…like Maki said…

As much as it did bother him, Kokichi couldn’t…quite bring himself to hold it against Nekomaru or Kyouko, how they raised Maki and Shuuichi. There were things they needed to be ready for, realities and practices that they were expected to do, and… Well. In some ways, being what Kokichi considered a healthy person would’ve gotten them killed. He could understand that. 

So…he knew, in some examples, and at times just with a vague impression, what Maki had gone through growing up. 

…but…not wanting Tim to have a personality with them? 

Something deeply unsettled settled into his gut. Maybe moreso because Maki kept calling it being raised ‘properly’. 

…there was a lot Kokichi just…didn’t know what to say to. But… “...I dunno if it’d feel better, or just make you more frustrated,” he shrugged, “But…I feel like I’m flying blind with Miya and Tim and the girls all the time. I know what sort of values I’m hoping they’ll pick up, and I know what goals I have, like their happiness and expression and all that, and I know what sort of stuff made me miserable as a kid, so I can try and veer away from that but… I have no idea what I’m doing. The best I hope is just…that they’ll be able to look back on their childhood fondly, despite the mistakes I’m surely making.”

Maki gave Kokichi what counted for her as a soft look, the hard lines on her face easing a little as she gave him a companionable little nod. That did help, honestly. Timothy was a little pain in her neck, but Maki desperately wanted to do right by him. Out of all of her siblings, out of all the children that she had found herself, in some way, responsible for, Tim was the first one for whom her top, all encompassing priority wasn’t ‘keep him alive, don’t let the little dumbass get himself killed’. Tim was the first for whom ‘who he would be as an adult’ felt like her personal responsibility, beyond making certain they wouldn’t be chained to a contract. 

Maki didn’t want to mess it up. She didn’t want to sabotage her child. And it was nice to know Kokichi felt like that in some capacity himself. Especially considering he had been the one to talk her through the first time she had let the pressure of Timothy’s future break her down. Maki owed quiet a bit, to the Dicean prince.

Meanwhile, Shuichi and Kaito gave each other long looks. 

“...” Kaito shrugged at Shuichi, who nodded slightly back.

“Have something to say, boys?” Dr. Mariah asked, noting the exchange.

“.....” Kaito grinned sheepishly, “I guess I just… don’t feel like that? Not usually. Ya know, maybe with this new empath stuff, but otherwise it’s like… make sure our baby eats and clean her and later try to convince her not to be an asshole. And between the four of us? So long as we’re on top of it, we’re going to do great. Hell, with Tim, my biggest fuckup was not putting aside enough time for the kid. Took me ages to get my shit together, but now I feel like I have a pretty good rhythm with him.”

“I’m mostly concerned about how to make her a prodigy,” Shuichi said, “And when Timothy goes back to school, I plan to continue being a very good uncle and make a prodigy of him too.”

“How humble.” Dr. Mariah said.

“I try to be.” Shuichi agreed.

Kokichi couldn’t help but laugh softly. “That’s probably a good balance to have. I think I get hung up on the ‘convince her not to be an asshole’ part, but… I’m glad you guys are confident. For a long time I felt like…Tim just didn’t care about me one way or another, and then actively resented me… I want to do right by him. And Miya too, though she’s a little easier to understand on the emotional side of things right now.”

He knew that…basically everything she did right now wasn’t an indication of anything. She was a baby! They only recognized one point of view in the world, and it was all for them! That’s how babies were supposed to be, magical, psychic or not. And…well, he’d been possessing people and trying to con free dessert out of people all the time even older than she was--didn’t mean he was doing those things now. 

Kokichi tilted his head to the side on his arm, humming softly. “...I’m really thankful for Haneda. This is probably more of an ‘at home’ question, but…have you guys planned out schedule-y things for while she’s on vacation?”

Kaito sighed, “Tim’s about to be spending… a lot of time with dear old dad. He’s gonna get sick of me.”

“It’s literally just us going half and half. And we know Hajme will watch him if we catch him off guard.” Maki reminded him, “Besides, he’s ten now. Once I’ve trained him a little more in parkour, it’d probably be safe to let him have free reign of the market. Or at least the parks and gardens down the hill.”

At that, Kaito shifted uncomfortably, “Um… I don’t know if I’m ready to okay that…”

Dr. Mariah zeroed in on this. “Some concerns of Timothy being outside of the castle on his own, Kaito?”

“...uh, I mean…” Kaito chewed on the inside of his lip a little, “...look, I know I should have faith in the Dicean people to not be, uh, nasty to my Luminary kid, but I’m just not there yet. Too many incidents have happened in the last year to wave everyone off as being safe. And Timothy’s still really small. And… I just don’t want any adults that see him on his own to… I just want someone we can trust to be looking out for him, right now. When he’s bigger he can have full lay of the land. But he’s still just a little kid. We have a responsibility to keep an eye on him.”

Kokichi nodded sadly, his gaze lowering a little, though it was nowhere near the devastation that he could sometimes feel at times like these. The truth was…Kaito was right. He would hope, even of the people who would be ‘nasty’ to an immigrant or even someone on vacation, that they wouldn’t hurt a child, and…that hadn’t been an issue for Tim at school either, but… There were some people that really hated Luminaries in the city. And…there were a percentage of those people whose reactions were less, ‘be upset but let them live’ and more…’instigate on sight’. 

It might be safe for other kids to go to trusted places or wander a little farther from where eyes could see, but…for now, there was real danger out there for Tim. When he was a little older, he’d be able to protect himself more. And…maybe they could talk about Tim going around the city with friends too--things were safer in a group, even if the group was young too.

“I feel like that’s more than reasonable,” Kokichi hummed. “And…I mean, I never mind spending time with Tim. He’s a cool person. Ridiculous arm when we’re playing monkey in the middle with Chase.”

“That has easily been my favorite discovery this summer.” Kaito grinned, looking almost a little smug as he said, “Turns out, you put Kokichi in competition with a ten year old? He can suddenly exercise a lot.”

“I’ve known that since the beginning. It’s why I tried to do dagger training with Kokichi and Timothy together.”

“You told me you did that because Timothy gets a kick out of beating royalty.” Shuichi reminded her.

“What are you, a narc?”

“Historically.”

“So, Maki doesn’t want to be overly strict with Tim. Kaito doesn’t have any hangups about Miyako yet, evidently, but doesn’t want Tim to be unsupervised out of the castle because he doesn’t trust the adults around him. Kokichi doesn’t want rumors and special needs to isolate Miyako, and was convinced at one point Tim just didn’t like him. As for me…” Shuichi tried to think, before shrugging, “Maybe my hangup just hasn’t shown itself yet.”

“You keep saying Miyako’s going to be a virgin her entire life.” Kaito reminded him dryly, “Somehow, I think puberty might hit you a little harder than the rest of us.”

“She doesn’t need that stuff in her life!” Shuichi said, looking briefly outraged, “And watch, you’re gonna be running around like you're on fire when Tim starts showing interest in that stuff! It’s alarming!”

“You kidding? I’m trying to not get too attached to the idea he’ll date Cali or Kimiko. Or both.” Kaito mused, “It’s an exciting time, when a kid starts dating! It’s one of the most fun aspects of growing up!”

“A school crush is not the same as him becoming sexually active!”

“Like, eventually it is??”

“It’s not exercise if we’re playing,” Kokichi rolled his eyes. Though it totally was. But it was a lot easier to feel motivated, consciously and not, when you were cartwheeling around the yard or playing tag than it was doing your third set of squats. And, well, Kokichi didn’t mind if the kids got something extra out of beating an adult or a prince. He could get competitive, but mostly as long as people were having fun, and it wasn’t maliciously at someone else’s expense, Kokichi would get a kick out of it too. 

He liked being able to play with the kids. It was one benefit of having Miyako so young too--he’d be able to run around and play with her too, without his body going out on him even more. 

As for other things about growing up… Kokichi could only shake his head fondly with a smile. With nearly the full range of the spectrum just between Kaito and Shuuichi, it’d probably be a little easier to cope with their kids discovering their attraction. Or lack of it. 

“Hopefully we’ll be able to give good relationship advice, after all the work we’re putting into our own,” Kokichi mused. “I’m pretty comfortable knowing that it’s gonna be a while before the kids open that chapter of their lives, but…it is a little exciting. Considering the possibility of them finding someone that makes them happy in a new way. I really don’t have the perspective for it, but…I’ll still hope for no bad break-ups.”

“Aw, a good bad breakup builds character.” Kaito grinned. “Fills a guy full of personality and wisdom!”

“Okay, remembering how some of your breakups went, now Miyako’s not allowed to date until she’s ninety.”

“Mmmm, if we’re basing it on Kaito’s breakups? Timothy’s just not allowed to date a ‘Kaito’.” Maki decided, ignoring Kaito’s outraged cry, “So… I guess not Cali.”

“What!? Cali would be so cute with him! They’re so energetic and happy together!”

“Alright, alright.” Dr. Mariah said, pulling out her stop watch, “We’ve gone off course again, but… you all do seem to be in a better place now, then you were at noon. Due to empath shenanigans, I think it’s important we keep meeting regularly these upcoming few weeks, and while I know you’re limited in what you can say, I’d strongly encourage you all to do your one-on-one therapies with more frequency these upcoming weeks as well. Maki, you and I must set up something soon, within the next few days, I insist.”

Kaito frowned, raising an eyebrow, “You’re talking like the session is wrapping up…”

“I think it might be.” Dr. Mariah said, tapping at her journal, “Don’t get me wrong, none of these discussions have been entirely fleshed out. We’re not in ‘beating a dead horse’ territory yet. But it’s been a long session, and you all keep diverting into lighter talk every opportunity you get. You’re not emotionally exhausted, thank goddess, we avoided that. But you’re all still clearly spent.”

Kokichi could only shrug. He’d never had a break-up, and the only times he and Kaito ever got close Kokichi felt like his entire world was shattering apart. And…even still, he wasn’t really sure if that was him being over-dramatic. If Tim and Miya never had to feel like that? Kokichi would count it as a good thing. 

…things were okay. Not okay-okay, but…things were livable now. Kokichi felt like he could hold Kaito’s hand on the way home and not feel tons of guilt sinking him down into the road. He felt like they could chill out at home and be comfortable. Kokichi still had a way to go in truly earning Kaito’s trust and forgiveness, but…they could handle life in the meantime now. 

Looking up with a small, but radiantly thankful smile, Kokichi gave Dr. Mariah a nod. “I won’t argue that. Thank you for…being understanding and in confidence with all this. And for taking the time for an extra long session. Do you think our old weekly appointments would be good, or should we schedule something more frequently?”

“We’ll schedule weekly for now, but if there’s another major event? I need you all to not feel the need to wait. I have other patients, but my days aren’t packed, specifically to open myself up to emergency sessions.” Dr. Mariah said, narrowing her eyes, “Use them.”

While Maki and Shuichi nodded, clearly at ease with this, Kaito looked around the group, something… uneasy and uncertain in him. But… no, it’d be fine. It’d be fine. They could all handle this. The session was always going to end eventually.

“...oh, ya know, I think I should make cookies when we get back!” Kaito decided, looking to the others earnestly, “Chocolate chips? I was looking over the recipe a week back and thought it looked pretty simple! You guys want cookies?”

Maki shrugged at the cookie suggestion, getting up, but frowned as Shuichi turned to Dr. Mariah and bowed, quickly following in suit out of respect for Shuichi, Kaito quick to do the same. “As Kokichi said… thank you.” Shuichi said, his tone shockingly sincere as he remained bowed, “Our groups not been easy, and this level of difficulty… you’ve never so much as let it phase you, and you’ve never been truly unkind to us, as complicated as it’s all gotten. We are in your debt.”

“You are not. You pay your bills very punctually every month.” Dr. Mariah reminded him gently, nodding her head lightly back (and she had not always been kind, though fate had been kind enough to undo her mistake)  “But, in every other respect, you are welcome. I consider myself an excellent therapist, and you four’s case has put that skillset under true pressure. I am pleased that my biggest skeptic of the group feels I am living up to the challenge.”

Sometimes it was hard to seek help during an emergency, but…they could hold each other accountable. Shuuichi had shown that after the heat wave. And…well. At least there weren’t secrets between them all now--at least not ones as big as Kokichi’s Empathy. They could talk about things now. 

…maybe that was daunting. 

Getting up out of his chair, Kokichi gently touched along Kaito’s arms, smiling softly. “Nothing quite like a fresh chocolate chip cookie. You definitely have my vote, hun. Would you want a sous-chef?” Though…Kokichi was pretty drained. It hadn’t just been an emotional time for him. But…if there was anything left Kaito wanted to talk about, he wanted to be there. 

Huffing a small laugh at the sorta joke Dr. Mariah cracked, Kokichi gave her another smile. “See you next week.”

-

Kaito wondered what the point of the baking soda was.

He understood everything else. The two different sugars, two cups worth overall, were as eye-rolling as they were necessary to the cookies existence. So much sugar. And butter! Butter that Kaito dutifully shaved into thin lines, as instructed by the recipe, before mixing and mashing it with the far too much sugar. Sugar, butter, a touch of vanilla extract because apparently literal handfuls of sugar and butter alone were not enough to make it sweet. All that for the flavor, flour to give it substance.

But why the touch of baking soda in hot water? It was such a small thing, a mere teaspoon, and it looked like basically nothing when poured in with the rest of the ingredients. Was it really expected to spread into everything else, even if Kaito stirred and stirred and stirred? How? Even if Kaito succeeded, it’d still be spread so thin. Certainly it couldn’t be touching all of the batte. Certainly most of the batter went without the baking soda. So why add it at all? What was it doing to the batter that it did manage to influence? Anything?

Kaito supposed he could ask Chako, but he liked the act of wondering more than he wanted to actually know. Wondering what baking soda did were the easy questions. Especially for someone like Kaito, who didn’t actually need to know why the recipe worked. It just did, so long as he followed it loyally. The world told him, add in baking soda and cookies will appear. And lo, as it was written, so did come forth the little brown treats, perfect and edible in every way. Kaito’s faith rewarded.

The cookies came out well. The smell of them, at least for a time, even managed to beat out the smell of baby powder.

Shuichi was quick to fall asleep when Kaito took over baby duty, and Kokichi had long been passed out, so very few cookies were tried that night. That was alright, they’d be there tomorrow. Miyako, watched by grandpa all day, was apparently very tuckered out, and she barely stirred during feeding and changing, doing both half asleep. It was proving to be an easy night. Kaito could probably go to sleep and let the feeding alarm wake him up for Miyako’s next meal. 

In his defense, he tried. He scrunched up on the window seat, listening to his baby breathe, and watched the bed where his partners were curling up into each other, Kokichi trying valiantly in his sleep to crawl entirely on top of Shuichi, who looked like he was trying to suffocate himself on his pillow despite laying entirely on his back. They were cute. Kaito always liked watching them sleep.

He tried to sleep himself.

-

Miyako was particularly energetic that morning, so Kokichi decided that she could have some morning training too. Tummy time was going swimmingly, Miyako able to lift her head and wiggle around on the soft mat Kokichi laid out. And, out of solidarity, Kokichi was on his stomach too, having a light chat with his daughter. 

“...so, apparently, rubies are gettin’ really big lately. Am-chan’s settin’ up with makin’ things with red garnet and topaz and even a few glass pieces, just to cover budgets and all that. You haven’t really had much of an opinion at all on your anklet though, huh? But if you end up liking jewelry, your auntie is gonna be over the moon--she always looks so happy to see I’m wearing it when we see each other.”

Kokichi looked over his shoulder, his legs up in the air and putting said anklet on display. “It doesn’t bother me as much as I thought--got used to it really quickly. It’s pretty comfortable, all things considered.”

Crossing his arms under his chin as Miyako wiggled, Kokichi grinned at her. “And they’re red--your favorite color, right? Just like Dad.”

Kaito looked over his shoulder, glancing at Kokichi and his daughter and grinning warmly at the sight. Cute. He was finishing up the flowers he had started painting on the crib in his manic state, wanting to finish the project now in his calmer state if only because, like… it was his baby’s crib! He couldn’t leave it half done! 

“Is my favorite color red?” Kaito mused, peering at the red flower he was painting at this moment, “I suppose it is. I do love the color maroon, which is just dark red, really… I wonder what Miya’s favorite color really will be? It could end up being just as chaotic and all over the place as yours is, or maybe she’ll pick a few beloved colors like me and base her personal designs around them… I love him, but man I hope she doesn’t take after Shuichi and decide black is the only color worth anything. I guess maybe if she’s inclined towards gothism or professionalism that’ll be alright, to an extent… but heck, even Dr. Mariah’s goth tastes are full of color… heh.”

Kaito suddenly peeked over at his husband, a curious gleam in his eyes, “Hey, ‘Kichi… you go through any big fashion phases as a teen? Were you ever a goth all in black, or a punk with all your clothes ripped up? Ever have a ‘fedora’ phase?”

Kokichi giggled softly. “I meant more that you’re red, so of course it’s Miya’s favorite color. But you do tend to wear a lot of reds and warmer colors. Maroon, huh? Noted~”

He didn’t particularly have any plans that could be themed around a particular color, but it was always good to know. Maybe he’d look into maroon cushions…

Snorting, Kokichi rolled his eyes a little. “Considering I mostly just started buying clothes for myself? And a lot of my clothes I’ve had since I was a pre-teen? I don’t think so. I’ve always enjoyed bright colors and loose cuts. Unless you wanna count, like, ‘blanket chic’, I’ve been pretty consistent.”

“What about you? I can see Kai-chan trying out a lot of styles, seeing what fits for him.”

Kaito chuckled, returning to his flowers. Seemed like he envisioned Kokichi in more costumes than Kokichi himself had ever worn. Which… fair. Kaito could envision a lot of costumes.

Though, as he tried to think back… “Ya know, I definitely have, but…” Kaito paused in his painting, focusing on his memories as he tilted his head a little, “... heh. A lot of what I was wearing at the time, whichever time it was? Was mostly about trying to attract specific people, or specific types. It was always about being attractive, ya know? So whatever I imagined the other person thought was attractive? I’d start buying and wearing clothes that fit it.”

“Like, for instance, I wore a lot of sporty stuff when I was dating Rey– uh, this guy I dated in my freshman year of college, he was a wrestler, I’ve mentioned him before. Anyway, he loved me in sweatpants and tanktops and hoodies, so that’s what I wore. But, all of that stuff basically disappeared from my wardrobe when I started dating Korekiyo the next year, cause Kore’s got such a, ya know–” Kaito paused, before laughing, “Or I guess you wouldn’t know. Korekiyo had a… strong sense of fashion. He screamed with his whole being ‘aesthetic’. So I sorta had to match the design, though he didn’t like me in all black, thankfully. Did like leather, though…”

Kaito blinked at the flowers, momentarily startled when his eyes and his mind screamed such different images at him, before he came back to reality. “Got back into capes and armor after I left him though, and it’s been basically that and the sorta style you’ve seen from me since then. Oh! I went through this one phase where I looooved accessories. I think I was fourteen? I’m talking, like, any day I wasn’t at some sort of formal event? Covered in bracelets and necklaces and pocket watches, hats and sunglasses, just any stupid random accessory you can think of, no sense of coherency or greater theme, just ‘how many accessories can I put on today’.”

That made sense for Kaito. He loved being attractive, and if he was seeing anyone, then it made sense to maximize his attractive time by following their aesthetics. It…kind of sounded exhausting to Kokichi but, well, that’s why he didn’t do that. Truthfully, he liked how different all their styles were as a group these days. 

Laughing softly, matching Miyako’s wiggles on the ground, Kokichi grinned up at Kaito. “I kind of love that? I feel like I’d have a lot of fun puttin’ the whole vanity box on at once, but I get too annoyed with too much clutter on my body. Gimme a scarf and an anklet and that’s as far as I’ll go.”

Propping his chin up, Kokichi gave Kaito an adoring look. “I like your style these days, for as much as I complain about how long you take to get ready. Kai-chan’s absolutely dressin’ attractively to me.” 

There was a short pause before Kokichi flushed lightly and let out a small sigh. “...I was practicing making figments, once? I was struggling to not create the same one over and over… I ended up practicing with memories of you and…it got really out of hand. Had to start defining all the Kaitos.” He rolled his eyes a little. “There was one we called ‘Hot Kaito’.”

“Only one was ‘Hot Kaito’?” Kaito asked automatically, barely thinking about it. “Man, I gotta up my game.”

Moving onto pink paint to create more flowers, Kaito paused to actually try to decipher what Kokichi just said. Figments… “So, you were making more mini-me’s?” He clarified, “Or, something like that?”

Kokichi snorted. “You’re always Hot Kaito. But we needed a way to talk without making things even more confusing, so that one was like… Well. He ended up looking like you when I find you most attractive. Honestly? Some of the most embarrassed I’ve been in front of my mentor. No one else needs to know that stuff.”

“Sort of,” Kokichi hummed, scooting forward on his belly to let Miyako play with his fingers. “Chibi Kaito was there, since we were doing some memory retrieval experiments too, but all the other Kaitos were, like…you. Except, of course, they were just my memories of you…but yeah.”

“There was Alpha Kaito, which was just…you that day. That day I got really low and bummed out about feeling like a freak. Then there was Hot Kaito, who was kind of a perfect figment, and easy on the eyes to boot,” Kokichi counted, wiggling his fingers in Miyako’s iron grip. “Then there was Wedding Kaito--a version of you from the day we got married, which was…surreal. And then…”

Kokichi frowned softly. “...Kid Kaito. Because…I apparently did that…nightmare saving stuff to you when we were kids.”

“...except you weren’t asleep.”

“...awwwwww. You made yourself a Kaito harem? I knew we were more alike than we thought.” Kaito chuckled, dipping his brush a bit, trying to imagine all the different Kaito’s as Kokichi explained them. A ‘hot’ Kaito, okay… Kaito was curious what that looked like, but was too busy laughing when Kokichi explained that Hot Kaito had been created in front of his mentor. Poor ‘Kichi… exposing his harem to his teacher. Cute little perv. And ‘alpha’ Kaito, who was apparently just the most current version at the time…

Kaito tried to recall that day. “The day we were hanging out in the yards? Oooooh… ya know, I was convinced you were just feeling the responsibility of being leader, that day. But I guess a part of you was freaking out over being a super cool mind guy like our super cool daughter? Either way, still not a freak, or monster, or whatever nonsense you were talking about.”

“Wedding Kaito… aw, I bet that was cute.” Kaito mused, painting another pink flower, “Man, I can’t imagine trying to ‘meet’ you all over again, but, like… knowing literally anything about you and Dicea and Dicean culture? I have to imagine it’d make the intro process a whole different experience.”

And Kaito startled entirely, looking over to Kokichi again mid-brush stroke as he asked, “What? Huh? Wait, we’re talking you literally talked to me when I was a kid, or we talking like… heck, I don’t know, metaphorically? Sometimes I don’t know how literally to take the things you explain. You talked to my inner-child?”

Kokichi sighed softly and shook his head. “...when I was six, and you were, like, nine or ten? I felt your distress while I was sleeping, and kinda…projected myself at you? Or portaled to you? You were trying to set a room in the Luminary castle on fire…and I talked you out of it.”

He looked to the side, still not…feeling great about that, even if starting the fire would’ve been a huge problem. “The brain never truly forgets anything, so a version of you was still in my memories, so I was able to make a memory that…looked like the kid version of you. Kid Kaito was a perfect figment, so he had all my memories too, but…yeah.”

Kokichi closed his eyes. “...it wasn’t something I could control, but…I’m sorry.”

Kaito gave Kokichi a long, baffled look… before his eyes widened to an almost comical proportion.

“You were Atua!??”

Miyako, contently, crowed out, “Uwah, ahhh!” in solidarity to dad making noise, having been trying unsuccessfully to drag Kokichi closer to herself so that she could try nibbling on his hand. He was heavy though… she’d keep trying.

Kaito’s logic caught up to him immediately though, as he sputtered, “Or, well, no… you probably weren’t always him, you’d have been around constantly, but, like… that day you were Atua??”

It made sense, that that would’ve been the conclusion Kaito drew. He had said that’s what he thought the voices were…and if they really weren’t imagination?

Kokichi opened his eyes, giving Miyako a loving look, before sighing and looking up at Kaito. “That’s the only memory I found of you, before we actually meant. So…yeah, I guess. Before Alter Ego came to me? Basically everything I did as an Empath was unconscious, so…it wouldn’t have been startling to me that you could hear me while awake, though it should have.”

Kokichi’s brow furrowed, stomach sinking a little. “...there was one other person I know had been able to hear me while I was projecting and they weren’t asleep, but…” Kokichi’s lips thinned. “...but she wasn’t exactly awake, either.”

Kaito considered Kokichi a bit, before putting down his brush and scooting over. Taking Miyako’s feet and playing with them a little, feeling her kick in his grip, Kaito said, “That sounds like a whole story, in that little pause. Do you want to talk about it?”

“There’s not a lot to it…” Kokichi sighed softly. “...there was a little girl in Novoselic that fell over a wall. Her arm was…in really bad shape and…I don’t know how long she’d been there. She…she wasn’t okay…”

The corners of Kokichi’s lips tightened as he gently cradled the side of Miyako’s head, his touch soft and tender and loving. “She was by a waterfall and no one could find her… And…so I went out towards a boat I could see in the distance and…well, possessed a guy. Told them that there was a hurt little girl over there that needed her dad--I was pretty young too. They’d headed over before the memory ended for me, so…I can hope that she’s alright.”

“Holy crud, Kokichi, that’s amazing.” Kaito said, eyes widening, though he winced as he thought about it more, “God, could you imagine how her parents must have felt? God, if it was me I’d be losing my mind… you did something so good, for her and hers. It must have felt like one of the saints took a personal interest in them. Thank god you were there…”

“Same for me, honestly.” Kaito said, massaging Miyako’s leg, while she leaned into Kokichi’s hand, making a valiant baby attempt to roll over. Not quite there yet though. “I remember that day. Setting the study on fire, right? Had to have been, never tried to set anywhere else on fire. I was literally right on the verge of doing it, I had all the tinder and wood set up, I was so excited… and then Atua came by in this cute little voice and said, ‘Nope. Bad idea.’”

“And it was. I could have hurt myself or someone else, and even more than that, that year word about how… ‘off’ I was was going to start spreading in a more serious way. If I was ten, then about a year later there were going to start being really serious meetings about what the future would look like if anything happened to Byakuya and I was next in line.Things got… really intense, for a few years there. And that was just anger issues and hearing voices, could you imagine what would have happened if I set the castle on fire? Forget just giving up my claim, I can’t even imagine the lengths my parents would have to go through to reassure the elites that I was out of the picture.”

“You saved that little girl, I’m certain of it. And ya saved me, beautiful.” Kaito grinned, “Why be sorry?”

That was the thing, at the end of the day, that he and Alter Ego had talked about at the time too. Kokichi had likely saved that girl’s life. Things like helping people solve their stresses in a dream…probably didn’t need to happen. But Kokichi had made the difference in a life or death situation and…that made what he could do a gift. 

Kokichi let out a breath and reached out to touch Kaito’s arm for a moment before focusing on Miyako again. “...I don’t regret it. But…I am sorry for intruding like that. I would do it again if the option came, I’m not sorry for what I did…but just how it happened.”

“...and I know there probably wasn’t anything I could’ve done,” he said more softly. “But…it still hurt, seeing me address you wanting to start the fire and…not why you were doing something like that in the first place. I can’t blame a kid for not realizing, not even myself. And…I wasn’t much more than an imaginary voice in your head. There’s nothing I could’ve done to help what was going on…but I wish there had been.”

That he could’ve…given Kaito a defense back then so Tengan couldn’t fuck with him anymore. That he could’ve gotten someone else to listen and realize what the bastard was doing. Or just…made someone pay attention to Kaito more, so his positive adult oversight hadn’t ended at eight. 

But there wasn’t anything he could’ve done. He just…kept Kaito from doing something that would’ve made things even worse. 

“Aw, you were just a wee lad peeking into his future husbands head.” Kaito grinned, not looking nearly as disturbed at the idea as Kokichi was, “I think it’s sweet that you wish you could have done more, but… okay, I say this knowing how it sounds, because all this dramatic stuff happened and I was about to set a room on fire and blah, blah, blah~”

Kaito laid his hands down below Miyako’s toes, letting her kick his palms enthusiastically. “But… I didn’t need saving, anyway. I was a happy kid who went through bad moments. And, sure… that was a bad week. But I was ten and testing my boundaries and it was only a bad week because Tengan was pissed that I was literally hiding from tutoring sessions I didn’t want to participate in, and by the time guards found me it was usually too late to do anything he felt like doing. I had pulled that off a few times before he, uh… well, it was a bad week. But me setting the room on fire was a huge part just me feeling rebellious, not because I was, like, miserable or anything.”

“I was a happy kid.” Kaito said again, eyes a little far away. And while he knew, objectively, that was an insane thing to claim… he didn’t feel like it was a lie. “I didn’t need saving. My little baby husband wasn’t leaving me to suffer. He just helped me through a particularly bad week. And for that I am very lucky and very grateful.”

“...though, man, what were the odds??”

Kaito was a happy kid…that had been abused by the people meant to look out for him, and ignored by the others. Had been forced into horrible things and had been treated cruelly by many. 

…but he had been happy. And…really, Kokichi could be thankful for that. 

Kokichi sighed a little before pressing a light kiss to the back of Miyako’s head. “Apparently not that astronomical. During that experiment, we had Chibi Kaito eventually specifically look for cases where I had possessed someone and…apparently he had to skip over quite a few dream-hopping memories. To no one’s surprise, I’m unconsciously a major busy body.”

“...but it is kind of incredible,” he murmured with a soft smile. “Who knew I’d end up marrying one of the people I’d tried to help? Though, with how endeared I was at the races you did afterward? I think it was inevitable.”

“Races… oh yeah, that did happen, didn’t it?” Kaito grinned, “Man… what a busy childhood you had. It’s a shame you couldn’t keep those memories when you had them. For a shut-in with no friends, you were very social.”

“Seeing them now?” Kokichi huffed, though there was a playful smile on his face. “I’m so frustrated. I got to talk with so many different people from different places, and saw all sorts of crazy stuff… It’s nuts I didn’t go harder into art. I hope all those people are doing alright, these days.”

-

They had dropped Maki off to therapy, wishing her luck, before going off to finally get Kaito some zenith clothes. Shuichi was watching Miyako, but Kaito had gotten him to swear he and Maki were also going to get themselves some nice festivity clothes, partly to not be the only Luminary dressing up– Tim had refused– and partly because he wanted to see Maki and Shuichi in the clothes– Tim refusing had been a blow, Kaito had wanted to see his sun in a neat little festival robe thing.

Though, as he looked around the store… it honestly just looked like a lot of fabric to him. He could barely tell design or cuts when they were all folded against the walls like that. He supposed that average Dicean would know what the cut looked like already, based on the names, and were judging entirely on fabric design, but Kaito couldn’t grasp the image at all, let alone what it would look like on him.

“...Okay, babe, be honest with me.” Kaito finally said, pointing at the various walls, “What, socially, am I absolutely not supposed to wear?”

Kokichi was pleasantly surprised to hear that Kaito wanted to get some traditional clothes to wear on Zenith. Considering all the holidays they’d ignored and what he wore to the festivals they did go to, Kokichi had kind of expected for Zenith to be the same, Kaito just dressing nicely in his own way. Which a lot of people did for Zenith too, but…it was always really nice, seeing people break out the fancy clothes. 

“Um…” Kokichi hummed, his eyes growing big in interest at all the nice cloth patterns, though he wouldn’t even dare to think of wearing anything but the yukata Denji had been making for him at this point. “...I mean, if there was anything taboo, I don’t think they’d be selling it. Mostly it’s just…not wearing unsecured robes--but even then some people turn it into a fashion statement…”

“I guess mostly…the way to narrow down what style you want is, do you wanna wear pants or not?”

“...am I expected to wear pants? Your outfits never have pants.” Kaito mused, still trying to sus out any fashion pitfalls. He knew asking Kokichi was dangerous territory, cause his husband had the fashion sense of a circus clown. But Kaito had been raised to put a lot of serious thought into the language of clothes, and he did not want to say the wrong thing on his first attempt in Dicea, “Though, you can barely move in those outfits. I’ll be honest, I have no idea how you do those little step things and don’t just fall over.”

There was small whispers, in the corner. Kaito glanced over at two young women, saw their gaze and immediately refocused on the fabrics. Might be a coincidence. Maybe even not a coincidence, just… whatever you want to call two people wanting to whisper to each other in public. Normal. Didn’t have to be rumor related.

Kaito hadn’t heard anything, about Kokichi falling down the stairs after running screaming from the room. About picking him up and bringing him back to the bedroom, rather then medical. Nothing. No one wanted to talk to him about it, no whispers, no stares, nothing.

And for some reason, that only made Kaito more nervous about it. Could really none of those housekeepers thought all of that wasn’t worth talking about it? Maybe it hadn’t looked as bad as it had felt. Cause it had felt nightmarish.

“It’s not as hard as it looks, honestly,” Kokichi mused, still looking around at…well, everything. He should’ve assumed any store Denji recommended was going to be eye-catching. “Since the bottom of yukata or kimono aren’t secured, it’s not like you really just have a little tube to walk in. There’s a lot of leeway, and even more if you don’t care about flashing people.”

Kokichi gave his husband a teasing look. “Though, I’ll put an objection up for that.”

“...mm… Maybe we can get you some underclothes, so it doesn’t feel as weird? Because it’s summer fashion, it shouldn’t make you that much hotter…and you’ve been fine in the summer heat anyway.”

Gravitating towards a selection of red yukata in more masculine cuts, Kokichi hummed. “Honestly…I think the design is one of the most important deciding factors. There are a few different cuts but…they’re pretty much the same. All the style comes from the print and accessories.” 

“Okay…”

Kaito followed Kokichi’s path on instinct, and his eyes scanned through the various red fabrics. Aw, his husband must have remembered what he said yesterday… that was sweet. He really did like the color red. He wasn’t always thrilled it was his hair color, but otherwise, it was such a warm, eye catching color.

More whispering. Kaito glanced over his shoulder, but the women literally weren’t even looking in their direction. He was just being oversensitive. Paranoid.

Respectfully only touching the very edges of the cloths with his thumbs, getting a sense of feel of the fabric, Kaito’s eyes lingered on a red fabric with a golden bird on its side… that was pretty cool, “Are we allowed to try these on?”

“Should be,” Kokichi hummed. It looked like there was already an obi with the set and…well, it wouldn’t be hard to get some underarmor. He was sure he’d seen some in the back of the store with the changing rooms. 

Lifting an arm and trotting away slightly, Kokichi called out to a person he’d seen behind a counter earlier--most likely an employee. “Excuse me! Is it alright to try on a yukata?”

Getting an okay and a key to one of the rooms, Kokichi returned to his husband triumphantly. “Do you want help putting it on?”

Holding the fabrics and patiently waiting for him, Kaito’s eyes widened slightly at the offer… before they narrowed suspiciously. 

“Do you just wanna see me get dressed, or am I actually going to need help figuring out how to put it on?” He asked suspiciously, though this being Kaito, he was far more suspicious about the fact that the clothes might be tricky, rather than his husband wanting a chance to ogle him. One was totally understandable, the other was… how complicated could the robe things be???

Kokichi rolled his eyes fondly. “I can never tie the obi right when I’m dressing myself--why do you think Denji-chan helps me dress when I have to get all fancy? And you’ve never worn one before, hun. Just offerin’.”

“Oh my god, right, that’s what this thing is.” Kaito realized, looking at the obi that Kokichi had put in his arms, having not been thinking about it that much. “The tie thing. Oh, man… I really like this tie thing on you.” Kaito recalled, very fondly. There had been something really, really appealing in a piece of clothing Kokichi had needed Kaito’s help taking off…

And now he had a tie thing. Hmm. A little strange in the context Kaito had for these things, but alright. “I mean, if there’s a specific way to tie them, sure, I could use the help babe. Hopefully the changing room can fit both of us.”

Kaito had been right to hope. The changing room wasn’t a full room size, likely to make room for a few of them across the small store. It wasn’t quite closet sized, but in the exact same vein, it wasn’t as big as their own closet either, and a small sitting bench only made it seem smaller. Making sure it was clear first, Kaito put the items on the bench, checked himself out in the mirror real quick, before starting to get undressed. 

As he did so, the whispering women came to mind… and trying to sound casual, Kaito said, “So, uh, babe… has anyone asked you about the other day? When you fell on the stairs?”

Kokichi could only snort. Kaito would get to see it again during Zenith--though for this yukata, the obi wasn’t the thing keeping the robes together. If Kaito opted for full underarmor, they’d be looking pretty similar, though Kokichi’s would just be…the weird amalgam Denji had made to make a ‘sporty’ yukata.

It was a snug fit in the changing room, but Kokichi doubted Kaito minded any, and he certainly didn’t. Taking a quick peek at Kaito as he undressed (because while he was there to help with the robes, Kokichi wouldn’t not ogle him), Kokichi raised his eyebrows before sighing softly.

“Yeah, a few folks. People wanting to check in that I was alright. Let ‘em know I was having a bad day--considering it got around I’d been to the med bay too, I think that made sense to most people.”

Kokichi scrunched his nose a bit, not…very pleased. “It’d been a while since I had a…big public freakout like that, but there are more than a few folks in the castle who’ve been around long enough to see ‘em. People have bad days, and some are a little louder than others.”

Kaito nodded slightly at that. That made sense… but… 

Kicking off his pants– was he supposed to get undressed to his underwear? He had no idea. Kokichi hadn’t stopped him, anyway– and unfolding the robe, giving it an appreciate look real quick, he realized after a second that he needed to put on the black under armor shirt thing first. Putting it back down, Kaito maneuvered around Kokichi, grabbing it and put it on over his head, saying as he did so, “Okay, that’s all fine. Good, even, I’m glad people are checking in and being understanding.”

Popping his head through the hole, Kaito adjusted the black shirt before saying uncertainly, “...I’m not accusing you of lying or anything, but… you have not wanted to talk to me before, about people accusing me of stuff. If that’s happening, you can talk to me about it, I won’t get mad.”

…damn did that shirt hug everything. That’s what underarmor did, so it wasn’t surprising, and Kaito did have plenty to hug, but…damn.

But Kokichi sighed. “...there were some people who…asked if things were alright. Between us. If I needed help… But people at home know who we are, how we are. And…it’s more just checking the bases than an accusation, I think… They accepted it when I said I was alright.”

“More than alright, really, when I have a husband who’ll clean my scrapes and tuck me in even when I’m being a hysterical asshole.”

“Who’s a hysterical asshole? You were… excitable and perturbed.” Kaito decided, now that the under armor was on reaching for the robe and… okay, guess it was just the robe and the tie thing– obi, had to remember that word. Obi.-- left. Well, Kaito didn’t get to let his legs breathe too often, so he guessed it was alright.

Putting the robe around himself, Kaito looked as it hung loosely around himself, looking it over in the mirror. Wow. Big sleeves. He wasn’t sure he had ever worn anything with giant sleeves like this before, not even bath robes. It was like he had wings. Weird. Trying to work out how to fold it in a way that would keep it closed– he supposed that was where the obi came in– he mused aloud, “And you only ran off cause I yelled at you like a dick. Man… Maki and Shuichi really shouldn’t have left us alone. I guess I get what her thought process was, she probably knew we’d both do something ridiculous but… that got really alarming, for a minute there…”

Peering at his neck, Kaito suddenly laughed, despite the serious conversation. “I only just realized that I have to button that top part of the armor. It’s gonna look like I’m wearing a choker at this rate, and if that diamond was any bigger I’d freaking call it a boob window. Is all the under armor here this thirsty, or did you pick one you knew I’d like?”

Kokichi sighed softly and shook his head a little, but didn’t argue. He…really hadn’t been his best that day. In fairness, he was reeling from a year’s worth of memories hitting him at once, which included that knowledge that magic was real and extremely common in their world, but…even for something shocking, he hadn’t handled it with any amount of grace. And Kaito took the full brunt of it. 

“You were alarmed, rightfully so. For the first time realizing that sort of thing, it was one of the worst experiences. I don’t blame you for freaking out either.” Kokichi reached up to smooth the black collar lining of the yukata, helping it lay flat against Kaito’s body. Looked like they did get a good size for him, too. 

Letting Kaito fasten the under armor before he helped secure the yukata and obi, Kokichi smirked. “You mean one that I like? And…honestly I’m a little biased--there’s a high collar version that’s pretty common that I have a thing for too. I just think they look nice.”

“And you look very nice,” Kokichi winked.

“Oh man,” Kaito looked himself over, turning his body to and fro, “Wooooow, I super do though. Damn. Was Hot Kaito wearing this? Cause that’s what I would put him in.” 

Whistling at himself a little, adjusting the obi around his waist a little, Kaito displayed himself to Kokichi, “Well? What do you think? We nail it the first time? You wouldn’t mind walking around with this on your favorite holiday?”

Patting himself down, Kaito considered the golden bird before stressing, “And if any of this has any alternative conext, please let me know. I don’t want to be caught unaware. Don’t let your poor husband embarrass himself.”

Kokichi looked on appreciatively, smoothing down the robe and helping it sit where it should, but…Kaito’s body did most of the work. In every sense. Flushing lightly, Kokichi considered that maybe there would be a new Hot Kaito in his repertoire now. 

“I think it’s really working,” Kokichi nodded, eyes ogling how Kaito’s frame tapered to his waist, accentuated by the stylistic obi. “It’s definitely your color, and we totally eyeballed your size. I’d be surprised if there weren’t adjustments Denji-chan wanted to make, but…”

Kokichi gave a double thumbs up with a grin. “I’m voting for this one.” Though he rolled his eyes a little afterward. “...I guess people could read the bird as a phoenix? But that’s even more in line with Zenith imagery, if just for the fire. Rebirth is usually more of a concept for Hanami, but no one really uses imagery other than flowers, so… You’re good, hun.”

“Damn fine.”

“Mmmhm~” Kaito hummed, returning to appreciating himself in the mirror. He really did like it. Admittedly, it wasn’t the sort of style he could see himself in all the time, but… it was nice. Airy, at least his lower half. He almost felt formidable in it, until he looked at the tiny window of skin the under armor was cut to show off and found himself laughing at it again. “I wonder if a cape would look right with this… I could experiment with some stuff…”

Looking back at Kokichi, then glancing at the door… Kaito grinned, stepping close and leaning over, tucking his finger beneath Kokichi’s chin and pushing his face up a little. And knowing how Kokichi might get alarmed, he clarified immediately, saying softly, a touch of coy in his voice, “I know nothing gonna happen… but we should test to see if this outfit is good for kissing in. Would hate to wear it on Zenith and find out that these over the top sleeves get in the way of ‘Kichi smooches…”

Kokichi could only let out a fond snort. Nothing (these days, at least) would keep Kaito from his capes. He’d let Kaito experiment, though. See if he ended up with the same styles Kokichi had seen in old drawings and sketches in history books. 

…Kaito would probably look great in a lot of traditional styles…

Widening his eyes a little as Kaito closed the small bit of distance between them, Kokichi flushed, though the spark in his eyes wasn’t panicked. It was…more than a little interested. “Yeah? That is something to take into consideration…”

His flush deepening, Kokichi leaned forward to gently kiss against Kaito’s top lip before leaning back away. “Mm… Might require further testing. But I think that it’s enough to put the investment in so we can test at home.”

Kaito pouted at the brief kiss. Awwww… well, he wouldn’t push. He would take one quick kiss from Kokichi’s cheek, but then he straightened up, “Alright, sounds like a plan. This went quicker than I thought it would, usually it takes a few trips to the changing room to find something I… hold on, dammit…”

Kaito had been trying to untie the obi himself as he talked, cause, seriously, how hard could it be, you just grabbed the ribbon part and pulled. But he tugged at it and… it just went nowhere. The fuck… “Weird kinda knot…?”

In a weird, sudden burst of ‘never say die’, Kaito kept fiddling with it, his attempt looking less ‘sexy’ than Kokichi’s time had, and more like Kaito might accidentally dislocate his shoulder in a second as he said, “Wait, wait, almost got it that time!”

Kokichi hummed, pleased with the cheek kiss, and… Well. If Kaito had found Kokichi’s obi struggles hot, Kokichi just found Kaito’s endearing. Laughing softly, though not at Kaito’s attempts, Kokichi reached around his husband, letting his touch linger around his waist before gently un-securing the wrap of the obi, letting it loosen before he unclasped the more decorative piece. 

“Told ya it wasn’t easy.”

“Since this did go fast…is there anything else you wanna get in town while we’re out? Clothes or crafting stuff or furniture or…whatever?” Maybe Kokichi could convince Kaito that they needed to hit a pastry shop for Shuuichi. Since they’d left him home and all.

Kaito felt his face burn red at the way Kokichi lingered around him, and while he had just been playful before, a genuine flush of arousal ran through him. Wooof. Calm it down there. He needed to get back into his own clothes, the robe without the obi felt a little, uh… too easy. Open. Exposed was maybe the right word, but Kaito’s mind avoided it because it felt like it had weirdly heavy connotations and didn’t say what he meant. 

It was just too easy, to do something sexual wearing something like this. The ease made the idea too tempting. Time to wear some pants and fasten a belt, dammit.

“Mmmm… sure. I can’t remember the last time we just walked around town together, like… normally, ya know? I think last time was our night hike with Miya. Which was a lot of fun, but the idea of it just being the two of us is still kinda nice.” Kaito hummed happily, folding the robe and pulling the under armor off, which was equally difficult, dammit. Finished struggling out of his clothes– not entirely with dignity, having to do one of those dancing little wiggles out of his shirt– Kaito moved on to getting dressed in his old clothes again, “Maybe we can grab some food somewhere? You hungry for anything? Don’t say pastries.” 

Cute…

Hot Kaito was definitely getting a twin. That little wiggle dance? Showing off all Kaito’s abs? The little jiggle as his pecs practically popped out of the shirt? Oooof.

“I like taking walks with you,” Kokichi hummed, just…content in checking his husband out. “Sometimes I miss messing around in town as much as I used to, but…I feel like I have more fun every time we go out these days.”

Pouting a little, Kokichi let out an exaggerated sigh. “Ooooookaaaaaaay… Though if we do get food, we should get at least some sort of treat for Shuu-chan. Dooo yooooou…” Kokichi let the words linger as he opened the dressing room door for the two of them once Kaito was dressed, leading the way to the checkout counter. “...hmmmm you wanna try some noodles? I could go for finding a good udon or soba place…though I might wanna get oyakudon if we go to a place like that…”

“Sure, sounds good.” Kaito agreed, absentmindedly taking Kokchi’s hand, “Lead the way.”

-

Thankfully, Kaito felt himself cool down a little in the warm summer air, though Kokichi had insisted that if they didn’t get ice cream– with all the toppings– he was going to melt and die before they ever managed to get to their lunch. And when Kaito couldn’t stink-eye Kokichi’s adorable pout away, he had sighed and agreed, and now they were wandering around eating ice cream, when Kaito got the idea in his head, “You think our cactuses are growing?”

Kokichi hummed happily, licking at his honey-pistachio ice cream (with whipped cream and caramel [which had a totally different flavor profile than honey, Kai-chan] and extra nuts on top aaaaand a cherry) with a hop in his step, thankfully protected from the unrelenting sun beating down on the city. He’d really needed it. 

Looking up at Kaito, he squeezed his hand gently before nodding. “Probably. I’m not super familiar with all the varieties you guys picked out, and I know that some cacti can grow pretty slowly, but…it’s been a few months. They should’ve grown in some way, I think.”

“D’ya wanna head over and take a look?” Kokichi tilted his head with a sunny smile, swinging their arms gently. “Take a nice walk through the community garden to get there? It’ll be like our first walk together…”

Kaito, who was eating strawberry ice cream, having wanted something a little more subdued than mint but a little more run than vanilla that day, hummed to himself a bit, “Yeah, I think so. It’d be nice to see how they’re coming along, and I’d like to see the gardens in full summer anyway. Had I known how few opportunities I’d have to walk this summer, I would have… I dunno, walked slower through them last summer? Enjoyed it more.”

His eyes lingering a little on the people they passed by, he added in, “I would have enjoyed summer clothing more too. Fall and Winter, everyone’s covered, head to toe. It’s so cold here. Back home, you could only get away with dressing that warmly if you were absolutely certain you were gonna be indoors all day. In fact, having on a lot of clothes and layers is kind of a sign of wealth, in Luminary. The more clothes you have on, the less likely your making trips into the market by foot, or working in any capacity beyond desk work.”

Licking his ice cream as they walked, he said, entirely idly, the memory just coming to mind, “Chad really liked it when I dressed my station. I’d dress down to comfortably hang out with other people after school, go messing around, but it always made him grumpy. And when we went on dates, he’d beg me to wear this or that outfit, my nicer stuff… I get why. I think he was proud of me and wanted to show off to other people his catch. Bailsong was like that a little too, but nowhere near as much as Chad. When we went on dates, he wanted the best clothes, at the nicest places, with the top-shelf booze, and he wanted to show it all off to everyone.”

Kaito chuckled a little, both exasperated and fond as he said, “Most expensive partner I ever had, honestly. But I loved doing it. He’d always look so smug about it, and he had this smile… it was like for a night, I could make him king, and he reveled in it. I liked how happy it made him.”

Kokichi sighed softly, though there wasn’t any resentment in it. “I know what you mean. Like…I had expected things to change after our marriage, but the way they changed was totally out of my expectations. I know why we didn’t, and being the people we were we wouldn’t have made different decisions, but… I do wish we had gotten out more. Explored more.”

But it didn’t mean they’d lost their window. There would be time in the future to explore the world, or even just the city around them, and it was even just a future where Miyako was more grown up. She was still a little uncomfortable sitting at the side of the main hall, people watching, but as she got more acclimated to people, Kokichi wanted to take all the walks he could with her. 

He wouldn’t want to force his daughter to talk to strangers, but…he did want the world to be open for her. 

Kokichi gave Kaito a curious look as he started to talk about Luminary. He…didn’t really get what it meant to not go to the market on foot (how else was there? And he supposed it could be a thing about having other people do your shopping, but…that was really boring) but he could see the work angle. And because that was the expectation…

Kokichi…didn’t have the best opinion of Chad, from what he’d initially heard from Shuuichi and Maki, and then what Kaito explained in therapy, but…Kaito liked his relationships. And Kokichi just…couldn’t shit on them to him. 

“Sounds a little overwhelming to me,” Kokichi softly laughed, “But it takes all kinds. Sounds a little like the makings of a sugar relationship, since he was happy with expensive things, and you liked seeing him happy.”

“...do you wanna do stuff like that? Like, going fancy places ‘n shit.”

“Oh, hell yeah, I was all about being the sugar daddy,” Kaito grinned, giving Kokichi a small wink, before chuckling, “But, you would have never said that to Chad, and neither would I have. People would make that joke sometimes, and he really did not like it. He didn’t have a temper, but there were certain things that would make him go off, and that was one of them. I think the idea embarrassed him or something. I don’t know why, I didn’t mind it, I loved spending coin on him.”

At the last question, Kaito’s eyebrows shot up a little, looking at Kokichi curiously… “...does Dicea have fancy places?”

Chad sounded like a pretty prideful kind of guy. Some people could be a little touchy about money, and…in a place where the disparity was blown up to a thousand like in Luminary? Kokichi could see it being way more of a hot button issue. 

Matching Kaito’s gaze, Kokichi shrugged with a small smile. “Honestly? I don’t know, ‘cause I don’t know what a fancy place in Luminary would look like. But there are places that are a little more expensive and, like…even I would get uncomfortable going in a tee-shirt and shorts. If it’s something you miss, we could try one out sometime and see if it’s the vibe you wanted.”

…honestly the steakhouse they went to would be something Kokichi considered fancy, but there were more…er, less accessible places around, if that was the metric. And there were always things like chef clubs, where you had to get an invitation to a planned meal where innovative chefs tried out experimental menus. Kokichi had read some reviews for some and they sounded pretty wild, and like quite the events.

“I mean… sure? If we ever have the opportunity, that could be fun.” Kaito mused, honestly not really sure how Luminary’s standard of ‘fancy’ would work in Dicea either. Since, well… fanciness was, in essence, defined by having a class system of some sort. Fancy was business and events designed with the uppercrust in mind. In Dicea he supposed the equivalent would just be, mmmm… nice? Well done? Some place recognized for being higher quality then its peers… though Kaito had a feeling even that would be difficult to pin down in Dicea, whose citizens were raised to be praise-shy. Kaito still couldn’t believe that the moving-picture theater wasn’t a much bigger deal than it was right now, pop-culture wise, but people seemed to treat it like any other novelty space in the market. Anything like it in Luminary? Would absolutely be an extravagant event.

Still! If Kokichi essentially wanted to find some nice, specialty experiences to share with him and Shuichi? Hell yeah, Kaito was into it.

It wasn’t long before they found themselves in the garden, which was busy. People jogging, walking and chatting like they were, a surprising number of artists and studiers. Summer was in full bloom and people were taking advantage, enjoying the shade of the gardens and the seatings it provided.

When they got to the cactuses, the area around it was a little less populated, the cacti put into a corner where, if Kaito had to guess, it was less likely some kid running around would trip and throw themselves against it. Not a big problem for his own or Shuichi’s cacti, but Maki’s… 

Kaito grinned, kneeling down in front of them and taking a closer look at the things, “Aw, they’re a little bigger now. Maki’s is looking sharp. I kinda wanna touch it.”

Kokichi smiled, giving Kaito a nod. Especially being around Miyako all the time? Kokichi adored his daughter and loved spending time with her, but it could be fun to go out and have more of an ‘adult’ experience every once in a while. And with Kaito doing his own experiments in the kitchen, not to mention he and Shuuichi would be able to provide feedback about different palettes, Kokichi could probably swing an invitation from someone. Even more if Shuuichi managed to befriend someone in a culinary program at the university, but Kokichi wouldn’t bank on that. 

(It didn’t occur to him that he’d probably be able to get an invitation by simply being the heir apparent. Boasting that royalty had liked their new creation would make for some nice bragging rights.)

Careful to keep a steady grip on his cone, Kokichi felt at ease, seeing how busy the garden was. Life at its fullest, really… He could see himself finding a little corner and just hunkering down, closing his eyes and listening to people come and go around him… It was wonderful. 

But they did have their own purpose. 

Crouching down next to Kaito, Kokichi giggled softly, seeing the little cacti a little bigger now. “You probably could, if you’re gentle. The spines aren’t, like, razor sharp--the damage it’ll do to you is just how much force you put against it. Aww…they are really cute, all lined up in a row like this… You guys did a great job planting them.”

“I feel like we’ve had this conversation before, and the last time I ended up with a poked open finger.” Kaito recalled suspiciously, peering warily at the small, needled cactus. He wondered if Maki had seen it yet. She hadn’t gotten the chance to plant her own cactus. He doubted it bothered her, but it was pretty sweet to see the little things they had picked as a group.

Reaching over to brush Shuichi’s wiggly spine things on his cactus, Kaito enjoyed that for a moment, before reaching over to pet the spine on his own cactus. He was biased, but he still liked his own best. It really did look like a star, and it felt nice to the touch.

“...hey, babe, unless you’re starving and ready to go, you wanna sit around here and enjoy the view for a bit?” Kaito asked, “Maybe we can settle on a sunny bit of grass somewhere. I wanna take off my shoes and bury my toes in some dirt.”

“Well I wasn’t expecting you to try and punch a sea urchin,” Kokichi snorted. “Ya gotta be delicate with creatures like this--they’re not trying to hurt you, they’re just defending themselves. Like I said…it’s not like they’re razor sharp or have venom…in quantities that would hurt a human. It’s like a turtle shell--it’s gonna hurt if you slam your hand down, but you can touch it easily if you’re gentle.”

There weren’t a whole lot of creatures that liked being handled roughly, to Kokichi’s knowledge. He supposed it was a little different for really big creatures, since the impact wouldn’t feel as much compared to a smaller one, but…still. It was best to approach gently.

Raising his eyebrows a little, Kokichi snickered softly. “Ah? It looks like getting ice cream was the right decision after all--I’d be waaaay too overheated and hungry right now otherwise.”

Looking around for a nice spot to sit, Kokichi smiled and rubbed Kaito’s shoulder. “Yeah, I’d absolutely love to take in the sights a little. Let’s chill out and get some sun.”

“Heck yeah~” Kaito grinned, standing back up with a small grunt, stretching his arms over his head, bag of new clothes brushing against his temple for a moment before he let his body relax. Alright, some place nice and sunny…

It took a moment to find a spot they both liked. One spot was too tucked away and didn’t give them a view of the pathways, one was too shady and Kaito had pouted until Kokichi relented. They found a decent spot with some shade, but more importantly had a nice big sunny spot Kaito could lay out and warm up in, and as he did so, he sighed, “I just don’t know how you can stand freezing all the time. If I had your skinny little body, I think I’d be curling up in the warmest spots I could find, constantly. 

Kokichi sat himself down at the edge of the shade, able to lean out of it easily but mostly protected from the sun. “I’m like the ocean, hun--quick to chill, but quick to boil too. I like finding warm spots to settle in, but I’m just gonna overheat and burn if I lay out in the sun like you. Plus??? It’s not even cold in the shade--it’s still really hot out today!”

He stuck his tongue out at Kaito before returning to his ice cream, dutifully licking around the sides so it didn’t melt onto his hands. As much as it could, anyway. “I’d rather keep myself temperate so it’s comfortable to hold hands and snuggle my favorite husband. Unless you’d rather I keep a three-foot bubble of space around me.”

A sigh. “...it’s been hot this summer. That freak heatwave, yeah, but…in general. I don’t think I’ve seen it dip below 75 in weeks. I’m happy we’re getting clear, warm weather, but…man, I miss the rainstorms and overcast days that don’t feel like I’m walking through a bath.”

“Tsk, you say that now.” Kaito huffed, still holding his ice cream but, having half forgotten about it, barely noticing as it melted over the side of the cone, edging ever closer to spilling over his hands and, in time, onto his shirt if he kept laying back on the grass like that. Closing his eyes and enjoying the sunbeams against him, he said, “It’s literally only like this for a few months a year in Dicea, and then we’ll be right back to storms and chilly weather and wind that cuts through you. The heats at least a novelty, if nothing else.”

Kaito liked the baking feelings, when he was sunbathing. It was something he had appreciated even in Luminary, though you couldn’t spend too much time doing it if you didn’t want to be crisp by the end of the day, and it was nicer to not do toooo much moving around in it… unless you were playing a sport. Or sparring. Or walking and swimming with your friends. Or pressing yourself down on someone… besides all those times? Yeah, it was best to just grow perfectly still, utterly at rest, and bake…

“Like a lizard.” Kaito grinned, “You ever seen a lizard just, like, chilling in a sunny spot? Happiest creatures in the world, sunbathing. You have to find your inner lizard, babe.”

“I like the storms,” Kokichi hummed. “And chilly weather can be fun, if you’re dressed for it. While it’s certainly not summer weather, how things are in early and mid-fall, and mid and late spring? Honestly, that’s kind of perfect weather for me. 50 to 70 degrees with a chance of anything…”

Kokichi liked sunny days as much as anyone, but…it did get annoying to have to apply sunscreen every few hours, and have to take showers all the time not just for regular hygiene, but because you’d sweated through all your clothes during the day and you stank. And the ever-present risk of sunstroke if you were too focused and were out for a little too long, or didn’t drink enough. 

Pleasant days without all those risks? Perfect. 

Snorting, Kokichi looked over at Kaito sunbathing contently. “And here I thought you’d never relate to Nini about anything but loving Shuu-chan. I’ll find my inner lizard when my outer human isn’t gonna burn and bake like a potato in a bread tin. Until then, I’m gonna enjoy the sun from the shade.”

“If Nini was just lizard sized, maybe he and I could get along. That thing is as long as I am tall, freaks me out.” Kaito grumbled, though he looked entirely content as he kicked off his shoes, indeed burying his toes into th grass… before frowning as he felt ice cream dribble over his fingers. Damn…

Sitting up with a sigh, Kaito started the process of trying to clean up the sides of the ice cream before it could melt any further around him, eating the thing down with a resigned look on his face. He like ice cream! … Always at first, anyway. He just never ended up wanting a lot of it. And it was challenging to just scarf it down…

“You look like you’re struggling there,” a woman smiled, offering Kato a napkin, “Here. Wouldn’t want to stain your clothes!”

Kaito blinked, a little startled. He hadn’t noticed her coming up at all… before he grinned gratefully at her, taking the offered napkins. “Thanks. Appreciate ya looking out, miss…?”

“You can just call me June.” June said, eyes wide and smile wide, her delicate features somehow hardened and empowered by the sheer energy in her expression and movement as she said, “And when you got napkins to spare? Why not share! Hey, I’m not crazy, right? You’re the princes?”

“Um, yep, got it in one…” Kaito realized he was staring, and felt his neck and ears redden, embarrassed, but just having to say, “Your hair is amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen pigtails that big and loosely curled before, they’re impeccable.”

“Thanks!” June grinned, reaching up idly to adjust one of her hair ties, that one black, the other white. “Can’t take total credit for it. I have a team that works on them. I’m a model~”  

That was just how snakes were. Some tiny snakes were really cute, especially that legendary one--...was Tsuchinoko real? Kokichi didn’t think he’d seen a chapter about it in the book, but it was far from a perfect guide--but…snakes were long! And they were cool that way. 

Kokichi watched fondly as Kaito quickly lapped up his dripping ice cream, though Kaito wasn’t the only person to look over in surprise, not having noticed the woman come over. That was kind…

“Oh wow, that’s exciting,” Kokichi hummed, honestly impressed with the wild style too. “What sort of things do you model for, June?” He…couldn’t remember seeing her likeness on any store advertisements, or product packaging, but it wasn’t like Kokichi was out and about much these days, or bought a lot of things with proprietary packaging. And she could be an art model, too.

Taking this entirely as an invitation to sit down, which she did, June smiled and wink, her entire demeanor suddenly soft and waifish as she spoke to Kokichi, placing her fingertips delicately on her chest as she explained, “I… am a muse~ a professional one too! I don’t so much get my image put down anywhere, that would be a waste of my talents and, honestly, be an insult to my form. I simply go to where artists, composers, geniuses of all shapes and styles, and I spend time with them, inspiring them and filling them with hope until they finish their work or come up with their next big idea!”

Kaito blinked at that, his eyes glancing down to her chest briefly– woah, that was a well cut shirt that, uh, did wonders for her silhouette– before giving her an openly astonished look. “That’s a thing?” 

“Wasn’t a thing until I made it a thing, and now, yes~” June said, her demeanor suddenly poised. Sophisticated, batting her eyelashes coyly at Kaito as she leaned her chin stylistically against her palm, “It’s very much a thing. Brilliant, no? Maybe I was the genius all along~”

“Honestly, yeah, I think that’s amazing. I can envision it. A lot of people work better with someone they like around to encourage them. Making that your job? That’s really impressive, I’d have never thought of it.” Kaito gushed, just looking absolutely gobsmacked, while June leered at him a little, clearly pleased with his flattery.

Kokichi’s mouth formed a little ‘o’ shape as June explained what she did, surprised and a little amazed. Muses were a thing, of course--anything that could spark inspiration would qualify, whether it be a person or a landscape or divine inspiration. Kokichi had read many a journal where artists had contributed the spark of their work to a spouse or a child. 

But a professional muse? Where the muse was the person that went around? That was…pretty ballsy, and Kokichi respected that. It was like being a patron but for morale. 

“Wow…” Kokichi murmured, nodding, impressed. “Bet you get to see all sorts of incredible work, being the one to keep the engine going for people. That’s really wonderful.”

Smiling amicably at the woman, Kokichi hummed, “Out getting a little inspiration of your own today? Or just enjoying the weather?”

“I was out looking for a little exercise, but!” June smiled sweetly at Kokichi, her demeanor relaxing cheerfully when she refocused on him, almost appearing younger in all the little shifts in her body, “When I saw the Dicean pinces out here in the garden? I realized what I was actually looking for was new clients! And lucky me, I realized that in the exact same second that I noticed melting ice cream and knew I still had some napkins in my pocket. Success and opportunity are all about luck, but it’s only those among us who are prepared to take advantage of that luck who truly get ahead! Don’t you think?”

That last part was directed at Kaito, her light, light gray, almost sky-blue eyes crinkling up knowingly, that soft, childish lilt gone as she said, “You two been working on anything interesting lately? I’ve never had the opportunity to inspire government leaders before~ I thought about trying with the boss once, but he’s, ya know…” 

June giggled, shrugging over at Kokichi, her tone a tad higher and sweeter again, “The boss! That guy has seemingly endless drive and motivation all by himself, it’s really inspiring! Don’t ya think?”

She said that last part to Kaito, lids heavy and pink lips a slight smirk. Kaito was getting a little whiplash, June’s rapidly changing codes something Kaito recognized well from his time in Luminary, but never this frequently or blatantly before. She was clearly a chameleon personality, but did so in a loud, unapologetic way, unconcerned for being recognized for what it was. Kaito guessed that made sense, for her job, since her goal was to be exactly what she thought the other person was looking for… but it was still a small jolt every time she glanced at him and suddenly seemed older and more sultry, but when she looked at Kokichi she radiated a sweet and playful energy.

“Um… yeah, absolutely take your opportunities when they show up! But, Kokichi and I are really only doing baby stuff right now. Dirty diapers are kinda motivating all by themselves, I don’t know if either of us really need a muse.” Kaito chuckled, leaning back a little and trying not to let his blood boil too much as she stared intently at him. Pretty…

Lucky indeed. And, well, it wasn’t like Kokichi was unused to people coming up to him with business ideas--they just usually did it at the castle or through letters. But there was nothing wrong with bein’ more proactive about it. 

…even if Kokichi didn’t wholly appreciate that she figured a more childish tone was the way to appeal to him. The change in demeanor just seemed like a personality thing, but there were slight consistencies and… He wasn’t thrilled with the more patronizing tone. But there was nothing malicious to it, so Kokichi just rolled his eyes a little. 

“Inspiring, yeah, when it’s not just a blatant case of workaholism. But…it’s for the benefit of everyone, so if there was anyone who was gonna be married to their work, it’s more admirable for him.”

But as for approaching them, Kokichi nodded, backing Kaito up though he gave June a slight apologetic look. “We’re both on paternity leave, at the moment--taking care of a baby is a full-time job, even with everyone in our family. I appreciate the chutzpah in wanting to get involved with governmental matters, though.” …even if he had no idea what a cheerleader for government would do. “If you are still interested, though, we could set up an interview to see if other administrators would wanna negotiate a contract with you.”

June beamed, incredibly pleased by the idea as she brought both hands to her face, a look of near child-like glee on her face as she gushed, “Oh, really?! That’d be amazing, thank you! What was the word, ‘chutzpah’? Hee~ I don’t know what that means, but I think you nailed it on the head! I’m chutzpah for government matters! Everyone should offer to do their part, right?”

Leaning back a little, resting on one hand and fanning herself with the other, her legs slightly parted beneath her short maroon skirt and her chest heaving a little as she sighed, she added in, “Though, on a hot day like this? The metaphor ‘thirsty for government work’ rings a little more true to me, honestly. Everyone wants to feel like what they do matters, right?” She said, smirking as she refocused on Kaito again, whose eyes quickly darted back up, a little overwhelmed as she crooned, “Even small, silly little talents like mine~ inspiring artists and creators is fun, admittedly, but I like the idea that, at least for a little while, my special skillset could be used to do the common people some good. I bet you understand that better than anyone, ‘ey big guy?” she smirked, giving Kaito another wink, who nodded mutely back, a little dumbfounded and blatantly caught up.

Jutting forward, closing her legs and clapping her hands together excitedly, she said to Kokichi, “But! He might get it, but you’re the guy who can actually get things done! I’ll come in on my own to the castle to set up some interviews, but can you spread word about me and what I do among the castle administration, just so they can get their heads around the concept of me first? I’ve found I tend to be a liiiiiitttle much for the shy and the skeptical upon first meeting, it’s usually a good idea to let them ruminate on the idea before showing myself off in all my splendor~” June beamed cheerfully at Kokichi, hands pressed together earnestly as she leaned in, “So, future boss! Can I count on you?”

Kokichi grinned, admittedly a little endeared by June’s enthusiasm. Sure, it was a veeeery old word, so it wasn’t that surprising to hear people not recognize it, but…even with the wrong usage, June was just proving it true. 

…he wasn’t quite sure what she meant by saying Kaito knew better than anyone that  the idea of helping people in small, less flashy ways was something to be proud of. It was true! And it was something Kaito did very well! But not…something that a lot of people knew about Kaito right away. Or even knowing him just for a little while. 

That was pretty…intimate knowledge. 

(...he hadn’t noticed her lying, while they talked…)

Smiling slightly, Kokichi gave his husband a soft look before giving June a nod. “Kai-chan’s a go-getter in his own right, but, yeah! I’d be delighted to bring up the idea of a muse to administration. I think you still might have to convince a few folks, but…that’s what interviews are for. I hope to see you around, June! It was wonderful meeting you.”

“Oh, no doubt! He’s already got his own muse in you, no doubt!” June giggled, taking Kokichi’s free hand and shaking it vigorously, “Thank you so, so much for your time, little boss!”

Then, glancing over to Kaito, she smirked again, and leaning over, placing her hand gently on his shoulder and lowering her voice, she crooned, “Your ice cream is spilling over your napkin, Prince Momota~”

Kaito startled at that, the title so rarely used now that it almost sounded foriegn on her tongue, and his face burnt red as she used his shoulder as a leverage post to hoist herself up, grinning brightly at the both of them and waving exaggeratedly before walking off in something that was slightly a strut, and slightly a skip. Kaito watched her go, admiring the way her hair shifted side to side… before he let out a long breath. 

“Woo. She is… a lot.” he said, shaking his head a little, half in awe and half in exasperation as he changed hands on his icecream, starting to try to lick the ice cream off his fingers, “Wow.”

…nn. Didn’t like ‘little boss’. 

But Kokichi still looked flattered, thinking he could be Kaito’s muse, and he shook June’s hand back, giving her a grin, before waving back at her as she went on her way. She definitely was a strong personality. He was curious to see what use admin would want from a muse…

But also…

Kokichi raised a playful eyebrow and nudged Kaito’s arm gently. “Someone looked like they were having fun. She didn’t seem to mind--I guess that might be par for the course, being a muse--so…I won’t say anything to Shuu-chan if you don’t.”

If Kaito had been turning red before, realizing Kokichi had seen Kaito’s eyes lingering too long turned him beet red, his shoulders scrunching up in a futile attempt to hide a little as he stammered out, “I, no, I wasn’t…my gaze kept getting attracted to the red! She was wearing a red brazier! Or, uh, it had red dots, anyway… and a red skirt, for how much of it there was…”

Still beat red, Kaito started to rub the back of his neck before wincing, forgetting he still had sticky ice cream on his fingers and sighing as he went back to trying to clean it off his hand, “Yeah, uh… maybe don’t mention that to Shuichi. Especially if she’s going to work at the castle, I don’t want to cause any conflict. I’ll be better at, uh, not staring next time.”

Licking at his ice cream a little, trying to cool himself down, he said after a moment, “A professional ‘muse’... that’s a first for me. Ya know, back in Luminary, I’d have probably taken her up on it for the novelty of the experience alone. Just hang out with her and try to get ideas, I guess. I guess it’d be kinda like having a professional escort, but without the extra stuff. Literally just escortin…” Kaito grinned suddenly, lighting up mischievously as he said, “I bet my ‘idea’ would be ‘try to be a muse’, honestly. Again, for the novelty of it.”

Kokichi snickered but leaned over to press a kiss to Kaito’s cheek. “I told you, I don’t mind if you find people attractive. And if it doesn’t bother them either? Then it’s just a nice time I get to see you bein’ all cute and flustered.” The only not nice part was the jealousy Shuuichi felt, so…his lips were sealed. And, yanno, if Kaito ever acted on any of it, but Kokichi wasn’t worried about that.

“I haven’t heard of a professional muse either,” he hummed, nibbling at his cone. “I’ve only ever heard of muses being by happenstance…it must take, like, legendary confidence to be one by trade. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure that anyone but Denji-chan might be interested in being inspired, but…who knows? Maybe someone will wanna give her a shot.”

Giving Kaito a fond look, Kokichi leaned forward again to nose at his cheek. “You’re my muse, hun. Inspire me every day.”

Kaito chuckled, giving his husband an amused look as he nuzzled his face, “Oh yeah? I inspire you to be all cute and stuff? It’s a heavy responsibility, but I’m up to the challenge~”

Sipping at his ice cream– it was suuuuper melty by this point– Kaito suddenly chuckled again, though this one was more derivative as he mused, “You know who will never take her up on it but super could use it? Freaking Hideki. Hell, that guy just straight up needs to get laid, but hanging out with someone who’d flirt and flatter him is second best. June’s absolutely what he needs right now, and he’s going to totally ignore her.”

Kokichi huffed softly, but more out of exasperation than any derision. “I’m not so sure having sex would help. Or flirty flatter would either. Maybe he could do with a new partner, but I’m not sure anything casual would be down my uncle’s alley--apparently he used to get super annoyed with his friends when they’d get all flirtatious as, like, communication rather than actually hitting on someone. Honoka used to call him the ‘no fun guard’.”

“...though, he argued that getting black-out drunk three times a week wasn’t fun anyway, and I kinda agree with him there,” Kokichi shrugged. “I think going out dancing or to pub trivia nights is more my jam too.”

Kaito gave a long, looooong sigh. “If you ever needed proof of either pinpoint divine karma, or the chaotic and unpredictable randomness of the universe, I think the fact that I, Kaito Momota, the ‘party’ prince, ended up married to a guy ready to empathize with and defend the ‘No Fun Guard’, makes a strong case for either theory. Either way. Pub trivia night wth no drinking… got me over here shaking my head. At least you’re sexy.”

“Besides,” Kaito sighed, leaning back into the sun again, chewing on the ice cream cone, “It was having those friends that made him happy in the first place, right? I gotta assume so, since he’s such a miserable old dude without them. That means he does need people, when all is said is done. Not that he should forget the people he had, and not to suggest that pain ever goes away… but not filling your life with more people eventually? He’s just resigning himself to stay miserable forever. Wanna know how to spot a true lone wolf? Being endlessly alone leaves them content and self-assured, not grumpy and a perpetual asshole.”

Kokichi snorted but let out a sigh and a nod. “I’m not arguing you there. I can’t defend him ‘cause I don’t know how much of an effort he’s making when he goes out. I’m glad he’s not literally secluding himself away, but…that doesn’t mean he’s being open to social stuff.”

Nibbling on his cone, Kokichi let out another quiet sigh, looking out at the garden and passing people. “...believe it or not, he’s actually been doing a lot better in the last few years. After we got the news about Toshio-ji…he just shut down. It was really scary…” Kokichi’s brows lowered, sure this wasn’t…the best conversation to have, especially with Kaito, but… “...he makes jokes again now. Keeps up with current events past what he’d just have to know for the job, goes out on his own volition… I’ll never know what he was like before, since Honoka, Yui, and my mom all died before I was born, but…how he is now is leaps and bounds better than how he was for a good while there…”

Huffing again, Kokichi sat back with an unamused look. “Think it makes sense that my super depressed uncle who I spent most of my time with growing up didn’t realize I was super depressed too.”

Kaito’s brow furrowed… before he peeked his eyes open, staring at the blue sky…

“...when you’re leader? Kokichi… don’t send people like Toshio to be your ambassador.” Kaito said, his words slow, rolling the napkins within his fist a bit as he looked at Kokichi, dead serious, “I know it’s not really my place to say that, not yet. But… at least for Luminary? Your father keeps making the same mistake, over and over. Toshio seemed strong, and bold, and charismatic, and sincere. He seemed like a hero. That’s not what you want for what’s essentially a professional government infiltrator. You want someone like Tsumugi. Pleasant and quiet and intelligent and stands her ground in the face of pushback without showing off how brave they are. Ambassadors need to be blank extensions of the people who sent them. They don’t get to be the stars.”

“...that’s just… me earnestly trying to give advice as your consort.” Kaito murmured, looking a little uncertain, “Your father has a ‘type’ for ambassadors. I think that type is wrong.”

“And it’s a shame too. Your uncle seemed like he would have made an amazing hero.” Kaito said softly. “Father should have let him go. It was wrong, to not respect that sort of courage. It wasn’t a proud moment.”

Kokichi had been speaking more lightly of everything, but… It had been a tragedy. And…Kokichi’s pride dictated that it was a shame bright people didn’t work out being ambassadors--that they had severely misjudged how things were in Luminary, but people like Toshio and Koyuu and Aihito would be incredible elsewhere. Maybe they really could be…

But maybe they couldn’t. 

Looking over, Kokichi gave his husband a soft, sad look before nodding, shuffling out of the shade to press against him. “...things were different, between Toshio-ji and the others,” Kokichi murmured. “...they’re all people who, here, we consider adaptable, amiable with all sorts. But…we sent Toshio-ji in good faith. A sincere effort in trying to propose a plan to stop the war that would be beneficial for both sides. Koyuu and Aihito…”

Kokichi sighed. “...well, it was like June said. They’re the kind of folks that are lucky, because they made their own luck. They’re people who were equipped and willing to fight for the outcomes they wanted, and fight in ways we at admin couldn’t really approve. Just…none of us understood the stuff that would actually matter in Luminary.”

Kokichi propped his chin up on his free hand. “...I always thought, growing up, that ambassadors were supposed to be like town representatives across Dicea, when we have big meetings with all of them. All parties willing to work and compromise with each other to get things done. I never really realized how different other cultures could be. And especially since we’ve only had ambassadors in and sent from Dicea in the last generation…”

He shook his head. “...I appreciate your advice, Kai-chan. Hopefully it’ll save some grief, when we reevaluate things.” …maybe it’d be a good faith argument against the admins and reps that wanted to close the borders again.

Kaito hesitated, before nodding, a little wary he carefully agreed, “Maybe it’d be like that with a well established ally nation? Though the skeptic in me wants to say no, since all ambassadors are meant to put the interest of their own first and foremost. Though, if you knew the other leaders well, then maybe it would be like your community things.”

“And, yeah… that’s the type King Aiichi keeps sending. ‘Heroes’. People who can fight and act in ways that go against what their leaders can approve of… but it doesn’t really matter if the leader approved of it, ya know? Anything the ambassador does directly reflects the person who sent them, you vouched for them and assured the other kingdom that they could speak and argue on your behalf. You don’t want people in that position going rogue.”

“Hell, when Tengan was found out about what he was doing to us, he never returned to Luminary.” Kaito said softly, putting the napkin down on the grass beside him for a moment before tapping at his chest, watching clouds lazily go by, “...I like to think that means dad wouldn’t have let him get away with it. It was kind of upsetting, when I first realized that dad, in that case, hadn’t known what Tengan was doing… I had always thought he had. That he had approved of it because it was necessary in some way. I was really… hurt to realize he had never actually noticed something that obvious was going on. Or at least never cared to acknowledge it… but if Tengan was afraid to return, there’s something nice in knowing that he at least thought dad would punish him for it in a way that was worth throwing his whole life away and running for it.”

“...” Kaito’s face darkened, as he admitted, “Or maybe dad was just embarrassed everyone else knew now and wanted to make a show of power by punishing him, and Tengan knew that. Even if you approved it, you can’t tell everyone else you let your son be conditioned… I don’t know. I guess either could be true. I guess I’ll never know for sure.”

“...” Kaito looked surprised, and then pained, and then barked a laugh as he said, “Or it had nothing to do with any of that and everything to do with drugging you and humiliating us during the peace treaty. God dammit… I literally forgot about that for five whole minutes. Fuck, it might not have had anything to do with any of that at all… now I can’t even say for sure it upset him.”

Kaito chuckled grimly at that, covering his face with his cleaner hand and groaning into his palm. Just… low key outraged that he didn’t even know if his father had cared that Kaito and Byakuya were being abused by his right hand man. He had no proof either way. Ha!

It was a total culture thing. A representative coming into the castle and finding out actions of corruption? If they were right, they’d be a hero. It wouldn’t even enter the equation to think that they were being sent to do that. A willingness to do what was right for anyone meant they could be trusted to look out for the best interests of their own. 

But…that was just for Dicea. And administration was doing a disservice to their people by not taking into account how things were done in other countries. And…adaptability, as backwards as it sounded, was not the way to do that. 

Tengan… Even knowing how bad Leon could be, Kokichi thought all the time that Tengan was going after his own interests. And…honestly he was probably right. Knowing more about Kaito’s father…Kokichi really doubted the former king did more than give a cursory glance to any of the treaty drafts. 

…he could…maybe see pride and status, but…in his heart, Kokichi really didn’t understand why Leon hadn’t just stepped down from being king. He wasn’t suited to it at all. 

And even the possibility of cleaning up the mess Tengan or the ambassadors left…

Kokichi went still, his lips thinning as…he remembered something. Kaito already seemed…not as relaxed as their day out in town should’ve been. But he promised no secrets. 

“...Kai-chan?” Kokichi said softly. “...do you…want to know what happened to the Party?”

Kaito’s whole body, briefly, tensed up…

…it really was a nice day out. He could hear kids playing in the distance. The sun felt good. He could taste the air. Nothing echoed, and the sound didn’t lay flat against the walls eithers. The grass tickled the back of his neck. Everything was fine…

Beat for beat, in the exact same defeated tone he had used for the last time he had asked this question, he said softly, “Is it terrible?”

“...yeah,” Kokichi whispered. 

“...if you wanted the whole story, there’s someone I could ask, but…I know enough to know…it was bad.” Kokichi lowered his chin to his knees. “...I’m sorry for hitting you with this. But…as I remember things… I don’t want to keep it hidden from you. But…you can still make the choice of how to hear it.”

“...” Kaito huffed out a sigh, his body relaxing. “... if they’re all dead, then they’re okay. They’re in their trials now. Atua has them. It’s done now, they’re okay… everyone’s okay…”

Kaito’s body wasn’t tense, but his hands clutched into his shirt, holding the fabric in tight fists as he opened his eyes, his expression calming but a small tear escaping from the moment where his whole body had tensed with a sudden, certain grief. Watching the clouds as he murmured, “They’re okay. Everyone’s okay.”

“...I don’t need to know right now. It’d only hurt us to talk about it. Thank you for letting me know though, Kokichi. I know it’s tough to deliver bad news.” he said softly.

…mostly dead, as far as Kokichi knew. And…considering all the other gods, Kokichi…had no idea what was actually the deal with the trials. Or even if Atua really was one of the gods. But…as it was, he could believe that for people who believed (or “believed”) in Atua, there was still something like afterlife there for them. 

There could still be peace in believing they were taken care of now. 

Letting out a little breath, Kokichi closed his eyes and pressed against Kaito. “Okay… Just let me know when you do.” …he’d ask Alter Ego. It would hurt for them to talk about too, but…maybe there was something therapeutic they could get out of it. Passing on the news for someone to mourn. 

Kaito nodded, letting out another steadying breath. It was fine. It was done. It was fine. Everyone was fine.

He still couldn’t help but wring his shirt a little, all of that a little hard to shake off… but thinking of walking around with wrinkles all day caused him to absentmindedly let go, smoothing the fabric down. It was important to keep up appearances. What was he doing, crying in a park and messing up his outfit? Couldn’t take him anywhere, honestly.

Kaito looked over to his husband, so tightly pressed against him… “Scoot over, beautiful. You’re gonna burn at this rate.” Kaito gently reminded him, sitting up and gesturing Kokichi to scoot towards the shade, “Come on, you and I both know you’ll be miserable if I have to carry you home. In the sun and held in your furnace of a husband's arms? Too much for my poor ‘Kichi.”

“I’m okay.” Kaito told him softly, brushing the hair out of Kokichi’s face, looking fondly down at him, “I suspected they weren’t safe basically as soon as they disappeared. It’s sad, but it’s not unexpected. I’m grateful you told me. I’m okay.”

Kokichi opened his eyes with a little sigh, scootching back over into the shade and immediately feeling the difference, his head not soaking up the rays anymore. A few minutes sunscreened up in the sun would be alright, no matter how much he was sweating, but…still. If they were resting in the garden, the shade was where his throne would be. 

Cupping Kaito’s hand tenderly, Kokichi gave him a soft, sympathetic look. “...okay. I know it still sucks, but…okay. Just…keep me in the know for how you’re doing.”

“...did you still wanna get food, or just head home?”

Kaito considered him quietly… before brightening up. The act clearly deliberate, though not necessarily insincere as he said cheerily, “Let’s still get food. We don’t get too many opportunities, right? Gotta take advantage before we go back to being our Miya’s servants.”

Kokichi offered a smile in return, following his husband’s lead. “The toil really awaits us, huh. Though I can’t say I’m dreading it…”

Looking around, Kokichi’s smile relaxed more. “I can’t wait until we can start offering her food. She might turn out to be the pickiest little miss ever, but I’m still excited.”

Giving Kokichi a quick kiss to his forehead, and then a quick peck to the lips, Kaito looked around the garden for a moment before deciding to stand up. Offering Kokichi a hand up with him, he said, keeping Kokichi’s hand, “Okay. Let’s head out then. This garden is nice, but let’s be honest, it got really weird really fast. We just sorta attract that, huh?”

Looking for a trashcan to dump the napkins, Kaito chuckled lightly. “I know the joke is ‘vegetables’ or ‘anything not sugar’, but were there any foods you wouldn’t touch as a kid? Heck, are there foods you won’t touch now, ‘Kichi?”

