat’s a killer, don’t know why the heck you’re running around in it like this with a baby.”

“She has a little icepack thing.” Kaito explained defensibly. It was even still cool, he had checked. Still he sat down, holding Miyako protectively against himself as Soda looked curiously at the sling setup.

“That’s practical.” He complimented, “I could probably probably re-design it for easier trading out of ice packs, but then, this is clearly a rough job, and like anyone willing to put an hour more into it probably could too. Still, not bad for what it is.”

“...your teeth are really sharp.” Kaito said, something awed in his voice. He had never seen anything like that before.

“Thanks. Was born with em.” Soda said, moving the device in front of Kaito’s face and pushing a button.

Kaito winced when the blades on the device started to whir, realizing immediately he had made a mistake and was about to pay for it… but he opened his eyes in astonishment, a small breeze against his face as the other man laughed.

“You flinched. Relax, man, I get it, sharp tooth man with weird thing is weird and sharp toothed, but I’m not gonna hurt you.”

“...where did you get that.” Kaito asked, staring fixedly at the tiny spinning devise.

“Made it. Repurposed a vibrator base for its battery, the electricity hits these little metal bits I twisted behind the blades, spins the fans for as long as the batteries are good.” Soda explained, “It’s easy. Hard part is the base, which now that these things are so easy to get, no doubt you’ll start seeing these pop up more places. You don’t have to be a genius to put together simple metalwork once the electricity’s already sorted out.”

“Are you?”

“What?”

“A genius?”

“Nah. Just a guy who knows how to put things together.” Soda said, glancing down at the baby, “You really Kaito Momota?”

Kaito tensed uncertainly. “...yes.”

“Hm.” Soda said, “I’d say ‘small world’, but you literally live here, so it’s not that crazy. Just still wasn’t expecting it anyway.” he was still looking at Miyako, “You just had this kid, right? With Shuichi Saihara?”

“Yes.” Kaito said, his voice tensing. A warning growl in it.

“You can relax. I’m making friendly conversation, but maaaaan, it’s too hot for friendly conversation so I’m just doing a bad job.” Soda said, finally giving Kaito a small, sharp-toothed smile, “Congratulations on the baby. She’s a pretty little thing.”

“...thanks.” Kaito said, starting to relax. “Your inventions amazing.”

“Yeah? You want it?”

“What? No, I couldn’t–”

Soda shrugged, turning it off and handing it to Kaito, “Take it, I can make another. And if you’re looking after a baby, you don’t wanna pass out in the middle of the hallway.”

“But don’t you need it?”

“Nah, I was just here meeting someone, and now I’m heading home. I just wanted to rest a bit. Conversation was annoying.” Soda scoffed, standing up straight, looking down at Kaito, before shaking his head, “Still feels like a small world. Kaito Momota… wow.”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Just heard a lot about you.”

Kaito wanted to ask from where. What Soda had heard. But the answers would probably be depressing. So he laughed awkwardly, “Well, hopefully I come across nicer in real life. Even rambly and overheated… and a little paranoid.”

“...” Soda tilted his head at him a bit, putting his hands on his thin hips… before shrugging, “You seem skittish, but ya know what? You’d be crazy if you weren’t, so that’s alright. The fan takes double-A’s. It was, uh… ha. It was nice and weird meeting you.” Soda said, shaking his head, still looking bewildered, before heading off.

Kaito watched the man head down the hallway… before Soda paused. Scratching his cheek and sighing, before looking back, “Hey, uh… when it’s cooler, can I take you for a drink?”

“Uh… yes?” Kaito said, ignoring his inner Shuichi and Maki’s ravings, “If I’m free, sure!”

“Cool… well. Later.” Soda said, heading off.

Kaito watched the pink haired man go… before looking down at the fan in his hand. It was small, and the breeze was pretty gentle, but…

He grinned down at Miyako, “Let’s go give daddy an early birthday gift.”

-

Kokichi had been awake by the time Kaito and Miyako returned, munching on fruit and the rice salad and chatting with Timothy about what was going down in the pond by the fence. He looked much better than he had when they first came down, rested and kept at a temperature that, while still uncomfortable, was livable.

However, his food was put to the side as Kaito brandished his gift, Kokichi at first grinning sheepishly, saying Kaito didn’t need to get him anything, but as he inspected the small gadget and Kaito told his story, the food was truly forgotten, Kokichi’s smile fading into genuine wonder and curiosity as he turned the wristfan around in his hands. 

“...this is incredible… Even if he essentially said it was just hobby crafting...it takes a lot of skill to even think of putting all these things together, let alone being able to do it…” Kokichi marveled. 

He wasn’t a tech head. Kokichi certainly got really excited about technology, but the actual mechanics of it mostly went over his head, and he’d been a doubter more than once towards Miu’s harebrained schemes. In his defence, some of them were truly outlandish and had remained so, but others? Now there were phone lines in every major city in the country, and the connections were still expanding. 

...this...really reminded him of some of the stuff she’d offhandedly talk about in her letters. 

Kokichi turned his gaze up towards Kaito. “...you said his name’s Souda? Did you catch who he was having a meeting with today?”

“He didn’t say. I got the impression it was business related though. He looked too frustrated to think he met with a friend. Though, I’m not sure what business there is up on the fifth floor.” Kaito said, incredibly pleased that the randomly gotten gift had delighted his husband so much, and even more incredibly pleased to see his husband looking less dead. “He asked me to get a drink with him sometime when things cooled down. I’m, uh…”

Kaito thought about re-wording it but… well, Kokichi already knew. “I’m gonna ask Maki and Shuichi if it’s alright, but I already told him yes.” He said, shrugging a little sheepishly, “He seemed really interested in the fact that I’m me, he kept saying my name like he couldn’t believe it, so I’m sure they’re gonna want to check him out before I go anywhere with him. But, assuming I get the go-ahead from them, do you mind if I go get a drink with him sometime? Or, would you want to go with me? He didn’t say it had to be just me, and you could ask him a bunch of tech questions…?”

Kokichi’s brows furrowed a little. ...yeah, he didn’t know what business would be on the fifth floor at all, though that did answer a related question. Souda’s meeting hadn’t been with administration, so...it wasn’t like he was getting an inventor’s or engineering grant. It had to be personal business, then, with a resident. Or...someone who just wanted to use the castle as a neutral meeting place. 

...okay, he knew it was kinda pushy to pry, and if Souda was as flippant as Kaito’s story had made him seem, then maybe engineering just wasn’t something he was interested in, and Kokichi’s pushing would just be like a domineering parent pushing their kid into medical school. But! The fan was really amazing! And a few questions would probably be just kind of annoying at worst. 

However...if there was more of a connection than that…

Kokichi frowned slightly. “That’s...probably a good call. I mean, it’s not crazy that he’s heard of you but...yeah. Better safe than sorry. If he’s just a guy that wants to talk, I don’t mind at all! But...we’ve had too many close calls over the past year to go in blind to something like this...”

“...and…” Kokichi looked to the side, worrying his lip. “...I wouldn’t wanna invite myself along just ‘cause we’re married. But...if you do end up hitting him up...could you ask if it’s alright for me to come too?

“I mean, you didn’t invite yourself, I invited you.” Kaito grinned, feeding Miyako from her bottle– they had been out and about for a few hours, and she had apparently worked up an appetite from her big day out and about– as he leaned over to dare giving Kokichi a small, quick kiss on the cheek before backing up from him. “And I have no idea where this guy is, so… even if Shuichi ends up finding him, I’ll probably wait for him to get into contact with me before anything… sorry, that’s getting too specific. I get what you’re saying, and yeah, if we make plans I’ll ask him if he’s cool with my super sweet, super awesome husband coming along to keep an eye on me.”

“That aside? How are you feeling? I know it's been a tough couple of days.” Kaito said gently, giving his husband a sympathetic look, “The nap seems to have helped, but if you need anything more specific, I can make a run. Your husbands a pretty decent pack-mule in the heat, I’ve found!” Kaito grinned, laughing at himself a little. “Though I had to stop a rest a few times today, admittedly.”

It sounded like a plan. Kokichi didn’t want to think badly of this guy, but...well, as much as he believed in the best of every Dicean, that didn’t mean he could blindly trust everyone he met. He thought it would be a little too obvious if Souda actually meant Kaito harm to let on that he knew him, but...maybe not. And not everyone who meant harm was some evil mastermind--sometimes they could just be forthright, and people would still go along. 

So they would take some precautions, ask Maki and Shuuichi to find out a little bit more about this guy, see if he was a threat. And if not, wonderful! If so...well, unless they actually managed to find concrete evidence of some harmful plan, there was no action they could take, but they could distance themselves. 

Nodding at Kaito’s plan, Kokichi sighed a little as he turned the lens of the conversation to him, giving Kaito a small, fond smile. “I’m feeling a lot better than before; thank you for checking things out down here and gettin’ food and all that. When it does cool down at night, though...I dunno. I might just wanna fully camp out down here while the wave’s goin’ on. I really can’t deal with the heat…”

Kokichi shook his head in distaste before fixing Kaito with a sly smile. “And just because you can doesn’t mean it’s safe to be goin’ at 120%! So...I’m glad you took breaks. Kai-chan’s bein’ a superstar looking after all of us, but he needs to remember to take care of himself too.”

Coming a little closer, Kokichi looked over at Miyako suckling away at her bottle. “You said she didn’t get overheated, which is great, but how’d she do, otherwise? Today was probably really great for explorin’ without getting too overwhelmed.”

“Aww, you’d have been so proud of her babe. She took a little doze at one point, but otherwise she was so calm and steady all day.” Kaito high-key bragged, giving Miyako an admiring look as he gushed, “She’s so brave and strong and resilient. She, admittedly, didn’t do much more than just chill out in her carrier and stare at me, if she was looking at anything at all, but she’s just a wee little thing and all she’s interested in right now is what she can put into her mouth. Isn’t that right, Miiiiyaa? Do you like putting things into your mouth? Are you a little suckling baby? You’re such a little suckling baby… but yeah, she’s been awake basically this whole time. I wouldn’t be surprised if she crashes after this.”

“As for bunkering here…” Kaito looked around. “Honestly, this isn’t a terrible place to do it. We have the locker room right there which has showers and toiletries, I could bring down a few mattresses, we’re technically closer to the dining hall here than we are all the way up on our floor… refuging here for the week might not actually be the worst idea. It’d take a little doing, but I could even take the top part of the crib off its legs and bring it down here for Miya to sleep in… I think I’d ask Timothy to sleep down here too, if we did that. He already had a tough time last night that made him go to Maki in the middle of the night, I wouldn’t want him alone without anyone nearby to go to if it gets that bad again.” Kaito said, Tim currently off in the locker room himself, Chase waiting by the entrance for him.

Kokichi smiled proudly, cupping a hand around Miyako’s arm and not much caring that she didn’t acknowledge him with even a look. She was flippant like that, too busy learning about things at her own pace. “I’m glad the sling’s working out. I mean, I trust that my dad’s on the up and up about what works for babies, but...babies are individuals too. It’s good that she’s comfortable in it.”

It would make things much easier in the coming weeks and months. There were other ways of carrying Miya around, and of course there was literally carrying her with their arms--even if that one would only get harder, and would be uncomfortable long-term--but...yay! They found something she, at the very least, didn’t mind right away! And having her so close to their chests and bundled a little meant that it would be easy to obscure her line of sight if she started getting overwhelmed, or shade her with a parasol easily, or bundle her even more in a jacket when fall came again. Now? The world was hers to see. 

Humming happily as Kaito amiably considered bunking down in the basement for the week, Kokichi nodded excitedly at the prospect. “It’ll be a week-long sleepover! And we can more easily count on no one overheating in their sleep.”

Looking around for a moment, Kokichi hummed again, lightly tapping his feet on the bracebar of the table in front of the couch. “I’m pretty sure I left that deck of cards down here the last time we were hanging out. We should play something later.”

“Yeah~” Kaito grinned, pulling the bottle from Miya as the nectar ran around, Miya still suckling when it was gone, her brow furrowing in frustration… before being put at ease as Kaito quickly placed her on his shoulder, tapping against her back as he said, “Though, let me go take care of the mattress and crib situation first. That way we can safely put Miya down for awhile and I won’t be scrounging around for them tonight when we’re tired and ready to go to bed. Also, are those two weirdos still in there? I’m gonna recruit Maki to help me with the mattresses… aww, there you go Miya.” Kaito sighed, as she spat up on him, the burpee thankfully doing its job, “You mind taking her, babe? Just until I can get everything sorted?”

“Oh nooooo, getting to spend time with my incredible tiny daughter who I adore? I can’t bear it~” Kokichi drawled before giving Kaito a grin and taking Miyako from him. “Yeah, I dunno if they came out at all while I was asleep, but they’ve been in there the whole time to the best of my knowledge. I wouldn’t be surprised if they just wanted to spend the whole day in the tub.”

Adjusting Miya slightly, Kokichi gave her a fond look, sending out {Adore you. Brave little one… Exciting day, huh?}

“Mm, I’ll leave it up to your decision, but maybe you guys could get futon mattresses from the linen closets? I dunno if they’d be cooler, but they’d be easier to bring down and move around...and easier to wash from the inevitable sweat we’re gonna seep into ‘em. Those and a few sets of sheets might be good.”

Miyako blinked sleepily, calmed by a familiar presence gently floating through her. {Big heat was near. Big heat everywhere. Everything big heat… cold tushy.} she conceded after a moment. Everything and everyone had been Big Heat, except for whatever had been on her back, which had been a bit chilly.

“Futon mattresses, got it. Awww… I always get a kick watching you hold her.” Kaito admitted, watching as little Miya indeed already looked like she was close to dozing off, safe and fed and content in daddy’s arms. So fucking cute auuuuuugh, “We won’t take long, beautiful. Tim!”

“Mmm?” Timothy said, coming out of the lockerroom, going back to his chair where his book was waiting, Chase on his heels. “Yeah, dad?”

“We’re sleeping here for the next couple of days. Come upstairs with me and your mother, help us bring down pajamas and new clothes for everyone tomorrow.”

“Kay.” Timothy said, apparently entirely undaunted by the idea of sleepover as he headed to the entrance, “I’ll meet you up there.”

“Move slow, it’s still hot out there!” Kaito instructed him, as the kid started heading up the stairs, Chase’s tail wagging at the idea of going on a walk.

Swinging down the hall where the hot tub room was squared away, he opened the door. “Maki? Shuichi?”

“We’re still here, yeah.” Shuichi called back softly, him and Maki loungin by the water with their feet in, clearly just chilling out and talking, seemingly perfectly content where they were. And still never naked. “Should we get dressed? I feel bad Tim’s not able to come in here while we’re like this.”

“It’s alright, he’s been reading and eating snacks, he’ll get his turn later. But! Maki-roll, I need you. Kokichi and I were thinking we’d all bunker down here for the next couple of days, and I wanna bring down some futon mattresses and most of the crib. What do you guys think?”

“Makes sense.” Maki said, stretching her arms above her head before getting up. “Give me a second to get dressed.”

“You want my help, Kaito?”

“Nah man, you’re alright. Kokchi’s awake by the way, if you want to give your feet a break from the tub.”

Shuichi sighed. “...I…. suuuuppoooose sooooo…”

“He’s got Miya, so he can’t really come in here.”

“Alright, alright.”

Clothes were sorted, and soon Maki and Kaito headed upstairs, while Shuichi in a robe went to go sit with Kokichi. “Wow, Kaito wasn’t kidding about there being more snacks out here.” He noted, pouring himself a strawberry lemonade. “How was your nap?”

Kokichi rubbed Miya’s back a little, hopefully soothing her skin from the chill a bit. She didn’t seem upset by it, but Kokichi still wanted to take precautions. Just as Kaito getting the cooling pack was a precaution in the first place. 

Giving Kaito a nod as his husband started going around making more plans, Kokichi settled down with Miya a bit, happy to act as her bed for the next while. Maybe it was more of his ego bleeding in, but he liked to think she enjoyed the familiarity of being with one of her dads while she snoozed, more than settling down in a bed actually made for her.

He’d probably hold the opposite opinion in a year or two. 

Waving to Maki and Kaito as they left, Kokichi grinned at Shuuichi as he joined him. “Ho yeah. The rice is really good, if you want something a little more substantial. I dunno how Kai-chan guessed it was something I was craving, but I’m glad he did.”

“I really needed it,” Kokichi sighed, referring to his nap. “I don’t think I got more than...I dunno. Maybe an hour last night, and lying down on the floor wasn’t exactly restful. I’m feelin’ way more like a person now.”

Perking up, Kokichi reached over to show Shuuichi the wrist fan that Kaito had given him. “Oh! And check this out--it’s a little motorized personal fan! Kai-chan met this guy while he was wanderin’ around and the dude gave it to him like it was no thing.”

Shuichi went to take the fan from Kokichi, giving it an interested look over, before– carefully, pointing the blades away from himself towards an empty space, just in case– he clicked the button on.

…whiiiiiirrrrrr.

“Wow.” Shuichi said, genuinely impressed, putting his hand in front of the small, spinning blades, feeling that little breeze of wind. “That’s really impressive. Someone just gave this to Kaito? Hmmm… suspicious…” Shuichi murmured, turning it off and taking the inside of his robe sleeve, shaking his robe off, he started carefully wiping down every part of the blades. Every now and again he checked the robe, leaned in to sniff. Okay… then he opened up the bottom part, taking out the batteries and peering inside, wiping them down, wiping the inside.

After a bit, he put it all back together, turned on the fan, sniffed it, double checked the parts of the robes that he had used to wipe it down… “Should be alright.” He decided, before pointing the fan at Kokichi. “That helpful?”

Honestly, it was a little late if there had been something suspicious on the gadget. Kaito said that it had been around Souda’s wrist, and Kaito and Kokichi both had handled it and had felt the small breeze generated by the blades. But Kokichi still let Shuuichi do his thing, before sighing happily as he pointed it back at him. 

“Mmm, it really is. It’s not strong, but it’s enough to get some relief, you know? And the small batteries it uses aren’t too much of an issue to get backups, or take ‘em to get recharged. It’s...really ingenious.”

Smiling a little sheepishly, Kokichi started to explain more. “Kai-chan’ll prolly give you the full story, but...I’m interested in meeting this Souda guy--the guy Kai-chan ran into that made this. And he’s asked Kai-chan out to get a drink sometime, in a non-date-y way. Kai-chan said he seemed really nonchalant about it all, but...making something like this?” Kokichi gestured to the fan. “It...really reminds me of Miu. How she can just...churn out ideas and little inventions like it’s nothing. He might not be interested but...I’m hoping I can put the two of them in contact.”

“Ah, yes. The famous ‘Miu’.” Shuichi said softly, content to continue holding the fan to cool Kokichi of, watching the short curls of his hair bounce lightly in the wind, “Creator of international telephone lines and The Abomination, and the only known recipient of Prince Kokichi’s ‘raunchy, vulgar’ side. What a strange character… she must be incredibly wealthy by now. Even if Dicea didn’t pay her for the telephone lines installed here, Luminary and Novoselic would undoubtedly have paid exceptionally well for them. A rich, eccentric genius.”

Shuichi paused, before saying, “She sounds like a character straight out of a outrageous muder mystery, honestly. A real ‘red herring’ type. Sorry, Maki and I spent a good part of this morning trying to work out who would play out what part in murder mystery stories. It was nice, just lounging by the water with her.”

Kokichi snorted softly at Shuuichi’s description of his friend. “There’s a lot of money in civic engineering. I’m not really sure where it started, really, but there’s been a line of inventors that administration’s been working closely with for generations. I think I mentioned it, but Miu’s old mentor, Gorou, designed the modern way we arrange cities. And she’s not all that much older than us, but Miu’s already made a legacy for herself through her work. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a village-worth of tinkerers shot down from trying to take up an apprenticeship with her.”

“God,” Kokichi snorted even louder. “She would be an incredible red herring. Half the time she’d lean into the part, then the other half would be spent back-peddling and close to tears ‘cause she doesn’t actually wanna be blamed, and the stress of pointing fingers is just a little too much.”

Smirking a little at his boyfriend--but there was an undeniable warmth in his eyes, happy to hear that Shuuichi had enjoyed his time lounging with Maki--Kokichi gave him a playful hum. “Yeah? Hmm...well, you’re obviously the detective. Maki-chan is the person that everyone’s perfectly aware could kill...but wasn’t the one behind the murder, because if she was there’d be no evidence left behind. Hmmmm… What are me and Kai-chan, then?”

“We couldn’t come to an agreement about you and Kaito.” Shuichi admitted, “We both had different ideas of how it’d go. I think you’d be the sort of ‘everyman’ main character type. The one the audience is supposed to relate to, who’s sort of the de-facto leader of the investigation only because everyone kind of universally trusts that you’re not the killer, so it’s safe to listen to you.”

“Meanwhile, Maki thought… well, Maki thought you’d be the person killed. Or, one of them. She said you’d be the ‘sad’ person to be killed, the one that’s meant to tug at the audiences heart strings. She specifically used the term ‘refrigerator prince’, and then spent a really long time being mad at Kaito that she even knew enough about plot devices to make that joke… so, yeah, either main character, or sad dead loved one that inspires us all with your memory.” Shuichi said, giving Kokichi a somewhat apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

...the main character that everyone trusted…

(And just blamed themself at the end.)

(...a giant doll...his head splitting open and limbs feeling so heavy...running down an endless hall before taking a hand and going through another way. Making another way. ...a severely strong scent of booze.)

...Kokichi frowned slightly, not...really sure what to make of all that...but he pushed it to the side and snickered a bit. “Really, I’m flattered that you think I’d be a main character, honey. I was expecting you both to clock me with being a victim--though, I guess Maki-chan’s makes sense too, even if I think it’s a little generous as well. It’s no fun if the person you think would be easiest to kill ends up being the victim, at least as the first one.”

“Mmmm, you guys think I’m important~” he playfully cooed, carefully leaning his head forward to make a smarmy bobbing motion at Shuuichi without disturbing Miya.

“Of course you're important, Kokichi.” Shuichi said gently, “Everyone knows the main character can’t be the detective. Then the readers won’t get to be surprised by the plot twists the detective reveals at key moments. Your role as the baffled guy praising my every move is vital.”

“HA!” Kokichi laughed, not quite as barking--or braying--as the all caps implied, throwing his head back a little. “I would be good in that role, wouldn’t I? I would be trying so hard to figure it out myself, and then Shuu-chan with his 5000IQ moves would stride on in and make the perfect logical deductions and I would be left awed and astounded!”

“Though,” he grinned, “I think Kai-chan and I could tag-team that role even better. Barely even leave you a moment’s peace to actually do any sleuthing ‘cause we’re too busy gushing over how cool Shuu-chan is.”

After a moment, Kokichi tilted his head to the side. “Otherwise...I think Kai-chan would be the guy who’s trying really hard to uncover the mystery separate from the detective, but goes after the red herrings with too much abandon. Or just ends up going down the wrong paths that no one’s really sure how he even thought of them. But it ends up that from one of those wrong paths, he uncovers a vital clue that allows the detective to finally put it all together, getting that lightbulb moment.”

Shuichi laughed softly at that, a small, pleased blush coming to his face at the compliment. Glancing down at Miyako and seeing her soundly sleeping away on her fathers lap, Shuichi smiled contently, if a little sadly. “I like that idea better than the one we came up with. We debated it for a bit, before deciding that Kaito’s role would be defined by who got to him first: the hero or the killer.”

“If it was the hero? Than Kaito would be the big, trusted ally character, the one who the audience knows is always going to support the main character, and usually ends up being one of the people at risk by the end of the book, giving the hero a personal reason to succeed… basically the damsel in distress, I guess.” Shuichi laughed lightly, though he looked a little guilty to say it.

“But, if the villain got him first? Then he’d be That One Bad Guy who’s meant to make the audience feel bad or root for them, even a little bit, or hope they can be redeemed, if only for his sake. He keeps having good conversations with the heroes, you can see that deep down he’s just misguided… but, he’s too loyal and cares about his companion too much to ever really turn on them to join the good side. Basically the character where it’s not about what he believes in, but who. And that either leading to triumph or tragedy.”

Shuichi paused, before laughing lightly at himself, “We spent a lot of time discussing Kaito. Maki was convinced he’d be the number one assistant to the villain, I was convinced he’d be the ace to the hero, that was the medium ground we came too. But someone going off on his own adventure to find his own clues? I like that idea too.”

“...and Tim and Chase of course are the spunky kid and his dog who somehow always have a vital clue at the last possible moment.” Shuichi said, “Obviously.”

Kokichi’s smile softened as Shuuichi explained the ideas he and Maki had for Kaito. He really could see where they came from and...maybe it was just his own rosy glasses that gave him his idea for Kaito’s role. “So much of Kai-chan is his belief in other people--I really could see him going down those paths in this play or sorts. When he finds a person or a cause to rally behind, it’s like he’s unstoppable! But...I dunno. Maybe my idea is what happens when both the hero and the villain take too long. Kai-chan’s not gonna wait around forever!”

Snorting a bit, Kokichi nodded with a snicker at Tim and Chase’s roles. “Obviously,” he echoed with a laugh. “Maybe Tim’s the one going on his own adventure during the story, and he with Chase, Cali, and Kimiko have their own whole thing going on. They probably get so baffled and exasperated with how complicated our story gets, when their goal has been more or less straight-forward.”

“Mmmmhm. Lake’s obviously the only guardsman that the main character ever talks too, representing the whole of the guard force in her one character. Depending on the main character, she either tells you to ‘stand down and let her do her job’, or is basically openly counting on you to solve the case for her. Ummm… Denji is the character who just happened to see someone walk into the room and can remember every little detail about what they were wearing and if they seemed ruffled or upset or not, despite not finding anything unusual or alarming about them at the time they saw them… Hideki and Aiichi are both red-herrings for the killers…”

Shuichi narrowed his eyes, “And Tomomi definitely did it. Takashi her unknowing fall guy.”

“Pfffffffft-” Kokichi let out a raspberry in his struggle not to fully break out in guffaws and disturb Miyako. “Seriously? Awww, I don’t think Tomomi could really do it on purpose, but I think she’d be flattered if you told her. That’s some of the allure, isn’t it, that you don’t think it could be her.”

Shaking his head with a wide, amused smile, Kokichi snickered quietly. “Man, now I wanna read this mystery. It sounds wild.”

Shuichi laughed lightly, “Reading a lot of mystery novels makes it hard not to think about how you’d write one yourself. Unfortunately, as I’ve said before, I’m not terribly creative, but it was fun hearing Maki’s ideas and reworking them into ways they would work based on cases I’ve had or studied. Maki actually has a pretty good imagination, if you can get her to actually talk her ideas out a bit. It’s cute, she gets a bit self conscious about it too. Maybe we can convince her to talk about them with you someday too.”

Looking around the lounge, Shuichi sighed a bit, “This is a good idea, but it’s going to be unfortunate, to not have windows for the next week. When I first got my own room? The window was one of my favorite things about it. Maki tried to force me to block it off once, because of some threats made against me, and I refused. It was a big fight, at the time, cause she was worried about me and couldn’t understand why I’d risk it, but… there were days where the thing I looked forward to the most every day was watching the lights change in the room, when the sun rose and set. Those beautiful soft colors, where everything felt quiet and peaceful, the wind blowing outside…”

Shuichi smiled softly at the memory, before looking over to Miyako. “I doubt Miyako will ever understand the value, of everything she has. That’s for the best, but a part of me is almost sad for her about it. That feeling of realizing that things are not only better, but will stay that way, the sheer gratitude… it’s a euphoric feeling. Hopefully she’ll never have it.”

“I still think you’re selling yourself short, but…yeah. Maki-chan’s ideas are cool. It’d be fun to, like…play adult pretend all together sometime.” He figured that was just roleplay, at that point, but it wasn’t exactly what he meant. It was like what Shuuichi and Maki had been doing, creating the outline and allure of a story without actually going beat for beat. Though, making up stories like they did during their hike to the waterfall was a lot of fun too. 

Sitting back against the couch a little, his arms around Miyako, Kokichi gave his boyfriend a soft look as Shuuichi described his wonder and attraction to…the outdoors, he supposed. As seen through windows. The feelings associated with an open place, able to get wonderful things from nature, but protected from it. 

“I never knew you were such a sucker for sunrises,” Kokichi grinned. “Normally I kinda like having a western-facing window so I’m not hit by sunlight first thing in the morning, but…yeah. It is nice, isn’t it.”

Letting out a soft sigh, Kokichi looked down to the infant snoozing on his lap, the adoration and hope in his eyes endless. “...I hope so too. There’s so much in Dicean culture about being grateful, but even being aware of that, it’s so easy to take…just…everything for granted. Personally I’d rather her be spoiled than have it all taken away from her, but… I dunno. I hope I can convey to her what history was like. So that drive for things to be better for her kids, or just the generation after, still sticks around.”

“I’m sure even if she doesn’t know what our problems were like, she’ll want to fix the problems she’ll come across in her own life.” Shuichi said gently. He just couldn’t imagine that any problem in her life would equal the sort of childhood where you were grateful for the light from the windows. And he didn’t want that sort of gratitude for her. He’d rather her standards were higher than his own. 

He guessed what he was really sad about was that it was something they just wouldn’t be able to relate too, with each other. They would both have problems they would comprehend with each other. Shuichi suspected he’d have to fight the impulse to not treat Miyako’s problems as ‘non-problems’ just because they weren’t as extreme as the issues he himself had had, and he also suspected that Miyako just wouldn’t be able to understand some of her parents neurotic behaviors, underestimating the difficulties that had caused that neurosis to begin with. A communication disconnect from one generation to the next.

… maybe trying to navigate around his mentor the last few weeks was getting to him.

For the most part? The mentors were actually basically keeping to themselves. Unlike their charges, nothing was strictly keeping them in the castle, and unlike their charges, the mentors were making full use of their free time to go be… well. Tourists. Tourists on vacation.

Today, for instance? Shuichi knew damn well those bastards were spending the day at some spa named the Igloo. Miss Kirigiri had heard about the upcoming heat wave starting today a week ago and, being an older woman used to making plans for herself, had looked around for interesting ways to beat the heat and gotten an all day reservation for herself and the other mentors the first day of the heatwave. She had offered to bring Shuichi, and Shuichi had refused, partly out of solidarity with the rest of his family, but mostly…

It was hard to talk to her without thinking about the Oliver situation.

There was so much to think about, these days… so Shuichi was reading more. Distracting himself. He could only take so much, after all. It was easier to not think about… everything. All of it.

“And, to be fair?” Shuichi scoffed, “I liked sunrises when I had to wake up before them. The colors were one silver lining to not getting enough sleep, at least. Now? I’ll take sleeping in over sunrises any day.”

That was true. If they were going to convey anything to Miyako, one thing would surely be the drive and ability to change things in her own life. Being helpless to the whims of others…sometimes things really were too big to take on yourself, but you would never know where the limits actually were unless you tried. 

(...Kokichi recalled a conversation he had on the same subject. By design Miyako wouldn’t have to survive the same trauma they had, but…by having different lives, it would take more effort to understand one another, and understand what modern life was asking from them in the moment. It would likely lead to a lot of miscommunication but…as long as they were willing to take a step back and listen to one another, they could get through anything.)

Laughing lightly, Kokichi leaned over to bop his head against Shuuichi’s shoulder. “I really do enjoy that too; I don’t mind getting up early most mornings, but the allure of spending more time with you dozing in bed is real hard to pass up.”

“...I dunno if you ever caught me, last winter. Since the sunrise is a lot later, sometimes I would get up for a little bit to watch, especially if it was snowy out, before sneaking back into bed.”

Shuichi smiled, but shook his head. “Last winter? I definitely didn’t notice. The medicine knocked me out. Honestly, probably the best sleep of my life, being on that medicine. Seiko could patent it for its sleeping benefits alone. I was oblivious.”

Upstairs, Shuichi could hear the door starting to open, and partly for Timothy’s sake, but mostly just in case it was someone other than their family Shuichi put his robe back on, closing it up despite the heat. Being able to relax naked around Maki had been… honestly strangely easy? Once he had started? And he had appreciated not being constantly aware of his own body as they lounged around. But the ease that had allowed him to do that was gone now, even as he relaxed slightly to hear Kaito call down, “We return! With cribs! And some of the futons! And clothes!”

“Our heroes.” Shuichi called back pleasantly, as Chase got down first, Timothy carrying clothes and sheets coming right after her, Kaito holding the crib top and Maki carrying two futons. 

“We’re gonna snag some more futons in a second, but hey! Only two trips! Pretty good!” Kaito bragged, looking around for a good spot to put the crib.

There had been…a lot going on last winter. But maybe next winter would find the two of them getting up and watching the snow start to glitter in the sunrise together. 

Kokichi turned when he heard the basement door open and, as Tim, Kaito, and Maki all got down the stairs, gently scooped Miyako into his arms and got up from the couch. Two futons could easily fit in the open space just already there, but they would probably have to move some of the furniture around to fit more. 

“Very good,” Kokichi replied amicably, going to Kaito’s side to help find a good spot for Miya’s crib. There was a mid-sized drawer-style wardrobe against the wall that might be good, somewhere just out of the way enough that they wouldn’t be bumping into her crib all the time, but still close enough to look over to from…pretty much anywhere in the main room. 

“What about there?” Kokichi nodded to it, before looking up at Kaito. “And we could probably bring the two couches side by side, then push everything back a bit to make room for the mattresses. Think it’d be enough that no one’ll be rolling into furniture in the middle of the night.”

“Makes sense to me.” Kaito agreed, while over at one of the said couches Shuichi watched with some amusement Timothy put the pile of clothes and sheets down on the other couch with a huff. “Don’t get comfortable, Tim, we gotta make a run for two more futons and some pillows! Unless you really wanna share a bed with your mom or myself–”

“Fiiiiine.”

“Don’t ‘fiiiiine’ your father.” Maki scolded, laying out the futons in one corner, “Come on, Kaito, put the crib down, let’s go get this done already.”

“Fiiiiiine.” Kaito called back, putting it down and quickly stealing a kiss from Kokichi, since he was right there anyway. “Get the room set up for us so we can put the stuff down when we get back, please and thank you beautiful. And we’ll settle down and play some games after.”

Kokichi kept his snickers silent and to himself, not wanting to instigate Tim even more and incur the wrath of Maki, but…they were a really cute family unit sometimes. A lot of the time, really, though it just didn’t get a chance to shine like this too often. 

He hoped Tim wouldn’t get absolutely sick of them by the week’s end. 

Grinning into Kaito’s kiss, Kokichi cheered softly as he put Miya down into her crib, gently smoothing away her scrunchy face with his thumb, likely just from sensing movement. “Yesssss, let’s do it!”

Giving them a nod as they disappeared back up the stairs, Kokichi stretched a little before heading over to tackle the couch first, planning to swing it around the sitting area and put it into place first. 

…thankfully they weren’t particularly large or heavy couches, made of lacquered slats of bamboo and padded with tied on cushions. Kokichi probably wouldn’t have been able to move ‘em himself if they had been the heavy wood frame and upholstered furniture they had a lot of upstairs.

-

Later that day, with everything settled and everyone settled in, they got through their third round of poker when– 

“Can I go do something else?” Tim grumbled, staring at his hand like it ha personally offended him.

“Do what?” Kaito asked, tapping at the table to show he wasn’t going to bet, keeping his small hoard of shredded paper that they were using haphazardly as a ‘point’ system for the game. “It’s boiling out there.”

“I dunno… walk around?” 

“Kid, I don’t know if it’s safe…”

“Kaito, you were literally wandering around with Miyako for three hours this morning.” Maki said, raising an eyebrow at him, “Yes, Tim, you can go out. Don’t leave the castle grounds.”

“Thanks mom.” Tim said, putting down his cards gratefully, “Come on Chase!”

“Go get a waterbottle from the dining hall and take it with you!” Maki called to him, “And drink from it too! You get heat stroke out there and I’ll kill you before the sun does!”

“Yes, mom!’ Tim called back, disappearing up the stairs.

“Maki-roll, less… muuuurdery forms of encouragement. Please?” Kaito sighed, before sighing harder as she put three little cuts of paper onto the center pile, “You raised again?! Bullshit. You don’t have shit, theres literally nothing on the table. What are you doing with a jack, a seven, a two and a four?”

“If you think I have nothing, call my bet, Momota.” Maki shrugged, as Shuichi folded next to her.

For the record, Kokichi was pretty comfortable, and very happy to be playing games with his friends. But moving the furniture around had reminded him of his overheated and sweat-soaked body, now sweaty once again. The last few hours had allowed him to comfortably get his energy back, but Kokichi was definitely more subdued than he had been at the first mention of playing games. 

“I will,” Kokichi shrugged, betting in on Maki’s raise. He didn’t really have much, just a pair of jacks, but he was more interested in seeing the mind games between Maki and Kaito. So far he hadn’t really been able to tell if Kaito’s gaming curse was broken, but…well, Kaito hadn’t lost anything by a huge landslide yet. That was promising. 

“...I hope the folks comin’ in for the dinner rush are doin’ okay,” he murmured. “The last place I’d wanna be in these temperatures is a kitchen.”

“I bet they're all just taking turns sitting in the freezer.” Kaito argued, looking down at his hand and frowning. He had a seven and an ace, which meant he had a pair and was ace-high… ugh… it wasn’t gonna be enough for whatever Maki and Kokichi had. He’d just have to give up four shards of paper he had already invested in this round. “Forget it, fold.”

“Coward.”

“Yeah? Say that to my sword.”

“Where even is your sword?”

“Uhhhhh…” Kaito’s brow furrowed, “...I think it’s under the bed.”

“You think?” 

“Well, I mean, if no one’s moved it, yeah. That or maybe the closet…” Kaito watched as Shuichi put out the final card, a king of spades, and said, “Oh. Hypothetically, but in a non-hypothetical way, if I were to buy you guys drugs… what kind of drugs would you want? If any?”

“How hypothetical is this?” Shuichi asked, as Maki just tapped the table, indicating no raise. 

“The kind of hypothetical where if you say you want a drug, I will go and buy you that drug.” Kaito said, “Was talking to wizard-hobo. Figured I’d buy some things from him for you guys if you wanted it.”

Again, there were sanitary issues with that…but they would probably have to go into the freezer for things anyway and…it wasn’t like they had to be lightning quick. Whatever worked to keep them cool, he supposed. 

Kokichi shook his head a little at Kaito’s fold before…well, it was kind of funny, wasn’t it? Comparing how on guard Kaito was when he came (and then even for months and months after…) to now not even fully knowing where his sword was. Hell, even Kokichi knew where the dagger Kaito had given him was. 

Humming contemplatively at the final card--of course he was staying in, there was no way he was gonna let Maki win uncontested--Kokichi blinked up at Kaito for a moment before laughing. “You ran into Mikaku-jii today? I’m not surprised you guys were talking about drugs… Not this week, but if he’s willing to make his weed brookies again, oh man, they’re to die for.”

“...would kinda have to schedule a time to get high, though,” he muttered. “I kinda get put out for the night if I have, like 10mg.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing, every time I saw Shuichi high, he looked really sleepy. Like, as far as I can tell, weed just makes people all laid out and sleepy.” Kaito mused, watching as both Maki and Kokichi showed their cards and, “...aw, come on, Maki. Why?”

Maki shrugged, clearly not worried about it as she lost the bet with her pair of fives. “Why not?”

“It’s only fives!”

“Knocked you and Shuichi out.”

“But you still lost!”

“Got unlucky.” Maki rolled her eyes, passing the cards to Shuichi, who moved the deck towards Kaito for him to deal next. “Deal out the cards, Kaito. Also, why do drugs when you can drink?”

“Because it’s not shitty?” Shuichi said, giving Maki a dry look, “Getting drunk makes you stupid and dizzy and you feel sick afterwards. Weed just relaxes you, makes you feel spacy.”

“I dunno… if I had to choose? I think I’d rather take something that gets you pumped up and excited and ready to party–”

“Coffee?” Shuichi said, looking incredulously at Kaito, “Are you trying to argue coffee is better hanging out than alcohol or mairajuana?’

“What? No… am I?” Kaito said, now not looking certain, “I hadn’t been thinking about coffee, but… does kinda make sense.”

“It can kind of depend,” Kokichi shrugged. “For some people, weed can make them really anxious and paranoid, and it’s not a good time at all. For me, it’s like…the opposite. I’m not worried about anything, and everything seems like the funniest shit ever, and I can lose a lot of time with cool visuals or textured. And I mega get the munchies. It’s only after a few hours like that that I start to feel sleepy, and then I sleep like a rock. Waking up still high can kinda suck, though.”

Snickering as they laid down their cards, Kokichi grinned as he scooped the pile of paper scraps towards himself, happy that his idle risk paid off. Or just stubbornness, after seeing Shuuichi and Kaito withdraw. And Tim too, he supposed, but that was less out of playing the game, and more out of pure boredom. 

Humming, he shrugged a little. “I guess coffee would work. I know people drink energy drinks sometimes before really late parties, to keep their energy up. But…honestly, I just like weed for melting into a puddle every once in a while. If I’m gonna be going to a party, I’d rather not have anything.”

“‘Kichi, you melt into a puddle all the time. You’ve been nothing but a puddle since yesterday.” Kaito teased, dealing out the cards and putting in the small blind, while Maki threw in her big blind. “And I wasn’t strictly thinking coffee or energy drinks, but like… I dunno. I liked the drugs that people gave me that made me really happy and confident. Like I could fight the whole world and fly.”

“Tsk. Sounds like too much effort.” Maki huffed, while Shuichi took one look at his cards, sighed, and folded before even putting in the ante, “I just want to get a little drunk and shout at people. That’s all you need to have a good time.”

“I’d love to see you high, Maki.” Shuichi chuckled lightly, “It might make Kokichi giggly, but I used to just lay back and stare at things with Fuyuhiko, like a reflection of light from a lamp was the most interesting thing in the world. His sister once caught us and spent an hour just making up elaborate stories, though I think she was laughing at us more than with us at how fascinated we found her.”

“Oh, man, Natsumi… I haven't thought about her in a minute…” Kaito sighed, laying his lips gently against the tips of his cards, closing his eyes as if lost in a memory… before saying, “What a bitch. Wonder how she’s doing these days.”

“Last I heard she was doing well, but that was a few years ago. And you know how Kuzuryu’s think, so her doing ‘well’ could mean all kinds of things.” Shuichi mused.

“Only person I was ever too genuinely scared to have sex with. She used to step on my dick, ‘Kichi. Like, for fun. And that was her being playful. I can’t imagine what happened to the poor bastards she actually got into bed.” Kaito said, looking genuinely disturbed at the idea. “Not that she didn’t try. Them sending her away to boarding school was the best thing that ever happened to me, I swear.”

Kokichi rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his face as he shrugged. It was a different kind of puddle. These past few days had been a puddle of wanting to leave his body and turn the sun off. When he got high, it was a puddle of feeling comfortable and amused and like there was nothing wrong in the world. Very different puddles. 

The kind of drugs Kaito was talking about, though… Well, maybe it was unfair, but he was hoping Kaito wouldn’t have another chance to take them. 

Glancing at his cards, Kokichi decided to just watch the others again…which probably meant Maki would try to stay in out of apathy and stubbornness, and Kaito would think back and forth about bluffing for a while. Not that he thought any of them were thinking too hard about the game. 

He raised an eyebrow, hearing about someone he…really didn’t know existed, but that might’ve been by design. Hell, he didn’t even really know about Fuyuhiko until his friends started talking about the guy, though Kokichi could figure there were younger members of the Kuzuryuu clan. Though…someone scary enough for Kaito to not even try to shoot his shot (and to actually turn down) was the kind of person that really did live up to the reputation of underground kingpins. 

“Sheesh, she sounds like an intense personality,” he hummed. “Though the story thing is kinda sweet, even if it was for her own amusement.”

“It’s… yeah, intense is the right word. She wasn’t a bad person, I don’t wish her ill. Chick was just also openly a sadist with a chip on her shoulder to boot. She was already a pretty naturally mean and intense person while also trying to prove herself as a worthy clan-leader someday. Think, uh… heh. Honestly?” Kaito matched Maki’s bet, remembering her lame hand from the previous round, before putting out more cards. “Think Byakuya and Kaede, but if their rivalry was an open, understood thing. And, like, hopefully with less murder dependng on who their father chooses to inherit his role. Word is for a long time that Natsumi was favored to get it.”

“Honestly? I always got the impression Fuyuhiko wants her to have it.” Shuichi said watching Kaito sputter as Maki literally grabbed a handful of paper slips and threw them in, “He’s definitely a mobster and wants to be, but I don’t think he cares about leading.”

“Well… good. That’s the best case scenario, right? That the person best suited for the job gets it, and the others looked over accept it and move on with their lives? Makes their family more functional than mine, anyway….you don’t have shit, Maki.”

“Call it then, Kaito.”

“She doesn’t have shit.” Kaito grumbled to himself, matching her bet. Though, tellingly, not raising it as he moved on to put out another card. Glaring at it like the new card had personally offended him, “So, wait, where does that leave us with the drugs talk? Am I buying drugs? He said if I asked for edibles I wouldn’t even have to buy it, he’d just give them to us…”

“...sure. Why not?” Maki shrugged. “I’m not working.”

“Someone has to be sober for Miya.” Shuichi cautioned.

“Wasn’t planning to take any myself. Really just wanted to do something nice and relaxing for you guys, honestly… pluus I thought you’d all be cute to watch.” Kaito admitted. “Maki, stop. There’s no way you have anything.”

“Call it then.”

“Ugh.”

Kokichi nodded slightly. As much as he greatly disliked both Byakuya and Kaede…he could understand their rivalry, and…a version of that without the more severely fucked up stuff? Still intense! Still the kind of thing that made Kokichi pause before saying that it took all types. But probably a good thing for whatever their rivalry was for. 

“Ooh…then I’d definitely want the brookies,” Kokichi happily hummed, going back to the drug talk. “Though…I dunno. I’d wanna be able to give you backup so you wouldn’t be the only sober person both looking after us and Miya. ‘specially ‘cause I wouldn’t be able to get up to take over during the night. But it’d be nice some other time.”

Considering his winnings from the last round, Kokichi didn’t feel nervous about matching Maki’s bets. Though, he did chuckle a bit at Kaito’s frustrations. “This is the game, hun. Just keep ante-ing until everyone gets too nervous to stay in. It doesn’t really matter what cards you actually have.”

It’s really not fair, because it was decent advice for a game that meant literally nothing given entirely idly… and Kaito hated the sudden nerves that rolled uneasily through his stomach at it. Glancing at Kokichi, then at the back of his husbands cards, then at his own and the cards on the table…

…was ‘Kichi telling him to do something specifically?

As Kaito quietly overthought the advice– was he supposed to bet big when it was his turn again? Was that what he had just been told?-- Maki yawned, nodding, though she was agreeing to what Kokichi had said before that. “Yeah, if all three of us are getting high? You don’t want to be managing us, and Miyako, and pulling an all nighter on that of that. Just get a baby sitter by that point.”

“...” Shuichi flushed suddenly, entirely out of nowhere. “I wonder if sex high is anything like it was on the pollen.”

“Shuichi!” Kaito said, scandalized.

“What? Don’t get me wrong, the poppies were the worst possible kind of aphrodisiac, but that didn’t mean physically it didn’t have its moments. My first time with you two felt great, for instance.”

“I don’t know… you’ve told me before you don’t like getting overwhelmed by sex.” Maki pointed out, looking entirely unconcerned as Kaito risked betting more, matching his bet to his open annoyance. “I feel like that’s what you would get, if you mixed drugs and sex.”

“Mmmm… maybe.” Shuichi admitted, shrugging, “I guess I like the idea of being totally relaxed and giggly through sex too. But you’re right, that might make the physical part overwhelming. I guess I’m just trying to ask for two entirely contradicting feelings at once.”

…

Kokichi lowered his cards more in his lap, looking over at Kaito in concern. He wasn’t… This wasn’t a ‘game’, it was actually a game, and he… Kaito just seemed to be getting frustrated over the entire bluffing mechanic. He was just trying to…

Kokichi just frowned more at the tangent Shuuichi went on. 

Gently reaching out to press his foot against the back of Kaito’s leg, Kokichi murmured out a quiet apology before shrugging. “...people can have all sorts of unique experiences high, but I’ve never heard of it really…changing anything physical. At most, I’ve heard of people getting a little horny, but it’s not anything desperate, just kind of a lazy inclination. Personally, though…I’m not comfortable doing anything with you guys with any one of us drunk or high.”

Kaito was a little startled by the leg rub, before giving Kokichi a small smile. He didn’t have to be sorry, it was stupid anyway… “Maki, I swear, I’m gonna leap over this table if you have nothing. I don’t even care if you win, it’s gonna drive me crazy if you're betting on nothing.”

“Bring it, Momota, I can take you.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Kaito grumbled, putting down the final card. “And, yeah, that’s one of Kokichi’s boundaries things.”

“It is?” Shuichi asked, looking a little surprised at that, “That’s new to me, I think.”

“I mean, I don’t know if we’ve ever really sat down and said that specifically, but I’ve known that one for a minute, yeah. Kokichi told me once he’d rather not sleep with me when I’m drunk, and since I knew damn well it wasn’t the bad breath–”

“So confident about that. Why?” Maki murmured.

“-- beeecause, Maki, I’m a gentleman and usually remember to swig some mouthwash before we start stuff. So, like, if it was bad breath, he could just tell me to swig some mouthwash… anyway. But yeah, I realized pretty quick our ‘Kichi doesn’t like that idea. And, like, honestly? For good reason. Substance abuse and sex has not had, uh… the best track record with us.”

“I fold.” Maki said, as Kaito raised again.

“What!? What do you mean you fold!? What did you have!?”

“Eh.”

“Eh!?”

Kokichi nodded a little hesitantly, not because of discomfort, but because he was wracking his brain. “Yeah…I don’t think we’ve…really had an explicit conversation about it? But, yeah. I don’t like feeling like I’m taking advantage of you guys, and even if you’re consenting before you imbibe…it’s still influencing your ability to make moment-to-moment decisions. And I don’t like that. And for me…” Kokichi sighed softly, looking to the side. “...I’d just rather enjoy it with a clear head.”

Putting his cards to the side as Maki folded, Kokichi snorted softly and… He didn’t know. It was kind of stupid. But he couldn’t get the idea out of his head. For some reason…he didn’t know. It felt like something Shuuichi and Maki would’ve egged him on to do. 

“Eh. Lemme guess what you had…a ten and a queen.” Not a total trash hand for the round, but not very helpful either.

Maki glanced down at her queen and ten, glanced at Shuichi… before saying, “Close, but no cigar.”

Shuichi relaxed, agreeing with her choice, as Maki went to put the cards back in the deck. Kokichi had told him to just not let him feel like he was going crazy, to ignore it when he accidentally mind-read. Better not to freak him out by being right.

“Okay, so what did you have then?” Kaito pouted. 

“Not telling. But, Kokichi was close.”

“A ten and a king?”

“Not telling, Kaito.”

“Ace? Did you have ace high?”

“Just play the game Kaito.”

“I guess if it makes you uncomfortable, it’s not something I need to experiment with. Admittedly, I think a part of me was just sort of happy the idea didn’t alarm me right now, if that makes any sense.” Shuichi, idly organizing his paper shards. “I feel very bold today. Maybe it's the heat making me apathetic. Hard to overthink on a day like today.”

“Ah, man…” Kaito grumbled, glaring at his hand. Maybe he shouldn’t have raised so much…

“Aw dang,” Kokichi sighed, though he wasn’t that put out. Guessing a combination of two cards from a deck (albeit knowing his own cards and the face up ones on the table) weren’t high odds, even trying to think of the cards that would be bad enough for Maki to fold. 

Unlike guessing a king, which would’ve given her three kings, absolutely no reason to fold when she’d bet so much, Kai-chan! Unless she was just being chaotic with it, which was still an option.

Calling the bets, not really feeling like driving them up anymore, Kokichi gave Shuuichi a soft look and a nod. “As much as I don’t like the concept, it makes me happy too that you can consider it like any other option. …I guess for clarity…for me, it’s not like I’d call something off if you had a bit of wine at dinner, or took a puff. But as soon as it’s like…the act of drinking, or getting high, then I’m not comfortable.”

Smiling softly, Kokichi shrugged. “Kinda feels like today is made for conversations to not overthink.”

Kaito wished he didn’t feel like overthinking. So far his whole day had felt like a messy, sweaty marathon of overthinking everything… though, he guessed maybe in practice it was the opposite. Usually his fussy, nervous brain kept him strictly by his families side, finding it much easier to focus when he had one of them as a focal point. 

Him by himself? Beyond just looking out for Miyako for a few hours? Kaito had ended up wandering for hours, overworking himself multiple times, saying somewhat shameful things to Waku… he appreciated so much that she let him talk about difficult things, he loved her for it. But admitting to her how he had felt about Kokichi when he first got here and his lingering resentment for it had been weighing guiltily on his mind ever since. He shouldn’t tell people things like that… it wasn’t fair to gossip about Kokichi like that. People didn't need to know things like that. He believed Waku wouldn’t tell anyone, but even her knowing was still disrespectful.

Kaito sighed to himself a little, not betting anything more as he said, “Alright, show your cards… oh! Hey!” Kaito grinned lighting up, “I have a straight! That beats two pairs, right??”

“Mmhm. Piles yours, Kaito.” Shuichi said, Kaito lighting up further at this bout of good fortune, pulling the paper slips to himself. “Would you have won it, Maki?”

“Can’t remember what I had.” Maki lied, collecting the cards and taking the deck, her turn to deal. “Making a rule to not be wasted during sex is probably a good call, honestly. You three already make things too dramatic for yourselves, imagine one of you getting wasted and not even remembering anything happening the next morning. I’d be listening to you all whine and moan about the guilt of it in group therapy for the next year.”

“No one would have to feel guilty with me, I definitely wanted it.” Kaito huffed, counting his slips.

“You’d be the one bringing it up a year from now. Kokichi or Shuich would sigh about it once and you’d spend the next nine months beating yourself up about it.”

“Hey, that’s a gross simplification.” Kaito frowned, glaring at her, “I don’t beat myself up over nothing. If I’ve brought it up in therapy, it was something I shouldn’t have done that I should be still worried about. I don’t beat myself over small mistakes, I do it over big ones. And should.”

“You two are argumentative today.” Shuichi noticed, looking at his new hand.

“It’s just hot. I’m grumpy.” Maki admitted.

“Eyyyy!” Kokichi cheered, clapping a bit as Kaito won the hefty pile of paper. Maybe it was a little bad manners, but he was happy whenever Kaito won games like this, especially if he had started to over think it at some point. And…while Maki was lying, he really couldn’t tell if it was because she would or wouldn’t have won. She certainly was the reason for Kaito’s hefty pile, either way. 

And she read them like a book. Kokichi nodded, able to admit the spot-on assessment, even if…

…Kaito did beat himself up over things that Kokichi thought deserved at least a little more understanding. 

