Doppio didn’t really get it. While there was a certain amount of sheepishness he felt in asking for ingredients or supplies from the main kitchen, everyone working there was always very kind to him, and pretty generous too. A, uh, a little overly generous at times, when he was asking to store leftovers and they asked him what he’d made, and commented on his recipe and, oh, it looked wonderful, wouldn’t be surprised seeing him on cookbook shelves any day…

It was embarrassing. But everyone tended to be nice and didn’t really mind when he asked for anything… He didn’t get why Kaito needed to be sneaky, but…maybe Kaito was just having fun. 

Maaaaaaybe with the handkerchief too, but that could just be genuine worry. 

Giving Arven a thankful look, Doppio asked him to keep an eye on the milk while he blew his nose away from food, thanks, and washed his hands again. 

In the pantry, a young man with wild, curly green hair startled at Kaito’s entrance…before he grinned sheepishly and handed over a container of marshmallows. 

Kaito couldn’t help but pout, “Darn, coulda swore I didn’t see anyone come in here for the last, like, five minutes since I got in. I was trying to be sneaky~” Kaito grinned, cheerfully taking the marshmallows, before raising an eyebrow at the man, “What, have you just been camping in here? Not been dodging work, have you Mi… Mi…”

Kaito paused. Fuck. He couldn’t remember, “...my guy? Eh, I won’t tell, I’d need a break too if I was working and going to school at the same time.”

Midoriya looked a little astounded, just blinking at the prince before he nervously laughed. “N-no, Prince Kaito, sir, um, sorry, I’ve been in here tidying the pantry for the night. Um…the routine organization. Sorry, I just heard from the outside that you were making hot chocolate and…”

He nodded to the marshmallows with a sheepish grin. “Marshmallows and hot chocolate go perfect together, right? Un…less that wasn’t what you were looking for…”

Kaito smirked. This guy was cute. He had big, nervous eyes. And Kaito couldn’t remember this guy in particular saying anything shitty. To be fair, it was, like, just that one person who had actually been mean. Kaito couldn’t remember much about them, he was pretty sure the guy had been a blond and that was really all he had. But he remembered enough to know this guy hadn’t been it.

“You were right, marshmallows was my goal.” Kaito agreed, taking the bag, as his eyes darted around the pantry, “Actually, don’t know if you heard me explaining it to Catherine, but the kids went through the ringer today. Anything else you’d recommend? One of them was talking about cookies, I don’t suppose you guys have any leftovers from your batches today.”

Midoriya let out a little sigh of relief. For months, really, there hadn’t been any issues, but he’d heard from the senior staff that Prince Kokichi’s husband could be kind of testy… It would be mortifying if he was the one to open a fight up after all this time. Looked like marshmallows won the day!

…or, would help the day, anyway. Giving a sympathetic look, hearing that the kids--the, uh, teens that the castle was looking after, not Kaito’s other kids--were having a rough go, Midoriya hummed softly as he looked around the pantry. “Oh, that’s rough… Let me see…”

Rooting around for a moment, Midoriya hummed in triumph, before some of that confidence bled away as he turned back to Kaito. “Um, not exactly cookies, but we do have some leftover brownie bites from dinner… None of you guys have nut allergies, right?”

“No, thankfully. You know, they’re both amatuer cooks themselves.” Kaito bragged, giving a keen look at the brownie bites, “So, it’s good that they don’t have any allergies, means they can go buckwild. Though, Doppio’s a vegetarian, but at least he won’t get sick actually handling meat either way… sorry, rambling.” Kaito realized, shaking his head, “The brownie bites would be perfect, thanks. Foods a good way to at least give someone something to do when they’re feeling down, I think. Keep their hands and mouths busy while they’re processing.”

Reaching over to take the brownie bites, Kaito beamed at Midoriya, giving him a polite nod, “Appreciate the help. Try not to fall asleep back here, okay? Or, if you’re going to, make it one of those power naps, that way no one will catch you.” he teased, before heading off. 

“Oh, um…yeah,” Midoriya said a little lamely. It had been a little cute, actually. From the first time he’d come into the kitchen, they’d all seen how Doppio was a cook, but Midoriya had been on shift the day Doppio had come in, asking if there was a certain procedure to refilling the cooking oil bottles upstairs, or if he should just buy more himself, and while Midoriya wasn’t really sure what had turned the conversation that way, at one point Doppio had just started gushing. Absolutely starry-eyed over Arven’s apparent prowess in the kitchen, and the dishes he’d shared with Doppio. 

…their situation had made him a little sick to think about, when the staff got the notice. They were good kids… So, well, Midoriya was happy to make things a little easier, a brownie bite at a time. 

“I hope you all enjoy!” Midoriya waved, before flushing and mumbling incoherently as Kaito left the pantry. 

In the time all that took, Doppio had broken up the chocolate and put it in the barely simmering pan, and was now steadily stirring it all together, his head resting on Arven’s shoulder as they stood arm to arm. 

Kaito hesitated, not wanting to disturb them. They looked peaceful, and Doppio probably did need that quiet comfort. Sometimes, with Kokichi, the most Kaito could do was just sit with him and hold him, hoping the peace of it would help.

Now… how else could Kaito cause problems.

Kaito looked around, rocking on his heels a bit. Stealing from the kitchen was usually something he only did in jest. The food was for the castle, and Kaito had had fun giving away one of the batch’s of cookies the kitchen had made for dinner to the other residents, but that was the most he had managed to swipe. Mmmm… it’d be fun to swipe a tool. But then, Kokichi would make him give it back. 

(Kaito wasn’t going to take anything. He was just enjoying the daydream.)

Arven glanced over his shoulder, seeing Kaito standing around with what looked like tupperware and marshmallows, watching the kitchen staff work. Looking back do Doppio’s progress, Arven whispered, “It already smells nice.”

Doppio smiled softly. “I think even burnt chocolate has a good part to it, so by not doing that it’s kind of cheating… It’s gonna be good. …if it weren’t for the fact both of us sleep so soundly, this feels like a nice thing to do. Warming up in the middle of the night with a warm drink…”

Something warm and sweet to just…find joy in. It was hard to be sad with a warm mug in your hands. 

“...in winter, or just…later when it’s colder, I should make you peppermint hot chocolate. I know there are fancier ways to do it, but…you can just drop candies into the milk at the start, and it’s really good.”

“That sounds nice. Winter’s right around the corner,” Arven smiled, imagining it, “I like making some warm black milk tea for the winters. Add a little cinnamon, a little sugar. It’s nice.”

Arven closed his eyes. Letting the scent of the chocolate wash over him. 

“...hey,” Arven whispered, eyes still closed, “...I’m glad you did it. But I was scared for you, when you went in there. He didn’t hurt you?”

“That sounds fantastic,” Doppio hummed, rocking his head a little on Arven’s shoulder. “I’ve never tried making milk tea myself. I’ll be curious to see how you do it.”

The chocolate was melting evenly. This method was usually reliable, but…well, you always had to watch out for seizing. It’d still taste good, but getting a craggy morsel of hard chocolate in your drink was pretty gag-inducing. 

Doppio swallowed thickly. “No. A-and…and the door was open the whole time and…a guard was just on the other side. I… It was fine,” he whispered back. Chewing his lip for a moment before even more softly admitting, “...he made me kneel in front of him. But it didn’t hurt. And…he steadied me on the way down.”

Arven’s nose wrinkled at that. “I don’t like that.” he admitted, nudging Doppio’s hip, “I don’t see why anyone else ever would, but if anyone tries to make you kneel from now on, I’m gonna sic Chief on them. Chief can be really intimidating. You shouldn’t kneel to anyone.”

“I’ll make Chief some nice treats to thank him. I don’t really want to kneel to anyone either.” For a moment, Doppio stopped stirring, his hands lightly trembling…but he closed his eyes and took a breath. Starting again. Almost done, just wanting to make an even consistency…

“...he never answered how he was doing,” Doppio mumbled. “...but he looked comfortable enough. I…guess I could just ask, how detained people are taken care of…”

“Hmmm.” Arven hummed. He kinda hoped the man was at least a little uncomfortable, but… he looked over his shoulder, “Kaito.”

Kaito, who had been staring at a whisk left on the counter way too intently, looked up, “Hm?”

“Doppio wants to know how prisoners are treated, and if his father is being treated well specifically.” Arven said, smirking, feeling a little smug as he said, “Go find out.”

“...” Kaito frowned, “Okay, yes, but only because it’s so serious. You and I are talking about asking politely later, kid.”

Arven stuck his tongue out at him, as Kaito went to place the marshmallows and brownie bites down on the counter, “Alright, give me a bit. I want a hot chocolate out of all this.” Kaito insisted, reaching over to pat Doppio’s shoulder, “I’ll go find out. See you guys in your room.”

Doppio squeaked a little, looking at Arven in mild (very mild) alarm, and he sputtered a little about how it wasn’t a big deal, just…idle curiosity that wasn’t his responsibility to know anyway, a-and Kaito didn’t have to go… But he just sighed, resting his head against Arven again as he gave Kaito a nod. “We’ll meet you there…”

…brownie bites? Those would be good. Double chocolate, if they dipped them in the hot chocolate before eating.

Arven laughed a little, watching Kaito go, before smirking to Doppio, “Man, I’m getting an earful about that later. That’s kind of fun. I’ve never had anyone I can really annoy like that.”

Wrapping his arm around Doppio’s hip, Arven said softly, “You know, wanna hear something kinda silly? I keep thinking about all that stuff they were doing for him last week… how he kept calling it being ‘spoiled’?” Arven paused, before admitting, “I got a little envious, of Prince Kokichi. I want to be able to spoil you.”

“In some ways, you two are a match,” Doppio shook his head, “‘Cause I’ll bet he’ll think it’s fun giving you that earful later too. You’re creating the perfect outlet for all his dad energy.”

Though, maybe that was just the kind of mood Arven was in, to get rid of his own nervous energy of the night. Because while it didn’t show well under the plaster all over Doppio’s face, he lit up bright red. Making a few indistinct sounds before he shyly mumbled, “You already spoil me a lot… C-could you bring the mugs closer, I’m gonna pour the hot chocolate in.”

“Mmhm,” Arven said, moving the mugs over, watching Doppio adoringly as his boyfriend poured with a controlled excellence. Doppio did everything like that. Controlled, pretty… and then Arven would smile, and Doppio looked like he was five seconds away from accidentally hitting one of the mugs against the pot, and all Arven had to do was reach out and block the mug from falling off the counter, and it was perfect. 

“You’re perfect.” Arven smiled, pushing the mug back into place.

“Ggggggggghh,” Doppio gurgled, absolutely steaming, and he just had to…stop. Not hiding his face, because he did his best not to do that while he was cooking even if he wasn’t wearing an inch of paint, but sort of hunching his shoulders in a bit to suggest the effect. But, well…they had marshmallows to put into drinks and a pot to clean, so…

“You…you stop,” Doppio muttered. “You’re perfect. Saying all sorts of… A-and you’re just…here. Being perfect. Standing… Just… Ugh. Y-you take two of those mugs, I’ll be…o-oh sorry, I…”

Even told to clean up, one of the staff members took the pot right from Doppio’s hands with a wink and…well, it was all he could do to take the last mug and the brownie bites and follow Arven out.

Arven adoringly watched Doppio fluster, incredibly pleased with himself, helping get everything to their room. Chief, who had been napping, looked up when they came in, game a small little ‘ruff’, thumped his tail, before laying back down. Content to go back to napping.

Putting Kaito’s mug down on the desk, Arven went to sit down on the bed, sipping… “Oh man, this is really good.” Arven congratulated, sipping again, “It’s so smooth.”

True to his words earlier, Doppio delayed drinking the fruit of his efforts for a little bit, immediately heading into their bathroom to wash his face. It didn’t take long, even when he may have lingered a liiiittle bit, comforted by the scent literally in his face of Arven’s face wash. Boyfriend smell… 

But, returning to the room, Doppio sat next to Arven and took a sip and…

“S really good, huh,” Doppio said softly, before burying his face in Arven’s shoulder. “...thanks for being here with me.”

“I’m just relieved you told me. I’d have understood, if you just decided to go without letting anyone know,” Arven said, reaching an arm around to rub Doppio’s back a bit. “I know everyone had an opinion about what you should do. But it’s not really up to us. I’m glad you did what you wanted.”

Doppio huffed a tiny laugh. “I think a bunch of people would tear me apart if I did that. Kaito kept asking me over and over to tell someone if I was gonna go see him… Still could’ve not, but…’m glad I did.”

It hadn’t actually changed anything with him going. Arven hadn’t tried to talk him out of going, and while the guards did give him warnings, they hadn’t stopped him. And…admittedly, Doppio had felt safer knowing that someone was nearby, and it felt better, having Arven and Kaito waiting for him. He…wasn’t entirely sure if he would’ve been able to make it back to their room on his own. And this way they had hot chocolate. 

“...I showed him my freckles. He didn’t seem grossed out or anything, but…he said that ‘they’d’ broken me.”

“Jackass.” Arven huffed, sipping at his chocolate, before kissing Doppio’s cheek, his lips lightly warmed by the mug. “You’re not ‘broken’. You’re…”

Arven leaned back, looking Doppio over, before smirking. “Interesting. Is that alright for me to say? Because you are. I like that sometimes when we kiss, I’ll pull away, and there will be a puff of steam in between us. And…” Arven reached up, tracing his thumb along Doppio’s cheek, “Sometimes, when I touch you, your freckles will light up and follow the heat. It’s like I can make little abstract drawings against you… it’s nice.”

He paused… before, flushing a bit, he whispered, “I even like the ‘choking hazards’.”

There was a sudden knock at the door, Kaito calling through, “If you’re up to anything, stop! I wanna come in!”

“Fuck,” Arven cursed.

If it were other people saying it? Maybe not even just anyone but Arven, but…some other people? It was the sort of thing that had the potential to send Doppio straight into a panic attack. 

Arven saying it? After kissing his cheek ((〃´v`〃) warm kisses…) and smirking at him and just…like he did? Doppio lit up, his freckles, indeed, following Arven’s touch with a shifting hue going pink. All his new, weird body stuff always made him feel weird, but…with Arven appreciating them so much…

“I think you’re interesting too,” Doppio weakly chuckled, before growing even more red, squeaking a little--

“EEP!” And then jumping at the knock on the door. Tucking his face back against Arven’s shoulder, Doppio caught his breath, before calling Kaito in. 

“Do you really have to sneak up on us all the time?”

“Who snuck up? I literally knocked.” Kaito huffed, coming and looking around, before bee-lining for his drink at the desk. “This one’s mine, right? Alright, moment of truth…”

Kaito took a sip, held it on his tongue for a bit, breathed in through his nose… before saying, “Yep, perfect, as expected. Damn. Nice. Though, I gotta say, marshmallows were a great touch! Who thought of that? Oh yeah, that was me, you’re welcome.” Kaito boasted… before snickering, “Though, seriously, this is amazing, Doppio. Good job.”

“Did you find out what I sent you to look for?” Arven asked.

“Okay, is this because you’ve been spending time with my tall husband? Look, he’s allowed to talk to me like that because it’s sexy. Yeah, exactly, you wanna be weird about it?” Kaito said, glaring at Arven as Arven blanched, “Make it less weird and be more polite. Shuichi and Maki have special ‘be assholes to Kaito’ privileges, that’s not just how people treat me, got it? I don’t appreciate it.”

“Ugh… you made it weird,” Arven said, still looking a little nauseous. “Fine, I won’t.”

“Good,” Kaito said, leaning against the desk as he looked at Doppio. “Alright, so… I asked about things I’d be worried about in your shoes. So, first of all, there is no corporal punishment. Even when they’re asking for it.”

“Your knocking snuck up,” Doppio grumbled, though he preened a bit as Kaito crowed about the hot chocolate. Faint gold shining through his freckles as he took a sip of his own, smiling softly. “You’re welcome…”

He sent Arven a half amused look at the haughty language, though, well…the chewing out they had predicted was on its way. And way worse than they could’ve imagined. Ugh…Kaito liked being talked to like that in a sexy way?? Gross…

Sticking his tongue out a little, Doppio snagged a brownie bite and dunked it in his drink, letting the chocolate seep in a bit…though he glanced up with a mildly alarmed look. “Wh…what? I… I mean that’s good but…wh-why would someone already in holding be assaulted?!”

Kaito grinned a little thinly. “Let’s just call that a ‘Luminary’ fear then. But yeah, he’s not being injured. Otherwise, he’s served three meals a day, and guess what those meals consist of! It’s literally just the same stuff we eat in the kitchen. It’s one of the kitchen duties, to feed anyone in holding, so they just make them a plate of whatever they’ve made for the castle. So I guess if you’re unimpressed with what they made that day, then maybe there’s something to be concerned about. But, I think we can all agree the kitchen knocks it out of the park pretty regularly… except for spicy curry night.” Kaito frowned, looking grim. “That’d be torture, if they weren’t willing to give him bland versions upon request.”

“What else…” Kaito rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. “...they keep offering him recreational activities, but he doesn’t actually seem particularly interested in anything. He used to hide under a blanket the whole time, but after talking to a therapist they’ve all, uh, apparently assured him that they’d forget what he looked like as soon as they were done holding him? And he seems to believe them so…”

Kaito tapped his fingers against his chest, having been hearing about the other, like, genuinely delusional nonsense the man had said in holding. His rambling words and speeches that led nowhere. How he kept just trying to get up and walk out, like he had forgotten he was in holding. “...They’re setting up a lot of resources for him. It’s gonna take a while, therapy goes at a snail’s pace, but apparently there’re already a few possible diagnoses, for why he’s like this. They might not get it right, right away. I’ve been put on a few different medications and diagnoses myself, as you two already know,” Kaito said, looking a little dryly at Doppio, “So I can tell you as well as anyone that it’s not a quick fix. But… that shit does help. So… so yeah. Anything else you wanted to know? Those seemed like the big ones to me.”

Okay… Regular meals, and…well, the castle food wasn’t bad. Doppio wouldn’t even call it average, on the whole, it was just the nature of cooking in bulk that made attention to detail of every plate harder to achieve excellence with. And while it wasn’t bland, cooking for such a wide audience did skew favored recipes to things with more general flavor profiles, he’d noticed. But…it was enjoyable and varied and nutritious, so…that’s what his dad was getting. 

But… “...he just…doesn’t eat sometimes,” Doppio worriedly mumbled, tracing his watch band. “But…usually just ‘cause he was focused on work. Maybe without that, he… It wouldn’t be an issue…”

His eyes flicking up to Kaito, as he continued, Doppio wilted, a strained look pulling into a frown. That would explain why his dad seemed so at ease in his room, taking visitors and unworried about the open door, but… But his father wasn’t an idiot! People just assuring him of some…weird…magic thing…that his dad might…actually believe he could…do…

While people thought he was c…

“...sorry,” Doppio whispered, and while he was genuinely regretful that he’d learned a little too much about Kaito’s medical history, the way tears welled in his eyes again wasn't for that. 

…what had happened? His dad had always been larger than life. Sure, Doppio worried, but…

Biting his lips to stop their trembling, Doppio looked back up at Kaito. “...if they’re setting up therapy for him… Then… Then they’d get him physical medical help too, if anything happened?”

“Yeah, of course they would.” Kaito frowned, making a show that he was going to go grab a brownie bite, but taking the opportunity in being close to them to sigh as he pulled Doppio in a small half hug against his hip. “Your father’s literally never been safer than in this moment. You think Dicea would be okay with it if a prisoner suffered in their hold? Come on, kid, you’re Dicean, you should know better. Holding isn’t a punishment, it’s a safety measure.”

“Nothing’s gonna happen to him,” Kaito said, squeezing him a bit… before grabbing his brownie bite, heading back to the desk. Arven took over cuddling after that, wrapping his arms around Doppio’s waist and pulling him in. “And, look, if you’re nervous, you can always ask the guards how he’s doing. You can bet Lake’s keeping an eye on all of this. Entirely for your sake.”

Well… Yeah… It was one thing to actively harm someone, and another, much easier thing to simply stand by while someone was suffering harm…but the Guardforce weren’t just bystanders. Not just anyone, and thus subject to the wide array of Things People Could Do. Regardless of personal values, guards were sworn to protect the people of Dicea. They had a duty to people, not to the concept of justice and…well, Doppio was sure there were some stories of corruption, there weren’t any he had heard in particular…

Doppio shut his eyes as Kaito hugged him, gently pressing into the hug. …his father had never been safer, huh? Not when…Doppio’s entire purpose had been… 

(It shouldn’t have been his responsibility to care for his father. It couldn’t be anymore.)

Sniffling loudly, Doppio leaned against Arven as he was passed from one hold to another. “...i-it’s not too… Still being too invested if I do?”

“Not if that’s what you want to do,” Arven insisted, “Who’s going to tell you no? I’ll sic Chief on them all.”

Chief huffed in his sleep.

“If you mean should you still be that invested… I mean, my guess is the answer is no. I don’t know what Dr. Mariah would say, but I’d trust her…” Kaito bit into his brownie, chewing on it a bit, before sighing. “But from a total amateur ‘what would I do’ mindset? Don’t beat yourself up about shit you can’t help. Oh, yes, telling you that you should be done is the healthy thing and the wise thing, but fuck, that’s easier said than done, and the people who can just… do that?” Kaito said, frowning, “Stop being invested at will? Let go? That’s a skill, and a damn scary one too. I’ve never managed to do it without reality literally forcing me to.”

Kaito said that, before remembering his brother. He… supposed that had been him letting go. It’s not like he was hearing updates on his brother, even if he sometimes worried about him. He had asked Kokichi, when his small husband had gone to visit his brother’s head, but, well, how could he not?

But that still sometimes didn’t feel real, the disowning of his brother. It didn’t feel like something he could brag about, or use as a life reference, or advise on, because… certainly he hadn’t actually. Had he? He guessed he had… It was hard to feel it. A bit like his parents’ death. The reality of it came and went.

“I don’t really give a shit about your dad,” Kaito admitted, scoffing, “But I care about you and, like, your anxieties and stuff. If you need to know he’s doing alright to feel better? Then alright. We’ll do what makes things better for you.”

Ah…he’d left his brownie in too long…soggy. 

“...we keep talking about how…h-how how my dad’s doing can’t be a…um…” Doppio sniffled. “A measure, of how I’m living my own life. That his well-being can’t be my responsibility anymore. I…I told him that.”

Doppio’s eyes narrowed a bit, a few tears escaping. “...but I still care. I want to stop feeling like…a shaky puddle of garbage so much…but I still worry about him so much. I can’t just stop that… But…k-keeping up with it is… It’d just…keep making me anxious. That’s not a baby step, that’s just…me not letting go at all, in these circumstances.”

He opened his mouth, then closed it…before looking timidly up at Kaito. “...if he’s arrested, then…can we stop being on house arrest?”

Kaito blinked, giving Doppio a startled look. Dipping his brownie bite, chewing on it, before looking over at Arven. “Isn’t it Sunday?”

“Saturday,” Arven corrected.

“Okay…” Kaito chewed on his brownie bite, brow furrowed. “...fuck, I knew we needed a banner. Your house arrest was always planned to end at the end of my birthday. One full week. You were off house arrest yesterday.”

“Why didn’t you tell us!?” Arven barked, “You still walked me to school both mornings!”

“Well, of course I did, I take Tim to school, why not walk with you!?” Kaito shouted, before groaning, rubbing the center of his eyebrows. “Oh god I’m turning into Kokichi’s father… nnnngh, not even the cute one… yeah. You’re off house arrest, guys. I mean, still use caution going around, but the major retaliation period we were worried about doesn’t seem to be happening so… We just didn’t want to risk you when things were at their most tense.”

Doppio just looked at Kaito for a moment before sighing. Bringing his mug up to press against his forehead. Sure, his agents said a week! But they also said it could be shorter than a week, and someone would let him know! A-and his dad had been arrested only three days into that week, but he’d still been on lockdown so…so he didn’t know?! He didn’t even know what they were waiting for if…

Slowly, Doppio brought his mug down, a worried look furrowing his eyebrows as he gnawed on his lip. “...my dad said…well, he asked if any of my ex-coworkers had gotten into contact with me, but, like…as a non-retaliatory thing. Since…since he doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore, I don’t think that’s… B-but I dunno who’d tell them, so… Um… I…guess I’ll just… Still keep safer than usual, but…not full lockdown?”

Kaito nodded. “Not full lockdown. Do you want to have a dinner party about it? With a banner announcing? I am one hundred percent serious. This castle gets weird about safety precautions sometimes. But, I mean, fuck, that was me today and yesterday, I guess. The safety measures were always temporary. You two aren’t prisoners… anymore. Starting yesterday.”

“How often does stuff like this happen?” Arven asked, rubbing Doppio’s back lightly. “You sound like this is a recurring issue.”

“I mean, that I’ve been a part of personally? Um…” Kaito paused, “...I guess three times? At various levels and in various positions. I was the house arrestee once. Spent about two weeks locked up down in medical. Was gonna be shorter, but Maki was upset with me, so…” Kaito shrugged. “Like I said. The castle’s cursed with weird longer than intended house arrests. Might be an actual curse, I should look into it.”

“Do. Not,” Doppio said tersely, though not actually upset. Oh, he knew that Kaito was absolutely serious, but Doppio would kind of die if there was a ‘congrats on being able to leave the castle when you want because your dad got arrested’ themed dinner party. Not even being able to plan the menu would revive him. 

But…okay. He could leave. He did have his regular appointment on Monday, but…Doppio didn’t feel good. If she had a break in her schedule, then…maybe it would be worth stopping by Dr. Mariah’s office. He didn’t think he was in danger of hurting himself, so it wasn’t a crisis…but it still felt very big.

Resting his head on Arven’s shoulder, Doppio frowned and sipped his hot chocolate, just taking the semi-dissolved bits of brownie and walnuts that had fallen into his drink. “This castle is old as fuck, there’s probably some old curse or bullshit in it… ‘specially since curses are probably real. If the rest of magic is.”

“Yeah. I’ll put my best detective on it,” Kaito promised, scratching the back of his head. “Alright, so… Dr. Mariah is cautioning you from being too involved. Fine. That’s smart, and healthier…”

Scratching the side of his neck, Kaito briefly looked a little depressed… before grinning a bit. “What if you’re not keeping up with him, but you could trust someone else to do it? Would you trust me? If I said I was keeping an eye on his process through the system?”

And again, the brief, sad look, as he said, “I’ve done it before. Honestly, I’m getting old hat at it. I like to think I’m good at it too. I could do it for you, if you’ll trust me. Then you wouldn’t have to worry.”

Doppio looked up, giving Kaito a soft look before he sighed, a gentle plume of fog wafting out of his mouth. “...I would trust you to. And…thanks for offering, Kaito. But just putting in another person is… It’s a false separation. It’d be the same worries running through my mind, and the same enabling for them…just with putting more stress and responsibility onto you, and subjecting you to me freaking out more.”

Rubbing one of his eyes, Doppio grimaced. “...getting my dad arrested… The part of it I worried about was always just…how much he’d hate it. And my own feelings, having betrayed him. But…how the system would treat him wasn’t something I worried about. I don’t even know when the last execution took place, it was so long ago…but I do know about one of the last times someone in custody had to be hospitalized, because it was huge news across the country. Horrifying news. Something that was news in the first place because it was so unacceptable to have happened… So I know that my dad will be okay in the government’s hands…”

“...I just hate that it got to this point,” he said softly, turning against Arven again.

Kaito was a little relieved, though he didn’t think he would have been devastated if Doppio had taken him up on it. It was just hard thinking about Aba. That had been… a lot. Addason had been worth it! But it’d still been a lot. He hadn’t been looking forward to a repeat performance.

Arven nuzzled Doppio’s head. “It’s really not your fault.”

“Buuuut, it’s okay, because, well…” Kaito huffed, nudging the floor, “Well, sometimes things are just shitty. Ya know? Sometimes it just sucks.”

…maybe not everything, but…

…wasn’t it?

“...sometimes it’s shitty and it sucks and it’s not fair,” Doppio said softly, holding his mug close. “...n just have to…not cry too obnoxiously while you survive through it, til it’s less shitty.”

“I mean…” Kaito sighed, nodding, “Kinda yeah. Though, I hope you know when I said that, I mostly meant crying at people to get them to stop doing it. It doesn’t work and it’s just shitty on them when they’re doing the hard stuff to help. But…”

Kaito frowned, some obvious pity in his face, as he said, “...you’re still allowed to grieve. Honestly, anyone who would stop you from grieving isn’t someone you want in your life.”

Doppio nodded slightly, before a wobbly smile came up as he nodded to the wall. “...I mean… That’s what the gear was about. Grieving…among other things. It feels impossible that this will ever stop…but I know it will.” He had a few examples in the room with him now. “...I just hate how knowing that hurts too.”

Letting go of a deep sigh, Doppio closed his eyes as he leaned against Arven. “...I hate this.”

“Yeah,” Kaito sighed, “I get it.”

Arven wasn’t sure what to say. He kind of got it too. Sure, he sort of understood… but not really. His mother had left before he could even really understand what was going on. By the time he had comprehended it, it had been old news. He didn’t really get a chance to grieve her. He hadn’t realized he had lost anything until it was too late. 

But he could hold Doppio. So he did, holding him tight. Closing his eyes and hoping he’d be enough.

-

It had been a…tough morning, to say the least. Arven had woken up to a Doppio with his head buried in Arven’s stomach, asking to not get up for a while…so they hadn’t. But as time went on and Doppio still had no desire to get up, and paired with a few teary moments…

…it might’ve been a crisis. 

So he forced himself up and got ready for the day, and…he couldn’t bare to put on a full face of concealer, so he just did his nose and the area around his eyes and opted for a hooded sweater, weather appropriate, and scrunched the hood closed around his face as he walked through town. 

Getting to Dr. Mariah’s office, he gave Blair a small wave as he walked towards the front desk. “Hi, Mr. Con… Does Dr. Mariah have any free slots today?”

Blair looked up, glanced around Doppio’s face, before putting up a finger, “One moment, stay at the desk,” before getting up and heading down the hall.

After a moment, Blair returned, and with a smile, said, “Let’s give her twenty minutes. Until then, would you like to make use of the kitchen? She’s also offered to let you see the koi pond, if you’re interested.”

“Thank you,” Doppio said softly. She had mentioned many times that she built in time for emergency sessions…but, man, he was getting incredibly lucky with his unluckiness. He’d never waited more than half an hour, after coming by out of the blue. Or…having someone talk to her on his behalf. That was some incredible scheduling. 

“Um…I-I’d like to see the pond, if that’s alright. Kaito kinda raves about it, and…well, her aquarium is impressive in its own right…” Doppio mumbled. He could, like…preemptively make tea or something…but…

(...trying to head off someone’s needs…)

(...he felt nauseous.)

“Sure, come this way.”

Blair showed Doppio the hidden panel, pointing up the staircase and inviting him to make himself at home. “I trust you won’t do anything stupid, like throw anything off the roof,” Blair said pointedly, before closing the panel behind him.

Upstairs, the roof was cool and bright. Plants were still growing strong and steady in the fall weather, maybe even a little better than normal, a heat radiating off the flooring. Down on the streets, people were murmuring and calling to each other, passing pleasantries and making deals, all of them distant and impossible to discern from each other beyond a mass sense of People.

The clouds lazily passed above, and swirling in their shadows, koi fish bobbed and swarmed around.

After roughly twenty minutes, Dr. Mariah came up. “I hear your house arrest is over,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear, “Congratulations. I’m sorry to hear about the circumstances around it.”

It was incredibly lovely. Pulling down his hood--even at their darkest, it would be nearly impossible to pick out the changes in his freckles from another rooftop--Doppio sat on the side of the pond, settling down to watch the fish. He knew, in concept, that carp could get pretty big…but it still provoked a gasp from him with the first one that neared the surface, just how huge the fish was. These were no tetras or guppies or even minnows… It looked like most of them were bigger than his hand, maybe even a few in girth too…

And…marveling at the fish, being so high up (relatively) and hearing that background noise of people…Doppio felt a little more like he could breathe. 

So he didn’t waste time pushing himself up when he heard Dr. Mariah join him. “...thank you. I know we have my regular appointment tomorrow, but…” Looking a little strained as he turned to face her, Doppio clenched his hands in his sleeves. “...I talked with him last night. A-and…it was really hard finding a reason to get up today so…I-I think this is a crisis.”

Dr. Mariah raised the end of her dress, and kicked off her small heels. Sitting down next to Doppio, she took it a step further, and dipped her feet in slowly, folding the dress up before letting herself relax. 

“It’s good that you recognized it, and took action,” Dr. Mariah said, before gesturing to a far, decorative single shelf on a stand. “It’s time to feed the koi fish. Would you please go fetch the bag in there? It’ll be full of square fish pellets.”

Doppio stalled for a moment, taken off guard by Dr. Mariah joining him and…man, was, like…cold resistance a perk for her too? It wasn’t even cold that day, but…the thought of putting his feet in open water made Doppio want to cringe into himself and get under no less than six blankets. A little bewildered, he headed over to pick up the fish food before he even registered the words. Offering it gently, he retook his spot. 

“...it was probably a good thing it’s not a school day,” Doppio softly mused. “I probably would’ve asked Arven to stay anyway…and I might’ve not even felt bad about it. At first, at least…”

There was a moment of quiet, before Doppio’s eyes shimmered. “...I never thought he was crazy. Or…struggling with reality. I thought he was right…”

“Here,” Dr. Mariah said, opening up the bag and placing it between them, “Let me show you how to do this. Then, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to help me feed them.”

“With these larger pellets, you can’t just throw all at once. They’ll hurt themselves swallowing multiple down,” Dr. Mariah explained, taking a single square pellet, and tossing it in close to them. The koi fish swarmed and piled around her legs, aiming for the square pellet, one of them catching it first. “And it’s wise to make them swim for it. Move it around. Like this,” she said, tossing the next one father, the group racing over to it next.

“We keep going, until we don’t see them racing for it anymore,” she explained, “When the pellet just starts floating undisturbed for a while, they’re all full and uninterested.”

“Go ahead,” Dr. Mariah said, gesturing to the pellets, “Give it a shot.”

Doppio nodded silently, watching the demonstrations. Poor koi… It was good that they had someone who could help them, but…what an awful bag. Having such a vigor for food you’d hurt yourself. He supposed a lot of animals were like that… Instincts of wanting to eat as much as you could while it was available, to make up for when it was scarce. And even knowing that that time wouldn’t come, still listening to those instincts…

Taking a few pellets into his hand, so he wouldn’t have to keep reaching into the bag and holding up Dr. Mariah’s rhythm, Doppio selected one and threw it far left of the one Dr. Mariah had tossed, watching the rippling hoard of fish swim towards it. Fish probably wouldn’t be bored by a pattern so…no worries about that. 

One a bit closer this time. 

“...it’s a little like feeding ducks,” Doppio softly remarked. “...seems a little less dangerous though.”

“I would hope that feeding ducks isn’t too dangerous.” Dr. Mariah smiled lightly. 

They sat there for a moment. The soft sounds of water rippling as the fish moved, with little intermittent ‘plonks’ from the thrown pellets.

“Your father was a very capable man,” Dr. Mariah said, after a moment. “One of the risks of being incredibly capable? Is people will ignore signs of illness as assumed eccentricities. Because certainly if a person is a genius in one way, that must mean they are a genius in all ways.”

“But in reality, that’s rarely how it works.” Dr. Mariah sighed. “Those who are capable of great risk and leaps of change are rarely the most emotionally stable. One does not lead to the other.”

“You’d be surprised,” Doppio mumbled. Ducks were still cool but…he could admit, discovering first hand that they had teeth had been an eye-opening experience. 

…he wished more of those were just like feeding ducks. 

“...it made me angry,” he softly said, keeping an eye on how the fish pursued the pellets. “And…and…I-I don’t know… Bad feeling. Kaito said that…the guards were assuring my dad that they’d all forget what he looked like when they left. And that’s why he was…okay, just relaxing. Taking visitors and having the door open…”

Doppio’s eyes scrunched a little. “...I’m happy he’s comfortable enough to not have to hide the whole time, a-and that he’s willing to talk with the guards and his lawyers at least a little… But he’s not…dumb. Or easily lied to… I just…”

He rolled a pellet around in his fingers for a moment before tossing it into the middle of the pond. His shoulders slumping. “...he’s not okay. And…it felt like that was just…blatant, when I saw him.”

“...did I make it worse?” Doppio whispered, his voice strangling a bit.

“I can’t make a diagnosis like this. So I can’t say I know what’s happening with your father,” Dr. Mariah said, before continuing, “But I’m going to explain to you what I know about psychotic episodes, and I want to see if this sounds familiar.”

“They’re not consistent. Nor are they never ending,” Dr. Mariah explained, watching the fish make their races, lightly kicking her feet in the water. “In fact, people with psychotic episodes usually only ever experience one or two serious episodes in their whole lives. Then, for the rest of the time, they’re almost entirely symptom free, if not actually symptom free.”

“But during moments, usually, of severe stress, a psychotic episode is more likely. An otherwise normal, if odd, person starts showing greater and greater signs of instability. They lash out, they don’t act like themselves, they seem confused a lot. And then, on sometimes an entirely normal day, they become incomprehensible. They’re paranoid of the world around them, they can’t remember who you are or their sense of reality is flimsy and changes on a whim. They’re almost a different person.” 

“These episodes can be truly terrible, for the people closest to them,” Dr. Mariah said, “The person experiencing it may not realize anything has gone wrong until the symptoms start to fade, but those around them? It can be like someone new stepped into familiar skin and started mocking you from behind their face. And the moments of lucidity can make it harder. Where for a moment, they’re themselves again… and then that moment passes. The episode still in full swing. It can last days, weeks…”

“Most people recover,” Dr. Mariah said, “They completely recover. If the symptoms aren’t taken care of, recovery can take longer and another episode is more likely. Structural support is key to a smooth recovery.”

“...Doppio,” Dr. Mariah said softly, “Before a year and a half ago… before your father made an entirely new person. Do you know if when he was first building up his drug organization, if he refused to talk to people and be seen? Or is that… possibly a more recent development for him?”

Doppio gave her a wary look, but took a breath to try and calm down enough to really listen. She wasn’t saying that this was precisely what was going on, so…he had to listen and mindfully compare things. It wasn’t his job to find out what was going on with his dad, and…well, apparently they were setting things up for him to talk with his own personal therapist. So none of this was up to Doppio. 

…but he did want to understand. 

…his father had always been inscrutable. Doppio could never keep up with what was going through his head…so…so how was he supposed to know when something became incomprehensible? And…and his dad had always been paranoid, but…he knew who Doppio was. More than Doppio knew, some days. His father had always been his father, so…

(...sometimes when he was hit, that was consistent. But…like being drowned… Doppio hadn’t understood. The bigger things… Sure, he could gather that it was supposed to be a punishment, but…looking back, at least…the severity seemed off. Not…not planned out, for how it slowed down Doppio’s work afterward. And Boss had never seemed phased afterward.)

…his father had always…

“...I don’t know,” Doppio whispered, his heart dropping. Making the connection that Dr. Mariah was theorizing towards. “...he doesn’t talk about the past. But…even alluding to it in the barest sense…he’s always talked about being unknowable. A…” Doppio sighed. “...an emperor acting on another level from the ‘filth’, too grand to sully himself with the rest of the world.”

…was it his fault?

Dr. Mariah tasted the grief, and sighed. “Don’t forget the fish, Doppio. They’re counting on you.”

Waiting for him to throw another pellet, she said softly, “I’m not trying to instill in you a sense of responsibility. I’m trying to suggest a timeline. Most importantly, a timeline that would have made it impossible for you to recognize anything was wrong. If your father has been struggling with psychotic episodes for the last few years, exacerbated by the lack of structural support in his life outside of one child who would have no reason to recognize anything was different? Then his inconsistency and alarming behavior was a cry for help. One he likely didn’t know he was making. He needed support.”

“And even family members who have known the loved one their whole lives, and watched the change in personality personally, rarely ever make the connection that they’re witnessing signs of an upcoming psychotic break. It’s an extremely difficult disease to recognize until it's too late. Spouses and parents rarely see it. Their children? It’s heartbreaking when children ever see it at all, let alone recognize it. Let alone are the sole supporters of someone experiencing it.”

“You were in no way prepared to handle such a situation,” Dr. Mariah said. “And you are in no way responsible for its development. Stress can only trigger the worst of the episodes. The underlying issue was always there. You could not have kept him from experiencing any stress, ever.” Dr. Mariah said, looking to Doppio, “...even if perhaps that had been the tool he had attempted to make. In an attempt to self-medicate.”

“Again, I really don’t know,” Dr. Mariah said softly, “No one will be able to confirm that for at least a year. But I’ve been keeping my ear on this case. If no one ever tells you his official diagnosis in the future, I don’t think it’s kind to leave you wondering why he ‘chose’ to do these things forever. Not when I suspect the answer might be more complicated than that.”

Doppio cast an apologetic look to the fish and threw another pellet. …even if he could kind of see what Dr. Mariah was doing. 

…if it had been happening longer than a year and a half? Then…Doppio would’ve had no basis to notice any change, let alone the struggles that his memory issues caused for that just…perpetually. Let alone…Doppio not knowing anyone else, with only his father as an example for how to be a person. 

…and even if it had happened exactly a year and a half ago? Then…same issues. And… And Doppio hadn’t demanded to be born! Or created or…whatever! That small, dark space maybe…maybe suggested that he or…a part of him, or something like him had existed longer…but in truth, Doppio wasn’t sure if that was just wishful thinking, or just some frequent hallucination. But even if he had existed in some form…he wouldn’t have wanted to make things worse for his dad. 

(...he would’ve wanted to help. He…would’ve wanted to take on as much as he could, to ease the burden on his father. Like…avoiding the stress of being known, and keeping him hidden in the best way, acting as his father’s hands in the world to pursue his dreams without having to ever leave home. …to make sure he was eating well and regularly, and sleeping well, and always in a clean space. Doppio would’ve wanted to help by…)

…by being the perfect aid. The perfect tool. 

…and instead, he’d been Doppio. 

Doppio almost missed the pond entirely on his next throw from how much his hand was shaking. His heart feeling…constricted and pierced, like brambles were forcing it smaller and smaller as he ached, recalling the…utter disconnect on his dad’s face, as Doppio rejected the role made for him. 

…no wonder. 

…and yet…his dad had still…

Even as another round of tears fell, Doppio choked out, “...why a-a year?”

“It’s more or less standard protocol, to see first if treatment works, before deciding definitively a diagnosis was correct. Most diagnoses before that are theories, and are recorded as such. They’re only confirmed and accepted as true by other practitioners once treatment supports it, and confirming a treatment is helping takes time,” Dr. Mariah explained, cupping her hands together and laying them over her lap.

“This is to keep medical personnel from getting too complacent with early theories and treating them as fact. Makes it too easy to miss something when you’re doing a check on them yourself,” Dr. Mariah said. “If your father was my patient, I’d offer the theory I just told you earlier, and start treatment right away. In roughly six months, I’d put together an argument to get the theory officially diagnosed, and other doctors would be selected to check my work. After that, it would be considered standard protocol for all medical personnel to assume he has the type of psychosis I’d diagnosed him with. It’s a long process that can be hard on family and patients alike, who just want answers as soon as they can, but this leads to the least amount of misdiagnoses in practice.”

Doppio nodded slightly before sniffling, turning his head to wipe his eyes on the shoulder of his sweater…leaving a smear of concealer. Damn… But wiping his eyes with fish pellet-handling hands would be even worse. “...everything legal here takes so much time. He was arrested a-almost a week ago and I don’t think they’ve even decided on court dates yet…”

Doppio’s face crumpled for a moment, his chest shuddering with a held-in sob, before he let out a breath and sniffled quietly. “...he wanted me to take over operations of Passione while he was in holding. He was so…annoyed, a-and then mad at me, when… I-in the time I got rid of… But he wasn’t like that at all this time. …didn’t even…call me oafish or ugly or anything…”

Dr. Mariah pulled out a handkerchief, perhaps a tad too late, before handing it to him. “Inconsistency is the worst part of this type of disease. Every time you think you have a handle on it? The rules change.”

“How did that feel?” Dr. Mariah asked, “That’s not a small request, to run the business he’s being forced to leave behind.”

…that was more disheartening than even the small bit of peace Doppio had managed to find the night before. His dad never took things back…but contradictory things could happen later. Maybe they wouldn’t get a chance to, without Doppio being there, but… (It hurt to think that the, in context, kind dismissal might be overtaken by…resentment? Or hatred? Or…complete apathy…)

Using up the last of the pellets in his hand--and…by the last one, the fish seemed disinterested--Doppio lightly wiped his hands on his jeans before accepting the handkerchief, dabbing at the parts of his cheeks he knew didn’t have makeup on them. “...sad?” he tried, not entirely sure of his own feelings. “...a…a little scared and…a little frustrated ‘cause…by asking that he just…wasn’t listening to me.”

“...I said no,” he explained, realizing after a moment that maybe that wasn’t obvious. Sniffling, Doppio dabbed his face again. “N…said all that stuff we’d talked about, like how his life can’t be my responsibility, ‘n all…” He closed his eyes, chest feeling tight again. “...people risked their lives so many times to get me out of all that… I couldn’t just go back in. And I…I couldn’t put Arven at risk like that… We talked before about…how we didn’t even know how to approach trying to date if none of this happened. Even if I…could somehow even get everyone in Passione on the same page and leave him alone…he’d still be in constant danger from all of our enemies. And that’d just be worse if I was the head.”

“Wise,” Dr. Mariah said, nodding, “Maintaining a drug empire doesn’t usually mesh well with maintaining a normal family life. It would have put a considerable amount of strain on your and Arven’s relationship, and in turn, Arven would have been unwise to maintain it. Some things ask too much of our partners.”

“And not listening is a large part of the frustration of these situations,” Dr. Mariah said, “And is another thing that is not your fault, and you have no real control over. People suffering a psychotic break aren’t able to engage in reality the same way you and I do. Not consistently. He had likely already had in mind exactly how that conversation was going to go, and nothing you could have actually said would dissuade that initial speech that, I imagine, he had in mind. It’s not your fault that the reality did not reflect his fantasy.”

Doppio nodded, that ache just…worsening. “...he looked so…confused. Sometimes he’s looked at me like I was nothing, or just…something gross…or something he was exasperated by. But he’s never… He’s never looked at me like he wasn’t sure what he was looking at, before.”

“I’ve never said no, so…I guess that tracks,” Doppio choked, before sucking in a stuttered breath. “...he…he said that I’d never survive without him, but…I-I should just go and live as long as I can.” Doppio wiped an eye with the back of his sleeve. “...It still feels like that’s one of the kindest things he’s ever said to me.”

Dr. Mariah nodded, her gaze thoughtful and contemplative, as she listened to Doppio muddle through his feelings. Sometimes all you could do was let them feel them. Crying was a part of therapy.

“...there’s a bit of an unspoken rule, in the mental health community,” Dr. Mariah said, watching as the fish slowed down. Full and lethargic, the ones who had gotten the pellets they were racing for. “The best version you see in someone experiencing delusions or a psychotic episode? The version which is considerate and cares about you and wants good things for you? That wants good things for themselves, such as to recover and rebuild their life? The versions that fill us with hope, essentially… Those are considered the ‘lucid’ moments. The real versions of them, breaking through, even if sometimes for only a moment.”

“Again, it’s an unspoken rule. You won’t see it written down in any medical book. But the assumption that the kindest version of a person is also the most true version of them is an established norm of the mental community… and when treatment works? I find that it’s usually correct,” Dr. Mariah said, giving Doppio a calmly earnest look. “It’s okay to assume the version of your father who wanted you to live, your own life or otherwise, is how a symptom-free version of your father would have felt about it. Maybe it’s optimistic. But assuming otherwise is just as biased, and doesn’t do them any favors.”

…it was heavily biased in the same way that Doppio had always regarded his daydreams in disgust, but…well, maybe it wasn’t the ‘best’ version of his father, but…m-maybe the version that…Doppio…maybe liked…a little better…

…the version that was sitting in his office, going through letters, while Doppio was working on accounts and…just existed peacefully together. Or…even would put down a letter in boredom and ask Doppio about his days lately, and would just…listen, even if Doppio knew that his dad didn’t care about what flowers were blooming or the cat that had let him get close or the sale at the vegetable cart. The version of his dad that dug into a meal with his regular gusto…only to pause, and tell Doppio that it was good, before continuing. The version that bandaged his wounds and told him he was valuable and special and he needed to treat himself with care. The version that smiled wide and walked with confidence, no cloak needed, when he got a new idea and figured out the perfect way to execute it, telling Doppio that they’d be great.

Doppio didn’t know enough to say if the parts he’d liked best were even…good for his dad. But he had liked them. 

Doppio traced the inside of his watch band, just letting his tears fall for a bit. “...is it…still trying to take too much responsibility ‘n…not accepting things, to hope we’ll see each other again one day?”

“Is that a part of you, that if I said ‘yes’, you’d be able to turn off?” Dr. Mariah asked gently.

“No,” Doppio warbled. “...b-but I’d wanna know anyway.”

“The answer either way is no,” Dr. Mariah said gently, “If your father recovers to the point where he’s not a danger to himself or society? Not a danger to you? He may wish to reconcile with you someday. Perhaps apologize. That really won’t be up to him though. Patients in cases like these are encouraged to leave first true contact to the victims of these cases. I would expect, optimistically, you may get a letter someday, letting you know that your father has been officially released from supervision. If you get that letter, it’s from the recovered citizen’s desire to let you know they’ve been officially rehabilitated. After that? It’ll be up to you, if you ever want to reach out to them. Him.”

“But some people want to. And there’s nothing wrong with that outcome. Some people consider it an ideal.” Dr. Mariah said, “You never have to. But you wouldn’t be considered flawed or wrong to want to.”

Doppio…couldn’t imagine it. His father was the architect and brain behind the biggest and most successful drug cartel in Dicea--after and during times when underground dealings had been forcefully dragged into the light. During the biggest drug epidemic in…well, decades, but maybe even centuries, and managing to stay strong. That was the person he knew his dad to be and…Doppio didn’t know what a version of his dad without Passione looked like. 

But there was a lot Doppio couldn’t imagine, and yet it was all happening anyway. It just…meant that things felt foreign and scary until he could just accept it. 

“...he said he doesn’t dwell on useless things of the past,” Doppio sniffled after a moment. “...but before I left, I…I-I said that if there was a part of us in each other’s future then…I’d want him to make it to that. …I really don’t want to lose him f-forever…”

“There’s nothing wrong with choosing optimism, in this moment,” Dr. Mariah said. “There’s nothing wrong with assuming a best case scenario in the future. In fact, for situations like these, I encourage it. There’s nothing in reality either of us can do to ensure that your father will recover, or that the version of him that emerges would want you in his life. But there’s nothing in reality that disproves that either. And facing a reality, a future, where you will reconnect, and you will both come out of this healthier and more equipped to handle life, is no more foolish than any other approach to the future in a situation like this.”

“That doesn’t mean you base your life around it,” Dr. Mariah explained gently, “As we’ve discussed before, your happiness cannot depend on his. You’ll have your own life to live, your own journey to go through, yourself to take care of first. Same as he will. That optimism isn’t the hope that your lives will entwine again. The goal isn’t codependence. It’s the hope, the faith, that your lives will meet again. When you are both already happy.”

“You should hold onto that hope, if that’s what you still want in the years to come.” Dr. Mariah said, “There is nothing wrong with that.”

Bringing up his legs, feeling the chill of the roofing seep into his jeans, Doppio nodded before resting his chin between his knees. “...it’s like living in the castle. I can’t just wait around all day for…Arven to get out of school, or someone to need something from me. So…I can’t just wait around for…years. For my dad to go through the legal system and get medical help and…just potentially grow to be a person that wants to see me again.” Doppio’s eyes narrowed a bit, hurt thinking about the other potential that his father really would never want anything to do with him again.

…but that outcome wasn’t something he had any ability to influence. The only thing he could was his own life. And that…

…he still didn’t know what that looked like either. Simply…that it was something that he had been willing to fight fo--oh!

“Oh,” Doppio muttered, blinking. “The story of the lady who loved fighting.”

Dr. Mariah tilted her head a little, her long black hair shifting over her shoulder. “I apologize, I’ve lost the thread.”

“S-sorry, um…” Doppio took a small breath, trying to order all the pieces while holding onto all of them at the same time. “Kaito and I had a long talk on his birthday, a-about a lot of stuff and, um…he asked me if you told me the story of the lady who loved fighting, or…wanted to fight? Because of…um…bad habits we got from our family, I think he put it. ‘Cause…um…”

Scrunching his eyes shut, Doppio pinched the bridge of his nose. “...sorry… It’s a lot of pieces and it’s hard to remember…”

Dr. Mariah smiled. “I know the story.”

“A woman thought that her marriage was in jeopardy, because her husband never argued with her about anything,” Dr. Mariah repeated, tucking her hair back over her shoulder, “Her husband didn’t think anything was wrong, but it worried her so much that she started trying to start fights with him on purpose, to get him to react. She learned this from watching her parents growing up, who fought constantly, and when asked why they fight, was told that was what people who loved each other did sometimes. The woman had internalized that so much that she feared her husband not fighting with her meant he wasn’t as invested in her as she was in him. The more he kept his patience, the more afraid she was that he just didn’t care.”

“Does that help?” Dr. Mariah asked.

Doppio nodded slowly--a lot more nuance to the actual story, but he should’ve expected that. For as much of a storyteller Kaito was, he hadn’t actually told it--and then massaged the space between his eyebrows gently. “...I think having primarily been around my dad, and learning from him, is…leading to some problems, without how I react to stuff other people do. And…I told Kaito that, so he talked about that story. Um…”

Wiping an eye, Doppio gave Dr. Mariah a sheepish look. “...I just…wanted to let you know that, but…that’s probably a normal session thing and not a…’crisis’ thing.”

Dr. Mariah nodded. “I remember telling him that story in terms of his expectations for relationships, and how that was influenced by his upbringing. And you’re correct, there are correlations.” She smiled a bit. “And you’re also correct, it’s something we can get more deeply into tomorrow. You will still be seeing me tomorrow, yes? I would encourage it.”

“I will, yeah,” Doppio nodded, before he sighed, looking at the pond. “...but I don’t really…feel better. I still just…want to go to bed and cry.” Preferably with Arven but…he was starting to feel bad asking his boyfriend to stay.

“Feeling better, after something like this, is of course a goal…” Dr. Mariah shook her head, “But it’s not an expectation. Getting you out of crisis is keeping you from making self-destructive decisions. You said this happened two days ago? After a difficult week, and a difficult month? It’d almost be alarming, if you didn’t feel bad still.”

“But, that said, I’m not kicking you out, just because you didn’t have a breakthrough in a timely manner.” Dr. Mariah smirked. “We have time. And if we run out of time, let me worry about that, that’s not a concern you have to keep track of. Okay?”

“Last night,” Doppio corrected in a mumble, but…that kind of just made the point stronger. Last night…after hearing about the arrest six days ago, after intending to initiate the arrest eight days ago, after…a lot of other batshit stuff that all happened within a few days of each other, over the past few weeks. 

…it hadn’t even been a month. 

Sniffling, he gave her a bashful look but nodded. “Okay…thank you.”

Grasping for just what else he could say about the situation, Doppio mentioned, “...Arven and Kaito were waiting for me, when I left the guards’ office. We made hot chocolate.”

“Ha~” Dr. Mariah couldn’t help but laugh, leaning back on her hand a bit, “I wondered if Kaito would even last the week. I see he’s still involving himself with you?”

Doppio smiled softly into his legs. “That was one of the things we talked about on his birthday, actually. And we decided that total, like…non-helping between us just makes us both sad. So…he’s gonna try and be more hands-off, unless I ask for it…but I have to ask for it. Trying to treat each other more as friends, than me being a person he has a responsibility to be indestructible for.”

Doppio smirked a little. “He asked for me not to spread it around too much, though, since most people still’ll see me as a kid.”

“Ah…” Dr. Mariah laughed again lightly, before saying, “I’m a bit relieved. He really was entirely overstepping his boundaries. The threat was serious. But Kaito’s relationships with…” Dr. Mariah let out a little heavy breath, “...everyone. Really does place him in a good position to relate to almost anything going on with you. I know that you’re still resistant to the idea of group therapy, so I did hope that you’d find a confidant in Kaito again, once you’ve both readjusted your boundaries again. It’s good to not be alone in things.”

“Including with Arven,” Dr. Mariah said, peering at Doppio, “I have been meaning to ask. You recognized this as a crisis situation. Can you define for me what exactly alarmed you about your behavior since last night, to want to reach out to me?”

A bit of tension left Doppio’s shoulders. He’d been told and read the pamphlet enough to know there wasn’t, like, a performance review he could get high remarks on in therapy, but…it did give him more confidence that he and Kaito really had found a good balance for them, if their therapist thought it was good too. “...it’s a little scary and…depressing, I guess, how much he really can relate to,” Doppio said softly, “...and I don’t know if I really feel better when we have one of those talks…but I am glad we have them. I was still debating it for a bit, but…Kaito and I talked about me trying to decide to see my dad at all, before his verdict. I think it helped.”

And with Arven especially, Kaito had refused to let him navigate that alone. 

Sighing, Doppio smoothed back his bangs and rested his head on his knees, fatigue pulling at him. “...I wasn’t, like…actively self-harming or anything. So…no need to rush me to a healer,” he prefaced. “...I didn’t want to get up. And I didn’t want Arven to leave either. He agreed so…that part was fine, but…”

Guilt joined in on smooshing Doppio down. “...I knew that I’d still ask him even if it was a school day. Not wanting to get up I think is enough of a warning sign, but…that was really bad. So I came over.”

Kaito’s cycle of abuse had been the worst case, but painfully predictable, pattern of childhood abuse cases. Kaito had learned abuse from almost all of his primary authority figures as a kid, internalized it as normal or even desirable, and other abusers had seen the signs of that in him and gotten close to exploit it. Their actions reinforcing the same miserable habits his authority figures had taught him to begin with.

It was a cycle he hadn’t even consciously broken. He had, ultimately, just gotten very lucky to be forcibly removed from it. Getting him to accept the new normal in his relationships had been the biggest hurdle. Not unlike Doppio. 

“Would it be unfair to say that your fear in sabotaging Arven, versus sleeping yourself, was what brought you here?” Dr. Mariah asked. “There is no wrong answer, just to be clear. Recognizing it can help me guide you out of crisis. That is my only goal today.”

Doppio frowned a little, hugging his legs, before he shifted in a slow, unsure shrug. “...they feel more like…just two sides to it? Maybe ‘cause they happened together. Like…I almost never sleep in,” he frowned, “And the only times I’ve ever just spent the day in bed was when I was sick, recently. And I didn’t even want that, I just couldn’t keep my body going. Kaito said once that Prince Kokichi oversleeps “too” when he’s stressed so…that seemed like a warning sign.”

“And Arven…” Doppio sighed. “...he doesn’t even care about school, most of the time. When we planned to run away, he was fully prepared to drop out. And I do agree with him that it isn’t the end all, be all of success… If I even gave the slightest hint about asking him to ditch, he’d absolutely jump on the excuse not to go.”

“...but I do think it’s a really good resource for him, and when he’s going…he always seems more just…bored or exasperated, than actively hating it. I want to encourage him to go, if that can help tip the scales at all…” Doppio sighed again. “...not doing that just…made me frustrated with myself. …but I really didn’t want him to leave.”

“That’s perhaps a little managing and self-sacrifice then I’d advocate for you, Doppio,” Dr. Mariah gently scolded, before explaining, “But how your depression would affect Arven does still seem to be a large catalyst for your concerns. I think the answer for this, as for most things, is communication.”

“It’s not wrong to seek support and comfort, especially when you’re going through an extremely difficult time.” Dr. Mariah said, “But it’s more important that the people around you know that you’re seeking that comfort. You asked Arven to stay with you this morning, and he did, and that’s a start. He knows you’re struggling, and can help you where you falter. But the next step is telling him your fears of how your struggling might affect him. That way you two can make a plan in the future that won’t make your seeking of comfort feel like a burden.”

“But, that said? You being in an emotionally vulnerable place right and needing more support than usual is normal, for these circumstances.” Dr. Mariah explained, “In the same way you sought me out today. I don’t know if there’s a method in the future, for a situation like this, where seeking comfort from your partner and crisis therapy from your therapist isn’t the healthy option. I don’t think you could have handled the situation better, honestly. Any regret you might be experiencing might be you being too hard on yourself.”

Doppio glanced over with a slightly confused look--managing and self-sacrificial?--but with how Dr. Mariah moved on, he decided to do the same, just in the name of keeping up and absorbing everything else she went on to say. Which was…a little surprising, and a little not. 