Popping the last of his cone in his mouth, crunching away, Kokichi held onto Kaito’s hand after he stood, silently pointing out a compost bin the napkins could go into. Though, he snorted, rolling his eyes a little as he pressed to Kaito’s arm. “I’m not a big fan of pork. Never have been. I’m okay with it in some ways, but basically…if it’s the main protein in something, I’m not gonna like it.”

Which ended up being a shame, since it was featured in just…so many dishes. 

Kokichi wrinkled his nose a big. “The texture is just…eugh. Can’t do it. And ‘cause of that, I’ve convinced myself I don’t like the taste either.”

“But as a kid?” Kokichi hummed. “Vegetables, for sure, but I hated green beans. And any form of cooked cabbage. And really thin noodles. And there was a period I hated anything barbeque-style. Basically…if there was a ‘squirmy’ texture to something, or if it was suuuuuper pungent, I didn’t want it.”

“What about you? I know you’ve said you only really got into healthy eating when you were, like, 15, 16?”

Kaito put the ‘doesn’t like pork’ in his backlist of Kokichi facts, though he was a little surprised to hear it. He wasn’t sure if he had ever heard of an aversion to pork before, it always seemed like one of those ‘universal’ foods, but, then… perhaps it was just common to like pork in Luminary and Kaito had taken that as a given. Or maybe it was a ‘Kichi’ thing. Either way, ‘no pork’. Hm.

Kaito nodded along with the vegetable aversion. He couldn’t remember having a strong distaste for vegetables in general as a kid, but it was such a common thing that Kaito didn’t doubt he did, at one point. Though, “Really thin noodles, huh? But all other noodles were fine?”

Ha. Kaito gave Kokichi an amused look. Of all the ways to define barbecue style food, ‘squirmy’ had never come to mind. He wasn’t sure if he entirely understood what Kokichi meant, but he knew he’d be looking for it next time ribs or burgers were available (depressingly not often, in the castle), looking it up and down for its ‘squirmy’ elements.

But, then, taste and distaste were far from rational things. Kaito knew his own gradual dislike for all but the first few moments of ice cream was baffling to even those who didn’t have a strong love of sugar. Kaito was like that for a lot of ‘more-ish’ food. He had a few bites, and genuinely didn’t want more, and finishing the desserts he was given eventually became more of a chore than anything. But, then, he suspected that was less ‘taste’ and more just ‘habits after years of training himself to do that’, since…

“Yeah, from my, like, pre-teens to late fifteens? Or, mid-fifteens? I wasn’t eating much of anything, and that included healthy foods. And let me tell you, eating almost nothing, and that nothing being almost entirely junk?” Kaito rolled his eyes, “Terrible for you. It’s incredible I managed to get as big as I am, could you imagine if I had actually been eating right when I was growing, how big I’d be right now? I bet you I’d be competing with Sakura, I swear, I’m freaking petite in comparison to where I could have been. Such a waste.”

“But, as for foods I can’t stand… well, for adult me, hot stuff still kicks my ass. Even trying it that one time I could barely taste it. A lot of spices, not even hot spices, are like that for me, they’re just so… strong. It’s like you can’t taste anything other than the spice, it’s really overwhelming and sometimes… kiiiiinda repulsive when you’re not used to it?” Kaito said, saying this sheepishly, like Kokichi didn’t know he struggled with spices. “I’m getting more used to it! Some of it even tastes kinda good now. But man, a lot of it still just tastes and smells wrong to me. Like they say, Luminary’s gone around the world trying to take peoples food, only to find out we don’t like any of it.”

“And when I was a kid… there was this sweet sort of red onion? Like, really sweet. The cooks put it into the dishes all the time, it’s a really common Luminary ingredient, they chop it up into little cubes or long slices? I can’t stand it. Or, couldn’t anyway, I’ve sorta learned to just not chew it when it shows up on my plate, just swallow it down and try not to think about it, but man, I don’t know what it was, but it was like biting directly into one of those? The sound hurt my brain. I’d feel this whole shock run through my body, just, a full body reaction. The sound, the taste, the way it felt against my teeth… it’s fine if I don’t bite it. And don’t think about it. And try not to taste it until it’s gone. But man, my distaste for that stuff turned me into such a brat to feed, cause like I said, it was in everything.”

“For a little while, they started making me specialty meals and just didn’t put those in, but that didn’t last long. Tengan and my mother didn’t approve, basically thought it was, i don’t know… spoiling me? Making me weaker? They wanted me to learn to like it, so the chefs had to add it in whenever it was appropriate…” Kaito paused, thinking back on all of that, as he said, “Ya know, I think that’s when I started getting, just, really okay with not eating in general. Funny how things escalate like that. I know mom didn’t mean for that to happen, she was just trying to toughen me up. I did get over it eventually.”

Kokichi snorted, nodding exasperatedly, yet fondly at himself. “Yeah. I’d gotten it into my head that thin noodles felt like worms going down my throat, and I just couldn’t do it after that. Like, I’d literally start gagging and wouldn’t be able to swallow. Thicker noodles and other shapes were perfectly fine, though--thankfully it never really turned into an issue, since there are usually more things to eat than just thin noodles, for whatever we’re having.”

It was the purpose for it, but it really was helpful to have at least two main dishes available with any given meal. It meant that people with allergies or intolerances, or texture issues, or just straight up personal preferences would still be able to have a full meal, regardless of what the menu was. Though, Kokichi often had his own circumstances on top of that. 

Shaking his head a little, Kokichi snuggled against his husband’s very prominent bicep. “I’d love you at any size, but…damn, bigger would certainly force me to get more creative. Your comfort and happiness with your body is the biggest priority! But I am short and objectively petite, and I like being able to hug you and reach your face for kisses.” Maybe better nutrition during his growing years would’ve sprouted him up too, but…somehow, Kokichi doubted it would’ve changed much for him. 

Kokichi nodded knowingly at Kaito’s lack of palette for strong spices, though he chuckled a bit. “I mean, I get it. I like some simpler foods well enough, but…for a lot of things? Bland food just makes me think of what I have to eat when I’m in recovery. Which, as you can imagine,” Kokichi rolled his eyes, “Isn’t the most appetizing association. If it was stuff I’m used to having really flavorful? Having that kind of food in Luminary would confuse the hell out of me.”

Though…sweet red onions? Kokichi had seen red onions in the market, and…what he was pretty sure was them in food, though…he never really considered them as being ‘super sweet’. It was probably a different variety…though that was kind of interesting. Onions tended to feature heavily in Dicean cuisine, whether it was the green onions that were in sooooo many kinds of soups and egg dishes, or the…more bulbous ones that were in practically any kind of dish you cooked down. 

And hating an ingredient that was in practically everything? Kokichi sighed, pressing against Kaito’s arms. “I’m all for trying new things these days, but it really sucks as a kid--even more if it just dulled your enthusiasm for food wholesale. There’s something to kids just hating the idea of a food, but…tastebuds change so much as people grow, so I think I’d be okay not forcing Miyako to eat things she doesn’t like, as long as she’d be willing to try them again in a few years. And sometimes, it’s just…okay to not like things. That’s why culinary accommodations exist.”

Kokichi suddenly snorted. “...Ikuo once put green beans in my nose to try and convince me to eat. I refused to open my mouth, when I saw them on my plate, so he got creative. Definitely didn’t make me like them any more.”

Kaito put his hand over his mouth, trying to hide his snort. “Did he really? You sure he was trying to get you to eat them, or was just playing the greatest prank you can pull on a kid. Cause that shit sounds hilarious.”

Kaito laughed a little more at that, kissing the back of Kokichi’s hand a little before letting their hands swing between them a little… before he lit up. “I can’t wait to give Miyako a lemon. Our little girl trusts us impeccably and completely, and I am so down for taking advantage of that and watching her try something sour. That’s going to be the cutest thing in the world.”

“It’s hilarious in hindsight, but I was so pissed off at the time,” Kokichi chuckled. “I was totally prepared for a hunger strike and my dad ruined it in one of the most playful ways ever.” Still, he hadn’t been forced to eat green beans after that. Ikuo had taken it that if Kokichi was going that far to not eat it, the battle was better waged against other vegetables. It hadn’t been until Kokichi was drawn in by the scent of a green bean side dish in his tweens that he tried them again. 

Kokichi grinned at Kaito’s idea, chuckling a little more, before he lit up as well, looking around briefly before lowering his voice. “My mentor and I reminisced about my first sour thing, once. It was incredibly cute, so I can’t wait to see Miya’s take. She’s going to be so betrayed and outraged at us.”

Kaito leaned down accommodatingly when Kokichi lowered his voice, listening curiously… before chuckling lightly. “Aww, you’ll have to tell me about it. I bet it was cute. And look, Miya’s gotta learn the cold, hard truth one day: jokes are hilarious, and sometimes the jokes on you. No one wants to hang out with the kid that can’t take a little teasing.”

Kaito considered that, before adding in, “So long as it’s good natured. I want her to have a good balance of that. You can’t be the kid that loses it every time they’re tricked or made fun of, after awhile you become more of the problem then the teasers. But you can’t be the kid that just lets anything happen to them either and doesn’t draw any line in the sand. That’s a tough balance to hit, and I wasn't’ super good about it for awhile. Neither was Maki, but, like, for the opposite reasons than me. Maki took everything so personally for such a long time. You know that ‘do you wanna die’ thing she does sometimes? That, but waaaaaay more sincere, and against even the slightest slight against her, perceived or not. I was lucky I was such a fucking oblivious kid, I swear, or she would have scared me off the first year when I realized how much she meant it.”

Kaito shrugged, “And you could do anything to me, I just wanted the attention. Thankfully I had my status and people like Maki and Shuichi, at least as a pre-teen and teenager, to give me some sense of standards. But honestly, before them, I never held anything against anyone, and just sorta assumed that, like… I’ve told you about this before, right? How convinced I was as a kid that people could read my thoughts? Like, as a rule, not that anyone was a mind reader or anything, I just thought it was always obvious what I was thinking. So, for instance, if I lied to them, and they believed me, it wasn’t that I was ‘fooling’ them, it was just that we had both agreed to pretend like I had fooled them, to make it easier for everyone.”

Looking around as they exited the garden, heading towards the market, Kaito considered the crowds of people going to and fro as he explained, “That sort of thinking influenced everything for me, as a kid. And, honestly, a lot of it followed me into adulthood, in small ways. I thought my parents and most adults in my life literally knew everything, as it was happening, so if it was happening then it was with all the adults in my lifes permission. To this day, I still have a hard time assuming the king or ruling member doesn’t know everything, there’s no such thing as keeping secrets from them. They already know. And I thought all the people around me knew, when something was becoming too much or hurting my feelings. Like, they could just see it on me like a… progress bar or something. And knew when they would have to stop to keep from going too far.”

“So, in my head, that somehow equals too ‘if they haven’t stopped, I can still take it’.” Kaito recalled, “Because if I couldn’t, they would have stopped. You get me? I really believed it. If we can help it, I don’t want Miya to get that same sort of delusion. That it’s up to everyone else, how much is too much.”

Kokichi nodded, sighing slightly. “If we can manage to teach her better social graces than we all have? It’ll be incredible. Honestly…it was really hit or miss, how I’d take a joke growing up. Some days it was fine, and I could banter with the best of them, but others…” Kokichi shrugged with a more tired sigh. “I was already just feeling small and upset, and it really didn’t help, so I lashed out.”

“...I put my sister through so much shit,” he groaned, realizing it. “She had always been really doting, and…yanno, that was easier for her to do since our age difference is so big? But I could really be such a brat to her… Sometimes I was too hurt for it, but Denji-chan and I have always just…snarked at each other. It’s not malicious, but my sibling has never put on kiddie-gloves for me, you know? I think that might be good for Miya-Miya.”

Hideki wasn’t really much for that kind of humor, but Toshio had, even though his ever-present warmth softened even really dry jokes. Ikuo was a wealth of dad jokes and soft teasing and…well…

(...unsurprisingly, Nao had a lot of dark humor. It had been something Kokichi really enjoyed, since no one else would talk to him about that kind of stuff.)

Sobered a little thinking about his own experiences, Kokichi looked up at Kaito, listening to his, until… Kokichi’s eyes widened, his expression serious and surprised. He knew Kaito could make assumptions like that, but…

“...you…didn’t tell me that,” he slowly said. Of course he knew about how Kaito regarded authority, like they were just…the end-all, be-all of things. How he got so nervous about lying and…not being what people expected of him, but not saying anything. Kokichi let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “...hun, I love ya, but…that sounds like a terrifying way to live.”

Kaito looked genuinely surprised, glancing down at his husband as he asked, “I didn’t? Oh, wow… I mean, I guess we weren’t talking about stuff like that in the beginning, I guess maybe I didn’t want to bring it up aloud, but, like… even in the beginning? When we first met, I was convinced King Aiichi knew you were sneaking out. That everyone did. I was convinced everyone knew we were going to the club, too. But, like… for some reason? Everyone really wanted you to know it was against the rules for you to leave the castle, but no one wanted to actually enforce it. I really wasn’t sure why they were doing it, my theories changed constantly. At one point I thought maybe you were being constrained because the public would have turned on the king if he didn’t, at another point I thought maybe he knew the guards and staff weren’t enforcing the rule but he would be put at a disadvantage calling them out on it, I considered at one point it was all some sort of… test? For you?”

Kaito shrugged, “No idea. Definitely didn’t guess what, in retrospect, maybe should have been the obvious answer I should have come too: that you weren’t banned from going outside. I just couldn’t see how that would happen, it never occurred to me. If it had, maybe I would have assumed you were fucking with me, giving me different names and having me climb fences for the fun of it, but you seemed so sincere… it just never occurred to me as a possibility. And, well, I knew objectively I tended to assume people knew more than they did by that point, so I kinda dismissed a lot of it as my imagination acting up again.”

Squeezing Kokichi’s hand a little, Kaito said, “And I don’t remember it as being terrifying. I… thought it was nice. I felt really connected to people, ya know? I wasn’t, it was all in my head, but between that belief and Atua, I never felt… alone or on my own in anything. I felt looked after. I didn’t need secrets, that was why we–” Kaito huffed, rolling his eyes, “--all ‘agreed’ to pretend to be fooled by each others lies. To give each other some breathing room, allowing each other to make mistakes or grow as people. I felt really a part of something…”

“And then I got older and little by little I realized that it was all in my head. That was kind of frightening and hard to get my head around, but I got over it eventually… I think that’s partly why hearing about the Book Club didn’t disturb me as much as it maybe should have. It’s a bummer it’s such a shit book club, but… there are worse things, then being understood by everyone around you.”

“... I’d have terrorized you.” Kaito realized with a grin, giving Kokichi a mischievous look, “If we had met as kids? God, I’d have been constantly in your hair and constantly pushing your ‘scream at people’ button. If Denji and Lake are the criteria? Don’t get me wonge, Denji can say some fucked up shit, and I’m sure that was way worse at thirteen. But man, they’re trying to annoy you. I’d have done it obliviously. It would have been way worse.”

Their respective delusions had really worked together in the worst way. Kokichi was convinced no one knew a damn thing, and Kaito thought everyone knew everything, so it was just…perceived maliciousness and mind games no matter which way you looked at it. Horrible. 

“...that’s kind of funny, that you felt like you had room to grow because no one acknowledged your lies,” Kokichi shook his head a little. “That’s how I feel about community in Dicea--there’s no need for secrets, and everyone really does know…to a point. But you’re just…accepted anyway, and no one’s gonna bug you about it, outside of ribbing.”

Kokichi shook his head again, though his mirth faded again. “...after unintentionally being in a book club for people who don’t even read? I really can’t see it that way… Maybe it’s understanding…the words on the page, but everyone still has their own interpretation of the text, and their own plans for book projects. And…well. It happens that the people who don’t like the book can be so loud about it, it makes you incapable of enjoying any part of it that you once did…”

…it was a bad metaphor, but…Kokichi thought he got at least the gist across. Flora might know the knowledge and feelings of each other, but that didn’t mean they respected those things. Or wouldn’t use them for their own methods. And even trying to help another person by feeling them…sometimes you’d still hurt them. And being able to feel things like a person’s death… Kokichi didn’t want that. It was like he told Alter Ego--feeling that many things would destroy a person. 

Still, Kokichi snorted softly. “I believe that. I’d have been thrilled with a new person to play with that actually wanted to play with me, but…I mean, I was a spoiled prince. I had a certain way of wanting to play and I would’ve lost it when you brought your own stuff to the table.”

…there actually was a way to see how they could’ve played as kids, but… Maybe that was something to mull over for a while.

“Noooooo, my ‘Kichi isn’t spoiled, then or now.” Kaito quickly denied, bringing up Kokichi’s hand and giving it a few more earnest kisses as he insisted, “At worst? You just don’t like to be surprised. You’re pretty open to anything, so long as it suuuuuper doesn’t take you off guard.”

“I, on the other hand, was a very spoiled prince.” Kaito laughed, though before he could dredge up another anecdote to monolog about, he looked around. “The place you were talking about was around here, wasn’t it? I knew it was generally this direction, but this is the point I get lost…”

Kokichi rolled his eyes a little, chuckling. “I was doted on constantly, hun. Because I was so much younger than everyone, basically anything I wanted to play, if it was safe, happened. Any time my sister wanted to defeat the monster faster than I wanted, or wanted to start some drama at the tea party, I would pout and huff until she followed my ideas. Until I was ten, I was the sole dictator of imagination.”

Because then he met Denji, and Denji didn’t care that he was three years younger and fragile and a prince. If they deigned to play--because while a thirteen-year-old Denji tried to be posh and grown up, they still were a kid--then they were standing behind their decisions without compromise. 

…his big sibling had really been good for him. 

Perking up, Kokichi looked around, not having paid attention, like, at all to where they were walking. “Oh…shoot, I wasn’t really thinking of any particular place--just some good noodle shop, you know? Hmm, let’s find one with a cool sign…”

And, thankfully, nearby there was a traditional style shop, boasting hand and day-made udon noodles. Eyes lighting up, Kokichi pulled Kaito to it, barely having to duck under the old-style cloth covering on the top of the door. 

The shop was busy, and they ended up tucked on the far end of the counter, the tables all occupied, so it was stool life for them. Kaito didn’t mind though, he liked watching the chef work, steam hanging in the air as noodles and broth bubbled in the small kitchen. Putting their order in, Kaito poured himself and Kokichi some water, pushing his husband his cup, Kaito took a long sip…

“Phoo.” Kaito sighed, enjoying the coolness of the drink, “Nice. Alright, what were we talking about… ha! The sole dictator of imagination. I love that.”

Taking another long sip as they waited on their order, Kaito smirked around the brim of his cup, “I wasn’t quite a dictator, I don’t think, but I was a pushy little kid too. Though, mine was more just assuming everyone was in on the game, even if they weren’t, or I had explained nothing, or they weren’t even aware I was playing a game. Everyone ‘could read my mind’, remember? If I was playing a game, then my default assumption was anyone I came across was totally down for playing with me, unless very specifically told otherwise. The world was my playground! And everyone in it my play things! Muwahahahaha!” 

Kaito grinned down at Kokichi, giving him a wink as he said, “Or at the very least reluctant playmates. No one had to play games my way, in fact I usually preferred they didn’t. I loved seeing people take the games and make them their own, ya know, get really into it? But otherwise, I’d just throw them into things, no warning or even consideration of holding back, and would just sorta step back and see what they did. The bigger their reaction? The more fun I was having. I loved the passion! I just… wasn’t always entirely conscious that not everyone was playing, when they had big reactions to what I was doing. Sometimes people were just confused, or mad. And sometimes they were playing along! I couldn’t tell the difference.”

Peering at the noodles being prepared, Kaito snorted, nudging Kokichi lightly, “Sure those noodles aren’t gonna be too thin for you, beautiful? We could twist them all together. Make some hefty noodles.”

Kokichi gratefully drank his water, feeling refreshed from the ice, even if they’d just had ice cream. It was a hot day! And that’s exactly why he got zarusoba too--after ice cream, the thought of getting a rice bowl was a little too much, even with his restored appetite. 

Sipping, Kokichi chuckled along with Kaito’s description of his childhood games--kids didn’t even have to be convinced everyone could read their mind to play around like that. Social awareness wasn’t really something kids were known for, and big reactions meant things were exciting!! Kokichi had loved faking being upset or hurt to get others to break scene and fuss over him, just to pull the rug out from under them. Incredibly mean? Yes, but…kids were like that. 

“You were a terror, huh? If we had found a game we both liked, I can imagine getting swept up in your excitement, easily. That first step would be the sticking point. But if we teamed up? No one would have peace.”

Rolling his eyes, Kokichi nudged Kaito back. “That was only when I was a kid--I really like soba and thin spaghetti now. And soba noodles are better for dipping in the sauce than, like, udon or linguini.” He paused. “...I have heard of people, like, knitting or crocheting ramen noodles for a joke, though. I bet that would taste kinda cool.”

“I feel like it’d be cold by the time you get to eat it. Thank you!” Kaito said cheerfully, giving a small bow of his head as two large bowls were put in front of them, before saying just as cheerfully, “Awesome, that was fast… now, mind you, me running around and forcing people into games wasn’t what made me a terror. Me terroizing people is what made me a terror.”

Poking at his noodles to let it cool a bit, Kaito sighed, a little exasperated at himself as he said, “I had rage issues as a kid. I’d explode about things, destroy stuff, scream at people and try to intimidate them. And that was just when my temper was being explosive. When I was upset but still had control of myself?” Kaito raised an eyebrow, scooping up some noodle and blowing on it a little and glancing over at Kokichi, “I don’t suppose you’ve noticed, beautiful, but your Kai-chan can be mean. And I get mean on purpose. I’m both my parents son, for better or for worse, and I picked up a lot of both of their worst habits when they’re upset. And mom didn’t lose her mind on people. She just got mean.”

Sipping at his noodles— mmmm, nice– Kaito sighed after he swallowed it down, “I’ve gotten better about it as I’ve gotten older… to a point. I pick my battles better. If I can help it, like, if it’s not explosive anger, I try not to ‘punch down’ essentially, I try not to get vicious with people who can’t reliably do anything against me. But if you’re on the same level as me, or Atua forbid, if you make me nervous? I can be such an asshole. There’s a very real part of me that’s cruel. A ‘Momota prince’.”

“Thank you!!” 

Kokichi ogled his dish hungrily for a moment, pleased with the small side of fried veggies that came with his noodles. Taking up a large bit of his noodles with his chopsticks, he dunked them in the sauce before just letting them soak for a moment, munching into a fried lotus chip. 

And, well…it was easier to just…nod along with Kaito. Knowing that his anger could be an overwhelming thing, and…knowing less firsthand, but still aware of how Kaito could be deliberately. 

And, well, he knew how Sayaka could be to one of her favorite people to torment. 

Starting to slurp up his noodles, Kokichi nodded a bit. “Mm… I do appreciate you holding back on my uncle and father…b-”

“Pfffff– koff! Gah, augh, hold on!” Kaito managed to push out, having accidently snorted noodles up his nose in his startled laugh, coughing and rubbing the brim of his nose as he tried to clear himself out, grabbing a napkin and blowing his nose. “Ugh, god, went right up there… ugh.”

Dabbing his nose, Kaito gave his husband an embarrassed look, “Sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you, I was just… that startled me. I have not held back on your uncle. And, uh, I guess ‘mean’ is the wrong word for it, but my first ever conversation with Aiichi was basically trying to challenge him about you traveling, which was a terrifying but deliberately aggressive move on my part. Uh… I have not made myself easy to get along with, I guess is what I’m admitting to right now. Sorry.”

Kokichi blinked at Kaito, after having pat his back to help with the choking, passing another napkin his way. He…still didn’t know exactly what Kaito and Hideki had said to each other over their various but few conversations, but…his uncle had never mentioned Kaito being deliberately mean. 

Just…awkward and tense and…well, had misplaced admiration for his country… Kokichi knew Hideki could be more than a little mean himself. 

Giving his husband a sheepish look, Kokichi sighed softly. “...maybe. But the culture difference hasn’t made that…translate well either. My father knows you aren’t a fan of him, but…he thinks you’re pretty great. And he hasn’t said anything about you…deliberately making things hard between you guys. He definitely has a temper, but…you have to get into some pretty gross stuff before he’ll actually start getting pissed off.”

“And Hideki-ji…” Kokichi sighed again. “We’ve talked about him before. He’s passed on that he’s pretty sure you hate him, and…well, he doesn’t put in effort towards people he sees as making their minds up already. …he said he did appreciate you talking with him last winter, though,” Kokichi shrugged. “It’s always a tough time of year for him and…well, you could’ve made it a lot worse, but you didn’t, and even were kind. Maybe you didn’t think you were, but…that’s how he took it.”

“Oh, well…” Kaito shrugged tiredly, “I was in the wrong, with Hideki. It’s tough to be mean to someone when you know you’re in the wrong. Even if you still wanna punch them in their very punchable faces.”

“Also, in retrospect, I was in the wrong with Aiichi too. That wasn’t even the only time I was aggressive with him, I was… so mad.” Kaito frowned, brow furrowing, “When Lake and Denji came back with you unconscious after the nose bleed thing. I remember as soon as it felt safe too, I went to his office to demand they be punished. Or, Lake, anyway. And when he said they did things like that cause you needed them too, and it was under his orders… god, his being King was the only thing that made me doubt myself enough to not go ballistic on him. If anyone else had said that shit…”

Kaito shrugged tiredly, “Well, someone else did say that. Lake did. And I tried to spar her with a broken arm. Man, I can be a dumb asshole… with Hideki? I basically acted like a dick and then threatened to hover around his office all day and use my ‘Luminary’ness to scare off his workload if he didn’t give me the confrontation I wanted. And boy, did he give it to me. I was just angry that day and looking for a fight… pfff. Preferably a fight I could have won. God, I haven’t won a fight in ages. I’d love to win a fight again. I miss fighting.”

“... I mean, I don’t miss it.” Kaito corrected himself, “I just… miss certain stuff about it, I guess. But I don’t miss it overall.”

“He is a punchable person,” Kokichi nodded, though he had never felt the inclination to fight his uncle, at least physically. But he was more than aware of the kind of aura his uncle had, and paired with the kind of fights he did pick… His uncle was an asshole, it was true. 

Slurping on his noodles, Kokichi’s gaze lowered a little. That whole thing with Lake… These days, it would be just as scary as Kaito had found it. But…at the time, in the moment… He had been punching and biting his siblings, just wanting to be alone, barely paying attention to his nose. If someone couldn’t be reasoned with with words or careful touches, if they were a danger to themselves and those around them…subduing them was the best thing to do. And Lake had, and had saved him even more time on bedrest. 

He wondered how things would’ve been different, if Kaito had seen what happened. 

“...it’s okay to miss fighting, and it’s okay to miss parts of it,” Kokichi hummed after a moment, pressing against Kaito’s arm. “I can’t relate, but…there are days I want to be grouchy and prickly and…sometimes it’s just sort of an empty feeling when no one takes the bait. But…it’s probably better for me not to pick fights I don’t actually mean.”

“You can be grumpy and prickly with me. I can be, like… super into it.” Kaito offered, chewing through some of his bamboo sticks as he gave Kokichi a fond look, “I can be like a… strawman figure, doing all the right motions and saying all the right words that really sets you up for a one, two, pow! Right in the metaphorical kisser! Oooooh, I bet June could make a subdivision of her muses of strawmen for people who want to have satisfying arguments that they don’t wanna risk losing.” Kaito said, eyes widening at his brilliant idea. “You just get, like, a list of approved talking points, you have to be cartoonishly aggressive and easy to dislike, and you have to be kinda dumb the entire time, but, like, self confident in your dumbness that it’s even more satisfying proving you wrong. Gah! It’s brilliant!”

Eyes sparkling, cheerfully sipping at his noodles, Kaito said in his next clear breath, “God, I missed my calling, I’d be so good at that.”

Kokichi snorted, but quickly came down with laughs as Kaito fleshed out his idea. And…honestly? It was a pretty good one. Kokichi had learned through Hideki how people went into debate clubs for that kind of therapeutic effect, but…those debates took a lot of research and brainpower to consider your opponents’ arguments. For having a little spat, and ensuring that you’d win? There was a market for that. 

“Hun, I don’t think I have it in me to argue with you as going through motions,” and…Kokichi, already in a bad mood, would probably feel frustrated with his husband humoring him, and if it didn’t make him feel sad, he’d probably end up getting way too personal, “but…that is a good idea. I’ll mention it when I explain June’s business.”

Kokichi affectionately nudged Kaito’s arm, munching on more of his veggies. “You are good at playing into expectations. You’d do well.”

“Heck yeah I would.” Kaito bragged, picking up his bowl and sipping at it a bit, “Pay me well enough, I’ll be whoever you want for a night… if what you want is specifically someone easy and satisfying to shout at. Or do cool, witty one-liners that just devastate me and everything I stand for, and everyone around to hear it stands up and cheers…”

Kaito laughed, clearly just delighted with his imaginary ‘hate-muse’ job, putting his bowl back down and digging back into the contents now that they weren’t entirely submerged in the broth, “What were we talking about? How the heck did we get to hate muses and cheering? Um… shoot, right, we can both act spoiled sometimes. But I can be a real bastard about it. I just can’t imagine you at your worst competing with me when I’m just trying to be a dickhead… though admittedly, you’ve gotten me good a few times. I always know you said something that punched because I can barely remember the words you said, that’s how distracted I was by just reeling from whatever you said.”

Kaito said this like he was impressed, spinning the broth and noodles and meat of his bowl as he tried to recall, “You said something when we were having the big heat wave fight… god, I can’t remember what it was, I was pissed about it for like a week. What was it… wow, I really can’t remember. My ‘Kichi being a damn bruiser that day, hot damn.”

Kokichi shook his head with a small sigh. “I said a lot of shitty stuff that week…and I barely remember what any of it was either. I just…remember being so hot and constantly uncomfortable and just…getting pissy with everything. I couldn’t tell you what the actual psychology of it was, but I just…was mad at everything.”

“Let’s hope the meteorologists are right and we’re not gonna get another wave this year,” he smiled at Kaito. “Though…that means we are probably gonna get our late-summer thunderstorms. There was enough going on last year, so it was good we skipped out, but I do miss them. They’re, like, god-tier to sleep to.”

Kokichi frowned slightly. “...Miyako might not think so. I hope they don’t scare her.”

“Our Miya’s a brave, strong baby. I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Kaito said, entirely certain of it… though he added in, “And if not, well, she can cry in dad’s arms. I’ve got her, it’ll be okay. And don’t worry about being all pissy in the heatwave, babe, knowing me? I had it coming. Probably said something shitty and overly-aggressive over something ridiculous.”

Kaito rolled his eyes at himself. Kokichi could blame the heat, but Kaito had no such excuse. He had felt fine in the heat (Well, for the most part) and if he had been quick to temper? Well, when wasn’t he? 

“Thunderstorms… we get thunderstorms sometimes too. Uh, ‘we’ meaning ‘Luminary’. Sand storms were more common though. Well, we called them ‘sand’ storms, but really it was just a lot of wind going around and wrecking shop. But same, it could be really nice to sleep to the sound of the wind whistling outside. Something about the white noise of big storms, ya know? It can be soothing.”

Even if Miyako got scared, they’d be there for her. It’d be alright. And they could get little baby earmuffs to make the sound less startling. 

Frowning, though, Kokichi softly punched Kaito’s arm (something that was more akin to just pressing his knuckles into Kaito’s bicep). “No. You don’t have fights coming, and I said really horrible things to you for no reason. You’re a wonderful person and a fantastic husband and I really treasure you, so…you don’t have bad things coming to you.”

It was something that would probably be a point of contention between them for a while, but…well, Kokichi was willing to fight on that point. 

Nodding at the description of sandstorms, Kokichi hummed softly. “...I don’t remember… I think Maki-chan might’ve told me about them before, about how you guys would have to roll up your tapestries so no one got brained during storms…”

“...it really was an incredible sound, when Shuu-chan showed me, but,” Kokichi snorted softly, “I think it would catch me off guard for quite a while. I can see how it’d be nice white noise, but it’d take me a while to get used to it.”

The look Kaito gave Kokichi was genuinely confused, for a moment. Shuichi showed him…?

Oh. Right. Dream stuff.

“Yeah, everything had to be secured down in some way, cause debris just made the storms more dangerous. Lots of wind.” Kaito agreed, nodding and then focusing on his bowl of ramen, picking through the last of it.

… there was probably a reason, Kokichi hadn’t shown him anything outside of therapy.

Kaito wasn’t going to push, or needle. After hearing about how Kokichi pushing himself on the empath stuff kept physically hurting him, Kaito’s own confusion and curiosity came pretty low, as far as priorities went. He didn’t really care, when it was all said and done. All he wanted from Kokichi and Miyako was that they were healthy and happy. Kaito didn’t… really need to be a factor in their super power stuff, beyond just helping them recover when they overdid it. He wondered if Miyako was going to get nosebleeds and migraines too. His poor little girl…

“...is Miyako still jumping into my… writing? When she’s bored?” Kaito asked, looking at Kokichi in concern, “You said she was doing that, right? Is that, uh… is there anything I should be doing about that?”

“She hasn’t since that time,” Kokichi shook his head. “It is something we should sit down and talk about how we want to handle, though. At home, I mean,” Kokichi nodded to the shop around them with a small smile.

“...there’s a lot I wanna talk to you about, but…I mean, I know it’s only been a few days,” he sighed. “I don’t want to overwhelm you with information…and there’s still a lot I don’t realize I remember. It just…comes up. And there’s so much I need to follow up on for myself--basically work I just shoved off until now…”

“...I know it’s…weird.” Kokichi looked down, swinging his legs from his stool. “I just… I want to give you the time I can. I don’t want to stress you out.”

“I get that.” Kaito shrugged, “And, to be honest? Fair. I have been very stressed lately, and I can’t imagine I’m a lot of fun when I’m like that. I wouldn’t want to stress me out more either. I get that.”

“And, it’s not like you’re keeping anything from me. I can wait until you’re ready to talk about stuff. Just…” Kaito had been about to say ‘don’t hide it from me’, but… he was tired of making that point. Tired of arguing it. When the next ‘big thing’ came along? His family would choose to tell him about it or not. There wasn’t anything more he could do about it by this point. He’d go back to being pissed and angry about it the next time they gave him a reason to be.

Give it, like… another year, he guessed.

“... just know you can talk to me when you’re ready.” Kaito decided on instead, shrugging. “So long as no one’s in danger? It’s fine… plus! Starting tomorrow, I might actually, uh, be getting eight hours of sleep a day! Maybe! So that’s a novelty. Yeah, I still gotta work out the details with Miss Crystal tomorrow, but I should be coming home with, uh, sleeping tablets and stuff. The ‘good stuff’, Miss Crystal assures me, whatever that means.”

“...I don’t know how to talk to her about the new factors in the depression medication.” Kaito admitted, “I can’t tell her there’s new uncertainty about the voices. I guess what I’ll do is just wait out the original time limit and then tell her ‘no new voices’. Seems like the only thing to do without coming across really weird.”

“I just…” Kokichi sighed. “...I don’t want to make the decision… I keep…messing them up. When it comes to…action and force? I have so much of an upper hand in the situation… I don’t want to tell you more than you’re ready to hear, or…initiate things you’re not ready for. If there’s something you want, tell me, and I’ll do my best. But…I want to stop messing things up so much…”

Sending his partners into panics and betraying their trust and just…being a far cry from anything he wanted to be. 

He perked up, hearing some interesting information from Kaito, though. “...you’ve decided on the sleeping aids? Oh Kai-chan…I’m happy for you,” Kokichi smiled softly. “It’s gonna be nice getting proper sleep again.”

“...and that might be the best way to present it,” he murmured. “...d’ya wanna talk to Shuu-chan? He might have an idea about how to make things a clearer picture in a way that’s…yanno, reasonable to people.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” Kaito said, about the Shuichi suggestion. He wasn’t sure what to say about the first part, Kokichi waiting on him to initiate things. He guessed he’d just… talk to them all more about what the reality of these powers were. And how it affected all of them? That was probably the next stage.

“Speaking of therapy stuff, how do you think Maki’s is going? I was really relieved when Dr. Mariah was so enthusiastic about helping Maki with her lizard problem, but, like…” Kaito gave Kokichi a concerned look, “I doubt it’s something she has experience in helping with. I wonder how many people, just, in general have been in Maki’s situation? You and her both… it’s a lot. I keep waiting to hear about Shuichi’s big magi–” Kaito stopped himself, corrected, “big… talent exposure? Yeah, I keep waiting to hear about Shuichi’s new hidden, terrifying talent, and dealing with all the ways it’ll affect him.”

Kokichi chewed on his lip a little, before purposefully taking a mouthful of noodles instead to save his lip. “...with Maki-chan’s specific problem? Given everything I know about lizards…I think no one. But…the issues Maki-chan has about it…” Kokichi sighed, shrugging a little. “I’m not sure. But…I believe that Dr. Mariah has enough experience to be able to give her legitimate help. Not lizards themselves, but…lizard-adjacent things, I’ve discovered, are much more common than I thought.”

Smiling slightly, Kokichi affectionately nudged Kaito’s arms. “Other than his cool dad powers from being pregnant with Miya? Which…now that we have more context, we know about? There’s at least nothing I know about. And I think after that, Shuu-chan’s gonna be more mindful about looking for talent. I think…for that kind of stuff, everything’s on the table between all of us.”

Kaito smiled lightly as Kokichi nudged him, finally paying back affection as he snatched a little kiss against his cheek. “No more big talent surprises? Alright. Guess I’m happy to be surrounded by such incredible, talented people. Formerly talented, for Shuichi? God, I hope so, we seriously need to have Seiko do some tests and guarantee the womb issue is taken care of. A part of me might be bummed out, cause I went and snipped myself to not scare him when sexy times arrived again, and he is determined to blue-ball me. So, I might feel a liiiittttllle bit like I jumped the ball early if he’s barren and we find out long before it’s relevant…”

“But! That said, it’s not a big loss either way. Despite what Shuichi thinks, I am not collecting any more kids this next year. Timothy and Miyako keep me busy enough.” Kaito huffed, shaking his head, “Two kids I’m directly responsible for is enough. The dad door is closed. No little baby solicitors, thank you~”

She’d had theories, the last time they’d talked about it, but…yeah. If Shuuichi was willing, it would be peace of mind for all of them to know for sure. There may even be more data out there, from the other patients Seiko had taken on--Shuuichi didn’t have to be the test subject. 

Though, Kokichi snorted a little before he widened his eyes, looking up at Kaito. “Not even Feelings Baby? I’ll have to turn them right away, them not reading the sign and knocking on my heart, just for disappointment…”

He kept it up for just a moment more before snickering softly. “No, yeah. No more kids for a while. You might be confident, but I’m still running around in a loving panic when it comes to Miyako. Any other kids can wait a few years for me to find my footing again.”

However he might find an heir. Sure, magic was real, but…still. It was weird and too ‘predetermined-fate’y for Kokichi to really believe that’s how all Oumas had chosen their heir. 

Kaito glared at Kokichi, frustrated… before he huffed, “You and I both know Feeling’s Baby gets a pass. I’ve been prepping for Feeling’s Baby since before I even realized I had accidentally adopted a son. If anything, depending on if they’re alive or not, Feelings Baby is my first kid, we just haven’t come across them yet.”

“...though that thought makes me kinda sad, so… I guess hopefully they’re just not alive yet. Or at least happy wherever they are.” Kaito pouted, looking concerned by that idea. “Nngh… I made myself sad. How’s your food coming along, beautiful? I wanna go cuddle my itty bitty baby and not think about potential missing siblings.”

Kokichi gave Kaito a soft look. His husband had been thrust into so many expectations and weird situations that he hadn’t been prepared for at all. And yet…he kept walking forward, taking it all on the chin and…well, meeting Kokichi’s expectations. Being who he needed to be for others. 

Nuzzling Kaito’s arms, Kokichi regarded his food and his stomach. “...mmm, I can finish soon. Do you want some of my veggies to eat faster? I wanna cuddle Mi-Mi too… I hope she and Shuu-chan have had a nice day together. Ooooh, and we can show off your new clothes to Shuu-chan too.”

“And what, make your entire lunch nothing but carbs? Finish your vegetables, beautiful… okay, I’ll have one or two. But you're still finishing most of them.”

Stealing a few pieces of veggie, Kaito crunched them for a bit… before saying suddenly, “I’mma try to seduce that butt, tonight. You think he’d be seduced by the new clothes? I still have no idea what seduces that guy.”

It was worth a shot, even if these fried veggies were good. Mostly, Kokichi just thought Kaito wouldn’t be as much of a fan of his noodles. 

“Mmf, sh’omtimes it feels like a coin flip,” Kokichi hummed, more dedicatedly packing down his soba. “Sometimes ‘m cute an’ affectionate and it does the trick. Other times he just rolls with that, like, non-carnally. You do look great in that yukata, though, so I think you have a chance from jus’ bein’ sexy.”

“...mm, sweets or askin’ about private things sometimes works.” As in, talking to Shuuichi about his kinks. It at least put him in that mindset. 

“I already give him so many sweets. How do I differentiate ‘sexy sweets’ and just, like, ‘returning from a trip to the market’ sweets? Cause lets be honest either way at some point you were gonna suggest we go get ‘Shuichi’ sweets.” Kaito guessed, giving Kokchi a knowing look, “And I’m gonna say yes cause I’m a sucker.”

“Talking about private things… that’s worked for you?” Kaito asked, looking a little baffled, though… “...I mean, I guess he does love, like, gossip, essentially… private things…”

What did Kaito have that was both sexy and private to show him? Hmmmm. He could… tell him about international trade agreements they had been settled on under the table due to things having nothing to do with the trade agreement itself… Kaito had been sworn to secrecy, even if no one had specifically ever said that, but it was understood. But it didn’t matter now. None of those people were alive or in charge anymore, besides maybe Kaede. Kaito assumed she was using the same negotiating methods.

Maybe that would make Shuichi all hot and bothered?

“I can try that.” Kaito agreed, “I just need some of that sweet, sweet Shuichi. Like, it’s been a while since the pregnancy… ngh. Maybe he’s still hurting? Actually, I’d hope he’d tell us if he was still feeling injured from what happened, cause that’s probably not normal. Right? I’ll ask.”

Kokichi glanced around, turning pink before leaning up to whisper in Kaito’s ear. “Like…offer him chocolates to eat off your body. Or offer to be tied up, if you’re comfortable with that.”

Coughing and turning more red, Kokichi gulped down some of his water before trying to finish off his veggies and the last of his broth. “Mo’shtly? He’s told me ‘e hasn’t been in ‘da mood. Not that ‘e’s hurtin’ ‘er anythin’. His body’s finally calmin’ down from the las’ht year, yeah? And it’s not like ‘e was on the prowl before everything.”

With a sigh, Kokichi set down his empty bowl and wiped his face. “Honestly…I miss Shuu-chan that way too. I like it when we makeout, but I like other stuff too.”

“Ready to head back?”

Kaito gave Kokichi an openly bug eyed look… before whispering fiercely at him, “Oh my god, did he say that??”

Kaito barely heard everything else Kokichi said through his food, still just reeling over the idea of Shuichi tying him up and doing anything to him. As Kokichi asked him if he was ready to head back, Kaito just mutely nodded, his brain far too occupied with new Shuichi-based ideas. Kaito Momota was lost. The smut had him. 

…nnnnngh, Kaito just had to get him in the mood. Gah!

-

Shuichi looked sternly at his daughter, thinking very, very hard at her, {Tap father’s hand.}

Miyako continued to stare back at him curiously. Content to lay back in her crib, ignoring Shuichi’s hand next to her face as she contently sucked her pacifier.

{Fathers hand is next to your head. If you move your left arm, you can tap it easily. Tap fathers hand.}

Suck, suck, suck. Miyako blinked up at him. 

{... Blue’s hand is next to your head. Tap on Blue’s hand? Refine your motor skills! I believe you can do this!}

Damn. Nothing. Shuichi pouted a little. Bet it would have worked for ‘Big Red’... was she hearing him at all? How could he tell? {Miyako. This is blue, your father. Do you want my hand closer? Are you just not up to lifting your arm that direction? Coo if yes.”

Nothing. That was fair, she was sucking a pacifier. And Shuichi might be, uh… reaching. For a little more than his literal infant was ready to give. He just wanted to try to communicate with her! Maybe she was reading his mind! They could use it to get her ahead on motor skills!

{How about something simpler… can you kick? You kick for Red all the time, see if you can–}

There was a light knock, before the door unlocked, “We’re home~”

“Welcome back.” Shuichi said, sighing as he gave Miyako a little pet against her arm. {It’s okay. I’m still very proud of you, you’re doing fine.}

More unconcerned sucking.

“Guess what we got!” Kokichi cooed, skipping into the room with a bag in hand. Pastries weren’t the sexiest food--at least neither of them had ideas for them--and so they’d gotten some chocolates for Shuuichi, both for just pure deliciousness factor, and for possible sexy-times. And, luckily, they had scooted on home quick enough that they hadn’t melted! Truly a good omen. 

“Aw, Shuu-chan, we went to this really nice udon shop on 25th and Willow? We should take you sometime, it was really good. Hopefully Mi-Mi will get a taste for it someday too~” Dropping the chocolate on the desk, Kokichi came forward and peered into the crib, grinning at Miyako before giving Shuuichi a peck on the cheek. “Hey, hi. How was your morning? Miyako give you any trouble?”

“No, she’s been very agreeable today. She seems to be in a pretty good mood.” Shuichi said, leaning into the kiss on the cheek contently before glancing over his shoulder, giving the chocolates an interested look. “She didn’t fuss with her food, no surprises during changing or burping. A total delight. So, I apologize, Kokichi, if she ends up being incredibly fussy later, not getting any of it out of her system with me.”

“Maybe she’ll just have an entirely fuss-free day! They happen!” Kaito cheerfully hoped, putting down his bag of clothes and going to the crib as well, stealing Shuichi’s hat from his head to give him a few kisses on the top of his head, before placing the hat back down as he said, “What about you? You having a fuss-free day too?”

“Hm?” Shuichi readjusted his hat on his head, looking up at Kaito as the taller man leaned over him and coo’d at Miyako in the crib, who was now contently watching all of them, still mostly just occupied sucking her pacifier. “Yeah. Like I said, it’s been quiet. I’ve mostly just been watching Miyako and reading a little.”

“That sounds nice~” Kaito said, putting his arms around Shuichi’s shoulder and kissing the side of his face a bit, breathing in the scent of his hair as he said softly, “I’m glad you’re having a nice day…”

“Aw, been a perfectly satisfied young lady today, Mi-Mi? I’m glad - ureshiii~ neee~” Kokichi cooed, continuing his newly formed habit of speaking bits and pieces of Tradean to Miyako, hoping that some of it would help her out when it really became time to encourage her to speak. Little kids were already good at absorbing language, but…still. It helped to encourage it. 

Kokichi glanced up, a little amused at how Kaito was starting to put the moves on already. “Hey, do ya wanna see the clothes we got for Kai-chan? I gotta say…” He smirked, kissing the tips of his fingers for effect. “They’re some niiiiiice duds. I think Shuu-chan’ll approve too.”

Maybe he was intruding, maybe he was being a helpful wingman, but…well, Kokichi was trying. He had a full afternoon of baby cuddle time to look forward to, and he wanted his partners to be able to make the most of it. 

“Hm? Sure. You ended up getting some yukata’s after all, Kaito?” Shuichi asked, scooting in his chair to look back and up at Kaito, clearly settling in to be ‘wowed’ by whatever they had chosen to the prince. “Show it off. It’ll help me pick something when Maki and I go pick some clothes, knowing what you’re wearing. I still haven't seen Kokichi’s, beyond last harvest.”

Kaito gave Shuichi an earnest look, backing up from his hold and nodding vigorously as he said, “It looks really good! Kokichi picked out the pattern, and it’s awesome. I think you’ll like it, hold on.” Kaito said, quickly heading back to the bag, a nervous, excited energy to him. Now that he had his mind set on this, he wanted mission ‘Woo Shuichi’ to work! He hadn’t been intimate with his boyfriend in so long… Kaito missed him. 

(... and if Shuichi could be convinced into trying out some of his, uh, specific brand of intimacy on Kaito? Kaito was not saying no. Kaito’s head had been swimming ever since the ‘tied up’ suggestion. If Shuichi was considering it? Kaito was soooooo down for it.)

As Kato laid down the clothes, startin to take off his own, he… was maybe not entirely subtle about flexing his stomach and arms, his chest tightening as he just haaaaaad to stretch his arms up as high as they go to get his shirt off. Totally normal, getting undressed stretching, no big deal…

Shuichi watched Kaito get undressed, eyes darting around a little to certain spots of interest… before laughing lightly, and leaning into Kokichi. “Did you get him riled up while you were gone? I think he’s trying to get your attention, Kokichi.” Shuichi said teasingly, watching with amusement as Kaito just haaaad to bend elaborately to take his pants off, one leg at a time. Ha. Very subtle.

Kokichi nodded eagerly. “The place we went to was really cool--it was just, like, wall-to-wall traditional summer clothes. If you and Maki-chan are really gonna go for it, I don’t think you’ll have any issue finding something you’ll be excited for. Like…Denji-chan makes all my ‘official’ clothes, but my eyes get hungry looking at all the cool patterns.”

Smirking slightly as he too noticed Kaito’s little performance, Kokichi didn’t have any qualms about looking, though it wasn’t for him. And such, he just raised an eyebrow back at Shuuichi. “Who said anything about this being for me?”

And just to sell it, Kokichi nudged Shuuichi’s arm a little, giving his head another kiss. “I had to scarf down the last of my lunch ‘cause Kai-chan wanted to come home so bad… We were missing our Shuu-chan~”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow at that. Kaito could, and often did, randomly get very horny specifically for Kokichi. Shuichi was never surprised to see Kaito suddenly and randomly desperately trying to attract Kokichi’s attention, and was often hugely amused by it, watching what he sometimes ungenerously dubbed Katio’s ‘mating dance’. Which mostly just danced back and forth between acting a little ridiculous or being genuinely sultry. He was clearly in the ‘act ridiculous’ stage as Kaito, finishing getting his pants off and, suddenly just—

“Yaaaaawn,” Kaito said aloud, this yawn for whatever reason putting him in a pose where one arm was jutted up and behind him, his other sort of covering his mouth but mostly flexing his bicep, body contorted to sort of show off his front while somehow managing to keep his ass in view. 

“Kaito, you’re going to hurt your back if you keep that up.” Shuchi told him dryly. 

“What? No! You’re gonna… hurt your back.” Kaito pouted, though his stance relaxed into a non-contortionist pose. The ‘yawn’ done as he went back to focusing on putting on the robe.

Looking at the clothes still on the bed as Kaito started to push himself into the under-armor (all grace immediately gone as he struggled to get his head through it, not having realized the neck thing was still buttoned), Shuichi raised an eyebrow. “No pants?”

“Some of the yukata don’t have pants and… ‘Kichi? Help???” Kaito said, now officially stuck, his arms already in the sleeves and unable to escape as the button in the neck held firm.

“Unless you’re specifically putting on something underneath, most summer yukata aren’t assumed to have pants,” Kokichi explained, going over with a smile to help free his husband. “Like…it can be comfortable just to put some close-fitting shorts on, just to have something separating your underwear and the robe, but the robe itself is kind of bottoms too. Traditionally, kimono don’t have pants either, but a lot of people wear leggings underneath ‘cause of the weather.”

Unclasping the button, Kokichi helped slide the collar over Kaito’s head, smoothing down the rest of his shirt before reaching into the bag to start getting the obi ready to wrap Kaito back up. “S’cause yukata ‘n kimono ‘n sarafan are proper robes. Stuff like jinbei and kyrtill and (that vest Denji said once) and happi are defined separates ‘n vests ‘n stuff. They had proper uses back in the day, for ceremony and, like, what you were gonna be doing, but these days…if you’re wearing any of them to a festival, you’re just dressing traditionally. I bet you could find out more in some of the smaller villages though--a lot of them still have older architecture and technology, just ‘cause it’s easier with the resources they have, and people like holding on to tradition.”

“It’s a nice mix of old and new, all around,” he hummed happily.

Kaito let out a little relieved sigh as Kokichi saved his poor head, glancing over at Shuichi to see if he had lost any sexiness points– hm. Still a total lack of interest. But he wasn’t openly mocking him, so maybe Kaito still had a chance– before giving Kokichi a curious look…

“‘Kichi,” Kaito whispered, as he put on his robe with a dramatic ‘fwoosh’, “Your dick-sucking accent is coming out again.”

Kokichi sputtered, turning red. “My WHAT?!”

“‘Kichi! The baby!” Kaito said, voice still normal volume, but stern, glancing at the crib where Miyako was still just as contently as ever sucking on her pacifier and lightly kicking the air. “The accent you get whenever you’re, ya know… going down on me? You always put on an accent?”

“...you do?” Shuichi asked, looking hugely amused, while Kaito continued to give Kokichi a ‘you know. The dick sucking accent’ look, like it should have been obvious what he was talking about.

Kokichi glanced over at Miyako, though he hadn’t yelled, thank you very much, seeing her as unbothered as usual. And so, he had full rein to turn back to Kaito, red and looking scandalized. “I do not! I only have my accent--I’m awful at impressions. What on earth are you talking about?!”

And despite his embarrassed scandal and righteous inquiries, Kokichi was not yelling, not about to upset his daughter too.

Kaito’s brow furrowed, robe still wide open as he insisted, “Uuuuuuh, yeah??? You do?? You’ve done it twice now! You totally have a dick-sucking voice you put on! Like, no, ya know… judgment, I thought it was cute! But you definitely have one. Shuichi, back me up here!”

Still incredibly amused, Shuichi shook his head, “Sorry, no can do Kaito. I’ve never heard Kokich put on an accent beyond trying to imitate us.”

“He does! He… well…” Kaito looked a little embarrassed, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, before whispering conspiratorially, “...ya kinda sound like your dad?? I thought you were doing it to be sexy or something, I dunno.”

Kokichi made a semi-disgusted face, though he did come forward to start wrapping up Kaito’s obi. “Why would I want to sound like my dad if I was trying to be sexy? That’s…kinda messed up on a few levels. There are plenty of things I do to be sexy, but putting on an accent isn’t one of them.”

Looking back at Shuuichi, Kokichi raised an eyebrow. “Do I pick up my dad’s accent?”

Shuichi shrugged, “Not that I’ve heard. Maybe it’s Kaito having weird thoughts.”

“It is not!” Kaito gasped, now looking a little embarrassed and scandalized himself, “I didn’t say you were trying to be your dad, I thought… it’s a cute accent! Maybe it gave you confidence, I don’t know! I wasn’t gonna distract you from what you were doing by asking! Oof.” 

Kaito winced a little as Kokichi pulled the Obi tight around his hips, Kaito pouting miserably as his outfit was put together, the robe itself not lined all that well and Kaito’s stance a little too casual, one of his legs pushing out and the upper part of the robe not pulled tight, showing off the curve of the under armor over his pecks. A red, embarrassed flush on his neck and up his ears, painting his face a little as well.

… Shuichi’s eyes focused.

Huh.

“I mean…” Kokichi sighed, clasping the decorative part and starting on the structural, “It is possible that I pick up my dad’s accent sometimes. I was raised by him, and his accent is really prominent. I just…never do it on purpose, and it’s certainly not something I do in the middle of intimate times.”

Shaking his head, Kokichi started to straighten out the robe, getting it to lay where it should…and even not laid down right from the start, Kaito’s body continued to do most of the work for it. Despite being a generally flowy garment, the yukata left little about Kaito’s physique to the imagination. And did leave just enough to make it fun. 

Smoothing the bird pattern on the lapel, Kokichi quickly stepped aside, presenting Kaito excitedly. “Sooooo? What do you think?”

“Do to.” Kaito grumbled, though he easily stilled to let Kokichi do his work, looking down curiously at himself. It was still a little strange feeling to wear something like this. He kept feeling the fabric brush against his legs in unusual ways, something that just didn’t happen with the steady, consistent press of pants. Also, he could feel his legs press against each other. It was novel, to have that when he wasn’t just straight up hanging out in the room in nothing but boxers…

Kaito glanced up as Kokichi presented him, and was able to catch the moment something shifted in Shuichi’s gaze.

…oooooo.

“It looks nice. The color suits you, Kaito. Nice pick, Kokichi.” Shuichi complimented, unconsciously shifting the brim of his hat a little, a small flush in his face. Kaito zeroed in on that, an excited thump of adrenaline running through him as he realized, hell yeah, this might actually happen.

More than happy to drop the dick-accent argument in pursuit of fine Shuichi ass, Kaito grinned, the look knowing and mischievous as he said, “It’s a good fabric too. Wanna feel it, handsome?”

Shuichi gave Kaito a dry, equally knowing look. Uh huh. Subtle…

Shuichi hadn’t made up his mind about anything, to be clear. But he did get up to go indulge Kaito’s offer, Shuichi looking over the robe appreciatively from a closer angle, before running his hand over Kaito’s chest and down to the obi. “...nice. Very smooth. Is it hot?”

“Nah. Breathes easy. The under armor is admittedly a little more dense.” Kaito laughed, grinning wolfishly as Shuichi put his hand inside the robe, touching the armor without invitation, before golden eyes focused on the button and little diamond window below Kaito’s neck. “Stylish, right? I can imagine feeling a little trapped in this, honestly, with the cloth around my neck and the wrap thing around my waist. Tough to get out on your own.”

Putting his hands over Shuchi’s, who was smoothing the robe back into shape, Kaito grinned fiercely, “But that’s alright… sometimes I really like feeling a little trapped…” 

Leaning in, saying softly into Shuchi’s ear, Kaito asked, “Hey, do you know any good knots, Shuichi?”

Shuichi’s eyes widened, a flush running through his face… before they narrowed. Giving Kokichi a dry, accusatory look. “You told on me.”

Kokichi watched satisfactorily as Shuuichi came up to inspect Kaito’s yukata, not missing the relative interest on Shuuichi’s face. It wasn’t even close to a done deal, but it wasn’t a red light yet. Which, when it came to Shuuichi? Meant it was time to put your best foot forward. 

Which Kaito was heavily insinuating, but…that might’ve been too much. 

Still, Kokichi shrugged, unashamed. “I mentioned a few things--led off with getting chocolates, actually. But it’s still all a conversation for you two to have. If someone’s interested in something, then there’s a conversation to be had. But on that noooote… Should Miyako and I go hang out in her room for a bit? Go stare amazed at her mobile, maybe take a nap.”

Kaito startled at that, enjoying the flush on Shuichi’s face but deeply concerned he had started a fight between his partners as he urgently leaned back, trying to give Shuichi some space… but chuckled, both delight and a little uncertain as Shuichi’s hands around his robe went from touching to closing around the fabric, keeping Kaito from moving backwards any further than that. Was that… good? He was a little uncertain of the vibe…

Though he frowned a little at the idea of kicking out his husband and baby girl. Miyako seemed perfectly content in the crib– and Kaito was determined that they could indeed have a day where Miyako was not offended by anything, though said days were rare– and Kokich had been out all day already… “Uh, I was–” Kaito glanced at Shuichi, still trying to read the room, “-- thinking maybe we could hang out in my shrine a little–”

“Let’s go to my study.” Shuichi decided.

Kaito’s eyes widened, “Okay yes absolutely.”

“Are you okay wearing this?” Shuichi asked, still looking over the robe, “Does this wash?”

“Uuuuuuuuuh, Kokichi’s did–”

“Good.” Shuichi said, before smiling softly up at Kaito, “I like all those ideas. Could you grab anything we’d need for all of it?”

Kaito, briefly, wondered if he was being set up for something. Was it his birthday and he hadn’t noticed?? He was having sex with Shuichi in an office with his boyfriend in the mood to try a new thing, all ready to go? This was too good to be true. He might actually be dreaming. Maybe he should ask Kokichi…

Eh, if he was dreaming, why ruin the illusion before he woke up?

As Kaito ran around the room trying to collect anything they would need, Shuichi watched him rush, a small smile on his face…

Shuichi didn’t say it, but Kokichi would be able to feel it off him, his desire to show Kaito a good time. Though Kaito had focused his ire on Maki and Kokichi, Shuichi was very aware that when he had told Nadiya he was using Miyako as a shield, it was true. Kaito didn’t want to be furious with the birth-father of his infant, who had just gone through the difficulties of pregnancy and birth, for keeping huge secrets about their daughter from him. It wasn’t fair, but Shuichi was still going to take that grace period for everything it was, the only peson Kaito wasn’t willing to directly argue with right now.

…but he still felt a little bad about it. Maybe a lot bad, if he stopped to think about it too long. A nice afternoon with Kaito wouldn’t fix anything or undo any of it, but… well, it wasn’t going to hurt anything either, and Kaito did get excited about stuff like this.

Besides, Shuichi loved the yukata and how Kaito looked in it, and eating chocolates off his body was, as usual, weirdly compelling for Shuichi. He could just eat chocolate normally, but no! Somehow it was better off abs and pecks. Ridiculous, hormones were a curse.

“Ready! Are we ready? We’re actually going right? Did you change your mind?” Kaito asked, starting excited and ending absolutely certain Shuichi had changed his mind, “We, uh, that’s fine, we don’t have too, I can go take a bath–”

“I’ll meet you there.”

“...you’re not gonna leave me there are you–?”

“I have literally never done anything like that to you, Kaito. Stop second guessing yourself, go, I just want to give Kokichi some kisses before I go.” Shuichi said, rolling his eyes a little at him before wrapping his arms around Kokichi, giving him a few soft kisses as Kaito watched, before looking back at him, “I’ll meet you there.”

Kaito watched, entranced, before nodding vigorously, “Okay! Bye ‘Kichi! Bye Miya! Love you!” before running off.

Watching Kaito run off… Shuichi looked to Kokichi, “Hey, so, a friend of mine, the one I can’t tell you about? They gave me an idea for a gift for him? I was thinking it might mean more coming from you, so, while we have a minute alone…”

-

Kaito considered the sheet for a long time, waiting for Shuichi to arrive to his study. Every now and again he glanced nervously towards the terrarium, where Nini was chilling high on some branches, very likely looking at nothing, but potentially looking at Kaito, and Kaito having no idea how he felt about that. For the most part he tried not to think about it as he considered the sheet again…

…maybe… he could hide the fact that he had stripped a sheet into lines from Kokichi and Waku… how hard could that be? He’d just… toss them in the tash? Somewhere? Who looks in the trash? No one would tell on him! They never had to know.

…Kokichi saw him leave with the sheet.

He could say it was in the wash! Kokichi wasn’t keeping track! 

But Waku was… she might ask what happened to the sheet… no, not even Diceans were that meticulous about waste. Kaito could… would someone look through the trash? They did all that recycling, maybe someone did search through trash and would find the stripped apart sheet and Kaito would probably have to pay for the sheet but worse than that Waku and Kokichi might be disappointed–

“I’m here.” Shuichi called, as he opened the door.

“Oh thank god I’ve been sitting here overthinking trash etiquette for legit fifteen minutes.” Kaito said, giving Shuichi a nervous look as he said, “Do you think anyone would notice if I destroyed this sheet?”

“Um… maybe?”

“That is the least helpful possible answer you could have given.”

“Why do you want to destroy a sheet? I thought you brought that to cover up the lube container.” Shuichi admitted, closing the door behind himself and, giving Kaito an amused look, immediately going to check on Nini. 

“Because if I go to the maintenance guys and go ‘hey I need rope’, they might ask me why.” Kaito groaned, watching and feeling a little fussy as Shuichi ignored his trash panic for coo’ing at his creepy giant snake instead. “And I don’t have a good answer to that.”

“Is this for tying you up? We don’t need anything like that for tying you up.” Shuichi said, giving Kaito a ‘uh, no duh’ look as he opened up his jacket, showing the inner linings, showing off handcuffs and zip ties as he reminded Kaito, “Literally all my jackets have spots for these from work. Remember?”

Kaito blinked at that, “Oh! Uh… I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you still had those. Do you still carry those around?”

“When we go out, sometimes.” Shuichi admitted with a shrug, “They make me feel a little safer. And like we’d have an alternative solution if we ever had a situation where Maki needs to use all the throwing daggers she still takes everywhere.”

“That’s fair…” Kaito suddenly grinned, giving Shuichi a coy look, “So~ Kokichi said you’ve been thinking about experimenting?”

Shuichi rolled his eyes, though there was a small little smile at the memory, “Something like that. We talk about that sort of stuff, sometimes. Mostly when there’s something new in that fetish book you got me that I feel like talking about.”

“You actually read that!?”

“Sometimes. I showed you all those marks for hard No’s, remember?”

“Well, sure, but… that was just a bunch of no’s to stuff. I kinda got the sense you didn’t like much of anything in there, and just wanted to get ahead of the stuff you hated most.” Kaito admitted, giving Shuichi a wane smile, “There was some yes’s?”

“Sure. Everything that wasn’t ‘no’.”

“Oh my god, seriously!?”

Shuichi frowned at that, giving Kaito a concerned look, “Kaito, I know I’m not as active as you are. But that doesn’t mean I hate the idea of playing around and trying new things with you. Literally the first thing I ever requested was a weird, new thing you had never tried yourself, and it turned out I loved it. I’ve taken two dicks at once. I’ve enriched your shrine with you. I fooled around in the saunas. If we could get things that make it not actual insanity to try, I’m still okay with trying to top you, because you love the idea so much and I am, again, open to experimenting. I just don’t want to hurt you, that’s all.”

Kaito leaned back on the desk, shrugging sheepishly, “I know, I know, I guess I just… don’t want to assume all of that wasn’t the pollen affecting you. I don’t wanna pressure you or assume things based on that, just, whole timeframe. It feels dangerous.”

Shuichi gave Kaito a soft look at that, going to join him at the desk, wrapping his arms around him and resting his head on his chest, “I get that. And I’m grateful for that. But this is me, entirely sober, trying to establish new expectations and boundaries, okay? And it’s okay to ask me. The worst I’ll say is no, I’m not going to be… traumatized or afraid or anything like that. You’re not going to hurt me asking.”

“...” Kaito swallowed, something clearly on his mind, before he looked away.

Shuichi sighed. “Just say whatever you wanted to say.”

“It’ll ruin the mood.”

“Say it anyway.”

“...I don’t want to do anything Nao did by accident.” Kaito said softly, “Like how I did in the shrine. You never explained why, but… you didn’t like me putting my tongue inside your dick, even though it felt good. That was her, right? Something to do with her?”

Shuichi sighed. Ah, yeah… the big, ever hovering figure, the invisible third, or fourth, presence in all of his intimate moments. Shuichi sometimes forgot about the invisible presence, and he suspected Kokichi never thought about it purposefully, but Kaito? Kaito constantly did, and Shuichi knew it. Kaito never touched him without the thought ‘Careful, careful. Don’t be Nao’ somewhere in the back of his head.

Sometimes Shuichi thought the memory of her was worse than anything that had ever actually happened. That the ripple effect her actions had had on his relationships, even so long afterwards now, was worse than anything she had said or did. Shuichi wished he could erase her from Kaito’s head. That Kaito could lay against him without the weight of ‘Do I remind him of her’.

…well, maybe now was as good a time as any. It wasn’t something they could talk about in detail around Kokichi anyway. Though Shuichi felt a little bad. This had been meant to be a nice thing for Kaito…

“Do you want to talk about it?” Shuichi asked, still contently just laying his head against Kaito’s chest, holding him tight. “Cause… I think I’m ready too.”

Kaito’s eyes widened, gripping him back tightly. “...yeah.”

Shuichi sighed, before shifting in his hold. Placing a few kisses against Kaito’s neck, his cheek… before leaning back. Staring at Kaito firmly. “I need you to promise me you’ll stay. I need you to promise me that taking care of me is going to be you, staying, and taking care of me. I don’t want blood vengeance. I don’t want to compete with your anger, or her attention. I want to be treated gently, like something that needs your entire attention. Nao doesn’t get any piece of you, now or later. You’re mine, as I have defined it just now, and you’ll swear it.”

Kaito stiffened at that, clearly a part of him fighting against that idea… before saying softly to Shuichi, “You’re so cruel to me. You know that?”

“I need you to swear it, Kaito.” Shuichi said again, undeterred. “Taking care of me means Nao gets none of your attention. If you can’t swear that to me, you can’t take care of me. I’ll reject all other forms of care, and I’ll do a much better job of it than you or Kokichi could. My threats are sincere.” Shuichi told him grimly, ignoring Kaito’s wince at that. “Swear it.”

Kaito almost said no. He knew he’d regret saying yes. Blood vengeance, if it was bad enough, was the right answer…

But it wasn’t the right answer for Shuichi. And Kaito had to respect that. 

“I swear it.” Kaito said softly. “I will take care of you as you have defined it. Nao gets none of my attention. I swear it.”

Shuichi relaxed at that. Kaito had a lot of impulses and anger issues, but he treated his vows seriously. Shuichi had already had him vow something similar to this once, but that had just been for violence. Seeing what Kaito had done about Cedar? Even if it didn’t satisfy him the way violence did, Shuichi knew now that Kaito would pursue vengeance in any way he was allowed, and that he was surprisingly patient with it when he wanted to be. Whether it was hitting someone with a desk leg or spending weeks and weeks meticulously mailing up and sending out the story of Cedar to anyone and everyone Kaito could think of to spread the news, Kaito was going to hurt them.

And Shuichi didn’t want that. 

“...I really do like this outfit.” Shuichi said, gently pushing Kaito off himself and feeling up the fabric (and Kaito’s chest) with an appreciative hum, “I want you to keep this on, okay? You’re sexy in this.”

Kaito faltered at that, taken off guard by the sudden shift in tone. “Uh, sure, but… we’re not still doing anything, are we? I thought we were talking about–”

“You can always say no to stuff too.” Shuichi said simply, taking off his hat and placing it idly on the corner of his desk, “If any of it feels too weird? That’s fine. I’ll stop if you say stop.”

Kaito gave Shuichi an uneasy look at that. He, uh… he didn’t know if he still wanted to have sex if this was what they were talking about. Hearing about his boyfriends abuse wasn’t exactly foreplay, but Shuichi seemed to be in a strange mood and Kato was unsure if he necessarily wanted to break that. Maybe Shuichi was just feeling… strange and extra and dramatic. Sometimes people needed that air of dramatics when they wanted to talk about something difficult for them. Kaito understood that, he didn’t want to dissuade Shuichi’s process. 

So, while he wasn’t exactly cool with where this was going, Kaito kept it to himself as Shuichi took off his blazer, laying it on the back of his desk chair as Kaito quietly watched him. 

“So, first of all? And I’ve told you this before… some of my memories from that period of time feel either vague or… maybe even not real?” Shuichi said, leaning against the back of his chair, resting his head on his arms as Kaito nodded from the other side of the desk, “A lot of my memories have this weird, surreal feeling to them, when I look back at it, an almost dream-like quality, if you were dreaming in a fever. And other memories just don’t make any sense, really. So, if I say something and we later find out it was wrong or misleading? I’m not doing it on purpose, I promise.”

“You have told me that before,” Kaito agreed, glancing over at the couch beneath the window and offering, “Do you wanna sit over there while we talk?”

“In a minute,” Shuichi said, “I want to get out of these clothes…”

And he wanted some space between himself and Kaito as he said, in a sudden, somewhat guilty rush, “The thing is? I don’t hate everything she did to me. Even now.”

Shuichi wasn’t sure what he had been expecting. Kaito to suddenly become furious, do that groaning in his hands thing, grit his teeth and say he ‘needed a second’... he hadn’t expected Kaito to just nod, brow furrowing but mostly just looking like he was listening. Unsurprised. That was what had thrown Shuichi off guard. He had just confessed to something that had been haunting him for months, and Kaito seemed… unsurprised.

Continuing on a little less certainly, realizing he might not know exactly how this was going to go after all, Shuichi elaborated, “The sexual things, I mean… I thought I would, when I sobered. Almost all of it was violent or degrading in some way, so… opposites and all that. If I liked it so much at the time, then I would hate it when I was sober. That was the rule.”

“But you don’t hate it.” Kaito finished, squatting down in front of the desk and resting his head on his arms too, looking up at Shuichi somberly. 

Shuichi hesitated, like he hadn’t already said that… before shrugging. Pulling out his desk chair and sitting down at it, resting his cheek against his knuckles as he said, “...I don’t know. I hate what happened. But…”

As Kaito watched Shuichi start to shut down, something clearly ashamed in his features, Kaito considered him quietly for a bit…

“Ya know, I get scared, sometimes, when the three of us have sex.” Kaito said, standing up and, pushing a few things aside, sitting halfway on the desk, one leg up and tucked in a bit, his robe open wide to let him manage it. 

Shuichi frowned at that. “You do not… do you? I’ve never seen you scared during sex. Not even when I was trying to scare you.”

Kaito grinned warily at that, “And what does that tell you?”

“...why would you hide it from us?”

“Cause it passes. And I don’t want to stop you guys from doing what you’re doing. I like when we have sex, especially all together. I can’t believe how fucking lucky I am, every time I have both of you in arms reach, looking sexy and cute and pushing and pulling… it’s my favorite.” Kaito grinned, “And it scares me sometimes. Rarely.”

“...why?”

“Because sometimes there’s this brush against my skin, or air hits my stomach in just the wrong way, or I feel nails brush against me in just that specific way, and suddenly I’m thrown back into that shitty day at the manor. And a bunch of people who don’t like me and specifically want to hurt me are touching me again.” Kaito shrugged, looking tired, “None of the things they did, specifically, I hate. They… touched me in ways I like to be touched and it was exciting sometimes and felt good in others. And even the things that didn’t feel good I don’t always hate, as a rule. I used to think it could be fun, being insulted and pushed around and even hit a bit. Like roughhousing, but with a happy ending. Running a ‘scene’ as Kore would call it. I like that stuff, sometimes… but it became so often that, after that, and after Sariah, that so many times when people tried it they… they just reminded me of being with people who were actively trying to hurt me, and succeeded, ya know? It was so frequent that I’d be thrust back into those memories that I started having to make it a hard rule, to not play with that stuff at all. I couldn’t afford to experiment with it anymore, not with new people all the time, not when it kept upsetting me.”

“...those fuckers kind of ruined some things for me that I really enjoyed.” Kaito shrugged again, looking tired. “Associated some ugly memories with it for me. But I didn’t hate the acts themselves. I just… hated what they did. Does that sound right?”

At that, Shuichi quietly nodded. “...I think so, yeah. Maybe not universally, I think there’s a few things Nao did that I would have hated either way. I didn’t like looking in a mirror, for instance, and I hated that so much that it was the first thing I could set a rule about. But others? …” Shuichi grimaced, clutching at his chest, his heart shuddering painfully through him, “...everything’s painted under this thick layer of disgust. I felt disgusting, the whole time. I hate that. I don’t want to feel disgusting.”

“You’re not.” Kaito said quickly. “You weren’t.”

Shuichi laughed dryly at that, “Let’s agree to disagree on that. I think I was…”

There was silence for awhile. Shuichi collecting his thoughts, Kaito quietly waiting, not wanting to push.

“... can I put these on you?” Shuichi asked. Taking out the handcuffs.

Again, Kaito startled at the tone shift. “Um…” again, this was not his idea of foreplay, and he wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with that. But, again, he didn’t want to dissuade Shuichi’s train of thought. “You have the key?”

“I do.”

“Alright.”

“Can I handcuff you to the desk?”

Kaito swallowed at that, “...Shuichi, are you okay?”

“We don’t have too. We really don’t. I don’t want you to say yes because I asked.”

Kaito fussed with his joints nervously… before nodding, “Yeah, we can do that. Just, we don’t have to have sex at all, if you’re not up to it. I’d rather talk this out with you.”

“I know. Thank you.” Shuichi said, standing up from his chair and inspecting his left hand desk drawer, pulling at the hollow handle experimentally before putting the handcuffs through it, “Lay back and put your hands over your head?”

Kaito chewed on the inside of his lip a little, before doing so. As much as this was a little unnerving to him, he couldn’t help the spark of excitement and arousal as he laid out on the dark, corner to corner, and felt the metal of the cuffs close around him. 

“Try pulling?” Shuichi said, and Kaito did so, the drawer handle holding firm. Shuichi looked Kaito over curiously, Kaito looking up at him with concerned, warm magenta eyes, and Shuichi smiled. Leaning over to give Kaito a small kiss, “You really are something special, you know that? Sometimes I forget how breathtaking you are. And you’re sweet too. You keep putting up with all my weirdness.”

“I love you.” Kaito said simply, as an explanation. 

“I know. I love you too.” Shuichi said, kissing him softly some more, “...I hope I do have the key, actually, I didn’t check my pocket.”

“Shuichi!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding, I’m sorry.” Shuichi laughed, lightly giving Kaito appeasing kisses against his face and neck. “I’m sorry. That was mean. I’m sorry.”

Lightly feeling Kaito up, Shuichi looked over to the box of chocolates, before leaving Kaito to go open it up. As he did so, Shuchi said, “Nao left the key on the desk, when I was cuffed. She told me good luck getting to it, and left me for the night.”

Kaito frowned at that, that frown quickly morphing into an enraged grimace, his whole body tensing. There was a creak of protest from the drawer as on impulse his muscles pulled at the binding. “What?” 

“I know. Isn’t that so shitty?” Shuichi said, his tone light. Almost amused, shaking his head. “It’s one of those memories I’m not entirely sure of. I can’t remember when it happened. The second night? The first? Maybe it wasn’t even a night, maybe she was just heading out for an hour, to tease me, and I just lost track of time… I really don’t know. It really could have been harmless. It might not have been long.”

Coming back with the chocolates, Shuichi opened up the box, saying idly, “Can I put these on your lips?”

“Shuichi, I want to talk about this.” Kaito insisted. 

Shuichi frowned at that… before sighing. Sitting on the desk next to where Kaito was sprawled out, box of chocolates on his lap, idley running his fingers up and down Kaito, “Okay. So, at one point, Nao handcuffed me. With those handcuffs, the one on you. I’m sorry if that’s weird. I just… I don’t dislike the idea of handcuffs. I just don’t like… I don’t like how she used them. I don’t know if I ever asked her to take them off, I feel like I did, but I don’t know. I wish she had taken them off before…”

Shuichi huffed, looking embarrassed, “I had to pee. I had to pee like crazy. I spent so much time just… I cried. I cried because I thought I was going to piss myself in the bed and I was so embarrassed and ashamed. I didn’t, thankfully, but I spent too long thinking I was going too. I didn’t mind her putting cuffs on me when things were happening, I thought it was… exciting.” Shuichi winced at that. Ashamed to admit that, looking at Kaito again to wait for his reaction, his outrage. But again, nothing. “...I liked the cuffs when we were doing things, but she ruined it by leaving me in them. By the time she let me out of them?  I hated them. I’m not sure I could put them on now without thinking about how frustrated and helpless I was, needing to pee. But I liked the excitement of using them. I think you look sexy in them. Does that make sense? Is that insane?” 

“I mean… I don’t think so.” Kaito said softly, tipping his head into Shuichi’s palm as his boyfriend rubbing at his cheek soothingly, “You don’t hate being tied, or tying. You hated her abusing the privilege.”

“Yeah… yes.” Shuichi nodded, emboldened by the summary. “Exactly.”

“That doesn’t seem insane.”

“...good.” Shuichi said softly. Popping a chocolate in his own mouth and humming slightly, contently, “You sure I can’t put one of these on your lips? You’ll get a kiss out of it.”

Kaito huffed a bit… before rolling his eyes, “Just one, then more talk.”

“Deal.” Shuichi said, taking a heart shaped chocolate and gently laying it on Kaito’s lips, letting it sit there for a moment as he admired him, “...when I first started feeling sexual arousal? When my hormones kicked in? I was so jealous of Kokichi. I kept thinking… how did I not notice? How hot Kaito was?”

Kaito’s eyes crinkled in flattered amusement at this, and Shuichi stole his kiss then. Taking the chocolate into his mouth and gently kissing Kaito, taking his time, enjoying the taste of chocolate and cherry. The taste of Kaito.

“I don’t know the word for what she did.” Shuichi admitted, swallowing the chocolate. “But the pollen didn’t make my urethra widen. She put a metal stick in there and left it.

“She SOUNDED you!?”

“You promised to not be angry.” Shuchi reminded him, kissing his cheek.

“I did not. I promised to take care of you and not give her attention. I can be angry all I want.” Kaito grumbled, though he was soothed a little at Shuichi’s kisses, “Sounding is dangerous. It’s an extreme kink. Kore never even fucking suggested we do sounding. You do that wrong and you can disfigure the person you’re using that on. Also, it just fucking hurts, if even half the things I’ve heard are true. What was she thinking!?”

“I don’t know. That I was into it?” Shuichi shrugged, “I was, but… you’re right, it’s terrifying in hindsight. I wouldn’t do that again. Sober Shuichi says no to sounding.”

“Good, cause I can tell you now I’d have vetoed the shit out of that.”

“That’s good. My boyfriend wants me to be safe. I appreciate that.” Shuichi smiled, giving him a few more kisses. 

Shuichi, who had happily been petting Kaito’s front, started letting his hand trail down. Sneaking into the folds of Kaito’s robe as he lightly ran his fingertips against Kaito’s thighs, Kaito jolting a little at that. “...?”

“You can tell me to stop.” Shuichi reminded him softly. 

Kaito licked his lips a bit, before saying, “So, no to sounding, yes to tying others, uh, obviously,” Kaito said, clinking the handcuffs, “And… was that a ‘maybe’ to being tied?”

“By you or Kokichi? Someone I trust? I could see me enjoying it in… moderation. Very moderate. But I think I’d always like this more. You’re really sweet looking, like this, and tensing up against the cuffs does very nice things for your physique. I like it.” Shuichi smiled, that smile turning amused as Kaito made a show of flexing more at that. “Mmhm. Plus, you don’t actually seem helpless, which helps? I feel like you could break the desk if you really wanted too. That makes me feel better about this. I think I’d be constantly worried about Kokichi, doing this to him. It wouldn’t be as relaxing.”

“Okay…” Kaito frowned, before suddenly looking stern, not to be deterred by hands on his thighs as he asked, “...are we going to talk about the swim trophy?”

Shuichi frowned, spirits dampening at that. A shamed, haunted look falling over him. “...I asked her to do it. Specifically. But I don’t like it. I wish she hadn’t done it, even with me asking. Whatever her reasons were, I wish she just… would have realized it was insane and said no.”

Shuichi, with that, explained about the trophy, the dildo and the magnifying glass. Kaito’s lips thinned when he realized the toys weren’t used one at a time to widen him, but all at once, trying to overwhelm him. And that did seem to be the theme. Whatever Nao was trying to do, she was deliberately trying to overwhelm Shuichi, because assuming anything else would happen was actual madness.

When Shuichi finished, Kaito said, “That’s not your fault.’

“I asked her to do it, Kaito.”

“And it was fucking crazy and she should have said no. God, did you already have the metal in you by then? Fuck she could have hurt you, she could have so seriously hurt you. We were lucky you just couldn’t walk for awhile, she could have seriously mutilated you, that’s insane.”

“I think she was caught up.”

“Stop making excuses for her.” Kaito snarled, pulling at the cuffs again, “Stop trying to let her off the hook. Stop. You and Kokichi… you both keep making excuses for us. Just quick fixes and instant forgiveness… we know better. We deserve to be held accountable.”

Shuchi looked a little startled at the ‘we’ statements, before sighing. “You’re not Nao, Kaito.”

“I might as well be.” Kaito muttered, shifting uncomfortably on the table, “Shuichi, please, stop touching me. I don’t like being touched when I’m talking about this.”

Shuichi pulled his hand back. “Do you want me to uncuff you?”

“No…” Kaito sighed, resting his head on one of his biceps, “...do you still love Nao?”

“...”

“Cause that’s why Kokichi’s let me get away with it. He loves me. It all boils down to that. It’s why we let each other get away with all sorts of terrible shit… he loves me, I love him. So all the big, big terrible things? The unforgivable things? We just kinda… have to forgive it. Because loving someone you can’t forgive is agony.”

“...do you still love Togami?”

Kaito sighed, closing his eyes, “He’s dead.”

“She’s been gone for nearly a year.” Shuichi answered back dryly, “And would it matter if he wasn’t dead? Would you go running back to him?”

“...ugh. It can’t be the same. I actually know Togami, you knew Nao for a really terrible week.”

“You didn’t know anything about Togami, apparently.” Shuichi told him coldly, “And he took advantage of a lonely kid struggling with a power dynamic he could do nothing about. And then came back years later to drug and kidnap that same kid. Instead of just asking you to leave with him.”

“...” Kaito opened his eyes. A pained, hurt look in his eyes, “...he was terrible.”

“Yeah.”

“Why do I still love him?”

“I don’t know.” Shuichi said softly, “Maybe once you feel it, the feeling just doesn’t go away.”

“You feel that way about Nao?”

“Maybe… I think so, yeah. I think a part of me still loves her. And it’s terrible to not forgive someone you love. Even if all that love is is just an… echo of what some drugged up idiot felt. Or what some dumb, lonely kid felt years ago.”

“I asked him to stay.” Kaito whispered. “I told him it’d work out. That he could stay with us. Stay with me. I wanted him to stay.”

“I would have hated that.” Shuichi said simply. “If it was between him going back to be executed and him staying to tempt you, then I’m glad he went.”

“You’re cruel.”

“You don’t feel any different about Nao.”

“I’m cruel too.” Kaito muttered.

“What would you have wanted me to do with Togami?”

“.........” Kaito sighed, “........... just let him live his life. Let me deal with my feelings about it.”