Looking at his new hand as well, Kokichi let out a short hum. “Oh… I was thinking we should find some time to consider having an appointment with Dr. Mariah. Probably not going back to regular ones yet, but…I think it would be good to check in.”

Kaito gave Kokichi an endlessly pleased grin at the little cheer, also pretty happy every time he won one. It was still surprising when he did! It was cool! Before sighing at Dr. Mariah. “Riiiight, right, we did talk about that. Almost forgot, it’s been a while. I can send out a message to Dr. Mariah, ask when a good time would be… probably not this week though.”

“A therapy session up on her roof in ninety-degree heat?” Maki said, the thought clearly upsetting as she scowled at her hand, “That’d be insane. We’d be at each others throats in minutes.”

“Kokichi would be dead before Kaito and I managed to get stabbed.” Shuichi agreed.

“I wouldn’t stab you, Shuichi… but Kaito? You’d be a dead man.”

“Shut up, you love me.” Kaito said, rolling his eyes, putting in his ante, “Though if I die and you go to jail, we should maybe ask Haneda to watch Timothy for a bit. Like, the rest of his life maybe.”

“Should we just ask her to be his godmother already or what?” Maki asked, putting in her ante as well, “Mr. Nidai keeps bringing it up. I think he wants me to ask him to be Timothy’s godfather.”

“No.” Kaito said, “Hard no.”

“Obviously. But we should pick someone, if only to get him to stop asking.”

“Yeah, we really haven't sat down and had any of the godparent talks, huh… though I am a godfather myself now.” Kaito said, chest puffing proudly, “...shoot, maybe I should go check in on them at some point. I know Temp has the nanny now, but he’s still a single father…I should make sure he and Addie have everything they need.”

“Eeeugh,” Kokichi grimaced. Really, being anywhere but the basement sounded miserable, but even being in the shade…ugh. No way he was gonna go hang out on Dr. Mariah’s roof. 

But…a check-in would be good for them. So far they had been able to get through things alright but…they needed help. Someone to look at all their points of view and help figure out how to proceed. 

Like…maybe the godparent stuff, though Kokichi thought that was something they could maybe figure out themselves. 

Nodding slightly, Kokichi hummed. “Yeah…I only got to check on them the once, after they made it back home. I know Amber and Stacy are keeping in contact with him, but it’d be good to check in.”

Giving Kaito and Shuuichi an open look, Kokichi tilted his head to the side. “...have you guys thought more about who you want to ask to be Miya’s godparent?”

Kaito made a mental note to head out when the sun was going down later that day to check on Temp and Addason. It’d be fine, he’d just go there and back, make sure his little newly gotten god-family was taken care of and okay. Temp was His now, arguably one of his sidekicks on top of that, and Kaito had to make an extra effort to take care of him. Otherwise what was the point of claiming him? Buncha lip service.

But, that would be later. Later, later, later… for now Kaito tried to focus on the game as he sighed, “I don’t know… I wish we had just, like, a super obvious, no duh choice. But the people in our lives aren’t the most… stable or… great with kids. Historically. I know I said it in a joking way, but Maki, what would you think of asking Haneda for Tim? We know her and if something happened to us, at least Tim’s life would go on relatively normally…”

“...maybe.” Maki said gently, before adding in, “It has occurred to me that we might want to talk to that General of his, now that the phone lines are up. The one that wanted to adopt him?”

Kaito tensed, rubbing the back of his neck, “Oh… so he told you about that too, huh? He said he hadn’t when he told me up in the mountains.”

“We talked about it when I took him to a hot spring for his birthday.” Maki shrugged, “It sounds like they were going to be family anyway. We basically just stole him from them.”

“No. That’s not how we’re wording that… especially if this guy tries to argue we should be sending Tim back.” Kaito muttered, the main reason he himself hadn’t reached out to the general yet. “We adopted Timothy for good reasons and he has a good life here. He doesn’t need to be moving back to Lumnary.”

“There are worse lives for Timothy than a general from a noble family who already personally picked him to join his family.” Maki said, not harshly. Gently, almost. Like she was half talking to herself. “That’s a fairy-tale ending, for most Indentured kids… it’s unheard of. Timothy was very lucky, which makes his choice to throw it all away even more baffling in hindsight.”

“Well, he got an even more happy fairy-tale ending because a damn prince picked him next!” Kaito practically growled, looking tense, “And… and Dicea is a great place to raise a kid! Better than Luminary! I might not be able to give him all the privileges a Luminary noble could back in Luminary, but that doesn’t mean he’s not happy here! Sending him back is out of the question!”

“Obviously.” Maki said gently. “But as a godfather? If something happened to us? … We’d be extremely selfish to not even consider it, Kaito. To not reach out at all.”

“...dammit.” Kaito grumbled, “I fold. I don’t have anything this round anyway.”

Haneda definitely would take in Tim if anything happened to Kaito and Maki. Honestly, Kokichi would jump as far up in line as he could to take in Tim if anything happened. There were a lot of people willing to look after him more than they already were. 

…and even more if you looked to the past. 

Kokichi didn’t know much about it, especially for the important things like how Tim felt about it. But if there really had been someone who loved Tim enough to want to take him in like that…

He gave Kaito a soft look. “Tim does have a good life here, with close friends and respect from his peers and a space to figure out life… I don’t wanna speak for you, Maki-chan,” he nodded to her, “But no one’s saying that Tim would be better off with someone else, somewhere else.”

“I know I don’t really ‘get’ it, not in the gut way,” Kokichi said softly, “But…in the way I do get it, talking about who would take care of our kids if something happened to us? It’s kind of a terrible conversation because…you’re trying to determine what’s second best in a hypothetical situation that’s traumatic and depressing. It’s an honor to be considered, but it’s a responsibility you never want to actually have to act on, you know? Ideally, being a godparent just means you get to be a doting aunt or uncle or zaza.”

“Yeah…” Kaito sighed, rubbing his hands through his hair, which he hadn’t dared tried to put gel in that morning. Too hot. “If my parents were… uh… I mean.” Kaito’s eye twitched slightly, before he corrected, “If my parents had died earlier. Uh, I-I wouldn’t have moved anywhere, most likely. Unless it was dangerous for me to be in Luminary. My godparents were picked because they were financially stable and my father could trust them to provide for me if the worst case scenario happened… and if it was unsafe for me to be in Luminary, than I’d have more places to go in Novoselic, beyond just Sonia’s family.”

“But… if Maki and I died and Tim was stuck here, I… man, I don’t know. I don’t want him to just… he’s a Luminary, ya know? Fuck, guys, he stabs things when he gets stressed out or afraid. I don’t want him to be ignored here because he’s too difficult to take care of… but I don’t want him to be separated from everything he’s building here either, going back to Luminary. I want his childhood to be stable. Stable is good…” Kaito scratched at his goatee, frowning, “...maybe we should talk to him about it–”

“I’m pretty stable.” Shuichi said. Putting in more slips of paper idly, “And I don’t plan to go anywhere.”

“...”

“I’m actually not sure why you haven't asked me already.” Shuichi admitted, shrugging, not looking annoyed, but something in his voice dangerously close to it. “Why wouldn’t I take care of Timothy if something happened to you two?”

“...um…” Kaito tilted his head, “...I guess… cause a part of me thinks you’d be dead too?”

“What?”

“I dunno! Maybe! What killed me and Maki!?”

“Maki got her ass killed falling off a rock in a mountain somewhere, and you died when a pie exploded in your face.” Shuichi said dryly, “I, as someone who does not hike or cook, am fine, and take in Timothy. What’s the problem?”

“...”

“We don’t do everything together. We’re not all going to die at the same time. The odds of all four of us dying at once? Unless we’re all caught in the same fire, the odds are very low.”

…Tim was a Luminary…but he was a Dicean (legally) too. He had a life here, not just one he was building. And…well. Kokichi wasn’t going to let it bother him enough to chime in on Kaito and Maki’s decision, and he wasn’t going to tell them. But even with the program gone, even if he was adopted by someone who would take wonderful care of him…Kokichi didn’t like the idea of Tim going back to Luminary while he was still a kid. If Tim decided he wanted to move back as an adult? Kokichi would trust him to take care of himself, and would trust in his decisions for his own life. But while he was still feeling out life as a child…Kokichi was just…worried. Feeling much better with the Dicean social safety net under Tim. 

But, well…the general was an option. And while Kokichi had been thinking of the formality of it all, Shuuichi piping up meant that Kaito and Maki were not.

…it was horrendous to think about, but…if there was some fire that somehow managed to claim not just Kaito and Maki both, but Shuuichi and Kokichi as well? Kokichi didn’t want to think about it, but…the chances meant that Tim and Miyako would probably die in it too.

Eyebrows shooting up in realization, Kokichi nodded emphatically. “Oh! Yeah, Shuu-chan’s right about the chances. I kinda thought it was, like…already implied? And that you were just looking into status stuff, but…like, of course I’d take in Tim if something happened to you guys. He’s my nephew! Of course I’d make sure he’s okay.”

A thought ran through Kaito’s head and he stiffened in guilty alarm at it.

‘Who’s going to make sure you’re okay?’

“...that’s all a really good point, but holy shit I suddenly need to pee.” Kaito lied, standing up and saying quickly, “I’ll be right back you guys, we can keep talking about this, but damn all that waters run through me. Be right back.”

Ugly, mean, ugly, stupid thought what the fuck Momota how fucking dare you–

Maki and Shuichi watched Kaito head to the bathroom for a moment… “Are you certain you could handle Timothy?” Maki asked Shuichi, “I’m asking seriously. If you say yes, then… yes. I’d take a lot of comfort in you being his godfather.”

“What do you mean if I can handle it?” Shuichi asked, looking more than a little pissed off, “Why wouldn’t I be able to handle it?”

“I’m not saying you couldn’t. I’m asking if you can. I’ll believe you if you say yes, but… you told me you could handle Addason as well, when I left, and when I came back Kaito was handling all of that and from what I hear had been the whole time.”

“...did Kaito ever spar you over that, by the way?” Shuichi grumbled. “He said he was going too. You shouldn’t have done that to me.”

“You told me you could handle it and I trusted you.”

“I was on drugs and pregnant, Maki.”

“...” Maki put down her cards and sighed, “...there’s a lot of stuff we haven't talked about, isn’t there.”

“Ugh…” Shuichi groaned, taking his robe sleeve and wiping his face off with it, “Yes… and locked in the basement together in this heat? For the next five days? Everyone on their last nerve… well. If we ever wanted to stress test Dr. Mariah’s teachings, I suppose this is it.”

“Let’s agree now to not fight in front of Timothy, at least.” Maki sighed, “We can handle this. It’s just… hot.”

Kokichi’s eyes locked onto Kaito, his mouth pulling into a frown. He did understand the question. If something happened to Kaito, raising Miyako was going to become more difficult, so it was fair to question how he’d handle taking on Timothy too. 

…but it still…hurt. He knew Kaito didn’t think of him like a child he needed to take care of, and that Kokichi was capable in his own life--just because he needed help sometimes didn’t nullify that. Accommodations in life were specifically so people could be capable in their own lives. But…he also knew Kaito worried about him a lot, with good reason to, but still…

…mostly it hurt that Kaito would just…say something like that then try to run away like he hadn’t. 

Kokichi swallowed thickly and turned back to Shuuichi and Maki having their own argument. “...’s hot. But…we’re not to…totally locked together.” Kokichi swallowed again, pushing away the hiccup in his throat. “There’s the room with the tub, and at night it should be…yanno, bearable to go outside. It might be a good call to plan to, like…take walks ‘n stuff outside when we can, just to give ourselves and each other some space. Breaks are important.”

…so why didn’t Kaito just…fucking say he needed a break, instead of running away like that?

Shuichi gave Kokichi a mildly startled look, while Maki sighed lightly. “Oh, Kokichi…” the little hiccup in his throat was all Shuichi needed to calm himself down, scooting over and lightly hugging him, pressing his forehead against the side of Kokichi’s head. He knew it was too hot for something like this, but… “Sorry, Maki and I aren’t fighting fighting. I’m just being a little short tempered. Honestly, it’s good that this has finally come up… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you…”

Because there was no other logical reason Kokichi would suddenly be on the verge of tears, than his and Maki arguing. Obviously. 

“Having conversations like this is the reason we do all that therapy stuff anyway.” Maki said, in agreement. It was probably best it had finally come up. “But, yes… breaks and thinking out what we want to say… though again. Just not in front of Tim.”

Kaito, face wet with water from the sinks, came out and said cheerfully, “Hey, we have cold water in the sinks, in case anyone wanted to know. Also, I think I’m gonna dump some more towels in some fresh ice, cool us all down. Does anyone not want a cold towel… everything alright?” Kaito asked, watching Shuichi hold Kokichi.

Kokichi looked over at Shuuichi in mild surprise and…well, the contact was nice, even if it was way too warm. Maybe…maybe he was overreacting. It hurt but he understood where Kaito was coming from and…it really was embarrassing to have stuff like that slip up. Maybe Kaito had just panicked… He knew his husband beat himself up over that kind of stuff pretty harshly. 

“No, you guys are okay… Well. I mean, there’s stuff ya gotta talk through, and the feelings that were hurt aren’t, like, okay-okay, but…that’s not… You know.” Kokichi stopped himself from shaking his head, not wanting to shake Shuuichi off, and instead reached out to briefly give Shuuichi’s hand a squeeze. “I’m not upset by you guys clashing and wanting to work things out. I’m okay.”

Glancing up at Kaito as he returned--and a new cold towel sounded pretty great right about then--Kokichi…could concede he was maybe blowing things out of proportion a bit. But he couldn’t keep from just…looking at Kaito for a moment. “Yeah… Everything alright with you?”

“Mm~hm!” Kaito grinned, absolutely determined to be as he said, “I’m just feeling overheated. Alright, I’m gonna make a super quick trip to the dining hall to get non-melted ice, come back, do the towel thing, and then I wanna finish our godparent conversation, and also, Shuichi, Kokichi? While I’m taking the walk, wanna mule over the idea of maybe… Lake and Nazumi? For Miyako? Or… okay. Hold on…”

Kaito sighed, wiping his forehead… before saying, “Maki? I… Shuichi’s right, we’re not all probably gonna die at the same time in the next ten to twenty years… but there’s some stuff I need to talk to you about, seriously, about the idea of you… raising Miyako–”

Maki waved her hand, “Towels first. That conversation second.”

“Got it. Anyone want anything else since I’m heading up there? Anyone else wanna stretch their legs?”

Kokichi’s lips quirked down a little. Just…a lapse of judgement while being overheated. It happened. 

Considering he was the one to first bring up Lake and Nazumi at all, Kokichi was up for that conversation, and…everything else they could take one step at a time. Just like everything. 

Shaking his head, Kokichi groaned. “You couldn’t pay me to go out there right now. It’s all bad, but mid-afternoons are the worst.” Seemingly realizing that, though, Kokichi held up the personal fan from where he’d set it next to him. “Oh, on your trip up, at least, since you’ll have ice on the way back…you wanna take the fan?”

“Mmmmm, no, but,” Kaito leaned down in front of him, pointing at his face and grinning, “Blow me for a bit? For the road?”

Kokichi smirked a bit. “It’s way too hot for that.”

Dutifully, Kokichi turned the fan on and angled it towards Kaito, giving him a bit of cooling before he faced the murderous heat of the rest of the world.

“Tsk, maybe for some people.” Kaito teased softly– though, admittedly, doing anything sexual in this heat was… maybe a little too much, even for him– before happily standing in the wind for a bit, pushing his hair up and letting the wind blow against his temple a bit before sighing happily, “My good ‘Kichi, always taking care of me. Alright! I feel reenergized! No one wants to come? Maki?”

“Ngh.”

“Tsk. I swear, I’m the only Luminary in this room. Alright! Be back in a flash!”

As Kaito headed up, an idea occurred to him… “Two flashes!” He called back, heading out. 

“...should we talk about anything before he comes back?” Shuichi asked.

“Why?” Maki asked, looking over her cards, “Keeping secrets?”

“...Maki.” Shuichi said, half exasperated and half genuinely annoyed. “Are you trying to piss me off?”

“No, actually. I was genuinely asking if there was something you wanted to talk about that you wanted to keep from Kaito.” Maki sighed, “I just… said it the wrong way. I was partly making excuses earlier, but the heat might actually be making me more short tempered. I’m sorry.”

“...oh.” Shuichi sighed, letting the tension run out of him. Maki didn’t often apologize on her own, so… he took it seriously. She meant it. “...”

Okay, technically? Technically he was keeping secrets from Kaito again, they, technically, all were… but Kokichi didn’t know he was keeping a secret, and it wasn’t a secret secret. They were going to tell him! Eventually. When Kokichi remembered. Shuichi didn’t want to count it as ‘keeping secrets’ from Kaito. So he said, genuinely, “No. Not really. I guess I’m just checking in now since sometimes there are things we don’t talk about with Kaito around. Is everyone… I don’t know. Is there anything anyone wants to talk about that might trigger Kaito?”

…oh? Kokichi wondered what that was about. He wouldn’t say no to some pre-dinner ice cream, if Kaito got the idea that something cold and sweet would help everyone’s mood. It would probably work, too. 

He wondered if this was why they didn’t tend to do much impactful work during heat waves, everyone getting more irritable when they had the energy to feel anything but miserable. 

Smiling slightly at Shuuichi and Maki stopping another fight before it blew up, Kokichi… He didn’t want to keep secrets from Kaito. Or any of his family, aside from fun secrets, like holiday gifts ‘n stuff. But…there were things that would be better discussed with certain people…

Thinking back just a little earlier, Kokichi looked at his friends, eyebrows slightly scrunched in worry. “...he didn’t seem, like…overly bothered by it, and I think he forgave me… Was I being too pushy earlier, with the game? I don’t… Everyone has a way they like to play, you know? I don’t want to take that away from Kai-chan.”

“Huh,” Shuichi asked, giving Kokichi a genuinely bewildered look as he asked, “...when?”

“Kaito got sketchy and nervous when Kokichi offered advice in how to play.” Maki said, sighing as she laid down on the floor, stretching out, her tang-top bunching up over her stomach as she sweat, “I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”

“...” Shuichi sighed, running his hand through his hair… before scowling, “I want to cut my hair.”

“Oh?” Maki said.

“And I want to stop being like this.”

“Hm?” Maki hummed, closing her eyes. 

“I’m the person who watches people expressions, tries to read their minds… how do I not notice when Kaito’s upset right in front of me?”

“It’s not like you're infallible.” Maki sighed, “And Kaito encourages you to be self-involved when you’re around him.”

“So? That shouldn’t matter.”

“It does matter. You all keep trying to take responsibility for each others emotions, mind reading and managing each others feelings for each other. Dr. Mariah spends half her time in our sessions trying to talk you out of doing literally that and just asking each other things.”

“Look who’s talking. You manage other people against their will all the time.”

“...yes.” Maki said, sighing, “And half the time they resent me for it. Or I manage them poorly. I can keep people physically safe if I try really hard, but mentally… trying to manage you all is a bad habit. Honestly, I’ve been trying to be better. Just… talking to you all. It’s hard. I don’t always do as well as I’d like. But I am trying,”

“...that said? No, Kokichi, I don’t think you were pushy earlier. Kaito getting upset was something in his own head that didn’t seem to have anything to do with you. If there’s something to be resolved there, I don’t think it’s your actions.” Maki sighed, “It’s probably something Kaito just needs to talk about with us.”

Kokichi saw it because he knew to look for it. And…he didn’t know. Sometimes people were just…so outward with their emotions that it was almost like he could feel them. It had been obvious, to Kokichi, that Kaito had started stressing out when Kokichi commented on Maki’s play style. 

But that didn’t mean it was actually obvious. Even for a detective. 

Smiling slightly, Kokichi gave Maki a fond look. “I think your efforts are paying off, for the record. And…you’re right. Even getting back into it is a little…micromanage-y of me, but…I dunno. I wanted to see how it looked outside of my own head. That I’m not asking Kai-chan means that I don’t think it was really that much of an issue, at least where it came from my own actions…”

“...and it is something the two of us talked about before,” he quietly admitted. “A little, at least. But…he said himself it’s something he needs to work through on his own more. I just…I got nervous about…him not asking for help with any part, or feeling like he can’t call something out ‘cause it’s all wrapped up still. But that’s something we need to discuss with words.”

Looking up, Kokichi smiled fondly at Shuuichi. “I like Shuu-chan’s consideration, but we shouldn’t have to moderate each other. …do you think you’d wanna bother Denji-chan for a haircut this week, or wait until another time? It might be the most relieving right now.”

“I was feeling annoyed and just wanted to cut it all off, honestly.” Shuichi murmured… before sighing. “That would devastate Kaito though. I suppose I should get it properly cut.”

“Don’t lie to yourself, Shuichi. You can’t handle you having a bad haircut either. You’re just as vain as Kaito.”

“What? No. No I’m not… well, you are too, if I am! You cutting your hair was an event.”

“It was part of my self-identity arc.” Maki said… before frowning in annoyance. “Darn it, Kaito. Stupid literature trope bullshit… and yes. I’m vain too. Spoiler-alert, Shuichi, we all made friends with people who were like ourselves. We all are more alike than we are different. We literally grew up together.”

“Hmmm…” Shuichi said, “...noooo. We’re very different.”

“Are not.”

“Are too.”

“Not.”

“Too.”

“Not–”

“I bring ice!” Kaito called from the top of the stairs, heading down and cheerfully declaring as he held in his arms the large square machine as well, “And music! Music to soothe the beasts.”

Kokichi snickered a bit. “Oh, if that was it, then I definitely could give you a hand. One of us needs to rep the perpetual bedhead look.”

But Shuuichi would hate it. The difference that Kaito had was that he was glamorous. Meanwhile, Shuuichi and Maki wanted to command a certain type of authority from their appearances. Something nice that didn’t stick out, either by being too plain or too ostentatious. 

Kokichi, on the other hand, had his first proper haircut in over a decade for the sole reason of making sure it was out of baby grabby-hands. However, that was one difference from his friends that Kokichi took more delight in than the uncomfortable anxiety those things usually spurred in him. 

Laughing a little at their quabble, Kokichi perked as Kaito’s voice came down the staircase, sliding a leg under himself to better see over the couch. “Ooooh, good idea, hun! What record did you snag?”

“A few different ones. I got some violin stuff, some jazz stuff, some singing stuff… my thought process was we’d find the one that makes us the least ready to bite each clothes heads off!” Kaito grinned, putting the record player beneath the coffee table, and placing the newly refreshed bucket of ice down. “Shuichi, handsome, please pick from these records which one you want to try first, and I will dunk some towels! Cold towels coming up!”

After a moment, bouncy, fun saxophones and piano filled the air, and after another moment cold towels were distributed, Kaito going to check on Miyako real quick before settling down at the table, a towel around his own neck as well.

“Okay… so. I’m certain you all talked pretty in depth about the Nazumi and Lake idea while I was gone.” Kaito grinned, looking around expectantly, “What thoughts did you all come to?”

“...” Shuichi glanced at Maki, who glanced back at him with an equally ‘whoops’ look, “...uh…”

Ahh…that would be an exercise between being soothed and getting frustrated that it was too hot to dance. But that was a kind of frustration Kokichi would absolutely take, especially if it distracted from getting irritable with his friends. 

Another round of cold towels would help with that too. 

Once they were all settled again, Kokichi sat with his head tipped back on the back of the couch, his towel wrapped as much around himself as he could manage, even sitting with his legs crossed to soak in that sweet, sweet chill. And not even disappointing Kaito could take away from the comfy place he’d settled into.

“We didn’t,” Kokichi hummed truthfully, reluctantly picking his head up to give Kaito a sheepish look. “We mostly just kinda talked about how it’s hot and we’re gettin’ grumpy, but being aware of that and not wanting to lash out. But I think I’m good to talk about Lake-nee and Nazumi-ba now, if you wanna.”

Kaito sighed, “Come on, guys… alright, alright. That’s fine. Yeah, let’s talk about it–”

“Shouldn’t we discuss why you don’t want me to raise Miyako?” Maki asked.

“... I mean, one that at a time?” Kaito said, wiping his face with the cold end of one of the towels. “...Maki, please. You have to know already why the idea makes me nervous.”

Maki nodded, her eyes cold and distant. “I’m dangerous and my parenting style is violent.”

“What? No.” Kaito said, brow furrowing, “I mean, we’re working on that, you havn’t touched Tim in ages, not since we talked about it, and I know damn well you’d know better than to ever hurt Miyako. You’re not crazy, Maki.”

“...oh.” Now Maki looked confused, “...then why?”

“Because you’re really bad at staying in one spot!” Kaito said, looking exasperated that he even had to explain, like it was obvious, “Literally the word I keep using over and over again is stable. I want my kids safe and bored. I want them to know what tomorrow is likely gonna be like, and the day after that! I want them to be able to rely on everything around them! I want their parent to stay for the long haul, be there day by day… and Maki, you…”

“Do you think I’m going somewhere?” Maki asked. “Do you know something I don’t? Because I have no plans.”

“Right now? No. Maybe even not for a few years… but someday you’re gonna feel the urge to wander, Maki. Some new big thing will call to you, you’ll… you’re not the type. To just hold still and do nothing.” Kaito sighed, rubbing his palms over his eyes, “I’m ready for that. I want that for you, I didn’t… I didn’t bring you to Dicea hoping to pin you in place for the next decade. I didn’t throw Tim at you to trap you. One day you’ll want to go, and I’ll… I’ll be here. To watch Tim. Day by day. And that’ll be okay… but I want Miyako, especially, to have someone she can count on being there every day. If I died, I know Tim would still have Shuichi and Kokichi to be there for him every day when you go on your next adventure, but if Miyako ends up with just you… I just worry you’ll prioritize some future mission over raising her.”

“...that’s a lot of assumptions, Kaito.” Maki said tiredly.

“I have good reasons for them.” Kaito practically growled. “Don’t turn this around like I’m being paranoid over nothing… this literally just happened.”

…the thing was, they both had points. It wasn’t someone being irrational, or one side just being markedly…selfish or cartoonishly evil. They both had points. People were complex. An answer wasn’t always a ‘right’ one and a ‘wrong’ one. 

“...honestly, that’s something I was worried about too, when Kai-chan first told me about godparents,” Kokichi said softly, not kowtowing, believing he shouldn’t butt in on this conversation, but just being calm. Hopefully soothing. “Maki-chan is a person that grabs life by the horns, and we’ve talked before about…like, homebodyness, versus wanderlust.”

Turning to Kaito, Kokichi gave him a nod. “You’re right. You do have reasons to be anxious about Maki-chan choosing to settle down somewhere for Miya.”

“However,” he then turned to Maki, giving her a nod as well, “Those are assumptions. Informed ones, but things we took to be true without talking to you about them.”

“...none of us know the people we’re going to be in five years. Fifteen. Thirty. We can make guesses, look at our habits and decisions of the past, and paint a vague picture. But we don’t really know. Things happen, people change…and that change isn’t always reactionary or subconscious. Sometimes change happens because of what you want, and you make conscious choices to change and reach that goal.”

Kokichi looked back at Maki, his eyes serious. “...for me, this isn’t something I want a snap answer to. It’s something I’d hope you’d consider for a long time as we’re all growing and living together. But I won’t assume--I’ll ask this time.”

“If something happened to the three of us, would you want to prioritize being a stable parent for Miyako?” His gaze softened there. “...like I said, this isn’t a one-and-done answer. It’s something to evaluate as the years go by. And there’s nothing shameful about wanting to dictate your own life.”

Maki… looked briefly sad. Disappointed with herself.

The instinct hadn’t been to say yes. That hadn’t been her automatic thought. Her first thought had been ‘I’d take her with me.’

But that wasn’t what they were asking her for.

“...I’d always prioritize her safety.” Maki said honestly… before sighing. “But, I know that prioritizing someone’s safety doesn’t equal staying around them, for me. I convinced myself leaving for Luminary was prioritizing Miyako’s safety when I left. All of your safety… I’d still argue it had, in a way. But not the way Shuchi or Kaito wanted. Not in the way that kept me here.”

There was silence, for a moment. Jazz musically playfully bounced and danced through the air as they all awkwardly looked at each other… before Maki said, “Okay. So why Nazumi and Lake, then?”

“They own a house.” Kaito said.

“...really? That’s the only point?” Shuichi asked.

Kaito shrugged, “They have a house they own and maintain themselves, and have for, like… years and years, from how I understand it. Lake has a stable job. That shows ‘roots’ to me. Neither of them seem the type to run off, they didn’t leave for the war. Miyako wouldn’t leave the city. When it comes to ‘stability’ they’re… kinda the two most stable people we know on any sort of personal level. I mean, I know, I know, Lake, killed her parents, but… that circumstance was extreme. She was a kid, she was in danger, it was arguably self defense and not something that’s ever going to come up again, not in a way that would endanger Miyako. And Lake is a big sister to Kokichi, so… she’s basically perfect, herself, right?”

“Sure,” Maki said, raising a thin eyebrow, “But she comes with Nazumi. And Nazumi’s stability is… dubious.”

“...I don’t really know the story behind that one.” Kaito admitted, “But you recommended Nazumi to Kokichi for the bodyguard position. She can’t be that unstable.”

“I recommended Nazumi because of the incident at the garden, when we met her.” Maki said simply, shrugging, “She was ready to beat us to death with that shovel when she thought we were endangering him, and stopped when the situation calmed down. That’s an ideal way for a personal bodyguard to act.”

“As for her mental illness…” Maki sighed, looking tired, “...she had been around Kokichi all this time, being called ‘Auntie’, and I figured if that was going to trigger anything it would have by now. It seemed like a decent risk to bet a recommendation on. I’m not certain it’s the same risk you want to put your daughter through though.”

“...okay, wait. What’s her story exactly?” Kaito asked, also looking exhausted now. “I know… there was some sort of violent confrontation when she was a kid, right? Or a teenager, anyway. That was from her being too… possessive or something? I’ve always had the impression it was just a fight about her crush that went too far.”

It wasn’t that Kokichi didn’t think Maki would be a good mom to Miyako. It was just…the same deal with her ‘birthright’. Kokichi wanted Miya to be, as Kaito said, safe and bored. He wanted her to be so spoiled that she wouldn’t even be able to ever really conceptualize the trauma they had all gone through. There probably was a life like that on the road, but…it was going to be harder to achieve. It would be harder for Miyako to make long-term friends, or even reach out in the short term if she turned out to be shyer, knowing that she’d be gone again in a little bit. 

He wanted stable familiarity for her. And outside of Maki herself…that wouldn’t be a thing in that kind of life. 

Maybe the kind of life Maki wanted would change in a few years. In more. That’s why Kokichi left it as an open question, because people were never just one thing. But for making plans with the knowledge they had in the present…

“I trust Lake and Nazumi,” Kokichi backed up Kaito’s words. “While we’ve had our problems, they’ve been consistent people in my life, and…well, I love them, so that’s my endorsement and bias in one. They would physically protect Miya, but they’re also really loving people and would protect her heart too. Making sure she knew she’s loved, and that we loved her, and…making sure that she knew who we were. I trust them to give her the childhood I would want for her. And I trust them to love and have her back even when she’s an adult, too.”

And he really did, even with Nazumi’s issues. 

Kokichi grimaced a little. It…wasn’t really his story to tell, but…Nazumi still wouldn’t really tell it right. She was a lot like Kaito, in that way. 

“...I guess you could call it that, technically,” Kokichi sighed. Running his fingers down the side of his towel, he chewed on his lip for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “...in her struggles with an undiagnosed illness, Nazumi convinced herself that she loved a girl in her town. However…that feeling expressed itself as a…overwhelming sense of possession.”

Kokichi looked a little tired. “...in short, she stalked that girl, who barely even knew Nazumi, for months, cutting off her relationships with others, and…ended up killing four people, trying to be that girl’s ‘one and only’.”

“Yes, she has a mental illness that pertains to her attachment with others, and it’s why she and Lake have been dancing around each other for years. But-” Kokichi stressed, his gaze confident and assured, “Auntie has been in therapy for years, and has done nothing with her life since then trying to be better than that. I know it’s not how things work, but…I sincerely believe that she’s incapable of hurting people like that anymore. Could she be controlling and demanding? Probably, though I haven’t ever known her to be like that either. But I don’t believe she would be able to hurt Miyako, or anyone else in our daughter’s life like that.”

Kaito’s eyebrows shot to his hairline the second Kokichi said the word ‘four’, but to his credit, this time he kept his feelings relatively in check as… well. Once again another person here ended up being low-key terrifying. 

Dramatic backstories… he was just telling Waku. Just today. Fucking everyone, man…

…okay, so… the two people stable enough for Kaito to trust to raise his kid if the worst happened was, uh… someone who had killed her parents, and someone who had killed four people to control a crush. Sure… that was, uh…

“...man, our lives are depressing.” Kaito muttered. “Can we put on less bouncy music? I’m not feeling it.”

“Wanna try singing, or violin?”

“Uhhhh… singing? Put it on soft though. Thanks handsome.”

After a moment, some woman started softly singing out. It was still happy music, it sounded like something a woman performing at a bar show would sing. Something soft and friendly and a little flirty. It wasn’t depressing without being the manic happy bouncing of the jazz. “Thanks handsome.” Kaito said, staring miserably at the discarded cards on the table, “...well, I mean, I guess no one’s gonna be perfect… the mass murder thing was a long time ago. Gotta give her that…”

“...I mean. If we’re looking for someone without any murder in thier history, it’s not like we’re gonna find it.” Kaito sighed, mostly talking to himself by this point, “Like, a hard ‘no murder’ rule is gonna rule literally everyone out. Except maybe Hajime… and who knows. That’s a man with secrets in his closet, I’m sure of it. I bet he’s got some murdery stuff going on there… like, taking out the murders? They’re still not a bad choice. Nazumi’s pretty responsible! Could probably make certain Miyako keeps up with homework and stuff…”

Kaito, with a flop, laid on the floor and groaned. “Auuuuugh, our lives suuuuuck.”

Kokichi watched…not without an insignificant amount of anger as Kaito just…shut down from the tale. It wasn’t as if Kokichi thought it was fine, just because Nazumi had grown and proven herself to have grown, and that a lot of time had passed. Those people were dead. Their friends and family were left with that horrific hole in their lives because of her. 

But Nazumi knew that, and had gone about her life in remorse for it. Carrying everyone’s judgement on her, and proving herself to them every time. And she deserved to be able to move on with her life. 

But that was a whole concept Kokichi knew Kaito was working through, and even when he was done he’d probably still have a different definition than Kokichi’s. 

Sighing, Kokichi sank down against the couch, adjusting the towel to somehow lay across his forehead and over his shoulders without covering his face. “...the heat is horrible, but having pretty enticing prospects with my husband, boyfriend, and sister while having a healthy daughter and an ace of a nephew is pretty kick-ass in my opinion,” Kokichi grumbled softly, knowing he was being kind of a petulant asshole about it but…

Well. The heat.

“...ugh, come on, man,” Kaito said softly to himself, before sitting up, “I didn’t mean it like that. Obviously we have a lot of good things in our lives. But man… fuck, I don’t know. I don’t know… it bothers me how much we have to compromise all the time. With life, I mean. Not much we can do about it, but… it feels like everyone in our lives is some new flavor of complicated.”

And shitty. But Kaito knew better than to say that as he huffed, “I mean… I guess it’s nothing new. I’m just… noticing it more, these days. And it’s really fucking depressing sometimes.”

“I was going to say, it isn’t new.” Shuichi pointed out dryly. “We knew plenty of people with checkered history growing up. Maki and I both have checkered history. So, frankly, did you, Kaito, and that was before you got to Dicea. We really don’t have any room to judge anyone here.”

“...I know, I know, I’m sorry.” Kaito muttered, his shoulders dropping, “I know. All that stuff at home though… I guess just because I grew up around it, it felt normal. Understandable. Like, I got why all that stuff happened. It didn’t feel random. Here it feels random and keeps catching me off guard, but… well, that’s just because I didn’t grow up with it here, I guess. Hell, Lake’s thing still feels understandable to me, and… well, if Nazumi was sick, she was sick. I get that. And, I mean… ‘Kichi vouches for her, and Lake seems happy enough for their situation… and like I said. No one else is any less complicated. Here or in Luminary… Shuichi? What do you think?”

“The godparents thing?” Shuichi asked tiredly.

“Yeah.”

“Nazumi does seem stable now. Honestly, between the two, it’s Lake I think would make the less stable parent. Nazumi seems more responsible and put together these days, Lake’s a little all over the place for me. She’d be the ‘fun’ parent, I guess.” Shuichi shrugged, “But. That said? I bet they’d take it both seriously. Which is the most I could hope for for Miyako. That her parents take raising her seriously, should something happen to us. I don’t think they’d treat it idly. Every time Kokchi’s been sick, without fail, they always stop by, even when we were scaring everyone off. And Nazumi was able to get close to and look after Kokichi even back when he was pushing everyone away, including Lake. They’re attentive and involved… and their house is nice. They have a very nice garden.”

Kokichi sighed softly and tugged the towel tighter around his head. “...yeah, I know you didn’t. I’m sorry…”

He knew he was just…already irritated, uncomfortable in the heat even with all the things they did to try and mitigate it. You couldn’t always look on the bright side--sometimes wallowing in the muck was the only way to get out of it. 

(...but sometimes it felt to Kokichi that that was all Kaito was doing, and his ‘bright side’ moments were less really trying to make the future happen, and more just…having manic moments and trying to overcompensate for not living in a fairytale.)

(Kokichi knew it wasn’t fair. Kaito really was trying, and had put in so much effort into life. That he was dealing with some really horrendous things, and that pain needed to be felt too.)

Kokichi frowned softly, Kaito admitting to the complicated, rough stuff about Luminary, but… Was knowing why it happened really something that made it better? To Kokichi…it was so much scarier to think that the structure of Luminary had made horrible things on purpose, than to look around the people he knew in Dicea and come to terms that life and people were complicated, and that sometimes that chaos just meant you were unlucky.

Another difference in perspective, he supposed. 

Sighing again, Kokichi managed a small smile Shuuichi’s way. “They do have a nice house. They have this little pond in the back…Auntie said they can hear frogs from it at night sometimes. Bet they’re prolly sitting by the pond in the shade to keep cool…”

“Frogs are nice. Timothy digs them. When he goes to visit her, he could show her how to properly hold frogs.” Kaito said, again, mostly to himself. Trying to imagine what that future would look like. Timothy would live back at the castle, in his room, Maki taking care of him. Miyako would live in a house nearby, with two stable aunts… stable enough, anyway.

… Kaito was so tired. Ideally none of them would die, and more ideally, not all three of them would die. Hopefully nobody would kill them. Ideally. Maybe everyone would just leave them alone. Kaito just wanted to raise his kids by this point. That’d be enough. He was tired…

“Okay, so… Maki and I die. Shuichi? You and Kokichi have Tim?” Kaito asked, “You’d be Timothy’s godfather?”

“Yes.” Shuichi nodded, “I’d do that. We can take care of him.”

“Okay…” Kaito should still maybe talk to the kid more about the general he had left behind. It was a conversation he had been afraid to have, but… Maki was right. He was selfish to not at least talk to him about it. “And… I guess we’ll ask Lake and Nazumi to be Miyako’s godparents? And, if anything happens… our kids will be okay. It won’t be perfect, but… they’ll be alright.”

“...so, later today, at dinner, I’m gonna go check on Temp and Addason. But, uh, for right now, if it’s alright with you guys, I think I wanna go lay in the hottub for a bit.” Kaito sighed, stretching his neck a little, wincing at the little pops. “Sorry, I know technically we’re in the middle of a game, but I’m kinda worn down. Is there anything anyone needs from me before I do, though? Anything at all, I don’t mind making the run.”

“I’m fine, Kaito.” Shuichi said, looking a little relieved at the idea of a break. ‘I’m going to read a bit.”

“I might go hunt Timothy down, make sure he’s drinking water like I told him too.” Maki said. “I’ll grab something for myself when I do that.”

…what, honestly, was most likely, was that the four of them would continue to live and raise their kids as they had planned. They just were making a plan for the worst future, trying to ensure that a horrible and scary time would have a little more order to it. That was all. 

Kokichi smiled softly, giving Kaito a slightly apologetic look. “They’re gonna be super excited about it. Don’t really feeling like makin’ the venture to their place, but…after we talk, I’ll talk to my father about making sure everything’s put down in writing. We can talk about any announcement stuff later, if ya want.”

“And…I’m good. I kinda wanna lie down again,” he hummed to the offer, giving Kaito another small smile. “Have fun in the hot tub.”

“Alright. Thanks, beautiful.” Kaito grinned back tiredly, giving everyone another appraising look before deciding it’d be fine. 

Heading to the other room, Kaito closed the door behind him and sighed, before kicking off all of his clothes, shoving them into a corner before heading over to the water. The temperature was… well. Lukewarm. Maybe he should have tried the ice idea after all. Would it have cooled it down any? Though, even just water itself was a bit refreshing, Kaito dipping hs legs in, leaning back onto the hard stone and looking up at the little lights of the ceiling. Like starlights…

…shoot. He hadn’t told Kokichi about his revelation with Wizard Hobo. Talking about Queen Fuse and knowing why Luminary and Dicea knew nothing about each other. Kokichi would probably find that interesting. 

He hoped Marcus– Malcolm– was doing alright. Poor guy looked miserable. Hopefully when the library closed he’d be able to relax a little.

He should do something nice for Waku. She was such a good friend to him, she kept putting up with all of his shitty moods. He wanted to thank her in some way, do something nice that she could actually use.

Kokichi’s birthday was coming up, Isabella had reminded him of that. He hoped he had guessed right what Kokichi would want for his meal that day. He needed to get his husband a nice gift, or plan something nice… what would Kokichi enjoy… the apples in the orchard would be blossoming now, maybe a picnic in the farmlands? No, it’s so hot, maybe not… it would be the first time Kaito celebrated Kokcihi’s birthday. He had to come up with something nice. Maybe he could pry and find out what Kokichi had liked to do for birthdays in the past. Use that as a guide…

… he wondered if Byakuya ever missed him. He wondered if Kaede ever thought about him now. How were the priestess’s? Was the temple alright? He hoped everything was fine. Maki had said there hadn’t been any fighting in the capital, so… maybe the famine hadn’t done too much damage…

He hoped Timothy wanted to stay in Dicea with him. Kaito loved him. It’d break his heart to send him back. 

He hoped Miyako had liked her adventure this morning.

He was tired.

Kaito blinked a few times, the stars going fuzzy, and with his feet floating idly in the water fell asleep.

-

Kokichi had left the basement twice, actually, choosing to leave sanctuary for dinner--the gazpacho was nice and chilly, so that did help a lot--and then making good on his own suggestion and going for a walk around the castle grounds at night when it was actually moderately comfortable. And…despite them grousing at each other, despite the heat, things had been looking okay at the end of the day. 

Until Miyako had her own turn at being frustrated, though Kokichi couldn’t blame her for that. It wasn’t his shift, but he’d been awake anyway and even with two dads trying to soothe her, it still took a good twenty minutes before Miyako calmed down even enough just to get to the quiet whining stage. It took another forty after that to get her back to sleep. 

And while he wanted to be there for his daughter--and was!--the thing that had woken Kokichi up initially hadn’t gone away. 

…he was…fairly sure he was alright. Feeling cold when it was hot was dangerous, but Kokichi could tell just ambiently that things had cooled down, and…it wasn’t like he was freezing or anything. Just…kinda shivery, like his sweat was cooling him down too much. And, god…he was so sticky and gross from constantly sweating all day… They’d all been chugging water, but still Kokichi was concerned with how little he felt the need to go to the bathroom, comparatively, because that’s just how much he was sweating out. 

But…what made it the worst was the vague sense of nausea that had only become more potent as he helped calm Miya down. And by the time she was back snoozing in her crib, Kokichi didn’t spare any of them another glance before skulking off to the bathroom.

Technically, Kaito should have been asleep all evening. That was the point of the shifts between himself and Kokichi: it was meant to make certain everyone got enough sleep.  Kaito hadn’t really meant to skip it.

But the trip to Temp’s at dinner time had taken longer than Kaito had expected, mostly because he found he just… couldn’t move that fast in the heat. Oh, sure, he had started strong! Had felt pretty confident about it as he headed out. But even as the sun disappeared, Kaito had felt his body start to whine at him, demanding he stop and rest a few times… which he had refused to do. He had gone slower, sure, but stopping?? He had places to be, body! 

He had been exhausted when he got to Temp’s place, but still relieved that he had gone, as Temp had looked equally exhausted in his home. The nanny had needed to call in that day and so Temp had been awake with Addason all day, and hadn’t been able to get a good number of necessary chores done that day to beat the heat in time, such as covering the windows of the house and getting fresh ice from the market. No good. So! Kaito, with a burst of new energy, had made a run for the market, come back with some fresh supplies, helped Temp put some sun blocking curtains up on the windows, and had promised to come back the day after the next to check on him again.

He had actually felt really good about going, really jazzed up and proud… and then getting back had drained him again. Shuichi was on shift for the first part of the night (Maki had taken Kaito’s usual afternoon shift to let him go check on Temp) and Kaito had tried to sleep a bit before getting up again for his shift, but…

Look. Babies gonna cry. 

If anything, Kaito was lucky! Because now that it was his turn, Miyako seemed to have finally settled down, falling asleep! As Kaito blearily stared through the bars of her crib at her, before glancing around at his family in different corners of the room, praying that she stayed asleep, because no one had been getting any rest before this, and they all desperately needed it. Tim in the far corner curled up with Chase, Maki by the stairs, Shuichi on the cribs other side, Kokichi in the futon next to Kaito’s and…

…still?? Awake??? Where had Kokichi gone? Kaito had entirely missed him getting up again. Wait, he had laid back down, hadn’t he? After earlier? Shoot… now that Kaito thought about it, he hadn’t seen Kokichi come back yet. 

…shoot, that had to have been a half hour now. At least. Fuck, pay attention, Momota. 

Glancing at Miyako again, Kaito quietly got up, heading over to the bathroom. Heading inside, he looked around the small, squared hallway, the center a larger, public shower room, toilet stalls on the far corner, smaller, private shower stalls on the other end. Looking around warily, Kaito called out softly, “‘Kichi? You still in here?”

…he wished he really would just puke. Being nauseous was a horrible feeling, but at least you usually started to feel better after the deed was done. Just being kept on the brink was just miserable. 

Kokichi was curled up against one of the stall sides of a toilet, wrapped in a fresh towel to contain his clammy shivers, though it looked like his face had been washed, at least. But he was pale and breathing through his mouth, swallowing a lot though he’d just managed to spit up in the toilet a little. 

Hearing Kaito’s voice, Kokichi couldn’t deign to just do more than grunt briefly, stewing in his bodily discomfort.

Kaito followed the sound of his husbands uncomfortably raspy grunt, leaning over to peek around the stall door and frowning to see the state of him. Ah geez… shit, he should have noticed something was wrong earlier. Poor Kokichi looked fucking miserable. “...give me one second, beautiful. Gonna bring you some water.” Kaito decided, heading out of the bathroom. 

Grabbing a cup, moving as quietly as he could, he glanced over at the crib– still seemed quiet. Good.-- Before heading back and filling the cup up with some cool water from the faucets. It took a second, but Kaito headed back to the stall, pushing open the door and, with a small sigh, squatting in front of Kokichi and handing him the cup. “You… are a mess right now, huh?” Kaito observed, “Have you been throwing up this whole time, Kokichi?”

Kaito asked sympathetically, but also for a purpose: Kokichi looked pale and shivery and, well, a mess. Maybe Kaito should think about bringing Kokichi up to the med ward, or a healer down here…

Kokichi sighed a bit, but for how much he didn’t really want to put anything in his stomach, he knew water was important. And, hey, maybe that would actually be the trigger he needed to get the job done and move on from all this. 

Taking the cup from Kaito when he returned, Kokichi took a half-hearted sip before shaking his head, annoyed. “Thanks… Not at all. Jus’ feel nauseous.” Swallowing, he looked spitefully over at the toilet. “...think I jus’ got too hot today…’r somethin’. Feel gross.”

Looking at Kaito plaintively, Kokichi frowned. “...m jus’ gonna sit here for a while. You can go back t’ Miya.” …’cause this was around when they decided his shift was gonna be, right? She would probably be fine, tuckered out from her earlier fit, but…well, they took up the shifts for a reason, and not just so someone would be at least semi-aware for her feedings. 

Honestly…Kokichi just kind of wanted to be alone and gross. Though he did appreciate the water.

Uh huh… yeah, no. Kaito couldn’t get over how pale Kokichi was, and shivering? Why was he cold? Maybe he wasn’t, maybe he had a fever…

“In a minute,” Kaito said mostly to placate him, reaching forward and putting his hand on Kokichi’s forehead, frowning. He was warm, but… fuck, Kaito didn’t know. Was it too warm? Everything was fucking warm right now. How could Kaito tell if Kokichi had a fever in the heat like this? “Should I go get your tea? How does your chest feel?”

Kaito knew the tea wasn’t technically a cure-all, for Kokichi, but he had a tendency to think of it first whenever Kokichi didn’t look his best. 

Kokichi made a face as Kaito put a hand on his forehead. Again…he knew why. It was a good call for Kaito to confirm if he had a fever. But the warmth of Kaito’s body that Kokichi usually craved was like pulling over a wool blanket at the moment, and the last thing he wanted was that kind of dead of winter comfort. 

“My chest’s fine,” Kokichi sighed, a tinge of an uncomfortable groan in his throat. “M’ jus’...nauseous ‘n sweaty and I got too hot today. I’ll drink the water ‘n come back when I’m feelin’ better so my groanin’ doesn’t keep everyone up.”

Giving Kaito a tired, though slightly softer look, he sighed again. “Look… If it starts bein’ the scary kind of feelin’ bad, I’ll call for ya. Or go up to medical myself. Jus’...gimme some time, a’ight? I wanna be alone for a bit.”

Kaito started to idly pop his thumb joint, giving Kokichi a concerned look. He didn’t really want to leave Kokichi too it, but… in these specific circumstances, there wasn’t a lot Kaito could offer. If Kokchi was a little more disorientated, Kaito could justify just pulling him up to medical, but he wasn’t. He was just tired and miserable and a little sick. Kaito couldn’t offer him a blanket cause that was a terrible idea, but he couldn’t offer a newly dunked towel cause Kokichi was already shivering. He couldn’t even really offer to stay with Kokichi just for the company, because he was meant to be watching Miyako (and the rest of the room) right now.

Kaito couldn’t… offer much of anything right now. Ugh. He hated that. There must be something…

“Let me go refill the pitcher we have and bring it to you, so you don’t have to keep going to the sinks to drink.” Kaito murmured, standing up, “I’ll be right back.”

…he’d just keep checking on him. That was all he could do right now. He knew Kokichi said he’d go up to medical himself if it was bad, but… traditionally, if it got that bad, Kokichi couldn’t take himself to medical. So Kaito would just keep checking. 

He knew Kaito liked feeling helpful. Kaito was never happy about Kokichi being sick, but Kokichi knew that it gave his husband a sense of purpose that set his heart at ease. So…he knew Kaito was just chasing that security, and hoping that it would bring Kokichi a bit of comfort in the process. 

…but he really just wanted to be alone to gag and spit and groan in peace. And Miya really did need someone looking after her. 

“...fine,” Kokichi softly relented. “Thank you. But…really, I’ll let’cha know if I need help. Focus on Miya.”

Kaito nodded at that, and briefly, he risked placing a quick kiss to Kokichi’s temple. He was pretty sure that was a wince he saw out of the corner of his eye, but, well, Kokichi wasn’t feeling good. The kiss has been for his own piece of mind.

Heading out, Kaito grabbed the pitcher… before he heard soft little whining sounds. Ah, shit… “One second, Miya, oooone second. Dad’s coming right back, please, just give him one minute.” Kaito murmured, heading over to the bathroom with the half full pitcher. He tapped his bare feet against the tile nervously as he waited for the water to fill, urging it to pour faster. Come on, come on, he still had time, he still had time–

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa–”

“Dammit.” Kaito muttered, taking the pitcher and bringing it over to Kokichi’s stall, putting it down as he said, “Still let me know if you need anything, babe. Everything’s fine, I’ve got her, feel better.” Kaito said quickly, before heading back out.

“No, no, no, it’s okay, it’s okay, I got her.” Kaito whispered, like it was possible Shuichi or Timothy hadn’t been woken up, saying this to Maki, who was peering into the crib.

“Her diapers not wet.” Maki told him.

“She didn’t eat that much last time, maybe she’s hungry again. It’s fine, I’m gonna take her into the other room, try feeding her again.”

“You’re taking her into the hot tub room?”

“Yeah…”

“Is that safe?”

“For fucks sake, Maki, I’m not gonna let her go for a swim. I’ve got her, okay, go back to sleep. I can handle this.”

Maki’s brow furrowed… before she sighed, shrugging. Heading back to her futon as Kaito grabbed the baby bag, picking up Miyako and heading to the hot tub room. “It’s okay, it’s okay, baby, shhhh, I’m sorry, let’s let everyone go back to sleep…”

Kokichi hadn’t been able to hear the preliminary whines from inside the bathroom, but as she started to pick up volume, and Kaito was still dashing by to drop off the pitcher… It was one thing, if Kokichi was really sick, the kind of sick where he couldn’t get up and couldn’t think, to make sure he was situated, finishing his drop-off before heading to Miya. 

But Miya wasn’t really the type to immediately wail with no build up. And Kokichi, as miserable as he was, had been able to get himself to the bathroom, get himself a new towel, and wash his face, and he still could do all those things now. This sucked, but…Kokichi was relatively alright. Functioning enough. 

And Kaito had ignored their daughter to make sure he, not just had water at all, but that he had backup water. 

…Kokichi’s eyebrows drew in as he recalled the little muttered thing Kaito had said earlier. 

Kaito didn’t see him as incapable, as a child. But…fuck. Sometimes he sure treated Kokichi like that.

-

“I’m taking him out.” Maki said again, putting a wide straw hat on Timothy’s head.

Katio was trying very hard to not be angry openly in front of Tim as he said to Maki, again, “Right… where? Maki it’s almost a hundred degrees out there, where the heck could you two be going?”

“Out.”

“Where?”

“Kaito…” Maki sighed, pushing Timothy gently towards the stairs, “I don’t know where I’m taking him. I just know we’re going stir crazy. So we’re going out.”

“Maki, I don’t like not knowing where you guys are going–”

“I can’t tell you where we’re going if I havn’t decided yet.”

“Then just make a decision before you go!? Why is this like pulling teeth with you–”

“Can we go to the lake?” Timothy called back, mostly just not wanting them to fight about this anymore.

“No, it’s hot out there… Maki, take him to a museum or something, I hear they’re managing to keep those building cool.” Kaito whispered to her.