“...he’s told me before that me feeling like…I’m putting too much on him, or that I feel like a burden feels kind of absurd to him,” Doppio said softly. “And it is relieving to know that he’s not overwhelmed by all this…but it doesn’t help me feeling that way in the first place. He’s amazing…” And Doppio had just…brought a lot of danger and…depressing things with him. Good stuff too, but…one set didn’t cancel out the other.

Breathing in a deep sigh, Doppio rubbed a hand down his face. “...good to know I’m not just…fumbling everything, I guess…”

Dr. Mariah nodded, looking at the fish pellets and at the fish, who were now lazily swimming around, “Good job on feeding. Doppio, would you please put the pellets back where you fetched them, and then pour us some water? The drink stand?”

As she felt the fish brush around her feet, Dr. Mariah considered something… “I have to ask, simply because I’m aware Kaito’s fears and concerns tend to shake off of him like dandriff. He really can’t seem to help it. But, Doppio, if any of these insecurities are coming from overhearing Kaito’s concerns? For Arven, I mean. It would be wise not to internalize that. Something about you two seems to have sparked a good number of Kaito’s historical regrets. I think it just happened to be the timing, really. Now that he’s learning to cope with those regrets, he is overzealous in helping others with those same perceived issues. And while I know between you two there’s some baggage to the term… projection is a part of that. If Arven feels like he’s handling the situation without feeling overly burdened, and you both have talked about this? I would trust your partner.”

“On it,” Doppio hummed, pushing himself up--and wobbling slightly, for a moment genuinely worried about falling into the koi pond--and taking the pellet bag, returning it to the shelf. Noting some soap by the sink he guessed he was supposed to get water from, he quickly washed his hands before pouring out two glasses and returning to the pondside. 

…Kaito’s concerns about Arven that Doppio picked up?

Looking a little confused, Doppio tilted his head…before his shoulders slumped. He’s…sparked historical regrets… They did have enough in common…

“...I don’t think so?” Doppio said slowly, trying to remember just…any occasion. “I don’t think Kaito’s ever mentioned me being a burden on Arven… At most, he just keeps trying to have conversations about intimacy, and stressing communication to avoid things we’d regret. But…not really other stuff…”

He sighed. “...yeah. Arven knows best how he’s feeling, obviously, so…I should just trust him when he says he’s alright… I just…get nervous about missing stuff, because I’m pretty dumb… It’s happened before.”

Dr. Mariah nodded, “I’m sorry to presume. It’s not something I try to make a habit of, but I do find that sometimes it’s easier to simply ask, rather then navigate it so that you’ll confess to me something that isn’t happening at all. I appreciate your patience in the question.”

“And you are not unintelligent.” Dr. Mariah said, stating it like a fact, “And to ease anxieties, sometimes you just have to keep having the same conversation. You can ask Arven, again, and again after that, if he’s still okay with things… you just have to give him the benefit of the doubt, that he would be honest in his replies. Needing to be reassured isn’t a bad thing though. Reacting as if he has lied is the only real problem. Which, I don’t really think you’ve done, but it is something to look out for.”

“Can I run a thought experiment with you?” Dr. Mariah asked, taking the glass of water and, taking out a handwipe package, opening it up and wiping her hand with it, before wiping down the glass and then drinking, “Run me through a scenario. You leave from speaking to your father. You have hot chocolate with your friends. If you were perfect? In an ideal world? What does from the hot chocolate, to this moment in time now, look like to Aceto Doppio? What should have happened?” 

“It doesn’t bother me,” Doppio shrugged. “I guess leading questions could result in some issues, but…I-I’d figure it’d be difficult not to have any theories while you talk with people. Like…I think most people are looking for something a little more than just a duck to talk to from therapy--it’s difficult to do any sort of analysis without making a few presumptions.”

…he did beg to differ on the one that assumed he wasn’t an idiot, but…well, he wasn’t going to go into a whole argument about it. That was kind of pathetic.

…did he act like Arven lied, when he talked about how grinding scared him? Doppio…had felt like he’d missed some big sign, but…they had talked about it, at the time. And Arven had said he was fine. But…maybe only through reflection…oh. Oh…that was… Hm. Well…they had agreed to be open with each other, so…it was still fine. Doppio…just had to trust that Arven wasn’t trying to hide things, for his sake. Even if the answer changed. 

Doppio watched Dr. Mariah wipe off her hands with approval--also the fact that she just carried handwipes on her--though…he could only blink in confusion at the exercise she asked of him. What…should have happened?

“...uh…” Doppio gnawed on his cheek, eyes flicking around as he tried to come up with…any sort of answer. “...I would’ve gotten up normally…I guess? Um… I…guess with that I wouldn’t have come over, but…since I didn’t, this was a good call. Uh…s-sorry… I…don’t really know…”

“Then I think we can agree that you haven’t made any mistakes in this process.” Dr. Mariah said, “Because I can’t think of an alternative scenario either. So, for now, can you and I agree explicitly, that you have done nothing wrong, since talking to your father yesterday? Made no mistakes?”

Doppio shook his head, before looking a bit confused and nodding instead. “Um, yeah… I’ll agree. I mean…just ‘cause I feel bad doesn’t mean it was my fault.” He huffed a little, giving Dr. Mariah a dry look. “...I do know how I sound sometimes…but my ego isn’t that big.”

Dr. Mariah looked a little amused at that, before saying gently, “I do need to dig a little into that statement. You understand that, yes? I simply have too.”

“So, explain to me what that means.” Dr. Mariah said, sipping at her glass of water, “How does my question relate to your ego?”

Doppio tilted his head a little, though he just watched the pond, his voice soft as he mused. “Thinking you’re always the best is the same as always thinking you’re the worst, in terms of having an overblown ego. Like…most people are just in the middle, right? By the nature of, like…ranking things. So saying you’re the worst is still making yourself exceptional, something unique. Thinking so much of yourself that surely no one could possibly be worse…”

“...I guess I am more powerful than I thought, for somethings,” Doppio muttered, looking at his hand, “But I know I’m not all-powerful. Everything in the world doesn’t happen because of me, not all the successes, nor all the tragedies. Not all bad things happen because of my mistakes. I know that.”

“...I just make a lot of them, and it makes me feel bad.”

“Ah, you were quite close, till the end there.” Dr. Mariah smiled, sipping her water, “I’m afraid you don’t win brownie points for recognizing it’s not an all or nothing scenario. You still accept far too much burden of responsibility, even among the middle ‘averages’.”

“And… unfortunately,” Dr. Mariah said, looking a little somber, “I’m afraid there’s not much I can offer you, for feeling bad, in this moment, other than an opportunity to talk about it. If I were to ask you why you were feeling bad, would you say it’s because of what happened to your father yesterday?”

Doppio pouted a bit. He wasn’t looking for points, and he really didn’t think he took too much responsibility. How could he, when over the past few weeks he’d be stripped of nearly all of it?

Curling up again, Doppio nodded. “That, and just…the culmination of everything, which we talked about. …Kaito said it was fine to feel bad. That disconnecting was a skill, and a difficult one, and a scary one, so…hurting because I care isn’t a bad thing. But other than just…waiting until it hurts less, I don’t know what to do. I still just want to…go to sleep, and eat a bunch of ice cream, but that’s just…frustrating to me. That I want it, I mean…because I never do, like this.”

“Doppio, can I ask… have you ever been through something equivalent to this, before?” Dr. Mariah asked, “It’s a genuine question, I don’t want to imply I don’t think your range of life experiences couldn’t have taken you to this level of discomfort before now. You’re young, but your life has been fairly full up till now. That said… what are you trying to compare now too?”

He pouted a little more. “...’m trying to compare to my baseline…which is dumb ‘cause this is a super-duper outlier, so expecting that I’ll want to do the same things is dumb…”

Sure, he’d been stressed out and ‘discomforted’ before…but never like this. Even with the worst cases of food poisoning, or being stabbed, or waking up around corpses…Doppio had always been able to rely on his father. On his purpose, and the comforts of his job just waiting for him to pull his body back into functioning. And even the worst of his ‘moodiness’ only ever lasted for an hour or so at the longest. 

…it was absurd to think he could just pull himself together out of this. 

“Dumb is not the word I would use.” Dr. Mariah said, leaning back on her palms, “...I think perhaps ‘optimistic’. Saying it aloud, I can’t help but feel I’ve given you a false expectation, of what therapy is capable of. I’ve focused this emergency session on actions and regrets and expectations and assurances, largely because the actual actions you take is what therapy can help you with the most.”

“But… I cannot take away your sadness, Doppio.” Dr. Mariah said gently, “You will have bad days, terrible days, that will make you feel awful. Sometimes for a while. Sometimes what you will need on those days, is your boyfriend taking a day or two or even three off to spend time with you, because the sadness feels like a crushing weight on your shoulders and you will need help with it. Sometimes you will just need a duck, or preferably a friend, who will listen to you and nod, because sometimes you don’t need advice. You just need understanding.”

“I do understand you, Doppio. And we can talk about what happened for as long as you like.” Dr. Mariah said, “But I can’t promise you won’t be sad still at the end of it. Sadness, grief, takes patience and time. If you try to strongarm your way through it, you’ll resent it, and anyone who let you do it, including yourself, in the long run. Sometimes the answer is just to let yourself be sad for a while.”

Sometimes sadness could leave through talking something out with someone…but it was just an emotion, like any other. Sometimes it was there, because sad stuff happened, so you felt sad. And it wasn’t a result of mistakes, your own or someone else’s, and didn’t have a resolution, and just…needed to be felt. 

Sighing, Doppio pressed his face into his legs, before looking tiredly over at Dr. Mariah. “...and though it’s already felt like a while, it really hasn’t been that long? And…it’s not self-destructive if I just want to go to bed? …mostly I was just worried it was, so… I mean…you and Kaito said to go to you if I was in a ‘crisis’. So I did.”

“I try not to tell patients that they’re not in crisis when they arrive for help.” Dr. Mariah said… before smiling lightly, “But, no. I don’t think you’re in crisis. You’re not self-destructing, or harming anyone else. Nothing will be ruined if you need to take time to yourself to be sad. It’s okay to not be feeling, or performing, at your best right now. It’s okay to, and stay with me here… inconvenience others. With your sadness.”

“While I’m actually quite pleased you came to me for help, and will always encourage you to do so, honestly what would help you more right now is all the things you’re fighting.” Dr. Mariah said, “Spending time with your loved ones and leaning on them. Resting. Talking without seeking a solution. You can be sad. You can even be angry. You can and should tell people you trust how awful this has been for you, and let them comfort and reassure you. There will be time later, to make it up to them. Now is the time to be imperfect.”

…oh. He thought… Like…just sleeping all day would dehydrate him, and cause issues if he skipped meals or showers, which wasn’t as immediately bad as like…trying to hang himself or stuff like that, but still was a form of self-harm, through neglect. 

…but Doppio supposed he hadn’t missed caring for himself. And…he had been able to get up and dress himself and walk across town. And while he had asked Arven to stay with him…it really had just been asking. And Arven was more than capable of not neglecting himself, if Doppio’s request became too much. 

Doppio’s nose scrunched, while he took on an expression somewhere between bewildered and disgusted, hearing Dr. Mariah explicitly advise him to inconvenience others. Telling him to just…uselessly complain and fish for comfort. To purposely do things he’d have to make up for later.

…just the idea made his skin crawl. 

…but maybe he could do the other stuff. 

“...so I…should? …just go home and go to sleep?”

“You should go home and ask someone to bring you food and tea and lay around with you and listen to you talk until you fall asleep.” Dr. Mariah said, tasting Doppio’s skepticism. “And yes, you should sleep. And then perhaps take a walk. And eat something that tastes good. And then go home and cry and sleep some more. And repeat until the sadness doesn’t feel so overwhelming anymore, and you get bored and restless and go back to your routines, and let life go on.”

Doppio nodded slowly, though he still didn’t look wholly convinced. But, well…he didn’t know what nutmeg added to dishes, but he still tried it when the recipe called for it anyway. And while it was still hard for him to define, it was an important component. 

He could try it out. And best case, it worked, and he eventually felt better. And if he didn’t, then…he had people willing to call him out if he did actually start self-harming, and he could always come back to talk to Dr. Mariah. Like, specifically tomorrow, though as part of their scheduled appointments. 

“...okay,” Doppio quietly agreed. “I’ll try.”

“Good,” Dr. Mariah said, pulling her feet out of the pond, “Now, help me up, this dress can be a bit cumbersome sometimes.”

Standing up with assistance, Dr. Mariah brushed her dress off, before looking sternly at Doppio, “We still understand to come to me in a crisis? Even if perhaps it’s not a crisis? I do not want this session to scare you off the idea in the future.”

Standing up was a little easier this time, though Doppio nearly knocked his glass into the pond, and it was with that energy that he sheepishly nodded at Dr. Mariah. “Yes, ma’am. I…can see how it’d get dangerous, just trying to handle maybe more…dangerous things on my own ‘cause this wasn’t necessarily needed… Um… I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Good,” Dr. Mariah nodded, “Let me walk you down.”

-

It was pitiful, really. Dr. Mariah had walked him back down--and it had been jarring, just how much of…another world the rooftop had been, compared to the rest of the office--and they’d stopped by the reception desk to confirm his appointment tomorrow, and he’d walked out the door… And he’d taken one step towards the castle before turning around. 

It might be a horrible idea. Last time Doppio had been certain he was safe, going back, and that had ended with his father cowering behind the kitchen island with a knife and Doppio crying against Kaito that he wished they had never met. So…Doppio’s certainty didn’t hold a lot of weight. 

But he’d seen for himself that his father was in the castle, and…he couldn’t think of anything else that would be dangerous. Sure, the fire and the mass of guards staking out their house might’ve been a clue, but…before that, it wasn’t like any other Passione members knew where they lived. 

…if he was going to curl up and sleep and…be doted on until he felt better? Doppio wanted his things back.

-_-

O.O

OoO oh boooooo I thought I’d come back to Arven’s cute tush.

O.O

OoO Why are we in this scary place again?

Amaina fluttered out from behind Doppio, looking around the dark home. The house had been left in a state of disrepair, and the smell of the fire could still be caught in the air, the scent of smoke having embedded itself into the walls. All the curtains were drawn, and a table was knocked on its side. There was a notice on the front door, warning away visitors, the area still legally being held for inspection.

“Tsk,” Doppio tsked, reading the notice on the door, before he tried to open it. No budge…so… He scoffed a little as his key turned smoothly. Probably got a universal key to lock it when they left… Amateurish. 

“...I want my things,” Doppio said softly. “...I know I could and…should’ve just asked Lake or another guard to come with me, or just to get my things, but…”

His voice trailed off as he looked around the living room. He’d been told the fire was contained…but he really could only smell the remnants of smoke. Even so, there was so much more that spoke of other people being there. Furniture knocked over, dirt ground into the carpet from muddied footprints… What a pain to get out…

Righting one of the armchairs, Doppio just stood for a moment, his hands gently on its back. “...we didn’t even live here that long,” he murmured, the aching in his chest feeling more hollow. “I don’t remember when we moved to Usott but…couldn’t have been more than a few months. I was so excited… The kitchen’s so big and…I got my own room. I thought about trying to grow a few herbs in the garden, so I could have them fresh…but gardening took up too much time.”

He smiled faintly. “...I got super lost when I took my first trip into town. It’s easy going in, just look for the castle… But all the roads out here looked the same, and I couldn’t remember where our house was. I had to cave and ask someone for directions, eventually, and they gave me a map of this neighborhood. I still have it, actually…”

Amaina flew through the air, exploring the hallways, fluttering about the walls. There were no pictures, no decorations. There were books though,  ledgers and files, cups and plates left out and staked. Not lifeless, but not… well, homey either.

She fluttered back to Doppio, hovering nearby. She got the sense that now was not the time to say anything, so she didn’t. Just curiously listening.

Doppio sighed softly to himself and offered Amaina a small smile before he moved away from the chair. Seeing the dishes scattered about filled him with a need to clean…but even the spark of that need was tampered down by an overwhelming fatigue. …it wasn’t his responsibility anymore. And no one would be returning to this place, expecting a sense of ‘home’...until after whatever fire renovations needed were done, and…likely, the house was resold. 

…he wondered if, legally, any of that sale money would come to him or his father… Though the money had come out from Passione’s expenses. …it probably was a government acquisition then, huh. 

Heading down the hall, Doppio pushed open the door to his room. Unlike the living room, it looked mostly untouched. Probably small enough that the guards had just peeked in, before continuing their search. Or maybe the fire had started before they got this far. 

Walking the two steps it took him to his bed, Doppio sat down on it, resting his legs for a moment. He reached out and placed a palm on his comforter--nothing fancy, really. Just a muted blue, with lighter spots that either suggested clouds, or that the fabric had been dyed poorly. But it was plush, and soft, and it had kept him warm--overly so in the summer, but the weight of it had been too comforting for Doppio to go without it for most of the warm months. 

“...I got to pick this out, when we moved here. We didn’t have any linens for a bed this size so…I got everything new. For household things, Dad didn’t really like anything flashy…but this pattern was okay. Sometimes I’d have the curtains open while it was raining, and the light coming through would look cool on it.”

Amaina bounced onto the comforter next to him, letting her body flip-flop onto it a few times, before resting back on it with her arms and legs splayed out. Rolling around a bit, she laid back, listening to Doppio talk.

And then, after a moment, picking a memory out from his head, thunder rolled outside. Gentle and distant, as rain pattered the windows. The cloudy day outside letting in odd mismatches of light that danced and shimmered on the blanket. 

Doppio smiled softly, watching the shifting array of light undulate across his bed, still as clear as he could remember, even when his eyes started to shimmer. 

“...I was happy,” he said. “I was happy a lot. I was happy with him. Just…the two of us, and even if I went out every day, the world never felt quite real. It was just somewhere I went, things I did. But it was always just me and him.”

He gently patted Amaina’s head. “...it’s scary, figuring out who I am without him. Scary, looking at a world that’s real. …but scary things come with the beautiful things…right?”

Amaina peered up at Doppio.

…it was a strange sound effect. Like, just outside the room, were the soft sounds of a house full of people. Right outside the door, three kids laughed, chasing after the thundering paws of two dogs, one running with all her might, the other large and gamely letting the kids keep up. In the living room was the high laughter of Lake the guardsman, as she regaled a giggling Kokichi with some sort of story, while Shuichi and Maki murmured little sarcastic commentaries through it. 

Farther, near where the kitchen was, was the distant warm murmurs of Kaito asking Arven what ingredients he needed next, Arven explaining the next part of the recipe, Kaito laughing and enthusiastically mentioning something about some weird childhood story that the recipe reminded him, Arven groaning as it edged on just being slightly too raunchy to tell.

Amaina looked at Doppio until the distant sounds faded.

O.O Yes, she said. It does.

Doppio jolted slightly, his eyes widening in knee-jerk alarm as he heard other people in his house. Something that, not all that long ago, would’ve been a death sentence…for them. But it wasn’t just ‘other people’. Not just neighbors being a little loud, or the dull roar of people that was just the noise of being in a city. Not people as a concept, as so many had been to Doppio through his short life. 

No, he knew these people. Pretty damn well, in some cases. 

People who had come to fill the empty space around them, all in their own ways. 

Doppio closed his eyes, before rubbing the tears away. “...I’m happy with them too. Mostly.”

…he did just want to go to sleep. But while he didn’t have an issue breaking into his own home, staying for a long time was probably a bad idea. If impossible history had told him anything, then Kaito would be busting down the damn door the moment Doppio tried to lie down…so it was time to get to work. 

Getting back up, Doppio started shuffling his nightstand away from his bed. “...I’m gonna be moving the bed in a second, so get off unless you want a ride.”

Amaina siiiiiiighed, got up, fluttered up, and then with an even more resigned sigh, flopped down on the top of Doppio’s head. Fiiiiine I will ride here.

“Sorry for the second-rate seat,” Doppio softly chuckled, before he took a deep breath. His bedframe wasn’t all that substantial, but it was still large and unwieldy, and had a damn mattress on top of it. So Doppio made sure to brace his legs and get in proper position before he pulled, shifting his bed away from the wall. 

Once he’d made about a foot or so of space, Doppio climbed back on top, feeling along the now open wall until he felt a section that was more flimsy than the rest. Pressing in, he tore through the plaster, moving it away to reveal a shallow hole, and after reaching in, he brought out a sizeable burlap sack. That, uh…jingled and clinked quite a bit once he pulled it up to the bed with an ‘ooph’. 

“Looks like no one touched my money so…that’s good.”

OoO!!

OOO SECRET WALL FULL OF TREASURE IT'S LIKE YOU’RE A PIRATE or a ghost

Amaina fluttered off Doppio’s head and to his burlap sack, shimmering into the top, before making what could only be called ‘swimming money noises’, before popping back out with a gasp. It’ so much you could beat a man to death with your RICHES

Doppio laughed softly before giving Amaina an embarrassed look. “I know it’s a lot… I never really spent much, and I was paid really well, so…it just kind of started piling up. I guess I could’ve anonymously donated to somewhere, but…I always felt too nervous keeping a lot of money on me.”

“...maybe it’ll be good to have a lot of savings, though, since I’m not working anymore… And I won’t really be able to for years,” Doppio mused, looking over the sack of gold coins. “...maybe I should donate though…this is quite a lot…”

Sighing, he looked around his room. “...I guess I could get some of the kitchen supplies, or my old toiletries… But I’ve just been using the ones at the castle fine. …I feel a little silly coming all the way out here for just two things, though.”

OoO Wait, what about the blankie??

OOO We’re not leaving the blanket Doppio.

Doppio blinked, giving her a confused look. “...y-yeah? That’s…one of the two things. What did you think the other thing was?”

O.O…

Q.Q Me?

Amaina suddenly pounced onto Doppio’s chest, clinging on tight. QOQ DON’T LEEEEAAAVE MEEEEEEE WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Doppio blinked again, staggering slightly from Amaina’s pounce as he made a sort of “Uuwawaa” sound…before he let out a soft, fond sigh, and wrapped his arms around Amaina. Cuddling her close.

“I didn’t have to come all the way out here for you, Angelo. And if I did? You wouldn’t even be here a minute, I’d…” He chuckled a little to himself. “I’d stop time and get here before you knew it. I’m not leaving you anywhere.”

Dropping his head, he held her closer. “...thanks for not leaving me either.”

Amaina tears dried up, but she nuzzled her face into Doppio’s chest for a moment and sighed.

-.- There’s a lot more out there.

OoO But I know it’s been a lot already so

O.O

OoO take an afternoon. On me. We can go back to doing cool and awesome things later.

O.O

OoO Aw heck take two. 

Doppio couldn’t help the giggle that escaped him. “How generous, thank you. I’ll make the most of them.”

Grinning down at her, he clarified, “...by curling up in my comforter back at the castle and asking someone to go get ice cream. I have enough that we could probably even get two flavors. What do you think about that?”

OoO you dream too small friend

OOO THREEEE FLAVORS!!!

OoO we deserve it

“We deserve it,” Doppio nodded, getting up to start folding his comforter around his coin sack. It’d be a little awkward to carry home, but…it was a more fun load to carry than a lot. “Hm, as a treat? If we wanted to get wild? …maybe even four flavors.”

O.O Doppio you’re out of your mind

OOO I LOVE IT!! LETS GO WIIIIIILD!!

And maybe Doppio had a lot to carry home. But he did it with a friend and a kickass soundtrack. And near the end of it, a lot of ice cream.

-

Kokichi wasn’t jealous. He really wasn’t! Because Doppio was a very sweet kid, and even in the throes of depression he was kind enough to share some of the four cartons of gelato he’d picked up on his way back from therapy. …along with a big, comfy-looking blanket that he’d apparently gotten from his previous home, which was kind of anxiety-inducing, but the teen had looked so exhausted and had been very nice about the aforementioned ice cream that Kokichi didn’t have the heart to worriedly lecture him. Much. 

…four cartons. 

Even waiting around in Kaito’s dream, slowly raising his awareness, Kokichi could only lean against Shuuichi and lick his pistachio cone longingly. He usually loved the food he conceptualized, but there was something so lacking, knowing the real thing was so abundant so close by… He really should ask Doppio for the name of the parlor he got it from again. 

Shuichi was enjoying a caramel ice cream, humming contently, admiring his ring on his hand as he ate. It was interesting. In Kaito’s mind, Shuichi could swear his ring shone a little brighter against the light. Like Katio’s consciousness subconsciously superimposed importance to it. He glanced at Kokichi’s, and noticed there wasn’t a same effect on Kokichi’s ring… but Shuichi was also entirely certain there wasn’t actually a small scar on Kokichi’s pinky finger. Did Kaito physically see a mark on Kokichi’s pinky when he was awake? Or was it just something that happened in his dreams?

Kokichi had warned Shuichi that they needed to be a little gentle pulling Kaito to the surface when he was drugged up on the latest medication mixes he was on. Apparently there was something about the current mix of antipsychotics and sleep medication that could send Kaito straight into a night terror if Kokichi ‘woke him’ too fast.

So, little by little, the two waited as a sun rose over a warm, green field, at the edge of a forest, patiently ignoring vines slowly crawling up and over them from the ground, the vines seemingly feeling them out before deciding if they were going to do their jerking attack.

Kaito, who was laid on his side on the grass, took a deep breath… before opening his eyes. Focusing on the vines immediately with a little frown. “No.”

The vines stopped, before slinking away. Disappearing back into the dirt as Kaito huffed, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, “Overzealous defenses…” Kaito blinked blearily at his husbands, sitting side by side, enjoying their icecreams, “...cute. Also, seriously? More icecream? How have you not had enough icecream?”

“I’m not sure if there’s such thing.” Shuichi shrugged. 

Kokichi nodded in agreement, straightening his posture with a wise look on his face. “Definitely no such thing. Especially when this isn’t filling our actual stomachs--just our metaphorical ones. And while I can just pull up the memories of tastes…it’s easier to let natural logic fill in recent ones without me pulling much.”

He sighed longingly. “...the gelato was so smooth… And the flavors were balanced just right. Doppio said he even got a deal on the cartons, since he was buying them and not cones or bowls, and he got so much… The caramel’s really good,” he nodded to Shuuichi, “But that chocolate pecan caramel he said he was debating sounds incredible…”

With another sigh, Kokichi stood up, coming to Kaito’s side to nuzzle him. “But we have some other incredible stuff to do tonight. I’m glad you were up for it, hun.” Smiling at Shuuichi, Kokichi gave him a nod. “Do you know who you wanna visit next, Shuu-chan? It might just be because we’re already near a forest,” he giggled, “But it’s been a bit since I’ve talked with Akane-chan, outside of Kai-chan as a whole. It’d be a fun visit.”

“Less embarrassing than King Kaito, anyway.” Kaito snorted, scratching his chin a little, the ice cream making him think of Doppio a little. Kid had been wrecked, today… last night? Kaito had no idea what time it was. But, apparently Dr. Mariah had literally advised ‘rest and ice cream’, so Kaito had held back his desire to scold the kid endlessly for going back to his house, what the fuck!? Alone!? Kaito was gonna go back and finish the job, burn that whole thing down…

“I almost want to pick the king, just to watch Kaito cringe,” Shuichi smirked, watching as Kaito huffed, leaning into Kokichi as he glared dryly at Shuichi for that, “But, Akane does sound like a… whole ‘thing’. I’m endlessly curious.”

“She’s really nice. Maybe just don’t bring up her family? I still haven't done the things I promised I’d do for her, regarding that. I mean, I know she gets why, it’s been crazy lately, but I still feel bad about it.” Kaito pouted a bit, deciding to place a kiss against Kokichi’s head. Mmmm, little husband cuddles… big husband nearby, happily eating ice cream… “Or we could do something else entirely if we’re all hanging out?” Kaito grinned.

Shuichi rolled his eyes, standing up, “Alright, so how do we find her?”

“Uuuuugh, heartbreaker.” Kaito pouted, offering Kokichi a hand as he got up too. “I think I can find her alone this time. Saint Madison led us last time, but it was easy, just in the woods. Alright, husbands! Follow me! Into the brink!!” Kaito said, pointing dramatically as he headed in.

Shuichi gave Kokichi an amused look, before taking his hand. The two following.

It was a ways into the forest, but it was a nice walk, the shade of the trees cooling on the otherwise warm day. The trees slowly got bigger and bigger, more spaced out, and in the distance were small animal sounds. Birds tweeting, rodents scuttling, flutters of wings.

Kaito stopped, coming across a familiar pond. Frowning as he rubbed the back of his neck uncertainly, “...it should be around here, somewhere? We couldn’t have walked past the two trees by accident, right? Where…?”

There was a sudden distant thundering of footsteps. No, that was the wrong word. A rapid thumping of paws, a large beast running quickly through the woods, a distant but increasingly closer howl roaring through the air.

Husbands, husbands, mates the mates were here BIG AND LITTLE MATE WERE HERE– POUNCE!

“King Kaito’s sweet,” Kokichi grinned, before leaning towards Shuuichi to gush. “While Amaina-chan was helping Kai-chan, he and I got to dance for a little bit--as you might expect, he’s a wonderful dancing partner. He can be a bit dramatic, but…well, just like our guy all put together--dramatic, but very sweet.”

While Kokichi was tempted to skip into the woods after Kaito, he took a more sedate pace to match Shuuichi…though he couldn’t help humming brightly, a musical number in his head a little too apt to miss out on singing completely. Into the woods indeed~

Though as they made it into the deep woods…huh. That was interesting… Kokichi supposed that the mind really never forgot, even if it was something a little more subconscious… He guessed Saint Madison was kind of literally a bit of his influence in Kaito’s mind, but…there was something cute about influencing a bit of scenery too. 

Prepared, Kokichi no longer had his ice cream, and let go of Shuuichi’s hand, bending his knees to brace himself. Here she came~

“Akane-chan!!” Kokichi cheered in delight, even as he was tackled over. Giggling as he threw his arms around the great wolf on top of him. “It’s great to see you again!”

Shuichi handled being tackled alongside Kokichi less gracefully, “Ahhhhh!!”

A massive wolf panted in their faces, bigger than Kaito in size and weight, a thick furry tail wagging as teeth that were far too close glistened in the sunlight. Shuichi looked up at the beast in total shock… but glanced at Kokichi, who was immediately hugging around the animals neck, coo’ing and happy to see it.

…her?

“Kaito, Kokichi, when you said she was a werewolf, I thought it’d be less… wolfy.” Shuichi said tensely, squinting uneasily as the wolf looked at him, its breath heavy and hot against his face as she suddenly licked his face. “Nnngh.”

“Akane, can you let up a little on our guy there?” Kaito sighed, scratching the back of his neck a bit as he shifted from foot to foot, “At least don’t pant in his face.”

Akane licked her lips, chomping her jaw a bit, before huffing a bit through her long snout… and it was like Shuichi blinked, and a fit, naked woman wearing a loose fur coat was laid out on top of them, grinning wolfishly down at the both of them, even as she wrapped an arm around Kokichi’s back, hugging him tight as she gave Shuichi a little wink over Kokichi’s shoulder, “Hey, handsome~”

Shuichi startled at that… before turning a little red. Oh. Yeah, no… he recognized her. That was definitely Kaito.

But, as she shifted off Shuichi a little, she hugged Kokichi more fulling, sitting up on her knees as she swung him around a bit, “There’s my tiiiinyyyy maaaate~ I missed you babe! Well, not really, but you know what I mean.” Akane laughed, pulling back a bit and, grinning at Kokichi, giving him a kiss on his forehead, “Tiny beautiful mate~”

Maybe it was a little mean, but Kokichi couldn’t help his laughs even through feeling Shuuichi’s alarm. He knew how his husband was feeling, more than just with Empathy--Akane was A Lot, though Kokichi would say this was a bit easier to adjust to than suddenly being tackled into a pond by a giant mind wolf. Still, he was happy to hug her until Shuuichi recovered. 

Letting himself be swung around--’letting’--Kokichi grinned brightly and pushed himself up enough to kiss Akane’s forehead back. “I missed you but not too, Akane-chan… It’s been a while.” He smiled a bit apologetically. “I know you know but…it’s been busy. After we visited Cal-chan…ooph, like three weeks ago? I did want to finish up the tour, but…”

He shrugged with a remorseful sheepishness. “At least this just means we’ve had some wonderful things to look forward to.”

Giving Akane another squeeze, Kokichi shifted more to the side, putting the four of them into more of a circle. “Well, you’ve already met ages ago, but…Akane-chan, Shuu-chan… Here we are!”

“Awww, babe, don’t worry about that,” Akane grinned, running her hand lovingly through his hair for a moment before shrugging, “Look, as someone who shares a head with him, Caleb is a lot by himself. It’s either you’re gonna take a nap in front of the ocean with that guy or talk about the saddest philosophical shit imaginable with him. I love him, obvi, self love win, but I’d need a three week break after getting nothing but Sad Kaito too.”

Kaito raised an unimpressed eyebrow, “Caleb’s happy in his own way.”

“Do you… hang out?” Shuichi asked, looking bewildered, “I was told the shards couldn’t exist in the same space.”

“I can imagine how it would be to hang out. And since I’m all of us, I can imagine it pretty convincingly.” Akane explained, “Look, I know it’s confusing, handsome, but I’m as much Caleb now as I am Kaito and kill-joy Kaito. Same as they’re all also me. Just cause Kaito calls one hand his ‘left’ hand and the other his ‘right’ doesn’t make them actually different things.”

“King Kaito isn’t a ‘killjoy’,” Kaito muttered, crossing his arms.

Shuichi shot Kaito a confused look at that– Kaito had literally just called King Kaito embarrassing a moment ago– but startled as his face was suddenly turned back towards Akane, who had gotten very close to him. “No, no, no, handsome~” Akane grinned leeringly, eyes warm and lustful, “Eyes here.”

Shuichi gasped, as Akane pulled him to his feet with a sudden tug, before leaning her whole body against him, grinning up at him as she raced a finger down his neck, her breasts squishing wide against him as she said in a low, sensual tone, “Nice to meet you, Shuichi Saihara~ You know, I heard something about you becoming our new packleader? You know, I just love a man that can make a bitch heel.”

“Ah…Ah….Ah.” Shuichi tried to shout, his whole body stiff as he stared down at her beet red, starting and stopping over and over again. “Ah???”

“Ooookay, that’s enough of that.” Kaito huffed, pulling Akane off Shuichi, grabbing the back of her coat and lifting her off of him, Akane grinning coyly up at him, “You’re not getting lucky this visit.”

“Watch me.” Akane snickered.

Well, Kokichi wouldn’t say that--and he hadn’t--and while…there had been a lot to think about after visiting with Caleb, it wasn’t necessarily that he’d needed a breather, and he hadn’t gotten that impression from his husbands either. The situation with Doppio had just…been in crisis mode for a while, and all the downtime they got they really had needed for actual sleep. 

Just like they did need tonight, to an extent. 

Raising his eyebrows a bit at the, uh…angle Akane took, Kokichi rubbed the back of his neck a bit before snorting, giving Akane a fond look. “I don’t think any of us can really keep you from trying, but I’m gonna try to manage to make sure we’re not completely exhausted in the morning…”

…though he couldn’t help-- “Thooooough,” he smirked, “If Mi-Mi wakes up? Then I’m kinda the person that has to really get up, since you guys can’t stay here easily when you’re awake, and I’m getting preeeeetty good at managing my brain focus lately.”

…not the best, but…Kokichi liked to think the situation with Doppio’s father had been a bit extreme, as far as trying to focus on multiple situations had been. 

Kaito blushed a little, before giving Kokichi a reproachful look, “Babe, please don’t encourage her, she’s insatiable, you know me.”

“You’re just mad cause I’m gonna ride that dick first.” Akane smirked up at Kaito, “The Beast was made for the actual animals among us. Your ass is never gonna be able to handle it.”

Kaito scowled, holding up Akane higher, who just hung in her jacket and smirked back at him as he said, “Uh, no?? We just haven’t had time to open me up yet! You watch, when Miyako’s like, at a summer camp? I’m not gonna walk for weeks.”

“Ooooh, what, ten years from now? Yeah, keep daydreaming, you can just live vicariously through me as I get myself knotted~”

“No, because we will give Kokichi another headache, or a nosebleed, so no ones riding the damn beast–”

Shuichi watched back and forth as Kaito and Akane argued over who was going to get his dick first. Both a little fascinated and a little overwhelmed. They had warned him Akane was basically Kaito’s sex drive… though, “Do you even want to do anything here, Kaito?” Shuichi asked, “You don’t seem as into it as you would be.”

Kaito glanced at Shuichi… before pinking a little, looking away, “What, just cause I’m not acting like a horndog doesn’t mean I don’t have a libido.”

“Uh, rude? Don’t call me a dog.” Akane said, baring her teeth a little.

“You literally called yourself a bitch.”

“Yeah, and I’m the side of us that can, got it? It feels harsher coming from you.”

“...yeah, it does.” Kaito sighed, letting her go. “Sorry.”

“Awww, it’s okay,” Akane grinned, throwing herself around his neck, “Fuck and make up?”

“N-no!”

Shuichi watched this exchange in fascination. Kaito looking absolutely flustered as Akane preened and flirted at him. “Do you think this is what’s happening in his brain when he just starts to stare in the distance and then gets flustered at whatever he’s thinking?” Shuichi whispered to Kokichi, watching as Kaito tried to push Akane way while she tried to place a second kiss against him. 

He knew, but it was fun~ Not so much for legitimately leading them on, but…well, even with sex on the brain, Kokichi had made his point, and he knew that Kaito knew that. He could probably handle supporting their consciousnesses through mental passion, he was getting better at supporting multiple people through a bridge, but…well, while they had more leeway tomorrow, comparing to the last few weeks? Being a dad wasn’t really a job any of them could take a day off from. Not totally. 

Blushing, Kokichi watched Kaito and Akane go back and forth but flustered and amused…and he snorted when Shuuichi joined him in the spectator’s chair. 

“Sort of,” he whispered back with a small laugh. “Though I think a lot of the time it would be more…like Akane-chan painting a picture, and Kai-chan nodding and adding suggestions…until it becomes a whole mural. With focuses completely different from the original subject.”

“That must be so strange for you to pick up on.” Shuichi realized, his face reddening deeply as Akane got another kiss in, this one, uh… lingering. “...okay, but seriously, if we leave them alone, this might get out of hand. Kaito, Akane?”

Neither of them heard him. Kaito’s eyes had closed, flushing as Akane played with his ears a bit, his hands disappearing somewhere in her coat…

“Kaito, Akane?”

Akane hummed against Kaito’s lips. Whispering against them, “That our meditation stone in your pocket or you just happy to see me?”

“Shut up…” Kaito muttered, leaning back into her.

“...” Shuichi pouted, suddenly feeling jealous. Before saying sternly, “Kaito. Akane. Heel.”

Both of them stopped immediately, giving Shuichi dazed, wide eyed looks… before Kaito wiped his mouth, looking away, shy and embarrassed, while Akane grinned wide, hopping on her heels a bit, “Okay, Shuichi, but tell me you wouldn’t enjoy bossing us both around~” she asked with a wink.

“...” Shuichi narrowed his eyes a little… thinking about it… glancing at Kokichi… considering it some more… before sighing, shaking his head. Something genuinely regretful in his expression as he said, “No. We need to sleep tonight, and you two will stretch this out for ages.”

“Uuuuugh, seriously?? Atua gave them a stallion, how’d we manage to get the two mates in the world who never want to ride?” Akane grumbled to Kaito, who sympathetically patted her back.

“Kokichi, save me.” Shuichi whispered.

Kokichi shrugged a little, though the blush spreading across his cheeks was telling enough. It was still weird picking anyone’s thoughts up, and…well, he wouldn’t really call Kaito’s dreams startling, because he knew his husband…but Kokichi could get a little surprised, time to time. Just the sort of setting or conversations that, maybe not set Kaito off, but that he managed to daydream during. It could be wild. 

…and some very intriguing. But Kokichi did want to respect people’s privacy as much as he could. 

That little blush soon revved up, though, as Shuuichi, uh…took command of the situation. Kokichi had to cover his face and breathe for a moment…before he peeked out with an impish grin. “Really? Man, I thought Kai-chan’s birthday left more of an impression…”

“Though,” he chuckled, losing the mischievousness, “There are some other things we could do that would be a little easier on us in terms of not being zombies tomorrow. Akane-chan, I have been curious to see more of your forest, since you’ve mentioned it…and you did say it’d be fun to do a little hunting~ I think I’d miss you guys a little too much playing Hide and Seek, but…what if we played tag, and used it to chat at the same time? Exploring and all that.”

Akane and Kaito glanced at each other, Akane smirking, Kaito contemplative… before saying, “Let’s at least give her some real competition,” before waving his hand almost daintily. 

And suddenly, Shuichi felt his body start to shift. Catching himself on the ground as suddenly his hind legs didn’t support the whole of his body weight, catching himself on his… paws. Big, big paws.

Shuichi looked down at himself, before sitting on his hind legs a bit. Sniffing through his snout a bit, peering out from a dark blue, near midnight black fur coat, his eyes wide and shining like dual full moons. Kaito, how did you do that?

I dunno man, I just think real hard. Kaito said, his shaggy, full maroon coat shifting, shining maroon eyes amused as he thumped his tail excitedly, …nah that’s a lie, I don’t really think that hard. I just feel it.

Kaito turned his long snout towards Kokichi… before his tail thumped harder. Cute.

The long-furred purple cat rolled its amethyst eyes fondly, his fluffy duster-like tail flicking daintily around his body. He had felt Kaito’s influence nudging at him, and while Kokichi could resist…why would he?! This was looking to be quite fun. 

Mrrping, Kokichi shown his big kitty eyes to his partners. “...this isn’t super obvious it’s me, right? Like, if you just saw this cat out of context, you wouldn’t immediately be like, ‘oh, that’s Kokichi’...right? I thought it was a good design…”

It’s the most Kokichi thing I’ve ever seen, Kaito said, Is that a bad thing? Because I love it. Look at you. I wanna lick you.

I wanna do more than lick him, Akane said, licking her chops. 

Okay, but don’t eat our husband. Shuichi said, looking at her warily. 

The fact that he’s gay is the greatest tragedy of my life. Akane said simply, licking her chops again.

I’m with Shuichi, don’t eat him. Kaito said, standing up and nudging Kokichi a bit with his nose, Come on, beautiful, let's go before the hungry wolf lady literally, actually eats you.

“Please don’t lick me, you’re just going to get a mouthful of fur,” Kokichi snickered, before getting up. Looking every bit a snooty housecat as he walked lightly on little fluffy paws, his tail flicking. Almost tauntingly as he looked back. “She’d have to catch me first for that anyway~”

And with a laugh that still sounded more fitting for a horse than a cat, he scampered off, running into the woods. He’d probably climb a tree at some point, see the forest from its limbs, but…at least without some logic bending, his husbands were going to stay on the ground, and Kokichi…ha. Didn’t want to leave them to the wolves yet.

Kaito watched Kokichi practically dance away, tail wagging as he jumped on his forelegs a few times, looking back excitedly at Akane and Shuichi, Isn’t he amazing?? Before running off after Kokichi.

5, 4, 3, 2… Akane looked over at Shuichi, who was still sitting next to her, Aren’t you gonna run too? I can start counting down again.

I don’t feel like being hunted today, Shuichi said, looking cooly at Akane, I’m gonna follow and you’re going to bring them to me.

God, you’re hot. Akane said, before tearing off through the grass like a wind, Shuichi running behind her. 

Kaito panted as he ran, eyes wide, the feeling of the wind in his fur both exciting and oddly familiar as the trees whipped by. And while he was Kaito, the whole of the forest looked the same to him, as a wolf? There was so much here. He could smell the trails the rabbits wore into the dirt and bushes, the small scents of their babies, letting Kaito know this forest was growing in the spring. He could see the hooves the deer had left behind, steers showing their young how to fight by butting their little heads into trees, the marks obvious to Kaito. Kaito glanced up and saw the birds he had only heard before this fluttering by, almost moving like they were in slow motion in comparison to his human eyesight. 

He felt strong and attentive, able to see and hear and smell more than ever before. Moreso, he felt comfortable. Like this was second nature to him. A creature of the forest. 

Also, Kokichi’s puffy little fur was hanging in the air behind him, the cute little fluffy prey. Kaito was enjoying watching Kokichi almost disappear in the shades and shadows of the fauna, losing sight of him constantly but able to smell him in the air, and catching his fur shining in the sunlight every now and again.

Kaito only remembered he was one of the ones being hunted when his fur suddenly set on end, his senses warning him she was there before he was consciously aware of it, taking a sharp turn left and practically rolling and skidding through the grass before galloping through the trees, a large, brown-ish gray wolf thundering behind him, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! 

It felt a little…secondhand, to Kokichi. A disconnect between the ‘creature’ and the ‘human’...he supposed because he maintained a greater sense of Kaito’s brain, even with all the visual changes. Just because Kokichi tended to navigate more easily through metaphor, he never forgot what he was actually, physically doing. 

However, that secondhand, ‘peering’ feeling didn’t make it any less fun. Smelling the forest, and practically being able to see little signs next to everything, associations of what those smells meant. Growth and nature and the habits and communities of everything within the forest… Kokichi smiled (in his own kitty way) watching birds pass by, squirrels scamper up trees, voles nestle back into their holes…

Because a predator was coming. And while he enjoyed the nature walk--or rather run-- Kokichi hadn’t forgotten that. He barely looked back, hearing Akane close in behind Kaito, and Kokichi couldn’t help but let out a laugh as his next pace had him jumping up a tree, his claws extending into the bark as he climbed, changing direction to keep up with the party. 

“Careful now, Kai-chan! She’s almost at your tail!”

Oh shit! Kaito shouted again, scrambling through the grass as he head a snap near his tail, Akane making a show of biting at him. Turning left again when he felt her run up wide on his right side, biting the air to his right and causing Kaito to veer left some more in a scramble, trying to get away from her. 

And suddenly Akane jumped over him, landing in front of him and snarling, causing Kaito to brake in front of her, digging his heels into the dirt and grass, turning a sudden 90 degrees and darting backwards, his heart thumping in his throat… and tripping over his feet as he suddenly had to brake again, going head over ass and rolling to a stop, skidding right to Shuichi’s feet. 

Kaito panted, ears leaned back against his head, eyes wide and staring up at Shuichi as he peered down at him before rolling over, paws and belly in the air, his body language screaming caught prey… but he couldn’t hide the fun he was having as his tail gave him away, thumping against the ground as Kaito said, Hey handsome. 

Hello Kaito, Shuichi greeted, idly stepping over him and flopping down on top of him, claiming him, as he looked to Akane as she trotted up proudly, Good. Bring me the other one now.

On it! Akane said, turning on her heels, looking for the tree Kokichi had run up too.

Kokichi had watched the show eagerly, his higher vantage able to see something that he wagered was a key difference between werewolves and regular wolves. Akane wasn’t just hunting, she was pack hunting. Or, rather…perhaps more accurately, herding. She wasn’t just trying to catch up with Kaito, she was controlling his movements…all for the purpose of guiding him in one specific direction~ Very well done~

However, as fun as it would’ve been, Kokichi hadn’t stayed around to see the success. Maybe it was a little tryhard, but…well, Kaito had said he didn’t want to make it too easy. 

While his three partners were busy with each other, Kokichi briefly took a detour back down to the forest floor, feeling out the signs for…ah. There we go. None of her senses were things to be trialed with, but by far Akane’s greatest strength was her nose. So if he wanted to pose a greater challenge, then he had to get rid of his scent. 

Finding a bit of mud, Kokichi rolled around without abandon, at the same time flattening his fur to erase another of his tells. Finding a patch of dirt with many smells after, he snickered to himself and climbed back up a tree, trotting over the branches. Hmm…there were a lot of birds in this forest. Maybe he’d find some prey of his own~

Akane started marking trees she had checked, scratching at the bark for a moment before moving on, sniffing at the floor before checking another tree, scratching again. 

The more she got into the forest, the quieter it became, Akane sniffing, pausing, sniffing again. She came across a mud patch that looked disturbed, but… surely not… Kokichi had such long fur, it’d be so uncomfortable, certainly he hadn’t–

She peered into the mud. There were long strings of purple fur.

Oooooh, clever mate.

So Kokichi had masked his scent. That really meant he could be anywhere, but, at least for a while, she could follow the trail of muddy prints. She followed them into the forest a bit, but like she had suspected, they soon disappeared entirely, the grass catching the mud on Kokichi’s feet. Alright… what to do…

…Akane sat on her heels, pulled back her head, and howled.

She wasn’t sure if this would work. In the real forest, it would have. Her howl a call of hunt, a question to nearby wolves. Did you see anything? Did my prey come nearby? Have you seen anything sketchy?

Wiggling beneath Shuichi, Kaito’s ears twitched, hearing the distant howl… before saying to her you get one, missy. Otherwise that’s cheating. 

And a distant howl answered. A packmate had seen something strange. A cat covered in mud. Try this direction.

Akane headed that way.

Hearing a howl, Kokichi paused, keeping still under a bough of leaves. And, soon after (feeling {indulgence, tender nostalgia, fun, help, family/pack}) he heard a much nearer howl…ah, well, he supposed since he was getting sweaty, that was alright. As cool as exploring was, it wasn’t as much as it’d be with his partners. 

He still wasn’t going to make it easy, though. 

Changing direction, Kokichi crept across the trees, looking for a brown blur on the ground…

Before he caught sight of a more enticing brown…nor quite blur, but…

Eyes becoming moons, Kokichi lowered his body even more, his quiet paw-steps becoming silent. His whiskers starting to twitch as he crept closer to the wren resting in the treetops. 

A little closer…closer…don’t move now, birdie…

THERE!

With a leap, Kokichi sprang forward, closing his paws (claws retracted, he didn’t want to actually hurt even an imaginary bird) around the wren…even as he fell from the tree, his arcing twist flying by the nearest branch. 

Akane heard the bird call out in alarm, which is what caused her head to jerk up towards where Kokichi was. And it was seeing a muddy mess of cat all balled up, falling down what now suddenly seemed like too tall trees that made her bolt. Running in his direction at breakneck speed. Her gaze watching his fall like slow motion, as trees whipped by her blurs.

And she leapt, jumping as high as she could– and for a wolf, that was very high– her jaws wide open…

And because that was her dear tiny mate and she loved him very much, she reached up her very human hands, caught him against her chest, and tucked and rolled into the grass, somersaulting several feet, before rolling backwards a little, huffing as she flopped onto her back, Kokichi tucked into her arms. 

“Huff… huff,” Akane panted, watching the clouds lazily roll by in the sky… before peering down at Kokichi, “You good, babe?”

PRrrrrRrrrRrrRrrr~

Like one of Souda’s ingenious gadgets, Kokichi was purring furiously, letting the bird go and watching it quickly take flight and soar away before he nuzzled under Akane’s chin. “I caught it~! And you caught me~ Good catch, Akane-chan, I didn’t doubt you for a second.”

Laughing, Kokichi stretched out, wrapping his human arms around Akane in a hug, grinning widely even with his hair plastered down with mud and dirt. “That was a lot of fun! But you still have to take me to Shuu-chan to win, right?”

Akane watched the bird fly off—cute. Too small to make a meal of—before petting some of Kokichi’s matted hair out of his face. “Mmmhn~” she hummed happily, walking him back towards where they had left Kaito and Shuichi behind. “Tallest husband says hunt? I hunt. And I caught myself a Kokichi! Truly a successful day.”

Adjusting her grip around him, Akane carried him back, praising his choices and the skill of catching the bird, gushing over her ‘feral’ husband. Meanwhile, Kaito was still beneath Shuichi, playfully looking up at him. You’re tempted.

I am not. Shuichi huffed. It’d be gross.

Just one or two wolf kisses. A little lick. You’ve licked me before.

Not your hair. I’ll get fur on my tongue.

Fiiiiiine.

… I’m not, not tempted by Akane’s offer though.

It’s her chest, isn’t it? I told Kokichi you were a boobs man.

Kaito, hush…it’s cause she looks like you when you’re happy.

Awwww.

…and yes she’s very attractive.

KNEW IT!!

“We’re back!” Akane shouted, trotting over before dispensing a muddy, happy Kokichi onto a pile of suddenly human husbands. “Kokichi caught a bird!”

“Oooooh, nice.” Kaito grinned, even as he immediately took off his shirt to start rubbing the mud out of Kokichi’s hair, “Good job, kitty-cat~”

“I think it might’ve let me,” Kokichi giggled humbly, mostly letting Kaito try to tidy him up, though he did make it a little difficult when he leaned over to kiss each of his husbands on the cheek. “Alter Ego has the ‘cat instincts’ thing down way more than I do, and I can’t imagine I was that stealthy. Especially since I fell from the tree.”

“But Akane-chan pulled off a feat of grand acrobatics to catch me~ It was super impressive,” he winked at her, before staying still for Kaito rubbing his face. “It looks like I’m really not the only one with some real circus prospects here.”

“That was fun~” he cheered, before giving Shuuichi a cheeky look. “Even Shuu-chan barely had to run.”

“Shuichi chased by proxy.” Kaito laughed, hugging his husband, “and did great! You’re both excellent hunters! And good hunters should rest after a long day hunting.”

“It’s more fun to eat your prey after catching them.” Akane grinned.

“Nooooo. Sleep.” Kaito sighed.

“…maybe someday soon.” Shuichi said, sniffing slightly.

Kaito and Akane glanced at each other. Huh.

Kokichi snickered, before making grabby hands at Akane, bidding her to join the pile. “Someday we plan for a babysitter the next morning. And…maybe after I train a little more.”

Glancing between his partners, Kokichi smiled softly. “...I think we can all sleep together, though. At least at the start. I think I know how to navigate getting Shuu-chan back to his own head even after our direct consciousnesses are resting.”

Kokichi knew Akane wasn’t all of Kaito’s familial instincts…but on their last visit, he had felt her loneliness. Not something she felt perpetually, and thus something Kaito felt, but…there was the memory of togetherness. And while it would be something new, Kokichi thought it could still be something good.

“Oooooh, grass sleeping. Nice, I like sleeping in the sun.” Kaito grinned flopping backwards. “Snuggle meeee.”

“Not unlike our daughter,” Shuichi smiled, cuddling into Kaito’s side. “Honestly, Kaito, we spoil you for one week and now you think you get middle spot by default.”

“Kokichi will be more comfy on my chest.” Kaito huffed, tapping said chest invitingly.

“Hmmm,” Shuichi hummed, looking back at Akane, “hm?”

Akane smiled lightly, before laying down at Shuichi’s other side. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders , feeling for Kokichi’s back. Her pack…

“It was nice seeing you all.” Akane said softly, closing her eyes, “See you when we wake up.”

-

It was easier getting out of bed the next day, though Doppio could still feel the proverbial cloud over his head (and the more…literal one from his breaths). But, come Monday morning, he crawled out from beneath his comforter, walked Arven and Chief to school, and headed to Dr. Mariah’s office…promising Kaito, as they parted, that he was going right back to the castle afterward. …uuuunless he stopped by the market, but that would be the only stop. 

Smiling softly at Blair as he arrived, Doppio offered a lidded, short cup to the receptionist. “...I’m sorry I don’t really know the flavors you like, but would you like some caramel gelato, Mr. Con? The whole cup is yours, if you want it.” 

Oh, Doppio was very capable of finishing off all the ice cream he’d brought home…but he thought it was polite to make to-go portions for his therapist and her receptionist, since he was seeing them. 

Blair lit up, happily accepting the ice cream. 

It wasn’t a long wait after that, and Dr. Mariah smiled lightly at the offer of ice cream, accepting it gracefully, but putting it aside as she sat down, opening up her journal for a moment before putting it aside. “So, I see you’ve taken my advice very literally. How have the last few days gone?”

…he couldn’t really…tell if she liked the vanilla with chocolate chips. He found that a person’s taste in, say, fashion wasn’t a good indicator of what sort of food a person liked, so Doppio couldn’t use Dr. Mariah’s extravagant taste as a benchmark…but she had liked his scones, and those were pretty baseline. Not plain, but simpler flavors just done really well, so…he thought the vanilla would be nice… He hoped so. 

Doppio smiled weakly, before sheepishly looking to the side. “...I did mostly sleep after I got back to the castle yesterday. The princes checked in on me, and Arven and I ate gelato together, but…mostly sleep. But, uh…” He gnawed on the inside of his cheek. “I…actually went back to my house, right after leaving here. To, um…get my things back.”

“I see,” Dr. Mariah said, tapping her fingers together, “That’s a good lead in to my next question. Have you tried your symbolic gesture? While I’m sure whatever you did was an honest effort, I’m curious to hear how it compared to the act of returning to your home.”

Doppio blinked…before his eyes went wide as he nodded. “R-right, the gesture! We were going to talk about that…”

Glancing down, Doppio smiled slightly. “...it actually went really well…barring a few hiccups. Um…I almost set myself on fire, because it turns out…oh, um, well…” He took a breath, getting his thoughts in order. “...that gear I have, that I threw up? Well…I had the idea of making it into an art piece, to kinda…make something that scares me about myself into something…pretty. Something to be proud of. Especially something that…at the time I thought my dad rejected, and, like…embracing it.”

“But there was this goo on it that I could get off,” Doppio explained, “So…Arven and I tried to burn it off, but…it turns out that, um, potentially, my insides, if they’re the same as the goo, or at least the goo parts of my insides are…very flammable. But Maki and her girlfriend were walking by and they put it out. And…yelled at us for playing with fire.”

“So then we went to Shuuichi, ‘cause he knows a lot about chemical stuff and…I had a panic attack, I think, but it wasn’t a long one, and, um…w-we took my gear to one of the castle housekeepers, Kirumi, who’s just…” Doppio sighed in awe, his voice going a little dreamy. “She’s the ideal in capable professionalism if I’ve ever seen it. And she was able to get the goo off but preserve it…and she said I could shadow her during workdays to learn more. Um…and the preserved part, Shuuichi’s taking to his family doctor to be analyzed…so if anything happens to me, we have a little more of an idea of…what’s going on.”

“...um…” Doppio trailed off for a moment, losing his train of thought, before he continued. “...then we asked Kokichi about acid etching…and all the princes and Timothy and his friends kinda put together a whole…craft thing. And we all did acid etching in the park and…I made a design on my gear and…it’s on the wall in Arven and my bedroom now.”

Dr. Mariah’s eyes upturned a little, “It sounds like you had a very active day that day. And it’s good to hear that so many people supported you in their own ways during the time. Honestly, that’s more ideal than I had even been hoping for.”

“So, the decoration of the gear was a symbolic way of accepting yourself, even when your father might not.” Dr. Mariah said, “But the trip home. Tell me about that too. Again, I feel like they’re similar in ways that might prove useful.”

Doppio nodded shyly, chewing on the inside of his lip. “I do think it was a good idea to decorate the gear, and…I like having something to decorate our room, since it’s mostly Arven’s stuff. And…he pointed out that when we move back out, it’s something of the room that I can bring with me, and…I really like that. …but with everyone…it did feel kind of like a…’journey rather than the destination’ sort of thing…”

The opposite of his trip back home, because…well, there was nothing really to say about the journey there, other than his legs had been a little sore by the time he got back to the castle. 

“...I’d never gone back, in…times that have actually happened,” Doppio softly started. “...the fire was pretty contained but…things were a mess. Things knocked over and dishes everywhere and dirt in the carpet… I felt bad leaving it like that, but…I didn’t think it’d be a good idea to linger longer than I did.”

He shrugged a little. “...I got my comforter and my money. Since I’d already gotten my clothes back, those were…pretty much it. …Angelo and I talked while I was there. About…the times I was happy at home…but also that I’m happy a lot now.”

“That’s good. Again, that sounds like progress. Processing. Another step in coming to terms with what is happening.” Dr. Mariah said, pressing her fingers together thoughtfully. Considering Doppio.

“...but you are still sad.” She said.

“...yeah,” Doppio nodded. “...but…that’s okay, right? I mean I…” He gave her a nervous look. “...I-I think I’d be a little upset if yesterday you told me that bad days can last a while, but, um…that the length of time moving to today meant something different. Like…it was over the line.”

Dr. Mariah shook her head, “I’m not suggesting that at all. More, I’m saying that you are still sad, because it’s a reasonable guess to make. And I did not want you to feel wrong or unusual by having to tell me something that any reasonable person would already know is true. You did your symbolic gesture. You returned home to gather your things. You embraced community and made progress precessing. And you are still sad.”

“That is a normal way to feel about things,” Dr. Mariah said, “This is expected. Nothing has gone wrong.”

Doppio’s expression eased slightly. “...sometimes it just sucks for a while. Even with good things. It doesn’t mean the stuff I did was meaningless, or that any joy or peace I felt was fake or…functionally temporary. I’m just…sad ‘cause stuff sucks.”