“Well, there you go.” Shuichi said softly, taking another chocolate and putting it on Kaito’s mouth, “A kiss as a reward for you, and a chocolate because I want another one.”

Shuichi kissed Kaito for awhile, enjoying the chocolate on his tongue, the soft, breathy sounds of kisses filling the study room as Shuichi didn’t relent. Taking his time and enjoying himself.

When Shuichi broke the kiss, both of them kiss-smeared and panting, Shuichi said breathily, “I want to take off your boxers. Can I?”

“We…” Kaito panted a little, a little dazed, “We’re talking about stuff.”

“I want to ride your cock.”

“That’s… not fair.” Kaito muttered, eyes glazed with lust as Shuichi kissed at his neck, running his hands up and down Kaito’s thigh, Kaito jolting again as Shuichi brought his hand up to Kaito’s boxers, finding his dick among the fold and idly rubbing his palm against the fabric where he was sure Kaito’s head was, “N-not fair…”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“...nngh.” Kaito growled, “No. I just… a-are we done talking about–?”

“A lot of things after all of that are more vague.” Shuichi continued, still palming Kaito through his boxers, feeling his boyfriend stiffen under his touch, “I think the fever got really bad after that. I have no sense of time, when things happened or didn’t. Hajime showed up at some point and cleaned the room after Nao came back to uncuff me, but I still couldn’t move much. I asked Hajime to keep it to himself, and to help me keep what had happened from you guys by cleaning the room. I had bruises everywhere, she stepped on me a few times and spanked me with a belt…” Shuichi frowned, “I didn’t like the belt. But I think I didn’t hate being stepped on. Though, even saying that aloud, I don’t think I’d ever want that from you. Kokichi, maybe, but only because it’d be very funny. Can you imagine? Kokichi stepping on one of us and trying to be imposing and threatening?”

“A-adorable… Shuichi, please, I don’t… I–”

“I’m sorry.” Shuichi sighed, taking his hand back. “You said you didn’t want to be touched when talking about this. Sorry. No, we’re not done talking about it.”

“Oh… great.” Kaito grumbled, looking red in the face, his boxers and yukata tenting painfully, “Glad you remembered that.”

“So, yeah. Whipping and stepping on. All very…” Shuichi waved his hand dismissively, “BDSM’y. That stuff hurt, but it’s not as alarming to me, thinking back on it. Still not my ‘thing’, but I didn’t hate it. Oh! But…” Shuichi frowned, looking genuinely angry, “She made me think she was going to push me down the stairs, once? Hated that. And then she did shove me on some hard flooring, and that hurt. Didn’t like that. I think I hit my head? This was… this was in the library. She took me down to the archive for some privacy. Because I went to her, to be clear, she didn’t even really want me around. I think she was a little pissed at me for bothering her when she was about to head home, so she was rougher than normal with me, physically. She did, though, show me a trick with my dick that I still think is pretty interesting, and want to show you someday. So… I guess I liked that? Or I just didn’t hate it, anyway.”

“Uh huh… did Seiko look at your head?”

“Eventually.”

Kaito sighed, before growling, “Good. She better have.”

“...she said a lot of unkind things, about me.” Shuchi said softly. “I don’t recall it all clearly, but two that still bother me sometimes is that I’m disgusting, essentially. And that I didn’t deserve to be your friend, cause I had failed to protect you in Luminary.”

“God, you’re SURE I can’t kill her???”

“You swore.”

“Fuck… you’re not disgusting. You’re the smartest, most dignified, stunningly handsome and put together person I’ve ever met. I love you. I love you so much that it fucking consumes me. I’ve always loved you. You rejecting me at thirteen was heartbreaking, because I had loved you so much, and loved you so much still. You looked after me in every way you could, I felt so damn lucky to have Shuichi Saihara looking out for me. You were everything to me. You’re still everything. Fuck, Shuichi, if she wasn’t stupid fucking enough to actually possibly believe it, the most fucking credit I can give that bitch is maybe she picked a lie so obviously fucking wrong that you wouldn’t believe it sober. Because it’s not true. It was never true.”

“...that’s another thing I hated then.” Shuichi decided. “I hated being toyed with. I hated being tricked. I hated being made to feel stupid and small. I hated obvious lies, and being embarrassed for believing them.”

“...I won’t ever do that to you.”

“I know.” Shuichi said, “No matter what you think, you’re not Nao. And you don’t remind me of her. You don’t freak me out, thinking you’re her. The most that happens is… well, like you said. Sometimes something brushes against you wrong, or you smell something, and you’re briefly back in the terrible moment. But it passes. I trust you and Kokichi. You’re not Nao. You don’t have to be scared of that.”

“...you’ll tell me if that ever changes?” Kaito asked softly.

“Immediately. In the moment.” Shuichi said just as softly, giving Kaito another kiss, “I promise. I swear it.”

“Okay…” Kaito shifted uncomfortably, his tenting robe shifting stiffly with him as he suddenly asked, “Okay, that sounded like an end note, now are we done talking!?”

“Can I still ride your cock?”

“Yes!”

“Then yes.” Shuichi smirked, going to grab the lube, “We’re done talking.”

-

It was fun, walking through town so close to Zenith. There were all sorts of bright, fun decorations already up in town, and Kokichi could even see a few booths being put together ahead of time, making sure that everything would be ready for the day. However, he wasn’t in town to sightsee or get fresh air and sun or to help out. Obviously he couldn’t have gone that same day, but Kokichi had a mission.

Augury and Alchemy… He was sure he’d been inside the shop before, poking around anything that looked interesting. Kokichi hadn’t been super interested in dried herbs and colored candles, and things like Tarot cards were kind of cool to look at for the art, and there was a lot of alt art too! Bone etchings and macabre subjects and neat stone carvings…

But he was going to ask for the ‘backroom’ items. And hopefully not completely embarrass himself. It wasn’t like he physically interacted with magic all that often…he still hadn’t even gotten in contact with Mikado for that cup of coffee he owed…

But Kokichi was confident as he stepped over the threshold, a little bell tinkling, and while he moved out of the way of the door, it took him a few moments to blink and get his bearings, the shop faaaar dimmer than the bright day outside. And when he did…yeah. It was just as cool as he remembered. He could even hear what was probably a pond or a fountain somewhere further back… Cool. 

A bored, feminine voice from the counter said, from between turning of thin, glossy magazine pages, “You can look around so long as you don’t run, but kids aren’t allowed to spend over fifty copper without an adult present… oh.” Diane Kiginko looked up from more than just a glance from her magazine, peering at Kokichi a bit before saying, “Prince Kokichi, right? …did you bring ID this time?”

Kokichi perked, taking a moment, but recognizing the young woman at the counter, giving her a wave. “Oh, hi! It’s nice to see you again…sorry, Diana? It’s been a while…” he laughed softly. “Yeah, I have my ID on me.”

Coming a little closer to the counter, Kokichi gave her a small grin. “I heard about this place from a friend, actually. Said there was a chance I could find something really special--I’m pretty interested in looking around, but if there’s anything you would like to recommend, I’ll admit I’m a little out of my element.”

“Yep, Diana. Got it in one.” Diana draweled, chewing lightly on something on the back of her teeth, quickly revealing it to be gum as she blew a small bubble, taking the moment to looking Kokichi up and down. “If you’re looking for bongs and weed, it’s in the back and to the left, and if you’re looking for poppers they’re in the center aisle. We don’t carry anything stronger than that, anyone who told you different is full of it. We’re not on the wrong side of any laws here.”

“Ah, thank you…” Kokichi looked over vaguely where she said, but…hm. There was no way he’d send intent--it was way too startling to a non-Empath or telepath, and…Kokichi didn’t really want to just do that for people, especially if it was only a few people who worked at Augury and Alchemy that knew about magic and kept the special wares on the downlow. And…he couldn’t just say it. Even talking about magic, she could just direct him to collections of reeds and charcoal…

Feeling a little flustered, Kokichi gave Diana a thankful nod before scurrying back towards the bongs, at least wanting to see if they had any cool designs with them. 

Just missing Kokichi, a cheery voice exclaiming, “Behind!” chimed out before a young man came out from behind a heavy curtain, brushing his hands off on the half-apron around his hips, much more of an after-thought than the gold waspie and off-shoulder shimmery black shirt tucked into it. …and the array of earrings and rings sparkling just as much.

“Hey cutie, any juicy gossip this cycle?” Anbai nodded to Diane’s magazine, giving her a wink as he started adjusting stock around the counter. “I’m tiiiiiired of stock, so there better be something motivating!”

“Our future leader is here looking for hard drugs.” Diana said without looking up from her magazine, “So that’s probably a bad sign. Also, apparently the theater got a bunch of old cast mates that left in a student exchange program back, so they’re readjusting the show lineup for a larger cast, and they got all these weird forign playbooks they brought back with them. Which, bummer. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead sounds like a snoozefest, why not just do Hamlet if you want to look at its two most boring characters for a few hours?”

“No way… No, you’re fucking with me for that quiche I had you try. The castle just put out that new big push for recognizing and taking care of mental health, no way…” Still, Anbai looked around the shop with wide eyes, as if he’d see the petite prince. 

“And, like, you’re one to talk about weird foreign stuff--I thought I actually saw you smile when you were talking about your new little brother and sisters. Who knows, maybe Luminary theater takes drama to a new level--we allllll thought that ‘two sides’ fairy tale series was gonna just be another retelling…and, like, it is, but if you don’t think Prince Charming being half-orc makes him ten times hotter you’re boring.”

Again, Anbai looked around the store, almost like an owl bobbing its head to get a better view. “...is the prince actually here?”

“The kids are cool. I like the kids. Listening to them talk about Luminary is like watching a baby tell you a personal anecdotal story about serial killers with a straight face. Literally. It gets real weird and depressing real fast. Thankfully the baby literally won’t remember any of it.” Turning the page again, eyes darting around the pages aimlessly, she said dryly, “You’re gonna hurt yourself rubbernecking like that. If you can’t spot him, lower your gaze and look for a twelve year old. He’s way easier to spot.” 

Anbai pouted and huffed at his coworker. “Are you sure you didn’t just catch your reflection in a mirror across the store, then? Honestly…”

It wasn’t often a chance you got to have royalty in your store… Hard drugs it was then. If anything, he could just adjust the shelves if Diana was trying to pull his leg. 

However, when Anbai made it back around to the paraphernalia section of the shop, he was, indeed, looking at a short twelve-year-old shifting his weight and looking fidgety, though moderately interested in looking through the more artistic bongs. 

“Well count my stars she was telling the truth--Prince Kokichi! Welcome to Augury and Alchemy!”

Kokichi looked back around, his eyebrows raised as someone came up to him, a rather…shiny and flamboyant person shocked and grinning, though soon enough Kokichi returned a smile. “Oh, hello! Thank you for the welcome--it’s a really cool place!”

“That it is! Though…” Anbai tilted his head, “Not usually people’s first idea when it comes to dispensary options?”

It was clearly a leading question, and while his time looking around hadn’t helped Kokichi come up with any ideas of how to broach the subject yet, he gave the proprietor a sheepish nod. “It’s not really what I was looking for… A friend of mine said I could find really unique stuff here. Like…cool figurines? Honestly…I heard through my boyfriend who heard from a friend, so I’m not…exactly sure what they were talking about…”

Anbai laughed, a little internally relieved to hear that their prince wasn’t actually looking to get blitzed out of his mind. Like, Zenith was in just a few days, have a good time! But the Oumas were usually a bit…public facing during festivals. 

“Well, if you’re looking for figurines and statuettes, then you’re not quite in the right section--if you’d follow me, let’s see if we can find just the right kind of special you’re looking for, yeah?”

“Make sure you check his ID before you sell him anything expensive!” Diana called over her shoulder, pouting her own unusually young features as she said, full of hypocrisy, “Twenty my ass. Sixteen, maybe.”

Anbai rolled his eyes, putting a hand on Kokichi’s shoulder as he leaned down conspiratorially. “Don’t listen - bitches hate a guy that moisturizes. We’ll be looking great for decades.”

Kokichi sputtered a little, not saying too much of substance but not quite agreeing with…at least the way Anbai said all that. Though, he eventually shrugged a little. “I’m kind of used to it; it’s fine.”

“Because you look wonderful!” Anbai grinned, before stopping with a flourish at a hollow rack-shelf filled with different kinds of figurines. The smallest, maybe an inch or so in height, and kept in little mounted grids to keep from falling over, to the largest, a little over a foot--and the types? All sorts of things, though there were an abundance of various fantasy creatures, fantasy explorers and monsters trailing just behind in numbers. Some figures were more static, almost like game pieces, while others were astonishingly dynamic, even visual effects molded in to tiny tapering points. Some figures were brightly colored, some shined in the glittering lights from the ceiling of the shop, and some were dull and grimy, but purposefully so.

They were…really amazing, and Kaito would probably adore quite a few of them, but…

Kokichi shifted on his feet, biting the inside of his cheek. His voice soft as he hesitantly spoke up, “This is more in line with what I was looking for, but…um… My friend was…talking more about…like…really special ones. That, uh…you wouldn’t have on display? Because they could be…startling, to some people. People that…aren’t…as well-read.”

The shopkeep furrowed manicured eyebrows at the prince for a moment. “...well-read. Like spoilers?”

“...like…books you wouldn’t find in a library. Or taught in school?” Kokichi sputtered, his voice high-pitched. 

Anbai leaned in, really taking a look at Kokichi…and despite Kokichi’s resolve…he did freak out a little. 

{Please?}

Anbai blinked. He definitely hadn’t missed Kokichi’s lips not moving. And that hadn’t really been a voice anyway. 

“Ha! You’re a weird one!” the witch laughed, putting an arm back around Kokichi’s shoulders. “Alright, alright, don’t gotta twist my arm--I’ll show you the goods. Ah, what a special day~”

-

An hour later, Kokichi was heading back home, frazzled and not only a little strung out, but excitedly clutching a velvet sack, the red dragon figurine inside calm and taking a nap on its pedestal inside. Anbai had said the chestnut mash would do the trick for the trip back home. 

-

“What are you getting Kokichi for his birthday?”

“I’m not telling.”

“Why nooooooot??”

“Cause it’s a surprise.”

“Yeah, for him.”

“You’ll blab.”

“I told you mine!”

“That’s how I’ll know you’ll blab.”

“...I keep thinking about yesterday.” Kaito grinned, Miyako contently sleeping in his arms. He had to hold her in his arms, because Miyako had decided today was the day that if Dad, specifically, wasn’t holding her, she was going to SCREAM. She had decided how today was going. It was going to be warm. No compromises. “Just… that was really good…”

Shuichi smirked a little, flattered, even if that was the third time that day Kaito had mentioned it, and, yeah, he got it. Kaito had enjoyed it. Good to know. Shuichi had enjoyed it too. Turned out, if you didn’t give Kaito room to turn it around and pin you back down, riding him was, well… a ride. Shuichi had enjoyed himself.

And it was… admittedly a bit of an ego boost that Kaito still wanted to gush about it the next day, even if it was getting a little silly. He wondered if this was how Kokichi felt, when Kaito’s eyes got all wide and adoring and said, “Shuichi, you should have seen him.” Kokichi always seemed a little flustered and embarrassed when Kaito did that, but man… it was something, to feel like you had actually rocked someone’s world. Very soothing for the ol’ self esteem.

Still. “Baby ears.”

Kaito looked down at her, “She’s asleep, and I’m not being specific… though, seriously, I don’t know how to, uh… have her not read thoughts like that. I keep going back and forth between being hugely paranoid about it and just giving up on policing that entirely and having her learn ‘stove is hot’ by burning herself. Metaphorically speaking. On gross ‘dad’ thoughts.”

“I wonder how Ikou handled it.”

“Ikou’s never had an impure thought in his life, how dare you.”

“Maybe that’s how Kokichi ended up like that.”

“Kokichi has definitely had some impure thoughts. But not Ikou. He is as pure and fresh as fallen snow. It’s, uh… very cute.”

“Please don’t get flustered thinking about your father in law, it’s so incredibly disturbing.”

“I can’t help that he’s adorable how is that my fault!?”

There was a soft knock on the door before Kokichi entered, looking only a little calmed from his trip, though he gave each of his guys a fond smile as he kicked off his shoes. “I’m back… Guess I can see Miya-Miya’s doing alright, but…” He raised an eyebrow. “It feels flustered in here. Did I come back at a bad time?”

Despite saying that, though, Kokichi climbed up on the bed to face his partners, being delicate with the velvet bag and placing it gently next to him. 

“Kaito was thinking about your dad in a weird way again.”

“No.” Kaito insisted, glaring at Shuichi… before snickering. “I was thinking about Shuichi’s total energy yesterday though. God, he was in rare form, Kokichi, you should have–”

“Yes, yes, you should have seen me, I was amazing, all of that. Kokichi knows. I’m amazing with him all the time.” Shuichi huffed.

“What, like that? No way…” Kaito peered at Shuichi, glancing between him, Kokichi, him… “... can I watch next time?”

“Get what you were looking for?” Shuichi asked, deciding to dodge around that one entirely, looking at the velvet bag with genuine interest, “Is that what I think it is?”

Kokichi sighed, barely having to feel the truth coming off of Shuuichi to know how true it was. “Kai-chan…please.” Of all the crazy stuff in life, even these days…Kaito being weirdly attracted to Ikuo was the weirdest. 

Shaking his head--though not without a blush, hearing about Shuuichi and Kaito’s time together yesterday again--Kokichi grinned a bit at Shuuichi. “Yeah… It was kind of terrifying, and I definitely don’t wanna do something like that by myself again…but I got one. Mr. Anbai was really helpful, showing me all sorts of things he’s made… I think you’d really enjoy taking a look yourself, Shuu-chan.”

“...also, he was kinda hot. But I was way too freaked out to look,” Kokichi snorted. 

Knowing how vague he was being, Kokichi turned to Kaito with a hopeful look. “...I got you a present today. Do you wanna see it now? I don’t think it’ll wake Miyako up.”

Kaito blinked, giving Kokichi an astonished look, looking down at the velvet bag, and considering the weird exchange between Kokichi and Shuichi… and it was a present for him that freaked Kokichi out to get…

“Ooooooooh, ‘Kichi… did you go to the sex shop without me?” Kaito pouted, “I mean, thank you for the gift, I know I’m going to love it, but I would have gone wi–”

“Nope. Not that. Guess agan.” Shuichi laughed lightly.

“...” Kaito looked more confused then, before whispering conspiratorially, “Is it drugs?”

Kokichi flushed and shook his head with a groaning laugh, running a hand through his hair. “No, but that’s what they thought I was there for at first. Turns out saying you heard that a place sells ‘special’ things is…well. Saying it again, yeah. That sounds like drugs.”

“...oh, Diana, the Kiginko’s eldest daughter? She works there too, by the way.”

Letting out a little sigh, Kokichi leaned back to peek in the bag before nodding, starting to gently lift something out of it. Quickly, he moved to cup his hands around something before holding them out to Kaito. 

“...I know this past week has…really sucked. And a lot of that was my fault,” Kokichi started, his expression falling slightly. “And…I know everything has been…so much to take in. But…one of the things that helped me most to…accept myself? And magic in general? Was to see how fun it could be.”

Kokichi smiled slightly. “Magic can…shape the world and everything in it. But…like everything else like that? People can use it for really wonderful, silly, amazing, fun things… And I want you to be able to have fun with it too.”

Carefully, Kokichi uncupped his hand, revealing a sleepily blinking red dragon curled up on a little stand, maybe two inches in diameter, the dragon itself maybe three inches long tail and all. The creature looked around before starting to stretch its wings, letting out a tiny, soundless yawn. 

The first thought Kaito had when he saw it was, ‘awww, Kokichi got him a figure— OH MY GOD IT MOVED!

Kaito, briefly, seized up, just so entirely taken off guard, Miyako sighing softly in his arms as he immediately moved her to the side, shielding her instinctively… before his brain caught up with him and said ‘dude it’s like the size of your hand, just flick it away if it attacks her.

When that initial fear eased, Kaito continued to stare at it, before daring to lean in… “Oh my god, it’s alive.” Kaito whispered, “What is that? Is that a tiny dragon? I thought Maki was the only dragon around these days. Did you get a tiny Maki??”

Shuichi, in turn, was gobsmacked, this being way better than what he had imagined (he had pictured sparkles or shimmers or small, automated movements. This thing was staring at them) as he took in the… figurine?? In all its splendor, before asking, “Wait… is it alive?? Or is yawning and sleeping the most it can project? This is amazing.”

“Hi, little… miss?” Kaito whispered, still imagining it was Maki, staring at it in astonishment, “Can you hear me?”

Kokichi grinned, his partners’ reactions being…honestly, a fraction of what his had been, walking into the special part of the back room in the shop. Considering Kokichi had been looking at rows and rows of animated figurines and trinkets, it all made sense. 

“It’s not alive, no, though…it really does seem like it, huh,” Kokichi hummed, watching the little dragon continue to stretch out on its pedestal. “It’s…animated? Is the term Anbai used. It doesn’t need to eat or sleep, it doesn’t…er, make any products, and…if you imagine a ball on top of the pedestal that’s…about a foot in diameter? It can’t leave that area. It doesn’t make any sound, either.”

“But…it can move and react--limitedly--to stuff right in front of it…” Kokichi grinned softly and shrugged. “He said it was just kind of a novelty. Like having a normal figurine on a shelf, but just…this one is more dynamic.”

“...do you like it?”

Kaito, very, very carefully, held out his finger to the little figurine. It didn’t seem to notice, right up until about, oh, a foot in front of it, but then it looked up curiously, opening its mouth threateningly… before quickly ‘calming’ down, letting Kaito gently pet its head. 

“...” Kaito grinned, just beaming down at it. “This might even be better than fish.”

“Fish!” Shuichi said, a touch too loud, Miyako blinking blearily in Kaito’s arm now as Shuichi slapped his forehead, “Here I am, thinking ‘what would make a good apology gift’, and fish didn’t even occur to me. You literally never shut up about wanting fish!”

“Hey, Miya…. Look at the little dragon. See it? It looks like Aunt Maki… presumably.” Kaito coo’d at her.

“It could have been magic fish even!  Bet there’s magic fish!”

“Shhhhh, dada’s being too loud, isn’t he Miya? Miiiiiiiyaaaaaa~ do you see the little Aunt Maki figurine? Miya…” Kaito laughed lightly as Miya just blinked sleepily up at him, entirely unimpressed, “I love it, Kokichi, it’s amazing. Thank you.”

“...but.” Kaito frowned, looking at the other two, “...you guys don’t have to get me gifts. I mean, I really appreciate it, I love ‘be nice to Kaito’ days, they are super my favorite. But… you all don’t have to do anything extra for me right now. Like…” Kaito gave Shuichi an uncertain glance, “If that was what yesterday was about too? Again, I loved it, this is all great, but…”

Shuichi sighed, adjusting the hat on his head as he said, “I know gifts don’t make up for what happened. Sex doesn’t either. But… well, lately Dr. Marah’s been getting really judgy when we’re snarky with you, and it’s started to make me think that we’re not… you do nice, random things for us all the time.” Shuchi shrugged, “It shouldn’t be so one-sided. We wanted to do something nice back.”

Kokichi startled a little at Shuuichi’s outburst as well, and… Well, he had forgotten about the fish too. And he had been more focused on doing kind things in the moment than going out of his way to set nice things up for Kaito until Shuuichi had pulled him aside. But…he didn’t know. He still wanted to help Kaito set up an aquarium one day, but…

(Well, he had other plans for that.)

Maybe, right now, it would be easier to give a gift that didn’t have responsibility attached to it. 

Kokichi sighed before giving Kaito a tender look, nodding along with Shuuichi’s reasoning. “...I want to do extra things more often. It just…doesn’t come as naturally to me, as you just…doing little, sweet things all the time. But I really care about you, and even if gifts and acts of service aren’t my love language…they are yours. At least a little. And…Shuu-chan and I just want to dip into those languages more for you.”

“...should say now, Shuu-chan’s the one that gave me the tip on the shop, and that getting a figurine like this could be a nice gift,” Kokichi gave his boyfriend a nod. “Our guy’s been planning.”

“Yeah, our guys planning all sorts of things, apparently.” Kaito grinned, giving Shuichi a knowing look.

“See, that? That right there is why I won’t tell you what I’m getting him.”

“You guys do lots of nice things for me, you don’t need to make big gestures for me.” Kaito agreed, still peering happily at the little figurine, which now that it was not being pet, had curled up and seemed content to go back to sleep, Miyako joining it in turn, though she still managed to get some of Kaito’s shirt in her mouth before she went, drooling into his chest as he absentmindedly dislodged the fabric. “But… it is nice. My ‘love language’ is acts of service… did you just make that up, Kokichi? That’s such an interesting way of saying that.”

Kokichi laughed softly. “No, actually. It’s a social psychology thing--the five love languages: words of affirmation, quality time, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. There might be more nuance to it but…they’re considered categories of how people express and feel love.”

Rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, Kokichi smiled softly. “...I was talking about it with Dr. Egami. It’s important to acknowledge what languages you have, just as, like, part of knowing yourself, and to know your partners’ too, since it can clear up misunderstandings about what sort of stuff you do… But more than knowing, it’s important to engage with your partners’ language if it’s not the same as yours, at least some of the time. Hopefully they’d know you love them, of course, but…showing in their own language can do it in a more…emotional and instinctual way. That gut reaction of love rather than knowing that it was something kind, and being pleased about that.”

“Kai-chan speaks in all of the languages, time to time, but…I think acts of service is a really big one. And it’s one I don’t always show well.”

Shuichi laughed lightly, “Are we certain we’re not talking ‘physical touch’? I feel like that one could be his love language too.”

Kaito flushed a bit at that… but unusually, this flush seemed to be genuinely embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck as he said after a moment of debating it with himself. “...I was going to say something, but it felt weirdly mean to say it aloud and I didn’t wanna ruin this super nice gesture… but for a second I was really, really touched that you guys wanted to do something nice for me and didn’t go with sex stuff. Or, drug stuff, though that’s less of an issue here.”

“I mean… this is really nice! Like… you guys got me something based on one of my hobbies! That doesn’t… happen a lot! It’s such a genuinely thoughtful gift, you know?” Kaito said, lighting up again, “And I was really touched that you all didn’t just… default to my vices. Cause, I mean,” Kaito laughed, looking embarrassed again, “Otherwise I’m very easy to appease, ya know? Just offer him sex, booze or drugs, and it’s all good… this is really nice. This is really nice. God, look at it, it’s so sweet looking…”

Shuichi looked briefly startled, not having meant to touch on a sore spot, apparently. Well… he had helped Kokichi pick out the gift, so he hadn’t only offered sex to make up for eveything that happened. So he was not in the wrong! So… yeah! Good. Ngh.

“What do you guys think your love languages are? I mean, like Kokichi said, I get the sense it’s not as simple as just picking one and being like ‘that’s me, all the time’.” Kaito said, giving them fond looks, “But which one resonates with ya?”

Shuichi paused, thinking about it… “...I’m not sure. My first instinct was ‘quality time’, but I do tend to like my solitude, sometimes… though maybe that makes spending quality time even more of a love language, if I’m willing to sacrifice solitude for it? Otherwise maybe affirmative words.”

Kokichi had nodded slightly, though he wanted to explain that ‘physical touch’ was faaaaaar more than just sex, but…

…was sex a vice? Kokichi had always just considered it something…fun. And nice, and intimate, and something that Kaito enjoyed a lot. He could see how it could get disheartening to see them only doing nice things for Kaito in the form of sex, expecially if they always framed having it as doing something for Kaito, but…hm. Maybe Kaito had more hangups than he thought… They certainly had reason to…

Nodding slightly, Kokichi affectionately touched Kaito’s arm, before humming. “Affirmative words, definitely. I love telling you guys how much I love you, in all sorts of ways, and it makes me really happy to hear it too. After that? Probably physical touch. Though you could probably tell that,” Kokichi snorted, smiling at himself. “I’m always coming into your space and nuzzling up to you guys. And just…holding hands or getting hugs or hair tousels and friendly nudges and…all that stuff from friends and family? It makes me very happy and loved.”

“I think sometimes those switch, and I definitely express things in the other ways too, but…that’s what it’s like for most people, from what I understand,” Kokichi gave Kaito a nod. “There are a looooooot of ways people say ‘I love you’. We just happen into more common patterns sometimes.”

“My ‘Kichi does love the snuggles. Ey, Miyako? Is that where you get it from? Your daddy? Is that why you will screeeaaam if I put you down today? You little sweet tyrant baby~ are you a little sweet tyrant baby who will scream? Yes you are~” Kaito coo’d quietly to his daughter, who snuffled contently, perfectly fine with being a tyrant, thankyouverymuch. “Such a mean little tyrant baby with such… robust lungs. Maybe today’s a bad day to start taking the medication, if she’s gonna end up just shouting at you guys all night…”

Kaito blinked tiredly at that idea, before re-energizing himself looking at his gift again. “What a lucky little girl… you’re going to grow up with figurines that stretch and yawn and dance… I’ll find you a little dancing figurine that’ll play you soft music and make it okay for my Miya to relax and not scream at her parents…”

“... I really do love it. I wish I could show Timothy it.” Kaito admitted softly. 

None of them had talked about letting Tim in on the secret, and… Kaito felt like the answer was maybe just not to do so. Timothy was a child, and children– or, at least, Kaito’s children– shouldn’t be burdened with secrets. That should be a privilege of being his. He should protect them from things like that. He couldn’t do it for Miya, but he could do it for Tim.

… but it was keeping from Tim something beautiful. And amazing. And also deeply connected to his life, so long as his sister was in it. And Kaito’s heart sunk at that. Honestly not sure which one was worse. Burdening Tim with a gift he couldn’t share, or never giving him access to the gift in the first place.

“... why is the… magic  people? Magical community?” Kaito asked, staring at the figurine, “in hiding again?”

“Aww…” Kokichi looked at Miyako’s peaceful sleeping face, absolutely believing that she would throw all that peace in the garbage in an instant to scream if Kaito put her down. It was a tantrum day, apparently. Such a demanding baby. “Well… You’re gonna have to try it out one of these days, if you’re gonna do it at all. Hopefully Miya will be appeased with one of us tonight.”

…Kokichi had…a vague idea of how he wanted to explain everything to Miya. He wanted to explain it like…it was just how the world was, though it was a secret. Not something she had to be ashamed or scared over, something she could be proud of, even! But just…selective with what she said and to whom. 

…and while she’d grow up around Tim…

Kokichi sighed softly and crossed his legs on the bed, carefully setting the dragon’s stand on his knee while it took a few test flaps, lifting itself into the air, just a little. “I can’t speak for the community as a whole, and…really, I don’t really know many Empaths, let alone any other people in the community. But…for Empaths, it’s a secret to protect ourselves from people who would coerce us into using our abilities for their own purposes. I imagine it’s pretty similar for a lot of folks.”

Pausing, Kokichi frowned slightly, looking to the side. “...it’s only every once in a while, but…multiple people have talked about a ‘werewolf problem’ that happened…sometime in the past. And…whatever it was, it was bad enough that people use it as an example of why it’s better to hide.”

“...to me… I feel like it’s something that could be worked on through time, but…” Kokichi sighed, running a hand through his hair. “...essentially, the racism would be a big issue. People fear-mongering about like…how vampires drink blood, and Flora need other species to reproduce, and…a lot of magic deals with altering the natural world. It would take…a lot of work to stop people from…trying to tear each other apart over their differences.”

“Right…” Kaito watched, delighted, as the little magic creature-thing took another testing flap, and then with a confident and controlled turn, leapt off it’s pedestal, spinning in a beautiful circle roughly a foot away from its stand.

Kaito beamed up at Kokichi, entirely certain as he said “Well, you have plenty of time. We’ll figure it out in a few decades. Damn… it’s gonna be one hell of a legacy.”

Kokichi smiled, relaxing a bit from the phantom stress of even thinking about how to possibly approach an issue like that as he watched the dragon fly around. 

…it could be scary and devastating, but…magic was something beautiful. Fun and incredible… It would be amazing if people didn’t have to hide. If their whole world could be made a little more beautiful with proper understanding…

Still. Kokichi sighed and shook his head a little, though there was a small smile on my face. “If the community’s been in hiding for long enough that everyone genuinely believes it’s all made-up stories? I don’t think that’s the kind of project that can happen in a lifetime. And I’d have to get in touch with far more people… Spreading the knowledge isn’t something communities would just be able to opt out of--if word gets out, that’s it. If I was even going to try…I’d have to ask for the cooperation of every community, at least in Dicea, if not on the continent, and address their specific concerns as to why they’re in hiding…”

“...it would be something pretty incredible, though.”

“I’m, at least in Dicea, we can make a model that works.” Kaito said, watching the dragon land gracefully, sitting on the stand with a regal, self-assured confidence. Such a little Maki. God, he couldn’t wait to show her. He hoped she’d be flattered, he couldn’t stop seeing her in the little thing, “The rest of the world will just have to follow suit as best they can, but I think it’s pretty obvious that whatever dangers there are in being exposed, it’s just as dangerous being hidden. Luminary empaths prove that rule, ya know? Heh, if you can count on home for one thing, it’s a really good example of what not to do.”

“And even the werewolf thing…” Kaito blinked, a little… far away in his head for a moment. Imagining what could have happened. Getting a clear picture. He always did have such an imagination. “... they’re still ‘fictional’ here, right? That means whatever happened with them, it wasn’t a total exposure of them, not if it could have been hidden like this. Being discovered by a group that wishes to hurt you is one thing, but maybe others could have protected them if they knew what was happening.”

“Expose all the secrets for the good of all, huh?” Shuichi said dryly, raising an eyebrow at Kaito, “How ‘Dicean’ of you.”

Kaito shot Shuichi an equally dry, somewhat offended look. “Uh huh… they’re not shameful secrets. These are amazing. It’s not… these shouldn’t be things that could embarrass or ruin peoples lives, if exposed. These should be celebrated. It’s insane that it’s not celebrated already.”

“And… as dangerous as it might be to expose the communities? Keeping the secret also puts those with less power in a more vulnerable position too.” Kaito mused, “Danganronpa proves that rule. Luminary and Danganronpa are doing it wrong. But I could really see Dicea doing it right. Especially under the guidance of their ‘Light of Dicea’.”

“...their what?” Shuichi asked.

“Oh my god, have you not heard that yet??”

Kaito did have a point, but… “It’s still a pipe dream,” Kokichi shook his head. “We’re not the people that get to decide if magic should be celebrated en masse--it’s up to the communities themselves. And it’s not as simple as just choosing to do things differently in Dicea, unless we want to start putting up an information embargo like Danganronpa. Magic communities aren’t neatly divided into the countries they live in--there’s going to be spread and overlap. And especially with how Danganronpa’s handled everything… If they’ve managed to erase Flora even from fairytales, then they’re not going to sit idly by while one of their neighbors makes them common knowledge. I can’t bring my people into another war…”

…but there were probably ways Kokichi could start laying the groundwork for future Diceans to be more relaxed when it came to magical integration. Still having to talk to communities…which, if today was any indication, was terrifying, but…talking to his people was Kokichi’s job. If he was going to leave a significant demographic in the lurch…what sort of leader was he?

Kokichi blinked and looked up at Kaito before flushing, waving a hand in front of his face like he could brush the words away. “It’s nothing--just a nickname people started calling me over the years. Embarrassing, really…”

“They call him the ‘Light of Dicea’.”

“Who does?”

“Mostly the housekeepers, so far, but I bet more people outside of them do too.” Kaito said, preening a bit, before huffing a little as he heard Kokichi make a thousand excuses. Tsk. Ah well… they had time. Kaito knew Kokichi would come to the right choice eventually. If Kaito could see it, then his Ouma definitely would… someday. Kaito just had to be ready to fully support when it happened. He wouldn’t argue now though.

(and, well, maybe he was wrong?)

(... he didn’t think he was wrong.)

“You have a title? How have I not heard you have a title?” Shuichi pouted a little, looking genuinely offended. Not because Kokichi had a title, he didn’t care about that much. But how had he missed that?? Kaito knew before he did! Shuichi had to up his game.

“Like he said, it came up organically! People looked at him and just knew. That was going to be the dawn of a new day! The first light of spring! The… I need a third thing.”

“The… light at the end of the tunnel?”

“No, that doesn’t work, that suggests he’s an ending.”

“He was an end to the fifteen-year war.”

“Hmmmmm… it still doesn’t feel right. Kokichi? Any ideas?”

Kokichi rubbed his face, feeling increasingly embarrassed by Kaito’s pride and fawning. It was nice! He guessed! But it felt like waaaaaay too much for him. He helped people! Helped grease the wheels of administration! But he wasn’t…a savior or a hero or anything. He was just…the castle. 

“The flashing spots in the middle of a migraine,” Kokichi sighed, still hiding his face. “The sparks from a fire pushing people away from the warmth. A blinding searchlight when you were hoping for some peace at night.”

“Oh! I got it!” Kaito said, excitedly, literally bouncing in his seat a little, Miyako grabbing his shirt in her sleep like she could force him to stay still by her little baby grip alone, “The first twinkle of stars at twilight, promising travelers both bright night and easy guidance!”

“You missed your calling as a bard.” Shuichi said with fond amusement.

“I missed my calling as a muse, I tell ya. I’d have made an amazing muse. I’d have basically written the sonnets for them!”

“Still can’t believe that’s a thing.”

“We’re watching a red dragon figurine flex its claws and that’s what you can’t believe?”

“Magic makes sense. Paid muses are ridiculous.”

“Kokichi and Shuchi are myyyy muses~” Kaito said, leaning over to place a kiss against the side of his clearly fed up husbands head. “You guys inspire me every day~ my Light of Dicea, and….” Kaito peered at Shuichi, “... to be decided.”

“Romantic.”

“They can’t all be winners, handsome.”

Kokichi accepted the kiss though he let out another sigh. Way too much flattery. Though, if Kaito was going to use that nickname, and he had his own and Maki’s truer than they thought title… Then they surely had to think of one for Shuuichi.

“Mm… How about ‘He Who is Always Right’. Mr. I Told You So. Eye of Noruas. Super Sleuth.”

“I’m dumping both of you.” Shuichi decided grimly. 

“Nooooooo, give us more time, we’ll come up with something better than Kokichi’s terrible optioooooons.” Kaito groaned, shifting his lean towards Shuichi now, kissing Shuichi’s shoulder while he pouted. “What about the mega sleuth??”

“You all can see Miyako on the weekends, we’re going to go be awesome together somewhere without either of you.”

“Noooooooooooooooo…” Kaito sniffed dramatically, before suddenly looking down, “Or, if you want, you can take Miyako now, just long enough to change her…?”

“No.”

“I thought we were being nice to Kaito today!”

“We were, right up until we stopped being nice to Shuichi, and now Miyako has come to my defense, like a good daughter.”

“You betrayed me.” Kaito told the sleepy, stinky baby in his arms with a glower, “How could you? I can’t come up with all the nicknames, Miya, I’m not that powerful.”

Kokichi huffed. “I think they’re pretty cool…”

Though as Miyako let loose some of her signature attacks, he shook his head, giving Kaito a dry look as he got up from the bed. “You didn’t come up with mine, and you’re the one who insisted on it for you and Maki-chan, so you are that powerful. I’m gonna put your dragon by your other figurines for now, is that okay? And if you want it to be still for a while, tap twice quickly on the bottom of the stand, and do the same to let it go again.”

“Kaaaaaaay.” Kaito said, getting up to go change Miyako, while Shuichi took this opportunity to relax and lay back, “Thank you again for my super nice gift, guys. I love it, it’s amazing.”

-

Kaito had been really, genuinely reluctant to take the sleeping tablets. After he had taken them, he had at first thought ‘eh, they’re not even effecting me anyway, it’s fine’. And then he had thought, ‘oh, okay, that’s hitting like a brick, but, like, I bet I could stay awake if I really wanted too’. And then he started to think, staring blearily at Kokichi holding Miyako, the vision spinning a little, ‘Yeah, I can do that, this is ea–”

And then he was out. 

And Kaito was out out. Total blackness. Probably snoring in the world, but he wasn’t conscious of it, strangling a pillow, half buried his face in it. He was out and he wasn’t going to be up in a while.

And so, he was a little surprised, and kinda annoyed, when he started to dream. Damn, it had been nice. Ah well… bring on the stress dream! He was ready for it, fuck you, fight him!

Wait. He was aware? Was he lucid dreaming? That was rare. 

“Meow.” 

Kaito looked at the golden cat. “...excuse me?”

“Meow.” The cat said more urgently.

“No, I got that, but, like… cats don’t say ‘meow’, they go, like… mr-aaaoww.” Kaito mimicked, patiently trying to explain to this cat how to cat as he said, “Just saying the word ‘meow’ is really creepy, honestly.”

“...” The cat looked around, increasingly nervous, as it tried, “mr-aaw?”

“Why so nervous kitty?” Kaito asked with a grin… before frowning as he saw the ground beneath the cat start to crack, little green vines poking out and–

Kaito leapt forward and swept the cat up before the vines shot out and tried to grab it. “Meow!!”

“Yeah, no shit, meow!” Kaito shouted back, glancing over his shoulders and running much faster as he saw large, massive vines shooting into the air, crawling towards them like a massive, tentacled monster. Whipping through the air and swatting at him while the cat clung its razer nails into his chest, “Shit, shit, shit, HEY FUCK OFF!” Kaito shouted, kicking at a vine that tried to wrap around his leg.

“Tell them I’m allowed to be here!”

“You tell them!”

“I can’t, she never listens to me!”

“Ugh, FINE!” Kaito shouted, stopping and turning, clutching the cat to himself, he stared at the approaching vines, and said, “HEY FUCK OFF I’M VOUCHING FOR HIM!”

Kaito winced as the vines shot right towards Kaito’s face… before freezing. 

… the vines disappeared back into the dirt. 

“... that was weird.” Kaito said tensely.

“It’s not that weird. It happens literally every time I come here.”

“Right. You’re talking. That’s pretty weird too.”

“Yes…” the cat sighed, pushing itself out of Kaito’s arms and landing on the ground… ground? Kaito looked around, not sure how to describe the landscape. It was white flooring and black walls, with nether a floor or walls to be accounted for. Hm. Kaito looked down at the golden cat, who gave him a pensive stare back… before sighing. “I can’t stay long. I am, very likely, upsetting a few people by being here at all… but I felt the need to come.”

“Okay… Alter Ego!” Kaito realized, eyes widening, “That’s who you are! You’re Kokichi’s mentor!”

Alte Ego’s tail twitched, looking a little proud as he said, “Oh, Kokichi told you about me. That helps.”

“Yeah…” Kaito brow furrowed, “But Kokichi said, uh… well, basically that people aren’t allowed in my head? I have a saint around here somewhere whose supposed to kick you out… was that the vines?”

“Just be glad the dogs and the sword-wielder herself didn’t show up… or your husband.” Alter Ego said, looking a little nervous and shame faced again, “If she tells on me, which she might, he might show up and be a bit cross with me. I’m not supposed to be here.”

“Why?” Kaito asked, squatting down to be closer to the cat, resting his arms on his knees. 

“You… have a history of intruders. Kokichi is trying to keep your mind clear.”

“He’s a good husband like that.” Kaito grinned, shrugging, “...but it’s my head, dude. You can be here, you’re a friend of Kokichi’s. Maybe just don’t sneak around? Unless… I am aware you’re here, right?”

“You are. I’m speaking to your surface consciousness.” 

“Neat!” Kaito grinned, sitting down, looking around a bit, a little… wigged out by the void they were sitting in, but, like… he wasn’t as wigged out as he probably should be? It was the vines. He sorta felt like he was in a dream, he didn’t entirely believe it was happening. But alright. He’d play along. “So… what did you need to talk about?”

Alter Ego gave him a long look… before sighing. “We share a personal history. And, while I was going to wait for Kokichi to introduce us… I felt like our history warranted me taking the risk of reaching out to you personally. Maki and Shuichi also should know, but I couldn’t talk to them about it when I knew they couldn’t talk to you about it. And I can’t risk joining your three consciousness together to tell you all at once, so, I’m just going to talk to you about it one at a time, and I’m starting with you. I’ll talk to them about it before you get a chance too, so you won’t have to keep it from them. Is that okay?”

“...oh no.” Kaito said, grinning warily, an exhausted look on his face. “...it’s terrible, isn’t it?”

Alter Ego lowered their golden ears. “Yes.”

-

Kaito wasn’t sure what time it was when he woke up. He was still very tired, the tablets still coursing through his veins. He would probably fall back asleep in a minute, the medication feeling like a heated, heavy blanket all over his body.

But he blinked, his eyes still a little sticky with tears. Oh well… and he scooted closer to Kokichi– that much time had passed, huh– holding him tighter. “...love you ‘Kichi.” Kaito whispered, seeing Shuichi asleep at the window seat and knowing he was probably having his own tough conversation. “Love you guys…”

-

Kokichi let out a deep, sleepy sigh as he started to wake up, stretching out under the covers. With their new rotation, Kokichi would have the morning off, and…he kind of wanted to spend at least a little of it lingering in bed. Then probably going down to breakfast and bringing food up for Kaito, who would be taking on the morning shift. 

Mm…he wondered what they were gonna have… There tended to be quite an array, since breakfast foods tended to mix and match anyway, but…well, he was always hoping for pancakes. A stack of pancakes with fresh strawberries… Man, he couldn’t wait for all the strawberry sweets that would definitely be around for Zenith… T’was the season…

A yawn, and Kokichi rolled over, opening sleep-crusted eyes to lazily travel over the room and…

…Kokichi’s brow furrowed. 

“...guys?”

“I’m saying no.” Kaito said again, his voice low, chewing on his thumb nail. The three of them had been talking for awhile. Voices low, Miyako in Shuichi’s arms as he lightly played with her hand on the window seat, Kato having dragged the desk chair over, Maki standing by the crib, playing with a throwing dagger.

“We don’t know if we can trust them. Maki insisted, “I need to go and confirm. I have a responsibility to those children.”

“No.” Kaito said, his tone low and warning, nearly a growl, “He’s a close friend of Kokichi, and he came to us of his own volition. And he knew enough things about us and the party that I trust he really was with our party, even if he couldn’t explain.”

“You don’t have a responsibility to anything.” Shuichi said softly, still gently petting Myako’s hand, “You’re just angry and want an excuse to go stab people.”

None of them heard Kokichi’s soft call, caught up in the conversation they were having.

Kokichi continued to stare at his family in confusion, his sleep-addled mind slow to really comprehend what they were talking about, but… Well, their emotions spoke for themselves. There was almost a grey cloud over the immigrants, mixing with anger and grief and a dull hopelessness and…a bunch of things that Kokichi could…kind of place as having received bad news. 

Heartbreaking news.

Did something happen?

Sitting up more, Kokichi scooted over on the bed towards the window, looking around his family with a more urgent worry. “Hey, what’s going on? Did something happen?”

Three very intense gazes all looked up at him at once, a brief sort of intensity that might have justified the spread of rumors of the Reaper, the Boogieman, and the Mad Prince… but once the startlement passed, their bodies and the collective intensity relaxed, Kaito giving him a nervous smile, “Oh, hey beautiful… um, yes. Something did happen. First of all, if you’re cross with him, don’t be, I think it was very sweet and–”

“Alter Ego came to visit all of us last night.” Maki said, spinning the dagger in her hand, the morning light reflecting off of it, “They told us what happened to the Luminary party. We’re disagreeing on how to approach it.”

“Technically we’re not, because Kaito and I say there is no approaching the problem, and you’ve told Kaito to make decisions for you several times now, so in a way we’ve all decided not to do anything about the Luminary problem.” Shuichi said, and though the words were light, his tone was soft and sad. Just looking at his baby. What a terrible thing to have happened…

“‘Kichi, I know you just woke up, and I’m sorry to ask you this right away,” Kaito said, no longer worrying his thumb nail and now rubbing his knuckles, “Alter Ego is… an honest cat, right? A trustworthy furry? If he says that a situation has already been resolved, say, a bunch of kids have already been rescued, but they can’t tell us how or where they are…?”

Kokichi’s eyes widened in surprise before his expression fell, but…he sighed softly. “...I suppose that means I don’t have to ask them if they’d be willing to talk to you guys about it, now…”

He…wasn’t sure what there was to approach about what happened to the party. Tengan was already gone. All those people were…gone. The ones that were left…were somewhere in Danganronpa. And…he supposed there could be some rescue effort but…if they were still all on spores (whichi no Ronpan would have a reason to get them off of) then…it would be little more than a suicide mission…

…unless there had already been an effort. 

Kokichi opened his mouth, then closed it, sending a quick message of intent to his mentor. {Was it really you that visited my family last night?}

But in the meantime, Kokichi gave his family a firm nod, looking at each of them. “I trust Alter Ego with my life. And I have. And…maybe it’s not fair to you all, but I’ve trusted them with your well-beings too. I…”

There, Kokichi looked a little unsure, but the underlaying resolve was unshaken. “...I never knew about any of the kids. But…if that’s what Alter Ego told you? Then I believe that’s the truth.”

{Yes, that was me. I’m sorry I jumped the crossbolt, it was an impulsive decision. I’ve been feeling a little guilty to not tell them, and now that they all knew and you weren’t scrambling to keep your marriage [and partnership (and siblinghood??)] together I couldn’t hold back any more.}

{I apologize for overstepping.}

“I should still go check. It won’t be hard, I’ll just sneak into the capital, find out where the surviving party was taken, confirm they’re either dead or escaped, maybe knife a queen or two if the opportunity presents itself–”

“Shuichi, please cover Miyako’s ears.” Kaito growled, eyes focusing with viscous intensity on Maki as he said, whole body tense, “Her Aunt Maki and I need to have a discussion.”

“You don’t scare me, Momot–’

“I should.”

Kokichi sighed softly, his eyes unfocused as he ‘spoke’ with Alter Ego. {I forgive you. I trust you to respect their minds and choices to talk. I was going to ask you to speak with them about this anyway…though now they’re debating whether what you said is true, and what should be done about it.}

And by the time Kokichi tuned back into the verbal conversation at hand…

He sighed again, something sad and tired in his gaze as he looked at Maki. “...please don’t leave us again. Not like this.”

Maki twitched, the same part of her that had looked to Kokichi for validation and advice before she left, over her motherhood, and over a decision she didn’t know she made, but had been the hardest, most frightening moment of her life. Maybe it was Maki just trusting Kokichi. Maybe it was Dragon recognizing Wisdom. Who knows. But she hesitated.

“...I have a responsibility–”

“You listen here.” Kaito snarled, standing up, his sheer terror at the idea of her going off to Danganronpa to fight another suicide mission causing him to reach out and grab her wrist, quicker then Maki could react for once, squeezing it tight until her skin turned purple and the dagger fell to floor, “You are not doing this Harukawa. Not again, not on my watch. I said no, I swore to say no, you are going to listen.”

“And because I can’t say even half the swears I want to scream at you right now in front of my very sweet baby who might be feeling how very upset with you I am, you and I are going to the gosh darn mirror room. Now.”

“Don’t make me cut you in front of your husband.” Maki growled. 

“Try it. Come on.” Kaito huffed, pulling her towards the door and out of the room. 

Shuichi watched them go with a tired look, before looking to Kokichi. “Could you go with them? I think she might actually stab him unless you’re there to faint.”

{What do you mean, what to be done about it?} Alter Ego sent, sounding baffled, {There’s nothing more to be done, I explained that to all of them.}

And because of the nature of intent, a rush came with that. 

{I don’t know the details, but I am aware from checking in on them that none of the children are still in Danganronpa, not even the Flora child, who is heading back to Luminary to, as far as I can tell, be with her parents. The children are being taken care of, but the flora involved in freeing them have sworn me to secrecy to lower their odds of being caught, and I can’t break that, not even for you. That was the deal in exchange for checking in.}

Maki gave herself many responsibilities, but…unlike with Luminary, Kokichi couldn’t see how this one was hers. If Alter Ego said the children was safe, that people had died…then that was so. There wasn’t a dutiful need to double-check that--it was purely an expression of the self. 

And even if it had been another selfless cause to fight for… Kaito had promised to say no. 

Kokichi gave his boyfriend a worried look after watching Kaito and Maki leave. “...are you gonna be okay? You’ve been up since, like, one. I’ll go after them, but…I wanna make sure you’re alright.”

{I see… I won’t ask you to break that trust.}

{You know how I have trouble not feeling responsible for everyone? Maki-chan has the same thing. She feels like she has a responsibility to those kids to double check everything you said, going to Danganronpa and finding where they had been, and maybe trying to overthrow the queen in the process.}

{I know, we’re trying to talk her out of it.}

Blinking back into the physical world, Kokichi stood up, still looking at Shuuichi in concern.

{Oh no that’s all a terrible idea, would it help if I talked with her?? I don’t love the idea of arguing with a dragon but I will.}

Shuichi sighed, “Unlike you crazy people, I don’t see a huge issue with sleeping while Miyako does. I sleep next to the crib, get up with the alarms, and get up when she makes fussy noises. But she’s fine otherwise. She’s a Flora, the way I hear it she’s indestructible. She’ll be fine, we don’t need to stare at her all the time.”

“...sorry, that’s beside the point.” Shuichi gave Kokichi a sheepish smile, “I am a little tired, window seat sleeping isn’t the deepest type. But I’m okay. Kaito and Maki can make it up to me by taking my next shift. Back me up on that, I’m going to commit to selling them on it later.”

Kokichi smiled slightly before giving Shuuichi a nod. “Alright. I’ll try and bring breakfast up for you when we get things…more settled. See you soon.”

Jogging through the halls in his pajamas, Kokichi sighed, practiced enough to not have to pay attention to his bady. {...maybe. I’ll keep you updated. Kai-chan and Maki-chan are off to fight/dance and I gotta make sure no one actually gets hurt.}

Making it to the dance room, Kokichi opened the door without knocking, a slightly exasperated but worried expression on his face.

{Good luck, call me if you need me, I demand to see the memory of them fight dancing because that is still hilarious, as serious as the situation is, sorry I couldn’t not send that it was connected to my previous thought and intent can be a little all or nothing sometimes.}

Kaito and Maki had not, in fact, started dancing. They were grumbling over a record tape, setting up the music and still arguing with each other, looking over a piece of paper they themselves had written out.

“What about Black Sheep, we know that one best?” Maki offered up, sitting next to the record player with her chin on her palm, looking exasperated as Kaito scoffed.

“God, no, I can’t handle the routine again, I feel like if I jump in place anymore I’m going to punch the damn mirrors. I’m not sure I wanna do anything fast pace.”

“Fast pace is the point.”

“Arguing is the point.”

“We can argue without dancing. This is just supposed to keep us from punching each other, spending some of the energy.”

“I can not punch you slow dancing too. I just don’t understand why you fucking want to take literally every oppurtunity to go get your god damn head chopped off.”

“They’d have to catch me first.”

“Maki.” Kaito said, sounding just… frustrated, almost desperate as he gave her a furious look, before catching movement in the mirror and looking over his shoulder, “...oh. Hi babe.”

Maki rolled her eyes, “Shuichi needs to give me more credit, I’m not going to kill Kaito. I’m assuming that’s why you’re here.”

“Who said anything about killing me!?”

Kokichi sighed as he shook his head a little, finding a spot in a corner to hunker down in. Despite his presence, this was supposed to be their outlet for physical aggression, and Kokichi didn’t want to be in the way. 

Still, he gave Maki a shrug. “I’m insurance against blood. Sure, I can’t actually physically stop either of you from doing…pretty much anything, short of me getting a guard and claiming a domestic violence situation. But…you two care about me, so I can hope that you’ll choose to exert your anger in other ways with me around.”

“...also I think Shuu-chan wanted a moment to himself,” Kokichi shrugged again, still a little sleepiness in his eyes, though more from the fatigue of being thrust into something…tense and awful first thing in the morning. “He mostly seems alright, but…I wanna give him space to think. I know I cried for a while when I heard what I did.”

“It’s not surprising.” Kaito mumbled, entirely to himself, looking at their paper with a list of songs they had titled themselves like somewhere on it was the answer to all of his problems. “None of its surprising. We knew something bad had happened when they all disappeared, it was never going to be a good thing.”

“We should have done something when they were first reported missing.” Maki said grimly, shooting Kaito a hard look.

Kaito tensed up at that, the paper wrinkling in his hand, “Don’t do that to me… I can’t… that’s not fair…” he stared at the paper, before saying stiffly, “What about Lemonade?”

“With the trumpet? Sort of tough to dance too, and we don’t have a routine set up for it yet.” Maki reminded him tiredly. 

“True… what about one of the guy songs? The really slow stuff?”

“That shits depressing.”

“It’s all depressing. They’re an edgy punk band, they were ‘deep’ kids with ‘deep’ thoughts.” Kaito grinned warily, chuckling lightly.

Honestly, that had become half of what these sessions with Maki had become. Dancing, arguing, and bonding over half admiring, half making fun of the kids who had dumped song after song onto this album that had supposed to have been classical violin music. Some of the songs were tight and well performed, some of the songs sounded like the group had made it up as they were going, others literally had the kids stopping and chatting idly halfway through before picking up the music again. Each song was clearly the kids reinventing the genre from the ground up, and he guessed they didn’t even know half the genres they were emulating. 

He loved it, honestly. Sometimes when he and Maki were done arguing, Kaito just sat in the room for awhile listening to the random songs. It was like he was living vicariously through someone elses childhood. He was disproportionately fond of the four main kids he usually heard throughout the songs, which he had dubbed Loud Girl, Actual-Singer girl, Shouty Guy and Sad Guy.

“What about Shouty’s ‘Enemy’ song?” Kaito offered. “That one’s pretty fun.”

“Fun’s not the vibe. How about ‘Crows?”

“Fuck you.”

Maki’s eyes narrowed, before she smirked. “I want to do Crows.”

“You hate that song.”

“It’s relevant.”

“My god damn ass it is… ya know what, fine.” Kaito rolled his eyes, checking the list for where Crows was at, “But only because poor ‘Kichi’s fucking waiting on us. Kokichi, she’s not gonna stab me… okay, she might stab me, but I’ll be fine. You don’t have to put up with this, I know it’s stupid.”

“Kaito’s just embaressed you’re going to see this dumb process.” Maki snorted, standing up and brushing off her skirt, “At least we have at least part of a routine for this one. Come on.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kaito grumbled, putting the record a the right spot, “Alright, Sad Guy, I know that’s fucking you singing in that weird-ass accent. Play us out.”

It wasn’t surprising. As soon as they’d heard that the party had pretty much disappeared as soon as they’d left the Dicean border, everyone had suspected something had happened. Finding the ash pits had only confirmed that. But thinking about wildlife getting the better of them, or if they had fled…

What actually happened was…so much worse. Instead of bad luck or nature, it had been utmost cruelty, and all of those people had suffered greatly. More than anyone should have to bear in a life. 

There was a difference between suspecting something had happened, and knowing that something out of a nightmare had happened. 

…and what could they have done when they found out anyway? Somehow be better than both the Dicean guardforce and investigative teams, and all the search parties Luminary had set up? Gone to be a drop in the pond while Shuuichi was suffering and in recovery from an unknown drug addiction, and then pregnant? While Kaito had been on a travel ban after his assault charge? While the world was falling apart around them and even clinging onto each other hadn’t been enough?

(...Maki just wanted to be enough.)

Watching the two of them bicker over song choices, Kokichi sighed softly, waving a hand at them. “Don’t hurry on my account. And no amount of stabbing is fine. It might be embarrassing, but…” He shrugged again. “If it helps, then who cares?”

“...also, my mentor offered to talk with you, Maki-chan, if you end up still set on this, and they’re really interested in seeing what a dance-fight looks like.”

“It just looks like dancing.” Kaito huffed.

“With bickering.” Maki added in, slightly amused. 

“Well, yeah, but that’s a given.”

The two were sniping at each other, but there was a weird sort of… immediate ease to the interaction. The two getting into the rhythm of how this worked for them as, on the recorder, there was some soft, far away voices while someone played a little jitty on a piano and someone set up their cymbals, laughter as someone said something indistinguishable. 

“Alright, man, do the warble thing you do, it’ll be sick.” A voice laughed slightly more clear, a high pitched giggle joining with him as someone strummed a guitar.

“Mmhm.” another voice hummed, as music started to pick up, getting closer to the microphone.

Maki groaned. “I just remembered how much I hate this song.”

“Yeah, you thought I was just giving in.” Kaito smirked with all his teeth, “Fuck you. I know you hate this song.”

Please you must excuse me/ I cannot help but feel I’ve overstayed my welcome.

The beginning, which was the bit they had worked out before Maki had declared enough and said she couldn’t work with this song anymore, started off slow and methodical, the man warbling into the music like he was putting his whole damn mouth and tongue against it as Kaito put his hand around Maki’s waist, gently guiding her into a flowing two-step circle. Their eyes steadily on each other as their feet effortlessly dodged and stepped around each other, entirely certain in both their own and each others footing.

Kaito quickly pulled Maki against the flow of the circle, leading her into a slightly, equally gentle dip the other way as the voice sang out Please, she said… it’s hardly a bother. The company’s quite nice…~

“Why the fuck do you want to die so badly?” Kaito suddenly growled, glaring at her. “If you’re gonna fucking off yourself, just be a fucking grown up about it and slit your damn throat. Don’t leave us here wondering what the hell happened to you for months.”

“Historically, these missions aren’t suicidal.” Maki reminded him, looking calm and sure of herself as he brought he back up from the dip, complicated footing making it seem like she almost glided around him, Kaito waiting for her to finish the journey before grabbing her hips and pulling her back to himself. “And I don’t understand how you don’t feel more responsible. These were your people.”

“I thought I didn’t have any people, Maki.”

“I hate this next part.” Maki muttered, as the tempo suddenly revved up. 

WELL I THINK THAT I’VE GOTTA GO AND I DON’T KNOW WHY/ BUT I NEED YOU TO PROMISE THAT YOU WON’T CRY! CAUSE YOU’LL BE FINE, AND SO WILL I! So just let the thought of me die~

Maki sighed as Kaito brought up her hips, and kicking out on either side of him, once to the left and once to the right as Kaito swung her, she landed back on the ground and let Kaito spin her with both arms, before resting her feet against his as she leaned all the way back, being held up by his grip as she said, “They took something that was ours. Kaede’s not going to go to war for them, so who’s left to avenge them?? Their families?? Their grieving mothers or lost children!? I’m a royal assassin, Kaito, if there was anyone who was ever going to be able to do it–”

Kaito squeezed both her wrists as he guided her back up, his eyes furious, “I swear to god, Maki, I will break your damn leg before I let you go to Danganronpa. I’m not kidding. You are not going.”

And please let me know/ Let those old memories go/ Feed me to the crows~

…it was a pretty dark song. Something about the singer’s voice pinged in the back of Kokichi’s mind, especially with Kaito’s mention of a weird accent since…the singer had a very prominent Dicean accent, at least compared with what Kokichi remembered from the other singer he’d heard in the band. Honestly, it wasn’t that weird that the singer had a Dicean accent since this was an album they’d found in the Dicean castle, but…it did highlight that it was weird that the other vocalist didn’t have as much of an accent.

Bringing up his knees, Kokichi rested his chin on them as he watched Maki and Kaito dance and…even arguing, they really were incredible. Kaito could toss Maki around like it was nothing, and yet it all looked so gentle and purposeful, and Maki flipped and swung like she was completely at ease…

…if not, of course, for the expressions on their faces. 

…Kokichi remembered talking to Taka, feeling his grief as he lamented that his parents would never know what happened to him, his worry of what would happen to the small progress his mother had made. Being on the other side of lost love, but not truly being gone for it not to hurt. 

Vengeance was what Luminaries wanted from their pain--Kokichi couldn’t argue against that, even if he felt differently. However…even knowing that, he couldn’t imagine being behind a war effort. 

…and even if he could…even if things would be better without the monster Queen Enoshima was at the helm of Danganronpa…she wasn’t the person that had destroyed the party. Considering the timeline…Kokichi doubted she even knew what was going on. The person responsible was Tengan. 

Who was already worse than dead.

…Maki wasn’t an assassin anymore. There wasn’t anything to do, wasn’t any enemy to face, not really. Maki refused to be helpless in the face of grief, but…there wasn’t any action to take.

(...maybe telling the families what happened. If they could even find a way to tell people without giving away Alter Ego. Kokichi had no idea what that Flora child was going to say, when she got back to Luminary, and…it was awful to put the expectation of explanation or even corroboration on a child.)

“You couldn’t.” Maki said with total certainty, narrowing her blood red eyes at him as the man warbled even harder into the microphone, Kaito holding her hand as Maki was released from his body, the two against doing complicated footwork together, Maki practically gliding against the ground as Kaito’s grip gave her the momentum she needed to pull it off, looking a little uncertain as they got closer to the part where they had given up last time , the music starting to take over from the man’s voice, “ And you wouldn’t. You’ll pick Kokichi and Shuichi over keeping me here. Like you’ll pick them over everything.”

“God dammit, Maki, I didn’t… I couldn’t have helped them. Neither could you have–”

“If you had sent me out there–”

“I NEEDED YOU HERE!” Kaito shouted, both of them wincing as he pulled her close against him… before grumbling, “God, this part of the song gets so damn slow.”

“Don’t worry, it’s going to send us hurtling back into a quick tempo in a second.” Maki rolled her eyes, the two just sort of idly two stepping together now, “It really does ruin the flow of the argument though.”

“Every fucking time.”

“You think these children could have had the decency to keep in mind what we’d be using this shitty music for someday.”

“How could they have known… ugh, there it goes. Hold on.” Kaito huffed, “Just follow my lead, I’ve got us.”

Maki frowned at that, before nodding mutely. 

WELL I THINK THAT I’VE GOTTA GO AND I DON’T KNOW WHY!!/ BUT I NEED YOU TO PROMISE THAT YOU WON’T CRY!/ CAUSE YOU’LL BE FINE AND SO WILL I~ SO JUST LET THE THOUGHT OF ME DIE!!

Kaito grasped Maki’s hips and arm, and pushed and pulled her into a seemingly intense, violent series of whips to and from either side of himself, Maki easily letting herself be flung as at the end of the last whip Kaito lead her, oddly enough, into a leading positon, doing the original gliding two step but putting himself into the glide while Maki was left to give him the momentum to pull it off, the two switching roles for the last high tempoed chorus. As the song neared its final crooning note, Kaito shouted, “I’m gonna throw myself all the way back, okay?”

That was the only warning Maki got as he ducked into the two arm spin he had done on her early, Maki grasping his wrists and bracing herself as the much larger man bent his ank;es entirely and threw his whole weight back, like a man falling backwards into a crypt, and Maki’s feet slid forward a few inches before she managed to balance against the weight, Kaito no more than a foot or so away from the ground before she caught the descent. 

YOUR LOVE FOR ME WILL VANISH TOO~OOOO! BAM-BUM-BOOM!

“...one of these days you’re going to go into those damn surprise dips and I’m just gonna let you fall.” Maki huffed, staring down at him. “You’re too heavy for this.” 

“You might.” Kaito agreed, “But you haven’t yet.”

Maki, again, rolled her eyes… but she lowered him down gently, the two huffing and puffing after that, the energy burnt from the dance feeding against their anger a little as the kids on the record player cheered the completed song, before presumably time passed and they unceremoniously played into another. Something soft and sad as the two just stared at each other.

“...you can’t just go and change the world on a whim, Maki.” Kaito said, “It’s not going to work out for you every time.”

“It has so far.” Maki shrugged, looking at the record, “Should I reset it?”

“Ugh, no, that songs the worst to argue too. It keeps fucking up the tempo.” Kaito said, wiping some of the sweat from his forehead, “The kids are safe already. Tengan’s… dead or something, I think. Apparently there are people in Danganronpa already handling this on their own. It’s not our business.”

“They were our people.”

“We don’t have a people Maki.” Kaito muttered, “They threw us away, remember? We didn’t leave them, they left us. And then they followed Tengan to the Danganronpa border against orders. There’s nothing we could have done, we didn’t even know where they were.”

“I went back for them.” Maki said. Not meaning the Luminary party. But Luminary itself, “I did my responsibility. I fixed it.”

“You did.” Kaito muttered, “You did great, Maki. You did enough. Danganronpa is not your responsibility, and those Luminaries are lost already. You think it doesn’t bother me that Tim’s friends are out there, somewhere? That they went through something that terrible?You think I don’t… wish I could have done something? Of course I do…”

Kaito glared at Maki, tears lightly rolling down his cheeks as he said, “But you were the one who told me what I did was enough. I took care of my family the best I could, and that was enough. You said that. So, what, was that not true? Or am I just ‘less capable’ than you so that’s the most you can ask of me?” Kaito’s fists clenched, and he said through gritted teeth, “Because if being ‘capable’ is just being capable of going and attacking people, Maki, I think you’re forgetting who the fuck you’re talking too. I’m not afraid of going out and fighting, Maki, I’m just recognizing I’m more useful here. Taking care of ours.”

Maki didn’t say anything to that, and Kaito added in roughly, “You went to Luminary and brought back basically everyone you fucking loved here. What? Now you’re going to leave us to take care of them? Again? All your brothers and sisters, your son, us? What happens to Miyako if you die, Maki? You’d throw all our safety away if you got yourself killed doing something reckless. You took responsibility for all of us when you brought all your siblings here, swore yourself to me and Kokichi and Shuichi, adopted Tim, and put yourself into my daughters fucking head. STAY HERE AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!”

That was the end of it, really. They needed Maki. For all that they tried to be their own people…they needed Maki. All her siblings and children needed her. Maki had fought against impossible odds before, holding her responsibility of making sure that they were alive, that they could see each new day as it came. 

…but in doing so, she had promised another responsibility. The responsibility of their love for her. And…that wasn’t one she could uphold if she left. If she died. 

Sure, maybe there was a world where Maki infiltrated the Ronpan capital and managed to assassinate the queen, all undetected. But that world was extremely improbable. Not when every Flora immediately would know she wasn’t a Flora if they saw her. Even if…who knew what they did with humans that they didn’t stay away from, knowing they were on vacation and expected back, or managing trade or business. Things that required being known. Not when the person to succeed Queen Enoshima would be the next strongest Flora, and after her long reign, would want to find her killer, given that they would be known as a danger against Flora. 

Because an assassination wouldn’t be quiet. It wasn’t even stealthily setting a fire. It was doing so ensuring that the queen was absolutely consumed, and unable to push her consciousness into anyone else. 

It was…borderline impossible. 

And unlike why Kokichi had been able to hold hope for Maki’s mission in Luminary, she would be alone. There wouldn’t be other people fighting for that cause. Even the people smuggling humans out of Danganronpa…their plan wasn’t to kill the queen. Because it was a goal just…not in reach yet. 

(...there…could be a way to do it. But Kokichi didn’t want to go giving Maki hypothetical ideas just yet. Not when this really wasn’t her responsibility.)

In Luminary, it was disrespectful to speak for the dead. But…when the dead weren’t really dead…maybe Maki could find closure there. But for now…she and Kaito needed to work this out between them.

“...someone needs too–”

“Let it be someone else. Your responsibility is to us.” Kaito sighed, listening to Loud Girl sing about wanting to be a carriage driver and lamenting someone else’s nice skin. “...come here.” 

Kaito sighed, getting up and offering his hand to Maki, who gave him a dead-eyed stare before taking it, letting him drag her up. Calling the song ‘slow’ wasn’t quite right, but the tempo was steady enough that it didn’t feel jarring to fall into a slow, simple dance, Kaito’s hand around her waist and his other hand in hers as the two fell into a simple foot pattern that was mostly just a complicated slow dance, enough to keep them busy and spending energy, but not throwing each other around like the other songs do.

“... I need you to stay, Maki. I’m going to lose my mind if I try to juggle all this stuff again.” Kaito told her softly, “I need you. You remember what happened the last time you left? Kokichi fell into a coma. Shuichi was pregnant and depressed. All your damn siblings arrived and most of the time I was feeling guilty about not doing enough for them and the rest of the time I was arguing with everyone that I should even be allowed to do what I was doing for them. I helped those nightmares that gave birth to Addason. Fuck, Maki, I was so fucking desperate to get a grip on my life that when a mountain fell over and everything was in top alert I dragged our kid out there to help because I just… so desperately wanted to feel like I had a grip of what was going on. I was spiraling and I needed you.”

“And I can forgive you for leaving me to do all that. I can forgive it. I can let it go.” Kaito whispered, “Because I know this mattered to you. But fuck Maki, if you leave me again to do all this alone for nothing? Don’t come back. I’d never want to see you again. You already put me in charge of all of your loves ones once, and I did it, and it was fucking terrifying and I felt alone. You owe me. I did everything you asked. I did everything. You owe me. Don’t leave me alone with all of them again. I’ll fall apart.”

“...you were supposed to share it with Shuichi–”

“Don’t bullshit me. You were going to lay it all on his back, and he fucking crumbled under the pressure. I picked it up for him. For you both. I made it work. I was having my own baby and taking care of our son and, let me say it again, Kokichi fell into a coma. And I still made it work. Even when they shamed me for trying. Even when Aba fucking asked me to hold her damn hand. Even with a bunch of supernatural bullshit happening in the background that I knew nothing about, I still made it work. You owe me. Don’t leave me.”

“Don’t leave me.” Kaito whispered, the sound less demanding and more desperate as the two danced slowly, “Don’t leave me. I need you. I can’t do this by myself. Please.”

Maki said nothing… before mutely nodding her head against his chest.

“Swear it.”

“...sure.” Maki said quietly, “If you need me too, sure. I swear it. Just because you need me.”

“We all do. You can’t keep taking responsibility for everything and then running off on us. I can’t keep picking up the slack. God, imagine trying to explain it to all your siblings again…”

“I already said I’d swear it.”

“Yeah, well, now I’m just whining, and we still have some song left, so you get to just listen to me whine.”

“Alright… but we need to go let Shuichi off baby duty soon.”

“Shit.”

-

The rest of the day was what Kokichi could only describe as ‘soft’. But not the kind of soft that was smushing your face into fuzzy stuffed animals, feeling warm and content. It was the kind of soft that meant people stepped lightly, things were quiet and undramatic and peaceful, though there was an underlying feeling of contemplation in it. For the most part, Kokichi let his family process. He sat in the window seat of their room, nearby to talk or snuggle, but not being in any of their faces, and sketched in his leather notebook, putting down ideas for paintings he wanted to start up. 

He wondered if Alter Ego would enjoy the portrait he had planned…

Despite the morning, things had calmed down, if not to the point of moving on with joy. 

And then…the next day sped by, and before they all knew it…

It was Kokichi’s birthday.

Brief, warm kisses against Kokichi’s shoulders and neck.

“‘Kichi,” a warm, gentle sound, the weight of the bed dipping towards his heavier weight as Kaito laid a hand softly against Kokichi’s arm, trying not to startle him badly as he placed a few warm kisses against his husbands cheek, “‘Kichiii~... are we peeking?” Kaito teased briefly, seeing bright, amethyst eyes peeking out at him ever so slightly, “Good morning, beautiful. Happy birthday…”

A yawn, and a shift on Kokichi’s other side as Shuichi mumbled half-asleep, “h’ppy b’irfday.” Lazily patting Kokichi’s arm with his eyes still closed, before decided on a sleepy whim to curl around Kokichi, pulling him closer. “No surprise. Stay and sleep.” Shuichi murmured, nuzzling his face into Kokichi’s hair.

Kaito twitched watching this. Way to be a team player Shuichi. Thanks. From the window, Maki snorted, settling in to watch Miyako for the day.

Kokichi stirred, smiling sleepily as he felt warm touches and gentle kisses, giggling as he was pulled into the Sleepy Shuuichi Amalgam. Snuggling against his boyfriend, Kokichi took a deep, rousing breath before he blinked up at his family with more clarity. “Good morning… Thank you. Mm…21 already, huh? Mn, what’s the verdict, am I too old for you guys yet? Wishing for the days of our youths?”

Giggling a little more, Kokichi pressed kisses to whatever he could of Shuuichi before giving Kaito a warm smile. “...so there was a surprise?”

“I’d scold Shuichi for spoiling it, but I don’t think I could hide the fact there’s a surprise and get you out of bed this morning at the same time.” Kaito admitted, brushing his fingers through Kokichi’s hair, “So Shuichi gets a pass this time.”

“Mines better.” Shuich murmured sleepily.

“No chance.” Kaito huffed, placing a kiss against Kokichi’s forehead as he said, “As for being too old for me? Eh, give it another year. I’m a notorious cradle robber, after all, so two years past the legal adult age? That’s too much, ‘Kichi. Gonna trade you in for a younger model.”

“Watch. If Kaito ever tried to leave us, he’d end up with some old man.” Shuichi mumbled, “Insisting wrinkles are ‘cute’. Staaaaaay with me. I don’t have weird old people fetishes.”

“It’s not a ‘fetish’ to acknowledge people are attractive, Shuichi.” Kaito huffed, “Besides, I know what’ll get him out of bed… if we start heading down in a half hour, we’ll probably be there as soon as the rolls leave the oven…”

It was very in-character for Kaito, but Kokichi found himself feeling flattered anyway. A birthday surprise for him… It already felt like too much, without even knowing what it was, but…it made him happy. His husband wanted to do something special for his birthday… 

“Mm, it is tempting to sleep the morning with you,” Kokichi hummed, calming his quiet laughs from their jokes. “You haven’t been ‘off’ in the morning for a bit…I miss these Shuu-chan snuggles already.”

Call him shallow, though, but there was something he’d definitely trade cuddles for, and not just Kaito’s health and mental well-being.

Kokichi’s eyes popped open, ravenously glittering as Kaito said the magic word. “Yesssss!!! Shuu-chan, there’s really nothing like fresh, still-steaming cinnamon rolls, the icing still liquid as it drips into all the little crevasses… I’m so excited, I don’t think I’ve had ‘em since the last time you made ‘em, Kai-chan!”

True to form, Kokichi was already wriggling out of Shuuichi’s grasp, aiming to be ready in half an hour to snatch up his favorite birthday tradition.

“Nooooooooo.” Shuichi groaned, trying to keep his hold on Kokichi and groaning as the smaller man wiggled out of his grip. “Tragedy.”

“Are you going to come down with us handsome? Maki’s got Miyako today, and you can have some of these famous cinnamon rolls.” Kaito tempted him, poking his cheek a little as Shuichi groaned. “Also, you gonna tell me what the surprise is?”

“Nooooooooooo,” Shuichi groaned against, burying his face into the pillow, “...if I don’t go down will you send cinnamon rolls up?”

“For Maki, sure, since she was generous enough to volunteer to babysit today.”

“She took you away for fight-dancing, she owed me.”

“Oh, sure, now I just owe everybody.” Maki huffed, picking up Miyako to feed her, the baby making a startled noise as she woke up, whining slightly until a bottle was offered to her, in which she suddenly found herself less grumpy about being awake. “That’s not gonna work on me forever, guys, just so you’re aware.”

“Gonna milk it for all its worth.” Shuichi said sleepily, clearly accidentally falling back to sleep.

“Same. Shuichi, come on, Kokichi will miss out on fresh out of the oven pastries if you don’t get up and get ready. Up, up, let’s go~”

Grooooan. 

Kokichi had been heading to the bathroom, but he paused, eyebrows raising. He had assumed that Kaito had set up a surprise, but…it was Shuuichi? Again, not out of character, but…it was a little surprising for Shuuichi to make any sort of production. Flushing lightly, feeling warm in his chest, Kokichi resumed his bathroom trip, feeling loved all the way through brushing his teeth and washing his face. 

On his way to the closet, though, he paused again, looking back at Shuuichi groaning on the bed. “...is this a sort of surprise I should dress any particular way for? I think my clothes are good for a lot, but I don’t wanna accidentally ruin anything…”

“Also, Shuu-chan, it’s so worth it. Catherine’s cinnamon rolls are like being transported to a divine realm of gooey, sweet perfection. Ohhh…I wonder if they’ll make nut ones… The bit of crunch is just another textural slam dunk.”

“Go shower!” Kaito said firmly, before pouting a little as he said, “And I don’t know why you’re asking Shuichi what to wear. I’m the one taking you out. Put something cute on. Oh, and bring, like, something warm that you can put on and take off easy. It’s chilly where we’re going, I can carry jackets for us if you want to bring something a little thicker.”

Shuichi got up, stretching a little before rubbing his eyes. “I’ll take a shower when you guys leave. Could you bring me some clothes.”

“Handsome, literally just get out of bed and walk to the closet.”

“Nooooooooo.”

…now he was just confused. Kaito was asking Shuuichi what the surprise was, but Kaito was taking him out? …did they both set up surprises for him???

Kokichi could feel his cheeks burning, though a sweet smile grew on his face. Now that really was too much for just his birthday…

Scurrying to the closet, Kokichi thought for a moment before picking out one of the outfits Kaito had gotten him for Unity, actually pairing the shirt and shorts together (though he did end up snagging some brightly colored striped socks). Giving his partners excited but suspicious looks, he headed off to shower.

And, when everything was finished, he topped the look off with a midweight flannel, rolling the sleeves up to his elbows for the time being. Doing a little spin, Kokichi looked up at Kaito. “This’ll work?”

Kaito gave an appreciative little whistle. “Look at you, coordinating your clothes… well, at least halfway. You look great, beautiful.” Kaito grinned, reaching for Kokichi’s hands, giving each one a little kiss… before twisting him into a little spin, “Just testing you can move easily in this~”

Kaito, in turn, was wearing simple, bright colors, and was dressed comfortably, wearing a light, white hoody. He was trying to make an effort to match Kokichi’s sensibilities, matching his husbands personal tastes for his birthday. Though, he couldn’t help but coordinate it so that the whole outfit matched and lined smoothly into each other, his white shoes matching his white hoody, magenta purple t-shirt a similar color to his warmer, slightly darker magenta shorts. 

And as Kokich and Shuichi had been getting ready, Kaito had been fussing with his hair a bit, before finally pulling it back into a short, spikey poney-tail, the bangs he usually slicked up falling and rising sharply in a way that could have been ‘random’, had he not spent the last twenty minutes fussing to get them all in just the right shape.

Shuichi was wearing one of his usual blazer outfits, but hesitated when he saw them both. “Am I supposed to dress up?”

“Try dressing down. Seriously, how do you wear those things in this heat. Don’t say you’re used to it because of Luminary, it was madness then too.” Maki teased, idly making her lamb dance in front of Miyako, who was watching this in fascination.

Kokichi laughed and skipped into the spin, leaning out for a moment before twirling himself back into Kaito’s arms, kissing his husband’s shoulders. “You look nice too! I can’t remember the last time I saw you wear a hoodie… Honestly I wasn’t sure you even owned one. Nice hair, too.”

Looking over to Shuuichi, Kokichi gave him a soft look. “I can’t say for where we’re going, but as far as I know? Shuu-chan can wear whatever clothes he likes. He’s cute no matter what, lookin’ all sleek ‘n cool in black blazers, or comfy ‘n pretty in turtlenecks.”

“Though I can’t even imagine wearing a turtleneck in this weather,” he groaned. “It’s looking like it’ll be a nice Zenith tomorrow, but…ugh. The water battles are gonna be real warranted.”

“Oooooh, right… I need to pick my outfit for tomorrow… or, no, wait, I got a yukata. That’s right,” Kaito grinned, having almost forgotten what the original point of getting the yukata was in the first place. What, it wasn’t so that his boyfriend could effortlessly ride his dick? Cause that was sure what it felt like it had been for. Mmmm…

Gah! Get sexy thoughts out of your head! It was birthday time! Focus! 

“Alright! We’re heading out. One quick kiss from my itty-bitty baby darling~” Kaito coo’d, heading over to Maki and giving his daughter a quick kiss on the temple, which she entirely ignored in favor of watching her lamb continue to move around. “Love you Miyaaaaa~ You talked to Tim today?” he asked Maki, “He knows where to find you?”

“Mmhm. He’s going to come and try to feed Miyako at lunch.”

“Oh, no, I’m missing that?” Kaito practically whined, looking genuinely distraught, before he steadied himself, “Gah… next time, I’ll see it next time. Thanks again, Maki.”

“Have fun. Happy birthday, Kokichi.” Maki said, making the lamb jump a little. Miya was dazzled by this. Look at it go.

-

The trip to the dining hall was pretty quiet, as it usually was right at the start of breakfast. Everyone who was an early riser would normally be in the hall already, and the late risers would still be in their room. Still, there were a few people making their way at that time, and Kokichi beamed with every ‘happy birthday’ that was tossed his way--which came from everyone they passed. 

Still, by the time they made it to the hall…

Kokichi stopped in his steps, looking up in confusion as Lake quickly turned, whispering too loudly, “Oh shit, he’s here already,” before--

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KO/KOKICHI/LITTLE BROTHER!!!!”

Along the back wall there was a light blue banner proclaiming happy birthday, and in the hall there was…Kokichi’s entire family. There for breakfast as usual, but… Lake and Nazumi and Denji and Ikuo and Aiichi and Hideki and Mikaku, and Hajime and Katsuki and Waku and… All shouting at him, the more excitable of the bunch doing little presentations with their hands, as there was a stack of gifts on one of the side tables, while Chako and Isabella and Catherine held out a plate with a giant cinnamon roll with a candle in it and…

All at once, Kokichi burst into tears.

Because ptsd was a bitch, Kaito did flinch when everyone shouted, immediately putting his hand on Kokichi’s shoulder, intending to pull him back and step in front of him and Shuichi… but reality quickly caught up to him, Kaito recognizing a surprise party when he saw it. Oh! Okay… so that was why Chako was smirking so much when Kaito told her what time he was dragging Kokichi down for breakfast.