“We’ll look around, see what’s available.” Maki said non-committedly, heading up the stairs.

Kaito glared at her, pissed he still couldn’t get her to commit to where she was going, before sighing. Glancing back at the rest of his family, Shuichi holding Miyako, with a sheepish sigh. “Sorry… sorry. I’m not trying to pick a fight… but she’s in the wrong, here, right!?”

Shuichi shrugged. No real opinion on it either way, mostly just focusing on feeding Miya.

Kokichi felt a tick of irritation, but let it out in a sigh, rolling over onto his back on his futon. Eventually he’d felt fine enough over the night to come back to bed, stomach settled and shivers abated (taking a shower had helped, honestly) but it had left him tired and just…drained for the next day. He was glad Miya didn’t really require much to be entertained. 

Tim, on the other hand…was taking the boredom of hiding out like a champ, but Kokichi agreed with Maki that it’d be good to get out a little. 

“It’s hot and dangerous to be out without precaution,” Kokichi dully affirmed. “And it generally is nice to know where people are gonna be… But Maki-chan’s an adult, Tim’s mom, and versed enough with heat to know how to keep cool enough that they’re gonna be alright. Town is safe, and it’s not like Tim’s going out on his own--Maki-chan can be stubborn about being accountable to people, but she doesn’t really need much of a plan beyond ‘they’ll be in town’. Who knows what they’ll end up finding? If they made a plan, they might end up deviating from it anyway, just to be safe, or to take advantage of things that they see on the way.”

Kaito grit his teeth, balling his hands into fists. “...okay, but if I had an idea of where they might be, and something goes wrong, I could go find them.”

Kaito did not think he was asking too much here! Sure, Maki was used to taking care of herself in dangerous circumstances, used to taking care of other people in dangerous circumstances, but… “What happened to her needing me to ‘make decisions’?” Kaito seethed, looking up the staircase, like Maki might still be there, “Swear to help me make decisions, Kaito… but the second I actually tell her not to do something, oh, nooooo, Maki knows best–”

“Kaito.” Shuichi sighed, “Rub your rock.”

“You rub your rock.” Kaito grumbled… before heading to where his pants were crumbled up in the corner, looking through his pockets before finding his pebble. “Stupid fucking rock, I don’t need to rub the damn rock, I need everyone else to just listen for once…”

Kokichi felt his eyebrows twitch. Sure, he’d had his share of less than kind thoughts over the past day about his family, but…he was hot and irritated, and he knew that once the weather cooled and they could spend more time apart, he’d realize that he didn’t think that way at all. And he knew that was true for Kaito, too, even if there were grains of truth here and there. 

But at least Kokichi had the courtesy to keep his mouth shut about it most of the time. 

Huffing, Kokichi threw an arm over his head. “Kai-chan. Maybe you need a walk too; you’re being kind of a jerk. Maki-chan and Tim will be fine.” Just ‘cause he was traumatized didn’t mean that people literally were going to be put in peril the second Kaito took his eyes off them. Like Kaito would even be the person most capable of helping in that sort of situation. It was supposed to be Miyako that was the one among them without object permanence. 

…maybe just keeping it to his thoughts wasn’t very good either, but…at least he wasn’t hurting anyone else.

Oh, come on! Kaito was being the jerk!? He fumed, taking his discarded shirt and using it as a makeshift rag to rub the damn stupid fucking rock. All he had asked for was his friend to tell him, to give him even a fucking idea, where she was taking their nine year old! In near 100 degree weather! That felt reasonable! Why was he the jerk!? 

Maki was being the jerk. Like usual. God, Kaito had, just, the worst friends sometimes. 

…he didn’t want to go on a damn walk. He wasn’t a fucking dog. Fuck him.

Kaito winced, that last sentiment just a tad too serious. Okay, okay, calm down… Kokichi wasn’t calling you anything, you big, dumb baby. Why are you so pissed? Calm down. Go to sleep or something, you haven't slept yet, you’re just… grumpy and tired. And lashing out. Calm down.

Kaito rubbed at the pebble until he felt some of the anger bleed out of him… “Maybe I’ll take a nap in the other room.” Kaito murmured, before looking over to give Kokich a concerned look, “Unless you wanted to take a dip in there? I know you said you were feeling better, but… you were looking pretty down and out last night, ‘Kichi. You need to make sure to stay cool today.”

Kokichi shifted, switching the arm over his head. Ugh…he could practically feel Kaito fuming, didn’t even need to see him. Yeah! Maki could be overly stubborn, and she could’ve said something like they’d check out the pond or see what shops were open and see what was cool, and while those were still loose plans, they were something. But she didn’t need permission to take her son out to town, and if they really were just gonna bum around and follow their whims, then that was just as informative as saying anywhere. 

Kaito was just being paranoid, and letting it drive him towards being a control freak. It was annoying…

Letting out a little huff as Kaito spoke again, softer this time, Kokichi shook his head a little. “I might later, but I’m good here. I think spending the whole day here is gonna help. Have a good nap.”

“...okay.” Kaito said softly, giving Kokichi another concerned look, before shifting his attention to Shuichi, “You need anything handsome?”

“Nope.” Shuichi said simply, looking tired and exasperated, “Go sleep.”

Kaito hesitated. They both looked miserable, how could they not need anything? He was offering, just use him already, what was the point of just not taking advantage of the only person here who wasn’t going to pass out just walking around–

Kaito frowned, rubbing his eyes. Shut up. Shut up. They could fucking walk, he didn’t need too… ugh! They’re fine! They can handle it! 

(What if Miyako starts crying?)

So what if she does!? They have her! It’s fine. Go to sleep. 

“...you’ll come get me if something goes wrong?” Kaito said, worrying his joints. “You can just shout, I’ll hear you.”

“Go. To. Sleep.”

“Right, sure, sure, I’m being ‘crazy’, sure. Like shit doesn’t go wrong every five seconds–” Kaito continued to grumbled, turning sharply and heading into the other room. Immediately feeling like an asshole as he closed the door behind him. Really? Really? Gonna walk away from them while muttering under your breath? Fucking dick. Why are you like this? 

Kaito kicked off the briefs he had been wearing for Tim’s sake, and despite having intended to sleep, jumped into the tub instead. He sat under the water and glared at the dark fog of it, holding his breath… he had a brief desire to punch through the water, but as he debated it for a second, he immediately felt foolish and immature to even have the desire. What, we’re water-boxing now? Why? Pull it together… he got up from the water, taking a deep breath before relaxing against the tub wall. Ugh… heh. He almost wished the tub was on, actually. Damn he felt tense.

There were only a few beats after Kaito left before Kokichi scoffed quietly, turning on his side and glaring into the air. Was it just going to be a habit now? Kaito grumbling dumb, hurtful stuff as he left rooms? …jerk.

After another few moments Kokichi glanced up at Shuuichi. “...this is only the second day… This is awful, if we’re already pressing at each other’s nerves…”

He sighed, closing his eyes. “...I’m not trying to rile him up. I’m just…annoyed. And he’s annoyed, and that’s making me more annoyed. …’m sorry if it’s makin’ stuff harder for you too.”

And he’d be sorry to Kaito later too, but for now…he was just annoyed. Hopefully Kaito really would cool down a bit from his nap. Being hot and tired just made it 10x worse. 

Kokichi shifted onto his stomach again, folding his arms under his pillow and resting his head on it, sweat already beading in the dip of his back despite his frequent shifting. But…it was better than it’d be hanging out in their room. It’d be pooling in that case. 

“...maybe Maki-chan an’ Tim’ll bring back popsicles for us or somethin’.”

“They might.” Shuichi said gently, mostly just… a little mentally tuned out. He wasn’t really annoyed, or angry, or really anything. He mostly felt apathetic. Just focusing on his task of taking care of Myako, though he’d be glad when she was settled and ready to go back to the crib. Hopefully she’d sleep more steadily today than she had last night. “Though, if you wanted ice cream, you could ask Kaito. It’d give him a reason to take that walk. Which, I imagine you’re right: he’s probably a little cooped up and stir crazy himself.”

“And, yes… this week looks like it’s going to be tough.” Shuichi sighed, “But we’ll be fine. Not just physically, but otherwise. We’ve had much worse weeks than being hot and grumpy and stuck in a room together. It’s going to be okay… even if you two end up getting a little short with each other.”

…which Shuichi found just… the tiniest bit fascinating.

Kokichi grumbled and turned his head. It would probably make Kaito happy to be asked a favor, and he probably would do well with getting out of the basement for a while… Maybe he would ask, if Kaito looked alright after his nap. 

(Because he wasn’t the only person tired, and Kaito had overdone it in the heat yesterday too. Kokichi wasn’t about to lend himself into feeding another one of Kaito’s frantic ‘I must help everyone and completely lose sight of taking care of myself’ episodes.)

Groaning, Kokichi rocked himself back and forth on his futon, giving his front side little moments of relief…while also being a bit childish. “I don’t like getting short with him… He doesn’t deserve it, and even if we try to talk about somethin’ actually going on he just…recedes into himself. I don’t want to be the person telling him what to do…it’s exhausting.”

“...though I could do without the new grumbling habit,” Kokichi grumbled in kind.

“Heh… he deserves it a little bit.” Shuichi said lightly, taking out the bottle and moving to burb Miyako, who laid herself fully against his shoulder as he did so, sagging against him. Someone was sleepy… good. Patting her back, he said, “Kaito’s stubborn and thick-headed. And his whole ‘everyone else desperately needs my help and I don’t need anyone else’s help’ thing has been driving me crazy for nine months now. Ten months, now. It went onto overdrive with me the second I became his boyfriend. I’ve argued with hm about it privately, I’ve argued with him about it in therapy… I can’t seem to get it to stick. How frustrating and unhelpful that mindset is.”

Shuichi gave Kokichi a mildly amused look, before laughing lightly, “I wouldn’t call doing it once a ‘habit’, but yeah. The running off grumbling thing was childish. Hopefully sleep will help.”

Kokichi sighed and nodded a bit. “...yeah. I’ve talked with him about it too. I know he just wants to feel helpful, but…in the worse moments, it terrifies me how ragged he runs himself, and in better ones it just feels bad that he won’t accept help. My help, but…anyone else’s too. And when I don’t need help and he just keeps pushing and pushing to give it…”

Grimacing, Kokichi pouted, his shoulders hunching a little as he gave Shuuichi a hurt look. It was one thing to not think the comment was a big deal, but to just pretend Kaito hadn’t said it at all? “Twice,” Kokichi softly stressed, grousing into his pillow. “They say twice is a coincidence, and three makes a habit, but…still.”

“Twice?” Shuichi asked lightly, not all that urgently. Just assuming he simply hadn’t heard the previous example, Kokichi’s abilities far from his mind right now, but noting Kokichi’s hurt tone. “What’d he say? Should I go beat him up? Actually, I’ll have Miyako beat him up. She is a very buff baby… alright, Miya. No burb this time? Alright…” Shuichi sighed, “Let’s get changed, huh. Someone’s made a mess, Miyako. It’s very inconvenient, I need to teach you some baby manners.”

“I’ was yesterday, when we were talking about the godparent stuff,” Kokichi mumbled, feeling…a little silly to rehash something that…he’d obviously blown out of proportion at the time. And was probably still sore about since he was grumpy from the heat. “Before he ran out he just…sincerely wondered ‘oh, but who’s gonna take care of you,’ after I said I’d take in Tim. He probably didn’t mean to say it…but he didn’t even acknowledge it…”

Sighing, Kokichi propped himself up from his mattress, looking over at Shuuichi taking Miyako over to the makeshift changing station. “You need any help with her?”

“Could you pass me a fresh diaper?” Shuichi asked, pointing vaguely towards the baby bag as he started to undo Miyako’s diaper… before frowning. Looking over to Kokichi with a genuinely concerned look. “He said that? Who's going to take care of you? That’s… a pretty dick thing to say, actually. I’m sorry I missed that, I would have called him out.”

Looking back to Miyako, Shuichi cleared her of the dirty diaper before starting to clean her up. “And… he didn’t acknowledge your offer, did he. Hm…” Shuichi huffed, “Do you want me to talk to him about it? Because of course you could take care of Timothy. Same way I could… and you saw how I had to do it. I basically had to twist his arm to get him to consider it. He’s probably got all sorts of reasons in his head why he shouldn’t ask us to do it, but all of those reasons are undoubtedly stupid, and we need to tell him so.”

Humming in assent, Kokichi pushed himself up into a standing position before heading over to the baby bag, taking out a diaper and unfolding it enough for easy use. When he looked back at Shuuichi, he was…a little surprised at the concern on his face. …he guessed it had been kind of quiet…

…it made him feel…a little less silly about dwelling on it, if Shuuichi thought it was mean too. 

Sighing, Kokichi shrugged a little. “I dunno… I get why he has reservations. But…it just feels like those reasons aren’t the ones that he’s choosing not to take my promise seriously. I know Kai-chan respects me, but…”

Kokichi’s face scrunched to the side, voicing what had been on his mind lately. “...sometimes it feels like he treats me like a child anyway. Despite his declarations. Like…I’m just someone to take care of. I know I don’t exactly fit the Luminary mold of what security means, but the things I can do and that mean something to me are…I see them as important. Things that are worthwhile for providing security to someone. And…sometimes it feels like Kai-chan’s just saying that none of that stuff means anything to him.”

Shuichi took the new diaper with a small thank you, finishing cleaning Miyako up and putting her in the fresh one, before leaning over and giving her shoulder a small kiss. “You ready to lay back down?” He whispered softly, picking her up and bringing her back to the crib, Miyako looking a little nonplussed about all of it, thankfully not fussy but not overly interested in what her father was doing anyway.

He listened quietly to Kokichi’s concerns, humming slightly to indicate he had heard him and was listening as he put her down. Waiting to see if she’d whine, and Miyako still looking unconcerned by anything.

“...” Shuichi sighed, “Kaito can be a hypocrite. If you feel like he’s been doing that? Then I believe you. I know he can say one thing to my face and physically do the exact opposite the next second and not even blink. I change my mind literally all the time about whether or not I think he’s lying to me or lying to himself. Either way, Kaito can be an exceptional liar.”

“All that to say: our partner can be an asshole.” Shuichi sighed, going to sit by Kokichi, and using just his fingertips, playing with his hair, airing out his scalp by moving the longer hairs on his head this way and that, “I know this can be annoying advise, and you might not even need advise, and that’s fine. I’m here to listen. But it might be worth reminding Kaito of the things he does have with you and in Dicea, since he seems so content to drive himself crazy thinking of all the things he’s lost from Luminary. There are things to be grateful for, he’s just… being an ass about it.”

…that was true. As much as Kokichi wanted to take Kaito’s words as the truth on things…sometimes there was a disconnect between what Kaito wanted to be true, and what he was actually doing. That was alright, but…not when Kaito insisted that what he wanted was already happening. 

And then Kokichi just…started to panic over if he was gaslighting Kaito again, or if he was becoming another person in his husband’s life that just never listened to him and didn’t believe in him. There was just…so much nuance, and the more qualifications Kokichi tried to be clear about, the more nervous Kaito got that there were so many conditions. 

Kokichi leaned into Shuuichi’s gentle touch, relaxing with the light affection. “...I know we should talk about it. But at least right now…I don’t feel like I can articulate myself the way I want. I feel like we’re just gonna snap at each other.”

“...and…” Kokichi mumbled, eyes going to the side. “...sometimes it feels like I can’t be clear about those things without being a jerk about it. Like…it’s pretty great that people here aren’t trying to actively manipulate him, and that we care about him as a person more than what he could provide to us! But then…he gets sad and defensive about the people who did that, but he remembers fondly anyway, or gets huffy about the people who were good to him, but not around as much… And if I try to talk about how it’s good that none of us will ever have to worry about being able to feed ourselves, or having a home, or being able to get healthcare…he just gets nervous about that too, and I don’t… I dunno. It kinda feels like for as much as he does worry about those things, it’s also like…he never worried about them in Luminary, not because they actually were guaranteed for everyone, but because he had the social and monetary privilege for it to not be a concern for him. But now he doesn’t have that, but…even if it’s promised, he still can’t relax.”

“He’s a spoiled prince.” Shuichi agreed, “And I feel okay saying that, as someone who’s loved him most of his life. He’s, in ninety-percent of situations, used to getting his way, and getting his way easily. He never had to think too hard about any part of his life because most of his life was mapped out for him in advanced. His free time was literally that– entirely free time. The only real structure he had in his life was school and whenever Tengan got involved. Not that it’s a credit towards that bastard.” Shuichi said, the curse coming out soft, matter of fact, “He was just also the only person who ever bothered to discipline Kaito long term. Byakuya usually would randomly get really, really intense and involved with Kaito temporarily for a few days or a few weeks, than seem to forget he existed for months at a time, Queen Sayaka ignored him, King Leon generally seemed to avoid him, the priestess’s loved and doted on him and the teachers largely stayed out of his way.”

Shuichi shrugged, “Kaito’s spoiled. And now he’s somewhere where all the rules are different and he doesn’t have endless resources and privileges and most people around him tolerate him more than dote on him…”

“...” Shuichi sighed, feeling a little bad to be endlessly talking shit about their partner, and amending lightly, “...and also his parents just died and his brother just disowned him and he just had a baby and there was a lot of death cult shit that had a death toll that I have a hard time conceptualizing sometimes, and he’s doing all of that while also just dealing with the ‘spoiled prince no longer being spoiled’ aspect. So… I don’t know. I think we can still call him out when he’s being a dick. But it’s probably not just him being a dick… but again. That’s no excuse for how he behaves sometimes. We’re not wrong to get annoyed or pissed or exasperated… I don’t think so, anyway.”

Kokichi frowned a bit. “...Maki-chan said that he needs to learn how to fight here. That…yeah. He’d either just get what he wanted, or be denied and never try to vie for what he wanted. And…she said that I won so hard at our first fight that he’s convinced he’ll always lose against me…” He frowned more. “...that’s why I wanted him to come to the debate with me. I was hoping…I dunno. It’d at least open the door to him learning to fight here. Instead…he just got pissed and stressed and it was…kinda horrible.”

Especially when the debate turned to xenophobia, but…the fact that Kaito didn’t seem too bothered with that part, when he had been with others, bothered Kokichi even more. 

And the thing was…Shuuichi was right. Kaito had some…attitude issues, he supposed, but he’d also been shoved into one tragedy after another for the whole year and…like, people weren’t supposed to be okay after something like that. Kaito really was trying so hard at some stuff, and…most of the time, Kokichi was proud and thankful towards his husband. Just…there was still so much further to go. 

Sighing, Kokichi pressed his forehead to Shuuichi’s shoulder, resisting the urge to nuzzle up against him. “...m just gonna try my best not to let the heat make me snap at him. Then…when this is over, I think I’m gonna try talking with him again. Or maybe we can wait until therapy…”

Shuichi huffed lightly, “Course Maki would equate it all to him ‘just needing to fight more’. I’d argue all Kaito does is fight us on everything. The problem is guessing what outcome he’s actually fighting for. It’s like…” Shuichi sighed, “This is maybe a cruel example, but it’s like when he shoved that dagger in your hand during that submission bow you talked about in therapy. Kaito forcing you to take the dagger, forcing you to go through on a submission bow you didn’t want and, I’m imagining, actively pulled away against… that’s not a lack of fight.”

“That’s Kaito actively trying to make the world around him fit his worldview. Even if the end result is him cut up.” Shuichi frowned, brow furrowing, as he rationalized this out to himself, “I don’t think the issue is Kaito needs to want things. The issue is that what Kaito wants isn’t rational.”

“... this is cruel. And it’s literally just me talking aloud, not something I actually want.” Shuichi said gently, shrugging, “But maybe isolation therapy would have been good for Kaito, after he attacked Budd. At least for a little while. Not for his anger issues, he really is making strides there, but just for him to have time to process everything that happened. That’s ultimately the point of isolation therapy, isn’t it? Uninterrupted time to self-access?”

…m. That…made sense, but perhaps Kokichi had found so much sense in Maki’s take because…he hadn’t really thought about Kaito fighting them. The way he’d applied it, it was Kaito…needing to face the world more. Carving out his space in society, though Kokichi had long since given up trying to nudge his husband into finding a job or going back to school. 

Maybe that was the same thing that Shuuichi was talking about, though, and he’d just misinterpreted what Maki said. It wasn’t about fighting to get his way, it was about…fighting himself to get the outcomes he wanted, but with the rules of the world around him. Maybe. 

There probably wasn’t a succinct way to put it. People were complex. 

Cringing a little at the thought of Kaito being sent to isolation, Kokichi scrunched his lips but sighed. “At least partially, yeah. Uninterrupted time, but…sometimes it’s not just the goings-on of life that’s keeping someone from working on themselves. Sometimes they’d end up hurting other people in the process, so they’re kept away for that. Sometimes they don’t want to work on themselves and…well, that’d hurt people too, so they’re kept away until they decide to find that motivation…or they plead for banishment.”

“...I dunno if it’d help Kai-chan, though,” Kokichi quietly admitted. “Sure, he’d have a psychologist talking with him, but…I don’t think he’d do well away from people.”

“...yeah.” Shuichi sighed, scratching Kokichi’s scalp lightly, “And, if nothing else… we’d have missed him. And also, also, Maki and I would have probably gone to bust him out of wherever they put him anyway, so… it’s less complicated that you got him out of it. Our lives would all be dramatically different right now.”

…

Kokichi blinked before giving Shuuichi a confused look. All that stuff was the sort of comforting thing that he kind of expected from these types of conversations, but…something stood out to him. 

“...Kai-chan was never being considered for self-isolation?” Kokichi said, though his pitch rose at the end, almost making it sound like a question. “Isolation really is, like…the ‘if there’s no other option’ kind of sentence. That’s…not what I talked his sentence down from.”

Shuichi blinked just as curiously back at him, genuinely interested as he asked, “...then what were you protecting him from? My knowledge of Dicea’s punishment system is fairly vague, but I’ve only ever heard therapy and isolation.”

Kokichi looked a bit sheepish at that. “...I know you guys don’t really…take it that seriously. But they were considering house arrest and a travel ban, or at least limited travel. And…there actually was a fine, paid to the Brockmans, to cover any complications from getting medical treatment, but, uh…”

…the immediate family didn’t…exactly need it. Anymore. 

Kokichi fiddled with his fingers a bit. “...I paid that myself.”

Shuichi’s eyes widened at that. “Kokichi… why didn’t you tell us? I could have helped with that… and arguably Kaito should have paid it anyway. You should tell him about that, that’s something he should thank you for.”

“...” Shuichi laughed lightly, rolling his eyes as he said, “...I am apparently just mean today, but after awhile, wouldn’t that have been very funny? The second you started realizing you weren’t actually trapped in the castle, Kaito suddenly couldn’t leave? He would have been so dramatic about it too. He’d have whined so much.”

Kokichi just shrugged a bit. Things had been…hectic. His friends had still been right at the beginning of learning things about Dicea, and Kaito had just lost his parents and could barely even think about it, and they were trying to help Shuuichi through his addiction… He remembered thinking he didn’t want…Kaito getting the idea that he was getting off because he was a prince. 

…and…yeah, technically Kokichi had pulled some strings, but…he went through channels that anyone could use. He provided character witness, explained that Kaito’s assault hadn’t been unprovoked, explained their life situation and suggested what would be most beneficial for Kaito actually getting to a place where he could control his anger better. Sure…he had more credentials than the average person, but…Kokichi did want to hope that it was the strength of his arguments that had swayed the court.

“It seems a little silly to bring up now…” Kokichi mumbled. And though he snorted softly at Shuuichi’s sort-of joke, he simply shrugged again. “It wasn’t like we were really going out much then anyway. Though…it would’ve been a lot worse with the whole…kidnapping thing if he had been on house arrest too.”

“...” Shuichi sighed, closing his eyes. “...sometimes I have nightmares about that.”

“I say ‘nightmares’, but I don’t mean how you think of it. Some nights I’ll be going through my normal memory routine, looping the day over and over, and then suddenly it’s… the wrong day. An old, stressful memory that I loop through once or twice. Not the whole way through, my memory will jump to just the stressful parts. The moments where my adrenaline shot up or my blood chilled, and I just… relive it.”

“Usually I’m aware of what’s happening, which helps. I guess it becomes lucid dreaming. But… I remember being so scared of Kaito. Because he was acting so strange. And Kaito… could make it impossible for me to string a thought together with a simple command. And he’s bigger and stronger than me, and when he genuinely wants something? When he actually decides to do it? He charges forward with so much reckless determination… I was scared he was going to hurt us. He was so out of it… and a Kaito that’s decided to hurt you can be so difficult to stop…”

“...I think sometimes I can be a little harder on Kaito than I would be you or Maki because I don’t like how Kaito can scare me, sometimes.” Shuichi said softly, face sweating in the heat, eyes lidded and heavy, “...I suppose I should bring that up in group therapy, at some point.”

Kokichi glanced over at Shuuichi, returning his gaze to his boyfriend for the first time in a little bit, and started combing his fingers through the back of Shuuichi’s hair, lifting it away from his nape. 

Nightmares, stress dreams…they were never pleasant. Kokichi wasn’t sure if it was worse, though--having an overdramatized version that you could wake up from and leave behind (with varying success in the short term, he supposed), or waking up and knowing that everything that you just saw had actually happened. But he supposed Shuuichi was used to it, not really having any kind of whimsical dream. 

“...it was really scary. Of course I was scared for Kai-chan, seeing him so withdrawn and then hurting himself and…acting so erratic.” Kokichi, briefly, pressed to Shuuichi’s side. “...but he was scary in his own right too. What, if he wasn’t really himself, he could do to us…”

“...but we shouldn’t be scared of him,” Kokichi said even softer. “So…yeah. I think that’s something to add to the list. For your own feelings, but…also if it affects how you treat Kai-chan too.”

“I know.’ Shuichi sighed, rubbing his forehead… before grimacing at the sheer amount of sweat on his palm. “Do you think there’d be any relief in just trying to wipe ourselves down with a dry towel by this point?”

Kokichi stuck his tongue out a little. “...maybe just for not bein’ as sticky. I can stick around to watch Miya if you wanna go and take a cool shower--probably would help the most at this point.”

“If you don’t mind? She’s… Miyako? Are you still awake? What are you even doing in there?” Shuichi asked softly, raising a skeptical eyebrow at his daughter, who was contently sucking on her hand, staring idly at nothing in particular as she lightly kicked her legs, “Go to sleep you little weirdo.” Shuichi scolded lightly, shaking his head. “Well, for still being awake, she seems alright. I’ll make the shower quick.”

Giving Kokichi a fond look, Shuichi lightly squeezed his shoulder, “You should know… I love you. And I’m grateful for all the things you do for us.”

Shuichi headed off to shower.

Looking over, Kokichi snorted softly, shaking his head at his daughter. Considering how content the heat made her feel, he supposed she wouldn’t really feel the need to sleep through the worst of it…but still. She’d seemed so snoozy earlier. 

“I love you, too, Shuu-chan,” Kokichi smiled back. “Thanks for listening to me. Enjoy your shower~”

And then…it was just him and the baby. 

Making sure to take a big swig of water, Kokichi got up and peered into the crib, looking over Miyako with fondness. “...I’m sorry we’re fighting so much. But all of us, me, Dada, and Dad, and Auntie too…we’re trying to be better. Hopefully you’ll get to reap the rewards from our efforts, sweetheart.”

-

Kaito’s feet was in the ocean.

He knew, technically, that it was dangerous. The giant fish was in there. It could move so swiftly and cleanly through the water sometimes that Kaito didn’t always notice it was there until it was right by the island, and he knew the fish would eat him if it had the chance. The ocean was dangerous, and unforgiving, and chaotic.

… he couldn’t help his confidence though, as he let his feet float in the water anyway. He’d never really feel part of the ocean, it wasn’t really his. No more than the tropics of the island were his, though by all rights it should be. He had been raised by the sea, after all, the son of a fisherman, and now a fisherman himself.

But, well… maybe there were some things that couldn’t be fixed, once the damage was done. He had been ripped away from his homeland too long, and the arctic snow had imprinted too deeply into him. Physically, historically, he was a Smoalan through and through, but in his heart he knew he would always think of himself as another Feinien, bundled against the snow. He had been taken and changed. There was just… no getting around that.

Maybe that meant he belonged to both lands.

Maybe that meant he’d never belong anywhere again.

Who could say.

Kaito looked down at his hands, the bulk of them the sort of physique that he sometimes forgot he wasn’t. He was taller. Bulker. Darker, his skin almost red, rather than merely tanned dark. He flexed his fingers and pretended for a moment that they might turn into claws. A dark forest, unfamiliar to him, flashing to him with a sense of unearned nostalgia. Not the forest either. He didn’t belong to the ocean, nor the island, nor the forest, nor the arctic…

He scoffed. Squaring his shoulders, spotting his reflection in the water and glaring coldly down it.

Course not. He wasn’t meant for the wilds at all. He was a prince. A prince of the desert. He was meant for large, spacious stone hallways, the rocks and burning sun and sand safe outside those walls. He wasn’t designed for running through dirt or fishing through the oceans. He was above all that.

…Kaito frowned at that. He looked up into the sky, trying to catch a glimpse of the dragon. The dragon made him feel small, sometimes, but… maybe that was a good thing. Brought back down to earth…

“… f… fish is coming.” Caleb warned softly.

Kaito sighed, feeling more annoyed than alarmed, and pulled his feet in from the ocean, and jolted awake by the tub. Looking around in bewilderment, forgetting where he was… why was his feet wet? Oh, right, he had left them in the tub cause it felt nice… right. He had taken a nap. Right. Okay. What time was it?

…uuuugh. Kaito groaned, glaring at the stars in the ceiling. He… sigh. He needed to go apologize.

….uuuuuugh.

Grabbing his briefs in case Timothy was out there, Kaito headed out, looking around uncertainly, it fairly quiet. “Anyone… down here?” Kaito called out softly, looking around.

“Hey,” Kokichi called back softly, raising a hand from the couch to lazily wave at Kaito before he set his book aside, straightening more. Shuuichi, the best boyfriend he was, had offered to go on an ice cream run, so Kokichi hadn’t traded responsibilities with him yet to go take a shower himself, but Kokichi had prepared another cool towel for himself, and that was a pretty good alternative. 

“How was the tub, hun?” he quietly questioned, turning to give Kaito his attention and a soft look. “Miya’s finally made it back to sleep, and Shuu-chan’s off getting ice cream--he shouldn’t be out too long.”

He didn’t really think Shuuichi would idle too much, considering he hated the heat as much as Kokichi did. But…even if he and Kokichi had been more or less on the same page, it still had been a heavy conversation. He wouldn’t be surprised if Shuuichi was taking the ice cream run to have a little alone time.

…Kokichi still didn’t think he was really to talk to Kaito about…things. But…he was feeling a bit calmer since he’d been alone, reading in the lounge. Maybe they could just…chat normally.

… Shuichi had gone to get ice cream?

Kaito shot the stairs a mildly worried look… before sighing. Rubbing his hand through hs hair and over the back of his neck, massaging the muscle there. It was fine… the dining hall was literally, literally, five minutes away. It was just upstairs and then across the entrance way. Shuichi was… fine.

Maki and Tim still weren’t back, huh? He supposed that made sense. Whatever they were doing, Maki probably meant to make it a day trip.

“It was fine, got some sleep. Weird heat dreams.” Kaito huffed, going to sit at one of the lounge chairs, stretching his back and arms as he glanced over at the crib. “She’s only just fallen asleep? Did she give you guys any trouble while I was out?”

Kokichi caught the worried looks, but…if Kaito wasn’t going to say anything about it, then he wouldn’t either. Kaito was working on it. 

Humming a bit at Kaito’s update--he’d seemed so tired earlier, he was glad Kaito got some sleep--Kokichi shook his head. “Nah. She’s been drowsy for a while, but just didn’t fully fall asleep. She seemed happy to suck on her wrist for a bit and just exist, bein’ a baby. I’ve checked her temperature a few times, and she’s not been overheating so…I think she really was just vibing.”

“Anything cool from your dreams?” Kokichi prompted, offering Kaito a small smile.

“She really does seem fine with the heat. I’ll admit, I was worried for a minute that I was just trying to see things that weren’t there the other morning when I was taking her around, but she really does seem perfectly content in it. My tough little heat baby.” Kaito praised, though his words were a little rushed, for his usual gushing. Kaito was doing better with sleep, but feeling better made him just a little more aware of how haggard he actually was. He felt like he was wearing his skin. Gross. “Wish I had her gumption. I think the heats starting to get to me a little. I should probably drink some water, actually.”

Kaito went to pour himself a cup and, noticing the empty cup near Kokichi, wordlessly went to refill that too, before putting the pitcher back down. Sipping from his cup– lukewarm. Ice cream would be super nice right now, but Kaito should make sure they had more ice too– he shrugged lightly. “Had another fake island dream. I think I’ve told you about that one before. Weird little island that’s, like… too perfectly circular and small and stuff? Like someone just put sand and a tree on a bit of chiseled stone in the middle of the ocean, which is always really shallow right up until it isn’t… big ol’ fish and dragon running around.”

Another long sip. “It was nice, actually. I havn’t had a familiar dream that I remember in a long time, maybe a few months now. Feel like I barely remember my dreams at all these days. Which is a shame, honestly. Can’t take them too seriously, but when they’re not being super scary and weird? It can be nice to dream. Go on weird little adventures for the night… ngh.” Kaito rubbed his forehead, “...I gotta apologize.”

“It’s lucky, right?” Kokichi laughed softly, looking over at their snoozing daughter. “With the sunlight thing, I figured it was good timing that she has a late spring birthday, but I’ll admit thinking about the heat waves concerned me… But she’s handling it better than, like, all of us. She’s gonna be so exasperated when she’s older.”

Thanking Kaito for re-filling his glass--he’d finished it not that long ago, but it was nice to get more--Kokichi tipped his head back, trying to remember what Kaito might’ve told him about an ‘island dream’. 

And…there was something that pinged his memory, but… …it was his own memory? And he had been waving at someone… Looking so briefly at that little island…

…maybe he’d daydreamed about it after Kaito told him about it.

“Sounds like a cool place,” Kokichi nodded, before his expression softened. “We’re all getting a little heated. Not that I’m tellin’ you you shouldn’t, but I think Maki-chan understands.”

“What? No, I mean… I dunno, maybe to Maki too.” Kaito grumbled, shrugging, “But more to you guys. You, Shuichi, Tim. Maki and I having a fight shouldn’t be all of your problems. I definitely shouldn’t be making you, like… pick sides and then acting like a brat when you didn’t pick my side. That was shitty of me. That’s my bad… sorry, ‘Kichi.”

Kokichi’s eyebrows tilted up and his expression softened even more. “Thanks, Kai-chan. I accept your apology. Again…I don’t think any of us but Miya are our bests right now; it’s not an excuse, but it’s understandable. Sorry for calling you a jerk. I know you’re just frustrated ‘cause you care about Maki-chan and Tim.”

“You called me a jerk? Oh… yeah, I guess you did.” Kaito said, scratching his chin… before chuckling. Leaning back against the long chair, putting the bottom of the cup of water on his forehead to let it cool there a little, “Ha. You’re so foul-mouthed, ‘Kichi. Why you gotta be so mean to me all the time? I’m very delicate, you know.”

Kokichi smirked a little before he nodded sagely. “I know, I’m so crude. Can’t believe I can say such vulgar things to my pure and innocent husband. It’s a fatal flaw--really gotta work on it, especially with tender ears around me so much.”

“Exactly, ‘Kichi. You have to be nice to me. I’m as sweet and pure as the fallen snow.” Kaito snickered… before groaning. “Ugh. This is miserable. Does this happen every summer? I mean, look, conceptually, I get it, the winter snow lasts for months here so that’s the priority… but if this happens every year, why is the only preparations here just bunker down and hope to survive it? No one’s ever come up with a better idea?”

Kokichi made a sound half between a hum and a groan as he shrugged. “It’s usually not for a week…and during the waves, it getting up to 90 pretty much only happens for maybe three or four hours one day. Like, I’m always uncomfortable, but I could usually just lie around my room and, yanno, live.”

With a sour look, Kokichi stretched out on the couch, pressing his towel into his neck. “It being in the 90s for five days? I think something like this has only been recorded, like, once.”

“...maybe we should look into better ways to beat the heat, though,” he said after a moment. “At least implementing something into public buildings for people to escape into, if it’d counter winter prep too much.”

Kaito snorted, opening his eyes and staring somewhat genuinely bitterly at the ceiling, “They heard we were coming. The Luminaries. Dicea weather was like, bitch, we’ll make them regret showing their ugly mugs here. Ha, well, jokes on you weather… nah, I got nothing. This is pretty bad.”

Kaito shrugged, turning over on his side and looking Kokichi over. “...I wish I could do more for you.” He admitted, brow pinching in concern lightly, “At this rate, you’re gonna end up five pounds lighter, and fuck, that’s weight you can’t afford to lose… okay, thought. Denji has these fans they keep on them? I bet you anything that drama queen has a really big one. I go steal Denji’s fan from them, get some workout time in and you cool down a bit… I think it could work, at least for a little while.”

Kokichi echoed Kaito’s snort, though to him it more felt like…like the weather was going, oh? Oh, you think things are too cold? You’re from a desert, prefer things hot? Alright then, let’s give you hot. …still not any kinder, though. 

Looking over at Kaito, Kokichi gave his husband a sweet look. “You already do a lot for me. Honestly…thinking of coming down here in the first place? That’s already amazing, hun, and…it’s probably gonna be the idea that’s gonna keep me out of the med bay…or the hospital. It sucks, but…like, I was reading before. I have the brainpower to read, and I’m not so sweaty I don’t wanna touch the pages. That’s incredible for a heat wave.”

“...though, we probably could ask Denji-chan for a fan,” he considered. “It could be nice for all of us.”

That was all the encouragement Kaito needed, as he started to shift up, “Alright then! Operation Mug Denji is a go! They’re not that big, I can take ‘em… oh.” Kaito heard the upstairs door open and called out, “Shuichi?”

“I’ve brought ice cream.” Shuichi called down, sounding a bit worn down but otherwise okay, “You all may proceed to cheer.”

“Hold on, I’m coming, I’ll help you bring it down.” Kaito insisted, getting up and trotting over to the staircase.

“Kaito, it’s fine, I’m almost there… here.” Shuichi said, mildly amused as he met Kaito at the bottom of the staircase, handing him a stack of bowls he had been carrying in his other hand, “There, take that. I’ll bring over the ice cream. I hope it’s alright, they only had vanilla. Apparently they need to make a run to the market for more by this point.”

Kokichi wondered how that would go. On one hand, it was miserable out, and Denji wouldn’t want to bother with much of anything. On the other, his sibling hated losing, and allowing Kaito to steal a fan would definitely be something Denji would take as losing. 

But it seemed like that would be delayed, at least. 

“Wooooo~ Go Shuu-chan, let’s gooooo, he’s the best~” Kokichi cheered in monotone, lazily throwing his hands up as he acquiesced to Shuuichi’s request. Though, more seriously, he sat himself back up on the couch, zeroing in on the small tub in Shuuichi’s hands. “Thanks, Shuu-chan, and I’m more than happy with vanilla. There’s a reason it’s considered the standard.”

Not quite too lazy to stay on the couch, Kokichi pushed himself up to join his partners, looking expectantly at the tub. 

It was Kaito who ended up distributing the ice cream, though, in light of the season, he was far more generous with the portions than he’d be in literally any other situation. To his own surprise, he found that even with the heat, even with the wear and tear on his body, even with how genuinely refreshing it was… he still found himself pretty unenthused with the ice cream, taking a few appreciative bites before losing interest in it, more just keeping the bowl against his stomach, rubbing the cold ceramic up and down his stomach lazily…

“...I wish I had hair on my stomach.” Kaito pouted.

Shuichi, who was quite enjoying his ice cream, rolled his eyes, “Why? Especially why today? It’s so hot, Kaito, why do you want more layers?”

“It’s just so sexy. Kokichi has sexy stomach hair. Why didn’t I get sexy stomach hair?”

“Your beard hair and leg hair finally growing in added an hour to your shower time every other day.” Shuichi pointed out, “You shave it all off anyway. Why do you want more hair to grow?”

“Cause one day I might not want to go with the smooth skin look anymore! I gotta age gracefully, and that means aging into the hairy dad body I’m supposed to have someday! I can’t pull off you and Kokichi’s look, I gotta go more rugged as time goes on or I’m gonna come off weird looking.” Kaito grumbled, pouting down at his body. He wasn’t feminine or soft looking at his best, his time with Togami had finally helped sink that in, so he had gone full force into being as masculine as possible, thick muscles, hair on his chin, a triangle figure… but he still didn’t quite look how he liked to imagine himself. “Stupid lean body… gah! How do you become Sakura or Mr. Nidai!? How do they do it!?”

Shuichi shrugged, “Sorry Kaito, there’s definitely some genetics there. You look great, stop trying to be… I don’t know, a literal, actual bear or something. I don’t even find that body style all that attractive anyway.”

“Well, maybe you have bad taste.” Kaito grumbled.

“I am literally dating you.”

Kokichi was quite happy with the generous ice cream portions, and it was only the prospective horror of being too hot and having brain freeze at the same time that kept his eating pace something happily enthusiastic rather than concerning. That, and he wanted to keep the bowl cold for longer. 

Kaito seemed to be enjoying that point even more. 

Raising an eyebrow at Kaito’s out of the blue comment, Kokichi flushed lightly when he elaborated more. “I dunno if you’d be happy with it,” he muttered. “It really hurts if the hair gets caught on, like, your pants clasp ‘n stuff. ‘M just too lazy to shave it, really…and it’d be a pain to get itchy right above my crotch all the time.”

Sure, at one point he’d had some pride in the bit of body hair he was actually able to grow, but now it was just kinda…there. Though, ‘there-ness’ wasn’t really something Kaito had at all, when it came to his appearance, so maybe it’d be different for him. 

“Also…you’re hot,” Kokichi nodded with an affirmative hum. “You’re gonna age well, even if you don’t change up your look at all, though I am lookin’ forward to bein’ old weirdos together.”

“...I’ve never shown you drawings of when my dad was our age, huh?”

“Which one. Ikou?” Kaito asked, looking over curiously, now rubbing the bottom of the bowl over his chest. Chest hair! Chest hair too would be sexy. Kaito’s brain was just idly on sexy body hair he had seen over the years. Oh, sure, there was definitely unsexy body hair, but… well, that was virtually always based on how the person was taking care of it. Or how they were taking care of Kaito. Creeps tended to have creepy body hair, sexy, fun people had sexy, fun body hair. It didn’t matter if maybe, physically, the upkeep was identical sometimes: Kaito could see the difference. Only gross people had gross body hair. Otherwise, it was sexy.

Hmmm… maybe he should just be glad he didn’t have back hair. Back hair could also be sexy, but it’s upkeep always seemed ridiculously difficult. Hard to upkeep hair that you kinda had to bend your shoulders backwards and turn your head to try to see it in the mirror… yeah, he guessed it wasn’t all bad.

And he couldn’t help but preen a bit at Kokichi calling him hot. Hell yeah they’d be old hot weirdos together… though Kokichi got to be the old hot weirdo with sexy stomach hair. Phoo.

“Oh.” Kokichi blinked, turning his eyes to the ceiling for a moment. “...I guess I know where Aiichi’s old portraits are, and it’s kinda fun to look at how bad his dye job was…but, yeah, I was talking about Ikuo. I have one of his old headshots from when he was in the troupe--he looks really similar to how he does now, ‘course, but…I mean, you can really tell, looking between the picture and him, that they’re people in totally different parts of their life…you know? I guess that’s kind of obvious, but I dunno how to put it…”

He supposed some of that was his own perspective. For a long time, adults had just been…adults. All kind of lumped into an ‘older’ folder in his brain, though obviously there were differences he noticed between, like, a thirty-year-old and a seventy-year-old. But now…he didn’t know. It was like people in their thirties were more like ‘peers’, and, more and more, Kokichi just…didn’t associate himself with being a kid, even if he knew he was still pretty young. 

Still, it was fun to look at old portraits of people he knew. 

…though maybe he wouldn’t dig out ones of Hideki and Toshio, if they decided to do something like that sometime.

“Bunny man Ikou.” Kaito sighed, giving up on the farce of eating the ice cream entirely and just resting the bowl against his forehead and temple now. “Impromptu nanny of Queen Miyako… guess you never really know where your life is gonna go. Cook to the independent Dicea militia, now a housekeeper… guys done a little bit of everything. Who knows what he’ll be doing twenty years from now.”

Kaito wasn’t sure why talking about Ikou made him think about it, but he suddenly piped up, “I know why Dicea and Luminary don’t know anything about each other, by the way. Wizard hobo told me.”

“Do you call him wizard hobo because you don’t remember his name, or…”

“Wizard hobo is very wise… and old! Turns out, guys, old people remember what things were like more than twenty years ago. Twenty-five years ago… maybe…” Kaito squinted his eyes, “...maybe even forty years ago.”

“Fifty years ago would be outrageous.” Shuichi smirked around his ice cream.

“Who can be expected to remember fifty years ago!? I’m not that demanding!”

Kokichi nodded idly, thinking about his dad. Ikuo had gone through the phases of his life with purpose, he knew, even though it seemed like the man merely drifted. Ikuo just wasn’t the type to stress it. The son of farmers in a snoozy rural village, leaving to chase adventure with the combined excitement of being essentially an athlete and a performer in one, settling down into consistency working at the capital, being such a paternal badass he got asked by the leaders to look after their kid…becoming, pretty much, the sole parent of that kid…going to war to protect his son and out of national pride, and coming back to family, filling his time with a job but mostly…just being a family man. Welcoming in family that was still finding their footing. 

Hell, Kokichi would read the shit out of that kind of biography, and he knew the guy. 

Eyes flicking up to Kaito in surprise, Kokichi was caught laughing at his partners’ banter before he could really ask about the juice Kaito had found out. “I mean, Mikaku-jii’s in his sixties. He probably does remember stuff from fifty years ago, even if it’s through the lens of a kid. He’s practically a national treasure in his own right.” Because it wasn’t as if Mikaku was on the young side of the older generations, nooooo. 

(...Gram Yubaba said she remembered Nellis… Kokichi could barely even comprehend what his sort of great-grandfather was like.)

“So…what was it?” Kokichi asked, feeling the return of his curiosity from when he and Kaito had been talking about plays.

“International information embargoes and national isolationist social ideology!” Kaito practically cheered, pumping his fist into the air in a sort of victory, “Yeah, turns out Luminary, I guess… I don’t know, actually, I guess before the war? Or at least not that long before the war? Had a pretty thorough information embargo? Like Danganronpa’s situation. And Dicea, in turn, either before the war or not that long before the war, were really into national isolation practices. Luminary was in hiding, Dicea wasn’t reaching out, so neither country knew anything about each other… actually…”

Kaito raised an eyebrow, before musing, “Hmmm… I wonder if that was one of the points of the school. Hopes Peak? Maybe that wasn’t just a Luminary/Dicea problem, maybe a lot of countries weren’t talking to each other and the school was meant to fix it.”

“Hmm… shame the school didn’t work, then.” Shuichi shrugged. “Just led to a bunch of wars.”

“Well, sure, that was the immediate response, but… I dunno. I mean, obviously the hope is that people can interact without fighting first, but maybe war, in this case, is just the first part of our countries eventually getting along.” Kaito mused… before grinning. “It’s how it was for all of us, after all. Maybe that’s just a part of it.”

Kokichi’s eyebrows raised. Obviously he didn’t know about the information embargos (...like Danganronpa…) but…for Dicea… He knew that…international law, he supposed, had been stricter just a generation ago. During Fuse’s reign, there had been a flood of immigrants coming to the country. Not…necessarily from Luminary or Novoselic or Danganronpa, though there had been folks from there, but…well. Dicea was unified, but there had still been independent pockets here and there. Places that you needed permits and permission to go, and the folks who lived there not really…coming to bigger cities, as far as he understood. 

…honestly Kokichi didn’t really understand what had happened at all. Just…that people across and within Dicea were finally coming together as one again. 

But that hadn’t been the only change and…huh. Maybe they really were more isolated than he’d figured. 

Frowning softly, Kokichi sighed. “I’d hate to think that bloodshed is just…a step towards better relations. Maybe there would be a better way for different nations to learn more about each other in that vein, though. Maybe, like…a summit or something.”

“Well, yeah, I mean…” Kaito shrugged slightly, looking mildly tired, “Like I said, not an ideal. But, like… theoretically, maybe we’re past the worst of it and… eh, ya know what? Nevermind.” Kaito said, deciding all at once it probably didn’t matter. Taking a spoonful of ice cream and letting it sit in his mouth a bit, when he finished he brightened up, saying, “And I learned about Queen Fuse a bit! That was a woman who collected sidekicks, I swear. Textbook sidekick collector! So that was kinda exciting to learn about.”

Kokichi glanced at Kaito before shaking his head a little. “I mean… I’m glad where we are, and I’m really hopeful for the future of Dicea and Luminary, in how we interact together, you know? I would like to think we’re past the worst of it. It’s just…sad thinking of when it was the worst of it…that’s all I mean.”

Relaxing a bit as Kaito moved on, Kokichi chuckled softly. “Yeah? I never thought about it that way, but I can see it. I’ve read some of her journals and the way she gushes about Taitei is just…so cute? As far as I understand, they didn’t really have a…like, romantic relationship, but every time she mentions him, which is, like, constantly, it’s always so sweet. I think they really were best friends.”

“Taitei?” Kaito asked, glancing over at Kokichi, “This wasn’t the guy she made this room for, right? Weren’t they married?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” Kokichi nodded. “They were married, but it was a political marriage. And…instead of falling in love, like us, they just, like…vibed like crazy. He was a relative of the royal family in Wonderland, if I remember right.”

“Ooooh… aww, that’s kinda cute.” Kaito mused, looking around the lounge with a new appreciation, “Ouma’s are good at taking care of their consorts, ya gotta give them that. Aww, what was his name? Taitei? What a lucky guy… she didn’t even want to fuck him and still liked him enough to make him a cool-ass private lounge hot tub thing…”

“...this is gonna stop being a relaxing place to visit after this week, you know that right?” Shuichi reminded him dryly, “Too many heat stroked memories associated with it.”

“Tsk, maybe for you. Ya know I had to stop myself from turning on the hot tub earlier? Some warm water would feel so nice on my shoulders right now, I swear. You can’t ruin a hot tub for me. They’re sexy, relaxing, and the lighting in the room looks like stars, which is super cool.” Kaito grinned. “A hot tub for Taetei, an Observatory for Miyako Sr… so what weird, over the top room are you gonna build me, babe?” Kaito teased, smirking at him.

Kokichi shook his head a little with a smile. He didn’t really think wanting to fuck someone automatically made you treat them better. The kind of bond that Fuse and Taitei had, at least according to the stories and Fuse’s journals, really transcended anything physical attraction could have any hand in. She had called them soulmates at one point--not in that there was any romance between them, but just that…they were people meant for each other. Lives meant to be entwined, the two of them making each other better for having known each other. Like he’d said…it was really sweet. 

“Ugh…” Kokichi groaned softly. “I hope this doesn’t ruin the lounge… I really like it down here. It’s like a hideaway into another world.” (...something told him that was really the point.)

Smirking softly at Kaito, Kokichi shrugged as he popped another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. “Hmmmm…I’m not sure yet. I’m kinda hopin’ Shuu-chan will appreciate the elevator, when it’s perfected more and I can order one to be installed in the castle. No more stairs~”

“...maybe I’ll make you a bigger space for a shrine, than a former closet,” he said more softly.

“Yeesssss.” Shuichi murmured, under his breath as he nibbled on some more ice cream, “Reinforce my laziness… get me a lazy box… screw the stairs.”

Kaito chuckled at that, though personally he thought an elevator would be incredibly useful for another wheelchair situation. The strap, levy situation on the stairs worked, sure, but… setting it up, taking it apart, setting it up again at every floor was a pain in the neck. Elevators would be faster and easier, especially in an emergency.

Though, Kokichi’s idea for Kaito… magenta eyes widened for a moment, Kaito genuinely surprised, before he relaxed. Giving Kokichi a lazy, affectionate look as he said, “Yeah? I mean… I don’t mind my closet shrine. I’ve gotten used to it, it can be kinda cozy sometimes… but a bigger space would be nice too… Miyako might wanna pray in there with me someday and…”

Kaito shrugged, turning back on his back and staring at the ceiling, sipping at his now more soup like ice cream, “Eh… I mean, there will be an actual temple to visit when she’s older, so that’ll be nice. But an actual room for the shrine might be nice someday anyway.”

“...but you don’t want a room made for you.” Kaito recalled, looking over to Kokichi, “You’re very anti-room. At least you were when I met you. Still feel that way about it? Ya gotta tell me now, babe, making rooms feels like a, just, whole process. If we’re older and you suddenly go ‘I wanted a room’ this whole time, well… I’m just saying! Ya gotta give me a heads up.”

Shuichi suddenly snickered, “Make him a swimming pool. He’ll never use it. The fact that you made a pool for an Ouma who can’t swim will be one of those hilarious stories passed down through history.”

Really, the elevator would be helpful for a lot of people…but Shuuichi would get use and glee out of it too, Kokichi knew. That was the thing about the castle additions--mostly, anyway--they were catered to a specific person or their needs, but so many people beyond them got use out of it. Taitei’s hideaway became a private hangout for the castle residents. Miyako’s observatory became one of the best study and observation spots for astronomers in the country. The elevator would be a gamer changer for…pretty much anyone who needed to use more than the ground floor. 

…a shrine might just start out being for their family, but would be a private place of worship for people in the future. 

Nodding a bit, Kokichi smiled softly at Kaito, feeling emboldened to really make that a plan, if Kaito wasn’t shooing away the idea. “It’d be nice, really getting to go all out in designing a space meant for worship right from the get-go, right? It wouldn’t be a project for ‘making something adequate’--it’d be, ‘making a dream come true’. That’s something I’d like to aim for, anyway.”

As for himself… Kokichi wrinkled his nose a bit, though he snickered. “It really would be, though, for real! I’ll learn! But…yeah. I don’t want a room. I’ve never really felt like I need anything more than what we already have…and I’ve never done a big ol’ dream room project either. I’d be happy enough commissioning things that I know you guys’ would like.”

“Our ‘Kichi is content… for now.” Kaito said, his voice a mocking echo of gravity, “But you just wait… one day you’re gonna make an idle comment, like how much you wish there was a tennis court nearby, and bam! Sudden tennis court! I’d say… somewhere on the second floor. Or, no! The fourth floor! Oh… oooh,” Kaito’s eyes suddenly lit up with interest, “Can we get on the castle roof? Not the observatory tower, but the rest of it.”

“I know Katsuki and Maki practically use the roof as a road.” Shuichi said, “Not sure if it’s feasible to put a tennis court up there though.”

“The impossible is possible! You just have to, like… maybe make some stilts for some wooden planks or something!”