He sent her a slightly teasing, slightly nervous look. “...does make it hard to…kinda come up with conversation topics, though.”

…at least as they pertained to that subject. But Doppio felt weird just randomly bringing anything else up. 

Dr. Mariah smiled, “Let me worry about that. As your therapist, sometimes my job is simply to try things until, hopefully, we touch on something that truly needs discussing. It can be a bit hit or miss sometimes, but therapy is rarely a linear, easy task. I like to think I’m an excellent therapist because I’m adaptable and willing to experiment, not because I know exactly what to say, all the time.”

“That said,” Dr. Mariah said, “Let’s talk about your father more. We’ve talked a lot about who he’s proving to be now. Tell me about who he’s been to you before this. Whatever seems important to you, tell me a bit about him.”

“Well…it’s seemed pretty ‘hit’ to me, lately,” Doppio offered a sheepish grin, though as Dr. Mariah opened up the subject of his father… He didn’t know why he felt that lurch in his stomach. They’d already talked about the most painful stuff he could ever imagine with his dad. Talking about things before should be nothing, in comparison. 

But…still. Taking a small breath, he nodded. “Um…he was my boss. He was…the most amazing person I could ever imagine; a genius, stronger than anyone, unequivocally kind… He could rule the world if he wanted to, and it’d only be a matter of time--which he could do, ‘cause he’s really patient too. Um… Yeah.”

“I can’t help but latch onto one descriptor in particular,” Dr. Mariah said, her expression even and neutral. Neither judging nor confused. Just simply opening up a line for further discussion, as she said, “Unequivocally kind…what does that mean to you, Doppio. How would you explain those parts of your father?”

Doppio nodded eagerly, getting more peppy than he had been in the last two days. “He runs the business really strictly, but…for people actually doing their jobs? Boss has always treated them fairly! No one is ever just stuck at the bottom of the ladder, and being there doesn’t mean you get a few flung copper. There’s always the chance to prove your capability and move up, and each part of the business is looked after! Boss really believes that greatness can come from anywhere, so he doesn’t keep people down, you know?!”

Grinning, Doppio started to gesture a bit with his hands. “I always thought that was exemplified best with me… I always need things spelled out, and I forget half the things I’m told seconds later, but…I-I can still do a lot! A-and with my duties I was always given the space and resources to shine! And…even when I messed up, Boss always told me that I could do better next time, and even when he had to do a lot to fix my mistakes, he never held them against me, or said I was useless and couldn’t do anything and…”

Doppio trailed off as his smile faded. “...and…he was probably nicer to me, and never fired me because…he made me. And…he…actually… He…never did call me useless…until two nights ago…but…he said stuff a lot like…’do you want to become useless’...”

“It sounds like he was a resourceful employer who understood the value of an energized and empowered workforce,” Dr. Mariah said gamely, eyes searching Doppio, “It sounds like the concept of ‘useless’ might have been used as a form of reprimand, even in the hypothetical. What were rewards and punishments like? For you, I’m not concerned about how he might have controlled your peers. The only thing I’m concerned about is how he navigated influencing you.”

Doppio nodded slowly, still in the process of deflating. A lot had put a new light on his life, but…for a moment it…it had been like…

…well. It was in-character for him. He’d forgotten. 

“...um… He’d compliment me a lot when I was doing well… It was a little embarrassing, but…it always made me feel really good,” Doppio said quietly, his eyes lowering. “He gave me a raise a few times too… I think…the first week I consistently made good food? And, um…a few other times, though…I don’t remember why.”

“And for punishments, um…” Being called…not useless, but that he’d become useless had always felt the worst, but it wasn’t actually a punishment. No, those were… Doppio looked to the side, his voice lowering even more. “...they weren’t often. Said I didn’t need to be punished often. But…”

“...he’d hit me.”

Again. No judgment. No confusion. Just Dr. Mariah nodding, as she said, “Tell me more about that. Anything that feels important. You have nothing to prove, and I will understand if your feelings on it are complicated.” 

Doppio’s eyebrows knit a little. …say more? What was there to say…

“...um… Um… The, uh…drowning,” he mumbled, before taking a breath, “Was, uh… He said that was a punishment too… But stuff like that didn’t just…happen. When I screwed up. Mostly he’d just…you know, hit me. B-but not often, like I said.”

Doppio looked down, rocking his heels a bit against the ground. “...I met Amaina the night after one of those happened. I just…felt so…stupid. And useless… And scared…b-because that was the first time I did time stuff, and I didn’t know what happened or…if I’d just imagined something. But…she talked to me in a dream and…it was really nice. And she just…stuck around the next morning. And I guess B…m-my dad wasn’t mad-mad…not that he really ever got mad at all, ‘cause…he let me take most of the day off.”

Coloring in a little, Doppio shrugged. “...I have vacation time, just like anyone else, but…I never used it. And Dad seemed to be happier that I never wanted to leave for any extended amount of time. …he did still kick me out of the house sometimes, telling me to take a break, though.”

“Hmmm…” Dr. Mariah reached out to pick up the cup of ice cream. Opening it up with a small little ‘pop’ and, humming in approval at the small little spoon inside, picking it up and breaking up the ice cream, as she asked, “Let me pivot for a moment. Amaina. What was it like meeting her? You’ve yet to mention anyone else in your life from your time with your father. Was she the first non-work related person you had any sort of relationship with?”

Doppio nodded after a (rather short) moment of thought. “I mean…I try to be polite to merchants and storekeeps in whatever city I’m in, and we do chat…but it’s not really anything more than just regular polite talk.” Which, in fairness, could get pretty deep and last a while, but…well, at least for the former, Doppio never wanted to reveal too many details about his dad, and…a-and for the latter, he was on a time-limit most days, even a relaxed one, but…

“...I was really confused at first,” Doppio huffed a small laugh. “I thought she was just a new, weird part of my dream…but she was really nice to me, and talked about seeing beautiful things and…not being stuck. And in the morning, when I knew she was real? …it was really nice, having someone to talk to while I did my morning work. And Angioletto’s songs are always really pretty and nice to listen to. And…it was exciting, talking with someone who got as excited for frog hunting as I do…”

“...I never really realized how quiet my life was, before she started following me, but…I was a lot happier, having someone to talk to or…just to listen to.”

Dr. Mariah looked down at the ice cream, still not eating it. Just breaking it up and spinning it, watching the chocolate chips swirl in the white void. “And she saw one of the rare times your father had hit you. How did she react to that? Did she react at all?”

Doppio frowned slightly…and not just because Dr. Mariah still hadn’t eaten the gelato. Not that he’d say anything, it was really anxiety-inducing, o-or at least it could be, when someone pointed out an eating habit and…some people just ate slowly. 

What if she was sensitive to cold foods?! Oh, he was such a jerk for that, if it was true…

“No, Angelo only showed up after that…though,” he winced, “I…guess she would’ve known, since she lives thoughts and all that…”

Quiet for a moment, Doppio looked distinctly uncomfortable as he shifted a bit. “...um… She was there when he drowned me, though… She, uh… She gave me a bubble that’d let me breathe underwater, w-which… Which is why I-I didn’t, um…die… When I skipped time… E-even if I’d already gotten water in my lungs…”

“May I point something out?” Dr. Mariah said, tilting her head, “Amaina does things like that for you quite often. You’ve mentioned to me before that Amaina feeds energy into you, when she can. Once so much of it at once that you changed the timeline of my entire being. That is a substantial thing, for a being literally made of mental energy.”

“Amaina, it seems, frequently puts your safety and comfort first. Urgently. She is not shy in prioritizing your rescue,” Dr. Mariah said, “...what does that feel like?”

More than a moment this time, actually for a good while, Doppio was quiet. Just…rocking his heels on the ground, staring at his shoes. But, eventually, he found his words. “...it makes me really happy. I’ve… I mean…my dad did care about what happened to me. But we’ve talked about that. So just…f-for no reason I can tell other than she just…likes me? …I’ve never had someone care about me like that. And…I like it.”

“...but it also makes me feel guilty,” he admitted, pulling his sleeves over his hands. “I get really worried about her expending so much energy, and…potentially hurting herself. And I’ve tried to do the same for her but…I go boom. It means a lot to me that she chooses to help me…but I hate that I seem to need it so… In such dire situations so much. And I’m really worried about what it does to her…even if that just seems to be some sleep.”

Sighing, he gave Dr. Mariah a tired look. “...I feel like it’s the same as with Arven, and I should trust her word that it’s not too much for her…but I don’t want to see her hurt, especially because of me.”

Dr. Mariah nodded, unsurprised. “A normal way to feel about it…”

Dr. Mariah tilted her head a bit, looking up, briefly, to her aquarium. Considering her next words with some care. As she did that, she finally had a small bite of the ice cream, making a small, appreciative sound.

“My receptionist informed me you brought him ice cream as well,” Dr. Mariah said, “He was enjoying it quite a bit. Doppio, why did you bring us ice cream?”

Doppio’s shoulders relaxed a bit, hearing that small noise of enjoyment, and subconsciously the teen smiled softly, hearing that Blair had enjoyed the ice cream. However, he could only blink and give Dr. Mariah a quizzical look at her question. “...uh… Well, you knew I was getting some, from yesterday… And…I suppose I could eat it all myself, eventually, but…I did get a lot. And food is just…better when it’s shared. I knew I was coming today so…I thought it’d just be polite, really…”

Looking more unsure, he chewed on his lip. “...did you not want any?”

“Not at all. It’s quite good. It was very considerate for you to even think to bring us some, let alone follow through and make it so convenient. Very considerate, very kind,” Dr. Mariah said, mixing the ice cream a bit, before giving Doppio a serious look. “Doppio… you’re an incredibly normal person, in an extremely abnormal situation.”

“I know I keep stressing how your situation isn’t unique. And it’s not, when you break it down into the general issues you’re facing. A changing body, a developing reality where you find you cannot rely on the things that you always could before, new relationships and processing the trauma of old ones. These are normal issues, at least for those unfortunate enough to also be dealing with abusive home lives. But then, on the opposite side of that,” Dr. Mariah said, spinning the ice cream, “You are surrounded and embodied by mysticism. Your first friend is a mental construct given unprecedented potential in power. Your father is a psychic. The family that has superimposed themselves into your life are practically smothered in magical influence. You yourself are a being of little examined properties, a creation of magic. All of these issues, on paper, should make you an exceptionally difficult patient to work with.”

“But you’re not,” Dr. Mariah said, taking another small bite of her ice cream. “Since I’ve started speaking to you, I am reminded that you, at your very core, are just a very nice teenage boy going through a difficult time. Your reactions to grief are understandable. Your desires for your life fit predictable patterns. Your frustrations are entirely relatable. You are incredibly normal.”

“I bring this up, because I worry that by the nature of who you are, people will try to tell you otherwise,” Dr. Mariah said, “Not now. At the moment, you are surrounded by exactly the kind of support network I would have wanted for you, first meeting you. People who, if they consider you different at all, it’s only because they see how you are like them. But as life goes on, and you get older, and you meet new people who learn these things about you, they’ll assume you are different because your circumstances will sound so fantastic. But they’ll be wrong. You are an incredibly normal person. You just need consistent, normal support.”

“I bring all this up because I’d like to get into something I’ve been worried about,” Dr. Mariah said, “And I’m worried about it, because it’s a very normal thing to feel distressed about. If I’m even right at all.”

“Doppio,” Dr. Mariah asked, considering him sternly, “...you exclusively refer to your father by titles. So have I. I do it because I am aware that the name I have for him is false. Why do you?”

That was…good, right? Usually people considered things like ‘considerate’ and ‘kind’ to be good things. So…why did Dr. Mariah look so serious?

As she got to her point…or, rather…introduced it, Doppio could only give her a mildly confused look. Well…yeah, he supposed so. Other than he was…you know, the assistant to the Boss of Passione, which was an exceptional position, Doppio never really considered himself to be strange. …sure, his memory issues were a little odd, but calling out someone’s mental diversities as abnormal kind of made you the weird one. He had always been, in his own self-image, A Guy. 

…and then he’d been thrown into a world of magic, not just all new things, but all of the old too, and that was strange and anxiety-inducing and…well, it did disrupt that self image quite a bit… But even then, he didn’t really consider his personality strange. 

…even if he thought ‘nice’ was…a bit of a stretch. 

Dr. Mariah had…kind of told him this before, and emphasized his need for support and…yeah, he supposed it was better to have support that would treat him normally…

But the actual point she got to threw Doppio for a loop all over again, and he could only blink bewilderedly at her for a few moments before speaking. “...be…cause what else am I going to call him?” Doppio said unsurely, getting the feeling he’d had a conversation like this before. “I don’t know his actual name.”

Dr. Mariah was both relieved and a tad disappointed. She had been worried he might not have noticed that he did not have the name of the man who had raised him. She was glad it wouldn’t shock him to have it pointed out. But she was disappointed by his total lack of concern about it as well. He couldn’t see what was wrong with that…

“Doppio, your father withholding his name from you, especially at your age–perceived or otherwise–is… a manipulation tactic.” Dr. Mariah said, “I bring it up because while there is nothing unusual about your idolation of him, I want to, over time, focus on showing you some of the techniques and reasons why that level of admiration was socially engineered into you. It’s not something that was built into you, not conditioning or your nature. It’s very normal abuse tactics. Anyone in your position, regardless of how they were born, would be experiencing the exact same things.”

“That’s what I’d like to do, but I understand if this might be too soon, to have those discussions.” Dr. Mariah said, “We can put it on pause. Focus on other things. I’m leaving that entirely up to how you feel about it right now. Can we talk about why your father never gave you his name?”

Doppio frowned a bit, his eyebrows drawing in. …socially engineered? By the letter of the law, he guessed, he could…a…admit that, maybe, yeah, his dad had abused him… But Doppio thought those ‘tactics’ were, uh…drowning him. Not…things like… Doppio had admired his dad because…he was admirable! And things like a name were…

“Uh…” Doppio said, confused as he chewed the inside of his cheek lightly. “I mean…sure? But…I don’t really get it. No one knows my dad’s name. Except him, I guess, but…I wouldn’t be surprised if that was just ‘knowledge’, and it was something he rejected.”

He hated to make this comparison, but… His nose wrinkling, Doppio explained, “Like Arven’s mom, sorta. She got rid of her last name, so…I mean, I’d think she’d still know the one she originally had, but…it’d just be a dead name at that point, right? It’s pretty rude to pry into that.”

“I suppose that could be a way to interpret his decision to withhold his name from you.” Dr. Mariah nodded, leaning back a bit. “If there wasn’t everything else surrounding his situation as well. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if there’s a relationship in your father’s life we could point to that didn’t, inherently, come with a severe power imbalance. For instance, your comparison of him keeping his name from his subordinates. The issue is in the word.”

“Keeping certain aspects of your life entirely private changes in meaning, from relationship dynamic to relationship dynamic,” Dr. Mariah said, “Keeping the whole of your identity private can be normal in a business relationship, but in a familial one? It keeps you at a distance, and makes him something a man with a past and a name can’t be. Something larger than life. Untouchable. The lack of definitive way to refer to him that doesn’t inherently give him power over you– boss, father– makes it difficult for you to even attempt to talk about him in a way that would make him an equal to you. And that is an abusive way to utilize titles, in relationships. By forcing you to concede to them, even in reference.”

“However, you may be right. It could just be another way of someone choosing to self-identify,” Dr. Mariah said, sighing a bit, “Was there anyone in his life who was in a non-submissive relationship to him? To use as a reference to how he treats people otherwise?”

Doppio nodded, not entirely successful at keeping a ‘...well, yeah?’ kind of look off his face. Of course his dad was larger than life and untouchable and above him. He was his dad. Those things were defining to him. Doppio couldn’t even dream of being an equal, and even attempting to in a thought exercise would make his stomach revolt. 

…he…wasn’t actually untouchable, though. Just the way Kaito’s ex-brother wasn’t. And now, the same way the former king of Luminary was exiled, Doppio’s dad was in holding after being arrested, and…it was very unlikely he would be found innocent on all charges. 

Giving Dr. Mariah a slightly confused look, Doppio shook his head, tentatively, yet with confidence saying, “No?”

(And that didn’t even feel like a lie, really. Not even in the parts of Doppio that knew a little better. That did, actually, know his father’s name…because his father had known. And it was very difficult to keep a mind from knowing about itself.)

(It didn’t feel like a lie, because retrospect was a hell of a thing, especially for a man who had so wholly thrown the past away and rarely did any retrospection. Of course he had never been submissive to anyone--he was above the dullards and the rabble, and had always been. He had never been any smaller, any less intelligent or lesser learned. So of course not.)

Even as he said it, Doppio soon went quiet, his eyes starting to glaze a bit as his breathing slowed, his body tipping to the side. 

[̷D̸o̴n̴’̸t̸ ̴t̵a̸k̸e̵ ̶t̸h̸a̶t̸ ̷ť̶̛̰͋͘ǫ̷͉͚̎n̷̼̼̈́̀̽̀ẽ̷̢̹͕̌̾͐ ̷̭̅̿̀w̵̨̧̛̙̥̏̑i̸̘̗̙͍͗̔͐͠t̵̥̫̖̒̏͠h̶̭̫̒̀̔̓ ̸̡͕̯̀̏̿͠ḿ̵͇͇͐͊͐ḛ̴̞̳̪̾,̸̭̯͔̭̋̂́͂ ̷͚́̌̕p̶͙̙͓̲̈́â̷̢͂͆t̴͚͊̎̀a̴̘̲̓t̸̪̽̎i̶̮̫͋͘n̵̬̪̞͆̏̽ȯ̸̺̣.̶̰̙̹̖̽̉̀͝]̵͔̘̐

Dr. Mariah’s eyes narrowed a little, watching Doppio slump into his seat. Opening her mouth, she took a deep breath, tasting the air. 

Curious. It wasn’t unusual to experience many emotions at once. Most people did constantly, which was why her range of taste was incredibly vast, different emotions mixing and matching to produce different flavors. But this was different. This wasn’t emotions mixing. These were two different emotions trying to exist side by side. And mostly falling.

It was pretty foul tasting. She took another bite of her ice cream, quietly watching Doppio. Calm and looking for signs of what this was and how it might progress.

Fully slumped against the arm of the chair he was in, Doppio’s unfocused eyes slipped closed, and he was still for a moment. …two moments. Three…

Before he sucked in a breath, eyes fluttering as he put a hand over his mouth, looking a bit disoriented and ill. “S-sorry…” he stuttered, even before he could get his eyes open and refocused back on Dr. Mariah. “Sorry…”

Wincing a little, Doppio pressed a knuckle into the space between his eyebrows as he squinted over at Dr. Mariah. “...um…sorry… I think… …guess it would’ve been too much to ask that… That’d stop happening without my dad’s influence…”

“I can’t know for certain at this stage, but this might prove to be another way you are, unfortunately, very normal.” Dr. Mariah said, “The only thing I can’t prove is how your physical reaction might be medically based, since I’m not that type of doctor. It did look like a trauma-triggered seizure though.”

“And regardless of why it happened, it’s not something you have to apologize for.” Dr. Mariah said, tone gentle, “Now, could you explain what that looked like from your end? Do you remember the period of time you were phased out?”

Seizures? Doppio just…passed out sometimes. Sure, he now knew that at least some of those were…his dad psychically taking over his body, but with the frequency he ‘went out’, Doppio didn’t think that could account for all of them. Seizures sounded…more serious than that. 

“Um…” Thinking for a moment, Doppio tried to steady his breath more, his eyes sliding shut…before he forcefully opened them, blinking a few times with purpose. And, though the movements were a bit stiff, he forced himself to sit up straight again. “I don’t think so, no… We were…talking about my dad’s titles, right? That’s, um…the last thing I remember before it’s just…nothing.”

So it was likely the discussion of his father having anyone he considered genuinely friendly, someone he was equal too, that had done it. Dr. Mariah tapped at her journal a bit, before nodding, “We’ll come back to that. But for now, let’s take your body's cues seriously. The goal is to help you process. Not to overload you.”

“For your symbolic gesture, you chose the gear. I know we discussed the benefits of the process itself, but let me ask why you chose that method in the first place. Why the gear? Why preserve it?”

Doppio frowned, but nodded slowly. …but, just for Dr. Mariah’s reference, “...um, okay, but…I-I mean, I’m okay. I’ve always been able to work after I freak out ‘n stuff, so…y-yeah.”

Taking a deep breath, Doppio tried to explain himself. “Um…did I mention… I guess… Really…the gear kind of freaks me out. It’s, like…representative of the freaky magic stuff my…body’s made of, I guess, and I don’t like it, but…” He looked down, frowning. “...but I don’t want to feel uncomfortable in my body forever. So I thought…even if it’s not how I feel now, like…elevating the gear to art, and displaying it proudly is like…trying to be proud of myself.”

“...it does look cool on our wall, now,” he shrugged.

“Just because you are physically capable of an action, doesn’t mean you should, or have an obligation, to do it.” Dr. Mariah said,”If something hurts you, we should trust your body that it’s something we should treat carefully, and patiently. Your well being is a priority.”

“And that’s a compelling reason to pick the gesture you did,” Dr. Mariah said, smiling softly, “Though, it did miss the mark a little, of what your homework was. The gesture was meant to represent losing your father. That part of your life. Does your feelings about your body, the nature of your existence, emotionally tie into your feelings for your father?”

…it felt like he should, if there was something someone needed from him. Sure, he supposed, if he went out and no one needed anything, he could just…relax. As much as that felt strange. But there was always…or, at least there had always been things to do, and randomly losing time at the drop of a hat, not just for the time when Doppio was physically indisposed, but for some time after that just felt…bad. 

Blinking up at Dr. Mariah, Doppio flushed lightly, his expression pulling in a wince, before he looked around. Working words in his mouth as he wrung his hands, only to inelegantly stammer out, “Y-ye - I, um, th-the design I-I, um… It’s my dad’s tattoos. I-It was multiple things, but I thought, um…s-sorry, I felt like I had better reasoning… I-it made sense before…”

“It very likely still makes sense now.” Dr. Mariah said, no skepticism in her tone, “I’m not scolding you, if that is what it sounded like. It’s important for us to understand why we make the choices we make, is all. I asked you to try a gesture to process your father, and this is what you chose. I just want to explore why that was your impulse. There is no wrong answer, for this situation.”

“So,” she closed her eyes, envisioning it, “...you etched onto an item that represents your own body, to you. Something you do not feel entirely comfortable with. With tattoos that cover your fathers body.”

Opening her eyes, she peered at Doppio, “...the symbolism feels heavy, laid out like that. Doppio, have you ever envisioned yourself wearing your fathers tattoos?”

“Sorry…” Doppio…wasn’t so sure about that. When he had talked about it with Arven, while they were brainstorming ideas for his gesture, it had seemed really good. And, well…it had given him something to do with the gear too. But asked to explain it now…all Doppio could think was that it just sounded like…a whim, mostly. And that he hadn’t considered his assignment at all. 

But…like with everything else, Dr. Mariah was taking it seriously, though the thread she started to pull on…

Doppio grimaced a little, looking mildly uncomfortable. “No. I mean…I thought the design was neat, and, um…I’ve told him that before, but… Getting a tattoo seems really uncomfortable. And…”

He glanced at his arms, frowning more. “...I talked with Prince Kokichi about it a little… But…until I started having to wear it all the time, I never realized, um… Just wearing concealer is really uncomfortable for me, and that I can at least take off. In my dad’s tattoos, there are a lot of patterns that are, um, just, like…black bars? I don’t think I’d like putting anything like that on my skin.”

“That’s a fair response, but what I mean is that there’s a difference between what you’d literally, physically be willing to do, and what would be just something you’d… even ‘imagine’ seems like too definitive a word.” Dr. Mariah said, pausing to think about it.

“...you’ve met Kaito’s son, Timothy, yes?” Dr. Mariah asked, “During a quiet moment with him once, while he was recovering from a difficult session in the kitchen, Kaito told me a story about his son. It made him smile. Apparently, Timothy had heard of the tradition where you go and announce a confession in front of everyone at the highest area of the festival. Kaito thought the tradition was intimidating, as they had nothing like that in Luminary. but his son apparently misunderstood it entirely, and assumed it was some sort of wishing well situation. Timothy, in front of everyone, went up and wished that he was going to be tall,” Dr. Mariah smiled, “As tall as, or taller, than his father, specifically. According to Kaito, it’s one of the moments he’s felt closest to Timothy. He was very proud of that story.”

“If we were to ask Timothy if he wanted to be like his father, I think Timothy’s answer would be complicated, but mostly no.” Dr. Mariah said, “He’s a young man who grew up mostly without any real parental figures, and like Kaito has done with many people, Kaito forced himself into Timothy’s life, and his son has not always appreciated it. The way Kaito describes it, Timothy most of the time treats Kaito like a buffoon. But. To wish in front of a whole crowd to not just be tall, but tall like his father…” Dr. Mariah looked pointedly at Doppio, “Can you see what I’m getting towards? It’s not something he physically wants, to be Kaito. I doubt it’s something he’s even imagined. But there is a desire there, whether he recognizes it or not.”

Something more intangible than imagination? …Doppio figured he was probably the worst person to find difficulty with that, but…it still didn’t help him understand any. He still listened to Dr. Mariah’s secondhand story about Tim, though, smiling a bit as he did. Doppio could see why Kaito would’ve liked to tell it, and why it made him happy. It was a very cute story.

And…he could see that there was a point to it, but Doppio still struggled to really…identify it in a way that he could apply to what Dr. Mariah had asked of him. 

“Um…” He chewed his cheek. “I still don’t really… I mean…comparing myself to my dad has always felt…silly. Sure, he has qualities that I admired, but…I don’t think I’ve ever…felt desire for them? They always felt like…things that were solely my dad’s, and…I never really even thought about applying how I measured up, or if I’d want to change those values…”

“You told me once that imagining your father as your father seemed silly as well.” Dr. Mariah said, “Now, knowing the reality of the situation, does that still seem unnatural in hindsight?”

Doppio shot Dr. Mariah a slightly affronted look before sighing. “...maybe not unnatural…but still kind of weird. Like… Like it or not, my dad did raise me. And I wasn’t… There wasn’t something bad about me for…wanting that,” he said slowly, gold eyes flicking up towards Dr. Mariah to check if he was on the right track, for that. “...but it obviously was never his intention. And it was never mine, either. So…even though it was what happened…it just feels…unfortunate. Rather than me just…imagining things.”

“Unfortunate.” Dr. Mariah echoed. “Why unfortunate?”

Doppio shrugged a little. “...it wasn’t what either of us wanted. So…that’s unfortunate that it was what it was.” He looked down. “...he didn’t…really comment, when I called him ‘Dad’, when I saw him. Just said…um… ‘Have I really been demoted to ‘father’? I guess that’s a clear sign you quit’... O-or something close to that. And then he just moved on. So…maybe lightly annoyed but not…mad. Or grossed out. A-and he said he… Um…”

Doppio’s eyebrows knit. “...he didn’t actually say he’d rejected the defense, but…he said his lawyer was advising the same thing, that i-if he claimed me, then the charges of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment would be dropped, and…he said, um, that no one seemed to understand that I wasn’t born.”

“...he never wanted to be a dad. It was his mistake that he is. So…things would’ve been better if he wasn’t, so…that’s unfortunate.”

“I understand how his being a father affects him.” Dr. Mariah said, “But I’m not his therapist, and I don’t care much for that man. I am your therapist though, and I know very well that you are someone who deserves to have many people care about you. I understand how it is unfortunate for him. I want to know how it is unfortunate for you.”

Doppio just blinked at Dr. Mariah for a moment before looking away. His shoulders slumping, as a sort of…sinking feeling, from his neck into his stomach just filled him with a sense of…patheticness. 

“...no one enjoys being somewhere they aren’t wanted,” he mumbled.

“Better.” Dr. Mariah said, her tone gentle. “And true. Well, not universally true, there are some out there that truly do love making nuisances of themselves. But for you, who is considerate, and constantly wants to make himself of use, and is horrified at the idea of being a bother? I can’t, at this moment, think of something I could imagine you enjoying less. Than to feel unwanted.”

“And it is truly unfortunate, that someone as good as you are, who can so easily draw other people in and make them want to devote themselves to your wellbeing… it’s a tragedy that someone like you was made to feel unwanted.” Dr. Mariah said, “It is not a suitable way to treat you.”

…it was hard, because… Until Doppio had visited him, his father had wanted him. Just…not as a son…or even a person to rely on in a business sense. His dad wanted his tool back in his hands. And…and as much as Doppio desperately wanted to be wanted…

He hadn’t wanted to be wanted as something he wasn’t. 

Doppio glanced up, looking a little strained by Dr. Mariah calling him ‘good’, and…in a sense, ‘charismatic’...but he just made a small, uncomfortable sound before looking back down. “...well… He can’t treat me like that anymore.”

“That’s true.” Dr. Mariah said, taking another small bite of her ice cream, “And that is good. But much of therapy is processing past issues, even if they’re no longer relevant. And in truth, this is all so recent that to consider it irrelevant is mostly just an act of delusion. Your father is no longer in your life, but his effects on you are going to be something we will be dealing with for a very long time. That’s expected. It’s normal.”

Dr. Mariah paused, observing Doppio. They had touched on quite a number things so far, but each time she found a real thread, something warned her off of it. Doppio needed to discuss quite a bit of heavy topics, but so soon after the arrest of his father, Dr. Mariah did not feel it was wise to push him towards breakthrough’s he wasn’t ready for. It was far from the only time she had made that mistake–Dr. Mariah, metaphorically speaking, was ‘only human’ and when she ran into a mental roadblock in her tougher patients, she had a flaw of wanting to sometimes break through those mental blocks with emotional sledgehammers– but in this moment she recalled fixating on Kaito during group therapy for so long that he shut down on them, emotionally regressing into a childish tantrum.

Not to mention sending him into a dissociative state with the cruel imagery of his parents deaths. That had been… Dr. Mariah couldn’t justify that moment, in retrospect. She could only acknowledge that her fascination with Kaito’s case in particular had started making him less a ‘patient’ to her and more of a ‘specimen’. And that the shifting perception of him had made her crueler and more rash in her actions. It reminded her of worse times in her history. 

Therapists don’t go to therapists. They visit ‘friends’ over coffee, who happen to be therapists, and talk to them like therapists. She went to Miss Crystal that weekend. Therapists don’t have ‘crisis therapy’. She mentioned that her need for tea was urgent, and Phaux had cleared her calendar that day. Ava had been grateful.

It was important that Doppio did not become a ‘specimen’. It was a real danger. He was a normal teenager, except for in all the ways he wasn’t. Being a tulpa would inevitably draw critiques to his ‘personhood’ from people who had no business making comments on him at all. And while Dr. Mariah was firmly against that mindset, she knew unconscious bias was always a danger. Too many people whispering in your ear could influence your mindset, even if you disagreed. So she had to be careful, early, as Doppio’s therapist. If she could make that mistake with Kaito, before even finding out about his amalgamation status, she could make the mistake with Doppio. She had to be careful.

So, with the mentality of ‘slow and steady’, Dr. Mariah asked, “Doppio, is there anything specific you wanted to talk about? It doesn’t have to be relevant to anything we’ve discussed already. Have you had any concerns on your mind that you’ve just wanted an opportunity to discuss?”

Doppio pouted a little, but nodded. How he felt about his father, and how he was treated since he had been created was very much an ongoing issue…but Doppio just didn’t know what to say. It was easier to break it down when Dr. Mariah isolated specific angles of issues, but…sometimes they went on so many tangents from them, Doppio entirely forgot just what question they had been exploring and he just ended up confused. 

Which was normal for him, but…Dr. Mariah was endlessly patient, and treated every dumb, half-stuttered answer seriously so…all the useless, dead-end branches his broken brain pointed out, they followed. To, predictably, dead-ends that Doppio couldn’t remember the way back from. 

He did feel like therapy was helpful, but…it could be very confusing. 

He…didn’t think he’d even answered half the questions or topics Dr. Mariah had brought up, that had required more discussion because he didn’t understand, but…he couldn’t remember what they were. So Doppio just blinked at his therapist before moving his bangs behind an ear, trying to think. 

“...um…” He lightly scratched behind his ear. “...some of Arven’s friends came over last week. It was, um…kinda fun. We talked about things to, uh…want, I guess, in parents. I…still don’t really know what I’m gonna do about that and…no one’s told me about, like…interviews or anything… Arven hasn’t heard anything about his case either, so…I dunno if they’re just waiting for things to be…safer, or whatever…”

Dr. Mariah smiled, “Good. I appreciate you bringing that up, if it’s been bothering you, Doppio. While it’s important to deal with issues that I recognize as problems, or that need exploring, it’s also important to talk about things that you recognize as need exploring, or as a problem. These sessions are for your benefit, and what you want to talk about matters.”

“Is the subject of the process for finding your future foster or adoptive family on your mind due to a fear of the process, or are you perhaps worried about what kind of people you may end up with?” Dr. Mariah asked, “If your friends asked about what you wanted in your parents, were you able to think of a personal ideal?”

“...well I wouldn’t really call it a bother,” Doppio mumbled, before he sighed, trying to focus himself. “...I…think fear of the process, maybe? It just…doesn’t really feel like something that’s real. So far, all the processes have just been…people setting up a talk, I answer their questions, and then either I end up somewhere, or people say that there are new rules I have to follow. Everything feels like…just a process to be somewhere else, or for something else to happen, but…I don’t know what the end result is supposed to be.”

A little embarrassed, Doppio rocked his heels and traced the band of his watch. “...no. I’ve never been able to answer, regardless of who’s asking. I mean…I think most of Giovanni and Josie’s recommendations were good so…if I ended up with people who had those things, that’d be good, I guess.”

“You’re in a pretty severe moment of transition, Doppio.” Dr. Mariah acknowledge, leaning against the side of her chair a bit, shifting slightly just under the weight of knowing how much the boy had going on, an empathetic response, “I’d argue that you are currently in the worst part of it. Done with the previous tasks and norms, with no clear direction of what future expectations are. It must be alarming. Actionably, I’d recommend talking to either your CPS case workers or your current guardians and asking for an event planner. If they don’t have one, that could pressure them to make date estimates more of a priority.”

“But, therapy-wise, let’s do this…” Dr. Mariah said, tilting her head, “Let’s do a thought exercise of a worst case scenario. Let’s say it’s a year from today. What would fill you with regret? What can absolutely not be your future, a year from now, and what does that look like?”

…oh. He could…just ask for that, couldn’t he. He didn’t have to just sit around and wait for someone to tell him when the next set of steps were happening…or that they had happened a few days ago. Doppio asked for time estimations all the time at his job… Sure, an estimation didn’t mean it was for sure happening then, but…it did give him an idea of things. 

He’d definitely do that. 

But for now?

Doppio’s eyebrows raised, before they furrowed. What could absolutely not happen? “...everyone being dead.”

Dr. Mariah smiled thinly, “That’s fair. Are we talking… everyone, being the  whole of humanity? An apocalyptic event?”

Doppio paused, before nodding. “That would be horrible. But, um…even just all the people I know, I absolutely do not want to be my future.”

“Better,” Dr. Mariah said approvingly, “Do you have a scenario, on how that might happen? A flash flood? A fire? And I’m not being flippant, just to be clear. Typically, when I ask for a future worst case scenario, people can’t help but connect that worst case scenario to the present day situation. You don’t have to know why you picked ‘everyone dying’. That’s why we’re exploring it. But there is probably a reason, that came to mind for you, beyond ‘wouldn’t that be terrible’.”

Doppio gnawed on his lip, looking a little confused. “Any method really would be awful. I guess some would be worse than others, but…for the context of ‘what I absolutely don’t want to happen’, that doesn’t move that distinction. Um…” He gave her an unsure look. “...I did pick it because you asked for the worst case scenario and…I can’t think of anything worse than that.”

Dr. Mariah sighed, though it was only slightly. “Okay. Let’s try something else. The opposite. It’s a year from today. What’s your best case scenario?”

Doppio only looked more worried, and his pause lasted much longer. “...um… Arven and I are still together. Everyone’s doing okay, and, um… It feels kind of…redundant to just say the opposite, but, um…no one’s dead. Uh…”

He blinked, before lighting up, elated to think of something to say. “I haven’t had a panic attack in a year!”

Dr. Mariah felt a warmth of affection run through her. “That’s a nice idea. And I’d like that for you. I’ll keep that in mind, that it’s an ideal for you.”

And still no mention of his home life. His parents. What he might be doing. This thought experiment  was a bit of a dead end, then. Dr. Mariah didn’t doubt that Doppio had a best case scenario for those things. But she suspected he just wasn’t in a place, mentally, where he could acknowledge those biases or fears.

Hmmm…perhaps she should take his ‘years’ age in consideration, not just his emotional/mental age. How might she approach this with a toddler…

“...Doppio, I have a particularly strange homework assignment I’d like you to consider.” Dr. Mariah said, standing up, “Would you follow me?” she said, heading to the door, “I’d like to take a visit I preserve for my younger patients.”

Doppio tilted his head a little but got up…

Or, tried to. The headrush he felt on standing was so strong it blurred his vision and stole his breath and for a moment Doppio was stuck half up, leaning against the chair as he put a bracing hand against his head. But after a moment to breathe, he straightened more slowly and shuffled after Dr. Mariah, nodding. Muttering, “Sorry, I’m good.”

“You really should see a medical physician about that, Doppio.” Dr. Mariah cautioned him, watching him move slowly, “It’s important to take care of yourself in all ways, not just mentally.”

Dr. Mariah had gotten her doctorate on her research on childhood addiction. And while she wasn’t taking very many children patients at the moment, she still had her counsel room at the end of the hall, that was decked out for her youngest  age groups. Flicking on the lamplight, the room was colorful in nature, with pleasant murals of pretty but specifically random shapes and bubbles and swirls, with toys organized around the room in a way that might give the impression of a mess, but was actually quite specifically placed where they were. In the center of the room was a large,circular playmat, just as easy to sit on as it was to run excitedly up and across.

Going towards one particular corner of the room, Dr. Mariah stepped around the large, opened doll house, and looked over at a series of dolls and stuffed animals, all sitting among pillows, looking a bit like they were mid-conversation.

“Doppio, you can refuse this homework assignment, like all of my assignments,” Dr. Mariah reminded him, gesturing to the dolls, “What I would like you to do this week, is pick one of these toys out, and take care of it for the rest of the week. You’ll keep it with you, or make certain it is being cared for, you’ll journal when you ‘fed’ it,  when it slept, when it was cleaned. You’ll keep it well cared for, and document what, if anything, you had it do that day. And at our next therapy session, we’ll discuss the toy, and what the process of playing out a day for it felt like. What do you think?”

Doppio wrinkled his nose, but nodded. “...I’ll ask Nell about it…” …he would try, at least. And…if it felt like too much then…he had people he could ask to come with him, to make a healer’s visit more bearable. 

As they entered the new room, Doppio looked around a bit, at first feeling a little overwhelmed by just how…bright it was. The color arrangement wasn’t a nauseating display of rainbow, but…it was perhaps just a rung or two below that. Though…after a moment of getting more used to it? It wasn’t so bad…even if Doppio felt the urge to tidy all the toys scattered across the ground. 

Going over to the…miniature house, Doppio regarded it curiously…before he just gave Dr. Mariah a confused look. “...I mean…I could do it, but… Stuffed animals don’t need to eat or sleep and…I was under the impression that unless they’re specifically dirtied, they don’t need to be cleaned as often as, like…sheets. Um… I guess I’m asking…” He glanced around at the toys. “...why?”

“I want to develop your ability to conceptualize care in a way that isn’t an act of professional servitude.” Dr. Mariah said, before smiling lightly, “I want to give you a chance to, at least for a week, visualize what the care of childhood might have been like. Most people have the benefit of remembering what being cared for as a child was like, good or bad. Childhood often preps us for managing some of our most selfish desires. And by manage, I mean to actually have some. No period of our lives is more selfish or self-centered than childhood, and this is to our benefit. We need to know how to desire for ourselves.”

“I can’t give you that experience of being a child,” Dr. Mariah sighed, looking to the dolls, “But I can give you this excuse to imagine what your toy might want. And since it doesn’t want anything, ultimately anything you decide it wants reflects you. Does that make sense?”

Doppio rubbed the band on his watch anxiously. He…knew what care was, outside of his job. He cared about his friends, and he cared about Arven in a romantic way, and…well, he considered Chief a friend too, but friendships with animals would naturally be a little different, so that counted as another way, he’d argue. 

…but while he could see how Kaito and his husbands and Maki cared for Timothy and Miyako…he didn’t feel confident he’d really be able to explain it. ‘Knowing’ in that…conceptual, gut-feeling way, beyond words. 

…because he’d never been a young child, not…really. So this was…trying to replicate that, or…at least get at it from the other side. And…the desires he decided it’d want would…

Doppio frowned a little more. “...I feel more worried about…what deciding it doesn’t want anything would say about me, than actually trying to think about what it’d want. …I…”

He sighed, just glancing to Dr. Mariah for a moment before he looked down. Feeling like…this wasn’t a good thing to say, despite the fact that he felt it. “...I have trouble imagining what I’d want any guardians to be like because…anything would be fine? Like…for a worst-case scenario… I can’t conceptualize a kind of person that would make life unbearable. Any way they’d want to treat me I’d just…deal with, I guess. I don’t…know what would be better or worse or…whatever.”

His gaze lowered more. “...the only person I wanted abused me. What else am I supposed to think of?”

“You,” Dr. Mariah explained simply, looking back at him. Her tone sympathetic, but stern, “The point is you’re meant to think of you.”

“What you want. What your standards for how you’re treated are. What you’re willing to give others and, more importantly, what you’re not willing to give.” Dr. Mariah said, looking around the room, at the toys and the coloring books and the puzzles, each one connected to a memory for her as she said, “Doppio, at your physical age, most people are screaming ‘no’ at the world for the first time. No, I will not eat what you’ve given me, I don’t want that. No, I will not sit still and be quiet, I don’t want to. No, I will not share, you can’t make me. No, I will not calm down, I am angry and everyone is going to know it.”

“It’s one of the most difficult periods of time for the adults in that child's life, the ‘no’ phase, but it is a vital phase to a person’s development.” Dr. Mariah said, looking to Doppio, “Because it’s the phase where for the first time in a persons life, they have to figure out what they actually want, and what is actually worth defending to them. Because punishments start at this phase. Scoldings. Sitdowns. The people around them showing true displeasure with them, exasperation, defeat. Kids learn guilt at that age. They learn triumph. They learn how to fight, and they start to learn what isn’t worth fighting for. They develop standards for themselves.”

“You’re in that phase.” Dr. Mariah said, “But you’re in that phase from the opposite end of it. You’re not learning in your terrible two’s what isn’t worth fighting about. You’re learning what is. Which means I need to help you develop more of a sense of what you want, in the most selfish, self centered sense of the word. What your father was willing to give you in the past is almost irrelevant. We need what you want, now.”

“Maybe all you wanted really was your father.” Dr. Mariah said, “That is possible. But you haven’t thought about it enough. I want you to think about what you want more, to put real time and energy into it, before we decide that your father really was the best of your standards.”

…it wasn’t as if he had no standards. The whole fiasco with Kaito blew up the way it did because Doppio refused to let up on defending those standards. He didn’t want to be someone’s project. He didn’t want to be around people who were only there out of obligation--he didn’t want to be where he wasn’t wanted. He didn’t want to be someone’s pet, having everything done for him and never consulted. 

One of the first things he decided upon running his own life for the first time was wanting to be a vegetarian. 

It was just…Doppio knew how to put up with things. How to endure. He had thought he was living a charmed life, and even then he regularly put up with…verbal abuse and very real threats and all sorts of comments that just made him feel uncomfortable and unsafe and pissed off…but the best way to get out of those situations was just to endure until he could leave, not provoking any more. Doppio knew how to sit through blatant insults and politely ask for whatever business had sent him that direction. …he knew how to brace himself against slaps and strikes and still stand up, saving his tears for when he was alone. It had never been a matter of ‘want’. It just ‘was’, and Doppio had learned how to navigate it. 

He learned to take what he wanted where he could get it, and save his energy yearning where it was just…useless. 

…what did he want, when it came to parents? He didn’t know. It seemed useless to even try to imagine, even though all he came up with was a blank canvas anyway, because…it didn’t matter what he wanted. People would be themselves, and Doppio would just…have to adapt to whoever he was given to. Just like he’d been doing since Kaito had barged into his life. Adapting hadn’t been a bad experience, when it came to all that. Doppio had met Arven, after all. And he liked a lot of people at the castle. 

Just…none of it had been anything he wanted, and nothing he chose. Sometimes, it had been exactly what he didn’t want. But Doppio had endured anyway, and…he was happy. 

…that would just have to happen again. 

…but Doppio didn’t know how to explain any of that, so he just shrugged a little and said, “...okay. You said I should pick one?”

“Yes,” Dr. Mariah said, though she looked around the room and offered, “Either one of these dolls, or any item in here that captures your imagination. It doesn’t have to make sense as a ‘person’. It just has to be something you’d be willing to both take care of, and can carry with you.”

Doppio nodded and looked around a little, before picking up a small, light blue elephant plush with red markings on its nose and ears. It was even softer than it looked, and had a surprising weight to it, like there was a different kind of stuffing in its legs and belly, that was meant to keep the stuffed animal right side up. Still, it was still a stuffed animal, and small enough to easily carry around, so… 

“Is this alright?” Doppio asked. “Um…any specific cleaning instructions I should know?”

“Assume it would feel itchy in the same way a person would, and assume it has a sense of smell.” Dr. Mariah said, “That’s the only guidance I have for how to keep it clean.”

Then, admiring Doppio choice, she reached out and lightly pet the top of its head, “It’s very cute. Good choice. Are you ready to go back?”

Doppio smiled weakly, though he clarified, “I mean…I-I figured that’s what you meant for the assignment, but…I meant for the fabric? A-and the stuffing? I…can’t tell if it’s a sort of cotton fill, it feels different from pillows…”

Smiling faintly--it was really cute--he gave Dr. Mariah a small nod. “I am.”

Dr. Mariah shook her head, leading the way back, “If you want to clean it with those things in mind, that’s your choice as the person taking care of it. But until we discuss it again in a week, I’m not going to give any advice on how to proceed, including practical laundry advice. It’s up to you how to care for it.”

Settling back into the office, Dr. Mariah glanced at the clock. They didn’t really have much time left. It was the sometimes awkward in-between phase of not quite having enough time to jump from topic to topic again, but not quite able to just wrap up and call it a day. What would be good for one last topic of the day…

“In response to advice on keeping clean,” She said, looking to Doppio, “Was there any pushback for your choice to sleep and eat ice cream all day yesterday? Any support? Or were you mostly left to your own devices?” 

“O-oh… Well…” Doppio mumbled a little to himself, looking a little disconcerted, not getting any instructions for how to clean the elephant. For something he was supposed to care for, he didn’t really want to experiment that much for trial and error… He hated to bother her, but…maybe Kirumi would have an idea of what the plush was made of, and she could give him some hints. 

They didn’t have much time left in his appointment, but there was enough that it’d be awkward to remain standing, so Doppio sat back down in the chair he’d used before, gently settling the elephant in his lap and cupping his hands around its body, behind its trunk, much like how he often held Amaina when she sat in his lap. 

Humming softly at the new subject Dr. Mariah brought up, Doppio collected his thoughts before answering. “Um…it went pretty smoothly. Kaito did grumble about not eating so much it’d give me a stomach ache and, like…half, not really threatened about me not ruining my appetite for real food later…but I still ate a bunch. Um, in that vein… The princes came by to drop off dinner, and they did stick around to talk for a little bit. Um… Kokichi said that if I wanted to talk about anything, he was always open to listen, but, uh…”

Doppio shrugged a little. “...I did mostly sleep. And…when I did talk, it was with Arven and…we didn’t really talk about what happened. Just random stuff.”

“That’s alright. Again, we’re still in the ‘it’s okay to be sad’ phase. And on that note?” Dr. Mariah said, nodding towards the little elephant, “You seem okay right now, but if your energy levels make this homework impossible for you to upkeep for the next week? Don’t feel guilty. You can’t fail this. Again, at it’s most efficient, this practice is meant to simply make you more self-aware of what being cared for looks like to you, without anyone actually making a demand of you. But you matter more than the toy does, at the end of the day. And it’s okay to prioritize yourself. Do you understand?”

There was something both relieving and disappointing in that. Doppio liked being needed. He liked being capable, and treated as such. And the idea of being so useless he couldn’t even play pretend with a stuffed animal made him feel like garbage. …but on the other hand…he did already sort of feel like garbage. And…hearing that he wouldn’t be messing anything up or letting anyone down if he just needed to…eat some ice cream and go to sleep? That was still relieving. 

So… “Understood,” Doppio nodded. “I mean… I’m gonna try to talk to a healer I trust after this, I guess, and…that’s always kind of a risk for me. So, um,” he laughed nervously, “...my entries might start tomorrow.”

“You are? Good, I’m glad to hear that,” Dr. Mariah said, before pausing, “...is anyone arriving to walk with you, after this appointment? Normally I wouldn’t ask, but after your dizzy spell earlier, I feel hesitant to just send you out onto the street and wish you luck. Blaze could walk you, make sure you get where you’re going alright.”

“Uh…” Doppio shifted awkwardly. “There wasn’t a plan for that, but…I wouldn’t be surprised if Kaito took a mid-morning run and ended up coming this way, at this time. He was…pretty pissed about me going to my house yesterday, but I got the feeling he put most of his lecture on hold since I wasn’t feeling well…”

…going to his house and Blair accompanying him…huh?

Paling a little, Doppio shook his head. “Um, thanks for the consideration, but, uh, that won’t be necessary… I’ll be alright.”

“We can always give Kaito another serious talk about boundaries and restraining orders.” Dr. Mariah said, very serious… before relaxing, “But I am relieved at the idea that he’ll walk you. You’re right, that does sound like a ‘Kaito’ move, it wouldn’t surprise me either.”

“That said,” another glance at the clock, “I think that about wraps up our time. You did very well today, Doppio. This was a fruitful session.”

“Hm? Ah.” Glancing up at the clock, Doppio nodded before getting up, carefully cradling the elephant in his arms. “Thanks for your help, Dr. Mariah. Hopefully I’ll have a lot to share with this next week,” he nodded to the elephant, before blinking and perking. “Oh! And Arven and I might go visit his school’s chess club this week too, since we meant to do it last week but we couldn’t… Um, if we do, I’ll let you know how that goes too.”

Heading out, he gave her a sheepish look. “...hopefully it really will be a full week, the next time I see you.”

“It’s alright if it’s not.” Dr. Mariah assured, “But I hope so too.”

-

Kaito was inexplicably sipping on a coffee outside of Dr. Mariah’s office.

He was not here to pick up Doppio. Doppio was inconsequential! The fact that it was Dr. Mariah’s office was a coincidence! He was out on a walk with his beautiful daughter, enjoying the fresh air and now a warm cup of coffee, and Kaito just happened to like the coffee place near Dr. Mariah’s office! No more, no less! 

The fact that it was roughly the end of Doppio’s appointment? What? Why did Kaito even have to justify that? He didn’t know when Doppio’s appointment ended! Sure, he had brought Doppio here, and then gone to pick up Miyako, and then felt an inexplicable desire to get both fresh air and coffee roughly an hour later but. Coincidence.

What was that?

Kaito tensed, suddenly looking over his shoulder. Had he… no, he hadn’t. For a second, he had thought he could feel someone approach from behind. It was just the sun going behind a cloud. Sigh… dammit, he hoped he didn’t look crazy in front of his bodyguard, wherever Firenze was. Literally jumping at shadows…

Kaito glanced down at Miyako, who was strapped to his chest. She was snoozing. She had been very grumpy all morning, and loud about it, but now she was settled down and worn out from yelling at the world. Fussy little princess…

Kaito glanced up, seeing Doppio leave the office. Grinning, Kaito held up the other warm drink he was holding in his other hand– for no particular reason– as a peace offering. “Doppio! What a coincidence! Long time no see!”

Yupp, there he was. Only surprising thing was that Kaito wasn’t out jogging, like Doppio had guessed, though…he supposed Dr. Mariah could rest easy, knowing he had extra eyes on him for the trip home. 

Sighing, Doppio gave Kaito a tired smile, glancing at the drinks and the sleeping Miyako with a quiet fondness. Shifting the elephant into one arm, he accepted the drink. “Thank you. Felt the call of the outdoors again after an hour?” Frowning a little, Doppio glanced at the warm drinks, and then Kaito’s neck… 

“...no one’s bothered you, right? Mr. Maggio’s…” Doppio looked around unsurely, “...here?”

“Miyako insisted. She’s an outdoors girl at heart.” Kaito said fondly, looking down at his little snoozy baby, passing one of the drinks to Doppio, “I did my best guess at what you might like right now. Are you a chai guy? Or is that just something I’ve made up? My tall husband loves chai, so it just comes to mind to me a lot.”

With one hand now free, Kaito subconsciously rubbed the part of his neck that had been burned not that long ago, shrugging as he looked around, “I think he’s around here somewhere… like, really hope so. This is literally the exact situation I got a bodyguard for. Sometimes he’ll just show up, so… maybe he’ll say hi? I don’t know.”

“But nah, no one’s bothered me,” Kaito grinned, petting Miyako’s head a bit, “Honestly, people rarely do. The food throwing thing wasn’t a daily thing. Just, ya know…” Kaito shrugged again, sipping his coffee, “escalated in ugly ways, the few times it happened. But usually it’s totally fine.”

Glancing over at the office, Kaito asked, “You have a good session? You heading home? Like, you know… castle home,” Kaito said pointedly, narrowing his eyes, “I can walk ya if you want some company.”

“I wouldn’t call myself a chai guy, but I do like it. Thank you,” Doppio thanked again, giving Kaito a nod as he took a sip…that was mostly foam, but you had to expect that from cups like these. “That cafe Arven and I went to has really incredible house chai. Their pastries are fantastic too, I’d recommend it into your apology pastry repertoire.”

Doppio looked around again, as if Firenze would just pop u - oh. Uh… Looking a little surprised (he hadn’t been there just a second ago, right?) Doppio waved to Kaito’s bodyguard, who’d given him a cheeky wave from the alley entrance he was observing from. The guy really did have a talent of just being places. 

Glad to hear Kaito hadn’t been bothered, Doppio nodded a bit…before giving Kaito a half-sheepish smile. He wasn’t actually sorry he’d gone to his house yesterday, but…he knew it hadn’t been the smartest thing to do. “...I’d like that, actually. If your daughter allows the end of outside time,” he grinned, gently adjusting the elephant in his arms. “Um… Mariah and I were actually kinda betting on you being out here.”

“I would’ve been fine!” Doppio quickly established, “But, uh, she got a little worried, because, um… I, uh…may…have had a seizure, and I got a little dizzy getting up afterward. She was worried about me walking home by myself.”

“Oh, come on, I’m not that predictable,” Kaito said, predictably, giving Firenze a curious look before refocusing on Doppio, walking with him down the road a bit. “Also, you didn’t have that elephant when I walked you to therapy, did you? Did Dr. Mariah give it to you? Is this a new, like, lollipop-style thing?”

Kaito’s eyes suddenly widened though, giving Doppio an alarmed look, “I’m sorry, seizures? What seizures!?”

“I didn’t expect the drinks,” Doppio kindly conceded, before he sighed, displaying the elephant a little. “...I don’t think I’m supposed to suck on this, but…yeah, it’s Mariah’s. It’s my homework for the week. ‘M supposed to care for Phanpiné as, like…a way to reflect on the things I want.”

Wincing, Doppio gave Kaito a wary look. “...I went out on her? Like…it wasn’t weird to me, just my regular brain stuff…but she said that it looked like a seizure to her. So…I’m…um…” Taking a breath, Doppio tried to push past the way his stomach was flip-flopping. “I-I’m going to get an appointment at the medical ward to…see if that’s what’s happening. I mean…”

He stiffly shrugged, holding the elephant a little closer. “...I…don’t think anyone I’ve gone out on before would’ve…been able to identify a seizure…you know? So…maybe that’s just what I’ve had this entire time…”

“Oooooooh,” Kaito said, one hand protectively around Miyako’s stomach, the other tapping his coffee cup against his chin a bit, “Oh. Okay… but you’re already planning to see someone about it? Good! Cool, I’m glad you’re taking care of it Doppio. Though, sucks that you went ‘out’ in the middle of a session… it wasn’t ‘posession’ out, was it?” Kaito asked, giving Doppio a concerned look, “Is it alright if I ask my little husband to double check your defense today? Make sure nothings slipping?”

“Also, fan…peenie… fanpeenie… cute.” Kaito hummed, before lighting up a little, “Aw, you’re getting the ‘egg’ homework? That’s awesome! I missed that one when I was a kid, I wasn’t going to public school when Shuichi and Maki were in middle school, and they both got assigned little eggs with smiley faces. I was so jealous! I got way more into their little eggs than either of them did. They let me babysit!” Kaito lit up, eyes sparkling at the memory, as he said, “I got them this beautiful velvet pillow, and this little silk handkerchief. I was going to give them each their own pillow at one point, but they looked so lonely just sitting by themselves. They were happier in one handkerchief next to each other.” Kaito said, sounding certain about it, even after all of this time, “I had one of the musicians serenade them until they went to sleep. Which was challenging, since their eyes were painted open. God I wanted an egg of my own.”

“Well, I guess I got one eventually.” Kaito mused, looking fondly down at Miyako, who was snuffling little baby snores.

Doppio returned the look with equal concern. “I don’t think so. Mariah knows that that was a thing, so I think she would’ve told me, so… But…yeah. Kokichi can check. I didn’t notice the other times he did, so it doesn’t bother me.”

He could only sigh as Kaito butchered yet another name. It was just a stuffed animal, so it wasn’t the same, and Doppio had pretty much given up arguing with Kaito over the pronunciation of his own name, but… “...just call it ‘Phanpy’. They’re both just…fake names anyway. Even if it did have a name, I don’t think Mariah would’ve told me--this is all about how I decide things, apparently…”

Doppio raised an eyebrow, not knowing what egg homework was…but as Kaito continued his anecdote, it became more clear, and Doppio could only short, shaking his head. “You really have been a Dad Guy forever, huh. Lucky Miyako that you’d already gotten, like…30 years of experience.”

“...but keep your focus on her,” Doppio said dryly, giving Kaito an unamused half-glare. “If Phanpy is supposed to be a reflection of the care that I want, then I’m not gonna let you Kaito-explode all over it. We’ve already gone through that whole mess once, I don’t want to do it again.”

“Kaito-explode? The heck does that mean?” Kaito asked, a tad incredulously, “What am I being warned off doing? I’m not going to take over your homework for you, if that’s what you think, I’m not that much of a control freak. Hell, I’d argue for stuff like this I’m the opposite of a control freak! Laid back and be cool’splode, is what you should be expecting from me!”

Doppio gave him a disbelieving look, taking a long sip from his tea. “...so you’re not going to start acting like Phanpy is a real baby, and telling me to do all sorts of things that you’d do for a human, and not a stuffed animal? …like getting special beds for it, or playing music for it? You’re not gonna do that?”

Kaito considered the little baby elephant for a moment, “...I think they’re a tad too small for onesies… well, maybe not? Maybe someone’s made doll sized onesies…” Kaito tilted his head, eyes wide and warm and a little in his own head, as he asked, “Has Phanpy eaten yet?”

“Kaito,” Doppio softly growled, the disbelief darkening into frustration. Though he sighed, looking at the elephant. “...I made no promises to myself that I’d start today, but…I probably will portion meals for it. I…uh…”

Doppio glanced around before gesturing Kaito to come closer, into whispering range. “...when I can, I make small portions of food for Angioletto, so she’s included. That’s probably what I’m gonna do for Phanpy.”

Kaito leaned in, listening… before grinning wide, reaching around and pulling Doppio into a half hug as they walked, shaking him a little, “Oh, no, that’s really cute. You can’t just throw that curveball at me, Doppio, it’s adorable, I just wanna mess up your hair and ruffle it to high hell.”

Chuckling a bit, Kaito let Doppio go, before huffing, “Fine, fine, you don’t want my help with your little one. Probably for the best. I’d end up having Phanby compete with  Miyako and Addason, and while Miya and Addie are pretty toe to toe in more challenges, they’d outpace Phanpy by a mile. Wouldn’t want to embarrass your kid with my competitive spirit.”

“But, alright, so the homeworks meant to be… about figuring out what you would want? You said a reflection of care, right? Huh… you sure Phanby doesn’t want a doting uncle?” Kaito smirked, “A doting uncle who would not let them get in Miyako’s hands, because Miyako still tries to eat her little friends as a way to get to know them? Seriously, babies do not care if the thing they are holding is alive, it all goes into their mouths. My Miya’s a little monster~” Kaito coo’d, looking down at Miyako, “She’ll nom-nom-nom anything.”