Kaito grinned, watching the spectacle in open admiration, honestly just blown away that someone had organized this. He had considered it himself, but Kokichi always seemed so reluctant to celebrate his birthday that he thought Kokichi might not enjoy a party, but looking at the effort now? Kaito couldn’t imagine Kokichi being anything less than thrille– “Oh! Oh, dear.” Kaito said, the unusual term to him just stumbling out as Kokichi burst into tears next to him. Happy tears?? They were usually happy tears! 

Kaito quickly went to hug Kokichi from behind, faaaaairly certain they were probably happy tears but wanting to be there for him just in case. Hajime, among the surprisers, finished blowing out a little party sound-maker before taking it out of his mouth, laughing uncertainly, “Uuuuh, too much?”

“...ee…guys…” 

Though his sniffles were already acting up, there was a brilliant smile on Kokichi’s face as he laughed through his tears, facing the crowd of people that loved him. “You guys! Thank you!”

“Heh, aw, bro…” Lake cooed, looking on affectionately, Ikuo patting her shoulder as he fixed his cap over his eyes, no doubt a little misty himself. That seemed to ease things for the rest of the crowd too, and there were waves of laughter and congratulations through it, though at one point Aiichi stepped forward, smiling at Kokichi before the young prince came forward to hug his father. 

“Happy birthday, Ko,” the monarch said again, eyes closed as he hugged his son fully. “I’m so proud of you; today’s going to be a wonderful day. I hope it’s everything you could’ve dreamed, filled with all the blessings of love you have.”

Kokichi huffed a small laugh, though he hugged Aiichi tighter. “You’re so embarrassing… Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you too, son. Now, let’s get you that cinnamon roll--I think if I keep you away any longer Miss Hannuki might use that candle to set me on fire.”

Going over to the table with the presents, where Isabella and the others had set the plate down, Kokichi grinned at the expectant faces before blowing the candle out to cheers. Some folks came by for a quick hug or a shoulder punch, wishing him a happy birthday again before going to their own tables, but Ikuo took his own seat by Kokichi (leaving room for Kaito and Shuuichi, naturally) and chuckled softly at the absolutely smitten look on Kokichi’s face as he took his long-awaited first bite of pastry.

Perfect.

While Kokichi enjoyed his pastry, Shuichi joining him, watching fondly as Kokichi got a string of well wishes, Kaito headed to Lake, curious. “Alright, I’m taking a swing in the dark… you set this up?” Kaito asked the guardsman, gesturing to the banners and decorations and the, just, put-togetherness of this. This had taken planning, and Kaito was thinking, “Out of everyone, it sorta seems like your energy. Am I right?”

“Ha!” Lake grinned, “I’m glad I give you those vibes! And I wish I could take credit, but no, though I did help out with it. Nah, boss-man started coming to morning meetings for all the departments a few weeks ago, asking all of us who’re friends with Kokichi to help out in doin’ somethin’ a little special for his birthday.”

Lake rolled her eyes a little. “Obviously we were thrilled to. As much as I’d wanna throw a big, proper party…” Lake trailed off sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. “Well, it is Zenith tomorrow, and a lot of us still have work today. And Sec-deki pointed out that you and Shumai were probably planning on taking Kokichi out of the castle today, and it’d suck to put him in a position where he’d feel like he’d have to let someone down by choosin’, you know?”

Looking curious, Lake leaned more into Kaito’s space, putting a hand up to block her mouth from where Kokichi was sitting, though he was still in bliss-town. “What did you plan, anyway? Den, ‘Zumi, and I were betting on if it was goin’ out to an amusement park, havin’ a picnic in one of the parks, or havin’ a big zoo date.”

Kaito glanced over his shoulder at King Aiichi. Hm… he hadn’t expected that. It was nice of him to take the time… before refocusing on Lake, grinning lightly, “Yeah, I did have a surprise set up for him, so I appreciate you guys thinking of that. Who bet on zoo? You might owe them some coin for closest bet.”

Glancing over a Kokichi to make sure the little sneak wasn’t looking his direction, reading lips or anything, Kaito whispered to her, “I got that penguin walking place to let Kokichi go feed some penguins this morning. It’s where I’m taking him after this.”

“Aw, seriously? I really thought you guys’d find out the closest theme park… Damn, I guess ‘Zumi and I are gonna be getting some more houseplants soon,” Lake chuckled. In fairness, her roommate had been spending regular days with her brother’s family for months now, and that closeness did count for something. Man…where were they even going to put new plants?

“Oh my god, really?!” Lake exclaimed a little too loudly, before quickly looking around with a sheepish smile and waving to a few folks that had looked over. And back in a soft voice, Lake did a little bouncing motion with her fists. “Dude, that’s incredible! He’s gonna lose his mind!”

Kaito grinned, rubbing the back of his neck, “Yeah, I hope so. It’s my first birthday with him, so… kinda wanna impress, ya know? Though Shuichi keeps betting his surprise is better. He won’t tell me what it is. How do you beat feeding penguins?”

Bowing his head to her, he said, “Anyway, thanks for helping to set this up. I know it means the world to Kokichi. He loves you guys a lot.”

“Impossible, Kai-Guy. I hate to admit it, since, yanno, I’d like the crown this year, but you’ve definitely won Best Present. Shumai’s using that brilliant poker face to hide his sweatin’.” Lake looked shifty for a moment, her idea of what a poker face was, before laughing brightly. “Still, I’m sure Kokichi’s still gonna love whatever he has planned too. He adores you two.”

Giving Kaito a slap on the back, Lake nodded before turning to see where Nazumi and Denji had claimed for their own breakfast spot. “And I love him back! It was a pleasure to help out. You guys have fun today, and tell me about it later!”

Kokichi’s eyes were dry by the time Lake and Kaito had finished talking, only about a third through his giant roll. And while it was everything he’d hoped for…people kept coming by with their wishes, and he kept glancing to the literal pile of gifts on the table and…part of him didn’t really think it was real. This was…way too much. 

Still, Kokichi’s utter joy was written into every part of his face.

Kaito headed back to his husband, and quietly wrapped his arms around Kokichi’s shoulders, standing behind him as he watched a few more people come up and congratulate Kokichi, one of them adding another gift to the pile. Kaito didn’t want to interrupt and waited for a break in the crowd, before placing a kiss against Kokichi’s head. “That thing is way too big.” Kaito finally said, giving the roll a mildly disturbed look, “It’s… like the size of your head.”

“It’s delicious though.” Shuichi pointed out, mouth full of his own slice of it.

“He’s gonna end up a rolly-polly ‘Kichi. How are you not gonna be just wanting a nap by the time, uh, ‘breakfast’.” Kaito called it skeptically, “Is done?”

“I could use bein’ more of a roly-poly in my life,” Kokichi hummed through a laugh, just laughing more at the disappointed headshake Ikuo gave him at that. Still…even if he was probably going to overload on treats tomorrow too, it was his birthday. He could have his cinnamon roll. 

Tilting his head back into Kaito’s hug, Kokichi beamed up at him. “I’m jus’ gonna be happy after breakfast, ‘cause this is my favorite! And I love you guys, and you said we’re going out.”

“...though I am blown away by all of this,” he said more softly, glancing over at the banner and pile of gifts that Kokichi didn’t even have an idea for how to tackle effectively. “It…it’s just my birthday. But everyone… It’s really kind. It’s amazing.”

“You two are going out,” Shuichi said, pointing between Kokichi and Kaito, “I’m taking you out this afternoon…” following Kokichi’s eyeline, he raised his eyebrow at the pile of presents as he asked, “Are you going to open those now in front of everyone, or should we take those back up the room?”

“Your fathers the one that set this all up, by the way.” Kaito said, squeezing Kokichi a bit, before sitting down in the seat next to him, “Though I’m sure everyone else helped.” He added in quickly, giving Ikou a nod, before grinning at Kokichi, “And I’m sure they had fun doing it too. Half the joy of celebrations like this is getting to make someone you loves day… and you make it very rewarding.”

Kaito leaned in to give Kokichi a quick peck on the cheek– and taking the opportunity to use his thumb to brush some crumbs off– he smirked and said lowly, “My weeeeepy ‘Kiiiiichiii~”

A double dose of birthday surprises… Well, a triple dose, actually. From each of his partners, then the rest of his family all working together…

Kokichi pressed his face against Kaito’s, snorting a bit at his favorite phrase, though he gave the gifts another wondrous look. “...will we have time? You haven’t mentioned hurrying, but I don’t wanna make us late for anything, especially if Shuu-chan has his own plans for later. I can open everything later ‘n find people to thank them afterward.”

Honestly, he kind of felt overwhelmed, thinking of opening everything up now. And it would probably be easier to bring everything back to their room while it was still all condensed. 

Kaito’s impulse was to say ‘we can open them whenever you’re ready!’ but…

He glanced at the clock on the wall, and chewed on the inside of his lip as he said, “Ideally? We want to go to my thing soon. It is kinda time sensitive, and the earlier we go the more opportunity we have to take our time with it and enjoy it. Like, by nine-thirty? We’ve missed it.”

Kokichi looked at the clock with more urgency. It was almost seven now, so…depending on how far away the surprise was, they might have two hours to do whatever it was. All the more reason to buckle down through the rest of his roll, then. Nodding decisively, Kokichi forked a big segment to stuff in his mouth. 

“M’okay! Le’s do preshents later then. I’s hustle time!”

“Oh my god, no Kokichi, you’re going to give yourself a stomach ache or choke or something ridiculous…” Kaito looked around, “I’m just gonna grab a paper plate or something, you can keep nibbling on the way. Lets cut you out a slice, we’ll put the rest in a togo container, you can have some more of it later.”

Kaito was mostly talking to himself, hustling over to the kitchen to go get the things he was talking about, Shuichi watching all of this with amusement. “Kaito’s fussy.” Shuichi decided, happily stealing another forkful of Kokichi’s plate. “Ikou, would you help me bring Kokichi’s presents up? Maybe we can get Lake to help too.”

Kokichi couldn’t help his smile even with full chipmunk cheeks, though thankfully he didn’t laugh. Maybe Kaito was just hoping he’d forget to eat the rest of it. But giant cinnamon rolls were a birthday tradition! And Kokichi would not miss out on it!

Giving Kokichi a fond but exasperated look, Ikuo gave Shuuichi a nod. “Sure thing--prolly can rope Naz’mi inta it too. We’ll get all these up in two shakes of a rooster’s tail. We can bring somethin’ up fer Maki too.”

And…so it was settled. Kokichi still tried to scarf down all he could, hoping to bring most of his roll on the road, but they still had to store about a fourth, and before he knew it he and Kaito were strolling out the front gate, the guards on duty giving him a grin and more birthday wishes. 

“So…do I have to close my eyes when we get close, or…?”

“Mmmm, nah.” Kaito said, running his thumb along the side of Kokichi’s palm, enjoying the feel and taste of the morning summer air. It was a beautiful day. Hopefully it kept up all day, and tomorrow too. Kokichi’s birthday, then his favorite holiday. This was always going to be a busy weekend in the future, huh? Kaito would have to be prepared.

“It’s a surprise, but I think you’d be just as surprised seeing it down the road or unveiling it immediately.” Kaito decided, shrugging as he said, “And I doubt I can compete with the entire castle shouting your name, so I’m just looking forward to watching you enjoy it.”

Bringing up Kokichi’s hand to kiss the back of his pinky, Kaito said, “This is going to seem like a weird question, but… you alright? I know you don’t like celebrating your birthday much… it’s alright if this is all a lot.”

Kokichi squeezed Kaito’s hand gently, enjoying the feeling of a lazy summer wind through his hair. There was probably a chance he could guess where they were going by the direction they were walking but…for the time being, he was just enjoying the walk. Getting ready to be surprised. 

Just…touched that so many people set things up for him today. Especially when Zenith was tomorrow. It was easier to see why people would bother when his birthday was separated by a week, but…when it was so close, if not the day of…

Kokichi shook his head a little, pressing to Kaito’s side. “I’m okay. It’s just…overwhelming, but in a good way. Just…everyone doing all this for me, when they’re already so busy… It makes me feel loved and important…but it’s a little much.”

…there was risk, in talking about this, but…

“...I mean…my last birthday was fine, when it came to other people,” he said softly. “I got my cinnamon roll, and I got so many cards in the mail… I got presents an’ Denji-chan gave me a full manicure and we talked shit while we hung out…”

Kokichi squeezed Kaito’s hand again. “...but I spent pretty much all the other time alone, saying I was busy when people came by. And…I really loved what my family did, but…I just cried. I was so scared about the wedding so…people being nice just felt…like pity, like before someone dies. People did a lot of nice things, but…it was kind of a shitty birthday.”

“This year…I know people are being kind because they love me. And…it all just feels nice.”

Kaito nodded his head slightly, giving Kokichi a slightly appraising look… before laughing a little to himself. 

“My last birthday in Luminary went, like, the exact opposite way.” Kaito said softly, looking amused more than depressed by that fact. Birds, small and bouncy, were clustered in their path a little way ahead, and Kaito snickered a little as they looked up at the approaching figures and darted around a little, though kept hanging around in their spot, apparently indecisive if they wanted to fly off or not till about just the last minute, when they finally flew off.

Watching the bold little things fly to a nearby tree, Kaito shrugged, “My birthday tends to be a little weird. It’s the last day of Atua’s week, I’m usually crazy hung-over, and trying to put myself back together for the party that mom’s put together. Royal birthdays are these big, official events among Luminary elites, they’re basically another official chance for socialites and politicians to wheel and deal for whatever they’re trying to accomplish. And then, after the official party, I’d go out with my friends to a club or tavern and actually celebate. Usually all I’d want to talk about is whatever visions I’d have seen the last week, until I got more and more drunk and more and more relaxed with whatever was happening.”

“Man, I spent that last birthday just… so erratic. I was partying like it was the end of the world. I was still a little high when my official party started because I refused to sober up until past the last possible minute, convinced Atua would have some sort of vision for me to prepare me for Dicea. And when I was sober enough to do more than be led around by my coordinators, I left the party early and just went straight to the clubs to start getting drunk. Again, just, acting like an idiot, like there was no consequences to my actions because I didn’t have a future… thank fuck Shuichi and Maki were looking out for me. I was acting crazy.”

“...it’s funny, isn’t it?” Kaito grinned, looking down at Kokichi, “How fucking terrefied we were of each other? Turns out we were losing all that sleep and punishing ourselves over a sweet little wide-eyed sugar fiend and a big, goofy red-headed gym-rat. Man, if only we had known, huh?”

Kokichi nodded a bit, having heard about Kaito’s last birthday, at least partially. If Kokichi felt overwhelmed with importance by just having his friends and family acknowledge his birthday, then having it be an official event for… Well, there wasn’t really a parallel in Dicea for what it was in Luminary, but, like, a sort of not really government thing. For so much importance to be expected? It was crazy to think about. 

And Kaito to go full balls to the wall about it…

Kokichi chuckled softly. “Pretty foolish, honestly. Being so scared over what would be one of the luckiest things in my life… I kept thinking about the wedding like it’d be the end of my life…and in a way I was right. It wasn’t a hard ending, but…it was the end of the unhappy life I’d made for myself.”

Gently, Kokichi kissed Kaito’s shoulder. “I’m glad we’re both here now. Able to have happy, less stressful birthdays with our family… It’ll be our second together, but I’m excited to start planning for your birthday this year too. I gotta come up with something special if…”

Kokichi trailed off, his eyes widening as his voice lowered. “...is that the Aquatic Animal Preservation Center?”

Kaito gave Kokichi a startled look, peering ahead of them. “Uh, I don’t know. Is it? Why does that sound familiar… oh, that was the place with the penguins, right? Little waddling cutie guys?”

Kokichi’s eyes widened, giving Kaito a slightly wary, but mostly deeply hopeful look. “...are you taking me to see penguins?”

Kaito tsked. “Kokichi, babe, give me more credit. I took you to see penguins on our date, remember? Or, you took me to see penguins, thinking about it… nah, we’re gonna go feed those little guys.”

Kaito was straight up smirking when he said that, feeling very good about his choice now (thank you Waku!) as he knocked on the door, and after a moment a woman with light teal hair and ocean-green eyes, a little weight to her to give her a sweet, round face, opening the door, “Oh, right on time! We were just finishing putting together the buckets. Welcome! Prince Kokichi, Happy Birthday!” She smiled, forgetting to give her name as she opened the door for them, saying, “We have a form we need you to fill out real quick, and I’m assuming your husband’s given you the run-down already?” She asked leadingly, looking between them.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Kokichi’s squeal was muted, not wanting to disturb other people so early in the morning, though the little hopping dance he did was more than enough to show his pure excitement. Penguins! They were gonna feed penguins!! He was going to be a few feet away from penguins, not separated by glass!! Eeeeee!!!

He was still looking ecstatic as Kaito knocked on the door and he gave the woman a bright, beaming smile. “Thank you! Ah, Kai-chan wanted this to be a surprise, so we haven’t discussed this, but I’m a quick learner! Thank you for letting us help out today!”

“Well, we weren’t about to turn away our prince on his birthday.” The woman smiled, grabbing the forms and bringing them over to Kaito and Kokichi, “We tend to require a class before allowing volunteers near the animals, especially for one-timers, but you’re not actually a part of a group today, which makes it a bit easier to keep an eye on you. And considering you yourself audited the Animal Safety Acts a few years back, it did feel a little silly to insist you take the class on them.”

“But, those forms are you agreeing to adhere to our safety policies, listen to the staff and senior volunteers, acknowledge the risks that one of our penguins might accidently nibble on a finger trying to get to a fish. We’ll show you the proper way to go about it when we get down there, just know that this can take some time. Our penguins need to be fed individually every meal because they’re on very strict diets, and we need to be sure we don’t miss anyone. Don’t worry, the senior volunteers and staff will keep track, your job will be to just feed the penguins we point too however many fish they need still this morning. How many fish they eat will be determined by things like age and health and current weight… don’t worry, we keep track, we’ll let you know. And baby penguins need theirs mashed up a little… well, you’ll see.”

Kaito grinned at that idea. He had been hoping Kokichi might get a chance to feed the baby penguins… “Sorry, I apologize, you told me your name…?”

“Oh, silly me, I blew right past introductions didn’t I? I’m Aqua! I’ll be the staff-member you’re primarily assisting.”

“Right. Aqua… man, did your parents just get a really lucky guess or–?”

“Chosen name.” Aqua laughed, shrugging a little sheepishly, “I know it’s a little silly, but so much of my identity is around water based stuff, I thought when I was ready to change my name, why not lean into it? Here, let me collect those from you.” She said, seeing they had finished the forms.

Kokichi laughed softly, looking a little bashful. “Just because I worked on the legislation doesn’t mean the safety protocols are superfluous, but…I do appreciate being given an allowance for today. Animals are so important, for their own preservation and safety, but also to give people a greater understanding of our world…but they’re still wild animals and should be given the proper respect as such.” Some animals just were never going to be domesticated, and the ‘halfway’ step of them learning to rely on humans wasn’t healthy for the animal or the human in contact with them. It was important to acknowledge that and stop unqualified people from trying to take in wild animals, but it was also important to recognize that while still wild, some of those animals wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild anymore either. That’s why preservation centers and wild reserves were so important.

Calming slightly, Kokichi nodded along with all the employee’s instructions, ready to accept the risks of being around wild animals, and ready to follow rules in interacting with them. It was all worth it to see real life penguins. Real baby penguins!! The little cotton fluff balls!!! AAAA!

Signing off on the release form, Kokichi laughed brightly. “It’s a lovely name, Aqua! If you find something that fits and resonates, why not, right? It’s nice to meet you, and I’m excited to assist you today!”

“Mmhm, mhm. Good.” Aqua said, giving them both appraising looks, before saying, “Alright… I’m guessing size 10 and size 18 respectively, but we have plenty to test through if they don’t feel right.”

Kaito blinked, now looking a little off guard as he said, “If what doesn’t feel right?”

“The wet suits.”

-

“Wow…” Kaito said, trying again to fruitlessly try to… he didn’t know. Loosen? Readjust? His just… total crotch area as he said, “These are kinda form fitting, huh??”

He and Kokichi were in the locker room, having both picked sizes and then spent some time forcing themselves into these clothes that just clung to them. 

Wet suits… If there was anything that didn’t feel real about getting to feed penguins, it was all confirmed by the wet suits. Kokichi just…felt so official! And ready to take on anything! As long as, yanno, it was wading through water to care for aquatic mammals. 

It was a little difficult to get into them, but Kokichi figured he was having a much easier time of it than Kaito--and he was very glad he’d showered that morning. “I mean, you don’t really want anything loose or dangling in the water, right? I don’t think the penguins are gonna cozy up to us or anything, but they’re gonna be hungry and expectant. We’re going into their space, so we gotta do as the penguins do.”

As such, Kokichi started doing a little waddle walk in front of Kaito, his black and white wetsuit doing the trick to add to the effect as well. Kokichi looked back with a grin, hoping he’d provoked a laugh.

“Pffff. You’re lucky you’re cute, you little weirdo.” Kaito grinned, chuckling behind his hand a little, still trying to pinch and adjust more pieces of his suit to accommodate his form better. “Man, this is going to take a second for me to get used too… but! We don’t really have a second, do we. We got some hungry weird little waddling fluffballs to feed.”

Going to open the door for them, Kaito smirked at Kokichi as he asked, “Think they’ll take you in as one of their own? You’re about the right size anyway. If you end up choosing penguins over us, ‘Kichi, I’m not sure how I’m going to explain to Shuichi that I lost you to waddlers.”

Kokichi grinned as they headed out, happy with the chuckle. “Mm, I dunno. If I’m given an honor like that, I don’t know that I could give it up! Really…I think the only thing holding me back would be the few years until Miyako’s ready to be judged by the penguin council. Once she’s accepted too? You’ll never hear from us again, other than your rightful custody time.”

“Or we could just turn our bathroom into a penguin pool,” he snickered. “We already have a bench outcropping. Wouldn’t be hard to add more rocks.”

Though with the habitat actually in the penguin room? It would take a bit more work to make their bathroom comparable. 

Kokichi’s eyes grew in wonder and excitement, seeing a few penguins already hopping along the rocks, chirping and squawking every now and then. He knew to remain calm and keep his movements, if not slow, then at least not sudden, but on the inside? That was fair game for being as erratically excited as he wanted. 

“Awwwww, Miyaaaaaa~... I gotta get her a penguin onesie.” Kaito murmured, eyes narrowing as he added another future cute onesie to the roster. 

Aqua, with more staff members preparing in other nearby pools filled with tan, easy to climb rocks, was setting up her bucket of fish in the water when she spotted them on their way. “Over this way! Guys, Prince Kokichi is here!” She called back to the other staff members, who looked up and lit up, waving and calling cheerful claims of ‘happy birthday’ and ‘welcome!’. Kaito got the impression that had they not had work to focus on, Kokichi would likely be getting swarmed by now by people in wet suits. It was… an odd mental image. He was okay with it. Cute…

The penguins, used to this routine, were starting to swim to the main rocks if they weren’t waiting there already, honking lightly at each other and ruffling their feathery bodies as they waited for food to arrive, while Aqua explained, “Alright, so, the water is pretty chilly, but your wet suits should keep you warm. Your hands might be a little cold though, fair warning. Come on in, come on in.”

Kaito peered down with sudden concern in the water. It wasn’t taller than Kokichi, but it wasn’t that much shorter than him either. While the water would lay pretty easily a Kaito’s hips when he got in, his husband would probably have it above his stomach and… well, other then sitting in the hotsprings, Kaito had never seen Kokichi in water outside of the bath. And Kokichi had… sank in the hotsprings…

“Hang onto my arm if you feel unsteady on your feet babe.” Kaito said, sitting on the edge of the water and getting in, determined to keep an eye on Kokichi the whole time in case his husband slipped and went under. “Here, let me give you a hand down.”

“Now that’s a onesie I can get behind.”

Kokichi grinned and waved to the other staff members, thanking them for their birthday wishes, but it was time for business! The analytical but adorably rewarding business of feeding penguins!

The chill would probably get to him after a bit, but it was something that would feel nice when they went back out under the sun later, and Kokichi was more than well-equipped with being a little chilly. 

…less equipped to swim, but…he wouldn’t have to. It would just be slow wading. 

“Thanks, hun,” Kokichi smiled before holding Kaito’s hand as he carefully stepped into the pool, immediately feeling the tepid chill of the water. Chilly water for little penguins to swim in… Most of the penguins were on or heading to the rocks, but there were still a few more content to continue unbotheredly floating around the enclosure… Floating like little feathery logs, heads propped up like ducks…cute. 

Being careful as he waded forward, not trying to force his way through the water much, Kokichi looked up to Aqua with eager expectancy, ready to learn how to feed penguins. “I’ve come to see feeding time demonstrations before--you have to curl your fingers around the end of the fish and dip it in water, right?”

“Exactly,” Aqua said, waddling over to the rocks where the penguins bobbed with interest, clearly getting excited as they headed over, the bucket of fish floating alongside them, “Now, watch this, this is where people usually get tripped up.”

Bringing up a fish to one of the penguins, dipping it real quick before bringing it to them, she explained, “People are either too skittish about feeding them, or too aggressive. Penguins when you feed them basically want you to put the whole thing in their mouth and wait for them to swallow it, and some people don’t want to get that much in a penguins face. Counter that? When you put a fish in, sometimes the penguin doesn’t want that particular fish, or doesn’t feel like eating in that exact moment. So they just won’t swallow for awhile, and you have to make a judgment call to move on from that point. You can’t just shove it in further, you just sorta rest it on their tongues and wait for them to make a decision.”

Kaito watched curiously as she demonstrated, the penguin in turn easily swallowing one down, then the next, then another. “That’s three for you. You’re done, buddy.” Aqua said, the penguin not seeming terribly surprised, content to just stay there as she moved on to the next penguin.

“...look, no offense to, uh, penguins, but they all kinda… look identical to me.” Kaito admitted, peering at them, “How do you know who gets what, or if you fed them already?”

“Knowing you fed them already sort of relies on you just keeping it straight in your mind, though if you struggle with that we have waterproof charts to tick off too.” she said, indicating to the chart in the bucket, “And you see those colorful bracelets wrapped around their shoulders? That’s how we tell them apart, we call them bracelets. Now, who wants to try giving this guy his fish? Most every penguin gets three fish unless they’re young or very old, and this ones no different.”

“Give it a shot, ‘Kichi.” Kaito encouraged, still wanting to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn’t slip into the water.

Kokichi nodded, eager but focused, as Aqua explained how to feed the penguins. And…honestly, he didn’t even notice the bracelets at first, too enamored just with penguins, but once she pointed them out, it was easy to see. It looked like every penguin had a different color combination. Not the easiest thing to keep in mind, but still doable--especially with a chart. And, with most penguins getting three? Even easier. 

Giving his husband an excited look, Kokichi carefully waded forward and took a fish--some small variety, kind of smelt-looking to him, though Kokichi was no ichthyologist--carefully holding it by its end before giving it a dip in the water. He held it out to the penguin--green and black--into its awaiting gullet, not pushing, but resting it on its tongue, just as told. And after a few beaky movements, the penguin swallowed it down, Kokichi’s delighted smile growing, though he didn’t give any more indication of his joy than that before reaching over to get another fish, not wanting to leave the little guy waiting.

“Yessssss… Aw buddy, I don’t know who’s more excited for your breakfast--you or me.”

“Definitely you,” Kaito grinned, happy to watch as he said, “You’re practically glowing. It’s super cute.”

Aqua tapped at Kaito’s shoulder, saying sternly, “You’re not just here to watch, volunteer. See pink-blue-red there? She needs two fish, she’s on some medication that gives her a grumpy tummy. She may throw up on you, just a heads up.”

Kaito sighed, grabbing a fish as he said, “Knowing my luck with animals? She’s definitely going to throw up on me. Or piss on me. They always do.”

“Do animals make you nervous?” Aqua asked curiously, “They tend to get skittish if you do.”

“They’ve made me progressively more nervous the more they decide to pee on me.” Kaito pouted, carefully taking the fish and, somewhat warily, putting it in her mouth… “What? Not that fish, huh? Alright, let’s try a different fish… lady, there’s only so many fish in here to choose from, you can’t afford to be this picky.”

“Circle back to her, she just might not be ready to eat.” Aqua explained, “Three to black-green-brown, the one next to her. Their partners, he’s never far.”

Kokichi giggled softly but continued on dutifully feeling Green and Black, hoping that Kaito would have a fun time with this too. Sure, it was a gift Kaito specifically set up for him, but…well, it’d make Kokichi even happier if he got something out of it too. And hopefully not the experience of a penguin throwing up on him. 

With indications from Aqua, Kokichi continued through the line, making sure to mark off which penguins he’d fed, and while he was focused… The genuine delight never left his face, watching the penguins hop around on the rocks and swim around the enclosure, squeaking and cawing, getting to see a few dive into the pool after breakfast… It was almost painfully cute, and Kokichi felt himself at ease, helping out the staff and these funky little birds have breakfast. 

“Oh, whoa, careful there,” Kokichi cautioned, feeling the nip of a sharp beak against his fingers before carefully sliding his hand down on the fish as Blue White Purple greedily swallowed down her breakfast. There were precautions if a penguin did get him, but…still. Kokichi didn’t want to stop for anything--except for all the penguins being fed, he supposed.

“Lady. Please. You can’t just not eat.” Kaito negotiated for the third time, refusing to go too far, too long from their original starting spot, determined to get Pink-Blue-Red to eat something as he argued, “I get it, you’re feeling sick, that sucks, but not eating is not the answer. Black-Green-Brown, back me up here.”

The two penguins just looked at him curiously, in a muted fascination that strongly reminded Kaito of Miyako when she just got it into her head that Looking At Dad was what she was doing that day. Actually, speaking of Miyako… “‘Kichi! You want to give this gal a try?” 

Kaito called down to Kokichi, he and Aqua finishing up penguins on the othe side of their pool. Aqua gave Kokichi a nod, saying, “Maybe your husband does have some sort of scent or something that makes animals uneasy, you hear about that sometimes. Give it a try, and if she won’t eat from you I’ll try feeding her myself in a bit.”

Kaito pouted at that, before whispering to the penguins, “I don’t smell, do I? Do I smell?” and while that was all well and good, Kaito was thinking, well… maybe Kokchi could let the penguins know mentally, ‘Ey, food will make ickiness go away’ or something like that. Negotiate with the picky eater.

“Sure! I’ll give it a go.” Kokichi started wading through the water over towards Kaito and Pink-Blue-Red. Honestly, he felt that animals probably could pick up on Kaito’s nerves--because he was usually worried about something--but maybe there was a scent thing. Though, it would have to be a really niche one, since they lived together and Kokichi had only gotten one picky eater that just wanted a different fish. 

It was a little slow-going, but eventually Kokichi made it to the other rock outcropping, giving Pink-Blue-Red a sympathetic look. “Not really feeling food today, huh? I know how that is. You should get something down, though; it’ll help you feel better later. Alright, here you go…”

Gently, Kokichi offered a new fish, giving the penguin a hopeful look.

Kaito watched carefully, the penguin just chortling around the fish without swallowing… before he whispered to Kokichi, “Can you like… mentally encourage her? Be like, ‘oh, fish, yum’?”

Kokichi gave Kaito a worried look. He…hadn’t ever communicated with an animal before, at least in normal memory. But…he apparently had as a kid, and Ikuo had never said anything about those animals being hurt…

{Food?} he gently asked, calm and encouraging. He didn’t want to push her too much--really, if she wasn’t eating, it was better to let Aqua see what was up. But…he could still ask.

The penguin tilted her head. Looking curiously at Kokichi. 

Though, rather then being convinced, it was more to say she had been temporarily distracted from her hunger strike, her whole penguin brain echoing ‘food’, that she swallowed on instinct. Ugh… her stomach hurt though…

…okay, admittedly, after a moment of having one fish, she was hungry… 

The two penguins made a sound at Kokichi that could best be described as ‘Bawk’ while Kaito grinned, shaking Kokichi slightly as he said excitedly, “You did it! Okay, one more fish for the lady and she’s done for the day. Good job, ‘Kichi, Black-Green-Brown, Pink-Blue-Red! Teams effort, we got this!”

“Bawk,” was the sound that chattered out of the penguins again, still looking curiously at Kokichi.

“She eating? That’s good.” Aqua said, coming behind them, “After this, we’re gonna go feed some of the babies that are still nesting where the eggs hatch, and then we’ll clean up and wrap up for the morning. Sound good?”

Kokichi didn’t want to risk anything reaching out anymore, so he just grinned at the ‘bawk!’s and softly said, “Thank you. I hope you feel better soon.,” before preparing another fish. 

…it was a gift. Not a curse or something he used to hurt people. 

Pink-Blue-Red ate the second fish without prompting, though she seemed happy enough to waddle off with her mate when Kokichi didn’t reach out again. And Kokichi was more than delighted hear what was next up on the schedule. “We can help feed the chicks too?!”

“So long as the chicks don’t get skittish? At the very least you’ll get to watch.” Aqua said, keeping their expectations reasonable. Sometimes chicks were fine with getting fed by new people, sometimes they refused. Babies were fussy like that. 

The ‘place where the eggs hatched’ seemed to be just another room that looked a lot like where the adult penguins were, but smaller and more secure, and with no water. Aqua explained, “When they’re less than a month old, they stay here to sort of safely gain some weight and get on their footing, with their parents staying with them for the most part. After a month, they and their parents go to rejoin the herd. Penguins are extremely social birds, you can’t really keep them separated without consequences, but keeping them in the main enclosure leads to accidents for the babies, so this is our compromise on that.”

“Now, while some of the parents can feed their young themselves, we’ve also discovered that an unfortunate side effect to growing up here is that you lose that feeding instinct. They want to feed their babies, but they don’t know how.” Aqua explained, “So, we keep track of who’s worked it out and who hasn’t, and we make up for the parents who haven’t quite managed it. Alright, where are… they were go.”

As Aqua went to prep the feeder, little baby chicks, either close to their parent or literally tucked between their legs, chirped out, letting the world know they were hungry. Kaito watched this, fascinated, and again reminded of his daughter. Aw… all these chicks had her beat when it came to neck control, but he bet she could out baby kick any of them, with her powerful baby legs.

“Prince Kokichi, come on, let’s let you give it a try. Now, we’re going to approach slowly, and we’re looking for the big penguins reaction, not the little ones. If the babies get nervous, mom and dad will let us know, and we’ll back off. Alright?” Aqua said, leading him to a family of penguins, where the baby was cheerfully tucked away into one of their legs.

Even just watching was incredible. Little baby penguin chicks… Kokichi kept his arms tucked close to his chest, sure he’d burst just from the sheer happiness of seeing such adorable creatures. Some of the chicks were a little older, already having the markings of their parents, but others really were grey cotton balls, their baby fluff still doin’ its job. As were the parent penguins, keeping the chicks snug and warm.

He’d read about wild behavior, where penguins would huddle in big herds in the cold season, trading in and out who was in the middle to keep everyone warm. They huddled with eggs the same way as they did the chicks later on, keeping them between their legs. It was the same with a lot of birds, he supposed, but it seemed different since penguins were built more vertically than horizontally. 

Kokichi could feel his eyes wide and swimming with happiness, but after a breath he calmed, taking Aqua’s lead as they slowly walked over to a penguin family. As told, he kept his eyes on the parents, trying to be calm and inviting, showing he was no harm. Miya did tend to be a little louder when she was upset--such an independent baby already. But these parents were on their shit. 

Kato held back, watching easily, certain Kokichi would do fine. He loved this, watching his husband carefully approach the family, the larger penguins keeping an eye on them but seemingly undisturbed by their presence. As Aqua showed Kokichi what he was supposed to do, the two kneeling in front of the chick who chirped up at them, opening its beak, demanding food…

Sometimes Kaito just remembered, all in a rush, that he loved Kokichi. This was one of those moments, feeding the excited little chick who chirped up at him like a little song. In some ways, he felt very lucky that his husband was the kind of person who a gift like this was a genuinely good idea. Kokichi cheerfully spending the day feeding animals. His husband was sweet, and gentle, and kind. He genuinely seemed to care about the little things, and took genuine pride in doing his part. He had a generous nature, even if he probably didn’t recognize it himself. 

He was just a good person. Kaito felt very lucky to have him. 

… his little butt in that body suit was pretty nice to look at too. 

Kokichi nodded seriously as Aqua explained the procedure, gently putting a ‘V’ of fingers around the tiny creature’s beak, steadily pushing down on the plunger to feed the baby just the right amount…

And he even got to pet it. Briefly, just a moment as a sort of ‘good job!’ for being fed, but!!! He got to pet a baby penguin!! It was so soft and fluffy and warm!!!! AAAAAAA!!!

Kokichi turned back to Kaito when they were done, the chick peeping happily at its parents, looking over to see if Kaito had seen all that. Seeing the loving look in Kaito’s eyes… Kokichi flushed and just grinned more. 

He was really lucky. Just like Aqua, right then Kokichi felt like his name couldn’t be more apt. In a contrast to the last year, Kokichi accepted his family with open arms, felt like he was in a place to look up at the sun and smile. Instead of crying alone in fear and frustration, he was petting a baby penguin, not a worry on the horizon, his husband looking at him lovingly and a boyfriend and new sister back at home with their own ideas for the rest of the day and a daughter comfortable and healthy and with a future brighter than the summer sun. 

After spending so much of his life feeling unlucky…this was incredible. 

“Do you wanna try to feed the next chick, Kai-chan?” Kokichi asked. “They’re really sweet…”

“Uuuuuuuuuuuh,” Kaito said, waaaaay less certain that the families would be at ease around him as he gave Aqua an inquiring look, “Do I?”

“Here, let’s try this guy over here. He’s one of our bolder ones. Doesn’t scare easy, may try to peck you.” Aqua warned, leading Kaito and Kokichi further down, where indeed a slightly bigger chick was hanging out by itself, waddling around as she pointed out his parents over to the side, “They’re keeping an eye, but for this guy you’re gonna look for if he starts high-tailing it back to mom and dad. If he does that, just let him go. Otherwise? Just push on, he’s just showing off if he gets snippy.”

“Aw, a little tough guy, eh? Alright, I’ve handled your type before.” Kaito snickered, carefully walking up to the baby penguin, who did indeed stand his ground…

CHIRP! It screamed at him. 

“Oh yeah? Tell me all about it.” Kaito huffed, squatting down and shuffling forward, while the baby brought its head up, spreading out its wings a little, clearly trying to look bigger as he said, “Yeah, yeah, show off. Very imposing. You wanna be as big as me someday? Gotta eat. Come on now… ngh.”

“Told you. He’s a pecker.” Aqua said, “You alright? I can take over?”

“Nah, I’m fine, he just startled me. What?” Kaito asked, as the baby chirped loudly at him again, “You’re not scaring me off. I’m, like, a bajillion times your size kid. Why do all the young boys in my life assume they can scare me off with a little bit of stabbing, honestly?”

Aqua blinked at that… joke? Probably a joke. But she said, “Just like you saw with Kokichi. A little v-shape, bring his head up, and he’ll know what’s going on. Feed him as much as he’ll swallow.”

“Alright, come on tough guy, I’ve got you… there ya go~ See, it’s good food, it’ll make ya strong! You can fight me again when you’re my size, and this’ll help. There ya go…”

Aw, a big show off… Now that was a chick that was gearing up to have a big personality, though, there was always the chance that he’d calm down as he got to adulthood, seeing less need to overcompensate for size. 

It was a dangerous slope, personifying animals, but…there were some things about life that were applicable to both humans and animals. What you were like as a kid was a foundation, but not necessarily how you’d end up as an adult. 

Kokichi watched adoringly as Kaito made conversation with the loud-beaked chick. It reminded him so much of how Kaito talked to Miya during meal time, though altered for the chick’s bravado rather than Miya’s fussiness or apathy. With all kids…Kaito was really good with them. 

Even if a few of them tried to stab him. But Tim had apologized…he thought. And you couldn’t really hold it against a penguin chick. 

“Alright! Good job, we got out of there with only a few hand pecks!” Aqua congratulated, she and Kaito heading back to Kokichi as she said, “Good job in there, you guys did great! Now, I strongly suggest you make full use of the showers in the locker room and then thoroughly wash your hands on top of that, there’s a bin you can drop off the wet suits in. But otherwise, that’s everything! I hope this made for a good birthday treat, Prince Kokichi, we were all super excited that this was where you’d want to spend it. It’s really flattering to have an Ouma volunteer their time, especially on a special day!”

Safely away from any of the penguin families, Kokichi bounced gently on his toes, just…thrilled with how the morning had gone. “Oh, believe me, the pleasure is all mine. I’ve talked Kai-chan’s ear off more than a few times about the aquarium and especially the penguins--that you all were willing to let us lend a hand is a dream come true for me. Getting to help out such wonderful creatures, and for a cause like the preserve is exactly how I’d want to spend my birthday.”

With a bright smile, Kokichi gave Aqua a thankful nod. “Thank you all again! Hopefully it won’t be too long until my next visit. I hope the rest of your day is wonderful, and have a happy Zenith tomorrow!”

And with another wave, Kokichi pressed gratefully to Kaito’s side as they headed back to the locker room.

A little while later…

“GAH! GET THIS THING OFF OF ME!!” Kaito finally shouted, desperately trying to free his arms from the damn trap he had accidently put them in, fighting with the wet suit as he whined, “Why do I struggle so much with stuff like this!? This is worse than the under-armor! Auuuuuugh, get off!” He groaned, trying to roll his shoulders and pull at the sleeve behind his back at the same time. 

Kokichi snorted, his wetsuit half peeled off and hanging around his waist as he went to Kaito’s side. “Hold on, hun, I’ve got ya.” Starting to peel the suit away from Kaito, he shook his head a little. “I’m not sure, honestly, it’s not like you’re rushing getting in and out until you’re already stuck. And for someone who loves clothes so much, I wouldn’t say it’s a curse or anything,” he chuckled.

And after a moment…

“...huh. I wonder if there actually are curses like that… Just, like…inconveniences. Seems like they’d be a lot more helpful in modern life.”

“Come on, ‘Kichi, what, like… witches or…” Kaito paused, eyes narrowing as Kokichi helped him out, pulling him out of his sleeves before saying, “Man, I can… think of a few people who’d probably curse me with something. I didn’t accept every proposal I ever got, and man did people sometimes get salty over that. Also, like, I’m a Momota. I bet there’s someone who’d curse me with low-grade shittiness, just on the name alone.”

Kaito considered the idea for a moment before snorting, shaking his head, “Nah, its an interesting idea, but I don’t believe it. I think clothes that cling to me just twist around my arms and shoulder a little, cause they’re wide. The under armor I wore in Luminary was made of softer, thinner stuff, things you could wear under metal without immediately melting away, ya know?”

Peeling off the last of his suit, Kaito dumped it in the bin before heading to the showers as he said, “That reminds me, I really wanna see my armor display at some point. It’s been at that museum for a minute now, and I wanna go watch other people admire it! It’s really well done armor, it deserves some gawking. It’s made by Luminary’s finest!” Kaito said proudly, finding some shower soup left in the showers for common use and turning on the shower, saying loudly so Kokichi could hear, “Did you want to eat while we’re out, or head back after this? I have no idea what Shuichi’s planning, so I don’t know if it’s food related or not. I wish I had thought to ask.”

Witches could probably curse, though one of the two witches he’d ever met was more into making deals, and…well, while Calypso certainly fit a certain aesthetic, Kokichi couldn’t quite imagine Anbai leaning over a cauldron or scheming to curse someone. Honestly…Kokichi had no idea what the difference between witches, mages, wizards, and warlocks, were, or if even terms with other meanings in popular culture like ‘magician’ or ‘spell-caster’ meant anything specific in the magic community. And considering magic users could be anyone, not just their own species, it wasn’t like he’d found it covered in the guidebook. 

Oh well. More to learn later. 

“That’s just what they want you to think,” Kokichi laughed before going to take the rest of his wetsuit off, heading for the showers and taking the head right next to Kaito. 

As he scrubbed down, Kokichi hummed softly. “Mmm… I wouldn’t say I’m, like, full, but I’m definitely not hungry after the breakfast I had. We can pick something up if you’re hungry, but I think I’ll save my appetite if Shuu-chan has something planned.”

“...Also, it’s, like, not even ten. Pretty far from lunch time, even if it is mid-morning snack time.”

“Is it?” Kaito called out, scrubbing himself down too, pouting as he realized, oh no… his hair… blegh. He was going to have to fix it again. His perfectly styled ‘just threw it back without looking’ look. “Man, I felt like we were at it for awhile. Huh. Well, birthday boy?”

Kaito turned off the water, stepping out of th shower. He froze for a second, feeling a shudder run up his spine, before a shiver had him shaking off some of the excess water in one quick shake, before going to grab his towel. “Any plans on what you want to do next then? We could go back, open those presents? Something else? It’s your day, up to you.”

“I bet that’s what all the kitchen staff at home say after every meal too,” Kokichi snorted. 

Properly washed down, Kokichi sloughed off as much water as he could before stepping out, getting a towel from the pile on the side (that he was sure weren’t dirty towels, as he’d spied some in the laundry bin they’d put their suits in) and passing one off to Kaito, grinning a bit at his reliable shake. 

“Well… Shuu-chan said his thing wasn’t until the afternoon, so… Yeah, let’s go and open some of my gifts! Maybe I can try and catch up with a few people to thank them too. I wanna properly thank my father for putting together the surprise too.” Kokichi smiled softly as he started dressing. “...that was really kind of him. Kind of puts in perspective some of the questions he’s been asking me lately too.”

“Oh yeah?” Kaito asked, taking the towel and quickly drying himself off, glad he had picked looser clothes today when he finally got dressed again, fussing with his hair in the mirror a little as he tried to get his carefully tussled look back, “That was good of him. I know he’s been making a ton of effort with you lately, and I’m glad to see it’s, like… paying off? In the sense that he’s succeeding at trying, I mean. Like, he’s finally putting in some real effort lately, with the regular sitdowns with you and celebrating a holiday with you and all that good stuff… it’s great!”

Kaito peeked at Kokichi through the mirror, asking just to be certain, “Right?”

Kokichi looked up with a soft expression, pulling up his socks. “It is. There’s still a lot of stuff between us, but…I’m a lot happier where I am with my father now. I’m happier with him, and like… I can see him as a person. As the person he is. And…I like him a lot better, flaws and all. Even when they’re flaws that hurt me, or hurt someone else…at least I get it now, right? And…now I can see how he’s trying to be better.”

Pausing for a moment, Kokichi fussed with the laces of his shoes. “...we were talking about him going to grief counseling again. I was talking about how much therapy’s been helping me and us and… He said he saw someone for a little bit, after he graduated, since there wasn’t really a counselor like that he could go to at school…he explained that there was so much going on that he barely had time to think about anything and so the sessions didn’t really go anywhere. Then after my mom, well, he was rounding up every healer willing to come look at me, while trying to keep the country from falling apart, and looking for the roots of that division… That’s always been the story with him, too busy for everything…but I think he has time now, and the space to make time. And I think it’d really help.”

“Well, I’m glad he’s making time.” Kaito mused, fussing with his bangs a little more before sighing as he watched Kokichi basically already be ready to go. How on earth did he get dressed so quick, it was crazy. “I imagine the war being over has hugely helped. My Kokichi deserves to be a top priority, but that was probably tougher to see when invaders at the border. Glad it’s getting better.”

Washing his hands as Aqua had instructed, Kaito air-shook them a bit before asking, “Alright, ready to head out? Let’s go open some presents, see what everyone else guessed you wanted.”

It helped that they actually talked to each other now too. That they were more on the same page about who each other were as people, and what they wanted. Aiichi now knew that his son didn’t actually want to be alone all the time, and that as hurt as he was, he didn’t hate Aiichi. Kokichi knew that his father loved him and was stressed out one hundred percent of the time trying to manage a country he hadn’t gotten into the groove of managing for years after his inauguration. They were both learning and trying to be better and…Kokichi couldn’t ask for more. He was happy with this.

Patting his hands dry, Kokichi held one out for Kaito to take. “We’re off!”

-

Somehow, the pile looked even bigger on their bed than it did on the tables, and Kokichi could only look at it awed and daunted…though telling the story of all the little penguins was too exciting to be stopped for anything. 

“...and then the chick started fronting on Kai-chan, and Kai-chan was all, ‘uh-huh, sure big guy’ and he fed it with only one peck! Seriously, they were sooo soft, I can’t even explain it right.”

“You bullied a baby penguin, Kaito?” Maki asked, entirely unimpressed, having been fussing with Shuichi’s detective bag and looking surprised when they came back, before simply returning to looking through Shuichi’s detective bag. Kaito had raised an eyebrow at that, Shuichi still out doing something, apparently, but Miyako was fast asleep and Maki hadn’t exactly seemed alarmed to be ‘caught’, so… probably fine?

“I didn’t bully him, I stood up to him! Valiantly! He was the bully!” Kaito insisted, going to sit on the edge of the bed with Kokichi as he said, “And it was all very cute, Maki. We’d have to do a class, I think, but Tim and the girls would love it, it might be worth a trip with them someday.”

“Hmmm, I’ll talk to Timothy about it.” Maki agreed, finishing taking out all the random items in the bag and putting them in sections, before opening up the hidden linings inside of the bag and searching through them.

“Aw, I’m sure the kids would love it!” Kokichi cheered. “You have to be careful not to startle the animals, but that’s what the class is for. It’s really an incredible experience.”

Taking a breath before sitting himself in a small corner where the presents weren’t splayed out, Kokichi grabbed one of the bigger presents, smirking a little when he saw the sparkly ‘from’ tag. Opening the bag, Kokichi let out an involuntary little, “Ooo” before pulling out a sparkly, gem-studded sneaker, purple with black detailing and wide, glittery black laces. 

Turning them this way and that, seeing how they shined in the sunlight, Kokichi hummed. “What are you looking for, Maki-chan?”

“Ooooooh,” Kaito agreed, looking at the gift from (he’d bet anything) Denji, trying to think of which of Kokichi’s outfits would go with that, and how he’d convince his husband to actually coordinate with shoes that bold, “I like those. They pop, very expressive.”

Looking around, Kaito grabbed a box from Hajime and Chiaki, passing it over to Kokichi as he scooped up the remains of the last present, deciding to make himself useful by keeping things clean as he went to put them in the small recycle bin, “Yeah, I was wondering about that too. What’s up Maki-roll?”

“Just looking for spores.” Maki said casually, finishing checking the inner linings of the bag before, taking the bag of poisons out, she started doing a careful inventory of the poisons and seeing if they matched what she’d expect, visually, as she said, “I don’t get access to your room alone very often, so I just check around when I do to make certain Shuichi’s on the straight and narrow still. I also double check his other poisons and dangerous objects, in case anything goes missing and suddenly someone’s trying to frame him.”

“Oh…” Kaito considered her, before asking carefully, “Is this an actual worry, or is this just… setting your mind at ease sort of thing?”

“It’s a ‘why not, I’m not busy’ sort of thing.” Maki shrugged. 

In Hajime’s present was a board game, where players try to communicate with a leading player, the ‘spirit’, by looking at extremely abstact pictures it picks out for clues to the spirits murder, trying to guess why the spirit chose the picture and what message its trying to send them.

Kokichi set the sneakers nearby, definitely planning on wearing them the next time he went out--he doubted Shuuichi was going to take them to the swamp, so it would probably be fine. 

Opening up the board game--oooh, he’d never played this one before, but even on the packaging the art looked incredible!--Kokichi raised an eyebrow at Maki, but…kind of left her to it. For some people, it might feel like an act of great distrust, but…Maki really was just doing it out of idleness. Danger could come from anywhere, and she was simply looking. 

It wasn’t like Kokichi really had anything hidden at the moment--he still kept a lighter and sets of lockpicks around the room and in his clothes, and…there were a few things he just had put away, but weren’t alarming by any sense of the imagination--so…as long as his partners didn’t mind, he wasn’t going to say anything. 

Moving on through the pile, Kokichi picked out a fair sized gift, a little surprised by its light weight and slight squish when he picked it up. From Ikuo was a beautiful blue pillow with a design of a cornflower on the front…and a couple hidden compartments in it. Probably for sachets, but there were enough that, funnily enough, he’d just gotten a new hiding place for his devious tools. 

And also - 

“Oh my goooooosh,” Kokichi breathed, rubbing the pillow against his face. “Kai-chan, Maki-chan, feel this. It’s so soft.”

“I’m not saying you can’t look through his underwear and sock drawer, I’m just saying if you find anything that’s not spores or, like, dangerous, don’t tell us about it. He’s got a right to some privacy, at least from his partners.” Kaito was negotiating with her, while Maki put away the detective bag and had moved on to Shuichi’s clothes.

“It’s not like I’m going to bring it out and laugh if I find a butt-plug or something.” Maki scoffed, before glancing over her shoulder and saying, “I’ll take your word for it Kokichi.”

Kaito, though, headed over and gave the pillow a little squeeze with his palm, saying appreciatively, “Oh, nice. I’m guessing… Ikou?” he asked, as he cleaned up the wrapping, going and grabbing another present to pass to Kokichi. “Oh, this ones from Lake and Nazumi.” he said, handing the present to Kokichi and saying excitedly, “Ooooh, I get to watch Tim feed Miya for the first time today, right?? Oh man, I’m so glad I’m not missing that. I can’t wait to see my little guy doing cool big brother stuff!”

Maki snorted at that, “He’s ten, he can handle it. Also, now that she’s got more control of her head it’s less dangerous. He’ll do fine.”

Kokichi shook his head with a little sigh. “Feel it at some point--you’re really missing out otherwise.” Even if Maki was less affected by the grand powers of ‘soft’ and ‘cute’. Kokichi nodded in affirmative with a hum as Kaito guessed who the gift was from before setting it aside, propping it up against their other pillows. He knew exactly what he was going to be sleeping on tonight. 

“Let’s hope Miya’s less fussy than some of the penguins,” he joked. “There was one that wasn’t feeling great because of the medication she was on, and she wouldn’t eat until I asked if she was okay, yanno, in a way an animal would understand.”

The gift from Lake and Nazumi had the same sort of feel as Ikuo’s gift, except for that it was much heavier. And all those things made perfect sense as he shook out the large quilt. 

“Whoa!”

The top was constructed of purple, red, and blue pieces, some of the pieces a fabric with a faint floral print, though the pattern of blue strips and squares almost made them look like footprints traveling across the blanket. And the reverse side was almost velvety, but a pattern of stars in the night sky, almost reminiscent of Kaito’s wedding capes. 

Kokichi laughed happily, eyes roving over the pattern. “Awww…it’s a little out of season, but this’ll make me excited when it gets colder again! Wow, this is fantastic!”

“Oh, look at that, that’s beautiful.” Kaito whistled, running his hand over the fabric, especially taken with the night sky side. “Maki-roll, isn’t that something?”

“Looks warm.” Maki said approvingly, finishing feeling through all the socks for hidden vials, before blinking, looking startled, “Oh… hold on. I’ll be right back.”

Closing the drawer, Maki headed out, Kaito watching her go, before shrugging at Kokichi, “This is gorgeous. Did one of them make this? Lake doesn’t exactly seem the knitting type, but, well, I’ve been wrong about her before.”

Kokichi watched Maki curiously before taking the same stance as Kaito, snorting softly. “Knitting, no, but there’s a reason she and Denji are such good friends. How you get in a nice clothing store is how she gets in a fabric store--she doesn’t always do anything with them, but she loves looking at cool prints and neat textures. Nazumi took up quilting a looooong time ago, though she doesn’t do it super often ‘cause it’s really intensive, but it’s something the two of them work on together from time to time.”

Kokichi looked at the quilt with a more appraising gaze this time. “...I’m not sure if they made it, though. They could’ve just commissioned it, though I think I’m safe in saying it feels a little too custom to be something they saw at a store randomly. Aaah, I can’t wait to use it. We’re gonna be so cozy.”

As Kokichi and Kaito oo’d and awed over the blanket, Maki was back not too much longer later, a small, black pouch in her hand that she handed to Kokichi. “Here, I got this for you ages ago, I almost forgot I had it. It was supposed to be a reward for doing well, but your birthday came first, so…” Maki shrugged, “Maybe they’ll inspire you to do well, anyway.”

Kaito pouted, “Maki, don’t insult my husband and give him a gift at the same time. Rude. What’s he meant to be doing well on?”

“Throwing knives.” Maki explained. 

Inside was a set of knives, new, simple and sleek, lighter in color then Maki’s set, with duller curves but still a sharp point, as Maki explained, “They’re basically show knives. Good for throwing and not a lot else. I figured they’re safe enough that you could practice them without me watching you like a hawk every time you wanted to do so.”

“Which you only gave him after he had done well?”

“It was going to be me saying, ‘you’re ready to not have me hover over your shoulder, young Kokichi’.” Maki said in a false, authoritative voice, going to check Shuichi’s clothes pockets and linings in his jackets next, “Which you’re not yet, so don’t even think about it. But I hope you like your gift anyway.”

Kokichi snorted a bit, finding Maki’s judgment that he hadn’t done well yet more amusing than anything. His friend didn’t give out praise lightly, and if she found you lacking, she would let you know. It wasn’t completely utilitarian, she still applied some bias in it, but…it was just Maki, and that was something Kokichi appreciated. 

As was the, frankly, astounding gift she’d given him. 

Kokichi pulled out one of the knives, looking at it in amazement. They were really gorgeous, and if they were something he could (potentially, one day) practice with on his own? That was a fantastic gift!

…but, kind of, more than that? This was the sort of gift he would’ve never gotten before. The sort of thing only Maki would ever think to get him. 

Expression falling into a loving smile, Kokichi carefully put the knife back in the back. “Can I hug you?”

“Sure. Let me just finish spying on your boyfriends clothes.” Maki called from inside the closet, sorting through the pockets quickly and double checking a few of the linings. “Hold on, one moment…” Shuichi didn’t have a huge variety of clothes, but he did have lots of hidden compartments. Thankfully Maki was already familiar with them, and double checking them, found nothing alarming, before heading back out, “Alright, come on, hug. Then I’m checking his books.”

“Even if he had any, having so little he could hide it between pages would be pointless.” Kaito pointed out. 

“Where’s your famous imagination, Kaito? He could have cut a hole in the pages.”

“No way, that’s such a cliche, he’d never do that out of principle alone.”

“See, that’s how he’s gonna fool you. By convincing you he has principles.”

Popping up from the bed, Kokichi waited patiently, his smile never dimming, as Maki finished going through Shuuichi’s clothes, not mentioning that an even better place to hide something would be in Kokichi or Kaito’s clothes that they didn’t wear often. And when she was ready, Kokichi wrapped his arms around his sister in a warm, bracing hug. 

“Thank you so much, Maki-chan. The knives are a fantastic gift, and you won’t have to wait long before you’ll feel I’m doing well. I’ll make you proud.”

Giving her one last grateful pat on the arm before giving her her space back, Kokichi chuckled. “Shuu-chan is absolutely willing to play dirty to get what he wants. There are probably some boundaries he won’t cross, but playing into cliches or playing dumb or naive aren’t them.”

“You can also buy containers that already look like books. It’s like a novelty thing.”

“Good.” Maki said simply, hugging Kokichi dutifully back, though easily accepting the space when he gave it to her, going to check on the books. 

“Alright, who else sent you gifts. Shoot, now I feel a little bad.” Kaito admitted, looking at the gifts appreciatively as he admitted, “I went all in on the penguin idea, I didn’t get you something I could wrap. Oh! Just so you know, the penguin idea was actually Waku’s idea. I told her I was struggling to think of a good thing to do for your birthday, and she came up with that suggestion out of nowhere, it was so perfect. Waku’s got you pegged.”

“Ah, that was nice of her--she’s right, I loved it,” Kokichi giggled, finding Waku’s gift in the pile, since they were talking about her. Though, he paused to lean against Kaito for a moment. “I don’t need something you can wrap!! You set some something incredible, the sort of thing that feels like a once in a lifetime monument, though I could probably go back, and you did it with me! That’s above and beyond a perfect birthday gift, hun.”

It wasn’t so much about the gifts, though Kokichi really had loved everything he’d gotten so far. He was happy that people cared about him enough to go through the effort of getting him something. And more than that, trying to get him something he’d like. It was…it was like distilled love and friendship in an object. And getting to share an incredible experience with his husband was right there with everything.

Humming in interest, Kokichi turned the…pentagonal polygon in his hands for a moment, before sliding one of the rows and lighting up. “Oh, no way, she got me a Megaminx! Pfff, I’m horrible at solving these, but they are fun to mess around with. This one feels really easy to slide, too.”

Kaito peered at the gift, raising an eyebrow, “God, that looks like it’d take ages. Total fixation device. Can I try it?”

“For sure!” Kokichi chirped, passing the puzzle over. “Have you ever solved the cubes before? The 3-by-3 is the most popular, at least here, and I’ve solved ‘em a few times, but Waku-chan does the really hardcore stuff--5-by-5s and Megaminxes like this and all sorts of weird variations. She’s really good at them.”

Picking up a smaller gift from his father, Kokichi was glad Kaito was occupied, though his snicker right after and willingness to show Kaito kind of ruined it. “Hell yeah. My father got me a truffle sampler. It looks like there’s…30 truffles in here? Damn.”

Reading the box, Kokichi hummed with delight. “Cherry cordial, a cookie dough truffle??? I’m kind of intrigued by the pineapple too… I kinda wanna split some of these with Shuu-chan, they sound wild.”

“Darn it, Aichi.” Kaito sighed, a scolding lilt to his tone, though admittedly he was a little too distracted by the puzzle to properly snark about Kokich having even more sugar today. Fussing with the little colors as he slid the puzzle around, “Do me a favor, if you’re having any, only have one now and then at least wait till after lunch for more. You’re going to shock your system at this rate with all this sugar.”

Maki glanced over at the puzzle in Kaito’s hand, looking through the books as she said, “I’ve seen a simple version of that before, though it’s not common in Luminary. We have a lot of trick box puzzles and metal cage puzzles. Items locked or trapped in containers that you have to work out how to get out. I hate the metal cage puzzles, sometimes you just want to shake them until the damn ball falls out by accident.”

“You just don’t have any patience for things you do for their own sake, Maki-roll.” Kaito said, still content to play with the toy. 

Kokichi laughed softly. “Don’t worry, I don’t think I’ll have any now--I wanna show ‘em all to Shuu-chan first, at least. I stiiiiill say I’m fine with the sugar I’m having today, especially all spaced out like this? Not all of us have the tongue of a forty-year-old.”

Looking through a few of the assorted cards he’d gotten from people--one from the housekeepers as a whole, and a similar one from maintenance, one from Haneda with a cat on the front--Kokichi hummed in interest. “Oh, those sound really cool… I wonder if we’ll start to see ‘em over here. I might go looking for a good merchant to order one for Waku’s birthday, I bet she’d adore a new style of puzzle. Though,” he laughed, “Yeah, they aren’t for everyone. There was this fad of ‘finger traps’ a while back? Never really got what the point of them was, but some people really liked them.”

Still going through the cards, Kokichi smiled at a simple one from Katsuki, reading, “Today is the anniversary of your birth. It is no wonder that people regard it as a celebration, for you are worth celebrating. The world has been made a better place with you in it, Kokichi Ouma. Happy birthday, and I look forward to seeing many more.”

…it was really sweet. He wondered if she knew…

There was another card from the guards as a whole, though of course Lake and Katsuki had given their own, and while the greetings and little notes were nice…

“Holy shit.”

Kokichi’s eyes went wide as he held up one of the six tickets in the card, the classy font proclaiming “Usott Central Theater Troupe presents: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead”. The dates weren’t for months out, but…

Before Kokichi explained what the ‘holy shit’ was for, Kaito felt a shock of fear run through him, his hands tightening around the puzzle briefly, thinking something he had been trying not to worry about all day had finally happened…

…but his eyes widened in sudden joy as he said, “What?” 

Maki, looking under the window seat cushion mostly because she was running out of places she thought Shuchi would use, groaned, “Are you kidding. That play followed us here?”

“Nope, you can’t spoil this Maki! That’s amazing! They’re doing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern!? Oh my god, I can’t wait for that, I’m so excited! That’s going to be so much fun! Oh my god, my favorite play!” Kaito said, practically jumping in his seat, before trying to guess, “Man, who would even think to get you that… Hina? Is it from Sakura and Hina? Oh my god, do you think they’re playing the leads??”

Kokichi had been excited--overwhelmed in the same way he was often getting that day since…well, theater tickets weren’t the most expensive thing in the world, but getting six reserve tickets?! Too much…--just recognizing the title from Kaito talking about it, but seeing his husband’s total exuberance Kokichi could only beam, spreading out the tickets in the card for a moment. 

“That would be amazing if they were the leads but…no, this is from the Guardforce. I…have no idea how they knew about this play, or how much you love it but…wow! This is a really thoughtful gift!”

Shaking his head with a giggle, Kokichi nudged Kaito’s arm. “I’m glad they already have the run dates figured out--gives us plenty of time to plan around it. I’m not sure Miya would be comfortable in a theater at that point, so we’d probably have to find a babysitter too.”

Kaito’s eyes were still sparkling, before they widened even further as he realized, “They must have copies of the script book! Oh my god, I need to go buy a copy. Miyako, dad can read to you the meta and morbid adventures of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern! You can’t come to the theater cause you are a sweet little baby who would probably cry and get bored, but I’ll play Guildenstern and little lamb can be Rosencrantz!”

Miyako snuffled in her crib. Unaware of her future of strange bed-time readings. 

“Man, I’m so excited,” Kaito grinned, “We definitely need to thank the guards. Man, this is months out too, I’m surprised their even selling tickets, let alone anyone thought to get you some. I wonder if someone overheard us talking about it once? That’s so strangely specific! Not that I’m complaining.”

Kokichi chuckled a bit. Their little daughter would be getting a lot of strange stories for bedtime, and that wasn’t even counting the ones that they would inevitably make up to appease her demands of something new. She would be well-versed in varying styles of narrative, at the very least. 

“My best guess is just that they know I love the theater, and they just picked out reserve tickets for the newest listing.” Explaining more, Kokichi safely tucked the tickets back into the card to find a better spot for them later. “For a lot of performances, it’s all free with an expectation to leave a donation for the theater, right? But they do sell reserve tickets for everything--before a performance goes on a run, you can buy ‘em and ensure that you’ll be able to make a show. It’s a way to make a little money in pre-production while making sure that die hard fans or just people really excited for a particular show will definitely make a showing.”

“Man, is it lucky that it’s this, though…”

Picking out a smaller package from the dwindling pile, Kokichi’s eyes widened in interest at the little bottle Mikaku had given him. “Color-changing nail polish? Changes with ambient temperature? That sounds super cool…”

Kaito’s eyes glanced through the remaining pile, still something nervous running through him… don’t think about it. He looked to Mikaku’s gift, raising an eyebrow, “That’s cool, but is that something you’d use? I’ve never seen you wear nail polish. You don’t really do anything with your appearance, extra wise… though I guess that’s been changing lately.” 

Kaito said, thinking of the haircut and the ankle bracelet specifically. Glancing at his own green lantern ring, next to his wedding ring, he smiled slightly, a little pleased feeling running though him as it usually did when he looked at them, before returning to messing with the puzzle. “Man…I could see this taking hours to solve.” Kaito said, spinning it idly, “And that’s if you even know what you’re doing. I’m still just trying to look for a pattern. It can’t be random, things like this never are… there’s gotta be a trick to it.”

“I mean… I almost never put it on myself, but I do like nail polish,” Kokichi hummed, still inspecting the bottle. “It’s fun! A little more color to adorn yourself with! I just don’t really have the patience to apply it properly… Maybe I’ll make days of it more often, though--this is really cool. And I’m sure Denji-chan would love to do more manicure days with me while we chat.”

“Not til days after Zenith, though,” Kokichi snorted. “I’m sure they’re gonna go into a three-day coma of sleep after everything they’ve been getting ready for the festival.”

Looking over the puzzle, Kokichi hummed with a shrug. “I know with the cubes it’s like…you solve a side first? I have no idea how that goes with multiple rows, though… Part of the fun can be figuring the ‘trick’ out.”

It wasn’t the last gift, but…

Kokichi picked up a rectangular gift, opening up his present from Hideki. And when he did, a soft, delighted smile grew on his face. It wasn’t quite as thick as a novel, but it was more than a pamphlet. The cover had an illustration of the world, and inside… “This is a travel journal… Aw. Wow, they have pre-prepared pages for big name tourist stuff, but plenty of space for your own trips… This’ll be a perfect companion to the binder Maki-chan made,” Kokichi giggled, flipping through the pages. 

“That reminds me, I have to update that. Got some more letters back, can update the statistics for a few more tourist spots.” Maki said, sighing as she went to the bed, laying herself out on it next to Kaito, “Whelp, I’m assuming Shuichi has a few ‘no-go’ spots, so with those accounted for? He’s still clean.”

“That’s good.” Kaito agreed softly, before saying, “What are his ‘no-go’ spots?”

“Anywhere Miyako could theoretically be in the near future. The nursery, her stuff, the baby bags, that sort of thing. I feel like Shuichi would never mix those two things even if he could be one hundred percent sure it was safe.”

“Ah, so our boyfriend does have principles.”

“He has a daughter he loves.” Maki agreed, “I’ll trust that.”

“It’s good you’re looking after him, Maki. But I’m sure Shuichi would come to us for help.” Kaito said softly… a small part of himself wincing at the doubt that ran through him. Well, that wasn’t fun, but… he guessed that doubt was just a part of himself now. Ah well. He still felt, objectively, like that was probably true… he’d probably tell Maki or Kokichi, anyway. 

Kaito looked at the pile, and asked curiously, “Amber, Stacy and Temp drop off a gift? I’m surprised we haven’ heard from them yet today.”

Kokichi sighed softly, feeling the uncertainty and flecks of worry between his friends. But… “...I really believe that he’d get help if he was in trouble in some way. And…when it comes to needing safety, Shuu-chan believes in you the most, Maki-chan. It might not be the thing he’ll want help with but…” Kokichi shrugged slightly, knowing his friends didn’t think this way. “As long as he’s getting help, I’m okay with it not being me. He’ll tell me things when he’s comfortable.”

Not that he really thought Shuuichi was struggling with anything at the moment. His anxieties and the trauma of the past year? Ho yeah, there was a reason he was regularly going to therapy. But…anything new, or dangerous? He didn’t think so. 

Hesitantly, Kokichi looked at the last package on the bed, wrapped up for mail rather than a bag or gift wrapping. Then he shook his head with a shrug. “No. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if they were planning on finding us tomorrow during the festival--more convenient than making the trip over here twice, even if it’s not too long.”

For another moment, Kokichi just looked at the package before he reached out for it, his touch gentle.

“I can leave if it's better.” Kaito suddenly muttered, still spinning the puzzle in his hand. Maki looked up curiously at this. She knew Nazumi would have already double checked the gifts, so she hadn’t bothered inspecting them herself. Was something up?

Kokichi sighed, looking at the return address. ‘Todoa/Umezaki’. He knew he didn’t have to open it if he didn’t want to. There was nothing he owed to them to do it. 

…but he did want to. It was just hard. 

“...if you feel like it’ll just piss you off, you don’t have to be here, but…” Kokichi shrugged. “I’m not holding back for you.”

He tapped his fingers on the packing paper. 

“Yasu told Kai-chan, when they bumped into each other, that she and Nao were gonna send me a birthday present,” he explained, feeling Maki’s gaze.

“Oh.” Maki said, considering the package… before relaxing and laying back, “Well, we got lucky. This would be sort of awkward if Shuichi was here.” 

“It’s awkward now Maki.” Kaito grumbled. 

“In a different way.” Maki said, closing her eyes, “However you two decide to go about this, you don’t have to keep Shuichi watching you in mind. You just get to deal with it yourselves. That’s easier than needing to prioritize his feelings. Lucky.”

Maki opened her eyes at Kaito, and said, “And Kokichi shouldn’t need to perform for you either. Are you going to make him?”

Kaito tensed at that… before sighing. “I’m gonna go get some coffee. Do you two want anything from the kitchen?”

It was hard enough sorting things out for himself, let alone what his partners were feeling. They had already told Shuuichi about this, and he’d been…level, and…though difficult in others, part of Kokichi felt like it’d be easier with Shuuichi there. But…he just needed to focus on figuring out his own feelings. Deciding what he wanted. 

“I’m alright, Kai-chan, thanks,” Kokichi murmured. 

And when the door closed? Kokichi took a deep breath and opened the package. 

It was a bit bigger than Hideki’s gift had been, and, well, that made sense looking at it too. It was a collection of fairytales, not the standard kind that they had in the library downstairs, or some of the ones they’d picked up for Miyako, but…a book full of retellings. Not with dark twists and horrific moments, but just…other perspectives. Questions that changed the whole story. 

It…looked really interesting, actually. The sort of thing Kokichi would read for fun, and that he’d share with his daughter, once she knew the original context they were riffing off of. 

And on the front, instead of a card, there was a note.

“Happy 21st Birthday, Kokichi

I hope your day is really something special

I’m sorry

Nao”

“Happy Birthday, Kokichi! And happy Zenith too! Hoping you and the family are happy and well, Yasu.”

Kokichi read the note, then read it again. And he felt his eyes burn with tears.

Maki watched Kokichi quietly, before wordlessly sitting up, holding her hand out to ask for permission to read the note. Taking the little… what, post it? Sheet of paper, Maki’s eyes scanning over it quickly.

“...wow. Such a poet. These two really know how to express themselves.” Maki said dryly, deeply unimpressed. But she looked over to Kokichi, his eyes red, tears starting to burn down his cheek, and she sighed, handing it back to him, “Want to talk about it?”

Kokichi sniffled softly. “I prolly would’ve thrown it out already if it had been a long Wap-pology letter.” It might feel lacking to Maki, if she felt anything at all for it, but…well, something like this felt very Dicean. Adding anything more, an explanation, an attempt to reach out, any more than surface-level comments about any of them? It would’ve been a cruel slap. Like she was trying to get away with something.

So, just…as it was?

Kokichi closed his eyes with a grimace as he curled into himself, tears dripping from his cheeks. “...I miss them…”

Maki huffed slightly at that, laying back down on the bed. This was why it was easier when people just died. Very clean and tidy, all of their problems would be much more straightforward if the people who kept insisting on hurting her friends all had the decency to die by the time everything was ‘finished’. Otherwise it just… never was. Frustrating.

“...well, I suppose I can’t blame you.” Maki said, staring at the ceiling, “I can’t understand on a personal level, because I don’t empathize well. Sorry. But as the groups resident ‘Nao’ adjacent… I’m certain she’ll be relieved to hear it, someday.”

“...Though I’m going to guess you’re not going to tell them.” Maki realized, staring at him.

Love lost was a painful thing, and it rarely ever just evaporated. It just…got more complicated. Nao would probably be relieved to hear that, in some way, he still cared about her too. 

(How could he not? The woman had practically raised him.)

Kokichi let out an unsteady sigh. “...not yet. I…I’m not ready to move forward from everything yet. Not just for Shuu-chan’s sake… I know he already wants to be ready. If not to move forward, than to get closure and close this chapter… But I’m still hurt too. And I can’t imagine just…talking to them yet.”

“...one day, though,” he sniffled. “I dunno if it’ll be moving forward, or getting closure, but…I want something. As much as it hurts…”

Kokichi sniffed back some snot, crinkling the note in his hand. “...the thought of them not being in my life at all hurts too.”

“This is all going to be so messy.” Maki mused, still staring at the ceiling. “...full disclosure. I agree with Kaito. I think you and Shuichi are crazy at worst, and brainwashed at best, for wanting any sort of… reconciliation with her. But, that said? I think Kaito’s crazy or brainwashed to want to forgive Byakuya, and to maybe the exact same extent, to have reconciled with me. So, if it’s a bad idea? We’re all doing it. Well, you all are doing it, anyway.”

(She knew an argument could be made that she should much more hugely resent, if not hate, her mentor for crimes against her and her siblings, growing up… but she couldn’t. She understood his hard choices. She would have made the same ones in his situation.)

(...maybe.)

(She’d never know. And she was lucky for that.)

“But it’s not my decision. The most I can offer is a stabbing if you ever get sick of someone. Beyond that…” Maki shrugged, “I guess I’m just a listening, if judgy, ear. And if that’s what you ever need, well… I’m here for that too.”

“...I’m sorry this all came up on your birthday.” Maki said, looking softy at Kokichi, “Though maybe there’s something hopeful in that. The rest of your forgiven family keeps working to earn it, and you seem happy. Maybe it’ll work out someday. Whether that’s a good thing or bad thing notwithstanding, todays a good indication you may get what you want someday.”

Maki looked to the book of fairytales. “...I have a book of plants that Lake for some ungodly reason thought I would want. If we got it, we could tell him Nao sent you that. He likely won’t notice one more fairytale book around or think about where it came from. Could make things easier..”

Kokichi nodded slightly with a puff of air a little too broken to be a laugh. Honestly…he thought he was crazy too. If they worked on themselves, abusers could be accepted back into society, but there was never any obligation for the people they hurt to ever accept them again. He’d always heard and thought that it was healthiest for the victims and victim’s loved ones to just cut the abuser out of their lives entirely.

But the clawing sadness in his chest couldn’t quite accept that, at least without a final conversation. And, well… Byakuya and Tengan and Chisa had been the ones to make that decision first. Not out of shame and a duty to at least do one thing right, but just…because they cared so little, and were happy to carry on in their own lives continuing to hurt people. 

The law had decided for Itch and Tom and Aba. And yet…Maki still intervened with the boys to ensure their lives. Still considering them siblings. 

…he didn’t think she was quite as exempt as she thought, but…well. There were a lot of other factors to Maki’s situation. What she lacked in that gut feeling of empathy, she did have in a willingness to be honest with herself and understand others. Maybe not always, but enough. 

Kokichi sniffled and looked at the book. It did seem like a good collection… He opened the front cover, the back, making sure there was nothing written in it…then let out a sigh, giving Maki a thankful, tired look. “...I’d appreciate that. I don’t think he’d throw out my things, but…I think we’d all sleep better not feeling like there was a…I dunno. A blatant reminder.”

…then he made a face. “...I don’t want to keep lying to him…”

“Why not? He doesn’t expect us to tell him the truth anyway. We’ve lost his trust.” Maki said dryly, sounding tired at that, “And only you and I know right now. Though, knowing our luck, Nao or Yasu, years down the line, will out us by accident and Kaito will get all whiny to us about it anyway. Mmm… drama now or potential drama later…”

Maki sat up, reaching for the book to take a look at it. Fairy tales from an alternative perspective, huh? Interesting choice from the woman, when this was her first gesture directly to Kokichi since everything happened. If Maki was being ungenerous, she’d guess this was a blatant attempt to get Kokichi to consider the ‘antagonists’ of the fairytales differently, and to give her that same credit. As far as symbolism went, it was a little on the nose. 

But the rest of this had so little thought put to it that Maki assumed instead, probably more correctly, that Nao just thought the book was neat and Kokich would like it, and that was as deep as it went. 

“Don’t hide it from him then,” Maki shrugged, “I know he and Shuichi just had another conversation where Kaito swore not to antagonize her, so maybe tolerating her gifts is just another step towards that. I’m warning you in advance though, Shuichi’s going to read it cover to cover, looking for meaning in it. I overthink things like this the least in our little group, and that thought occurred to me, so if I thought about it? Those two are going to be convinced of it, at least for awhile. Luminaries look for hidden messages in everything. It’s half how we communicate.”

Kokichi sighed softly. “Yeah…but that doesn’t mean I’m just going to give up. I hate those decisions I made… Even if he won’t trust it, I need to make changes for my own sake. And maybe when I’m a person I can tolerate, I can start earning his trust back too.”

Kokichi nodded slightly. He wouldn’t hide it. Hiding was…just trying to manage Kaito’s emotions again. Thinking that they already knew his reaction without ever giving him a choice. It would probably go poorly, but…at least then they could all make decisions. 

Wiping his cheeks, Kokichi let out a sigh. “That sounds exhausting… But I guess there are unsaid things I know in an instant from cultural context. I hope Shuu-chan gets to enjoy some of the stories while he’s scouring it, at least.”

Covering his face and taking a deep breath…okay. He centered himself. Looked at the note again…and put it with the rest of his cards. 

Maybe this was step one.

-

Kaito was taking his time with the coffee.

Specifically, he was people watching and sipping on the coffee, both feeling like this was the right thing to do and endlessly worried he was making a mistake. It was Kokichi’s birthday. Kaito needed to focus on Kokichi. This was a problem that bothered Kokichi. Kaito should be… fixing it. Somehow. Doing something. Actually doing something. Should be present in the situation so that if an opportunity to fix it arose, he could do it.

But anything he could or would do would just make everything worse, so… taking himself out of it was fixing it. Right?? Didn’t that make sense? 

But what if Kokichi wanted him there??? What if she said something horrible, and he was sobbing alone on his birthday, with only Maki there to comfort?? Maki was terrible at comforting! She’d probably make him throw his new knives and say ‘imagine the target is Nao’ and that would just make Kokichi cry more, Maki!

What would Nao say?

Kaito’s mind was racing through scenarios, trying to prep himself to react not… shittily, when he got back. Fuck, what would she say? Would she ask Kokichi to meet up with her at a future date? What should Kaito say if she did? Should he be encouraging, or should he… what, insist Kokichi didn’t go? What right did Kaito have to ask that? How could he not ask that? Oh god this was the start of her fucking coming back into their lives and Kaito was just going to have to live with it and he was going to end up being the monster when he fucking crushed in her stupid skull–

Kaito twitched and sipped at his coffee. Ah, yes… caffeine. That would help. Ha.

She’d probably have a message for Shuichi too. Should they give it to him, Shuichi didn’t know about it yet… ugh, what were they going to do, hide it? Stupid. Shuichi would figure it out in an instant. He’d want to read it, Kaito had no right to keep that from him. Uuuuuuugh– auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh! 

Had he given them enough time? So that Kokichi could think about this without his stupid ugly angry looming fucking husband hovering over him, being pissed and stupid? Kaito twitched, mindlessly watching people go to and from the front door to other parts of the castle. Was everyone else dealing with bullshit like this? God, why did they do this on Kokichi’s birthday? Couldn’t they have delayed the package until after Zenith at least? They were apparently fine with sexual abuse, what, they drew the line at lack of punctuality!??

Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh– okay. Okay. Are we done? Have we had our tantrum? Don’t bring this back into the room with you, Kaito. It was your husband birthday and you were going to be a loving, supporting, optimistic himbo husband! You can’t stop this process! You know this! Kaito stared at his coffee now, mildly baffled to see he had drunk all of it. Already? Shit how long had he been standing at this banister… maybe not long actually, he had been drinking pretty fast. He had to stop ruminating like this, he was so damn caffeinated now. He’d get more coffee. He wanted something to keep his hands busy when he got back.

Okay! He had this! He had this! Game face! Let’s do this! 

Heading back upstairs, Kaito took a steadying breath outside the door– do not ruin your husbands birthday do not get angry do not shame him you’ve sworn so many times in so many different ways– before opening the door, saying lightly, “I’m back~ sorry, I’m not sure how long I was gone, I got caught up.”

Kokichi was a little red around the eyes, but he’d washed his face and was much calmer than he had been, so he turned to smile at Kaito, in the middle of putting his gifts away. “It’s alright, hun. Thank you for taking space you needed, and for giving me some too.”

Taking a breath, Kokichi paused before facing Kaito more fully, the smile gone from his face. “...do you care to know what I got? Or would you rather not.”

He was just going to tell Kaito, but…honestly, especially these days, Kaito knew his mental state best. Knew what he wanted and what he could handle. Kokichi wouldn’t hide it or create some scheme, but…he could let Kaito set the boundaries he wanted. 

And after another moment, Kokichi gave him a soft look. “...I still don’t want to see them. I know you were worried about them coming back into our lives, so…they’re not. Actionably, nothing has changed.”

To the first thing, Kaito grinned in a way he hoped read sincere, fussing with the fresh cup of coffee in his hand as he said, “Yeah, of course, babe. Breaks, right? Just… well, we know they work!”

They, admittedly, did not know precisely how this next part worked. It wasn’t the first time Kokichi had asked if Kaito was ready to hear about something, far from it. But those things usually, historically, involved… well, large groups of people murdered that Kaito knew in some personal way that Kokichi had discovered the fate of first. 

… that was so weird that that had happened twice. Wow. Try not to dwell on that. 

Almost jokingly, Kaito very nearly said ‘is it terrible?’, but he bit his tongue before the urge got away from him. That wouldn’t be fair, to make jokes when it was Kokichi’s turn to deal with an emotionally difficult issue. And this was difficult on Kokichi, Kaito knew that. He desperately didn’t want to make this worse, and once again he was struck by just… not knowing if his being involved or not was a good thing or a bad thing. Wouldn’t a good husband say ‘tell me’ and then be totally emotionally available for his husband, who might need him? Or would a good husband say ‘not my business’ and keep his nose out of it?

Kaito tried to imagine what a good spousal role model would do and literally couldn’t think of anyone, so he tried to imagine what he would want a good spouse to do. He’d… want to be able to talk about difficult things. To whine and be comforted. But he wouldn’t want them to be shitty about it. Could he reliably not be shitty about it?

…no. But Shuichi wouldn’t be. So… so yeah. Kaito grinned and shrugged somewhat warily, “It’s none of my business, babe. I’m sure Shuichi’s going to want to know though, so…” Kaito glanced at Maki, looking for some sign of what had happened, and she gave nothing away, just blankly watching them, “...uh, if you guys want to talk about it later, I’ll go get more coffee or something. Give you guys some space. Um… unless you need to talk to me about it…?”