Kokichi nodded sadly. “Ah, right. I was thinking of picking up tennis in a decade or two to keep fit. But it’d just be too much of a hassle to go to a court in town.”

Thinking for a moment, Kokichi shrugged as he scrunched his mouth to the side. “I dunno if I’d wanna plan to build up anymore. With the greenhouse, I’d be too worried about creating too much shadow. But building like…terraces? And adding more wings out? There’s still some space there.”

…Kokichi pouted. “...probably not on the park side. It’s good to have big parks.”

“‘Kichi, this whole castle is literally surrounded by gardens and parks. Do you know what I do with the middle of my days, when you guys are all busy? I literally just pick a new garden to sit in.” Kaito said dryly, sipping more of his sugar soup. “You know how often I have to do the same garden twice in a row? Never. I go in a random direction, and sit at a random garden. The castle is more garden than castle, I swear.”

Kokichi pouted more. “But it’s nice, isn’t it? Being able to see so many different kinds of flowers and plants, and having different gardens be in bloom at different times… I mean…some of it could be moved to make room, but…it’s good to have so much nature around. S’ healthy.”

“Not saying it’s a bad thing, babe. Just saying that we’re safe on the nature stuff. We have it. It’s everywhere.” Kaito smirked, sitting up and rubbing the back of his neck, “It’s upstairs on the fifth floor. It’s outside in every direction. We literally pass two different parks and a garden getting to the market. The market isn’t even far.”

“I… want more ice cream.” Shuichi decided, going to scoop himself up some more. “Especially before it’s melted.”

“You don’t want more ice cream, you want to be cooler… oh!” Kaito recalled, putting down his bowl, wiping his mouth and standing up, “That’s right. I gotta go mug Denji. I’ll come back with more ice too.”

“You’re…going to go mug Denji?” Shuichi asked, brow furrowing slightly in concern.

“Yep! Wish me luck! In case I don’t make it back, love you guys!” Kaito called, heading over to the stairs.

“Kaito! Put some pants on!”

“Oh, shit, right.” Kaito said running to grab his pants.

…well, that was true. The start of the market was just on the other side of the plaza…which ran alongside the parks and garden. And that wasn’t counting the southern garden that was on either side of the castle entryway…

They weren’t exactly hurting for plantlife. 

“Shuu-chan can also want more ice cream,” Kokichi settled on saying, not really having any sort of rebuttal to the non-argument. “But…good luck, hun. Say hi for me.”

Turning to Shuuichi as Kaito left, Kokichi smiled softly. “He’s gonna go ask Denji-chan for extra fans. I know they have a few, since they wanted to coordinate outfits with ‘em. Kai-chan said he wanted to get a workout while coolin’ us.”

“Alright… Kaito, make sure you actually ask Denji annnnnd he’s gone.” Shuichi said, hearing the upstairs door close. Sighing, he shook his head, “I swear, he better remember ‘mugging’ is a joke…”

-

Of course Kaito knew mugging Denji was a joke. He wasn’t being serious. Kaito wasn’t crazy. 

But as he knocked at Denji’s door again, he remembered the master key that was in his pants pocket… no. That’d be such a stupid thing to do. Why would he do that? There was breaking into the library, and then there was breaking into someone’s bedroom. Totally different thing…

….KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

“Uuuuuuuuugh!” came a groan from inside…though it sounded pretty distant. 

Most doors in the hall were open, but, in an attempt to keep cool, Denji had secluded themself in their bathroom and decided that keeping their bedroom door closed for privacy would allow more airflow than keeping the bathroom door closed. 

So…after the groan, there was the distant sound of splashing, if one’s ears were sensitive enough to pick up on it, and the door didn’t open right away.

…maybe they weren’t home?

The key felt heavy in Kaito’s pocket. It wasn’t even really that he wanted to break in, but more just… man wouldn’t that be exciting? To sneak into someone’s room and steal their fans while they’re gone? Kaito could feel a thump of adrenaline run through him at the mere thought, one that wouldn’t leave him alone now that it had occurred to him. That would be… so much fun. The feeling of walking around where you weren’t supposed to that he had been chasing the other morning, but times ten. 

Kaito’s stomach tightened slightly, rubbing at the joints in his hands… he shouldn’t. Obviously he shouldn’t. He shouldn’t…

(...but that was the whole reason he was tempted in the first place. Because obviously he shouldn’t.)

He didn’t start to reach for the key. At no point did he actually decide to do it… but he still felt a sudden disappointment when he saw the doorknob turn. Aw… he guessed Denji was in there. Ah, well…

Maybe still chasing the phantom excitement that he had been so tempted by, Kaito grinned wide as the door opened, holding up his hand as he mimicked the motion of holding a crossbow. “Hands up, Dicean! A Luminaries coming after your stuff! This is a stick-up!”

Denji opened the door, damp and dressed in a slightly more form-fitting robe than the outfit they had been wearing previously, and they looked incredibly unamused. Sighing beleagueredly, they mumbled, “What do you want, Kaito? I was channeling Ophelia and I was quite in the zone.”

Meaning, lying in water and being dead, though Denji wasn’t quite nailing the broken-hearted vibes. They had thought about inviting Rom over to commiserate, but they weren’t about to subject their girlfriend to the wretched heat just to hang out. …even if they missed her. No matter how cute her freckles were, Andromeda would surely burn under the damned sun. 

“Eyyyyy, I know that reference. I read Hamlet.” Kaito grinned lazily, lowering his hand before scratching his chin a bit, looking Denji over a bit…he liked the new outfit. Denji had a nice figure, worth showing off. Probably shouldn’t say so, though. “Hey, my guys are melting into puddles. You think I could borrow some of your fans? Like, either two small ones so I can do them both at once, or, like, a really big fan to… do them both at once? But with less arms? Or maybe still both arms but in one collective movement…” Kaito mimicked the two various ‘fan using motions’ he had in mind, realizing that he wasn’t making a ton of sense and not caring too much either way. “Ya get what I’m saying? Some massive fan action… can you hook me up?”

“They’re not the only ones… What, palm fronds too elusive?” Shaking their head with a scant smirk, Denji sighed and gave their brother-in-law a nod. “I don’t have any huge ones like you’re probably imagining in some Luminous Nights knock-off, but I can spare a few.”

Turning sluggishly to get them, Denji sent a raised eyebrow look over their shoulder. “You were out and about yesterday too. Is this really what Luminary’s like for half the year?”

“No, not really.” Kaito admitted with a small shrug. “I mean, not inside, like this. And honestly, not the outside either. I think you guys just have way more moisture in the air, so heat feels really thick outside, it can be kinda tough to breathe. Back home, you only felt the heat on your skin. It didn’t get into your lungs like this, and it didn’t follow you inside and chase you out of your rooms.”

Kaito was just talking now, not really thinking about how much Denji actually wanted to hear as he waited for the fans, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms as he scratched at the back of his ankle with his toes, “We had dirt all over the ground too. It was in the air too. Looking back, I think that helped, the layer of dirt and sand on everything… kept things from burning, including people… huh. Maybe I should dip Kokichi in some mud… Denji? Got any face mud? You seem like someone who’d have those mud coating things around.”

“Ugh. So it’s even bad for you. Glad to know the weather is singling us out, specifically,” they grumbled, just kind of…taking in the information. Luminary clothing would still have to contend with sweat, but…a lack of humidity could open up a few other options. Still, though, even the temperature alone was dissuading from spending summer in the other country.

Returning with fans in hand, one a pale yellow and the other a light sky blue, Denji rolled their eyes. “I have clay packs, yes. Though you’d have a time convincing my brother to sit still enough to use them. And the one I have would probably just make him break out unless he used cleansers and serums too, and I know you’ve seen his skincare routine. It’s a washcloth.”

“Here,” they sighed, handing the fans over. “If you break them, you’re buying me more. And I’ll still never forgive you.”

“He also soaks in epson salt sometimes… I mean, at least when he bathes with me he does… and honestly if I let him he’d just let it sit in his hair and never repair it…” Kaito huffed, shrugging, “He’s the future king of Dicea. He’s gotta work on policies and international relations and stuff, we’ll take care of the little stuff. Like his care routine, and, uh… the heat. Which these fans will super help with! Thank you!”

Kaito happily took the fans, though as he looked at the thin paper material… “How much do these things cost?” Kaito asked uncertainly, “Like, I can live with your eternal disappointment, but I do not have a lot of loose funds.”

“Mm, speaking of,” Denji smirked, “I didn’t find any split ends or breakages in his hair when I cut it. Nice work.” Between Kaito convincing him to brush it and Miyako convincing him to come to Denji for a proper cut, Denji was quite happy with their brother’s family. Kokichi might be a king one day, but he could at least give an iota of a shit over what he looked like. 

Leveling Kaito with a disdainful look, the stylist sneered. “Don’t break them, and you won’t have to worry about it.”

“...okay, but, like, have you seen my hands? And, like, I’m gonna be waving these things vigorously and, like, not to toot my own rippling core, but I can wave really hard.” Kaito said, just barely keeping from smirking, trying to keep his face totally serious and– the usual gold that sold it– slightly condescendingly clueless. Like Denji should have come to this conclusion themselves, as Kaito said skeptically, “Like, one good pump, and I dunno, these things might just rip apart into shreds. Maybe if I only used, like… half power? But I think I’d just feel better knowing exactly how in debt I’d be if these things combusted on me. I mean, it almost feels inevitable, ya know?”

Denji lifted their eyebrows though their carmine eyes remained half-lidded. The kind of expression one would wear while heartlessly telling a pleading sob story to perish. “Don’t break them, and you won’t have to worry,” they evenly repeated. “I’m sure you can figure out how to regulate your own strength--you’re not all pretty looks, though those are a significant portion of you.”

“And while you foolishly may not care for my own disdain, I think you’d at least consider Kokichi’s a little more tangibly. Don’t break my things.”

“Oof. Sicking my husband on me. Low blow.” Kaito smirked, before shrugging, “Alright, alright. Go back to romantically drowning over a guy who’s been a dick to you for weeks. Stay cool, have fun!”

Kaito took the fans and headed down, chuckling lightly to himself. Denji seemed mad. Aw well. Kaito was sure once he returned the fans it’d blow over. Hah, blow… like fans? Heh. He was a riot. He cracked himself up.

… Kaito sighed, feeling his shoulders sag. The sheer weight of that interaction hanging over him. Poking at Denji had been pretty funny in the moment, but… well, Kaito didn’t really have that relationship with them. Also, they really might tell on him to Kokichi.

… Kaito missed home.

Still, he looked down at the fans and grinned. They were nice colors. And hopefully they actually would help! Little bit of air for his guys would do them good. Alright… shoot, gotta go get the ice. But then, yeah! Workout time!

-

Kokichi sighed in contentment as he laid upside down on the couch, feeling the small, repetitive breeze Kaito was making from the handheld fans. As he expected of his sibling, they were gorgeous, made of thin but stiff and durable fabric and embroidered (and painted) with amazing, intricate designs. The blue one had a flock of birds flying across it, while the yellow had tiny cut-outs of flowers across its panels. 

Though, by now, Kokichi was less focused on the designs, and more just feeling relatively comfortable. 

“Okay…but a human is just a weirdly shaped donut, right?” he continued, just going along with their rambling conversations. “Like…our GI tracts are, more or less, a continuous tube. So the inside of a stomach is the outside of a body, still.”

“I feel like there’s more criteria to being a donut than just having hollow points within yourself.” Shuichi countered, curled up near Kokichi, though not touching, well within air blowing range, sighing comfortably. It was actually an amazing difference, steady wind and truly cold cups of water. It was the best Shuichi had felt in days. “Certainly we’d have to be made of flour as well… but if you just mean the shape? …I also feel like having the hollow part of yourself exposed to air in some way should also be a criteria. It’s not a donut shape if the hole is covered, then it’s just a ball.”

“Yeah, as someone’s who’s now seen inside one of our stomachs? The impression I got watching it wasn’t that the inside of the stomach may as well be the outside of the stomach.” Kaito offered, paling a little as he kept his arms moving, at this for a while now and a little surprised that he was still feeling pretty okay. It helped to move slowly and steadily. Keep the stamina up! “The inside of the stomach, uh… needs to be considered its own thing. Definitely can’t just treat it like regular skin.”

“Sometimes I feel like I’m made of flour,” Kokichi hummed, “But I meant the shape. And not, like…that there’s any practical thing about it. Just that, like…it’s like a straw, too! A straw only has one hole, and the inside of the straw is actually still the outside of the straw. Like mobius strip stuff. Like if you drew a continuous line around the vertical axis of a body, you would end up drawing down the inside of the stomach and intestines ‘n stuff. ‘Cause they’re not closed, not really. Now…lungs? That’s where we’re like balls.”

“...and the outside of our stomachs are actually on the inside of our bodies,” Kokichi continued. “But the inside is outside. Yeah?”

“Okay, now I’m officially lost. Also, ya know what? Little weirded out. Not gonna lie.” Kaito admitted, wiping some sweat off on his shoulder, “‘Kichi. I’m going to need you to lie to me, because I am now deeply worried… have you seen the inside of bodies? No, wait, no… yeah, no, there’s no way… okay, but have you? You sound like you have a really good idea of what’s going on in there.”

“He probably studied anatomy.” Shuichi smirked, “We both did too. Remember? Eleventh grade?”

“I remember Mrs. Kaler had some incredible curves.” Kaito chuckled, eyes going distant, “What a… strong older woman.”

“I’ve seen the inside of a body like I’ve seen a woman naked,” Kokichi said simply. Though, there were far fewer paintings of autopsied bodies than there were of naked women. Still, what he learned from textbooks was about the opposite. 

Chuckling a little over Kaito’s reminiscing, Kokichi nodded. “I basically spent years hanging out with healers all the time too, remember? The nicer ones, at least, taught me a lot about bodies. I remember some of it.”

He could name the bigger bones and some muscles, knew about the nervous system and the lymphatic system and circulation and GI stuff. Knew how the body broke down food into energy, at least in simple terms. He’d learned a lot from being a bored and uncomfortable kid mostly around folks with PhDs. 

“‘Kichi is knowledgeable of many things. Including the shape of gross inside bits that should stay gross and inside… no offense, Shuichi.”

“Why would I be offended?”

“I mean… if you gave me time, let me get used to it, I’m sure I could find something endearing about your large intestine, but man… that was hard to look at.”

“...what do you mean it was hard to look at? How much of it did you see?”

“Let’s talk about something else.” Kaito decided, struggling to think of something else to talk about as he kept his arms busy, his mind still on the c-section as his brain struggled or anything in the heat. “...what’s… everyone’s favorite blood type?”

“No one has a favorite blood type, and we’ve talked about this already! Why do you keep asking?”

“Have we? Have we seriously talked about favorite blood types? Who brought that up, that’s a weird conversation.”

“You did! Both times now!”

“Hmmmm…” Kaito hummed to himself, closing his eyes, “... what’s… everyone’s favorite… animal?”

Kokichi grimaced. It was one thing to know things academically, but…even if it meant not being there for the moment of Miya’s birth, Kokichi was thankful he had been able to not be in the operating room. If there were things Kaito was never able to unsee, then Kokichi wouldn’t have stood a chance. 

Shaking his head a little at Kaito’s icebreakers--he could remember how the next part of that conversation had gone, Maki and Shuuichi ragging on him for the proper question being ‘what’s your blood type’ instead, Seiko doing her best to answer the question Kaito had actually asked--Kokichi hummed softly. “I like a lot of animals. Horses are very cool, I love penguins, and sea urchins are super cute. But I think…just by, like, volume and regular enjoyment, I like cats the best.”

Glancing over, Kokichi half-grinned. “Are yours snakes, Shuu-chan?”

“At this point in my life, yes.” Shuichi smiled… before suddenly looking alarmed. “I haven't changed his water since the day before yesterday. Kaito? Do you think later you could–”

“Whaaat? Come on, why do I gotta… yeah, yeah, I can.” Kaito sighed, now just openly pouting. “Fine. Creepy, giant slithering–”

“Thank you. But, yes, snakes at the moment are my favorite, for obvious reasons. But, growing up, I had a fascination for these little poison dart frogs. The poison tasters used to keep a farm of them to test and farm from in the castle, and because I had to learn poisons too I ended up spending a lot of time around them, and…” Shuichi smiled, shrugging, “Child me got attached. They were bouncy and small and beautiful, and were surprisingly even-tempered, considering the situation. I used to put on gloves and just put my hand down, hoping they’d jump into my hand by themselves. Show that they liked me… they did, sometimes, but I imagine they liked the heat of my hand more than me. I was young, I didn’t care.”

“Poison dart frogs, giant snakes… can’t just like a normal, not dangerous pet, huh Shuichi.” Kaito tsked, “At least Kokich likes cute things… except for sea urchins, which are just baffling as far as a favorite animal choice. What the heck, ‘Kichi.”

Oh…yeah, it would be good to check on Nini. Even if Kaito would be the one to go and change his water, Kokichi would probably go and check on the snake once the temperature cooled down for the night. Other than making sure he had enough water, Nini was probably having a good time in the hot weather. 

Kokichi’s eyebrows raised at Shuuichi’s other favorite animal, though (however…they seemed to fit, too). “Ohhh… I’ve seen pictures in, like biology books, but I can’t even imagine being so close as to touch poison dart frogs. They’re kinda scary, but they look so gorgeous… Colors you’d think were fake if you didn’t see them in person. Or trusted the artist,” Kokichi chuckled. 

Shaking his head, he gave Kaito an even look. “Cool animals are cool, Kai-chan. And sea urchins are super cute too! The way they scrunch up their needles when they feel things, and they can come in a bunch of different colors, even if I think all the ones around Dicea are purple. I know people are really into eating them, but it makes me a little too sad.”

“So, what’s yours?”

“Mmmmm… nah, your guys choices are still super weird.” Kaito huffed, shaking his head at his friends choices. “...what are my…favorite animals…”

“Did you really not have an answer prepared before asking us?”

“Shuichi, I don’t make ‘plans’ when I talk, I just say things and hope it leads to good things.” Kaito said dryly, still trying to think, “faaaaavorite…. Animals…”

“Isn’t the answer horses and fish?”

“Huh? Why would those be my favorite animals?”

“Your… your spirit animal? And you want fish. You talk about it once every few months, how you want fish.”

“Fish are beautiful, but that doesn’t make them my favorite. And I love Koh specifically, but I didn’t pick a horse as our spirit guide because I loved them. I didn’t pick him at all.” Kaito shrugged.

“So… what are you favorites then?”

“...mmmmmmm…”

Shuichi huffed, burying himself further into the couch cushion, “I swear, Kaito, you do things like this just to drive me crazy.”

“...I think I really like wolves.” Kaito mused, “Or, maybe just the idea of them. Maybe it’s just cause I like that coat that the scary old farm lady gave me so much, but I find something really endearing about the idea of just massive wolves, going around and howling at things and being in a close-knit pack… it’s cool, right? Big, awesome fucking wolves? Oh, I mean… big, awesome fricking wolves? I like the idea.” Kaito grinned, stopping the fans for a moment to grab a towel and wipe his face a bit, before going back at it, “I don’t really care what it says about me, that I just picked basically big wild dogs. I’m allowed to like what I like.”

That was honestly a refreshing thing about Kaito. If they were just chatting to chat, there were no illusions that Kaito had picked a subject to get to talk about himself or a particular view--though, Kokichi would love to hear those things from Kaito anyway. The guy was truly spitballing, interested to see where other people went as they replied. 

“...I still think fish might count as, like, preferential animals, if not your favorite,” Kokichi pointed out. “You want some as pets, you get so excited to pet Dr. Mariah’s carp, and we both were geeking out at the aquarium together. I think that’s enough to be pretty favorable.”

But his actual favorite… Kokichi couldn’t help the fond smile his lips twitched up into. 

(Sure, Akane had been a little scary at first, but that was just because wolves were wild animals, and you couldn’t trust wild animals to be safe. But, once he’d learned that she wasn’t just any wild wolf? She had been very sweet.)

“I don’t even think wolves are that weird a favorite animal that you’d have to justify yourself, hun,” Kokichi chuckled. “Not that I think anyone has to justify their favorite animal. Wolves are cool! And distinct enough from dogs that they’re their own thing. I think I get a little nervous about, like…real-life wolves. Like, if I ever saw one out in the woods? I’d piss myself. But conceptually…they’re very cool.”

“Hell yeah, wolves are very cool. And fish are beautiful. And Koh is our very good spirit animal who I’m certain is watching over us, Atua be pleased.” Kaito nodded, looking entirely certain. “And I know, I know. I just know that I have a few, uh… ‘stereotypes’ I lean into. I am aware of the ‘dog energy’ I put out. I used to be kinda sensitive about people calling it out, but ya know what? I’m alright leaning into it a little bit now. Dogs are cool. Wolves are very cool.”

“...and yeah. Fish and horses too. ‘Kichi, can I have a horse?” Kaito asked, lighting up.

Kokichi gave Kaito a look at that. He…never knew having ‘dog energy’ was something Kaito was sensitive about. And Kokichi…didn’t really see it that much. Maybe for some things, like his tendency to give himself a shake out of the shower, or how excited Kaito got to see their family if some of them had been out for a while, but…even that last one was just…affection? Kokichi got excited to see their family too. 

But whatever that insecurity…Kokichi was happy that Kaito had come to terms with it. 

Raising an eyebrow, Kokichi chuckled softly. “You want a horse? I mean…if you think you could take care of it alright, then, yeah, we already have stables, so that would make it easier. Might have to ask around for good places to exercise it, but I know the folks at the stables will know. You want help budgeting?”

“Yes! Then I can take Tim and Chase out to the farmlands without us having to run there, let them stretch out in the fresh air. And I can take Miyako riding when she’s older… you too, ‘Kichi! I’ll take you riding!” Kaito said excitedly, waving the fans harder as he got excited thinking about his potential horse filled future… how… expensive could owning a horse be? Probably not that expensive? Right?? “Sure, I could use the help beautiful. Thanks.”

“Yesss… blow me harder.” Shuichi murmured, stretching out to better embrace the wind.

“Pfff. Yeah, okay.” Kaito snorted, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend, “Like you didn’t say that on purpose. Perv.” 

“No idea what you mean, Kaito. I don’t make perverted jokes. That’s one of your things.” Shuichi said idly, looking mildly amused with himself. 

“...” Kaito stared idly at nothing, grinning slightly… before his gaze went far away, his grin becoming more sheepish, “...damn it, Shuichi. Why’d you gotta do that to me? It’s too hot for this.”

They always had the opportunity to rent a horse from town, or even a full wagon, but…huh. It could be fun to add another member of their family, have the option of just skipping town without having to go through any other means, especially if they learned to saddle up the horse themselves. 

Maybe they’d even find a vaguely defined body of water one of these days.

Rolling his eyes a little, Kokichi nudged Shuuichi’s arm gently, before grinning over at Kaito. “Hun. From a joke?” …he let out a sigh at that, though, and shifted to sit the right way up again, his head having just about enough of being upside down. “...it really is too hot for that.”

“I am so easy, babe.” Kaito sighed, shaking his head at himself. “Your Kaito is helpless, I swear. It’s ridiculous. Ya’ll got to take it easy on me while it’s this hot, seriously.”

“Mmmm… no.” Shuichi sighed. “I don’ wanna.”

“Don’t wanna… have…” Kaito glanced at the crib, “...snuggle time or–?”

“What?”

“What?”

“What did you call it?”

“Miyako’s in the room.”

“She’s asleep.” Shuichi pointed out plainly, “And she’s two months old. And also, you can’t call it snuggle time.”

“Daddy wrestling?”

“No.”

“Let’s go back to the first part. What are you saying no too?”

“Taking it easy on you during the heat. I like riling you up.”

“But we can’t… Shuichi, it literally, physically makes me warmer.”

“That’s too bad.” Shuichi sighed, “Guess you’re going to have to think purer thoughts.”

“...snuggle daddy time.’

“No.”

Kokichi just shook his head, running a hand through his sweaty hair. “I think I’m just gonna call it ‘alone time’, even after we have the sex talk with her. No kid needs to know that their parents are doin’ it. And, like…we actually snuggle a lot, and I’m gonna wanna snuggle her too, so I don’t wanna get the terms confused for any of us.”

After a moment, Kokichi wrinkled his nose. “...I am not looking forward to having The Talk. But I’d rather she learn what sex is for the first time from us before she learns it in school. Might take some of the shock and gross-factor away.”

“... ya know? I can’t remember anyone ever actually telling me what sex is?” Kaito mused, “I have no idea how I learned about it as a kid. I feel like I just always knew what it was.”

Alright, so not snuggle time… ‘alone time’ was maybe a good word. He didn’t need Miyako to have weird feelings attached with ‘wrestling’ if she ended up being a little wrestling gal, anyway. Though, as Kaito tried to remember what his first introduction to sex was and just found himself totally blanking on it, he asked the other two curiously, “What about you guys? How did the talk go for you?”

“... terrible, actually.” Shuichi recalled, blanching a bit, “Miss Kirigiri used to have me work sexual assault cold cases. Every time I didn’t understand a term, she’d just explain it to me in terms of how it technically related to the case, and over time I just sort of put together what it all meant overall. No wonder it took drugs to start up my sex drive.”

…considering the religious aspect, and how deeply Kaito had been into religion his whole life (and considering the lack of adult figures in his life that gave a shit about him)...Kokichi didn’t find that all too shocking. And while Shuuichi’s introduction wasn’t wild for his life either…

Kokichi wrinkled his nose. “Eugh. Yeah, that sounds kind of horrible…” Shaking his head, Kokichi sighed. “I mean, I learned the academic stuff from Hideki-ji, ‘cause he was my tutor and all, but for explaining it the first time? And going into the more emotional side, and sexuality and all that…my uncle Toshio was the one to explain it to me.”

Kokichi…didn’t really want to go into his time with his uncles, so he shrugged a little. “I don’t really know how to classify how he explained it. It was just…straight forward, but not overly blunt… He was a really friendly guy, so I was only, like, kinda grossed out.”

“Eh, don’t worry you guys. There’s a lot of sexual stuff in the Good Book, so honestly it’ll probably come up between me and Miyako before anything else. I’ll handle it with tack! She will not be traumatized!” Kaito promised, grinning wide, “...though I really gotta stress to her how to say no to certain stuff, cause, like, it’s not always a good time, even if it’s really exciting, and it’s not always safe, and I just want her to be safe, so maybe she should… ask me first? Before she does stuff like that? I can tell, man, who’s gonna be a bad lay. I can steer her the right way.”

“Nope. She’s just not allowed to date anyone until she’s forty. End of discussion.” Shuichi said simply, “If she sasses me about it, I’m changing the age to fifty.”

“We should maybe have Maki explain to her about condoms. I mean, I know how to do it, obviously, explain it I mean, but… well, the way I hear it, Maki’s lesson sticks.”

Shuichi shuddered, “I still get nervous around bananas…”

“...so, what other cool stuff did Toshio teach you, ‘Kichi?” Kaito asked cheerfully, still keeping up fan action, though his shoulders were starting to ache.

…yeah, definitely from religion. 

“I mean, consent is a big part of The Talk,” Kokichi shrugged. “And they go into it in health classes too--the whole, ‘unless it’s a clear-headed, enthusiastic yes, it’s a no’ thing, and then going into what that means. And until it gets to the ‘meet the parents’ part, or we end up knowing them otherwise, I don’t think Miya’s gonna be enthused to have us have any sort of active hand in her love life.”

…but she was a baby, so Kokichi was in Shuuichi’s camp more--he couldn’t imagine her dating. 

Looking over at Kaito in mild surprise, Kokichi shrugged a little, slicking sweat away from the back of his neck. “Well, he helped me most with learning Tradean, since he’s a polyglot and all. And he told me about what sort of drinks to avoid getting at a bar since they made for the worst hangovers. I learned a lot about theater from him too--we’d read plays together sometimes, and trade off doing voices and performances for the different characters. He always went really over-the-top with them…”

Kokichi’s gaze was elsewhere, his smile warm with nostalgia as he recalled his time with his uncle.

“Awww, that sounds cute.” Kaito grinned absent-mindedly, still just focusing on fanning. “A theater-fan, huh? A man of taste then! Did you guys have, like, a favorite to perform? Any particular role young Kokichi loved diving into?”

Kokichi huffed a soft laugh. “It’s not really, yanno, like a classic play, but there’s an adaptation of the first Oz book that they made into a theatrical production? It’d be kind of silly, since there are four main speaking roles and there were only the two of us, most of the time, but…it was a lot of fun. I think my uncle did it a lot better, but I had a lot of fun being the lion.”

“Heck yeah… Toshio sounds awesome. I’m looking forward to meeting him.” Kaito said cheerfully, wincing before he finally stopped, placing the fans down for a moment as he rubbing his shoulders a little, “Let me take a smaaaall break, guys. I’m just gonna use the bathroom real quick.”

Kaito stood up, stretching a little, groaning as he reached up towards the ceiling, bending his long torso a bit until he heard a small ‘crack’. “Phew. Alright, be right back.”

“Kaitooooo, noooooo.” Shuichi groaned. 

“Small break, handsome! Then right back at it!” Kaito called over his shoulder, heading to the bathroom.

…

For a moment, Kokichi could only blink at Kaito in shock. And…even after that moment, he still…didn’t know what to say, so he just let Kaito head off to the bathroom before his lips fell into a frown. 

…it had been a long time. It didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, but…it had been dulled. Mostly… Kaito knew Toshio had passed on. So why…

…maybe he meant in paradise. 

Sighing softly, Kokichi rubbed the back of his neck again.

Kaito finished up his business and went to wash his hands, letting the cool water run for a bit, before leaning over and dunking his head under the faucet, letting the water run down hs shoulders and back and over his chest a bit. Phew… that was a little better. Turning off the water, Kaito shook his head and his shoulders, shaking off some of the water, before catching himself in the mirror.

…ugly piece of shit.

Kaito frowned at that thought, shaking his head some more before running his fingers through his hair, pushing it all backwards. He wasn’t ugly, what was he talking about? He was just sweaty and tired. He needed the moisture in the air to fuck off, so he could put his products in properly. Once that was taken care of, he would look better! Less hard lines and messy hair and intense, violent looking eyes. Yeah! A good nap and cool air would get the violence out of his face. He was pretty sure that was the key.

…Toshio sounded nice. Like a cool guy. He bet he and Toshio would have really gotten along! 

(They sent the wrong ‘uncle’.)

Kaito winced at himself. Ugh… ugly thought. Hideki didn’t deserve that. It would have been a tragedy either way.

(Does a murder qualify as a tragedy? Tragedy’s are accidents, aren’t they?)

(Ya can’t get vengeance on tragedy’s.)

…why didn’t Hideki wanna fight him? What the fuck was wrong with that guy? Why didn’t Kokichi want to fight him? What was wrong with them?

Kaito sighed, rubbing some more water on his face. There was nothing wrong with them, there was something wrong with him. They didn’t get an internal violence boner like he did. They didn’t get excited and competitive in the face of aggression, and then all fucking… butthurt about it for ages and ages afterwards. Kaito had been begging Hideki for a fight, when they had argued. He couldn’t have asked for it harder. Sure, the old fucker had said some truly terrible shit, but… Kaito had asked him for it. And was now still pissed about it months and months and months later.

Dumb. Kaito needed to… get over himself.

Okay… okay, okay, okay! Kaito grinned fiercely at himself. You got this! Be better! Starting… now! Are we better? Hell yeah! Being better! You got this!

Heading out cheerfully, Kaito called to his guys on the couch, “Alright, re-invigorated! Back to fanning! …so, did Hideki use to play any parts? I bet he did a great ‘old man’ voice, even before he was one.” Kaito said cheerfully, grabbing the fans.

“Is Hideki old?” Shuichi asked, “Isn’t he, like… Aiichi’s age?”

(...Kokichi looked over towards the bathroom door in worry. That…didn’t seem good.)

“Mm,” Kokichi nodded to both his partners’ questions. “Yeah, he’s just a few years older than Aiichi--he’s in his early forties. And he was one of the people we used to rope into playing roles with us.”

Kokichi snorted softly. “He’s not a very good actor, but if someone had a heated monolog? He could spit it well. But, yanno, he always at least tried, so you had to give him points for playing along. Though he prolly just did it ‘cause Toshio-ji would’a bullied him into it anyway. Apparently, like, every party Hideki-ji went to in college was ‘cause Toshio-ji brought him along.”

“Eh. Some people are born happy, some people find happiness, some people are dragged into happiness kicking and screaming.” Kaito mused, starting to use the fan again. Shuichi sighed contently as the wind came back, closing his eyes, “...it’s kinda a shame he’s so grumpy these days. He probably just needs someone to drag him into good times again. Or get him drunk and laid. One usually becomes the other. Maybe we can send him to an old-man mixer? Find him some other old people to hang out with?”

“Again, Kaito… forty’s not old. You know forty’s not old.” Shuichi murmured sleepily.

“Sure, he’s not old in age, but mentally? Like, he’s projecting the aura of a seventy year old. Easily. The guy has one foot in the grave already, I’m telling ya. Someone’s gotta pull him out of it, otherwise he’s got, like… forty, fifty more years to mope around.”

“Mm…he used to go to casual debates a lot and clean house,” Kokichi murmured, feeling a little more on-edge to be talking about his uncle with Kaito. “Toshio-ji used to call it him picking fights like a crow. But I can’t really think of other hobbies that weren’t already old man style that he has…”

Frowning in concern, Kokichi propped his arm up on the side of the couch and rested his hand on it. “...no one’s really wanted to push him much, and he has gotten back into, like…goin’ out ‘n stuff. There could be stuff I just don’t know, but…I think my dad’s one of the few people he really considers a close friend, these days.”

…Kokichi couldn’t imagine it. Having such a tight knit group, and then…over the course of relatively few years? While you were all young? Having all your close friends die. Kokichi remembered a certain kind of sadness around his uncle even when he was little, but when Toshio died…it was like that last piece of Hideki died too. In comparison, his uncle really was moving on with his life, but…he worried. 

“Welllll, does he still do that? Go to debates and stuff? Though I’m not sure how much that would help. He doesn’t seem to really enjoy the victory, at least in my experience. What’s the fun of victory if it doesn’t satisfy you in some way? Guy needs to enjoy the small stuff if he wants to enjoy the big stuff.” Kaito mused, before a… odd, morbid thought came to mind. “...did he at least enjoy ending the war?”

That wasn’t the morbid thought. Kaito had ignored the morbid thought. Which was, had Hideki, or… really anyone else in the castle? Had any of them gone to those celebrations when Kaito’s parents died? Kaito… knew the celebrations had happened, but it was the first time he had wondered if he interacted with anyone who had celebrated personally. On a day to day basis.

…oh well. Who cared if they did. Kaito felt the concern bleed out of him as soon as the thought had finished processing. Like he had said, at least someone had gotten to enjoy the victory! There was something to that! 

(What was wrong with him? Ugh, his thoughts were circling in unhelpful ways. Maybe he should drink some water.)

Kokichi raised an eyebrow. “...I don’t think he goes to them anymore, but… Hideki-ji lives for winning arguments. He adores being right and proving it when other people are saying nonsense. He’s good at it too, since he’s basically a walking encyclopedia.” Saying that Hideki didn’t enjoy correcting people was like saying that there was a blizzard going on outside--it was completely untrue. 

But…what victory meant to people…

Kokichi bit his lips a bit. “...not… Like. None of us had…personal enjoyment over ending the war, not like I think how you’re asking. We were just…happy it was ending, and took pride in doing our part to get that outcome.” His expression shadowed more. “...I know Hideki-ji went to a lot of the vigils. People were really relieved, when we announced the treaty plans… We were kinda busy at the time, but after our wedding, and after the veterans came home, there were some really big vigils going on… And especially for Rememberance too.”

“Vigil… Shuichi?” Kaito asked.

Shuichi yawned, “A ritual where you stay awake to reflect and pay tribute to something. Think ‘mourning’.”

“Oh… well, that makes sense. I guess a good thing to do after a war is honor the dead.” Kaito mused, nodding. “I mean, not in Luminary, we don’t… I mean, we honor the dead, but you have to do it kinda privately. Keep the bodies in silence, observe them, entomb them, never speak on their behalf. Especially that last one. You can’t speak for the dead. Don’t bring them up to their loved ones unless they bring them up first… though, I don’t know. It’s harder to upkeep that mentality when you have your own lost loved ones. Sometimes I kinda want other people to bring them up. Which is stupid, cause the second anyone does I get a little angry… griefs weird.”

Kaito shrugged at that, not sure what else to say on the subject… before he grinned. “I was super happy to end the war, myself. I celebrated plenty before we left, right Shuichi?”

Kaito had been partying a lot before they started their journey to Dicea, and kept calling the parties and get togethers celebrations for the hero’s quest to end the fifteen year war. They had really just been Katio saying goodbye to people. He had been pretty manically cheerful about how happy he was to be going the whole time. Shuichi just nodded, “You seemed pretty thrilled.”

“How could I not be? It was a victory! Sort of! Like, not the victory we set out for, but ending a war? That’s a fucking, uh, fudging accomplishment! And, really, both countries came out better for it! Victory on both sides! What better way to end it!? Hideki should be proud of what he accomplished, I’m certain he had a hand in all of it! He should bask in it more. You think he’d like a callout in that ‘acknowledging people’ news section? Though, maybe he’s not the type to enjoy public acclaim… hmmm…”

Kokichi nodded a bit. Grief was…difficult and weird and complicated, and suddenly moving to a country where how you respected the dead was entirely different couldn’t help the process. …and…suddenly having a lot of people to grieve didn’t either. 

“Life is really precious, and everyone who joined the war was making a huge sacrifice. Especially for those who lost their lives in it… To us, Diceans, it’s…really the least we can do to honor that sacrifice,” Kokichi said softly. “And…getting together as a community helps for those of us who were left behind. Makes people feel less alone in their grief, which…makes it easier to move on, eventually. To heal.”

He smiled a little at Kaito’s…claim, remembering a few stories about Kaito’s party tour of hurrahs before he left Luminary, though…he could only shrug a bit again at his claim of victory. “...a lot of people look at us doing our part to end the war as…’finally’ doing our jobs. People were really angry we were in a war at all, and…” Kokichi grimaced, looking to the side. …he did want to be more truthful with his family. “...well. We got a lot of angry messages, between the first announcement that we were working on a treaty, and…for a while after the wedding, even. People feeling betrayed that if it ‘only’ took a few letters back and forth, why we didn’t try sooner and prevent a lot of bloodshed. And…various takes like that.”

“Oh? Tsk. Just tell those guys my dad was being a giant dick. And thinking with his dick, apparently. Like, he just needed a really specifically horny excuse…” Kaito twitched, slightly, his left eye fluttering as his temple throbbed… before he lit up, “Not that that’s really why the war ended! It’s not, the treaty discussion was starting up before the whole marriage thing was brought into it. We were just… an add-on. But! But. The war ended because there was increasing public pressure from our side to end it, people were getting more bold and outspoken, the economy was failing, we were running out of funds and people, commoner and nobility alike, were losing patience. My father was under a lot of public pressure to end the war. Dicea just… wore us down.”

“So, I mean, it didn’t take a few letters, what it took was all of Dicea staying strong and keeping at it until the invaders eventually just completely lost morale for the fight.” Kaito huffed, rolling his eyes a bit as he said, “If any of those asshole wanna yell at you or Aiichi for not getting it done ‘faster’, you can tell them that the Luminary Prince himself said it couldn’t have gone any faster. The war had a deadline, in Luminary, and Dicea’s strength ran out the clock. Beyond just straight up murdering my family personally, the Ouma’s couldn’t have done anything more. King Leon was determined and irrational, it would have taken more than simple words from people far, far away from him to make him stop. Dumbasses. You guys did your best and succeeded, they should be grateful.”

…logistically, Kokichi did know that. Ever since they had found out more about how the war started, and Kokichi learned more about what it looked like on the Luminary side, he knew that. Dicea just…weren’t the ones acting actively. It was all they could do to react and defend, at least when it came to the grand scheme of the war. 

…but even if it wasn’t fair to Kaito and his pride…it did help to hear it. There had been two options--be slaughtered, or wait it out until Luminary threw in the towel. And they had waited it out. 

(They had never tried to push into Luminary territory much, only enough to defend against Luminary surging into their border again. They didn’t want an invasion. It had never been about taking anything from Luminary.)

Kokichi gave Kaito a grateful smile before shrugging a little. “If they ever actually want to know what it took to end the war, we can tell ‘em, but…from the ones I saw, I think it was less about genuinely being mad at us, and just needing someone to blame. And for that…that’s what leaders are for. Being scapegoats for anything bad, and anything good is just us doing what we’ve always supposed to have been doing. It’s not a thankless job, but sometimes it can veer that way.”

“Well, they’re still stupid. Man, if we had actually managed to take Dicea…” Kaito’s eyes went distant a bit, imagining it… man, they’d have so many more resources… they’d have full control of the phone lines and distribution, not to mention Miu Iruma herself. They’d create special paths through the mountains and be able to use Dicea’s ports as extremely well protected trading and militia posts, while also keeping future combat off Luminary soil, not to mention the military recruitment of another entire countries worth of people…

Kaito’s father was insane, or, had been insane, but man, if they had won the war properly… not even taking account of all the food and herbs to make medicine with. Wow…

… ah well. “It’d have been so bad. Your people are lucky to have you. I’d argue to anyone and everyone who dares suggest otherwise” Kaito said, nodding sternly, “Anyone saying otherwise just doesn’t know the whole story. Pay them no heed, ‘Kichi.”

…

Kokichi shifted uncomfortably. There was a reason people thought there had been an actual reason for the war. And it probably was a reason that had convinced people to fight on more than just the king’s word. 

Dicea was prosperous. They had fertile and diverse farmland, and for a nation that apparently regularly had famines, that was attractive. And…well, Byakuya had personally answered how Luminary felt about their number of people, at least. 

It wasn’t as if Kokichi didn’t want to share their bounty--he was really excited for how much trade was opening up, and the entire concept of giving away what you had in surplus was a foundation of his thought. But…the idea of his people having the lives they’d put together taken away, having not just the surplus, but everything you couldn’t bare knuckled hold onto taken, and having his people forced into the system Luminary was under…

It would’ve been great for Luminary. It would’ve been hell for Dicea.

Kokichi smiled wanely and shrugged. “That’s generally what it is. I do the work I do for the results, not praise or accolades.” 

“My ‘Kichi is a good leader,” Kaito said, his voice a soft sing-song, “Good, sweet, precious, intelligent, dedicated–”

There was a small little whine from the crib. Kaito blinked at that, doing some quick mental math before glancing at the clock on the wall. “Ah! It’s okay, Miya, dad’s coming with a bottle. Sorry, give me a bit. You and Shuichi… heh. Well, you, anyway,” Kaito said meaningfully, glancing down at Shuichi, who was drooling into the cushion now, having fallen asleep at some point during that conversation, “just hold tight! More sweet fan action as soon as Miyako’s all taken care of. Miiiiyaaaaa, I’m coming Miya.”

Kokichi followed the path of Kaito’s gaze almost exactly--flicking over to Miyako before going to the clock. She’d managed to nod off for at least a little while, but hopefully that would mean she’d just want to go right back to sleep after meal time. Not that Kokichi would particularly be opposed to just hangin’ out with her for a bit, since they weren’t doing very much anyway, but…still. She needed sleep. 

Looking over to Shuuichi’s conked form fondly, Kokichi chuckled softly. “No need to apologize, hun--Miya comes first for all of us.” Pushing himself up from the couch, he started heading over to the baby bag. “I can prepare her bottle, if you wanna get her ready for food? Teamwork!”

“Hm? Aw, thanks babe, yeah, that’d be super helpful.” Kaito said, reaching down and picking up Miyako, bouncing her in his arms a bit and coo’ing softly, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Dad’s sorry he wasn’t ready before you woke up, my little precious princess. Sweet little sweetroll. Mighty warrior baby!” Kaito cheered enthusiastically, spinning in place as Miyako’s whining and fussiness quieted down, looking up at Kaito in curious bewilderment. “Awww, my little girl… my little wet tushed girl.” Kaito realized, patting her bottom a bit before heading to the makeshift changing table, “That’s why you woke up first, huh? Alright, alright, dry, then food.”

Kokichi grinned fondly at all of Kaito’s monikers for their daughter. She really was going to be fawned over constantly, and Kokichi was going to enjoy every moment of it when he wasn’t busy contributing to her adoration. 

Chuckling as he checked the temperature of the nectar--they didn’t really need to warm it up in this weather, but Kokichi still slowly rolled the bottle between his palms all the same--Kokichi gave Miyako a sympathetic look. “Aw, what an annoying way to wake up from a well-deserved nap, huh? At least you’ll get to be all comfy soon, Miya-Miya.”

“...if she’s not totally out, do you think she’d enjoy going out with one of us on a walk tonight?” he softly asked. “I think it’d be nice for her to get some fresh air, even if you did bring her around yesterday.”

Kaito gave Kokchi a mildly startled look, not sure why the idea caught him so dramatically off guard, but knowing it genuinely had… before lighting up. “Oh my god, yes! We should take Miyako on a night hike! That’d be amazing! Miiiiiyaaaa~ Do you want to go on another adventure with dad tonight? Dad and daddy wanna take you on an adventure. Isn’t that exciting?”

Miyako was, currently, determinedly trying to catch dad’s finger every time Kaito’s hands got anywhere near her face, wanting something to suck on, darnnit. As Kaito’s hands remained consistently busy changing her instead, she eventually sulkily just settled on her own hand. Big Heat needed to just cooperate already, sheesh.

“We’re gonna go on a little night hike with daddy. It’ll be fun. Get out of the castle a bit. It’s good to take a break from the castle sometimes.” Kaito huffed, finishing changing her and giving her a small kiss on her temple, “There’s a whole city out there, Miya. And outside of the city, there’s a country. And out of the country, there’s a whoooole world. A world at your feet. And considering at two months you’re already getting out into town? I bet you’re gonna end up seeing all of it!”

It would be a night hike, wouldn’t it? Though only by the virtue that night was the only time the world was palatable currently. But…it would be fun. If she wasn’t too tired, then they could get out and just…walk for a bit. Stretch their legs and feel air that wasn’t trying to smother them. There would probably be other folks going around, taking advantage of the same thing, but…they’d probably be able to find more private, more baby-friendly areas to spend time in.

As Kaito finished changing her, Kokichi came forward, starting a weird sort of non-verbal shuffle with his husband to figure out how they were going to feed Miyako, eventually ending up with Miya in her dad’s arms, Kokichi holding the bottle for her, not unlike the first meal she ever had. 

“Oh, we have a little globetrotter on our hands, do we?” Kokichi grinned, watching Miyako eagerly suckle down her food. “I’m almost a little jealous, if I didn’t want the whole world for you, cinnamon roll.”

Miyako glanced over at the other one… {Soft Heat} she redesignated. Big Heat was obvious when everything else was a normal temperature, but now that everything was Big Heat, Kokichi’s cooler skin was far more obvious. Soft Heat, Big Heat, Food Smell. 

And, of course, Dragon.

They were all becoming a little more distinct every day… not to mention some colors were becoming a little more defined. There was definitely something weird about Big Heats coloring, Miyako was certain, she just couldn’t put her finger on it yet. It was the same thing slightly off about Dragon’s eyes.

As for what she felt about the ideas coming off of Big Heat and Soft Heat. Flashing impressions of… Crib and Room, but bigger. Massive. Different. A massive Room full of infinite possibility, for Miyako to discover and take part in?

{...mine.} Miyako agreed easily, suckling on her bottle contently.

Obviously.

-

It really was a shocking change, how much the world cooled down when it got a break from the sun for a while. It was still warm, but the kind of temperature that was just comfortable, if a little muggy. 

Still, Kokichi refused to put on a shirt, and simply put on shorts for their trip outside, the absolute maximum he was willing to cover up. And, of course, the baby sling. 

Kokichi took a deep breath of fresh air as they walked past the gates, even the horizon lacking any streaks of lighter color, having waited out the sun entirely to do this. And after his breath, he looked down, smiling at Miyako and rubbing her back through the thin, soft material of the sling. “So~ this is the castle threshold. If we keep walking south, we’ll be at the market, and if we go right, we’ll be at one of the entrances of the community garden. There are a lot of shortcuts in it to various parts of the city--it makes this really weird shape on a map! One day we’ll get to put your plant in it, and there’ll be a little marking of Miyako right alongside everyone else’s.”

Kaito, in turn, had pulled out a work-out tank-top, some sweat pants that only went just below his knees, and was wearing sandals that he had bought for the beach back on their trip. It was more clothes than Kokichi, was pretty different from their usual dynamic, but Kaito had taken one look at Kokichi’s planned ‘outfit’ to go out in and knew he needed to put on more clothes himself. Having Miyako around would help things considerably, but Kaito still found himself staring when he wasn’t careful. Kokichi nearly naked was already a terrible temptation for the Luminary, but seeing him take care of their infant daughter, regrettably, only made it worse. Damn he was sexy.

The press of clothes, soaked in sweat and clinging to him as they were, reminded Kaito he wasn’t gonna end up naked at any point in this trip.

“What age do Diceans usually do that, by the way, beautiful? Planting I mean? Like, would Cali and Kimiko have plants already?” Kaito asked, managing to look away from Kokichi’s shoulders and neck a moment to look down at Miyako, who was sucking contently at her pacifier, mostly just looking up at Kokichi. So far, beyond what she could put in her mouth, Miyako only seemed to focus on whoever was closest to hers face, if she was gonna focus on anything at all. Otherwise nothing really held her attention.

“It depends,” Kokichi hummed, looking up at Kaito. “I did mine when I was a toddler, but…I mean, I’ve even heard of people asking in their will to plant something after their passing. It’s up to the individual and family, I suppose. When the girls get back we can ask them if they have plants yet.”

“Technically, we could even choose something now for Miyako, but…” Kokichi wrinkled his nose. “I’ve never really liked that idea. It’s supposed to be something personal, something that really represents yourself. It doesn’t feel right to have someone else choose it. Even if I’d argue a toddler doesn’t really have any sort of grasp of the person they’ll grow to be.”

Kokichi shrugged a bit, though he carefully made sure not to jostle Miyako. “But, hey, I still love my cornflowers, so who am I to nay-say.”

“I guess some things are special because you always had them, and some things are special because you get to pick them yourself. That’s probably true for anyone.” Kaito mused, looking up at the sky for a moment before noting, “We got really lucky. Full moon tonight. Miyako, the moon is actually covered in slick, smoothed paths that reflect light from the sun to light up the sky at night. Dad will show you someday, with a good enough telescope, you can trace the path of the lava flows that catch the suns reflection. Volcanoes are very, very important, Miyako, they gave us our initial atmosphere and all sorts of raw material from deep, deep in the earth… you’ll see one, one day. I’ll take you.” Kaito decided, partly because he’d love to see a volcano himself, one day. They came up in astronomy a lot, due to their importance to planet formation. 

Kaito looked around, wondering what other things he could practice teaching Miyako, before she was old enough to actually absorb any of it. “Trees too, though, I imagine you’ll find out how important plants are long before you find out how important volcanoes are. Humans are dependent on fire and soil, Miya. We wouldn’t have anything without a literally miraculous balance of both… what else… water too, obviously, but we can thank volcanoes for that one too…”

That seemed true. Kokichi would argue that for most things, meaning was what you made it. There were tangibly important things, but…it was always a choice to value it. How a person navigated the world…that was their choice. 

Rubbing Miyako’s back again, Kokichi just watched Kaito as he explained about space. Volcanoes and land formation and the importance of a lot of those tangible things. 

…Kaito really was incredibly pretty. The peace that settled in around his eyes when he got on a roll, confident in what he was saying, and how it complimented the light of excitement that Kaito could just…exude. Add in his cutting profile lit by the full moon, and even the glimmer of sweat from a hot day…

Gorgeous. 

Smiling, Kokichi turned back to Miya. “There’s a fairly famous volcano to the east. It erupted…somewhere around a hundred years ago? So it’s still considered active, though people haven’t noticed activity these days. The ash traveled pretty far, and the southern areas around it grow kinda famous tomatoes? And they say the ash in the soil makes them grow better. It would be a fun trip to go see it someday… Eat some “authentic” caprese, too.”

“Oooooh, see Miya? Volcanoes are still doing cool things! Like making tomatoes grow better. It also probably let out some more water vapor gas from the center of the earth, increasing the planets overall water supply, along with more carbon dioxide that the plants get to turn into even more oxygen for us. Isn’t that nice of the volcanoes, baby girl? Water, oxygen, and tomatoes! Heck yeah!”

If Miyako was impressed, it did not show on her face. She had, at some point, gotten her little arm out of the sling wrap and was now just idly pawing at Kokichi’s skin, clearly trying to grab something and just not making any headway. Where were the grabby bits? Soft Heat usually came with grabby bits.

“That said… what’s a ‘ceprese’?” Kaito asked, grinning at Kokichi sheepishly, “Food, right? It sounds like a food.”

“That’s really cool, actually,” Kokichi softly murmured, his eyebrows raised. He hadn’t known that… He knew volcanoes helped with land formation, since they ‘recycled’ lower crust earth as the tectonic plates shifted, and he knew they helped soil, as evidenced by the tomato anecdote, but…other than that, he just knew them to be devastating. Landslides were always dangerous, and landslides that could come with lava? Terrifying. And while the ash could be good in the long run, it could make the air dangerous to breathe, and could still burn people if it was in the air. Not to mention encasing people and structures…

But it was just…more cycles of life. Nature doing as it would. As much as people were blessed by nature to live as they would, nature could take it away as well. But life would go on. 

Giving Miyako an amused look as he felt her pawing at him, Kokichi offered her a few of his fingers to hold onto--much more comfortable than hair. …hm. They might need to cut her nails soon, though. She wasn’t scratching him, but they did look a little long…

Kokichi chuckled and gave Kaito a grin. “Yeah, it’s food. A lot of the islands to the southwest are part of Novoselic, but Dicea has a few islands more to the east. There’s one that has a really specific food culture that’s kinda migrated onto the mainland a little and…well, the stereotype is that they get really particular about Tsumarian food. Like it has to be ingredients grown on the island, by specific, traditional methods, and cooked just the way great-great-great grand pappy did or you’re doing it wrong. Even though everyone’s grandpappy did and does it differently.”

“Oooooh, that’ll be fun. So, one more destination to the list. Island of food snobs, and their cool volcano… it’ll be a lot of fun.” Kaito grinned, reaching over idly to rub the back of Kokichi’s neck, petting the thin hair on his nape as Kaito said, “We’ll get there. I promise.”