“Don’t,” Doppio scowled, before pouting. “...and I didn’t throw anything. She’s my friend, and…food’s my thing. Of course I wouldn’t want her to feel excluded.” Even if she couldn’t physically eat. But Doppio didn’t really think that mattered--if she had her own meal, and could taste the food through others’ experiences then…it was basically the same. 

Rolling his eyes a bit--of all the things to consider, Doppio was pretty confident he didn’t want to pantomime a baby competition--Doppio…paused. 

…doting? 

Well…Kaito’s extent was stifling, but…it was a good thing for kids to be doted upon, right? Maybe it’d get embarrassing, but…it was a blatant sign of care. As big a sign of wanting as there could be. That…didn’t sound like a bad thing to him…

Shaking his head a little, Doppio sighed. “Yeah… I was telling her that I was still having trouble envisioning what my future looks like, and especially what sort of guardians I’d have. And…she asked me for a worst case scenario and a best case scenario, but…” Doppio shrugged a little. “...she said I’m struggling with…like, developmental selfishness, but from the opposite direction, from, um…people my age. That I need help figuring out what I want.”

“So…by caring for something else, it’s supposed to be a reflection for my own desires…I guess. I’m gonna try, but…it’s kind of hard to consider the needs of an inanimate object.”

“Oooh, that’s interesting. Developmental selfishness…” Kaito pouted, “She’s trying to teach you to be selfish? How’s that something that needs teaching? You should have just gone to me, I am an expert at being selfish. It’s easy! Just want everything.”

“And also, inanimate objects scream intent.” Kaito said darkly, shooting Phanpy a wary look, “You can see what they want in their eyes…it honestly baffles me, people saying they can’t see it. They look at you. Miyako knocked Little Lamb off of her changing station the other day, and I stepped on it by accident. The sheer betrayal that radiated off of it. I had to wipe it off and tuck it into the crib and apologize, and I still feel like it’s been looking at me crooked. Maybe I should let it be a big hero in the next puppet show for her…”

Kaito squinted suddenly at nothing… before saying to Doppio, “I know it’s just my imagination. I’m not actually crazy. My imagination gets away from me, but I don’t actually lose myself in it. It’s just easy to talk about it like it’s real for me. That’s just kind of what I mean though. It’s just letting your imagination get away from you a bit.”

Doppio gave Kaito a dry look…and it didn’t ease much through everything else the prince said after. It wasn’t great, hearing someone say that the thing you’re apparently struggling with is so easy that it shouldn’t even need teaching. And hearing Kaito go off about Miyako’s lamb plushie…was kind of just more evidence Doppio was adding to his and Arven’s ‘Kaito’s a bit off’ list.

…even as Kaito admitted he knew it wasn’t real. 

Sighing, a dark haze went over Doppio’s expression as he stared at the road in front of them. “...I’ve never really thought I had much of an imagination, so that might be it. Or maybe…” The darkness increased, even as Doppio cracked a small, sarcastic smile. “...it’s more like my imagination’s more external.”

“...I do want things… I’m not an acetic,” Doppio sighed. “But for…big things, I guess. Life things… It’s hard to see how. Things just…happen. And, good or bad, you adjust. Trying to plan out some specific, elaborate fantasy just seems like a way to disappoint yourself later. Or to give yourself an escape hatch from reality.”

“You and tall husband both.” Kaito mused, “I’ll never really understand it. I gotta imagine it’s really peaceful.”

Kaito frowned at the idea that Doppio just constantly had to adjust, but… he knew that if he brought up his dislike of that, Doppio was going to throw into his face all the ways Kaito had forced Doppio to adjust too. Probably best to dodge that for now and hope he could just be a better example of Doppio not having to adjust in the future, now that, well… Doppio was adjusting already. Ngh…

Though, thinking of dodging Doppio ire reminded Kaito  of, “Yeah, didn’t I tick you off once, doing that on your behalf? I can’t remember what the scenario was… I think it was some big project you were working on going well or something. You were mad.”

Doppio shrugged a little, adjusting Phanpy in his arms again. “It can be, I guess. You find peace.” It did seem like a happier way to live than being constantly disappointed that things didn’t match up to your expectations, though. Doppio had found a lot of happiness that he never would’ve dreamed of and…he kind of liked the surprise of it. The world would be a very boring place if only the things he imagined were possible. 

Sipping his tea, Doppio could only blink at Kaito in confusion for a little bit before one blink was a little wider. “Oh…! Right, uh… Was I mad?” He tilted his head a little, trying to put the hazy memory in order. “Um… If I was, I’m sorry if I yelled at you or anything… If it was you trying to…do, like, a best case future…” He sighed. “...yeah, I don’t think that would’ve gone well. I did say one thing of, like, substance, and Mariah seemed pleased enough with that bit, but…I don’t think I did a good job as a whole.”

“Eh, it’s alright, sometimes you gotta take another persons ire as a sign you need to get your,” Kaito glanced down at Miyako, “dukie together… or feeling like that is a sign of your complexes getting the best of you and that it’s actually not something you should restructure your identity around… or that’s just an excuse to not follow the first bit of advise, which is that you should change yourself entirely when someone disapproves of you… ooooor,” Kaito paused, “Maybe you should only base your sense of identity on other people approval and disapproval like… a liiiittle bit. But not entirely. Or too much. Or too immediately. Based on a case by case basis where the context hugely matters…”

“But that last one is really hard, so I just tend to see-saw between the first two.” Kaito laughed, “Until eventually I calm down and realize it’s the last one. I’m still on the fence about that bit of scolding you gave me. I did bring it up to my littlest husband though! We’re gonna discuss it in group therapy at some point. So don’t think I’m just ignoring you! I am doing my best!” Kaito said, sounding pumped and determined.

Looking curiously at Doppio, Kaito asked, “Do you wanna talk about what it was? The thing you wanted for the future, I mean. You don’t have to, I know I shouldn’t even really be asking about your therapy session to begin with. My doing that rambling thing, I don’t actually mean to, like, intrude and stuff. It’s not my business.”

It started out strong, but, uh… Doppio really lost the thread of just what the hell Kaito was even saying a few sentences in. Uh…taking Doppio’s frustration as a sign for…a couple ideas of action? Or perspective? And uh… 

“...okay?” Doppio said slowly, not sure what Kaito was talking about with the ‘scolding you gave me’. Er…the one about not harassing people at work? “Um…I’m…glad?”

Shaking his head a little, Doppio blew his bangs out of his face before giving Kaito a small shrug. “I mean, I don’t mind you asking, really. If there’s stuff I don’t want to tell you, I won’t. And I don’t mind this one.” With a bit of a hapless smile, he shrugged lightly. “The scenarios she had me talk about were one year in the future. And…for a thing I’d absolutely want one year from now? No panic attacks for the last year,” Doppio nodded. “That was actually really easy to think of.”

“Eyyyy, heck yeah, I like that too. High five!” Kaito grinned, holding up a hand for Doppio… before wincing, “Hey, sorry, I’m a little all over the place right now. I feel hyper. I still want that high five! Just, sorry if it’s a lot right now. The coffee’s not helping.” Kaito admitted, looking at his drink… before sipping it again, “Mmm.”

“Yeah, I’d love it if you never had a panic attack in the next year too.” Kaito mused, scratching his chin, “You have a lot in front of me. Like… do you have that many panic attacks when I’m not around? I have worried maybe I trigger those too often.”

Doppio looked between his hands. A tea and an elephant. Looking faintly stressed, he raised his hand with the drink and tapped his knuckles against Kaito’s hand, figuring that was…close enough. “You’re alright. Just…sorry if I get too,” a glance to Miyako, “Grumpy in response. It’s hard to keep up with you sometimes.”

Sighing, Doppio rolled his eyes to the sky with a small groan. “Oh, believe me, that theory’s already been talked about. I do have panic attacks when you’re not around…but between them all, I do think you’re the most common factor. …I don’t think we did ever get down to why… I…could be mixing conversations, but I think that one just let to considering a restraining order.”

Kaito grinned at the knuckle tap, fist pumping afterwards, “Yeah!”

“Yeaaaaah, I’d probably consider staying away from someone who gave me panic attack after panic attack… not that I ever really get those.” Kaito mused, “Maybe… once? I feel like I had one once… actually maybe not. I don’t really seem to do what you or my husbands do, the times I feel the most freaked out, so I don’t know if any of them were ‘panic attacks’. I guess I’ve just never had one… sorry.”

“As for why, I mean, I’m a lot.” Kaito said, scratching his fingers through his hair a bit, “I think it probably doesn’t help that I try to draw you into really heavy conversations all the time. I mean, we talked about that on my birthday. It’s a really bad habit with me. That’d be hard on anyone, but especially on you, since you’re going through so much right now.”

Doppio shrugged a little. “You never meant to trigger them on purpose. Like…I’m still not happy about it, but…even if you spark them, you’ve always helped me through them. Like that first one? I didn’t even know what a panic attack was, I thought my body was falling apart… But you helped.”

It…honestly probably was the heavy conversation thing. Doppio had never considered himself a particularly philosophical person in the first place, but as his world had been shattering, there were so many even baseline questions that he hadn’t wanted to think about at all. And…when Kaito pushed them into talking about it, Doppio really couldn’t handle thinking about them. 

“...I guess so,” he hummed. “...it makes me feel kind of pathetic, not being able to just…talk about what’s just going on…but I don’t…think it really felt that way, when I was having a panic attack. Doesn’t help that I can barely remember what triggered most of them. Made it kind of difficult trying to explain them to Mariah…”

“Honestly? I think the details of why things happen kind of are hit and miss for anyone.” Kaito said, sipping his coffee again, “Sometimes it’s just important to remember how you felt about it when it happened and trust yourself on it. I remember feeling guilty for those moments, and I trust that I did something preventable, even if I can’t always remember exactly what it was. If you remember me overwhelming you, you don’t have to be able to recite exactly what it was I did. We just gotta respect that it happened and work with that.”

“...thoooough, maybe that’s not super helpful for remembering why the things I did stressed you out, and working through that,” Kaito said, “I wish I could help you out with that more. I want to say… I think one time, it was me talking bad about your dad. I think I suggested he was bad at his job?” Kaito said, frowning a bit, “Which was… wrong of me. I think I remember feeling bad about it because I knew saying it would hurt your feelings and I said it anyway. That wasn’t fair. Me having issues with your family doesn’t mean I should hurt you just to vent that frustration. I know how that feels better than anyone, it’s just… cruel. So I’m sorry for that.”

“I…guess so?” Doppio hummed. “I mean…I trust myself enough to figure I wasn’t freaking out over literally nothing, even if it was something kind of dumb in hindsight. Like…I trust all that enough to say that there is a problem. …I just don’t remember what it is.”

And, uh…neither did Kaito, really. Which left them just guessing at shadows. …or half remembered feelings.

Doppio scowled a bit--it wasn’t going to set him off now, but…of all the criticism sent towards his dad, that he was bad at his job was a super off base one--though as Kaito began to apologize, his expression eased up. Glancing over, Doppio sighed, before gently tapping his shoulder against Kaito’s arm. “...thank you. I know I have some pretty blatant berserk buttons, but…it’s shitty to press them on purpose. So…thanks for owning up to that.”

They walked a little more before Doppio went, “Oh. Oh, I guess so… People do kinda use you as a dunk tank for Luminary, huh.”

“Nah, not as much as you’d think.” Kaito assured, shaking his head, “Dicea’s actually really good about that, generally. Most of the time, if people hated me, it was because it was me. I spent a lot of time when I first got here really angry with everyone, picking fights, being rude, that sort of thing. I really turned a lot of people against me, just being generally cruddy to be around. My own fault.”

“No, what happens is because I keep insisting on bringing Luminary up, so I keep forcing people here to talk about Luminary just to stay on topic, right? And shockingly enough,” Kaito said, rolling his eyes, “People generally don’t have nice things to say about the war-mongering, slave-country that just spent fifteen years trying to invade them, or anything nice to say about the royal family that spearheaded all of that either. Stunning. Who’d have ever guessed.”

“I used to take it pretty personally, but these days I’m trying to sort of… disconnect myself? A little from Luminary? Be less emotionally attached, less defensive… not being defensive is the important bit…” 

Kaito paused, hesitating… before saying quietly to Doppio, “Sometimes it’s better to not try to insist there were good things about the place you came from, when someone is confronting you about the bad things. Because it puts the person confronting you in this position where they want to explain to you why even the good things were bad? And that can…wear you down, after a while. No one’s really doing it to hurt you, not usually. It’s just the unfortunate reality of coming from a family everyone else thinks is garbage. Even the good stuff is bad, if they’re always looking for the bad stuff anyway.”

Doppio tilted his head a little, finding that curious. Like…he didn’t doubt that Kaito pissed some people off personally, because to a point that was just the nature of living in a place with a lot of people, and if Kaito said he was being purposefully confrontational, then Doppio believed it… But people tended to not be very shy about their opinions on Luminary, and Kaito had said many times that he was a symbol of Luminary in Dicea. 

Probably just…nuances of situations, he guessed. 

Giving Kaito another curious look, Doppio thought about it for a moment…before huffing. “...that’s dumb. No one can tell you your experience just…didn’t exist. Maybe…there were bad things,” he mumbled, shoulders dropping a little, “But good things still were there too, and the existence of those don’t mean that…the good things now don’t exist, or are lesser by comparison or…anything. …what a waste of time, trying to bend over backwards for that sort of point, get a hobby…”

Kaito chuckled a little nervously, rubbing Miyako’s belly a bit, “Yes, okay, yes, I agree with you… but trust me. You want to hold onto those feelings? Don’t put yourself in a position where you have to argue with anyone about it. I can envision exactly how it’s going to go for you. You’ll bring up something you liked about living with your dad, and they will, in turn, link whatever it is to either, A. his abuse, or B! The drug empire that you both worked in. And trust me, when you have to defend yourself from abuse and crimes, you always come out the loser. You’ll have no legs to stand on. It gets really tiring.”

“But!” Kaito grinned, his shoulders easing a little, “Eventually you’ll either find people who you can talk about the nice things with, without all that extra stuff, or you can end up talking to a few people who did that and explain that you’re not always thrilled with it, and eventually you create a little social group where it’s okay to talk about those things! That’s gonna be the sweet spot! It’s just figuring out who you can and can’t do that with first. Like, I bet Arven will be that for you, if he’s not already.”

Doppio pouted a bit. He didn’t really try to argue with anyone about…anything. He didn’t like getting into fights, it just…happened sometimes. And Doppio had always tried to keep mentions of his dad and his personal life to a minimum anyway and…especially now, with the arrest and upcoming court cases, he didn’t expect he’d suddenly start interjecting things into every conversation. 

Though, uh, as Kaito mentioned Passione, Doppio ‘eep’ed and glanced around, feeling nerves tighten in his chest. That…really was something Doppio still wasn’t trying to spread around…even if people knew. 

Shrugging, still looking a little nervous, Doppio sighed. “Arven’s cool talking about everything, even if it’s stuff he doesn’t like. He does, uh…” A glance to Miyako. “...call my dad names, but it’s not like he’s saying that all the stuff I liked was dumb. He just says he doesn’t get it sometimes, which, you know, is fair.”

“Mmhm, mhm~” Kaito nodded, before grinning fondly, “‘Kichi likes to hear about, like, the architecture and stuff in Luminary. Statues and stuff. I don’t really know if he’ll like Luminary itself, it’s gonna be way too hot for him, along with a bunch of other stuff, but! He’d love the landscape.”

“And you know, I bet Arven would love to visit…” Kaito paused, before patting his pockets, pulling out his calendar journal, opening it up, “...Tsuuuumarian? Tsumaria? Where the heck are you from Doppio?”

“Mm,” Doppio hummed, before looking up at Kaito suspiciously. “...did Arven’s friends ever reach out to you? I know they talked to Kokichi a little about things about the architecture of your shrine, and stuff about your religion, and I assumed Kokichi was going to direct them to you. Giovanni was drawing the entire time we were there, I bet he’d like to hear about that stuff too.”

His eyebrows raising a little as Kaito pulled out his planner, Doppio blinked, before giving him a sour look. “...my dad.”

Kaito lit up at the idea, “No, not yet. I mean, I’d love to talk to them about it! But, it’s not come up yet. Though, I love that they were enjoying it. Kokichi did such a good job. I love that room. Seriously, Miyako, I looooove you, you’re dad’s most precious treasure… but from now on, dad’s gonna say two great things happened to him this year, and my little Miya being born is gonna be right next to daddy giving Dad his shrine…” Kaito grinned, kissing the top of her head, sniffing her, “...okay, fine, Miyako still beats the shrine. Love that little baby smell. Miyako smells sooooo good. Doppio! Do you want to smell Miyako? It’s refreshing… what was I talking about…?”

Kaito paused, a little confused what Doppio was referencing for a moment… before pausing, “Oh. Right… but you know Tsumarian, right? Where’s that from?”

Doppio snorted a little, amusedly watching Kaito gush over Miyako. He…supposed he did have an example of what people did to take care of a small child. The royal family was not subtle about their care and affections, and it did look different father to father. Doppio didn’t really know how Miyako felt about it, and how it contributed to her wants, but…she did giggle a lot, and her wiggling did look happy whenever Kaito picked her up, and, well, her almost-screaming face was pretty blatant when people tried to put her down…

He glanced at the elephant. He hadn’t just planned on leaving it in his room for a week but…he guessed just carrying it around could be a form of care. 

Sighing, Doppio explained, “From the Tsumari Islands, the island chain to the south of mainland Dicea. And not Novoselic, obviously. I can speak Tsumarian… I assume because he can.”

“Yeah! I bet Arven would love to visit the Tsumari Islands, chain… hold on, Miyako, hold my journal,” Kaito asked his baby, placing the calender gently against the top of Miyako’s head, jotting it down, “island chain to the south of mainland Dicea… got it!” 

Closing the journal up, he placed the journal back into his pocket, peeked down to see if Miyako was still asleep… before snorting a bit as she snuffled louder. “Cute~ But yeah! I don’t know, Doppio, maybe you’ll feel some sort of affinity for that place. Dicea as a whole is great, and the capital is wonderful, but…” Kaito looked around, before whispering to Doppio, “It’s cold here. And hilly… Tsumari is a tropic, right, if it’s an island? I bet a tropical island would be a great place to show off to Arven.”

Doppio sighed. “It’d be mine to show off just as much as it’d be his…but…” Doppio tilted his head a little, considering it. “...it would be fun to see, one day. I think most places are, but…we’d be in for a real treat, food-wise. And it could be a nice place to go during the winter, though I’d like to see it at other times too.”

Laughing softly, Doppio shared a sympathetic grin with Kaito. “I’m not much of a fan of the cold either. I know it still does snow in Tsumari, but definitely not as much. Going somewhere during the winter where I don’t have to trudge through snow that goes over my hips would be a nice change, I think.”

Shaking his head a little, Doppio sipped at his tea. “...oh, speaking of, I guess… Are you letting your kids stay up for Harvest? I’ve never been here for it before, but…kinda similar, latitudinally, it still gets pretty cold at night.” Glancing down, Doppio smiled softly. “...I’m kind of excited for the festival… I know Arven’s looking forward to a haunted house, so that’ll be fun. I’ve only, like…seen the surface of, well, last year’s Harvest, somewhere else, but…festivals always look fun.”

“Oh, yeah, of course we are. We’ve already talked to the girls parents about spending the night at the castle harvest, so the kids can stay up as late as they want for it.” Kaito said, before his eyes widened, looking at Doppio with new, keen interest, “You haven’t gone to a festival!? Oh, yes,” Kaito grinned, pumping his fist enthusiastically, “Kokichi and I were doing a lot of firsts last year in regards to festivals and stuff, and now! We have someone new to share it all with! Hah!”

Kaito smirked, nudging Doppio gently, “You and Arven are gonna be dodging us all night that night. I am so excited to share Harvest stuff with you, it’s a really cool holiday around here! Like, harvest was one of the first things in Dicea that was a lot of fun for the whole group! Even the haunted house, which, for me, is saying something, because the haunted house was otherwise really scary and a little depressing. I might skip the haunted house this year, just wait for you all outside with Miyako. But yeah! We can carve pumpkins and go eat good food and oh! Do you think you’ll wear a costume!?”

Doppio nodded, smirking a little as he wondered just how late that would be. It was a shame Harvest was on a Sunday this year. It was such a big holiday, he figured most places would be running pretty lethargically on Monday anyway, if they were open at all, and he figured the same would be done for schools. Still, he doubted Kaito was going to let Tim and his friends get away with taking Monday off. …Arven either. 

Blinking, Doppio looked a little startled by Kaito’s enthusiasm before he sighed. “I’ve been to festivals. Like…not…full merrymaking, I guess, ‘cause I was usually still working, but they’re pretty unavoidable if you’re going into town at all. I’d usually still be cooking, but normally I’d get my own meals at the festival so I could try new things. …and the desserts are usually pretty amazing.”

Rolling his eyes a little--he bet he and Arven would be dodging Kaito--Doppio shrugged. “Considering how freaked out you get by that stuff, I get that. And someone needs to stay with your daughter anyway. Though, uh…no?” Doppio raised an eyebrow. “Why’d I wear a costume? Are you?”

“Of course you gotta wear a costume! People wear costumes to harvest! Well, the kids do, anyway,” Kaito said, thinking back to last harvest, “But some of the adults do too! I did. I was a sexy healer. I’m not sure what to be this year. Definitely a sexy something…sexy knight? I could have a croptop set of armor? Or, like, armor with a boobwindow?” Kaito said, peeking behind Miyako, down his chest, “That could work. Impractical for fighting, but if I don’t have at least one person stuttering red when they talk to me that night who isn’t my husbands just being nice to me, I’m gonna be so darn disappointed. Used to be a knock-out, I swear… people would look at me and trip…”

Kaito grumbled a bit, lamenting the loss of his ‘hot guy’ status, before looking warily at Miyako… and then groaning, “Nooooo, no ones gonna notice how hot I am! They’re gonna be too busy looking at Miyako in her cute pumpkin onesie. We got her a pumpkin outfit, it’s gonna be all warm and cozy and she’ll be able to nap in it real easy. Ugh, Miyako, I love you, but you are also such a cockblock.”

He had noticed the costumes last year, and…yeah, it had been the majority of kids, though a good portion of adults did too. But not everyone did, and that had seemed…normal. It wasn’t like Doppio was going to wear a costume for work--and it seemed kind of a waste to buy weird clothes he’d only wear once--but even now, he didn’t really see a reason to. 

…was Arven going to wear a costume? Maybe he should ask…

Turning to the side to gag a bit, Doppio gave Kaito a semi-disgusted, semi-exasperated look. “You are so shenanigans-focused it’s ridiculous.”

“...though Miyako being a pumpkin does sound cute,” he admitted. “And if it’s not warm enough, you could just use a green blanket for her and it’d still kind of look like leaves. …is she alright with crowds? I thought babies were kind of sensitive to that sort of stuff.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Kaito smirked, shrugging a little, “Look, just let me pretend I’m still attractive while I still have the energy for pretending. When this little one starts running around and her tantrums include knocking over display stands, that’s when I’m giving up entirely and just accepting the tired dad look.”

“She’s gonna look so cute in her little pumpkin outfit~” Kaito coo’d, “And, so far, we’ve been preeeetty okay with crowds… but truthfully, if Miyako gets overwhelmed, either me or Shuichi are gonna just take her home for the night. It’s gonna really depend on how much fun Shuichi’s having. Whoever’s left behind will help with the older kids and keep Kokichi company. Kokichi can spend as much time as he darn well pleases at the festival, he’s earned it. I won’t mind sending my hot self to bed if Miyako just wants to be home.”

“Or, we may ask someone to babysit after a certain point in the day? Like maybe have her out while it’s still daylight, then drop her off home at sunset. We’ve been talking about that too, we just haven’t figured out who to ask to babysit.” Kaito explained, “Harvest is a big festival, I don’t want to trap anyone at home. And the only person I know who basically doesn’t have a life is also the main person I will not let babysit. King Aiichi babysits over my damn body. But I’d hate for Ikuo to feel obligated…well, we’ll figure something out. Again, worst comes to worst, it’ll be me and Miya just hanging out at home, being sexy and cute together.”

Some days it seemed like Kaito was already accepting the tired dad look, but Doppio figured he didn’t need to completely take the wind out of Kaito’s sails today. Though, he tilted his head a little. Just leaving if Miyako wasn’t having a good time seemed reasonable, but… “Oh, does Prince Kokichi really like festivals? He does have that kind of energy, huh… That’s really nice of your and your husband, making more of a compromise so he can enjoy the whole thing. Even if part of those duties is looking after Timothy and his friends too.”

“And, uh…” Doppio didn’t really…know what to say about Kaito absolutely not letting King Aiichi babysit, but… “Isn’t the king super busy during festivals anyway? Representatives always do stuff for opening ceremonies, and I have to imagine it’s an even bigger deal with the leader of Dicea. People always talk about royal outreach, I wouldn’t think he’d delegate that to someone else.”

“Even more of a reason King Aiichi doesn’t babysit.” Kaito said, undeterred. “He’d be doing community outreach stuff and we’d go to check on them, see how he’s handling Miyako, and by then he’d have her working volunteer trash cleaning duty. Miyako, you are too young and too precious to be picking up trash at festivals. Ooooh, I just bet Aiichi’s picking up trash at festivals.” Kaito said darkly, all grim suspicion, like he was saying Aiichi was cooking the books with the financial department, “That sounds just like him.”

“...and ‘Kichi loves the festivals!” Kaito said cheerily, that grim suspicion gone as he grinned brightly, “Unity is his favorite, but I’m actually betting he and Shuichi will enjoy harvest together the most. I’m really looking forward to seeing them be happy in it!”

Doppio…wasn’t super sure if this was just Kaito letting his imagination run away again. Some part of that sounded genuine…though some part of his insistence stuffed animals had feelings had sounded genuine too. 

He didn’t really get it. He hadn’t had many conversations with the king, but honestly Doppio was alright with that--the guy was busy, and if he’d found Kokichi intimidating, then the current leader was a rung above. One of the few conversations they had had involved Aiichi reassuring Doppio that he wasn’t going to be prosecuted for…well, technically breaking child labor laws. Even in a more normal case, usually it was only the employer that would pay dues anyway, but Doppio had been reassured that because he didn’t have an official age at the time, he would be able to keep his wages and work experience as, uh…legal stuff. Which was nice to know. 

It turned out the Oumas were pretty good at reassuring people. 

“Really?” Doppio hummed. “Oh, he might’ve mentioned that… I think Unity is Arven’s favorite holiday too. Well…most people have fun during holidays, so it’ll probably be a good time.”

“It will! You should pick a costume! Timothy says he and the girls are doing coordinated outfits. I’m waiting for the big reveal day of, but for you, I can take you to pick an outfit if you want…” Kaito paused, looking Doppio up and down, “You’d probably look cute in a pumpkin outfit too.”

Doppio rolled his eyes a little before pausing, seeming to think something over. “...you did say you’d take me clothes shopping this week. I’ll think about it. And if I want to get a costume for Harvest, we can do it then, okay?”

He may just be setting up an expectation that’d be harder to wiggle out of later, but…Doppio had a feeling it’d be easier to get Kaito to drop it now if Doppio didn’t straight out fight him on it. And at least later, there was the chance Kaito would forget about it by the time they went shopping. 

Sighing a little, Doppio looked up at the castle as they passed through the gates. “...thanks for walking me back, and for the tea. I’m going to start walking Arven home again, so that’s what I’m doing if I leave the castle, okay?” Doppio stressed, giving Kaito a side eye.

“What? What!? You can do whatever you want, you don’t have to say it like that!” Kaito insisted, looking affronted at the side eye, “Who am I, King Aiichi!? You go have fun! With your boyfriend! …safely. Making good choices in safe areas… but yeah, have fun~” Kaito grinned brightly, patting Doppio on his back, “...do you want Firenze to come with you?”

“Sure,” Doppio said dryly, before he shook his head. “He’s your bodyguard. I’m not going to be the one feeling responsible if you want to go out if he’s following us, and something happens to you. We’ll be alright, my dad doesn’t care about me anymore.”

…and maybe one day it’d stop hurting.

-

Arven, when asked if he was going to wear a costume for Harvest, gave Doppio a somewhat bewildered look as they headed away from the school, “Should I?”

Doe-eyed, his arms hugging around the elephant, Doppio shrugged back. “If you wanted to? I’ve never done it, and I wasn’t planning on it, but Kaito was talking about his own plans and he was badgering me about it, so… I mean…if you were, I’d consider it.”

Smiling a little, he gossiped, “Apparently they got a pumpkin onesie for Princess Miyako. It sounds really cute.”

Arven had no strong desires to wear a costume, but… if he wore one, Doppio would wear one? Huh… what kind of costume would Doppio wear, though? Doppio would look attractive in anything he put on, but… huh…

“That does sound pretty cute.” Arven agreed, still trying to imagine what kind of outfit Doppio might wear if they were gonna wear outfits. Though… “Hey, speaking of cute, what’s with the elephant?”

Looking down at it, Doppio lifted the elephant to show Arven more. “It’s a Mariah Assignment. She wants me to take care of it for a week to use it as a reflection of the kind of care I want. To, uh…learn to be more selfish, about things I want, I guess.” He gave Arven a small shrug. “I told her about how much trouble I have thinking about the future, so…this is exercise three for that issue.”

“It is really cute though,” he smiled softly. “And thankfully Kirumi was able to give me some tips on how to best take care of the fabric and stuffing it's made of, so I’ll be able to keep it cute.”

“So, what, it’s like…” Arven looked curiously at the elephant, “Meant to be you then? I mean, elephant isn’t the first animal motif I’d have picked for you, but it is very cute, and so are you, so it works.”

“Definitely keep it away from Chase, though,” Arven said, reaching over to mess with the elephants ears a little, feeling the fabric, “I’ve not seen her chew on anything she shouldn’t yet, but puppies her age? Still a pretty big risk she might think its a chew toy.”

“Otherwise, how was therapy today?” Arven asked. “Or just your day in general?”

“I guess? I dunno if I’m supposed to think about it so directly, because then I might just have the same problem thinking of myself, but…like, apparently in Luminary Shuuichi and Maki had a school assignment that was kind of similar to this, and Kaito went full tilt treating their eggs--it was eggs instead of stuffed animals--like babies…and that’s a little weird to me.” Doppio shrugged a little. “I just thought it was cute, and it’s not a weird shape that would make it difficult to carry around.”

Doppio snorted. “I’ll be careful, though. I think not becoming a puppy’s chew toy is a pretty reasonable desire to have for yourself.”

“It was alright,” Doppio sighed, leaning into Arven’s side briefly. “Therapy always has tense moments. Mariah and Blair seemed to like the ice cream. …I, um…” 

“...I went out during therapy, and Mariah said it looked like a stress-induced seizure,” Doppio mumbled, looking at the ground. “So…I had a check up with Nell after and… Well, she’s not sure. It could be that, it could actually be narcolepsy, it could be a stress-induced migraine that causes me to pass out… Um…she, uh… She said she could confirm that it wasn’t, like…an infection or stuff like that, so…that’s good… But she’d probably need to observe one of my freak outs to really…figure out what it is.”

“Are we really thinkings its not a magic thing?” Arven asked, the question genuinely concerned, “I guess if it wasn’t, Mariah and Nell would be the ones who could tell you, but that seems surprising to me. They always had to do with your dad before, right?”

“Though, I guess if you’re still having them now that he’s not supposed to be able to influence you anymore, right?” Arven said, frowning, “I guess that’d have to make it something else.”

Doppio shrugged shallowly. “That’s kind of the distinction we’re working with. Like…it still could be a magic thing, but…it’s hard to narrow that down. Because of how my body works, Nell and I agreed that it’d probably be most helpful to just…assume normal human things about it until we’re proved wrong. Because trying to pull an explanation out of…” Doppio’s gaze went a little dry and exasperated, “...literally any and everything? Is a bit more difficult than anatomy and reactions that have been studied for thousands of years.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Arven said, not sure if it did. “...I mean, we don’t really know what the inside of you looks like. It might not just be all goop? So if we assume you’re just, physically, a person but also with goop…”

Arven shrugged, looking at Doppio, “Maybe that’d be a good thing? If we are assuming your problems are human problems, then human solutions will help you. That’s better than trying to reinvent the wheel.”

“School was alright,” Arven said, struggling to think of anything he could regale Doppio with, before settling on, “I’m pretty sure Penny’s been pranking the Rabbits. There’s no proof it’s her the one making their backpacks explode and stuff, but the lack of proof just makes it seem more likely it’s her, you know? Who else could get away with it? Oh, and are we still aiming to do chess club?”

Doppio returned the shrug. Arven had pretty much nailed the whole thing. A lot of stuff about him did react like a human body, and Nell had told him that even some of the stuff that didn’t was trying to at least emulate it. So unless they either exhausted all of the reasons and tests that’d work on a human, or they got a better lead about something else, they just had to see if human stuff worked. 

Perking up as Arven started talking about school, Doppio gasped softly. “More explosions? Geez… Is Penny good at that stuff? I mean…she seemed pretty confident when she helped us, and…I guess I’ll take your word for it, if you think it’s her. I hope you don’t get caught in the crossfire again. Otherwise,” he snorted softly, “...that’s kinda cool.”

“Yeah?” Doppio glanced to Arven with a half shrug. “I still am interested in just…seeing what it’s about, still. And Mariah’s still worried about my social stuff. I might be bad at the game, but I can’t imagine playing board games would be as overwhelming as a dance competition and…being around other people socially would probably be a good idea.”

Doppio gave his boyfriend a sheepish look. “...I know you were the one to bring it up, but…I’d feel kinda bad being so set on it if you’re not interested.”

Arven shrugged, “I’d be hanging out with you, right? Then I’m down for it. I only asked because I need to be sure I get the time and place right then. The way I’ve been hearing it, the chess club is kinda weird. There’s these three seniors who have been running it for the last few years, and apparently they take it really seriously. As in, like, treat it like their strategians at war, sort of thing… everyone in my school is weird.” Arven huffed, rolling his eyes, leaning in closer to Doppio as he said, “I’m glad I have you to just chill and be normal with.”

“That…does sound pretty intense,” Doppio hummed. “I mean…I guess with growing up with the war, that would put it in, like…the social consciousness. But still kind of…a lot for chess. I hope…um…the person Josie said we should ask to teach us is kinda chill about it…”

Smiling softly, Doppio leaned towards Arven as well. “I know it’ll be fun with you, though. And even if you win every chess game too, I’ll still enjoy it.”

Looking around, Doppio hummed softly. “...is there anything you want to do before we go back to the castle? I…huh,” Doppio huffed, rolling his eyes, “I was planning on just going back anyway, but can you guess who I saw drinking coffee outside Mariah’s office when I got out this morning?”

“I don’t know why you’re so convinced I’m going to beat you at chess. Do I seem like some chess expert? Trust me, we’re gonna be on equal grounds, it’ll be even competition. Don’t go easy on me.” Arven grinned, nudging Doppio a little… before looking at the elephant. “You’ve been holding that since your appointment then? Want me to carry it for a while? Give you a break?”

Arven raised an eyebrow at Doppio’s question, before scoffing, “Seriously? You’re nice to him for one birthday, and he’s back to ambushing you again? So what, you feeling a little rebellious then?” Arven smirked, “Wanna keep him up worrying?”

“I just mean you have a pretty good track record against me already,” Doppio chuckled, nudging Arven back. “And I know I’m no good at strategy stuff. You’re super smart! So even if you’re a beginner too, I know you’ll pick it up quickly. But don’t worry, I’ll give it my best. No false victories, promise.”

Looking at the elephant as well, Doppio shrugged. “I mean, if you want to hold it, I don’t mind. It is really soft. And I haven’t been holding Phanpy the whole time--I set it down when Nell was looking at me, and I just kept it in my lap when I spent some time in the greenhouse today. It’s just a stuffed animal…but Mariah said how I treat it will be a sign and…” He grimaced. “...I feel kinda…bad about what just, like…leaving it in our room? Would mean. I did say I’d give this a genuine try…”

But he wasn’t going to disrupt his whole life over it either. Snorting, Doppio gave Arven a sheepish look. “Not necessarily…and I did kind of chew him out over getting too worried already. I’m just…asking if you want to get an after-school drink or something.”

“Let’s do it, then, I’d like a drink.” Arven said, holding out his hand to take Phanpy from Doppio, before considering the stuff toy for a moment, glancing at Chief, “...do you think, if you were this little guys size, you’d want to ride around on Chief’s back?”

Chief panted, looking up at them. Enjoying his usual day out with Arven.

Doppio slowed down, his eyes widening. “...absolutely.”

“Arven. Oh no…” Doppio whispered. “You’ve just given me an impossible dream.”

Arven laughed, gesturing to Chief, who trotted closer, sitting patiently as Arven adjusted the handkerchief Chief was wearing as a sort of collar that day. It had a little buckle at its end, keeping it secure, so it was just a matter of adjusting it to loosen around the elephants waist, and then… “Ta da! What was its name again, Phanpy? Phanpy gets to enjoy playing with the dog. You have the best seat in the house, Phanpy.”

If Chief had any issues with his new passenger, there was no sign of it on him. He just continued to pant happily, Phanpy’s head resting on the top of Chief’s head.

“Alright, let’s go get a drink.” Arven said, reaching to take Doppio’s hand.

“What a lucky elephant,” Doppio sighed, before going down on a knee to scratch behind Chief’s ears. “Thanks for giving Phanpy a treat, Chief. There are some very grateful belly rubs in your future.”

Standing and taking Arven’s hand in turn, Doppio smiled at his boyfriend and leaned in for a quick peck against his cheek. “It’s on me. What are you in the mood for? Kaito got me a chai this morning, so I’ll probably go for something different myself…”

-

Arven found himself fascinated with the shishi odoshi that was near their table, a small, soothing trickle of water tipping over the bamboo stalk every now and again when the small waterfalls trickling over the walls overflowed it, the water disappearing into the pretty fountains. It was far from his first time seeing aesthetics based on zen gardens, but that didn’t make them any less enrapturing to him as he sipped his oolong. 

“Hold on, hold on, it’s about to tip again,” Arven whispered to Doppio, the stalk start to jostle tellingly, fascinated as he watched the stalk slooooowly start to tip, “...nice.”

The cafe they’d stopped at--a popular one that Doppio had been to relatively often, for how long he’d lived in Usott--did have a refreshing, calm aesthetic that felt as good for the soul as their cinnamon raisin bread, but…the wide, adoring grin on Doppio’s face was certainly directed more at Arven than it was at the water bird. His boyfriend’s pure enjoyment was precious and contagious. 

“You like this kind of stuff? I’m not about to say it’s fitting just ‘cause it’s outdoorsy…but it still does fit you,” Doppio laughed softly, sipping his hot chocolate. With whipped cream and chocolate shavings, of course. “Like…natural patience…if that’s even a vibe.”

“...man, I haven’t been here in weeks. Feels a little weird.”

“Sometimes it’s nice to just sit and exist somewhere.” Arven said, giving Doppio a fond look, “I couldn’t be in an environment like this all the time, but I think it’s a treat whenever I find myself somewhere really pretty and calm like this.”

“And why weird?” Arven asked, breaking apart his lemon square a bit, “Now how you remember it?”

“A beautiful thing,” Doppio agreed with a nod, before he laughed softly. “...I feel like I read somewhere bears do the same thing? Like…they’ll just sit and enjoy the beauty of a place. I remember thinking that was really cool, that there was another species that could appreciate aesthetics like that.”

Looking around the cafe, Doppio tried to see if there was anything that stuck out to him as new--...not really--before he shook his head. “Uh, no. I’d just come here, like…at least once a week? It’s in a really good place, o-or at least on a route I’d cross a lot, so it was convenient and…” He smiled bashfully at Arven. “...I’d usually get drinks out a lot. Since they’re usually really easily to get to go and…it was always a nice treat to have while I was working.”

“I, uh…” He looked down and tapped a bit on his mug. “...the last time I came here, I, um… I came to cheer myself up. Thought all I needed was a good coffee to lift the spirits.”

“You were having a tough day?” Arven asked, looking around the cafe with renewed interest. It was nice, to think that Doppio had been enjoying this place so frequently, before Arven had known him. It was the first thing Doppio had ever really shared with him, from a calmer part of his life. 

So this was the sort of place Doppio liked to hang out, when he was by himself and wasn’t hosting… nice… it made Arven feel closer to him.

“What had you so down?”

Doppio winced a little. He knew Arven didn’t…love talking about it. Or hearing about it. But…avoiding subjects completely just because he didn’t want to upset Arven didn’t…seem good. 

That said, though, Doppio looked around the cafe as he cleared his throat. “...um… You know when we got those colds? A-and Kaito took me to his family healer?”

Arven huffed, a little grumpy, “Ugh, I had almost forgot. I should have realized Kaito was a freak then and there. Back then I gave him the benefit of the doubt that how involved and hovering he was was because, well...” Arven gave Doppio a tired look, glancing at his chest before shrugging, “You know. I mean, in that one case, I’m really glad he was a busybody…”

“...” Arven frowned, tilting his head, “You know what’s weird? I didn’t question it when we were first bunked together, because we both had a cold and all of that. I didn’t know about what had happened. But it’s wild that you just happened to get a cold on top of what happened with your dad. Like, it was an entirely separate thing, because we both got it, right? I mean…”

Arven suddenly frowned, “...we didn’t hang out, right? Between you being… drowned. And Kaito finding you?”

Flushing a little, Doppio crossed his arms on the cafe table in front of his chest, glancing down with some embarrassment. “...I really resented him for it for a while, but…I’m glad too.” He still wasn’t totally sure that he wouldn’t have been fine without getting his chest vacuumed, but…he did see the argument for it. And while he’d felt awful for a while after, still…he had felt better eventually. And…

…and…maybe… Having CPS called was…a good thing. 

Sighing softly as he ran his thumb down the side of his mug, Doppio glanced over at Arven before shaking his head. “No. Um… We had breakfast after I spent the night…remember? And then I went home and…um… Then.” Doppio looked to the side. “...then I had work, and…Kaito found me that afternoon. Or evening? I don’t totally remember…”

“Then everything just…happened.”

“...” Arven frowned. 

Right, Doppio had spent the night… and then had breakfast, left. And…

“...did it happen because you spent the night with me?” Arven asked quietly.

Doppio’s gaze snapped up, his eyes wide with alarm as his mouth opened…but it took him a second to get over the shock to actually say anything. Reaching over the table to take Arven’s hand, Doppio squeezed it gently. “No! No, it wasn’t your fault. Arven, don’t think that for a second, okay?!”

…he didn’t really like thinking about what had happened. But…

“It wasn’t your fault,” Doppio repeated, before he took a breath and tried to steady his jaw. “...a-and…and it wasn’t mine. My dad… I… Sometimes it…it was clearer, why he…punished me.” Doppio swallowed, looking away as his voice faded. “...I knew how I’d messed up, I mean… But…sometimes I…really didn’t get it. And I figured that it was just… He…he always knew best.”

“...but maybe not,” Doppio barely choked out, his expression tight. “...before he grabbed me, he said…’you talked too long’. …I don’t know what that was supposed to mean, and…” …and his father had barely even punished him for more than a minute for fuck-ups that Doppio had considered catastrophic. Even without all the time Doppio had skipped in a panic…he couldn’t believe that his father would…normally want to hold him down so long. 

…his dad hit him. But being drowned like that was just…out of character. Not…entirely like a stranger was wearing his face, but…

“...it wasn’t you,” Doppio finished in a whisper, squeezing Arven’s hand again.

Arven took Doppio’s hand back, his shoulders falling a little. He felt like he could even remember reassuring Doppio that it’d be fine with his boss, to spend the night. He had just… wanted Doppio to stick around. He had liked him so much already…

“Yeah,” Arven swallowed, squeezing Doppio’s hand back, “It wasn’t either of us, Aceto, you’re right. I just… I just wish it hadn’t happened, that’s all. Even if it ended for the best, I’d still pick it didn’t happen at all. So… that’s all. That’s all I mean.”

“I like it when you talk a lot,” Arven said, even though he was pretty sure Doppio already knew this. “I really look forward to it, when I get home from school. Just hearing about your day and chatting with you and…he was dumb, to not want that.”

“...yeah,” Doppio said in a small sigh. “Me too.”

Though, once again his eyes widened as he looked up at Arven, before he couldn’t look any longer and he hid behind an arm, blushing furiously. (His dad had said the best thing about Doppio being gone was the quiet.) (Arven liked it when he talked.)

Smiling shyly against his arm, Doppio squeezed Arven’s hand again. “I like hearing you talk too. And, um…” He took a breath, a part of him panicked to even say it, but… “...your days are more fun to talk about with you too. I get a little worried, sometimes, that my days are kind of boring in comparison to what you get up to at school, even if you say it was nothing big. It always sounds interesting to me…b-because it’s you.”

Arven smiled, both at Doppio’s fluster and at what he said, shrugging as he flushed a bit in turn. “Honestly, I don’t feel like I’m very good at explaining what my days are like. I’ve never had someone to tell my days to before, and it’s… kind of a skill? That I’m starting to realize I don’t really have. But, I like practicing it for you. Maybe someday I’ll get to a point where I’m not worried my stories will bore you.”

“I’m glad you like them either way,” Arven said, scooting in closer to Doppio, “I guess we can both worry about boring each other together, until we both get good at this. It’s a new thing for both of us, but… we’re figuring it out. You, me, Chief… your weird fake elephant baby.” Arven grinned, glancing down in amusement at the elephant in Doppio’s lap. “We’ve got this.”

-

It turned out getting the right time and place for Chess Club was rather easy and rather convenient. Wednesday afternoon, in one of the literature classrooms on the third floor, right after classes. Apparently the club didn’t always meet at the same time, and more often than not, the members would meet up during lunch to discuss the week’s schedule, and just set club times between the members’ other clubs and obligations. 

It sounded maddeningly frustrating to Doppio, but…well, it wasn’t like he really had a schedule for much else. If he ended up enjoying Chess Club, then…well, he was already coming by Mid-Valley to pick up Arven, so he would be there. 

Hand in hand down the hall, before they even got to the room, Doppio raised an eyebrow at Arven as he could already hear shouting. And when they opened the door--

“--ESCAPE MY CHALLENGES FOREVER! One of these days you will have to play me, Eden, and I will display the true prowess of FIORA VON AEGIR!”

In a corner, a red-head and a brunette didn’t even flinch, both staring dead silently at a board…and neither moving. 

“Fiora, if you keep shouting, the poetry club is going to take that as a sign they’re allowed to start beatboxing through the walls again,” Eden said dryly, she and Dimitri looking over their own chess board. “And goddess help us if the improv club hears the poetry club beatboxing and thinks the truce is off…”

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind the noise truce being off,” Dimitri muttered, reaching to grab a piece… hesitating… peering at Eden…

“...” Eden stared blankly back. Giving nothing away. Dimitri sighed, pulling his hand back, restudying the board.

“You shouldn’t let her intimidate you, my prince,” Dedan whispered over his shoulder, in a strange, somewhat unidentifiable accent.

“No, no, no role-playing this game, you both promised me,” Eden said.

“...okay, fine, Dimi, but I still think you should trust your gut,” Dedan said, dropping the accent. 

Another vaguely indistinguishable accent, “But Eden’s usually so protective of her knights, if she’s willing to throw them on the altar–”

“No. Role-playing,” Eden said again.

Arven raised an eyebrow, looking around and protectively stepping closer to Doppio. “Wow, this is way more people than I thought would ever want to join a chess club…”

Fiora huffed--this sound, at least, soft. No…she supposed she wouldn’t want to be the one to incite the breaking of the noise truce. But surely she wasn’t being that loud! She was simply explaining that, as per the rules that their…missing advisor helped create, one couldn’t simply play the same opponents indefinitely! Everyone would get a chance to play, regardless of the number of people showing up to the club! So Eden would have to give her a proper rematch one of these days!

And oh, Gerard Vestra don’t you snicker at me, mister! Why, Fiora could simply--!!

“Oh, hello!” Fiora perked, practically the force of the sun breaking through her cloudy visage upon seeing two newcomers at the door. “Arven, and your name was Doppio, correct?”

Grinning even brighter, Fiora strode over to the door to greet the underclassmen. “Are you two here to join Chess Club? Oh, that is simply marvelous!”

“U-uh, hi…yeah?” Doppio said as more of a question than a statement, nervously glancing over the room before he pointed to the duo in the corner. “Um…Josie said we could still come even if we don’t know how to play?”

“Absolutely, indeed,” Fiora cheered, before leveling a sigh towards the corner. “Though it is exceedingly rude to invite novices and completely ignore them, Josie.”

There was a synchronized half-hearted wave from the duo in the corner, before the dark-haired student moved a piece on the board for the first time since Arven and Doppio had entered. 

Putting a hand to her bangs and shaking her head at the indignity of it all, Fiora soon brightened right back up. “Well, never the matter. I would be more than elated to instruct you two on the rules and strategies of chess! I do, after all, have quite an impressive game ratio myself! Come now, let us claim a spot!”

(...Doppio couldn’t help but think he was forgetting something. Like…who exactly Josie had warned them not to be taught by, if they could help it.)

Arven vaguely knew Fiora, in the same way he sort of vaguely knew all of the upperclassmen. He had heard coming back from his trip that she had changed her name, which had been very helpful, since for the life of him he couldn’t remember what her name had been anyway. So, feeling a little proud of himself that he could remember anyone’s name, Arven looked to Doppio and said, “Aceto, this is Fiora. Fiora, this is Aceto, but he prefers to go by Doppio. And, sure, we’d appreciate the help. We don’t really know if we’re going to make this a regular thing, we’re just exploring the clubs since Doppio is sort of new to the area.”

Some of the members of the chess club he vaguely knew a little better, if only through osmosis. He knew of the blond guy because he came from the sewer family. A pretty big deal in the capital, apparently creating and sustaining a system of sewage for one of the most populated cities in the country was not only challenging, but had done a big deal in lowering disease a few hundred years back. It was the sort of legacy that followed a family, especially as they continued to upgrade and upkeep it.

That said, Arven really only knew the legacy. For the life of him he couldn’t remember the guy’s name, and only recognized the guy hovering over his shoulder in that ‘oh yeah, I’ve seen that guy before’ sort of way. And for the woman he was facing… uuuuh?? Oh! She was one of the petition people! Arven had definitely signed… something. At some point for her. Some sort of activist thing. He couldn’t remember what it was.

The dark-haired guy Josie was playing was more immediately familiar to Arven, because he was one of those loud, friendly upperclassmen who always seemed to know everyone. Arven knew his name was Khalid and… uh… well, that was about it. He was friendly and likable and named Khalid. That was all he had there.

With a dainty little smile and nod, Fiora extended her hand to Doppio. He tentatively returned it, having an easier time than with Nemona because…well, while Fiora’s energy was still loud, she was wearing gloves…and, as it turned out, gave good, non-shoulder-popping handshakes. “It’s nice to meet you, uh, properly I guess.”

“Entirely charmed,” she returned, sitting Doppio and Arven down at a desk and bringing over one of the myriad chess boards the club had gotten through the years. It was a simple design, light wood against dark, but there was clearly a care to it. “I do apologize for the rushed introductions when our paths crossed at the dance competition two weeks ago--a full schedule is not an excuse for discourtesy.”

“Now! I would not want to assume, so how much of chess do you two already know?”

Doppio looked at the pieces as Fiora precisely laid them out on the board, blinking, before he answered, “I know all the pieces move differently. And you win by, uh…capturing the…king?”

“I know the queen can go anywhere,” Arven said, sitting down next to Doppio, “And the… horse? Goes in an ‘L’ shape. Annnnnd…” Arven squinted at the board, “...the pawns only go diagonal?”

Doppio looked a little helplessly at the pieces on the board. The queen could go anywhere? That seemed a bit overpowered… And, um…well, at least ‘horse’ was a clear description, he could see which pieces those were… Pawns?

“You are certainly on the right track!” Fiora cheered, before lining all the types of pieces up and starting to explain how each one moved. Looking absolutely delighted to help them, even if her volume grew right alongside her cheer. 

Their eyes both trained fast on their board, Khalid smirked at Josie. “Never took you for the recruiting type. Trying to fill spaces once you, Ger, Dima, and Dedan graduate?”

“What, don’t think I can charm a few faces into stopping by?” Josie laughed, eyes drawing out plans on the board. “I didn’t scare them off, at least. Arven and Doppio were already planning on checking it out, just happened to mention it when we were talking.”

“A pretty coincidence, huh?” Khalid hummed, in tune with Josie’s, before he did briefly look up at his game partner. “You all were checking out that new shrine in the castle, right? For Prince Kokichi’s husband?”

“Since when was ‘Atua’ a dirty word for you?” Josie chuckled, teasing. “Yeah, I heard people gushing over the architecture, and, well, I just happen to know someone who’d gush with the best of ‘em. Arven and Doppio just decided to play host while we were there.”

Khalid hummed, looking at the two newbies for a moment before returning his attention to the board. Josie did just play with his pieces while he thought sometimes…but it was a clue to the sequence he was considering just as often. “Now that’s a new wave in the school pool. Arven looking into clubs and willingly hanging out with people still interested in attending classes? Maybe the buzz about that new boyfriend is warranted more than people are talking about him for.”

Dimitri, in turn, was doing something interesting with his face. Eden watched, amused, as his eyes widened to the size of saucers, seeing Arven come in, before covering the side of his face from the side of the room that Arven, Doppio, and Fiora were seated together on, sinking in his chair a little, his expression going from shocked to increasingly horrified, beet red. Looking increasingly like he’d love to disappear. Dedan, Eden was impressed to say, had the gall to glance nonchalantly over to them, before just patting Dimitri comfortingly on the shoulder.

“Going to do the accent around them, then?” Eden smirked.

“The accent is made up, it’s not from anywhere,” Dedan defended, as Dimitri sank further into his seat, looking like he wanted to die. “So what does it matter?”

“Right, right, a made up accent for your made up kingdom… Illumination.” Eden smirked.

“It’s a great name, it has ‘nation’ built right in,” Dedan defended some more, patting Dimitri more on the shoulder… before sighing, pulling him up by his armpits as Dimitri looked more and more like he might literally sink down under the table. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about, my prince–”

“Shhhh, shh shh,” Dimitri hushed, burning bright red, still covering his face from that side of the room, “I don’t even know what we’re talking about, let’s just focus on the game.”

Arven glanced over, seeing blond sewer guy acting like a flustered freak, refusing to look at them… and protectively scooted closer to Doppio. Putting his arm around his boyfriend’s waist. Geez, sewer guy… you’re a senior, Doppio’s 14. What a freak…

“Okay, I think I get it,” Arven said, refocusing on the lesson, “Aceto, do you want to try doing a practice game with me?”

His brows pinched in, Doppio was focusing hard on all the pieces, trying to commit Fiora’s lesson to memory. It felt like a good explanation, so it definitely wasn’t her fault! But…phoo, chess did have a lot of rules. 

Not really paying attention to the others in the room, Doppio nodded slowly. “Um, yeah, we can give it a shot.”

“Excellent!” Fiora clapped in delight, before moving over to the side of the board. “I will serve as both resource and referee. As you are both newcomers, my pointing out any rule violations is not meant as an attack, but simply a learning opportunity. And if either of you are unsure of what to do, I will provide my best, unbiased advice!”

Nodding as he moved around the table to face Arven--it’d be easier to move his own pieces if they weren’t on the same side--Doppio caught a glimpse of the others. Josie and the guy in the corner sharing, uh…well, he would definitely say they were smiling at each other… The two blonds pouring over another board and, um…the guy kind of looking sick? Doppio hoped he was alright, though the guy next to him seemed unconcerned. And…

Wait, hadn’t there been another person?

“Your first game then, hm?” Gerard said, right next to Doppio’s ear.

“Gah!” Arven jumped, not having noticed the intense, lanky man approach them either. “Gerard! Wear a bell!”

“I am simply making an observation,” Gerard said, brushing some of his dark hair back from his intense brows, his eyes studying Doppio intensely, before something attempting a smile was made. “May I watch?”

Arven knew Gerard a little better than the others, mostly because Gerard was another frequent Rabbit victim. The man was intense and very serious, and struggled a little to socialize, but the key there was that he didn’t stop trying to socialize anyway. He was actually functionally very friendly… just bad at expressing it, as the thin smile immediately disappeared, his gaze piercing and intense again. The Rabbits enjoyed riling him up, and Arven could sympathize, as the other ‘somewhat stoic guy they wanted to pull reactions from’ guy.

“EEP!” Doppio jumped, almost tumbling to the ground, if not for the steel grip on his shoulders, supporting and helping him actually sit in the other chair. 

Fiora had jumped as well, startling, as having grown up with Gerard had done nothing to actually allow her to notice Gerard sneaking up on someone, though it had sped up her reaction times. Enough to catch more unfortunate people caught unawares, apparently. Making sure that Doppio was alright, Fiora rose to her full height and scowled at Gerard. 

“Gerard, please announce your presence more than an inch away from someone!” she huffed, before narrowing her eyes more. “And I think you will find my teaching methods more than adequate, upon your observations. Arven! Doppio! Please enjoy your game!”

Looking between, uh…two points of the intensity matrix, all the way at “high”, Doppio wavered a little, not getting the sense that, uh…’enjoy’ was the word that best fit Fiora’s tone… But he muttered, “Uh, sure, you can watch…” before moving one of his pawns up two spaces, at least remembering that rule. 

“I wear heeled shoes,” Gerard said, his face entirely serious as he argued, “They click. It’s everyone else who refuses to pay attention.”

Gerard watched Fiora for a moment, before looking back to the chess pieces. “Interesting first move.”

“I…is it?” Arven asked, looking down at Doppio’s pawn, feeling unnerved under Gerard’s gaze. 

“Of course. It’s an excellent starting point for many fine battle strategies,” Gerard said.

“We’re not role-playing!” Eden called from her table.

“Of course…” Gerard smirked. It looked thin and wobbly on his face, like he was trying to adjust it second by second to make the smirk convincing, as he whispered, “Princess.”

“Not! Role-playing!”

Fiora could only let out an exasperated sound before she settled to watch the game, still chuffed to give any advice Arven or Doppio may need. Which they would, most likely, because they were new! And Fiora was the perfect person to give it!

Tilting his head a little, Doppio wasn’t…really sure that he’d employed any kind of strategy beyond playing a legal move…before he blinked, looking between Gerard and the girl who’d called out. “Oh…Arven did say you guys played like…acting out a war campaign. Is that not an every meeting thing, or…?”

“It is dependent,” Fiora shrugged. “At times, our matches are simply matches, but should someone decide to make it more than carvings on a board, it is difficult not to become swept into the drama.”

Glancing over at Eden, Fiora sat a little higher. “One would think Eden would enjoy such escapades of thought more, considering her skill in similar physical pursuits. Of course, the MHRC does encourage a bit more social stimulation, in my experience.”

“Ooh, someone’s picking a fight again~” Josie snickered, earning a smirk and an eye roll from Khalid.

“MHRC would certainly have to, since they’re certainly not exploring anything new when it comes to combat itself,” Eden said idly, watching carefully as Dimitri finally picked up a piece, the same one he had touched before, putting it into place. “It must be so boring, being stuck rehashing the same ideas your great grandparents grew bored of. I imagine socializing helps.”

Eden was immediately clicking her next move in barely a second after Dimitri was done, who sighed at that. Eden was a speed-chess master, and liked to use that quickness in thought to intimidate her opponents. It often meant Dimitri couldn’t so much as take a break for a second when playing against her, it already his turn to try to figure out where she was going with this. Role-playing made it so much more interesting…

“MHRC is the Martial Historical Reenactment Club,” Arven whispered to Doppio, his next move more or less random, moving the knight forward, “Eden’s part of either the Martial Arts Club or the Weapons Combat Club, I guess.”

“Weapons Combat,” Gerard said, scratching his chin. “Fascinating move.”

“Is it??” Arven asked, staring at the board in total bewilderment.

It was far too vulgar to gape with one’s mouth wide open, but the way Fiora flushed and fumed certainly gave the same impression. “There is always more to learn from our history! New perspectives on times gone by that reevaluation is key for! It is not simple, mindless repetition!”

Doppio’s eyebrows raised, feeling a little intimidated by Arven starting to move other pieces beyond the pawns. He…did suppose that even with one out, that did open the space for other pieces, and Fiora…did say that the horses could hop over others… Nodding slowly, he tried to keep track of…a lot of new clubs that sounded kind of similar?