They really did. Of course, it was dangerous to just put things off and ignore them, but…taking a break? Letting yourself process the reactionary emotions you had and return with a cooler head? Giving yourself time to really think something through? It was invaluable, and Kokichi really wished he’d applied it to life sooner. 

But there was a time to return and…from there? You didn’t always have an answer. 

Kaito didn’t seem entirely sure about his answer, but it was the one he’d chosen. And Kokichi would respect that. 

“Okay,” he said softly, turning to continue putting his new things away. “I…I don’t think I need to. I just didn’t want to hide it from you.” In the interest of being honest, Kokichi looked up with a tired smile. “I did cry a bit, but Maki-chan comforted me--she’s good at that.”

“She is not.” Kaito said automatically.

“I’m great at it. You should have seen me. I was an emotional pillar.” Maki said, before narrowing her eyes at him, “What are you looking for?”

“Holes in the wall.” Kaito said lightly, sitting at the desk and only obsessively worrying he had made the wrong choice a little bit. His husband had cried, Kaito needed to make it better! But he wasn’t going to make it better, he was going to make it worse, he knew that, so he shouldn’t ask. He wouldn’t. He had already decided that. Shuichi would handle it, they’d… be better at this for each other. Kaito’s anger couldn’t help them and that was all he had to offer. He’d get mean wanting to hurt her, and all he’d accomplish would be hurting his partners, while Nao continued being a reptile feeding off the emotional heat of others to fuel herself.

Yeah. Those thoughts exactly. That was why he couldn’t contribute. 

“So! We did all the gifts! That’s awesome. Though, now I’m really curious, where the heck is Shuichi?” Kaito asked, looking to Maki, who definitely knew.

“No idea.” Maki lied.

Kaito shot her a dirty look, before grinning brightly at his husband, “Hey, I know we’ve hit a lull in birthday stuff till Shuichi gets back, but is there any Zenith preparation we should be doing? Anything I can help you get done, beautiful?”

Kokichi snorted, finishing up tidying up. He’d keep letting them believe that. Maki wasn’t the most sympathetic person, that was true, but there was a comfort in deep pragmatism. Maki’s care wasn’t a gooey, snuggly thing, but it was a sturdy foundation, blunt and honest in what it was there for. And sometimes, that’s what you really needed when it felt like everything else was falling apart. 

When he was done putting everything away, Kokichi tossed himself onto their bed, stretching out for a bit before propping his chin up to look at Kaito. “I mean…not any official stuff. I’m not allowed to work on that. But…we can make a loose plan of what we wanna do tomorrow. My appointment with Denji is at 10:30, since we wanted to have a slow morning, but…other than that, we can kinda do anything.”

“Well, as the person who committed to baby sitting Miyako all day today, I’ve seen what you all do when you can do anything,” she said, giving the two men in their bedroom a meaningful look for a moment before finishing, “Not exactly inspired, huh.”

“Maki, we just went and petted penguins, we had a surprise breakfast thing thrust upon us, we opened Kokichi’s gifts, and we even managed to squeeze in more people doing needlessly traumatic bullshit on us and coping with it, and it’s not even, like… eleven. How busy do you want us to be?” Kaito genuinely asked her, sipping on his coffee incredulously. 

“I’m just saying, you both can do anything today, at least until you’re supposed to meet Shuichi this afternoon, and I think it’s telling Kaito ended up sitting at the desk chair, and Kokichi is laying on the bed. Both of you in your default, natural habitats.”

“Well, what would you be doing right now?”

Maki seemed to consider this… before shrugging. “Something cooler than this.”

“Thanks. Very helpful.’

Kokichi snickered softly. “I mean, it gets to be natural somehow. After a busy morning, it’s nice to take a moment of downtime--even if everyone and their mom tells me that planning time still isn’t downtime.”

Thinking for a moment, Kokichi hummed as he swung his legs through the air. “Well, you guys seemed interested in the big water fight? The one for the ribbon. It’s always seemed fun to me too. And I know I wanna make time at some point to get a strawberry shortcake. I don’t think you guys would like the confessional very much… And it’s not like any of us are following any bands, but it could be fun to go dancing for a little while.”

After another moment Kokichi gave his friends an amused look. “I’ll bet neither of you guys looked into any of the promotional posters and schedules ‘n stuff?”

Maki and Kaito gave Kokichi equally blank looks…

“Oh, yeah, all the posters and stuff,” Kaito nodded, “With the… water fights and… slides.”

“Yep. Slides. Saw the slides in the schedules.” Maki agreed immediately, nodding, “Which I read thoroughly.”

“Back to back.”

“We both did, it was… riveting stuff.” Maki said dryly.

“I liked the…” Kaito’s brain short-circuited, “...font? They used.”

“Very clear to read, very professional.” 

“Clearly someone taking their time, ya know?” Kaito agreed, before asking curiously, “What’s a confessional?”

Kokichi chuckled, having assumed as much. He could hope his friends would want to have fun during the festivals, and they had during past ones, but he knew they were mostly there to follow his lead for what he wanted to do to enjoy them. There were worse ways to experience them. 

“Mm, they’ve usually had them at one of the bigger hotels out of the city center. People will chill at the bottom in the street, and one by one, people will come out to a high balcony to…confess stuff,” Kokichi shrugged. “Shouting whatever they want from up high. A lot of crush and love confessions, sometimes personal revelations. Sometimes apologies, but those are more rare--judging by the reactions, usually in a case where the person getting the apology is explicitly okay with it happening so publicly.”

With a half grin, Kokichi shrugged again. “Doesn’t really sound like your scene.”

“Geeeez,” Kaito winced, looking deeply disturbed, “This is at a festival? Fuck… oh, sorry, sorry Miya.” Kaito winced again, looking towards the crib. Looking back to Kokichi, he asked with a morbid sense of curiosity, “Have you ever been to one babe?”

“People get a kick out of the attention. It’s considered a thing in good fun here.” Snorting, Kokichi shook his head in amusement. “I’m glad we didn’t celebrate Epakohta this year--don’t think you’d be into that either.”

It was just…the vast cultural difference of how people viewed secrets and justice. There wasn’t really a bridge to be made, other than accepting that some people just did it differently. 

“I’ve walked by one,” Kokichi hummed. “It was kinda cool, the crowd really gets into it, cheering and encouraging people on, but I never really knew what I’d want to say. These days, I think it’d be fun to go up and be like, “I love Kai-chan and Shuu-chan!” but, like, you guys would hate that, and it’s a little more awkward when everyone knows who we are.”

“Plus, who exactly are you ‘confessing’ that too? We can’t get you to stop saying how much you love them. It’s constant with you three.” Maki said, rolling her eyes, “Worst kept secret in the world.”

“God, that sounds like endless drama and problems waiting to happen.” Kaito winced, trying to imagine it. He could see love confessions being kinda cute… but also equally falling flat, poor bastards taking their shot and being rejected in the most public way possible. Ooof. Kaito could see a version of himself who’d have probably done that, at least with a few drinks in himself. Not for courage, just to forget how stupid that would be. Ugh, thirteen year old him confessing to the world he loved Shuichi, and Shuichi being, just, humiliated…

Phew. Dicea could keep some traditions, Kaito thought Luminary was better off in that regard. 

“Could be a lot of fun to watch.” Maki mused. 

“Maki.”

“What? Come on, Shuichi and I would have loads of fun watching that crowd.” Maki smirked, looking absolutely certain, “Don’t you want us to enjoy Zenith?”

“...Augh, alright, I’ll bite, what’s Epakohta?” Kaito asked, after giving Maki a long, judgy look.

“It would be, if it was a secret at all,” Kokichi laughed. “A confession doesn’t have to be a secret. Honestly, nothing I’ve heard about a confessional is all that shocking. ‘Cept maybe someone calling out a cheater or a shitty boss. But even then, they got a ton of cheers.”

Honestly, Kokichi could see the atmosphere taking some of the fun out of it for Shuuichi, since he got all pouty about the point of secrets when everyone knew them, but, hey, maybe they could enjoy the crowd’s vibe. Kokichi would love if they found something about Zenith to personally enjoy. 

Giving Kaito a very amused look, Kokichi snickered, “Epakohta, the word itself, means ‘grievance’. In the old days, it was a holiday where…whole towns would gather in a square or field or other open space, and just start a huge brawl, people calling out their grievances with each other and fighting them out. And then, once the fight was called, everything was settled and reset for the new year.”

“These days it’s more regimented,” Kokichi explained. “There are limits to how many people can be in one fight at a time, and…well, fists only has always been a rule, as far back as we know, but everyone participating has to sign a release form that they don’t intend to cause severe or lasting damage. And there are guards and healers on standby to break things up if it gets too ugly.”

“I’ve never participated, obviously,” Kokichi rolled his eyes, “But…”

His gaze went thoughtful. “My uncles used to set up a debate version of it for me. While they were resting their injuries, in the evening ‘n stuff. It wasn’t the same, since a lot of the people I had grievances with weren’t there, but…it did feel nice to get everything off my chest and let it go.”

“...”

“...”

“........”

“............. so, we can’t go to that, right?” Kaito said, looking to Maki for confirmation, who nodded. “Like, that’d be a super bad idea?”

“It’d be fun to watch.” Maki said optimistically, tilting her head slightly as she said, “By uncles, you mean Hideki, right? And his partner? Hideki went and punched people in a carefully regulated mob?”

“It’s a super interesting idea, but I have a hard time imagining anyone here actually doing it.” Kaito admitted, rubbing the back of his neck, “Though, if this is really common… does everyone here just straight up know how to take a punch then? Wow.” 

“I mean, probably in the same sense everyone back at home knows how to spar. I imagine they have the basics, unless they’re specifically avoiding it, like Kokichi.” Maki said, before smirking a little, “I love the idea of you debating against someone by yourself. There’s something cathartic in just trashing someone like they’re right in front of you. Shuichi and I do that all the time, together.”

“Wait, this holidays already passed, right? How did we miss this?” Kaito asked, looking baffled, “...unless not everyone celebrates?”

“You guys never leave your room, you probably just didn’t even go down to the dining hall that day to hear about it.” Maki said, “Though I’m surprised no one challenged you, Kaito.”

“God, I can’t join in on something like that, I’d inevitably take it too far,” Kaito groaned, rubbing his temples, “God… do you think it’d be like a bunch of people fighting the way Lake fought me?”

Maki snorted, “We have to watch it this year. We can’t miss it, I refuse. I’m so upset we didn’t see it last time.”

Kokichi chuckled softly. “More like he got punched. Like…if you’re participating, you have to fight, even if someone sent a request to you and you show up, you can’t just be a punching bag…but Hideki-ji is awful at fighting. And he pisses a lot of people off, so he always got a lot of requests. Pretty much everyone in administration does.”

Though, again, not him. Kokichi couldn’t tell you if it was just because his medical exemption was well-known, or there just were better icons of administration for people to take their frustrations out on than him. 

Shrugging, Kokichi hummed noncommittally. “I mean…that depends. Some people who cannot take punches still participate--there are just breaks for them to recover. And people have all sorts of different fighting styles.”

Like debate. It was really cathartic, at least for some things. 

“Epakohta is in the middle of late winter,” Kokichi explained, shrugging again. “We were busy. And it’s not like people celebrate in the middle of the street--it’s our heritage, but we’ve got to apply modern sensibilities to it. And that means being safe.”

Shifting slightly…well, Kokichi knew why Kaito hadn’t gotten any requests. Giving his husband a half-grimace, he explained, “Well… You got an assault charge within the last year. Even if people sent personal requests, outside of the channels that are set up, they’d have to be systematically denied. It’s the same for people with paranoia diagnoses like Waku-chan, or people who’ve recently gotten a weapon’s ban, regardless if it’s over. And if you still have certain bans, no way.”

“We…well. You guys should be able to watch next year, though.”

“Ooooooh,” Kaito nodded, “That makes sense. Yeah, cause, like… my whole issue is getting too angry and punching people. So, like… it’d be crazy to give me an official invitation to do that.”

Maki smirked, looking genuinely amused as she said, “I can’t figure out Dicea. Massive group sparing matches sounds like such a Luminary thing, but we don’t have anything like that. We dropped the ball there.”

“Dicea does a lot of group violence.” Kaito observed, blinking as he realized, oh… yeah. Now that he said that out loud, that made a lot of sense. “We’re more personal about our vengeance seeking. One on one spars versus big town fighting… it kinda seems obvious when ya think about it.”

“Would you take someone up on a debate, Lord Too-Angry-To-Do-Anger-Rituals?” Maki asked Kaito curiously.

“Ugh, I mean… probably, purely out of pride. I’d get my ass kicked inevitably though. Spend the next month fuming about it.” Kaito rolled his eyes at himself, looking to Kokichi as he asked, genuinely, “Can you ask someone else to substitute for you? You’re better at arguing with people then I am, they’d probably thank you for it if you went to my arguments on my behalf.”

It might be what felt natural to his friends, but…well, things didn’t happen behind closed doors in Dicea. There were secrets, and there was privacy, but…even with those things, there was an indication that there was something there, and you just weren’t allowed to know what it was. Kokichi knew he’d probably piss people off constantly in Luminary by directly acknowledging things. 

He really wished he could do that joyfully. 

Looking over at Kaito with partial amusement, Kokichi thought for a moment. “Well…depends on the kind of debate, I guess, but if it was a debate that was an alternative to fighting on Epakohta? It’d probably depend on the person taking up an issue with you. If they were okay with someone speaking for you, sure--it’s all a personal thing anyway. But it might be a thing, like…”

“I mean, if they felt more it was they had a problem with you, and not me, it’d feel kind of pointless to argue against me. But I guess it’d be a case by case thing.”

“Let’s be honest, they’d just want to yell at a Momota.” Maki pointed out, “I bet next year there will be a line waiting for you.”

Kaito started popping his thumb joints, “...shit, you know what? You’re right. It’s not going to have anything to do with me, it’s just gonna be a bunch of people I’ve never met. Um… I don’t know, I should probably just be a good sport about it if it happens like that, right? Just let it happen?”

“Maybe. I feel like if you did that, you’d eventually lose your temper though.” Maki cautioned, “It’d be less of being a good sport, and more just you fighting a battle you’re going to publicly lose.”

“Maybe… but if I keep my temper, people might like me better for it? Like, ooooh, that Momota Prince can take some ribbing?”

“Or you lose it and people end up talking about that time the prince-consort tried to rip someone’s face off because they were the third person to say Luminary would be better off with no Momota left at all.”

Kaito paled at that, “...yeah, I’ll just watch. People can call me a coward, but it’s better to not tempt anything worse. I don’t want Timothy to see me in that position anyway. Man… ya know what this is making me miss? Saint Holi’s festival.”

Maki huffed at that, “I don’t. Clean up for that was a nightmare. You’d have the festival one day and still be brushing up powder a week later, praying for a rain that’s not coming. And it was always tough to get out of our hair.”

“Saint Holi was a saint who survived the burning of a temple, which she ran into to seal the tombs so that the bodies who had yet to be entombed weren’t burned.” Kaito explained to Kokichi, “Burning bodies is considered an act of defilement in Luminary, and it would have been hugely disrespectful to the dead to let it happen, but the temple was so ablaze already that it was considered by everyone else a lost cause. But Priestess Holi refused to listen to reason, and ran in, somehow surviving the fire and sealing the tomb shut, preserving herself and those inside.” Kaito grinned, clearly delighted with the story, “And earning her sainthood that day.”

“Annnnnd somehow that turned into us throwing colored powder at each other.” Maki shrugged, “I’ve never seen the connection, but there ya go.”

“We drink too. It’s a lot of fun. Well, was a lot of fun.” Kaito explained, looking nostalgic as he said, “We clean it up in the city, but the colors stick around for ages in the desert rocks outside the city. It’s really beautiful.”

Kokichi would hope people would be a little more self-critical than that, but…well. Despite everything, royalty were icons. And regardless of what he personally did, there would still be people who only saw Kaito as ‘a Momota’. It sucked, but…the people who saw beyond that were the people that mattered. 

It would still be best if Kaito didn’t indulge those kinds of debates, though. 

Kokichi had been curious about other Luminary holiday’s though. But for this one…

Kokichi gave his husband a sheepish look. “...is that right? Well…on the most part, bodies are cremated in Dicea, unless some other wish is specified… We should…get that settled for you…”

He took a breath. “...but that’s incredibly brave. To risk your own self being defiled to honor others? No wonder she’s a saint.”

“Though, as amazing it sounds to see the festival in action,” Kokichi smiled weakly, “Bums me out I probably wouldn’t be able to see it.”

“Oh, I’m not super worried about it on a personal level.” Kaito said, waving his hand dismissively, “Fear of cremation is one of those things my grandfather would have been more worried about. I mean, we still do the entombments cause that’s just… how we do them. But a lot of people our age don’t treat it that seriously. Atua’s never had anything to say in the Good Book about the burning of bodies, it’s just one of those cultural things that no one really seems to remember the origin of. We just know from our stories that it used to be very serious, once upon a time.”

“Why wouldn’t you be able to see it, Kokichi?” Maki asked, before thinking about it, “...your lungs?”

Kokichi nodded, letting out a little relieved breath. He was sure it was…at least implied, when he explained that his mother was scattered in the Memorial Garden, but…even if it was just a body at that point? It still mattered to all the people that were still living. Kokichi didn’t want to…religiously disrespect his husband like that. 

Still, if any of them wanted specific practices for their death, that was something they’d have to note. 

Turning to Maki, though, he nodded, a mildly regretful look on his face. “Yeah. Even on medium levels of pollen in the air I have to wear a filtration mask outside, and if it’s heavy just…it’s better if I don’t have to go out. If you’re throwing a ton of powder in the air, then that’s really not a safe place for me to be.”

Luminary had been, as a culture, more introduced to the idea of cremation from interacting with Kimigishane, who had a much wider variety of body disposal than any other country Kaito had heard of, and who had kinda demystified a lot of it for Luminary… but Kaito, admittedly, hadn’t thought much about what would happen to him here in Dicea when he died. He guessed he’d be burned, huh… creepy. But, not super important. Again, it was an older generation fear. New-age Luminary didn’t worry about it as much.

Though… Kaito couldn’t help but laugh lightly, giving his husband a fond, somewhat sympathetic look, “Man, Luminary can’t win with ya, huh ‘Kichi? One of our sweetest festivals is literally deadlier to ya than your most violent one.”

“We’re assuming most violent. Watch, a month from now Kokichi’s gonna casually mention to us the ‘drowning’ festival, where they throw people in the middle of lakes and see who manages to get out.” Maki teased.

“Grim.” Kaito said, shooting Maki a disapproving look, “And if they did, I bet they have lifeguards these days. Sort of sounds like an interesting premise for a race though. How would you dump people in the middle of the lake?”

“Mmmm… maybe have a floating pier in the center and let everyone swim out to that first? Have that be the starting point to the race.”

“I don’t… hate that idea. Though I think we have once again accidentally created an activity that will kill my husband.”

“We’ll put him in floaties, he’ll be fine.”

Kokichi shrugged with a small grin. “I could watch from indoors somewhere, through a window. Probably still wouldn’t be able to go outside for a few days after, though.” …how would sand affect his lungs? Kokichi had no idea. Part of him felt like it was too heavy to saturate breathing air as much as powder or dust or pollen. 

Snorting, Kokichi set his head down on his arms, rolling around the bed to look at his friends at the same time. “I will learn how to swim, eventually. I’ve been working on floating in the bath ever since our trip to the hot springs. Maybe we can see if Miya-Miya’s up to more walks outside, and we can plan a trip out to one of the ponds later this summer. Some day when not as many people are out. It’d prolly be short, but that’s alright.”

Kaito smiled fondly at Kokichi and ignored Maki’s unimpressed look. Shut up, Maki, if his husband wanted to practice floating in the bath he was allowed! They weren’t throwing him into any lakes, and he had handled the penguin water great! “That sounds fun, beautiful.”

“Oh!” Kaito said, having been thinking about Shuichi again and his thought process leading to this, “Was there anyone you wanted to go thank for their gift while we still have time? We can go hunting, if you’re not feeling too wiped?”

“Oh!” Kokichi unintentionally echoed, popping up from bed. “Right! We have time for that. Yeah, I’d like to. Though…” he snorted, “I think everyone but my dad is gonna be working, and even then he might be since we asked Maki-chan to babysit today. Might be able to catch a few people for a moment or two, though.”

Holding his hand out, Kokichi grinned at Kaito. “Wanna come on the hunt with me?”

“Mmhm. We’ll be back, Maki. I still wanna watch Tim feed Miya!” Kaito told her, getting up and taking Kokichi’s hand.

“Up to you, I’m not gonna be the one that asks Miyako to wait for an audience.” Maki warned him idly. 

“Which is why you’re a good aunt. And a terrible friend. Alright! We’ll keep an eye on the time. We’ll be back.”

Maki nodded, watching them leave… and when the door clicked shut, she went to go pick up Nao’s fairytale book.

She might as well check that it hadn’t been tampered with in any way. Sure, that wasn’t her job anymore, she wasn’t Kokichi’s bodyguard, but… well, she’d be a shitty friend to worry about it and not check up on it on principle alone. She didn’t think Nao would do anything stupid, but… well, her decision making history wasn’t stellar. Worth checking.

-

It had actually been pretty fun, running around and hunting people down for thanks. It had kinda become a little mystery hunt, the two of them chasing rumors of who had seen who, where, guessing where they might be heading next and finally cornering them. When it came to thanking time, Kaito mostly held back and let Kokichi do his thing, and then they’d go hunting again. Chatting idly about nothing terribly important along the way.

Then, at lunch time, they had headed back, and still waiting on Shuichi, Kaito was carefully guiding and cheering on Timothy as his son, stiffly, like he was holding a bomb in his arms, fed his deeply curious sister, who wouldn’t stop looking at Timothy’s hair {what was that?? New color.} as Chase slept peacefully at his feet. “Oh my god, you’re doing so good, look at you, I’m so proud.” Kaito gushed, looking a little teary-eyed as Timothy looked more and more uncomfortable.

“Are you sure I’m holding her right? She’s… weirdly heavy.”

“It’s the weight of responsibility kid. Get used to it.” Maki said from the bed, half watching and half reading.

“It’s cause she’s strong. Are you strong, Miya? Are you gonna grow up to be as big and strong  as your brother someday? No need to answer, because the answer is yes.”

As Kaito continued to coo and gush, there was a light knock on the door.

Kokichi wasn’t fawning quite as much as Kaito, but he was looking on fondly as Tim stiffly fed Miyako. She seemed quite enamored with him, if only because he looked different from the rest of them, but…hey! She was around someone she could recognize as different, and was okay! That was a great sign!

Sure, she could probably feel familiarity in Tim’s vibes, since he was still around a lot, but…still. It was a big step for the both of them. 

Though, as the knock rang from the door, Kokichi looked over curiously as he went to go answer it, the most easily mobile person in the room right then. Getting more in the habit of not just opening it right away when a person didn’t announce themself, he called out, “Who is it?”

“Baby!” She mock whispered on the other side. “Happy birthday!”

Breaking out into a bright smile, Kokichi opened the door, beaming at his friend on the other side. “Am-chan! Thank you!”

Maki, unsurprised, said before looking towards the door, “Hello Amber…” though she was surprised when she saw the outfit Amber was wearing, looking at it with second-hand embarrassment as she said dryly, “Really?”

Amber winked at Maki, tipping her black top-hat, “Really, cutie~”

Amber stepped in and, with a flourish, took off her top hat, bowing over it as she flourished her arm over her stomach, her black and white suit coming full with a tail coat and bow, Kaito and Tim looking at her in bafflement as she said to Kokichi, “From Lord Shuichi Saihara of the Momota crest, a formal invitation for the esteemed Light of Dicea, Heir-Apparent of Dicea, Prince Kokichi Ouma, and his spouse, the Ruby of the West, Prince-Consort Kaito Momota to join him at the estate!”

“...Pffff.” Maki snorted, raising an eyebrow, “‘The’ estate?”

“Shuichi seemed annoyed we couldn’t think of a better title for the place too.” Amber shrugged.

“...Ruby of the West? Oh my god, no way my Shuichi thought of that.” Kaito grinned, still very confused but delighted with how surreal this was.

“We may have workshopped it as a group.” Amber admitted, looking to Kokichi, “Your carriage awaits, if you take it, your grace.”

Kokichi could only grin at the suit Amber had on, but the spiel she started on… It might be in poor taste, considering Kaito’s perspective, but Kokichi could only giggle, blushing lightly at the titles Shuuichi thought to include. With some help, it sounded like. 

“Oh noooo this is really cute,” he giggled before looking back at Kaito and Maki. “Well, I better hope we’re dressed already, since Shuu-chan didn’t say anything earlier. And also it’s my birthday and I can wear what I want. You have everything under control, Maki-chan?”

“Go, have fun.” Maki said, waving them off. “Timothy, wish your father luck and your uncle happy birthday.”

“Happy birthday Uncle Kokichi, good luck dad.” Tim said, before looking worriedly at his mother, “Mom, could you come here, I don’t want to drop her.”

“On my way.” Maki said lightly, heading over to the window seat. As she passed by Kaito, she stopped, looking at him. 

If Kokichi was ‘listening’, he might hear something like regret. Conflict. Bitterness and over all of it a resigned acceptance. A joy for others that was… well. Just as tainted by the first ones as the first ones were lightened by the joy. It all came and went in a flash. Maki burying all of it as soon as she felt it.

She gave Kaito a slight squeeze on his shoulder as she passed, “Have fun.”

Kaito grinned at her, “Thanks, Maki-roll! Alright, Amber, lead the way!”

“Mmhm~ come on, let’s go. Let’s see what our Shuichi is up too.” Kaito said, offering Kokichi his hand.

“Thanks, Tim! I’ll see you later!”

…

Kokichi never really tried to actively listen to his family, other than Miyako, and her ‘messages’ came through more clearly anyway, since she could actually send them out. But there was an ambient level that he had to focus to not hear. 

And in that level… Maki had a moment of…very complex feelings. But it wasn’t Kokichi’s business to sift through them and see what it was all about unless she asked him to. Unless she wanted to confide in him herself. So…with only a brief worried look her way, Kokichi took Kaito’s hand and followed after Amber. Hopefully whatever it was was…manageable. 

“I have to say, Am-chan, just from this initial presentation, I am super curious,” Kokichi hummed, giving his friend a grin. “You look really nice in a suit, by the way.”

“Oh, I know, baby~” Amber smirked, kicking up her heel and winking again as she posed, before the three of them headed down. 

There was a white carriage waiting for them outside, and as Amber went to go open the door for them, Kaito chuckled, “Okay, be honest with me. Did Shuichi plan this a month ago, or this morning? With him it’s one or the other.”

“Give him more credit! …most of this was planned the day before yesterday.” Amber laughed, before insisting, “Most. Honestly, Shuichi came to us sort of hoping we could help spruce up Kokichi’s surprise. Something about trying to beat Kaito’s?”

“Wow… well, if Shuichi’s competitiveness gets us a ride on a carriage, then I’m happy to keep challenging him.” Kaito grinned. “So, can you tell us where we’re going?”

“Nope! My jobs to kidnap you! I’m the expert~”

Kokichi shook his head fondly. “You guys are too sweet… I mean, I can see some of Shuu-chan’s competitiveness being more about you, Kai-chan, but that he’d still put something together for me like this… Geez, I’ve already burst into tears at people doing nice stuff for me today.”

Accepting Kaito’s hand up into the carriage, he laughed a little. “A secret adventure!! Shuu-chan really knows the way to my heart. And getting the pro kidnapper too? Fancy as all get out. Well, we’re in your hands, Am-chan.”

Regardless of where they ended up, it would still be fun to watch the city pass from the carriage window. That could be a birthday treat all in itself.

Amber again took full opportunity to flourish her hat in an exaggerated bow, closing the door and heading to the front. 

Kaito settled into the carriage, grinning at Kokichi as the carriage started up, “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think Shuichi had something like this in him. This feels like something I’d do. I wonder what’s gotten into him?”

“It does,” Kokichi giggled, before he sat back to watch the scenery. “I dunno… I think it really is out of competitiveness with you--feeding penguins was a dream come true, and while I love everything everyone’s doing for me today…I think he wants to put a little more pizzazz into his plan. Couldn’t even give you a guess for what he’s planning with all this, though.”

“Our guy is good at creating a mystery as he is at solving them.”

Kaito watched the window for a bit… before scooting towards Kokichi, putting his arm around him, more content with the idea of holding him then getting a good view, letting Kokichi lean against him as a soft wall for his own viewing experience as Kaito kissed the top of his skull, “Well, phooey to him, he left me with an armful of Kokichi in a carriage. So who’s really winning?”

“Mmm, maybe this is a gift for both of us, since Shuu-chan knows how much I like being held.” Turning his head for just a moment, a second of scenery worth it, Kokichi kissed the top of Kaito’s chest. But it was just for a second. 

“...I like Ruby of the West. I think you’re more precious than a gem, but it does get the idea across.”

Kaito chuckled lightly at that, flushing slightly, “That caught me off guard, I’ll admit. That whole introducton did, honestly. It’s weird, that’s kinda, like… my idea of romantic, something like that. But then, maybe Shuichi just wasn’t sure what you would consider overly romantic, so he just defaulted to some of my stuff. I’m gonna tease him about it later.”

“Ruby of the West… heh. I like it,” Kaito admitted, still content to just hold Kokichi as Amber took them out into the world somewhere. “Not terribly heroic, but coming from my boyfriend? It’s sweet, like I’m a treasure. Cute. No way he came up with it.”

Kaito glanced out the window, and wondered aloud, “I wonder where we’re going…”

They went out of the city, and while Kaito would have no idea where they were, Kokichi might recognize they were heading in the direction of the hills next to the valley between the mountains. Trees became scarce and large, the mountains in the backdrop, and as Amber brought the carriage up a specific hill, Kaito whistled low as he saw the view develop. In the valley below was a green grassland filled and dotted with colorful flowers, shimmering and waving in the wind and sunlight, absolutely gorgeous in every respect… with the exception the heat. Kaito was suspecting they were out here for a picnic, but the heat with no shade up a hill might really get to his husband…

But Shuichi had thought of that, as the carriage evened out, and Temp and Stacy looked like they had literally just finished securing the decorative canopy, white with sheer walls to the sides and a study, shading cloth roof, and beneath the canopy all the signs of a picnic. Shuichi looked like he was double checking everything, and looked startled when Stacy cheered at their arrival, clearly having lost track of the time.

The carriage rolled to a stop, and Kaito opened the door– even if that was bad form– before anyone could get to it, grinning as he stepped out and held it open for Kokichi, “Wow… you weren’t kidding, Shuichi! What is all this?”

Shuichi smiled, hair blowing lightly in the wind, hat nowhere to be seen, a shy look on his face, “Uh… welcome. I hope you guys like it.” 

If you forewent cardinal directions, sometimes describing things around Dicea could be a bit difficult. While the two ranges that encircled the country were definite mountain ranges, the rest of the country wasn’t flat or a basin by far. Usott itself was in a valley with various smaller hills within it, but even leaving into the fields you could somehow go into another valley without really noticing the hill you had climbed in the first place. 

Kokichi supposed the terraced fields contributed to that effect. 

But as they rolled into grasslands, Kokichi scooted closer to the window, gasping in wonder as a veritable field of flowers covered the view. He loved gardens, a stereotypical Dicean in that way for sure, but seeing wild flowers grow as they pleased…it was a different, but just as delightful and awe-inspiring effect. 

And seeing a canopy being set up by his friends with a picnic inside?

Kokichi let out a little excited squeal as Kaito helped him down from the carriage, hopping a little in his new shoes that glittered in the sun. “Shuu-chan!!! This is incredible!!”

Shuichi brightened up considerably at that, before crediting duly, “Temp got the canopy, and Stacy helped put together the picnic item, along with the kitchen staff contributing some items. And Amber basically helped with organizing everything, she really helped me get all this together in…” Shuichi blushed, shrugging, “Relatively short notice.”

“Heck yeah I did!” Amber crowed, spinning the top hat on her index finger as she bragged, “Even had time to get a rental suit and everything. Anything for the big day~”

Temp walked up to Kokichi, clasping him on the shoulder, “I can’t stay, the nanny gets off shift in an hour, but I was pleased Shuich reached out for help with this. Happy birthday, Kokichi.”

“Temp, everything still clear for tomorrow?” Kaito asked, taking the opportunity now that the man was in front of him.

Temp nodded, “Yep. Bring her by any time in the morning, Addason and I will keep Miyako company for Zenith. It’ll be nice to finally introduce them. They can be baby lumps side by side.”

“Awwwww, sweet little baby lumps!” Kaito grinned, before leaning in close and whispering, “And you’re sure it’s… we’re not going to be drawing weird attention or…?”

Temp shook his head, saying sofly back, “Addie is still clear, and Miyako’s not connected. Should be fine.”

Stacy brought Kokichi in for a hug, “Happy Birthday, birthday boy! Oooooh, I love the shoes, those are McCardies, aren’t they? A gift, or have you finally been listening when I gushed about my favorite designers?”

“You guys did a wonderful job, this looks like something straight out of a semi-modern romantic illustration.” It really did--Kokichi could practically see young, pretty people lounging naked by a stream or in billowing robes facing against the wind. It was idyllic in the best way. 

Grinning up at Temp, Kokichi leaned into the shoulder clap. “I’m glad I still got to see you today--thanks! Please say hi to Addie for me; and thanks so much for looking after Miya tomorrow too. Seriously, if there’s any treats or cool shit you want from the festival, just let us know and we’ll hook you up in a snap.” Kokichi knew Temp wouldn’t have offered if he wasn’t okay with it, and he was going to be looking after Addason anyway--Kokichi assumed the nanny had the holiday off--but…still. It was kind, and if there was anything Kokichi could do to bring some of the festival to Temp, he’d do it. 

Though, as soon as his greetings were given, Kokichi was swept up by his other friend, returning Stacy’s hug with a bright giggle. “That’d be the day, right? Nah, my sibling got me these--they’re the perfect intersection of fashion and bright and fun that it’s something we can both enjoy. Thanks, Stacchan! And thanks for helpin’ Shuu-chan out with all this!”

“It was no problem~” Stacy said, an excited smile on her face as she pulled him in for another hug. Though, Kaito was a little baffled when she hugged him next, saying brightly, “You two have fun!”

“Alright, I’m taking Stac and Temp home, then I’ll come back here to pick you guys up and bring you back to the castle in, say… two hours?” Amber asked, half-asking Shuichi, half asking Kokichi and Kaito, “Three hours at most? Should give you plenty of time to eat. Two or three, final offer?”

Kokichi was mildly surprised to hear that Stacy and Amber (or even just Stacy, since Amber would be taking Temp back home) wouldn’t be staying, but…well, it kind of made sense if he took the time to think about it. This was Shuuichi’s gift to him and…it was nice to have something for the three of them. 

“I could kinda see myself getting lost in how beautiful it is out here,” Kokichi sighed wistfully, his eyes already wandering. “I think a three hour maximum would work for me. Guys?”

Shuichi seemed to hesitate… before nodding. “Yes, that’s perfect. Thank you again, Amber.”

“N~ooooo problem.” Amber said, drawing Shuichi into a hug real quick– everyone was so huggy today, Kaito was surprised– before giving them all another elaborate bow, “I’ll be back, you guys have fun! Stacy, Temp, in the carriage! We’re heading out!”

“I’ll keep you company in the front, Amber.” Stacy offered, heading to the front.

Temp stretched, “I’ll take a nap then. Sleep with no suddenly crying infants. Luxurious.”

Kaito watched the carriage head down, before going to check out the view again. “Geez, this is pretty… how’d you find this place, Shuichi?”

“Maki asked around,” Shuchi shrugged, again, something incredibly shy in the gesture. It had been a long time since Kaito had seen Shuichi this uncertain. Clearly wanting to impress, but as the carriage rolled away, the big reveal done, Shuchi pressed his hand together in front of his waist, dipping his head slightly like he might have been trying to hide under the hat he wasn’t wearing, “Um… so we have food… I didn’t think to bring any games or anything…”

“Thank you!” Kokichi called out, waving as his friends left. He really thought that he’d only see them tomorrow, so even for a brief moment…it was really nice. Getting to share his happiness on this day with them. 

But for the two people he wanted to spend it with most…

Kokichi smiled softly at Shuuichi’s shy demeanor, going up to him and cupping his hands before leaning in to softly kiss his cheek, wondering if a hatless Shuuichi was part of his gift too. “Hey, as long as you have a mind you have games, but…”

“Sweetheart, this is amazing.” Kokichi gestured to the field and the canopy. “Having lunch together somewhere straight out of a painting? You setting up this big, fancy reveal? I love this. This is an incredible birthday surprise, and I love you for it.”

Another kiss before giving Shuuichi more space, cracking a bit of a smile. “Now, I wasn’t so hungry when we got back from the aquarium, buuuut it’s been a few hours since then. Let’s eat!”

Taking advantage of the canopy, Shuichi distributed the food onto the picnic blanket, the variety of food both as delicious as it was descriptive. Both Kokichi and Kaito had clearly been kept in mind, a good mixture of vegetable dishes that were cooked and seasoned in Dicean seasonings, chicken and potatoes that suited Kaito in particular, breads and appetizers that had absolutely had Kokichi in mind. The most impressive thing was the two decorative… cakes? 

Kaito peered at it, the little decorative gelatin cakes familiar, only in the sense that he was certain he saw them at… harvest festival? Maybe? He was certain he had seen Kokichi with a smaller one of these. It was almost painfully beautiful, one of them filled with what looked like flowers, but was apparently some sort of chocolate, and the other filled with ‘fish’ that Shuichi explained was actually a dense sort of colorful cream, Kaito’s gelatin cake looking like a pond of water, Kokichi’s looking like a garden. 

Kaito was eating through some of the denser food as he looked appraisingly at the desserts, “...it kinda feels mean to cut into that. What does that even taste like?”

“I’m not sure,” Shuichi admitted sheepishly, having been enjoying dipping some bread into soup himsel, just letting each piece soak before popping it into his mouth. Shuichi had been mostly quiet so far, watching Kokichi and Kaito chat and gush about the meal and the day, a good amount of time having already been spent with Kokichi gushing about the penguins and his gifts. “I’ve never tried one, but they look really nice. I hope they taste good.”

Kokichi had absolutely gushed over the meal, had even scampered around the picnic blanket to give Shuuichi a huge hug when he saw the art desserts, cooing over how Shuuichi had gotten them personalized ones. And even with Kaito teasing about the green bean side Shuuichi had gotten, Kokichi was joyfully eating everything. 

“There’s not really anything else I can think to compare them too,” Kokichi hummed, demolishing the last of his soup with the last of his bread. “And it is a bummer to cut them up, but…well, they’re not gonna last forever anyway, and it’s better to eat them when they’ll taste the best. It can really depend on the flavors, but…it’s like a more dense jello. Usually less strongly flavored too, though some folks go wild.”

Sticking his tongue out a little, Kokichi leaned over to cut into his little cake, getting satisfaction from how the gelatin cut so cleanly. “Let’s try it together, Shuu-chan! I’ll bet it’s gonna be real good.”

Shuichi laughed lightly, putting his bread and soup aside and scooting over, “Sure… um, let me grab a spoon, we’ll try it together.”

Kaito watched them, amused, as Shuichi found a spoon, scooping up a piece of the cake that Kokichi had cut, and waiting on Kokichi’s cue, both of them taking a bite… “Mmmm~” Shuichi said, looking pleased, “It’s subtle, but I kind of like it better for it. It’s definitely been flavored with some sort of berry, but I can’t put my finger on it…”

Inspired watching them, Kaito put his food aside and, mostly just wanting to see what a cut piece would look like, cut into his own cake, admiring one of the fish from the side… before popping a piece into his mouth.

“...mine tastes like dragon fruit with, like, vanilla cream.” Kaito realized, peering into the gelatin as he said, “Look, you can even still see the seeds in it, it’s kinda adding to the water look, muddying it a bit. Neat~ you guys should try mine, it’s good.”

Shuichi looked notably relieved, “Good. I was worried about yours Kaito. You can be kind of hard to pin down, when it comes to desserts.”

“Am I? I love it, it’s really good! Thanks for thinking of me, handsome!”

Shuichi smiled shyly, fidgeting at that.

“Mmmm! Yeah! Like…hmmm… Maybe it’s a berry mix? They kinda get a whole new flavor that’s, like, extreme berry that way, but not something you can quite pin down. There’s a little tartness, sweetness, of course, that kind of berry tang… Whatever it is, it’s really good with the chocolate. Makes sense, since chocolate-covered strawberries are so huge, but still! A great dessert!”

Kokichi nodded excitedly to Kaito’s judgement of his own dessert, dragonfruit its own sort of subtle flavor, but that would probably just pair even better with the vanilla…

Noticing Shuuichi fidgeting, Kokichi offered his boyfriend a kind smile. “...you know you’re amazing right? If Shuu-chan makes a plan for something, then of course I’m gonna end up loving it--you’re just that brilliant. It’s alright to be nervous, but…you okay?”

Shuichi immediately stilled, now rigid still as he nodded, “Yes, I’m fine. Of course.”

Kaito glanced back and forth between the two, curious… before saying cheerfully, “It’s such a nice view up here, do you guys wanna take our slice of cake and sit on the side of the hill a bit? Watch the view?”

Shuichi immediately started cutting them more pieces, giving both of them pieces of each cake, before seeming to remember to do the same for himself last minute, saying, “Yes, let’s do that. It’s a nice view, the wind feels good, and you can kind of lay back on it and still see everything comfortably a little ways down. It’s a nice view. It’ll be nice.” 

“Heck yeah it will be.” Kaito said, though he said it though a spoon, still enjoying his dessert, so it came out, “he’sh y’a n ‘illbwe.”

…hm. 

But he’d let it play out. No fun ruining any surprises, and if something was actually wrong, Kokichi would rather Shuuichi come to them when he was ready. 

“Seriously, so picturesque… I’m gonna go through this memory so many times just to relive this, and then another batch to get the best angles to paint…not that that’ll be hard to find,” Kokichi giggled, his head on a swivel as they walked out of the canopy. “I could probably fill a dozen canvasses and still have ideas for more.”

The sun was still bright and hot, but not so bad that it was uncomfortable to sit under it for fun--and Kokichi had applied more sunscreen for the afternoon. Spreading his legs wide as he settled down on the soft grass--trying not to squash any flowers--Kokichi raised his face to the sun with a happy sigh before looking out over the field, all the different flowers like splotted dots across a canvas of green…

“This is lovely…”

“It really is.” Kaito grinned, sitting cross legged for a bit as he ate his cake, but not being the type to take time with his food, it wasn’t long before he put his empty plate aside, and stretched out, chuckling as he crossed his leg and put his hand behind his head, watching the view quietly for a bit before suddenly declaring, “I’m gonna chew on a flower.”

“What?” Shuichi startled, looking over from Kokichi other side, fussing lightly with his food, his contemplative nature temporarily startled, “Why?”

“I’ve seen so many picture of people hanging out in fields chewing on, like, grass pieces and stuff? I wanna see what all the fuss is about! And flowers seem nicer to chew on than grass.” Kaito grinned, looking around for an appropriately sized plant, before spotting a little puffy yellow flower, asking, “Anyone know what these yellow ones are called? If they’re poisonous?”

“Kaito, don’t just stick random nature things in your mouth, you could hurt yourself.” Shuichi said dryly, a little exasperated, “We have so much food, just eat if you’re still hungry.”

“It’s not hunger, handsome! It’s aesthetic!” Kaito insisted, still peering at the flower in question, “Babe? Any idea?”

“I dunno, hun, flowers can be kind of bitter…” Still, there was a laugh in Kokichi’s eyes as he ate his cakes at a more leisurely pace, enjoying the moment. 

Though, he did peer over to hum at the flower Kaito picked. “Mmm…there are too many petals and they’re too big to be a dandelion, and I don’t think chrysanthemums grow in fields like this…It kinda looks like a small marigold? Which are definitely edible--people make tea out of ‘em regularly.”

“Still dunno if that means they’re that tasty as is to chew on,” Kokichi giggled, raising an eyebrow.

“Sounds like a ringing endorsement to me!” Kaito declared, ignoring Shuichi’s little tsk and Kokichi’s giggle as he cut the marigold stem with his thumb nail, giving it a small sniff before putting the stem between his teeth, holding it there…

“...well?” Shuichi asked curiously.

“Dunno what I was expecting. Taste like ‘plant’.” Kaito said between gritted teeth, shrugging before looking to the others, “Do I look cool at least?”

“You look like a man holding the stem of a flower in his front teeth.”

“So… devilishly handsome, then?” Kaito guessed, before taking it out from his teeth, chuckling. “Actually, I bet it’d look super cute on Kokichi. Here, babe.” 

Wiping off the stem, Kaito tucked the little flower behind Kokichi’s ear, brightening up as he looked at him, “Shuichi, check it out! I’m a genius!” 

Shuichi peered over, “... it does look kind of sweet.” he admitted with a small flush.

There was something more sweet looking for the frond coming out of Kaito’s mouth to end in a flower. It felt like something people would ravenously use for metaphors. Or surrealism. Still, he gave Kaito a thumbs up for the look. 

And stayed accommodatingly still as Kaito tucked the flower behind his ear, fondly recalling a few times his husband had done the same. Beaming at his partners, Kokichi cupped his jaw and tilted his head this way and that, showing off. “Yeah? Can stand up to the rest of my outfit? I know I should always trust the king of accessorizing to know what would bring my look together.”

Giggling a little more, Kokichi popped the last bite of the dragonfruit cake in his mouth, taking a deep breath of the sweet field air. “...I don’t suppose I could make flowercrowns enticing for you guys, huh?”

“Why not? Kimiko showed me how to make them once, I bet I could do them again.” Kaito said, looking around and starting to collect the flowers needed, saying cheerfully, “Crowns for the princes and the lord! Also, Shuichi, ‘Ruby of the West’?”

Shuchi flushed lightly, “Amber came up with it. I just… wanted to call you something nice. For the summons, I mean.”

“Awwww, I love it, handsome. Man, we need a nickname for you… Kokichi, you had a weird one. What was it, the Eye of Noruas? What was that, a pun I didn’t catch or…?” Kaito asked, as Shuichi also started collecting resources.

Making a pleased sound, Kokichi started gathering flowers too. For a moment, he considered making a more stylisted one, but…that wasn’t very him, was it? Painting yourself with every color was what made things fun. So he started to collect every sort of flower that caught his eye, at least trying to get ones around the same size. 

“It really is a cute one,” Kokichi hummed in agreement before looking up with a slightly sheepish look. “It’s from the Duke of the Signet series? It’s the mystical eye that ‘sees all’. Doesn’t really fit Shuu-chan, since it’s used by one of the main antagonists, but…well, omnipotent information isn’t bad on its own.”

“Ah, I seeeeee,” Kaito said easily, looking specifically for various shades of red flowers, using roots to creature more of a structure so that he could get away with using less flowers. He smiled when he saw Shuichi leaning towards white flowers, and seeing they were smaller, helping him by collecting more and passing them over as he said, “Nerd references. That does suit our Shuichi. I’ve always loved the waterfall analogy for our Shuichi, there’s something about it that fits in my mind. Doesn’t make much of a title though.”

“I don’t really need a nickname.” Shuichi said softly, already working on putting his crown together, happily accepting Kaito’s help but also collecting little blue and yellow flowers to sprinkle among the white, “It’s enough to be yours.”

“Awwwww… what about… the Satin Quilt of Knowledge?” Katio tried, before frowning, “No, terrible…The Golden Ray of Moonlight. Harvest Moon? Something about moons and nighttime, there’s something there…”

“Mmm…yeah. Like, maybe there’d be a way to do it with the name of a particular waterfall, but that kind of makes it less personalized. And you’d have to be real choosey about which one you chose.”

Kokichi hummed, thinking as he started looping together his wild array of wildflowers, keeping the blooms a little tighter together than he had in past crowns, wanting to fit as many as he could. 

“Moons are poetically associated with, like secretive knowledge, and that does suit our Shuu-chan… Mm, I’d like to call you our Guiding Moon,” he grinned sweetly at their boyfriend. “Reliable even with different phases, a calming presence, though it’s the brightest thing in the night sky… Seems to fit to me, at least.”

“Oooooh, ‘Guiding Moon’... I like that too. It’s simple, but if we ever wanted to punch it up it could be, like, ‘Golden Guiding Moon’ or… or not, honestly, Guiding Moon is good by itself.” Kaito said appreciatively, while Shuichi laughed lightly. 

After a moment, Kaito, with deft, practiced fingers, held up his own crown, mostly brown, entwining root but with red flowers of various shades and sizes poking out in a way that ‘could’ have been random, if Kaito wasn’t such a nut for the specifically stylized ‘random’ look, grinning as he put it on, “Well? How’s it look? Do I look regal?”

Kokichi looked up, humming as he appraised Kaito’s crown. “Hmmmmmmm…. I like it! It’s like…king of the underground, kind of look. Like the kind of king that would stand calmly but decisively in the middle of the mole caves, directing his people to their stations to protect against a tunnel collapse. Very cool.”

Taking a few moments, Kokichi plopped his crown on his head, a mish-mash of colors and seemingly no flower placed twice within the crowded ring. “Whaddya think of mine?”

“Ha! Just as wild as my ‘Kichi ever is.” Kaito said, eying it with an admiring eye, before correcting himself, “Our ‘Kich, our ‘Kichi. Awwww, look at you… hold on, I gotta,” Kaito huffed, reaching over to fix the placing on Kokichi’s head, straightening it a little and then taking some times to readjust the flowers a little, making some of the placements more even as he murmured to himself, “Just a liiiiiitttle smoothing… just a tad… okay, I’m done.”

He took his hands back, admired Kokichi’s flower crown… “Okay, no, just a little more.”

Shuichi laughed slightly, “Here, Kaito, finish mine. You’re quicker at this then I am.”

Shuichi watched as Kaito, happy to be given a task, took Shuichi’s half-finished flower crown, and then seemed to lean into the fact that it was half done, thinning the back side into a line and bulking up the front with more flowers, asking Kokichi to pass him more flowers as he filled out the front… “Alright! Try this!”

Placing the crown on Shuichi’s head, the crown was a large display of white, with little specks of blue and fold, sort of coming across as a strange sort of half-halo, something refined and dignified about it, as the back part was mostly vine and leaves. “I’m biased, obviously, but I think it looks sophisticated.” Kaito said proudly, “‘Kichi?”

Kokichi giggled as Kaito fussed, sitting still dutifully under his husband’s hand. He wouldn’t quite say that his partners smoothed out his wildness, but…they had softened the jagged edges that poked through him too. Made it easier to rearrange those pieces into something fun again. 

Or maybe he was just in the mood to create a metaphor. 

Kokichi peered over as Kaito finished Shuuichi’s crown, ever nosy, but the design Kaito embellished on Shuuichi’s work, seeing on Shuuichi’s head. 

“Oh hell yeah,” Kokichi grinned, leaning over to give Shuuichi a kiss on his cheek. “Shuu-chan looks incredible. Your crown almost looks like something that people would sell out of fake flowers so you can wear it forever--a true, blue design. And one that’s almost as pretty as the head that’s wearing it!”

“Awww, heck yeah. I could totally design flower crowns for a living, I’d fix up mole-kings and pretty boys proper.” Kaito bragged, chuckling.

Shuichi watched the two of them laughing and making light jokes about the crowns, looking dazzling in the green grass under the blue sky…

He smiled uneasily. “Well… I guess I’ll never really know how to start this. But this seems… kind of as perfect as it can get. Um… sorry if it isn’t enough…”

Kaito gave Shuichi a curious look, the blue haired man standing up and circling around them, lowering himself slightly on the hill, sitting on his knees, looking fidgety and nervous, “Uh… what’s good enough, handsome?”

“Um…” Shuichi fidgeted some more, staring at the ground, “...I’m not certain if I should have done this today. It almost feels unfair…”

…Kokichi could feel nervous anticipation. The same kind of undercurrent he’d been feeling from Shuuichi since they showed up. There was a kind of…insecurity in it. But not dread. 

Staring up at Shuuichi with a small, curious smile… There was a lot you could infer by ambiantly feeling someone else’s feelings. By being good at reading the room. But you never really knew what was going on in someone else’s mind unless you delved deep and took and took…or you asked them

“...for the record, I’m not reading your mind,” Kokichi prefaced. “And you are not the type that would break up with a guy on his birthday, not that this feels like a lead up to something like that at all.”

Still… 

Kokichi gave Shuuichi a soft smile, a light, hopeful blush painting his cheeks as his heart fluttered. “...do you remember what we talked about on the carriage ride up to the waterfall? That day was so incredible…and even more since I got to spend it with you two. All the things I said… I still mean them every day, Shuu-chan. If anything, my feelings have only grown.”

“...and on the chance I’m not, just…way off base?” he laughed nervously, “Then…doing something like this on my birthday could only cement that this is the best birthday ever.”

Shuichi smiled at that, giving Kokichi a soft look. “I remember…”

Kaito looked back and forth between Kokichi and Shuichi, a look of slight alarm on his face at the talk of breakups. Wait, what? What was happening? Were they being broken up with? What? 

(There was a part of Kaito that, even in the face of overwhelming evidence, couldn’t see past his own expectations of himself. Of his place in relationships and the world and this relationship in particular.)

(Things like this didn’t happen to Kaito’s, so it just… never occurred to him that it would.)

(Was.)

And indeed, it was Shuichi glancing at Kaito that his uncertainty grew. Not dread. Not even really doubt. Just… uncertainty that he was doing this right, as he fiddled with something in his jacket.

“...I kind of picked today arbitrarily.” Shuichi admitted, his voice soft. “I was thinking about what I might want to get Kokichi, and this… just popped into my head. And once it was there, I just had a hard time thinking of trying anything else. I just… wanted to do it. All at once. Um, not the, the actual act itself, that’s been on the back of my mind for a while now, but the actual process? Picking a spot, actually doing the things to get it done? I thought ‘what should I get Kokichi’, this came to mind, and all at once I realized I just… wanted to do it.”

“...um.” Shuichi sighed softly. “...I love you both. And, I’m lucky, for that. There’s so many ways this might not have worked… I never thought something like this could work for me. I thought that I was just one of those people that this… love, and commitment, and… wanting it. Not just wanting it, but being offered it, uh, enthusiastically. A romantic relationship, I mean, um, partners… sorry.” Shuichi laughed lightly, reaching up to adjust his hat and remembering last second he wasn’t wearing it, pulling at his bangs a little, “I’m so nervous, I should have written something down.”

“...” Another steadying breath. Shuich pulled out a small bag, clearly something from Amber’s store, as he bowed his head, keeping himself low as he said, “You two? Kaito Momota? Kokichi Oma. Are the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And… you were there for me, when it would have been easier to dismiss me. And you supported me, when things got hard. And you raise our child, and you… make me feel secure. And loved. And happy, every day.”

Kaito’s eyes widened, “...oh my god, are you asking Kokichi to marry you?”

At that Shuchi laughed. Unable to hold the bow, looking up and giving Kaito a near baffled look, laughing some more, before saying, “Kaito… I wish I was more of a poet. Um… I love you both. I’d like to spend the rest of my life with you, because I love you, and I trust you love me. And for me, that’s more than I’ve ever dared hope for. You’re more than I’ve ever dared hope for. You two make my life a cheesy copper-coin romance novel… you’re impossible. And wonderful. And I want to make you mine, and tell the world that I was lucky enough to get the impossible.”

Bowing his head agan, Shuichi held out the bag, and said softly. “I love you. Kokichi, Kaito… please marry me.”

Kokichi couldn’t claim to really know. His wedding had been planned out even before he knew about it, at least in the proposal, and most of the time leading up to the formality was spent with a pit of dread in his stomach. 

But he did know what it felt like to be so at ease and in love with someone you knew loved you back that you could see you both spending your whole lives together. Kokichi had expressed that very sentiment on the carriage ride to the waterfall. Feelings didn’t always stay the same, but…Kokichi had said yes months ago. 

As his smile widened, elated tears started to prick at Kokichi’s eyes, his heart pittering out a song of love. And as Shuuichi said the words proper…

“Pfff, YES! Of course! Damn it, Shuu-chan,” he laughed out through his tears, surging forward to hug his fiance, “I wanted to ask you proper for months--I thought Kai-chan was gonna be my only competition for asking first. This is what I get for dragging my feet…”

“A million times, yes.”

Shuichi lit up, having to adjust quickly to not let Kokichi accidentally tackle him down the hill, catching him in his launch. Even as he steadied his legs, there was still a brief moment where it looked like they’d fall back, but a hand was quickly on his wrist, and Shuichi smiled as he saw Kaito’s concerned, quick movement, catching him and pulling them back straight as Shuichi used his free arm to hug Kokichi back. “You can thank Amber for it all getting done in time, when I told her what I wanted to do she just became a woman on a mission… I thought about putting it off to a better time, but I wasn’t sure how busy Zenith would be, and, well… I just really wanted too. Once you know, you know… and I’ve known for a while now.”

Shuichi hugged Kokichi tight, burying his face against his hair, closing his eyes and enjoying the yes for a moment… before he opened his golden eyes, looking to Kaito. Kaito had been the one he had been… less certain would enthusiastically say yes. The real risk. Because…

“I know things have been hard.” Shuichi said softly to Kaito, who was still watching them, stunned, still holding his wrist like he wasn’t entirely certain his partners wouldn’t fall back and down the hill if he wasn’t vigilant, “I thought, maybe I should wait, till we were farther from everything that happened, and that maybe it was unfair to do this on Kokichi’s birthday… but I love you. And maybe this is selfish, but I couldn’t wait to ask, once I had decided…” 

Shuichi hesitated, unable to read Kaito’s expression, before, still holding Kokichi, Shuichi held out the bag to Kaito, “...I can’t demand that you answer now. That’s not fair. I’ll wait if you need time. But I can’t deny my feelings. I love you, Kaito. I want to marry you. Please say yes.”

Kaito gave Shuichi a long, stunned look… before he suddenly looked startled. Almost panicked as he said, “Oh my god, do you think I’m going to say no!? No! I mean, yes! Yes, absolutely, I just… shit, fuck, sorry, I was just so fucking surprised, uh! Fuck, are you sure!?”

“Am I sure?” Shuichi asked, blinking, still just holding the bag out to him. “...yes?”

“Well, I mean, I, I mean, you can marry Kokichi if you just wan–”

“Kaito Momota, please marry me.”

“I just mean, it’s okay if you’re uncertai–”

“Kaito Momota, please marry me.”

“I-I, of course, I want too, I’m saying yes, I just mean if you’re sure–”

“Kaito!” Shuichi laughed, looking happy and baffled and overjoyed and just the tiniest bit annoyed as he held the bag out to him again, “I love you. I want to marry you, Kaito Momota, and your husband, Kokichi Ouma. I am sure. I am certain. Please… marry me!”

Kaito grinned, eyes burning red, before laughing with his whole chest, taking the bag and, bowing low back, holding the bag to his chest, he said, “Yes. I swear it.”

And then he tackled them, and pulled them back against him so they wouldn’t tip towards the incline, and he held them both as tightly as he could.

-

Kokichi skipped out of the carriage, still giggling and looking at his right hand every few minutes, despite the excessive time he and Amber had spent giggling to each other when she returned to pick them all up. Shuuichi hadn’t gone for any wild designs--Kokichi knew anything he would’ve tried to pick in secret for Shuuichi would’ve been too much--but even still…the simple silver tungsten ring felt so…symbolic. Kokichi’s wedding ring on his left hand was very purposefully made that way, the gold with the swirl of ivory, taking one of the colors of each kingdom and marrying them together into something beautiful. Silver wasn’t an official color of either Dicea or Luminary, but it was still something that matched beautifully with all of them. His Shuuichi, unique yet fitting perfectly~

As much as Kokichi wanted to show off to everyone in the world, there were a few people he wanted to tell first. Maki only got pulled from that list because she already knew, though he was going to want to gush to her anyway, as much as she’d simply suffer through it. Happy for them, but not overly sentimental.

(Or, who knew, really. This was her brother getting married, even if Shuuichi had been theirs and they his for ages.)

Turning to his husband and FIANCE!!!! Kokichi gave them an eager look, bouncing on his feet. “Hey, I wanna go find my dad--can I meet up with you guys later? Unless you wanna come with?” He didn’t quite say that there were probably people they wanted to tell too, but…well, they could make that decision.

Kaito waved Amber off, thanking her again for all the help today as Shuichi watched him with some amusement, a little bewildered every time Kaito thanked her, which had been a few times now. He guessed Kaito was just happy it happened, or maybe he just wasn’t sure how he was supposed to be acting as the ‘surprised’ party. Kaito seemed to keep going back and forth between acting like he had known all this was happening all along and looking just… randomly puzzled. 

Maybe Shuichi was just bad at reading Kaito. 

For instance, as soon as he was done thanking Amber like he had asked her for help with all of this personally, he went immediately back to looking puzzled, adjusting his simple gold band, which despite Shuichi assuring them both they didn’t have to stack them on their ring fingers, considering they were already occupied, Kaito had done so anyway. The simple golden band looked less jarring then Shuichi had feared next to the more elaborately decorated wedding ring, but then, he had picked it as a temporary placeholder ring anyway. So he supposed it didn’t really matter what it looked like next to the wedding ring… but Shuichi was still glad it wasn’t to garish and out of place. 

Kaito was spinning it idly around his finger, looking at it with that pleased, puzzled expression, before looking up with Shuichi at his question. “Hm? Oh, no, go ahead babe, go spread the news! I’m gonna go tell Tim and Miya that dad’s engaged~” 

Shuichi smiled, “I’d be up to seeing Ikou’s expression, for however much there might be to it. The man’s so stoic, it’d be interesting to see him take that sort of news.”

“Stoic??” Kaito asked, giving Shuichi a more bewildered look, “Ikou???”

“...yes?” Shuichi asked, blinking at Kaito in equal bewilderment.

“Short guy, sweet eyes, wears the hat?”

“The… yes? Why are you talking like I couldn’t be talking about Ikou? The man’s expressions are glaciers.”

“Man, I just got engaged to someone who’s blind apparently.” Kaito chuckled, giving Shuichi a small kiss before winking at Kokichi, “You have fun spreading the news. Not every day you get engaged! Have fun guys.”

Kokichi could feel that Kaito was a little overwhelmed. Not in the way Kokichi tended to get, but more…like he couldn’t quite believe this was happening, despite it making perfect sense and being something he wanted. It was far from a negative reaction, though, so Kokichi could only laugh a little at Kaito’s goggle-view of his dad and wave him off as he broke off from the two of them. 

“Woooow…engaged,” Kokichi sighed dreamily, giggling again as he took Shuuichi’s hand and headed towards Ikuo’s room. “We’re fiances now… I almost tackled you down a hill. That’s gonna be a story to re-tell to Miya-Miya when she’s older. She’s gonna be so embarrassed that we love each other so much.”

Shuichi tightened his hold against Kokichi, a rush of relief and affection running through him, as it had been pretty steadily since everything had happened, as he said, “I do love you. Even if you throw us down a hill. It’s what I get for telling you I love you on a hill, it’s my own fault really.”

Laughing, Shuichi reached up to adjust his hat, frowning slightly as he forget he wasn’t wearing it again. He had wanted to make a gesture in his appearance, for the proposal. Had wanted to look… nice. And they always talked like his hat was some sort of crime against his hair… it was a little strange to walk without it. His hair kept moving around his face, and he felt wind against his skull as he moved. Weird. 

“I was fairly confident you’d both say yes. I wouldn’t have asked if that was in question,” Shuichi admitted, as they headed up, “But I was really worried that it wouldn’t feel… special? I wanted it to feel special. To be a happy event. You seem happy. Are you happy?”

“That’s a pretty special kind of love, yanno? That it’d stick around even if I made us fall.”

That was kind of what Shuuichi had said in his proposal. They hadn’t just been around each other and dating while everything was fine, hadn’t just navigated minor spats. Honestly…they had stuck together through some of the hardest and worst times in each others’ lives. Sometimes it almost tore them apart, sometimes it was too much to handle, but they were all still together. Despite the struggles and pain, they had decided that their love was worth it, and they worked for that love. 

All that said more than any vow in the moment could mean. 

But love wasn’t all fighting through strife. Laughing brightly, Kokichi hugged Shuuichi’s arm and popped up to kiss his cheek. “Shuu-chan!! I know I’m the one better at reading the room, but tell me I’m not happy! Sweetheart, I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier!!”

Calming slightly, Kokichi shook his head though his grin remained. “I know it all doesn’t fit, but…you all have been making me feel so special all day. And then for Shuu-chan to set up the mystique of an outing, find such a beautiful place and set up a picnic… You’ve painted a new place in my heart with all this, and it’s an area I’m going to cherish for the rest of my life.”

“People are gonna get sick of me telling the story over and over, though they’ll be properly awed and impressed at least the first time ‘round,” he snorted.

Shuichi’s smile widened, again, that rush of relief. He still had some fears that he might have rushed it, that all of this might not have been entirety fair to Kaito. But his explanation to Kaito had been honest: he had just wanted to ask them so badly. His certainty that he wanted to do it pushing him forward, making every day he didn’t ask almost painful, in his desire. Kokichi’s birthday had just been his first real opportunity to… make it special. And he had leapt for it. 

Shuichi had been slow to trust all of this. To trust that Kokichi and Kaito loved him for what this was. Who he was. But then… well…

“...it was when you showed me what your love looked like.” Shuichi said quietly, hoping he was being vague enough in the halls to not be putting Kokichi at risk, but hoping Kokichi would know what he meant, as he continued softly, “I’ve wanted to do it since then. Ask you, I mean. You’ve both proven your love to me a thousand times, but…” Shuchi smiled warmly at Kokichi, “I don’t even know if I can explain it to you, Kokichi. Feeling that… it wiped away every bit of doubt in my mind. Doubts I didn’t even realize I still had. And I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Kokichi gave his boyfriend a soft look, squeezing his hand. “...normally, even when you know someone really well, when you’ve spent years together and can finish each other's sentences, when you can predict more or less how they’d react to things, and you know exactly what they’d be excited to go do or what gift they’d like most…”

“No one ever knows anyone else fully. People don’t even understand themselves fully, since we’re always growing and changing and learning. No matter how well you know someone, there are always going to be new things to discover about them, and things they’ll do that’ll surprise you. A lot of the time, I think that’s something really wonderful,” Kokichi laughed softly. “It means that you can spend a lifetime learning someone. It means there’s endless fun.”

“...but it also means that there’s never a zero chance of uncertainty. There’s never a pure confirmation of someone’s intentions or feelings. There’s just…trust you have to place in what they share with you, in what they say.”

“That trust is really important, but…” Kokichi squeezed Shuuichi’s hand again. “...I like that I have the option to show you my pure sincerity. That, at least for some things, there’s a way I can completely diminish that uncertainty. …I haven’t wanted to overwhelm him, but…I wanna show Kai-chan that too.”

“I’m sure it’ll be a nice moment.” Shuichi laughed lightly, “I’d be jealous, but, well…” Shuichi smirked, nudging Kokichi’s shoulder a little, “I did just ask him to marry me on hill over a field of flowers, so, like… you get to fill him with magically sincere love, I get to do all the big, physical declarations of love. Afterwards we’ll stress him out making him choose which one he found more special and watch him flounder trying to not insult one of us.” 

“...I love him so much.” Shuichi smiled, chest light with happiness, almost giddy. “I love you both so much. We’re engaged. Kokichi. We’re going to get married. How is that even happening? No offense, Kokichi, but marrying two princes in a forieng country as a newly freed indentured… ridiculous. My life is a cheap novela.” 

Kokichi giggled, nuzzling into Shuuichi’s shoulder. “Maybe I should start giving those copper stories more credit, since this feels anything but cheap. We’re getting maaaaarried!!!”

To his own credit, Kokichi managed to keep his voice down (compared to the shouting song he wanted to belt over the stairwell for the whole castle to hear) and while he was still smiling almost deliriously, he was relatively calm as they came to Ikuo’s door, Kokichi rapping excitedly on it.

Lucky for them to not have to go on a wild goose chase through the castle, Ikuo opened the door after a moment, calm and pleased to see them. “Yer back--have a nice time out fer Shu’chi’s surprise?”

Kokichi nodded excitedly, wanting to gush over everything, but first things first…

“It was incredible, Daddy! Shuu-chan took us out to one of the fields kinda north of here, and it was covered in wildflowers and he an’ Am-chan, Stacchan, and Temp set up lunch and this big canopy, AND-!!”

Kokichi held his right hand up, the tungsten ring shining gently even in the light of the hall. “Shuu-chan asked me an’ Kai-chan to marry him!!”

Ikuo, who had been nodding along with Kokichi’s quick explanation, paused, eyes growing wide before he grabbed his cap and lowered it to his chest, staring amazed at Kokichi and Shuuichi. And, gently, though without aplomb, he pulled both men into a hug. “Yer gettin’ hitched?! Oh Bunny…Shu’chi…”

“Lucky for me, yes.” Shuichi laughed, easily leaning into the hug, patting him gently on the back as he squeeeezed. Oof. “They both said yes, and they only made me beg and grovel a little bit. Your son was very gracious, Ikou. I…”

Shuichi suddenly laughed a little, gently pulling back and giving Ikou a sheepish look, “I didn’t really tell anyone I was going to do this until literally this morning. It’s occurred to me in literally just this moment maybe I should have told you before I asked. Uh… I don’t know if she’s done it yet? But I apologize if this results in a new series of suddenly weirdly inquisitive and insistent conversations with my mentor. When she finds out, if there was anything she didn’t think was worth looking into from the pregnancy, uh… well, she’s nosy. I apologize if she ends up a little… much.”

“It was incredible!” Kokichi laughed, hugging his dad back. “We sat on a hill and Shuu-chan got in front of us and was so sweet and…I mean, I really could believe it, but I couldn’t believe it in that super exciting way?!?! I almost tackled us down the hill but Kai-chan caught Shuu-chan and stopped us, even when he joined the hug.”

Reluctantly, Ikuo let them go, shaking his head with misty eyes. “M so happy fer ya, boys… How wonderful.”

“An’ it ain’t no bother, Shu’chi, If I weren’t as familiar wi’cha, I’d be pokin’ my own nose in too. But as it is…well, ya already are fam’ly. This’ll just be another way ta say it, an’ I coul’n’ be happier ta have ya all over again.”

Looking between them, affixing his hat back on, Ikuo tilted his head a little. “Y’all got a plan ‘bout tellin’ folks at large? Wouldn’ tread on yer toes if y’all were gon’ spread personally first.”

“I have to figure out where my mentor even is today… actually?” Shuichi scoffed, rolling his eyes, “I’m not going to worry about that. If she doesn’t find out before I get around to tell her by this point, then she’s slipping. Beyond that, there’s no one I personally am rushing to tell myself. Maybe Nadya? But I’m sure we’ll see her out in the festivities somewhere tomorrow, we can just tell her then. Drake!” Shuichi said, lighting up a little, “I can tell him, he’d be happy for me. Though, again, chances are good we might see him around tomorrow anyway. I’m not worried about it.”

Giving Ikou an amused look, Shuichi teased gently, “You and I both missed the last wedding. Guess this is both our second chance to watch Kokichi get married, huh?”

“Oh, yeah, Nadya-chan said she wanted to try and catch us tomorrow,” Kokichi nodded, just…choosing not to say that something like proposing was something a parent would want to hear in person, if they had the option, regardless of finding out it had happened. Shuuichi and Kyouko had their own relationship. “Her boyfriend is going to be in town and she wanted to introduce us all.”

Ikuo huffed a laugh, giving Shuuichi a warm look. “An’ ‘m still kickin’ m’self fer it. I wouldn’ miss y’all’s weddin’ fer th’ world. Jus’ gotta ‘scuse th’ mess ‘m gon’ make ‘a m’self watchin’.”

To himself, Kokichi wondered if they would have the wedding while Kyouko, Nekomaru, and Oliver were still in town. He wondered if the mentors would insist.

“Honestly, I think this wedding’s gonna be a lot more fun than the last one,” Kokichi shook his head a little. “Sure, all the obvious stuff but…this time, it’s just gonna be for us. Not more about some political thing, for how important the treaty signing was.”

They did have to consider a lot about the wedding itself, but…for now? Kokichi was still basking in the ring on his finger and the man holding his hand who wanted to keep doing that for their whole lives.

-

“...wait, but you’re already married to Uncle Kokichi.” Timothy reminded Kaito, who nodded patiently.

“Yep. I’m going to be married to both.”

Timothy frowned, “...is Uncle Kokichi okay with that?”

“He’s getting married to Uncle Shuichi too.”

“Oh. Is that allowed?” Timothy asked, before suddenly looking like he understood as he said, “Oh, is this like how I’m ‘your son’? Like, married like that?”

“What? Why did you say it like that? You are my son.”

“I mean, like… unofficially?”

Kaito winced slightly at that, before shaking his head, “No, no, it’ll be official. It’s going to be… um, well, I guess you could call it a polyamourus marriage? I think that’s legal in Dicea. We’re doing that.”

“Oh… so is Miyako going to be your official daughter then?”

“...” Kaito peered at Timothy, seeing nothing but honest confusion on the kids face, “... you know what, when we go to the diner this weekend? You and I are gonna sit down and look at, uh, some paperwork and get this all cleared up, okay? But don’t worry about any of that for now. Just, for now, the only thing that’s important is that we’re going to do a little ritual that’s just going to be letting Shuichi show off his two handsome partners, okay? And I’d like you to celebrate the wedding with us, you and your mom, and just… be happy for us? Without worrying too much about the paperwork. It’s not about the paperwork.”

“Okay… are you happy?” Tim asked, petting Chase’s head, who was panting next to him, the two having been playing chase when Kaito had found them.

Kaito grinned, “Yes. I’m thrilled. Your uncle made me very happy today.”

Timothy considered this… before nodding, “Alright then. I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, kid. I love you.”

-

Shuuichi didn’t end up tagging along for all of them, but for the second time that day Kokichi set about tracking down his family members. They were all happy to see him, but a little confused since he’d already thanked them for the birthday gifts… Until he held up his hand and dropped the bombshell, prompting various reactions of excited screaming and hugging and quiet approval and scheming looks. 

And at the very end, Kokichi found his way up to the fifth floor, going up the little half staircase into the observatory, and settling down in front of the portrait of Dr. Miyako Hoshino. Something that used to be a common habit, but had dwindled drastically in the last year. 

“Hi, Mom.”

-

By the time Kokichi made his way back down the stairs it was dinnertime, and while the banner from that morning was still up and still brought a grin to Kokichi’s face, his gaze was admittedly more fixed on the dishes laid out on the banquet table. 

Several smoked fish laid out on roasted beets, a large bowl of a colorful melon ball salad, platters of grilled asparagus that Kokichi could see the pepper flakes on, a jug of speckled strawberry lemonade, platters of bright and friendly pink strawberry cupcakes, but…most bizarrely…

“We’re having udon? Here?” Kokichi wondered aloud, just…amazed. Sure enough, Forrest was standing by a set of large pots, putting together bowls as people came by. The kitchen staff almost never put things on the menu that wouldn’t be okay sitting out in large quantities since…well, someone would have to babysit it. 

(But Kokichi had been talking about soup noodles more and more lately, wanting to share all the varieties with his family. So…just for him…)

He was still in a bit of a daze as he found a table to sit at with all his food, people on later shifts wishing him a happy birthday in cascades like that morning.

“Let me see it,” Maki prompted, peering at Kaito’s engagement ring as she sucked down a large noddle, before raising an eyebrow at Shuichi, “You know, when you told me you got ‘basic’ rings, I didn’t realize how literally you meant that.” 

“Hey! Come on, Maki, I love it! It’s… dignified!” Kaito insisted, moving his hand over and covering it from her judging eyes.

Shuichi laughed lightly at that, poking curiously at a little swirling mushroom thing, carefully cutting it into smaller pieces, along with the rest of his noodles, as he said, “I thought if I gave them something simple, they could customize it how they see fit. Kaito and Kokichi know what they want to wear more than I do. The most I did was make sure the sizing was right and gave them starting metals they wouldn’t hate wearing in public.”

“Pffff, gold for me, and what is that, a sort of silver for Kokichi?” Kaito asked, trying to get a better look at Kokichi’s hand without actually physically taking it to see, “You’re lucky I’m gaudy, handsome, else I might feel like you’re suggesting I’m high-maintenance.” 

“Isn’t being gaudy being high maintenance?” Maki mused. 

“Hey! You are half the reason I look like this! Earrings this, earring that–”

“You don’t have to actually wear earrings just because I gave you the holes.”

“Well, what would be the point of having them if I didn’t wear them!?”

Kokichi handed over his hand with a dazed little laugh, crunching on a watermelon ball as they debated Kaito’s fashion. “Amber said it was tungsten--it’s a really durable metal. I won’t have to worry about accidentally scratching it, and apparently they stay shiny really easily without having to be buffed. Can’t really get anything inlaid, but I kinda like the simplicity of it--that’s the reason my other one hasn’t driven me crazy yet.”

Grinning at Shuuichi, he hummed, “Denji-chan even complimented your choice, so you know it’s good. Shuu-chan got me a perfect ring!” After that he looked a little sheepish. “I know you didn’t say anything about it when Ikuo asked, but I really hope you weren’t hoping to keep this on the downlow. I’ve been telling people all afternoon.”

“Kinda wanna shout it from the rooftop, actually,” he chuckled, popping a piece of fried tofu in his mouth. 

“It doesn’t really matter who hears, there’s no one it’d pay to keep it secret from,” Shuichi said, glancing at Maki, who nodded. They had discussed it. In detail, the pros and cons, the dangers. But ultimately it all summed up too– “I don’t think Luminary would recognize the marriage, so nothing changes there. And in Dicea, legally, I don’t think there’s any major differences in me being your acknowledged partner and husband. So… no real harm done, nothing at risk.”

“I’ll still talk to Kaede about it. Get ahead of anything.” Kaito was quick to assure, a bit of apprehension at the idea of reaching out to the queen again– they hadn’t spoken directly since she had made him recognize her reign– but knowing his family would be better off so long as he kept his finger on the pulse of these things. He was… fairly certain so long as he kept himself entirely open to her, she’d work with him to keep his family out of the Luminary politics. She had to be confident Kaito didn’t want the throne, and keeping literally anything from her or being dodgy about anything might put doubt into her head.

Kaito didn’t want that. A Kaede who couldn’t trust you couldn’t be trusted. He’d talk to her soon, maybe even tonight.

“So, hopefully, I get to actually come to this wedding,” Maki said, chewing on a beansprout as she leaned her elbow against the table, raising an eyebrow at them, “What should I be expecting? Way I hear it, all the formality in the last wedding was for Luminary’s benefit. Aren’t Dicean parties just, like… a party? What’s that gonna be like?”

“Um…” Kaito shrugged, “I mean, I feel like Shuichi should get to pick how it all goes–”

“No. Not happening.” Shuchi said dryly, “The only reason this proposal was nice at all was because I had Maki, Stacy, Amber and Temp helping me plan how it was going to go. You can’t leave me in charge of planning the wedding. It’ll end up just being a quiet dinner, I don’t know how to plan a party, wedding or otherwise.”

Though it wouldn’t change anything if Luminary wouldn’t recognize the marriage, it was probably good to let Kaede know, even outside of, yanno, family notices. Get as many status weirdos off their back from the start. And though Kokichi was positive Shuuichi would never take the Ouma oath, Ouma marriages tended to be a bigger deal too. Sure, they’d already announced that they were in a relationship and all raising their daughter together, but if they were going to acknowledge a marriage, there would probably be a need to put an official announcement out there too. 

Aiichi had already offered to get it done, if they had no objections. 

So…with the tedious business stuff discussed…they had the fun stuff next. 

Kokichi perked up, chuckling a bit as he slurped his noodles. “Generally they’re a party, yeah. Usually brief words, whatever religious practices you want done, any kind of ceremony that you want, like exchanging rings or hanging spoons, but then…it’s just a chance to have a good time.”

“I think I’d want a smaller party than our wedding, Kai-chan,” Kokichi nodded to his husband, “Like…not just for anyone to come by. I want to celebrate with our friends and family, but…I want it to be more about us, than a government thing.”

“Oh, and I want a big, fancy cake!”

“What, you want wedding cake?” Kaito asked, giving Kokichi a bewildered look, “I dunno, babe, won’t that be a waste? You barely touched our last wedding cake.”

“I had a slice!!” Kokichi pouted, before turning his head to slurp more noodles. “And it’s for the guests too. Even I can’t eat a whole wedding cake. And we could probably even get a tiered one rather than the sheet cakes we had at our wedding too.”

“I bet he could eat a whole wedding cake.” Maki mused, reaching over to steal one of Shuichi’s bean sprouts, having run out. 

Shuichi stabbed her hand with his chopsticks, “Just go get more. And I agree… but, like, if it was a smaller cake. Like… like a cake the size of Kaito, he could probably manage.”

Now Kaito looked genuinely bewildered, “Uuuuuuh, Shuichi, handsome, how big are you envisioning a ‘normal’ cake? I think I’m easily three wedding cakes.”

“The other Kaito.” Shuichi explained, stabbing Maki’s hand again as she tried to come in at a different angle. “What are you doing, do you think you’re going to sneak in? I’m literally staring at your hand.”

“See, you made it a challenge, so now I have no choice.” Maki said, making another grab for a beansprout with her chopsticks and wincing as Shuichi stabbed her wrist this time with his. “You basically did this to yourself.”

“What other Kaito?” Kaito asked, just, even more confused. 

Kokichi had been ready to play along, but with what Shuuichi was actually talking about, it was just a real observation. 

“This Kai-chan,” Kokichi indicated by holding his hand about a foot above the table. “And, like…duh, I could totally eat a cake that big. Might feel a little stuffed afterward, but I could do it. Mm…what flavor would you guys want? If we get a tiered one it means we can pick out a cream or jam too.”

“...ooooooh.” Kaito said, still looking a little puzzled but nodding, “Okay, I’m following now. Uh, and… Kokichi could eat a bigger cake than that. But he shouldn’t. Just so we’re all clear on the Kokichi/Cake debate.”

“I really liked the flavor of the cream in that gelatin cake I picked for Kaito.” Shuichi noted, shrugging, “I’m not certain what it was, but I can find out. Whatever that cream was made out of was amazing. Maybe we can go and do some tastings… just be really thorough, try a bunch of difference flavors from a bunch of difference bakeries, see what we like best…”

Kaito gave Shuichi a mildly exasperated look, “I feeeeeel like you’re just trying to take advantage and eat a bunch of cake for the nearby future.”

“Kaito, of course not,” Shuichi said, giving Kaito an openly injured look, “I just want to make certain the cake for our wedding is perfect… right Kokichi?”

“Oh yeah, it was really good,” Kokichi hummed in agreement, getting into his asparagus. “Like…it wasn’t just a vanilla cream, but it was definitely that flavor area, at least. Maybe, like…a mango cake. Or some kind of fruit… And then you could have a jam or compote of that fruit in it too…”

“Something that would take a lot of experimenting.” Kokichi nodded in affirmation, widening his eyes into the best doe eyes he could as he turned to Kaito. “Our wedding is gonna be really special! We should put effort into planning it--it’s what an occasion like it deserves!”

Kokichi considered something for a moment. “...Denji-chan’s definitely gonna try and bully all of us into making us all clothes for it.”

“We’d be lucky if they do, their clothes are pretty good.” Kaito mused, finishing up his udon and sipping at the broth, trying to decide to himself if he was going to get a second serving, “So long as we see if they can actually make your clothes movable for tomorrow, anyway. That’s still kinda a sticking point for me. My ‘Kichi should get to run around…”

Kaito glanced down at Kokichi’s doe eyes… before putting down his bowl and putting his hands over Kokichi’s eyes, “None of that. We can do some tastings. But whatever you two are imagining? Not happening.”

“Tsk,” Shuichi tsked, rolling his eyes, before saying, “Fine… but we’re still doing more than one. It’ll be fun.”

“Whatever you all do, be sure to keep Nazumi in the loop for everything. You don’t want to make her job more difficult having her try to account for everything the day of.” Maki reminded them, “Whatever’s happening at this party? She should know, ideally a week in advance, but at least three days before, or you’re asking for trouble.”

Kokichi snorted a little to himself, but decided not to mention that Denji had actually had him run a stress test for the modified yukata a few weeks back. Which included running around one of the empty tumbling rooms they found, diving to the ground, and doing cartwheels. Anything Kokichi wanted to do during Zenith, he should be able to. 

Giggling, Kokichi shook his nose between Kaito’s hands a bit, satisfied enough with getting to do a few cake tastings. Honestly it was something he wanted to do to some extent with everything they decided on for the wedding party. 

Munching on his noodles, Kokichi gave Maki an emphatic nod once Kaito freed him. “Oh, of course. She was excited to help us plan stuff when I told her--and since we go out together when it isn’t you guys coming with me, she’s prolly gonna be helping out one way or another.”

“...mm, where would you guys wanna have the party?” Kokichi hummed, idlying swinging his legs a little. “I mean…unless you were thinking of putting together the wedding in like a week, I’d think the Atuan Temple is gonna be open, so I’d assume we’d talk to someone about doing the binding ceremony there, but… I dunno. Should we have the party part somewhere else?”

“Oh…” Kaito blinked, “Oh! That’s right, the temple’s almost done. Wow… right, it’s a year later, I kind of forgot… that’s gonna be, what, this late summer right? Wow… man, I gotta…”

Kaito hesitated, scratching his cheek uncertainly. He needed to talk to the temples to check on things for Savannah and Odette. And, like… he didn't know, honestly. Did he have a responsibility as a Momota to make sure, uh… things happened? Something? He didn’t know. It’d probably be fine if he didn’t, but was he… supposed to anyway?