Kaito looked around idly, before asking, “I know it’s late, but what do you think the odds are there are any stalls open in the market? Think it’s worth taking our chances checking to see if anyone’s serving smoothies to the night crowd? Or maybe we could head into one of the gardens… maybe sit at the park? Man, it feels like it’s been so long since we’ve just been ‘out’.” He paused, considering it, “...I guess it has been. Miyako’s just about two months old soon, and we weren’t exactly out and about before the birth either. Phew… this was a good idea, babe,” Kaito said, running his hands through his own hair, shaking some of the sweat out of it, “The castle can feel claustrophobic, sometimes. No wonder you snuck out all the time.”

Smiling, Kokichi leaned into his husband’s touch, the temperature finally cool enough that Kaito’s warmth was welcome. The castle and Usott were home, a place Kokichi was comfortable on top of being the place he worked. The place he and his family were settling into their lives. His desire to go out and see everything in the world was…well, he still had it, but it had been greatly tempered. Now…they seemed like exciting eventualities to experience with the whole family. Things to plan for. 

So…yeah. Maybe one day they’d go visit Tsumari. But, for now…Kokichi was in no rush. 

“Mm…I think there’s enough of a chance to check the market out,” Kokichi nodded. “I can imagine there are a few people who’d wanna take advantage of folks escaping their homes while they can.”

And as much as Kokichi did like their home, ‘escape’ was correct. 

Sighing, Kokichi shook his head a little. “There’s so much to do in the castle, and I’m thankful for all the amenities, but…it’s so stifling sometimes. I know some of it, for me, was just because I thought I wasn’t allowed, but…I just needed to get out sometimes. Be around a hustle and bustle that wasn’t the castle, go see different things. Even just sit peacefully somewhere different.”

“Well, for me, it’s just… we live very publicly.” Kaito shrugged, “Which makes sense, castle’s a community hub and all that. But sometimes it doesn’t feel like we live in a castle, it more feels like we live in, like… a dorm room. A nice dorm room! But sometimes being at the castle really just feels more like we’re just in our room a lot. I mean, that’s maybe not the right way to think about it… I have my shrine and Shuichi has his study and you have your office. And really, that whole hallway kinda feels like ‘our’ space… I dunno. I think maybe what I’m saying is I just need to get out of our room sometimes. Stretch my legs.”

“We need to go on more walks, Miya. Do you wanna go on more walks with dad?” Kaito coo’d gently at her, looking down at her, seeing with some amusement that she seemed perfectly content to keep a vice grip on Kokichi’s fingers now, looking pleased with her prize. “Yeah, more walks would probably help the cooped up feeling. Hopefully Miya will like walks. She really is a very calm baby, honestly, we got very lucky. Poor Addason is so jumpy. The kid always looks a little overwhelmed. Hopefully he’ll calm down as he gets bigger.”

Kokichi nodded, getting the sentiment of what Kaito was saying, even though…well, that feeling was what a castle was, to him. And even if it got a little overwhelming sometimes…he, at least conceptually, preferred it over the descriptions of empty wings he’d gotten for the Luminary capital castle. 

“...I think it’d be fun to have more cooking nights, again. Like when you were head chef on leading us making that Luminary-style dinner, a while back. I don’t think it even needs to be food we don’t really have in the dining hall, but…it’s nice to have a family dinner like that. And I had fun cooking with you.”

Kokichi wiggled his fingers just a little, not trying to take them out of Miya’s grip but just being a little more interactive with her. “I know it’s not really a good indicator, since she’s not super aware of what’s going on, but…she seems happy enough right now.”

“...two months… The books said that she should start having social smiles, soon…” Kokichi looked down at Miya with a smile of his own. “The world is an overwhelming place. I’m thankful Miya-Miya’s just rollin’ with it, but I’m not surprised Addie’s taking a more wary approach. Maybe they’ll balance each other out, when they meet.”

“The chill friend with the high-strung friend? That can vibe very well. Shuichi and I are testaments to that… Maki and I too, really. Maki can be a little high strung too.” Kaito mused… before chuckling, “I mean, obviously. Maybe just all my friends are high strung.”

Kaito shook his head judgingly, like he wasn’t easily the most high strung person in their group these days. Kaito had spent so long being the laid back one that even despite the recent change in dynamics, he still couldn’t think of himself as the ‘freaked out’ one. In his head, Shuichi was nervous, Maki was cagey, and Kokichi was sad, and Kaito was the relaxed one assuring them it was all gonna be alright.

It hadn’t been like that for awhile. But Kato still thought of themselves that way.

“She’s gonna be a beautiful smiler. Just like her daddy. She’ll light up the world… man, I can’t wait to see whose laugh she gets. Poor thing, she might end up with a freaking whinney.” Kaito chuckled, giving his husband an amused look. “That would be adorable.”

Kokichi quietly amended that to include Kaito among his friends. Though, in fairness, they all had their moments of calm too--the picture of Shuuichi reading in his office with Nini draped over his shoulders was the definition of ‘tranquil’ to Kokichi, and the peaceful silence Maki exuded into the night in the high branches of a tree was something poets could only hope to capture. Kokichi knew he had his fair share of bouncing between excited enthusiasm and anxious nerves, but he knew he got into a sort of calm zone when he painted, and he enjoyed the quiet moments of enjoying nature. 

People were complex, was the thing. 

Snorting, Kokichi rolled his eyes with a playful groan. “Noooo, don’t put that out there! I like my laugh enough, but I don’t wanna curse Miya with it too. Honestly, if she got your booms, I would be delighted.”

“Booming laughter exudes confidence, but I think she’d personally luck out to get Shuichi’s soft little laugh. He can’t help but always sound like he’s laughing at someone, but that’s just because he hides those little ‘hehehe’s behind his hand because he gets a little self conscious about them which makes them sound a little bit like snickers which I think is just… so cute…”

Kaito had a small, giddy little look on his face. A little caught up imagining Shuichi’s soft little behind the hand laughs. Shuichi’s laugh, Kokichi’s hysterical little guffaws… they were very cute. “Your giggles are super cute too. Even if she doesn’t get your weird little cackle, if she got your giggles? Lucky girl. Everyone’s gonna want to go out of their way to make her laugh for the rest of her life.”

“...hey, ‘Kichi.” Kaito grinned, looking over to his husband, “How does a moon cut its hair… it eclipse it… wait. No. I told it wrong. Hold on, let me try again… how does a moon cut his hair… eclipse it! Eh? Eeeeeeeh??”

“I can’t help but get excited when you laugh, though,” Kokichi hummed. “You just…sound like you’re having a great time. Which I guess is exuding confidence, but it’s still something that’s really nice. Though, Shuu-chan’s laughs are adorable, you’re right.”

Shuuichi wasn’t as free with his laughs, but they were sweet, cute sounds. And they always made Kokichi feel proud to witness them, even if he hadn’t been the person to get Shuuichi to laugh. 

Really, if Miya ended up with any of their laughs? It would be very cute. 

Glancing over at Kaito, Kokichi felt a grin grow on his face as his husband stumbled through the joke, but even having to tell it twice-- “Pffffft!”

Kokichi snickered, little brays squeaking his voice on inhales as he pressed his head against Kaito’s arm. “That’s such a silly one! Mmm, okay, hey! How do you get clean in space? You take a meteor shower!”

“Ha!” Kaito grinned, “Alright, alright, um… oh! Why, uh, why did the star space… no, uh, no, why couldn’t the star stay focused? Because he was in outer space! …no, shoot, because he was spacing out!” 

“Oh my god.” Said a voice as they entered further into the market, soft and distant, before getting closed, “Oh, wow! Wow! Prince Kokichi! Is that Miyako??”

Kaito immediately put his hand on Kokichi’s shoulder, pulling him slightly closer to himself on instinct, as he looked nervously at the other side of the pathway. There hadn’t been that many people out, but they hadn’t been entirely alone the whole time. And there were more people in the market, probably with the same idea as Kokichi and Kaito, just stretching their legs in the slightly cooler air. But this was a larger group of people, a group of five young adults, two of the women in the group catching sight of them and immediately coming closer. Kaito had… sort of forgotten, that this happened when they went out. He should have expected it though. Kokichi by himself tended to get attention. Kokichi with his baby?

… Nazumi wasn’t here. Maki either. 

…that was… okay… it was just lookie-loos… it was…fine.

Kaito stood taller regardless, squaring his shoulders as the girls came to look.

Kokichi giggled lowly at that one, still charmed by the silly jokes even with Kaito’s delivery. Hell, the way he stumbled through them made them even better. It was just…endearing, the two of them trading cheesy jokes out of the love for ‘em. 

At least, for a little while. 

Kokichi turned towards the voice, his attention piqued at the call of his name and…well. They should’ve expected it, really. It was going to happen sooner or later and…most likely, as she grew up, people would call out to Miyako like they did him. 

Time for a test, he supposed. 

Smiling at the women, Kokichi gave a little wave with his free hand. “Hi there, good evening! Yeah, my husband and I were hoping to get a little fresh air while it’s not a million degrees out, and we decided to bring Miyako along for it too, see how she does bein’ outside. So far it doesn’t seem too overwhelming, fingers crossed.”

…it was a gentle nudge. Asking the two of them to be considerate of an infant experiencing the outdoors for the first time.

“Awwwww, can we see?” One of the girls asked, stepping forward quickly. She wasn’t trying to be inconsiderate, she just didn’t know enough about infants to be worried the idea of ‘overwhelming’ them, nor did her friend, as the two peered down at the sling. “Awwww, oh, wow, look at her! Look at those eyes, they practically glow in the dark!”

“Ugh, golden eyes are so lucky. And looooook at her haaaaaair.”

Miyako blinked up at the lades, giving them baffled looks. She sucked a little harder on her pacifier. 

“Hey, girls, don’t crowd!” One of their friends called over, all chatting together idly as they waited for their friends to get it out of their systems, “She’s, like, an infant!”

“Awwww, she’s alright, look at how precious and little she is. Prince Kokichi, you’re so lucky, I can’t get over how cute she is.” One of the girls gushed.

“Um… she, uh…” Kaito said uncertainly, feeling his nerves lighting up, and not certain if he should be angry or, if yes, how much or…

“Aw, look at her little puffy cheeks. Does she know her name yet? Hello, Miyak–”

{Be gone.}

Miyako blinked, giving the girls slightly annoyed looks, before refocusing on Soft Heat. The girls blinked at her, growing quiet… before walking away, back to their groups. They got halfway there before stalling… and suddenly one of the girls turned, giving them a wave, “Thanks for letting us say hi! Have a good stroll, Prince Kokichi!” Before heading back to the rest of their group, a choice they had totally made themselves… right? Obviously. 

It would be good for Miya to be around other people than her family, but…ideally, easing her into people who were a little calmer. As it was, Kokichi gently leaned away from the women, letting them look, but maintaining at least some distance. 

“Thank you,” Kokichi said softly. “She is a cutie, right? But she’s still getting used to things, so please…”

On the outside…it kinda looked like the girls took the hint, backing off to go back to their friends, but…

(He sighed.)

{Easy… Okay, I hear you. No stranger time yet. Daddy’s got you.}

Waving to them again, Kokichi offered a smaller smile. “Have a good night too!”

Though, when he turned to Kaito, his smile was a little more apologetic. “I don’t think she really liked that attention much. I’ll be more clear that we’re just having a family walk tonight.”

{Annnnoooooyiiiiiing} Miyako insisted right back, zero regrets. She was perfectly content with her pacifier, Soft Heat and Big Heat. Different, coo’ing voices were unnecessary to enjoy the trip. Thank you very much.

Kaito, in turn, relaxed, feeling a little silly at how tense he had gotten. He rubbed Kokichi’s back a little, staying close though, as he said, “I mean, it was alright, you told them and they left. And she didn’t cry! So that’s a good sign, right? My brave little buff baby~” Kaito coo’d, grinning down at her, “Are you the bravest little baby? Gonna be a little social butterfly?”

Kokichi snorted softly. “Maybe one day, but I think for now she’s happier with her world being, like, six people big. But…yeah. I didn’t feel her tense up or hiccup, so…if she didn’t cry, that’s a good sign. She might be alright meeting Maki-chan and Shuu-chan’s mentors for more than a glance, in that case, but…we’ll see. She might just be too zoned out to care much right now.”

Gently, Kokichi brought his thumb to rub at the back of Miyako’s little hand, still curled around his fingers. They’d get there eventually. 

As they continued on, there were a few more groups of people out, and there was a reason for that. Kokichi lit up as he saw the sign lit by a few lanterns, a stall in the marketplace that definitely wasn’t closed for the night. 

“Ooh, it looks like your smoothie guess was right on.”

“Oh, heck yeah.” Kaito cheered, “Let’s go get some smoothies!”

-

Sipping on their smoothies, they were passing by a park when… “Hey, ya know that hill near where we got married?” Kaito asked, pointing up at the steep hillside that was tucked away at the far end of the park, near where the pathway to the castle began, “I’ve always wanted to go up there. Can I bring you up there?”

There was nothing like fresh summer fruit, except fresh summer fruit blended up with cream in an ice bath. Really, the only regret Kokichi had while sipping his mango-raspberry smoothie was that Miyako was a little too young still to try it. While they could go between nectar and formula interchangeably--though they hadn’t, yet--most of the recommendations they got was to wait until she was six months before offering any other kind of food to her. Just in case. The last thing Kokichi would want would be to trigger his two month-old daughter’s unknown lactose intolerance.

Continuing on their walk, Kokichi looked up at the hill Kaito pointed out before grinning. “Let’s do it! Don’t make fun of me if I go slow, though--I don’t wanna jostle Miya too much.”

“Oh, well, I thought maybe I could carry you… but if you feel okay walking, perfect. Just let me know if you need any help, beautiful.” Kaito said, putting his arm around Kokichi’s shoulder and squeezing him sightly, placing a small kiss against his head, “I know its hot and that climb is kinda sheer, so just… say the word and I got ya, okay?”

Kokichi shook his head with an amused huff. “You’re sweet. But let’s give it a shot before you end up goin’ up with two people and two smoothies in your arms. I know you’re my big buff husband! But that’s still a lot.”

And…well, it wasn’t like they literally had to climb up the hill. If it were that steep, someone probably would’ve put in some sort of stairs or climbing holds into the side. But it was still steep enough that you really had to pick up your legs and shift your weight forward to walk up. 

…not even halfway up, Kokichi could feel the lactic acid in his thighs start to burn, but…well, it wasn’t like he was gonna be doing anything but laying around the next day anyway. 

It was a pretty steep hill, but then, that had largely been why Kaito had wanted to climb it in the first place. Since the wedding night, he had thought the view of the town, mosty the marketplace, had to be great up there, and he was looking forward to finding out if he was right or not… but he couldn’t help looking down at Kokichi and placing a hand on his back as he heard him begin to puff. “...you, uh… you good, babe? We’re halfway up, I can take us the rest of the way.”

Kokichi paused, breathing a little heavily, and looked up the rest of the hill. Not…quite just a hop, skip, and a jump…

“...your Daddy’s really out of shape, Miya-Miya…” Kokichi murmured, catching his breath. Turning to Kaito, he gave his husband a concerned look. “Are you sure you’ll be alright to? I know this is more than doable weather for ya, but it is more humid still…”

“Your daddy is not out of shape, it’s a very high hill and it's been very hot and, frankly, you have lost a lot of water weight the last few days.” Kaito quickly reminded him, giving him an earnest look, “And honestly, you could totally make it entirely up the hill if you wanted to! I just… worry. That’s all… plus! I could use the exercise! I haven't trained in days! Do you want me to lose my biceps? That’s how a guy loses his biceps!”

Kaito gave Kokichi a wide, reassuring grin, giving him a thumbs up, before saying, “Alright. Gentle lift, gently lift. Miyaaaaa, dad’s taking you and daddy on a little ride…annnd up.” Kaito huffed, putting his right arm around Kokichi’s upper legs, pulling him against himself as Kokichi basically sat on his arm, Kaito straightening up with a small grunt… before he adjusted, still carrying his smoothie with his other arm as he said, “Easy! Even together, you two still don’t make a hundred pounds… wow, that might actually be true. Maybe I should let you eat more sugar, babe, we are going to get you to the hundred pound mark someday.”

It wasn’t an easy trip up, Kaito could feel his legs burn and his back ache, and the only reason he wasn’t panting by the end of it was due to a pointed, dedicated desire to hide how out of breath he was by the time they made it to the top. And while he was careful to put them down at the top, he still did so as soon as it was safe too, taking some deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth…

But as he looked behind himself, he saw his hope had been rewarded. A wide, long field of glittering starlight– the homes and businesses and street lanterns still lit up at this time of night– swept out before them, past the park and the trees, the shadow gardens laying out diluted patches of color in the moonlight. Kaito grinned, lighting up at the view. “There… that’s what I was hoping would be up here…”

Kokichi gave Kaito a kind smile. Honestly, he was kind of nervous to check his weight at the end of the week. He’d had a small check-in before the wave hit, at least having had some time to prepare, and while, of course, Seiko would come to the castle if the healers on duty there needed help, she asked to have another check-in once the weather cooled to see where he was standing. Kokichi had been slowly gaining back the weight he’d lost over the winter and his recovery through the spring, but…well. It was slow. And touch and go. And sweating like a madman wasn’t helpful. 

Hearing Kaito cheer on his weight goal, Kokichi placed a kiss on his cheek. “I’m looking forward to it, hun.”

While he’d relented to getting carried, Kokichi kept a careful eye on how Kaito was doing, ready to scramble out of his arms if he was looking too strained, but… Well, Kokichi had been panting at the comfortable end of his limit too. And they had smoothies to re-fuel before it was time to head back down. 

But before that…

“Ooooh…” Kokichi breathed, his eyes growing as he took in the sight of the city below. Of course he’d seen Usott from high vantage before--it was a regular pasttime for him, since the castle was so tall. But being able to see it not from a building, getting a different angle… His city would always take his breath away. 

“...thanks for suggesting this, Kai-chan.”

{We’ll bring you back here when you can appreciate it more. It’s beautiful.}

{Gassy} Miyako whined, both in intent and out loud, a small little gurgle bubbling out of her.

“Awwww, Miya, you okay?” Kaito asked, distracted from the view as he went to peer at their daughter. His daughter wasn’t exactly the easiest to read, but when she got that tense, focused look on her face, that was usually a good indication she was either trying to burp or take a poo… hopefully burp, as Kaito said, “Here, if you want babe, let me take her and see if I can’t burp her. I, uh, at least have a shirt on.” 

{Pff!}

Kokichi…wasn’t entirely sure why his lips curled up into an amused smile, but…well, Miya was always amusing. Giving Kaito an appreciative look, Kokichi nodded, gently trying to ease his fingers out of Miyako’s grip and lift her out of the baby sling. “Thanks, hun. I brought some wipes, just in case, but…yeah. Maybe we should make sure to bring some diapers with us too, next time.”

“Oh, pleeeease, Miyako, be nice to your dad and daddy, who try so hard for you and don’t get to go out very often, doooon’t go tootsie poopsie just yet.” Kaito begged, taking their daughter as Kokichi passed her off and placing her against his shoulder, gently papping her back as he swayed, “There, there, there’s my girl, out into the big ol’ world~ What she’ll find there, who can say, she’s going out there anywa~urgh.”

Kaito shuddered as the sudden dripping down his back, his tang-top not doing a perfect job covering his shoulder, but… “Y-yay! Just a burp… ‘Kichi, could you… hand me a wipe?”

It had seemed like such an easy idea, to just go on a little walk with Miya, but now Kokichi truly understood the importance of having a hefty baby bag even for stepping out for a moment. There were no breaks on the poop train. 

But, luckily, it wasn’t at the station yet. 

Smiling sympathetically, Kokichi pulled out the pack of wipes he’d stowed in his pocket, pulling out a few and handing them over to Kaito. “Just a burp. You feeling better, Mi~yaaaa? Less gassy? Big tootin’ baby, gettin’ gas from beautiful sights…”

Kokichi glanced over at the view of the town. “...I kinda wanna stay a bit longer, but we probably shouldn’t keep her out too long.”

As Kaito wiped at his shoulder and back, Miyako looking extremely content and self-satisfied in his arms, he said, “Oh, what? No… come on, just… just a little longer, babe. We only just got up here, let’s… let’s at least sit down and take in some air first.”

Kaito beamed earnestly at Kokichi, shoving the wipe in his pocket before looking over at the tree, saying cheerfully, “This tree is where I wanted to take you to on our wedding night, when you were… getting alarmed.” Kaito admitted, looking up at it, looking past the long, thick branches and leaves, up into the night sky, stars twinkling where the leaves broke. “I thought, a little privacy, some cool air, uh… the climb itself.” Kaito laughed, grinning back at Kokichi, “Might calm you down a bit. I wanted to come up here, sit down, and watch the festivities go on down below.”

Kaito sat down at the hill edge, looking down at the park, like maybe the wedding was still going on. Music and dancing, a crowd of strange, unfamiliar people… other than his counselors, no one from the Luminary party had been in attendance, beyond a few guardsman there to watch over the counselors. Kaito hadn’t thought much of it at the time. He had been a little too distracted to wonder where everyone was. If he had stopped to think about it, he’d have probably assumed King Aiichi had asked they not be allowed to attend.

But, probably, Tengan just hadn’t wanted anyone looking out for Kaito.

“You see down there, Miya?” Kaito said softly to her, pointing to the park below, “That’s where dad and daddy got married… it was very strange.”

“I didn’t mean immediately…but…yeah. It’s really nice up here,” Kokichi murmured, coming over to settle at Kaito’s side. Miyako looked comfortable in Kaito’s arms, so she would be alright out of the baby sling for a little while. Just…the three of them able to get out for a little bit. 

Kokichi looked over to the broad, twisting tree on the hill as Kaito mentioned it. The leaves were in thick bunches and were a bright, vibrant green, and the branches were sturdy, starting low down on the trunk. It looked like it would be a lot of fun to climb… 

It would’ve been fun. Getting away for a bit, watching from above… Being able to not just be the friends they were at the time, but…being able to be the kids they were too. Not having to be the married princes, a symbol of the end of the war, caught in the machinations of politics.

…it would’ve been really nice. 

“There was really good cake,” Kokichi softly chimed in, “And your dad and I danced for a long time. I hope you enjoy dancing too--something we can share an interest in… But…yeah. It was weird. You’ll get to be at our anniversary, though, and I think that’ll be a lot more fun.”

“...ya know? I don’t think I got any of that cake?” Kaito realized. Before laughing. Miyako looking up at him in startled bewilderment as his chest shook, Kaito laughing loudly, before his laughter quieted down. Shaking his head a little as he chuckled, “I was busy dancing with Tangouai. Heh…”

“... hey, ‘Kichi?” Kaito asked, looking over to him. Not looking… tired or stressed or anything like that. Something just lightly curious on his face, as he asked, “I know it was all fake, but… why did you think I was sent by Aichii? The day I pushed you? Had anything like that happened before? Had he ever paid someone to hang out with you?”

Kokichi snorted softly. Right… Everything had kinda kicked off once he’d come back from his cake break, and Kaito and Tangouai had tried to dance each other to death. Kaito hadn’t even gotten a slice of his own wedding cake..

…

Even if Kaito didn’t look tired, Kokichi did, for a moment. Or…maybe that was just the effect of the ashamed sadness that lined his face. “Not in actuality. But…on bad days? On bad stretches? That’s…basically how I felt about my friends. They were getting a paycheck from the castle, so that meant they had to be nice to me.”

“...but nothing like that dumb conspiracy I griped at you with had ever happened. I don’t think…” Kokichi abruptly went quiet. 

He had been about to say ‘I don’t think anyone of their own free will had ever pretended to hang out with him, just to turn it around later’ but…that wasn’t…exactly right. 

“...no one ever pretended to be my friend, before. Or tried to, like…manipulatively shame me into following what my dad wanted. I was just…” He sighed softly. “...I was really hurt. And scared. And stressed out beyond belief. And…I just blamed it all on my dad, ‘cause it was easier to cope when it felt like I had an enemy in front of me to plot against. And even though it was meant to hurt…it would’ve hurt even more to think that you just…were a stranger who thought I was dumb and you wanted to make cry for kicks.”

Kaito nodded slowly at first, just listening… before he grinned, notably lighting up as he said, “Oh! Yeah, I totally get that! Ha! You have, like, literally never said anything I related to more than that, babe. Wow.”

Chuckling, actually a little, genuinely excited to have stumbled upon some mild common ground– he and Kokichi got along because they both put in the work, not because they had a ton in common– he said, “Man, I get that… it’s hard to just think people are mean to you for, like… no reason. It doesn’t even have to be a good reason! Just… just better than for kicks, ya know? Definitely better than by accident… god I hate that. I hate finding out someone hurt me by accident, it’s just… it makes me feel like I have no place to put my anger, you know? Like, great, not only did this terrible thing happen, but now being upset about the thing makes me the bad guy. Great… or, like, if your suffering is a part of some plan? Just, any plan… at least it wasn’t random. You can know that it was some nefarious plot that’s not likely to happen again, and not just be recreated by any random person with an impulse…”

“...I guess I’m sorry that I was one of those awful, random events, babe. Cause it was an accident and I didn’t have any bigger purpose to it other than hurting you by accident and then getting petty and defensive the more angry you got about it. I am the worst kinda bad guy. That’s my bad.”

“...though it wasn’t for kicks! So, that’s something! I didn’t do it to make you cry. I thought it would impress you… cause, ya know. I can be an idiot sometimes.” Kaito shrugged. “I thought I’d do the whole catching the sword trick and you’d just… think I was totally awesome. And then I acted like a total turd when you didn’t… so, I’m sorry for that, Kokichi. I don’t know if I ever actually apologized specifically for that, thinking about it now. I’m sorry I pushed you and then acted like an a-hole when it upset you.”

Kokichi grinned a little, knowing that Kaito would latch onto that as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Because…well, Kaito had talked about the exact concept. 

…but the thing was… When Kokichi was trying to think like that, he was at his worst. And he had just…made so many more problems, trying to direct and justify his anger. 

But…then didn’t that just mean he would be more able to relate to where Kaito was coming from? Kokichi had felt like that when he felt like he had no escape, like life was constantly crashing down on him and he had no purpose. 

…that did sound like Kaito. 

“You have apologized, but…thanks, Kai-chan. I accept your apology.” Kokichi leaned affectionately against his husband, nuzzling his shoulder. “But…I mean, as much as it hurt to think…creating a plot against me, and making an enemy out of my father were delusions. And it kept me from reaching out and making any real progress towards actually helping myself and improving my life. Not to mention how much it hurt you and the others…”

“So…I’m sorry too. At the very least, for not sticking around so we could figure out what happened in the park, and properly talk things out. But…for leading you on, too. Making things harder than they needed to be.”

“Ha… you’ve apologized for that too.” Kaito teased, nudging back into him a bit. “But, that’s alright… Dr. Mariah did say once that sometimes ya gotta go back to old topics and… I can’t remember the analogy she used. I think it was to keep beating a dead horse until it was good and dead? Something like that? Dark. Dr. Mariah has an edge to her.”

“...sometimes…” Kaito looked out at the sparkling lights of the city. “...sometimes I think I understand why you didn’t stick around. I mean, I should, right? I am literally the ‘anger’ guy. That’s, like, one of my defining characteristics, and you were… so angry. And it can be really hard to let that anger go, because… you don’t feel happy once it’s gone. You just feel really, really sad… and it’s like your whole body is just randomly this big, exposed nerve. Like literally just sitting and existing feels tense and difficult, just waiting for something to set you off again… you were angry. I get that. I get that better now than I did then, now that I’m sorta starting to get it under control.”

“...I wish I was coping as well as you.” Kaito admitted, “I know it wasn’t really like this, that you worked hard at it and went to therapy and went on medicine, but… I can’t help but envy you. You were so, so angry, and then it just sorta seemed like you stopped being angry one day. And I just… wish mine turned off like that too. Without the ‘exposed nerve’ feeling.”

He got what she meant now, morbid metaphor aside. It…didn’t feel like that point was still tender and open, but…to Kokichi, at least, he felt like it needed to be acknowledged. For Kokichi to apologize and affirm to Kaito that what he had done, even in the unintentional way he had, had been cruel and unfair. And…it was nice to hear that they both really hadn’t handled that first fight well. 

Looking up at Kaito, Kokichi looped an arm around his husband’s back, wanting to hold him. “I mean…I could’ve done without that exposed nerve feeling too. But…at least from where I’m standing? I’m amazed at how far you’ve come, darling. I’m so proud…”

“It would be nice if we could just…turn it off,” Kokichi murmured, pressing a kiss into Kaito’s arm. “But…I was angry and hurt, building up for years, and now…it’s been months of me trying to heal. Letting myself feel the horrible things I got angry to avoid feeling, and coming to terms that sometimes…things really were just my fault. Or that in order to grow and be the person I want to be for you guys…for my family, for my friends, I needed to change. And I need to work every day to really achieve that change to meet my own goals.”

“Antidepressants help a lot, I’m not gonna lie,” Kokichi snorted. “But they aren’t the…magic fix all to the actual problems. They just give me the energy to fix things myself. Or try to, anyway. It’s like…running a marathon, and the goal is the finish line, right? Only you can cross it, and the thing that helps most is…having done stretches, and having been in the habit of running. But…antidepressants are like…having good running shoes, and having eaten a good breakfast, and having a water bottle. Without them, getting to the finish line isn’t impossible, but…wow do they make it easier.”

Kokichi looked up at Kaito, looking at the planes of illumination on his face from the moon. “...you’re still in training. You’re figuring out what stretches help. You’re building stamina. And…maybe you can ask someone to help take you shoe shopping, if the ones you have aren’t cutting it. But you’re making really important progress, Kai-chan. Don’t undermine those accomplishments.”

“...that’s really good advice, ‘Kichi.” Kaito said softly. “I’m listening. I’ll try…”

Staring down at Miyako, thinking about what Kokichi had said, Kaito… tried to internalize most of it. Recognize when it was your fault, huh… Kaito had thought he was doing that, but… well, maybe he wasn’t being totally honest with himself. Hmm…

“...is it bad your metaphor kinda makes me want to go buy new shoes?” Kaito asked, grinning cheekily at his husband. “Kokichiiiiiii. Buy me new shooooooes. I’m bad at budgeting, save me.”

“I know you’re trying,” Kokichi kissed at Kaito’s arm again. “And that’s why I’m so proud. Healing can take a long time, and there’s no deadline for growth. We just…have to keep at it, keep trying to be the people we want to be. Try to be good to each other. And along the way…we’ll be able to look around and be happy with what we see.”

Chuckling as Kaito shifted into a less serious mode, Kokichi gave his husband a wink. “I’m sure we can find room in the budget. I think it’ll be good to get some new workout clothes too--all of us. Let’s plan a day to go shopping together, yeah? We can find some perfectly flashy running shoes for ya.”

“Yessss…. And baby socks for Miya! Miyakoooo, you can’t just wear diapers and wraps forever, we gotta get you into some outfits! We gotta get you into some onesies. You’re gonna be the more hip and fashionable and cutest baby in the room. Which room, dad?” Kaito said, his voice going higher as he spoke for her, putting his finger against her bottom lip and moving it up and down like she was talking (Miyako just looking baffled by this), “Any room, Miyako. You are cuter than all the babies… Addason is a close second. He has got some really gorgeous blue eyes.”

Chuckling to himself, Kaito sighed, “...alright. We had some fun, we had some serious talk, we had a mandatory ‘scare Kaito with overly familiar Diceans’ incident… guess we should head back, huh?”

“Oh nooo,” Kokichi laughed. “I’m both so pumped and terrified for when she’ll be able to start crawling around. I’m glad we’ve already baby-proofed our room and her nursery, but I’m gonna be a total hover parent…”

Pressing a kiss to his palm, and then pressing it to her head, Kokichi shook his head in fondness before he sighed. “...yeah. We should. It’d be too mean to keep Mi-Mi from her late-night snack, and I really don’t wanna chance having to carry her back with a full diaper.”

“...I can give you the sling, and I can carry our smoothies, if you wanna keep her and focus on your balance coming down?”

“Yeah, let’s do that. My turn to carry Miyako. Miya? Miiiyaaaa~ We’re going back down the hill. Adventure time is almost over. You were so good for it, you were, yes you were. You’re such a good, brave, strong, beautiful, sweet, precious…” Kaito sniffed her suspiciously, before opening up her diaper… and sighing in relief. “Just my imagination. Or she farted. But we’re still good! Let’s go.”

-

It wasn’t first thing in the morning, because Kaito had desperately needed a few hours of sleep after his shift with Miyako had ended, considering all the wandering around they had done last night. But it was still pretty well into the morning, roughly ten. It was still hot, but Kaito had thought it might be a good gesture to try this before the heat had a solid chance to zap all the older man’s energy. This was a gesture in good faith, after all, so it was Kaito’s responsibility to try to catch him at his best.

Mmmmm… though, if Kaito wanted to catch him at his worst, he wondered if the old bastard got stupid and miserable in the heat, like everyone else did. If Kaito decided to harass him well into the afternoon, he bet it’d be effective enough to get him to lose his cool. Ha! Make him embarrass himself, trying to be all smart and shitty while his brain was literally melting… bet that would work…

…Kaito rolled his eyes at himself. Yeah, yeah, yeah, let’s get all of the revenge fantasies out of your system, huh. He wouldn’t get to indulge any more revenge fantasies after this, if it went according to plan, so he had to get them while the getting was good.

Mmmm… Hideki falling down the stairs…. The guy accidentally setting his own desk on fire and losing a bunch of important work as everyone gets mad at him… all of his clothes getting destroyed in the laundry and also he fucking dies somehow.

….okay? Done? Done. Let’s do this! 

Kaito was trying Hideki’s office first, entirely because he had no idea where Hideki lived. So… maybe he’d get lucky? And if not, he’d start asking around. 

Knock knock KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

It was by happenstance, really. In theory, yeah, their offices were still open, ready to be of use if anyone came in with an emergency issue…but like hell they were going to work on anything that wasn’t going to explode if not dealt with in a day. And considering how much they tried to be on top of things and future-proof, those kinds of issues were few and far between. 

So, Hideki wasn’t in his office, and really had no plans to be. But, by chance, he’d left a book in it the night before, and Hideki, while moving slow, wanted to gather everything he needed for the day before the heat really started to roast. 

“Kaito?” came his flat, though moderately intrigued voice from down the hall, watching the prince bang on his office door like he had something to prove. Hideki’s hair was smoothed back by a wide headband, and he was wearing a loose, flowing white shirt over mid-length shorts, and while he was a bit sweaty, the older man looked relatively alright with the heat. Certainly when compared to certain other residents of the castle.

“Did something happen?”

Kaito gave a startled look to his right, frozen mid-knock. Oh… huh. Not the direction he had been expecting. But, still a good bit of fortune! “Ah! There you are!” Kaito said a tad too loudly, though perhaps that was appropriate since Hideki was still a bit aways anyway, Kaito stepping back from the door. “I expected my search to take longer! Guess it’s my lucky day!”

… ugh, don’t get cold feet. It had all been so clear last night, listening to Kokichi’s advice. His husband putting into words something Kaito had basically already known deep down but had been struggling to put into action… mostly because seeing Hideki brought back the rush of desire to smash the older man’s face into a wall. But that wasn’t fair! Kaito knew that wasn’t fair! He had to be willing to just accept that things had been his own fault! He already knew that, but now he had to take the actions to accept that! Acknowledge it! Be better!

… ugh, Hideki had such a punchable face, it just wasn’t fair.

“Did something…? Oh! No, no, there’s no emergency.” Kaito clarified quickly, nodding his head at the older man in a small ‘not really a bow but gives the impression of a bow’ bow. “Um, actually… I was hoping to turn your ear for a minute? Or, no, maybe that’s not the phrase… if you’re not busy, I was hoping to talk to you for a minute? Uh, though, if you are busy, that’s perfectly fine, this can wait. It’s purely a personal matter.”

Hideki raised a bit of an eyebrow before shaking his head, sighing exasperatedly. “We’re not working today, not unless someone really needs us to. So I have all the time in the world for you, Kaito.” 

The older man’s lips twisted a little. “Though…I can’t imagine how much help I can be for personal matters. Somehow I can’t imagine you need to ask me what to get for Kokichi’s birthday.” And that was less because Hideki didn’t know his nephew, and more because Kaito already knew him really well and even in the case he was lacking inspiration, Hideki was far from the first person he’d ask for such a thing. 

Hideki had gotten Kokichi a new planner, but even though he was confident in its practicality, he knew it wasn’t the flashiest thing. 

Giving the man a nod as Hideki opened up his office--it’d probably be more comfortable than talking out in the hall, and he needed to get his book anyway--he hummed. “What did you want to talk about?”

….AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SHIT HE STILL HAD TO FIGURE OUT KOKICHI’S BIRTHDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Kaito twitched as this reminder ripped unpleasantly through him, still… no idea what he was going to do or get for his husbands first birthday with himself. He had to do something really nice! It was the first birthday he had ever spent with Kokichi that was both a personal celebration and also his husband birthday and–!??!

Focus.

Kaito walked into the office behind the man, feeling a touch of nerves at the space. Starting to fuss with his knuckles, Kaito reminded himself that this was, more likely than not, going to be a quick conversation. Hideki had already told Kaito that he didn’t hate him back. That he didn’t feel much of anything for him. This conversation was more for Kaito’s own peace of mind, he knew that. Let’s just… get it done!

“Umm… as you know…” Kaito started off slowly, looking around the office curiously. It being the first time he had ever been in here. There wasn’t much to see. It was very much An Office. The only particularly interesting thing being a few pretty paintings in styles Kaito wasn’t personally familiar with, but even those didn’t draw a ton of attention. “You… so! Um, okay. So, Kokichi is… very fond of you. You’re a very important person in my husband's life. You were a teacher and a guardian to him, and that’s something that I… want to respect.”

Mostly in an attempt to get his fingers to stop twisting and abusing each other, Kaito clapped his hands together and said, “So! As you also know, I can’t stand your guts… but I really don’t want that to affect your and Kokichi’s relationship. I am certain Kokichi would love every opportunity for you to be more involved with our lives than you have been, but my Kokichi tends to… try to take care of my feelings. Because he’s a good guy like that and… ugh, sorry, I started this the wrong way.” Kaito grumbled, running his hand through his hair, “None of that is the point. Um, I just… wanted to come by and apologize. For… how I’ve behaved with you. Especially for picking a fight with you a few months back. That was… really deliberate and unkind of me. You hadn’t done anything to deserve it. And I’m embarrassed at how I acted. I just want to apologize for it.”

Hideki just stared at Kaito, listening to his piece. And…well, he had been partially right. Personal things, emotional things…Hideki wasn’t good with them. But it sounded like Kaito had been doing some soul searching, and was now trying to reach out. Reconciliation. And when someone extended an olive branch in good faith…you should take it. 

“I was unkind in turn,” the secretary said bluntly. “While you can be seen as a symbol, it’s not actually your job to be the representative of Luminary--that duty would go to the Luminary ambassador, in the event we actually work things out to make that happen. Personally, I have things against how things were in Luminary, but those aren’t your crosses to bear, and I shouldn’t have unloaded on you. I apologize for that.”

Shrugging a little, Hideki gave the prince a plaintive look. “You’re important to Kokichi, and he’s important to me. I’m willing to work with you for a better relationship for him.”

That was business, and normally, Hideki would stop there, but after a moment, a softer smile graced his lips. “...you make him really happy, you know? Kokichi and I have an understanding about our similar work ethics, the way we like to learn, but…my nephew has always been happiest in the company of others. I don’t claim to empathize, but…seeing him smile like he does with you around makes it so I don’t have to, to understand what it means. You two have something precious.”

Kaito had a brief moment, where he felt… irrationally angry. At the apology in turn. And it was irrational, because… well, what more could he have hoped for? Then an apology? Hell, it had been more than he had been expecting, even… well, maybe that was why the spark of anger had happened. Because he hadn’t been expecting it. 

He took a breath and forced himself to let the anger go. Looked up from his hands and tried to look at Hideki and see… who the actual person in front of him even was, beyond just the monster that Kaito had been building in his head for months, who had kicked him on one of the lowest days in his life. To actually, really try to see him.

…he wasn’t actually that old.

He didn’t even have gray in his hair. He was too young for that. He had stress lines on his face, particularly around his eyes, but those were just that… from stress. Not age. His back wasn’t bent, his hands weren’t gnarled. If Kaito had been asked to describe him without looking at him, Kaito would have confidently said both of those things. Bent back. Gnarled hands. Hair graying and wrinkles deeply entrenched in his skin.

…he just… wasn’t actually Tengan.

And Kaito felt just a sudden rush of disappointment at that realization. That Hideki wasn’t Tengan. That they weren’t interchangeable. 

He was just… some guy. Some weird jerk who wasn’t very good at talking to people, who Kokichi loved. He wasn’t really anyone. No one important, anyway, not to Kaito… that was a shame. Kaito felt the hatred bleed out of him, mostly just annoyed with himself now. Damn it… he had spent all that time so fucking pissed at a shadow of someone else. What a waste of time…

But, even if Hideki wasn’t the person Kato thought he was, the person he actually was seemed… okay. Nice enough, if the smile and observation on Kokichi was any indication. Doing his best to try to actually see Hideki as he was again, Kaito forced himself to look, trying to hear what he was saying. “Yeah, I was very lucky. If I make Kokichi happy, it’s only because he lets me. Kokichi makes it easy to be a better version of myself, ya know? I think a lot of people feel the same way about it.” Kaito mused, rubbing the back of his neck as he said, “And, again, he adores you. I know he wants you to be a part of his life more, to be a part of Miyako’s life, so… maybe just go ahead and do that? I know you’re busy, that you have a lot on your plate, but, like, so does he. It can’t be entirely on my husband to constantly be bridging the gap for us, alright? We have to meet him halfway, so…” 

Feeling suddenly emboldened, Kaito huffed, adding in with a touch of impatience, “I dunno, if I’ve been the reason we don’t see a lot of you? Cause we haven't, by the way, in like a year… I know it’d mean a lot to him if you made more of an effort to spend time with him. So I can’t be an excuse for you to flake out on him, if I have been. And work isn’t good enough, excuse wise. Just… get your head out of your ass for an hour every now and again and have lunch with him or something. Sheesh.”

‘God, you’re such a buzzkill! Can you get your head out of your ass for five minutes to have a nice conversation with someone one in a while?!’

Hideki’s expression softened into something a little amused. Somehow, there really was someone even more convinced they were the paragon and enforcer of manners than Honoka. 

“My presence for the past month has been more by design, as per the arrangement Kokichi and I worked out prior to Miyako’s birth, but perhaps we should revisit it, if you’re so insistent,” Hideki smirked. “But before that, Kokichi and I had been regularly seeing each other out of work. Just because you don’t see me doesn’t mean I’m not around.

“But who knows,” he shrugged. “If you don’t find a problem with it, maybe you’ll be seeing me around more. Was that everything you wanted to talk about?”

…arrangement? 

Kaito felt the back of his jaw click slightly, but…he decided not to ask. Maybe he’d ask Kokichi at some point… that’d be the responsible thing to do. Let Kokichi just explain for himself what arrangement he had made with Hidek– “Sorry, what arrangement?” 

Hideki just raised an eyebrow, the time up on the softening of his features. “I’m not very personable, and until you’ve decided to make this bridge, you loathed me. Obviously Kokichi wasn’t going to have your daughter be around someone that one of her parents hates. We decided I would be less involved with her upbringing than other members of the family.”

“It’s harder to explain an absence than an action, but I would’ve thought Kokichi would tell you.”

Kaito chewed lightly on the inside of his lip. “...oh, yeah! Sorry, of course, that arrangement. I did know about that, of course! Yes, that was… it’s unnecessary! Obviously, I’d love to see Kokichi’s loved ones involved in his life! Obviously! From the conversation we just had! That was obvious! Um, I am… sorry that it has taken me this long to get that cleared up though! Glad to get that out into the open. But, yes, of course my husband told me. Just… slipped my mind which one you were talking about. There’s just… so many arrangements… hard to keep track.”

Kaito blinked, his rambling reaching a dead end in his mind… before he bowed low. “That’s all I wanted to talk about! Um, again, thank you so much for your time! I know it came out of nowhere! So… yes! Good! Got that cleared up! Thank you for your time again! Looking forward to seeing you around more… myself!”

Clasping his hands together, Kaito started to head backwards towards the door, continuing to ramble, “So, all that said, I know it’s very hot, please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you during the heatwave. I’ve noticed I’m a little more mobile than everyone else right now, figured I’d use it to my advantage, can I… bring you anything or…?” He asked, getting to the door.

…Hideki never really thought he was good at reading people--he’d much rather everyone just be upfront to avoid unnecessary confusion--but…it almost felt like Kaito was out on a corner spinning a sign that declared in bold letters, ‘I’M UNCOMFORTABLE AND I STILL DON’T TRUST YOU AT ALL’. Which, like Kaito’s former hatred, was fine enough. If only Kaito would be straightforward about it. 

He likely still wouldn’t be as involved as, say, Ikuo, just from the fact that the older man was so paternal he collected children-figures and mentees like shards of iron around a magnet, and Hideki at his best was seen as frustratingly beloved, so Kaito probably still wouldn’t be seeing an abundance of him. But they could be civil for their loved ones. 

…he could put in a little work too. 

Giving a Kaito a nod of goodbye as he made to leave, Hideki paused at the question of whether he needed anything. Working his way around words before he pushed them out, soft and hesitant. “...my partner and I used to vacation in Novis, when we had time off. While this wave isn’t pleasant, I’m not…as bothered as many are. Thank you for the offer.”

“...ha! That’s a good tip. I’ll have to make certain to take ‘Kichi to Novis when it’s not feeling like this.” Kaito laughed, giving the man another nod, before heading off.

…sigh. 

Kaito let out a long breath, running his hands through his hair and… damn it. He had known Kokichi didn’t bring up certain things because it upset Kaito, he knew they all did that, but… arrangements? With his damn relatives to, what… make certain Kaito didn’t have to see them? Damn it, Kokichi… Kaito felt a flush of embarrassment, thinking about it. How fucking pathetic he must seem to them… fuck, how pathetic he must seem to Kokichi. 

… damn, there was probably no way to bring it up to him without seeming even more hysterical and over-reactive, huh… damn it. 

Kaito felt the anger rush through him and tried to swallow it down. Hs family never trusted him with fucking anythng… but getting upset by that would only reinforce all the reasons they never trusted him with anything. Would only validate everyone else. Damn… had Kokichi told him about asking Hideki not to come around Miyako for Kaito’s sake? Maybe Kaito had just forgotten… no, no, if Kokichi had told him, Kaito would have told him he didn’t have to do that for him. Kaito was certain of that. So… Kokichi just hadn’t told him.

Hideki’s smug reminder that just because Kaito didn’t know about it didn’t mean Kokichi wasn’t spending time with the older man… Kaito felt his shoulders fall at that. He had dared to be angry at Hideki’s distance, only to immediately discover he had just been totally ignorant to the situation. Probably because Kokichi didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. Yeah… yeah. Once again, it was all just… Kaito’s fault. Everything was always his fault. If Kokichi was hiding things from Kato, that was probably Kaito’s fault too.

...oh well.

Kaito felt the anger bleed out of him, taking comfort in the relatively new magic words in Kaito’s life. Oh well. It was a good phrase. It said everything Kaito needed it too. Oh well.

… but he had done it! He had done a good job! That had actually gone really well, regardless of anything else! Kokichi would be happy with him! Kaito could take pride that he had done the difficult thing and fixed that bridge! Yeah! 

Alright… it wasn’t quite lunch time yet. Maybe Kaito could head downstairs and take a nap… or, maybe it’d be okay for him to spend some time in his shrine, then head down and see what everyone wanted to do for lunch, before his shift with Miyako started. Yeah! That’d probably be okay. That’s what he would do.

With that, Kaito headed to his shrine.

-

Things were relatively comfortable, all things considered. It was still way too hot, but their little night hike had definitely staved off the cabin fever for Kokichi, and the residual soreness in his thighs from trekking up the hill just gave him something else to focus on besides the heat. And his guess the night before had been spot on--other than getting up to use the bathroom, re-fill their water pitchers from the sink, or tending to Miyako, Kokichi wasn’t moving an inch, choosing to lounge around on his futon or the couch. 

Lunch was ricebowls again, though a bit more involved than the one Kaito had brought back the first day as a snack, and they still had an array of sliced fruit that Kokichi was happily munching on. 

Things were…good. They would make it through the week. Being halfway done never looked so good. 

“Mmf, sho, whadd’ya get up to this mornin’, Kai-chan?” Kokichi asked through a half-full mouth. Kaito had been out pretty much the entire latter bit of the morning, only coming back with lunch recently. Kokichi didn’t need to know what he’d been up to, but…he was curious! Comfortable as he was, Kokichi waaaaas starting to get a little bored with the day.

Kaito had just finished delivering lunch to Shuichi and Maki, who had at some point that morning decided the tub was the place to be again, and again, Kaito had left the room a little dazed, mind filled with bare skin and comfy looking, glistening sidekicks… phew. Timothy and Chase had been taken out by Uncle Hajime today, Hajime and his girlfriend Chiaki deciding to go to a game room out in town that, apparently, was successfully keeping their basement pretty cool from a creative use of piping. The basement wasn’t open for just anyone to come in, mostly because they had to control how many people were in it at any given time for safety reasons, but Chiaki knew the owners and had gotten permission to bring Hajme and one more person, and Hajime had decided to invite Timothy. 

Kaito had thanked Hajime profusely for the invite, when the lanky man had come to him and Maki about it. Honestly, Kaito was extremely proud of how Tim had handled the last few days. He knew it had to be difficult, stuck in a room with a bunch of grumpy adults and no one else to play with. A day at a cool– in the literal and metaphorical sense– arcade sounded perfect for the kid.

Collecting his own bowls, Kaito went to sit at the lounge chair, mostly just wanting to avoid getting rice on his futon as he sat cross-legged, balancing the bowls on his knees as he placed his cup of water next to him. Looking over at Kokichi on the futon, he considered how to word this… before grinning. “I… went to talk to Hideki! I think the conversation went really well, actually… decided to take your advice from last night. Go take responsibility for some stuff.”

Kokichi blinked before staring in wide-eyed surprise at Kaito. As much as he had talked about confronting some things with himself on his health journey…Kokichi didn’t think that Kaito would be or need to follow the same path. Honestly…sometimes Kokichi thought Kaito needed to give himself less responsibility for the things that had happened…

…but…his thing with Hideki… That was something Kokichi was happy to hear Kaito try to pick up. 

Smiling softly, once the brunt of the surprise wore off, Kokichi gave Kaito a nod. “I’m glad it went well, then. I know Hideki-ji isn’t the easiest person to talk to for some stuff, but…I’m happy you gave it a shot.”

Would there be a future where Kokichi was surrounded by his family and there weren’t weird tensions in the air? Probably not. And, really, that’s how it would be with Kaito’s family and Shuuichi’s family too. All their stories were just…too complicated. But they could tolerate each other and…for most things, that would be good enough. 

“How’s he doin’?” Kokichi asked. “He’s never really been too bothered with the heat, unlike the cold, but this wave’s still ridiculous.”

“He seemed alright, actually.” Kaito said, digging into the rice. Hm… the rice didn’t taste bad, but Kaito was starting to notice these little, like… pieces? He wasn’t even sure how to describe them. It had the texture of onions, but were something else. Kaito was deciding he wasn’t fond of them, carefully pushing the rice around to push all the little pieces to one part of the bowl as he swallowed, continuing on, “Said he was used to this sorta heat from trips to Novis. So, we should keep that in mind when we go visit. They can apparently have some brutal weather, we’ll wanna time it right.”

“And it was more than a shot! Like I said, I think it went really well!” Kaito insisted, a tad defensively. “We, uh, we… talked! About…” Kaito’s mind raced through it. He guessed they hadn’t actually said all that much, really, but, “about this fight we had ages ago. I apologized, he apologized… he talked a bit about how you seem happy these days, that we seem to have something good. That was nice of him.”

“...I mentioned to him he should be more involved in stuff.” Kaito said, trying to say it idly, “Like,spend more time with you and Miyako and stuff. So, yeah, your… ‘don’t piss off Kaito’ arraignment thing? Not necessary anymore. We cleared it up, it’s all good.”

Kaito pushed some more of the weird ‘not quite onion’ things to the side, frowning at them. They were so damn small, and they barely had any color. It was so tough to see them… “Also, for the record? If you have any agreement like that with anyone else? Super unnecessary, babe. People don’t have to sneak around me to come see you. Just so you know. I’m not some, like… tyrant over your social life.” Kaito stabbed at the little clear pieces with his fork,  “Just so we’re clear.”

Kokichi laughed softly. “Yeah, that’s fair. People always talk about Novis like it’s paradise, but…it’s an island that’s way closer to the equator than it is here. It might be a good place to snowbird to, though.”

Softening his expression more as Kaito insisted that the talk had gone well--Kokichi believed him! He could’ve phrased that better--he nodded, just…happy to hear how it had gone. Glad his husband and uncle were trying to be on better terms. In general, but…

Kokichi’s eyebrows scrunched in. “...if you felt so strongly that…” He huffed. “...I’m not gonna make you hang out with people you dislike. I have a life when you’re not around and…I spend that time with people you don’t like. It’s not sneaking around…we’re just…planning stuff that’s convenient for us. Like, you’ve never asked to come to game night with my father, and I’m not gonna insist on it, you know?”

Shoving a spoonful of rice (and veggies and meat in a light sauce with various fixings) in his mouth, Kokichi pouted, not really appreciating Kaito getting testy over something like this out of the blue. “If you felt so strongly that our plan was bad, why didn’t you say anything before?”

“Ask to come to game night… did you want me to come to game night? I know the king makes me uncomfortable, but I’m never anything but totally polite to him… nevermind.” Kaito muttered, getting frustrated as he took a bite of his rice. Ugh, he had missed one. Why did they put this stuff in otherwise good food? Couldn’t they tell it tasted bad? “And, what was I supposed to do, read your mind? I only know about it at all because Hideki mentioned it while we were talking… when I was in the middle of telling him off for not spending more time with you and Miyako. It was a little embarrassing to show off that my husband keeps secrets from me, ‘Kichi. That’s not exactly my favorite thing about our relationship.”

It wasn’t about how polite Kaito was! That was the point! Kaito got super nervous and testy around Aiichi, and they all knew that! So Kokichi wasn’t going to force Kaito to spend casual free time with him any more than they had to! It was just courtesy--it wasn’t like Kaito had ever asked Kokichi to take social calls with Byakuya! (Nevermind that there was a lot more going on there, but…)

Kokichi could only huff as Kaito let that bit go, but the next… Right again, Kokichi’s eyes were wide, and his expression was just baffled. “What are you talking about? We talked about it back when we were figuring out visiting times for my family while Shuu-chan and Miya would be in the hospital. That was the whole reason why Aiichi only stopped by for a little bit, and Hideki-ji wasn’t there. We had a whole conversation about how much or just how in general we wanted our family’s involvement with her!”