Giving Gerard a nervous look, Doppio glanced at his own pieces and moved one of the pointy ones (bishops, they were called bishops) a good way across the board, wanting to match Arven in using new pieces. “Um…I guess ‘weapons combat’ is kinda…self-explanatory, but…what’s…” He squinted. “Martial historical…roleplay--”

“Martial Historical Reenactment Club,” Fiora completed. “We learn about the history of combat styles, including weapon and armor crafting and trends, and perform mock battles of history, conforming to the available knowledge each faction had at the time. It is most thrilling, in actuality, and has given me a greater understanding and appreciation of our history!”

“It is pretty interesting,” Dimitri said softly, his eyes lighting up a little… before he turned bright red again, sinking into his chair, “If you’re into that sort of thing.”

“Dimitri and I started exploring those ideas in a more fictional way after Fiora started regaling us with historical tales back in freshman year,” Dedan said, ignoring Dimitri’s sudden hushing wave at him, gamely blocking his friend’s attempts to hit him across the arm, not looking as he grabbed Dimitri’s wrists and crossed his arms over his chest, holding him hostage in an over the shoulder hug. “And since we were getting into chess at the same time, we started mixing and merging the hobbies a little. Using fictional settings, not historical ones.”

“We don’t need to talk about it,” Dimitri gasped, struggling in the hug.

“Are you ever going to make your next move?” Eden asked dryly.

As Dedan reached over Dimitri’s shoulder to make a move for him, Gerard hummed in approval as he watched Doppio reach for a piece. “Well done, well done…”

“What are you talking about, he hasn’t even made his move yet,” Arven grumbled, “You’re freaking me out, Gerard.”

“I’m merely observing,” Gerard said, hovering over Doppio’s shoulder, “Pretend I’m not here.”

Fiora lit up, nodding proudly as Dimitri supported her point. Sure, she knew people that were in multiple combat-adjacent clubs (their mutual friend Hugo, for instance) but there was just something so enriching about the MHRC. 

And the fact that she wasn’t in the Weapons Combat club was simply due to time restraints and had nothing to do with the fact that, through the similar clubs she and Eden had been in through elementary and middle school, Eden had won every single spar Fiora had challenged her to, and certainly not because of any particularly embarrassing spars that had left Fiora flipped upside-down over a retaining wall with a mild concussion. 

Certainly not. 

“Oh…” Doppio nodded as Dedan explained, finding that not only logical, but…well, they weren't his hobbies, but it sounded fun, what they had done. “So…kind of like, uh…tabletop games? But through chess. That’s neat.”

It could definitely be more than ‘neat’, depending on what sort of role Dimitri wanted to play. Josie had actually felt kind of bad the time he almost legitimately drove his friend to tears with all the sacrificial plays he’d set up in a particularly aggressive game. 

Doppio sent Gerard a few unsure looks as he played, though Fiora was more willing to be outspoken. “You have the ability to observe just as well not literally breathing down Doppio’s neck, Gerard.”

“I’m certain if Doppio was uncomfortable, he’d speak up for himself,” Gerard said, still hovering.

Dimitri laughed a little thinly, “The tabletop games are pretty fun too. I used to be in that club, but, uh, decided to take a break. For my grades.”

“He spent all of last year preparing a massive betrayal and mission with his DM against the rest of the players,” Gerard said, scratching his chin, humming in disapproval as Arven reached for a piece. “Where he acted the part of a crazed tyrant, half-possessed by either the supernatural or his own ambition, attempting to take over the world in order to correct the balance of the cosmos, an enemy to the rest of the players. It was apparently quite successful. And his grades plummeted in the process, along with his physical health. The club had to kick him out for his own good.”

“I still get to do this though!” Dimitri said, grinning brightly, looking a little tired as he gestured to the chess board. “Sure, it’s role-playing tabletop lite, but… iiiiit’s something!”

“Addiction is a horrible thing to witness.” Eden sighed. “Play your move, Dimitri.” 

Doppio made a small uncomfortable noise, but…well, Gerard wasn’t really doing anything… And while his comments were a little nerve-wracking, he and Arven were still playing their own game…he guessed. 

He’d heard of tabletop games, sure, though while he didn’t know exactly how they worked, what Gerard described was… Doppio’s eyes widened a bit, as he glanced over at Dimitri. That sounded like…a lot. 

(...it was just pretend. But, uh… It sounded like Dimitri was a very successful story-teller. With all that entailed.)

There came a chuckle from the corner, Josie draping an arm on the back of his chair as he leaned back towards the others…though it looked like just for a moment. “Turns out the ‘balance of the cosmos’ means study sessions and regular sleep schedules. All small steps in the name of health, Your Highness~”

“Is that part of the game for you guys?” Arven asked, watching as Dimitri mumbled, sinking into his chair some more. “Are you all princes and princesses then?”

“Not at all,” Dedan said, reaching down to pull Dimitri back up again, patting him fondly on the shoulder. “I am a commoner, with a tragic backstory. My family and town were ostracized and attacked for hiding rebels to the crown, and we had to go on the run from people who were once our neighbors and friends. I was one of the few survivors, when I was surrounded! But a young prince who happened to be passing by in a hunting party saw my plight, and threw himself between me and the mob! Saving me and taking me in as a personal knight… but~” Dedan grinned more fiercely, leaning companionably against Dimitri’s shoulders, who looked up at him with fond fascination, as Dedan said ominously, “What he doesn’t know is that my family led the rebel forces, not just harbored them. And while I am grateful to the prince who took me in, my heart and loyalty still sings against the monarchy that oppresses us.”

“It’s going to be so dramatic when he finds out,” Dimitri said, eyes shining with anticipation. “It’s been years and he still doesn’t know. To the point where he doesn’t even know if it's safe to tell his great knight of his own doubts about his family's rule.”

“The draaaama,” Eden drawled, immediately making her next move the second Dimitri had clicked his piece into place. “And it’s not going to matter either way. I’m just going to take over the empire and disbar his family regardless.”

“Mmmhm.” Gerard nodded. “It’s inevitable, really.”

Doppio’s eyes went all doe-y, listening to Dedan explain his chess backstory, almost completely forgetting to keep playing his own game. It was quite the tragic backstory, a little ridiculously dramatic…but Doppio was enthralled, just in the same way he got listening to Kaito read as well. Stories that, even with a fantastical setting, were so propelled by its characters…

“That we can agree on,” Fiora nodded with Gerard. “Their fierce forces are formidable foes, but Adrestia simply has so much going for it--victory is only a matter of time.”

“Nice alliteration,” Josie hummed from the corner.

Not so much counting, but taking stock in his head, Doppio tilted his head a little. “Oh, are you all on teams together, then? Three v three…v…”

“One,” Khalid laughed, leaning on his arm to the side of his and Josie’s board. “But, hey, the Alliance is still going strong.”

“Because Khalid has the best game record out of all of us,” Josie explained for Doppio and Arven…but also just to see Eden’s disdain and Fiora’s competitive fire stoked again.

Eden scowled, tightening her hand in a fist beneath her chin as she said, “It’s just a matter of time. I’m on the edge of figuring out how he does it.”

“Your empire is assured, m’lady,” Gerard called out encouragingly, before pointing to the bishop. “I noticed you keep glancing at that one uncertainly, Doppio. Would you like a reminder what it does?”

“He knows!” Arven said defensively… before leaning in and whispering to Doppio, “It goes diagonals.”

“I love the Alliance storyline. Khalid’s supporting it all himself, but it’s really compelling stuff. He’s great at subtle slowburns,” Dimitri said a tad dreamily, looking far less embarrassed now that they were on his favorite subject. “I still don’t entirely know what happened in his childhood, but I have so many theories I’m leaning towards. I’m certain he was an urchin in the streets at some point, but at the same time, I’m also certain his father really is the duke? How did that happen…?”

Doppio jolted a little, startled by Gerard’s callout…though he colored a bit at Arven’s reminder. “I-I remembered… I was just thinking… Um…” Maybe not solely because they had pointed it out, Doppio moved one of his bishops…backwards. Because he remembered that they could do that. 

Shrugging as he leaned back languidly, Khalid met Josie’s eyes for a moment, some moment shared between them showed only in twin smirks, before he looked back down at their board. “You’ll just have to wait and see, Dima. I’m not going to spoil the fun too early.”

“Or at all, if he and Josie ever finish a game and decide to play against someone else,” Fiora muttered, sharing a mildly exasperated look with Gerard. She didn’t really get it, as she could admit the two of them were pretty good chess players, but they did often find themselves either watching a game from the side, or stuck with only each other to play against. 

Which more came from a lack of planning with the others, since any game that pit Gerard and Fiora against each other tended to result in an all-out bickering match. 

“Well, if we add these two to the roster, we all may have…” Gerard gave Fiora a dry, exasperated glance, “More variety to work with. And so far, you both seem to be gifted players.”

“I literally have no idea what I’m doing turn to turn,” Arven said.

“A man who indulges in the fine art of the drunken fist,” Eden said, nodding, “I like your style, Arven.”

“What style?? I just don’t know what I’m doing??” Arven insisted, sweating a little.

“That’s right! Keep them confused!” Dimitri said, a weird sort of energy in his face. Grinning, but looking a little intense and grim as his voice lowered. “A true strategian keeps them guessing, even at the cost of looking like a fool…”

“You said you weren’t doing the accent,” Eden reminded him.

“...oh!” Dimitri squeaked, turning bright red, the energy gone, “R-right!”

“What accent was that supposed to be anyway?” Arven asked.

“...you uh…” Dimitri pouted a little, “You don’t recognize it at all?”

“Should I?”

“Well, I mean… it’s super exaggerated, and barely even based on anything, just thought, well… living at the castle now…” Dimitri muttered, looking increasingly gloomy.

“You live with the Luminary Prince, yes?” Dedan asked, peering over Dimitri’s head, “We know commoner Luminaries basically sound like us, but we’ve heard their royalty has heavier growls and waves to their words. Is that true?”

“I concur!” Fiora cheered. “For your first game, you two are developing your sides wonderfully!”

Doppio…had no idea what he was doing either, but it was a little cute, seeing the rest of the club cheer Arven on. Maybe there was a strategist in him yet. Doppio wasn’t too sure about playing against any of the other club members yet, but…it could still be fun, if they didn’t mind a worse opponent. And for now, he was enjoying playing against his boyfriend. 

Though some of the theatrics, while entertaining…

“...huh?” Doppio blinked, before considering the description. “Uh… I mean Kaito does, like, literally growl sometimes, but…none of the others do. Um…the kinda, theatrics you put on he actually does sometimes too, but…not the accent, really…”

“Told ya, Dima,” Josie, hummed. “Prince Kaito just sounded like a normal guy. He maybe over-pronounces things, if anything.”

Dimitri’s range of emotions was both vast and quick. Lighting up at hearing Kaito growled sometimes… before deflating at the confirmation it still wasn’t anything like the accent they had invented… before lighting up again in curious wonder at the comparison of ‘theatrics’... before sheepish deflating as Josie confirmed what he had already told Dimitri once already. “Well, you know, I thought maybe he’d over-correct talking to two Diceans who weren’t living with him…”

“But it was never meant to be their accent anyway, right, your highness?” Dedan whispered to him.

“Right! Right! Totally different things!” Dimitri sheepishly agreed… before asking, “But, okay, but have you seen him wearing armor yet? Luminary elites wear armor every day, a-and I know he wore some armor for his wedding, I saw it at the museum, it was so authentic looking, does he have more he walks around in, what do they look like?”

Arven blinked, glanced at Doppio… before shaking his head. “Nope. Sorry. He wears a lot of V-necks. Short-sleeves too.”

Doppio nodded along with Arven, before he perked, giving Dimitri a hopeful look. “He did say he was thinking of wearing armor for Harvest, though! Though, uh…definitely more ‘costume’-like, rather than anything practical. Um…” Doppio glanced to Arven. “We could ask him about it? He could’ve changed his style more to match with people here…and I’m not sure how practical wearing armor is when you’re carrying around a baby.”

“Oh, if that truly would not be a burden on you?” Fiora asked, looking quite interested. “The armor display in the art museum is utterly fascinating, even if it is clearly meant for special occasions as regalia. There was an entire paragraph explaining the social message the weathering on the scabbard indicated! If Prince Kaito would be willing to pass along some information about Luminous armor, it would be quite an illuminating bit of information.”

“Weren’t you going to ask Kaito about something too?” Khalid hummed to Josie, before laughing lightly. “Who would’ve guessed the guy would get popular with high schoolers?”

Both Dedan and Dimitri gave Fiora a dry look at the ‘illuminating’ comment– ha ha, very funny– while Arven’s nose wrinkled a little, shooting Doppio an equally dry look. “I think you guys might be imagining a person who doesn’t really exist. Kaito’s just a sort of flighty weirdo dad. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I get what your thought process is. I was expecting him to be a total maniac, when I met him–”

“Well, no, not a maniac,” Dimitri said, suddenly looking weirdly defensive as he straightened his shoulders, “The desert kingdom just breeds hard people by necessity. Kings and knights and noble lords, heading to battle, fighting against treason and holding onto the iron throne–”

“The best thrones are iron.” Dedan nodded, looking both fond and amused as Dimitri kept his rant up.

“--and bonding with the soldiers and knights who fight by your side! Making hard choices and great personal sacrifice for the betterment of your people!” Dimitri said, clenching his hands into fists… before glowering. Saying in a low, growling tone, “But how do you know when you’ve gone too far? When you become the monster you thought you were fighting, and even your own people look at you with horror in their eyes… And even if your people are cheering your name, can you truly forget the terror in the eyes of your enemies? Who wanted to live and prosper just as much as your brave soldiers did?”

Dedan nodded again, patting Dimitri on the shoulder. “It’s heavy, to wear the crown.”

“....yeeaaaah. That’s not Kaito,” Arven said.

“Oh. Right. Kaito,” Dimitri said, blinking, “Well, of course not.”

Fiora gave Dimitri and Dedan a mildly confused look, not sure what the looks directed at her were for. Sure, she was more used to receiving eyerolls from Eden and Gerard and Daisy when she got excited about weaponry and armor, but Dimitri and Dedan were usually open to hearing about it, if not excited themselves. Smite, she, Dimitri, and Hugo had even all been in that summer blacksmithing workshop together, the year before Dimitri and Hugo had that huge fight. What was that about?

Doppio, for his own, only returned a sheepish look to Arven. He didn’t exactly want to be a messenger of cool when it came to Kaito either, but…Arven’s friends had sounded pretty excited…

…uh…very excited… And, uh…yeah, maybe a bit more…fiction than fact, at least if Doppio was trusting the tidbits he’d heard from the royal family. Which he kinda was inclined to. 

Just sort of…nodding along with Dimitri, Doppio placed down his next chess piece, and startled as Fiora sprung up, clapping her hands in delight. “Ooh! Doppio, you have put Arven in check! Arven, you must make a move to get out of check to continue the game!”

Arven jolted, looking frantically at the board. “W-wait, where am I in check?!”

“What was the last thing you saw Doppio do?” Gerard prompted, “Then analyze how that move affected your king.”

Arven frowned, looking at the tower, which was on the whole other side of the board, following it down the path to his king. “...oooooh. Nice, Aceto~ Okay, so…”

Arven looked over his possible moves, either sending the king running or sacrificing another piece in its place… If he just moved the king, Doppio could just move the bishop and put him in check again. So… “I’ll move my knight here?” Arven said, moving the knight in the way.

Dimitri sighed. “The poor knights, always the first to be asked to give up their lives when the king faces danger… necessary, but still a tragedy. You can never take their sacrifice for granted.”

“And a wise king never forgets, my prince,” Dedan praised… before saying darkly, “Though if you ever did, would I ever be able to recognize the warning signs? Or has my devotion to you blinded me to the needs of the people?”

Dimitri’s eyes sparkled. Enraptured listening to Dedan monologue about potentially betraying him someday.

“You having fun, Aceto?” Arven asked, deciding to ignore the weirdness happening to his left.

“Excellent choice!” Fiora praised, and not just because it was one of the few moves Arven could legally do. The knight protected the king, bringing Arven out of check, but in turn the knight was protected by one of the stationary pawns. It wasn’t so much a hazard for an experienced player, but it was easier to become ‘board blind’ when it came to undeveloped pieces, which in turn could turn nasty if those pieces were still utilized from their starting positions. 

And, yes, that could make for interesting storylines, if you were playing that way. 

Doing exactly what had made Fiora praise the play, Doppio tentatively advanced his castle, chasing the idea of the game-winning checkmate. And, just as shyly, he smiled and gave Arven a nod. “I always like playing board games with you…but, yeah, this is fun. A-are you?”

“Of course. I’m with you,” Arven said, like it was a matter of fact, considering his next move.

“How very sweet.” Gerard smiled. Or, tried to. Again, his smiles never quite fit naturally onto his face. “What do you think both of your backstories would be? Would you add in something about your romance to your backstory? Or perhaps the fun of going the opposite, being bitter enemies?”

“No way, Fantasy Arven would still be dating Fantasy Aceto,” Arven said, no doubt in his voice, “Whatever other stupid backstory stuff we’d have, if we did stuff like that, that is always true.”

“That’s nice. We could use a solid love story arc. Everyone else’s love stories are subtext, at best.” Dimitri pouted. “No one likes to commit when they’re in a group of people they’ve known since we were all 5. My character may be in love with Dedan’s, but I think a mixture of self-hatred, lack of belief in a sure future, and maybe even a terrible bit of classicism is keeping him from acknowledging it.”

“Dedan’s in love, but he doesn’t know what it is yet either.” Dedan nodded, entirely unashamed as he said, “He’s probably only going to realize his feelings at the worst possible time.”

Doppio flushed brightly, though his smile was equally pleased as he looked down, flustered. That was always true? He liked the sound of that. Doppio and Arven, together no matter the setting. 

“Hey, I tried to bring in the romance through my storylines, but you all told me to stop. Can’t say I never tried,” Josie drawled, making the second move of his and Khalid’s game during club time. 

While Fiora had been looking over Arven and Doppio fondly, thinking they were sweet, she turned red and sputtered a bit, turning towards Josie. “No one wanted to hear you improvise pornography! That was not a romantic through-line, do not try to talk as if it were!” 

Khalid chuckled a bit, though Doppio grimaced, glad that he and Arven had apparently missed out on that. “Er…I’m not that creative, but…I could think of something, I guess…”

“Yeah? You two aren’t already sprinting to claim dual beast-tamers?” Khalid nodded towards the elephant in Doppio’s lap, and, well, everyone knew Chief, of course.

“Is that a thing?” Arven asked, Chief back home, Timothy having volunteered to take him on a walk with Chase. “Beast-tamers is kind of cool…”

Dimitri, in turn, looked over his shoulder at Josie and said reassuringly, “We had a problem with that in the tabletop games too. One of the guys was being kind of a creep to people… We kicked him out, but just in case we had to kinda ban the whole concept of playing out sex too.”

“This the guy who wanted to ‘roll for it’ when someone else’s character said no?” Dedan said, nose wrinkling in distaste. 

“Ngh. That’s the one,” Dimitri muttered, “Honestly, if he had just taken a hint that the player didn’t want it too, maybe we could have figured something out, but to try to go around her by making it a call by the DM? Our DM literally stopped the session for the night, it was rough. Always get that one person who thinks role-playing is some fun new way to bully and harass people while hiding behind an ‘it’s pretend’ wall.”

“Speaking of, are you ever going to make your move?” Eden asked.

“How were we speaking of that at all?” Dedan asked.

“Sorry, sometimes you guys just talk and all I can hear is ‘I haven’t made a move yet’.” Eden sighed. Immediately taking her next turn after Dimitri finally moved a piece. “Your pawn is dead now.”

“I’m so sorry,” Dimitri whispered.

Doppio glanced down at Phanpy--he had actually been a little relieved that no one had mentioned it, but…well, since Monday, either people didn’t comment at all, or they briefly complimented it--and blushed a little…but he glanced up with a growing smile as Arven seemed to warm to the idea. “...it could be neat to have the pieces be, like…magic animals. Though I think I’d like the idea more if…they just fainted and had to be taken off the field, rather than dying…”

An odd sort of look crossed Josie’s face in shadow, causing Khalid to watch in curious fascination. Though, as soon as it passed, the senior rolled his eyes with a sarcastic grin. “Ah, that’s where the art of only making passes at NPCs comes in. Flirting with players should wait for breaks~ Doesn’t break the immersion, then.”

Watching Dimitri’s grief over his pawn, Doppio nodded to himself. Yeah…he didn’t want to act out any animal death. But it would be cool to work in tandem with, say…giant, people-sized lizards, or electric mice.

Arven considered the pieces blankly for a moment… before something lit up in his gaze, as he said slowly, “Yeah, like…like if they were an army of fantasy creatures, who we’ve sort of captured, but sort of charmed to work with us? Like with dogs, you have to go through the process of taming first, but once you do they’re domesticated, and you sort of look after them as much as they look after you… And, like, all this royal social stuff is happening,” Arven said dismissively, waving his hands vaguely in the rest of the room’s directions, “But Doppio and I just go from kingdom to kingdom to find more magical beasts. And we help each other train by matching our teams of small monsters against each other…”

Dimitri smiled, glad to see Arven finding a story thread he was enraptured by, before frowning as he looked over his shoulder at Josie. Something in his friend’s voice making him more aware of him. “...I mean, you know I wasn’t saying you’re like that, right? Cause you’re not like that guy. You know when to back off. I wasn’t trying to imply anything else…”

Doppio smiled as he saw interest really start to bloom over Arven’s face, something fond and adoring warmly snuggling in his heart. Of the two of them, Doppio would easily call himself the listless one…but seeing Arven truly get into something was a treat. And with his boyfriend getting excited about the idea? Doppio would play as many games of chess as Arven could ever want. 

“That sounds like a simply convivial angle to take things,” Fiora laughed brightly, before giving the younger boys a sheepish look. “Depending on how your games go, I may like to confer with you on some of the species extant in this world. Horses are wonderful creatures on their own to support cavalry units, but there is always room for a bit more whimsy.”

…and using something that wasn’t pegasi would feel a little better. Sure, they had gone through all the critical analysis classes to know the fables of magical creatures preferring a certain gender were entrenched with political goals of sexism and gender essentialism… But it still felt weird. Remembering the ‘knight’ games they used to play during recess. 

Something completely new would be better. 

Looking back, Josie blinked at Dimitri before grinning, waving him off. “Nah, you’re all good, Dimitri, I knew what you meant. Don’t sweat over it…unless you’re thinking too much about what I’m implying.” Sticking his tongue out a little through his smile, Josie winked at his friend.

Dimitri relaxed, rolling his eyes a little before turning back to his game. Josie could be a little tough to read sometimes, and Dimitri tended to just edge on the side of caution occasionally, when it came to his old friend. Josie would never take out any offense or frustration on him, but that sort of made it more important for Dimitri to try to guess if he offended him anyway. Cause Josie would never tell him otherwise.

Arven nodded absentmindedly to what Fiora was saying– he was a little too busy imagining giant fire dogs. Like, their tails would be made of fire, but still somehow they’d be entirely safe to hug and give belly rubs too…– as he said, “Sure, lots of things you can ride. Like, um… just straight up birds, really, if you want wings. Or… floating sea-serpents... Which look like goldfish when they’re young, that’d be pretty cool. Think you have yourself a guppy and it turns into a dragon.”

“I like the idea of having a fine, white stallion… which then dies,” Dimitri said, “But a well-meaning necromancer brings it back to life, and you can’t turn your back on your most loyal steed, not while it’s standing there valiantly waiting to ride again, so eventually you become known as the man riding the skeletal horse…”

“You are such an edgelord,” Eden said, “Checkmate, by the way. I’m taking your army as prisoners of war.”

“WHAT!? No, you can’t! We weren’t role-playing!!” Dimitri said, floundering as Eden started collecting his pieces. “No, no, g-give me a chance to roll for some of them escaping!”

“Fine, you can flip a coin for each piece, but the ones that come up tails I’m keeping. They'll make good negotiation trades for the next time I need that,” Eden said, watching as Dimitri dug out a coin from his pocket, the two starting to flip for each piece. “Also, which pieces do Dedan and Fiora represent? I want to see if they’re my prisoners too.”

“They stayed home! Defending the camp! You said we weren’t role-playing, they don’t count as pieces!”

Doppio giggled softly, imagining Kaito’s fishtank suddenly being filled with sea dragons one day. “Hmm… People do actually ride elephants in real life, I’ve heard…b-but there could be ones made of metal, like…copper discoloration where, like, mud splatters would be. Could call it ‘Cufant’.” Doppio looked a bit embarrassed at the incredibly nerdy joke, though the others seemed amused enough. 

Having been mostly paying attention to the dance around check Arven and Doppio were having, Fiora glanced over in surprise at Eden and Dimitri’s game before she nodded vehemently in the ‘prince’s’ favor. “I am already a war prisoner in the Illumina camps! While I would of course be grateful for my princess enacting a rescue,” Fiora nodded graciously to Eden, “Not if we bend the rules of the game! I am capable of winning my own freedom!”

She glanced back to Arven and Doppio’s game. “...perhaps next meeting. I would not preemptively leave those under my tutelage.”

Blinking up, Doppio fretted a little. “O-oh, um, I think we’re okay? If you wanted to play a game, you don’t have to keep watching us…”

To his dismay, Fiora only seemed to deflate upon hearing that. 

“Could we get Fiora out of…?” Arven paused, “The Illumina camps? Wait, but I thought it was teams of three? She’s not on Eden’s team?”

“No, she is, but sometimes we can take each other as prisoners of war and, if they’re player characters, we can be forced to fight on other team’s behalf,” Dimitri explained brightly. “It’s one of the more fun twists of the role-plays, actually. Like, if Dedan had been in this battle, represented by one of my pieces, he could end up working for Eden against me, pressured to save his and his soldiers’ lives–”

“Though, that puts Eden at risk of me passing on secret information,” Dedan pointed out, “Or other acts of sabotage.”

“I won Fiora in honorable combat our last session,” Dimitri said, “I was going to have her fight Eden herself today, but we decided to take a break from role-playing today. I figured no matter who wins, Fiora would probably still escape with Eden.”

“Right, right, so…” Arven shrugged, looking at his board. “Maybe our…animals distract the camp? While we’re fighting? And Fiora can escape that way?”

“I think if we were actually role-playing today, Fiora could face me as an escape attempt,” Dedan mused, before looking around, “Thoooough, considering the new kids are trying to play along? You guys want to let Fiora roll for it? Escaping in the distraction?”

“Oh…that seems like a good way to explain games among factions, um, in-story,” Doppio nodded, absorbing the new rules. …though he didn’t really understand how acts of sabotage would really…work, in-game. He was new enough to chess that if those made it so someone had to make a bad move on purpose, he was doomed. 

Fiora huffed a little. It wasn’t as if she disliked the roleplay aspects to the games, but…really? The one day they wanted to take a break, it gave Eden an excuse not to play her? The Goddess really did have better things to do today. 

…but in the name of welcoming Arven and Doppio into the club?

“I would be amenable to that,” Fiora nodded, while Khalid let out a warm laugh and a thumbs up. 

Josie gave a short holler, giving Arven and Doppio an encouraging grin. “Yeah, let the new guys prove their stuff! I know I’d be distracted, watching a bunch of weird animals go at it.”

“Alright,” Eden said, standing up, before pulling out a strange-looking timer, plopping it onto their table, “But, if it's for narrative stacks, there has to be a challenge to it. A distraction requires spectacle. So, congratulations, boys. You’re now playing timed chess. You each get a minute to think about your moves; once you move, tap the timer and it’ll reset. If it rings, you lose.”

“Eden, don’t you think that’s a little much–” Dedan said.

“They’ll learn by doing,” Eden said, looking to Arven, tapping the timer, “Your go. 50 seconds left.”

“E-eh?” Arven gasped, before looking at the board. A minute feeling very short, suddenly, as he moved a piece almost at random, before tapping the timer. “Aceto, go!”

“Gah!” Doppio croaked, hurriedly looking for just any fair move he could make that was in the direction of Arven’s pieces. Quickly tapping the timer and…trying not to think too much about the cheers around him. 

The two of them continued playing that way, almost haphazardly placing down pieces and trying to hit the timer as quickly as possible, mostly relying on the others chiming in to notice if they’d put the other in check. But, eventually--

“That’s checkmate! Arven wins!” Fiora brightly announced, starting up a round of applause while Doppio blinked at the board. 

Huh…uh…oh, yeah, that was… Looking up at his boyfriend with a pleased smile, Doppio shyly joined in on the applause. “Good game, Arven. Complimenti!”

Arven looked just as surprised as Doppio… but he grinned, flushing a bit, both at winning but mostly at Doppio’s applause. “Aw, thanks, Aceto… that was a great match! It’s really different, doing it on a timer. Felt like I was chasing you and running at the same time.”

“That’s the fun of speed chess.” Eden smirked, flipping her hair a bit. “Maybe I’ll make good chess players out of you after all.”

“Well, no, Fiora taught us, so,” Arven shrugged, dismissively looking away from Eden to Fiora, “Thanks again for that.”

“It’s a little stressful, but it’s still fun,” Doppio laughed. “Though I can add chess to the list of games I’ll get a game off you one day.”

Fiora had looked a little unenthused as she wrapped up her applause. She would admit that Eden was a good player, and the younger boys would definitely benefit from her advice. And should they decide to bring their fantastical beasts to fight for the Adrestian cause, well, they would be joining the winning side, and hastening that victory. But…

Fiora’s eyes bugged in surprise, hearing any sort of variation of ‘Eden no, Fiora yes’, before she beamed, practically lighting up the whole room. “It was all my pleasure, Arven, Doppio! More people enjoying chess will only make the club more fun. And if you should ever find yourself needing a refresher, or you simply find yourself wondering about anything, I would be continually delighted to provide my aid!”

Doppio smiled softly, feeling a little more at ease around the loud girl, seeing just how happy she was. “Thank you… Um, do you all usually play more than one game, or… How long do club meetings last…?”

Already beginning to nod, Fiora opened her mouth, but as her eyes landed on the classroom clock, a rather strangled noise left her, and she bolted up, looking around before grabbing a book bag. “Oh Goddess. I am terribly sorry, but Father is expecting me at this time. I will see you all tomorrow, and I hope to see you again soon, Doppio! Well-fought win, again, Arven!”

Fiora’s voice trailed after her as she briskly walked from the classroom. 

Josie and Khalid watched all that, before Josie rolled his eyes with a small ‘tsk’ and Khalid could only shrug, though his green eyes were filled with sympathy, and the two returned to their game.

“They’ll be at it for a while, but yeah, for the rest of us it’s time to clean up,” Dimitri said, standing up– Arven had forgotten how tall Dimitri was. Sitting and gushing like a schoolboy over playing pretend, Arven had sort of mentally started looking at him as more boyish. Nope. The guy towered over them– and beaming at them, heading over to offer them both firm handshakes. “It really was delightful to have you both. I don’t know if we’ve sold you on chess entirely, but if you do ever feel like stopping by to hang out with us again, we’re more than happy to have you.”

“Alright,” Eden sighed, stretching, “Dedan, mind helping me move the tables back in place? Again, if we leave a mess, and the poetry club sees it, and then the improv group, goddess help us all, gets even a hint of it–”

“No worries.” Dedan smiled, going to help her maneuver the tables back into the classroom format they had found it in. 

“Ready to head back?” Arven asked, looking to Doppio.

Fuoco domenica, what was the chess club on?? Doppio guessed that apparently a lot of them were in, like…active clubs too but… Fiora had been tall-ish. Like, she was taller than him and Arven, but he wouldn’t call her a giant by any stretch. And…Gerard had been right in his ear, but…as he stretched, and both Dimitri and Dedan stood, and remembering how tall Josie was? Like…what?! Did you just shoot up over six feet when you won a certain number of chess matches?!

Though, uh, Eden kind of broke that theory. She was even shorter than he was…but that didn’t seem to slow her down from moving any of the desks…

Trying not to visibly wince at Dimitri’s handshake--not a shoulder pain, but…uh, that guy certainly had a grip--Doppio gave the Chess Club a tentative smile and wave, before taking Arven’s hand. “Let’s go.”

-

Kaito knew they were there for Doppio, and he was all about that! Doppio deserved some fresh new clothes, however much he wanted, Kaito was there to be moral support and an extra set of arms for bags. He was down for it. But. Every store they had glanced into now had a section put aside for costumes specifically, and since each store owner was making their own costumes for sale, each one had new things for Kaito to look at as he waited for Doppio to look through the shelves, and, well… 

“What about… a sexy mummy?” Kaito asked, taking out a rough and ragged looking costume that seemed to literally just be mostly bandage wrappings tied in bunches together. “I could probably make that work?”

Doppio hadn’t picked up much yet, mostly what he kind of considered basics, and yet things he didn’t already have in his wardrobe. A couple thicker turtlenecks for the colder weather, three pairs of trousers colored black, grey, and brown; and a similar set of button down shirts, colored black, white, and light blue. Honestly, there was a version of this trip that just ended after those, since they were formal-ish enough that Doppio wouldn’t feel out of place if he tried to dress up. But, uh…Kaito was insistent. 

Which he should’ve guessed, really. 

Raising his eyebrow at the…bundled strips of cloth Kaito was holding, Doppio grimaced. “...I feel like there would be a high chance of something slipping and you getting escorted away and charged with indecent exposure.”

“Sexiness comes with risks.” Kaito huffed, looking over the costume… before sighing as he put it back. “It’d be too cold. Maybe if I was going to a party, but, eh… alright! What’d you pick out this time?” Kaito asked, turning to peek at what was in Doppio’s arms now. “...man, more turtlenecks? You just bought a bunch at the last store, didn’t you? Come on, man, let’s vary it up a little. Here, what’s a section we haven’t really glanced at…”

Kaito looked around the store, before eyeing the semi-formal wear in the corner. He didn’t really think Doppio wanted a suit, but it was hard to go wrong with a damn good vest, as Kaito steered the kid towards that part of the store. “Here, this is different! And look, some fun fabrics, eh?” Kaito grinned, pulling out the hem of one of the vests, showing off the criss-cross stitching, before pulling out another and… grimacing a bit. “And fun color patterns? I guess. Man, I could see my littlest husband in this one, I swear.” Kaito sighed, looking over the multi-colored, half polka-dotted, half diamond shaped gem-bedazzled vest with little fluttering loose hanging lines of fabric at the end, giving it a grim look before putting it back on the shelf. “Yeeaaaah, remind me to hide that one from him if I ever bring him here to shop. I just… I can’t have him in that one out in public. I’m his prince consort, I gotta set some standards.”

Doppio thought that Kokichi mentioned one of their friends having a Harvest party, but he elected not to remind Kaito of it, if the royal family was planning to go. The less of Kaito’s body the world saw, the better. At least the weather had his back, toning down the ridiculous costumes Kaito was considering. 

Coloring a little, being called out for his purchases, Doppio shrugged a little. “I mean…the ones here are a different cut, so I thought I’d get one… Most of the turtlenecks I do own are thinner which…is fine for layering I guess, but a thicker one I could just wear a jacket over I thought would look nice…”

Doppio felt a little hesitant to really look through the section Kaito pushed him to. He didn’t want to go all in on getting a suit--that was way more formal than he wanted to go and…well, Doppio just didn’t really like suits. They looked uncomfortable and stuffy and he supposed a good tailor would be able to do anything, but he couldn’t help thinking he’d just look even shorter than he was in a suit. The last thing he wanted to look like was a kid playing dress up…

And, uh, not the other end of that spectrum either. 

Doppio looked bewildered by the vest Kaito held up, and even more hearing that it was apparently something Kokichi would be tempted by. “That…is just a costume piece, right? Prince Kokichi wouldn’t seriously wear something like that…right?”

Shaking his head a little, Doppio looked through the racks, thinking he may as well since he was there… Vests didn’t seem too bad and…he could wear them with his new button-downs. That was pretty formal!

Trying to look for something a little more interesting than a solid color, Doppio paused, pulling out a black rest with an involved, diamond-like red brocade pattern. “...what do you think about this one?”

Kaito, who had been shifting through the vests, looking for recommendations, peered over to see what Doppio had selected... Before lighting up. “Ooooh, handsome. Alright, here, let me hold what you’re carrying, try it on! Vests are easier to try on, don’t need to take a bunch of stuff off.

Insistently taking Doppio’s items from him, including Phanpy, Kaito placed the small elephant on his shoulder, the stiff material in its legs making it easy to wedge over his shoulder and have it stick, as Kaito said to it, “Ehhhh, sophisticated, right? Your dad’s a good looking fella.”

Making a sort of wobbly, unsure noise, Doppio nodded and, finding his arms free, pulled his sweater over his head, less worried about his skin since he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt under it anyway. Sliding on the vest, he gave Kaito a light grimace. “...I’m not Phanpy’s dad, don’t be weird.” Doppio didn’t want to be anyone’s dad. 

Shaking his head a little as he did up the buttons, he did some light adjustments with the buckles at his waist before shyly looking up. “...think it fits?”

Kaito suppressed the urge to roll his eyes a little. Yes, he knew Doppio wasn’t the literal stuffed animal’s father. Sheesh, the kid needed a sense of humor sometimes. Still, not worth actually poking fun at, as he moved the clothes to his free arm, reaching out to adjust the vest more squarely around Doppio’s shoulders. “Mmhm~ I mean, I’d say maybe have someone tailor it to fit more tightly around your waist, but that’s just my preference. I think it’s handsome on you.”

Looking Doppio over a bit, Kaito’s eyes suddenly went a little far away, as he said, “You know, one of the first things Kokichi ever let me fuss at him with was convincing him to wear a vest to a party. He let me pick his whole outfit for him. It entirely wasn’t his taste, but I didn’t know that back then. He was so handsome… oh! And he wore this handkerchief back then, I think my Shuichi gave it to him… I bet you could pull off a handkerchief. Like, one of those neck bandana types? You know what I’m talking about?” Kaito said, gesturing to his neck like it’d help, before looking to the storekeep. “Hey, grandfather! You guys keep neckerchiefs anywhere?”

The older man– though, not even really that old, what the fuck– gave Kaito a somewhat dry look, before wordlessly pointing. “Thank you!” Kaito called, “Come on, let’s check them out.”

Doppio looked down at himself with a small nod. While he’d heard about people being pretty happy with off-the-rack sizing, everyone knew that you’d have to get clothes tailored if you actually wanted them to fit correctly. He never really minded if his sweaters were too big or off proportionally, but for formalwear… He should get it fitted properly. Probably his button-downs too. He’d noted with a bit of embarrassment that he’d need to get the shoulders taken in a little, the cut a little too broad for him. 

Thanking Kaito quietly, Doppio started taking the vest back off, though he glanced up, giving Kaito a curious look as he reminisced. “That was pretty nice of him, letting you choose his whole outfit. You always look like you’re having a conniption trying to match when you and your family are going out together. Though, I really can’t imagine what Prince Kokichi would look like in your style.”

Sighing a little, Doppio gave the shopkeep an apologetic wave before he trotted after Kaito, grumbling unsurely. “...I don’t know… I don’t really wear anything around my neck, except for scarves when it’s cold…”

“Come oooon, Doppio, accessories are fun! Right, Phanpy?” Kaito said, reaching up to pat the little elephant on the head… before giving it a dry look. “Oh, ha ha, very funny. You know I don’t have to let you ride on me, you could end up tied to a belt buckle so fast. Tie you by your damn trunk…”

Kaito paused, like he was giving the elephant a chance to speak, before simply scoffing. “Tattle-tale,” he said, before looking through the handkerchiefs, giving a low, impressed whistle. “Take a look, Doppio, these are all actually pretty nice. The patterns are pretty cool. I guess anyone who would make that vest we saw back there would be pretty good at inventive patterns in general.”

Doppio pouted at Kaito, waiting for his theater to finish. “...don’t tie Phanpy to your belt, or anchor it by its trunk. If you’re bothered holding it, then just give it back.” He still felt too weird talking about Phanpy as if it was a real creature…but Doppio had already advocated for his own care in not being touched or carried in ways he didn’t like, and he would carry that over for the elephant too. 

Sighing, Doppio looked through the collection of handkerchiefs and…well, he could admit they were cool. Embroidery was a really impressive skill, and even the ones that looked screen-printed had a certain inspiration that held them above the crowd. But…he really didn’t wea…

It definitely wasn’t a handkerchief, a little too long for that, but… Doppio went quiet, his eyes widening a little as he looked over a piece of fabric. Taking in the delicate, iridescent…piping? It was so delicate it looked painted, even, but…it looked like part of the fabric itself… 

Wings. They looked like insect wings. Petite and rounded. 

“Eh, see? Doppio’s gonna back you up, huh?” Kaito snickered quietly to the elephant, before looking idly through the accessories himself. Though, as much as he was advocating for them, Kaito wasn’t really a neckerchief guy either, and after a bit his eyes wandered away, looking at the shoes lining the walls to their left. Doppio had basically entirely ignored shoes, so Kaito hadn’t really been looking at them either.

But as his eyes drifted down towards the shelves closest to the floor, his gaze hovered, briefly wondering if maybe his gaze had unfocused and merged two entirely different shoes together… but, nope. Nope. That was really just… an actual pair of shoes. Oh god… it was like someone had laced solid gold boots with colorful children’s playdoh shaped into thick shoe strings. And then the amalgamated monster of shoes had then come to life and tried to take revenge for its existence and had to be chained down for everyone’s safety. 

It was truly a horrendous pair of shoes. They’d make anyone wearing them at least an inch taller. God, if they were Kokichi’s size…

“Sorry, one second.” Kaito sighed, leaning over to pick up the shoes, warily looking at the size. “...oh nooooooo…”

He didn’t really…wear scarves. Not for fashion. And…especially with all the makeup he had to wear these days… Even supposedly sealing it, Doppio still found foundation caked into the necks of his sweaters after a day. And with such a light fabric, getting it so dirty could ruin it…

(He didn’t have to wear makeup. Well, right now he did, but…even with Amaina’s search for another upgrade still ongoing, Doppio did have another option.)

(...he didn’t know where to start…)

Gently folding up the scarf, Doppio turned, hearing Kaito’s muttering…before his face scrunched like he’d eaten something horribly sour. “...why are you even touching those? You look like you’re dying inside.”

“I just…” Kaito double checked the size again, his shoulders sinking like he was bearing a terribly heavy weight. “I just love my husband so much, ya know? Fuck. Sorry Phanpy,” Kaito muttered, reaching up to pat the elephant on the head, “Gentle language around gentle ears… darnnit. He’ll love these. Ugh.”

Lamenting a little that loving his partners meant getting them things that made him dizzy sometimes, Kaito resigned himself to getting the gift. It wasn’t like the vest where he could pretend he hadn’t seen it. It was just too good. Kokichi would adore it. Ugh.

Looking warily over, Kaito raised an eyebrow at the scarf Doppio was holding. “Oh? Okay, that’s pretty interesting. You thinking of taking up a bug aesthetic, Doppio?”

Doppio shook his head and came over to pat Kaito’s back consolingly. “...Prince Kokichi’s really a lucky guy. With just…baffling taste. I feel like I’d get a headache if I looked at those too long… Did you know there’s a common type of seizure some people get from looking at bright things? It’s called, um… ep-leprosy, I think.”

Blushing a little, Doppio glanced at the scarf before giving Kaito a small shrug. “Not…really? I just… Th-this looks cool, right? I don’t really…wear stuff like this… But I do like it,” Doppio said quietly. “Though…if I did wanna wear it, um… I think I’d wanna ask you about some stuff first.”

Averting his eyes from Kaito, Doppio idly looked at the shoe racks, just because they were there. He liked his sneakers, thought they worked well for just about everything he needed…and they stuff he didn’t, well, he had rainboots and winter boots for. Those really covered all his bases, for necessities.

…

Doppio blushed a little, looking at a pair of structured black ankle boots with pink laces and geometric leather…bows? Just before the toes. A strap with some metal finishings around the top… A pink strap along the back…

“I think it looks cool, yeah,” Kaito grinned, looking over Doppio’s possible choice with open admiration, “Mind you, I’m fond of motifs in general. Like, those frog things Kokichi got you? Adorable. My husband’s got weird taste, but man can he pull off ‘cute’ with insane accuracy. Not that this is really ‘cute’, but it just reminds me of that sort of animal theming… What’s the question?”

…

…

… “Hm?” Doppio blinked, just looking at Kaito blankly for a moment before his eyes widened and he nodded. Glancing around the store as he shifted his weight nervously. “...um… Dr. Mariah told me, um…during one of my sessions, at least, that, uh… There was an alternative to makeup I could look into. That’d…take care of my skin.”

Kaito tilted his head curiously at the pause, before following where Doppio’s eyeline went. Raising his eyebrows slightly at black boots Doppio seemed to be eyeing– cute– Kaito reached out, picking them up and checking their size… before calling to the shopkeep, “Grandfather! Do you have this a size larger?”

The shopkeep did a deep sigh– why did this person keep calling him grandfather?-- before glancing at the boots in question and nodding. Gesturing his head upwards. Kaito looked at one of the higher shelves, whistled a bit, and pulled down a near identical pair of boots. “What do you think, Doppio? Wanna try them on?”

Placing the shoes down in front of Doppio, Kaito shrugged. “Uh, alternative to makeup? Um… I feel like you’re hinting at something, but I’m not really tracking.”

…it was a little weird Kaito knew his shoe size, but that was a bit of Kaito-weirdness that, compared to everything else, Doppio was willing to let slide. However, it could soon be paired with other Kaito-weirdness…

Doppio blushed furiously, shifting his weight even more as he nervously fidgeted. “I-I mean…I already have boots, I… I don’t really need any new shoes…”

Glancing up at Kaito a little helplessly, Doppio shrugged. “Um… I don’t really know, like…specifically. But, um…” Glancing around again, Doppio gestured for Kaito to bend down a little so Doppio could whisper to him. “...she said there was magic stuff that could change what I look like?”

“...oh?” Kaito said, looking absolutely bewildered, “Really?”

Straightening up a bit, Kaito scratched at his cheek, before shrugging a little. “We could  try poking some places, but honestly, it’d be me just trying to figure it out alongside you. Which I’m willing to do, mind you! But I’m really not the expert. Most of what I know is just stuff I’ve worked out for helping when, well… things go wrong, essentially,” Kaito said, his gaze a little distant for a moment… before smiling brightly at Doppio. “Try them on! I think they’d look cool on you!”

“But, I do know there’s a place nearby that my husbands bought me a figurine from. It’s very cool, I should show it to you when we get back. But yeah, that place might know where to start for something like that,” Kaito said, leaning against the shoe shelves. “Wanna check it out after this?”

Doppio looked at Kaito in surprise, and then a mild amount of panic. Because…what?! Why was Kaito just as surprised?! The adults were supposed to be the experts here! …sure, maybe it was only Maki who’d said she could help with magic bullshit, but…Kaito knew about it! So surely he at least knew some stuff!

Making a small, stressed out sound, Doppio sighed…then looked back at the black boots. Sighing again, he sat on one of the shoe benches and slid off his sneakers, using a little disinfectant spray in the boots before starting to try them on. 

“...I don’t really know if a figurine is… Yeah, we can go look,” Doppio nodded, zipping and buckling the sides of the boots. “...what kind of figurine did you get?”

…the boots weren’t heavy, not any more than his winter boots at least. They were actually…pretty comfortable, the soles padded and, while the leather looked pretty sculpted, there wasn’t a ton of empty space his feet would be clanging around in. And…they were really cute…

Kaito chuckled a little at Doppio’s aborted refusal– at least he had enough faith in him that Kaito wouldn’t offer if there was literally no point to it– stepping back to let Doppio get the shoes on. “It’s a little red dragon. Looks like it’s perched on a mountain, about to take flight. It reminds me of my Maki. Shuichi and Kokichi got it for me when I was first learning about that sort of thing myself. My Shuichi said he wanted to show me the nice side of it.”

He grinned wider as Doppio felt out the boots, entirely sincere as he gushed. “Awww, they look great on you! Especially paired with the vest? Hold on, hold on, let’s put the neckerchief around you,” Kaito said, offering his hand to take it, “May I?”

“Oh, ‘cause it probably looks like her eyes, huh,” Doppio mused, finding that reasonable. (And not remembering an overwhelming, scorching heat. The sensation of skin starting to burn just from the air. The feeling of being small, in the face of something incomprehensibly large.)

(...though that last part wasn’t a unique concept.)

…Doppio figured there was more to it than just showing Kaito the concept of a dragon, so he had to take it with a grain of salt, but… That did sound like a nice introduction to things. A cool figurine. 

Blushing as Kaito gushed over the boots, Doppio startled and blinked up at him before lightly flinching back. “W-wait! Um… S-sorry, I just…don’t want to mess up the scarf…” His mouth twisting a little, Doppio pressed a finger under his jaw before glumly showing Kaito the bits of powder stuck to it. 

Kaito immediately took his hand back, the grin painted onto him straining slightly… before he laughed a little, relieved. “Oh, the makeup. Got it. Okay. Well… how about this! Let’s get it for you, just in case you can use it after we visit the figurine shop. Visit on the optimistic side! And if it doesn’t work out, you can gift it to Arven. He’d look cute in it too, and he’d have to wear it, cause you got it for him. Hm?”

“...he does wear ties…” Doppio hummed, looking at the scarf. And…well, Arven would probably wear it if Doppio asked. …if nothing else? It’d be a cool art piece, and he could just…tie it around something. Maybe a vase. That’d look cool. 

Smiling softly, Doppio gave Kaito a nod and started taking the boots off. “...I know I said it earlier, and you said before that this was kind of a gift, but…thanks for coming with me, Kaito. Kinda…giving me an excuse to get some new clothes.”

“Of course! This has been fun.” Kaito grinned, taking the boots and, passing Phanpy back, taking Doppio’s vest and new turtleneck too. “Alright, let me go take care of these. Hey, what do you think of, like… sexy werewolf? Though, I kinda was a sexy werewolf half of Harvest last time. I got too cold being a sexy healer… eh, I’ll think of something.” Kaito huffed, waving Doppio off. “Alright, give me a minute.”

-

Diana was again working the counter that day, reading a magazine as her toes tapped lightly against the floor. “Weeeelcome to Augury and Alchemy, wheeeere all your ulterior needs are… oh,” Diana looked up, eyebrows rising a little, “The prodigal son returns. Wondered if I’d ever see you in here, Kaito.”

It took Kaito a second to recognize… then another minute… he tilted his head. “...pumpkins and summer…?”

“I’m Diana. From the pumpkin farm and apple orchard?” Diana said, “My family adopted Piper, Glen, and little Gabe?”

“Summer child!” Kaito remembered, beaming at her, “Long time no see! It’s been almost a year!”

“Mmmhm. Grandmama’s been wondering if you’re ever coming by for a visit. Wants to see if you’ve been taking care of your coat.”

“Oh…” Kaito’s eyes widened, “Oh, right. Wow I have… questions. About that.”

“Nooooooo kidding.” Diana snapped some gum, before glancing to Kaito’s right. “Who’s your friend?”

“Doppio! This is Diana! She’s a summer child!” Kaito grinned, thumping Doppio’s back and pushing him forward a bit. “Diana, this is Doppio! He’s a winter kid! So, uh, don’t mind him if he’s being a little gloomy.”

“Riiiiiiiiiiight,” Diana drawled, “Cause the whole seasons myth is soooooo airtight. Clearly I am a prime example. Alright, how can I help you both?”

“We need magic stuff!”

“Okay, cool, shout it to the world why don’t you,” Diana muttered, flipping through her magazine, “Not like that’s a well guarded secret or something.”

Doppio glanced around the shop they stopped in. Not anywhere he’d ever gone before himself, though…not because it was super well-hidden, tucked into a hill or in a lower level, the windows blacked out and only discreet signage for those who already knew what to look for. No, location-wise it was a pretty normal shop. It just, uh, wasn’t Doppio’s style. 

…he wondered if this was a theme, for magic shops to also moonlight as ‘magic’ shops. 

…and for not being an expert, Kaito seemed pretty friendly with…well, Diana. 

Oophing and stumbling a little from Kaito’s thumps, Doppio waved sheepishly to the clerk, before he cringed. Kaito characteristically himself. “Sorry about him… Um, well…if you can help… I, uh…had a mishap and…was wondering if you had anything that would let me go outside normally without rolling around in a vat of concealer every morning?”

Another loud pop of gum, before looking to Kaito. “Well, at least lock the door and switch the sign to closed for me. Uuuugh, alright, let’s take a look in the back, see what Anbai’s managed to get his hands on recently.”

“Ooooh, the back,” Kaito grinned, doing as instructed, following behind Diana and Doppio as she led the way to the back of the store, “That’s always fun.”

“I guess,” Diana said.

Her lack of enthusiasm was maybe fair. The ‘back’ just looked like extra storage room, with a variety of items basically put wherever they could fit. It definitely was more functional than intended for dramatic display, like the rest of the store was. It smelled a little musty. 

But Kaito’s enthusiasm wasn’t dimmed at all, peering enthusiastically around the various junk-looking items, as he admitted, “This is my first time in a place like this. It’s exciting!”

“Relax, we don’t keep anything crazy in here. Not that kind of shop. We just keep basics and novelty stuff, mostly,” Diana said, looking to Doppio. “So, what are we doing? Covering scars?”

Augury and Alchemy was, first and foremost, a supply and novelty store. That covered a wide range of items and services--if those services were commissions--but that’s what it was meant for. Not a clinic or…adjacent things. But, having a magically-aligned store in a predominantly unknowing human area, many businesses found themselves dabbling in a little bit of everything. 

Which meant that Anbai did have a good array of glamours, though not any especially fancy ones. 

Peering curiously at…some things Doppio couldn’t begin to imagine a purpose for, and others that seemed a little overly obvious, he startled slightly as Diana turned to him, before he blushed, looking down. “...not quite, um…”

Rolling up his sleeves, Doppio revealed his freckled-covered arms, waited a beat… Before a light blue wave of color flashed through them. Looking back up, he shrugged a little, half-wincing. 

“That’s a new one,” Diana admitted, popping her gum. “Alright, so that’s everywhere?”

“More or less,” Kaito said, patting Doppio on the shoulder companionably. “We could do with something that’ll cover his face and hands specifically in a pinch, but ideally it'd be something he could wear over all of him, if he really wanted to.”

“Sure, sure, hmmm,” Diana said, looking over the items she had in stock, “Probably for longer than an hour, so that takes that option off the table–”

“Oh, we have a really good source of power for bolstering stuff, by the way! I think!” Kaito said, pausing, “...preeeeetty sure.”

“You sound less certain every second.”

“I feel less certain every second,” Kaito admitted, “I don’t really know how this stuff works.”

“Let’s just stick to what we’ve got in front of us,” Diana said, looking around, “...how would you feel about getting a tongue piercing?” 

Kaito’s face suddenly tensed. “He’s dating someone.”

“Ew, do I seem like a creeper?” Diana said, rolling her eyes and taking out a small jewelry box, opening it up. “This is an illusion stone. It’s actually a really decent bit of magic, the runework is microscopic and the metal the stone is encased in acts as a power source when warmed by hot water. Thus the tongue. It’s good stuff. But, the problem with it for most people looking for illusions is that there’s no compensation for touch. For people wanting to create an illusion of longer hair or clothes or even different physical features, once someone touches you, their hands will go right through the magic.”

“But, for you, that’s uniquely not an issue with this type of magic,” Diana said, looking to Doppio, “You just want to look like yourself but with non-disco skin, right? Touch can’t ruin that illusion.”

Doppio nodded glumly. “...it does it over all of my freckles…which are everywhere. I mean…yeah,” he gave Kaito a nod, “I normally wear pants and long-sleeves anyway, so if range is an issue… Honestly I’m mostly just bothered by my face.”

In, uh, one specific way, this time at least. 

Really, ideally they could find something that’d hide all of the weird stuff going on with his freckles (and, greedily, Doppio still wanted to keep how his freckles normally looked) but…he could settle for stuff. He’d just…take what he could get, really, it--

With a small gasp, Doppio covered his mouth with his hands, looking nervous…even if he didn’t…really get Kaito’s concern or Diana’s repulsion. …a tongue piercing???

…otherwise…it sounded good. Something small that he wouldn’t have to worry about…p-powering? And…well, Doppio didn’t really want to change anything, just…what he already had…

He gave Diana a tentative nod, before lowering his hands and chewing his lip. “...is…a tongue piercing the only way it works?”

“Mmmmm,” Diana looked down at the piercing, “...armpits? How sweaty do your balls get–”

“Absolutely not,” Kaito said dryly, “The other options, I mean. Let me see the thing? These things can be so damn uncomfortable if they’re shaped certain ways…”

Taking the box from her, he took it out, looking over it. It wasn’t a ball, which was a plus. Someone had clearly designed it with the tongue in mind, the edges curved gently flat. Small. It wasn’t a sex toy, very specifically. Kaito sighed, letting his protective unease go. Alright… “Can I try it? Prove it works?”

Diana raised an eyebrow. “...can you?”

“You,” Kaito said, looking to Doppio seriously, “Do not mention this to anyone, okay? This is a secret. Both of you.” Kaito looked seriously at both of them, before taking out the piercing.

Then, undoing the bottom of the clasp, Kaito opened his mouth. “Woah, do you, uh, at least want a courtesy wipe on that?” Diana interrupted, looking a little surprised at the prince’s total lack of concern if it was clean or not. 

Kaito blinked. “Oh, yeah. Please.”

“I’ll be back with a wetwipe. Hold on,” Diana said, heading back into the main shop. 

Kaito watched her go… before grinning brightly at Doppio. “Well, assuming it works? And doesn’t have any weird side effects? What do you think?”

Doppio grimaced, looking kind of horrified and mortified. He’d at least heard of a tongue piercing. But…armpits? His… For once, Doppio was glad Kaito cut in. 

The piercing itself? …barely looked like anything, really. Just…mostly flat, curved metal, and not even that big. Maybe even smaller than the end of a pencil eraser. Sure, though the aesthetics weren’t really what had startled Doppio…

And it was looking like that was what Kaito was concerned about, but… Doppio’s eyes widened. He didn’t know exactly what he was expecting, maybe just Kaito holding it in his mouth--ew--but…

Doppio’s eyes were dinner plates. “Prince Kaito, do you have a tongue piercing???”

Kaito’s nose wrinkled, nodding. “Yep. But it really is a secret, Doppio. It’s not my favorite thing. Someone pierced my damn tongue after I passed out at a party back when I was 19. I had never woken up so fucking pissed off. Nearly split my tongue trying to get the damn thing off,” Kaito said, frowning. Still pissed at the memory. “Fucking assholes…” 

“Anyway,” Kaito shrugged, “I decided back in Luminary it was easier if people just didn’t know I could wear stuff like that. I just don’t like it, ya know? And Shuichi keeps mentioning I should get stuff like that, like, playfully… I just don’t want him to know. He’ll think he did something wrong.” 

And Maki might feel weirder about her piercing punishments. Kaito didn’t really associate the two together, and he didn’t want her to either.

“Oh, but, don’t worry, it doesn’t really hurt, and only at first,” Kaito said, giving Doppio an earnest look, “I just didn’t like how I got mine, but the actual piercings themselves are fine, you don’t have to be afraid of it.”

“Alright, alcohol wipes!” Diana said, bringing a pack of them back, passing one to Kaito. “That’ll make me gag less, at least.”

“Thanks.” Kaito grinned. Wiping the piercing down, Kaito gave them both a ‘one moment’ gesture, as he searched near the front of his tongue, tracing the sharp end of the piercing near the tip… and giving a small breathy ‘aha!’ sound, found where the point dragged tellingly, before pushing it in. It slid smoothly inside, Kaito twisting the bolt flat, lightly pinching it in place, before relaxing, putting his tongue back in his mouth. “...alright. How does it work from here?”

“Uh, hold on,” Diana said, opening up the bottom of the jewelry box, pulling out a little handwritten note. “...Okay, so, you say this word. And then you can sort of will what the illusion looks like by thinking. And when you say this word, that basically locks the illusion into place. So, presumably, you could make his illusion look exactly like he wants it, lock it, and every time he puts it back on it’ll just automatically go back to what you set it as.”

Kaito peered at the word. “...okay, I don’t know what that says.”

“That’s a good point,” Diana said, looking at it… before showing it to Doppio. “I don’t suppose we’ll get real lucky and you know that word?”

An utterly horrified look twisted Doppio’s face, hearing the story of Kaito’s piercing, his pallor even through his makeup turning green as Kaito described trying to get the damn thing off. “Gods, what?! Who on earth gives a piercing to someone passed out?! Sto prorij na chiavc, that’s so gross…”

He shuddered, and…while he did appreciate that Kaito was trying the bare minimum to reassure him…

Gods. He couldn’t watch as Kaito put the piercing in. He was going to throw up…

The whole…mechanic of the illusion seemed really functional, but Doppio still looked sick as he peered at the note. Grumbling about people not even trying to sound out words…

Doppio raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t even that hard… “Arrotolare,” he said, his accent a bit heavier considering the necessity of the rolled ‘r’s. 