Uh, he wasn’t sure. He had to think about it some more, maybe pray a bit, and probably ultimately talk to Priest Bullsworth. That guy had more of a grip on the religion here anyway.

Still… he lit up a little, “Do the binding ritual at an actual Atuan Temple? That’s… pretty exciting!”

Shuichi’s brow furrowed, “Are we even allowed to do that? You’re both already bound to each other.”

“... I think…” Kaito chewed on his lip a little, “I think Atua loves us, and wouldn’t deny us a request like that. I mean, the whole point of binding is supposed to be to keep each other company and help each other through the trials. Why does that have to be limited to two people per, uh… trial? I’ll pray about it, but I really can’t imagine why Atua would so arbitrarily limit us.”

“Hmmm…” Shuichi didn’t know one way or another how that worked, but he knew it’d make Kaito happy. So he was up to doing it. Though, as for the party itself, “A party in a temple sounds pretty limited–”

Kaito laughed. Smirking a little as he said entirely to himself, “You’re thinking of the wrong kind of parties.”

“-- so we should probably consider having the actual wedding somewhere else. Couldn’t say where yet.” Shuichi continued on, ignoring Kaito, “Maybe we can travel around, see if any spots call out to us? Could be a good excuse to explore the area more, honestly. My mentors are making me feel like a hermit, they’re out constantly.”

“Mmhm, they've definitely seen more than we have.” Maki smirked, “Maybe we can ask them for recommendations.”

Kokichi…didn’t really know what to think. When you died, you were claimed by…whoever would have you, it sounded like, and given various ways to eventually accept that no existence was forever and give up your energy to the universe. Honestly…being there to help his partners on their journeys was…just more of what he’d already signed up for by loving them. 

(Wisdom was not always cruel, but Roxy would need Kokichi’s soul back eventually. Unlike many others that would be broken down into their bare elements, Dicea’s Chosen retained their souls, at least on some level. Hopefully Kaito and Shuuichi would be able to accept their places in the universe before it was Kokichi’s time again.

She had taken Fuse away from Taitei. She would take Kokichi from Kaito and Shuuichi.)

Kokichi couldn’t think of a reason why any other gods would want with them specifically, so…why not? Why not have all three of them work together?

Laughing a bit, eating more melons, Kokichi shrugged. “I’m sure they’d have some. I do wanna check out the dance hall that hosts the Friday night dances, though. It’s a big space that’s open to rent for events, and…I mean, plenty of people go dancing. I don’t think even putting in, like, tables and other stuff we’d want, we’d invite so many people it would be too small.”

“Gonna have to find some bands then. I mean, we could ask the band that was at our wedding, they were pretty good, but it might be fun to search around and see if there’s anyone we like better.” Kaito pointed out, suddenly looking curious as he asked Kokichi, “Did you, like… participate in any of the planning for our wedding? Like, did you pick the band?”

“Cause on my end of it, I helped out with picking my clothes and the binding animal and such–”

“Uh huh.” Maki, who had been there as security for some of those meetings, interrupted dryly.

“Hey, come on… well, I was there, and I gave some input.” Kaito huffed, shrugging, “I got my cape in! And the dove wasn’t my first pick, but it made a lot of sense, symbolism wise! I would have been very happy with Puffy!”

“You don’t even like birds, Kaito.” Shuichi pointed out.

“And that bird did not like you.” Maki reminded him, before saying to Kokichi, “It didn’t have a name, but Kaito started calling the dove we brought with us ‘puffy’ because it always puffed out all it’s feathers whenever Kaito handled it. It’d peck him too.”

“Little love nips! Because he loved me! Like… deeeeeep down.” Kaito said, narrowing his eyes, “Deep down. He’d have made a perfectly fine guiding animal!”

“What happened to Puffy?” Shuichi asked, looking at his fellow Luminaries, “Does anyone know?”

“No idea.” Kaito admitted, “I basically didn’t see any of the Luminary Party after the day of the wedding, and no one brought Puffy to the binding ceremony. I gotta assume they took him with them? Or maybe they let him go free?”

“Owl has him then.” Maki said darkly, “First night.”

“Maki… no.” Kaito pouted, “I’m sure wherever he is he’s fine. Probably.”

It’d be nice to be able to be more choosy about the music. Honestly, Kokichi would be happy with a record player, but if his partners were open to getting a band, then he was all for it! 

“I didn’t, no,” Kokichi said softly, though there was still a smile on his face. “I think Aiichi might’ve picked ‘em. They’re a fairly popular band, and, well, obviously play the kind of music that’s easy to dance to. I didn’t pick any of the details for our wedding.”

A little self-deprecating, Kokichi shrugged. “I probably could’ve contributed ideas, but…I remember thinking it was really dumb. Any time I did any work for our wedding, it was to work on the treaty--I remember thinking that our wedding was little more than a dance and a sideshow to ending the war.”

“I wish I had felt differently, now,” he confessed gently. “It was such a special day for me regardless, and…I wish I had put more work in to make it more special for you too. This wedding’s gonna be its own thing, so…it doesn’t really feel like a redo for me, but…I am going to make choices I won’t regret this time.”

Kaito lit up a little at that, looking pleased at the sentiment, even if the sentiment came from sad reasons. “Aw, babe… oh! Uh, I think…” Kaito looked to Shuichi, looking a little sheepish as he said, “...considering Kokichi? Maaaaaybe we should consider asking  Atua and talking to the temple about still using Koh for our binding ceremony as well? I mean… unless that’d break your heart–?”

Shuichi shrugged, “Sure.”

Kaito looked startled at that, “What, really? You’re sure?”

“Why wouldn’t I be sure? I don’t mind.”

“But… you don’t want the full bonding ceremony experience?”

“What, the killing an animal part?”

“Having your own guiding animal! It’s, ya know… special!”

“I’ll piggy-back on the Koh thing. Why, do you want a second guiding animal? You literally just suggested we don’t do that.”

“No, I mean! … Maki, you’re excited for your bonding ritual, right?” Kaito asked, deciding to change route.

“Mine?” Maki asked, “Do you know something I don’t? Who am I bonding too?”

“I mean in general! This is an important ceremony, you guys must be a little excited for your own, right??”

“Not really. I don’t think about stuff like that.” Maki shrugged.

“Huh…” Kaito pouted, clearly a little annoyed to be the only person at the table who cared about ceremony’s like that, before sighing, “Well, planning the wedding will be fun. And we get to do it our way this time! No politics, no oversight, no assassination attempts!”

“Go apologize to an egg.” Maki said urgently, Shuichi nodding along with her as she scolded, “Are you crazy? Don’t tempt that! Go, now.”

“Oh, sure, binding ceremonies are stupid, but egg superstitons, we’re all all about that.” Kaito grumbled, though he got up and headed to the kitchens.

Watching him go, Shuichi looked to Kokichi, smiling a little, “This might not be a ‘redo’, but I am glad you get an opportunity to plan your own wedding this time. Our wedding. I’m counting on you, I mean it when I say I really don’t know how to put one of these together. I’m going to be relying on you and Kaito for most of it.”

Kokichi gave his partners a moderately sheepish look. It was…something of a relief to hear that Shuuichi just wanted to ‘add on’ to their trial plan, because, though Kokichi would participate, he would not be able to stick around as an animal was bled out. It would be hard enough knowing that another creature would die, but…that was something he could cope with for his partners’ happiness. He couldn’t watch it. 

He supposed even knowing there was something to an existence after death, it wasn’t a shock to the system for all people to suddenly double-down on religion. 

(There was a part of Kokichi that was getting quieter and quieter these days, and instead of screaming or crying, it simply sighed. Wondering when it would finally be his chance to rest. 

But death was still an ending, if just not as soon as he’d originally thought. It was something that couldn’t be taken back and…Kokichi still wanted to be with his loves for as long as they could before getting to rest.)

Giggling a bit as Kaito went off to reverse their jinx, Kokichi gave Shuuichi a soft smile. “Kai-chan and I are definitely gonna have a lot of opinions. But…for you? Just…if there’s anything you want for a day meant to celebrate you and the love we have between the three of us. That’s just what a wedding is meant to be, at least the way I was raised. For me? That means being around my friends and family with good food and music. So…that’s what I want.”

Shuichi nodded, perfectly at ease with this, chewing on his strawberry cupcake, “Then we’ll do that. It’ll be a good day.”

“It’s a shame. It was easy to distinguish between you three, based on who you called ‘husband’ and who was called ‘boyfriend’.” Maki mused, sipping on her drink. “Now you’re all just a group of husbands, soon.”

“What? Literally none of us refer to each other as ‘husband’ or ‘boyfriend,” Shuichi pointed out, “Kaito calls Kokichi and I ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Handsome’ if he’s not going to use our names–”

“Can’t forget ‘babe’. God, what a stereotypical jock.” Maki rolled her eyes.

“--I just use our names, and Kokichi, when he wants to call us anything, usually goes for ‘hun’ and ‘sweetheart’. We never just call each other by our relationship status.”

“Just a gaggle of husbands.” Maki mused on, entirely ignoring him, “No one will ever know who is who again.”

“I’m back. Curse lifted.” Kaito said, sneaking up behind Kokichi and giving him a small kiss on the top of his head before sitting down. “Maki saying weird things?”

“She’s just saying random stuff. Trying to get a rise out of me.” Shuichi rolled his eyes.

“I spent all day looking after Miyako, I’m honestly a little spent.” Maki sighed, “She was fussy today. I think she missed you all. Temp’s going to have a hell of a time of it tomorrow.”

“It’ll be fine… I think.” Kaito said, sucking on the end of his chopstick a little, worrying the wood as he thought about it, “It’ll be good for her. I think… we were lucky Temp was willing to do it. And I’ve been wanting to introduce her to Addason basically since he was born… it’ll be good! Besides, she’s only three months now, the baby books all say she’s not gonna start, like, hating people she’s not familiar with until they’re a year old. Though, she’s supposed to not like new environments too much by now… but Temp’s place will only be a new environment for a little while! Then she’ll get used to it and it’ll be fiiiiine… right?”

Smirking, Kokichi leaned over towards Shuuichi with a stage whisper. “If she’s worried about this, wait ‘til she hears we’re all Miyako’s dads.”

And speaking of their daughter…

“Aw… Mm, well, good thing the way I wanna end my birthday is with our little girl. Hopefully some quality Daddy Time will make up for not seeing us as much--or she might just get even more pissed about the weird routine.”

Finishing off his broth, Kokichi shrugged a little. “I’m a little worried, in that way I don’t think I’ll ever be completely at ease when I’m not looking after her, but…out of everyone except Maki-chan and my dad? I trust Temp the most to be able to look after Miyako. He’s a good dad, and he has a few cool advantages.”

“I just wish I could see Miya seeing another baby for the first time,” Kokichi grinned, his nose scrunching a little in delight. “Addie’s a sweetheart, and I’m sure they’ll be fascinated by each other.”

Kaito’s eyes went wide and watery, “I wanna see it tooooo.”

“Fine, then you can drop her off and I’ll sleep in.” Shuichi said dryly. 

“You say that like it’ll dissuade me.” Kaito smirked, before shrugging, “I don’t mind, I’ll drop her off handsome–”

“See?” Shuichi said to Maki, who ignored him.

“--but someone needs to go represent Kokichi at the opening ceremony. He shouldn’t have to go by himself.”

Kokichi gave his husband (it would be an actual issue in his thoughts, damnit) a bewildered look. “...hun, we’re not going to the opening ceremony. Or, at least I’m not. That’s why I’m seeing Denji-chan at ten thirty, and we’re spending the morning with Miya--I’m not doing anything official this Zenith.”

“What?” Kaito startled, looking over at Kokichi with an equally bewildered look, “But… I thought you had to go to those. You did one at harvest.”

“Was there another festival? I feel like there’s been another festival since harvest… it’s been such a long year.” Shuichi sighed. “I thought you were doing some sort of ceremony too, Kokichi. Though, I thought that because that’s what Kaito told me.”

“Okay, shoot, I apparently don’t actually know the schedule tomorrow. Maybe I should have read one of those damn schedule sheets.” Kaito pouted.  

Kokichi nodded a bit. “I stood in for the ceremonies during Harvest because I didn’t have a two-month-old and I wasn’t still in the middle of recovery after an attack. Didn’t do any addresses during Unity either, since I was sick.”

Giving Kaito an amused look, Kokichi bit into his strawberry cupcake. “My appointment with Denji-chan is at ten thirty--this isn’t something I can change, ‘cause they’ve been booked for over a month and there’s literally no wiggle room. Also, Denji-chan offered to help all you guys get ready too during my appointment, but only with little things. At some point during the morning, one of us was gonna drop Miyako off at Temp’s, and Temp said pretty much any time would be alright--we just need to make sure her baby bag has extra diapers, her nectar, and one of her blankets, so she has something that smells like home.”

“At eleven, when my appointment’s done…” Kokichi shrugged. “Then we’re free to enjoy the festival as we wanna. The big water fight’s usually not until mid-afternoon, and we’ll be able to find stage schedules if there are any bands or other performances we wanna see, but…”

He’d meant to say that the day was theirs, but Kokichi trailed off, his eyes going wide before he looked at Kaito and Shuuichi pleadingly. “...can I yell our engagement at a confessional?”

“At the weird secret orgy thing?” Kaito asked, at the same time Shuichi chuckled and said, “Sure.”

“Oh,” Shuichi smiled, looking to Kaito, “You heard about the confessional? Isn’t that such a wild idea? I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

“Oh, uh, yeah, Kokichi told us about it this morning. It kind of gives me the willies… you like the idea?” Kaito asked, a little surprised.

“Oh yes… I think it’ll be fascinating.” Shuichi smiled serenely, “I’m going to take notes.”

“...kay. Weirdo.” Kaito said stiffly, before nodding at Kokichi, “And, yeah, it’s not a secret, so… have fun, babe. It’ll be your chance to shout news at people! That’ll be cute.”

“Orgy???” Kokichi muttered, giving his husband a strange look. Sure, he could see it being a weird practice, and even disturbing to Luminary values, but…it was in no way a physical thing, and if there was anyone who got an exhibitionist sort of pleasure out of yelling things down to a crowd, they at least kept that to themself. 

Though, Kokichi was glad his guess had been off, and Shuuichi was looking forward to seeing it. It was something he really wanted to do, and it’d be kind of a bummer if his family were just mulling around the crowd while he waited for his turn. 

“Oh!!” Kokichi suddenly remembered, a bit of pink frosting on his cheek. “I dunno how late you guys wanna stay out, but we might be able to see a light show!!! I remember telling you about them aaaaages ago, but we left Hanami early and they don’t really do them for Harvest, and only for, like, night markets during midwinter. Depending on where they set it up, we might even be able to see it from the castle, if we head home with Miya earlier.”

“Where would they have to set up for you to be able to see them from the castle?” Maki asked.

“There’s a park on this side of the big hill west of here,” Kokichi half-explained, half tried to gauge if his friends knew what he was talking about. “There’s enough space in it for the set up, and I know people are able to see some of it from the plaza--we’d actually be able to get an even better view from our room, since we’re higher up and on the west side.”

Sighing softly, Kokichi licked some frosting from his fingers. “I like fireworks well enough, but I’m really thankful that it’s pretty much just light shows in the city these days. Trying to soothe a baby while huge booms are going off nearby? I’m already a little apprehensive about how she’ll handle thunderstorms.”

Maki wiped her mouth, finishing her food as she sighed, cracking her neck to the right a little. “Okay. Kaito, you’re done eating, right?”

Kaito, who had been sitting above empty plates and bowls for a while, had the audacity to shrug. “I guess?”

“You are. Come on. We’re taking a walk.”

“What? Uh… yeah, alright.” Kaito floundered for a moment, leaning over to kiss Kokichi on the cheek as he said quickly, “She’s gonna do just fine in thunderstorms, she’ll have us there to be strong for her. And I won’t let Maki keep me long, though I do want to make a phone call tonight. I’ll be back before anyone’s in bed though, I promise.” 

Giving Kokichi another kiss on the cheek, Kaito declared, “I love you, happy birthday! Shuich, handsome! I love you, we’re getting married! I’ll see you both in a bit!” 

“Have fun you two.” Shuichi said pleasantly, looking to Kokichi as he asked, “You wanna grab another round of cupcakes with me?”

Kokichi glanced between Kaito and Maki for a moment before…just deciding to wait to see if it was going to be anything they’d want to mention to him. …he still didn’t quite understand the complex emotions Maki had had for that brief moment, and knowing that she knew Shuuichi was going to propose to them didn’t clear anything up. He would just wait. 

“Sure, hun,” Kokichi hummed, snagging a Kaito cheek kiss for himself before the older prince moved away. “I love you, thank you for the amazing birthday. Have a good walk!”

Starting to gather up his own dishes, Kokichi gave Shuuichi a sly grin. “But of course. I ate the first not thinking about it, but I really could use another data point on strawberry cake.”

Shuichi nodded seriously, “Oh, of course. Ya know, in a way… every pastry we have from now until the wedding is, technically, research. And thus, technically not bad for you. That’s how it works, I’m fairly certain.”

-

Kaito was scratching at his beard a little as they made their way out into the lobby, looking a little exasperated already as he said, after a bit… “Maki, we can’t bully anyone into setting up at the big hill west of here.”

“Why not?” Maki asked, sounding genuinely confused, “It’s as good a place to set up as any other.”

“We don’t know that. And I don’t want to start any fights with anyone, this is, like, the first time in a while I don’t feel actively hated here.” Kaito said, keeping his voice soft as they looked around, “No one’s even confronted me over the Kokichi-stairs thing. And, call me crazy, but I have a feeling they’d hold me trying to get the light location changed, like… personally. For a while. Just for the audacity of it.”

“We’ll be diplomatic about it.” Maki said easily, “That’s why I brought you in the first place. You want Kokichi to have the best Zenith possible, right?”

“Maki… he’d rather see lights from a distance then have to deal with his husband being an asshole to people.” Kaito told her blankly, frowning at her openly judging expression, Maki clearly unimpressed with him, “...look, let’s just find out where the lights even are being set up. This might all be a moot point anyway. But we can’t try to get their location changed the literal night before the damn holiday. These people will rip us apart.”

“I thought you were starting to like the Diceans.” Maki teased lightly, following Kaito as he headed towards the office halls, where the administration team, along with Aiichi and Hideki’s offices, were located.

“Sure. They’re quirky, and enthusiastic about stuff, and sometimes they’re nice.” Kaito shrugged, “And they’ll rip us apart. We can’t just go around throwing weight here. We’re gathering information, that’s it.”

“Okay, okay… remember when you used to be fun?”

“Ha ha, very funny. Probably any of them would know, right? We don’t have to go to the King or Secretary Hideki for something like this, probably… someone here had to have approved the location. Let’s see if we have any late workers among the administration staff, any go-getters who can help us out.” Kaito said, the two heading to the main administration office. 

As they walked, Kaito asked curiously, “So, when did Shuichi tell you he was going to propose to us?”

“Couple of days ago. Honestly, I think he’s only been thinking about it a little while.” Maki shrugged, “When he makes a decision, he just goes for it. It’s a quality I admire about him. Shame he doesn’t make more hard decisions more often.”

As they got to the door, Kaito went to knock on it, as Maki asked, “Are you happy?”

He knocked, glancing over his shoulder at her, startled… before he laughed. “Are you kidding? I’m thrilled. Obviously!”

Waiting to see if anyone opened the door, Kaito turned towards her, giving her a long look before asking softly, “You’re happy for me, right? For us?”

“Of course.” Maki said, her expression blank, “I’m thrilled for you. Obviously.”

“...but you are, right?” Kaito asked, his toner softer, something uncomfortable there now.

Maki sighed, her own expression softening, as she whispered back, “Of course, it’s a good thing. You make Shuichi happy, and I’m happy that–”

They both paused, thinking for a moment that they heard the floor creak on the other side of the door.

Looking right about ready to fall over, a soft, petite looking person opened the office door. Their cropped black hair fell over one eye, though the other lilac one was drawn with a bag. In all…they looked exhausted. 

“Hellooo?” they asked, blinking up at…well, Kaito at least. They were maybe a tiny bit taller than Maki. “Um…the boss and Mr. Fukui…and Mr. Sukuna aren’t here right now… Actually, office hours are closed for Zenith, except for emergencies…”

Looking wearily between them, they asked, “...is there…anything I can help you with?”

This may have been Maki’s idea, but Kaito immediately threw a grin on, suddenly radiating a sense of ‘boundless’ energy as he said, his tone immediately leaning into Luminary of the Stars, “Good evening! Thank you for opening the door, we know it’s past office hours, we just had a question about the Zenith festival layout? And I’d hoped someone in the administration team might be able to help us! Thank you for taking the time!”

“We need to know where the lights for the lightshow are being set up.” Maki said beside him, her entire demeanor changing as well, her expression stilling into something neutrally cold, her posture straightening and stiffening, “If you don’t have that information, then we’ll need to know where to find it.”

“If you happen to know!” Kaito grinned, “Thank you! Sorry, we didn’t catch your name! I’m Kaito Ouma Momota, this is Maki Harukawa!”

“Oh…I see…” They just blinked for a moment, trying to sort out information before opening the door more. “The plans should be…” Trailing off, the assistant went to look through some papers, letting a few beats play out before they remembered they’d been asked a question. 

“I’m Micah Moore… I’m a records assistant, here…”

Micah was never really described as peppy, but the way they were moving now was downright sluggish and distracted. That’s what happened in the crunch time before festivals, though. 

After a moment they hummed, reading out, “10 p.m., bank of Merwin Pond…yeah, they have all their permits in order…” A tired blink. “...you did ask for the lightshow, right?”

“Yes, we did! Uh…” Kaito frowned as they stepped inside, following them, looking around, “Are you here alo–?”

“Is Merwin Pond over at the west hill?” Maki asked, “The big one?”

“No, the park next to the big hill.” Kaito corrected her, “Is Merwin Pond at the park next to the big hill west of here?”

“It’s… I mean, I would call it next to it, but the pond is just north of the park…” Micah suddenly raised their arm to their mouth, the quickest movement they’d made since Kaito and Maki had seen them, and stifled a yawn. “The park will probably be closed, since you can risk eye damage being that close to the lasers, but…even across the pond you should be able to watch the show without issue…”

Rubbing their visible eye, Micah looked up at the two. “Was that everything you needed…?”

“That sounds good, right?” Kaito whispered to Maki, “Like, what he was hoping for?”

“Sounds right to me.” Maki shrugged, before heading out of the office. 

Kaito watched her go, before looking back to Micah, “That answered my question, yes! Thank you! Uh… are you alone here? Does anyone know you’re working late by yourself?”

It was partly just a security thing, but back in Luminary, there was a culture of, when it came to guard and office work, never letting someone work alone. It was expected that supervisors didn’t leave until everyone did, and Kaito was concerned that Micah had been abandoned to work late by themselves. 

Micah gazed blankly around the empty office before giving Kaito a nod. “I need to finish sorting the festival records… Mr. Fukui offered to stay and help me, but…it’s my job. And the rest of us try not to encourage him to work extra hours if we can even convince him… It’s Prince Kokichi’s birthday, anyway… It’s better to be around family,” they nodded once, decisively. 

“Thank you for the concern, but…I’m almost done,” they assured, giving Kaito a small, weary smile.

Kaito suddenly nodded slowly… “Right! Oh, of course, Mr. Fukui just… works far too hard.” He said, nodding again… before grinning, “Well, look, it’s the day before Zenith for you too! I wish I could offer you some help, but honestly I’d probably slow you down. But you’re doing a great job, thank you so much for your help today and your commitment to preparing for this festival! You know it’s Prince Kokichi’s favorite day of the year? And you’re an integral part of making it successful!”

Kaito gave Micah another warm grin, reaching over to clasp their shoulder and give it a quick squeeze, before saying, “Don’t stay too much later, okay? Have a good night, Micah!”

He headed out the door, where Makit was leaning against the wall, and after he closed the door, “Done with the ticker-tape parade?”

“What? They’re working hard, they deserve the praise.” Kaito said, looking a little offended, though he looked around as he did so, looking for nearby lingerers. 

“If you hadn’t been proposed to today alongside your husband, I’d have thought you were trying to get into their pants.” 

“Ha ha, veeeeery funny.” Kaito said, not seeing anyone… before whispering to Maki, “Okay, remember when I used to be fun?”

Maki raised an eyebrow. “...yeees?”

Kaito grinned, saying quietly, “Hideki was peer pressured out of work… wanna sneak into his office and look through his shit??”

Maki’s eyes widened, “...why?”

“I dunno… why not? Cause he’s a butt, that’s why.” Kaito immediately followed that with, frowning, “I mean, not, like, a ‘butt’ butt… but–”

“Sure.” Maki said, pushing off the wall, “Let’s do it.”

Kaito lit up, following her down the hall as he said, “Really??”

“Like you said, why not?” Maki said, heading down the hall to where she knew his office was, “And you clearly have it in for the guy. Let’s spend some of that energy.”

“I don’t… have it in for him… I don’t hate him.”

“You sound like someone who hates him.” Maki said, peering around the hall, eyeing Aiichi’s door suspiciously. If the king was in his office, he might hear them trying to break into Hideki’s. But it was the evening before the festival and his sons birthday and proposal day. What were the odds he’d still be working. “Every time you talk about the guy you sound like you’re on the verge of challenging him to a spar. Maybe poking through his things will be cathartic. Little bit of revenge.”

“I don’t need revenge…”

“Why? For Kokichi’s sake?” Maki asked, before putting her finger to her lips before Kaito could answer, pointing to Aiichi’s door.

Quietly, she went up to it, putting her ear to it…

“...anything?” Kaito mouthed at her.

“No,” she mouthed back, the two heading past Aiichi’s door and towards Hideki, “Why do you hate him, anyway?”

“I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“What? What do you mean… Luminary killed his partner. Hell, in a way, I killed his partne–”

“You didn’t, but okay.” Maki said, getting to Hideki’s door and listening at it, though she was clearly not that concerned as she said, “Go on.”

“Maybe not myself, but I was part of that whole circus show. Hideki’s said some horrific shit to me, but in comparison to that? Honestly, it’s a mercy he hasn’t been crueler, or straight up tried to kill me.” Kaito shrugged, watching her listen at the door, “Anything?”

“No. So it’s not that you don’t hate him. It’s you don’t have the right to.” Maki asked, crossing her arms and looking up at him, “That and he’s your pseudo-uncle-in-law?”

“...I guess, yeah. But those are both really valid reasons, you don’t have to say it like it’s stupid.” Kaito frowned. “Are you gonna break in?”

Maki turned to the knob, reaching forward, twisting it–

It didn’t open.

“Whelp. I’m out of ideas.” Maki shrugged, letting it go.

“What?!” 

“I don’t know how to pick locks.” Maki reminded him, shrugging. “Unless you want me to break it and leave behind a bunch of evidence we were here?”

“Ugh… why didn’t I come here with Shuichi??” 

“Shuichi doesn’t know how to pick locks either, he just sneaks into offices when they’re open and finds keys.” Maki said, leaning against the door as Kaito groaned further at this, “Kyoko specifically didn’t teach him to pick locks because it would have made him ‘sloppy’.”

“Great, so my only lock pickers are my son who I need to be a good example for, and my husband who will scold me for wanting to use them.” Kaito pouted, thumping his forehead against the door, “Whelp… there goes our big crime.”

“Mm.” Maki said, both of them now just leaning against the wall, Maki with her back against it, Kaito rubbing his forehead against the cool wood, soothing himself, “What was so horrific?”

“Hm?”

“You said he said something horrific? It must still bother you, if you’re bringing it up.”

“...it wasn’t, it just pissed me off. Again, considering everything? It could have been worse–”

“Let’s both make-believe it matters when someone insults you.” Maki said dryly, “What’d he say?”

“...” Kaito thumped his forehead against the door, “He called me a showpet.”

“Ah,” Maki said softly, “That’ll do it.”

“He said a bunch of other stuff too. Insulted Luminary, insulted Atuans, just… a bunch of awful stuff. But he started with showpet.” Kaito grumbled, staring at the wood, “It made me so fucking mad… like, if I wasn’t literally already exhausted from everything that happened that day at that point? I might have attacked him. But instead I was almost… giddy.”

“Oh?” Maki asked, looking over to him curiously. “Why?”

“Cause I wanted to attack somebody.” Kaito said softly. Glaring at the wood, “I was so mad at the whole world… I was mad at you guys. I kinda… hated everyone and everything. And here was someone who just came out of nowhere and basically called me a dog to my fucking face… and it was like, oh! Somewhere to put it all! Someone to hate that wasn’t my husband freezing in the medical wing, or my pregnant boyfriend, or my best friend. Finally… someone I can take it all out on…”

“I’m guessing that didn’t go well?” Maki asked dryly.

Kaito chuckled weakly, turning over and leaning against the door with her, “Nope. Guy crushed me. Didn’t even take him long. Crushed me so hard that I was fucking, like, suicidal for a couple of weeks there… not that all that shit that happened with you probably didn’t contribute loads to that, by the way.” Kaito growled, shooting her a dirty look, “He just… made me wonder if anything was ever going to get better. If I even deserved for anything to get better. It all seemed so hopeless…”

“...how do you feel about it now?” Maki asked.

“It’s a year later and today is easily one of the happiest days of my life.” Kaito said, looking down at his golden ring, right above his wedding ring… before chuckling darkly, “And I still wanna fuck with him. Ugh… I should just let this go, what am I even doing right now…”

“You’re spending time with me,” Maki said, shrugging, “Cause I said you were no fun. Remember?”

“...I do miss you sometimes.” Kaito whispered, “Us, I mean. Just… us two. Going out and causing trouble and being bad for each other.”

“Yeah.” Maki said.

“...but we were bad for each other. We fought all the time. We were cruel to each other, sometimes. And we both know that wasn’t going to get better. We missed our chance to learn how to make it work, and now we’re both adults, and we’re adults that fight.” Kaito said, looking to her, brow furrowed, “Shuichi, Kokichi, all of that not taken into account… we would have still been terrible for each other.”

“I know.” Maki said, “We broke up years ago and it had nothing to do with anyone other than ourselves. You’re right, we just… missed our chance to be right for each other.”

“...”

“... I still miss us sometimes anyway.” Maki said softy, “I dreaded the day you proposed to Kokichi, and I found myself dreading today too. Maybe that’s selfish of me. I long missed my shot. But I didn’t think I’d have to watch you be given to someone else so many times.”

“When do I get to dread the day you’re getting proposed too, huh?” Kaito asked, nudging her side a little, “I want to be sad and angsty and pine after lost love too. Go fucking… date people already! What are you waiting for? You have this cool new look, this brand new attitude, all the time in the world… get out there! Go eat some poor woman alive!”

Maki huffed, rolling her eyes, “Ah, yes, me. The perfect catch. With my ten year old son and my history of war-mongering and terrorism and my ex who also happns to be my best friend constantly around to make people insecure about my feelings for them–”

“That did happen a lot, didn’t it.” Kaito muttered. 

“--surely, who wouldn’t want a piece of this?”

“Shut up. You’re a catch anyway, anyone would be lucky to have you. And if they don’t like me being around, then they’re too insecure for you anyway. And Tim’s a great kid, they’d be fucking lucky to have him in their lives!” Kaito insisted, grinning as Maki just huffed some more, “Come on… what, it’s more fun pining after something neither of us wanted anyway? Why make yourself miserable over the could have been? I was never good enough for you anyway.”

“Well, that’s true, at least.” Maki smirked, nudging him back, before saying softly, “...but you were close. I know half the reason we never made it was me. I never made it easy…”

“And the other half was me.” Kaito shrugged, “...and you were close too. Every time. You weren’t the only person thinking about could have been’s when I was proposing to Kokichi. I thought about you too… but this is better. I’m happier, and honestly, I’m convinced you are too. This is all a good thing… and it’ll be even better when you find someone for yourself to rub in my face, too.”

“I suppose so.” Maki said softly, “...Hideki is a butt.”

“Thank you. Right? Thank you. He is such a butt.” Kaito laughed, “...I love you, Maki-roll.”

“Love you too, Kaito.” Maki said, resting her head against him, “Congratulations on the proposal.”

-

The rest of the night was rather calm, but a perfect cap off to a wonderful day. Kokichi held Miya for a while, recounting his day to her and excitedly gushing that Dad and Daddy were getting married to Dada! You’re going to get to come to our wedding, Miya! Dada was so sweet, planning out a lovely lunch in a beautiful place, and they were totally going to bring her there some day, show off the place where Dada asked to marry them~

And when she had had enough of being fussed over, Kokichi took a page from Shuuichi’s book and dozed more comfortably through his shift, giving a fond, loving look to Kaito when he returned to their room, feeling…at ease enough that Kokichi could trust that if he and Maki had a fight, it was the kind they had resolved and came out with a stronger bond or greater understanding because of. 

When it was finally Kokichi’s turn to go to bed for real…well, he was glad he’d already gotten a little sleep, because he wasn’t planning on going right into it right away. 

Feeling full to the brim with love and excitement, Kokichi laughed under the sun in the flower field as he called out to his mentor.

Alter Ego appeared and fell about two feet above the field, landing easily as they landed into a stretch, their shoulders practically touching the ground, tail flicking lazily as their kitty butt peaked into the air. Fully stretched out, Alter Ego took a curious look around, noting, “This is a new place. Someone in a good mood?”

Trotting up to Kokichi, sitting among the grass and flowers, Alter Ego tilted their head to him, looking amused as they asked, “Is it because someone had a good birthday?”

Kokichi laughed brightly and reached out to greet Alter Ego, running a hand down their body. “I had the best birthday. There are so many memories I wanna share with you--my father organized the whole castle to do a little surprise thing for me at breakfast, and there was this big banner in the dining hall that said happy birthday, and Kai-chan took me to feed penguins, Alter Ego, penguins, and I got so many thoughtful gifts and got to chat with everyone for at least a little while, and Shuu-chan took us to this field and it was so gorgeous and we made flower crowns, and dinner was so good…”

“BUT!” Kokichi declared. Smiling widely, he thrust his hand forward, the silvery band shining on his finger. “Shuu-chan asked me an’ Kai-chan to marry him!!”

Alter Ego leaned into the pets, a low, content purr running through him as he relaxed into the hand, spinning and turning, before looking up when Kokichi suddenly stopped administerings pets. Hmmm, Shuichi asked…

“Oh!” Alter Ego said, ears going straight up and looking at first startled at the ring, then tail flicking in astonishment, “Wow! Congratulations, Kokichi! Awwww, that’s so sweet. I’ll be honest, I would have never guessed Shuichi was the kind of person to ask something like that, that’s so surprising!” 

Alter Ego showed the appropriate amount of awe for the rather plain looking ring itself, before looking fondly up at Kokichi, “Did you know it was coming, did he leave hints? You and Kaito? Aw, I bet your reactions were priceless.”

Giddily giggling, Kokichi glanced up the hill, watching the more muted memories of that afternoon play out, Shuuichi sitting down in front of them, Kokichi’s reassurance, then almost tackling them down the hill, only for Kaito to catch them. Bewildered but amazed. 

“He said he’d only decided on it a little while ago,” Kokichi grinned, resuming his pets. “It was back when I was explaining intent to him… I showed him exactly what my feelings for him were, and he said in that moment that he wanted to ask us.”

“Months ago, actually, I told him that I wanted us to have a future together. Marriage isn’t a legal status in Dicea so…that was as much a proposal as it meant to me… And though things were difficult and at times uncertain…I knew back then that no matter what I’d want Shuu-chan in my life. That I wanted to stand by his side forever… So…it wasn’t so much of a surprise on my end, though being asked was incredible.”

“Kai-chan, on the other hand…” Kokichi shook his head, looking fondly up at the memory. “He was completely taken off guard. He even asked if Shuu-chan was asking me, without thinking he was being asked too.”

Alter Ego leapt into Kokichi’s lap, settling in– still expecting pets– as he watched the memories with Kokichi, looking content and amused at the three. Shuichi looking nervous and hopeful, Kokichi with a small, knowing smile on his excited face, Kaito looking perpetually puzzled right up until the last second, and then a little past that. Alter Ego chuckled as Kaito asked Shuichi a ton of follow-up questions, Shuichi just getting to the point where  he was repeating the proposal over and over until Kiato got it.

“Wow, he really didn’t see it coming.” Alter Ego laughed lightly, watching understanding finally light up the tallest man’s face, pulling them both into a hug as the three celebrated, looking damn near euphoric on that hillside. “You all seem happy. Wow, so you’re going to have another wedding then? What, you’re gonna start making it a habit? One wedding a year?” Alter Ego smirked, teasing slightly as the memory continued, the boys eventually climbing back to the top of the hill, talking excitedly, Kokich and Kaito trying on their rings and showing them off to each other while Shuichi looked proudly on.

“Kai-chan can sometimes be a little insecure in our relationship,” Kokichi softly admitted. “It blew me away, the first time he admitted to thinking that Shuu-chan and I would’ve been a better pair, and that he kind of felt ‘in the way’ because of our marriage… Honestly, I felt the same way, that he and Shuu-chan were better and I was just an add-on…and I know Shuu-chan’s had insecurities too. We all love each other a lot, and we’re kind of a mess,” he laughed. 

But while all their dynamics were different…they really all loved each other. And now they were going to be able to explain that love in a new way. 

Snorting, Kokichi rolled his eyes a little, scratching behind Alter Ego’s ear. “I think I’m gonna be done after this next one, though I don’t think I’d be opposed to having parties in the future to re-declare our devotion. But I’m really excited!! We’re gonna look for a cool place to have it, and invite our friends and family, and have a band and really good cake! And we might get to have a more proper binding ceremony in an actual temple, rather than one of the basement storage rooms of the castle.”

Alter Egos ear twitched, looking curiously up at Kokichi as he said, “That’s where you all had the binding ceremony? Huh. Ya know, there was a few different rumors where the bonding ceremony happened, no one was sure why it was held in secret though. What did happen there, what was with all the secrecy?”

Alter Ego was genuinely asking Kokichi, the general consensus among the Luminary Party at the time that the Diceans had wanted to do the ceremony in private for some reason. That had to be the reason literally no one was invited to the thing. There were rumors that the ceremony had happened in the courtyard, someone saying they had seen them there, but people also claimed that knew that the ceremony had happened in Aiichi’s office, some sort of secret ‘ceremony’ room, someone even claiming that they had seen the princes return to the castle at some point, doing the binding ceremony outside of the castle. Everyone knew the horse had been killed in the basement, cleanup was too big and messy for that rumor to get out of control, but beyond that? The whole thing had been shrouded in confusion and mystery, for seemingly no reason.

And now Alter Ego had the chance to gossip. Fun!

Kokichi sighed, rolling his eyes a little. “Kai-chan and I made the most of it… Our pleas to Atua were honestly some of my favorite things about that whole day. And we did that part in the backyard.”

“But the whole plan before that…” Kokichi let out another exasperated sigh. “It was our idea to…do the sacrifice in the basement, ‘cause it had drains. But as for why only a few people were there? No one of the Dicean side knew what the ceremony was supposed to look like--all of that was decided by the Luminary secretaries. And, surprise, surprise, it was all more mind games.”

Kokichi’s mouth twisted to the side. “Our original guide animal was supposed to be a dove--Kai-chan had named it Puffy on your travels over, apparently--to be a symbol of the peace the treaty was going to bring. At last moment, Tengan and the others switched it to a horse…because “Ouma” in Tradean, means ‘big horse’. They named it after the fake name I had been using in town when I originally met Kai-chan…”

“...the whole thing was supposed to be an intimidation tactic,” Kokichi huffed, able to feel anger about it now that he understood what it was all about, and how much the ceremony was supposed to mean to Kaito. “They wanted to slaughter an animal that was supposed to be a representation of me, and ensure that I’d…do whatever it was that they thought my issues with blood are about.”

“But Kai-chan arranged it so I waited upstairs while the sacrifice was happening,” Kokichi said with a softer look on his face. “And that let me get a message from Tim, who was passing it on from Shuu-chan, to let us know that he was going after Maki-chan. It gave us enough information that I could send Katsuki-chan after them and…make sure that they’d be okay.”

Alter Ego had listened to this patiently… before laughing.

“So, in an attempt to freak you out, they put you in an ideal position to foil their nefarious plot?” Alter Ego summarized, giving Kokichi an openly amused look as he said, “Your fiance is right. Your life is a copper-novella. If it hadn’t actually happened, I’d have called that some real trite writing. What ridiculous people.”

“But, okay, the horse changeover was from the secretaries? That explains why it was all so hush-hush.” Alter Ego said, nodding a bit to themselves, “Perhaps by that point Head Secretary Tengan was still hoping to return to Luminary in good graces. He was the highest authority in the party, but… well, that wouldn’t have made the other counsel members powerless. If he was trying to pull mind-games for his own benefit, he probably rushed through the bonding ceremony to keep his fell advisors out of the loop with what was happening… at least, that’s what Taka and Chihiro think. Mondo’s arguing that Tengan was just throwing shit at the wall by that point, seeing what would stick, and Hiro’s just confused why anyone would do any of it. Which, honestly, feels fair.” 

“But, all that said? You most certainly got the last laugh. You have a child, your relationship is in good standing, you’re engaged again, and none of their plans worked out.” Alter Ego laughed lightly, “You won the battle and the war.”

Kokichi gave his friend a half-amused, half-exasperated look. His life was ridiculous, and…though it had been a lot of pain and uncertainty, he could still see that. The secretaries’ motivations…

“Mondo’s guess is basically what Kai-chan said he got from the situation. Like…Tengan had always been a bastard, but things had just gotten erratic by the wedding…” Kokichi frowned, his brow furrowing in frustration. “...they had told him…basically that the whole business with Maki-chan was insurance to make sure he was abusing me, and that they’d be spying on him to make sure of it too. They even took him away after our binding ceremony to get the general to beat Kaito up for…whatever stupid little power games they were playing. It was really fucked up…”

“...but we did make it out well, huh,” Kokichi grinned down at the cat. “It still caused a lot of lasting issues between us, but…we’re doing pretty damn well these days.”

Alter Ego recalled the part of the memory, where Shuichi and Kokichi started tilting ever so slightly down the incline of the hill, and how quickly Kaito’s hand had shot out, still utterly stunned by the proposal, but still reaching out to protect them almost mindlessly…

Yeah. Somehow Alter Ego felt pretty confident that any plan based around Kaito abusing his partners long term was destined to fail. Alter Ego knew through Kokichi that the guy had some serious faults, up to and including an explosive temper… but he didn’t seem the type to be abusive.

(Alter Ego didn’t have the whole story of who Kaito was, admittedly. But if they had it, they’d still probably end up giving Kaito the benefit of the doubt, as far as not repeating the mistakes and transgressions. Kaito had enough protective instincts to overcome it.)

(And even beside all that…)

(Kokichi wasn’t someone who could be beaten down. Alter Ego believed that too.)

“You all are doing much better these days.” Alter Ego said confidently. “At least from the stories I hear. If things are tough now? Just remember what a whirlwind it was a year ago. You guys are doing great, in comparison. And you’ll do even better next year too.”

“...okay, as sweet as the proposal is, I have to see this penguin situation.”

There had been nice, sweet moments. As his friends always told him, even living in situations Kokichi couldn’t imagine, it wasn’t torture all the time. But…when things got tough these days…he had to remember that they had made it through a living nightmare. And that was a sign that they could make it through everything else too. 

“Oh my god, they were so amazing! I got to pet a baby penguin!!!” 

With that, the field was replaced with the aquarium, Kokichi making his way through the pool, though he’d made a cloud for Alter Ego to observe from too. And Kokichi started explaining the amazing moments he’d had just that morning. 

-

Kokichi supposed the nice thing about regularly getting up so early was that when he didn’t have anything to do until mid-morning, he could still enjoy the morning. And he had, sitting with Miyako in the window seat, softly telling her about Zenith, pointing out everything they could see from their window. Honestly, the festival was already in full-swing, even if it was only a percentage of people that actually attended the opening ceremony. But people couldn’t wait to soak in the blazing summer sun and celebrate the miracle of their lives, supported by the earth and each other. 

Or just to eat good food and maybe score a date for that night. 

At Denji’s, there was a good fifteen minutes Kokichi and his sibling had spent just getting him into the modified yukata, a gorgeous pale yellow number with nearly invisible stitched in birds and accents in a warm, orangey red that matched his decorative obi. Denji themself was just in an oversized white teeshirt and sleep shorts, not bothering getting ready themself until they were done with appointments.

…which they had been working on since five that morning. 

So…maybe Kokichi wasn’t bickering quite as much as he might’ve, arguing to wear his new shoes to the festival.

Kaito was off, dropping of Miyako at Temps, promising to meet them at the gardens at the bottom of the castle hill. Maki had taken Timothy out to explore the festival early, telling them to find her out in the festival when they got themselves put together. Shuichi was hanging out in the room with Kokichi and Denji, fussing with his strange ‘not quite sleeves’ sleeves, having opted for pants with his own Yakuta outfit, which he had picked because it covered him comfortably and was in his favorite color: sensible blazer black.

He was still not wearing his hat. It was still on the bedside drawer. He was mildly debating with himself if he should go back and get it to protect himself from the sun, if nothing else, as he said, “Let him keep the shoes, it’s not like it clashes much with the outfit. As far as I can tell, anyway. I think they look nice.”

“It’s jewel purple and pale yellow, hello? Ugh…you know, at least they’re not both neon. Fine, run around, go for it…”

At that Kokichi really gave his sibling a worried look. “...are you sure you’re okay? I know I’m the last person to insist you should skip the festival and get some rest, but…”

Denji waved him off, moving to work on Kokichi’s hair. Since it was still pretty short, there wasn’t as much they could do with it, but they still opted to add a few pins, arranging the short curls a little more neatly. “I have a plan, don’t you worry your little head. Though, on that note…”

Despite the obvious fatigue on their face, the look Denji fixed on Kokichi and Shuuichi was still fierce. “You’re meeting Kaito in the garden at the bottom of the hill after this, right? You two are my last appointment, so…wait around a little longer when you get there, would you? I have something to tell you all.”

Shuichi blinked lazily at them. “...is it… deadly news or…?”

“What?” Denji blinked back at Shuuichi, before looking a little annoyed. “No, what are you talking about? Not everyone here are as insane as you all.”

Kokichi let out a little impatient hum as Denji started patting a sunscreen lotion onto his face. “Still nice to get that possibility out of the way. You’re talking to two people with anxiety here, Bull-san. Have a little more decorum.”

“...but, yeah, we can wait. S’long as you don’t take as long as Kai-chan does getting ready.”

Denji rolled their eyes. “Your husband and fiance spends an actual amount of time with care getting himself ready. You two could stand to take longer.”

“Nooooo, what Kaito does isn’t ‘taking care’ of himself.” Shuichi openly whined, in a very mellow mood that day, perfectly content to not take anything too seriously– if whatever Denji had to tell them wasn’t of life-threatening importance? Eh.-- as he straightened up in his chair, saying sternly, “He does this. Watch. Watch this. This is what he does.”

Shuichi took one of his bangs in front of his face, put it behind his ear… before muttering, “No, no, maybe… would this…” before moving it back in front of his face, fussing with the bang until it was pointed the other way, pretending like he was peering intently in a mirror as he murmured, “No, that’s too playful, maybe… like this…?” 

And then Shuichi flicking the bang up over his head, flicked it down, put it behind his ear, and then very purposefully, put it back in the exact same spot it had been in before he started fussing with it… before saying, in a truly terrible Kaito impersonation, his voice way too low and with a sort of a vague??? Beach-surfer accent??? “Oh, right, there we go! Perfect! … but would it be moooore perfect like this~???”

“That. Every morning.” Shuchi sighed, flomping back into his chair as he said, some fond amusement in his tone, “All to eventually put his hair in the exact same style he’s been wearing since he was fourteen. I can’t imagine you waste your time in the same way, Denji.”

While Denji continued applying Kokichi’s makeup--not a ton, just some chapstick and a little highlight under his eyes after the sunscreen…which was after some toner--the siblings both watched Shuuichi’s impression, letting loose a near identical snort when the detective had done his routine. 

“I would say he just needs more practice, but if it’s literally what he’s been doing since he was fourteen? I’d shudder to maintain a single style that long, but it’s certainly habit-building enough that he shouldn’t need to pay that amount of attention to achieve it.” Shaking their head, they turned Kokichi’s face this way and that, making sure there weren’t any weird uneven spots. “Maybe I should just force a new style on him the next time he asks for a haircut. He didn’t give me any direction last time, other than to just fix what terror this one did,” they poked their brother’s shoulder.

“And that was the plan!” Kokichi insisted with a grin. “And I wouldn’t put it past Kai-chan to try and keep his style as much as he could, since that’s what he did when his hair grew out.”

Denji shook their head. “What a stubborn guy… Alright, Shuuichi? Since you’re the only one to deign come by…is there anything you’d like help with? Your robes fitting oddly, or anything you want to try with your hair, or help getting proper sunscreen coverage?”

“Mmmm…” Shuichi idly tried to push his hair out of his face, though he barely noticed when it immediately fell back into place as he said, “I’m going to go out without a covering today. I suppose the wise thing to do would be to put on some sunscreen. If you don’t mind.”

His pants were a little big on him too, but he felt too self-conscious to mention that. His bottom heavy shape was already hard enough to find pants that fit well with, since his legs thinned out around his lower thighs, but that along with the challenges The Beast gave him… well. He was glad that the top part of the outfit basically hung a curtain over that area. He was trying to tuck less often these days, feeling a little less like it was terribly obvious what was happening downstairs, ever since, well…

…look. Standing next to Mr. Nidai? Shuchi had looked at their pants, side by side, respectively, and realized that he at least wasn’t camo-toeing that hard. Mr. Nidai’s pants, despite how baggy they were, basically morphed around his dick. It was obvious on him. Which made Shuichi less freaked out that he just wasn’t ‘noticing’ how his own dick looked through his pants these days, assuming even the slightest bulge was giving his new shapes away. But if Shuichi was that obvious, he’d have recognized it by now. Like, Mr. Nidai proved you definitely couldn’t miss it.

So he wasn’t tucking today, and he felt pretty good, visually. But his pants were still too big on him otherwise. Blegh. Next time he’d get it tailored properly beforehand.

“I wouldn’t have offered if I minded--it’s not like this slot is for you.” While their words were flippant, Denji was focused, getting right to work. They took a large bar clip to temporarily move Shuuichi’s bangs out of his face while not mussing them, and inspected Shuuichi’s skin for a moment. Even without hearing their routine from Kokichi, Denji could tell that Shuuichi had already washed his face that day, so they didn’t bother doing anything else before opening up the sunscreen, pouring some out onto one hand before offering it to Shuuichi. “Get your hands while I get your face--your yukata and hakama pretty much have you covered, but your hands are going to get exposure by moving around.”

And, in a contrast to their loud, blunt personality, Denji’s hands were deft and gentle as they patted the lotion into Shuuichi’s skin, making sure to cover him well without slathering it onto him. 

It was an odd feeling, having someone who wasn’t Kaito or Kokichi touching him. Shuichi hadn’t thought much about it before they started, but found himself pretty shy fairly quickly, quickly lathering up his hands before holding still, eyes hovinger towards his knees as he waited for Denji to finish.

Though, Denji was quick, clearly practiced at this, and Shuichi gave out a small sigh of relief when they took their hands back, giving them a thankful nod. “Thank you for taking the time. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather us wait for you to get dressed, rather then meet you at the bottom of the hill?”

“You’re welcome,” Denji nodded back, half going into their bathroom to wipe the excess lotion off their hands and give ‘em a wash. “And no, you two head down--I won’t be too long, but I want to tidy up a little. You try to keep things organized but a dozen people in and out will make a storm site of anywhere…”

Giving them a soft look, Kokichi--wearing his sparkly new shoes--went up and gave his sibling a hug, Denji looking a little exasperated, but warmly hugging him back. “We’ll see you soon, then. Thanks for your help, kyoukkun.”

At that, a smile halfway between smug and flattered grew on Denji’s face, giving Kokichi one last squeeze before waving him and Shuuichi off. “Yes, yes, see you by the garden…”

Shuichi took Kokichi’s hand, walking with him down the hall. “...you look really nice.” Shuichi complimented lightly, squeezing Kokichi’s hand a little, “Also, Kyoukkun is a new one for me. What does that one mean?”

Kokichi laced their fingers, giving Shuuichi an adoring look at the little squeeze. “Thanks… As much of a pain it is to get into, this is really comfortable. Denji-chan did a really incredible job.”

“Kyoukkun’ is…an affectionate term for a sibling,” Kokichi explained with a grin. “The word ‘kyoudai’ is just the word, but…it’s like how I call Lake ‘big sis’. It’s just closer and more affectionate.”

“Oh? That’s sweet. They seemed to like it.” Shuichi noticed, leaning over slightly to, just briefly, lay his head against Kokichi’s, straightening up at that small bit of affection after a quick moment, “I hope whatever news they have is good news. It didn’t seem like good news, but then, that could just be them being stressed. Maybe it’s not even news at all. Maybe they just wanna see if the group altogether looks good with your outfit.”

“Oh, have you seen Maki’s outfit yet? I swear, she and Kaito almost bought the exact same print. Only Maki’s is more flowery and less thirsty. It was uncanny when I saw them standing together, I helped her pick the yakuta and I still didn’t realize how similar it was until I saw them standing next to each other.”

“I dunno… I mean, they seemed stressed and kind of tired, but that makes sense since they’ve been busting their ass for, like, the past month trying to fulfill everyone’s requests for today… Denji-chan takes a lot of pride in their work, and it’s really incredible, seeing the demand they’ve drummed up,” Kokichi smiled, proud of his sibling too. “But more work is…more work. Especially when people hype up their expectations for a holiday like Zenith. I’m sure they’re gonna be relieved to have some down time after this.”

Looking moderately surprised, Kokichi hummed in excitement. “Oh, damn, no? She and Tim left while I was still looking after Miya this morning… Man, I’m excited to see her even more now! Aw, we’re all gonna look so cool together!”

“Which! By the way,” Kokichi giggled, nuzzling into Shuuichi’s shoulder, “You look really nice. I don’t think I’ve seen someone cut a yukata like that before, and it really suits you.”

“Is this unusual?” Shuchi asked, looking at his outfit with renewed interest, “I knew it was different from you three’s, but I still sorta assumed…”

Shuichi suddenly frowned, looking uncertain as he waved the long, square sleeves, “I don’t look foolish, do I? I mean, I know you just said I look nice, but… well, beyond you thinking I look nice? You’d tell me if I looked silly?”

Kokichi shook his head easily. “You look great, Shuu-chan. Yukata are such an oooooold style that people innovate on the design all the time. I bet we’ll see five people in the next hour alone who are wearing new cuts. And like I said…this one suits you.”

“My fiance looks so…classical and beautiful, like I’d see his portrait in one of those old prints of people seeking wisdom from an old master… You look great.”

Shuichi smiled, appeased at that. Old school, huh? He didn’t mind looking a little old-fashioned… “Thank you. Alright, let’s get out there. You been selling me on Zenith treats for months, it’s time to see if they live up to the hype.”

“Don’t worry,” Shuichi smirked, giving Kokichi a quick kiss, “We’ll tell Kaito it’s all research if he dares to scold us.”

-

“Oh my gooooood.” Kaito whispered, eyes shimmering, “I’m gonna diiiiiiiieeee oh no I love them loooooooooook.”

“They aren’t screaming yet, so… this is a good start.” Temp agreed far more warily, while Miyako and Addason both stared up at their respective dads, more or less unaware of each other so far. “Miyako seems remarkably calm… for now.”

“She’s the bravest little baby in the wooooooorld. Aren’t you, Miya? Miyaaaaaa~ Do you like Addie, Miya? Addiiieeeeeee, look, this is my daughter, Miyako~ Oh, I want them to be best friends.” Kaito gushed in a hushed tone.

“I am not entirely certain they’re aware of each other yet.” Temp said, peering at them. Addason and Miyako were both chilling out in the crib, a little bit apart, both laid out on their back. Addason kept looking between Kaito, Temp, Kaito… red, black, red… red… woah…

Miyako seemed perfectly content to suck on her pacifier and stare at her dad. She was in a weird new place, but dad was here, so… so long as that was true? She wasn’t offended yet.

Yet.

Speaking of strange environment… Kaito looked around the nursery again and… “Temp, man, I know your whole thing is ‘death’ and stuff, but… isn’t this a little much?” he asked, pointing to all the macabre and gothica runes that were painted with white paint onto the black walls, white curtains billowing from the large windows letting in a sort of shimmering, haunting light into the nursery, filled plushies of large, black dogs and strange, old fashioned toys.

“Oh, those aren’t decoration. They’re protection runes.” Temp explained, sighing as he looked at all the painstakingly painted runes. “For a variety of common magic, but most importantly, for mind magic. He’s not connected yet, thankfully, but… I wanted to be prepared in case he was an early bloomer and I hadn’t managed to block him more effectively by then. It’s not a permanent solution, it only protects him in this room, but… at least it’s something.”

Kaito frowned, turning away from the babies and putting a hand on Temp’s shoulder, “Hey, man, it’s gonna be okay… you and Kokichi and the cat–”

“Alter Ego.”

“--that’s really not a name, but okay. You three are all working on this, right? The same people who made the angry sword chick in my head by accident?? You’ll figure this out, if anyone can, it’s gonna be you guys! And we’ll sit down with Thalia, who’s living the dream already, right? Somehow, someway, Addason’s gonna be just fine, I guarantee it. The best people are on the case!”

Temp smirked slightly, “I appreciate the sentiment. I’m not afraid, though. Just taking precautions.”

“Weh….?” 

Whimper.

Temp’s eyes widened, “Uh oh.”

“WA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!” 

The two dads raced back to the crib, and somehow, in the time they had talked, Addason was now sobbing, Miyako was no longer sucking on her pacifier, but was idly chewing on Addason’s hand. Giving Addason a mostly confused look as he wailed. What was his problem?? Munch munch munch. 

“Oh, Miya, nooooo, no no.” Kaito insisted, pulling Addason’s hand out of her mouth, trying to give her the pacifier–

“Eh? Eeee-YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

Miyako, horrified that dad would take away her weird new treat, screamed at the top of her lungs too. Her and Addason wailing in unison.

“Oh, geez…” Kaito groaned.

“Go, it’s alright, I’ve got this.” Temp sighed, interrupting Kaito’s insistence he couldn’t leave him like this as he said, “No, it’s fine, babies are gonna cry. They’ll tire themselves out, it’ll be fine. I’ve got them, go.”

“Are you sure man?” Kaito said loudly, trying to be heard over the crying.

“I’m very experienced with juggling multiple crying infants. I’ve got this. Go, tell Kokichi happy Zenith for me. Trust me, they’ll be fine.” 

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

“Have fun!” 

-

Kokichi cheered when he spotted Kaito, skipping towards him with absolutely no evidence on his face or robes (or Shuuichi’s for that matter) that they had stopped by some of the tables out in the plaza, getting their first taste of the Zenith bounty! And maybe a few others, since people had noticed and stopped Kokichi in the way that happened every festival. 

“Kai-chan!!! Aaaa, you look so amazing!!” And he really did, all suited up in his yukata and underarmor, somehow a pale blue cape pinned and draped over his shoulders. If Shuuichi looked the part of a wise master, Kokichi could see Kaito’s visage painted in portraits of personal warriors, his arms draped over a sword at his waist…

But he did like them much more as his husband and fiance ready to enjoy a festival.

“Denji-chan said they had something they wanted to tell us, so we’re gonna wait a moment, if that’s alright?”

“Sure!” Kaito grinned, looking them both up and down, whistling low as he took Kokichi into a hug, before pushing him back a little to look him up and down but, just, waaaay more obviously this time, “Hell yeah. You guys look great! And look at you run in that, that’s so cool! Give me a spin and a strut beautiful, show it off!”

“Where on earth did you get that?” Shuichi asked, trying to sound exasperated, but reaching over to place his fingertips against the cape with an obvious linger. Shuichi, uh… couldn’t help but be a little ‘affected’ now, by this particular outfit. A rush of recent, fun memories associated with it. Mmmm…

“The cape?” Kaito grinned, “I had to walk by Amber’s shop to get to Temp’s place. She saw me wearing it, said if I swung by the shop on my way back she’d have something perfect for it. And it is, isn’t it cool!? I don’t know why she was cackling when she gave it to me. Uh, oh, right, she said to tell Kokichi specifically that she hoped he liked it.” 

Kaito beamed at Kokichi, tilting his head up and squaring his shoulders a little as he winked, “Well? Do you like it?”

Obliging, Kokichi did a little spin, kicking his legs out in little hops to really show how versatile the altered yukata was. No worries about flashing anyone today! Or having his obi slip and robe part. 

It was the most comfortable set of robes he’d ever worn, probably. 

But while he’d gotten a fashion upgrade…

“Amber…” Kokichi sighed, maybe a little overdramatically. “I knew telling her about your thing for capes would come back to me one day. Even wearing a completely different style you’ve found a cape to match with it.”

Still, he didn’t want to disappoint Kaito. 

Hopping up, Kokichi kissed Kaito’s cheek. “Well, you still look nice. How were the babies? Did they acknowledge each other at all?”

Kaito grinned, obligingly leaning down a little to let Kokichi easily get his kiss in, though he pouted a little after hearing Kokichi’s assessment. “What, what do you mean I ‘still’ look nice? The cape adds layers, Kokichi! Layers! I look amazing! Shuichi, don’t I look amazing??”

“Mmm?” Shuichi hummed, distracted as he stopped looking at Kaito’s… leg area. Wondering if maybe his robe would open up… what was he wearing under there? Hmm… “Oh, yeah, the cape looks nice, Kaito.”

“Hmph. Amazing.” Kaito grumbled again, before laughing a little at Kokichi’s question about the babies, “They… did! We owe Temp a favor, holy shit guys. When I left, Miyako was trying to eat Addason. She was very upset when I made her stop, almost as upset as Addason was to be eaten.”

“Can’t let anything get near Miyako right now. Everything goes into her mouth.” Shuichi sighed, “Little suckling feind, that child.”  

Well, he did look nice enough that Kokichi was absolutely going to sketch him later. All of them, really. He didn’t think this was the only time he’d convince his family to dress in traditionally Dicean clothes--he didn’t even convince them this time, though his excitement seeing them like this was definitely a factor--but…Kokichi wanted to savor it. 

Like how Miyako was savoring her new friend, apparently. 

Kokichi snorted, shaking his head with a laugh. “Oh noooo, Miyaaaaa… Man, I can’t imagine how much worse it’s gonna get when she starts teething too. So curious, our girl.”

True to their word, Denji didn’t actually leave the royal family waiting long. Gone were the loose sweats and tired eyes--instead Denji was wearing a colorful jumper with tall boots and a large matching sunhat, their hairstyle simple but effortlessly curled around their face that was devoid of the bags and stresslines from earlier. Just because of makeup, but still--the effect was marked. 

But most of all…Denji wasn’t coming up to them alone. 

Hand in hand, a slightly shorter woman had a moderately nervous look on her freckled face, her green hair clipped up to the side in cascades while she wore a purple haltertop shirt tucked into a light pink wrap skirt, matching flats with an ankle strap to finish it off. 

“Thank you for waiting,” Denji addressed, standing proudly before the three men. “This is my girlfriend, Andromeda. I wanted to introduce you all.”

“...” Kaito looked back and forth between Denji, Andromeda, Denji, Andromeda… “Oooooooooooh. Okay. Wow!” 

Kaito suddenly grinned, mostly addressing Andromeda as he said, “Awwwww, that’s sweet. Thank you for treating Kokichi’s sibling so well, to the point where you were climbing walls for them! But! That said??” Kaito leaned forward, whispering conspiratorially to her, “Want me to thump them a bit? Denji’s kinda sensitive, I know, but they still should have walked you home. I’m not afraid of Denji, I’ll thump them for you so they’ll know better next time.”

“Kaito, what are you talking about?” Shuichi asked, genuinely baffled. Maki not having mentioned the Andromeda incident to him. Bowing to Andromeda, he said, “I’m sorry about him, Kaito sometimes makes jokes that only makes sense to him.”

“Who’s joking!? I’m offering a valuable service!”

Andromeda perked a little, her cheeks coloring, as Denji sent both her and Kaito a bewildered look. “Climbing walls? What?” And, like Shuuichi, Kokichi just sent Kaito a questioning look too, before giving Andromeda a grin. 

“It’s nice to meet you! Again, sort of. Thanks for treating my big sibling well, Andromeda, and congratulations! I’m sure Denji-chan’s told you, but I’m Kokichi, that’s Kaito, and this is Shuuichi!”

Seemingly a little unprepared at all the attention--though, in fairness, Denji had warned her--Andromeda stuttered for a moment before giving the men a nervous smile. “It’s nice to meet you too…again. Den talks a lot about you guys, though uh…Kaito, please don’t fight my partner.”

“And don’t try to intimidate my girlfriend!” Denji huffed. “Honestly…you guys are so weird sometimes. Though…” They gave a curious, considering look between Andromeda and her brother. “...you guys ran into each other at the Gentle Club?”

Andromeda nodded, her expression relaxing more into her default unbothered one. “Yeah, they wanted to talk to Dawn.”

With a put upon sigh, Denji put an arm around Kokichi’s shoulders and held him close. “Well, then I suppose I should thank you for introducing us, in a way… Or, rather, you, Kaito,” they nodded to the prince. “Waku shared that coupon you got, and that’s how Romi and I met--her sister works at the club.”

Kaito smiled pleasantly at first.

Then his smile got a little crooked. A small twitch in his face.

Then his face turned red. And he made a small little helpless sound as he put hands in front of his eyes, clearly flustered as he said, “Oh nooooo… that’s too cuuuuuute…. Nnnngh!”

As Kaito’s mind was suddenly flooded with daydreams of Waku and Denji at the strip club, Denji seeing Andromeda from across the room, they’re eyes meeting and music filling the warm and sensual air, ahhhhhhhhhhh– Shuichi idly patted him on the back as Kaito had a fit, saying for him, “Aw, it’s nice to know something so nice came from that gift. Have you been dating since then? It’s nice to finally be introduced to you, as Kokichi’s family, I’m certain we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other from now on.”

For a moment, Andromeda’s eyes locked onto Kaito, something shimmering in the deep wine red. 

Her mouth watered. She didn’t have the same ideas as Dawn, but…she could see how much of a shame it was that Kaito was so committed to his partners. The man could probably single-handedly feed every employee at the Gentle Club in one go. But it had been a long time since any succubus forced themself onto someone else. 

“I’m sure as well,” Andromeda gave Shuuichi a little nod. “Congratulations on the engagement, by the way. It’s all very exciting…but Denji and I have plans.”

For normally looking a bit passive, there was a sudden strength in Andromeda’s eyes as he turned back to Denji, leaning against their arm. “We’re going to get some food and find a nice tree to sit under. Very busy, as you can tell.”

And if nothing else that meeting, Kokichi’s grin widened as he really saw what was in Andromeda. Now that was a partner he could approve of. “Oh, I believe it. You two have fun--Happy Zenith!”

“Happy Zenith.”

“Happy Zenith!” Kaito said cheerfully, managing to pull himself out of his insistent, cute/sexy daydreams, giving them a wave as the couple walked off, before grinning, “That was sweet. Kokichi, did you have any idea Denji was seeing someone? I didn’t have a clue. Not that I spend much time with them, but still. Shuichi?”

“I didn’t know, no.” Shuichi shrugged, idly reaching over to put his arms around Kaito’s, leaning against him comfortably as he said, “But then, I don’t keep up with the rumor mill these days like I should. Miyako keeps me busy. I’ll have to add it to my notes.”

“Denji has a page?”

“Of course Denji has a page,” Shuichi sighed, nuzzling his head into Kaito’s shoulder, “Everyone has a page, don’t be silly. I’m not that out of practice.”

Kokichi waved cheerfully to his sibling and their girlfriend before leaning against Kaito’s other side, taking one of his hands. “I didn’t, no… I guess they just wanted to feel things out and date for a while without telling anyone. Denji has been happier lately, though… I’m glad.”

He wasn’t quite sure ‘happier’ really covered it. There had been a certain ease and assurance to his sibling, along with, yes, general happiness. Denji was one of the most confident people he knew, but…out of it came a certain combativeness. Like…they were yelling at the world to even dare try to belittle them. 

Over the past…two months or so? Denji had seemed so…calm. Like they didn’t even care about building up their tower and defences, like any potential attacks weren’t even on their radar, and not out of naivety. Just…that they were so confident in their ability to keep on, that it wasn’t even a minor concern. 

It was really nice to see. Kokichi would be rooting for the two of them. 

“Mm, speaking of page updates…I hope we run into Nadya-chan today. We forgot to talk about a place to meet up so…it’s just kind of hoping for happenstance at this point. I’m excited to meet her boyfriend!”

“I’m sure we’ll run into them.” Kaito said, adjusting slightly to be able to walk smoothly with two love leaches on him, the three heading out, “The festivals big, but if it's anything like harvest was, there’s a kind of, like… unofficial order to things. This event happens here at this time, that area’s best at this hour, that sort of thing. So long as they’re not fucking around entirely, I’m sure we’ll run into plenty of people we know.”

“What do you think the odds are that at least half of Maki’s siblings haven’t found her by now?” Shuichi asked.

“Only half? Those kids are organized, the second one of them spotted her, trust me, they all knew. She’s gonna have a gaggle. Honestly, I’m counting on it.” Kaito admitted, “I’m really hoping Timothy might find himself wanting to play with some of the kids near his age, if they’re all hanging around Maki at the festival. I really thought he’d have gone and made more friends by now with Kimiko and Cali away so long, but the kid just runs around with Chase all day. I don’t want him isolated all summer, I’m hoping this will be his chance to socialize.”

“He’ll be okay. And the girls will be back sooner than you think. Timothy’s likely just not feeling any urgent need to make new friends, when he just has to wait it out for his old ones.” Shuichi said, stepping in time with Kaito, still contently leaning against him, “Some people just don’t end up needing a lot of friends. You only need two… and then maybe a third one if he’s cute enough.”

“Heeeey, congrats, Kokichi! You managed ‘third friend’ status!”

People had things they were more interested in doing and seeing, sure, but Kaito had a point. There definitely were things that were draws for larger demographics. He wondered if Nadya was going to participate in the water fight this year… She was an athlete, so it’d be down her alley, but she was going to be at the festival with Conrad and Thieza, and even through Nadya’s stories, he didn’t even begin to know either of them well enough to make a guess. 

It really was more fun to go around the festival with friends. 

Snorting, Kokichi chuckled a bit. “Ah, third friend, I’ve been vying to have the honor for years… I’ve really made it.”

“I think Tim will be alright,” Kokichi assured his husband, patting his arm. “It’s not like he doesn’t know any other kids besides Cali and Kimiko--he’s just not that interested. Maybe one day he will be, maybe not, but he’s not isolated. And considering all Maki-chan’s siblings will most likely be starting school in the next term? Classes are probably going to be shuffled more, so he’ll get even more chances to meet kids his age.”

“...hopefully fewer jerk ones like Greg.”

“Fuck Greg.” Shuichi agreed easily.

“Shuichi,” Kaito scolded, giving him a stern look, “They’re little kids, they don’t know any better yet. Greg probably just needs someone with good head on their shoulders giving him a stern talking too.”

“Tell me again about the last time Tim tried to stab you?”

“That does not go against my point! I just needed to… disarm him first! And keep myself from losing it on him.” Kaito growled, still remembering the strike to his face… before sighing, “But we did talk it out, he was just confused and feeling panicked. We got there. And he’s been a little saint since then.”

“Sure, if we’re not counting the vents–”

“Oh god, the vents,” Kaito shuddered, like he only just remembered that, “Ugh, my kid’s such a terror… but okay, besides the vents. Just needed a talking too! …and to be made to replace all the air filters.”

“What about that time you and him went running for hours for some reason–”

“Healthy communication! But with jogging attached!”

Kokichi snickered softly. “Generally, I agree with you, Kai-chan. I don’t think a kid can really be, like, a true asshole. But…they can be aware of being purposefully mean and hurting others. Usually the best foundation they can get is someone to care about them and guide them down better paths, but…sometimes kids are just gonna be jerks. Hopefully they’ll be embarrassed by it later in life.”

Rather than never learning and having it fester into hatred or even an apathy towards thinking about other people. But kids were never irredeemable--they just needed a little more help sometimes. 

And Tim, more than some kids, was already on a good path. Sometimes it was more drastic or on a bigger scale, but…the issues he got himself into were firmly kid shit, as far as Kokichi was concerned. And maybe that was a problem in his thinking, since he would consider an earnest assassination attempt against him kid shit, but…

Well, Tim’s reasoning hadn’t been hateful and malicious. He had been scared and confused and feeling betrayed, especially in the sacrifices of the people he held dear. Kokichi wouldn’t hold that against him. 

He was a good kid. 

“I am hoping he and Maki-chan will get up to something fun, though, that’ll make a good story to tell Kimiko and Cali when they come back.”

“I’m sure we’ll find them.” Kaito said, still just entirely certain they wouldn’t miss anyone. He got the sense it was going to be a long day. Not in a bad way, just that the day would probably feel very ‘full’, by the time they were done with it. Holidays were usually like that. 

It was a warm summer day, and there was a strong scent of food in the air. Kaito was a little surprised Shuichi and Kokichi weren’t pulling him towards all the food stands yet, he had sort of thought it’d be the very first thing they’d want to do, but the two seemed perfectly content to just walk around so far. 

And maybe it would have been enough to just walk around, enjoying the sights and the food and the company… but as they passed a park field that was a bit out of the way, the trio not heading this direction in any of their regular travels but Kaito still having seen at least once before to recognize as a mostly just big empty field people usually played sports on…

Kaito’s eyes widened, the field now filled with strange, gimmicky looking rides, all seemingly put up overnight, each more bizarre looking than the last. It reminded him immediately of the carnival they had visited at the beach, but cheaper, and more mobile. All the rides were also small, small enough to be pulled by a carriage into a new position on the field if needed, and indeed some of the attractions were notably on wheels, ready to be moved immediately as needed. 

Kaito didn’t recognize most of the rides, having never seen them in Luminary. But he did immediately recognize one that made him practically jump, only Shuichi and Kokichi’s hold on him keeping him from immediately heading over there to confirm as Kaito said excitedly, “Shuichi! It’s a moving floors course! They have a moving floors course!”

Shuichi’s brow furrowed, searching through the rides… before he groaned. It looked different from the version they had in Luminary, but he could recognize it once he saw the weird pseudo-flooring. It was essentially a series of four ‘floors’, all just pathways in front of a dazzlingly colored cutout, but the pathways all moved in a variety of directions and patterns, the obstacle course being a challenge to keep your footing all the the way to the top floor, which if you made it, let you slide back down to victory. Each floor got progressively more difficult, and all floors other than the top floor, at least back in Lumnary, would have required you to jump if you gave up, with a little catch bag below, the top floor more just not being safe to jump from rather than the slide being a reward. But Dicea differed in that each floor just seemed to have shorter slides.

Still… “Kaito, doooon’t. You remember twisting your knee on one of these? You were limping all day.”

“But they’re so much fuuuuuun! And I was rushing through it, I could have totally done it had I not been trying to beat Fuyuhiko’s time!” Kaito insisted, still just looking excited at it, “I wanna try it!” 

Kokichi loved Zenith. The warm weather that even at its most uncomfortable was a feature towards playing in fountains or getting in a water balloon fight and eating frozen treats, the vibe in the air of people having fun and enjoying themselves, all the incredible food that wasn’t always a festival special, but sure seemed like it, and all the things to do, ensuring that you never got bored. 

And within those myriad things were carnival rides. Not things Kokichi had ever been able to go on before, but definitely ones he wanted to try out now. 

Kokichi’s eyes were eagerly looking around the ride set up in the park, trying to decide what he wanted to propose to his family first, but he lit up as there seemed to be Kaito could barely physically keep himself from beelining towards. “A moving floors course?”

It…wasn’t quite a tower, though it did climb higher, and…yeah. An obstacle course of moving floors really was the best way to describe it. 

Kokichi laughed warmly. “I bet Kimiko would kick all our asses at this… It looks like a lot of fun! It’s still first thing in the day so…let’s be careful! But try it out?” Kokichi turned more to Shuuichi at that, hope in his eyes. “We wouldn’t wanna give ourselves a handicap for the first thing we’ll do today--we can be careful.”

“...don’t give me the puppy-dog eyes,” Shuichi frowned, offended, “That’s a Kaito trick. We don’t use that on me!”

“Who’s tricked? You guys aren’t tricking me, I know what you’re doing when you pull that stunt.” Kaito huffed, leaning over to give Shuichi a quick kiss before saying, “Cheer us on, okay? We’ll be careful! Besides, it’s Dicea, it’s probably safer!”

Shuichi gave Kaito a dry look, but didn’t argue when Kaito took Kokchi’s hand and insisted, “Come on, come on, let’s go check it out!”

There wasn’t much of a line, it a little too early for most people to feel like doing any sort of challenge, but the person running the ride was only allowing one person per floor on so far, waiting until someone got up the spinning staircase to the next floor before letting on the next person. Though… “You feel okay running it yourself, or should we ask if we can go on together? It’ll have a little stable pathway next to the moving floors to step onto if you’re overwhelmed, but I could catch you if you lose your footing if we got together.” Kaito offered as they waited their turn.

Kokichi pouted a bit. “I’m not trying to use puppy-dog eyes on you--my eyes would be much wider if I was! I am simply making a plea to my wonderfully pragmatic fiance to let Kai-chan and I be goofballs for a bit.”

Having done it themselves, they could one day give pointers to the kids! Even if Maki would probably correct everything they thought they’d figured out. 

However, throwing knives wasn’t the only thing Maki had started to teach Kokichi. 

Kokichi squeezed his husband’s hand as they waited in line, tearing his eyes away from where he had been observing the people who’d gone on before them. “That’s sweet, hun, but I’ll be alright by myself. A tumble’s not gonna shatter me, though I am gonna do my best not to fall.”

“Unless you needed me to stabilize you?” he teased, knocking their hips together with a little grin.

Kaito smirked, raising an eyebrow, “Babe, I’m sorry, but if you tried catching me falling, I’d crush your tiny, beautiful body. I’m not even sure you’d cushion the fall at least, your sharp elbows would just,” Kaito poked himself in the side and made an exaggerated wince, “Gah! Straight through the kidney!”

Kokichi nodded sagely and held his free arm in front of them. “My natural weapons of mass destruction. I’m surprised I haven’t elbowed you guys more while we’re asleep. At least Shuu-chan appreciates my cold, little hands, though. Doesn’t insult them like some people.”

Laughing as they got to the front of the line, Kokichi made a little motion with his hand. “D’you wanna go first? You have more experience with this, and I don’t wanna keep you from playing longer.”

“You give yourself far too much credit, babe.” Kaito said dryly, thinking of plenty of times Kokichi’s night movement had jabbed him. Cute little terror. But his eyes lit up as he realized they were at the front, practically bouncing in his heels as he said, “Yeah! Watch me, beautiful, I’m gonna show you how it’s done! Don’t try to keep up with my time, okay, I’m an expert!”

Being let onto the ride, Kaito rubbed his hands together, looking over the first floor, before looking off the ride, searching, “Hey! Shuichi! Shuichi, you watching!?”

Shuichi raised a thumbs up. A dry look on his face.

“Watch, okay, this is gonna be cool!!” Kaito called out to him, before re-focusing, pumped. Okay! He had this! 

Stepping onto the first floor, Kaito grinned, the floor just moving backwards fairly slowly. Easy, easy…. But as he got to the next conveyered, it jumped back, stopped, jumped back, before jumping forward, Kaito taken off guard by the jump forward, jerking backwards! Catch yourself, catch yourself! Uuuuuh, okay! We’re good! Totally have this! Were they watching?? A quick glance over showed they still were, so Kaito grinned and pushed forward. Easy! 

The last part of the first floor was a circular spinning floor, and Kaito literally just stepped onto it and let it spin him before stepping off, cheerfully heading up the staircase to the next floor. Hell yeah! Easy peasy!!

The thing was, it was far from a foregone conclusion, in a fight, if one person was significantly bigger than you. Those were the odds Maki had had to contend with for most of her life. But what that thing actually was, was that for every ten, twenty pounds someone had on you, for every two or three inches, the amount of skill and experience needed to bridge that gap jumped exponentially. 

For most people, if they had to go up against someone a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier, the best thing you could do would be to run. But for people like Maki, who had no choice, and the smaller folks who joined the guardforce whose choice could leave other people in danger…there were things you could do to give yourself a better chance. 

For someone as small as Kokichi, his mobility was his greatest asset against fights of momentum. 

Kokichi watched Kaito navigate the first floor of the course like he’d been doing with everyone else, grinning and quietly cheering him on. But when it was his turn…

Minimize your contact with the floor. Don’t let it get the chance to throw you around. 

With light steps, Kokichi leaped across the backward-moving conveyor in a few strides before practically bouncing across the jerkily moving one. He could stand on the spinning one, but in a show of pride he simply bounded across on the side spinning towards the exit. Kaito hadn’t taken long on his turn, but even for someone not timing it, Kokichi’s trip was significantly shorter.

Kaito hadn’t been planning to wait and watch Kokichi, not wanting to pressure his husband to hurry by openly waiting for him at the staircase. But as he headed upstairs, he heard little gasps and excited giggles coming from the people off the ride, and stopped, noticing people were stopping and watching. Curious, Kaito peeked down, able to peek beneath the floor is he bent his body down far enough from the step he was at.

…?? Kaito clearly missed it, Kokichi already at the circle by the time he had looked, only catching Kokichi’s excited, pleased expression at the end. Hm? Kaito guessed Kokichi had gotten through it quickly. “Nice work, babe!” Kaito told him with a grin, before heading the rest of the way upstairs. Maybe he’d stop to watch after this floor, see what everyone off the ride was gawking at.

But! It was time to face the second floor challenge!! 

This one was a little trickier, and Kaito stopped to make sure he knew what was coming before he stepped onto the first conveyer belt, smirking as he went, but a small bead of sweat on his forehead now. Th first conveyers floors were actually several small, carefully cut angular conveyers, each one going backwards, but in a slightly different angled position. Kaito had to keep his steps short, remembering that it was a conveyer like this that had twisted his knee that one time, accidentally letting his foot rest on one too long until it twisted suddenly into a different direction, but again, he hadn’t been paying attention that time. If you watched the floor, it was easy to avoid. Just small, quick steps. Alright! 

The next one was another conveyer just going straight backwards, but faster then the one downstairs, and there was a spart past its end that had little bumps on it. Not bumpy enough to not being able to step on, but clearly meant to encourage you to try to jump it at the end of the conveyor. Thankfully, Kaito’s long legs made it basically a moot point for him, trotting down the faster conveyer and taking a longer, exaggerated step to get over the bumps. Did it! 

At the bottom of the staircase, Kaito crossed his arms, smirking at Kokichi now. Clearly just openly watching, daring him to impress.

Kokichi giggled delightedly to himself as Kaito called back praise, and he supposed he was a little lucky for that first floor. He’d gotten to watch a good few people go through it, but because of the staggering, that advantage was over now. Thankfully for him, by the time Kaito was still on the first set of the second floor, Kokichi had made it up so he could still watch him, but…well, at least Kaito was a good example all on his own. 

Just to avoid a clog--and to observe how Kaito tackled all the obstacles--Kokichi waited until his husband was on the other side before trying himself, taking a few moments to watch the belts. It was all mechanical, not random, so…he just needed to look for the patterns. 

For the first set of angled belts, Kokichi hopped over them like he had the one on the first floor, though he made sure to place his feet in the center of a belt when he touched down--getting twisted and turned was a recipe for an injury. However, the second belt was a little more of a challenge. Because of its speed, Kokichi couldn’t rely as much on airtime…but thankfully, when he was feeling well, speed wasn’t an issue for the small prince. Taking more horizontal prances, Kokichi made his way quickly across, hopping over the bumps at the end. 

When he looked up, he was a little surprised to see Kaito watching him, but he gave his husband a grin. “You’re right, this is really fun! It’s like a puzzle to run through.”

Kaito grinned, a flush coming to his face as he watched his husband go. Hell yeah… look at those damn side steps… but he glanced off the ride, hearing more reactions. Again, more excited giggles, a few claps and woo’s. A crowd was forming, probably people coming by to see what people were gawking at, and while Kaito knew that some of this was just people recognizing Kokichi, he also knew the other half of it was Kokichi being genuinely graceful looking through the course. 

Something competitive ran through him. “Hell yeah, it’s fun! Just be careful, beautiful, it gets trickier from here!”

Heading upstairs, Kaito rolled his shoulders a little, a little determined huff running through him. He’d only give this course a glance, he wanted to get through it quicker then the other two! Give Kokchi a race for his coin! On first glance it looked simple enough, he had it!

This one was more about the circes again, large circles that twisted into figure eights, each one going in the opposite direction of those next to it. The first one was short to get you used to it, but each one was progressively faster, until running through it sort of looking like a complicated tap dance. Kaito managed the first two fine, but on the third on he lost his footing, basically standing on one foot as the figure eight raced him around, Kaito doing his best to keep track of where he was as he shot his foot forward. The last figure eight was fastest and Kaito basically fumbled onto it, only accidentally doing the same ‘air-jump’ trick Kokichi was doing as he was forced to keep hopping, his body struggling to keep balance. 

Phew! Made it! 