“What? I…” Kaito did have some recollection of Kokichi saying Aiichi wouldn’t be staying long or something… he didn’t remember seeing Hideki at all. Had they…, “No, wait. There’s no way I would have signed off on your family being banned from seeing Miyako around me. I’m not a fucking asshole, Kokichi, that’s totally fucking unreasonable… shit. I mean…”

Kaito covered his mouth, glancing at the crib. Do NOT curse around your daughter! Don’t curse in anger around her especially! He had to get over that shitty habit before she was old enough to really let it affect her! 

Gritting his teeth, trying to think of what he said before he said it, he said in a more even but no less frustrated volume, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m not the person in your life who stops you from seeing people. I have a lot of faults, but that’s not one of them.”

“They’re not banned.” What the hell? Like…sure, Kokichi didn’t really remember his partners giving much input when they talked about this the first time, but he was used to conversations about other people needing a few iterations before anything happened. He supposed this was that, but Kaito was acting like he didn’t know the first thing about the situation. 

…Kaito usually did try to listen to what Kokichi said, even if he didn’t process it. He wasn’t…talking around it, really, like he did in that case. 

Kokichi chewed on his lip before shaking his head with a sigh. “It’s not a ban,” he insisted. “It’s just…priority. My family’s gonna be around for holidays, there’s a priority tier list of people to ask when we need a babysitter, there are certain people I’ve asked for a bigger heads up if they wanna come see Miya, and there are times to hang out that we prioritize when it’s not gonna be with you. You’re uncomfortable with Hideki and my father, and while things are better with them, even Denji and Lake too. I’m not going to make you hang out with people you don’t even like when we could easily just do it another time without you.”

Kokichi sucked on his teeth, his brows furrowed, before looking at Kaito searchingly. “...we’ve talked about it. I’m sure we’ve talked about it…”

“Wait…” Kaito frowned, brow furrowing, “People… how many?” Kaito demanded, standing up, putting the rice aside but, inexplicably, still holding the bowl of fruit, gripping it tightly, “How many people have you asked for a ‘heads up’ when they come to visit to not make me uncomfortable? Is that what you told them?!”

Kokichi sat up straighter, something in the back of his mind refusing to bow as Kaito made himself bigger. Eyes narrowing, Kokichi’s voice lowered and sharpened. “Of course not! I asked my father and Hideki to make plans at least a day in advance if they wanted to come see Miya, and they respect that. It’s not just you, though your feelings are in consideration. They know I’d be uncomfortable with them just dropping by our room unannounced.”

“What, would you rather my family just use our room like the dining hall? You’re the one that would have a fit and harass people when they used to come in as they pleased.” Huffing, there was a part of Kokichi that knew he was going too far, but…he was mad. “You can’t even trust the nightguard to keep an eye out at night and have to physically check on everyone in our hall every night even though it exhausts you and is clearly an anxious compulsion that you barely even acknowledge, so, what, you’re just totally okay with people I know you wish you didn’t have a connection to so you could keep living in your tiny, simple world where everyone’s either a friend you’d die for that can’t do anything wrong ever, an irredeemable enemy who deserves to die regardless of what they’ve done or how they want to change, or someone who literally doesn’t matter in the world in the slightest to you?!”

His hands unconsciously balling into fists, Kokichi stood up as well, now full-on glaring at Kaito. “I just want to spend time with the people I love without you having a fucking nervous breakdown over it! You don’t have to be present for every time I want to be around people! I bet you wouldn’t even care if all my side of the family other than Ikuo died! They don’t matter to you!”

“WELL WHY SHOULD I!? YOU DIDN’T CARE ABOUT MINE!”

Kaito stepped forward, seeing red, about to go fucking off when–

“Nope.”

“Yeah, no.”

Maki and Shuichi, neither of them dressed, having come running out when they started to hear shouting, took one look at each other, and while they were not good at communicating entirely through facial expressions, both came to the same conclusion at the same time. Maki went towards Kaito, and Shuichi went towards Kokichi.

“Maki, back off, we are in the- ow! Ow ow ow! Stop it!” Kaito demanded, as Maki grabbed at his earrings, twisted violently, and started to pull him towards the stairs.

“Don’t care.” Maki said, “I am not about to listen to three different babies scream for the next few hours.”

Shuichi, in turn, went to Kokichi, and held out his arm towards him, bidding him to take it. “Kokichi. I love you. Get out of here before you wake Miyako and don’t come back until whatever this is is settled.” Shuichi said simply. “Now.”

Kokichi cared enough that they were people. He cared enough that they were people Kaito loved. Kokichi had tried so hard to be a place where Kaito could feel safe in expressing his complicated love, because no one else would give him any sympathy, and…what, that wasn’t enough? And even that much effort didn’t even garner Kaito even caring that Kokichi’s family were people?

That selfish, spoiled…

(That was the thing, too. Kokichi hadn’t asked Kaito to care about his family. The whole set up about spending time with them when Kaito wasn’t there…it was specifically so Kaito didn’t have to care about them. Kokichi never asked him to care, and Kaito was even angry about that, too.)

Kokichi felt the wind go out of his sails when Maki and Shuuichi intervened, though the roil of his anger still bubbled. He looked at Shuuichi’s arm almost helplessly, not sure how to leave and take Shuuichi’s arm at the same time (he never understood the signals his family gave…) so…he simply nodded, grabbing the rest of his lunch and heading up the stairs, only pausing to give Miyako’s crib a rueful look. 

…at least they hadn’t woken her up.

“I don’t want to go.”

“Stay and I cut you to ribbons.”

“Where are we supposed to go!?”

“Not my problem. Not here.” Maki said, pushing Kaito out the door, and giving Kokichi a long look as she held the door open for him, closing it with a thud behind them.

“AUGH!” Kaito shouted at the door, reaching back to punch the door… before letting his hand drop, pacing in place as he snarled, “Damn it I don’t have my god damn stupid rock… augh.” 

Refusing to look at Kokichi, Kaito shoved some of the fruit into his mouth, still inexplicably holding the bowl of fruit, before muttering with a full mouth, “Great. You got us kicked out.”

Kokichi just huffed in the face of Kaito’s inconveniently physical anger before glowering at his husband. “We need to talk this out properly, but I can’t do that right now. I’m going to my sister’s. I’ll be back when it gets cooler tonight.”

He just…couldn’t be around Kaito right now. Not when seeing his husband made him think things like ‘spoiled’ and ‘childish’ and ‘annoying’, rather than…anything Kokichi could go into wanting to forge an understanding. And…they pretty much had all the same living spaces, and most of those were too hot. 

So Lake’s house it was. 

Turning on his heel, Kokichi headed over to go to their room, planning to eat the rest of his lunch and grab some extra clothes and shoes before going out under the blazing sun. 

Kaito narrowed his eyes at him, watching him head up the stairs before popping in another piece of fruit. Oh, sure. He just got to say a bunch of fucking shit to him, and then went running off to his sisters house. Or was it his aunt? Or was it his warden? MAKE UP YOUR MIND, KOKICHI!

Well, fine! Kaito had places he could go too! He’d go talk to someone about Kokchi behind his back! Say things like, oh, we have to have a days notice and tier lists because Kaito is so SENSITIVE! No, wait, but like… the opposite! Kokichi is so sensitive! Yeah! 

…Kaito looked around warily. Popping in another piece of fruit.

… he had just vented to Waku, he wasn’t about to be a bummer to her two days in a row.

…he and Chako only talked when Kaito was baking something and she was at work.

… Hajime was out.

… fine he’d just spend time in his shrine, THAT WAS FINE TOO!

…he needed to be wearing more than underwear right now. Stomping up the stairs, Kaito also headed to their room, but just because he needed pants, dammit! Not because he was following Kokichi!

…it was so hot…

Despite his stomach squeezing uncomfortably, Kokichi scarfed down the rest of his lunch, not about to miss another meal because he was too upset to eat. He was already going to be losing too much weight this week without sabotaging himself over something he could actually affect. 

Next was sunscreen, slathering it all over his already sweaty, sticky body. He was going to be a mess when he showed up, but, really, who wasn’t in this weather? Then was putting on a sunshirt, some pants, a big sunhat, shoving his feet into some sandals…

Kokichi scowled when he saw the knob turn, Kaito coming to their room as well, but he didn’t say a word as he brushed past him, heading for the stairs again. 

He knew Lake would make fun of him. Be disappointed in him for not sticking around to work things out right away. But Kokichi could just…feel like he’d just say even worse stuff if they tried to fix things now. And…despite that, he knew that she wouldn’t turn him away. 

So he headed out.

Kaito watched Kokichi leave and then pretended to himself he didn’t, because he didn’t care that Kokichi was leaving out into the hot sun to walk by himself and…. Ahhhhhhhh! “Katsuki!? Katsuki, are you around!?” Kaito shouted, putting on some pants and heading out to the hallway, glaring up and down it and not seeing anyone, “Damn it… someone should go with him… no, it’s fine! It’s fine! The guards at the gate are smart enough to recognize Kokichi shouldn’t go alone, right? They’ll have someone accompany him…”

Kaito stared at the stairs, not really believing that for a second… but hearing Kokichi say that Kaito was too paranoid to trust the guards to the point where he had to get up himself every night set off a nerve. Kaito huffing as he headed down to his shrine, saying as he went, “Noooo, it’s fiiiiine. Because the guards here are so damn good at their jobs! Diceans ‘look out for each other’. Except for all the time they fucking don’t. But no, can’t point that out! That’s Kaito being paranoid and crazy and not ‘trusting the system’! Doesn’t fucking matter how many times they fucking totally beef it, I’m still the bad guy for not trusting it!”

Kaito, when he got to his shrine, practically ripped the door open, slamming it shut behind himself and getting into the small hotbox that was his shrine, looking around the room… before screaming, hitting the wall. “FUCK! Oh sure, Sure. It’s all gonna be my fault again. It’s always my fault. Augh!” Kaito shouted, kicking one of the beanbags… before giving a startled yelp as it hit the table.

Rushing forward, he steadied the bowl before any of the offering could fall out, his heart pounding in his chest as he pushed his palm against the edges, catching the blood pooling over the edge and pushing it back over as he whispered, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s going back, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry.”

There, there, it wasn’t that much. Just a little had spilled over, that was okay, that was okay…

“...so, I don’t care about him, huh?” Kaito snarled, once his heart had calmed down. “I don’t care about his family or anyone, huh? Oh, but of course I don’t! Of course. Cause I’m the husband that made my partner ‘swear’ to put me first. I’m the selfish dickhead who told my husband to his face that I don’t care what happens to anyone else, unless I’m happy… right?”

“Oh, except I didn’t say that, because I’m not a GOD DAMN SOCIOPATH, KOKICHI!” Kaito screamed, grabbing his iron and squeezing it. “You keep MAKING ME WORSE THAN I AM! You just don’t want to admit that you don’t FUCKING UNDERSTAND ME!” Kaito snarled, throwing his iron at the wall and watching with satisfaction as it created another little crack…

…and then frowned, feeling disappointed in himself as he saw that, dammit… another fucking crack…

…dammit.

Kaito sat, running his hands over his face.

… dammit, what did he just do…

-

Originally, Kokichi had wanted to say that he’d be home before dark, because that was a good few hours away, but few enough that he wouldn’t be leaving Shuuichi and Maki to take care of Miyako by themselves for more than, like, a shift and a half. But being out in the afternoon before dark meant being out during the hottest part of the day, and even if Kokichi had made it to Lake and Nazumi’s house in one piece around noon, he wasn’t going to risk that. 

So…after tears and pouting and an unsympathetic dragging followed by sympathetic pats, and being filled with enough lemonade he’d actually had to use the bathroom several times…the sky was streaked with the last vestiges of stifling light, and Kokichi walked the barren streets back home. Well. Barren apart from Lake beside him, wanting to make sure he made it alright. 

…he was frustrated, but…so much of that just…hadn’t been related at all. And wasn’t how Kokichi actually felt about it. 

…so where to find Kaito…

He would be pleasantly surprised if Kaito had gone to talk to Waku, but…maybe he was just in the habit of being unfair to Kaito today. So he headed up to the shrine. 

Knocking gently, Kokichi softly called out, “Kai-chan?”

There was a moment… and when Kaito opened the door, the sheer steam that came out of the room was probably a little surprising, Kaito’s hair hanging entirely limp, the guy looking like he was drenched. There really was just very little ventilation in this fourth floor closet and considering its size, the lack of windows, and the sheer heat Kaito himself radiated…

Kaito blinked tiredly down at Kokichi, before saying, “If we’re talking, we probably can’t do it here. I think you’d literally die, Kokichi.”

Kokichi actually jolted a bit at the literal cloud that came out of the shrine, and for the third time that day, he looked at Kaito with wide eyes, but this time the sole emotion in them was concern. 

“Holy shit!” he choked. “Kai-chan… Let’s…let’s get you water first, okay?”

“Sure.” Kaito grumbled, heading out and closing the door behind him, trapping the heat back up again. While Kokichi had been out and talking things out with people, Kaito had spent all day staring at the wall, randomly talking to himself as the heat built. At some points he had gotten more angry. At some points he had gotten apologetic and regretful. By this point he was just a little exasperated and fed up with… kinda the world. Everything. Honestly, probably most of that was just being worn down by the baking feeling. Water probably would help.

As they headed towards the stairs, Kaito asked, “So, did you just get back from Lake’s?”

“Yeah,” Kokichi nodded slightly. “She walked me back, so she might still be here, coolin’ down before heading back. It’s cooler now, but she was worried about me.”

“...she says hi, by the way. Some apologies on my behalf too, but…I’m gonna be makin’ my own in due time.”

She’d said a lot more than that that she had wanted Kokichi to pass on, but while they were things that might, on a different day, get Kaito to laugh (if he was feeling more generous with Lake that day), it…seemed in poor taste right now, and to be coming from Kokichi’s mouth. 

Maybe if they managed to make up alright by the end of the night he’d pass them on.

“Oh yeah? I’m sure she’ll be able to tell me hi herself… in twenty-four hours. When it’s safe to see me.” Kaito said, before looking down at his bare wrist like it had a watch on it, “Or, did the timer start when you got there at one? You gotta let me know the rules, Kokichi, how else am I gonna keep our schedules straight?”

Kokichi sighed. “...I guess we can start now, but we are getting you that water.”

“...I’m sorry. I really, genuinely thought we had talked about it. Really…my best guess is that we talked about visitors in general, and I thought about it, but never actually had that conversation with you, and then in the hectic-ness of having Miya I forgot that we didn’t actually discuss it.”

Kokichi ran a hand through his sweaty hair as his shoulders drooped. “...it was a mistake, but…something like deciding how involved we want people to be in Miya’s life isn’t an ‘oopsie’ mistake. Especially when it occurred to me that you didn’t have much to say? I should’ve brought it up “again”...for the first time.”

“...but I know me forgetting isn’t the thing you want an apology for,” he murmured, giving Kaito a tired look. But…he still paused, wanting to give Kaito the space to respond and correct him. 

“...ugh.” Kaito grumbled, pushing his hair back and, because of how wet it was, his hair actually staying pushed back, though it’d likely fall back into his face the second he tilted his head wrong. He needed a hair tie. Where did people get hair ties? Maybe someone in the kitchen would have one. “Man, I wish this was about Miyako. It’d be so much easier to find a common ground if it was. But it’s not.”

Kaito blinked, mildly distracted from his upcoming tirade when he felt his vision start to blur, catching himself on the stair rail. “Whoops, hold on, hold on… okay, sorry. My vision was starting to go out. I actually really do need that water.” Kaito admitted, “Just, give me a second to let the dizzy spell pass… okay… okay I think I’m good… your schedule isn’t about who you want in Miya’s life. It’s about who you’ve decided I want in my life. Because apparently I’m such a selfish dickhead that my husband needs to carefully schedule his family around me and my needs. Gee. Aren’t I lucky.”

It was easier to put things aside for the sake of their daughter. She was a baby so…she was the priority for so many things. She was their daughter, so she became the priority for even more. But while it had trickled down into affecting Miyako’s life…that’s not where the problem started. And fixing the symptoms but not the cause never worked for them. 

They’d gotten into it anyway, but…the stairs really weren’t the best place to have a conversation like this. 

Kokichi gasped softly as Kaito had a dizzy spell, and he surged forward to steady his husband, looking at him in greater concern. “...there’s a small sitting area just around the corner of the stairs, when we get to the bottom. It’s slow today so…let’s sit there. I’ll get us some water, okay?”

…he hadn’t thought about it as Kaito being selfish. Just…as the way things were. Looking down, Kokichi worried his lips a bit before speaking up again. “...do you want them in your life?”

“They’re already in my life Kokichi.” Kaito grumbled, heading down towards the tables, “There’s no getting around that. And I know you already know that because you’re not stupid… I’m just bummed out that you think I am.”

“...also, can you ask the kitchen staff if they have a spare hair tie?” Kaito asked tiredly, sitting down. “My hair is all over the place and it’s hot and I look ugly and I hate it. A hair tie would help with all of that. Don’t tell them it’s for me if that’s the issue, just… lie or something. Say it's for a horse. Horses have lots of hair.”

…to an extent, yes, but… There were still choices about how much. And…it wasn’t stupidity to consider those choices. 

There was a strained look in Kokichi’s face, but he gave Kaito a nod at his request and, relieved to see Kaito resting, he headed off. About seven minutes later, he returned with a water pitcher absolutely littered with ice chunks packed into the water, two cups, and no less than three hair ties around his wrist. 

Rolling them off to hand over to Kaito, Kokichi got busy pouring them each a cup before he sat down. 

“...I don’t think you’re stupid,” he decided to start with. “And…you’re right. They’re in my life, so it’s…it’s not like they’re going to be strangers to you. But…there still is a difference between family that you only see during holidays and that you can nod to on the street, and family that you see every day and know what exactly’s buggin’ you on whatever random Thursday at 3.”

“You’re uncomfortable, but…I never have asked. So…what do you want from them?”

“Thanks, ‘Kichi.” Kaito said, taking the water and drinking slowly from it. Phew… also yay! Hair ties! Many hair ties! Enough to braid a horses tail, in theory. Kaito imagined that would be fairly interesting. Braiding a horses tail. Maybe a little smelly though…

Tying his hair back, Kaito wiped some of the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, quietly listening to Kokichi.

“...Kokichi, I don’t want to talk about what I want from your family.” Kaito said, giving him a tired look, “Like, I know that’s the context of the argument, but… that’s not why we’re fighting. I’m not angry at you because we don’t have hard rules put in place about your family. Come on, man, that’s obviously not why we’re fighting. I know if I asked you why you’re pissed, it’s not gonna be because I didn’t agree to the twenty-four hour rule… right?”

Kokichi’s mouth scrunched to the side a little, but he shook his head. He just…was trying to take things one issue at a time, to hopefully make it a little easier to unravel. But…he guessed this wasn’t how this was gonna go. 

“...I really thought I did tell you. That we did talk about it,” he started again, speaking softly. “So…I got mad ‘cause you got mad, and I was upset you didn’t bring it up before. But…you couldn’t have and I just…worked myself up too much and didn’t listen.”

Kokichi’s eyes lowered. “...I don’t really think you wouldn’t care if my family died. And while it does worry me, I know it’s not your fault that you get anxious in the middle of the night, and I know you’re not afraid of getting help. And I know you don’t really see people in the world like I said… I shouldn’t have said any of that. It’s not how I feel, and it’s cruel to say.”

“...does it really come off like I don’t care about your family?”

“Oh, good. Glad you already knew all the stuff you said was fake and not how you really feel.” Kaito said, narrowing his eyes at him a little, “Well, that’s done. Can’t be mad at you if you didn’t really mean any of it! All the shitty stuff that hurts my feelings? Fucking imaginary.”

“And you don’t care about my family, Kokichi. Or, not any more or any less than you care about anyone. As, like… ‘concepts’.” Kaito huffed, taking his glass and rubbing it against his temple, “But they weren’t just concepts to me. They weren’t people who we had to ‘live and let live’. Do you even…”

Kaito’s shoulders fell, looking tired. “Do you even remember what it was like, the day I found out? That they died? My brother had just sent me an incredibly shtity letter, had just betrayed me, my parents were dead, and I was trying to run to my shitty closet that was still full of fucking… canvasses from when it had been a paint storage room. And on top of all of that, just before I managed to get there? You remember what you managed to say to me?”

“Your parents are dead, and you don’t even care.” Kaito grumbled. “My parents had just died… and instead of being there for me? Or even just leaving me be? You had to fucking… judge me on how I was reacting to it. Had to fucking call me out for beng a shitty person. Again. Because you think I’m a shitty person, Kokichi. And every now and again you do some new thing that reminds me exactly what kind of person you’ve decided I am… and it fucking sucks every time.”

…of course Kaito could still be mad about it. It would be kind of absurd if he wasn’t, even with their time apart to vent. Though…Kokichi wasn’t sure how much of that Kaito had done. Just because something wasn’t true didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. That it wasn’t real. 

…he hadn’t exactly let Kaito say anything before Shuuichi and Maki broke them up. 

…it was still a concept, in a way, but…Kokichi would argue that he cared about Kaito’s family as people that Kaito cared about. But…he was mostly right. And…even if Kokichi had been willing to be more sympathetic than most…it still didn’t… It wasn’t enough. 

(...but how was he supposed to care for them, beyond as people? He didn’t know them. And for the people who did, most of them hated them with a fury Kokichi only discovered in himself recently. …how was he supposed to care for people who had shown time and time again that they didn’t care about Kaito?)

At the mention of the day Kaito got the letter about his parents, though… Kokichi winced. 

He knew what he had been thinking. The worry and horror about Kaito’s conditioning, the terror that Kaito was going to hurt himself… But how he had reacted hadn’t…helped any of that. He just alienated Kaito, made him feel even worse. Put his own feelings before his husband’s, even when fretting about Kaito not being able to feel his feelings. 

…did he? Think Kaito was a bad person?

…he’d just talked to Shuuichi about hypocrisy. 

“...I’m sorry,” Kokichi said softly. “You deserved so much better than what I did. Support in…whatever you needed. However you needed to cope. And I just…disregarded you.”

“...if I ask myself if I think you’re a shitty person, the answer is an emphatic and resounding no. But…if I keep treating you like this? Then…that answer isn’t fair. It’s not…reflecting what I’m doing.” Kokichi’s brow furrowed, deepening that worry line on his forehead. “...I don’t want to treat you like that. Like you’re awful. You’re not.”

Kaito grit his teeth, glaring at Kokichi… before he let out a breath, putting down his glass and crossing his arms, leaning back into his chair as he said softly, “‘Kichi, I’m not trying to… damn it. You don’t do it all the time or anything. Most of the time you’re great to me, I know that. I know how lucky I am… you could be so much worse to me, for a lot of really good reasons. Cause I have been awful to you, sometimes… too many times.”

“But… I can’t… predict you. I can’t adapt to what you want because I don’t understand what you want, and… ugh. I’m not being clear.” Kaito sighed, running his hand over his face. “... you don’t deserve to be shouted at. You don’t deserve to be intimidated, or for your things to be destroyed, or for you to be hurt. I’m wrong when I do things like that. I’m sorry I shouted at you… but… I’m… allowed to be angry at you.” Kaito insisted, his whole body tensing. Half talking to himself by this point. “Especially over the same mistake you make over and over again…”

Kaito tensed… god he was so lost. He didn’t want to make Kokichi feel bad, but he didn’t want to let this go either. Because he was still pissed. Had been pissed all day. Obsessively thinking about what Kokichi had said that morning, about all the things everyone said to him all the time and… he was pissed! Hurt and offended! Cause… cause no one shouted at him. Or hurt him. Or broke his things or hit him or even intimidated him…

But fuck everyone was so fucking mean to him. All the damn time.

Kaito re-thought everything he had just said, trying to… make sense of what he was actually trying to say to Kokichi. His head felt scrambled. Too many things all screaming for his attention at once, resulting in none of them coming out clearly. What actually mattered right now? Not the fact that he didn’t always understand what Kokichi wanted from him, because that wasn’t what Kaito was actually pissed about. They were trying to learn more about each other all the time, that was understandable. He also wasn’t pissed about not being allowed to be pissed, because that wasn’t even really Kokichi’s fault. It was Kaito who told himself to stop being angry all the time, not Kokichi. So that wasn’t it either…

“... it’s… I don’t… I’m not irrational.” Kaito grumbled. “I get nervous and skittish around your family because they’re fucking assholes to me. I’m not the problem. Stop treating me like I’m always the problem. I’m not the bad guy… not all the time, anyway…”

He knew it wasn’t all the time--it would’ve been a much bigger deal if he was, and it wouldn’t have taken until this fight to come up. But…it still was sometimes, and that still deserved an apology. It deserved Kokichi being better than that, because Kaito never deserved to be dismissed like that. 

And…he deserved to be angry about it, but… 

Kokichi made a sort of complicated face, able to see that Kaito was trying to articulate himself too, but… He…hadn’t thought acknowledging his own errors and apologizing for them meant that Kaito couldn’t be angry. Kokichi wasn’t apologizing to get forgiveness, or to deescalate. He was just…admitting to his own faults. Affirming to Kaito that it wasn’t okay, and that Kokichi didn’t think it was okay and…well, hopefully implying that it wasn’t what he wanted, and so…he’d be better. 

He really wanted to be better for Kaito. 

…the same mistake Kokichi kept making…treating things like Kaito being nervous around his family was Kaito’s fault…

…he did do that, didn’t he. Part of it, from the beginning, was Kokichi’s fault, he knew, from how he had so drastically misled Kaito about what things were like. And…even after the gaslighting and trying to clear things up…it was still a first impression, and hard to let go of. 

…did he blame Kaito for not being able to let go of it? …sometimes. 

“...okay,” Kokichi said quietly. “...I know that you’ve been trying really hard around them, despite my own mistakes, and them not…giving consideration. Being jerks. …I really appreciate that, you know? You’re not the issue. I just…”

He sighed. “...I didn’t…don’t. Want it to be hard. So…I thought it would be easier if you just…didn’t have to talk to each other much.”

“...I mean, don’t get me wrong, I haven't been… I’m not… I’ve been an asshole too. To them, I mean. I feel like every conversation I’ve had with your family since ‘Do you like my cape’ has been me trying not to have a meltdown with them… I’m constantly struggling to not lose my mind on them.” Kaito admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, massaging the muscles, “And I’ve pushed their buttons on purpose. Sometimes I’m looking for a fight, cause… cause…”

“...fuck, at least maybe someone would talk to me then.” Kaito said, his eyes starting to redden, frustrated with himself as he went to grab his water again, trying to ignore the floodworks as he took another long sip. Stupid… so overly emotional… “Fuck, Kokichi, when I got here, your biggest issue was that you had no friends. None that you would acknowledge, anyway… people didn’t visit. They didn’t talk to you. They just ignored you as things got worse and worse… even after all this time? After everything we’ve done together, managed to accomplish together… how could you still possibly think the answer is ‘ignore them’? How could you think keeping me away from other people is the answer? Kokichi, I’ve been here a year and I’ve made one friend. Just Waku! That’s it! Meanwhile, my two best friends have spent literally half this year almost constantly in a fight with me! And I’ve spent a year just desperately trying to prove myself to you, which is not the easiest thing to do…”

“Fuck, ‘Kichi, I’m lonely. I’m… ugh… god, I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. It’s not your fault I’m like this. You’re the good parts of this year.” Kaito said, staring at the ice in the water, “I just… I know the answer is I need to try harder. I need to… be more positive. And work harder to endear myself to everyone. And… be more approachable! And then maybe all my conversations with fucking every god damn Dicean I talk to won’t boil down to them explaining to me all the ways I’m a shitty person, or them telling me to my face how shitty being alive is when I spent this first half a year desperately trying to keep you and Shuichi alive, when the only person willing to help me went off to fight a war with my fucking brother… god, I just… I don’t want to be having a nervous breakdown, okay!? I’m sorry! I’m sorry I’m always losing it, but… fuck I need some help!”

Kokichi’s expression softened more from the downcast, ashamed looked he’d been sporting. This…this felt like one of those moments. Where you finally laid out all the bristly, difficult things and, usually without meaning to, found the core thing they all came back to. 

…Kaito was really isolated. 

It was something they all worried about for each other and…it was a valid concern. They had each other, of course, but…Kokichi had been mending things with his family. He had Amber and Stacy and Temp (and…) and…while Kaito had met them at the same time? While he’d recently claimed Temp? …they really were more Kokichi’s friends than Kaito’s. At least in the past months. 

Shuuichi had been isolated during the latter parts of his pregnancy, but before that he’d had work and school, and through them, Nadya and Drake, who both regularly came by to visit. (Not to mention that he’d really bonded with Ikuo over the course of his pregnancy.)

Maki…had gone off to a warzone. And she had Hina and Sakura (and all of them had Yuta now too) but…well. She was still recovering. He’d be more worried in due time, he was sure. 

Kaito had Waku. He hadn’t made friends in his cooking class, when they all promised each other to be more social, and Kokichi hadn’t been helpful in trying to ease Kaito and his family into anything resembling friendship. Detrimental, really, and…had probably prevented any of them from reaching out. 

Kokichi’s face fell a bit as Kaito ranted over his…stupid suicidal world-view, but…he sighed softly. “...you shouldn’t have to be your best self for someone to reach out. Yeah, there needs to be effort on both sides, but…” How could anyone expect Kaito to heal and feel more positive naturally when he didn’t have a support system. 

Suddenly…it felt like an insurmountable wall. Like…anything Kokichi could say and do would just…make things worse for Kaito. But…he’d never really know unless he put it out there. 

“...do you wanna come to game nights with my father? And…come to hang out with my sister, ‘n stuff?” Kokichi bit his lips, wishing he had more to offer. Better ways to make up for his mistakes. “...wish you could meet Alter Ego… They’re a really good friend…”

Kaito sat there in the silence, feeling embarrassed at his tantrum. He had just apologized for shouting and ended up shouting again. Ended up acting exactly the way Kokichi worried he would, the reason his husband had to walk damn eggshells around him… god, he just couldn’t get it together… 

He sipped at his water a bit, ignoring the angry tears on his face. Stupid… shit like this is why no one likes you…

Though, when Kokichi finally spoke up again… “...sure.” Kaito said softly, “...that’d be nice. I could… I dunno, I could make something. I’m getting okay at pies…”

“...” Kaito ran a hand over his face, sighing. “...who? I mean, I know, I know, just because I don’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t come around, I get that, I’m not… trying to be some gatekeeper of your social life. I just… this is my first time hearing about this one, I think. I’m glad you have more friends, Kokichi… ‘Alter Ego’? Is that a nickname, or…?”

…it was really unfair. Kaito was struggling because he didn’t have support, and he didn’t have support (at least outside of his family, and they were touch and go there because they were messes) because his struggles made it hard to connect with people. Kokichi had had the same fuckin’ issue, and…fuck. The only reason he got out of it was because his issues were delusions he’d made for himself, and Kaito snapped him out of it. But…Kaito’s issues weren’t just in his head. There just…wasn’t a person outside of it that could make it better. 

It was unfair…

…

Kokichi blinked, looking at Kaito in surprise. Alter Ego? Why had he…?

If there had been a mountain in front of Kokichi before, now it was like…something so large and encompassing Kokichi couldn’t even see it. Something unfathomable, so…someone put their hands over his eyes but…he was struggling to see and…

In actuality, Kokichi just opened and closed his mouth a few times, struggling to make words and…honestly looking mildly distressed. 

Why had he said…why couldn’t he…

“It’s just…” {Alter Ego.}

“...” Kaito blinked.

“.............. um.” He sipped at his water, brow furrowed. Giving Kokichi a baffled look. “........ okay. Your… friend the… psychic cat mentor? Um…” Kaito glanced around, like maybe someone would just sorta show up and clear this up, cause Kokichi… if he had just said that as a joke, like, right now? After all of that? Then his husband was actually a way bigger dick than Kaito thought, which he was fairly certain Kokichi wasn’t, which meant everything that had just come out of his mou…. Mouth…

Kaito blinked again.

… did he remember Kokichi actually saying anything? 

… Kaito sipped at his glass. Watching Kokichi look like a fish out of water for a bit. “... Kokichi, did you just say something about a cat?”

“...I…uh…that’s…” In one light, someone could take Kokichi’s floundering to be trying to cover up a lie, or something that he shouldn’t have said. Maybe that was true in a sense, but… 

Kokichi genuinely looked concerned. Struggling to say anything, his mind trying to wrap around something he couldn’t grasp, like trying to hold water in a tight fist. “I…”

…of course… A cat? But they were… {Love, friendship, a mentor relationship, comradery} Dreams. Chasing a cat up a building. Kaito’s broken arm, sliding down, falling, falling, FALLING

Kokichi jolted, almost like when you’d catch yourself falling asleep, and he gasped softly, looking a bit pale. “...think the heat’s getting to me, too…”

Kaito shoulders hitched up, giving Kokichi an increasingly nervous look. His head suddenly filling with, well… random ideas. Some nice, feelings that made him think about Shuchi and Maki and Miss Merry, all wrapped up in a little white ball of fluff… but also inexplicably made him think of those two guardsman he had known in the Luminary party, and Secretary Chisa’s administration assistant, and also fuck, his arm… ow.

But that phantom pain of his broken arm came and went quickly, and by the time it was gone, Kaito had… no idea why he was thinking of any of that stuff in the first place. Damn it… ah well. His overactive imagination, running circles around him again, he guessed…? Though, whatever stupid annuyerism or stroke he was having would have to wait, cause all the color had just left Kokichi’s face, and that took priority.

Reaching over to steady Kokichi, Kaito said, “Hey, it’s okay, you’re okay… you were just out walking around in the sun all day, and came back to this stupid pissing match. That’s too much all at once. I’m… I’m not angry anymore, we don’t need to keep talking about this. It’s late… do you want me to take you back down to the lounge?” 

…why couldn’t he think? 

Kokichi took a measured sip of his water before pressing the cold glass to his head, taking a few deep breaths. He didn’t…feel unsteady, any more than that one moment, so he was probably alright, but… Kaito was right. He’d been out in the sun…he probably just needed to rest a little. 

But…

Kokichi shook his head a little. “...you’re right to be angry, and I’m not…I don’t expect you to just forgive me. …it frustrates me, to just…derail your own things ‘cause I’m not doing alright, health-wise.”

He gave his husband a tired look. “...I want to keep talking. I don’t want you to be lonely, or not have the support you need. I want to support you… I want to be the person that always has your back, you know? And…I haven’t been. I’m sorry for that. I still have a lot of growing to do too…I’m still running my race.” Kokichi smiled wanely, calling back to their conversation before. 

“...do you think Maki-chan and Shuu-chan will let us go back down? I’m willing to be more calm about things for Miya if you are.”

“Nothings de-railed. We were never gonna fix me all at once, the same way your health stuff is never gonna get fixed all at once… some things just take time.” Kaito murmured, shrugging, before gulping down the rest of his water. 

Standing up, collecting the glasses and the pitcher, Kaito offered Kokich his arm as he said, “Let me think… Maki and Shuichi have had the baby all day? Basically? And considering we are basically at the start of Shuichi’s shift time, and he likely hasn’t had a break… I’m gonna guess that unless today has gone entirely perfect, Miya-wise, he is going to welcome us back with open arms.”

“And you need rest, so I’ll just take the night shift tonight. You guys can just… let me sleep tomorrow. You’ll get some rest, I’ll get some rest… everything's going to be okay…” Kaito huffed, shrugging as he said, “And I know everything that just happened screams I’m not, but I’m okay. I’m not unhappy, Kokichi. Me struggling with some stuff doesn’t make life, like, unbearable or anything like that. It just… means that sometimes I’m struggling. That’s all. I don’t know. I’m just trying to say that despite everything, I’m okay. Okay?”

They couldn’t fix everything, but Kokichi could at least hear Kaito out. Not force Kaito to put his own feelings aside and push past his anger to deal with Kokichi’s shit. But…well. That’s what they were doing. 

Kokichi wasn’t thrilled for Kaito to be offering to take the whole of the night shift. He…he really couldn’t do it right now. He wasn’t feeling dizzy or unsteady, but he felt off, and…until he wasn’t, that could be dangerous, especially if Miya was depending on him to be there at a moment’s notice. But later…

“...I’ll rest when we get down there,” Kokichi murmured, taking Kaito’s arm, “But still wake me up or…nudge me or something when it would be my shift, okay? I think I just need to chill for a little bit, and if I’m alright, you shouldn’t have to double up. If I don’t think I can do it, I’ll tell you, and then you can. But no matter what, you’re resting in the morning, okay?”

…he sighed. “...I know. I just…want to be able for you to lean on when you’re struggling. I don’t want to make things even harder than they already are, even if things are okay most of the time. And I’m sorry that I have been making things harder. We’ll figure it out. I’ll get my act together.”

“...I love you,” he murmured, looking up at Kaito. 

“I know you do.” Kaito said, nodding with certainty. “I love you too.”

-

Kokichi didn’t need to call for them when he fell asleep.

Alter Ego was waiting for him. Tail flickering uncertainly, ears twitching. They were sitting on Kokichi’s bed, Chibi Kaito sitting beside them, trying to rassure the cat by petting his tail, re-grabbing it every time it flicked out of his reach and petting it a bit before it, once again, flicked away. There there, kitty cat… everything’s okay…

Kokichi looked sheepish when he appeared in the room, wringing his hands in the hem of his shirt. “...if you’re here, then…you saw what happened?” Alter Ego did keep an eye on him, he knew. His mentor could’ve just felt his panic, or they could’ve seen the whole thing. Either way…it was some deep shit.

Sighing, Kokichi plopped down on his bed beside the cat, rubbing his face anxiously. “...I need to tell him.”

“You practically already did!” Alter Ego yelped, tail flickering harder, Chibi Kaito sticking out his tongue a little as he determinedly leapt for the tail, trying to pin it down for soothing pets. Come on! Get back here! Be soothed!! “You called my name! I thought you were calling to me specifically, but it turns out I was just getting an echo from your tether! You put the entire concept of me in his head!”

Kokichi cringed. “...I’m sorry… I… If I was gonna fuck up like this, I didn’t want it to be…exposing you. I…”

Kokichi trailed off. Shuuichi and Maki had let them back into the lounge, deciding that their calmer demeanors were good enough, but Kokichi hadn’t exactly gone to sleep feeling like things were resolved. 

He’d been treating his husband like he was…an irrational asshole. And, sure, they all had their moments like that, but no one, least of all Kaito, should be treated like that was their primary mode of being. And then…Kokichi had just decided to isolate him from people that were gonna be around Kaito whether any of them liked it or not. 

Then…the fuckin’ cherry on top, he’d used his powers on Kaito, and used them to expose his semi-hiding mentor. 

Everything just…sucked and was his fault, and…Kokichi just kind of felt like curling in a ball and crying but that would just be another thing that was his fault, not actually addressing any of the issues and guilt tripping everyone involved. 

“...I’m sorry,” Kokichi whispered again.

“Don’t be.” Alter Ego sighed, flicking Chibi Kaito backwards with his tail before walking over to Kokichi, hopping onto his chest and laying down. “You don’t have any control over it. I’m not upset you did that, I’m… trying to work out how we’re going to fix it. If we’re going to fix it. We might have too, if this is something we’re keeping from Kaito. He didn’t just get ‘cat’ in that reading, he got ‘psychic mentor cat’. As impossible as it might seem, what you are, your empath abilities, your teacher, anything associated with me… Kaito now already knows about all of that. He just isn’t thinking about it because he doesn’t believe it. Anything happens that proves any of it? It’s just a matter of him making the connections now. If we don’t want him to know, we have to go take that information out of his mind…”

“...which, I suspect, means that we’re not going to do that.” Alter Ego sighed, resting their head on their paws, “Because you’re not going to want to erase memories out of his head. So… we have to work through this new reality.”

“...I came running to your mind when you called my name because I thought you might be in danger.” Alter Ego said gently, “I didn’t get everything that happened, but I know that I walked in at the end of a… tense conversation. Are you okay?”

…he knew but just…wasn’t thinking about it. Both incredibly lucky and…terrifying. Later on, it would make explaining everything a little easier, but…until then? It would be an uncomfortable question in Kaito’s mind, and potentially something to make Kokichi run into another block if they tried to talk about it. And for the two of them really trying to be more open with each other?

…therapy was going to be a lot harder. 

He needed to tell Kaito. Just…waiting to remember wasn’t going to work. But…he needed to tell him in person. Right?

Kokichi scrubbed his hands over his eyes again and took a deep breath. “...yeah. Just…failing to be a good husband. Or a good friend.”

“...we had a fight. One of our big ones.”

Chibi Kaito gave Bg Kokichi an uneasy look. Alter Ego might not have seen the fight, but he had. And it was… difficult on the figment. Knowing that Kaito would want to comfort Kokichi right now, but feeling Kokichi’s self-loathing practically seeping through the walls. If he was just Kokichi’s construct, he’d probably be hiding right now, Kokichi’s mind punishing itself with a smaller, upset version of his husband.

But… he wasn’t just Kokichi’s. He was also Alter Ego’s, and he was a construct whose personality was based on Kokichi and Alter Ego’s best guess understanding Katio’s temperament and priorities. 

And Alter Ego knew that Kokichi was trying his best, and suspected that Kaito knew that too. Based on everything he knew about the man.

So Chibi Kaito ran to Kokichi’s shoulder, clasping onto him and nuzzling his face into the dip beside Kokichi’s collarbone. Just trying to be a comforting, reassuring presence, letting out soft little bell sounds that, if Kokichi understood them, he’d recognize as ‘It’s okay…’

Alter Ego glanced down at the little figment, before training their golden gaze back to Kokichi. “I’m sorry to hear that. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Since a big fight? You’ve told me before that you’d hoped the next ‘Big Fight’ would go well, wanting to use all the stuff you all have been learning in therapy… did it? Go well? I have to imagine that even a fight that was handled well would still leave you feeling tired and sad, so I’m asking sincerely, even if you still feel bad…”

Kokichi let out a shaky breath and embraced Chibi Kaito back. He didn’t feel like he deserved the comfort. Not from Chibi Kaito, when the real Kaito had been so mad with him. But Kaito had told him straight out that Kokichi was the good part of the year. And despite how they hurt each other…they still loved each other, and didn’t want to see the other in pain. 

Sighing, Kokichi shrugged a little as he held Chibi Kaito close. “...it wasn’t as bad as the other ones got. No property damage or trying to hit each other, and Kai-chan only yelled a little… Only cried at the end.”

“Shuu-chan and Maki-chan cut it off before we could get to that point anyway. They intervened, kicked us out of the lounge we’ve been staying in, since it’s so hot in Dicea right now… I realized I just…couldn’t be productive with him, so I went to my sister’s. Kai-chan…” Kokichi deflated. “...I didn’t let him get a word in after I said some pretty horrible stuff… And then he went to his shrine and…when I found him later, literal steam came out from the door. I was worried…”

“We talked stuff out more calmly after that, but…” Kokichi rested his head on Chibi Kaito’s head, his eyes downcast. “...I’ve let him down so many times. Like…he’s needed help, or someone just willing to sympathize, and…I just made things worse. Again and again.”

“... it’s hard, being there for people.” Alter Ego said gently. Purring slightly to soothe, as he said, “Especially when you have your own things going on. You’ve had a terribly busy year. I don’t want to undermine whatever you discussed with Kaito, but I can tell you, as your friend… you’ve been trying your best, since I met you. I’m certain, one hundred percent, that you’ve been trying your best with him too. You’re not the type to do any less.”

Chibi Kaito nodded vigorously at that, nuzzling harder into Kokich’s neck. Big Kokichi was absolutely trying his best! One hundred percent One hundred and TEN percent! If Big Kaito didn’t recognize that, Chibi Kaito was going to beat him up! Beat the shit out of Big Kaito! Watch him!!

“...thank you,” Kokichi sighed. “I am trying my best, but…sometimes my best is cruel, or just…not enough. But…even if we hurt, and we fight…we can recognize that in each other. And we’ll try again next time.”

…the mistake he kept making over and over…

Kokichi closed his eyes. “...how am I going to tell him? Sometimes, it feels so close that I can just…remember. Then, anytime I try to do anything directly? I just meltdown. I know I did this to protect myself, but…I feel like I’m ready. I can face what the world’s like, the responsibility I have in it. But I just…can’t break through.”

“...So is the question how do we tell him? Or is the question how do you remember?” Alter Ego asked gently.

Kokichi opened his eyes and sighed again. “...how do I remember. I don’t know how I’m going to tell him, but…I’m going to do it. I’ve committed to it months ago. And…now, if I need to, I can ask Maki-chan and Shuu-chan for support. But…I can’t keep going on like this.”

Looking a little strained, Kokichi turned to his mentor. “I accidentally read people’s minds all the time now. And I work myself up into a frenzy, thinking I heard them say it, but they didn’t and I just…I’m terrified about gaslighting someone again. I’m half-remembering things, but only enough to make it difficult, and…even if that’s why I asked them, Shuu-chan and Maki-chan keep having to save my ass. I’m just making things harder and…putting us all at risk, if we ever do come across someone dangerous to Empaths.”

“Not remembering isn’t protecting me anymore. It’s a liability.”

Alter Ego nodded, listening intently. “Okay… alright. Then that’s the new priority. If you feel like you’re ready? Then I’m ready to help you with that… or more specifically, it’s time to start pulling at our resources. I can’t teach you how to break this mental block, I don’t have the experience necessary. But I’ve met a lot of empaths by this point, and there are a few of them I’ve had in the back of my mind as people to talk to, when we were ready to really try.”

Sitting on his back paws, Alter Ego closed his eyes, as above him, three vague, silhouetted figures hovered, like dark, miniature images. “Mikado is one person we can talk to,” he said, one of the blurred images sharpening, Mikado with his mask hovering, looking both apathetic and highly amused, depending on which side of him you were looking at, “Out of everyone I’ve talked too, his control over his own mind is still at a mastery that’s above and beyond our peers. He might have insight on how to tap into the mental block on a technical level.”

“Then there’s Madam Zalai.” Alter Ego said, as above him the second figure sharpened, revealing a large, lumpy creature, gray in color, with a texture that could best be described as ‘rock-like’, wearing jewelry and gems and nothing else. “She’s a troll I’ve gone to for help before, back when I was trying to learn how to best guide you with your mass of tethers. She’s a medium power level empath, but she’s old and incredibly experienced with empathetic healing properties. She’s the one who taught me that staying in your mind during your coma would help stabilize you. I’d trust her wisdom.”

“And, finally… Miss Egami. She’s a medium range empath with an expertise in wayward spirits. She doesn’t have a particular expertise in this specific issue, but she has access to the wisdom of those on the other side, who could potentially be an invaluable source of information…but even more than that, she’s gone out of her way to reach out to me and offer aid if you ever needed it. That’s a level of aid and support I’d rather not ignore, since Empaths tend to keep to themselves and their internal circles a little, these days.”

“So, with that support, my help, and Temps assistance… we’ll figure this out. We’ll get past this block!”

ヾ（*⌒ヮ⌒*）ゞ Chibi Kaito got up and jumped, pumping his fist in the air! Alter Ego hadn’t meant it as an inspiring speech, but he was inspired anyway, damn it! Hell yeah! Kill the mental block! Bash it dead!!

Kokichi, obviously, knew Mikado, and he remembered the troll woman from Alter Ego explaining his time talking with her before, but…the third person caught him off guard. Kokichi didn’t know a Miss Egami, but…he knew a Dr. Egami. It…wasn’t a stretch that Miss Egami had sought him out, since the community was aware of him, for how few members he’d met, and…well. Doctors weren’t supposed to just chat about their patients, but…if she was an Empath, then maybe Miss Egami had just…noticed that whoever Dr. Egami was to her was regularly seeing Kokichi. 

They were all people who…at varying extents, knew about some of Kokichi’s struggles. Asking them to help with his block wouldn’t be putting himself at risk, clueing in an unknown Empath that he was vulnerable. 

Chewing his lip, Kokichi nodded after a moment. “...I’d like to talk with Madam Zalai. I’ve gotten headaches and panic attacks, trying to remember. If she can give any advice on how to push past the block without hurting myself, I think that would be most helpful. I need to take care of myself, and I don’t want to give my family any more grief.”

At that, Kokichi furrowed his brow. “...I should probably tell Shuu-chan that I’m actively trying to remember, then. Just…so he’s in the loop too.”

“Madam Zalai then. I’ll send a message to her, asking for her time… though we should wait for the heat spell to pass. I think even you being careful right now would probably put your body through to much stress.” Alter Ego advised, “But afterwards? Let’s get started on this. It’s time.”

“...but, that’s all for the future.” Alter Ego said gently, settling back down. “... I’m still sorry you had such a tough day.”

That was a good call. If Kokichi could barely stand to even sleep in most rooms of the castle, trying to do something really mentally intensive would literally fry his brain. He’d already overtaxed himself before. It wasn’t fun. 

Nodding with a small smile, Kokichi scooted back on his bed a bit and laid down, looking up at Alter Ego. “It wasn’t great…but we’ll be okay. I’ll be okay. It was…things we needed to talk about. Really, I’m just thankful we didn’t wake up Miya with our fighting--she would’ve been so scared, feeling us feeling so awful.”

Smiling a little more, Kokichi had a twinkle in his eye as he looked up at Alter Ego. “We took her on a walk outside the other night? She was not enthused with the other people around.”

“Oh?” Alter Ego asked, looking amused, “She’s, what… two months now? Something just shy of that? I feel like I don’t know enough about infants, when does she get to the point where, theoretically, she gets to meet Zizi Ego? … quickly. Carefully. Without a dragon eating me, preferably.”

“Almost seven weeks, yeah,” Kokichi said with a grin. “Time is just flying by, really. Honestly…I think you could meet her soon. She’s starting to…reliably recognize us, I guess, though…she was thinking about how everything is Kai-chan, ‘cause it’s really warm like him, so she’s not exactly there. But…once she is? I think if you go with me, Maki-chan’s not gonna rear up or anything.”

“She’s just there to protect Miya,” Kokichi shrugged. “You aren’t gonna hurt her or mess around for the novelty, so…you’re good. You’re my friend, you get the family pass.”

“Mmhm… sigh,” Alter Ego said literally aloud. The actual word ‘sigh’. “That’s cute that she thinks one of her parents can just become everyone, based on the temperature. Have you visited Addason’s mind yet? He’s very attuned to sound. Everything is either ‘Soft Sound’ or ‘Big Sound’. We haven't wanted to distract you with it, and Temp’s been pretty exhausted, but… I’m still working on making sure he’s covered, when his mind opens up to the hive mind. We have a few months left…”

“Oh noooo,” Kokichi laughed, “That’s cute… I haven’t been to Addason’s mind yet, no. I’ve barely been able to see him and Temp in person. Kai-chan’s been by more to check up on them, but…” Kokichi sighed. “Surprise, surprise, raising an infant takes a lot of time, and I’m too nervous for a lot of my free time to stray far from home. I’m gonna try and see them again after the wave, though.”

A more solemn look on his face, Kokichi nodded slightly. “I think my, like, steel umbrella thing was pretty cool, but…since you guys were able to bash through it when I had that meltdown, it would definitely need work to properly protect Addason. I appreciate you guys giving me slack, but…I’ll be working on it where I can. Just ‘cause I lucked out having an ex-dragon as a sister doesn’t mean I can rest on my laurels for my godson.”

“I am a being made up of four different people, who talks to trolls and the templars of gods… and the ‘dragon as a sister’ thing is still just the wildest thing to me. Just, incomprehensible. Wow.”

Chibi Kaito looked back and forth between Alter Ego and Kokichi, guessing that serious talk had ended… before shyly poking Kokichi’s shoulder. Poke. Poke… POKE POKE POKE POKE.

When he had Kokichi’s attention, he started miming Maki’s hairstyle, before miming stabbing motions, before miming flighting motions, before looking at Kokichi earnestly. Bouncing at his toes. “♩♩♪♭??”

Alter Ego blinked at the construct. “...I think he’s asking to play with a dragon Maki.”

ˉ̶̡̭̭ ( ´͈ ᗨ `͈ ) ˉ̶̡̭̭

Kokichi just shrugged a bit with a good-natured smile. Every single thing in his life was bizarre. Some days it hit him full force and pulled out the existentialism. Other days, he just rolled with it. The world was full of magic, and even within it he was an anomaly. 

Looking over to Chibi Kaito as the creature poked him, Kokichi snorted softly at the mimic before reaching out to tousle Chibi Kaito’s hair. “Yeah? You, a construct, wanna go play with a dragon--someone who eats mental power as a delicious snack?”

He shook his head a little. “Not in Miya’s mind. Our daughter’s mind isn’t a playground, and Maki-chan’s presence there is working. I’ll ask Maki-chan, though. She’ll probably think it’s absurd, but I’ll ask. I get the feeling there’s a lot about my abilities she’s curious about, but hasn’t asked.”

Chibi Kaito had, admittedly, just been asking Kokichi to make a figment for Kaito to hang out with a bit… but now that the possibility of hanging out with Big Maki was a possibility!?

(⊙ヮ⊙)

°˖ ✧◝(○ ヮ ○)◜✧˖ °

“Well, you’ve definitely made the doll version of your husband happy today.” Alter Ego noted, watching the small creature jump up and down the bed, little stars and flowers literally shooting off the imaginary creature. “Not sure how wise it is to start offering your construct playdates, but… well, he gets more refined and advanced all the time. I suppose the construct of two powerful empaths might need a little extra maintenance sometimes.”

At least he could manage it for a Kaito. 

(That, too…he had no idea how to explain to his husband.)

Laughing softly, Kokichi gave his mentor a sheepish look. “It’s not a promise. But I will ask her about it.” Sighing, he reached out to gently pinch the chibi’s big, squishy cheek. “You’re too cute, you know? I like you too much not to try and do what ya ask of me. I’m lucky you’re too good to take advantage of that.”

…are there… ways to take advantage of that??

As Chibi Kaito contemplated this, beaming up at Big Kokichi through his cheek pinch (could he… get MORE kisses??), Alter Ego snorted. “I made him just as much as you did. He never acts cute for me. Your Kaito obviously picks favorites.”

Chibi Kaito gave Alter Ego a glance at that…

d(-_^)~★ True!

Kokichi gave the chibi a fond look before giving Alter Ego a nod. “Heavily. People that are “his” get heavy preferential treatment. You should’ve seen the look on Temp’s face when he asked us to be Addie’s godparents. Oh, actually…”

Smirking, Kokichi offered the memory up to Alter Ego, having a little chuckle himself as Kaito enveloped their friend in a back-breaking bear hug.

“Pffff, his-his-his-hisss.” Alter Ego snickered, “Oh, Temp. Oh dear… looks like a nice hug through. ‘Mine’, huh? I remember you mentioned that already, but I didn’t realize Kaito’s possessiveness was so… blunt. I didn’t think he actually shouted ‘mine’ at people. I sorta assumed it was implied… geez, Temp clearly had not seen that coming.” Alter Ego noted, watching the entirely bewildered look on the Templars face as he awkwardly patted Kaito’s back through the hug.