“Oh,” Kaito said, before looking down at his hand curiously.

“...I think you have to say it,” Diana said after a moment of nothing happening.

“Oh…” Kaito frowned, “Fuck. Aahhh, shit, fuck, sorry Phanpy, fuck. Um…Arocholate?”

“No, he rolled the r, remember?”

“A…arrroolcholate?”

“What?”

“Hold on, give me a second.”

Kaito tried it a few more times. He asked to hear it again. Then again. Diana was about to step out for some tea when Kaito, sounding increasingly desperate, said several times rapidly,” Arghroshlatte, Arghroslatte, ardrotalatte, Arrotolare– oh! Oh, I think that was it! Either that or the metal is overheating from me trying to roll that damn R!”

“Oh, good. I thought we’d all die first,” Diana said honestly, “Give it a test–oh.”

Prince Kokichi looked down at himself, staring at his own waist. Saying in Kaito’s voice, “Oh, weird… it doesn’t change my height, it just makes the rest of me invisible, huh? Okay… oooh, what about giant husband?”

Now a massive Kokichi, whose head just barely clipped into the ceiling, looked up into the roof, real Kaito clearly looking up to see the effect. “Heee~ that’s fun. Ummm… oh!” 

Now it was just Kaito, but clearly inspired by the scarf they had seen earlier, he was now sporting some big moth wings, looking over them curiously before grinning cheerfully. “Cool… and, I’m not feeling sick or anything either! It doesn’t hurt, just feels a bit warm on my tongue every time I change the illusion. This might be perfect, Doppio! What do you think?” Kaito asked him, changing his image to the slime version of himself he had tried for Kokichi once, offering out his hand for Doppio to touch. “It doesn’t feel like anything, it doesn’t physically change you. Give it a touch, it’s just my hand. Think you could live with it?”

With a deep sigh, Doppio adjusted his stance, prepared to wait an eternity. If they were relying on Kaito being able to pronounce a word he didn’t already know? Doppio wouldn’t say they were doomed, if he was having a particularly optimistic day, but…it would take a while. And for that prediction, he was a realist. 

“...I really don’t get it,” Doppio sighed, shaking his head. “Moving the ‘t’ to the end, sure, whatever… Where are you getting the ‘ch’ sound from?? I seriously think you need to get your hearing checked or something…”

Thankfully, though, the law of large numbers was on their side, and eventually?

“Eep!” Doppio startled, seeing a Kaito-voiced Prince Kokichi…then a giant Prince Kokichi…then…Kaito with wings and… Well…it didn’t seem like it had a limit, or a cooldown, and…it did look convincing… Gagging a little, Doppio tentatively poked Kaito’s (very normal-feeling) hand…before he sighed. 

Chewing his cheek as he shifted his weight, Doppio gave Kaito a worried look. “...does getting a piercing… Did your sense of taste change?”

“No,” Kaito said, looking dead serious, “It made it impossible for me to pronounce words though. I used to roll my r’s for fun. Then, the accident…”

Kaito grinned, the slime disappearing and just leaving Kaito as he chuckled, “Nah, just kidding. I never noticed anything different like that. The piercing’s so small, ya know? It’s really just the smallest little hole, and the tongue’s a beast, really. Like, when I say I almost split my tongue taking it out, I really mean I pulled the damn thing as hard as I could until it felt like I could have. But nothing actually tore.”

Sticking out his tongue, Kaito tapped the piercing with his fingernail, barely able to do that, it was so small. “And we’ll get your tongue professionally pierced, so it’ll all be safe and above board. Your friend's older sister can do it, I’d trust Elia to take care of you. You can ask her if you have any fears, and if it’s not gonna work out? We’ll figure something else out.”

“You guys going to buy it either way?” Diana asked, looking unconcerned, “You can return it I guess, if you change your mind. Not that you don’t seem to be enjoying yourself, Kaito. I’m sure if he doesn’t want it, you’d play with it.”

“...” Kaito looked down at himself, smirking. “Do we have a mirror? I’ve got to see myself real quick.”

Diana rolled her eyes. “Back corner, standing mirror. Only a little cursed, don’t worry about it.”

“Taking your word for it!” Kaito said cheerfully, heading to the back corner and uncovering the mirror. Peering through the rusted edges, Kaito thought hard about it… before grinning, spinning and turning as he looked at a smaller, more effeminate version of himself. “Nice…that’s fun~” Kaito said, making his hair longer, exaggerating the traditionally feminine features, looking himself over. “...wondered if I’d look a bit like my mom. Nah. Still just look like my dad. Ah well.” 

Then, after a moment, Kaito briefly made himself look like his mother just more blatantly. A blue haired young woman, looking a bit like Kaede, staring at himself… before he rolled his eyes, popping back into Kaito. “Alright, that’s enough playing. Let me take this thing out. How much?”

Diana told him.

“...” Kaito muttered something about Kaede owing him anyway, sticking out his tongue to start taking it off. “Eraiah res?”

“Hm?” Diana said.

“Sorry,” Kaito said, taking off the tongue piercing, looking to Doppio, “Wanna go Elia next?”

Doppio grimaced, getting enough of a feeling that Kaito was teasing him that he didn’t freak out about having his speech changed, and he was right. …eugh, it was so gross…but…if it didn’t really hurt, and he could eat normally and talk normally… He really did hate caking on makeup every morning, and even with that there was always the chance of something slipping…

…and if he did want his freckles to flash? Then…he could just ‘unthink’ the illusion…

But, uh, still… Giving Diana a pleading look, Doppio asked, “...is the metal safe to clean with, like…dunking it in peroxide? There’s no way I’m putting anything in Kaito’s mouth in mine without full sanitization.” 

Getting care tips about the piercing, Doppio winced a little at the price, but had been reaching into his bag to pay…before looking down, blushing furiously, as Kaito insisted on paying for it. Very briefly, while Diana wasn’t looking, giving Kaito a hug while he murmured, “Thank you, Kaito.”

And, with their purchase in hand? Doppio nodded, before giving Kaito a curious look. “...Maki’s girlfriend? I…guess that’d make sense, but…she knows about this stuff too?”

“Rude. What do I have, cooties?” Kaito said, sticking his tongue out at Doppio, before grinning. Happily accepting the hug and squeezing Doppio back. “Aw, doing stuff like this makes me happy, man. Thanks for giving me an excuse~”

Heading out the store, prizes in hand– both hands, Kaito and Doppio had gotten quite a few things that day– Kaito shrugged. “Elia? I don’t think so, no, it’d be wild if she did, and maybe a little alarming? I dunno, freaking everyone seems to know, it’s honestly getting to the point I’m more surprised when someone doesn’t know at least a little.”

“But, it doesn’t matter if she does or not, does it? You’re just getting a tongue piercing like a thousand other people have this month,” Kaito said. “There’s nothing innately unusual about that. Just don’t turn into a giant Kokichi around her… though, I really do hope you let yourself have some fun with that,” Kaito laughed, “I trust you won’t do anything unkind to someone with it, and it was fun, playing with it! I hope you really enjoy it, on top of it making things easier.”

Kaito should talk to Shuichi about this stuff. His tallest husband hadn’t mentioned it in a long time, but Kaito knew Shuichi still wasn’t always okay with his body changes, let alone fond of them. If there was something out there that could make Shuichi comfortable in his own skin again? Kaito would pay anything for it. 

Doppio frowned a little, before giving Kaito a dry look. “...I’m 14.” And while for most people that would surely be enough, after a moment Doppio remembered exactly who it was he was talking with, so he continued to give a greater explanation. “You need to be 18 to get a minor piercing, like ears, and 20 to get others. I’d be, like, legally allowed with a guardian there to sign off on it, but…most reputable places still won’t. And it’s not like there’s a medical reason I’d need to get a tongue piercing.”

If he could explain that he was getting a piercing for an illusion stone…well, Doppio didn’t know how anyone would react, because this was all new to him, but he thought that was a more reasonable reason, and one that a piercer might accept for taking on a minor as a client. Trying to explain it to just a normal person???

Doppio sighed, feeling a pit in his stomach start to form. 

(...if the illusion stone could…make parts of him invisible? It was just a prank, Doppio didn’t think it was unkind. And it would make things a lot scarier…)

“Oh,” Kaito blinked, “Shit, you are. God it is hard to talk to you. I must look like such a creep, all the time.”

Stopping on the sidewalk, Kaito leaned against a store, placing his hand on Doppio’s head, patting it and then leaving it there as he huffed, staring at the sky. “Alright, settle in, toddler, give the old man a second to think… shit… Whose dumbass idea was it to argue you were 14… Alright, hold on…”

Thumping his head back into the wall a bit, Kaito closed his eyes and sighed, “...I mean, that was literally my first impulse too, hearing it. I was afraid it was a sex thing. God, I cannot take a 14-year-old to get a tongue piercing, fuck, people are going to assume the worst, and they’d be super justified… okay…”

“...you have a cancerous growth, like, riiiight on the middle of your tongue?” Kaito muttered, “And only a reputable tongue piercer can… pierce it out? No. Ugh…” Another little thump. “...I’d really rather it be done professionally. I don’t even think Maki really could…”

Kaito glanced down at Doppio… before sighing, “Look, I don’t care what the story is, alright? It’s none of my damn business… but when you looked into the seizure thing, you went to Nell. Not Seiko. So… I don’t know why you trust her, but a doctor might know how to do it safely?”

Doppio rolled his eyes a bit. What, like kids couldn’t talk to adults at all without it being weird? Weirdo… They knew what the situation was, and that wasn’t anyone else’s business…and Doppio liked to think he was still ‘adult-passing’ in a crowd. Sure, Kaito was a giant, so Doppio probably looked younger in comparison, but younger didn’t have to mean a literal baby. 

…he didn’t know why Kaito kept talking about it being a sex thing either. More shenanigans-brain stuff, he bet. 

Giving Kaito an unconvinced look at his half-hearted excuse, Doppio sighed, about resigned to give up…before his shoulders tensed. …Kaito knew, so he knew how important it was to keep other’s secrets, so… He gave the prince a wary look. “...maybe. …should I ask for an appointment when we get back?”

Kaito sighed, nodding, patting Doppio on the head. Pap-pap. “Yeah, do that. Hopefully we’ll get lucky. If she asks how you found the piercing…” Kaito paused, biting his lower lip with his canine tooth a bit. “...nngh. I hate keeping secrets… Sorry, keep my name out of it, if you can. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind being known as the crazy Luminary who thinks magic is real. Historically that’s not even a stretch for me. But I could lead to the rest of the family, you know? Damned by association. Sorry.”

Doppio’s gaze softened a little as he nodded, for once not immediately bapping Kaito’s arm away. “No worries. I mean…it wouldn’t be difficult for me to explain, on my own. And she obviously knows why I wouldn’t be able to go to a parlor.” …she did already know he was having some issues with the changes to his body, though Doppio hadn’t told her exactly how they occurred. Nell was respectful that he wanted to keep that part private, though she had asked him to reconsider if any of the changes started causing him pain or physical stress. It wasn’t a condition, she’d still try to help him, but…she had explained that it could be a clue how to better help him if she knew how they happened. 

It was reasonable. But Doppio still didn’t want to expose Kokichi or Maki or any of the royal family if he could help it. They had done him a lot of favors, it was the least he could do to provide the bare minimum of protection. 

Sighing, Doppio attempted a wobbly smile. “...it’d be really nice to not have to worry about…my clothes ‘n stuff anymore.”

“Do not,” Kaito said, cheerfully thumping Doppio on the back, sending them back walking, “Walk around naked. Don’t do it! That is an accident begging to happen. Plus, fake clothes won’t keep you warm. It’s too cold for that shit.”

Kaito smirked, giving Doppio a wink. “...and yes, that one was me teasing.”

Doppio stumbled, almost face-planting in the street as he made some choked off squawking noises, looking at Kaito incredulously…before he huffed. Shaking his head as he sped up, not caring if he left Kaito behind. 

-

“A tongue piercing, huh…” Nell hummed, sterilizing her tools. “Well, there’s a first time for everything.”

-

Curled up in bed, wearing his axolotl pajamas, Doppio popped another piece of ice into his mouth before sinking back down with a groan, hugging Phanpy to his chest. His hair just in his scrunchie, unbraided, and his face freckled and bare. 

“Aceto?” Arven said, opening the door and giving a concerned look inside as Chief bounded in. “Kaito intercepted me when I got home, made me go out and get ice cream? We having another tough day in bed?” Arven asked, closing the door behind him and giving Doppio a concerned look as he brought in the small bag of pint ice creams.

Doppio huffed softly. “Wai ‘e ‘o ak…uug…”

Groaning, he reached out towards Arven before opening his arms, making a request for his boyfriend to join him. The ice cream would be nice, he had been advised to pretty much just eat cold soft things for the rest of the day, but more than anything, Doppio just wanted a hug. 

Lightly crunching his ice until he could swallow, Doppio sighed, giving Arven a tired look…before deciding to forego words and explain through actions. Once Arven was close enough, Doppio stuck his tongue out.

Arven looked increasingly confused at Doppio’s garbled speech, and as he went to sit next to him, pulling himself more onto the bed, sitting by his waist and peering down at him curiously… Arven’s eyebrows raised a little when Doppio stuck his tongue out…

“...did you put a sticker on your tongue?” Arven asked, peering at the little metal square, the texture looking like a very small, smooth stone. “Why?”

Doppio just wilted, grimacing, as he wrapped his arms around Arven’s waist and pressed his temple to his side, carefully avoiding his jaw. “...it’s a piercing.”

“What?” Arven said, eyes wide as saucers, even as he gently wrapped his arm over Doppio’s shoulder, more mimicking a hug than risking squeezing him back. “...that’s so metal. Why?”

O.O 

Q.Q I saw the whole thing that CRAZY WOMAN STABBED HIM IN THE FACE

Arven looked up at Amaina, who was flying overhead. “...I’m assuming you mean the person who gave him the piercing?”

QoQ OH THE HUMANITY

“You agreed to get it, right?” Arven said, now looking down at Doppio in concern, “Some random woman didn’t just come up to you and stab you with a random piercing… right?”

Well, at least Arven didn’t think it was gross. It would be a nightmare if Doppio went through the whole process of getting a piercing, only to have to figure out something else because Arven wouldn’t kiss him anymore. 

“I agreed to it,” Doppio confirmed in a sigh, squeezing Arven slightly. “It’s an illusion stone… Kaito took me to a place to get it while we were out shopping today. It makes it so no one can see my freckles turn colors anymore…and that they can’t see my breath either, when that happens. …but it runs on warm water, so…it’s a tongue piercing. I got Dr. Nell to do it.”

His nose wrinkling, Doppio sat up a little to get another ice cube, popping it in his mouth. “‘Er fir wan.”

“No idea what that last bit was,” Arven said, smiling fondly, rubbing his thumb down Doppio’s cheek a little, as he realized, “Oh yeah… I almost didn’t notice, but look at that. No glow… Aw, I already kind of miss it. Though it’s cute to just see you with your freckles again. Is it permanent?”

Doppio’s mouth was sore. Thus, the ice. But…even so, he couldn’t help smiling a little at the gentle touch, snuggling closer to Arven. He might feel a little more conflicted when his mouth wasn’t numb from the ice, but…for this moment, it was nice. 

Gnawing on the ice, Doppio carefully pushed the smaller pieces into his cheek before answering. “No. I can change the illusion to anything I want, including no illusion…but I’m not sure how finicky it is, so I’m just…keeping it like this, for now. Normal skin.”

…Arven had already given a telling reaction, but…

Doppio gave him a shy look. “...it doesn’t gross you out?”

“No?” Arven said, still looking fondly down at him. “Why would it? It’s just a tongue piercing. Admittedly, I don’t really know why most people bother getting one at all, you can’t really see them, but…” Arven shrugged, “There’s nothing inherently gross about it.”

“Can I see it again?” Arven asked curiously. “When you’re done with your ice.”

Doppio relaxed, giving Arven another squeeze before he let him go, the act of keeping himself half-propped up, even for boyfriend hugs, getting a little uncomfortable. “It is just a piercing…but kind of…the physicality of it grosses me out to think about. ‘N Kaito said a bunch of stuff too that made me wanna vomit. But…it’s something I can handle, to not have to worry about someone catching a bad glimpse of something.”

Laying back on the bed, taking up Phanpy again, Doppio worked on his ice before sticking out his tongue again.

“Kaito makes everything gross,” Arven said, barely thinking about it, looking at the piercing again. “Honestly, it’s so small that if you hadn’t told me it was there, I may not have noticed it at all. I guess maybe if we were getting real, uh, tongue-y with our kisses, maybe I’d notice a bump. But seeing it? No way. The coloring doesn’t even stand out.”

Smiling, Arven leaned down, waiting for Doppio to stick his tongue back in his mouth before giving him a small kiss. “You’re cute. Also, yay, look at your freckles. That’s also cute… I won’t smudge them if I kiss them?” Arven asked, still not entirely certain he understood how the ‘illusion stone’ worked, but risking placing a gentle kiss on a freckle on Doppio’s nose. “Doesn’t look like it…”

“You’re not wrong,” Doppio murmured. Before he turned bright red (the full effect, unfiltered by concealer) at the idea of getting…tongue-y. With Arven. S-sure, he really liked kissing, b-but… Doppio still felt overly flustered when one of them gasped a little early while pulling away. He did know that people kissed with more than just their lips, but… 

Mmm. Lip kissing was the best. 

Smiling, Doppio threw away comfort for a moment, following Arven back up the little amount he leaned back to chase another kiss…before comfort returned. Doppio closing his eyes with a grin at the kiss to his nose. “...I don’t really get it myself… but I just say, arrotolare and then…I can look like anything. Just that anything that would be, like…’extra’? Doesn’t actually have the physical mass of it, so if someone tried to touch it, they’d go through. And, opposite for the opposite. If I hide something that’s actually there, someone touching it would still feel it.”

Glancing back at his ice, but wanting to keep talking, Doppio chewed his lip a little before giving Arven a hesitantly excited look. “...I could probably make it look like there aren’t any legs, with the ghost costume…”

“...” Arven lit up, smiling wide, and then grinning. “Oh, that’s gonna be so good. We’re gonna scare the pants off the guy! …assuming he’s wearing pants. He was talking to me about costumes, and apparently pants are optional. That guy has a serious fixation on his looks.”

Laying down with Doppio, leaving the ice cream in the bag on the edge of the bed, Arven chuckled, “That’s gonna be so much fun. Harvest is gonna be a good time.”

“...are you happy?” Arven asked softly, “I don’t know if I’m really showing how excited I am for you. I know the makeup was driving you crazy. It’s nice to know you have more control over what you look like.”

Doppio couldn’t help but smile back, in the face of Arven’s excitement, though he still grumbled, “He better be wearing pants… He was considering going as a ‘sexy mummy’? That guy was seriously thinking about going around just with a bunch of bandages around him, and his concern was that it’d be too cold. Weirdo.”

Making a small pleased sound as Arven properly joined him, Doppio wrapped his arms around Arven again and snuggled in, pressing a light kiss to his cheek. Phanpy was a good friend for a troubled time, but there really wasn’t anyone quite like Arven. 

“...it wasn’t just my freckles, really… I’ve been having a hard time bodywise for… a while,” Doppio softly admitted. Though, he let out a small laugh. “But, you know? It’s funny… I could look like anything I can imagine with this and…all I want is to just look like me.”

“Yeah, I’m happy,” Doppio smiled, though it turned into a wincing sigh. “...though I’ll be happier once my tongue stops hurting… Pass me more ice?”

“...okay, but I’m gonna warn you, I’m about to do it in a weird way,” Arven said, flushing at the thought.

Reaching for the ice box, Arven picked one up normally and, still beaming red, put the ice between his lips, before nervously moving his face close to Doppio. Clearly struggling to hold the ice in between his loopy, nervous smile. “Nngh?”

Doppio gave Arven a confused look…before burning bright red again, a high-pitched, steaming noise leaving his throat. Screwing his eyes shut, absolutely flustered, Doppio leaned in to take the ice with his own mouth, his lips barely bumping Arven’s before he held it steady with his teeth. 

…somehow…while it had absolutely disgusted him with Kaito earlier… Doppio wasn’t so sure with having something from Arven’s mouth in his.

Arven laughed, covering his face as soon as the ice was clear, flustered and embarrassed. “That was weird. Was I weird? Sorry for being weird.” Arven grinned, not looking sorry at all, just looking flustered and happy as he laid back down, beaming at him. “I’m glad you want to look like yourself. I like the way you look too.”

With another high-pitched sound, Doppio scrunched down, hiding his face in Arven’s shoulder…before he huffed through his nose, pressing a cold kiss to Arven’s cheek. 

“...’m gla’ I don’ ha’ ‘o ‘ide my ‘ec’gles anymore.” He had never even thought about hiding them in the past, to be fair, but…he liked that Arven liked them. And he didn’t like looking like a stranger in his own reflection. 

“Chilly,” Arven laughed, nuzzling closer to his cold boyfriend… before saying, “Oh, you really made an impression at chess club, by the way. I’ve had four different people ask if we’re coming back again. I think they liked you.”

“What do you think?” Arven asked, relaxing on his back a bit, curiously looking at Doppio. “I’m still okay with checking out different clubs or events or whatever. But… did you like them? Would you want to go back?”

“Hm?” Doppio opened his eyes, looking at Arven a little incredulously. He made an impression?? A good one? To…the point people were asking them to come to another meeting? …they…wanted them to come back?

Doppio could only blink for a moment before smiling softly at Arven, crunching the ice enough to push into his cheek. “...it was fun, and…everyone seemed nice. And, I have to admit,” he laughed sheepishly, “I am a little curious about their roleplay, now. And…it’d be fun, being a traveling monster-befriender with you. I’ve never tried to do anything like it but…if we really like the idea, we could probably put clay over our own chess pieces to look like cool animals.”

“...if you’re having fun too? I think I’d like to go back.”

“Oh, I love that idea. We can make them, like, entirely unique little monsters. And it’d be cute to have a whole little collection of itty bitty creatures… little, like, pocket-sized monsters.” Arven said, spinning the idea around in his head, “That’d be fun. So long as we keep it consistent who has what moveset? We could make as many variations as we like.”

“I think that’d be fun,” Arven said, looking to Doppio, calm and serious, “As long as it’s with you? It sounds like a great time.”

Doppio laughed softly. “We could get a notebook just for them. I am pretty good at organizing information, if I’m allowed to brag a bit. …aw, a-and, um…like Fiora said, how if you move a pawn to the other side of the board, and it can be another piece? Maybe…some of the pawn monsters could, like…evolve? Or morph or…something. Into like…an adjacent, but…bigger and cooler type of monster.”

Feeling a bit excited for a project, Doppio smiled and pressed his nose against Arven’s. “I’m glad.”

-

Kaito was in a particularly good mood that day. His conversation with Kaede had gone well, asking for an advance on his allowance. She hadn’t pushed back any, but Kaito had still mentioned that she had, in fact, not called him at all for his birthday, or Atua week, and was Sou on his travels yet? Yes? Good. Also, yes, Kaito would happily accept a little extra, and oh, you know, Timothy’s doing really well in school, the boy could use a nice new set of wardrobes himself, he’s getting bigger, well yes, Kaede, Kaito would happily accept more, thank you so much.

Kaito didn’t care if he had plenty of money and his husbands would never let him go without anyway. Kaede wanted a whole damn kingdom? Fine, but she better be ready to pay out every time Kaito felt like guilting her over it. She’d fund every fun thing his kids ever desired, as far as he was concerned.

Now he just needed to convince Timothy that, yes, you are getting bigger, kid, and no, they could not put off wardrobe updating indefinitely. Those shorts were getting shorter! They needed to go buy new pants! Or, overalls, if the kid’s tastes stayed consistent.

Kaito had paused in the hallways, catching his reflection in the glass of a window. Fussing with his hair a bit, he wondered if maybe it was time to really just bite the bullet there. Maybe Denji would have some time…”Holy fuck!”

Kaito jumped a foot in the air, seeing an eerie face in the glass, peering over his shoulder. Fucking god damn fucking ghosts holy shit– “Oh!” Kaito said, turning around, eyes wide as saucers, “...hello??”

Josie mostly held in a snort, grinning at the prince in amusement. He hadn’t really meant to sneak up on Kaito, the runner rugs in the halls were just that plush, but he couldn’t lie…the guy’s reaction was pretty funny. 

“Sorry, sorry. Good afternoon, Prince Kaito,” Josie lazily saluted. “Particularly enamored with the rain today? I think we’re all hoping that the weather forecast in the paper’s right and it’ll be clear by Sunday.”

He wasn’t really expecting Kaito to just have all the time in the world to humor him, but, hey, you missed every shot you didn’t take, and Josie felt like it was a little overly bureaucratic to send in a letter asking for the prince’s time when they lived in the same city. Still, it was a good day to see what was going on in the castle anyway, if he was sent away. With the downpour outside, it wasn’t like there would be a lot going on in the city to stroll by anyway.

“Huh?” Kaito asked, literally the same second as thunder cackled above, a flash of light beaming briefly through the window. Kaito looked over his shoulder in surprise. “Oh, yeah, it’s raining, huh… Well, I guess better now than at Harvest…”

Kaito looked back at the… kid? Why did Kaito think this was a kid again… oh! This was one of the boys who had visited Arven and Doppio! That’s right, this was one of the highschoolers. Kaito remembered being worried Arven was bullying the poor lad. Admittedly, Kaito couldn’t remember much else about him, beyond that. 

“Oh, you’re looking for Arven and Doppio again!” Kaito realized, grinning at the kid, always thrilled to see signs of his kids’ social lives going well. “Oh you are waaaay on the wrong floor, they are floor one, I’m afraid.”

“Actually, I’m looking for you,” Josie grinned, giving Kaito a wink, as he folded his hands behind his head, leaning back into them casually. “Though I might catch up with them to pass on next week’s club schedule. But, for our illustrious prince, it seems I picked the perfect floor. A lucky guess~”

Softening his grin a little, Josie lowered his arms. “Though I can scram if you’re busy, Prince Kaito. After seeing your shrine, I was wondering about some of the iconography and religious stories, and your husband recommended I talk to you. No better person, really.”

Especially since apparently the Atuan religion was kind of split into different sects, between Dicea and Luminary. Josie had gone to see the new temple in town after it opened, had appreciated the beauty and thought there too and had asked some of the devotees about their religion and why things in the temple looked the way they did. But none of the artwork Josie had seen there really featured people, while they were heavily present in Kaito’s shrine. So…he was curious. 

Kaito’s eyes lit up. “Club? They joined a club? Arven’s teachers said he was famously resistant to clubs… That’s awesome! Which club did they join!?” Kaito looked the kid up and down, before guessing, “Theater?”

Though, Kaito’s keen joy eased a bit, now just a little curious– and maybe just a tad wary– as he asked, “Oh, you want me to discuss Atua? Um, sure, I love talking about my religion… but I have to warn you, Atua from my home country versus Atua here are two very different religious sects. They don’t have a lot in common beyond Atua’s name and the trials, so if you’re trying to learn more about the religion in how it relates to a Dicean? I’m actually not the best person to ask.”

There was another crack of thunder outside, the rain coming in heavier. Kaito peered over his shoulder and frowned. “...not that I’d turn you away now, honestly. Did you walk here in this weather? You don’t live in the castle, do you? I won’t pretend to know everyone here.”

Josie laughed brightly, amused. “Wow, I’d pay to see those two act. Could always prove me wrong, but they give me big ‘overacting to compensate for stage fright’ vibes. Nah, they joined Chess Club.”

“Joined,” Josie rolled his eyes a little. “Arven said that they’d stop by when they wanted to, but it seemed like they had fun, so I’d call it confirmed.”

Given the club’s weird times, Josie wasn’t going to give them a hard time about it, even with Arven trying to look unbothered and noncommitant about it. And in fairness, Fiora wasn’t even a rostered member of the club either, just a frequent visitor due to her busy schedule, though Josie had gotten Khalid to admit he was going to include her name at the end of the year anyway just so she could get credit on her school record. Which didn’t really matter much, but they all knew she’d be happy about it. 

Nodding easily, Josie grinned. “I appreciate the warning, but I’ve already done that song and dance. I asked some members of the temple in town about Atua after it opened, and it’s pretty fascinating stuff. Plus, if you guys share the trials, then you can consider me having already aced that intro course.” He winked.

“But, nah, I’m here to ask you about your division of Atua,” Josie clarified, before lightly waving Kaito off. “I walked here after school, but I had an umbrella, no biggie. My folks know I come back late sometimes, so I might just wait out the rain whether you have the time to indulge my curiosity or not.”

He took a glance at the window, lightning lighting up the hall, closely followed by a rumble. “...if it decides to clear up tonight.”

“We’ll…” Kaito scratched the back of his neck, massaging the muscle there a bit as he peered at the storm, “...well, obviously you can spend the night if it comes to that. But we’ll see if we can’t get you home without having you shuffle through mudwater. Maybe could take you home by horse? Gotta at least make sure your parents know you’re safe.”

Kaito was murmuring to himself, running through possible scenarios of how to get the kid home safely– carriage? Could be rough on the carriage driver though, and carriages on these hills in the rain? Ngh– before chuckling to himself, shaking his head. Don’t stress about it until it actually happens. Alright…

Kaito found himself peering at his reflection again… before turning to look at the kid. “Wanna sit with me through a haircut? It’d probably annoy the guy I’m asking to cut my hair, but I think that’d delight my smallest husband, so…” Kaito grinned, shrugging. “I’ll answer what you wanna know?”

“I’ll figure it out,” Josie shrugged, unbothered. “I have a good feeling I’ll make it home safe and sound tonight.”

Even if he did walk home through the rain for it. He wouldn’t exactly call muddy boots bad luck…but being struck by lightning would. Skidding down a slick hill. Being hit by a sliding carriage. Without those? He’d be fine. 

Raising his eyebrows a little, Josie snorted before giving a nod and stepping to the side, letting Kaito lead the way. “Sounds perfect. Just don’t get overly invested in a story and get a little too much taken off a side~”

As they started walking, Josie hummed. “I’ll admit, without much of a starting point? I’m curious about your windows--who those people are. If Prince Kokichi decided to make them a custom made focal point, I have to imagine they’re pretty important in Atua.” 

“The saints?” Kaito grinned, bouncing on his heels a little, excited to discuss his saints as he crossed his arms behind his back, half using the pose to stretch his shoulders back a little. “Okay, so, first of all, while one of those saints is important to Luminary as a whole, the other two are saints that I just consider near and dear to my beliefs. There’s actually quite a few saints revered in Luminary, and many far more than Madison and and Sarah-Mei, but, well… which saints you personally revere is a personal choice, if you revere any of them at all.”

“So, the lady with the dark blue hair?” Kaito said, “That’s Saint Sarah-Mei. She’s the Hand of Mercy. She’s considered a saint for taking mercy on a woman who was cruel to her, and had just been in the process of attempting to murder her and her unborn child. When she could have just watched the woman die and walked away both innocent and with her fortunes secured? Sarah-Mei chose mercy, saving the woman and her child, and changing the fate of their family in that act of kindness. Sarah-Mei and her lady’s families became influential advocates and champions of children and family for generations, and Sarah-Mei’s name is usually used as a reference when people are championing for laws to protect children and their parents. Sarah-Mei’s act of mercy improving the quality of life for thousands after her…”

“I always love that,” Kaito said, eyes wide and shining, “That idea of small, personal moments having such wide-ranging consequences… but, admittedly, I fixated on Sarah-Mei after realizing I was going to be a Prince Consort. And even moreso now that I have kids. But that’s really how saints work, religion wise. You pray to the one that reflects your current needs the most, and hope she’s listening at best, or at worst just trying to find inspiration through her to persevere.”

Kaito got to Denji’s door, and giving the kid– shoot, had he gotten his name?-- a one moment gesture, knocked… and then knocked again… KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Josie hummed, giving little indications that he was listening as Kaito spoke. Okay… So there were still centralized figures important to Luminary Atua, but the people depicted in the windows were, more likely, personal calls that Prince Kokichi had made, knowing what parts of Atua were most meaningful to his husband’s personal faith… Which made sense, considering it was a personal, in-house temple…even if it technically was public and others could visit. 

Less fitting for the future, but all the influences of Atua would be, not just the specific saints displayed. But…that was the choice Prince Kokichi had made, and it was one that likely felt all the more meaningful to Prince Kaito. Either way, whether the iconography was meaningful to whoever used the shrine in the future, it was a beautiful room. 

Josie couldn’t help smirking a little to himself at the first saint Kaito explained. Hand of Mercy? Mercy would probably roll her eyes at him, but Josie was definitely working that into a quip the next time they hung out. His personal amusements aside, though…

“Now there’s a title earned…and quite the definition of saintliness, even colloquially,” Josie mused, nodding a little to himself. “I mean, I imagine it feels different watching someone right in front of you struggle with the mortal coil, even if you hated them,” For, uh…some people, at least, “But…that’s still an incredible strength of character, to act on that mercy.”

He tilted his head. “...and that’s not just religious allegory, is it? Saint Sarah-Mei changed laws, or was the impetus for them. Like…you have specific historical actions that are weaved right into religious myth… I can get how that brings the saints a lot closer into people’s faith.”

“It’s like having an idol,” Josie lightly laughed, “Or just a role-model. If they could do it, then so can you, so that gives you strength…right?”

As Kaito knocked furiously upon a door, there was a frustrated noise from inside, before the door was flung open. “Kaito, I swear on your yet-unpunctured leather if you keep knocking--!!” The person in the room was fuming, dressed…quite well, in Josie’s opinion, a round sort of puff attached to their wrist, punctured with pins. 

Calming slightly as they saw another person with Kaito, Denji narrowed their eyes a little in confusion. “...well, what is it?”

“Yeah, exactly! The saints aren’t untouchable, or unreachable. They’re not even expected to have been perfect their whole lives. They’re just women who were recognized by the religion for doing one consequential act that exemplifies the virtue they’re remembered for. And, really, anyone can achieve that, personally, if not be publicly acknowledged for that…”

Kaito bit his lower lip, flushing a bit… before whispering, “And, if you believe Dicea, maybe even men could be considered a saint too? Not to be, ya know… sacrilegious or anything. Not me personally, obviously, I just mean men in general, god, could you imagine the hubris… oh!”

Kaito lit up, grinning through Denji’s cursing and threats, before giving them a little wave. “Hey! Are you busy? I was wondering if you had time for a haircut?”

Josie raised an eyebrow. If you believe…Dicea? The Dicean sect, he assumed…if that, then only could men be saints? Hmm…

Denji looked at Kaito for a moment before heaving a sigh and waving them both into their room. “If I must, don’t start begging me, your hair’s already doing that enough… It’s about time you’ve come back for something, and I’m not giving up trying to convince you to try something new…”

As they gave their regular spiel, Kaito and Josie would enter to see that Denji had been in the middle of something, actually. On a dress form was a long fitted white dress with a faux peplum ruffled flair at the waist. However the dress seemed to be splattered with red, and upon closer inspection, anything that would read as ‘wet’ or ‘drips’ from far away were actually tiny red jewels, artfully sewn into the fabric. Next to the dress were similarly styled opera-length gloves and a wide circle-brimmed hat. 

Josie took in the macabre Harvest costume with interest, until Denji, noticing, gave him a nod and a small greeting nod. “Do you need a haircut too? I am Denji, the castle stylist.”

“Josie, though no thanks,” he nodded back. “I’m just here for some good old self-enrichment~ Looks like I’m getting even more than I bargained for--your dress looks incredible!”

Kaito whistled low at the dress, reaching forward to run his fingers along some of the jewels. “Nice… aw, man, now I’m regretting not commissioning a piece from you, Denji. Harvest is right around the corner and I still haven’t picked a costume. By this rate I’m going to Harvest as the guy carrying the adorable pumpkin.” He complained, though the complaint came with a small, happy grin, imagining Miyako in her pumpkin costume. “This is beautiful though. I love the blood splatter suggestion.”

“But, actually!” Kaito said, turning to Denji, “I am hoping for a change in haircuts this time! I’ve been thinking about it, and I think it’s time to upgrade. I’m looking for something a little more grown-up, essentially. Something that would… heh,” Kaito shrugged sheepishly, “Maybe take a little less maintenance in the morning? Less gel?”

“And yes! This is Josie!” Kaito said, like he had known that all along, gesturing to the boy. “He’s one of Arven and Doppio’s little friends! I was just telling him about the saints that Kokichi got commissioned into the windows of my shrine. You’ve seen the shrine, right!?” Kaito asked, suddenly looking dreamy, “It’s so amazing~”

“Maybe by next year you’ll actually remember that you live with someone who can make your clothes,” Denji rolled their eyes. “Your wedding outfits were fine work, though I suppose I could forgive you being so dazzled you forgot you’d ever need anything else. But here you are again, days away from an event, left scrambling. Maybe write yourself a note in your planner, next time.”

“Thank you,” they smiled, gazing over the dress with smug approval, before setting up a chair for haircutting, shooing Josie into a spare armchair. “The initial inspiration came from Andromeda, actually, an old folk tale she heard of a murderous woman in a white dress. I insist you catch us at the festival to see the full effect, but Rom’s costume is complementary, the same jeweled effect but in black upon black cloth, giving the suggestion the garment itself is dripping apart. Marvelous work.”

Looking at Kaito in surprise, Denji lit up, heading over to some of their hair catalogs and to grab a sketchbook, delighted to finally give another member of their family some new life in their style. “It’s about time. Let’s see…generally, less maintenance means shorter and less layering, but let’s explore some options…”

“And of course the shrine is stunning, my brother designed it,” Denji said matter-of-factly. “When he actually applies himself to beauty, rather than trying to win a ‘how fast can I make someone vomit’ contest, he’s second to only me in aesthetics.”

Snorting a little at being called a ‘little friend’--Denji had given the over six foot teen a similar look at the phrase--Josie relaxed back. “I’ll let you figure out your cut, but you have to know, I’m dying know what you meant by the concept of guys being saints being novel.”

Kaito sat down, kicking his legs a little as he smiled warmly at Denji, looking forward to working out some ideas with him. Though, his attention quickly diverted to Josie, looking briefly confused… “Oh! Right, yeah, sorry, sometimes I forget things aren’t common knowledge here, like they would be back home. So, okay, so…”

Kaito fussed with his hair a little, pulling it line by line apart from the gel adhering it together, just playing with it as he said, “Women are considered especially beloved by Atua, back in Luminary. There’s a few different reasons and explanations why, but the first one I ever knew was that women naturally gave their blood rites every month, without needing to injure themselves, meaning they were especially blessed. It makes  more sense back in Luminary, because Atua is a creator god in Luminary, not a minor god. So we assumed he designed the different sexes in different ways to show favor.”

“So, as long as you can do the monthly blood rites naturally? You can be a priestess, and even acknowledged as a saint,” Kaito said, leaning his head back a bit, “And there used to be a belief, back in the day, that if you were a male, you should make every attempt to be bonded with a woman, because women were more favored through the trials. That belief fell off at some point, but you still see mentions of it in The Good Book, like an implied, understood sort of thing.”

“According to my women’s history class?” Kaito said, tilting his head a bit, “And, this is considered a pretty extreme belief, but I honestly think she had a point when she explained it all out; the religion was pressured to bury a lot of women-bonding favoritism stuff because the elites were trying to make an argument that women needed special protections for their status as the fairer sex, in Atua’s eyes, but suggesting women were better at battle trials meant they didn’t need protection and couldn’t be subverted in power roles, which is what a lot of the ‘protection’ laws were doing. It all got…” Kaito whistled, “Complicated.”

Denji and Josie both gave Kaito befuddled looks, though Denji just shook their head a bit before returning to their sketches, banging out a few loose drafts of Kaito’s head to put hair upon. 

Through learning about different religions, Josie had realized that religion was a lot more political than people tended to give it credit for, even in a place like modern Dicea, which had protected right-to-faith laws. But with Luminary being a theocracy, or at least having threads of that, the tales and beliefs of the religion were just that more entwined with political agendas. 

Josie could understand that, at least in basic terms, but…well, he hadn’t expected to hear something just so blatantly sexist. 

“That sounds like it,” he nodded slowly, absorbing all that. Though, he tilted his head, considering another implication. “...do priestesses have to retire once they go through menopause, or if they have a complication that stops menstruation? Or is it more that, once you are a priestess, you’ve had Atua’s favor over others once, and that kind of…carries through, through the devotion and leadership you’ve already shown while you’ve been able to menstruate? Is there religious significance, similar to…a coming of age ceremony, in other religions, when…well, I have to ask,” Josie muttered, being truthful with himself, “Specifically girls start menstruation? And…does that not happen with other genders that menstruate?”

Kaito grinned, looking a little excited again. Josie was just… interested? 

Nodding, he said, “Priestesses both sort of retire and sort of get grandmothered in, yeah. There’s certain rituals that are considered inappropriate for them to do once they stop menstruating, but those rituals are usually done during the act of menstruating, you know? It just stops being functional once you can’t. But, once you’re a priestess, you never stop being a priestess, and most of the religion’s most elite levels are run by priestesses who wouldn’t qualify to do those rituals anymore. And once they stop menstruating, they just do the same blood rite rituals the rest of us do.”

“And for the transitioned genders?” Kaito clarified, “When a transitioned male is still bleeding, they’re still allowed to do certain rituals, and don’t have to blood rite the way non-bleeders do, but, they’re considered not really one of Atua’s fairer sexes. So they can’t become priestesses, though they can volunteer, if they want, to assist in those specific rituals. Transitioned women are basically the opposite. They can become priestesses, but they can’t do those specific rituals. It really just matters if you naturally bleed monthly, and if you’re considered the fair sex, and thus beloved by Atua.”

“Non-binaries, though,” Kaito said, looking at Denji a little sheepishly, “Sort of get the raw end of the deal, even if they’re bleeders. They just don’t qualify as the fair sex. So if they bleed, they can volunteer for the special rituals, but they still can’t qualify for the priesthood.”

“Annnnd,” Kaito rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable, “Yes, we do have a coming of age ceremony. But I don’t think it’s shocking to suggest that when the average person starts their menstruation is pretty varied, so the ages we’ve officially used for our coming of age ceremonies as a rule have been mostly influenced by… um… well, technically Atua prophets, speaking on behalf of Atua of which age he wants… but, uh, it really always seemed to be more about when the current Momota head was more…comfortable with the idea. For instance! The last time the ritual age was changed was by my great-grandfather, and he added three years to the age requirement!” Kaito said, looking a little proud… before deflating a bit. “It was 13 before that. Thirteen’s too young. And it used to be basically required in some circles back then. Not a good part of our history. But it’s different now! You don’t have to do the rituals if you want, and there’s all sorts of protections and allowances… It’s not sexual abuse!” Kaito said, looking a little desperately at them, “No one has to do it. I never did it! And I’m as Atuan as they come!”

“That makes sense,” Josie nodded. “People aren’t just their bodily functions, and it would be a little strange to cast out the most experienced members of your faith from leadership positions because of a natural occurrence that happens to literally every person that has periods. Granted, most of what I’ve learned about is from the Dicean sect, but just because it isn’t the same doesn’t mean that the Luminary sect lacks the same depth…and Atua has way too much depth to the religion to purposefully cut off the wisdom older practitioners have.”

It was almost a strange bit of recursion… It sounded like it mattered more, in terms of being Atua’s favored, what your soul was like--what your gender was. If you had periods or not simply gave those who did have them the option of participating in certain rituals. However…the reason women were favored at all was because of some’s ability to menstruate…though Kaito had said there were other reasons. Josie had to assume those other ones mattered a bit more, but…well, he wasn’t planning on becoming a theologian. He just had a few questions about things significant enough to show up in religious art. 

Denji rolled their eyes a little, and turned their sketchbook around, showing Kaito a few options. “Surprise surprise, gendered boxes are still everywhere… Alright, how do you feel about these, Kaito? Don’t just settle for one because it’s presented, we can tweak the idea until it’s something you’ll fall in love with. And, of course, I’ll keep consulting you through the cut, so we can make changes at the blade.”

“Oh, huh,” Josie tilted his head. “Kind of like Begonism--there is a standardized coming of age, instead of the ceremony or recognition coming differently for each individual. Does make it easier to plan in larger communities, I’d assume.”

“Though, uh…” Josie gave Kaito a sheepishly awkward look. “I’ll believe you it isn’t sexual abuse, man, but…I don’t know what those rituals actually are, so I wouldn’t’ve thought it otherwise.”

Kaito again gave Denji a grateful look, eagerly glancing through the sketches. “Oh, I like the sort of… swept bang look, you have in these ones?” Kaito said, pointing to a few of the sketches on the right. “It looks like that’d be pretty easy to recreate, you just brush the top into a wave. Oh, but… I really like that long bang swirling down at the front, but I think Miyako would literally tear it out of my head,” Kaito observed.

Though, he gave Josie a genuinely bewildered look, searching his expression for a moment before asking, “What do… other people’s? Coming of Age rituals look like? I mean, aren’t Coming of Age rituals losing your virginity for everyone?”

Denji nodded, satisfied. “The styled look is achievable just with brushing, especially because your hair does have some natural texture to it. However, I would recommend using a styling mousse for a more repeatable effect--depending, it can save you time over brushing, though it still presents polished effort, for the days you can spare more time. I’ll show you the brand I have, and if we go with this look, I’ll use it when I’m styling your hair.”

Nodding a bit at Kaito’s baby concerns, Denji hummed. “Hm… How about I cut it a little shorter, but at the right angle that it’d grow out enough for you to have that? I don’t imagine your daughter will stop having greedy hands in a month or two, but it would let you figure out the longest length you can get away with.”

While they hashed out the details of Kaito’s cut, things were fairly casual, but as Kaito asked what other coming of age rituals were like, both Denji and Josie choked, Denji’s jaw dropped while Josie looked like he was completely lost for words. 

But, after a time, he gave Kaito a searchingly confused look. “...uh… Well, like for Begonism, their coming of age ceremonies are at 13 too, and it’s called an ‘Accomplishment’. The person going through the ritual dresses in religious clothing and stands before their community, reading a passage from their religious text in the original Venske, which, as far as I understand, is a story of the first Begoa, describing their conversation with God, and their declaration to discover all there is to know about the universe and to always follow that pursuit. From then on, the person who’s gone through their Accomplishment is allowed to wear a Begoan pendant, and participate in adult debate…though the rest of the Accomplishment kind of sounds like a regular birthday party from that point on.”

“And…in the Nagan faith, according to my friend,” Josie continued, “Their coming of age ceremony is self-directed. Like, the person performing it choses when it happens. In the congregation, they make a vow in the eyes and ears of Naga to become an adult--to heed others’ needs and never ignore a plea for aid, and leave behind impulses of petty selfishness. Then, there is a demonstration of proficiency. Mercy said what the demonstration is can be nearly anything, but people generally prepare for over a year for it, if not their whole lives if they choose something that they already have as a hobby. After the ceremony, they’re respected in the community as an adult…except for national laws that apply, if they’re legally underage.”

“...uh…” Josie scratched the back of his head a bit. “...there isn’t even a concept of virginity in Naga, actually.”

“Oooooh,” Kaito said, eyes sparkling with interest. “Huh. That’s pretty cool! Wow, I have to imagine that Nagan one happens a little later in their teenage years, if it’s such a big project like that. I mean, if you asked me to use one of my hobbies as a presentation into adulthood, I think I would have recited some really shit poetry.” Kaito grinned, laughing a little, “At least if I was 13 or something. I could have probably thought of something cool by 18, though! Maybe mapping out some relevant constellations? Ah, I bet that would have been fun.”

Relaxing, feeling much more comfortable explaining now that no one was jumping at him about it, Kaito said, “Yeah, back in Luminary, if you want to participate in the coming of age ritual, you go to one of the designated orgies at the temples. Not on your birthday exactly, it’s just something you get done at some point in your 16th year. Annnd, these days it’s sort of expected that it’s just the other people getting their ritual done that are with you? There’s nothing actually prohibiting others from joining in, but the priestesses tend to be pretty strict on who gets in or not during age ritual days.”

“In truth, I kind of wanted to do mine,” Kaito grinned, shrugging, “But I promised my mentor as a kid that I wouldn’t do it. She didn’t trust them. So I refused. Like I said, anyone can refuse to do it, it’s purely a religious tradition rather than anything legal these days.”

Looking back to Denji, Kaito nodded enthusiastically. “Honestly, if you can style it so that growing it out would make sense someday? As Miyako gets older, I think it might be nice to grow my hair out. It’d be fun to try longer hairstyles someday.”

“...” Kaito suddenly snorted, rolling his eyes. “I wasn’t even a virgin by 16 anyway. It’d have been entirely performative. It’s kind of interesting, some cultures not having an idea of virginity as a concept. Atuan ritual is so tightly associated with the concept of sex, I think a lot of our rituals would lose significance if sex itself wasn’t considered that significant.”

“Oh,” Kaito realized, looking to Josie, “Sorry, this is probably all way off topic, isn’t it. You just wanted to know about the pictures?”

Josie snickered along with Kaito. “Right? At 13 I’m positive anything I would’ve come up with would’ve been a disaster. Mercy said she had hers when she was 18, which she said is in a pretty average range for Nagans. The declaration to be an adult is seen as just as much of a sacrifice as it is gaining more freedoms, so not a lot of kids are eager to give up their kids’ freedoms while national law is still going to consider them minors for a while--makes sense to me.”

Denji sniffed a bit. “Some 13-year-olds have better direction… Though the achievement of ‘excellence’ is still out of reach.” They sighed dramatically. “I can just imagine it, I would have absolutely considered myself ready for the adult world…and the pieces I would’ve displayed? Appropriately amateurish. It is better only a select few saw those, rather than an entire religious community.”

Josie’s eyes widened a little, leaning forward as Kaito began to explain about the orgies. Sure, even before talking to the temple in town he’d heard rumors about how Luminary religion was tied in with sex, but…honestly, Josie thought most of them were exaggerations. Hearing that there were legitimate, underage orgies??? Wild. 

“Wild,” Josie hummed, grinning. “Regulated and seen as so culturally important? I bet those are a good time. Spiritually and physically,” he laughed.

Giving Kaito a light shrug, Josie leaned back against the chair. “Hey, sure the windows captured my attention, but all this has been great! It’s interesting hearing about other people’s faith, you know? Actually talking with folks? You can really tell how much it means to them, and that kind of passion is always a wonder to be a part of.”

Kaito gave a little oOo face, before explaining to Josie, “Actually, Denji here was a child prodigy! They came to the castle at the age of 13 and dualed the head royal fashionista in an epic game of hair and sewing! I hear the previous royal hairdresser was so ashamed of their loss, that they left the country.” Kaito whispered, looking warily at Denji, “Truly, they are a force to be reckoned with.”

Kaito then paused, squinting at Josie… before picking up one of Denji’s balled up, discarded sketches, and throwing it at Josie’s forehead. “No, bad. No shenanigans. By Dicea’s standards, you aren’t having your ritual orgie till you’re 20. I respect Dicea’s decision on that, so no orgies for you.”

Denji stood taller, smirking a bit as they preened…and didn’t even blink at the story Kaito told. Josie liked to think he had a good head for bullshit, so…pffha! Now there was some ego. But looking at the Harvest dress, it didn’t seem undeserved. “Oh, really?” the redhead smirked, “Glad I know now. We’re in the presence of a real whirlwind.”

“And don’t forget it,” Denji nodded, before unlocking the wheels of Kaito’s chair and pushing him more towards the bathroom, then wheeling a basin in behind him, so the water would only be splashed on the tile, though Kaito was facing out towards the rest of the room. 

Laughing brightly, Josie collapsed back from the paper ball. “Ooph, the legal knight says no? Guess I have to respect that, then--ah, the months are going to weigh on me. All for the performance of it, though,” he winked at Kaito, “Which you know all about.”

Kaito raised an eyebrow, before snorting. How he felt about underage sex was both complicated and pretty simple. He felt like it was the adults’ prerogative to warn and caution and be that ever present, rational second thought… but he also thought it was pretty natural for teenagers to go around that anyway. He just hoped Josie was being smart about it and keeping to kids his own age. 

And that, preferably, he was asking someone who knew better practical advice, without practical demonstrations.

Having done his duty of reminding the kid of his age, Kaito looked up over his shoulder at Denji. “Need me to lean back to dunk me? If you want the fun of just pushing my head in, I don’t mind, but, your brother will probably be cross with you for being mean to me. And I am more than happy to tell. I love watching him get protective~”

“Okay!” Kaito said, popping his head back up, grinning at Josie. “I actually love this; you’re right, I feel a lot of passion talking about my religion. Plus, hearing about the ones you know is pretty interesting! Though I gotta try to remember the other religions properly, I really insulted my friend once by forgetting her religion after we had, this, just, whole conversation about it. Mila, the Mother Goddess? If you’ve heard of that one. I didn’t even realize what I had done until later, my friend didn’t even call me out on it.” Kaito sighed, shaking his head.

“Anyway, the other two saints displayed are Meridan and Madison. Meridan’s the big one in the religion, she’s the Wife of Atua. Basically Atua fell in love with her after she committed a selfless deed for her sister’s sake, swore himself to her, and a bunch of other gods tried tempting her away from him mostly out of sport? She stayed loyal, and basically became a superhero by the end of it.” Kaito grinned. “She could fly, become invisible, was indestructible. She was so cool. Maybe a little OPed at the end, but I think overpowered heroes can be cool for, like, big demon events. When I was a kid playing out Saint adventures, she was always the sort of deus ex machina we could call upon if we made the problem too big.”

“He would be insufferable about that, wouldn’t he,” Denji snorted, before nodding. “Yes, at your leisure, I need you to lean back. You do have gel in your hair, so I need to wash it out. Lucky you, you get the full salon experience today.” Smirking a little more, Denji mentioned, “I even got a tansan treatment in, which promotes hair growth, so any of your concerns on thinning will be addressed.”

“I’m glad I can make my own contributions, though take what I say with a grain of salt,” Josie chuckled. “It’s all just recall from past conversations, so if I get something wrong, it’s all on the ol’ noggin.”

Good-naturedly wincing along with the mention of insult, Josie nodded. “Ooh, ouch, that’s a tough one. Mila… That’s the religion they practice a lot out west, huh? If what I know is right, I hope your friend was practicing forgiveness for that.”

Getting back to the original topic, Josie settled in to hear more about the saints, thinking back at the grand glass portraits in the shrine…though as Kaito told the story of Saint Meridan, something went a little stiff in the teen’s otherwise relaxed posture. His smile a little stuck, and his eyes a little dead. 

“Wow, she does sound like a superhero. The powers blessings from Atua, I’d guess?”

“Thinning? Why would I be worried about thinning? …am I thinning??” Kaito asked, before worriedly leaning back.

He was still listening to Josie though… and just before he had leaned back, there had been something odd. In the kid’s face. 

“Mmhm!” Kaito hummed in agreement… before amending, “Well, according to Luminary lore, it was all from him. I’ve been learning more about my religion in a general sort of way, these days, and it’s probably more like Atua asked other gods for the gifts, and passed them on to her. Which I think, if you can negotiate and wheel and deal with gods, seems like a great use of that resource. I’d give all my loved ones super powers if I could too. Super powers are cool!”

Kaito spun that odd look around in his mind, and wishing he could see the kid properly, tried, “Woooould you want a superpower? If someone offered one? Whaaat kind?”

Denji just snickered. It was a little hard to have a conversation while having your hair washed, but Denji did their best--which was an exceptional effort, of course--to keep Kaito’s ears unobstructed as they filled the basin with warm water and started washing his hair, just wetting it and getting the gel out in a general way first. 

“That is pretty amazing,” Josie agreed, his voice light. “Being chosen by a god, and blessed with powers people only dream of? It’d be an incredible lot in life, I’d have to say.”

Giving a drawn out hum, Josie seemed to be mulling the question over…before a laugh cut through it. Maybe…a slight sarcastic edge to it, but…that could just be the running water. “Well, if we’re talking overpowered? How about luck?”

Kaito’s brow was tightly pinched, staring at the roof like maybe he’d be able to see the kid’s reflection in it. There was a weirdness in his voice. What did his expression look like? Ah! 

Kaito reached up, grasped the back of Denji’s neck, and dragged him down into the sink, whispering against his ear, “Hey, did he look as sad as that sounded?”

“G-guh!” Denji gasped, quickly trying to steady themself on the basin and chair…only to splash water up into their face, making them sputter. 

“Oh shit, hey! Prince Kaito, Denji, easy!” Josie had sprung up from his seat and was gently lifting Denji out of the basin, giving both them and Kaito a concerned look. “You okay, man?”

“Oh, whoops,” Kaito muttered, sitting up and giving Denji a confused, concerned look… before saying a tad sheepishly, “Don’t tell my husband? Oh, uh, sorry. Sorry annnnd don’t tell my husband?”

A small growl came from the stylist as they dripped, before Denji reached into the bathroom for a towel. “You can just tell me if the water’s hot, Kaito,” they huffed. 

“Maybe trying to chat while you’re ear-deep in suds isn’t a great idea,” Josie sheepishly laughed. “I don’t mind waiting until your haircut is done, if you wanna keep talking? I might go find Doppio and Arven and bother ‘em a little.”

Kaito waaaaaanted to pull and tug and poke at the thread that was just dangling off of Josie’s interactions. He had a hard time ignoring those little moments, where he saw something on the other person. He wanted to unravel them line by line…

“Yeah, you probably should.” Kaito sighed, scratching his soapy neck and glancing back at Denji. “I’ll come find you boys afterwards, okay? Sorry, really thought I could juggle both things at once.”

“No hard feelings on my part,” Josie chuckled, giving an apologetic nod to Denji. “Just an unlucky accident. It’s been really interesting so far, Prince Kaito, thanks for humoring me; I’ll catch you later.”

With a wave, the teen headed out, and Denji let out a huff, their face dry, but bangs pushed back oddly. “...you’re such a freak sometimes. The kid looked fine. Now, are you going to let me finish or not?”

“You’re a freak,” Kaito grumbled… before grinning sheepishly, “Aaaaa very cool freak who’s being very nice to keep giving me a haircut?”

“And how did he look fine?!” Kaito whined, flopping back onto the chair, pouting up at Denji. “I’m telling you, there was… something! Something! Ugh, it’s not my fault people wear their emotions on their faces! How am I not supposed to ask when people are looking at me, like…” Kaito suddenly put up a finger, having it bob and weave like it was maybe a head talking, saying in a high, squeaky voice, “Help me! I have sad thoughts and I wanna share them! I need someone to talk to! Help me, Kaito Ouma Momota, you’re my only hope! Heeeeeelp!”

Kaito scoffed, dropping his hand on his chest, saying in his normal voice, “How the heck is a guy supposed to ignore that??”

Denji gave Kaito a dry look, but when he leaned back down in the chair, they continued with the shampooing. Kaito was just being a weirdo, not actually dangerous, so of course Denji would finish the haircut. What, like they’d send him to anyone else for something subpar? Perish the thought. 

Tsking, Denji worked the hair treatment into Kaito’s scalp, massaging it in. “By realizing that they’re not actually asking you for help? Josie was just lounging, while you two talked about superpowers. He was fine. If someone actually wants your help, they can ask for it like a reasonable person.”

“Tsk to your tsk, I know what I saw,” Kaito muttered, wincing as Denji worked his scalp. “...okay but seriously please don’t tell Kokichi I totally dunked your head into a sink, he will ask me why and I will end up doing that high-pitched finger sock puppet thing to him. Does my husband need to know I’m crazy?? No! The answer is no! Let’s spare him tiny finger sock puppet trauma performances! Like a good brother and husband should!”

“Sibling.” Denji’s hands stilled as their voice went icy. Dangerous. Leaving that danger hanging…

“...and he already knows you’re crazy. Unfortunately, my brother’s taste is just as insane, and he agreed to marry you twice.”

Kaito was briefly confused… before, “Oh! Oh, sorry, that was my bad. That was a slip of the tongue, I didn’t mean anything by it. Honestly it was just calling Kokichi the ‘brother’ over and over again that got in my head, but I shouldn’t have let that, like, bleed into talking about you. My bad.”

“Don’t let it happen again. I’m not a man, and I won’t let you call me one.” Taking a breath, Denji rinsed the suds out of Kaito’s hair before lightly patting his head with a towel and then holding it around the back of his neck. “Alright, sit up when you’re ready. I will turn you around to face the bathroom mirror, so you can keep an eye on the cut.”