There was some more giggles and a few claps, but Kaito decided not to look down to see if the giggles were impressed or more amused then anything. His face burning red, Kaito still turned around and gave Kokichi a thumbs up, “No problem! Get over here, beautiful! Careful on that final eight!”

Giving his husband a thumbs up, Kokichi settled to watch him take his turn on the third floor, honestly a little amazed just watching the conveyors by themselves. Curves were tricky to mechanize without tilting--there was a lot of thought put into its design…

But more impressive was watching someone try to traverse it. 

Kaito was off without much hesitance and Kokichi watched his footwork raptly, oo-ing to himself as his husband navigated some tricky sections… It really seemed like finding points where the circles spun together was the way to do it, get your feet on similar velocities…

If you had both your feet down at once. Kokichi grinned as he watched Kaito hop across the last bit, giving him applause from the other side of the course. “That was awesome, hun! Thanks for the heads up!”

…if you were only relying on one foot on the ground at a time…then you only needed to find the quickest path forward, didn’t you? All the places where the circles were spinning towards the exit, and use that to serpentine forward. 

Taking a few moments to let his eyes draw out the path…ah. There. Swaying his body like when he skated, Kokichi leaned into the momentum of the eights, only touching down for brief moments when the belts spun towards the exit, never breaking stride. It was still like a tap dance, but in a routine where someone was crossing the stage in an elegant performance.

Making his way to the other side, Kokichi giggled brightly. “This one’s a lot of fun!”

That one got Shuichi to ‘ooooh’ lightly to himself, looking suitably impressed down below, though he didn’t plan to clap unless one of them was deliberately looking at him. It had looked like skating to Shuichi too, which he liked. He had always thought Kokichi looked his most impressive skating .

“Man, you made it look effortless.” Kaito said, looking impressed, before peeking down at the crowd, only pouting a little at the cheers. “Your publics here, if you didn’t notice. Give them a wave, they’re watching you go!”

Ruffling Kokichi hair a bit– and man, as wild as it was to watch Kokichi do this normally, it still looked doubly impressive in his outfit, which visually did not look like it should let Kokichi spin and jump so effortlessly– Kaito climbed up the staircase, adjusting his own obi around his waist as he gave this final course a determined, serous look. Come on, Kaito, one last chance to impress! You got this! 

This one was tough too. Kaito looked startled, having never seen this before, as he watched the rock up and down. Still moving, but methodically going from incline to decline. None of it steep, but enough to definitely add a new layer of challenge to it. 

Alright. 

Kaito decided to lean into his weight, hoping a square posture and sturdy footing would keep him steady against the inclines as he walked the conveyers. It was almost like every step had turned to stone, Kaito taking each one with a heavy THUMP, keeping his feet planted onto the ground as much as possible, keeping his balance through sheer force of effort, grunting at the effort as he got to the final conveyer, which was a circle that managed to roll up and down, not terribly fast, but wide. Stepping onto it, Kaito decided to let it spin him around, wanting to step off when he got to the other side, but the first rise hit harder than he had been expecting it. Kaito kept his footing on the first jump, but didn’t step off fast enough, and realized he had made a mistake when suddenly both feet were in the air. Whoops…

“Aw, hun…” Kokichi flushed, turning to see the small crowd of people watching, and he gave them a wave, smiling as a few excited people waved back, some letting out some encouraging hollers. Honestly Kokichi was just pleased he hadn’t fallen over, but…if he was really doing that well?

Kokichi felt himself puff in pride as he followed Kaito up the stairs before turning his attention to his husband and the new set of obstacles. And Kokichi’s musings about using vertical space, apparently, were one floor too early. He stared at the rocking and rolling belts in simple astonishment for a moment, baffled of how to even start to parse it apart. 

And while brute force was something Kokichi simply wouldn’t have the frame for…damn did it work for Kaito. Kokichi watched in awe as Kaito strode forward like an unstoppable force, making the road part for him…

But it was hubris to expect to command nature. 

Kokichi gasped softly as Kaito tripped, calling out, “Kai-chan?!”

Kokichi had planned on timing the rocks of the straight forward belts, but in the face of his fallen husband (who would be fine, he knew, but that didn’t stop the lunge of worry in his chest) instinct took over and Kokichi hopped at each apex like hopping over raised stones across a river. Bending his knees and keeping them loose, he rode the spherical wave over before lunging for Kaito, letting some of the ride’s momentum throw him to the side and keep Kaito up before he regained his own steadiness and stabilized the foot-taller, hundred pounds heavier man.

There was a series of gasps from the crowd, not from the bounce, but from Kokich’s sudden dash forward, the Ouma looking oddly serious on this final floor, practically throwing himself across the top course with the same finesse and grace as the previous ones. And while it had happened too quickly to realize why he had started moving, seeing him quickly tilting Kaito forward, correcting his momentum, it became more obvious what had happened–

Delighted, the crowd CHEERED, while Shuichi blushed. Both from being impressed by Kokichi, and a little embarrassed on Kaito’s behalf, who was blinking like he wasn’t entirely certain what had happened, giving Kokichi a befuddled look as the two stepped onto the stable platform. “Oh…”

“... Kokich, that was incredible!” Kaito shouted, putting together after a moment exactly what had happened, too impressed to be personally embarrassed as he gave Kokichi an openly shocked look, “How fast is your reflex’s!? Were you right behind me or what?? That was so quick!”

Kokichi, at least at first, seemed to barely acknowledge the eruption of cheers from the ground, utterly occupied with making sure Kaito was alright, no twisted limb or painful bruises…

But as Kaito gaped at his performance (which wasn’t always an indication that he was alright, but…like, he’d just tripped. He was alright) Kokichi flushed lightly, then deeper as he noticed the cheering from down below. “I got worried… I know you’d be fine--my husband is made of tough stuff! But tripping hurts. I was moving before I realized it, really…I didn’t want you to fall.”

Smiling sheepishly, Kokichi reached up to cup Kaito’s cheek. “I told you I’m quick. Maki-chan and I have been working on my footwork too.”

“Awww, hell yeah! That was super cool, still.” Kaito grinned, taking Kokichi’s head in his hands and rewarding him with a kiss, before seeming to remember they had an audience when there were a few whistles at that. Kaito gave the crowd a startled look, before snickering as he whispered to Kokichi, “Geez, I can’t take you anywhere, huh? ‘Kichi, we’ve only been out here, like, five minutes and your fan club already found you.”

Giving Kokichi another quick kiss, Kaito headed to the slide, grinning cheerfully as he slid down. Shuichi was waiting at the bottom for him, and gave Kaito a hand up, waiting on Kokichi next as he said, “You’re lucky Maki missed that, she’d make fun of your for a week.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You saw what Kokichi did, right!? That was wild!” 

“I saw,” Shuichi laughed, giving Kokichi a hand up when he slid down next, “You were fast through that, it was impressive.”

Kokichi flushed, but grinned up at his husband, giving him a loving cheek stroke. “Only ‘cause you suggested something so cool to do. The way you made it through the first part of this floor? I could barely believe it, you looked so awesome. Like a real force of nature.”

Before heading down the slide, Kokichi made sure to adjust the bottom of his robe under him--just because it wasn’t going to completely flip up didn’t mean that it wouldn’t bunch and get uncomfortable. And at the bottom he was rewarded with a prize, though he hadn’t been expecting one from a ride. 

Giggling, Kokichi accepted Shuuichi’s hand and hugged him briefly, looking pleased. “I’m pretty happy with it for my first time. Not now, since I’d be worried about injuries, but I feel like it could be a fun winding down thing to do, trying to get the best times. I’m sure Maki-chan would have fun with that and completely smash my record.”

Looking around eagerly at the other rides--though flushing and waving at the people hooting and hollering at the royal family--Kokichi found both his partners’ hands. “What do you wanna do next? I’m kinda hoping to get on one of the spinny rides before we decide to eat.”

“Ooooooh, let’s do it! Which one though, there’s so many spinny rides. Little teacup spinny ride, giant spinny ride that basically pushes you against the walls?? Spinny ship that goes all the way upside down??”

Shuichi frowned, “Ugh. I’m happy to watch you guys do most of these. I can be talked into the teacup one, but the rest are just going to beat me up.”

“Let’s do the teacups, then!” Kokichi chirped, taking the lead over to the mini-ride set up. They’d had teacups at the coast too, but that lay out had had about 16 cups, four each on an independently spinning plate on top of the bigger plate that spun. This one, meant to be easily moved and broken down, was only four cups on one rotating plate…but the cups still looked like the faster you spun the wheel in the middle, the faster you went. 

Maybe they wouldn’t go breakneck, for Shuuichi’s sake, but they could still get some speed!

Nodding towards the bigger ride that pushed you against the walls, Kokichi gave Kaito a half-lamenting shrug. “I can’t do that one either, though. Seiko’s cleared me for rollarcoasters ‘n stuff, after we did it last time, but even for people with easier issues, they still warn people with any kind of heart condition not to ride it. Still! It looks like there’s a lot more we can do!”

Kaito pouted a little, giving the wall spinny thing a regretful look, but… well, it’d be lame to go on it alone. They’d stick to what they could at least do in pairs.

They waited in line a little bit, making idle chit-chat, talking about rides they could and couldn’t do, eventually starting to discuss preferred rides, but before they could get too deep into it they were allowed to climb into a cup, Shuichi giving Kaito a wary look as Kaito grasped the wheel with enthusiasm. “If I vomit, Kaito, I’m aiming at you.” Shuichi warned. 

“What, and ruin your favorite outfit?” Kaito smirked, leaning against Shuichi and whispering, “Don’t do thaaaat~ Don’t you want to enjoy me again?” he asked, placing a brief kiss against the shell of Shuichi’s ear, who flustered a bit before pushing a now laughing Kaito away.

“Kaito. Stop, you’re going to rile yourself up by accident. Do you want to spend the entire festival frustrated?” Shuichi scolded, as the ride started up.

“Mmmmm, ya know what? I have a good feeling about today~” Kaito smirked, before looking excited as he said, “Come on, let’s spin it! Give me a hand ‘Kichi!”

Kokichi snorted, readying his hands on the wheel. It was nice, seeing Kaito in such a bright, happy mood. Sure, there had been some really difficult times lately, and even when things were calm Kaito had good stretches of contentment. But…full-blown excited happiness? It felt more rare than it should be. 

But Kokichi was all for making today as special as the day before had been, though, admittedly, he didn’t think it could quite top petting penguins and getting proposed to. 

Giving Shuuichi an apologetic look, Kokichi offered him a smile. “We won’t actually go as fast as possible, and for a smaller ride like this I’m sure the speed cap is lower than the one at the coast. But this’ll be fun, Shuu-chan! Stare forward if you feel too dizzy!”

And with that, they were off!!

And…well…Kokichi might literally be right that the speed cap was lower, but…

“WHOO-HOOOHEE HI HIHIHI!!!”

It was hard to tell.

Kaito laughed, on his part trying to spin the wheel as fast as he could, loving the exercise and challenge in it. Though, he took his hands off the wheel in surrender when Shuchi buried his face into Kaito’s bicep, going “Awwwww,” as he put his arm around Shuchi’s shoulders, holding him close to try to stabilize him. “Okay, okay, no faster than that!”

The cup pulled at them a bit, but with the wheel let go, the cup eventually slowed down, and the ride in turn finally stopped them, Kaito practically giggling as the three of them swayed off, Shuichi clutching to him, even though Kaito thought he might lay down in the grass any second. In fact, “Anyone wanna watch the clouds spin for a second?” Kaito offered, heading to a slightly clear area, “Just long enough to catch our breath?”

“Yes.” Shuichi said, “Ugh, no more spinny rides. Terrible.”

“Ha, alriiiight,” Kaito said, collapsing onto the grass, before saying, “Oh, you know what I do wanna do next? I havn’t spotted it, but I bet you anything they have a mirror maze somewhere. You ever done a mirror maze, ‘Kichi?”

While Kokichi enjoyed the wild forces throwing his body around, he did take his hands off the wheel too when Kaito did, instead throwing them in the air to feel the slowly diminishing spin even more. Just as fun as the coast. 

Though, he wouldn’t say no to a break when they got off. 

Plopping in front of his partners, Kokichi let out a big breath, fanning himself idly under the sun, though the heat still wasn’t really getting to him yet. “A mirror maze? Hmmm…I think there was something like a maze of mirrors once in the haunted house, but I don’t think I’ve ever done one that was just all that. Sounds interesting! Mazes are pretty easy to brute force, but it’s kind of fun getting lost in them.”

“Though I doubt we’d get lost with Shuu-chan with us,” Kokichi laughed lightly, giving his fiance a slightly pitying look as he still reeled from the teacups. “Least we wouldn’t have to worry about desperately needing to find an exit.”

“I did one once…” Kaito closed his eyes and grinned, “It’s a story I can’t tell in polite company~”

“How? How could you have possibly managed that in a mirror maze?” Shuichi asked, glaring at him as he decided, “I’m calling bullshit on that one. Mirror maze’s are half as confusing as they are because you spend too much time watching other people go down pathways you don’t realize are in an entirely different part of the room. You’d have been seen.”

“Marcus was a wild man.” Kaito said contently… before smirking at Shuichi’s outraged look, “And we snuck in at night, after it was closed. He wanted to go there because he liked to be a little spooked and on edge, and he liked the mirrors. Sneaking in, such a big risk of being caught? I was boyfriend #1 that night.”

“Kaito,” Shuich sighed, rolling his eyes as he laid back again, his stomach settling as he shook his head judgingly, “I swear, you have a story for everything. You have to be making up at least some of them.”

“I’ve lived a full life! Come on, at least I’m entertaining if nothing else.” Kaito laughed, “Just wait, the day I run out of stories from before our relationship, you all are going to miss the random monologues.”

In a mirror maze? As Kokichi raised an eyebrow, he couldn’t help but side with Shuuichi for this one. That was just…too apt. Though…Kokichi couldn’t remember if Kaito had specifically mentioned the name ‘Marcus’, but he had mentioned a partner that got a lot of excitement out of potentially being caught. That seemed to fit. 

“Naaaaah,” Kokichi laughed. “I think you’ll start re-telling stories before you truly run out, and, well, call me narcissistic, but I’d think by then we’d had enough stories together that you could start pulling those out too. Kai-chan will never run out of random monologues.”

Kokichi grinned brightly. “It’s something I love about you! I love listening to you talk and reminisce and theorize…it’s a great Kai-chan thing!”

Kaito sat up, giving Kokichi a fond look as he ran his hand through his hair, “Yeah? Well, if my husband loves it, I’m not giving it up then. Have I mentioned you look great in that outfit? Cause you look great in that outfit. Shuichi looks cool in his. Why does his seem so much more formal than ours?”

“It’s black.” Shuichi shrugged, “Black and white are formal colors.”

“No way, I bet there’s some sort of formalness to this style. It screams purposeful. You don’t even have a weird little choker that’s cut to give you a tiny little boob-window.” Kaito smirked, placing his fingertips on the little open spot in his under-armor that still endlessly amused him. “My outfit was designed for leering. Yours look like something a hot priestess might wear.”

“What priestess would wear this?” 

“Not literally, I just mean, like, in general. It feels religious. I like it.” Kaito looked around, before saying chirpily, “Alright! You guys wanna keep going?”

“Five more minutes.” Shuchi requested, still just enjoying laying out.

Kokichi snorted. “Weird that you’d think that from such a foreign style. I’m sure there were some religious leaders across time that dressed in similar styles, just ‘cause these were the kinds of clothes everyone wore, at least some of the time, back in the day. There were…hm. I guess they would be equivalent to priestesses, but they were, like…spiritual attendants, called Miko, who had uniforms that are pretty well-preserved in our history. They didn’t wear kimono, or really hakama like Shuu-chan’s wearing, but things close to it.”

Knowing what dangerous fodder it was, Kokichi still grinned at Kaito. “They were said to all be pretty adept warriors too. They worshiped the Sun God, and there’s a really amazing folk tale about a temple dog restoring light and life to the land from their religion.”

Enough that the dog’s name, ‘Ami’ still meant ‘friend’. 

Sighing as he stretched out to enjoy their break, Kokichi hummed. “We really gotta check out the museums around here… To see your armor display, and…everything else.”

Sun god…

Kaito almost asked. He almost did. ‘Is there a sun god?’ Was there an actual dog with divine abilities? How do they relate to Atua?

Was Atua…

“Man, Temp’s really into dog symbology.” Kaito said instead, now playing idly with grass, waiting for his partners to finish resting, “He’s got a bunch of black dogs with pointy ears as, like, decoration in Addason’s nursery. That kids either going to grow up loving dogs or terrified of them, at this rate.”

“I’m sure he’ll love them, if Temp does.” Shuchi said, feeling fairly confident. Who wouldn’t try to idolize everything their parents/mentors did? Besides Kokichi, he supposed… though, in truth Kokichi had embraced everything Aiichi had believed in. Just not how he practiced it, for a while. “Most kids are just little versions of their parents, for better or worse, at least for a while.”

“I dunno, man, that nursery was gloomy. Temp’s kind of a hard core goth, isn’t he? I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to notice.” Kaito chuckled. 

Kokichi laughed, thinking about the three Good Boys helping out in Kaito’s head. “He really is. For various reasons, he and my mentor didn’t really get along for a while after they first met, but I bet the cat stuff didn’t help Temp’s impression. The guy really knows what he’s about.”

And for a kid as anxious as Addason, it could be a really good thing, to have that rock of a parent. A solid thing to hold onto when everything else was wild and overwhelming. Maybe dogs would become a symbol of that, like how it had for Tim through Chase. 

Giving Kaito a shrug, Kokichi grinned. “Sorta. He’s like…a goth that’s really gotten comfortable in it. Like it’s not to reject societal norms and be purposefully creepy, and it’s not really…lamenting. Sure, his family worships a death god and that’s how he grew up but…it’s always seemed like a thing of comfort and certainty, rather than a bleak outlook. He does really like black, though.”

“Temp has strong, comfy goth energy.” Kaito agreed idly, “And, like, weeeeird guy trying to grow up way too fast energy. Don’t get me wrong, he seems like he’s doing great, but it’s still really weird someone his age wanted to adopt.”

“You adopted a ten year old.” Shuichi reminded him. “You were still twenty-two.”

“Yeah, but that was mostly on accident.” Kaito pouted, stretching his arms over his shoulder, his yakuta already slightly disheveled and hanging looser around his shoulders, Kaito not really noticing as he said, “Temp did all that on purpose, and wasn’t even worried about anyone being executed or anything. Guy just really wanted a kid. I can respect the commitment, but it’s still kinda nuts.”

“Actually, I believe he’s actually a little older than he looks. We haven’t talked about it, but that’s the impression I’ve gotten when we talk about his religion. I get the impression something about it keeps him younger looking, he might be on the older side and just hiding it because it’d draw attention.” Shuichi theorized, shifting up, apparently done resting.

“What, like… maybe his forties?” Kaito said, offering Shuichi a hand up, which his finance took, “No waaaay. Temp doesn't give me old guy vibes. I think he’s just a weirdo trying to act old.”

For a moment, Kokichi gave Kaito an odd look, but…mm. Yeah, he supposed there had already been enough to explain. It wasn’t really all that important, since the life Temp was living--mostly--was that of someone in their early twenties, and it would probably make things easier for Temp’s ‘future’ lives for fewer people to know, but…

{I hope Miya’s not giving you too much trouble! Uh…Shuu-chan’s theorizing that you’re older than you look and is making a connection to Bathul to it, and Kai-chan’s talkin’ like you’re ‘a weirdo trying to act old’ and…should I clear anything up or just leave ‘em guessing?}

Kokichi’s eyes went lidded and vacant as he sent his intent, his body swaying slightly in the wind.

{... would I be a bad person if I used this knowledge to keep him guessing and mess with him??}

{As his husband, I have to request you go a little easy on Kai-chan, but…no. Go for it. I’ll keep my mouth shut. For Shuu-chan, he does shit like that constantly to other people, but just be aware he’s mega competitive and will get really in your business if he thinks there’s something to find.}

{I will be gentle with Kaito. Shuichi sounds like a good time. The babies have stopped crying, by the way. Addason has fallen asleep, but Miyako seems determined to stare me down. I am under the impression it is somehow my fault ‘Big Heat’ is not playing with her. I fear she may be right, as I did shoo Kaito out today. I will do my best to negotiate by playing with her myself, but she has been deeply unimpressed so far.}

Kaito waved his hand in front of Kokichi again. “Think I should just… pick him up or??”

“Give him a minute, I’m sure he’ll come back.” Shuichi shrugged.

{She’s a hard to please little lady,} a great deal of fondness and love spoke, {She does really love colored lights, by the way. We go watch the sun shine through her mobile together sometimes.}

Blinking a few times, Kokichi gave his partners a sheepish look. “Sorry… The kids are doing alright, by the way. It might be a little overbearing, but talking about Temp made me think of them.”

Shuichi nodded, while Kaito looked a little confused… before catching up. “Oh! Nah, that’s not overbearing, I’d say hi to peeps and check in all the time if I could. Our ‘Kichi just straight up is a mobile phone, huh?” Kaito grinned, leaning over to give Kokichi a quick kiss, before saying, “Okay! More rides, or should we look around some more? We can always come back, if you guys need a break from being thrown around.”

“I’m up to coming back later. Maki would enjoy this, so maybe we can return after we find her and Tim?” Shuichi offered.

He felt a little bad lying, but…this was an okay kind of lie. It would be fun to see how Temp decided to mess with his partners and…maybe one day they’d talk about it. 

(Kokichi still had no idea how to approach talking about…death and gods and…all of that. Today was for fun, but…Kaito really seemed to be doing better lately. Maybe he could ask if he was ready soon.)

“I’m okay with that,” Kokichi chirped, getting up and brushing loose grass off his robes, his yukata not loose or sagging or ruffled in any way. “Mmm, I’m getting a little hungry. I definitely wanna have you guys try some yakisoba later, but for now I’m pretty sure we passed a place selling grilled squid and fish… Could we get some and eat while we look around?”

“Sure, let’s go eat some squid~” Kaito said, looking sort of oddly pleased with that idea. 

“Have you ever had squid before?” Shuichi asked, giving Kaito a curious look, “I have before, Kokichi and I got some when we were coming back from University, but I remember distinctly thinking ‘probably not Kaito’s thing’.”

“What? Why not?” Kaito asked, raising an eyebrow at Shuichi, “I think I’d like squid. I like all the fish well enough.”

“I feel like you’d eat almost anything over fish.”

“Fish being my least favorite still means they’ve made the list.” Kaito shugged, “I can’t help the fact that beef and pork taste amazing. Even if they are… damn, what was the word… I loved it, it was so cute… squirmy! Even if it is squirmy.” Kaito smirked, nudging Kokichi, “But I have a good feeling about squid. Gut instinct that I’ll like it.”

There were undoubtedly other foods to get, and Kokichi knew how…ambivalent Kaito could be towards seafood, simply from not having a lot of it growing up, but…he was happy to hear that Kaito was excited. Getting grilled skewers of squid from charcoal grills, absolutely slathered in that sauce…yum.

Still, as he looked around for the place he’d seen earlier, Kokichi snorted and nudged Kaito back. “I meant squirmy when I was talking about thin noodles, you know. I’d have a harder stance against pork if that tasted squirmy. Would prolly mean it was rotten or something, and I’m definitely not going to think about that any more lest I lose my appetite for it completely anyway.”

“Squid’s good, though!” Kokichi hummed happily. “It has…I dunno. More of a…snappy chew to it? Than beef? But especially grilled it can get all crispy on the outside…mm!”

Considering it was a fairly popular festival food, it wasn’t long before Kokichi spotted a stall and hopped his way in line, pulling his partners with him. 

Kaito knew that in a way he could be a real picky eater. Spices destroyed him and there were certain comfort foods that if he was honest he’d probably contently eat every day for the rest of his life. He was up to trying new things, but he rarely loved them.

But again. There was just something about the idea of eating squids… it almost felt satisfying, in a weird way.Not just in taste, but in, like… smugness.

(حسنًا ، لكن اللعنة على الحبار رغم ذلك.) Okay, but fuck squid though.

And when he actually got his hands on one, Kaito bit into it aggressively… before saying cheerfully, “Oh! Hey, that’s really good! You’re right babe, it’s really chewy.” 

Shuichi had gotten some dumplings with his, feeling pretty hungry now that he wasn’t dizzy, He raised an eyebrow as Kaito’s joyful devouring. Kaito wasn’t really as enthusiastic about food as you’d probably expect from someone learning how to cook, but uh… yep. He seemed to be enjoying tearing into that squid.

Kokichi made some low, happy sounds as they got their skewers, and while he bit in exuberantly…he was kind of surprised to see Kaito doing the same. Kaito wasn’t really a dainty eater, but…if he wasn’t picking at it, he tended to eat like he was attacking his food. Which this sort of was, but…

Shaking his head, Kokichi laughed softly. “I’m glad you like it! This is one of my favorite seasonal treats to get.” Not counting the, like…fifty other seasonal things he gushed about whenever they came to mind. For someone with a mood-based eating disorder, Kokichi really did love food. 

For a moment they stood to the side to get a good start on their food, but then Kokichi hummed, starting to take the lead in wandering around. Maybe they could loop around and see what was going on in the plaza… It’d be kind of a bummer to wander too close to one of the fountains or play areas and drench their food.

The summer festival was in full swing, and the plaza was filling up as even the non-early risers and the folks working half-days started to fill things out. There were food stalls everywhere, of course, but there was also just unusual market stands as well, people using the festival as a chance to sell what seemed mostly like personal art projects. Home made jewelry, odd home decorations, quilts and rugs and clothes, all with that distinct ‘didn’t think this through from the beginning, it was gonna be a turtle but now it’s a flower’ flair of design. 

Kaito was idly looking over the merchandise, wondering if he could spend a little coin on something– he supposed maybe he could get a few new earrings, just to give himself more variety with his outfits… when he looked curiously the table of strange, pretty packs of decks. “Playing cards?” Kaito asked the merchant, already knowing the decks were too long to probably be cards, but that was his best guess. 

The merchant smiled warmly, shaking her head. “No. Not familiar with tarot cards?”

Kaito shook his head, “No, sorry.”

“Don’t be, though I’ll admit that’s a first for me.” The merchant said, “I’m not doing readings right now, but I collect designs for tarot’s that I see and recreate them. Think of them as pretty cards that people sometimes used to try to predict the future, but mostly use as an interesting way to think about things that are on their mind. It can be a lot of fun, if you don’t treat it too seriously. Though, a lot of people buy decks just because they like the look of them. A novel little art piece. Want to take a look?”

Kaito considered the table… before nodding. Turning to spot his partners, who were waiting on him, he said, “You guys mind if I linger here a moment?” 

Kokichi loved seeing the explosion of creativity that people pulled out for festivals. While the structure of Dicea supported people following their passions…well, not every passion was a bonfire. Sometimes they were a favorite candle, burning off to the side. Sometimes, while they were fierce and flaming, people just didn’t have it in them to set up a shop, and instead relied on word of mouth or studio days…and, of course, festivals. 

He had been looking over some colorful thrown pots when Kaito called over, and while of course he’d never mind sticking around for something that Kaito wanted to look at, Kokichi came a bit closer. 

“Course not, hun…oh, tarot decks? These are cool… Oh, is the whole deck for these ones in Art Nouveau? I feel like that’s a really good style for getting symbolism down…”

“They are, good eye.” The merchant laughed lightly, “I have a ton of those, they’re always big sellers. I think there’s something to the wistfulness a lot of the style portrays. People drawn in that style always have this look on their face, like they’re remembering something bittersweet. Not a lot of people know the name off the top of their heads though. Are you an artist?”  

There was such a…soft sensualness to that style, and yet enough structure that you never felt lost while being adrift. Though the posters Kaito had shown him were a more modern style--at least in terms of Dicean art--Kokichi did think that the saints would look nice in Art Nouveau. 

As such an art nerd would think.

Flushing lightly, Kokichi shrugged a bit. “I paint a little as a hobby, but I really enjoy art history. I could never get enough from the info cards in museums, so I’ve gotten my hands on more than a couple art books.”

“Nice.” The merchant said pleasantly, very much just happy to be making small talk with a fellow art lover as she said, “If you haven’t seen it yet, they converted one of the old breweries into a paint den? One of the artists who visits there a lot has made it a personal project to paint all those giant old brewery tanks, and their style is very Nouveau, but, like, all these really soft pastel colors. And mostly women in sundresses with flowers, they clearly have a type, but it’s still really pretty. Could be worth checking out.”

“The brewery over in the warehouse district?” Kaito asked, almost idly, as he looked over the other decks, “Not the same one with all the drug issues last year, is it?”

“Hm? Oh yeah, I think I heard something about that.” The merchant shrugged, “There’s still a drug scene there if that’s what you’re asking, but, like, where the artists go, so go the psychedelics, ya know? But it’s nothing crazy or anything, it’s a really chill vibe there honestly. Just artists painting together and drinking mostly.”

“Hm.” Kaito said idly, before saying, “A lot of these are really cool. I still don’t really get the point though.”

The merchant considered him, before looking through one of her bags, “How about this. I have these, like… ‘pile’ decks? They’re super cheap, a couple of copper, but the tradeoff is their all cards that are basically random. Mostly cards that got separated from their decks and are kinda worthless by themselves, right? You might have two of one type of card, none of another, and the art styles are all over the place. I’ll sell you a pile deck for three copper, and for another copper you can have this little guy,” She said, showing him a well worn small book, with the word ‘tarot’ painted almost as an after thought on the front, “I’d say it’s a ‘beginners’ guide, but it’s mostly just one of my many hastily written tarot journals when I’ve realized I’ve forgotten to take one of my big books with me. It’ll give you all the basics though, and worst comes to worst and you don’t enjoy these, you won’t feel bad throwing them away.”

Kaito raised an eyebrow, smirking a little, “Four copper for what you basically consider garbage?”

“They have ‘niche’ value! Here, I’ll even add in a page explaining how to read the book, free of charge… just give me one minute to write it.” The merchant laughed.

“....mmmm,” Kaito looked down at himself… before calling to Shuichi, “Shuichi!”

“Yeah?”

“You have pockets?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, sold.” Kaito laughed, taking his coin purse from out of its tucked away spot in his yukata and paying the woman.

“Oh? No, I hadn’t heard…” 

It was…odd. Kokichi was definitely intrigued by an artists’ den, and especially one turning machinery into art. But…he’d already been lured into that brewery once by things intriguing to him. And while Maki wasn’t there, Kokichi could still feel Nazumi’s eyes on his back, taking things in from afar. And, also…while psychedelics were fine, it would probably be safer to avoid places where a good portion of people would be high.

Maybe he’d peek at it eventually, with a safe, planned excursion. 

Kokichi started looking through more of the artists’ catalog as she started bargaining with Kaito, smiling a little to himself. He didn’t really believe in fortune telling--though, he had found out that clairvoyants existed--but it could be fun to mess around with. Especially with a really eclectic deck. 

Chuckling a little, Kokichi tilted his head onto Kaito’s arm for a minute before giving the woman a grin. “Good business day, eh?”

“It is, but then, the festivals always are for me. These things sell themselves.” The merchant said easily, finishing writing out the page before folding it up and putting it in Kaito’s new book, Kaito trotting over to Shuichi, who was looking over used books, to go stuff his new prizes into his pockets. “If it’s not pure belief, then people are buying these for the novelty, and if it’s not the novelty, you can sell them on the idea of gag gifts. There’s always a reason for someone to buy it. You can consider this sell me making an investment towards the future. You’re an artist, so maybe next festival you’ll see me and remember ‘oh, she has neat artist things’.” 

And gesturing towards Kaito, she said, “And he seems like a guy who could use fun new ways to self reflect. Meditation shouldn’t always be sitting still and being quiet, and it shouldn’t always feel like an act of self-punishment. It should be fun and whimsical, sometimes. It should make you feel special and seen. Some people just look like they should be encouraged towards that…” she laughed lightly, “And if he enjoys it, he’ll come back for a real deck someday. One where all the pictures match.”

Kaito came back, kissing the back of Kokichi’s head before saying, “We should buy a tote bag somewhere. Shuichi has books he wants to buy, and this outfit is super impractical. I need a tote bag to be a pack mule for our stuff, ‘Kichi. ‘Kiiiichiiiii buy me a tooooote baaaaaag.”

…that was…oddly specific. Not too weird, as, honestly, self-reflection was something that most people should be doing, but…hm. Maybe he was just being a little paranoid because she’d mentioned the brewery. 

And, also…some card art wasn’t going to hurt them. And Kokichi already wasn’t planning on stopping by the old brewery. It was okay. 

“Pff, well I can tell you I’m not gonna forget, so I guess it works.” Giving her a grin and a slight wave, he wished, “Happy Zenith!”

Meeting back up with Kaito, Kokichi rolled his eyes a little and hugged his arm. “You don’t have to whine, sheesh. Yeah, I can fund your shopping spree--let’s go pick out a cool bag. Maybe we can find a tie-dye one!”

Kaito slumped his arms around Kokichi’s shoulders and laid his chin on the top of his head, walking in step with him behind him if and when he moved as he said, “‘Kiiiiiichiiiiii I want a cooooool bag I’m gonna be the one weeeeeaaariiiing it. I need something that matches my outfit!”

“Uh oh.” Shuichi said, carrying two books he had just purchased for himself, one a book about local oddities and folk legends and one about chemical reactions to different types of material. Shuichi had thought it was neat and maybe something he and Timothy could play with, making items turn color or fizzle or other little reactions, “I think we’re getting full brat Kaito right now. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this. If we’re not careful, ‘shopping spree’ isn’t going to be an exaggeration.”

Kaito looked up from his slump around Kokichi’s shoulders and smirked at Shuichi, “Come on, what’s the harm in getting me a few more outfits…?”

Kokichi couldn’t help but laugh, more amused with this new turn of Kaito’s attitude than anything. Or…apparently, an old turn. (Which…maybe meant Kaito was happy and relaxed enough to do it?)

He did heed Shuuichi’s warning, though. As cute as it was, Kokichi could see how it could turn into a problem. 

“The harm is in what it’ll do to this month’s budget,” Kokichi snorted, kissing Kaito’s arm. “I’ll buy you a bag, and if you see a few things you want, I like treating you. But we’re gonna be adults about it.”

Peering over, Kokichi hummed as he made out the titles of the books Shuuichi had bought. “Ooh…that folklore book seems cool. Can I read it after you…”

They had kept walking, and while they were still among a lot of stalls, it was easy to hear what was going on on the stage set up in the plaza. Kokichi blinked, trailing off as he looked over in the direction of the music they could hear. It was…maybe rock? But it was really…not like anything he’d ever heard…

“Of course, of course,” Kaito said, smirking lazily, the words right but something blatantly insincere in them as he said, “Responsible shopping. I’m all about it. The most responsible shopping.”

It took a weird amount of time for Kaito to get bored of walking in step with Kokichi, but he still only really stopped doing when they got to a tote stall, Kaito looking over the bags and carefully trying to pick one that suited his outfit while Kokichi and Shuichi waited. 

Shuichi noticed the music basically as soon as Kokichi did, peering in the distance from where it was coming from for a minute before confessing, “I cannot figure out what instrument is meant to be making that… wuuu’iiining sound. My best guess is someone blowing through a copper pipe or something. That tinny sound? Huh.”

“Guys! I picked a bag! ‘Kichi! I need three silver!” Kaito said, displaying to them a red and black tote bag that did indeed work well with his outfit.

Shuichi glanced at Kaito, nodded, looked back towards the music… before doing a double take back at Kaito, ”When did you buy a new earring???”

“This old thing?” Kaito asked, smirking as he ran a finger over the elaborate, square, dangling gold tassel earring on his right ear, “Had it forever.”

“When did you… we’ve been with you this whole time. How did I miss you buying that?”

“That music sounds pretty wild, huh? You guys wanna check it out?” Kaito asked, beaming, “After someone buys me this bag?”

As long as he didn’t put himself in debt, they could indulge this. If it wouldn’t set a horrible precedent, Kokichi would indulge it a little more than what was reasonable today, just…happy to see this side of Kaito. As it was, he barely turned away from the direction of the stage to sift through his purse and hand Kaito the silver. For a three silver tote, it was going to be a durable bag, along with being an apparently fashionable one. 

“I have…no idea…” Kokichi murmured to his fiance. Like…they were definitely listening to music. His brain recognized it as music in a snap. But…everything else about it? He had no idea what to even think. 

Glancing over at Kaito’s earring…honestly, Kokichi didn’t think he’d been wearing it earlier, but…it would make sense if on one of his trips out since they’d gotten his yukata he’d gotten a matching earring. But why not wear it earlier then…

A real mystery, that man. 

Sighing, Kokichi turned back towards the stage. “I…yeah. I don’t even know if seeing it performed would help my brain out but…wow.”

“You guys are talking about the music, right?” Kaito said, looking damn right chirpy now as he wore the tote across his chest and down his waist, collecting Shuichi’s books from him and far too satisfied with himself as he deposited them into the bag. Hell yeah, fashionable and functional, look at him go. Kaito smirked down at himself. Sure, he felt a little bit like he was wearing a costume with the still unfamiliar clothing style, but he could admit at least to himself that this was the fanciest he had felt in a while. He felt stylish, and there was a confident swagger that just oozed from him. Now he just needed shoes… the nicest shoes he owned were boots, but damn if boots looked awkward with this outfit. He needed something that worked better…

He’d get his chance. They had all day, and his partners were clearly fascinated with this weird music. So, putting his hand on both their backs, he lightly pushed them forward, chuckling, “What the heck are you guys just gawking over here for then, let’s go see what’s going on!”

A crowd was forming around the music, the trio far from the only people fascinated with the strange sound. And it wasn’t just the music, Kaito quickly realized as they got closer, that was attracting the crowd. The band members on stage were, uh… well, they definitely had a stage presence, and a gimmick of…

Kaito peered at them, realizing he did not, in fact, know the word for ‘fish furries’. Huh.

What Shuichi noticed more than the weird costumes was the strange grating put around all the microphones. The muffled voices and ‘tinny’ quality of some of the instruments seemed to be mostly due to the coverings, with really only the drums and guitars microphones not given the special coverings. It made a very interesting and unique sound, along with a few instruments Shuich just didn’t recognize, but the voices…

“Are they speaking another language, or are they just so muffled I can’t understand them?” Shuichi asked everyone in general, entirely uncertain. “They sound underwater.”

“Explains the gimmick maybe?” Kaito said, watching the five band members curiously… now once again thinking of calamari. Maybe he should go get more, he was suddenly peckish again…

Kokichi was enamored. 

The music was weird enough that he wouldn’t suggest finding out more about the band to consider for their wedding, and…like, while there was an easy beat and enough identifiable music, Kokichi couldn’t quite figure out how to dance to it, beyond bopping his head a bit. Maybe he’d be able to with more time with it, but…he didn’t know how to describe it. It was like…music to be actionable to, not quite to dance to. 

“It…I think I might be able to pick up a word here and there, but…it really does sound so distorted it’s up in the air,” Kokichi hummed, his shoulders following his head. “Gimmick bands can just go as far as costumes and maybe a name, but…these folks seem real committed. It’s cool.”

And their costuming… It wasn’t like they were wearing full er…not fursuits, but that concept. However, all the…hats? And pieces and design… Kokichi could easily see each member as a person, could make out their form and features, but everything about them was so other that it really gave the impression that…a bunch of marine folk were standing on stage, sharing underwater music. 

(...maybe they were? Who knew.)

It all gave way to a performance that wasn’t like anything Kokichi had ever seen or heard before. 

As the guitars played out, reverberating, Kokichi joined in on the crowd’s applause, and watched as one of the members leaned down towards one of the guitar mics, apparently meaning to talk without the distortion. 

“Tha-ank you-u~!” they warbled out, almost like a bubble was caught in their throat. The distortion effect wasn’t doing all the heavy lifting, it seemed! “We-e’re Wet Floor and that was Do-on’t Slip! We ha-ave one more song fo-or you before A-amplifiction! No-ow here’s Endolphin Surge!”

Kaito smirked slightly as the little white haired… fella? Was Kaito’s best guess. Really committed to the bit, sounding like how one might imagine a fish speaking aloud. Had to admire the commitment. And the band and song names… pfffff. Then he grinned, sounding more than a little pleased with himself as he said, “They shoulda called it ‘Warning: Slippery When Wet’. Or… hm… ‘Slick Surface’...” Kaito chuckled, ‘’Thirsty for Salt-water.’”

“Is that meant to be a dirty joke?” Shuichi asked, raising an eyebrow, “I don’t get it.”

Kaito was undeterred, “‘Slip & Slide’... ‘8 Inch Tentacle’... I could use some more tentacle, actually.” Kaito grinned, turning to his partners and asking, “If you guys wanna listen to them a bit, you mind if I go get another serving of squid?”

Kokichi raised an eyebrow at his husband, but the smile never left his face. He didn’t really get what kind of joke Kaito was making either, but…he seemed pretty pleased to do it, and it didn’t seem like he was making fun of the band, really. So Kokichi was just happy to see his husband happy. 

And hungry, apparently, though for a moment Kokichi was worried that there was something about the band that’d made him horny. “Uh…sure. I’d like to hear a full song before their set ends, at least… Shuu-chan?”

And it could be interesting to hear the band following them too. Kokichi couldn’t imagine what to schedule to follow up something like this. He knew it wasn’t like Tomomi and whoever had focused more on set lists tried to make all the acts flow into each other--there was a certain amount of variety they encouraged, to make sure a fair spread of all the people the applied for a spot would get in--but…there was some amount of cohesiveness. Like not following a famous children’s musician with an explicit band. 

“It’s weird, but…I’m kind of into it.”

“Feels like really bright mosh music.” Kaito decided cheerily, his grin sharpening slightly as he said, “Fight someone to this music… but not, like, in a serious way. Know what I mean?”

“Not really.” Shuichi shrugged.

“Maki would know what I mean.” Kaito said dismissively, giving them both a quick kiss on their cheeks before promising, “Be right back, there and back.”

As he headed back from the crowd, Kaito looked around, looking… “Nazumi! I’m making a squid run! Want some!?”

“I could see this being played at a sport game…dunno for what, though,” Kokichi hummed consideringly before briefly pressing into Kaito’s kiss. Something really snappy and high energy… Maybe something to ask Nadya about when they managed to run into her. 

Nazumi was a little closer, since with a solid crowd it meant there would be more people to navigate around if someone made a move on Kokichi, though she did brighten a bit as Kaito called her out, a little flattered to be noticed. 

“Aw, that’s real sweet of ya, darlin’! Seeing y’all get treats has made me a li’l peckish,” she laughed. “I appreciate it, Kaito. If you’re goin’ to the same place you gott’em before, I’ll keep an eye out that way for ya.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine, coming right back.” Kaito promised, waving her off, personally confident she’d be better off keeping an eye on his guys. “I’ll bring back some food! Water too, it’s hot today!”

Kaito went to go wait in line, feeling just… he didn’t know. He was just in a good mood. Honestly… he knew a lot of it was the sleeping pills. Sleep was helping, just, a stupid amount with the endless frazzled feeling he had been having for the last… uh… hm.  Year, he guessed. Maybe since the beach? Or, since everything with Shuichi started? Or maybe, uh, Kokichi’s…first heart attack? Wait, no, that wasn’t his first one, he had one before the wedding too. Hm.

Yeah. He was sleeping well for the first time in a while. Eight hours a night/day for about a week now did wonders. It was crazy.

And on top of that, Kaito felt hot. He was always hot, he knew that, but there was a difference between just being a wall of muscle and symmetrical facial features and what he was doing today. He knew he was just generally attractive in whatever he wore because he was a generally attractive guy, by commitment and design. But today? He was fucking hot as hell. He was just feeling it today. 

So, when it happened, Kaito almost felt like he should have apologized to an egg, earlier. Cause obviously he had been baiting the universe, as walking back with his prize of food, a hand jolted right out in front of him and, courtesy of a used food cardboard container, a smear of mayonnaise was suddenly all over his chest. 

It happened so quickly that Kaito for a second had an irrational urge to apologize, eyes widening, assuming he had somehow?? Run into someone??? Before his startled gaze looked up from the container now at his feet, looking around for whoever he was apologizing too, and just… no one standing out. The owner having disappeared right back into the crowd. There was a brief moment where Kaito just stood there, confused… before he realized. Oh. 

…Oh, come on. 

It was so fucking mean-spirited that Kaito almost more exasperated then pissed. The fuck??? Seriously?? His fucking… why??? Okay, sure, fine, he knew why, or could guess, but come on. He looked down at himself as the crowd parted ways around him, people coming and going, either no one noticing Kaito just stopped in the middle of traffic, fuming over his clothes, or not up to commenting on it. Fucking, it was on his tote bag, god dammi–

“Oh, well, that’s just plain unfortunate.” A soft voice sighed, and a feminne hand took Kaito’s arm as she steered him out of the crowd, “Come on, come on, before it settles too much.”

“Tsumugi, did you see who–?”

“Prince Kaito, you’re going to embarrass yourself at this rate.” Another femine voice, harder, a sharp, authoritative edge to it informed him, Kaito freezing up a little as, now out of the way of the crowd, Kiruimi and Tsumugi both started fussing with his clothes, “Abandon whatever thought that was and hold still.”

“But, I need to find whoever–” Kaito insisted, before shutting up as a wet wipe was on his face, apparently some of the mayonnaise splashing on his face as Tsumugi focused on wiping the errant condiment droppings off, while Kirumi tsked, taking out a spray of something and spraying it on his clothes and tote bag, before taking out a rag and patting him down with it.

“You do not. No good will come of it, unless you’re itching to extend all your government restrictions.” Kirumi tsked, patting him down as Tsumugi took some moisturizer out of her bag, dabbing it on the skin she had used the wet wipes on. “As that would be terribly inconvenient for your husband, I will advise you against it.”

“Someone pulling a mean spirited prank like that isn’t worth ruining the rest of your holiday on, Kaito.” Tsumugi agreed, “Best to consider it an accident at best and an ill-advised impulse at worse. Any other action will go poorly, trust me.” 

“Accident my ass, I never even saw them…” Kaito looked between the two women, “Are you guys here together? I didn’t think you knew each other.”

“Kirumi and I are new friends.” Tsumugi smiled, interlacing her fingers as she said, “With Kimiko at camp, I’ve found myself with some time on my hands. Kirumi has been a dear in helping me fill it.”

“This is Dicea, Prince Kaito. It’s not so shocking a maid might befriend an ambassador.” Kirumi said stiffly, her tone scolding, though she stepped back and put her hands demurely over her stomach as she said, “There. It’s as if nothing happened. Now you don’t have to create a fuss.”

Kaito looked down, and, wow… it really was just gone. “That’s impressive.” Kaito said, before giving both women a small bow, Kirumi’s nose wrinkling in distaste at this and Tsumugi giggling softly, “Thank you for the quick assistance. You’re… sure you won’t tell me who it was?”

“We don’t know.” Tsumugi shugged.

“It doesn’t matter.” Kirumi said stiffly. 

“...” Kaito let out a small puff of air, before nodding, “Allllriiiiight. Fine. Was still rude as hell, but I appreciate you guys again coming to help. I should get going though, I told Nazumi I was coming right back and I don’t want her to come looking for me.”

Both women nodded at that, Tsumugi wishing him a happy Zenith as Kaito gave her a little nod, heading back to the crowd. What a rude, shitty thing to do… ha! Some dipshit thought he could ruin Kaito’s day like that? Gotta work a little harder than that, asshole! Not even five minutes later he was clean, gonna go eat more food, and chill out listening to bizarre music with his partners! Jokes on you! Jealous, spiteful shit…

Kaito found Nazumi, grinning, “Food! Here ya go, I got some fries with it, and if you give me one minute… boom! Bottle water.” Kaito said triumphantly, grabbing the bottle from the tote and handing it to Nazumi. “Weird music, huh? You into it?”

Despite his assurances, Nazumi did glance over towards the stalls a few times just to check on Kaito. She’d seen Miss Shirogane and Miss Toujou fussing over him at one point, but for all that she’d heard Kirumi wasn’t the…biggest fan of Kaito, the housekeeper was almost scarily efficient and focused on productivity, from what Lake had told her. And Tsumugi’s daughter was best friends with Kaito’s son, and they had always seemed to be on friendly terms. So it was fine to let be, though Nazumi did glance over a few more times before Kaito headed back their way. 

Grinning at the man at his return, Nazumi gave him a thankful nod, taking her grilled squid. “Much obliged, Kaito! I planned things out so I’ll be just fine while keepin’ an eye on all you today, but I ain’t gonna say no to gettin’ some Zenith staples. And a free water re-fill.”

Carefully, Nazumi nestled the bottle in the small sling she wore just above the tie of her green, floral jumper, kept separate from the bigger backpack that held emergency supplies. There wasn’t really an issue over sharing water, but it was good practice to keep things sterile. 

“It sure is unique,” she nodded, the band heading into what sounded like the final chorus. “It’s upbeat! An’ I like seein’ folks who are passionate about what their deal is. Prolly ain’t somethin’ I’m gonna search out a record for, but it is fun to listen to like this.”

“Seems I’m far from the only one too.” Nodding with a fond smile, Nazumi nodded towards where Kokichi and Shuuichi still were, Kokichi apparently having discovered a way to dance to the odd music. Sort of. He was jiving, at least.

Kaito followed her nod… “Pffff. What a dork.” Kaito teased, “Let me know if you need anything, Nazumi.”

Kaito at first hadn’t been sure why Nazumi had started getting more and more distant when she was doing her bodyguard stuff, but… well, he found he appreciated it. As necessary as Kaito knew it was, he also knew it could feel a little stifling, sometimes, being what essentially amounted to baby-sat by Kokichi’s aunt. The same could be true of Maki, but, well, Maki when she wasn’t hanging out with them had sometimes worked hard to give them the illusion of privacy too, such as their dates. Kaito highly doubted Kokichi had ever asked either of them to do it, but he appreciated the gesture.

Heading over to Kokichi, Kaito put a finger over his mouth when Shuichi spotted him, smirking as he stood behind Kokchi and, after a moment of watching him, trying to copy his movement. It was mostly just, like, full body bobbing, though Kaito smirked at the little shoulder action Kokichi kept littering in. Shuichi put his hand over his mouth and giggled a little as Kaito followed Kokichi’s movements behind him, popping a squid tentacle in his mouth as he did so.

Again…not something he’d suggest looking into. But in the middle of a crowd under the shining sun, the music pouring out from a stage while people clapped along and nodded their heads and chatted quietly with friends…

Kokichi was in the groove.

Enough that he only flushed a little when he felt doubled amusement not just by his side, where Shuuichi was, but…behind him too. 

Turning, Kokichi huffed, catching Kaito in the middle of a move that he was positive his husband was copying from him. “Don’t even have the decency to learn in front of me, like I always do for you, huh? Uuugh…” He covered his face in embarrassment, though Kokichi couldn’t help the small smile on his face.

“How could I interrupt an artist in the zone?” Kaito asked, wiggling his shoulders up and down as he swayed side to side, “What? Am I not pulling it off?”

He leaned forward, stealing a kiss from his husband, before clapping erupted around them, the song ending in a fade-out. Kaito looked up curiously at the band members– hmmm… he was kind of into the pink…haired?? One?? Though blue looked like they had a calm, easily fussed vibe. He’d bet anything the white haired one was a nightmare, though, kind of ‘guy’ who could ruin your night and you’d thank them for it– as he asked, “That was their last song, right? Did you guys like them? We could try to find them, buy them a drink?”

“You want to get to know the squid band?” Shuichi asked, a little amused, though he admittedly had liked the band. He was mostly just really impressed with the unusual sound design. It was fascinating.

“You guys were fanboying! I’m happy to accommodate!”

Kokichi snorted and butted against Kaito’s shoulder after his stolen kiss, but he did look up when the song ended, turning to give Wet Floor his best applause! They might’ve only caught a song and a half, but even that was quite a show. 

Though… Kokichi gave Kaito a sheepish look. “It would be nice, but…I kind of want to hear what the next band’s like, at least for a little bit, before we can keep looking at stuff. I wouldn’t wanna keep you guys here all day, though, it can be fun just listening to music…”

“...I might see where they usually play, though,” Kokichi hummed, watching the band leave the stage, gathering their equipment, though the drum kit, at least stayed. Probably a loaner that all the bands who used one used, since it was more difficult moving a whole percussive section. Hell, Kokichi could see a shape off to the side that was probably a covered piano for the same purpose. “I wonder if they’re the type to add in decorations for their gigs too--only so much you can do with an hour, two hour slot on a public stage.”

Kaito gave Kokichi a fond, amused look, before placing a small kiss on Shuichi, “Stay where Nazumi can see you, please?”

“Hm?” Shuichi asked, glancing over his shoulder, looking for the older women before spotting her, “Sure. You guys gonna go ask them?”

“Yep~” Kaito said, giving Shuichi another kiss, and swallowing the urge to ask him again to please stay in Nazumi’s sight. Shuichi didn’t need to promise twice, it was fine… he was the birth-father of the Prince’s only daughter, Kaito had to assume anyone willing to take pot shots at him might hesitate for the recently pregnant Luminary.

(Didn’t save Kokichi’s mother.)

Kaito winced at that intrusive thought, before mentally rolling his eyes at himself. Someone throwing trash on him wasn’t the same as a fucking full city riot. Shuichi would be fine. “Come on, Kokichi, let’s go before they escape us.” Kaito grinned, taking Kokichi’s hands and navigating through the crowd towards them.

Kokichi looked a little surprised to hear Kaito offer to talk to the band now, but…well, it would save him searching around later. Taking Kaito’s hand, they weaved through the crowd a little--Kokichi caught Nazumi’s eye and the two exchanged a thumbs up--until they went around the side to the holding area the bands prepared and packed up in. 

It looked like one of the guitarists was finishing up a chat with someone from the next band--and while not as thematically cohesive as Wet Floor, Amplifiction seemed plenty dramatic to keep up the mood. Kokichi was positive that the iguana on one of the member’s shoulders was real--so, for a moment, they just waited by the side until it seemed another member noticed them.

“Wow, Prince Kokichi and Prince Kaito, here to see us?” the tall, blue-haired guy mused in a gentle voice. “It’s always the hope, but I am surprised that our music managed to resonate with you. Unless we struck a bad chord.”

Kokichi shook his head quickly, hopping a little on his feet. “Not at all! Your music is pretty amazing! We were over getting food and we couldn’t help feel intrigued and come over! Unfortunately we didn’t catch much, but amazing set, congratulations!”

“Oh, woooooow… that’s, just, awesome. We’re, just, glad we could impress.” The words were said in a dull, dry tone, and Kaito almost thought maybe she was being sarcastic for a moment… but watching the vocalists/guitarists expression, the way she just sort of stared at them in wide-eyed, dull surprise, his next guess was she was Just Like That. Or on something. Kaito felt his eyes start to itch staring at her. Come on… blink. Blink. 

She stared wide eyed at Kokichi as she offered her his hand, and she lifted her arm like it was heavy, her whole body leaning back like gravity was just weighing on her as she said, “Just, always nice to hear. Glad you dug it.”

“Sk-sk-sk,” the white haired one snickered, Kaito more confident seeing him closer that his guess of ‘fella’ was right as he scittered over, his steps extremely short and extremely quick, barely moving his legs at all as he came up to them, guitar still in hand as he said with a sharp little grin, “To-old you all we sho-ould have do-One an enc-O-re. ”Even Prince Kokichi came to-O say he didn’t hear eno-ough of us! There’s a demand!”

Kaito grinned, “I gotta say, I love the bit. Very fun. But, yeah, we wanted to know where a good place to catch you guys playing again might be? ‘Kichi here’s a fan!”

“Just, incredible.” The female vocalist said, shaking her head dully, eyes still unblinking, “Crazy what a random holiday show can do. Just, very exciting.”

Kokichi grinned as he shook the guitarist’s hand and… (Well, maybe it was his own biases, after everything. Maybe she just had sweaty hands after performing. But…it would be very cool if they were actually marine folks.)

“It’s always a fun part of festivals, getting to see scenes outside what I tend towards,” Kokichi laughed softly, kind of about the weirdness of the band members in person. “But…yeah! I wanted to ask where you guys tend to play! I’d love to come see a full show sometime.”

The blue-haired guy looked over his glasses, amused. “Huh, wonder if this counts as hitting the big time. Well, we’d love to have you at a show. We get gigs regularly at The Neptune, but we try to keep things underground--keep it authentic. Should be able to find us at the bigger venues, though.”

“I’ll definitely be on the lookout,” Kokichi nodded emphatically.

“Neptune, got it.” Kaito nodded, making a mental note to ask Maki to take a look… before guiltily remembering they didn’t ask Maki to do stuff like that anymore. He’d… ask around about it, find out what the vibe is, and take Kokichi on a date there when they had some time. And preferably when the band was playing! Dancing to them would be an exercise in futility, but Kaito didn’t mind just going and listening, and Kokichi seemed to adore them, so yeah. It’d be a good time. 

“Well, it was super nice meeting you all! Again, you really impressed…” Kaito’s eyes glanced up, registered the people on stage, looked down… before his face went beat red as he looked up again oh holy shit it was sexy older goth guy! 

“Sk-sk-sk,” the vocalist still holding the guitar snickered after a moment, “We’ve bro-oght him to a lo-Oss of wO-ords! We really killed it to-oday, guys!”

“Just, such a good day.”

Oh god, Kaito just stared bug eyed at the guy, just, gob-smacked. Oh noooooo… this guy had starred in daydreams… Kaito hadn’t expected to ever see him again… so many daydreams…. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…

He was still sexy as fuck god dammit.

“Is he o-okay?” The small drummer asked, finally speaking up, moving quickly in the same way the white haired vocalist did, though hers was a little more bouncy and less manic.

Kaito glanced at her, back to the sexy goth guy… then back to her. “...do you have four arms?”

“Dude.” The white hair vocalist frowned, “Rude. You can’t just ask someone how many arms they have.”

“Oh…” Kaito blinked, “Okay. I’m sorry.”

…er…

Kokichi looked up at the stage, blinking as he murmured, “Isn’t that…”

And then, in a very practiced, to the point of seeming completely natural, Kokichi turned back to the members of Wet Floor with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, it seems that someone my husband knows is playing in the next set--didn’t even know he was in a band, really…”

Shaking his head of that, Kokichi leveled a bright grin to the band. “Well! It seems we have someone to cheer on! Thanks for chatting with us, and congrats again on the great performance! I hope to see Wet Floor soon!”

You wouldn’t really be able to see it, but Kokichi subtly pulled Kaito’s hand, trying to nudge him back into returning to Shuuichi, hopefully with a less…

…enamored mindset.

Kaito couldn’t help himself. He followed Kokichi’s hand, but he kept looking over his shoulder, double checking that the older sexy band goth guy with the apparent iguana still actually existed. 

And as the music started to swell… fuck. It was like a… band of rock vampires. Was one of them playing an organ piano??? How in the fuck did they even get that here… the guy had spoken like poetry…

Shuichi, who had been comfortably enjoying the music, glanced over curiously at Kaito and Kokichi, Kokichi looking happy and Kaito looking… well, ‘openly haunted’ was the best impression Shuichi could make at first glance, but could only assume Kokichi had done something to fluster Kaito while they were gone. Still, wanting to tease, Shuichi smirked, “Kaito make a sudden discovery of his attraction to squid people?”

“Shuuuuuuiiiichiiii,” Kaito whined, lunging forward and burying his head into his fiance’s shoulder, “Do you know any poooetryyyyy?”

“...uh. No?”

Whimper.

Kokichi snorted, rubbing Kaito’s back a little as he grinned conspiratorially at Shuuichi. “Wet Floor were really nice and cool--they seemed really happy I liked their music, and they told us where they tend to play. Seems like they’re really in the indie scene, so I’m glad we got to catch them here.”

“Amplifiction, on the other hand…” Honestly, the music was…sweeping and catchy. The kind of stuff Kokichi could imagine happening in the midst of a dramatic monologue in a play…though that could just be this particular song. 

Still, Kokichi shook his head, grinning at Shuuichi more. “My best guess? The singer is that guy Kai-chan was awed by when we went dancing at the start of Spring. And now he thinks he’s hotter than ever.”

More softly, though, Kokichi gave Shuuichi a considering look. “...did you find anything in the book that were like squid people?”

Shuichi’s brow furrowed, glancing up at the band, “...Iguana guy?”

“Nnnnnngh”

“Tsk,” Shuichi huffed, shoulders squaring a little as he gave the band a distinctly unimpressed look, “Really, Kaito? These guys? They’re a little… cringey, aren’t they? And he’s too old for you.”

Whine. 

“Hmph. Anyone can learn poetry.” Shuichi grumbled, idly patting Kaito’s back before giving Kokichi his attention, “Oh? Do you think? I mean, I haven’t read the book cover to cover yet, I can check when we get back. Do you think it wasn’t costumes?”

“One of them had four aaaaarms.” Kaito whined into Shuichi’s shoulder, putting his arms around him and peeking up at the stage a little, eyes lingering on the singer now as he said, “But I wasn’t supposed to ask about it.”

“That… does sound a little supernatural, honestly.” Shuichi agreed, “Kaito, I can literally see gray hairs on him from here.”

“Black-peppered fox.” Kaito sighed dreamily now, looking less guilty and more just like he was openly watching the show while laying against Shuichi. “He was so cool, Shuichi. No one’s ever talked like that to me before… like I stepped into a gothica romance novel…”

Shuichi pouted. “Kaito, I proposed to you yesterday.”

“Loooooove youuuuuuu.”

“They are kind of extra, aren’t they,” Kokichi hummed, looking up at the stage, his foot tapping a bit to the song. “I like the kind of…sorta pirate-y look the piano player has going on. But, I mean, they’re no more committed to the bit than Wet Floor.”

And Kaito could look. He wouldn’t go chasing after the goth singer, Kokichi knew. Just…he’d likely get a big refresher on a lot of daydreams coming up…

Kokichi gave Shuuichi a shrug. “It really could all be makeup and costumes. But…I dunno. One of the guitarists shook my hand and she was kinda cool and clammy. It’s put the question in my head, at least.”

Shaking his head a little at his lovers, Kokichi perked up as he heard a familiar voice call out through the crowd, just under the polite threshold for talking during a concert, albeit a public one. 

“Kokichi! Shuuichi, Kaito!”

“Oh, Nadya-chan!” Kokichi waved, before tapping Kaito’s back. “Let’s move back a bit--Nadya-chan found us!”

Shuichi didn’t need more of an excuse, taking Kaito’s hand and, still openly pouting, pulling him through the crowd as Kaito gave a longing look over his shoulder. He wanted to waaaaaatch. 

Though, Kaito managed to tear his eyes away from the sexy lead singer of the band– what had been the name of it? Amplifiction??? He hadn’t thought much of the name when he had first heard it, but now he wondered what it meant– and give Nadya more of his attention as he waved, making a not so subtle look around her as he said, “Nadya! We were hoping we were going to run into you today! We still get to meet the lucky guy today?”

They were still fairly close to the plaza stage, more than close enough to listen to the music, but they had definitely moved into the outskirts, able to freely talk without bothering anyone trying to listen to the sets. So it was with a little confusion that Nadya--her usual buns replaced with ones that sat higher on her head, and styled to look like hearts--looked around, baffled how she managed to lose the rest of her group in a relatively thin crowd. 

“Oh, I…”

“Sorry, Nadya!” a bright, youthful voice laughed, soon revealed to belong to a young woman, maybe around Kokichi’s age, dressed in a while and red yukata with ginger hair that matched the older man she pulled along. “Someone tripped and we had to help them up!”

Immediately, fondness flooded into Nadya’s eyes as she went to the man’s other side, greeting the two into the sort of circle they all made. “It is no problem, Thieza. I am simply glad I did not completely lose you two.”

“Kaito, Shuuichi, Kokichi,” Nadya addressed, “This is my boyfriend, Conrad, and his sister Thieza. Conrad, Thieza, these are my friends, Lord Shuuichi, Prince Kokichi, and Prince Kaito.”

Conrad briefly bowed to Kaito and Shuuichi before giving Kokichi a gentle grin and a small wave. “It’s wonderful to meet you all--Nadya’s told me so much about you. And it is belated at this point, but congratulations on having your daughter!”

“Mother Mila smiles upon our meeting today,” Thieza cheered, clasping her hands and doing a little bow to the royal family. “Congratulations! I hope you are all having a wonderful Zenith so far!”

Kaito lit up and bowed quickly back, while Shuchi also bowed though looked a little sheepish as he said quickly, “Please, titles are unnecessary. Shuichi, Kaito and Kokichi are fine. It’s wonderful to meet you, we’ve heard of you often. It’s nice to be able to put a face to the name after all this time.”

“Mother Mila? Sorry, I’m not familiar with her, though it’s good to know she’d smile upon us. Atua be pleased.” Kaito said, a little tickled by Thieza. She was cute. And it wasn’t often Kaito met another openly religious person. “Thanks! Miyako’s happy and healthy, we’re very fortunate. And yeah, it’s a nice holiday so far! Have you guys tried any of the rides over at the field on the other side of the market? If you only do one, try the conveyer belt obstacle course, it’s so much fun. What have you guys been up to so far?”

Kaito addressed this last question to Conrad, giving him a wide grin, very pleased to finally meet him, but trying not to be too overbearing for a first meeting. He liked the guys hair, he reminded Kaito of Timothy, a little. He wanted to sit down with some mead and chat.  

“Nadya did mention you all weren’t so much for formalities,” Conrad recalled with a kind, warm tone in his voice. One that was probably there at a near constant. “Still, likewise. I don’t think I’d ever seen Dya have such a fire lit under her for paperwork like she is when speaking of officework with you and Shuuichi.”

Nadya gave Kaito a bit of a quizzical look--they’d had a rather in-depth conversation about their respective religions, though…it had been months ago at this point, and Kaito wasn’t always the most retentive guy. 

Though Thieza wasn’t fussed in the slightest. “The Earth Mother! Mother of all life around us--though I am most pleased to hear Atua approves of our meeting as well!”

Kokichi had waved back to the siblings, remembering seeing Conrad briefly on one of his visits with Nadya, but he was glad to meet him and his sister properly. 

Turning to Kaito at his question, Conrad returned his smile. “Nadya’s mostly been giving us the lay of the land--neither Thieza nor I have spent Zenith in Usott before, and my sister hasn’t taken a trip to Usott ever. Though,” he laughed, “We did stop by some of the game stalls for Miss Pro-Baseball Player to give them a run for their money.”

Thieza grinned wider and pulled a plush from her sleeves. “Nadya won me this Nanodile! It’s a cross between a crocodile and a banana! It’s so charming!”

Kaito smiled pleasantly, head empty, nodding appreciatively at the little yellow crocodile wearing a banana peel with polite enthusiasm– ah, yes, very good, only a little murderous looking, Kaito didn’t project weird personalities onto dolls, nooooooo– as in the the back of his mind a small ‘loading’ symbol spun…

“LESSER NATURE DEITY!” Kaito suddenly shouted, face lighting up with belated recognition, looking to Nadya earnestly, “Right? That’s who she’s on about??” He asked, tapping meaningfully at his chest… before his brow furrowed sheepishly, looking suddenly entirely uncertain as he asked, “Shoot, didn’t I promise to, uh… help celebrate something with her? Did I miss something? Sorry, my memory can be kinda garbage…”

The siblings both started a little, not used to Kaito’s sudden volume bursts, but while Thieza looked a little confused, Nadya nodded. “Yes, in the Atuan pantheon, Mila represents a minor role in facilitating nature,” she explained for all parties.

“And, no, Kaito, you have not missed anything,” she assured with a smile. “Our biggest holiday oft coincides with Hanami, so the secular festivities are ones I enjoy with greater meaning.”

“But it is quite spectacular to see specific celebrations for Mila Day too,” Thieza said with a smaller smile. “The girls and I set up a lovely arrangement in the garden this year.”

Nodding with a proud look, Conrad explained, “Thieza is a priestess for the temple of Mila in Zogel. There’s a central greenhouse in the temple that the priestesses and clerics look after--it’s quite the show piece, though you all are certainly no strangers to botanical beauty.”

“Oh, wow… I’d love to see it someday, if it’s open for visitors,” Kokichi marveled.

“We welcome all guests!”

Kaito’s eyes widened a bit at that. Ooooh… priestess… very impressive, even if it was for a different religion. Kaito admired the commitment a title like that suggested. Not just a practicer of a religion, but a leading force in it. Very impressive.

“I’m sure we’ll get the chance too,” Kaito said, glancing over his shoulder one more time, longingly… but, well, he couldn’t ignore meeting his friends boyfriend just to gawk at a beautiful, sexy goth for a while. “Can I buy anyone a drink? Something light, one of those drinks Diceans try to pass off as mead? I’ve heard Conrad has some cool stories, and I am desperate to hear one!” Kaito said, grinning at the three, before saying to Kokichi and Shuichi, “Guy’s a hero in our times, the way Nadya gushes about him~”

“I could go for getting out of the sun a little, getting something cold to drink,” Kokichi nodded amenably, matching a few nods with the others. “It’ll be nice to chat for a bit!”

“Oh, that sounds wonderful!” Thieza declared, slipping her plush back into her sleeves before clasping her hands. “I am underage, but I will participate in every other way. Conrad can take my drink.”

And, true to form from what Nadya had described of the two sides to Conrad’s personality, he turned pink, grinning bashfully. “Oh, Dya… I’m sure you’ve exaggerated things… Well, yes, I can try to sort them out. Let’s…”

Looking in the direction he had been, Nadya pointed over to the other side of the plaza, where the stalls ended and some of the stores in the market district began. “We passed by an open pub coming in--we can rest at a patio table and chat.”

While they walked over, Kokichi kept an eye out for Maki and Tim. Maki had said to find them by happenstance, more or less, and he doubted having a sit down would be as fun for them, but…well, they could touch base at least. 

Taking orders and snagging a large table--more like three pushed together--under two large umbrellas, Conrad gave the group a mildly embarrassed look. “Well…has Nadya regaled you all with a specifically embellished story in particular, or…?”

Kaito got everyone some mead and water, except for Thieza and Shuichi, Shuichi because he declined, sipping on a pink lemonade and, knowingly, telling Kaito to grab one for Kokichi too. Kaito got Kokichi one of each, just deciding to finish whatever Kokichi didn’t, and was only a little disappointed when he took a sip. Ah… well. Their mead didn’t taste bad, at least. Just not like mead. Still, it worked very well cold! 

Kaito had thought of insisting that if she wanted one, Thieza could have one mead, so long as she had eaten something already. It was a common gesture in Luminary, a certain idea that underage meant ‘only allowed one’. But he mostly didn’t want to make a bad impression with Conrad, or get scolded, so he kept it to himself, as he hummed a bit at Conrad’s question. “Nothing specific, just a general sense of a helpful, nomad lifestyle. Like a traveling adventurer! She said that whenever you come across people in need? That you’re always the first on the scene, offering assistance!”

“Oh, did you also travel a lot, Conrad?” Shuichi asked, sipping at his lemonade, “I know Nadya traveled quite a bit for education and research. Is that what you were doing as well?”

Kokichi hummed happily as Kaito brought him a pink lemonade along with the one Shuuichi had gotten. Honestly…Kokichi thought about declining the mead and just ordering something else, but with Thieza underage and Shuuichi declining too… Maybe peer pressure was kind of a terrible reason to drink, but even with his tolerance one glass of mead wasn’t going to get him tipsy. And he knew Kaito preferred social drinking. 

Still, he was sipping more at the lemonade, happy to cool down in the shade. 

Nadya gave her boyfriend a fond, proud look as Kaito explained what she’d told him, and while the man looked just as humble, there was a slightly more subdued look to him as he patted his sister’s back and she leaned into it, enjoying a sweet tea herself. 

“In part. Nadya leaving the Hollow was…more of an impetus for my own journeys to start, more than anything. So it’s a bit surreal to hear she’s described me as a hero, since she was the one to give me the courage to leave in the first place.”

Nadya shook her head. “You would’ve left sooner or later--you can’t resist the call of duty. I just happened to give you a nudge at the same time.”

“It did make leaving initially more fun, since we left together,” Conrad smiled, before turning back to the others. “While learning more about the world was definitely a draw, mostly my travels were centered on finding Thieza.”

With a faint sad look in her eye, Thieza nodded. “In short…you could say our parents had a rather messy separation. I was incredibly young, at the time, so I didn’t really know what was going on, but…Conrad and I had no way of contacting each other. We didn’t know where the other had ended up, either, after our parents moved.”

“I wouldn’t say I needed a hero to come save me,” she grinned, amused, “But I did feel like a storybook princess when you found me.”

Kaito’s eyes widened a that, leaning in as he asked, “Oh, wow. That does sound like a tough situation… It can be tough, having a family member sort of out of reach. I think I can imagine the sort of worry that would have inspired you to go looking.” Kaito gave Conrad a grin, ignoring the side of himself that wanted to make comparisons. That talk would just get depressing, as he asked instead, “How long did it take you to find her? How long were you looking?”

“About four years,” Conrad sighed, looking a little more sheepish. “I was a little wary about coming off as a stalker, especially since Thieza’s father wanted nothing to do with me. While I looked around Dicea, I would spend time learning about other people and culture and, well, genuinely doing what Nadya was the whole time. It turns out that if I had just gone to Zogel early on, though, I would’ve found her pretty quickly.”

“And you would’ve had far fewer stories to tell me when you did,” Thieza added in emphatically. “I am glad that we’re back in each other’s lives now, but I’m happy you got to see the country on your own terms. It is never too late to live out a dream, but traveling is much easier without the more established parts of life.”

“I’ll agree with that,” Kokichi giggled. “I’m even more excited to show her one day, but having a baby means leaving the city is, at the very least, harder to plan around. We’re lucky a friend of ours was happy to babysit Miyako today, so the three of us can enjoy the festival together! And Maki-chan can take Tim around too.”

“Oh!” Thieza perked, turning to Kaito. “Do you think your son will be taking part in any of the youth competitions today? In Zogel, my friend May always dominated the Endurance Hula-Hoop competition.”

“Competitions…?” Kaito sipped at his mead, thinking about it, “Maybe? My kid’s not competitive, but his mom sure is–”

“His father too.” Shuichi muttered.

“-- so I could see him getting involved to make her happy.” Kaito said, ignoring Shuichi, “He’s got a strong sense of duty, always wants to be doing right by his. Maybe he’ll get caught up if the other Luminary kids do too.”

Kaito glanced around, like he might see Maki and Timothy any moment, and then feeling foolish when they didn’t just suddenly appear. Turning back to the siblings, he said, voice full of admiration, “Well, I think it’s incredible that you put that much time and effort in reuniting. That’s the sort of devotion they write ballads about! I don’t think it’s saying much to say Thieza’s lucky to have someone so– hnn!”

“CONGRATULATIONS!!”

Hina threw her arms around Kaito’s shoulder, who froze up, eyes widening with sudden panic, reaching back to grab her and throw her off of himself. But Shuichi caught Kaito’s arm before he could follow through on the first panic instinct, and Hina had hopped off and crashed into Kokichi next anyway, Kaito’s vision clearing as he panted slightly, watching Hina squeeze Kokichi and shake him a little as she squealed, “I heard!! You guys are ENGAGED!! Welcome to the club, we have RINGS!!”

“Hiiiinaaa,” Sakura drawled, her low tone slightly scolding as she went and gave Shuichi a firm clasp on his back, clearly trying to portray a silent form of congratulation, “We’ve talked about this. You scare people when you do that.”

“Aw, it’s fine, I get their adrenaline pumping! Isn’t that right, Kaito!?” Hina beamed at Kaito, full of such innocent sincerity that Kaito immediately felt guilty over his panicked reaction, throwing a beaming grin back at her. “Can we sit!? Hello!” Hina said, looking to Nadya, Conrad and Thieza, “We’re Hina and Sakura! Do you guys mind if we sit?? I need to hear about yesterday!!”

Tim could certainly get competitive, but not usually for its own sake. But considering Maki would be the driving force in this example… There was a part of Kokichi that hoped Maki hadn’t wrestled all the youth events out of someone. Though maybe one or two could be fun for Tim. 

Kokichi looked over in surprise before giggling brightly in Hina’s hug, missing the shocked and delighted looks on Nadya, Conrad, and Thieza’s faces. “Hi-hii! Thanks, Hina! We totally nailed that overlap, right?”

“You all are getting married?!” Thieza chirped, her eyes starry. “That’s wonderful, congratulations!” Matching Conrad’s warm smile with a congratulations of his own. 

Catching what Hina said, as they made room for two more, Nadya looked over her friends before giving Shuuichi an amused smile. “You decided to act while they were still dreaming and pining? That must’ve been quite the birthday gift.”

Kokichi gave her a sheepish look. “You had already gone home for the day when we got back from Shuu-chan’s surprise. But…yeah! He proposed to me and Kai-chan! We’re getting married!”

“Sorry, I didn’t think to say anything.” Shuichi smiled at Nadya, shrugging, “We were doing introductions, and… honestly it didn’t even cross my mind.”

“He’s too busy being jealous over my band crush.” Kaito smirked.

“Oh, so now it’s a crush–”

“But, yep~” Kaito said brightly, grinning at Sakura and Hina as they sat down, Sakura gesturing to the bar tender, silently asking for two drinks as Hina leaned in, excited to hear about this, “Shuichi proposed! Took me entirely off guard, I’m not gonna lie. I mean, Kokichi and I had talked on and off about when it would be… appropriate? To ask?”

Kaito shrugged sheepishly, sipping at his mead, “Honestly, if it had been up to us, I think it would have taken us another, like… year or two. To ask. So I had my head set on this idea that it’d be years from now, ya know? And then Shuichi comes out of nowhere with a picnic and fancy, like, invitations and rings… Like, I literally couldn’t comprehend it for a solid minute after he proposed. I even got it into my head that he was asking just Kokichi??? No idea why that idea got stuck in my head, but it took some dislodging, cause, like, it seemed so obvious I had to wait another few years. It was wild, I was shocked.”

“But… in a good way, right?” Shuichi asked, suddenly looking uneasy.

“What? Yes! The best way! One of the happiest moments of my life, easy!” Kaito insisted, leaning over to give Shuchi a kiss on his cheek, “Several steps above being given random poetry in the middle of a dance!”

“Damn right.” Shuichi muttered. 

“As long as you told me before the wedding?” Nadya laughed good-naturedly, “Then I am happy to be in the know. It is your business, who is privy. Truly, though, I am elated to hear the news.”

Listening to Kaito tell his side of the story, Kokichi nodded after a moment. “I pretty much told Shuu-chan that I wanted us to spend our lives together, like, months ago, but I was waiting on an actual proposal too. Kai-chan and I were both worried about rushing things and pressuring Shuu-chan…” He shook his head. “Good thing Shuu-chan knows how to take action when the two of us are too stuck in our heads.”

“I thought something was up from how nervous Shuu-chan was with my birthday surprise,” Kokichi smirked, though it quickly turned into a fond laugh. “He asked some of my friends to help set up this wonderful picnic lunch out in the flower fields north of here? It was incredible… And as we were making flower crowns and enjoying the day, he sat himself in front of us and had this cute, sincere speech…and it all clicked for me. Nearly sent us both down the hill we were on, if Kai-chan hadn’t caught us.”

Thieza, who had been leaning more over the table as Kokichi told the story, listened with wide, starry eyes. “That’s adorable… It sounds like a perfect proposal!”

Shuichi flushed, looking both embarrassed and a little pleased at the praise, reaching up to try to adjust his hat down, only to remember again that he wasn’t wearing it. Feeling a little awkward, he ended up running his fingers through his bangs instead, laughing lightly as he said, “Well, I really did mostly just throw it all together. So I feel fortunate that it went so well…”

“Oh! Speaking of, you ladies picked a new date for the wedding yet?” Kaito asked, looking to Hina and Sakura, “I imagine it’s going to be soon, right?”

“Actually…” Hina glanced at Sakura, who nodded, “We’ve been thinking about delaying it. It’s a little silly…”

“Hina made the mistake of telling me a childhood daydream of hers,” Sakura smiled warmly, “Of being married in the snow.”

Hina blushed, looking sheepish as she just shrugged, “It’s duuuuumb, and we probably shouldn’t do it, and it’ll probably be cold and it’ll be dumb to wait even longer to get married just to have, like, a worse wedding where everything is cold and sucks…”

“So do you not want to do it?” Kaito asked, peering curiously at Hina, “Because it kinda sounds like you want to do it and you’re just being an asshole to yourself.”

“Kaito!” Shuichi scolded.

“What? She said her idea was stupid. She’s the one bullying her idea, not me.” Kaito frowned, back to peering at Hina, who pouted at him uncomfortably as he asked, “Alright, cold, later in the year… why do you wanna do it anyway?”

“Well… I never saw snow before I turned 14.” Hina said, flushing slightly, clearly still embarrassed by this idea as she explained the appeal in it to her, “It sounded like a fantasy thing to me, you know? The sort of thing you only hear about. And I was lucky, very lucky, that by the time I crossed the border, the winter was over…”

Hina suddenly looked uncomfortable, glancing over at Nadya and the siblings as she said, “I… moved to Dicea from out of country as a kid. Um… yeah. Anyway. I was really struggling my first year here, I was… really depressed. And angry. Spiteful… I wondered if making the, uh, ‘big move’ was worth it, and wasn’t feeling good about my choices…”

Hina smiled lightly, gaze far away as she said, “And then one day, on some cold, gloomy day, the sky just opened up and… it was so beautiful. This white… fluffy ice. Floating down. It looked impossible. A strange, beautiful, impossible thing, that made the world just look so much more beautiful, strange but… more familiar? A different color, sure, a different feeling, but looking so much more like home, a white dessert… and suddenly I didn’t feel so strange or out of place. Or, more like, I was strange and out of place in an environment that suited that…”

Hina laughed lightly, looking embarrassed as she wiped her eyes, “Oh, geeeeez, I’m getting emotional, I’m sorry. I swear, this is the first bit of alcohol I’ve had all day.”

Kaito gave her a soft look… before saying, “Ya know, I guess I never asked. What was it like? Going back?”

“...terrible.” Hina admitted, giving Kaito an openly sympathetic look as she said, “And wonderful. You’ll understand, if enough time passes. I went back and realized I’m a foreigner in two places, now. Not quite one of them, not quite one of us… but being there made me realize I missed the snow. It was the middle of winter, and no snow. Tragic. And I realized coming back that I never stopped thinking of snow as being this beautiful, fantastical thing, even when it’s dangerous and inconvenient and cold… and I mentioned off hand to Sakura my daydream of getting married in it, so…”

“I think it’s a lovely idea.” Sakura said, putting her hand on Hina’s back, “And what’s the harm in waiting for a special moment? Married now, married later. We are together and happy now. It changes nothing.”

Kokichi raised his eyebrows in surprise. Considering they had delayed it once for the exchange program, Kokichi would’ve assumed they’d want to get married as soon as they could, after settling down back into their lives in Dicea. Nothing like going through a war to inspire you to want to make the most of the time you had. 

However, having a dream was something worth planning for. 

Like most Diceans, if someone got dodgy around the concept of moving to the country, or talking about where they grew up, Nadya and Conrad gave Hina a soft look, while Thieza just nodded encouragingly. Choosing to believe exactly what Hina had said, but trying to be more considerate for any nerves or difficult memories. 

(Though, considering Hina’s age, and that while she’d been vague at first, she all but confirmed being from Luminary with the mentions of a desert and talking about it with Kaito…well, the best case scenario meant that she had been seeking asylum on the other side of a war.)

Thieza nodded dreamily, openly appreciating Sakura’s devotion. “Winter weddings can definitely have a magic to them. I don’t think I’ve heard of people having the whole ceremony outside, but there are people who make snow and ice sculptures to walk through--it looks like a fairytale! Ohhhh, we’ve just met, but congratulations to you both too!”

Hina beamed, still a little embarrassed but nodding, “Thank you! If we really do wait till winter, we’ll be engaged for a year. Over a year, actually, I proposed mid last fall. We were going to get married right away, but things got busy…”

“It’s not a race.” Sakura said again, looking at ease with this, “It’s an event celebrating our love. But the love does not depend on it. I am okay, Hina. There is no hurry.”

“You’re the best.” Hina gushed, looking at Sakura, just, lovestruck, “How’d I get so lucky?”

“If I recall right, I beat you in a spar and you arbitrarily decided that meant you owed me a date.”

Kaito snickered, giving Hina an amused look, “Smoooooth. I bet if you had won, she would have owed you a date, huh?”

Hina grinned unabashedly, “Well the winner should be awarded with a date! Obviously!”

“Oh, obviously.” Kaito nodded, “Only way to do it.”

“Oh, speaking of competitions to establish dates… where’s Yuta?” Shuichi asked, looking around. “Did he not come with you?”

“He’s around here somewhere, he’s just hanging out with some guys he met. He’s making friends! We’re gonna meet back up with him and Miss Kirigiri for lunch.” 

Shuichi’s eyes widened, “Oh! You’re meeting my mentor later?”

“She reached out to Yuta via letter, asked to meet him a few weeks ago? They’ve met up twice since then, this is gonna be the first meeting where Sakura and I get to know her better though.” Hina grinned, “She’s a cool lady. I mean, obviously I knew that already, but I was honestly a little surprised still to hear about their conversations. It’s nice of her to want to check in on him.”

“Well, I guess we know the mentors are around here somewhere then.” Kaito said, looking around like he might spot them, “We should try to corner them and tell them about engagement stuff, if we get a chance. If we can’t find them by lunch, Hina, would you let them know we’re looking for them?”