♬Miiiiiine~♬ Chibi Kaito sang-songed out, those soft bell sounds falling out of him like little chimes in the wind as he hugged at Kokichi’s hand, gently kissing his fingers. ♬Mine, mine, mine~♬

“He’s a very silly person.” Alter Ego said gently, as the memory vanished. “I wish my shards had gotten to know him better, in the Luminary party. We had already known a lot of the rumors around him were exaggerated, but knowing what I know about him now, I think my shards would have gotten along with him quite well. Shame.”

Kneading at Kokichi’s stomach a bit, Alter Ego said, “You should get some rest, if you’re feeling better… but, to send you off to bed, would you like to see Taka’s memory of seeing an Ostrich? Big, monstrous looking birds. Surprisingly dopey faces.”

Kokichi nodded, watching the end of the memory fondly. “My Kai-chan is straight-forward when it comes to his feelings for other people. Not always about his expectations, but…if he likes you, you’ll know. And you’ll have gained someone to depend on for anything.”

Kokichi turned his fond gaze to Chibi Kaito, his heart warming at the little song and kisses. The creature wasn’t a true representation of his husband--Kaito was just too complex--but…Kokichi loved him too. And…it was nice getting to be loved and doted on by a simpler version when the real Kaito was sorting through his complexity. Not something Kokichi would take or seek out over the real thing, but…it was nice. 

“...yeah,” Kokichi said softly. “I know you’re not exactly just the sum of your shards, but…that’s kind of the thing that made me mention you. I wished you two could meet…I think you could be friends. I know you can, but…even talking to their direct consciousness, it’s different, talking to a non-Empath in their mind. I still think it’s enough to make friends, though.”

Using his free hand--the one not being smothered in kisses--to run down Alter Ego’s body affectionately, Kokichi’s eyes lit up in excitement. “Ooooooh, he saw an ostrich??? Please show! Flightless birds are so fascinating!!”

-

In the early morning--but not absurdly early--as he was happily dreaming of weird-looking birds, Kokichi was woken up all at once. Not by a clamoring, not by Miyako making her needs known, and not by the heat, but rather by a sudden sensation with no lead up. 

One moment, Kokichi had made to roll over on his futon. The next, his entire body filled with tension as he quickly tried to flex his foot, the muscles in his calf feeling like…fuck, like they had popped out of place or something, the pain radiating through his whole body, not unlike the waves from a broken bone. 

“F-fuck!” he hissed, quiet, but agonized. 

Timothy and Shuichi didn’t so much as stir. Chase lifted her head up, looking around, before laying it back down again, deciding it was nothing. Kaito, sitting by Miyako’s crib, pretending to read a book that he had really just been more holding and staring tiredly at for the last hour, looked over at Kokichi with a startled jolt of concern… before looking over to Maki. “Everything’s okay.” He assured her, Maki’s knife in her hand, her eyes wide and searching as she held it defensively in front of her face, sitting up in her futon. “Go back to bed, no one’s here.”

Maki glared at Kaito, clearly offended at the mere suggestion that anything was alright, not while adrenaline was racing through her chest… but as she watched Kaito put down his book, going to check on Kokichi, she said quietly, “What’s happening?”

Kaito looked Kokchi over and said gently, but starting with what was always the most important question first, “‘Kichi? Do you need a healer? If you don’t say no, I’m gonna take you upstairs.” He warned, placing his hand against Kokichi’s neck, looking for his pulse.

Kokichi took deep breaths, forcing them to be steady and not quick, though he did sound like he was panting for a moment. He just…kept his foot flexed as much as he could and tried to straighten his knee, trying to ride it out as he forced the muscle to relax. 

But he was far from in enough pain to block out everything else. 

Eyes squinted in pain, Kokichi shook his head against Kaito’s touch. “N-no,” he strained out, “It’s okay, I-I - Leg cramp.” It was such a mundane thing that he was a little embarrassed at the concern but…fuck. It did always feel like a moment of utter death. 

Finally feeling the seizing stop, Kokichi let go of a breath and slowly started to relax his body, blinking sleep out of his eyes before focusing on his friends. “...sorry… Di’n mean to scare you…”

“You’re fine, beautiful… leg cramp, Maki. Go back to bed.” Kaito told her again, petting Kokichi’s hair as his body trembled, “I’ve got him. Aw, my poor ‘Kichi. What a rough way to wake up… let’s get some water into you. Do you want to put any ice against your hamstring?” Kaito asked softly, going to the relatively recently refreshed pitcher and pouring some water, heading back with the cup and sitting next to Kokichi, considering him for a moment before deciding to not move to pull him into sitting up to drink. Kokichi wasn’t immobal, he didn’t need Kaito pushing and pulling his body right now. 

Maki sighed, putting her knife back under her pillow and, giving the two one more appraising look, huffed and laid down again. “Tell Kokichi it’s too hot for him to get sick right now.”

“He’s not sick, he just got a cramp. Happens to the best of us. I’ve got him.” Kaito told her a tad more sternly, giving her a hard look. “Sleep.”

“Tsk.” Maki huffed, turning over to look at the stairs again.

Kokichi still gave a moderately apologetic look Maki’s way, though he knew that this wasn’t something she’d hold against him. It still wasn’t a great way to wake up, especially for someone as vigilant as Maki. 

Shaking his head a little, Kokichi gently sat himself up, stretching his leg out in front of him before he accepted the cup from Kaito, taking a measured drink. “Thanks, gorgeous… I might take you up on ice later, but it’s too early…I’ll just stretch for a bit.”

After a few more moments, Kokichi huffed and gave Kaito a tiredly amused look. “...well, I’m awake now. I can take over watchin’ Miya if you want to get some shut-eye. You’ve been up all night, haven’t you?”

“Hm?” Kaito asked, briefly sounding genuinely confused as he blinked tiredly at Kokichi, “Have I? Oh, yeah. I mean, I’m alright, I’m on my like… third wind? I’m basically wide awake right now.” Kaito said, his voice steady and even, but his eyes unfocused. He wasn’t lying or playing at being okay. He was being honest, in that his brain was definitely on a new boost of reserves… he just wasn’t quite aware of how very close to crashing his body was. Very much a ‘mind over matter’ situation. 

Still, he rubbed his eyes with the back of his palms, shrugging and sitting cross legged now as he said, “Your leg still hurts, right? I’ll stay awake until you feel better. Did you rest alright? You were talking in your sleep.”

Kokichi gave Kaito a skeptical look but didn’t push it. They would just…both be awake, then, and Kaito could crash worry-free whenever his body decided enough was enough. Briefly, he thought about getting Kaito to talk on the couch and maybe lull him to crash on it…but that would be pretty uncomfortable for Kaito, considering the couches were on the small side, and Kaito was a large man. 

“It’s still a little sore,” Kokichi admitted, gingerly getting up to hobble over to the couch anyway. “But I’ll be alright… I slept alright, yeah…did I say anything funny? I don’t remember if you’ve talked about me sleep-talking before. What was I talking about?”

“No idea.” Kaito admitted, his eyes lazily trailing Kokichi’s lithe frame. Pretty… even a limping, sweaty Kokichi was pretty… “It’s like when you eat and go places. It’s not really coherent, your body just… does stuff. When you’re ‘talking’ in your sleep, it’s more like every now and again your mouth just moves a bit and sometimes you make these soft little sounds… and you giggle. Not a lot, but often enough to have scared the bejeezus out of me just… giggling in the dark. Little weirdo.”

Kokichi snorted softly as he slowly stretched his leg out, starting to massage his upper calf as he rolled his foot around, being careful not to lean too hard into pointing. “That really does sound like a horror setting. I don’t really think I’m having, like, silly ha-ha dreams, so I wonder what I’m giggling at.”

“...do I wake you up a lot? With my weird sleeping habits?” Kokichi asked softly after a moment, giving Kaito a considering look. He wasn’t sure what he’d do with the answer. It wasn’t something he could exactly apologize for, as he wasn’t aware he was doing it, and…same with that, he couldn’t exactly stop doing it, unless he took really heavy sleeping medication, and even that was a maybe. And, just, complete drug abuse. 

He supposed he just wanted to know if he was bothering his husband.

“Nah. My barely acknowledged neurotic anxiety and paranoia wakes me up. Not you, babe.” Kaito said, blinking sleepily around the room, brain frying slightly… before he chuckled, “Actually, I’ve been sleeping great here. Timothy right over there, Maki at the stairs, everyone basically at arms length…”

Kaito felt some more snarky remarks form in his head. Everyone that matters in arms length, anyway. Because I’m an all or nothing kind of guy and everyone else in the castle can burn, right ‘Kichi? But he bit his tongue before it got any worse. He hadn’t meant to bring any of that stuff up again. He guessed he was just tired and feeling mean and sarcastic. 

“...it’s been nice. It’s good it’s temporary, poor Tim and Maki need their privacy back. But it’s nice having them close for now.” Kaito mused, rubbing at his eyes again, “...do you want a foot rub? Do you think that would help?”

…Kokichi deflated a bit, looking shamed. He really hadn’t been fair to Kaito at all. And while Kokichi hadn’t meant those things…it was just what they talked about yesterday. Kaito could still be angry. He could still be hurt. 

Still didn’t feel great to be reminded of. 

“...it is kinda nice, isn’t it?” he softly remarked. “Like a big sleepover, even though we’re all miserably hot. I can’t even remember how many times I nagged you guys about sleepovers when we first got to know each other…”

Really, the thing Kokichi wanted most was for Kaito to get some sleep, but…helping people calmed Kaito down most. 

“Maybe?” Kokichi shrugged. “My leg still feels pretty tender, so I dunno if I could stand it, but if you want to, we could give it a shot.”

Glancing over at Miyako– sound asleep– Kaito yawned before getting up, stretching. “Let’s give it a shot. I know you’re okay, but any excuse I get to feel up my ‘Kichi is a good one.”

Grabbing the bucket of ice on the way, it mostly melting by this point, Kaito went to sit down on the couch. Tapping on his lap, Kaito said, “Let’s get your leg up here. Atta boy, there we go… alright. Watch this. Watch this mastery of the massage arts.” Kaito grinned tiredly, showing Kokichi his hands, turning them backwards and forewards, before reaching forward and dipping his hands into th ice-water. Wincing at the feeling of his hands starting to freeze, he took a deep breath, before pulling his hands out and shaking them in the air. “Alright… let me know if this hurts, beautiful.”

With that, Kaito carefully started tracing his hands over Kokichi’s knee and his back lower legs. Not putting any pressure on them, not yet. Just brushing them lightly with his chilled hands.

And any time he could use the excuse of feeling his partners up to help them feel better was a good one too. But…Kokichi had a feeling it’d help Kaito accept going to sleep if he knew his husband was content and taken care of, and it wasn’t like Kokichi wanted the sore ache in his leg to persist. 

Though, Kaito dipping his hands in ice wasn’t something he expected. 

Kokichi’s eyebrows climbed high, and while he let out a little, “Hoo…” as Kaito started…er, warming up by cooling down, it…felt really nice, actually. Even in the tolerable morning, it was still fairly warm, and feeling Kaito gently cool him was incredibly relaxing. 

“Oh… Yeah, that’s alright,” he hummed, keeping his leg relaxed in Kaito’s hold.

“Mmm.” Kaito hummed lowly, still running his hands over Kokichi’s knee and leg, rubbing lightly at Kokichi’s ankle. Then, dipping his hands again– ooof. Cold…– Kaito did it again, this time putting a little more pressure on the balls of Kokichi’s knee and the dips of his ankle, before running his thumb up and down the center of Kokichi’s foot. At first lightly, letting his thumb and palm warm to Kokichis skin, then harder, pressing against the muscle.

“...I think it’s cute, when you’re an active sleeper.” Kaito said, keeping his voice low and soft to not disturb their family. “Sometimes it wakes me up, but really only just long enough for me to grab you and trap you before you wander too close to the edge of the bed. You’ve never fallen off. I don’t know if you’re just really lucky or if you subconsciously know how big your bed is. But you get close sometimes.”

Kokichi let his breathing slow and relax as he focused on the massage, letting Kaito work his wonders. There was a little tenderness when he pressed at the center of his foot, but nothing painful yet. Not even the kind of painful that came from knots letting go. 

“I only remember falling off the bed a few times, growing up,” Kokichi faintly smirked. “I don’t remember exactly when, but I got that size pretty young… Now, for an even smaller me, I’d have to roll and roll and roll to manage to fall off so that’s kinda impressive.”

“...dunno why we opted for such a big bed,” he hummed. “But…it meant that Ikuo could cuddle me if I needed him at night so…I liked it. Still think we should work our way up a bit with Miya, though. I think the day bed we have in there is cute.”

“Yeah, somehow, if I found out that my kid did laps in his sleep, I think my eventual answer would be ‘make lots of space to run’ too.” Kaito chuckled, putting his fingers between Kokichi’s toes and gently flexing them, placing pressure against the skin and gently popping them. “Though, they looked at me like I was crazy when I asked about how they handled the ‘eating things in his sleep’ thing. Maybe that was a habit you developed as you got older.”

Kaito ran his other hand lightly up and down Kokichi’s calf. No pressure, he didn’t grip it. Just soothed at the muscle with his temperature as he said, “I think Miyako’s little bed is cute. It’s cozy. I love her nursery… I’m gonna feel so darn skittish when we start using it, cause no sound gets through these walls and that’s a little disturbing, but… well, Miyako will appreciate the privacy one day. We will too, I imagine, when I get used not having her right there in front of me.”

Kokichi let out a little sigh as Kaito popped his toes, the feeling always strange but relieving. The first time Kaito had done it, Kokichi almost cringed right out of his hands, but now…it was just all part of the experience. 

“I’m gonna be nervous too… I know it’s important to help her out with independence and not…yanno, always jolt and run to her the second she starts getting fussy. But she’s so little and wonderful… It’s not how people work, but if I can alleviate any and all negativity for her, that’s what my instinct’s tellin’ me to do.” Kokichi shook his head with a sigh, his skin warming pleasantly under Kaito’s touch. “It’s gonna be hard, watching her grow up. The greatest thing ever, but also hard.”

Kokichi rolled his gaze up to the ceiling, a playful smile on his lips. “...maybe I’ll bug Miu into figuring out a way parents can be overprotective in their kids’ rooms. Like…a phone that only works one way, or something…”

“...you guys been talkin’? You don’t have to tell me anything you’re discussing, of course, but…”

“...who?” Kaito asked, looking a little confused, as he put a bit moe pressure on the bottom of Kokichi’s foot. Pushing it backwards a little, bit by bit, stretching out his leg. “Miu? Miss Iruma?”

It still wasn’t painful, but Kokichi was still careful to breathe through the stretches. “Miu, yeah. I know it hasn’t been that long since I did that introductory letter between you guys but… I was just curious. This week has been an anomaly but…I’ve been kinda bored without work.”

Kokichi tilted his head to look at Kaito, giving him a teasing grin. “Don’t mind me, just tryin’ to put my finger in every pie.”

“... oh, shit.” Kaito said incredibly softly, hitting his forehead with his palm. “Man, I… have literally no idea when the last time I checked my mail was. Kokichi, I think it’s very seriously been, like… over two months. I basically stopped checking entirely when Byakuya stopped talking to me. And I wasn’t checking a little bit before that too.”

Sghing, Kaito ran his hands over his face, “I guess I’ll go check today. I just wasn’t thinking about it. Hopefully I haven't let anything really important sit for too long… I can’t imagine what, but still.”

…Kokichi could barely even imagine not checking his mail for a week. 

“That’s…certainly been a while,” he hummed after a moment. “I hope if you’ve got more coupons they haven’t expired yet. Though, personal letters are a little more pressing, yeah.”

Gnawing on his lip a little, he gave Kaito a sheepish look. “...if you’re gonna check, could you check mine too? I know I’m not gonna actually find work or anything, but…” He simply shrugged. 

Kaito gave Kokich a mildly concerned look at that, pressing his thumbs into his heel and ankle, “... ‘Kichi. You’re the heir-apparent and prince. Your job is incredibly important… I know you said it’s basically illegal for you to work right now, but if you feel like there’s things you have to do…”

Kokichi’s foot twitched in Kaito’s grip as he heaved a deep sigh and threw an arm over his head. “No…no. It’s nothing like that. I’m just…antsy, you know? I enjoy my job, and I’ve never really taken time off like this when I wasn’t literally, physically unable to work. I just…”

He sighed again and gave Kaito a soft look. “I like feeling useful. Like I’m doing something important that will impact people’s lives, even if it’s in a subtle way, or they don’t even realize it. I feel useful and important taking care of Miyako and being with you guys but…it’s an itch I can’t get rid of.”

“...well, that’s okay.” Kaito murmured, blinking sleepily at Kokichi’s feet, idly wondering if it’d be worth it to dunk his hands again. “That’s a good way for the leader to feel, to love his work. Dicea’s lucky to have you. How much longer are you supposed to hold off then?”

“Another month before I can start working part time,” Kokichi sighed. “But I know everyone’s gonna push me to stay on leave for longer. I know it’s not that they think I’m bad at my job, but that they want me to be able to enjoy the break and do everything I can for Miya…”

“But still,” Kokichi pouted. “If nothing else, I’m gonna take a letter or two to read through, maybe when I’m on shift. I read novels anyway, a lot of the time… She sleeps really peacefully.”

“She’s a good little baby.” Kaito agreed, murmuring softly. His hand presses becoming repetitive, just going through the motions now. “And you can do whatever you like, ‘Kichi. You have my full support. If anyone tries to take your letters from you, I’ll punch them in their stupid, blashphemous faces. Break their noses. It’ll make them more handsome. Give ‘em character.”

Kokichi snorted softly. “Thanks, hun. But…as eager as I am to get back to work…family does come first. So…even if I’m neck deep in letters and ledgers, if you need me? If Miya needs me? I’ll be there in a heartbeat. I’m mostly just antsy ‘cause I spend so much time just lounging around…”

Sighing, Kokichi shifted down the couch a bit and got comfortable with his legs in Kaito’s lap. “...it’s nice in the early morning like this… I’m really awake, even if your hands are wonderful, gorgeous. So if you wanna nod off at all, I’ll be holdin’ down the fort. Get all comfy, maybe cuddle with Shuu-chan a bit before it gets hot enough he refuses any sort of contact.”

“... if you’re sure.” Kaito said sleepily, bringing up one leg to place a small kiss against it, before laying it back down in his lap. “I can tell you, our Shuichi slept like a rock. He always does now. You and him are my deep sleepers, even if you do get restless every now and again. It’s cute. I like watching you two sleep. You both always look so comfortable.”

Kaito was barely doing anything by this point, just more petting up and down Kokichi’s legs than anything. His ‘third wind’ having long tapped out. The room was getting hazy, and he was surprised by that until he realized he was trying to look through his eyelashes at it. He blinked to clear his vision. He blinked agai–

“...nnnnzzz.” Kaito snored, chin pressed to his chest, totally out.

Kokichi grinned wide, his shoulders shaking slightly with silent laughs. Well, that wouldn’t be great for his neck, but nudging him down would be bad for his hips. Still…

Gently, Kokichi extracted himself from his husband’s lap, tenderly testing his foot against the ground. Grabbing a pillow from their empty futons, Kokichi laid it against the armrest of the couch and eeeeeever so gently nudged Kaito over until he was more horizontal. 

Stiff, but he’d be comfortable enough when he woke back up. 

Now~ It was just Miya and Daddy time.

-

Days went by, and little by little, the skies cooled.

Not chill, of course. Summer was gonna summer. But the suffocating heat lessened, the sky burned less harshly, and eventually everyone moved back to their rooms with a considerable amount of relief. 

Kaito had opened the windows, cleaned their rooms, and taken another stab at trying to get the rust off the bottom side of the sink, apparently still not convinced that rust wouldn’t come off with just enough elbow grease. Maki had briefly opened her windows, cleaned her swords, aired out her blankets, and then closed and locked up the windows again. Timothy and Chase convinced Haneda to take him to the pond, and Uncle Hajme was the one who eventually cleared out the heat in his room. 

Shuichi, in turn, set up an appointment with Dr. Marah.

“Are you sure? I mean… Miyako–”

“Will be watched by Ikou.” Shuichi said to Kaito, when he had told him they were going to a session the next day. “You and Kokichi almost bit each others heads off last week. That week was hard on all of us. I don’t want to leave you two to figure it out on your own. You need help.”

“I thought we handled it alright.” Kaito muttered.

“Can just they both go?” Maki asked.

“Nope. If I have to go to relationship counseling with them, so do you. You can’t leave me to deal with them on my own. They’re insufferable.”

“We are… right here, guys.”

Kokichi just gave Shuuichi a tired, but thankful smile. “Thanks, Shuu-chan. I’m just kinda hopin’ to remember all the things we wanted to talk about.” Though, considering how recent it was, they would probably start with the fight. 

…Kokichi wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. He still just…felt so ashamed of how he had acted. But that was probably all the more reason to talk about it in therapy. 

At least it was a nice, breezy day when they headed over to her office. Moderate cloud cover, but still a sunny, bright day as summer was wont to be, and Kokichi espoused all the importance of sunscreen to their whole crew. 

Though…as they sat down in the nest-chair circle, beverages in hand…he wasn’t quite feeling as confident. 

“It’s nice to see you,” he softly greeted Dr. Mariah. “Been a while.”

“And yet, it took less time than expected, I imagine.” Dr. Mariah smiled, her long black hair braided back elegantly in the heat, her dress, while still incredibly gothic lolita, also very clearly just a light sun dress in black and red colors. “That’s usually how these things go. Everything takes forever, and everything happens all at once. Usually simultaneously.”

Tapping her small, thin fingers against her small journal, she looked between all of them… “Kaito?” She said gently, “The fish can wait. We need you to pay attention.”

“I am! I am paying attention! You have my full attention!” Kaito insisted, grinning sheepishly up at her as he traced his fingers over the back of the koi fish, who were all grouping up near the side of the small pond he was at. “I am all about this!”

“Are you nervous?”

“No!”

“Not trying to delay starting?”

“Nope!”

“Very good. Go wash your hands, please.” Dr. Mariah gently ordered, giving him a stern look until finally Kaito got up and did so, heading to the sink. “Now… how did your homework assignment go?”

Shuichi and Maki stared back blankly at her. “...uhhh…” Shuichi said, glancing over at Kokichi, “Our… homework…?”

“Did you all have a conversation about how you were going to raise Miyako?”

“..........”

“We take shifts!” Kato called over his shoulder from the sink, “We’ve got it to a science!”

Wasn’t that the truest thing ever. Time was fake, Kokichi had decided. 

In some ways, it was comforting to see Kaito just as nervous--in his own way--as Kokichi was about getting into things, but the thing Dr. Mariah brought up first… Kokichi’s face blanked. 

“...we are good about the shifts, and being honest with each other if we need a break,” Kokichi nodded. “And we rely on Maki-chan and Ikuo when we need to. And for, like, longer-term stuff… She’s gonna be raised Atuan, and we had a conversation about looking into educational daycares when she’s older. Kai-chan and I took her out a few days ago, at night, to see how she’d do on a walk…though part of that was that we wanted her to get some fresh air, since we’d been camping out in a basement area in the castle while the wave was goin’ on.”

…it wasn’t…exactly what he knew Dr. Mariah meant when she had wanted them to talk. But…they were getting there, at least.

“That’s a good start,” Dr. Mariah said generously, having realized by this point that even with all the time in the world, the group doing their homework as it was intended was pretty hit or miss. The ‘letter’ homework still made her chuckle sometimes, at how badly they had executed that particular attempt. You weren’t giving yourself time to think through your thoughts writing them down if your partners were literally delivering the letters as fast as possible… you were basically just having a regular conversation by that point.

“We also discussed how we’re going to have The Talk with her someday.” Kaito added in, going to sit down in his egg chair thing, enjoying the heat of the day but also appreciating the shade the eggs and umbrellas provided– Dr. Mariah hadn’t skimped out on massive sun umbrellas– as he grinned, “Maki’s gonna teach her about condoms.”

“I am?” Maki said, looking mildly surprised at that… before nodding. “I am.”

“When she’s forty.” Shuichi added in.

“And I’ll probably teach her about everything else as it comes up in the Atuan Texts.” Kaito nodded, “It should be okay.”

“Oh, Kaito, Happy ‘Blood of the Flower’.” Dr. Mariah said, giving him a nod, “That’s coming up, isn’t it? Or did I miss it?”

“You missed it, but that’s alright. I skipped it this year. Next year.” Kaito shrugged, “Besides, Blood of the Flower is usually a priestess event anyway.”

“Oh, Blood of the Flower… that one slipped my mind.” Shuichi admitted, before looking to Kokichi and explaining, “Another ‘get high for visions’ ritual date. How it’s performed is a little different than the one for Atua’s constellation, but the end goal is still ‘get high. Have visions’. Meant to guide the future of the Atuan religion itself, rather than the country.”

“Next year~” Kaito said, shrugging again, clearly not bothered. And even then, maybe not. Blood of the Flower was a ‘get high’ ritual, but it was also a sex and blood ritual. Kaito wasn’t about to put Kokichi through it, and Shuichi had been recovering from a birth, so… he had just decided not to bring it up. Atua could talk to him during his own week, if he really wanted to. “Still, thank you Dr. Mariah.”

“Of course… now…” Dr. Mariah leaned back, giving them all curious looks. “Shuichi, you were the one that set up the appointment. Right after a heatwave, as well… I’m assuming something happened?”

…well. They needed to go back to that conversation, Kokichi supposed. Maki could teach about condoms, and Kaito could teach about a multitude of things as it came up in Atuan texts, but…for at least Round One of The Talk? Kokichi, at least, wanted to be there to help explain. No matter how awkward it was. 

Kokichi perked up as Dr. Mariah gave Kaito tidings and…he had…no idea what they were talking about. A holiday? Did they miss a holiday?! Kaito didn’t seem too bent out of shape, but…

Okay. Check in a few weeks before Midsummer next year. …Kokichi probably wouldn’t be getting high regardless, but…they could make a plan for Kaito. Make it special and safe and comfortable. 

Nodding a bit at his own conviction, and Shuuichi’s explanation, Kokichi stilled as their therapist got down to business. And even though she addressed Shuuichi, he still nodded, starting to fuss with his hands. “...yeah. Kai-chan and I had a fight, the other day…”

“I mean… it was a little fight–”

“We were all living in the basement of the castle together to escape the heat. Maki and I were chilling in the non-hot hot tub, when we heard Kaito shouting at Kokichi at the top of his lungs.” Shuichi explained.

“So, we went to investigate, and he and Kokichi looked like they were a hairs breath away from sparring each other right next to the crib. So we kicked them out for a day. Told them to come back when they got their heads out of their asses.” Maki continued.

“Which we did! We figured it out!” Kaito insisted, “Like… like we’re allowed to fight! Sometimes! That doesn’t mean it was some big step back or anything!”

“True.” Dr. Mariah said.

“Yeah! …yeah?” Kaito asked, looking taken off guard by that.

“Yes.” Dr. Mariah affirmed again, nodding. “A healthy relationship doesn’t mean you never fight. That’s unrealistic. It’s how these fights are handled that matter, and how much overall time you spend managing them. You all had a baby two months ago. Did it really take a deadly heat wave to have ‘A Big Fight’?”

It…it didn’t feel like a step back, regardless of how trash Kokichi felt about his own behavior. Arguments and fights would happen. They would move forward, ideally with more understanding. 

But…fights weren’t just Big Fights. 

Kokichi chewed his lip a bit. “...I don’t think I really understand all that you mean with that question? But…we’ve argued before that. We were just…able to take a moment or two aside and at least get to a point where we could set it to the side and agree to talk more in therapy, and be able to work together to continue through our lives and taking care of our daughter.”

“...this last fight was just…the most volatile,” Kokichi shrugged, his voice lowering. “Where we were actually yelling at each other, and needed Shuu-chan and Maki-chan to tell us to go cool off.”

Dr. Mariah nodded, “That’s what I mean. A Big Fight, one that results in more than just a disagreement. Feelings are hurt, emotions get high, your most therapy adverse member of your relationship calls the therapist, sort of fight.” Dr. Mariah explained, gesturing vaguely over at Shuichi, “Disagreements aren’t fights. And Big Fights leave an impression on the people who have them… perhaps I’m doing you a disservice, trying to define your arguments with a vague title like that. I’ve known therapists who try to define different styles of arguments into ‘tiers’, one being disagreements, five being destructive. I’ve never personally put too much merit into the idea, but it’s something we can explore later if such definitions would prove valuable.”

“And ultimately, my astonishment comes as a form of praise. Having a child is stressful. Having a child at your age more-so. I think it’s admirable that in the time I’ve last seen you, it took the stress of a heat-wave to finally lose control of your emotions to the point you all decided it was time to check in again. It shows an exceptional amount of patience in all of you, it’s not easy to do that.” Dr. Mariah explained, giving them all an openly fond look… before she frowned, ‘Unless, of course, there were times you needed help before this, and the group resisted seeking help to not admit it. That’s a different situation.”

“No, I… I don’t think so. Right, guys?” Kaito asked, looking around at the group, “I mean, yeah, we’ve had a few things we’ve been, like, ‘lets bring that up with Dr. Mariah’ later, but none of it felt urgent… and the fact that we decided to talk about it later is… I think a good thing?” Kaito asked, looking to Dr. Mariah earnestly, time not having worn off Kaito’s desire to ‘win’ therapy.

Kokichi smiled slightly at their therapist before giving Kaito a nod. “There have been difficult days. But…I don’t think we held out on seeking help for any of them. There’s…been stuff that I think we would’ve talked about sooner if we were having regular appointments, but…we all agreed that we could handle things in the intermediate time, while Miyako’s still really little, and we didn’t feel comfortable having all of us away at the same time.”

His mouth scrunched to the time. “...we weren’t able to…”solve” the issues. Or have a plan about how we wanted to address them, beyond wanting to talk in therapy. But…I don’t think that’s an unhealthy resistance, to leave things we could maneuver around until we could safely come here… But maybe it would be if that waiting was…like. Many more months. And delayed with feelings of not wanting to talk it out.”

Dr. Mariah smiled softly, “You all know that I don’t hold back when I think you’re behaving irrationally or destructively. So, even if I can’t convince you all of it, I will say it one more time: you all are doing well. That fact that this is how this played out, you all reaching out to me so soon after a true fight, is a good sign.”

If Dr. Miyako was maybe gassing them up a little, it was only because she knew that this next part was going to be… difficult. She could taste it in the air. She really did believe they were doing well. But there were a lot of things boiling under the surface here. A lot of conversations a long time coming.

Waving her hand dismissively, her expression cooled as she said, “But. That said, what I’m hearing is that you all have concerns. And, as ever, our time limit hangs overhead, stressing efficiency. So, let’s focus.”

“So… Kaito. Kokichi. You both were the ones involved in the fight. Shuichi, Maki, you only saw a bit of it. Did you all discuss it at any length afterwards?”

Maki shook her head, “Honestly, it didn’t feel like our business.”

Dr. Mariah glanced meaningfully at Shuichi, “You both felt that way?”

Shuichi hesitated… before nodding slightly. “I know, I know, I’m in a relationship with them, and Maki isn’t, so I should feel differently, but… there are some things that are very much just Kaito and Kokichi’s thing. Their own dynamics. I would have felt in the way.”

“Interesting… we’ll come back to that.” Dr. Mariah said, tapping on her journal, before looking to the two princes in general. “...Kaito? What was the fight about.”

“Oh, um… I mean, it was kinda a few different things… um, I…” Kaito blanked. Shit, what had the argument been about? He knew what it was about by the time it had ended, sorta, but… “I got angry with Kokichi over a misunderstanding with our schedules… okay, I know that sounds like a really small thing, but I swear, it seemed like a bigger deal at the time…”

…hm. Well, Kokichi supposed now was going to be the time to talk about it with Shuuichi. And Maki too. For the initial conversation, Kokichi understood more about Shuuichi wanting to give them the space to talk it out, but…it did concern him. 

But one thing at a time. 

Cringing a little, Kokichi nodded, staring at the pond as he fussed with his fingers. “It kinda…changed into a few things. Kai-chan and my side of the family haven’t really…had the best relationships, and because of that, I’ve asked some of them to give heads-up if they wanna stop by, or we’ve worked out how much they wanna be involved in Miyako’s life. I…”

Kokichi sighed. “...I really did think that I’d told Kai-chan and Shuu-chan all that? But…apparently I only thought I did, and forgot to actually have the real conversation. So, when my uncle mentioned it to Kai-chan…I mean, that’s shitty, to find out from someone else that I’ve been making family decisions…”

“...but I got heated, and didn’t consider that I hadn’t actually told Kai-chan before, and…I said a bunch of shitty, hurtful stuff, and that’s about when Shuu-chan and Maki-chan came in.” Kokichi paused, working his thumb into the meat of his palm. “...then, when we met up later to talk through it… It’s just been a bunch of stuff. Not just the scheduling.”

His shoulders slumped. “...I haven’t been very fair to Kai-chan, enough to make a pattern. Just…deciding things for myself, and acting as though he’s not rational or…”good” in the way I see goodness… And…yanno…of course that’s hurtful… A partner, nevermind a friend, shouldn’t be treating someone they love like that…”

Dr. Mariah had been looking at them in mild confusion throughout all of that. A scheduling error did sound minor… and she felt like she had a fairly decent understanding of this group. That Kokichi making family decisions, at the very least for Kaito, probably wasn’t enough to have a blow up fight. She had literally had Kaito make a list of what he expected Kokichi, as the head of their family in his eyes, to do, because his expectation of control from Kokichi had needed clearing up and defining. And asking for a heads up from family before a visit was far from outrageous. It was, frankly, normal. 

So how had that turned into a fight…

Ah.

Okay. ‘Rational’. Now that was a loaded word. And likely one Kokichi’s hadn’t picked randomly. Okay, so… Dr. Mariah considered the two. “So it started with a scheduling conflict, and then…?”

“...Okay, no, but like, it wasn’t a scheduling conflict.” Kaito insisted, starting to fuss with his joints, and– somewhat surprisingly in Dr. Marah’s personal experience with the man– an openly irritated expression flashing across his face, Kato’s eyes narrowing in frustration as he glared at the ground. “Okay, so! So… like, I’m trying to fix my relationship with Secretary Hideki, right? Cause my dumb ass doesn’t see this guy around and Kokichi doesn’t talk about him much and I’m thinking, oh no, I’m keeping my husband from seeing his uncle by being an asshole! I gotta go fix this! So I go to fix it, and that goes… kinda okay! We manage! But then I’m like, oh, come see Kokichi and Miyako more, cause Kokichi really cares about you and I don’t want you to avoid spending time with him to just not have to deal with me and my assholery, and what do I find out!? That it’s not just Hideki not feeling like putting up with me for Kokchi’s sake, oh, no, this has been a whole… conversation! And arraignment! Between the two and, and, Hideki wasn’t coming around because Kokichi had asked him not to bother me, so n-now I’m the crazy, insensitive, irrational asshole, but, like… well, okay, no, I was already worried I was that before that, but I didn’t think that… people were sitting down to discuss and plan around how shitty I am and– also, also!? Just to be clear! I was trying really hard to fix things, and Hideki throwing that back in my face was such a dick mov–”

Dr. Mairah raised her hand, eyes wide, looking genuinely startled. “Three minutes.”

Kaito grit his teeth shut. “Rrrrgh…”

Shuichi sighed, “You see why we kicked them out when this started? Kaito went that ballistic that day too.”

“Three minutes, Shuichi.” Dr. Mariah reminded him, though she was giving Kaito an openly curious look at this. Apparently, they had found a hot button… interesting.

Kokichi knew it was a sore spot, and stuff like that didn’t just fade away after a conversation. And he knew that his solution hadn’t been very good, but…he still didn’t feel it. It felt…so much like a reasonable way to go on, that when they were all spending time together as a family? Invite the people who got along! And when it was just Kokichi hanging out with people? Then be with the folks who didn’t! 

But…it wasn’t what Kaito wanted, so he’d stop, even if it felt wrong. 

However… Kokichi frowned. If Kokichi thought that they’d all had a conversation about it, then of course Hideki would’ve assumed Kaito knew about the decision. It wasn’t a dick move to say something he thought Kaito had agreed to. For as much as his uncle could be an asshole, or just not read a room, that was something not done out of blunt honesty or cruelty. 

…if he knew his uncle, then Hideki would’ve been trying to be kinder as well. Of course…he didn’t know exactly how their conversation went, so he didn’t know for sure, but…

Kokichi tucked his legs into the nest chair and pressed his hands into his lap, fisting at the hem of his tank top. Kaito had a right to be angry. It was just…going to be some time before they could talk about it, he guessed.

Dr. Mariah watched the clock, and watched Kaito’s expression… and saw his irritation calm into embarrassment. Meanwhile, Kokichi looked more withdrawn and uneasy. Meanwhile, neither of their explanations really seemed to explain what the actual fight was about. An enraged Kaito not exactly the most coherent speaker, and Kokichi apparently unwilling to explore it.

…probably better to untangle whatever Kaito was trying to say first, if only because he seemed to want to be understood, at least. He just couldn’t seem to manage it yet. They’d get to Kokichi afterwards. 

“How are you feeling Kaito? Calmer?”

“...sorry.’ Kaito muttered, eyes darting around the ground uneasily. 

“Apology accepted.” Dr. Mariah said, mostly to encourage him to get past it as she continued, “So, tell me if I understood what you said right. You were feeling guilty that your actions were pushing Kokichi’s… Secretary? Away?”

“His uncle-figure.” Maki added in, lightly kicking the floor, her egg chair swinging lazily.

“And when you went to reconcile, you discovered through the conversation that there was an understanding between Kokichi and his uncle to… give a heads up if he was going to stop by to see the family.”

Kaito stiffly nodded at that.

“I see. Kaito, I’m not going to suggest your anger is unfounded, but I am struggling to understand why that bothers you as much as it does. Do you want to try to explain it again? And remember, as good as that bubble of aggression can feel sometimes, it’s only going to make speaking difficult, if you don’t control it. Breathe through it. Stop speaking and collect yourself if you feel it start to burn too hot.”

“...why bother?” Kaito grumbled, “Just tell me it’s a stupid thing to care about and let’s move on already.”

Dr. Mariah raised an eyebrow at that, before tilting her head slightly, her braids shifting loosely against her shoulders, “...pouting, are we?”

“...” Kaito crossed his arms, his expression uneasy as he chewed the inside of his mouth, “...I don’t know why it bothers me so much. But I know that by the time I was finished yelling at Kokichi later, I was talking about feeling… lonely and stuff. I don’t know. It all made so much sense in the moment, but now…”

“I’m afraid only you can explain why it upset you so much, Kaito.” Dr. Mariah reminded him gently, “We can’t explain it for you. And there was a reason it did, and still does. Even if it feels like not a good enough reason, not discussing it is only leaving yourself open for more blow ups like that. Do your best.”

“...I was… embarrassed that I was something my husband had to ‘manage’.” Kaito tried, not sure if that was right, but doing his best to work it out as they talked. “And I was embarrassed that my issues… that at some point everyone on Kokichi’s side of the family sat down and were, like, okay… how do we handle the Kaito problem… it’s humiliating. And obviously we have to manage him, because we can’t trust Kaito to not be an asshole or be nice to people or control his own stupid fucking temper–”

“Breathe.”

“... I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like… like I’m some… and this is strictly a metaphor, okay? But sometimes I feel like I’m some pet dog or something that everyone keeps fucking poking or fucking around with, and then everyone acts all fucking shocked when it growls or bites, like… the fuck was everyone expecting…” Kaito grumbled… before his shoulders fell, looking tired as he said, “But I also know that’s not really a fair comparison… no one’s being a dick on purpose. Only me! Everyone else is just a dick on accident.”

…Kokichi looked up and his expression softened. It hadn’t felt like managing Kaito. And it hadn’t been a big sit down with everyone as they discussed. It had been a lot of little conversations over a stretch of time, talking about a lot of things. Lake and Nazumi discussing work schedules and when they could manage to come by to the hospital, and trying to manage around all the other people coming so they wouldn’t be overwhelmed, and talking about comfort levels if they would not only be able, but comfortable watching over Miya for an hour, or a few hours, or a day, if she was a month, six months, two years… And it was like that with everyone. 

Some of those things he definitely had talked with Shuuichi and Kaito about. Others he just…thought he did. Others he knew he didn’t, but didn’t seem as relevant to bring up, because it was just…personal time between Kokichi and a member of his family. 

Yes, Kaito’s discomfort with some of them was something Kokichi kept in mind. Especially his very pointed anxieties about the adults that would have influence in their kids’ lives. But that wasn’t something Kokichi had ever openly discussed with his side of the family. 

And…feeling like he was being harassed… Isolated and harassed…

“...I still don’t think that’s entirely fair to you,” Kokichi gently spoke up. “Hideki can definitely have his moments of digging into stuff and making it hurt, and doing it on purpose. That’s…that’s why I thought it was really amazing that you wanted to make an effort to reach out to him. But even the others…”

Kokichi shook his head a little. “...we all know how badly my father can hurt people just by being thoughtless. And while it’s not fueled by spite, it’s still not something that’s just okay. And my siblings… I don’t know what you guys are like, when you’re together. But…if they’re crossing boundaries they don’t know about? Then that’s a problem too. Even if it’s not intentional, it’s still not okay for them to be mean to you. Or anyone.”

“...I’m sorry if I’ve blamed you for it. That’s not what I want.”

“...wait.” Maki said, piping up almost as soon as Kokichi’s response was over, it clearly having been on her mind about halfway through and just waiting for a pause in conversation, “What are you talking about, harassing? Kaito, if you’ve been being harassed, why wouldn’t you tell me? Shuichi?”

Shuichi shook his head before shrugging, “First I’ve heard of it.”

“No, no, because that’s not what… that’s the wrong word. No one’s been harassing me. Honestly even saying they’d been mean is wrong.” Kaito admitted, his face reddening in embarrassment, “It’s… I mean sometimes it's like what Kokichi said. It’s just people being thoughtless and me not able to let it go. And sometimes, especially with Hideki, it’s me picking a fight and, when they fight back,again not being able to let it go. It’s just a lot of stuff that I’ve been really struggling to let go of, like… building. Like a bunch of little things that when you put them together all just becomes this big… thing. That I… can’t let go of!”

Dr. Mariah tapped her chin lightly, “...maybe this is something as simple as just talking about it. Kaito, have you talked to anyone about some of the issues or grievances you’ve been holding onto?”

“Yeah, I mean… a little. I talk to Waku about this stuff sometimes.”

“...not to Shuichi? Or Maki? Kokichi?”

“...a lot of it isn’t fair to Kokichi.” Kaito admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, “Just because it pisses me off doesn’t mean it’s fair. I know that. Like, objectively. And… Shuichi and Maki have been having hard times this year, it’s never felt like a good time–”

“Ugh.” Maki scoffed, rolling her eyes, “Now who’s ‘managing’ people.”

“I agree with Maki on the eye-roll, though, would like to take this opportunity to take a pot-shot ‘Look who’s talking’” Shuichi said, his tone almost teasing, Maki in turn glaring at him… before sticking her tongue out at him. “You all have a habit of trying to make decisions for each other for each others own good.”

“This is another thing we’ll discuss, but let’s not get distracted.” Marah cautioned, “One thing at a time. Kaito, you’re struggling to let go of anger you have with Kokichi’s family, is the gist I’m getting, and your inability to let that anger go is isolating you which, in turn, makes your anger more volatile. Does that sound right?”

“...yeah. I guess?” Kaito said, brow furrowed. “I guess that’s right.”

“Then let’s discuss it. Since his name keeps coming up, let’s talk about Hideki first.”

“Ugh, that’s not… none of these people are here to defend themselves–”

“That’s not what this is about. It’s not about being ‘right’. It’s discussing what’s been bothering you in the hopes that the discussion will help you get to a more emotionally stable place. In truth, this part of therapy has almost nothing to do with the targets of that anger in practicality. It’s not about them. It’s about you…. And the other three people in this room, who are most directly affected by what’s going on with you.”

As Kaito gave her a tense, uncertain look back, Dr. Mariah laughed lightly. “Ultimately? I’m asking you to, as you or Maki might call it, ‘whine a bit’. And if these gripings effects anyone else here? Then this is the situation in which we can safely get into it. Air out the problems, confront them, move on. That’s the goal.”

Glancing over at Kokichi, Dr. Mariah said, “And considering these people aren’t here to defend themselves, Kokichi, what I’d ask from you for this exercise is to wait until Kaito’s gotten everything off his mind about the person in particular, and then we move on to your feelings on it. Which we will explore, because the goal isn’t to let Kaito air out his feelings while you’re tasked with bottling yours up. I just don’t want either of you to stop each other from being honest and open because either of you felt the need to defend or justify something mid-vent. Is that alright?”

Kokichi would’ve liked to say it was fine to vent with him--Kokichi wanted to know his thoughts and feelings! They were partners!--but he knew that wasn’t how Kaito felt about it. That Kaito felt miserable when people talked shit about his family, and he didn’t want to do that for Kokichi, even if he said it was okay. 

But…maybe this was the time to do it. 

It wasn’t about an overall outcome, it wasn’t about making plans of action. It was just hearing out someone’s thoughts and feelings. In however they felt them. 

Kokichi gave Dr. Mariah an emphatic nod before turning to Kaito and giving him the same. “...I want you to be able to talk to me. I’ll learn how to be a better listener.”

…because, evidently…he was pretty awful at it. If he’d been blaming Kaito for his own feelings.

Dr. Mariah nodded. Sometimes the simple solutions were the best ones, especially if the simple solution hadn’t been tried yet. There was a reason the term ‘bottling up your feelings’ came up so often when discussing emotional stability. Emotions festered. People, virtually always, needed someone to talk to about their less than stellar feelings. And sometimes, literally just talking to someone, regardless of any actual, real-world changes or problem solving, was enough to make said problems manageable.

So! Let’s see if this would work.

“Shuichi, Maki, the same goes for you two. I know you’re less attached to all the people involved, I believe so anyway, but if you have feelings on the subjects brought up, we can discuss those as well. Staying quiet to preserve the peace, at least in this particular circumstances, is not helpful. Martydism will not save these relationships… and if anyone needs a break? Three minutes, five minutes, just anything? Speak up, even in the middle of a discussion. That’s always okay.”

Well, so long as the breaks weren’t being used to shut someone up, but that wasn’t something she was worried about with this group. 

“Alright, so… Hideki?” Dr. Mariah asked, “What are you struggling to let go of with there? What bothers you about the man?”

“...” Kaito sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Look, I’m not even sure if he’s the one I have an actual problem with or not. I find myself using him as a placeholder for other people sometimes, it’s something I’ve recognized recently I do with him. Honestly, I was totally ready to just decide I had been wrong about the guy since the beginning, like maybe I was projecting all the issues I had with him since the start.”

“...but I’m still mad at him. Even after trying to fix things and him apologizing and me apologizing and him saying some really nice things, I still feel angry when I think about the things he did or said. And I don’t know if my anger’s justified or not! I really hoped apologizing would help… but you know, even when he apologized, I had to stop myself from getting mad?” Kaito said, sounding a little baffled with himself. “What is my deal? I get angry just looking at this guy. I have since, like, the first conversation I’ve ever had with him.”

“You said you apologized for an argument you had with him.” Dr. Mariah gently goaded, “Was that also your first conversation?”

“No… no.” Kato’s face tensed, a cloud clearly growing over his mood as he said, “No. It wasn’t. Though it was my second. We haven't really talked very often. I think I’ve had maybe… four or five conversations with him in a year.”

“What was the first conversation like?”

“...” Kaito’s lips curled. A scowl forming. “... it was the… dammit. It was the day after fucking… the wedding. Shuichi and Maki were gone, Kokchi was totally out of it… honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kokichi didn’t remember Hideki visited him, the next day. Or, well, he didn’t, he was coming to give news, but at least someone visited him… it was kinda nice, actually, at first. They were teasing each other, it was sweet. But he came to give us news about the secretaries, and…” Kaito gripped his hands into fists, his back tensing. “...he was so fucking smug. And dropped so damn casually that, oh, by the way, on top of all the shit you’re currently dealing with, the Diceans we sent to Luminary decided to just fucking… tell everyone. About what had happened to you as a kid. Fucking… great… fuck, I, god dammit, I was so taken off guard that I fucking just burst into tears right in fucking front of him next to my god damn comotose husband’s fucking body, and he has the fucking nerve to look at me like I’m being unreasonable… god damn mother fucking–”

“You can vent, Kaito, but let’s try to be wise about direct insults.” Dr. Mariah interrupted gently, “Don’t forget, this is someone you want to have a healthy relationship with in the future.”

“...right. Sorry.” Kaito sighed, some of the tension leaving his shoulders, “...I was embarrassed. I was humiliated. I still don’t know what exactly happened in Luminary with all of that, because I was too embarrassed to ask anyone. I couldn’t believe he’d treat it that flippantly. I mean, I understand better now, because I understand Dicea a little better. Bringing it up into the open would be, like… the first part of healing, here. But at the time, I thought he was so damn cruel, to just… tell me news that bad and actually look pleased with himself about it. And then he just left me alone to deal with it. In this weird room with all my shit in boxes and all my friends gone and my stranger-husband passed out and ill because someone used me to attack him. Like… who does that!? Why was it okay to treat me like that!?”

Dr. Mariah waited, Kaito getting his breath back… before Kaito sighed. “It was more than thoughtless, it felt deliberately cruel. And I only know it wasn’t because I know the guy a little better now. He didn’t mean anything by it… but god, it felt at the time like it was so obviously a shitty way to treat a person that I could only think that he did it to hurt me. Kokichi even passed out halfway through the conversation, so it felt like he was just waiting till I was alone to do it. And, I guess, I just… never let it go. Later, pissed off at Kokichi, I deliberately picked a fight with the guy because I wanted to take my anger out on him. That one? That one was my fault. But… I guess the truth is that I wanted to pick a fight with Hideki specifically because I was still mad about that first encounter. I guess I don’t really hate him for the fight, though that didn’t help anything. I just hate how he treated me when everything went down at the wedding… even knowing it wasn’t personal? I just… couldn’t believe someone would do that.”

The start of the speech had been tense and filled with gritted teeth, but by the end of it, Kaito was speaking softly. Looking a little tired and disappointed, but less angry. Looking him over, Dr. Mariah asked, “What about this last conversation with him? You said you got angry when he apologized?”

“... how do you accept an apology from someone when you, like… are pretty convinced they don’t have any concept of what they did to you?” Kaito asked, sounding like he was genuinely asking. “The apology I got was him being, like, ‘I’m sorry I said some hard truths to you, it’s a shame you were the mouthpiece around when I felt like saying it.’ Like, nothing to do with me, really… at least that’s how it felt. I don’t know if he meant it like that, and honestly, he probably didn’t. But I guess I didn’t realize how hollow the apology sounded because I didn’t realize what bit I was still angry about. He just feels like a jerk…”

“You sound uncertain. Do you not think he’s a jerk anymore?”

“...No, I still think he’s a jerk. But… I dunno. Talking about it all out loud? I guess now I’m just sitting here, like… well, so what if he is a jerk? I get along with lots of jerks. Most everyone I know is a jerk. No offense, Shuichi.”

“...why me?”

“I don’t know. I just wanna get over myself with Hideki. I’ve been wanting it for a long time. I just haven't managed it yet.”

“I see…” Dr. Mariah waited patiently, but as the silence lingered on… “Anything else? We promised to give you until you got it all out of your system.”

Kaito considered it… before shrugging. “I mean… I guess that’s all that was on my mind with him, yeah.”

“Alright… we’re officially opening the floor then. Kokichi? Again, the goal isn’t to trade who’s allowed to express themselves and who’s expected to close themselves off. If you have feelings on this? It’s okay to express them. Even if it directly contradicts some of Kaito’s feelings.”

The placeholder thing… Kaito had talked before (jokingly, Kokichi had thought) about fighting Hideki and Aiichi in place of Tengan and Leon. But…other than the fact they essentially had had the same job? Kokichi couldn’t see any similarities between his uncle and that shitty old fart. Sure, he wouldn’t exactly describe either of them as “nice”, but the way each carried on was just…completely different. 

But that…wasn’t always a factor for Kaito, he knew. 

And as for Kaito’s first introduction…those were the feelings that made the connection. But even so… Kokichi’s eyes widened in shock, but he held his tongue. 

And…when the floor opened up again, Kokichi gave Dr. Mariah a partially uncertain look before he took a breath. “...it…doesn’t change your experience of it, okay? I’m not trying to convince you that it wasn’t shitty, and you shouldn’t have felt what you feel.”

“...and…I guess, historically, I don’t know my family as well as I should.”

“...but I don’t think he was looking at you like you were unreasonable, when you got so stressed out…” Kokichi started, mumbling before he shook his head. “...you’re right, Kai-chan. I don’t…really remember any of that. I kinda remember Hideki stopping by to let us know what was happening, but…only vaguely, and I definitely don’t remember him getting into stuff going on in Luminary. So this isn’t…me arguing reality.”

Kokichi paused, fussing with his hands. “...Hideki-ji’s not good with…emotions. Or people. Every time I’ve ever cried around him, I can remember him just…panicking. Not knowing what to do with me, so he’d find the nearest person close to me he could find and pass me off, even if it wasn’t, like, emotional crying. I don’t…I don’t think he was judging you for your tears.”

“...I can’t speak for him. But…from everything I know about him…for whatever that’s worth… I think he thinks that he’s been treating you fine, other than what he apologized to you for.” Kokichi sighed, rubbing his wrist. “...that doesn’t make it okay, obviously. But…he’s not a person that’s going to fight for a relationship. That’s why I’ve never asked you to come hang out with him with me, and why I’ve never suggested get togethers with all of us. And…why, ‘cause I thought I brought it up, I thought you agreed that he’d have a more distant relationship with Miya too.”

Dr. Mariah thought about intervening, but found it unnecessary, as Kaito immediately sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he said without an coaxing, “...that’s kinda why I didn’t want to talk about what sort of rules I wanted for your family, when we were fighting. Cause, the truth is, like… I’m not exactly dying to have a relationship with this guy. He makes me feel like shit every time we talk, and I’m not exactly a glutton for punishment. Like, I don’t hate the idea of just personally not spending time with him…”

“But, ‘Kichi, I don’t… want my problems with him to mean that your daughter doesn’t get to know someone you care about. That someone you care about doesn’t feel invited to family functions or holidays or whatever! Cause, like… shit, babe, all I’ve wanted from the beginning is for the people in your life to spend more time with you. To look after you better. I don’t want to be the thing that gets in the way of you having a good relationship with your family, not after the sheer fucking effort you’ve put in fixing those relationships this year. You shouldn’t have to make compromises like that for my sake. I don’t want that for you.”