Double-checking the sketch, they hummed, “Last check-in that you really want me to buzz off the sides? It isn’t something I can do gradually, so you have to commit before I start.”

“Yeah, sorry, sorry, won’t happen again,” Kaito said, sheepishly allowing himself to be led, scratching at his neck a bit as he looked in the mirror. “I mean… yeah, I think so? Though, I guess maybe I should have asked my husbands if they like the idea… eh, I’m sure neither of them will mind. Just a change of pace! Trying something different! Yeah, just… I’ll live with it if it ends up looking weird, no worries. It’ll grow back.”

Denji nodded, the anger in their face easing. “What is the purpose of expression if not to try something new? A refusal to break the mold is to grow stagnant and complacent. And that’s the thing with hair,” they shrugged, “It grows. So why not try something completely different. At worst, you’ll discover something you hate, and never do it again.”

“Though, I can’t imagine giving you anything you’ll hate,” they smirked, getting the electric razor ready, double-checking the guard size. “Alright, get comfortable and ready to be wowed!”

-

“Hmmm…” Arven stepped back from the kitchen counter, looking over the… ‘food’ he and Doppio had made under Amaina’s tutelage, considering the most polite way to say this, before settling on, “I think serving this to anyone might be a war crime.”

OoO IF SUGAR IS A CRIME THAN I AM GUILTY

“Mmhm.” Arven nodded, “Yep, you are. Honestly, I think the molasses was the beginning of the end. Though the crystallizing effect on the frosting is pretty cool, visually. Still think broccoli was the wrong thing to put it on.”

OoO Broccoli is good for you

OOO THINK OF THE CHILDREN

Doppio fussed with the strap of his apron, tilting his head a little as he considered the…uh, food they’d made. “...I do think there’s a way this could be…um, more palatable to the average person, while still keeping most of the ingredients… Like…making a stir fry, and making a soy-molasses sauce?”

Giving Amaina a fond look, he snorted. “Broccoli’s good for you, and eating it with something a bit more unhealthy is still better than not eating it at all…but I’m not sure this combination would convince picky eaters. Your recipes are too bold for fussies, Angelo.”

“Oh, how about that,” Josie hummed, raising his eyebrows from where he was peeking into the kitchen. “You guys are here--lucky guess.”

Looking over in surprise, Doppio’s eyes widened, before he glanced between Amaina and the…food they’d made. “O-oh, hi Josie… Uh… Had some business at the castle today?”

-_- I am a genius ahead of my time.

O.O

OoO WE GOT ANOTHER HOT ONE BOYS!! GET ‘EM!!!

Arven watched as Amaina fluttered over to Josie, making a big show of gaping and aweing at him, before trying to drop a giant net over him that Josie, of course, walked through without any issues as he came over to check out the food.

“Josie,” Arven said, because it felt like the next thing to say, raising an eyebrow, “Wasn’t expecting you of all people. Have you come to try our infamous molasses-broccoli cupcakes? It’s… probably edible.” Arven said, taking a look at them, “We did not, in fact,  use any eggs, and I’m pretty sure the cake it actually just sugar bread miraculously holding itself together by the sheer grip of the broccoli decorated frosting alone. Which is good, because I don’t think we’ve cooked it long enough otherwise.”

Josie looked down at the cupcakes for a moment, not minding Doppio half-cringing into nothing, before he chuckled lightly. “I have to say, these are new ones. And probably weird enough that my mouth would never let me enjoy them, even if they ended up tasting good--I’ll pass.”

Glancing over the younger boys, he raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “You two cooking up some food dares for Harvest or something?”

“Or…something…” Doppio mumbled, looking a little sheepish. It was fun following Amaina’s recipes, but…it kind of hurt his soul thinking about anyone actually eating them. “We could probably get some people to try it on the grounds of…scarily weird food for Harvest, though…” He grimaced. “...I’d rather not be the source of a food-borne illness though.”

“What a conscience,” Josie laughed, before actually answering Doppio’s question from before. “And I am sorta here on business, yeah. I was poking Prince Kaito’s brain about his shrine and the religious reasons behind some of the art, but he’s in the middle of a haircut so I thought I’d get out of his soon-shed hair and come bother you guys instead. I’m not a bother, right~?” He winked, teasing.

“I don’t know, Josie, you sure you want to pass on this fine gourmet meal?” Arven said, peeling one of the cupcakes out– how did the frosting stretch like cheese?-- and putting it onto a little napkin, bringing it to him with a small, sweet little smile, “You suuure you wouldn’t want to try a bite? We’ll never know if they’re good if no one’s willing to taste test…”

Arven paused, digesting what Josie was saying… before his smiled turned wide. “Then again, Kaito’s always super supportive of our efforts~” Arven smirked at Doppio, “If you asked him to try it? He absolutely would.”

“I’m a fool, but not one that eats things even the cooks don’t try,” Josie snorted, tapping Arven’s shoulder lightly. “And if I’m missing out on the latest fad? I think I’ll live.”

Doppio squinted at the cupcake--it looked even worse out of the tin… How did it look both crunchy and gooey?--before sighing. “...he would. Well… There aren’t eggs and…I’m pretty sure we cooked them long enough that the flour isn’t dangerous… There are far worse things than just something that tastes…questionable.”

Crossing his arms, Doppio closed his eyes and scrunched his nose…before sighing. “...if he comes over all dejected from his haircut, we’re not making it worse with this. But otherwise, sure. I’ll ask.”

Aw, that was cute… “The prince got a soft spot for you, then?” Josie asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Doppio sighed again. “That nosiness Arven mentioned, added to the fact that I’m very good at looking pathetic.”

“I’d say more darling than pathetic, but, hey, who am I to get in the way of self-identification,” Josie winked. “Nice to see the freckles back on display, by the way.”

Doppio blinked, before looking away, going red.

Arven pouted, before wrapping his arms around Doppio’s waste, pulling him close and then pointedly kissing one said freckle, before holding Doppio to himself in a hug as he said, “Yes, the freckles are cute.” Before, side eyeing Josie, kissing another freckle. 

Straightening up, still holding Doppio protectively, Arven shrugged, “The guy has crazy hair, he probably gets a new haircut every other month. Also, how did you manage to find Kaito in the middle of a haircut? He’s not getting it in some random hallway, is he? …I could picture him doing something like that.”

They didn’t, because Doppio’s illusion stone was working wonderfully, but they could practically see Doppio steaming from how red he turned, covering his face as he scrunched into Arven’s shoulder, making an airy, flustered, “Hhhhhhhhhh,” sound. He had been glad no one really mentioned the makeup before, but…hearing people kinda…cheer him on without it now? And Arven being so affectionate? Ugh, just put the cupcake tin on him, he could probably finish cooking them himself. 

Laughing, amused, Josie shook his head. “Nah, though I did spook him in the hall. We ran into each other, and he asked to walk and talk while he went over to the castle stylist.” Raising his eyebrows a little, he gave Arven and Doppio a nod. “Have you seen their Harvest costume, by the way? It looks like stuff that could be on Borderland runways, it’s pretty stunning.”

Giving the boys another amused look, he mused, “Kaito was lamenting not getting a commission ahead of time, so I’d assume you two missed out too? Or you going the homemade route this year?”

“The castle has a stylist?” Arven asked, the first he was hearing of this, “No, I had no idea. Oh, I guess maybe they would have had something to do with their wedding outfits? I heard through the grapevine that the second wedding outfits were a little more all over the place. Maybe the stylist was experimenting?”

“Annnnd, we actually do have some harvest costumes planned,” Arven said, smirking a little… before admitting bashfully, “But only for the later part of the night. We haven’t decided if we’re going to wear a costume otherwise. Are you?”

“They do say if you’re not trying something people think is crazy, you’re just following trends, not setting them,” Josie laughed, before nodding warmly. “Hey, nice! Getting the late-night spooks in. Helps to wait for all the little kids to have their fill before bringing out anything really in-season.”

“I don’t think they’ll be that scary,” Doppio softly snorted, slowly recovering from his fluster. “...at least for most people. But…I think it would be easier going around the festival during the day without having to worry about a costume. I…don’t think we really have plans for much, other than the haunted house,” he nodded to Arven, “But there’s probably a lot of neat stuff to stumble into.”

“Oh, for sure! Gotta say, I’m pretty excited to see the pumpkin carving contest this year, though I might see just a bit of it. Khalid’s having a party at night, and his dad really knows how to throw a party,” Josie laughed, before grinning wider. “As for costumes? His Royal Highness is going to parade around with his Loyal Retainers~ Though Irene nearly roundhouse kicked me across the sports field, so I’ll be going as a roguish loose cannon, rather than her horse,” he snickered. 

Arven raised an eyebrow, “Do those lines ever actually work on anyone?”

Though, his hummed a bit at the idea of basing a costume on the chess roleplays, Arven looked at Doppio, “What do you think the beast-tamers would wear? Like, just generally? I’m imagining…” Arven tilted his head, “A baseball hat.”

“You’d be surprised~” Josie snickered. “A sense of humor, a smile, and, of course, dashing good looks? People are more willing to give things a try if you just ask.” And if you usually had things go your way anyway. 

Doppio tilted his head a little, giving Arven a curious look. “...a baseball hat? …I mean…I guess you’d be outside a lot, and sun protection would help… I’d think some form of protection, from stray, like…bites and swipes and stings ‘n stuff.” Doppio tilted his head the other way. “...gloves with wristguards, at least. …maybe fingerless so you could still give them pets.”

Amused, Josie leaned back against one of the kitchen counters. “Why not go completely on the nose with it? Make designs on clothes that are similar to whatever beast you have, like…belt buckles with dragon heads, or doing some accent fabric in, like…cheetah print, but obviously matching more with the actual creature.”

“I think we’d actually have to design them first…” Doppio hummed, chewing the inside of his cheek. 

“What are you guys designing?” Kaito asked, scratching the side of his head a little, still a little startled at the odd, light ‘buzzed’ feeling there. Also, his hair kept moving on top of his head. He kept getting this impulse that he had woken up from bed and hadn’t done his hair yet. Though, admittedly, it had been years since his head felt so light. 

Also, his hair was bouncy, which was fun. He kept wanting to run his hand through it just to touch it. But every time he did, the hair just sorta stayed puffed up in the direction he pushed it.

He was looking forward to showing it to his husbands, but he wanted to wait until he felt a little less self-conscious about it. Just let himself get used to it, theeeeen! Big reveal!

“Aceto and I are going to design some new fantasy animals,” Arven explained, “For chess club.”

“...” Kaito grinned uncertainly, “...hoooow does that equal chess club?”

“We’ll show you someday,” Arven said, taking in Kaito’s new look, “...you look a bit like a pomeranian that always tries to jump Chief’s back when we go to the dog park. Very fluffy.”

“Hmmmm, rude~” Kaito grinned, lightly touching the top of his hair again, surprised as the hair shifted even lightly at his touch, “Though, is that bad? The stuff Denji put in it smells really good, at least. And I wanna help design new animals, can I?”

Doppio raised his eyebrows a bit at Kaito’s new ‘do, nodding a bit at Arven’s comment--more just to agree with his boyfriend, than actually saying Kaito looked like a pomeranian--before squinting at Kaito’s hair. “...Iiii don’t know if it’s really a ‘dad’ look. But it does look less absurd than your old style. And it doesn’t look like you dipped your head in glue before leaving your room.”

“Wow, tough critics,” Josie snorted. Looking Kaito over, he winked and gave him a thumbs up. “I dig the undercut, even if it’s a little out of season. If they’re the type, think your husbands will enjoy touching the fluff.”

Looking at his notebook--he’d only put down a few vague ideas in the back, to transfer to the proper Monster Index--Doppio hummed, before pouting at Kaito. “...you always make ideas weird. If you do want to help…think about what you’re saying before you say it.” 

Picking up the cupcake tin, Doppio held it out to Kaito. “Try one of these while you’re thinking.”

“Ah, so, I am an out of season, youth impostering, fluffy dog~” Kaito grinned, rolling his eyes a little, “Whelp, can’t get a worse series of reviews than that. It’s all uphill from here.”

Glancing curiously at the notebook, peeking to see the few little designs Doppio had already jotted down, Kaito snorted, taking the tin and setting it down on the counter, reaching for a napkin, “Who says my ideas are weird?”

“Aceto did,” Arven said, watching eagerly as Kaito pull a cupcake from the tin, “Just now.”

“Mmhm,” Kaito hummed, looking curiously at the cupcake, “...what flavor is this? Are those… broccoli chunks?”

“Old Dicean recipe,” Arven said,” Very traditional. I’m surprised Prince Kokichi hasn’t had you try one before.”

“Hmmm,” Kaito hummed again, looking at it a tad dryly… before shrugging, “Well, so long as it’s not spicy or green onions.” Before popping a large piece into his mouth.

Arven stared. Waiting excitedly. Kaito, briefly, stared Arven dead in the eyes, chewing… before humming again, “So, what’s the criteria for the fantasy animals? Are there limits?” He asked, before, staring Arven dead in the eye again, taking another large bite. 

………ew???? Arven felt a rush of revulsion run through him. Finding it a little tough to watch Kaito eat that monstrosity. 

Doppio watched Kaito, his eyebrows raising a little more with each chew. …huh. He glanced back at the tin with a more considering look. Maybe they could give them out? Everything Doppio knew about flavor combinations and baking told him that the cupcakes should be disgusting…but maybe for adventurous eaters, there was something there. 

…wait, but Kaito was super picky…

While Doppio pondered this mystery of the universe, Josie looked a bit ill, watching Kaito eat the cupcakes. …no, this one really wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t claiming this one, the prince had done it to himself. 

“Uh, well…” Doppio murmured, “We’re kind of making them into categories? And each creature in the category kinda has to follow similar rules or…movesets, I guess. And some of them need to be able to evolve into similar, but distinct enough cooler versions, that maybe fall into similar niches as some of the stand-alone big ones? Um…for now, we’ve kind of been basing them off of real animals, just with a twist.”

Pointing to one of Arven’s sketches in his notebook, basically a doodle of Chief, but as a puppy, and with his tail and ruff looking like fluffy fire, Doppio then pointed to a bigger fire dog. “Kinda like this. Um…we named them ‘Growl-lit’ and ‘Ar-Canine’. Like, um…lit, for lighting a fire, and arson, for…lighting a fire. And…dog stuff.”

Arven watched in growing horror, as Kaito finished his cupcake, sucked the tips of his fingers for a moment… before reaching for another cupcake, “Ugh.”

“You say something Arven?” Kaito asked, tearing the cupcake in half and, seeing a bit of broccoli stalk poking out almost entirely whole, biting the jutting stalk and pulling it out, still coated slightly by poorly baked bread, jutting his head back and crunching down on the crunchy broccoli.

Arven might actually vomit. “...nothing.” He said, swallowing.

“Hmmm,” Kaito hummed, leaning against the counter, pulling out his own pen he used for his personal calender, “Can I draw a few rough sketches? I think this is a neat idea, it’s fun. I promise I won’t…” Kaito bit into the molasses hardened frosting, “make it weird.”

“...I really don’t understand what’s wrong with your taste senses…” Doppio muttered, shaking his head. Though, he stiffened as Kaito pulled out a pen, his expression souring as the prince reached towards his notebook. He had asked Kaito to write in it before, but…drawings felt different. They could be big and take up a lot of space, and they were a lot easier to visually parse from a glance…

Casually, Josie whistled a bit of a nonsense tune as he pulled out some paper from his school bag, laying the sheets out towards all of them. “Hey, you guys were talking about putting all the designs into their own journal, right? It’s a little easier to tape in loose leaf than tearing stuff out of another notebook. And this way you don’t have to bump elbows or wait for someone to finish if you get an idea while they’re drawing.”

Doppio’s shoulders immediately relaxed. “...well, sure, I guess. …oh, you’re in art clubs too, right Josie? That’s why you came over before? Did…you want to draw too?”

Josie let out a snort, before winking at the group. “If you want to see a bunch of stick figures, sure.”

Kaito smirked at Doppio, shrugging a bit as he bit into the cupcake again.

Honestly, it tasted awful. But Arven turned a shade paler every time he swallowed another bite, and Kaito was ready to see who between them would vomit first. Arven was a tough little bastard, but Kaito had eaten much grosser things than this. He was ready to bet he’d last~

Accepting one of the papers, Kaito chuckled a little, tapping his pen on the paper as he said, “I’m not an artist either, Josie, you’re in good company. I’ll be happy if you guys can just recognize what I’m trying to convey. Alright, so, real animals with a ‘twist’, that can become bigger versions of each other, not weird…” Kaito tapped his pen against the paper, before asking with a small grin, “Does it have to be animals? Can it be like a plant? Like a venus flytrap situation?”

Doppio tilted his head, considering that before he turned to Arven. “That…could be pretty cool. And we were considering animals with some plant aspects too… Like how some animals grow lichen in their fur for camouflage and protection against insects ‘n things… And, well, you know a lot about plants, so that could cover variety…”

Frowning a little at Kaito, Doppio clarified, “But they need to be able to move, still. Like…they can’t be creatures still stuck in the ground.”

“Some animals grow plants on themselves?” Josie asked. “That’s pretty neat! Like a garden on your body… There could be cool stuff with that.”

Knowing a little better what sort of themes Doppio and Arven were hoping for with their pocket-sized monsters--they were supposed to be chess pieces, after all--Josie hummed to himself as he started putting lines on his paper. Horses were pretty obvious choices for knights…but what about seahorses? And maybe ones that looked a little more capable and cool than real seahorses…

“Is that what you were going for, Kaito?” Arven asked, starting to work on his own paper, considering the ‘plants’ idea. “A garden on your head?”

“Teasing still doesn’t make you cool, kid,” Kaito said, holding out a hand still sticky with frosting. “Pass me another cupcake.”

“...h-how many of those are you going to eat?” Arven asked, strain starting to show around his eyes, pushing the tin back to Kaito.

“I dunno,” Kaito said, pulling a chunk out, popping it in his mouth, “I’m a big guy. Maybe I’ll eat all of them.”

Arven’s stomach tightened in a painful, uneasy way. A rush of nausea running through him. There was no way…

“Alright, little moving plant guy. Liiiittle non-weird plant guy…” Kaito’s eyes lit up in amusement, starting to sketch out an idea. “Theeee roots could be little feetsies, and the leaves could be little arms, annnnnd the mouth can be… fun,” Kaito murmured, drawing little circles at the end of a tube, putting a little more detail into the lips than anything else. “Call it something cute. Kinda… kinda looks like a bell? If you squint? Hmmm, then the bigger one would be…” 

Kaito paused, squinting at it… before murmuring, “Eh, who needs legs? More lips.”

“What about a tree?” Arven said, drawing out a rudimentary tree, “With legs, and… a face?”

“Come on, Arven, it’s a fantasy world, go a little wild with it,” Kaito encouraged.

“...th… three faces.” Arven tried, drawing two more smiley faces on it.

“Creepy! I love it.” Kaito snickered.

Doppio and Josie both side-eyed Kaito, though Doppio just shook his head. “Well…that’s a better way to get rid of them than throwing them out. I’ll pass your compliments to the person that gave us the recipe.”

Josie raised an eyebrow, giving the seahorse’s fins spikes. “Someone actually made that recipe? I thought it was you two just fucking around, honestly…”

Doppio shrugged. 

Hmmm…a cool plant? And…Fiora had said pawns could turn into anything--but a king, of course--so…maybe it’d be cool if they had some creatures that could turn into multiple things?

He smiled softly to himself, his own art skills lacking, but the rudimentary sketch of a radish with big, leafy stocks and cute little blob feet made him smile. Before he glanced up, scoffing a little at Kaito. “...but you hate creepy stuff.”

“What?” Kaito asked, looking genuinely curious at that, looking up from the drawing of the blow-job plant, already knowing he was going to try drawing a clam-vagina monster next as he asked, “What do you mean? I’m, like, kinda creepy myself. I enjoy quirky weird things.”

“No, you are weird, but you hate creepy stuff,” Doppio repeated bluntly, not paying attention to Josie’s amused, poorly-hidden smirk. “Like…reading about graveyards and stuff, you said it gives you nightmares. And you start getting all choked up when people talk about ghosts. I’m pretty sure Prince Kokichi’s story about you almost starting a forest fire was probably about ghosts too.”

“Whoa, wait, what?” Josie snorted. “Okay, I have to hear about that. How do you almost start a forest fire out of fear?”

Kaito frowned. “That’s a different… I’m not afraid of monsters. Or weird, different things. I mean, culture shock knocked me on my ass, but that was a stressful time of my life either way…” Kaito huffed, distractedly working on his vagina clam. It was easy, just keep adding lines on the inside, like the drawing he had made at the park. “I think… dead things are scary. Death is scary. That’s not even that fucking weird, most everyone thinks dead shit is scary…”

Kaito’s face tensed, a look of frustration running through him… before he huffed. Taking a bit of cupcake and shoving into his face– ignoring the shudder of nausea Arven gagged out this time– before shrugging. “Ghosts are supposed to be scary, that’s why there’s a thousand ‘scary’ stories about them. It’s not weird.”

“Right, but, burning down a forest?” Arven said, wiping his mouth, half considering just taking the damn cupcakes away from Kaito.

“Kokichi and Maki, my dearest loved ones,” Kaito said, gritting his teeth, “Played a very cute prank on me when I just happened to be near a firepit. So I… maybe grabbed some of the lit firewood and threw it! I didn’t know what was out there! Everyone I loved was sleeping in a caravan behind me! Ugh, whatever, it barely even started a fire, I think it was Kokichi and Guardsman Katsuki who put it out. I’m making a monster called ‘Lickatung’, it’s gonna have a big tongue! Ya know what, so is one of my clams. The clam’s got a big tongue too!” Kaito insisted, going back to add a massive tongue to the more normal looking clam.

“Dead shit isn’t scary,” three voices chimed in at once, Doppio looking up in surprise while Josie just shrugged, looking a little bored. And with the votes three to one…Kaito was on his nonsense again. 

Looking down at the…circles and spikes that were probably seahorses--you could tell by the spiral tails, even if they were uneven--Josie hummed in interest. “Oh, ghost creatures could be a cool way to take it.” The next shape he tried was…a bit more blobby, but he got a kick out of adding a pearl necklace around the blob’s neck, just like a certain ghost-lover he knew. Oh, and maybe the bigger one could have a big hat…

Giving Arven a concerned look--and little worried for himself as well, since if Arven puked, Doppio wouldn’t be far behind--Doppio rubbed his boyfriend’s back…before giving Kaito a wholly unamused look. “So you decided to possibly hurt all sorts of woodland creatures, and the forest itself, without trying to figure out what was out there? …also, while clams do look like they have tongues…we are not using your designs. You’ve made it weird. Why are they all so bulbous?” 

Kaito huffed, rolling his eyes. Diceans. 

Those, his expression dried a little at Doppio’s accusation, tapping his paper in irritation. “Ah, geez, good point. I’ll be more considerate of my environment the next time I’m fighting off ghosts.”

“You also could have killed everyone in the caravans too,” Arven pointed out, trying to distract himself from his nausea by drawing little faces. Maybe they’d be like… eggs? Lots of eggs? Or something? “If it really had become a forest fire, those things spread really fast. And you’d have been in the middle of it. Really just nearly killed everyone fighting off ‘ghosts’ huh?”

Kaito tapped his pen on the paper… before putting his pen in his pocket and pushing the paper towards them. “Mmm. They’re bulbous cause bulbous things are cute. Now who’s being judgy? Calling things weird just because they’re bulbous? Foooor shame.”

“Anyway, you three have fun with this, I wanna hear all about the designs you all come up with later,” Kaito said, giving them a small wave… before grabbing the tin of cupcakes and, shrugging, admitting, “These have grown on me. I’m taking them.” Before heading off.

Arven took a small relieved breath. “Oh goddess, If I watched him eat any more of those I was gonna puke. Those couldn’t have possibly actually tasted good, right?”

“Good,” Doppio said seriously. “Fighting without considering your environment is a good way to lose that fight…or to lose way more than you would’ve by doing nothing.”

Josie gave him a curious look at that, but soon enough Kaito was heading out, obviously having his fill of being judged by teenagers for the day. Letting out a small, amused puff of air, he side-eyed the other boys. “Hope we didn’t hurt his feelings too much--you did say he was sensitive.”

“He’ll live,” Doppio said dryly, squinting suspiciously at the paper Kaito left. …he made it weird… Leaning against Arven’s arm, he rubbed his boyfriend’s back more. Quiet for a moment. “...I mean…they could’ve been not horrible. I don’t know if I’d go so far as good…”

Arven nodded. “He’ll be fine, he’s just kind of a dramatic guy. And the cupcakes were getting to me anyway. I bet he’s bluffing, I bet he’s tossed them somewhere.”

Looking down at his paper, Arven tapped his pen against his chin a little. “What about bugs? I’m half tempted just to make a big butterfly? Like, just a butterfly as big as a person’s head.”

Doppio’s eyes went a little starry. “That would be so cool! You’d be able to see so much of the intricacies of its wings… The scales would even look like…uh, scales!”

Josie grinned, enjoying the younger boys’ enthusiasm. “Well, if you have a giant butterfly, then you should have a giant moth too. You could even do some of that elemental fusion and…make it snowy. Like the ‘dust’ from its wings looking like powder snow, and the fuzz on its body looking like a fur coat.”

Doppio’s eyes went wide, his body practically vibrating in happiness, imagining a creature like that. 

“Oooh, okay, okay,” Arven grinned, jotting down little sketches of that idea, “And we can make the small version of the moth, like, just a little ball of moth fuzz? With big eyes and antennas… What about mice? Mice can be cute, right? I kind of like the idea that a lot of our little monsters are cute.”

A little squee came from Doppio’s throat as he nodded. “Mice can be really cute…but I think rats are cuter.”

Josie chuckled. “Unless they’re in your storeroom…but if they’re little monsters that are your friend, I’d think you’d invite them there. Or have them wait patiently to be served…what were those? Molasses-Broccoli cupcakes?”

Doppio stuck his tongue out. “I’d make them way better food than that.”

Josie blinked, then did a double take. “...whoa, what? Have you always had a tongue piercing??”

Doppio froze, blanking out as he started to turn red. 

Arven stared at Doppio, whose tongue seemed to be frozen out too… Taking one of the napkins and, wrapping it around his finger, he poked his tongue back into his mouth as he huffed at Josie, “What, you’ve only just noticed? He’s had that forever. Aceto’s pretty metal like that.”

Josie smirked a little. “Here I thought you’d be happier to hear I haven’t been staring at your boyfriend’s tongue, Arven. But that’s pretty cool, Doppio! I’ve been thinking about getting more piercings,” he gestured to the helix piercings in his ears, before fondly rolling his eyes, “But my mom said there was no way she was signing off on me getting ones anywhere else…and she caught both times my other mom and Aunt Myrtle tried to promise they’d help me do it all sneaky-like.”

“...th…thanks,” Doppio mumbled, unfreezing himself, though his face stayed flushed. “Um…your piercings are cool too. You can get more soon without your mom though…right? What were you thinking of getting?”

“Belly-button or nipples,” Josie winked.

Arven’s nose wrinkled. “Really? Nipples? Why, do you just hate your nipples?”

Wrapping his arms around Doppio’s waist, Arven pulled him closer, maybe feeling a little defensive as he said, “And, I don’t know… belly button ring? Doesn’t that come across a little desperate?”

Doppio gave Arven a semi-questioning look, while Josie just chuckled. “Hey, this body can take a little damage, it’s no skin off my back--metaphorically. And I think barbels are a good look, even if I don’t wear them as much in my ears.”

Winking again, Josie gave Arven a crocodile grin. “If someone’s seeing my bellybutton, then the deal’s already sealed, man. I don’t mind putting myself up for auction, but I do have to keep some surprises for buyers only~”

Doppio grimaced at that, sinking a little. “I really don’t need to know that.”

Easing up, even leaning back a little, Josie offered an apologetic grin. “Alright, message heard. Sorry, Doppio.”

Doppio blinked, before looking mildly worried. “Um, no I… You’re good.”

“You’re ‘okay’,” Arven huffed, trying to stand a little taller, still feeling defensive– did Josie really have to be handsome? Couldn’t he have just been a creepy perv?-- as he said, “You’re ‘room for improvement’. You’ll get good someday.”

Though, Arven couldn’t help but ask, “I’m a little surprised you managed to even get that many ear earrings. I guess your moms are pretty supportive? Do they accessorize a lot too?”

Josie snorted, amused--while Doppio gave Arven another curious look, though he was still recovering from his worry that he’d been too demanding--and that feeling only grew as he nodded. “I did get these two,” he pointed to an empty space on the shell of his ear, that would presumably hold an end of a barbel, and to the upper hoop he was wearing on the other side of the shell, “Myself after I turned 18, but Mamá took me to get my lobes and the lower helixes when I was 13 and 16, respectively. They’re supportive, yeah, very pro-body autonomy types.”

Part of why Josie felt so amused, though he didn’t want to tease Arven too much considering he’d admitted last time that he hadn’t even known that Josie was adopted, he explained next. “You could call my mom fashion-forward… She’s Tsubame Slyga? The model?”

Doppio blinked, before his eyebrows shot up. Leaning his head back and miming like he was holding suspender straps out, he stuttered, “T-the model? Th-the salt lady?!”

Josie nodded. 

“...?” Arven looked back and forth between Doppio and Josie, wondering if that was something he should recognize. “...salt model?” Arven tried, trying to think back, hoping he could rationalize who that might be, “...is she… does she sell salt?”

Doppio gave Arven a wide-eyed look before gently wriggling out of his arms, trotting over to the kitchen pantry. He quickly returned with a canister of salt, and wordlessly--though with a “nnnnn” sound in his throat--pointed to an illustration above the text label. 

A gorgeous woman with short hair and a beckoning expression was leaning back, her thumbs tucked into her suspenders while the rest of her fingers were splayed out, little particles filling the rest of the space in front of her, assumedly salt. 

“Oh!” Arven said, having never really looked that hard at any of his salt logos. “...huh. Wow, yeah, look at that.”

Leaning in and looking over the model more carefully, Arven guessed, “Is this from a long time ago? You’re almost 20, she’s got to be, like… 50 or 60 by now. Almost as old as Kaito.”

“She is pretty though,” Arven complimented, because he wasn’t a monster, “She looks nice.”

Doppio nodded so hard they could practically hear his neck creaking, though his voice seemed a bit choked up. “H-her stuff is everywhere…”

Josie smiled fondly--though he had an internal laugh at Arven’s assumption of Kaito’s age--and nodded. “I…think she’s been the logo mascot for that salt distributor for about 15 years now? So a bit ago, yeah. She turned 45 this spring, but people are still asking her for work, and not just as a crone,” he chuckled. “Though Mamá’s more interested in her books, these days.”

Doppio looked a little stunned. “She’s an author too?”

“Nah,” Josie chuckled, shaking his head, “She’s an illustrator. Mom can’t draw for shit, like me, but she, Mamá, and Aunt Myrtle all met through art clubs at school, and they’re all really supportive of ‘em. My moms were the ones to encourage me to get more into it myself, even if it’s just to appreciate other people’s work.”

“You, uh… really like models, Aceto?” Arven asked. Not judging, just surprised, learning something new about his boyfriend. Doppio sounded, like… smitten. Like a… fanboy? Was Doppio a model fanboy? “Are you a fan of salt mom?”

“And, yeah, I was a little surprised to hear you don’t really draw yourself, Josie,” Arven admitted, glancing back to the taller teen, “I sort of assumed you loved art because you were an artist. No? Or is your type of art something else?”

Doppio sputtered a bit before doing several variations of shrugs, avoiding everyone’s gazes. “I-I wouldn’t call myself a fan… I just… Advertising’s e-everywhere! You can’t avoid it! I w-was just surprised…”

“You know,” Josie smirked, “I could ask her for a personalized autograph. Mamá loves meeting fans. Could ask her to sign a new salt canister for her biggest fan~”

Doppio steamed, stammering out something that resembled a ‘no, shut up, I’m not a fan’. 

Maybe he could relate a little more to how Arven had latched onto news about the royal family, though. As someone who…often had felt the shrouds of loneliness, and had spent hours in kitchens with no one to talk to… The smiling, excited faces of models on various products had seemed like kind, friendly people to hear his thoughts. Sure, Doppio had often done the same thing with benign house bugs, but you didn’t just spend time with a friend only to find out that their mom was a house bug you’d likely talked to for hours, accumulatively. 

Still snickering a little, but laying off Doppio, Josie snorted and waved his hand. “If it is, it’s something I haven’t tried yet. I suck pretty hard at visual art…but it’s still fun to do, once in a while, and just because I’m not good doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate what other people do. Really, it just seems even more amazing to me when someone’s a skilled artist.”

Arven was still a little baffled– huh. Okay. Model fanboy. Alright, well… Arven could support that. Whatever Doppio wanted.-- but nodded absentmindedly. “Sure, we could meet her at some point, get an autograph. That’d be nice, thanks Josie.”

“And yeah, artists are pretty impressive. I really like sculptors personally. I’ve seen people etch things in large boulders that kind of defy belief. Like, it’s amazing they could even physically do it, let alone put that amount of detail and planning into it,” Arven mused, looking down at his papers. “Even planning these little guys is a lot. But, I really feel like we’re getting somewhere with it! I think it helped having someone who literally studies art brainstorming with us. And I think a lot of these would make fun, like, costume motifs without being too hard to put together, you know? Heck, we could put some fun, colorful clothes together randomly and then make a pocket monster based on the costume. I think it’d be fun.”

Looking curiously at Doppio, Arven said, “What do you think? Would you want to?”

Oh Doppio was going to die if he ever met the salt lady… She’d seen him eat a whole strawberry poundcake like a slobbish squirrel, trying to get away with the whole thing while his dad was asleep…

“Oh, totally,” Josie nodded. “Clay is still impressive in its own right, but carving stone kind of terrifies me just thinking about it. There’s really no going back if you chisel too much off.” Chuckling a little, he gave Arven a nod. “I imagine you’re pretty excited to see Giovanni’s year project when it’s done, then.”

Trying to calm down, Doppio looked over their sketches, and thought it over… “I’m not really sure how many of my clothes are ‘fun’...but trying still would be.” He smiled softly at Arven. “Harvest is a pretty safe place to just wear whatever and experiment without risks.”

Arven stared blankly at Josie. “...yes. Yes? Yes. Definitely looking forward to his…” Arven studied his expression, making sure he was on track, “...statue. Cause he’s a guy who makes statues. Which I knew.”

Arven was so totally on top of his social life, definitely.

Though his expression immediately lit up for Doppio, all ears for his boyfriend, as he nodded. “It’ll be fun, we’ll find something. Maybe we can raid…” Arven blushed, “Prince Kokichi’s closet? H-he has fun, colorful clothes, I bet we’d find cool things… if he’d let us, of course, but I’m sure he would, Prince Kokichi’s really cool about stuff. And I’ve always thought the clothes he wears around town are super cool. I’d never be able to pull any of it off myself, but I still really like it, you know?”

Josie leaned comfortably on his elbows on the counter, giving Arven an indulgent, amused look. Ten years in school together, and the guy really hadn’t paid attention to a thing. Well, that was Arven. 

At least he’d found something--or someone--that could hold his attention. 

Doppio, on the other hand, had his expression go a little suspicious and unsure. “...colorful, for sure. Kaito showed me some stuff while we were shopping that Prince Kokichi would like? I…really don’t understand that kind of taste. And I doubt anything of his would fit either of us--he’s tiny.”

“Accessories could still work,” Josie pointed out, before chuckling softly. “Our prince really does have his own style. You have to respect it.”

Or get so dizzy you had to look away, Doppio thought.

“At the very least, his wardrobe might inspire us?” Arven said, not even kind of registering Doppio’s distaste. It had not occurred to Arven that Doppio might not be thrilled by the way Arven gushed over the prince. The prince was awesome. And cool. And so smart! And really interesting and cool and great to look up to. Why wouldn’t Doppio also be totally enraptured? 

Arven was not very good at reading people.

“And it’d be fun to make our pocket monsters big, bold colors. Like…” Arven hummed, looking at their drawings, before picking Kaito’s because his were the most basic, “These bell plants could be bright yellow? That’d be striking. Yellow’s a good color, we could also make… a yellow mouse? Well, not just a mouse, we could do something fun with it? Maybe make it pointy?”

Arven shrugged, before going to the other drawings. “These guys can be purple… that guy’s… also yellow… purple…”

Arven paused, looking down at his own clothes, which were a yellow vest with a purple shirt that day. “...hmmm. I may be biased.”

“It’d be good for a Harvest costume, at least,” Doppio mumbled.

Josie just glanced between them, keeping quiet. …that was interesting. Not so much trouble in paradise, he didn’t think, but…huh. He didn’t think much of jealousy, finding it a pretty gross emotion, but it wasn’t like he didn’t understand why other people felt it. Were overcome by it. For someone who got so jealous himself… 

Well, it didn’t seem like much. Josie wouldn’t nudge that there was a conversation the young couple needed to have until it became more urgent that it was a conversation they needed to have. It’d do them better to try and navigate it themselves first. 

Doppio stuck his tongue out a little. “...I’m not opposed to the idea of bell plants entirely…but we’d need to re-work Kaito’s design. Plants do not need weirdly defined lips like that.”

Snorting, Josie gave Arven a little nudge. “They are complementary colors, so you would get some nice palettes from it. But I’d advise to not be afraid to play around with different combinations before settling on a color scheme.”

Doppio nodded softly. “Bold colors would be pretty eye-catching…but I think it’d get a little…all over the place and headache-inducing without contrast of softer colors. Like…making the seahorses in a pastel blue? And maybe a cream for secondary stuff…but using a brighter, bolder blue for the important parts.”

“Guiding the eye to what you want to highlight,” Josie nodded, getting an agreeing hum and a nod from Doppio.

Arven wasn’t necessarily artsy enough to totally follow that, but, well, he nodded along. Lots of colors, not all bright. Got it. Maybe Kokichi would give them a few pointers too. Their prince was an actual artist, after all~

-

Kaito had been pouting all day.

Shuichi couldn’t quite understand what had gotten Kaito so grumpy, because Kaito, currently was trying to make out like he very specifically wasn’t grumpy. He was grinning and cheerful and had showed off and rolled his eyes at the prank cupcakes Doppio and Arven had given him, and even when later he vomited most of it up he had still mostly just mocked himself for still nibbling on them now that there was no one around to gross out. “I just like broccoli, when you ignore the molasses it actually wasn’t the worst thing!”

But Kaito, especially these days, wasn’t good at hiding that he was bothered by something. Mostly because he’d start talking about it to Shuichi, huff, get pissed off, and then stop. Rolling his eyes– he kept doing that specifically– and grumbling about ‘teenagers’ this and ‘Diceans’ that. 

Kaito would talk about it when he was ready. Shuichi was mostly just enjoying playing with Kaito’s hair as they got ready for bed. Kaito resting his head across Shuichi’s stomach as Shuichi sat against the headboard, patiently bearing through Shuichi’s desire to keep floofing his hair up, “I can’t believe it just… stays. Why did you use gel this whole time?”

“Come on, the gel made them spikes! The spikes were cool!” Kaito insisted, enjoying Shuichi’s hands through his hair, watching Shuichi bundle up his hair and make it a big puffball, “I’m still not sure if I like it. I thought a haircut might make me look a little more grown up, but I’m kinda worried the floof makes me look like I’m trying to be more ‘boyish’ or something. Trying to look younger than I am.”

“You’re twenty-four.” Shuichi reminded him, “You look young because you are young. You just feel old because you’re hanging around teenagers, ten year olds and a baby.”

“I wanna get drunk with Wakuuuuu~” Kaito groaned, burying his face into Shuichi’s stomach, “And beat up Souda.”

“Did you say ‘beat up’ because you knew I’d be annoyed with you joking about kissing him?” Shuichi asked.

“I looooooove youuuuuu.” Kaito said into Shuichi’s stomach.

Kokichi liked to think he was a very gracious husband. He had complimented Kaito profusely past the surprise of suddenly seeing him with a new hairstyle, and hadn’t made Kaito stoop for that long so he could run his fingers over the buzzed sides… And, look! Even now, as he came to bed after brushing his teeth, he simply looked over his husbands fondly, not jealous at all that Shuuichi was getting to play with Kaito’s hair. 

Super gracious. 

Climbing into bed by Shuuichi’s side, Kokichi laughed softly. “I think it would be nice for you to have a friend get-together…things have been pretty hectic. Hopefully we will get some of that during Harvest, but we’ll still be going around with the kids a lot, and festivals are a different vibe.”

“And it’s not just you,” Kokichi snorted, reaching over to pat Kaito’s head, though not infringing on Shuuichi’s claim. “I know I’m barely an adult, but the kids make me feel old. It’s a little nerve-wracking--I think Arven does look up to me a little, and I’m hoping I’m not proving that whole ‘never meet your heroes’ thing true for him… Especially if it drives a wedge between him and Doppio.”

“I’m really looking forward to Harvest,” Shuichi admitted, leaning lightly against Kokichi as a sort of greeting, but now lightly playing with the small tufts of hair that draped a little over the buzzed sides. He couldn’t get over how soft it was. “It was already very fun last year, and this year I’m in a much better headspace and physical space to enjoy it. I was really worn down from rehab for last year, but this time I feel like I can just focus.”

“Mmmm… I do kinda want to talk about what as a group we should do if maybe we see, uh…” Kaito huffed into Shuichi’s stomach, nuzzling it, “...other people also enjoying harvest. Certain people–”

“If we see Nao, we’ll just go somewhere else.” Shuichi said, “I’m spending time with my family on a holiday, I have no desire to navigate anything with her if she’s around. As far as I’m concerned she just doesn’t exist that night, even if one of us spots her.”

“Ngh. Kay. Got it.” Kaito huffed… before peeking up at Kokichi, “What wedge? Doppio hasn’t been unkind to you, has he babe?”

Kokichi smiled softly, settling comfortably against Shuuichi. Last Harvest had been really amazing… It was one of the first times Kokichi had felt alright just enjoying a festival as a festival-goer, and not as the heir, and he got to spend it with people he’d been quickly growing more and more fond of… And he’d gotten his head of out his ass a little more when it came to the people he was already fond of. 

It had been fun, but there had been a lot of growing pains. This year was all theirs. …and no one would ruin it for them. 

Nodding, accepting Shuuichi’s choice--and…it felt right for him too--Kokichi kissed Shuuichi’s cheek before sighing. “No, he’s been fine. Like…he’s a scared, uncomfortable kid, so I get that, but even then he still hasn’t been rude or prickly.”

Kokichi smiled, a little sad and a little amused. “No, I’ve just noticed that when Arven gets excited to talk to me as An Ouma? Doppio gets jealous. He hasn’t taken it out on me, and I don’t think he’s taken it out on Arven, but…it might be something I’ll talk to him about. Though I think it’d be a little embarrassing coming from me.”

“Awwww,” Kaito grinned, looking a little fond… before pouting, “Tsk, well, maybe the kid can stand to be a little embarrassed.”

Shuichi raised an eyebrow, running his fingers lightly through the floof, “The same young man who just had his whole life uprooted and his only family arrested… needs to be embarrassed? Not humbled enough yet?”

“...okay, well, no, not when you say it like that.” Kaito pouted, hugging around Shuichi’s stomach a bit, before sighing and laying back on his pillow, needing to blow his hair out of his face as it tried to lay over his eyes, “Sorry, was just talking out of my,” Kaito peeked over at the crib, “ass. And while I think you’d do just fine talking to Doppio, ‘Kichi, is it really that big a deal? The kids in his first relationship, I’m sure he’ll calm down if he’s given time to feel more secure in it. Not like Arven’s gonna give him anything to worry about: if anything, I’d argue Arven’s waaaaay too fixated on that relationship. If Doppio wasn’t specifically going through such a tough time, I’d be rolling my eyes at the clinginess.”

“You are literally the clingiest person.” Shuichi pointed out.

“Yeah, but that’s apparently just who I am as a person. Their clinginess is probably them being young and in love for the first time.” Kaito said, poking his tongue out, “So there.”

“I thought you were all for kids being able to be brats,” Kokichi snorted, turning on his side to hug Shuuichi, claiming some of the space Kaito had left behind. “Though while I’ll get a little huffy about them teasing you…I am happy they feel comfortable enough for that. It’s been some rough weeks.”

And it was only going to get rougher (potentially) with Doppio’s father’s trial starting next week. Kokichi had let Doppio know, the teen apparently doing the rounds asking for time estimates on things from the adults in his life, and…well, if Doppio really wanted to sit in during court, he could. …but Kokichi didn’t think he was the only one giving Doppio the advice that he probably shouldn’t. 

…it really wasn’t fair, for Doppio’s traumas to be on display to a room full of strangers to him, but…the abuse he’d been subjected to were some of the terms his father had been arrested for. So…it needed to be discussed. Kokichi just didn’t want to subject Doppio to sit around while people did that discussion. 

Nodding a little, Kokichi smiled softly. “I don’t think it’s a big deal…but I think it’s still worth it for an adult in his life to open the conversation, if there is something he wants to say about it. I know it’s not like I have the most practical advice, but…they’re young and in love for the first time. They’ll inevitably make mistakes, but…they shouldn’t have to sit in them alone.”

And until the boys had more permanent dedicated guardians, Kokichi was going to take it upon himself to be there to talk to. And occasionally cheat a little, opening conversations that he didn’t think they even realized they wanted to talk about yet.

Shuichi smiled, now happily playing  with Kokichi’s hair, since the hair was nearby to play with anyway. Smooth and silky and, if maybe slightly tangled, Shuichi wouldn’t mention it, since that would result in Kaito running for a comb. He’d let Kokichi get away with not combing tonight. Husband solidarity~

Kaito grinned a bit, looking fondly at Kokichi, “Yes, okay, it’s good that they’re feeling safe and comfy enough to be little brats, yes. And I think it’s sweet you’re gonna talk to Doppio. Honestly, I’ve been begging Doppio to talk to you for a long time now. I want to help a lot, but the desire to be a good adult in their lives doesn’t always equal me managing it. Especially when I get in my ‘moods’.” Kaito said, rolling his eyes. 

“Which ones?” Shuichi asked, brushing his fingers lightly through Kokichi’s hair. 

“Nnnnn…” Kaito lightly rubbed his thumb along Shuichi’s arm, “...the ‘jokey’ one.” He admitted. Flushing a little, purely from embarrassment.

“The ‘jokey’ one…” Shuichi paused, trying to translate that… before groaning, “Kaito. Are you making sex jokes to them?”

“Noooooo,” Kaito frowned, “...I’m making sex jokes to myself, around them. I’m making risque jokes to them. Which is different, since I’m mostly banking on them not noticing.”

“Kaito, you have to get that under control. Someone’s going to get seriously upset with you someday.” Shuichi frowned… before scowling, “Like me. Someday your ‘flirting’ is gonna go too far.”

“Hey, hey, I have never flirted with any of them.” Kaito said, looking earnestly at Shuichi, “I’m crazy, not stupid. No, I just… I keep getting too comfortable and making the sort of jokes I’d have made with you guys, or my friends at home. And then I blink and I’m looking out at a sea of 14 year olds again… well, I don’t know how old Josie is, but whatever, still the same problem. It’s like when I was talking about those cheap romance novels with you, Kokichi, when I first met you. Only this time I’m not gonna be lucky and it will have turned out I was talking to an adult all along.” Kaito huffed, rolling his eyes. “We can’t even blame it on culture differences. I just never had a reason to talk to anyone under 18 back in Luminary! Who hangs out with teenagers!?”

“Their mentors.”

“Wellllll, I’m still blowing it.” Kaito huffed. 

Kokichi hummed happily, snuggling into Shuuichi more. Yesss… These weren’t exactly the hair pets Kokichi had been eyeing, but they were fantastic nonetheless. Long, precise fingers with a gentle touch… Shuuichi really had the market cornered. 

“He’s actually quite a good person to talk to,” Kokichi noted, closing his eyes to enjoy his pets even more. “He tends to doubt himself a lot, but he’s really listening, and putting in the effort to consider things…it’s not easy. But he’s a good kid, and I think he’ll be okay.”

Through his own efforts, and the people looking out for him…even if they weren’t perfect. 

Opening an eye, Kokichi gave Kaito a worried look…before sighing. Well…risque jokes were a little better around older teens…and despite his legal age, Kokichi would still count Doppio to an extent, considering his life experience, but still… “Kai-chan…I don’t think banking on them not noticing is a good bet. I don’t think I know many other demographics that can outdo teenagers when it comes to making sex jokes.”

Maybe drag shows, but…that was more of an event than a demographic. 

Letting go of a deeper sigh, Kokichi went more boneless against Shuuichi. “...well, I’d hope that they’d tell someone if they felt uncomfortable…but I’ll check in just in case. And…as long as they aren’t, I’d say no harm no foul, even if it is inappropriate. Kids are part of society, and while they deserve the respect of not lying about life to them…there still are boundaries of comfort. That’s something…new to navigate, upon crossing the threshold myself, I think…”

“It’s tough. Being a grown up is tough. Can we just stop?” Kaito pouted, lifting his head up to peek over his husbands, calling out, “Miyako! You have to go get a job now! You’re head of the Saihara family now!”

Miyako snuffled sleepily.

“If you had accidentally woken her up, I’d have made you sleep in the nursery with her.” Shuichi said, his tone easy and gentle, one hundred percent sincere. “You are playing with little baby fire, Kaito.”

“Sorry, sorry, whatever, my bad.” Kaito huffed, flopping his pillow back, muttering, “Just can’t do anything right, huh?”

“Is that something to do with why you’ve been weird since you went to get your haircut?” Shuichi asked, “Or were you upset about the sex jokes not landing?”

“What? No. I’m not upset about anything. Shut up.”

“...shut up?”

“Ooooh, I loooove you, I love you soooo much, my sweet, forgiving, handsome husband~” Kaito suddenly urgently coo’d, coaxing Shuichi’s hand into his own and kissing at Shuichi’s knuckles, “My smart, wonderful, sexy–”

“So, you’re not upset about anything?” Shuichi asked, watching Kaito kiss his knuckles in mild amusement.

“Nope,” Kaito huffed, resting his forehead against Shuichi’s hip, close and warm to Kokichi now, “‘m fiiiiine.”

“I see.” Shuichi said, suddenly looking a little fascinated, “...I’d like to meet King Kaito tonight.”

“Eh?” Kaito said, looking up in confusion… and then sudden wary suspicion, “why?”

“No reason~” Shuichi sang-songed, “I just think it’d be interesting right now.”

Kokichi nodded in tired solidarity, giggling softly as Kaito called out to their daughter. As nice as it would be just to make someone else do everything? …well, Kokichi was still working on the whole ‘control freak’ thing. And he sincerely hoped that for decades to come, the biggest responsibility Miyako had to contend with was doing her homework or buying holiday presents. 

…being a little silly, albeit a little risky teasing Miyako wasn’t really a…hmm…

It wasn’t a crisis by any stretch. But things didn’t need to be to be worth a conversation. 

Kokichi looked at Shuuichi for a moment. …angry about…the lack of respect teens showed him? Sure, Kokichi knew that the relationships between children and adults looked a little different in Luminary, but…that was kids’ thing. Adults were baffoonish laughing-stocks…but, hopefully, still people the kids could turn to when the time for laughs passed. 

“I have the energy for it,” Kokichi nodded. “And it would be nice to not leave the last visit for weeks and weeks… Do you wanna, Kai-chan?”

Kaito was still suspicious of Shuichi, and didn’t hide it in his expression. Shuichi, in turn, just looked smug and expectant. “...yeah, alright.” Kaito sighed, sitting up and reaching for his sleeping medication on the nightstand, “But just so everyone is clear, I am not currently being tricked. Shuichi’s got some weird ulterior motivation, and I am just going along with it anyway. Got it?”

“Love you, Kaito.” Shuichi smiled, before looking down at Kokichi, petting his forehead a bit, “Besides, it’ll be nice to finish meeting all the little pieces of Kaito. Then next time I can finally ask to explore your circus properly. I’ve been wanting to take another look at it for a long time now.”

“Love you, hun,” Kokichi followed up with, smiling adoringly at Kaito. “You’re very indulgent of us… It’s kind of you. We’re very lucky to have you.”

That adoration was soon angled up at Shuuichi, as he snuggled down in bed more. His blinks getting slower in pleasure as Shuuichi stroked his forehead. “I’ll be happy to host you. I’ve been experimenting more with different balloon animal shapes, and the contortionist has a new routine. Hmm… If there’s any fair food you think of, lemme know ahead of time, we could always use more carts.”

He grinned wider. “Harvest will be some excellent market research, I think.”

Shuichi laughed lightly, a near little giggle, and since he couldn’t really bend the way he wanted to, he kissed his fingers and then pressed them again Kokichi’s temple, “That sounds incredible. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Oh, have elephant feet!” Kaito grinned, finishing swallowing his pills, settling in as he wrapped his arm around Kokichi, kissing him quickly before giving Shuichi space to slide down himself. “The pastries, not the animal. Before anyone misunderstands me, I am not trying to murder elephants.”

“You are so annoyed by something.” Shuichi smirked, shuffling down to lie down in the coveted middle spot, “Alright, time to get some sleep. Night Kaito, night Kokichi. I love you both.”

“Yeah, yeah, you can tell me about it again in my dreams.” Kaito huffed, “...love you too. Night.”

Elephant feet? Hmm… Kokichi wondered if those were anything like elephant ears. Either way, he was absolutely ready to learn about a new pastry, and add it into the menagerie of food carts in his lobby. 

Pff, but he would definitely not be adding broccoli-molasses bread. 

“Goodnight, Shuu-chan, Goodnight, Kai-chan. See you sooooon~ Love yooooooooou~”

-

Hmmm… Kokichi really couldn’t imagine that pastries fit the theme of King Kaito’s castle…but a small apricot pinwheel he could easily pop into his mouth as he roused Kaito from his deep sleep. “Mm, apricot or blueberry, Shuu-chan?”

“Blueberry please, I’m feeling ‘sparkly’ today.” Shuichi said, happily accepting the pastry, looking it over as he complimented, “I love how pointy these are. Do you think if Maki were to throw them at a target, if they’d have the same range as her daggers? I’m just imagining her being able to lodge one into a plank of wood.”

“Mmmngh,” Kaito huffed, shifting slightly within the cocoon of vines… before giving a slightly more urgent, “Mmhgh!? What the actual shit–”

“We’re experimenting with defenses.” Saint Madison explained to the vine cocoon, kicking Kaito’s side lightly, “Instead of dragging the intruders through your mind to me, perhaps it’d be better to just make you a full body, mobile defense to drag around when someone intrudes?”

“...DIVINE IF YOU DON’T GET ME OUT OF THIS GOD DAMNED–oh, hey guys.” Kaito said, blinking dazedly as the vines suddenly unwrapped and disappeared into the ground, “Empath time already?”

“Mm, in a mind? Definitely,” Kokichi nodded seriously. “In the physical world? …maybe stale ones. Fresh ones I think are too weighted to one side because of the jam inside… But if anyone could compensate for that, I think Maki-chan would have a fair shot.”

Giggling softly, Kokichi gave Kaito an apologetic look for laughing at Kaito’s disgruntlement, though he didn’t stop himself from commenting, “That looks pretty cozy, actually. Like wrapping yourself up in a hammock. I’m sure you could figure out how to make it sway lightly like a hammock too, then any emergency shield defense could be a cozy, nice vacation.”

Standing up, Kokichi went over to kiss Kaito’s cheek. “Empath time. Do you wanna lead the way to King Kai-chan?”

Kaito yawned, smiling loopily at Kokichi’s kiss, before nodding,  “Yep~ I’ve got this. Saint Madison, please feel free to return to thinking of new ways to traumatize me with your defenses.”

“Like safety is traumatizing,” Saint Madison huffed, rolling her eyes– apparently Kaito’s desire to be sarcastic wasn’t limited to just his surface thoughts– before, snapping her fingers, the vines grabbed her ankles and dragged her into the dirt. 

“...you know, sometimes you just gotta roll with the nightmare fuel.” Kaito said, staring at the dirt where Madison had disappeared into, “Alright, so, King Kaito’s easy, really. He’s just home. Or, back at the castle.” Kaito said, looking around, before nodding, “Yeah, just down the road, so… follow me!”

Shuichi and Kokichi followed behind Kaito, while he looked around, pausing and stopping sometimes, murmuring to himself about the feeling of heat and the smell of smoke. And as they got further and further into the city, Shuichi looked around. “It’s sort of interesting to walk around Luminary again,” he said, watching the tapestries flutter in the warm wind a bit, the ground cracking and crunching beneath their feet. 

“It’s nice, right!” Kaito grinned, looking over his shoulder, “I mean, it’s not exactly the same as home. Like… I’m pretty sure once we turn a corner here, we’re gonna be in the castle, rather then walking all the way up through the gates and such,” Kaito shrugged, “I’ve noticed that about Luminary in my head, you know? Everything’s more condensed, it doesn’t take long to get anywhere… see! Boom! Called it.” Kaito said, turning the corner and the three of them finding themselves in front of the door of the throne room.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised King Kaito is in the throne room,” Shuichi said, before sniffing the air, “...is something on fire?”

“No, it just always smells like that here.” Kaito said, going to knock on the door. 

Knock… knock knock.

…. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK– “Stop.” King Kaito snapped, opening the door, peeking out and glaring at Kaito… before looking worriedly at his husbands. Eyes a tad too wide, hair clinging to his forehead with sweat, as he said, “Uh, please, one moment! Your grace, Lord Saihara, one moment! Just need to… get in here.” King Kaito growled, grabbing Kaito’s shirt and dragging him inside. Slamming the door shut.

“...strong start.” Shuichi whispered to Kokichi, eyes alight with interest, chewing on his windmill still.

Kokichi didn’t think it was a perfect recreation of Luminary, or even a full recreation from Kaito’s memories. There was a slightly different feeling to the space, when Kaito was creating a scene, and…

Well, a space that was always there. “In” Kaito’s stomach, if Amaina was to be believed. 

But all the same…Kokichi smiled softly and took Shuuichi’s hand as they walked, looking around the city and enjoying the small things that he’d noticed over his sporadic visits in his partners’ heads. “It’s nice,” he agreed with a nod. I know I wouldn’t find anything, unless I pulled in your memories and stitched them to where we’re walking myself, but…the capital really does feel like a place you could keep walking in for hours. Does add to it that I can feel the echoes of your feelings for it too.”

Straightening as they reached the throne room, Kokichi smiled, excited to see King Kaito again…but it seemed like he wasn’t quite ready for guests. Kokichi’s eyebrows raised, his lips turning down in slight worry as he gave Shuuichi a side glance. 

…maybe Kaito was more stressed about things than he thought. 

Waiting for a moment, Kokichi soon couldn’t help himself and knocked softly on the door. “Kai-chan? If you need help…that’s what we’re always here for. I’ll respect your privacy, but…there’s nothing you need to feel ashamed of and have to hide.”

“Just one moment, your grace!” King Kaito called through the door, before thumping Kaito into the wall again, growling at him, “Are you serious!? This is how you want me to meet Shuichi!?”

Kaito glanced around. The throne room was full of smoke, the fire outside the windows in top form. There was the usual war sounds clashing outside, but even more than that, there were items strewn around the room as well. Sticks and swords and rocks, with notable cracks in the stonework on the walls and on tile on the floor.

“...oh, come on, I’m not that upset the kids teased me.” Kaito huffed, looking annoyed, “Can’t you pull it the hell together?”

The fire grew hotter, some of the flames licking the roof of the windows, as King Kaito snarled at him, “I’m not fucking mad at them.”

“...ah.” Kaito said, looking a little less confused but no less exasperated, “Well, boohoo. Shuichi wants to see our anger issues all personified and stuff. So, ya know~” Kaito grinned, smirking at King Kaito as he knocked the shards hands off his shirt, “Put on a good show, edgelord~”

“You stupid fucking–nnngh, where the fuck is my stupid fucking rock!?” King Kaito snarled, patting around his armor, looking through his holding pockets as Kaito brushed off his shirt, heading to go let his husbands in.

“Alright, guys, you can come in.” Kaito beamed outside to them, stepping aside to let them in. 

Behind him, King Kaito was hurriedly fixing his hair, the windows around the throne room slamming shut, trying to suppress the war and flames outside a bit as King Kaito suddenly bowed seriously, “Kokichi, Shuichi, welcome. Lord Saihara, may I call you Shuichi?” King Kaito asked, straightening up, giving his husband an earnest look, “It’s wonderful to have you here.”

“I’m charmed, and of course, Kaito. You know I don’t really like that title anyway.” Shuichi said, bowing back, before looking around, “...Kokichi is right. If something is wrong?”