Hina nodded, “Sure, no problem~”

Nadya raised an eyebrow, finding Conrad’s hand under the table. Not really for any secretive purpose, but…it was nice, just having little quiet moments for them. Using a date as competition stakes…now there was an idea. Though it definitely sounded like quite the story with their other friend. 

Kokichi…almost expected Shuuichi to want to make some excuse to not purposefully go out to find Kyouko and the others to tell them, but…while things weren’t fully repaired between them, it wasn’t like Shuuichi blew Kyouko off when she came to talk with him. Not gunning to tell her first thing didn’t mean he wasn’t planning on telling her at all. 

Still, though…

Kokichi hummed a bit. “Oh…then I guess we should go find a confessional later on, then? If we’re looking for them, it feels in bad taste to shout it to the world before telling them…”

“You’re announcing your engagement by confessional?” Conrad asked, mirth in his smile. “That’s certainly a fun way to do it. Very different from having notices and invitations posted around the kingdom.”

Kaito grinned somewhat uneasily at that, “Well… that’s probably still going to happen too. Right?” He asked Kokichi, looking uncertain, “Or… I mean, you’re an Ouma. Does it matter that you’re getting married again? I already told Kaede, last night, so I’m sure by this afternoon there’s going to be some sort of official statement made about me getting…”

Kaito frowned. “...I have no idea how she’ll word it. Ya know, maybe she won’t announce it? Because the only word we have for getting married to two people in Luminary is taking on a concubine, and that’s kinda already been announced, like, months ago for Shuichi and I. Kaede still needed to know, but they won’t recognize another marriage for me, so…”

Kaito looked to Shuichi, “I could call her and ask? Does it matter to you, if she announces us again?”

“It’s really not anyone’s business.” Shuichi shrugged, “Especially not in Luminary. I won’t ask you to talk to her again, I know it makes you uncomfortable, but if by some strange happenstance you can influence that outcome? I’d prefer no announcement, yes.”

Looking to Kokichi, he clarified, “But, that’s just how I feel about Luminary. I understand if politically, you need to inform your people. It’s a little… exposing, but I knew dating you two just itself was going to be fairly exposing for me. It’s difficult to dodge the stagelight that’s always on you.”

Kokichi nodded a bit and gave Shuuichi a half-apologetic look. “There wouldn’t be nearly as much publicity about it as Kai-chan and my engagement--kind of obviously, but even beyond that. At most? There would probably be personal notices given to community representatives, who might decide to include that information in various ways, and probably something in the paper here when we have our marriage, since pretty much any publicly aware wedding gets a mention in the ‘community happenings’ sections. But it’s not gonna be, like, mass invitations or anything. Just…our community being nosy and congratulatory, and letting the people I frequently work with know that I’ll have another spouse.”

“...I wouldn’t be surprised if other leaders sent us wedding gifts, though,” Kokichi mused. 

“If you are accepting them, I would love to set something up with the girls to send you!” Thieza cheered, looking excited. “A wedding is a special day!”

Shuichi laughed lightly, looking embarrassed as he brushed his hands through his bangs, “You don’t have to do tha–”

“We would love gifts, thank you so much!” Kaito grinned, ignoring Shuichi’s dry looks as he said, “Any token for our special event would be beloved and appreciated!”

“...what?” Kaito asked, pouting as he caught Shuichi’s look out of the corner of his eyes, “I brought Kokichi a bunch of gifts from home and he only, like, kept one of them! Just the dagger and the necklace! And I bet he’s forgotten we even have them, they’re just tucked in the back of the closet. If people wanna send us gifts, let them! We’ll make a treasure room.” Kaito imagined, eyes sparkling.

“I… highly doubt those are the kind of gifts we’ll get, Kaito.” Shuichi reminded him, “Lower your expectations. Imagine ‘plants’.”

“We will make a plant treasure room.”

Kokichi snorted, giving Kaito an amused look. “I moved the necklace into the jewelry box Amber got me, to make sure they wouldn’t get damaged or tangled or anything. The ruby necklace I have is there with it. And the dagger was never in the closet, hun. If you haven’t found out where I put it, then I’m gonna keep my mouth shut.”

“...though, yeah, other than the treasures you brought, we didn’t really have a gift registry or anything…” he hummed. “The treaty was kind of a bigger deal, and most people who wanted to gift something made donations and contributions towards veteran housing programs and counseling programs… I’m glad they did, but with a wedding that’s just for us? I’m not gonna say no if people wanna give us stuff.”

Nadya tilted her head a little. “You could probably fill out an official registry. Even if it isn’t going to be a national wedding, it would be a list on record that your guests could consult, if there was anything specifically you wanted.”

After a moment, Kokichi’s eyes widened in excitement. “We could get that giant, four-foot sheep plush for Miya.”

Kaito suddenly looked exaggeratedly weepy, leaning pathetically against Shuichi as he said, “Do you see how cruel he treats me? He hides our treasure from me. Bitter, tyrant of a husband… this is why you have to marry us, Shuichi. You have to keep him in check, or he’s gonna continue his reign of terror.”

“Truly, he’s a monster.” Shuichi agreed, patting Kaito on the back, though he was not at all surprised when Kaito suddenly lit up at Kokichi’s suggestion.

“Oh my god, yesssssss, oh, nooooooo, she’ll be so cuuuuuuuute!” Kaito said, looking starry eyed and far away as he imagined it. “Oh, she’ll take naaaaaaaps on him and eat his sheepy ear and when she’s older Little Lamb can talk to Big Sheep and be Sheep Friends!”

“Why is it always the muscular ones that end up being big balls of emotional goo?” Hina said, clearly teasing Sakura, who smiled softly at her but notably offered no comment, Hina giggling after a moment as she nudged her arm with her head, “My big beautiful softie.”

“Who’s soft!? I’m a paradigm of steel! The definition of traditional masculinity! The toughest, sharpest sword around!!”

“Oh, I guess the old iguana guy is done playing.” Shuichi said, looking towards the street.

“Oh my god, do you see him, does he see me, where is he!?” Kaito asked, looking suddenly nervous and far too eager as he peered into the direction Shuichi was looking, immediately trying to pose a little in his chair… but when he saw no one… “...mean, Shuichi.”

“I proposed to you yesterday, can you at least pretend for a day to not want to be leered at?”

“Shuichi, handsome, I came out looking like this. I’d be insulted if I didn’t get a few double takes today, look at me. I pulled out the stops… come oooon,” Kaito grinned, leaning into Shuichi’s space, his grin suddenly wolfish, “There’s something appealing in knowing that even if others are looking, I’m going home with you, right? Everyone else only gets to pine, you get to own~”

Shuichi’s eyes widened slightly… before glancing at the group slightly in sheepish, flustered embarrassment, “I’m sorry about him, he’s been in a mood today. Kaito, drink some water.”

“Tsk. Spoilsport.” Kaito pouted, grabbing the water.

Kokichi could only giggle at Kaito’s drastic mood swings. Though there was sincerity to them (some, at least, like his excitement getting that, frankly, way out of their budget toy, and feeling hot) it was really easy to tell that…Kaito was just happy. Having a good time. Feeling like being a goofball to keep things light and fun and moving. 

His Kaito was being the life of the party. This was the Kaito that Kokichi always knew was there. 

Nadya laughed a little bit, leaning against Conrad for a moment. “There is something nice about getting dressed up for a significant event. It is why a clear majority of people are doing so today. I cannot say I would be entirely comfortable with blatant ogling, but getting compliments and giving them in turn for how people have chosen to present themselves today it quite a mutually uplifting feeling.”

“Right!” Kokichi said brightly, before giving a nod to the others. “Speaking of…you all are lookin’ cute today! Kinda just went into talkin’, but…yeah!”

“I can’t get over the cute, like…” Kaito, looking at Nadya, made little ball motions on top of his head, “I don’t know what they’re called. You’ve made them look like hearts! That’s so cute! Man, could you imagine if Maki still had the hair for that? I’d be making her put all kinds of weird hair loops in her hair right now.” Kaito grinned, looking incredibly pleased by the mental image as he said, “Our Maki-Roll was capable of looking very sweet, not that long ago, but like… in a ‘kind of wants to murder you’ sort of way. She’s relaxed since then though. I can’t remember the last time she asked me if I wanted to die.”

“I like your outfits.” Shuich agreed, sipping the last of his lemonade, letting out a small, satisfied sigh, “It really is something, the fashions I’ve seen here that I’ve never seen anything like in Luminary, or even our stories. The closest thing, similarity wise, is capes. We don’t really utilize robes in our clothing, beyond bathrobes.”

“It’s nice! It’s airy~ well, not yours, but mine is.” Kaito grinned, leaning back in his chair and still sipping at his mead as he said, “I haven’t had the chance too yet, but I bet dancing in this is a surreal experience… or fighting… Conrad! Thieza! Either of you spar??” Kaito asked, lighting up at the idea. “You’re travelers, you must practice fighting a little??”

Giving thanks for the compliments in various ways--Nadya’s happy and to the point, Conrad’s a little bashful, and Thieza’s bright and delighted--the siblings shared a look before Thieza laughed awkwardly. 

“I have practice with a bostaff,” Conrad started, affectionately stroking the side of Nadya’s hand from where they were clasped under the table. “I also have a license to carry a hunting knife, though it’s less for fighting and more for making a meal on the road. I’ve been a part of a few brawls, but not many of the encounters I’ve had in my travels have required fighting prowess on my end.”

Nodding, Thieza followed up after him. “Close followers of The Earth Mother are not required to be pacifists, but her values and teachings prioritize love and harmony over all. I know how to protect myself, but if I can solve something peacefully, I will.”

There was a slight edge in her voice at that, causing Conrad to look over with a half-amused, half-gently understanding look. “You and Koe still not talking?”

Thieza blushed lightly before sighing, saying quietly, “He has apologized.”

“Oh?” Kaito asked, zeroing in on that, peering over his mug at her as he said, “Koe?”

“You don’t have to indulge him.” Shuichi informed them, reaching over and lightly rubbing the back of Kaito’s neck for him, Kaito glancing over at Shuichi with an amused, fond look. “Kaito can be a bit nosy.”

“I can be a bit nosy???” Kaito asked, raising his eyebrows dramatically, before looking at Kokichi with a ‘you just heard that too, right??’ look.

Kokichi rolled his eyes fondly. “You’re both some of the nosiest people I know. Shuu-chan’s just sneakier about it, and Kai-chan really shows his colors for it when he hears about relationship drama.”

“I see…” Thieza sighed for a moment before, probably to her own detriment of not taking Shuuichi’s advice, giving Kaito a tired smile. “Koe is an old friend of mine… Put short, we had different ideas of how to approach an issue and I was…less than pleased with some of the decisions he made.”

Looking more to Conrad, she stressed, “Our friendship isn’t broken, but…I am still angry with him.”

Kaito nodded seriously at that, “I see, I see. One of those ‘can’t take it back’ things? I get that… he back at home then? Or is he skulking about the city somewhere? I can bonk him if you’d like? Solid wack to the head, bruise to the ego? It would, quite literally, be my delight.”

Hina whispered something in Sakura’s ear, before the larger women chuckled, giving her a slightly scolding look as she murmured, “Hiinaaaa… no…”

Much unlike Andromeda’s reaction earlier, Thieza giggled a bit before looking fondly exasperated. “He’s back in Zogel, yes, though I appreciate the offer--Conrad’s already done his requisite ‘big brother talk’ but…honestly, I’m quicker to accept since Koe would probably get a kick out of it. Try to recruit you to his club, if it was good enough a bonk.”

Curiously, Kokichi gave Hina and Sakura an inquisitively amused look, though he decided not to pry. Probably some grade A comedy, though.

Kaito was curious at that– club?-- but his own gaze flitted over to Hina and Sakura. Well, he wasn’t getting anywhere with the siblings, maybe the ladies?? “Hina, you’ve probably done some serious spars in your day, how would you like too–”

“No, no no no.” Hina huffed, putting her hands up as she said, “Luminary style? Can’t, sorry. Got into trouble too many times, can’t risk it. Buuuuuut, Sakura heeeere~”

Sakura sighed, shaking her head, “No. I still do not think Luminary spars are safe, even if I understand the rules better now.”

“Sakura was sparring, like, every. Single. Day. Back in Luminary!” Hina said, eyes lighting up with pride and satisfaction as she gushed, “And won all of them. Seriously, it was incredible, no one could even come close!”

“There were more than a few who gave me a challenge,” Sakura sighed, pleased at Hina’s pride but not her exaggerations, “And while I can understand the appeal, even a match with a diligent ref can bid unintended consequences, if one acts carelessly… I would not want to hurt Kaito by mistake…”

Kaito’s grin sharpened, something fierce coming over him as he said, “Oh, you wouldn’t want to hurt me?”

“Kaito, you’re not gonna spar anyone.” Shuichi said, patting his back as Kaito tore his eyes away from Sakura, giving Shuichi a bewildered look, “Hina’s been here way longer and if she’s still worried about getting in trouble over spars, you should be too. Besides, you’re not dressed for it.”

“I’m dressed! What, because I don’t have pants??”

“I am not going to sit here and watch you end up wrestling in your underwear because your obi broke. No sparring.”

Kokichi nodded at that. “And we’d both be upset if you tore some of the robe--sure, Denji-chan could probably fix it, but with a cloth that fine there’s no way there wouldn’t be at least a little sign of a stitch.”

Nadya gave something of a considering hum from across the table. “Not today, no, and I doubt a Luminous spar would be…great for my mental health, but I have heard Miss Meo mention more than once what an invigorating partner you are…even if it was simply demonstrative for your children. If you would get anything out of an unarmed, friendly spar--or perhaps it would simply be akin to a training session, in your own parlance--I would like to test my skills against you.”

Conrad…gave her something of a slightly worried look, but…well, she wouldn’t have offered without thought. If Nadya felt like it wouldn’t feel like a battlefield, then it really could be a fun exercise for them. 

Kaito’s brow furrowed, looking to Kokichi and mouthing the word ‘Meo’?

A little amused, but not at all surprised, Kokichi leaned over to whisper, “Lake.”

Kaito’s eyes widened! Oh! Right! Obviously! “Ha, Lake said that? About me?” Kaito asked, raising an eyebrow at that before chuckling, shaking his head, “She’s being… very generous. But, yeah, Nadya, I’d be up to rolling around with ya, if that’s the kinda of play-fight you’re looking for? Trust me, I’m actually harmless.” Kaito snorted, rolling his eyes a little as he said, “A seasoned warrior? The fights going to be mostly you trying not to batter me around too much, trust me. But, even spars like that can be in good fun, I’d love to just see what you’d do!”

Lighting up a little, Kaito said, “Watching a person spar, being on the other end of it? It can be so exciting, I think. See how they think, what they choose to prioritize, what they’d want to show off? It’s neat! Maki’s a big believer in it says a lot about a person too, and I don’t disagree, but I still think the most it says about them is how they play, ya know? Spars are rarely ever deadly, so you can’t even tell from them, really, how they’d act in a serious fight. But playing around with someone? It’s just an adrenaline filled version of play!”

Shuichi watched Kaito from the corner of his eye, not about to call him out, but fairly confident Kaito didn’t feel this way about spars all the time. Maybe it was just because he was thinking about them in a bright mood, but Kaito just as often wanted to spar because he was pissed as he wanted to spar for the fun of it. His spar with Lake being a perfect example… but why contradict him in front of a bunch of people for no reason? To keep him ‘honest’? It’d just embarrass him for no reason.

Nadya nodded a bit, but it was Thieza who spoke up first, laughing a bit and giving Conrad an amused look. “It’s almost like being back at home already.” Turning to explain a bit for the group, she mused, “That club I mentioned… My friend Koe is a big proponent of making friends through fights. At first it happened by accident, but…it happened enough that it’s a staple in the club. I think his friend Tilly has…pretty much said what you just did, word for word.”

Remembering something, Conrad lit up a bit before nodding to the group. “Right… Nadya told us that your sister Maki spent some time going to the dojo in town…and…” Giving them a graciously apologetic look, Conrad addressed Hina and Sakura, “Forgive me if I’m way off, but if you are the friends I believe you are? Then you both go there too, correct? The Deliverance is quite similar, I believe. A collective of people who enjoy martial arts and combative training--most cities have some sort of version of it, to my knowledge.”

Kokichi gave a soft, proud laugh. “Where there are like-minded individuals, there will be clubs.”

Hina nodded brightly, Sakura nodding as well– Shuichi gave Conrad a slightly startled look, wondering who had told him to refer to Maki as his sister? It was true, in a way, but Shuichi wasn’t in the habit of referring to her as such-- as she said, “We did introduce Maki to the organization, and she sat in to watch them… for a bit. I cannot claim to know what she was thinking, but she did not deign to sit in for another.”

“It made Maki nervous.” Shuichi explained, remembering this conversation, “They’re enthusiastic about the topic in theory, but in practice? Kaito and Maki get uncomfortable, fighting in Dicea.”

“It doesn’t make us ‘uncomfortable’,” Kaito said, frowning a little at Shuichi before huffing, going to rub Shuichi’s hair, messing it up a bit, “We’re just waiting until we understand it more, that’s all. Maki and I have talked about this, until we know what fighting Diceans actually means? Like, here, in Dicean context? We gotta be careful how we do it.”

“So why are you asking us to spar so much then?” Hina asked, “If you’ve decided not to spar here?”

“Cause I know Nadya, and Conrad and Thieza seem like good guys who Nadya trusts, and I trust you and Sakura,” Kaito shrugged, “So, if I get it wrong? I don’t think you guy’s would ruin my life over it. It’s safe to ask… plus,” Kaito shrugged, laughing, “Let’s be honest, none of you are gonna spar me today. It can be kinda fun needling people for things you’re not gonna get either. For example! Who here wants a shot for the road? Something small that burns on the way down??”

“Heck no, it’s not even noon and it’s hot out there.” Hina huffed, Sakura also shaking her head. 

Shuichi considered his cup, before saying, “I wouldn’t say no to another pink lemonade.”

At once, Nadya and the siblings all nodding with a new understanding in their gaze. Nadya and Conrad, having grown up in Falcon’s Hollow, listening to Iliyana’s disjointed stories about Luminary--Nadya’s mother had been painfully sheltered during her upbringing, but as she had roamed with Tychon, she had seen first hand how thoughtlessly and pridefully people would ruin each other in the country. Sometimes even to her own benefit, watching with her husband from the shadows. 

And Thieza…well, in more recent years, she had heard some of those stories too, as retold by Conrad, but…she knew first hand how that behavior wasn’t entirely missing in Dicea. For people less versed in how to play the social game in Dicea, it made sense that immigrants wouldn’t want to put themselves at even more of a disadvantage. 

As they declined taking a shot, amused at how Kaito had already called out the outcome, Kokichi snorted a bit, nudging his husband fondly. “You’re so weird, sometimes. …plus you already drank like half of my mead.”

“...you wanna see if we can get some lemonades to go?”

“Aaaaare you going to drink the rest of your mead? No? Alright, hold on–” Kaito took the rest of Kokichi’s drink (of which Kokichi had had, like, a sip) and opened up his throat beneath it, taking it down quickly, before finishing with a happy little huff. The Dicean mead wasn’t so bad. Went down really easy, you had to give it that. With two ales in him now, he cheerily said, “Alright! More lemonade for my breathtaking partners! Guys, can we grab you anything?”

“Actually, Sakura and I are probably gonna head back out. The next band is coming on right about now and it’s one we enjoy. Ever heard of the Crane Wives? Two women duets, sort of aggressive folksy sound?” Hina asked, sighing as Kaito shook his head, “They play at this nightclub we go to all the time, one of our favorites, so we’re gonna go catch them. It was great meeting you guys!” She said to Nadya and the siblings, “Thanks again so much for letting us just jump in like that!”

“It was lovely meeting you!!” Thieza chirped, butting in a bit on Nadya and Conrad’s farewells. “And congratulations on your upcoming marriage as well!!!”

Laughing quietly, though fondly, Nadya turned to Kokichi and Shuuichi, Kaito having gone to get the drinks. “We might head out soon too--we wanted to catch you all, but we were planning on seeing some of the glassworks projects while the sun is high. I am pleased I was able to introduce you all.”

“Yeah, this was great!” Kokichi grinned. “I hope you guys really get to enjoy Usott’s Zenith!”

“See you in a few days, Nadya. It was very nice meeting you, Conrad, Thieza.” Shuichi said, nodding his head down at them, watching the group disperse, before turning to Kokichi and giving him a soft smile, “Well, that was nice. You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say we were somewhat popular.”

“I know, it’s like we have friends or something,” Kokichi snickered, swinging his legs a little from his seat. “...this is nice. Seein’ people, enjoying the festival…”

“...I feel a little bad pulling Kai-chan away from that band, though we had been planning on chatting with Nadya and the others,” he softly admitted. “He did let us listen to Wet Floor, and I didn’t mind Amplifiction’s music. Think it’d be too much if I looked around for a record by them for him?”

Shuichi, in that moment, did something Kokichi very likely hadn’t seen him do yet. His cheeks puffed up, blowing out a breath and not letting it out for a moment as his brow furrowed in a manner eerily similar to Maki’s as he said, “I think he’d have more fun with a poster, honestly… or a body pillow.”

But after a second he let the puff of breath out, before nodding, “I imagine they’re selling records somewhere. And it doesn’t have to be just an apology record, I think it could be fun for, well, you both at least to look through any available records. You enjoy music quite a bit, and I know for a fact that Kaito will just sit in the dancing room and just listen to that record he and Maki dance too. It’d be nice to find you both more options to play.”

“Everyone gone?” Kaito asked, coming back with lemonades, to go, for them and a cup of water for himself, passing them out as he said, “That was fun, yeah? Conrads a hunk,  can see why Nadya’s got such a thing for him. He was all sweet and bashful about it too… they’re a cute couple!”

That sent Kokichi into more snickers. Shuuichi was probably right on the money that Kaito was more enamored with the lead singer than their music, but now that he’d heard it, it was probably all wrapped up in the same package. Kaito could have a celebrity crush, though. Maybe Kokichi would look for band artwork or a poster for his birthday. 

Maybe it would be fun to go music shopping together. Find a band or an artist that they both liked and could bond over listening to, though it wasn’t like Kokichi really thought they needed that kind of excuse to bond. But it was nice, being able to share music with someone. 

Thanking Kaito with a cheer as he accepted his lemonade, Kokichi made moves to get up from their table, giving Nazumi a grin from across the way as she re-holstered her extra water. “Yeah! Conrad and Thieza were cool! They all seem to be really comfortable with each other--I’m glad Nadya has people in her life like that. I am kind of curious about that Deliverance thing, though. Kinda unique for a club like that to give itself a group name.”

“The fighting club?” Kaito asked, sipping on his water as they headed out, the sun brightly beaming down on them again as they left the sanctuary of the restaurant. “What’s got you curious, babe? Doesn’t exactly seem like your scene, even to watch.”

“Yeah,” Kokichi shrugged, agreeing with the fair statement. “I dunno…it just seemed like there was a story there. Even if I’m not really into comradery through fighting…I mean, they’re still my people, and now friends of friends. I’m just curious how the whole thing came about. It seemed like Thieza didn’t really want to get into it, though.”

He hadn’t really felt anything pointed. Just…complicated feelings, which she had implied as much with her incredibly brief explanation of her issue with her friend. 

“Mm…what do you guys wanna do now? We kinda cut off shopping, if you wanna take more looks at stuff.”

“Oh, absolutely there was a story there. If it wasn’t early in a holiday, I’d have probably pried more.” Kaito admitted, “But if it’s a depressing story, I wouldn’t want to totally ruin her mood, like, getting into it, ya know? It can be really nice to talk about stuff like that, but not when you’re, ya know… under the pressure of hanging out with your newly coupled brother and his girlfriend and their first holiday together. I imagine there’s a certain pressure to perform on that kid, right now. Why sabotage her?”

“Oh! Shoes!” Kaito said immediately after, like he hadn’t mentioned anything he had just said, beaming at them as he said, kicking his legs up, “I gotta get shoes that go with the outfit, and then I’ll be complete! My final, sexy form!”

“Just make sure you get something comfortable, Kaito.” Shuichi gently advised, “We still have a lot of running around to do today. I keep seeing these shoes made of just wood? Don’t get those. I don’t know how anyone is walking around in them.”

Both Thieza and Nadya seemed comfortable enough, and Nadya had mentioned Conrad bringing his sister to Zenith months ago, so it wasn’t like a last minute thing, but…yeah. There was, at the very least, an awareness the both of them had, in being a group of a couple and a pair of siblings, with one person in overlap. If Thieza had pressure on her, then so did Nadya, trying to be liked by Conrad’s family. Especially one he apparently went through a lot of strife trying to reconnect with. 

But they seemed to be doing well with everything. So…everyone was left to enjoy the holiday. 

Kokichi laughed softly, nodding. “Ah, yeah, geta. They’re, like…suuuuuuper old, traditional shoes. Apparently they can be comfortable for people used to wearing them, but if it’s your first time, no way. I’m too used to the comfort of cloth and padding, myself.”

“Hmmmmm…” Kokichi hummed, glancing over Kaito’s outfit as they walked. “I think something more form-fitting would be best, if not a different type of sandals… It is summer, though, and I don’t think I’ve seen you wear sandals? Let’s find some cool strappy ones! That are gold to match your yukata!”

Kaito lit up at Kokichi’s enthusiasm, before wrapping an arm around him, giving him a kiss against his temple, “Hell yeah! Lead the way, beautiful, let’s go deck me out!”

-

Kaito was still admiring his new shoes as they wandered the festival, every now and again kicking his leg out ever so slightly into an exaggerated step just so he could glimpse them again. The sandals they had eventually settled on was a style fairly reminiscent of Luminary and Novoselic style sandals without quite exactly being either. The thick twists around his ankles and feet were standard in Luminary sandals, though Noveselic liked to use thinner straps and they always climbed, the most obnoxious sandals there going all the way up past the mid-calf. These Dicean sandals, while not exactly standard– Kaito had only found three in this style– were a mix between the two ideas, in gold painted leather, with little flowery decorations pressed into the straps, and funnily enough, little soundless bells where the sandals clasped together at his ankles.

It was slightly too dainty looking to go well with any of Kaito’s other outfits, and he couldn’t see himself wearing them regularly… but he did not mention that as he excitedly bought them for this outfit in particular, not wanting either of his partners to scold him for a pair of pricey shoes he wasn’t planning to wear much. It was fiiine… maybe he’d wear them more often than he expected! It was fiiiiiiiine.

Kaito had just caught his reflection in another shop window, openly admiring himself as Shuichi lightly pulled him away, saying, “I really thought we’d find Maki and Tim by now. Or more likely that they’d find us.”

“Can’t you ‘detect’ them, handsome?” Kaito teased, looking over his shoulder to try to catch his reflection again… nice. He looked good from behind too. 

Shuichi huffed, looking around… “...where would Maki and Tim go, if they weren’t going to come find us… they wouldn’t just ‘miss’ us, we’ve been in the main area basically this whole time, so they haven’t been looking… what would distract them?”

“Sports.” Kaito shrugged.

“...” Shuichi looked to Kokichi, raising an eyebrow. “Are there sports around?”

Kokichi thought Kaito looked just fine in his other shoes, but he had to admit…those sandals were really nice. Lighter shoes he wasn’t sure Kaito even had, despite coming from a place where they were more in style. His husband could get fussy, but Kokichi had a feeling they’d come in handy over the rest of the summer. 

Humming softly, Kokichi looked around the crowd. “...I could try… I’ve never tried to sleuth down someone like that before. I’m…not exactly sure about how it’d work…” There was familiarity, of course. Like he didn’t even need to turn around if someone in his family came in a room behind him, because…well, there was the normal stuff, like passively getting used to the way people walked and how they breathed ‘n stuff. But that trend carried over into their…presences. Their moods and essences and…all that, becoming just as familiar as their shampoo scent. 

But they could make some educated guesses first. 

“I mean, there are a ton of games and competitions going on,” Kokichi shrugged. “Basically any park space that isn’t being used for a performance area? There’s gonna be a game going on. …I think some volleyball teams might be doing, like, spectator practice games. They usually do…”

Shrugging again at his partners, he suggested, “Let’s head to a park?”

“Mmmmm, kay~” Kaito said, feeling like he missed his small husband and, escaping from Shuichi’s hand, going over and putting his arms around Kokichi, squeezing him tight before, just as impulsively, picking him up by the waist, gently swaying him side to side a bit as he kissed his cheeks, before putting him down. “To the park!”

There was a lot of activity at the park, crowds of people playing random games, and Kaito idly watched them as they passed, not feeling terribly competitive at the moment and content to just watch from the sidelines as other people played. He still hadn’t gotten a sense of where his friend and son were, but he noticed a particularly large crowd around what looked like a net, and while Kaito didn’t recognize anyone there, he found himself drifting towards the crowd anyway, curious as some teams played together…

Kaito wasn’t, admittedly, super familiar with volleyball, beyond just playing it or fun on occasion, but even if the crowd hadn’t gasped and cheered around him he still would have recognized how impressive the little dudes jump and spike was, hitting the ball served– presumably to him?? Though Kaito thought the ball hadn’t even been close to his direction before the guy seemed to just lock onto it like he couldn’t see anything else– with a powerful precision… which really only made it more impressive when someone on the other side lunged forward, just barely clipping it with their wrist and the ball rolling down their elbow, the player hitting it back towards their own team, who–

--with quick feet, positioned themself under the ball, sending it up, up into the air; something that sent the more knowledgeable in the crowd into excited murmurs. 

When Kokichi had mentioned that teams often did games during Zenith, he really had meant teams. Professional teams, though sometimes really enthusiastic high school teams as well. The game they’d stumbled upon was an interesting one--the team with the shorter guy that could jump for days, were, what people could see in their harmony, a real team. People that regularly played together. And those actually into the sport would notice that they weren’t just any team, but the Usott Central Jackals, an up and comer with their relatively new lineup that were looking to be favorites in the league. 

The other team, however…well, the biggest giveaway to that they were a collection of players was that it was co-ed. They were playing well, the Jackals not crushing them into the dirt, but there was a loose sort of learning curve that was obvious for any familiar eye to catch. 

Which was why it was all the more shocking when the setter sent the ball as high as they did, copying the move that the Jackals had been doing to play to their short player’s strength. 

An average height woman surged forward, launching herself into the air as her arms moved almost like a windmill, distracting what side she was coming from until she slammed the ball down into a crosshot on the other side of the makeshift courts. 

Kokichi looked on, impressed. Volleyball has always been a pretty crazy sport.

“Eyyyyy, look at ‘em go.” Kaito said approvingly, watching a guy with a buzzcut through himself at the ball with his whole body like pain was a thing that happened to other people, crashing into the ground on his shoulder but managing to keep the ball in the air as a tall blond with glasses literally stepped over him to chase it from there. Kaito’s eyes lingered on the blond for a moment– the resemblance was superficial, but it was still there– before looking around some more, whistling lowly to himself as he said, “These people take their games seriously. I can see a lot of folks putting their all into it. Reminds me of home.”

“I guess a spirit of competition crosses borders.” Shuichi mused.

“Not in Novoselic. Those guys play sports like it’s an obligation. Well, except the water stuff.” Kaito admitted, still idly watching the game, the point finally going to the little guys team, though Kaito got the impression the ball being in the air that long was pretty remarkable, the teams excitedly chattering to each other as they set up for the next set, “Noveselic has all these, like, swim-dance, swim-races, swim, like…. Jousting, suff, ‘Kichi. They love their water activities, it’s kinda insane. I once participated in a swimming competition where you had to swim against some rapids? I got knocked to the sides almost immediately, I honestly couldn’t believe how many people made it to the other side of the rapids, let alone quickly.” Kaito glanced at the blond again, recalling, “Byakuya didn’t want to play. I think he just knew he was gonna lose.”

Shuichi was about to make some small jab at Byakuya about that, when he frowned, listening… “I think I just heard Maki,” he said, looking further down the park, where another crowd was forming, a lot of yelling happening in that direction as he said, “You guys hear that?”

Kaito paused, listening…

“Stop putting all your leverage into your arms! Use your legs! Your arms are just anchors, not the push!!”

“Oh yeah,” Kaito grinned, “That’s Maki-roll—”

“TAKE YOU HANDS OFF THE POLES AND INTERLOCK YOUR WRISTS IF THATS WHAT HELPS YOU REMEMBER!!!”

Kaito blinked, “Annnnnd that’s Mr. Nidai.”

“People take sports seriously,” Kokichi nodded a bit, watching the excitement from both teams as the rally ended, a chorus of ‘don’t mind, don’t mind, we’ll get the next one’ aimed to the person who had missed the sendover. “Or, a chunk of ‘em do, anyway. Considering it’s something some people spend their whole life around, dedicated to it, you get some real die-hards. ‘Course there are people to treat it more casually, but…especially for team games, it’s really annoying if someone goes into it half-heartedly.”

“On the reverse though, too, it can get toxic real fast if someone only cares about winning, and sucks at sportsmanship…All that’s true for fans too.”

And, it seemed, speaking of fans…

Kokichi giggled and took his partners’ hands, going over to where they heard the familiar voices. “Aaah, I finally get to see Tiger Maki-chan…”

The game was simple. There were four poles, each one taller than the last, in consecutive order. There were flags on the top of each pole of various colors, held there by a simple velcro strip, waiting to be claimed. At the start of the poles, each racer was given a sticker, put on their person somewhere, of the color they needed to grab. And once the pole was clear and the timer was ready to start again, a man with a clipboard keeping track from the sidelines, the competitor had to climb up and slide down each pole, collecting their flag, until they got all four, in which case the timer for them ended and was noted on the paper. 

A lot of people never made it halfway up the third pole, and that was fine. It was purely for individual fun, the challenge more about letting people test themselves rather then directly compete with each other. But the man with the clipboard was sweating a bit now, as the group he had quickly mentally categorized as ‘The Luminaries’ had all gradually navigated here, a bunch of kids clearly trying to show off to the woman with the spikey bobbed haircut and the large man who needed new pants for gods sake, as they… ‘cheered’?? Each kids new attempt, screaming pointers for better times and insisting each kid go in rapid succession, some of the kids climbing the poles at the same time and simple falling or climbing around each other.

When the man had let the two, uh, ‘encouraging’ adults know that part of the reason for the turns was to make it easier on him to keep track of who had which time, the two had given him such a blatantly judging and unimpressed look as the larger man, pinky scratching into his ear, said, “What? You can’t keep track of just thirty kids playing around? This your first day, or…?”

…and it was so stupid but the man had gone back and almost furiously started trying to keep up as he called, “Blue-22, time eight minutes and twenty-five seconds! Red-19, six minutes and fourteen seconds, green–”

“Abel, try it again! Use your thighs this time from the start, you have thighs the size of my head, use them!” Maki insisted, Abel nodding as he ran back to the line with his four blue flags.

“Here, pass me your flags, Abel,” Jaime said enthusiastically, body slicked in sweat and dirt, grinning like a madman as he said, “They won’t let me keep cutting in line unless I volunteer to put the extra flags back up when I’m up there! I wanna keep climbing!!”

Abel nodded, handing Jaime the flags, who collected a few more before running to the poles, ignoring one of the coordinators half-hearted attempts to stop him. Jaime had the quickest time so far, and also the most attempts. He just never seemed to get tired, and the other kids kept letting him cut, his enthusiasm boundless. 

Kokichi snorted, laughing fondly as they walked up to the chaos. It did kind of defeat the purpose of everything, but…as long as no one got hurt, and eventually other people got to play too, it seemed like a fun time. All the kids looked to be having a blast, anyway, and the light electric excitement in the air seemed to support that. 

Giggling, Kokichi came up to Maki and Nekomaru, grinning widely, though wisely not standing right in front of them, even if he wouldn’t exactly be blocking the view. “Hey, we found you! Maki-chan, Mr. Nidai, Happy Zenith!”

Turning to look back at the kids, Kokichi watched, impressed, as Jaime launched himself up the poles. “Wow… Yanno, I’d ask if you guys’d found the rock climbing walls yet, but somehow I think everyone finds this more fun.”

Maki glanced over at them, simply going, “Oh. There you are.” before returning her gaze to the kids, shouting, “Piper, don’t wait for Hannah, climb up her back if you have too, she’s strong enough to take it!”

“Oh, Happy Zenith, your grace.” Nekomaru said, reaching over blindly and patting at Kokichi’s head– Kaito giving him an only slightly dry look at the disrespectful gesture– before calling out, “TIMOTHY, LET THE LITTLE ONES DO IT THEMSELVES! THEY CAN HANDLE IT!”

“I said leave him be, it’s an admirable trait, I’m trying to encourage it.” Maki hissed at her mentor, who scoffed in turn. Timothy, in turn, just glanced at the two of them, trying to get a read on what he was supposed to do, before finishing boosting up Mitchy on the second pole, watching protectively as the youngest kids tried the taller poles, not concerned about his own time. 

“Aw, that’s my boy! Keep an eye on them, Tim, get them up there!” Kaito called out, Tim giving the approaching family a little wave before refocusing on what he was doing, waiting to catch the near toddlers if they fell. 

“They have a ton of grass on the ground, they’ll be fine. And the kid just doesn’t want to climb them himself. You need to get him back on task.” Mr. Nidai whispered to Maki, not speaking loudly because damn if he was about to dress down his charge in front of the kids who admired her, but also not wanting to just let her get away with bad training as he whispered, “His best time was only seven minutes, that’s pathetic. He needs to improve.”

“He’s just not taking it seriously, if he was actually trying he’d do better.” Maki said stiffly, “Which he doesn’t have to do, because this is a game.”

Nekomaru scoffed again… before shouting, “JUMPING IS FASTER THAN SLIDING, JANE, JUST LET YOURSELF FALL!”

“Lean into the movement of your knees, roll if you have too!” Maki called too, Heidi squeaking a bit as she let herself drop, but catching herself well enough and moving onto the next pole. “What have you guys been up to all day?” Maki asked, glancing at them again.

“Thank you!” Kokichi giggled into the pats. He wasn’t sure if Maki had had that conversation with her mentor yet, and…on a personal level, he wasn’t totally okay with the things they were both encouraging. But the kids were having fun, and…again, as long as no one got hurt, that’s what mattered. They were living in Dicea, but there was room for uniqueness and some Luminary values. 

Watching the kids--thankful every time they got up with grins on their faces--Kokichi hummed excitedly. “We met up with my sibling--they introduced us to their girlfriend! Her name is Andromeda, and she seems real sweet--you’ll probably see her around at home. Then we went on a few rides in Rebi Park? There was a moving floors obstacle one that Kai-chan said you guys have in Luminary too--it was a ton of fun! Then we got some food--we got some grilled squid skewers!”

“Then we heard, just, this wild band playing in the plaza--Wet Floor, Kai-chan and I talked with them a little an’ I’m prolly gonna look into going to some of their concerts,” Kokichi continued to happily ramble. “We listened a bit to the next band, but when we ran into Nadya-chan and her boyfriend and his sister, so we finally got introduced, and while we were getting some drinks together we ran into Hina-chan and Sakura-chan too! So that was all a blast, obviously! Then we went shopping, though, oh, we did a little before getting food, too. Kai-chan got his new awesome shoes, and that bag he’s wearing, and Shuu-chan got some cool books. We also were talkin’ with this artist that collects tarot decks and Kai-chan got a collection one--I’m lookin’ forward to looking at all the different styles when we get home.”

“How’s your day been? Found a lotta cool games?”

“Sounds like it’s been a full day already.” Maki said, peering the crowd of kids before shouting, “Javier, take a break! You’re getting frustrated, pushing will only make it harder!”

Javier, sniffling at the third pole after his third attempt to try to climb it and sliding back down halfway up, nodded before walking off to the side, looking disappointed and shame-faced. Lorene, giggling and not having been able to make it to the top of the second pole, abandoned her attempts, running to him and deciding it’d be more fun to hang out with Javier then keep climbing the poles, throwing her arms around him in a hug. Admittedly maybe it was just their skin-coloring, Javier a little darker and Lorene the same naturally tanned tone as himself, but after seeing them this morning, Addason teary-eyed and Miyako giving the other baby a baffled, contently munching look, Kaito couldn’t help but imagine them as the babies in a few years. He hoped his daughter and god-son were that happy and lively and close someday, even if one of them got a little teary-eyed and disappointed sometimes.

“So, how fast did the kids find you?” Kaito asked, grinning at Maki as she huffed in annoyance.

“Almost immediately. It’s like being followed by ducks, I swear, they just go where I go.” Maki pouted, “It’s been a hell of a day trying to keep them all busy. Where are all of their parents, that’s what I wanna know. Why am I on baby-sitting duty?”

“The kids probably told them they were going to find you and parents all collectively went, ‘aha! A free babysitter for a few hours.’” Shuichi smirked, nudging her a little as he said, “You are the royal child caregiver.”

“Ha ha, very funny. We’ve been keeping them entertained here for most the day, playing various sports. Though, now that I’ve found you guys–”

“We definitely found you,” Kaito corrected.

“--I think I’ll go ahead and walk all of them back to wherever their parents are all hanging out. They need to eat and rest anyway, they’ve only had stall snacks. Which I paid for. Do you know how expensive feeding nearly thirty kids snacks is? It’s expensive.” 

“Yes, yes, you’re a very good, very put-upon big sister, we get it.” Kaito smirked, “We can help deliver the kids if you want. Mr. Nidai, how’s your day been going.”

“FINE! ZENITH IS A NICE LITTLE FESTIVAL, GOOD FOOD, DECENT DRINKS! LOOK AT ALL OF YOU, DRESSED UP IN YOUR DICEAN DRESSES! GOING NATIVE ON ME?” Nekomaru asked, looking over Kaito, Shuichi, and Maki’s garbs. “IT’S NICE, VERY EXOTIC! DOESN’T MY MAKI LOOK AMAZING IN HERS??”

Maki huffed slightly as Nekomaru gushed, pointing to her with a ‘eh?? EH???’ sort of look, “Wearing this has been mostly a mistake,” Maki admitted with a shrug, “Sports have been near impossible in this. I’ve mostly just watched the kids all day, it’s hard to join in.”

“THE PRICE OF BEAUTY! PRINCE KAITO, DOESN’T MY CHARGE LOOK STUNNING IN THIS!?”

“Of course she does, Mr. Nidai, Maki-roll looks amazing in everything she wears,” Kaito grinned, the older man nodding, appeased by this. 

“HA HA HA, DAMN RIGHT SHE DOES! AND SHE COULD PLAY IN THOSE EXERCISES IF SHE WANTED TOO TO, SHE JUST DOESN’T WANT TO RIP THE DRESS! COULDN’T RESIST IT FOR YOURSELF EITHER, HUH PRINCE KAITO? YOU LOOK LIKE A HEARTBREAKER TODAY!” Nekomaru laughed, grasping Kaito’s shoulder… before squeezing it and leaning in, saying with a tense smile, “Which you’re only wearing for my Kyoko’s boys and the Dicean boys sake, right?? Prince Kaito?? Not collecting any more hearts today, are we?? Not with my Maki still hanging at your coattails too?”

Kaito grinned manically, “Yep! They love this outfit! Wore it for them, Mr. Nidai! No one else!”

Kokichi was fairly sure he saw a few familiar faces in the crowd, but…Shuuichi’s theory was probably spot on. The kids adored Maki, so to give them a chance to really just…be happy and prideful and show off to their big sister? Their parents likely didn’t want to interfere with that. 

Nodding emphatically, Kokichi did a happy little bounce in Maki’s direction, not glomming onto her, but giving that same indication. “You look amazing, Maki-chan! The flowers are such a nice design! I mean, I’d think you’d just wanna wear something else in the future, but if you ever do wanna wear this yukata again, or get other traditional clothes, Denji-chan can prolly trick it out for activity like they did mine!”

Kokichi felt the impulse to defend his husband, but…well, the way he’d do it would be less friendly, and far more alarmingly aggressive to Nekomaru. And…well, Kaito would probably feel worse about Kokichi piping up than just taking the weird, out of place threats. 

So, he just laughed softly, looking at Maki and his guys with an adoring, appreciative look on his face. “I know you guys wouldn’t wear anything you wouldn’t want to, but…really, you all look amazing. It makes me happy you’d give dressing in Dicean clothes a go.”

“Ha ha, see? ‘Kichi loves it!” Kaito said, quickly backing up when Mr. Nidai let go of his shoulder to cling onto his husbands arm, using the much smaller man as a sort of shield… before smirking wolfishly, “Shuichi really loves it.”

Shuichi glared at Kaito, face red, before sighing… and then eyes lighting up, “Oh! Mr. Nidai, have you heard about yesterday?”

“Hmm?” Nekomaru asked, raising a curious eyebrow while Maki went to go to the poles, rounding up the kids and starting to give the kids some final pointers, before letting them know playtime with Maki was over and that they were all gonna check in with their parents next. A few of the smaller kids tugged at her yakuta and pointed into the crowd, Maki peering through before going, ‘Ah’. “What, about Kokichi’s birthday? …OH! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRINCE KOKICHI! THAT’S MY BAD, I’D FORGET MY HEAD IF IT WASN’T ATTACHED! LUCKILY FOR ME IT STILL IS!!”

“That too, but okay! You guys haven’t heard yet, that’s awesome! We can still break th news to your mentor, Shuichi,” Kaito grinned, before explaining to Nekomaru the engagement.

“NO SHIT!? HA HA HA, THERE’S KYOKO’S CHARGE! BEING ASSERTIVE, GRABBING WHAT HE WANTS! KYOKO WILL BE PLEASED!”

“Thank you! But that’s more than alright,” Kokichi laughed, before grinning eagerly as Kaito explained the engagement, holding up his right hand as Kaito got to the proposal to show off the ring. 

“It was so sweet,” Kokichi crooned, cupping his face dreamily. “I couldn’t be happier--it was a perfect proposal. I’m happy we got to tell you ourselves, and that we’ll get to tell Kyouko and Oliver too. Honestly, I’d be happy to shout it to everyone in the damn world, but we are setting our sights a little lower.”

“Do you have your sights set on any other things for the festival, Mr. Nidai?” Kokichi asked. “Honestly, I’m rearin’ to introduce these guys to yakisoba when we decide to get dinner--culinary adventures can be hit or miss, as I’d guess you’d know from your time here, but! I’m optimistic for this one!” Kokichi grinned, pumping himself up.

“AH, I’VE JUST BEEN KILLING TIME TILL KYOKO’S DONE CHECKING IN WITH THAT YUTA BOY,” Mr. Nidai shrugged, “IT’S GOOD, A KID LIKE HIM, BEING HERE, REUNITING WITH THAT RUNAWAY SISTER OF HIS. HONESTLY, THESE IDIOT CHILDREN, TAKING DUMB RISKS… SHOULDA KNOCKED SOME SENSE INTO MY MAKI WHEN I HEARD ABOUT HER BONEHEADED ‘ADVISE’, BUT, WELL, I’VE ALWAYS BEEN A PUSHOVER WHEN IT COMES TO THAT GIRL. GLAD IT DIDN’T GO AS WRONG AS WE FEARED IT HAD.”

“They were taking a risk on their happiness,” Shuichi said softly, voice a little stiff, but apparently ready to defend Maki’s choices as he said, “They were going to be separated. They wanted to stay together.”

Nekomaru frowned, “SURE, AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED. THE BOY NEARLY DROWNED AND INSTEAD OF BEING IN SEPARATE TOWNS, THEY WERE IN SEPERATE COUNTRIES. THEY WERE IN THE TOUGHEST PART, THEY’D HAVE BEEN FINE IF THEY GAVE IT ANOTHER FEW YEARS. YOU ALL JUST NEEDED TO LISTEN TO YOUR MENTORS, THAT’S WHAT WE’RE THERE FOR.”

Shuichi swallowed, something frustrated running through his face…

Kaito reached over and put an arm around his shoulder, saying brightly, “Aw, that’s something we can talk about another time. Actually~ Mr. Nidai, I’ve been meaning to ask you for ages. Would you be up to sitting down in one of our group therapy sessions with us? You with the rest of the mentors?”

“WHAT? THOSE VOLUNTARY CONDITIONING SESSIONS??” Nekomary asked, scratching his stomach a bit as he gave Kaito a baffled look, “WHY?”

“Our therapist has been basically begging us to ask you to come for ages,” Kaito said, Shuichi suddenly training his face into neutrality, not wanting to give away the lie, as Kaito laughed sheepishly, “Seems to think we’d benefit from some of your wisdom! It’d be doing us a favor, we could use the help.”

“OH YEAH? SURE! I DON’T SEE WHY NOT! MENTOR’S DUTY TO HELP THEIR CHARGE, AFTER ALL! GOOD FOR A DICEAN TO RECOGNIZE THAT! HA HA HA HA HA!” Nekomaru cackled, before saying, “ANYWAY, I’M HEADING TO THE CONFESSIONAL THING NEXT, MEETING KYOKO AND OLIVER THERE. THEY’RE FASCINATED BY THE WHOLE WEIRDNESS, WANT TO SIT IN AND LISTEN. PRETTY SURE KYOKO’S GONNA TAKE NOTES, THE BUSY-BODY!” 

…it was definitely something to talk about another time. While Maki and Shuuichi had never defended the program, back when they all had first met, there were…certain things. When Kokichi got confused about how things were in Luminary, when he was horrified by them…even sometimes in more recent months, with stuff as small as correcting the term ‘slave’ to ‘Indentured’. They didn’t defend the program…but they wanted to defend their lives. What they had lived and done, the skills they’d honed that had given them some respect and kept them alive…

It made a person feel helpless, to see that the way they had lived their life just…wouldn’t help in a different circumstance. 

It would be an awkward, painful conversation…but maybe talking in counseling would really help. 

“Oh!” Kokichi perked, looking around for Maki again. “Well, we might meet you guys there later, then. I wanted to take my turn at it, and Shuu-chan wanted to see what the whole thing was about. It’s gonna be exciting; I’ve never had anything to say at one before!”

“HA! SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN! NOW!... I better get going before Maki sets me up on parent rounding up duty,” Nekomaru whispered, giving the group a grin and a nod before heading off.

As they watch him go… “Dr. Mariah’s never asked them to come.” Shuichi said, giving Kaito a suspicious look, “What was that about?”

“...god,” Kaito grinned, the look mean as he said, “Could you imagine Dr. Mariah getting her hands on them? She’d rip those assholes apart. The shit you all pull on me? Times ten.”

Shuichi considered this… before leaning against him, smiling softly, “She would pick them apart, huh? That could be fun to watch. Thank you, Kaito.”

“Anything for my handsome fiance~” Kaito grinned, giving him a quick kiss, “Alright, let’s go help Maki-roll deliver the kids, and then we can go do more Zenith stuff~”

-

Thankfully, the actual ‘finding parents’ part was pretty easy. It was just the long goodbyes that took some time, and not just from the kids. Maki had gotten to know all her siblings’ parents, at least a little, since she’d been back, but given that she was the Maki Harukawa, super-sister extraordinaire, most of the parents had been a little more chatty, hearing about the games the kids had played and what they’d all done together, and a few pitching in to partially reimburse Maki for the snacks she’d gotten, and it wasn’t like her siblings were gonna be upset by big sister sticking around for another minute or two…

It was very sweet, and Kokichi had even gotten a few stories himself from some of the kids that remembered him. 

But, eventually, they made it out of some of the faster hustle and bustle, and out towards some of the taller buildings in the city. And, gathered around one of the taller hotels was a sizable crowd, cheering loudly as a young person out on the third floor balcony declared what major they were going to be starting at university in the fall. 

Already, the vibes were so strong Kokichi couldn’t help the smile growing on his face. 

She’d gotten closer in the crowd, but Kokichi took Nazumi’s arm before nodding to his family. “I’m gonna go get in line, so I won’t keep you guys forever even if you wanna stay for a while. Aunty and I will track you guys down later!”

“Oooookay~” Kaito sighed, blowing Kokichi a small kiss and saying, with clear regret, “Don’t be too loooooong. I’ll miss you! I miss you already! Kokichi, come baaaaack~ ey!” Kaito snickered, jolting as Shuchi pocked at the tip of his jawline, a shudder-shiver running through his body as he clung to Shuichi next, “What? Come on, you’re not allowed to be jealous of our ‘Kichi, that’s against the rules.”

“I’m not jealous, I’m sparing Kokichi you whining. Come on,” Shuichi said, giving Kokichi a wave, “Have fun, don’t fall.”

“What? He’s not gonna fall!”

“Remember to tuck and roll!” Maki called to Kokichi, “Breaking your arms would hurt, but prioritize landing on your arms or shoulders if you have to choose between that or your neck!”

“Guys, stop! We need eggs! Where can we find an egg!?” 

“We’re just teasing,” Maki snorted, looking down as Timothy poked at her arm, “Hm?”

“Can I go confess something?” Tim asked.

Maki narrowed her eyes, “What? …what do you want to say up there?”

Timothy glanced at Kaito, before motioning Maki to come down. Whispering in her ear… a flash of amusement ran through her eyes, “Fine. But only that. If you go up there shouting anything personal I’m going to have you running laps the rest of the day. And there would be no more sweets today, I’m serious.”

Timothy nodded, before going to join Kokichi and Nazumi in line.

“What’s he gonna say?” Kaito asked suspiciously.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s find somewhere comfy to watch, Miss Kirigiri will find us.” Maki said, the three heading out.

Grinning and waving back, Kokichi entered the hotel lobby and followed the signs--and the few people stationed here and there to help people find the line--over to the stairs and up to the third floor, though he’d barely gotten to the stairs before Tim joined him. There were a good few people in line, maybe around twenty in front of them, so Kokichi settled against the wall, smiling at his nephew. 

“I gotta say, I’m a little surprised you wanna do something like this,” he chuckled softly. “You hate getting in front of crowds, Tim. But…there is something fun about it, right? Even though you’re literally yelling to a crowd…it’s like yellin’ something out that’s gonna be forgotten immediately. Cathartic.”

The person in front of them looked back with a short grin. “It’s nice to be a part of something for a moment. Be listened too--hope you two have fun with it, your highnesses!”

Timothy, who had been quietly nodding along, got immediately shy when the new person talked to them, stepping behind Kokichi a little, murmuring, “Not a ‘highness’.” 

Outside, Maki, Shuichi and Kaito found a small brick wall, and together the three of them climbed it, sitting at the top and looking up at the building, watching the confessionals. Shuichi’s notebook was out, and as the crowd cheered, he murmured as he wrote, “Woman, early twenties, black hair and black eyes, pregnant, no signs of showing, estimated delivery date–”

“You didn’t let Tim go up there to do something like confess about Kimiko, did you?” Kaito fretted to Maki, as Shuichi continued to take notes on the confessors, the newly pregnant woman trading off with a young man who excitedly told everyone he got his first paycheck ever from an actual job this month, “I know she’s not here, but don’t let the kid do that to himself…”

“What am I, crazy? It’s fine, it’s just cute. Though, I think he might not entirely understand what’s happening here. I’m getting the impression he’s viewing this as a ‘wishing well’ situation.” Maki said, shrugging a little, “Figured it was harmless enough.”

“Awww, we’re gonna see him make a wish? That’s cute.” Kaito grinned, kicking the wall with the back of his heels a bit, “You having a good day, Maki-roll?”

“It’s not been bad. I forgot how much I could enjoy training with my mentor. Even if he can act like an idiot sometimes.” Maki sighed, “And it was nice seeing the kids play together. I don’t see them spending much time with many Dicean kids, which worries me a little, but one or two came up to play with the group and it didn’t seem too tense.”

“Mmm,” Kaito glanced at Shuichi, seeing him enthralled in the confessions, before leaning in and saying softly to Maki, “...I had a small incident today.”

Maki glanced over, and following his lead to keep it quiet and casual, hummed questionaly at him, “Dangerous?”

“No… it was stupid. Someone threw trash at me.”

“Hmmm,” Maki hummed, “...do you want me to find out who?”

“No.” Kaito sighed, scratching his beard a little, “Tsumugi and Kirumi helped me clean up and, like, reminded me I had a lot more to lose than to gain confronting them. The only reason I bring it up is so you know that there’s at least one, like… active-Anti-Luminary here. Trash might be their limit, in which case good riddance, but if it’s not…”

“Did you tell Nazumi?”

The guilty silence spoke volumes. Maki sighed, “She can’t protect you guys if you don’t inform her of threats.”

“I was embarrassed.” Kaito admitted, “You’re right, I should have told her though. Just… I don’t want you to do anything, okay? I just wanted you to be aware so you and I can keep an eye out for the others.”

“Fine.” Maki agreed, looking around the crowd, “...Shuichi. Mentors incoming, two’clock.”

Shuichi looked away from the confessional, before straightening up and giving Miss Kirigiri a small bow, “Good day. Would you like us to come down?”

“That’s alright,” Kyoko said, Oliver to her left, Nekomaru to her right, “We’ll come up.”

“Thank you! I hope you have fun too!” Kokichi grinned at the person before giving Tim a soft look, Nazumi catching that and shifting to stretch, giving the uncle and nephew a biiiit of privacy. 

“It does feel weird, huh?” Kokichi quietly murmured to Tim. “I know our cases are different, but…I do get it. These days it’s easier not to fuss but…I don’t like being called ‘prince’ either.”

Maybe it wasn’t actually any sort of solidarity. Maybe this all would just be Tim thinking he was a weirdo, as per usual. But…

Well, titles barely had a meaning in Dicea. So…the same as that people would half the time call Kaito ‘mister’, half the time people would call Tim ‘prince’. At least, when he was with one of them and recognizable that way. People didn’t mean anything by it, but…it could still feel weird. 

Slowly, the line moved up, the person confessing getting the empty hotel room to themselves to really bring home the energy, though Kokichi offered that Tim could be in the room for his, so he didn’t have to wait with a bunch of strangers for his turn. And while they couldn’t really hear what people were confessing…the reactions of them walking back out was fun enough. Giggles and satisfied looks, sometimes like a weight had been lifted. 

It might be a weird custom, but Kokichi was a fan.

Kyoko settled in beside Shuichi, Oliver to her other side, though Nekomaru chilled out leaning against the wall, laughing boisterously and cheering with the crowd at the random confessions, “I’ve heard you have news for me.” Kyoko said softly, her pretty, light magenta eyes always so intense and piercing, even in her gentle moments.

“What do you know already?” Shuichi asked, dotting down the latest bit of information gathered.

“Not more than there is news.” Kyoko said.

“That’s all?”

“You are an adult trying to navigate your life,” Kyoko said, giving Shuichi a knowing look as she said, “Did you think I traveled all this way to stalk you? I could pay someone to do that. I’ve come to visit the life of my charge, and see for myself your happiness. You seem happy. My mission accomplished. Now I am looking around, and giving you space to live that life.”

“...I am happy.” Shuichi said softly, “I asked Kokichi and Kaito to marry me yesterday.”

“You asked?” Oliver said, leaning over and gapping from Kyoko’s side, her own purple gaze wide with shock, “Two princes!? That must have taken some nerve!”

“My charge does not lack bravery.” Kyoko said, looking pleased with this information, “I assume they said yes.”

“Enthusiastically,” 

“Of course. I will congratulate them, when I have a moment.” Kyoko said, turning back to watch the confessional. 

After a moment… “I am proud of you,” Kyoko said, not looking at Shuichi, “were you aware?”

“...”

“Maybe you weren’t,” Kyoko said softly, to herself. To him, she said, “I spoke to Yuta, an hour ago. I got the impression speaking to him that I apparently do not express affection that well. He did not seem to think I was invested in his well being. That surprised me. I did quite a bit, to protect him after everything happened. I would have thought my feelings were obvious. So, knowing this, I’ve worried perhaps I have not expressed myself well to you either.”

“I consider you a great success of my life,” Kyoko said, “Maybe my greatest, though there are many contenders. But, still, maybe my greatest… your career perhaps did not pan out how we expected, but you’ve claimed two royals for yourself, and have successfully etched a place for yourself behind enemy lines, and survived all challenges, living on to thrive.”

“That’s a success,” Kyoko said softly, “And I am quite proud of it.”

“...thank you.” Shuichi said softly, having long stopped writing in his journal, it just hovering above the page, staring at nothing.

“No thanks are necessary. I simply hope I have communicated myself well.” Kyoko said, peering at the building, before saying, “I believe that colorful speck is your fiance.”

Shuichi, eyes a little lost and misty, looked up to watch. Kaito and Maki watching as well, Oliver giggling and Nekomaru cheering him on.

Nazumi just behind him, though blocked from view from the crowd, Kokichi wasn’t right up against the balcony fence, though he really thought it would be fine. As he came out, there were the regular cheers everyone got, but then a few more, a few people recognizing--or thinking they were--their prince. It was too soft to hear from down below, but even so it was obvious that Kokichi was laughing.

“Hey!” he yelled, grinning as the crowd yelled the greeting back. “My boyfriend just proposed to my husband and I! And we said yes!!”

There were hoots for every confession, what made the practice so fun, but for something like a marriage proposal? And even more for the people who recognized Kokichi?

The crowd went wild.

Shuichi smiled lightly, reaching up to lower his hat and, once again, forgetting he wasn’t wearing it, grabbing his bangs instead as he flushed slightly. Kaito startled slightly at the roar of the crown, but just chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. There weren’t any glances backwards at them, Kaito and Shuichi harder to recognize without Kokichi around and everyone’s eyes trained on the rooftop anyway, but Kaito wouldn’t have been too nervous if there had been eyes on them anyway. The crowd sounded happy for Kokichi, and, well… he and Shuchi were surrounded by people who loved them, and would look out for them.

It was fun. It was cute. Kaito could see why Kokichi wanted to do it. 

“Well, you told me right under the wire, I see.” Kyoko smirked lightly. “Your fiance came this close to ruining the surprise.”

Shuichi laughed lightly back, “I thought your nosiness would ruin the surprise. I assumed you knew yesterday.”

“You give me too much credit. You always have.” Kyoko shrugged… before frowning, peering up, “That’s not young Timothy, is it?”

“Aw, geez, who let the kid up there?” Oliver asked, also looking concerned. 

“It’s fine, it’s fine, Maki okayed whatever he’s saying… he’ll be fine. Right?” Kaito asked, looking to Maki, who just smirked in return.

Timothy, who had honestly just been too nervous about getting in front of the crowd to comment on Kokichi’s observation about the prince thing, had waited behind him just out of sight of the balcony, nervously fussing with is overall straps… before taking a deep breath, trying to gain courage from seeing his uncle do it first. Come on… if these were things that you wanted to happen? There had to be something to the superstition. Uncle Kokichi had gotten proposed too, after all. Yesterday, even!

Gathering his courage, Timothy went up to the balcony, and doing his best to ignore the people on the ground…

“I’m gonna be taller than my dad!!” Timothy called out, before darting away from the balcony, bolting to Kokichi’s side, sweating slightly, “Phoo.”

Down on the ground, Nekomaru laughed like his guts were gonna spill out, as Kaito groaned.

Like for Kokichi and everyone before them, there was a roar of cheers, more than a few people laughing through them, endeared by the boy. Affirmations could be a confession, honestly. 

Only a few soft laughs spilled out of Kokichi as he and Nazumi waited in the room before he shook his head and grinned down at Tim, leading them back downstairs. Fondly, he tousled his nephew’s hair with a proud look. “Great job, Tim--I’m proud of you for goin’ up over a crowd like that. And hell yeah you’re gonna be taller than Kai-chan,” he beamed.

“If you and your sister, not to mention Kimiko and Cali are gonna shoot past me, it’s only fair at least one of you beat Kai-chan too. And, honestly, I’d put my bets on you.”

It didn’t take too long to get back into the crowd, though Kokichi was already sort of missing the cooler hotel interior when faced with the midday sun. Thankfully, the retention wall their party had claimed was partially in the shade. 

Waving at Kyouko and Oliver, Kokichi gave Tim’s shoulder one last fond squeeze before he went back to where Chase was dutifully sitting under Maki’s feet, and Kokichi looked up adoringly at his partners. “Toooooold ya.”

“Thanks, Uncle Kokichi.” Timothy sighed, before heading over to his tail-thumping puppy, going to deliver soothing pets.

Shuichi and Kaito both gave Kokichi amused looks, Shuichi’s adoring and Kaito’s smirking, “Oh, he told us, he says.” Kaito snickered, looking to Shuichi as he asked, “Look at the little ‘I told ya so’er’. What, he thinks that just cause he did something cute, he can come waltzing back and bragging without consequences?”

“He might be able to, yes. It was very sweet.” Shuichi said, leaning forward and resting his knee on his lap, chin in hand, “Did you have a consequence in mind?”

“We could leave him stranded and alone at the bottom of the wall.”

“Oh nooooo… but that leaves us without Kokichi too.”

“That’s a sacrifice we have to make, handsome! Teach him some manners!”

Kokichi snorted. “Kai-chan, you’ve met Ikuo. You know that I’m plus five resistant to manners. Plus, you also know I could very well get on the wall if I wanted--but you all look comfy, and this way it’s more fun to--”

In a spin, Kokichi whirled around back at the balcony, raising his hands and letting loose an excited, “WOO!!!” at the proud dad announcing that the toddler on his head counted to ten that day!

“--do that,” Kokichi hummed, jumping back around with a smug, happy grin. 

Turning a little to Kyouko and Oliver, his smile turned a little sheepish. “Did I manage to have good timing?”

“Your timing was perfect, your grace.” Kyoko said, bowing her head a little as she said, “Congratulations on your engagement. Please treat my charge well.”

“Shuichi’s quite a catch~” Oliver smirked, tittering behind her hand a bit, “Prince Ouma, snatching one of Luminary’s most elusive bachelors. You’ll have to tell us how you did it, your grace. No one else ever managed to, from the way I hear it.”

“I managed it.” Kaito dryly pointed out from Shuichi’s other side. 

“Well, you managed it faster than others, anyway.” Oliver smirked. “Either way, congratulations.”

Kokichi bowed his head back, though he knew full well how weird it would feel for the detective. “I have no plans otherwise. I dunno how much Shuu-chan told ya, but…there’s nothing that would make me happier in life than getting to spend it with him. Even getting to spend it with Kai-chan doesn’t totally count, since they’re both tied at the pinnacle for peak happiness,” Kokichi laughed brightly, giving his husband a wink.

“Thank you both, though. It feels like a dream come true, Shuu-chan asking us…” Kokichi shook his head a little, giving Shuuichi a loving look. “And he made it feel like the best dream in the world too! Taking us out to this flower field for a picnic, us all sitting on a hill together… I think romance books are gonna be ruined for me now, since I’ve gotten the most romantic experience in the world.”

“Don’t let him fool you. He doesn’t read romance books. He’s got nothing to compare it too.” Shuichi smirked, “It was a nice hill and picnic though.”

“Alright, guys, what do we feel like doing next?” Kaito asked, kicking the wall a little.

“Actually, Kaito, Kokichi, if you don’t mind, Maki and I were hoping to spend a little time doing this together.” Shuichi said, gesturing to the confessional, “Not long, just maybe an hour…?”

“You want us to stay here for an hour?”

“Not you. Us.” Shuichi said, smiling sheepishly, “Cause, uh…”

“We want to make fun of people, and Kokichi will ruin our buzz.” Maki said simply, Nekomaru chuckling loudly at this.

Kokichi rolled his eyes. He did read romance books! Sometimes. Just not usually for longing reasons, and especially not these days. He really did have all he could need when it came to romance with his partners. 

But they still had their own dynamics away from him. 

Snorting in amusement, Kokichi just shook his head and gently put a hand on Kaito’s knee. “So mean~ Alright, I get it. Whaddya wanna do, then? We could go and try out more rides, or check out another market…or just wander around and see what catches our eyes?”

“We can head back here in an hour and meet back up with you guys, though?” Kokichi posited, tilting his head at Maki and Shuuichi. Tim was more than welcome to tag along with them, but unless they were gonna head for the rides, Kokichi had a feeling he’d be just fine hanging out with his mom and uncle in the shade.

“Mmmmm, let’s wait till we all meet up again for rides. Timothy?” Kaito said, looking to his kid, “You want to come walking around with your uncle and I or stay here with your mom?”

Timothy gave them an openly suspicious look, “...are you gonna do all that holding hands and kissing stuff?”

“Mmmmm we might.” Kaito admitted, smirking.

“And moms gonna stay here and make fun of people?”

“Apparently.”

“I’ll stay,” Tim said, before perking up, “Can Chase and I go play in that park over there?”

Kaito frowned at this, brow furrowing as he followed his kids line of sight, spotting why he wanted to go, as not too far out there was a false pirate ship, looking like it was landing on a false port, the while thing a playground playset. It looked like fun, but… “Alone?” Kaito said uneasily.

“I’d stay in sight of mom.”

Who’d be here watching the confessions… “uh, I don’t know about tha–”

“Oliver and I can watch him.” Kyoko said, “And I doubt my charge wants us hovering, if he and Maki want some alone time from his partners even. We’ve been here for some time now, we can use some time to sit on a bench and chat.”

“No.” Maki said, eyes hard and firm. Not even indulging it. “Mr. Nidai, we’ve discussed this…”

“TSK. NO WONDER YOUR THERAPIST WANTS US TO TALK SO BADLY. YOU’VE TOTALLY LOST FAITH IN YOUR OLD MAN,” Nekomaru sighed, getting up and shrugging, “I’LL GO DRINK THE POISONED WATER THEY DARE TO CALL MEAD, KYOKO AND OLIVER CAN CATCH UP TO ME WHEN BABYSITTING DUTY IS DONE. THAT WORK?”

Maki glared at him… before glancing at Shuichi, who nodded slightly. Not lying, as far as he can tell. Maki sighed, “Fine. Thank you for your help, Miss Kirigiri.”

“Of course.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kaito nodded too, agreeing to this. Tim would be alright with Miss Kirigiri, she was cold but dedicated, and not prone to harm, even when she thought it was best. Hopping off the wall, Kaito said sternly to his kid, “Stay at the park, if anyone talks to you, you go in line of sight to Miss Kirigiri, and if anything goes wrong, you run for your mom. Got it? You leave with no one, for any reason…got it?”

“Got it.”

“Okay… now give me a hug.”

“Nooooooo.” 

After wrestling his kid into a hug for a bit, Kaito wished everyone well, before taking Kokichi’s hand, “Let’s go walk around a bit… wasn’t there some gasswork think Nadya mentioned? Wanna go look at that?”

Kokichi giggled a bit, his guess right on, though he turned to see the park Tim was talking about. Oh…that did look like a lot of fun. He’d never caught Tim playing pretend on his own--or with Chase--but he didn’t doubt that his nephew could have fun with his imagination, even if it could be a bit more practical than other kids his age. 

As they all discussed who’d watch Tim--and…well, as much as Kokichi wished Tim could just go play nearby on his own, he did understand the concern, and not just acknowledging his family’s paranoia--honestly… If they were just planning on wandering around, Kokichi didn’t mind spending that time sitting in the park instead. Tim being able to have fun and enjoy the festival was just as important as his personal enjoyment, in Kokichi’s eyes. 

But they settled on Kyouko and Oliver and…he and Kaito were off!

“Mmm, oh yeah,” Kokichi hummed interestedly. “I’d…guess they were gonna go see the glass museum? There’s a little ‘garden’ area with outdoor works, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they spiced it up for Zenith onlookers. Let’s go see if I’m right!”

-

Kokichi was, in fact, right. 

It was pretty, a lot of spiked, swirling glass seemingly ‘growing’ from the ground, various shades of blue and orange and red. On top of that were little chimes, hanging from the trees, creating a sparkly, shimmering effect, colorful and shifting slightly in the wind.  

There were also a few larger displays, but they were rarer than Kaito had been expecting. It was a looooot of spikes and bowls and some pretty pathways made of a variety of broken glass, slotted together. 

It smelled like gardenias. It was peaceful and quiet. A small break in the days events, as Kaito said, “Zenith going alright, babe?”

Kokichi had seen bits and pieces of various displays from the glass museum before, but it was always a pleasure to see what was happening in the present. Blown orbs and sculptures, weird little spikes filled with water but somehow weren’t seeping into the dirt all at once… It was a nice, friendly, peaceful vibe. 

“Today’s been wonderful,” Kokichi sighed happily, squeezing Kaito’s hand. “...maybe it was something I was always picking up, but…people are so happy and excited this time of year. I love getting to see people have fun…and getting to participate in it myself? With my favorite people, knowing they’re having fun too? It’s been perfect.”

“...how about you?” he looked up at his husband. “You’ve seemed…really happy at times today.”

“...it’s been nice to feel,” Kokichi murmured even softer, just for them as a soft blush painted his cheeks.

There was, briefly, a tint of confusion over Kaito… before, oh! Right! Feel. Okay. Picking up too, got it. It was foolish, but even after everything, Kaito kept, just… forgetting. His husband could feel things. His husband could feel him… and, like, presumably random people around them?

Huh.

Bringing up Kokichi’s hand to kiss at his pinky in turn, Kaito grinned down at him, “I have been happy, babe! It’s been, like, two really nice days in a row! Great days, even! Gotta enjoy the good days when they come, ‘Kichi. Relax into them, ya know?”

Kaito idly rubbed the side of Kokichi’s hand with his thumb as his other hand held the strap of his tote bag, looking around… before he mused, “Man, no wonder you like holidays like these so much. If you’re idly picking up things all the time? Having everyone around you be in a good mood as a given must be, just, a relief.”

He did agree, but…it was most likely Kokichi mind reading in the bad way. But…it did sort of seem like Kaito was talking about good days as…fleeting. Rare. Hopefully, though, that was, if it was actually an outlook Kaito had at all, an outlook that was the first few steps out of the tunnel. Not that bad days or even average days would no longer happen, but that good days would be more plentiful. That things were calming down and brightening up. 

No way to know but keep moving forward, taking each day as it came. It wasn’t like Kokichi was gonna start asking every clairvoyant he could about the future, and Hiro had even said that a definitive future didn’t exist. Just that clairvoyants could get good ideas of what was likely to happen. And for some things…Kokichi felt like he had a good idea too. 

“I mean,” Kokichi softly laughed, “That’s only a guess I can make now. And…I have no idea how good I actually was at picking up vibes before. But…casually and more pointedly…yeah. I like seeing people be happy and want to spend time together. Helping each other…being a community. It’s the picture perfect idea of all the work we put into leading… It’d be creepy if people were like this all the time, and there are harder things to do than…cheer someone on at a confession, but…it is nice to feel.”

“Maybe. It’d be nice if people did just feel good all the time. But, you’re right… if I saw that in real life? I’d probably assume everyone was on something. Or hiding something…” Kaito suddenly chuckled, giving Kokichi a sheepish look, “I think I felt that way about Dicea when I first got here. Maybe even still do, a little, but like… lesser now. Ya know? People get along really well here. They seem generally happy, and even arguments that do happen, go over really easy… it frustrated me. I kept thinking I was missing something. Like I was being tricked, but couldn’t see how the trick was working.”

Kaito shrugged, looking around, “It took me a long time to just get my head around the fact that the people around here act happier just because they are. That things in Luminary are just generally more tense because the circumstances are generally more tense. There’s no big trick or conspiracy, it’s just one place doing better than another. Nothing really more to it than that.”

Kaito considered it for a moment, before adding in, “And maybe this is unkind to say, but the ways people are sad here are unique to Dicea too. At least in comparison to Luminary. They’re just types of tragedy’s I never came across in Luminary, so I didn’t know how to recognize them. Not that that’s a ‘good’ thing, but… I feel like I understands things at least a little better now, anyway.”

Kokichi snorted softly and gave his husband a soft look. Kaito hadn’t exactly said it in so many words before, but…he could see it. He could see it from Maki and Shuuichi too. It wasn’t a big conspiracy, people putting on manically happy veneers to conceal something. It was just…people overall having a better quality of life that…well, made the good days more plentiful. 

Never having to worry about things like being able to eat or losing limb or life if you pissed someone off, worrying about losing a job on someone’s whims, knowing there were dreams out of reach from the circumstances of your birth, knowing that if you got in trouble with the law, everything was pretty much over? Those all were constant stressors… Not in that everyone had all those problems, or like they were under fire of all those things…but those were known possibilities. Things that could just happen to the average person, and there would be very little you could do about it, either in prevention or in mitigation. 

Without having to worry about those things, pretty much ever? It made sense that things were so different for the average Dicean person. 

Nodding a bit, Kokichi squeezed Kaito’s hand. “I get it. Not in that I understand the stresses and sadness that can happen in Luminary, not personally, but…I get how sometimes things here can seem…trivial. Or that you can’t even see that something’s a problem at all.”

“...as someone responsible for Diceans’ well-beings?” he softly murmured. “That makes me happy. If the only things people are worried about are relatively trivial? It’s no reason to disregard them, because if it’s a problem for them and something they’re seeking help for, I need to do my best to help them. But…if the only problems my people have are small-scale? Things that can be solved? It means I’m doing my job. It means I’ve managed to protect my people from the worse things in the world.”

“...some of that is just luck, honestly. And…well, you know too that those aren’t the only problems people here have. But…if those cases are the exception and not the rule… Then I can be thankful for my luck. And we can keep working together to make the margin that’s determined by luck smaller and smaller.”

“Mmhm. Your people are lucky to have you, babe. I know that’s not the ‘luck’ you were talking about, but it’s still true.” Kaito grinned, finally spotting one of the gardenia bushes that he had been smelling this whole time. Kaito looked curiously at the large, white flowers, stopping them in front of the bush so he could take a better look at them. He had seen them from a distance a lot, since he got here, but it was his first time looking at one up close. 

They were pretty. Almost fantastical, really. The sort of thing a Luminary artist might draw idly onto the corner of the cover of their book, to let you know at a glance that it was a romance, or a fantasy, or just… something fiction. These didn’t grow in Luminary. A lot of things here didn’t grow in Luminary.

It smelled nice.

… Kaito wondered how his home was doing, after everything that happened… it probably looked the same. How much could a civil war and a small, localized famine and a change of regime change things, really? Probably not much at all. He bet that things were still the same. Same buildings, same people, same landscape. His home was still there.

“...man, a wedding in the snow… Hina’s out of her mind.” Kaito suddenly laughed, grinning mischievously at Kokichi as he said, “Don’t tell her I said so. It’s her wedding, she can do what she likes. But that’s gonna be so cold.”

Kokichi gave his husband a grateful look before they stopped in front of a gardenia bush. He’d been smelling them since they entered the glasswork garden, and while they were a pretty fragrant flower, Kokichi wondered how many of them were in the garden… He had noticed a few so that could explain the smell…

…sometimes, he almost felt embarrassed, these days. Especially at the start, he had been so excited to show his family all the gardens in town. Getting them to put their own plants in the garden…being so happy when people came around with gifts of flowers to put in their room… 

It really never felt like Dicean culture was so plant-focused, but now…he just saw it everywhere. He still liked them, but…he didn’t know. It was starting to feel one-note, when he got excited to show his family things. He knew there was so much to Dicean culture, and then just things to do in the country…he knew it was a little silly to…feel embarrassed about his family getting bored…

Hm. 

Looking up, Kokichi snickered softly when Kaito spoke back up. “It is. I mean…we’re really good at making warm clothes, you know? And if Hina’s lived here so long, maybe she’s gotten more used to it. But it is gonna be cold.”

“I can see what she means, though. Snow can be pretty magical. I’ll just gear up to convince you to actually wear warm clothes.”

“But ‘Kiiiiiichiiiiiii it’s gonna be a weeeeddiiiiing.” Kaito whined, sighing as he turned away from the pretty white flowers, the two continuing on as huffed, “I’m gonna have to dress up for it! Sometimes dressing up means making, like… technically! Poor weather choices! I can’t bury my frame in a bunch of layers, it’d be such a waste!”

Looking up at the cloudy, bright blue sky, Kaito grinned as he said, “I know you and Shuichi would prefer an overcast day, so I say this knowing it’s self-centered: but man, I hope we have a nice, sunny day like this on our wedding… god, Kokichi, can you believe Shuichi did that? I still haven’t gotten my head around it. I can’t believe he did that.”

“You can wear a new style that also keeps you warm! I wouldn’t think that of all people Kai-chan thinks he only looks good in one kind of clothes,” Kokichi teased, knocking against Kaito’s side as they continued on. “You’re the one who said being sexy doesn’t just mean being naked.”

Shaking his head a little, Kokichi sighed dreamily. “Our fiance proposed to us at a picnic in a field of flowers… I really wasn’t kidding, what I told your mentors earlier. That was really one of the most romantic things I could ever conceptualize.”

“But while it was more just…relieving, than romantic…” Kokichi hummed softly. “...our own anniversary is coming up. On a probably nice, sunny day… People are probably going to be celebrating the end of the war, but…”

“Is there anything you wanna do for our anniversary? Go out for dinner, or invite a few friends over, or…just chill out with our family?”

Kaito hated the sudden tension in his shoulders. He felt guilty about it. What if Kokichi could feel that?

Would it be safe to go out at the anniversary of the end of the war? For, just… him specifically? He didn’t think anyone would hurt him, not like that, but… he desperately didn’t want another beach incident. What if someone said something cruel and he lost his temper… he had kept his temper today, but honestly, the insult had been so pointed and childish that it had felt easier to dismiss what happened, especially with Kirumi and Tsumugi there to get him through the worst first impulse. But he couldn’t always count on the hypercompetent ladies around him to just suddenly ‘appear’, and he… knew reacting reasonably would be easier for some types of insults than others. Some things would send him off the handle…

“Let’s invite a few friends over.” Kaito decided, hoping it sounded like an idle, cheery idea he hadn’t put much thought in as he said, “It could be a great excuse for me to practice making some food? That could be nice, right, a home-cooked, or, uh,” Kaito laughed, “‘third floor’ cooked meal with friends? Or maybe I can just make some things and we can rely on the kitchen for the rest. Unless you wanted something a little more, ya know, involved?”

More than just even trying to find a reservation on a day people all over the country would be celebrating…there was a reason Kokichi had offered other ideas. The end of the war wasn’t a national holiday, and there were no plans for it to be. There were no encouragements for how people should spend their time or direct their thoughts for it. So…one person might invite friends out to a bar, getting rowdy and jolly about peacetimes. Another might make a trip to the Memorial Garden, mourning the vast sacrifice people had made to protect their freedom. Another might want to treat all the veterans they knew to a nice meal, and would listen to their experiences, letting that day be for them. 

Some people were able to see Kaito and Kokichi as people, and simply got a kick out of seeing their love and affection for each other. Others saw them as a symbol of peace, and saw their smiles as a sign that things were okay. Some people saw Kaito as an intruder, or a strawman for everything they hated about Luminary or just Luminary’s effect on Dicea. Some saw Kokichi as a traitor. 

“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Kokichi giggled softly, hugging Kaito’s arm. “A Kai-chan cooked meal… Depending on what we wanna do with it, we might wanna get snacks or something, just so not all the pressure is on you, but…”

Kokichi rested his head on Kaito’s arm. “...that sounds perfect. I’m kind of looking at our wedding with Shuu-chan as getting to have just the wedding I want, but…for our anniversary, it’d be nice, getting to do things our way.”

Kaito peered down at Kokichi… before looking around. Trying to see if anyone was watching them, or… well, beyond Nazumi, who he was sure was around here somewhere. She always was. Hmm… was this worth doing knowing she might be watching…

Eh, fuck it.

“Come here, babe,” Kaito grinned, gently pushing him, “Come on, just around the bushes. I want a little privacy, please? Come here…”

It wasn’t a big spot. Just behind a bushy area with more flowers around it. There was some light coming in from the trees above. Not an entrance hall full of people and treasure, and not even a flowery field with a picnic. But oh well. It was just for play, anyway…

Kaito grinned down at Kokichi, and whispered, “I just wanna know what it might have felt like.”

And taking Kokchi’s hands, Kaito knelt down on his knees. Kissing at Kokichi’s knuckles a bit, every movement small and soft and, yeah, maybe a little sad, as Kaito tried to think of what he might have said, if he had ever had the chance to choose at all. To pick his own words.

“... ‘Kichi, I know things haven’t always been easy for us,” Kaito murmured, still idly rubbing his thumbs against Kokichi’s knuckles, before placing another kiss against his husbands hands, looking up at him, “But for every dark moment? For every frozen day in the dirt, or frightening, chaotic day where neither of us had any concept of what was going on and we were just… trying our best? And not always succeeding…”

“There were ten more moments where being with you felt like standing in the sun.” Kaito murmured softly, “And you made me feel… strong. Like, if it was for you? I could stand up to anything. Stand for anything. And that felt good. Like I was good… you bring out the best side of me, and when that happens, there’s nothing I would trade it for. I love the version you bring out in me, and I only can be that person for you. Because I love you… I want to be everything you’ve ever deserved. Everything I ever saw in your gaze, when you looked at me, like I was something dazzling… I wanted to meet those expectations. I still want to, every day. Being with you inspires that in me.”

“And I never want to give that up.” Kaito murmured, looking up to Kokichi, “I want to chase that aspiration every day. I want to live up to my Light of Dicea. And, selfishly, I want you there every day with me to see it happen. To inspire me, again and again… I’m addicted to it. I can’t give it up. I can’t give you up.”

“And, just as selfishly… I want to be there to see what you do, every day, too,” Kaito said, kissing at Kokichi’s knuckles some more, before bowing his head, “Kokichi Ouma, please let me stay. Please let me walk beside you, so that I can see all the amazing things you’ll do, and aspire every day to meet you up there, in that impossibly bright place… ‘Kichi?” Kaito laughed, looking up, giving him an almost sheepish look, “Even if it’s only between us. Even if there’s no ceremony, or celebration, or applause… would you agree to stay married to me? In a moment that not either of us, frozen and tired and crying in the cold, but happy and in the sun and all our future ahead of us… would you love me? And swear to do so for the rest of your life?”