“...I want it for you, though,” Kokichi murmured, getting down to one of his own issues, he supposed. “I want you to be comfortable at home, and with…whatever we’re doing as a family. It’s not like I don’t see my uncle or my father, and…I know Hideki wouldn’t take it personally to not be invited to group things. And for how much Aiichi and I are trying to fix things…we’re not…there’s still too much hurt between us. So if I ask him to only be around a little…he’s gonna regret stuff, but he’ll understand.”

“And it’s not like they’re never gonna see Miya either. They’re just…not going to have as much influence on her as she grows up, at least in intentional ways.” Sighing, Kokichi shook his head. “...those things seem like…like reasonable, comfortable boundaries to put in place, both for my own comfort, and for yours.”

With a tired look, Kokichi shrugged a little. “...plus, even if we said, like ‘free rein!’ and all that…I’m not sure how much more involved they’d be anyway. They’re both busy people, and while my father would try…I don’t trust him to be the only person looking after Miya for an extended amount of time.”

“King ‘I don’t notice my adult child is climbing the walls for four years’ Aiichi? You didn’t have to make that choice by yourself, Kokichi, I am absolutely veto-ing Aiichi doing long term babysitting,” Shuichi said simply, adjusting his hat. “We’d leave her with him to go out to see a play and by the time the theater closed Miyako would be outside the doors in new clothes punching theater tickets as a part-timer. We’d bring her back and it’d be a toss up if he noticed her leaving at all, or if he knew she left and didn’t think there was anything odd about a six-year-old running away to be a theater stage-hand.”

“...” Kaito chuckled, before looking guiltily over at Kokichi, “I… honestly, I don’t think either of them would come visit of their own free will either. That was why I didn’t want to do anything to discourage them. Like… they’re already barely involved. I just didn’t want to make it worse…”

“I don’t hate your boundary ideas, Kokichi. And, honestly, it’s sweet you want to keep me happy and comfortable. I know I was really angry, but… I dunno. I guess that anger was more coming from a place of ‘I’m trying to be the opposite of this person for this exact, specific reason’ and just being pissed that those efforts were being ignored. I’m trying not to be the kind of person who keeps your life difficult and isolated and… it just sorta felt like you had just decided I couldn’t be trusted to do that. I don’t want to be a villain in your life, ‘Kichi.”

Kokichi snorted softly and gave Shuuichi an amused look. Shuuichi had been a part of those considerations too, of course, but…really, Shuuichi didn’t seem to hold much of any opinion about his family, other than that they were incompetant. And, well, he’d turned down the last few offers Kokichi had proposed about spending time together, so he figured Shuuichi just wasn’t interested in building any sort of relationship besides the fact they shared a family member. 

It was…the kind of relationship he’d figured Kaito wanted too. 

Kokichi gave his husband a soft smile. “You’re not. I know I’m not the best at it, but I’d really fight myself to tell you if I was feeling stifled or isolated. Hell, when I got sick last winter, you brought it on yourself to invite everyone over to make sure we could spend Unity together. I do trust you. You’re not keeping me from my family, or…anyone.”

“...instead, I’ve just been keeping you from people,” he said, the smile dropping from his face. 

Kaito’s face fell alongside Kokichi’s. “Babe, no, I… I said some shit just because I was angry, you haven't–”

“Perhaps we should discuss the next family member?” Dr. Mariah interrupted.

Kaito gave her a slightly baffled look… before his brow furrowed. “Look, I know we said that this is how we were gonna do this, but it’s occurred to me that this is really stressful on Kokichi. He doesn’t need me to spend however long this session is just ragging on people he cares about.”

“Kaito. You’ve already started up the same looping habits that lead to all of this in the first place.” Dr. Mariah told him, not unkindly. But sternly, as she explained, “If I let you continue, this is going to de-evolve into you assuring Kokichi that there’s nothing else worth talking about, on your end, burying your frustrations to salvage his feelings. Which is understandable, but only if Kokichi is actually too overwhelmed to continue. Kokichi? How do we feel?”

“... that’s a leading question.” Maki said, eyes narrowing, a heat starting to wave off of her. “That’s the sort of thing I’d say to someone to brow-beat them into running another mile. If Kokichi is feeling worn down and Kaito doesn’t want to keep hurting his feelings? He doesn’t need to prove himself to you. Don’t imply he does again.”

Dr. Mariah gave Maki a startled look… before she nodded slightly. Looking a little nonplussed about Maki’s own implied threat, but admitting, “Sorry, I was doing that, wasn’t I. Kokichi, I apologize… but my advice is still sincere. Do you think you can tolerate another family member discussion? It is okay to say no, it’s something we can come back too later.”

For a moment, Kokichi just looked between his family and Dr. Mariah a little helplessly, but…then he sighed. Took a moment to run his hand through his hair. “I’m alright. Honestly, I’d rather hear what Kai-chan has to say about my family--I’ve been making a lot of assumptions, and I’d rather know what’s actually going on. Especially for making decisions about how certain people are going to be around for our daughter’s upbringing, and if people are going around being hurtful and I just…never knew.”

“I mean, that sucks, but…not knowing, and just letting it continue would suck even more,” he shrugged. Looking a little tired. “I’ve never been under the illusion that my family are…like, warm, welcoming people that could get along with anyone. Mikaku-jii’s easy-going enough that most people don’t have a problem with him, and…well, Lake-nee is probably the most personable out of us all, but I get why she and Kai-chan are still working on things between them, but…”

Kokichi shrugged again. “The rest of us are assholes. We just…happen to be assholes in similar ways, so we get along. That doesn’t automatically transfer to you guys,” Kokichi nodded at his family, “And…I haven’t really acknowledged that, let alone have tried to facilitate things. Or even listened when things have gone badly.”

Now that Kokichi didn’t need her defense, Maki leaned back and nodded. “True.”

“He is not an asshole!” Kaito shouted at her, looking outraged she would agree with Kokichi.

“He absolutely is. That’s why he gets along with all of us so well.”

“Kokichi is, like, the nicest person I’ve ever met!”

“Kaito, Kokichi did the Dicean equivalent of calling us little bitches for so long and so often that it’s now just his official nickname for all of his loved ones.”

“What? The ‘chan’ thing!? That’s super cute!”

“The first thing he said directly to me was to call me ‘gross’, and then proceeded to terrorize you and Shuichi every time he was offended or upset.”

“I… he was going through a thing!”

“Sure. That thing was ‘being an asshole’. We are all suffering from that disease. It spreads.”

“Lake. She’s come up before too. Let’s talk about her next.” Dr. Mariah decided.

Kokichi nodded sagely along with the points Maki brought up. Honestly, how he had been acting when his friends first knew him? He was probably the least personable person in his family, and notably the only one of them to be so deep in his own shit he thought they all hated him too. 

It was only the fact that the Dicean and Luminous concepts of etiquette and friendliness were so opposite one another, and that Kokichi and Kaito had constantly been going through traumatic situations that they had stuck together with even pleasant feelings at all. 

He was a rude, stand-offish asshole with self-destructive tendencies and a difficulty seeing outside his own point of view. He was working on it. 

Giving Dr. Mariah a nod, Kokichi figured he’d at least preface who they were talking about. “Lake’s a member of the guardforce, though before that she lived and grew up in the castle--I’ve known her my entire life and she’s basically my sister. She now lives with…well, it’s complicated,” he shrugged, “But her partner or sorts, Nazumi, who I’ve also known for a long, long time, and is also family to me. So…she might come up too.”

“I mean… Nazumi’s always been nice to us… she did threaten to kill us with a shovel once, but, like, that’s pretty understandable…” Kaito mused, scratching at his goatee, “I mean… her history is kinda scary, but she really has been one of the more stable people we’ve met here… she and Lake just make me so damn sad…”

“You can’t ‘fix’ people, Kaito.” Shuichi sighed, giving Kaito a long look. “Their relationship isn’t your problem. Just stop thinking about it, it doesn’t affect you.”

“Yeah…” Kaito said, looking tired. “But Lake… I dunno, the Lake situation is probably mostly my fault, even at my most objectively annoyed, but it’s still just… she could have given me a break, man…”

Maki raised an eyebrow at that. “She could have given you a break?”

“...nngh.”

“You know how crazy that sounds? You literally have never let go of the ‘knocking Kokichi out’ thing.”

“You weren’t there, Maki, you didn’t see it. You would have killed them. It scared the hell out of me, and like… couldn’t she tell how fucking scared I was? Couldn’t she have reassured me, like, a little? Everyone does that here! They come, they do something awful, shrug at you while you’re still trying to get your bearings, and then walk off into the sunset! Like… I know I was aggressive and an asshole and I tried to spar her and I probably shouldn’t have been so affected by what happened at the pumpkin carving party–”

“What happened at the pumpkin carving party?” Shuichi asked.

“Honestly, man, barely anything. We were chatting, I was trying to get to know her, get past things, and she started doing that whole ‘living is a punishment’ thing Dicean’s believe in. And I just… was not mentally in a good place right then to hear it, it really affected me, I think I fucking cried again… anyway, my reaction to what she said basically killed our attempt to reconcile, but, again! Like… she was clearly having an effect on me! I know I probably seem crazy to her, but you don’t double down on the crazy guy crying all the time and getting scared! At least you shouldn’t! Would she treat Waku like that!? She better not! That’d be so shitty!”

“Are you saying that you wish she had been gentler with you?” Dr. Mariah asked.

“...yeah, and I know how shitty and stupid that is of me, like, I get it, that’s… I know I’m gonna be embarrassed in a second.”

“Don’t be. You’re expressing that you needed, and still need, help.” Dr. Mariah said, giving Kaito a curious look. “Actively, clearly requesting help. That’s… actually quite a big step for you. As happy as I am for you, I am a little bummed out I wasn’t there for that revelation.”

…from what Lake had told him of that day, she had tried to reassure Kaito that Kokichi was alright and all that stuff but he’d gotten all…aggressive and demanded she leave. And to not force him into starting a fight, she had. Kokichi knew there was miscommunication on his end about all that but…when would she have gotten the chance? And would Kaito even listen to any of it, when Kokichi was saying the opposite?

At the time, Kokichi had been over the moon that someone was listening to him. Trying to be what seemed like his one ally, of course Kaito wouldn’t try to hear her out in good faith. 

(...he knew it had been an issue, back at the beginning. Practically everyone in the castle was walking on eggshells around the new Luminaries, expecting them to immediately launch into a real fight at the drop of a hat, and considering things like deaths just another day. It didn’t make Kaito’s horror or Shuuichi’s unprevented abuse okay, but…Kokichi had a feeling that contributed to why they happened in the first place.)

Again, Kokichi frowned. Lake could be a little Much sometimes, sure, but…she was a guard. She was good at being gentle with people who needed it, and, hell, she was known for being a person to confide in when they were in ‘less than a perfectly neighborly’ situation and needed help, knowing she would be sympathetic. And…she definitely wouldn’t have a whole ‘life is torture’ speech at the ready…

Kokichi shook his head slightly. “...if you don’t like how she’s been treating you, then…that’s not an issue with you. It’s never someone’s fault for being hurt.” They were just listening, not making plans or trying to ‘solve’ anything, so he wasn’t going to suggest having a conversation with Lake to set better boundaries, but…well. He’d probably suggest that later. He knew that she’d take them right away.

“It’s not how she’s treating me, I just… I just… I need people to be patient with me, for awhile.” Kaito said softly, brow furrowed, flexing his knuckles as he stressed, “I’m not… coping. Like… I wish I was! I want to be coping! I want to be fine. But I’m… really not?? And I haven't been fine for… fuck, I don’t know. Maybe I’ve just always been crazy and I’m just now noticing. I don’t feel good.” Kaito said, opening and closing his hands as he stressed, “Like… I’m stressed out all the time. I’m sad all the damn time. I feel like just putting myself in a good mood these days sometimes takes, like… like the amount of effort running a damn race takes. I try to feel better, be better, and sometimes it even feels like I’m doing it! And then literally anything happens and it’s like it all crumbles on top of me again… and I know that, most of the time, the bad things that happen are my fault, I invited them into my life. I picked a fight with Hideki, I made an enemy out of Lake, I’m not acting right with the king, I get that, I do, but…”

“...it wasn’t my choice to come here.” Kaito said quietly. “I just… I didn’t choose any of this. It just happened to me. For no reason. So, if I’m… the fucking asshole, and the bad guy, and the jerk who’s ‘not fitting in’ and is ‘stressed out’ all the time and isn’t getting along… well, fuck. What did everyone expect…I’m sorry I’m not… coping.”

“...” Kaito pressed his palm into his eyes, and muttered, “...can… can we take five minutes or something?”

“Yes.” Dr. Mariah said, and with that Kaito stood up, walking to the other side of the roof. “Well, with that… can I get anyone some lemonade? Water?”

…part of Kokichi wanted to argue that people needing to be more patient was how they were treating him (and how they needed to change) but as Kaito went on…

…Kokichi felt his heart start to ache. Painfully, painfully…finding he could relate. Not right now, but…for so long, feeling similar things. The heaviness of depression, feeling worn out and on edge constantly, being determined to make brighter things happen! But then being set back what it felt like miles when even something slightly inconvenient happened, and feeling like an irritable, irrational baby for it. Feeling like everything was his fault and everyone hated him…

But while Kaito was dealing with his version of all that, he didn’t even have the comforts of familiarity to provide as a framework around him. There weren’t nice surprises like his favorite dinner happening to be that night, or getting a lovely letter from his dad, or being able to curl up somewhere that had years and years of nice memories with it, or the security of, more or less, knowing what was going on in the society around him. 

And he had been forced away from that familiarity against his will, for no reason. 

Kokichi swallowed thickly as Kaito called for a break, blinking around the welled tears in his eyes. Sniffling softly, he nodded in Dr. Mariah’s direction. “I-I’d like some lemonade, p-please…”

“Of course… Maki, you should respect the rules of the brea– annnnd, there she goes.” Dr. Mariah sighed, getting up to pour lemonade for Kokichi and Shuichi, while Maki got up and, without a glance back, went to go join Kaito on the other side of the roof. “That’s alright. Everyone needs to feel their feelings, and we all have discussed how some of these sessions were going to feel more difficult than others. This just seems like it’ll be a little more trying, and that’s okay… tissue?” Dr. Mariah asked, presenting a small, clean cloth to Kokichi.

Shuichi watched Maki and Kaito quietly talk, before looking to Kokichi. “You know that’s not against you, right? Kaito loves you. The circumstances around it doesn’t change that.”

Kokichi nodded and murmured a small thanks as he accepted the tissue, pressing his gently to his eyes as he tried to steady his breaths. It was okay to feel his feelings, and sadness (horrible empathy, guilt) were feelings. And right now, he wasn’t detracting from anything else. He didn’t feel like he was about to meltdown, either. It was just…too much sadness to hold all at once. 

Nodding again as Shuuichi spoke to him, Kokichi let out a shaky sigh. “I know. And…he told me when we talked before, but I know that…all this doesn’t mean there’s not happy stuff too. A-and I know it’s not my fault you all had to move here. That everything happened.”

“I just…” Kokichi let out a shaky laugh. “Obviously I’ll never know exactly how it feels. Everyone’s experience is different. But…I know it enough to just…” Kokichi gestured to himself vaguely, his lip trembling as another wave of tears shined in his eyes. 

“...it’s horrible. I hate that Kai-chan’s going through it too.”

Shuichi sighed at that, nodding slightly. “... Dr. Mariah?”

“Hm?” She asked, going to sit back down again.

“He… is obviously depressed, right?” Shuichi said, giving her a ‘no duh’ look. “Can’t we just give him something for it?”

“Antidepressants?” She asked, giving Shuichi a small… look. Blank, probing. “I’m not Kaito’s primary physician, and I’m not his individual therapist either. I doubt his symptoms would be a surprise to Miss Crystal, and I respect her expertise when it comes to Trauma. If she hasn’t prescribed him anything, there’s a reason for it.”

“She makes him rub rocks and just tells him its okay to be angry.” Shuichi frowned. “Maybe she’s wrong. You can’t prescribe him anything?”

“I’m his relationship counselor. I’m a therapist, certainly, but I don’t have the ability in this situation or arrangement to prescribe any of you medication. If he wasn’t seeing a therapist right now, I’d likely recommend he see one and ask about the possibility of a prescription, but he is seeing one, and she hasn’t given him one yet. And from what I understand, Kaito has made incredible strides expressing himself and his anger in more constructive ways. As alarming as him shouting and crying can be, can I remind you that ten months ago he was regularly attacking people and destroying property. She’s making progress with him. You need to trust her system.”

“... we should talk to Miss Crystal.” Shuichi huffed, looking to Kokichi. “Medication helped you, and Dr. Ford’s considering putting me on medication as well soon. And, frankly, right now I feel like I’m coping better than Kaito is. I think she’s wrong.”

…he was depressed. And…something was telling Kokichi it wasn’t just from situational stress, though anyone who had been through what Kaito had this year would be struggling too. He wasn’t a therapist, but…he was someone who had been struggling with his own depression for a long time. 

Dr. Mariah had a point, but…

Kokichi gave Shuuichi a soft nod before tilting his head over towards where Kaito and Maki were. “We should talk to Kai-chan first. We had a talk about my experience on medication a few days ago… Even if Miss Crystal changed her stance and prescribed him something, a prescription isn’t what gets someone on medication. Kai-chan has to choose it.”

“...if he wants to give it a try, then we can talk about how to approach things from there. If Kai-chan wants to have that conversation privately with her, or if he would like our support.” Kokichi’s expression softened there, and he gave a little shrug. “Mental health is complicated, and I’m not a doctor. Neither are you. And…the person who’s always going to know best how Kai-chan’s feeling is Kai-chan. If big decisions are gonna be made about his health, he needs to be the person with the most input. It’s his body and his life.”

And…it wasn’t like Kaito was resisting trying to get better, despite some of his actions in the past. He was going to both therapies, he was working with Miss Crystal, he was following her advice, even when he thought it was dumb. He was opening up, asking for help. For that kind of vulnerability, and that bravery in trying to help himself, he deserved medical autonomy. 

Shuichi nodded, appeased, and Dr. Mariah didn’t interject. Miss Crystal would be able to explain herself well enough, whenever they sat down to talk with her about it. Dr. Mariah trusted her judgment, but she also trusted this group to handle a conversation like that maturely. They’d work it out.

On the other side of the roof, Kaito murmured, “If I jump, I don’t have to go back and look at Kokichi’s heart breaking.”

“It’s not a tall enough roof to kill you. You’d maybe break an arm or a leg… and even then, maybe not.” Maki said, before pointing at a nearby building, “That one could maybe do it, but you’d have to leap head first.”

“I appreciate you always looking out for me, Maki-roll.”

“It’s not news to him that you didn’t want to be here. He understands.”

“Does he?”

“I recall once Kokichi saying he didn’t think he’d have survived a day in Luminary, because he would have killed himself first. He knows how hard something like this is.”

“He just meant cause Luminary’s such a shithole…”

“Give him more credit. Give all of us more credit. You say everything like you’re expecting all of us to be mad at you or tell you you’re wrong.”

“You guys are always mad at me, and tell me I’m wrong all the time.”

“Well, maybe… but that shouldn’t stop you from talking to us.”

Kaito groaned, resting his head in his arms as he leaned against the safety wall. “... when did I become this pathetic…”

“I want to say you’ve always been this pathetic as a joke, but I feel like it might be in bad taste–”

“Really just had to say it anyway then, huh–”

“-- but I think… I think the turning point was Togami.” Maki said, staring idly at the street below. “You were sad and stressed out before that, but… something became really hopeless feeling about you, after Togami. Not that things were any worse, but you just… steadily started getting sadder, after that.”

“I mean, I was on drugs, choked out Kokichi, abused you and Shuichi, and then spent over a week locked up in a room de-toxing, and then I… think the memorial garden thing happened not long after that. There was a lot of stuff going on around it.”

“So the revival, betrayal, and then death of your first love wasn’t depressing and has never been worth talking about?”

“...shut up, Maki.” 

“I won’t.” Maki said simply. “I love you.”

“...I know. I love you too… okay. Alright. Let’s go back.” Kaito sighed, the two heading back to the eggs. “...lemonade?”

“Please, have as much as you like.”

“Thanks… I love my family here. I like our life. I’m happy to be raising Miyako here.” Kaito said, clearly stressing this to Kokichi, “I… barely think about the circumstances that lead to all of this. And if I could go back and choose not to do it, I wouldn’t. It led to some of the best things in my life. But even with that said… I’m still… frustrated with it, sometimes. How it all happened, why it happened. I don’t want to be ungrateful for what I got in return. But…I gave up a lot for… theoretically, on paper, in the beginning… literally nothing. It’s hard not to think about that and be angry, sometimes. I still wouldn’t change it, though.”

Eyes a little red but dry from fresh tears for the moment, Kokichi was sipping on his lemonade when Kaito returned. Though, he sat up to fully face his husband, giving him all his attention. And…at the end, he nodded. “...there are so many times I’ve looked at the horrible things that happened this year, and while I wish they didn’t have to happen…I’m grateful to be where we are.”

“But you shouldn’t have to not be angry about it. Even if you wouldn’t change it.” Kokichi leaned forward slightly as his voice softened. “...I’m sorry for not giving you that space to be angry. For making you feel like…you just have to be okay with everything. And then for…making it out like there’s something wrong with you for not being okay with it all.”

Kokichi’s eyes glimmered again, though tears didn’t well. “...I’ve made so many mistakes when it comes to you. And I know it’s not just me, but…I don’t want to be a person adding onto it. I want to support you, Kai-chan, and…I want to prove myself so that you don’t have to doubt if I’m…disappointed in you, or thinking you’re being unreasonable. You’re not… You’re struggling and in a really horrible position. That’s not your fault.”

…it felt like Kaito’s fault. He spent a lot of time thinking of his own mistakes, obsessively wondering how he could have been better, angry at how he should have been better. Sometimes he felt like he deserved all of this. That it was just karma, pushing and pulling at him, punishing him endlessly the way Kokichi and Hideki and Lake and Katsuki all said it would…

But he couldn’t help the swell of love and comfort he felt, seeing Kokichi lean towards him. His husband had a way of saying things that made Kaito want to believe him. That was genuinely comforting. Kaito sometimes just wanted to hide against Kokichi. It was a silly desire, Kaito was, if not literally, basically twice Kokichi’s size. He shouldn’t want to hide behind his husband until everything felt better and the world stopped feeling so overwhelming, but… he did, sometimes. Silly…

“You help me a lot more than you’ve ever hurt me, ‘Kichi.” Kaito reassured. “You’re one of the best things that ever happened to me. And I know I got angry and said some shit and that sometimes I put it all on you, like you have to answer for everything, but… that’s just me being emotional and stupid. You make my life incredible. You have since the beginning.”

And Kaito meant that. He might not have loved Kokichi in the beginning, but the man was still a bright spot in some otherwise very dark days. Kaito wasn’t a glutton for punishment. He had fallen in love with Kokichi because the other man made him happy. And, even if it had been more challenging and more sparse in the beginning, those moments of happiness had still made it all worthwhile.

“...that said?” Kaito said, looking to Dr. Mariah, something earnest and exhausted on his face, “I know we’ve only talked about two people, but I feel like I’ve been doing nothing but vomiting emotions since we started. I need a break or I’m gonna end up curled up in front of your fish tank staring at a wall again. Can we talk about something else? At least for a bit?”

…Kokichi didn’t think it was entirely just heated emotions, but…then again, he’d said a lot of shit that wasn’t true in the slightest either. For both of them, it didn’t mean that those words didn’t have consequences, but…maybe it meant that they could let them go a little more easily. 

He smiled softly at Kaito, his heart warm with love. Despite the problems that they did cause each other, he was happy to be a good thing in Kaito’s life. Kokichi could easily say Kaito was one of the best things to happen to his life too. 

A lot of the things that they’d been wanting to talk about were…pretty heavily involved with Kaito, but…Kokichi vaguely remembered at least one thing that could give Kaito a bit of a break. 

“...mm,” Kokichi hummed, turning to Maki and Shuuichi. “I…don’t really remember what it was all about, sorry. But…you said there was some…theory or something having to do with mind reading you said you guys wanted to bring up in therapy?”

Dr. Mariah could taste Shuichi and Maki’s confusion in the air… and then the sheer panic that radiated off of them. It tasted like dried red chiles and bubblegum. Not a fun combination, and Dr.Mariah’s nose wrinkled as Shuichi said– too loudly– “Oh, yes! The mind reading theory… Maki’s theory!’

“My theory?” Maki asked, glaring at Shuichi.

“Yeah, Maki, your theory. The one you told Kokichi we were gonna discuss in therapy.” Shuichi glared right back.

“Right… right! Of course!” Maki said– too loudly–, slapping her hands together determinedly, “My mind reading theory!”

“Yep!’ Shuichi nodded.

“And how it is…okay!” 

“Exactly!”

“Sometimes!”

“Yes!”

“What?” Dr. Mariah asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kaito chuckled, giving his sidekicks a relieved, amused look, “I have no idea what you guys are talking about, but I love the energy. What the heck are you guys talking about?”

“If it’s an understood thing!? And you’re certain that your mind reading will be accurate?? Then it’s… just one more form of communication! That shouldn’t be ignored or discouraged!” 

“Exactly! Yes! Especially if you can’t help it!? Even more so!”

“I see… but the issue with mindreadng, as I’ve explained before, I’m certain, is that it’s not accurate. It’s us projecting certain ideas and expectations on each other that we treat as certainties but has very little to do with reality. And it actively gets in the way of real communication.”

“Sure, but… if it wasn’t.”

“Right, right,” Shuichi nodded, “If it wasn’t?”

“...then that would be actual mind reading.” Dr. Mariah said with a small smirk. “In the supernatural sense. Are we attempting to argue the technicalities of adding supernatural mind reading to a group dynamic?”

“...Yes.” Maki and Shuichi said at the exact same time.

“Ha…” Kaito grinned at his two sidekicks. Okay, this was sweet… they were clearly just trying to lighten the mood. Cute. He loved them.

Kokichi watched, bewildered and fond, as Shuuichi and Maki yelled and fronted, displaying…pretty much all their tells for being caught in an obvious lie and trying to make up for it with sheer enthusiasm. …they didn’t have an actual theory, did they? 

…so why did it feel so touching? And…why didn’t it feel like they were completely lying, despite the tells?

Still, Kokichi shook his head with a grin. “Alright, but regular forms of communication have boundaries too. What sort of boundaries are there for literal mind reading?”

“...good question.” Maki said, eyes narrowing slightly.

‘But not an alarming one! One that just needs to be explored and established!” Shuichi insisted, “It’s not an all or nothing thing, and no one needs to feel weird about it!”

“Right,” Kaito chuckled, giving them both fond looks, “As interesting as this thought experiment is, maybe we shouldn’t waste time on hypotheticals?”

Dr. Mariah tapped at her journal, looking at the group. What was… happening right now?

Alright. Inexplicably, they were discussing supernatural stuff. What did she know about this group… well, the God of Whores and Concubines was actively looking after them and needed this relationship to succeed in the long term for some unexplained reason, though Dr. Mariah suspected it had something to do with their child, Miyako. Kokichi, she suspected, was some level of empath, though she had no idea how powerful… certain levels of empaths could idly pick up the emotions of those around them, she knew, and the stronger they were, the more clear those emotions and their sources came. If he was powerful enough, his ability could potentially count as mind reading…

But then, why did Kokichi just taste confused?

… it wasn’t possible that Shuich and Maki were aware of Kokichi’s empathetic abilities, but not Kokichi himself, right? And Kaito clearly didn’t know, so… what circumstances could have possibly led to that? 

Hm.

“Admittedly, this is a question I haven't put much thought into outside of right now,” Dr. Mariah said, her own abilities nowhere close enough to count as mind reading. It was more just advanced body reading, and she couldn’t taste what anyone was actually thinking. “But, I suppose the answer, as it usually is, is to sit down and discuss everyone’s comfort levels, and try to establish a sense of boundaries that accommodates as much as possible for all the different comfort levels. For instance, Shuichi, Maki, how comfortable would you to being continuously mind read?”

“...I mean… fiiine.” Shuichi said, adjusting his cap uncertainly, as he admitted, “If it’s just a fact of life? Then I can adjust.”

“I don’t have any secrets to keep at the moment. And I imagine there are ways around it if you look into it more. I just don’t care enough to look yet.” Maki shrugged.

“Uh huh… Kaito?”

“...how do I feel about being mind read casually?” Kaito snorted, raising an eyebrow. “Uhhhh, no thanks. I have a hard enough time with my own brain, no one else needs to be saddled with that. Sounds like a nightmare scenario.”

Part of Kokichi agreed with Kaito, but…well, they had started down this path needing to take a little break from the heavy stuff. And…maybe the hypothetical would be telling to other things. 

Hey, if Dr. Mariah wasn’t stopping them, then there had to be some point, right?

Frowning a little at Kaito considering his thoughts to be a burden, Kokichi shrugged slightly. “It doesn’t sound great, yeah. Thoughts are meant to be private. Like a testing ground for what you actually want to do or say. Not to mention scaring someone with, like, intrusive thoughts would be miserable for everyone.”

“But if it was a fact of life?” Kokichi raised an eyebrow Shuuichi’s way. “Well…depending on the bounds of what mind reading would actually be, I’d prefer for the person reading to talk to me before jumping to conclusions on anything. I have a lot of weird thoughts--I’d rather have the freedom to explain myself.”

“That’s true.” Dr. Mariah nodded, “Our thoughts tend to be a bit of a wild west sort of situation, thoughts coming in raw and unrefined and often self-contradicting. And what we choose to express in ways other people can see and understand arguably say far more about ourselves than the thousands of different ideas fleeting through our heads.”

“In practice? I imagine the answer would be that the mind reader, when they come across a thought that alarms them, or gets their interest, has an obligation to ask for clarification. And that a certain amount of trust and acceptance from all parties is needed, to differentiate between ‘expressive’ thoughts, and ‘idle’ thoughts… though, again, more time and discussion would need to be devoted to a subject like this to truly establish how it would work.”

Shuichi, who had been looking at Kaito in concern, glancing at Kokichi, said, “...If I had turrets, Kaito, I’d trust that you would work with me to figure out what I actually said and what I meant to say, right?”

“Um, yeah? Sure, of course I would.” Kaito agreed, shrugging easily.

“Well, would you feel safe with me if you had turrets? Trust me to do the same for you? Maki? Kokichi?”

“...yeah.” Kaito grinned easily, “Of course, Shuichi. I trust you guys.”

Shuichi glanced at Kokichi, “Good. I guess for now, that’ll do.”

Basically…someone couldn’t be held accountable for their thoughts alone. Sure, some could be dangerous or concerning, but…if a person never acted on them, or spoke them aloud, then it wasn’t really something they were doing. 

If someone could mind read, then the answer was…just communicate more. Be able to trust one another, and feel secure in perhaps having uncomfortable conversations about thoughts that were never meant to be known. It was a difficult prospect, but not an impossible one. 

It…really was just kind of the opposite of someone having Tourettes, wasn’t it. 

Kokichi gave Shuuichi a semi-quizzical look at the glance he gave him, but he smiled anyway. “...you guys get on some weird tangents, sometimes. Were you just talking about, like…the practicality of modern fantasy or something? Maki-chan usually hates talking about novel tropes.”

“Whaaaaat? Maki loves narrative tropes!” Kaito grinned. 

“Yep. She does.” Shuichi said stiffly.

“...ng.” Maki grumbled. 

“.... perhaps we’ll discuss it more in depth later.” Dr. Mariah said, sipping at her lemonade. “But, for now, let’s get back on focus. Kaito? Did you want to go back to discussing family members you’re struggling with?”

“As much as I’d like a kick in the teeth.” Kaito grinned warily. 

“We’ll come back to it again, but don’t think you’re getting out of it entirely. I really do believe it’s good for you.” Dr. Mariah chided softly, before saying, “Alright. Let’s look back. What are some other conversations that were put on hold to allow me the honor to be entirely too nosy about it?”

“Um, let’s see…” Katto mused, “...there’s definitely been stuff… man, I’m always so bad about remembering stuff like this, my brain just goes bla–”

“Kaito had a meltdown at one point about his fears of not being able to stay true to us.” Shuichi said, ignoring Kaito’s groan as he said, “It actually really seemed to bother him.”

Kokichi sighed softly, nodding as the memories of that whole…thing came back to him. “We talked about it a bit, but…” He sent his husband a soft look. “...it seemed less about his worries about actually cheating on us, and more that…it wasn’t effortless not to look at other people? Is that right?”

He knew it was a little leading but…Kaito was already a little emotionally drained, and he hated getting into his own issues like this. Kokichi was just hoping to kickstart him a little. Make it so it wasn’t just Kaito talking, feeling all that pressure on himself. 

“I know I had a lot of insecurities at the start about…not being good enough. And thinking you’d eventually leave me,” Kokichi quietly added, offering his own vulnerabilities to the conversation. “But I’m not scared of it any more. And…of course you’re gonna find other people attractive--I do too. I don’t mind that. I just…trust you not to act on it.”

“...” Kaito’s eyes lit up, “You find other people attractive? Who? Who’s been–”

“Kaito.” Shuichi said warningly, while Maki chuckled lightly to herself, “Not here. Obviously? What’s wrong with you?”

“That’s alright, that’s alright.” Dr. Mariah said, raising her hand, though she could smell the interest and lust radiating off of Kaito and was, admittedly, a bit surprised. Like, wow, Kaito… doesn’t take much, apparently. “We’re not here to shame. Though, do try to focus Kaito. Now, explain it to me. What was the fear, Kaito?”

“I mean…Kokichi kinda summed it up.” Kaito admitted, shrugging. “I…get tempted a lot. My mind wanders, my eyes wander…and I don’t like that. Shuichi and Kokichi are more than enough for me, they’re my whole world. I feel like it’s insulting to them, every time my gaze wanders. I wish I could just turn it off.”

“You weren’t worried about that with me.” Maki huffed.

Kaito’s brow furrowed at that, looking to her. “What? Maki-roll, I never strayed when I was with you. I’d have never insulted you like that either, I was yours.”

“Sure, at the end of high school.” Maki frowned, her shoulders tensing. “But before that? Every time I looked away for so much as a second, you were with some different idiot. You were never unattached.”

“What… so? You dated people too! What, did you call dibs!?”

“Uh, yes? Kind of? You knew how I felt about you, could you not have waited five minutes for me to get back from a mission, or–”

“To dump Yennifer? Or Catheryn-Prime? Or to get over your stupid on again, off again with Katen?”

“I started dating Yennifer when you were dating Marcus, and by the time I dumped her, you had thrown yourself at Samuel!” 

“No, I only slept with Samuel once… I was dating Saber?? I think? So, what, you couldn’t hold off on dating what’s-her name long enough for me to get over Saber?”

“What’s her name!? Laqaue!? I wasn’t even dating Laque until I got back from the border, you were dating… someone!”

“Who!?”

“I don’t know I wasn’t keeping track!”

“Weren’t you though?” Shuichi mused quietly. 

“I… feel like we’ve gotten off course.” Dr. Mariah said… before saying quietly, “But I am loving this gossip. Delicious.”

Kokichi watched with wide eyes, his gaze flicking back and forth like a tennis match as Maki and Kaito bickered at each other about their…extensive dating history. And while he’d known about Kaito’s, he hadn’t realized that Maki had dated just as much, by the sounds of it. 

(...he understood why she didn’t here. Even by the tidbits now, it seemed like Maki only was dating someone when she wasn’t working, and Maki had been in a working mindset for months in Dicea before going back to Luminary. And since she had been back…she was still dealing with a lot. But…it did still make him worried, just like her friend and hobby situation.)

…Kokichi didn’t doubt that, at least for some of those people, they really did have fond feelings, but… Maybe it was just because Kokichi had never dated until he’d been married. But it kind of sounded like…Maki and Kaito just filled their time with other people as much as they could, just to avoid ever being single. Or alone. 

Knowing it would earn him ire, Kokichi still spoke up. “...you can’t, like…’lay claim’ to someone unless you’re actually dating. And even if it’s blatant, you can’t expect people to know how you feel, and act accordingly. Unless you spoke up and talked about it, neither of you could expect the other to just wait around like you’re taking numbers at a busy fabric store.”

“...”

“...”

“...shut up, Kokichi.” Maki huffed. 

“Maki! Don’t tell him to shut up!”

“Just admit it, Kaito, you chickened out.”

“You refused to commit! You would be totally into me by morning, and by afternoon you’d be treating me like you can barely stand me! How am I supposed to wait around when I had no idea if you actually wanted to try or not??”

“I was trying to get over you because you were never available, Momota! I’m not here to pine after someone elses guy for the rest of my life! I’d rather just get over you and move on, but then you’d get all… flirty and stuff! It was infuriating!”

“Are you going to stop this?” Shuichi asked Dr. Mariah.

“...I probably should, shouldn’t I?” Dr. Mariah sighed, looking a little disappointed. She’d be more alarmed by all of this, if she couldn’t taste how much fun the two were having. These were two people who, when it came down to it, enjoyed bickering. Sure, there was genuine anger there too, but… it only festered and kept going because they both enjoyed the process. Terrible, as far as couples go. But it made a decent dynamic for friends… though it’d probably be better if they focused that argumentative dynamic on something more healthy and fruitful, like… competitiveness in a skill or sport or– “Oh! I almost forgot. How did the dancing exercise go? Has it been helping with your arguments?”

Maki and Kaito paused, both looking to Dr. Marah… before both of them turned red. Clearly embarrassed, Maki leaning back and pouting, cheeks puffing out, while Kaito rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling, “Uh… I mean… kinda, yeah. We’re getting, like… really good at tangoes…”

“It’s hilarious too watch. You’ve never seen more pissed off dance partners.” Shuichi smirked, “Well coordinated too.”

As much as it did set Kokichi on edge to hear Kaito and Maki like this (one day, there really was going to be a blowout fight between them, and it worried him) it was… Okay, it wasn’t like there wasn’t heat behind their words. There definitely was. But…somehow…it was a type of fun between them too. Like getting ready to fight one of your dearest friends was enjoyable. 

He didn’t get it, but he’d accept it. 

Especially now that they had a healthier way to let off steam when the fights got a little past just bickering. 

Kokichi lit up as Dr. Mariah asked about the dances, puffing up with amazement and pride as he gave his friends a nod. “They do some really crazy routines, like, like the stuff you’d only see professional dancers try to pull off in competitions. It’s super cool! And they found this punk recording on some old record in the castle collection, so it’s really novel stuff too.”

“Have you felt the desire to spar since you started?” Dr. Mairah asked, highly amused by the idea of Maki and Kaito really getting into the dancing part of the routine, but wanting to be certain it was also fulfilling its inherent purpose. “Have you wanted to harm or hit each other in the past few months?”

“In a serious way? …no.” Kaito said, Maki nodding in agreement with him, “I still get on Maki’s nerves, and I can say that confidently because she sure as fuck still gets on mine, but… we havn’t talked about sparring since we started. When we get mad, we talk about dancing.”

“It’s been excellent for coordination and exercise,” Maki praised, before admitting, “And frustrating because when he squeezes my hand too hard, I can’t cut him.”

“You dig your nails into my back.”

“Don’t be a baby, you’re fine.”

“Well, so are you. So stop whining.”

“I’m not whining, I was just saying you’re lucky my hands are full so I can’t–”

Less destructive arguing, but the two of them seemed to be arguing more openly. More frequently. Likely a side effect of not allowing them to get all their aggression out at once in bursts. Or, honestly, maybe a side effect of things calming down in the life around them. Lots of old hurts between these two. Dr. Mariah was certain they’d get into it one day, when they were ready. When they were ready being most likely when…

“Are you still sworn to her, Kaito?” Dr. Mariah asked. “To make decisions in her place?”

Both of the red-tinted Luminaries stilled… before both gave the air uncertain, uncomfortable looks. “...yeah.” Kaito said. “I am. For all that she listens to me, anyway.”

“Is that something you still need, Maki? For Kaito to keep this pledge to you?”

“...” Maki’s body language withdrew, her face cooling. “For now.”

“For now.” Dr. Mariah agreed quietly, before looking back to Kaito. “So, you feel guilty for being tempted into sleeping with other people?”

“Yeah,” Kaito said after a moment, realizing Dr. Mariah was trying to pull them back on topic. “Yeah… and I know that the answer is ‘don’t do it’. I won’t, I’m confident in that. I just hate disrespecting Kokichi and Shuichi by wanting too. They deserve better than that.”

“That’s a sweet sentiment, but one not entirely grounded in reality… Shuichi, Kokichi? Kokichi, you said earlier that you had concerns yourself, once, of not measuring up. I’m assuming you mean not measuring up to Kaito’s desires for other people? Could you clarify that for me?”

For now… Trauma took time to process, and something so big and all-encompassing like Luminary’s war… They had wished for a boring year, and they really needed it, just to process the shitshow the last had been. 

Kokichi didn’t…particularly feel disrespected by Kaito being attracted to other people, but that was the stall-wall they ran into the first time they talked about it. So…Dr. Mariah’s solution--or step one of getting there--didn’t wholly surprise him, since he’d brought it up. 

Coloring in slight embarrassment, Kokichi nodded. “I’d never been with anyone before Kai-chan. Despite him reassuring me otherwise…it felt inevitable that he’d get bored with me. Get frustrated with…um…how bad and inexperienced a partner I was. Fall in love with someone better because…”

Kokichi sighed, tired and a little exasperated at himself. “...well, I didn’t have the greatest view of myself, pretty much all the time back then. I figured that literally anyone would be a step up from me, because I was so awful. But I was already falling for Kai-chan pretty hard, so…even though I thought it would be better for him, it still hurt a lot to think of him leaving me. And I’d worry about that…pretty much anytime we were together.”

Kaito’s brow furrowed at that, giving Kokichi a concerned look. “Aw, babe, really? I mean… I knew the thought bothered you, but not that frequently…and god, it’s never gonna be anything but baffling to me, how you view yourself. Or, did, anyway. Like, its actually insane, how fucking sexy you ar–”

“Kaito.” Shuichi warned again, “Not in front of Dr. Mariah… and Maki, for that matter.”

“He’s such a little stick of a thing. Kokichi, I love you, but I can’t see it myself.” Maki admitted, leaning against the edge of of the egg, “You’re pretty enough, but it has to be a performance thing.”

“Maki!”

“I love his body, Maki… but yeah, holy shit, the way he moves–”

“Enough.” Dr. Mariah said sternly, putting a little force into the word. “I understand you’re both trying to ease the atmosphere, but frankly, you keep detouring too much as it is, and Kokichi has expressed clearly before that he doesn’t appreciate that sort of explanation into your sexual lives. It’s unnecessary for this discussion anyway. Kaito, for the sake of clarity: would it matter if Kokichi or Shuichi were poor bed-mates? Would being tempted by other people feel more justified to you if they were?”

“What? No.” Kaito said immediately. “I love them, and I’m sworn to them. They could swear me to celibacy, and I wouldn’t sway. I will never sway.”

“Understood. Kokichi, Shuichi? Is there anything more that you want from Kaito then that? Any greater restrictions on his actions? Thoughts? Desires? Now is the time to express them, if you desire more than his commitment to saving himself only for you.”

Kokichi’s cheeks heated up more as Kaito and Maki got sidetracked, looking to the side and fidgeting. He liked how over the moon Kaito was for him, and he didn’t really care how Maki saw him on an attractive-ness scale, but…those were private things. Not really stuff he was comfortable discussing around other people. 

Which…was probably why he struggled to make sense of Kaito’s issue in turn. 

Shaking his head once decisively, Kokichi shrugged a bit. “No. As long as I know that he’s not gonna end up in someone else’s bed, I’m happy. And I know that like I know daffodils bloom in early spring. Kai-chan and I once had a miscommunication, and he thought I was asking him for celibacy, and without even discussing it a little more he was committing himself to it. I trust him endlessly in our relationship.”

“And…because of that?” Kokichi shrugged again, grinning a little. “I don’t even mind when he does that not-flirting-but-maybeeee thing. It’s kinda cute, really, and…I know it’s not unfair to the other person either, ‘cause there aren’t a lot of people around here that don’t know we’re taken, even if they don’t see the wedding rings. If no one has any real expectations, it’s just kinda fun.”

“I see… Shuichi?”

“‘Not flirting but maybe thing’,” Shuichi huffed, “That sums up Kaito’s ‘friendliness’ well…”

Shuichi paused, thinking about it… looking at Kaito appraisingly… before he straightened his back, put his hand on his knees, and said from the shadow of his hat, “Sometimes? I think I’d like to lock Kaito away, up in some high tower, where no one else could undress him with their eyes or turn red when he talks or try to tempt him away. I’d like him to be safe and happy and just for myself and Kokichi, and Maki can visit him on weekends, maybe. Keep him just for us.”

“...” Kaito grinned, turning bright red, “Awwww, you weirdo.”

Shuichi relaxed, looking a little amused, before continuing, “Sometimes. As an idle daydream, usually when I’m feeling annoyed because someone had noticed how attractive he is. At the exact same time? I like how happy it makes Kaito. He gets sweet and flustered and flattered, he always looks like he’s really having fun. Kaito, you like to be stared at and flirted with and chased. You’ve liked it since we were young. I’d be a mean boyfriend and, frankly, a really bad best friend if wanted you to stop flirting with other people… and like Kokichi said. That’s really all you’re ever doing. You’re just flirting. It doesn’t bother Kokichi at all, and when it does bother me… it’d bother me more to see you lonely and bored and hiding yourself.”

“You don’t have to feel like you’re disrespecting us.” Shuichi said, “We’re giving you permission… to flirt. Only… Maki.”

Maki rolled her eyes, “Oh, such tragedy. How will I go on?”

Kokichi snorted softly and shook his head. For how jealous and possessive Shuuichi could be…well, he articulated himself well. He wasn’t actually worried about Kaito leaving them, and he liked to see how happy Kaito got when people ogled him. So…all their expectations when it came to loyalty slotted nicely together. No one was being betrayed or disrespected. 

And, honestly, the weird sort of flirting that Kaito and Maki did…didn’t really register for Kokichi at all. 

“You two love each other,” he stated simply, grinning a bit at Maki’s eyeroll, “But it’s your own type of love. None of that is an issue in my eyes, and, like, you know the lines.”

Turning back to Kaito, Kokichi’s expression softened. “...so? Does that help, any?”

Kaito lightly scratched his skin… “You guys will tell me if your feelings change?”

“Yes.” Shuichi said.

“...I mean, it’s not like I’ve been any good at stopping anyway.” Kaito chuckled, shaking his head at himself lightly. “And… it does help to have permission. I know that I’m not supposed to need it, but it makes me feel better to have it… also, Maki and I are just bestest of all best friends, Shuichi, what the heck.”

“The bestest friends.” Maki drawled back, “Who sometimes want to kill each other and sometimes want to–”

“WANT TO BE BESTEST FRIENDS WHO DANCE AND DRINK TOGETHER AND MAKE LITTLE… FLOWER CROWNS? FLOWER CROWNS OF FRIENDSHIP!”

“Yes. That.”

“I would love to see you two try to make flower crowns.” Shuichi realized, “I feel like you’d both be weirdly good at it. Deft fingers.”

“It’s alright if there’s difficult feelings about it in the future. Very few problems go away as soon as they’re resolved, our bodies tend to react to the muscle memory of how they made us feel until eventually time eases the imprint. But for now, does this feel resolved?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry we keep talking about me.” Kaito sighed, “I feel like all the issues have been about me. I’m certain someone else has something that’s been on their minds that’s just been itching for its turn to be discussed… right? Someone? Someone have something?” Kaito asked, looking imploringly to his friends.

…pff. They should totally all make flower crowns together. Trade ‘em, hone their skill to teach Miya in the future. Be amazing in floral glory. It’d be fun. 

But… Yeah. Sometimes Kaito might get insecure about not feeling in his deepest gut sense that he’ll never look at anyone else. Sometimes, even with how much better his view of himself had gotten, Kokichi would be insecure about not being enough for his partners. But they would get through it, talking and being understanding, because they loved each other. 

As for what to discuss next… There was the old thing about Kaito not wanting to disagree with Kokichi, and being wary of actions with consequences, and…right equaling good, but…if Kaito really needed a break.

“...I wasn’t gonna bring this up, really,” Kokichi started, chewing his lip. “Because…it’s not really a thing, you know? But…especially in the last few days… There’s something I really wanna tell you guys. Like…a Big thing. But…I can never remember what it is. Like…I’ll wake up with a big sense of resolve, but I have no idea what it’s about.”

Looking up at the group, Kokichi shrugged a little. “I don’t think there’s really anything to discuss, since I can’t remember, but… As soon as I do, there’s something.”

“...” Shuichi glanced uncertainly at Maki, not knowing what to say. 

“Something big you want to tell us that you can’t recall?” Katio asked, “Hmm… like a tip of your tongue sorta thing? Sometimes when that happens to me, it means I already told someone the thing, but I’ve forgotten. Like I’m vaguely remembering doing it, but think it’s a desire rather than a memory.”

“If you can’t remember it, it was likely never important.” Maki said, shrugging, “I wouldn’t stress yourself about it.”

“...You said especially in the last few days?” Shuichi asked, giving Kokichi a concerned look, “In what way? Like, it’s happening more frequently, or it feels more urgent?”

Kokichi…knew he wasn’t the most reliable, when it came to remembering conversations, accurately or at all. Even now, while he’d been doing better. But…something told him that this really wasn’t a conversation they’d had yet, and that it was imperative that they have it. 

Shrugging a little, Kokichi rubbed the back of his neck. “...I guess kinda both? Like…sometimes I’d get the inclination that there was something we should talk about, but since I’d forgotten it’s like…we’ll get to it when we get to it, you know? But lately…it feels more frustrating that I can’t remember what it is. And, like…the feeling that as soon as I do remember, I’m gonna tell you right away--not just I’d forget it again, but…because it’s important!”

“...I know it doesn’t really make much sense.”

“It doesn’t… really leave much room for discussion.” Dr. Marah admitted, looking almost a little sheepish. She didn’t like to not follow threads when her patients offered them, but, well… sometimes there was just nowhere to go. Not immediately, anyway. “We’ll come back to this. A vague, urgent sense that there’s something you wanted to tell your family. We’ll dive into it more as you feel more comprehensive of it.”

Kaito grinned, swinging his seat gently in Kokchi’s direction, lightly kicking the ground as he said, “It’ll be okay, Kokichi. Once you remember? You can tell us all about it.”

“Alright… Kaito, are we ready to get back to you now? I know it’s unfair that so much of discussion today puts you under emotional pressure, but… you need our help. You need some special attention, frankly. And it’s not always easy, to be looked after. It can be emotionally exhausting, and put you in a terribly vulnerable position. It’s still good to do it anyway.”

Kaito fussed with his joints… before chuckling wanely, “If it feels hard, that’s okay? It is?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

Kaito sighed… “Alright. Yeah, alright… we’re sure no one else has anything they want to talk about? Shuichi, Maki?”

“Everything I want to talk about has to do with you, Kaito.” Shuichi said gently.

“Same.” Maki agreed.

“Well, that’s unhelpful.” Kaito grumbled. “...alright… I mean, I feel like it’s basically repeating things everyone knows, to talk about the king…”

“Do it anyway.” Dr. Mariah said, “The point is to allow you to talk about it openly. To get it off your chest.”

“...yeah.” Kaito sighed, “Okay. But I’m gonna feel ridiculous if no one else has anything to say about him. Cause that guy is just…like, nnnngh…”

Kokichi raised an eyebrow. “...I don’t wanna be dismissive of anything, but…Kai-chan. Like 70% of what I talk about in my personal sessions has to do with my father. I’m trying to build a better relationship with him, but he’s an insufferable idiot. We’re gonna have plenty to talk about, hun, don’t worry about it.”

And while he had done things like invite his partners to have dinner with him and Aiichi…they didn’t have any obligation to build more of a relationship with him. He would always be in their lives, but even just with his own input, it likely wouldn’t be more than at the fringes. 

At most…Kokichi just hoped Kaito could one day just be…like, dismissively comfortable. That he wouldn’t straighten his back out of stress and talk loudly with a lot of laughing whenever Aiichi was around. That one day, they could just nod at each other and carry on with whatever they were doing. 

That was the hope.

Kaito chuckled a little at Kokichi’s reassurance, but still nervously twisted his joints. He knew it… he knew it wasn’t accurate. That he needed to be respectful of the King here. That he needed to be respectful to Kokichi’s father. All of that stuff didn’t mean the same thing in Dicea, as it did in Luminary.

…it wasn’t what anyone wanted from him. 

…and frankly, Kaito was a little fucking vengeful anyway.

“So, I mean… okay, so! So! The first thing? I want to talk about!? With King Aiichi!?”

“Wow. Strong start. Already repeating his ‘so’s’” Maki whispered towards Shuichi, who nodded back.

“He… really put me and Kokichi in a tough position! Like, repeatedly! It’s insane! How he handled the wedding! Like, okay, so… let’s play a game of pretend here, right? Let’s imagine it had all gone exactly as the king planned? I don’t meet Kokichi until, like, a week before our wedding. Kokichi hates me! Which Aiichi knows he does! Me, however, I am the infamously horny, problematic, publicly crazy with well established rage issues prince! If he had bothered asking anyone in Luminary anything about me, he would have kept me far, far, far away from his tiny, beautiful, fragile son! I should not have been sharing a room with him! Especially not without any supervision, right after our wedding! I could have hurt Kokichi! Not even taking into account drug bullshit, he was so reckless with Kokichi’s safety, it’s insane! Aiichi doesn’t get to babysit!”

…well, Kokichi thought some of that wasn’t being fair to Kaito at all, but…generally? He had a point. Kokichi hadn’t known anything about Kaito other than his name, but…it really seemed like that’s about as much as Aiichi knew too. Which was incredibly irresponsible and just…incredibly rude! Kaito, upon his pie-in-the-sky, meaningless request, was about to become part of their family! And Aiichi never even bothered finding out his medical history, or what Kaito would want to get up to in Dicea, because even with the option of going back to school, they didn’t have anything even remotely close to the career track Kaito had been pursuing. He never checked in with anything Kaito might need in his new life, not to mention not even talking to the other two people who had been planned to live there too! Maki and Shuuichi had to barter with other members of the party to bring literally anything that wasn’t essential, and they had no clue what life would look like for them in Dicea!

Some of Kokichi just…couldn’t believe it. Even for an idiot, that was just…so much to never follow up on. 

Sighing softly, Kokichi nodded in agreement to Kaito’s grievances, giving a sharper nod to the ‘no babysitting’ rule. They were lucky Miyako was so hardy, and would likely continue to be, but…if she had any sort of difficulties? Having Aiichi watch over her would be a death sentence. 

Kokichi knew he wasn’t supposed to interrupt, but he couldn’t help huffing. “I don’t care about tradition, looking back. It was dumb that we were expected to move in with each other, like, immediately.”