King Kaito had the audacity to attempt to look confused, as the room’s ceiling was heavy with smoke, “No, not at all?”

Kokichi’s gaze softened, seeing King Kaito’s franticness, his desire to impress, and the raging, flaming irritation and anger coming off him. King Kaito may be the part of his husband that Kokichi saw Kaito actually fight with the most…but he was a part of Kaito through and through. A part that Kokichi had struggled with, admittedly, but…a part he loved. And a part worth showing that love, and trying to understand. 

Kokichi bowed back at the greeting, though he stayed back a little, letting Shuuichi take the reins of his meeting. But…with more to it than hellos?

“...we’re always here to talk. To listen. And nothing you could bring up is ever too little or too silly, alright?” he tried to reassure. Before glancing up a bit. “...there’s not really a point to trying to metaphorically air things out, is there, since it dissipates immediately with your moods, huh.”

“Well, that, and if you open the windows just more smoke gets in.” Kaito observed, leaning back on the wall, giving the room a disdainful look. 

King Kaito was not Kaito’s favorite part of himself. This place embarrassed him. 

King Kaito, curiously enough, did not fidget. He stood straight and proper, his face just tightening slightly with stress as Shuichi walked up to him, curiously observing him… before King Kaito gave his husband a slightly dry look, “Shuichi, we’ve discussed experimenting on me.”

Shuichi smiled, reaching out to experimentally run his fingers over King Kaito’s armor, “I’m sorry. It’s strange, you look the most like yourself, but you only sounded like yourself just now. Why are you talking like that?”

“It can… help to stick to formalities, when my blood is boiling like this.” King Kaito admitted, sweat pooling down the side of his face, “Having a script can stop you from saying the wrong thing, when you’re riled up.”

“But you don’t do that for me when you’re pissed on the outside.” Shuichi observed, fascinated.

“Because you never let me get away with it.” King Kaito huffed, “Right now being a prime example. You knew I was going to be a mess. Did you really have to meet me when I was angry? I am not always angry.”

“I was curious what it looked like.” Shuichi admitted, looking around the throne room, “...do you have to be here? In this room? This feels like it’d be difficult to calm down in or talk through, being suffocated by smoke and surrounded by noise and heat.”

King Kaito glanced tensely around, the war sounds still clanging outside…before murmuring, “We can try going to the temple. That can help me focus sometimes. Helps with the noise, anyway.”

Shuichi murmured, “Fascinating. Lead the way.”

King Kaito sighed, looking around warily… before muttering as he headed behind the throne, motioning for them to follow, “Atua, who loves me… he brought my damn husbands here and it’s fucking boiling and he’s so god damn stupid and this is so obnoxious and–”

A door opened up in the back of the throne room. King Kaito stomping inside. Shuichi gave Kokichi and Kaito an excited look, before hurrying behind him, disappearing inside as well. 

“You know, I love how accomplished he’s feeling right now… but it is a little messed up that he saw me upset and decided it’d be a fun empath experiment, right?” Kaito smirked at Kokichi, shrugging. “Our Shuichi’s kinda an asshole.”

Oh Shuuichi… Admittedly, Kokichi did know what Shuuichi was doing when he asked to visit King Kaito, as did Kaito. But…they both went along with it. Not to make Kaito an experiment, though Shuuichi was certainly going to observe. But…well, name aside, it was kind of like the thought experiments in therapy. You never quite knew where they were going, but they trusted Dr. Mariah enough to play along. 

And they trusted her enough to speak up if playing along became too taxing, and knew that she’d get to the point. 

Shuuichi wasn’t always so eager to give up the game, but that was something he’d been working on too. 

Snorting softly, Kokichi took Kaito’s hand as they followed more slowly behind into the temple. “It’s why he suits us--’cause we’re kinda assholes too, in different ways. I like to think we end up balancing each other out.”

“...you still feeling okay with all of this?” Kokichi checked in, his expression softening with mild worry. “I know you’ve said you feel a little…detached from certain emotions when a part of you is highlighted like this, but…things okay?”

“I feel great,” Kaito said, squeezing Kokichi’s hand back a bit… before looking around the room, noticing the smoke thinning and the noise dying down a little as he said, “And, to be fair to our Shuichi, it does seem like King Kaito is feeling a little better too. Never considered the idea that my shards had places they could go, but I guess it kind of makes sense. If he’s most of my anger, he’s also probably most of my anger management, and fuck, trying to calm down in a place like this would be awful.”

“But, like I said, this side of Shuichi is one of the reasons I find him attractive.” Kaito said fondly, following Kokichi’s slow pace to the temple, “I like that he likes to analyze me. It can be mean, sometimes, but at the same time, he’s the main reason we figured out that I needed to get out of Dr. Mariah’s office or I was gonna have, like, a thousand meltdowns… a thousand more meltdowns, anyway.” Kaito shrugged.

“Annnnd,” he nudged Kokichi a bit, grinning down at him, “I like your asshole side too, sometimes. You remember being ready to storm into the strip club, ready to argue with all of them because they were trying to ‘trick me’?” Kaito snorted, “You’re always so quick to defend my intelligence. I want you to know I notice that. It flusters me a little, but I really like it.”

Bringing up Kokichi’s hand to kiss the back of it, Kaito said serenely, “Shuichi’s willing to be an asshole to me to help me, and you’re willing to be an asshole to other people to help me… you guys spoil me~”

Kaito paused at the door, looking back at the throne room. The windows had opened up a little. The air a little fresher. “Awwww, Shuichi’s making progress. Nosy asshole~”

Kokichi nodded, following Kaito’s gaze around the room. All of the shards had spaces that were specifically theirs, but…there were spaces within those spaces that could serve different purposes for them. Caleb’s island, going between the beach and the sea. Akane’s forest, and forests were anything but singular. Kaito’s castle, and…well, castles were a lot more than one room. 

They might be ‘housed’, but they weren’t stuck. And Shuuichi was quick to give that a test. 

Grinning unashamed, Kokichi squeezed Kaito’s hand as thanks for the kiss. “I like to think I’m not rude…but if people are already being assholes, you don’t deserve that, and they should get a taste of what they’re dishing out, while learning a little something in the process. My Kai-chan is strong…but people don’t get to just disregard him without a care.”

…maybe kids did, though. 

Smiling at the room, Kokichi laughed softly. “Our curious genius, working his magic… Alright, I’m curious too, let’s catch up.”

Inside, King Kaito was leaning against the balcony safety rail, looking down at the main temple from where the royal family could watch service within the castle temple. Behind him was the door to the Momota prayer room, where King Kaito could go to privately lose his mind… but right now the payer room was empty, he and Shuichi just quietly talking as Kaito watched whisps of people working downstairs, vague apparitions of the priestess’s doing their duties methodically. Kaito had always found it comforting to watch them.

“I just…” King Kaito sighed, fussing with his crown, spinning it gently around in his hands, “...I was so fucking useless that whole trip. I could have burned you all alive before we even got there. I just…it makes me want to scream, Shuichi. I just want to pull my damn hair out of my skull. Fucking stupid haircut, for a moron who can’t keep it together for five seconds… too old to be pitied, too young to make any sort of good decision. Luminary was lucky to avoid me ever being an heir.” King Kaito muttered, tossing the crown aside, it clanging on top of the rail. “I’d have gotten everyone killed.”

“Sure, because two teenagers decided it’s easy to judge the way someone responds to a phobia.” Shuichi said softly, shrugging, “Everyone knows phobias are famously easy to manage. Ludicrous, to hear that you panicked.”

“Shuichi, I appreciate you, but it’s barely even about that. Almost burning down the forest was far from the only mistake I made that trip. Didn’t I almost scare Kokichi into a heart attack that same night?”

“I recall that was my hand going up his back.” Shuichi murmured back.

Kokichi sighed softly. …it really was over a year ago now. In the grand scheme of things, a year was practically nothing…but with everything that had happened since their beach trip, it felt like eons since their ill-thought-out honeymoon. Still, that didn’t mean that regrets didn’t linger… Kokichi knew he had more than a few. 

“You two have room for two more?” Kokichi asked, as he and Kaito approached, coming to the edge of the balcony as well. …and there really was room for two more. More than that too. For a private viewing area, it was pretty expansive, unrestricted. Though, Kokichi didn’t particularly want to take advantage of that space. 

Coming to King Kaito’s side, Kokichi smiled gently at him and Shuuichi. “And if I recall, I saw you looking anxious, coming out of the caravan in the middle of the night because I was missing, on the first night I’d ever spent out of the castle…and I thought it’d be funny to play up something I knew, even then, that you were scared of.”

“...it didn’t even have to be ghosts,” he said softly. “...just the fact that people you cared about were missing, and could be hurt? While we knew people who’d hurt us were focused on us? …it was pretty dumb and irresponsible of me. Disrespectful to you, not to mention everyone else we were traveling with who came specifically for our safety. A dumb and super easily avoidable mistake, if I had thought about it for more than a second.”

Kaito rested on Kokichi’s other side, and, well… was mostly just planning to observe. Apparently, without King Kaito’s fury to boil through him, Kaito mostly just felt… stupid and sarcastic, when he was upset with himself. Just constantly fighting the urge to make fun of himself, or roll his eyes. Kaito was not always impressed with himself, and there was a reason he mocked his anger side so much. Sometimes that was the best he could do, when he was angry and trying not to feel it.

As Shuichi nodded, not shy about agreeing with Kokichi, King Kaito looked a little more wary, saying uncertainly, “I don’t want to dismiss my mistakes as your responsibility, Kokichi. Even if I was afraid for you, I still acted moronic.”

“...so?” Shuichi tried, leaning against King Kaito’s side, “We weren’t asking you to be perfect that trip. Same way you weren’t asking us to be. I don’t think we need to get into my moods from the drugs, I think I cried no less than once a day that trip. But I also at one point needed Kokichi to reel me back in when I wanted to frame a man who harassed him for a crime.”

“...what?” Both King Kaito and Kaito said at the same time.

Shuichi laughed, “Did we not tell you about this? It was the Budd family again, shockingly enough. Or maybe that’s not shocking. Honestly, the fact that they died is the only reason I can’t talk endlessly about how stupid and invasive those people were. Their son was being a flirting creep to Kokichi, and when I found out about it, I almost lost it on him. It was just Kokichi being there that kept me in check at all.”

“Ugh,” King Kaito huffed, rubbing his forehead with his thumb, “I wish I even still had the reserves to get angry about that. I feel like those people have completely tapped me out, anger-wise. That trip was miserable. I entirely failed to protect both of you. It was literally Katsuki, Seiko, Hajime and Maki who kept us all from literally dying that trip. Why did I make us go to that?”

“You thought you were saving Kokichi from an abusive home.” Kaito muttered, staring down at the priestess’s, “We get a little overzealous, in that situation, apparently.”

Kokichi let out a soft laugh and turned towards King Kaito, grinning at him fondly. “...even if your reaction had been to call timidly into the night? Or to demand who was there without reaching into the fire? Or…literally anything? …it was still thoughtless and mean of me to do. It’s not about the fire…it had the potential to be dangerous, but pointing out what-ifs about the fire I feel is ignoring the possible what-ifs of everything else that happened.”

“We were just…impulsive and dumb.” Kokichi nodded, pressing his shoulder to King Kaito’s arm. “Because we’re young. Because we’re human. Because we make mistakes, even ones that seem easy to avoid, or end up snowballing into things that are harder to shrug off.”

And it wasn’t just him and Kaito. 

Kokichi sighed softly at the mention of Brent, and Shuuichi’s idea that just barely didn’t come to fruition. …that was one regret that still lingered. Not what Shuuichi wanted to do, but…the Brockmans. It was easier these days, but…Kokichi still grieved. 

“...I don’t know if she ever told you guys,” Kokichi realized, smiling grimly. “Apparently Maki-chan shredded Brent’s pants, after I stopped you from going after him, Shuu-chan. …I dunno if I’d really lump that in with the rest of our mistakes, but…it was illegal, technically.”

Shaking his head a little, Kokichi gently patted King Kaito’s arm, while leaning over to kiss Kaito’s. “...we make mistakes… But the thing is…we learn from them. Even if it doesn’t feel like it. Your heart was in the right place, wanting to save me…and in the process, we all made a lot of poor decisions and risks just…because we weren’t prepared or supported and…there’s a ton of reasons, really.”

“Jump forward a year,” Kokichi said softly, “And a kid is happy and trusting enough to make fun of you, because you saved him from an abusive home without anyone getting hurt.”

“...you’re not the person you were a year ago, Kai-chan. None of us are. And while he made mistakes, the Kai-chan of a year ago was trying his best. He just hadn’t grown as much as you yet.” Kokichi smiled gently. “I’d say to give him a break. It’s hard for anyone to shine when they’re being compared to you right now.”

“Yes,” King Kaito mused, fussing with his hands a little, “I suppose that’s true. That moron was only… 22?”

“Did we go onto the beach trip before our birthday?” Kaito asked, sounding baffled, “No, that can’t be right. Is that right? Were we 22?”

“We had literally only been in the castle for a month.” King Kaito groaned into his hands, “Kokichi was still recovering from another heart attack two weeks before we left. Who let us do that??”

“Mom and dad had just died,” Kaito muttered, “...I don’t get how even teenagers can’t understand why someone would be scared of death. God, I felt like I was drowning in it, for a while there.”

“UGH! Those jackasses were lucky I walked away!” King Kaito snapped, hitting the banister. “I could feel myself wanting to snap at them!”

“Whiiiiich is probably a good thing?” Kaito mused, glancing over at King Kaito, who warily looked back, “That we knew we needed to walk away? Take a breather? That’s us doing it right, isn’t it?”

“...Miss Crystal is going to be so smug.” King Kaito said grimly, ignoring Kaito’s laugh at that.

“You walked away because you didn’t want to hurt a bunch of no-nothing kids with your anger.” Shuichi said, reaching to pick up the discarded crown, considering it for a moment before plopping it back onto King Kaito’s head, “Kokichi’s right. You’ve grown a lot in the last year. Be as nice to younger you as you are to them.”

King Kaito winced a little at the crown-plop– the crown was made of iron, ow– before smiling lightly. Straightening it a bit, before giving Shuichi a fond look… and then taking his hands into his own, bringing Shuichi’s knuckles up to his lips, kissing gently one fist, and then the other.

“I know you don’t like your title, and that in reality, it doesn’t mean much or change anything for us,” King Kaito said, his eyes somehow both warm and steel-y at the same time, peering at Shuichi from beneath the shadow of his bangs, “But if there was ever a sign that Luminary’s nobility could ever get it right, it was giving you a lord title. I’ll never truly be a king, but being our Kokichi’s consort? And the husband of Lord Saihara?”

Shuichi’s eyes widened a little, as King Kaito reached up to cusp the side of Shuichi’s face. Still holding one hand between his fingers as King Kaito stepped closer, cupping the bottom of Shuichi’s chin to tilt his head up, his voice dropping an octave as he stared down into Shuichi’s eyes, “It’s more than even trade off. Unlike those frauds at the court, Atua has given me to a true elite…”

Shuichi’s face burnt bright red. Behind Kokichi, Kaito whistled low, “Damn. Why do all of my shards keep trying to get laid? Did Caleb just do a really sad version of a pickup line and I missed it?”

Kokichi smiled, feeling some of the burning feeling--because that’s how Kaito’s anger was, a burning, mauling monster that sat in the gut and under the skin, roaring to get out--ease away. Forgiving yourself for past mistakes wasn’t as easy as one breakthrough, but Kokichi was prepared to keep beating this conversation until it was dead. And he trusted his partners to do the same for him. Even when the conversation evolved to be ‘the dumbfuck shit I did when I was 24’ and then ‘the moronic stunts I did when I was 30’. 

Growing up, learning, it wasn’t a straight line going up, and the mistakes you made didn’t mean you were regressing, or that you stumbled. It was simply the nature of life. And, in a sense, if in five years you thought the things you did five years ago were incredibly dumb…then that was a good sign. It meant you really had learned a lot in that time. 

And like everything, forgiveness was a skill. But it was one worth practicing, especially for oneself. 

“In a way, teenagers have their own kind of superpower,” Kokichi snorted. “Whether they truly believe they’re invincible and all-knowing, or they can buy that lie long enough to endlessly back each other up, just to pile on someone else? It’s a brutal stretch of years, and I know I got off easy from it.”

“...and, granted, Doppio grew up in the mafia, and Arven saw his best friend dying, and just said ‘no’,” Kokichi shrugged. “I think the two of them have some unusual relationships with death.”

Leaning back a little, Kokichi watched King Kaito turn his focus onto Shuuichi with a delighted grin, before he took a step back to wrap an arm around Kaito’s back. “You forgetting the parts where he looked like hearing us say ‘I love you’ was the sun breaking through a month of rain? Or when he asked us to sit close?”

“I think it’s time to face it, hun,” Kokichi smiled up at his husband. “I think you might be a romantic at your core.”

-

While Kokichi could’ve asked to skip the opening ceremonies for Harvest, like he’d done for Zenith, and had done for Hanami because of health issues…for all his griping about his father’s speeches? Kokichi really loved the first few hours of festivals. That buzzing, excited energy as the early birds gathered, everyone who was so excited for the festivities that they wanted to be there for minute one! Hearing about all the events planned for the day, any special news, all the continued seasonal events that had been going on before the particular day of Harvest, and would keep going after. 

So, thanking his partners for handling Miyako that morning, Kokichi woke up early, stopped by Denji for some help getting ready, and headed to the market plaza, ready to represent the Oumas, and maybe say a few words himself. 

…all dressed as a clown. 

Maki was waiting for the kids to find her, hiding in one of the trees as she watched the ceremony.

Obviously she wasn’t working. But that didn’t mean she had no interest in seeing the opening ceremony. There was the, uh… news. And events, probably. The Oumas talking for a while about… something. Probably Harvest stuff. She was sure she’d figure it out as the day progressed. 

But mostly she was keeping an eye on Kokichi, and watching the crowd, because why not, she could do two things at once. Three things, technically, as she looked at Elia. “You sure you don’t want to go meet up with your siblings now? You don’t have to hang around the opening ceremony with me. We can meet up again later when all the kids have been set up and are running around on their own plans.”

Elia laughed softly, sitting criss-crossed nestled between a few branches, enjoying the opening ceremonies and time with her girlfriend. Elia wasn’t really dressed up, in the sense she was wearing a costume…but there was certainly more thought to her appearance than on any given day. They did say Harvest was for the goths, after all. 

Checking her watch, Elia shared an amused look with Maki. “Knowing them, they won’t make it out into the festival areas for at least another 30 minutes. Mornings in the Di Carmelo house~” Glancing around the crowd forming in the plaza, she hummed, “Kali might be here already, but…if we’d just be waiting for the family meet up?”

Elia looked over, smiling adoringly at Maki. “I’d rather spend the first bit with you, even if we’ll see each other later. And I have to say, I’m excited to see what Tim and his friends have put together for their costumes--he’s been looking pretty proud about it, while Cali and Kimiko have been bragging to us.”

“I know Cali’s been designing armor for her costume, because she had us go take a look at Kaito’s wedding armor at the museum and jotted down notes,” Maki said, tilting her head back a bit, lightly kicking the air as she felt a pleased, warm feeling run through her at Elia’s insistence on staying. It was nice… “So perhaps she’s a knight? And I have no idea for Timothy and Kimiko. Timothy borrowed one of my old ribbons that I used to wear, one of the ones with the royal colors, so maybe… Pfff, if he cuts holes in it and makes himself a bandit, I’ll be a little cross. The colors were a symbol of my status, which I’m sure he knows. I know sentimentality is foolish, but, well, I’ve had them this long.”

“Also, don’t forget, I promised my siblings that I’d escort them all to the small haunted house at the graveyard. The one Temp’s put together? I’m sure we’ll get through them quickly, but there’s a lot of those little morons, so I’ll probably end up going through a few times. It just might take me a moment, is what I’m saying.” Maki shrugged, certain Elia understood. Her siblings didn’t get a lot of Eldest Sister time, so during big events like these, Maki always made sure to promise them some quality time.

Maki suddenly glanced to the right, amused… before leaning in close to Elia. “They’re trying to sneak up behind us. Should we let them think they’ve managed it or get Tim and the girls to work for it?”

“Hmm… I could see them getting inspired by some of the old mercenary legends, but the kids are creative--might not take things so literally. Or…” Elia left it there, though an idea made her smile. It was a little too cute to potentially ruin the surprise, but…Cali wanted to look at Kaito’s armor? Timothy borrowed something of Maki’s, that was specifically a symbol? And…well, there weren’t clues for Kimiko’s costume, but she did tout her mother’s sewing skills in the last few weeks. 

…it would be very cute if they went as Maki and her friends. It’d work as a trio, or even more if they asked that new girl they’d been spending time with at school to join up as Kokichi at some point.

“Right,” Elia nodded, before laughing softly. “I still don’t think I’ve met Temp properly, but I have been through his haunted house in years past--mostly years when the one on the hill had themes that were too scary for my siblings. It’s a pretty fun one, so I hope you’ll still enjoy yourself on loop number three and onward.”

She shook her head fondly. “Lisa usually hates scary things, but she’s gotten the idea that going through the big haunted house is an adult thing to do, so…we’ll see how that goes. I might be doing family things for the same time as you.”

Glancing back without turning her head, Elia snorted softly, catching a few figures coming up. Grinning at Maki, Elia gave an indulgent smile. “It’s a holiday, we can throw them a softball.” She leaned in towards Maki a little more. “...though that doesn’t mean giving it to them for free.”

Hah~ Good luck to brave Lisa then. Maki was rooting for the little adventurer. 

Maki smirked at Elia’s verdict, nodding a little, before looking back out into the crowd, scanning how things were going. Reaching up, she lightly steadied herself on the branch above her, leaning forward to get a better look at the crowd…

And then she gripped the top branch, throwing herself over it.

Timothy, who had just been about to triumphantly poke his mom in the back with a bright pink plastic dagger, staggered slightly, his hand catching air as his mother suddenly flipped up and out of sight. Before he could even think to catch his balance, boots planted themselves on either side of his feet, a strong arm wrapping around his waist, and he was suddenly hefted up, kicking fruitlessly as he hung in Maki’s right arm, while beside him, Cali gasped and hung in her left. 

“I seem to have caught two tree-monkeys,” Maki observed, looking to Elia, “What about you?”

Elia, who had fallen backwards off her branches, gave the :o-faced Kimiko a small pat on her hatted head before resuming the almost princess-carry she’d scooped the girl up in, grinning up at Maki. “Looks like your record has still got me beat. Though I suppose getting even would disqualify me from the ‘tree’ part,” she laughed, glancing down at Chase who was trotting around the trunk of the tree excitedly. 

“Happy Harvest!” Elia wished the kids with cheer and a grin. 

“Happy Harvest!/Happy harvest,” the three kids echoed back, Cali and Kim with more blatant enthusiasm, while Tim was still clearly pouting over getting caught. They had gotten so close that time, he had been certain they actually had them. 

“Alright, now, let’s actually get a look at you.” Maki huffed, adjusting her stance on the branch to safely let Timothy, and then Cali, both down, the two of them catching themselves steadily. Maki took another quick glance at Kokichi and the crowd, before giving the kids her full attention… and balking. “What. Really?”

“Wait, wait, I have a speech!” Cali said excitedly, pulling out her bright pink sword from its sheath and pointing it heroically into the sky, her red, cosmo dotted cape flowing in the wind behind her golden armor. “I, Cali Fornia, Luminary Princess of the Sky! Would like to introduce my two sidekicks! Timothy Harukawa! The Head Royal Assassin!”

Timothy, showing a shocking amount of courage for a boy who had grown up in the standards and expectations of Luminary militias, posed dramatically in his pink-ish, light-red skirt, a red maroon bow wrapped perfectly around his laced, red-ish pink blouse, a shockingly convincing pair of extensions on his head making his orange hair look like long twin-tails. 

“And Kimiko Shirogane! The Head Royal Detective!” Cali enthusiastically introduced, pointing towards Kimiko.

Kimiko, with the help of her mother, had taken Shuichi’s outfits as an aesthetic, but had added a good bit of flourish to it. Everything she was wearing was a satin dark blue, with light blue pinstripes crisscrossing down and around the various pieces of clothing, with the exception of the maroon squares buttoning her cloak. She was wearing a deer-stalker hat, with an inverness-cape, and on top of that was notably holding a large magnifying glass and was, oddly enough, apparently ‘smoking’ a wooden pipe, which occasionally had bubbles blowing out of it. Her body posture dramatic, though she seemed to be playacting as being deeply in thought, bubbles floating up.

“And together! We are… the Baby Assassins!” Cali shouted dramatically.

“We were originally just gonna be assassins, but then Kimiko mentioned if I was gonna be an assassin I might as well be a royal Momota assassin, and then somehow that became I should just be you specifically, Mom, and then ended up turning Cali and Kimiko from assassins into a princess and detective, and, well… I guess we’ve just kept the name.” Timothy shrugged. 

“We have Mister Kokichi too!” Kimiko cooed, “But she’s meeting up with us later! And we have Miss Haneda as well! Look! That was my idea~”

Chase, running around the tree, barked, looking up the tree excitedly. Around her neck was a bandana of sewn together face masks. Timothy was not entirely certain how his nanny was going to feel about finding out where her missing facemasks went, but, well… they’d probably be easy to put back together, right? Just… unsew them? It’d be fine.

Elia could probably bowl Kimiko down the tree and the young girl would laugh and ask for a re-do, but even so she carefully let Kimiko down as well to join her friends. Grinning widely as her guess turned out to be more on the money than she thought. Well, wasn’t that cute~ 

“You guys look incredible!” she praised, before laughing. “Aw, Tim, your dad is going to lose his mind when he sees you all. It’s a good thing that photography studio is probably closed today, Kaito would buy out a full-day session for you.”

Stepping back, Elia closed one eye, squinting the other as she did some artful judgement, looking at Timothy and Maki next to each other. “...yupp, yupp, it’s all there. You nailed it.”

Maybe not Maki’s current aesthetic, but she’d told Elia about her old ‘uniform’ and…what Tim was wearing was pretty in line with what Elia had imagined. 

“It’s alright. Cali said she’d defend us,” Timothy said, dead-serious.

“LUMINARY PRINCE VERSUS LUMINARY PRINCESS!!” Cali shouted, waving her sword wildly through the air, “I’LL OUT DANCE HIM ANY DAY!”

Maki’s lips quirked up at that, incredibly amused by all of this, even if it was… very weird. What a truly bizarre thing for these little weirdos to do. Timothy was wearing ankle-length pigtails. Her hair had had never been that long. Tsumugi adding flourish, no doubt. “...Kimiko, why the pipe?”

“It’s a hookah pipe~ like the one in Mister Kaito’s shrine,” Kimiko explained.

“Right, but, I don’t think Shuichi’s ever used that pipe,” Maki pointed out.

Kimiko sighed, taking a long, lingering blow against the pipe, a few more bubbles floating out. “...I don’t judge.”

…what did that mean?

Deciding to just let it go, Maki nodded approvingly. “The outfits are cute. The boys are going to have a conniption over it. Good job. Now, I have a task for you. I believe Kokichi’s speaking near the end of this. I need all three of you to get as far to the front of the crowd as you can, and make sure he sees you when he does.”

“So he knows he’s safe and we’re looking out for him?” Timothy asked, straightening up with purpose.

“...yes,” Maki said, “That’s why. Now, go.”

“On it!” the kids said, climbing and hopping down the tree, hurrying to run through the crowd. 

“Think he’ll be able to keep it together through his speech?” Maki asked Elia, settling in for the show.

And poor Kaito, Cali would win. The sheer passion she’d put into it would diminish his polished moves. And thus the baby assassins would be safe from a full day of picture-taking. 

Snorting a little at Kimiko’s new canon--Shuuichi would get a kick out of the fancy clothes, even if it wasn’t his exact aesthetic--Elia grinned a little wider as she caught on to Maki’s plan. All of the boys would, as Maki said, have conniptions…but while Kokichi was speaking to a crowd?

Laughing, Elia softly kissed Maki’s cheek as they settled back into the tree. “Mean~ I predict that our dear prince is going to be laughing just as much as his outfit suggests. This’ll be fun to watch.”

As Aiichi--dressed in traditional fall regalia--finished the relay of the day’s programming, Kokichi stepped up, giving a few waves at the hoots he got. Starting a brief speech about the spirit of Harvest, and wishing everyone enjoy it…

Kokichi’s eyes widening, his grin going from a pleased, but calm thing, to almost a little manic as he held in a snort, his voice squeaked a few times from his effort in holding in laughter. Culminating in a delighted, chortle-filled, “Happy Harvest!” to an amused and excited crowd. 

Though Kokichi barely hesitated getting off the stage, hopping excitedly in front of the kids, an unrestrained “!!!!!!” taking over his ability to speak for a moment. “Look at you!!!”

The three kids excitedly greeted him, before Cali went into her speech again, all three of them posing as they had before. Then they explained Chase’s costume, showing off the sewn together face masks. 

“Bia’s coming with a super cool costume too~” Kimiko hinted, mischievously trying to be coy about it.

“She’s coming as a princess!!” Cali shouted, hopping at her heels, her armor clanging against itself a bit. 

“Cali.” Kimiko pouted. “Intrigue.”

“...a myysteeerious princess?” Cali tried, shrugging helplessly. 

“Mom’s hiding in a nearby tree,” Timothy said, glancing over his shoulder, “Miss Elia’s with her. Should we go back to them, or come with you?”

“Why aren't Kaito and Shuichi and the princess here?” Cali asked, looking flabbergasted, “I thought for sure we could show off to all of you at once.”

Kokichi could barely contain himself, clapping after Cali’s speech and praising the kids’ poses, cooing at the ingenious plan of Chase’s collar (though, uh, maybe he’d get Haneda a new mask as a gift…), and lighting up as he heard that their friend was joining in on the theming too. “Oh, I can’t wait to see--you all look fantastic! This was such a creative idea and you pulled it off perfectly!”

Looking over to where Tim glanced, Kokichi smiled a bit--so she had come early after all--before giving the kids a nod. “You guys can hang out with me for a bit, if you want. I haven’t had breakfast yet, beyond something quick I grabbed from the kitchen pantry, so I was going to raid some of the banquet tables.” He gave the kids a wink.

“Kai-chan and Shuu-chan should be here soon with Mi-Mi,” Kokichi nodded, part of the reason he suggested the kids stay with him…another part being Maki could spend a little more time with Elia before things really kicked off. “They were taking a slow morning, getting ready--this is Mi-Mi’s first festival, after all, so we want to try and give her a good first impression.”

Snickering a bit, she gave the kids a grin. “She’s gonna get jealous when Kai-chan’s attention is completely stolen, seeing your costumes, though. Her pumpkin outfit is adorable, but you guys are stealing the show so far.”

Cali huffed, squaring her shoulders and crossing her arms, her cape fluttering behind her dramatically. “It’s alright, I’ll take young Miyako as another sidekick! She’s the babiest baby assassin! She’s the… Royal Pumpkin!”

Timothy and Kimiko glanced at each other, before shrugging. Smallest baby assassin. Got it. 

Meanwhile, as the kids followed Kokichi to go scavenge for food, Miyako looked up curiously at her father, who was adjusting her more comfortably into her little pumpkin holster, while Kaito looked around above Shuichi’s head. “Okay, I think it’s this way. It was this way last year, right?”

“It was,” Shuichi agreed, looking up with some amusement, before reaching up to adjust Kaito’s bandana. “Going blind there, I see? Are you a one-eyed pirate now?”

“Heh, thanks handsome.” Kaito grinned, leaning down to give Shuichi easier access to fix parts of his pirate costume. It had been a last minute idea, but thankfully it was an easy one, just a matter of finding the right fabrics and ripping holes into the right clothes. Kaito had, of course, decided to pick ‘sexy’ over ‘warmth’, and was now wearing a shirt under the torn vest he was using as a pirate top, his golden chain hanging around his neck– it had felt weirdly appropriate. Maybe he had ‘stolen’ it in a plunder!-- and a silk sash tying his torn pants to his waist. He’d likely be freezing at some point, but Shuichi supposed they’d just buy him a jacket somewhere when it got to that point.

When Kokichi and Kaito had nagged Shuichi to pleeeeaaase get a costume, Shuichi had sighed, gone to Nadya, and both of his husbands had been flummoxed to see him come back with a baseball uniform. It fit… surprisingly well. Kaito had wanted Shuichi to walk around in it for… a while.

Miyako wiggled happily, looking up at her father… before she craned her neck back and glanced up at Kaito again, who, hopefully, grinned down at her.

…her eyes watered a little. Lower lip jutting out. 

“No, noooo, it’s me, it’s Dad!” Kaito assured for the hundredth time now, his heart breaking all over again as he cooed out, “Miyaaaaaa~ Miyaaaaakooooo~”

Miyako’s expression cleared up again after that, Atua be pleased. It turned out, their daughter, visually, couldn’t quite recognize Kaito yet, sort of knowing it was him but with something being ‘wrong’ with him, since the haircut. Kaito had found he cleared up any confusion doing his sing-song voice for her, but seeing her confused hurt every time she glanced at him was beating Kaito up more than he ever expected it would. Ow. His heart. Maybe he should try spiking up the tuft of hair he had left…??

“Alright, let’s go find them…” Shuichi said, leading the way, tapping his baseball bat against his shoulder, blowing out a piece of gum as he adjusted his hat. Kaito happily followed. Damn, that uniform did nice things to an already nice ass…

Though, beautiful asses aside, Kaito gasped when they found Kokichi and the kids, his eyes wide and sparkling as he listened to the spiel, before gushing, “Little baby Maki and Shuichi…”

Then he blinked, and remembering himself, grinned proudly, giving the kids a thumbs up. “Well met, Princess Cali! Your sidekicks look exceptionally competent, truly your kingdom is in good hands with such a powerful assassin and intelligent detective!”

It wasn’t quite the full banquet it would become later in the day, but to his delight, Kokichi had found some pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese centers and a light maple glaze on top--sure, there was the argument that they weren’t really cupcakes without that signature swirl of frosting on top…but Kokichi felt like he’d lose the argument that they were muffins the second his husband spotted what he was eating--and was discussing favorite fall foods with the kids as they ate. But, soon enough, the opening ceremonies really were the perfect time for a slow morning…

Grinning wide, and continually doing little gestures towards the kids like ‘see?!?!’, Kokichi laughed delightedly as his husbands had exactly the sorts of reactions he had been hoping for. Coming over to Shuuichi’s side as Kaito gushed, Kokichi stole a kiss from husband and baby. “Don’t they look great?! If they didn’t fit so well, I’d think the kids had completely raided your closets.”

“Wait, wait a second; HOLD THE PRESSES!!” 

Kokichi looked over in surprise at the shout before, a bit away, a girl came to a stop from her full sprint, and for the last pace, threw herself into a wobbly cartwheel before joining the group. Stumbling to a stop, Bianka grinned widely and did a twirl. “Fashionably late, the Princess of Dicea completes the group!”

Her short blond hair bounced with every movement, the usually straight strands now curled upward around her head. Bianka had seen Prince Kokichi before, obviously, but it was only brainstorming with her friends did she forego the more…uh, cohesive outfits she had usually seen from the heir at festivals. Instead, Bianka was wearing what looked like three different shirts of various sizes, all in different prints and colors, and a pair of drop-crotch pants in a bold pattern…along with a very familiar kerchief that…may or may not have been ‘borrowed’. 

“Bianka, slow down!” Cheri called, jogging up to the group after a moment, giving a sheepishly apologetic look to the group. 

Kokichi’s eyes went wide and his cheeks flushed with surprised delight. 

“Biaaaaa~” Kimiko greeted, happily meeting her friend after her dramatic cartwheel by crashing into her with a full bear hug, entirely trusting her friend to catch her. “It came out so good! I’m glad you were able to get the final touches done in time~”

Timothy looked up at Kaito, making sure to clarify in case his father missed it, “She’s the Dicean Princes–”

“Oh my god baby ‘Kichi,” Kaito whispered, eyes back to swimming and sparkling again. 

Cali grinned, giving Bianka a hug after Kimiko was done, before theatrically greeting with her hands on her hips, “Now the squad’s all together! You ready to get all the candy, babe!?”

“...” Kaito twitched. Half keeling over with how cute that was, and half, like, a little weirded out. Oof. Awwww. Oof. “Your costume looks great, Bianka! Really captures his grace’s likeness! Very accurately,” Kaito said, wincing at all the patterns, before giving Cheri a polite nod. He knew her only through the familiarity of Bianka joining the friendgroup, and thus her guardians needing consulting every now and again for some group trip or sleepover or what have you, but he had yet to really get to know her in any way.

There was a small little whine on Kaito’s chest, and he looked down. Big, wet golden eyes looking back up at him. “Oh, no, Miiiiyaaaaaa~ Miyaaaakoooo~”

“W’eh!” Miyako whined, fed up with the horrible mind games, Red! Before reaching out urgently to Kokichi, whining and grasping for him. “Y’eh!”

Kaito was not gonna cry. H-his baby fussed to get out of his husbands’ arms to get into his all the time! This was even trade for all the times Miyako had rejected them to hang out with him! …like… like almost every other time… w’eeeeeeeeeh, “‘Kichi, sh-she wants her daddy,” Kaito blubbered, looking entirely defeated.

Bianka hugged her friends back with vigor, though judging by the whinnies in her laughs, it wasn’t all just from delight. “I told you I’d nail my part! Thankfully Nela and her friends wanted to go shopping too, so I didn’t have to make Dad cave to go thrifting with me. Cheri did my hair and makeup too--isn’t it stunning?!” It wasn’t anything too fancy, but the extra rosy cheeks and subtle eyeliner did give Bianka some extra cherubic features to work with. 

And Bianka took to them whole-heartedly as she linked her arm with Cali’s. “With my Luminaries, no one stands a chance! We’ll fill our bags to the brim, hun!”

Kokichi couldn’t hold back a snort, but his expression softened at a familiar whine. “Aw, come here, Miya, I know, it’s hard giving up being the center of attention…” Taking his daughter, Kokichi started to gently bounce her, rubbing her back as he gave Kaito a soft look. Miyako wasn’t the only teary one. “It’s probably just the costume, Kai-chan. Everything looks strange to a little Miya. She’ll be happy for Dad time once she gets more used to things.”

Catching her breath and fondly watching the kids, Cheri gave nods in return to Kaito and Kokichi, before giving Shuuichi a more personal greeting. “Happy Harvest, Shuuichi. I like the baseball costume--I’m guessing you talked to Nadya about it?”

“She’s the one that got me the uniform,” Shuichi explained, tapping the baseball bat against his shoulder and blowing another bubble. For someone who had never seen a baseball game in his life, Shuichi was enjoying the idle fun of just sorta carrying around a baseball bat casually, using it as a prop to display a sense of powerful ease. It reminded him of street gangs in Luminary, who’d walk around with weapons the same way.

Shuichi was, maybe, low key really just making a costume of Luminary street thugs more than anything. He had just really wanted an excuse to walk around with a club. He kept feeling Kaito’s eyes on him when he playfully swung the bat around, and it made Shuichi feel a little sexy and powerful in a nice, subdued way. He was happy with his choice.

“You have Bianka duty today?” Shuichi asked, gesturing to the kids, who all seemed to be working on some sort of dramatic group pose to fall into, “Would you like to walk with us then? We can also watch Bianka if you were hoping to meet up with someone but she wanted to stay with them. We’re already watching Cali and Kimiko tonight too, it won’t put us out.”

Kaito pathetically waved at Miyako, who was now cooing happily in Kokichi’s arms, snuggling up to him contently. “M-maybe Miya’s a clown kid? My pirate costume isn’t scary, is it? Miyaaaa~?”

Miyako glanced up at Kaito, looking curiously at him as he got closer and waved… before her lower lip jutted out again. Looking away with a little offended huff, clinging onto Kokichi. “Maybe I should just go get the gel,” Kaito whimpered tearily.

“Don’t let our daughter bully you, Kaito,” Shuichi called over his shoulder, purely amused. Kaito had been enjoying ‘favorite’ privileges for months now. Let him fight for little baby attention for the few days it’d take Miyako to get used to the new haircut, it’d keep his husband humble.

“Ah, full accuracy, then,” Cheri softly laughed, “And it seems to suit you well. I wouldn’t be surprised if you got a few double-takes today from people thinking you were a player just wearing your own uniform.” Cheri wasn’t really wearing a costume of her own, having spent most of the morning helping with Bianka’s hair and makeup, but that wasn’t to say she hadn’t dressed up for Harvest. She was wearing a black mini-dress over maroon leggings, tucked into black riding boots, though the star of the show was a pink leather jacket with a…provocatively posed winged woman holding and surrounded by cannonballs. She was wearing a simple black headband, though it looked like Bianka convinced her to try out the Kokichi style on herself a bit, and her usually tidy blond hair was curled outward a bit, though not to the extent of Bianka’s. 

“I am, yes,” Cheri looked over, smiling fondly at the kids, “At least for the morning. Nela wanted to spend the day with her friends, so I thought I’d give Dad a break. If you all wouldn’t mind another tag-along? I’d love to join you, though I think we’ll be meeting back up with our family later.” She smirked a little at her sister. “If the princess can be convinced to leave her wives and brother.”

Kokichi smiled and let out a small sigh of relief, glad to have averted a tantrum so early. It was more of an experiment to bring Miyako along to the festival but…well, he really was hoping she’d be okay with all the people. She’d been doing so well lately. 

Though there was a new adjustment period with Dad. 

“I hope she’s a clown kid… It’d break my heart if she grew up scared of clowns,” Kokichi sighed, still gently rubbing Miyako’s back as she turned away from Kaito. “It’ll be okay, Kai-chan… Oh, that reminds me… I’m sure they’ll be fine going around the festival on their own, but did you guys see the boys when you left? They are pretty early risers for teenagers, and I was hoping to catch them at some point to see how their outfits came out.”

Kaito huffed, looking a little exasperated at the mention of the boys. “They weren’t in their room when I went to go check, and eventually I found out from the gate guard that they left at sunrise. I asked Firenze to check on them, which is why he’s… probably?” Kaito said, looking around, “Not here? My guess is they went to check out the dog park before things started. Heard apparently there’s a tradition of dog costumes there in the morning from Arven, and I know they made a costume for Chief.”

Timothy glanced over his shoulder, eyes sparkling a little. Costume dog park?? Why did he always find out about the cool things after they happened? 

“Don’t worry, we’ll hunt them down soon,” Kaito said, glancing around like he might spot them in the crowd, “The second I spot them, they’re getting dragged along with us. Not missing out on Harvest family stuff on my watch.”

“Kaito, we didn’t get you a bodyguard just so you could outsource your stalking habits.” Shuichi sighed, looking around… before his face lit up a little. Waving. “Maki’s coming.”

Kokichi shook his head a little. He knew and accepted that his own sleeping habits as a teen were pretty odd and thus shouldn’t be counted as an outlier…but everything he knew told him that teens liked to sleep late! That was why even the early block of high school classes started relatively late, compared to the ones for primary and middle school. And yet, most mornings Kokichi heard that the boys had been up for hours by the time he’d gotten himself ready. It was wild. 

“Aw, that sounds super cute~” he gushed anyway. “I hope we get to see Chief’s costume too, then. And I know they’ve been wanting to spend time at the dog park anyway--it might be a good place to check if we don’t end up seeing them. That or the haunted house.”

Kokichi didn’t necessarily want to rope Arven and Doppio into their Harvest procession, but he did want to check in at some point during the day. Hear what the boys were up to, if they were enjoying themselves, if they needed anything… It was something of a relief to hear that Kaito had asked Firenze to keep an eye on them, since they were staying in a big group with Nazumi anyway. It had been long enough that Kokichi didn’t think Doppio and Arven were in danger of some Passione member seeking them out, and holidays were busy enough that any kind of secret attack would be difficult, but…it did still worry him a bit. 

But…things would be alright. And there was plenty of Harvest left to enjoy. 

Looking over, Kokichi grinned, gently waving Miyako’s hand at Maki and Elia as they approached the group. “Maki-chan, Elia! Happy Harvest!”

“Happy Harvest, Kokichi,” Elia greeted back, before smirking a little. “I liked your speech this year, very wholesome.”

“The look on your face was worth being up this early for,” Maki said, sticking out her tongue– like she wouldn’t have been up anyway– at Kokichi, before glancing over at Bianka in amusement. Rather than commenting on it though, she turned to Kaito. “You’re going to get cold.”

“I feel fine.” Kaito shrugged, his chest popping lightly out from the confines of the vest a bit when he did. Kaito adjusted the vest to lay more flatly over them. He did feel a little cold, so the small bit of covering did help.

“It’s only going to get colder this evening. Aren’t we supposed to be out late today? Or did you all decide to go the boring parent route and go to bed at nine today?” Maki asked.

“You’re a parent too, ya know,” Shuichi pointed out.

“Timothy and the girls don’t need me to hover at the castle,” Maki said.

“Can we stay out late too!?” Cali asked, suddenly looking excited.

“If ‘out’ is ‘in the castle’, then yes,” Maki said dryly.

“Nooo, boo~” Kimiko whined, before something almost sinister ran through her smile, “I heard things get scary at Harvest, the later it is~”

“You do know that you three always end up falling asleep at eleven anyway, right? When you sleep over?” Kaito told them, raising an eyebrow at the sheer look of disbelief the kids met him with on this. “I check in on you and you’re always conked out by then. You’ve never stayed up till midnight, and midnight is when it only starts to be ‘late’. You’re gonna wanna be back at the castle anyway, is what I’m saying.”

“That can’t be right.” Timothy frowned. “We’ve come close to sunrise a few times, I’m certain.”

“Not a chance. You all were having sleepovers before I started taking my pills. I was checking on you constantly. You kids pass out at eleven,” Kaito told them plainly.

As the 10-year-olds grappled with this horrifying news– no way. It had to be later than that. They stayed up all night!!-- Kaito looked over Elia, before grinning brightly. “Dig the look! The outfit’s new, isn’t it? I’m sure I haven’t seen this one. Maki, Shuichi, you guys should consider the goth look! It’s so pretty~” Kaito gushed, looking fondly over Elia’s accessories.

Kokichi snorted a bit, just looking more amused. Unsurprising, but that confirmed they’d seen the kids beforehand…and had probably sent them over to him. Well! That suited him just fine! It had been an absolute delight--and still was. Every time Kokichi looked over to the kids, he was filled with joy. 

(Probably something that made him more of a comfort to Miyako right then. Something happy and familiar to bask in, while things everywhere else were hectic.)

As the kids protested going to the castle early, Bianka nodded emphatically with Kimiko. “I heard they save the really scary stories for late! And tests of courage at real haunted houses!” Puffing herself up a bit, she amended, “Of course, ghosts aren’t real-real, it’s just people freaking themselves out. Ghost sightings are always superstition and clout-chasing, if you look into it.”

“But there’s actually real danger in old houses, so we still don’t stay the night to write an exposé, right?” Cheri carefully reminded her sister, who just blew out a bit of air, but still nodded. Ooo, those fake ghosts were lucky! Just wait until she was old enough to do investigative journalism behind enemy lines!

Grinning at Kaito’s compliment, Elia gave him an appreciative nod, as did a slow turn around, showing off the outfit. “It’s mostly new accessories, but thank you! It’s always fun seeing what seasonal items even pop-culture stores put out at this time of year. Harvest turns out to be the goth’s banquet too.”

Shuichi and Maki both glanced at each other– while certainly part of this was just Kaito being nice, both of them had also watched Kaito’s longest relationship be with a blatant, full time goth– before Shuichi wrapped his arms around Kaito’s bicep and Maki put her hand around Elia’s waist respectively. “Yes, she looks good. Though, I think the tall boots might throw off my parkour skills a bit,” Maki said, taking Elia’s hand and kissing the back of it, “But Elia practically floats in them.”

“I wouldn’t know what to do with all the accessories.” Shuichi shrugged, resting his head against Kaito’s shoulder. “Elia makes them work, but they’re not really my style anyway.”

Kaito gave them both a mildly amused look, before looking around. “Alright, we have food here! Anyone want to eat a little breakfast as we go? Kids, have you all eaten something?”

“We had muffins!” Cali called back, the four of them letting Bianka oooh and gush over Chase’s costume.

Kaito raised an eyebrow, looking over the banquet. “I don’t see muffins?”

“There is a learning curve to them,” Elia laughed softly, giving Maki a fond look at the hand kiss, and leaning into her hold around her waist. “But I think you’d pick it up quickly. I have a feeling you could figure out some very creative uses for the extra mass.”

Sweating a little, Kokichi came to Kaito’s other arm and started turning him away from the banquet tables. “There were some muffins with cream cheese, it looks like they’re going fast, though. Hey, I know it’s kind of what we did last year, but do you wanna check out the game stalls? We can see what prizes they have before they’re all out.”

“Oh, oh! I can win fish for my aquarium!” Kaito said excitedly, entirely forgetting food as he happily allowed himself to be steered, “And come on, we did all of this last year too. I’m kinda hoping we do everything we did last year again. It’s been a whole year, after all. Let’s just have fun with it~”

Looking over his shoulder, Kaito called out, “Alright, come on! Game time, keep up! I want everyone sticking together, got it? Let’s go!”

-

“I still think Chief’s costume was the best.” Arven huffed, adjusting his red baseball hat, his fingerless gloves catching on the fabric a bit. “...though admittedly the dog dressed as a cat was weirdly convincing. I mean, I really thought she was a cat, for a second there.”

“I’m still not sure,” Doppio said conspiratorially, “I really think there’s a chance that she’s just a cat that can bark. Chief was totally the best…though…maybe a pink wrestling stuffed bear is a little too high minded. They’ll think back on it in a year or two and weep for what they missed out on. Ahead of your time, buddy,” Doppio lamented, ruffling the white tufts on Chief’s hood. 

Loosening his scarf a little, Doppio looked around, humming. “...what do you want to do now? I think opening ceremonies should be over, so it might be less crowded by the castle… I’m…not sure what peak times for the haunted house would be--do you know?”

“They don’t know an adorable, effective tower piece when they see him,” Arven agreed, lamenting people’s lack of essential lore knowledge to the chess hybrid game that he and Doppio made up like three days ago.

Chief was not entirely sure why he was dressed up, but it was comfy and he was On Board with it. The cat at the park seemed to like it too.

Arven hummed a bit, “We have all day for the haunted house, so there’s no real hurry. Mmmmm… how about we find a list of events somewhere? See if anything calls to us?” Arven offered, glancing around, “Festivals usually keep pamphlet stands around with info. Also, I could use a coffee. Let’s find a pamphlet while grabbing some drinks.”

“That sounds good to me. Hmm… I’m not sure if I’d want to dry any seasonal drinks, or if I just want a coffee…honestly I could have one of each and still be good.” 

…it…it wasn’t going back. Pretending things were the same, or…trying to serve his dad. It was just… It was celebrating a holiday, even if Doppio knew that his dad didn’t care. And, well, he liked to think he brightened the days of the few guards who were stuck with monitoring people in holding over the holiday, bringing in a few thermoses of a nice dark blend he’d picked up. And…he knew that his dad was given the same food everyone in the castle had so…asking that the people in holding were given some too wasn’t…so weird, he didn’t think…

It was fine. And Doppio wasn’t going to sabotage himself fretting over it for the whole day. 

Heading over to one of the ‘food stand alleys’, Doppio and Arven picked one out that looked like they had coffee, and while in line they looked at a festival pamphlet. “Oh, wow… Like…festivals always look busy, but…it’s really something else in the capital, huh…” Doppio marveled, not even knowing what to read first from the vast array of events and locations highlighted in the pamphlet.

“Hmmm,” Arven hummed, reading through the pamphlet over Doppio’s shoulder, before pointing at one of the morning events, “I’ve heard that the giant vegetable competition can get pretty impressive. And they’re having it at the apple orchard. We could probably make it just as they’re starting, if you wanted to gawk at some giant carrots and squash?”

It wasn’t necessarily a ‘seasonal’ drink, but Arven got some cinnamon laced coffee, and then a small slice of pumpkin bread with it, sharing it with Doppio. “Or, we could sit down for the picnic play? Though personally I’d rather go look at vegetables than sit through a whole play this early in the morning. I feel like sitting that long will zone me out for the rest of the day.”

“Oooooooh,” Doppio breathed, his eyes going a little starry. “I will absolutely gawk at giant vegetables. I know a lot of the time they taste worse than regular sizes, because a lot of the bulk ends up coming from water…but sometimes they don’t? And you just end up with a lot of incredible stuff that you can eat for a week or more.”

Getting a ‘fall spice’ latte--mostly cinnamon, but Doppio could taste other things in it--Doppio took a long sip before humming. “...the apple orchard…shoot, uh, north of here? That’s…kind of far to walk.” Double checking the time of the ‘event’, though the little synopsis said that the vegetables would be out for quite a few hours even after judging was done, Doppio frowned in concern. “...we’ll have to hustle a bit. You okay with that?”

Arven raised an eyebrow, sipping his coffee. “We’re not gonna walk? We’re gonna take the wagon ride. Those things are one of the reasons people can visit the farms to begin with.”

Arven sighed, suddenly looking soft and nostalgic as he said, “The last time I took a wagon ride to the orchard, I was, I want to say… 12? Maybe 11? And I never made it to the orchard because I fell asleep with Chief in the back of the wagon. I think they let me sleep for two hours, doing the ride back and forth, before someone riding with me finally woke me up. Best nap I ever had.”

Doppio blinked, slowing for a moment before he sped back up to Arven’s side, looking a little astounded. “...right… That’s a thing… People can just…do that.” And it was normal and the people driving the wagons didn’t ask a bunch of questions about what you were carrying. You could just…take a jaunt to the farms out of the city for an hour or two then come right back for lunch. Amazing. 

Blinking out of his marveling, Doppio’s expression softened and he pressed his arm to Arven’s. …honestly, he was a little worried about Arven getting cold, at least at night, but…well, Doppio had prepared his outfit with a jacket, and it was a little big on him, so…it’d fit Arven, if he started looking a little chilly. 

“That sounds sweet…a-and a little scary, admittedly,” Doppio laughed softly. “Think you’re gonna lay back and see if it holds up to the memory?”

“With you?” Arven clarified, looking surprised at the idea. “No way. I wouldn’t want to, uh… miss… well, you know. You know,” Arven said, flushing a little. 

It was a pretty standard perception, that at least for teenagers, wagon rides served an important secondary function. It was less relevant for Doppio and Arven, but for a lot of teenage couples, it was one of the few private places they could kiss their partners without having their family hovering nearby. The wagon rides could be pretty small, depending on what you were looking for, so if you were a begrudging teenager following at the heels of a large family during the events, and someone needed to volunteer to go on the smaller wagons so everyone could fit? Wellllll, the teenagers could ride alone, no, no, it was fiiiine, my boyfriend will come with me, we’ll be right behind you.

Arven heard of wagon kisses basically every year, at school. People bragging about their first kisses, sometimes, taken in the privacy of the wagon back. And while Doppio had a whole different background, Arven still found himself just assuming that Doppio would know about wagon kisses.

Doppio did not, in fact, know about wagon kisses. He did vaguely know the idea of teenagers sneaking off with their partners to mess around, but Doppio had never had a reason to really think about it more than that vague idea until he met Arven. And, adding to the fact that he had very few actual holidays that he’d lived through, and had never taken a wagon ride out to a farm for fun…

Doppio adjusted his hat as he tilted his head to the side. “...you…wouldn’t want to miiiiiss… The view? I guess it’s pretty neat, seeing the transition from the city central to the suburbs and farmland…”

Was Doppio being coy? Doppio wasn’t really the ‘coy’ type, but…

Looking around, Arven leaned in and whispered in Doppio’s ear, “I wouldn’t want to miss getting to kiss you in the back,” before leaning back with a small, embarrassed smile, shrugging. “It’s, ya know… a tradition. I’m not above all traditions. Especially when it’s a ‘get to kiss my boyfriend’ tradition.”

Again, Doppio blinked, though this time he flushed, a small grin playing at his lips as he laughed, flustered. “O-oh… Um…that’s a new tradition to me but…it’s been fun learning about new ones. Um…yeah, I wouldn’t want you to miss this one either.”

Laughing a little more to himself, Doppio looked down as he sipped his coffee. “...I do really like these new traditions. Birthdays ‘n stuff. It’s…fun having yearly stuff to look forward to.”

“We’re still hiking for mine, right?” Arven grinned, looking excited. “I’m really looking forward to it. Honestly, even having been someone with traditions this whole time, I haven’t really looked forward to any of it before you. Even Harvest.”

Arven shrugged, looking around as he said, “Sure, I’d come and do events and stuff, but that was mostly just because it was here, you know? It wasn’t something I looked forward to, it was just something that happened sometimes. But this year?” Arven grinned. “Well, the last week, I guess. I’ve been really looking forward to doing this with you. Look, we got dressed up and everything,” Arven said, gesturing to the three of them. “I never do that. I just wanted to do it with you.”

“Though, next year?” Arven said, “It’s occurred to me it might be fun to go as the Zelda chars? I didn’t think of it this year because we haven’t actually finished the books yet. But you’re really into that story, aren’t you? You think you’d have fun being Link or someone?”

-_-

OoO Arven could be Sheik.

Arven looked up, seeing Amaina hovering above, her little wings fluttering brightly. “Well, fine, but you have to be Navi.” 

OOO I AM ZEEEELDAAAAA!

Doppio nodded excitedly. “The mountains to the south! I have it written down, and…well, I guess you know the way, but I’ve been looking at trail maps ‘n stuff to prepare. Oh…I did want to ask you, though, about the crab and asparagus meal you wanted? I could cook ahead of time and just pack the food up really well, since I think everything would still be good cold… But, alternatively, would you wanna plan to be back here for dinner? Or…do a special meal another day?”

Doppio gave Arven an adoring look. “I wouldn’t mind at all extending birthday celebrations a few days, honestly. I doubt my appreciation of you could fit in one day anyway.”

Really…Doppio wanted to show his gratitude for Arven every day, not just on the day dedicated to expressing it. He could imagine trying to do all the special things about holidays and traditions himself but…doing them with Arven made it feel so much more special. So…Doppio was happy that he could make them more special for Arven in return. 

Laughing softly, Doppio glanced down, checking on Phanpy peeking out of his bag with a small, bashful shrug, flushing as he remembered Amaina’s…uh…preview. Of what those costumes might look like. “I-I mean…I’d probably elect to wear pants under the tunic at least but…yeah. I think that’d be fun.”

Glancing up at Amaina, Doppio grinned. “Being Navi’s too regular for you, huh? I think you’d be a good princess, Angelo. You have the ‘wisdom’ thing down already.”

-o- it is tough, being soooo wise

“I’m surprised you don’t want to be Ganondorf,” Arven admitted, “Isn’t he the ‘power’ one?”

O,O

@.@ 

OOO I AM GANONDORF

“Hah, that was all it took, huh–”

OoO But if Ganondorf was raised as the Hyrule princess.

OOO PRINCESS GANONDORF ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE

OuO That way I kept to keep the pretty pink dress

“...alright.” Arven shrugged. “Sounds good to me.”

Turning to Doppio, Arven grinned. “Awww, you’re too sweet sometimes. My thoughts were were we could do the hike earlier in the day and be back for dinner, but admittedly, it’d be a shame to miss the sunset up there. It’s a great view. We could do dinner the day after? If you’re sure it’s not too greedy to want to make my birthday a birthday weekend?”

…

…all Doppio could picture was Kaito but with a full beard, in an elaborate pink dress…that was basically just a pink version of one of Dr. Mariah’s dresses. But then…small, like Amaina. 

…that was certainly a look. 

Doppio nodded a bit. “The way you described it, the view is going to be perpetually amazing…but sunrise and sunset really just bring out something magical in the air… Though, uh, mostly, I’d just want us to be able to take our time and enjoy the hike, rather than get worried about missing out on anything.”

Smiling adoringly, Doppio put an arm around Arven’s waist and kissed his cheek. “I’d want to make it a birthday month, if I could think of enough ways to celebrate you. But…making that whole weekend just about you sounds perfect.”

Arven turned bright red, leaning away from Doppio a bit, mostly just to tip him over his waist and have his feet hover briefly in the air. “You’re something else, sometimes,” Arven said bashfully, “But I wouldn’t want that much attention. I just like being with you, I don’t need anything else… except for the hike,” Arven grinned, “And those crabs. I bet you’ll make amazing crabs.”

O෴O I’m going to have pony rides at my birthday

“...Amaina, I recognize the Zelda dress, but why the beard?” Arven asked.

O෴O I have to be a good example to the upgrade

Doppio squeaked a little, his eyes widening as his feet left the ground, though he could only giggle and hide his face in Arven’s shoulder once he returned to stability. Gosh, and Arven said he was something else… “I’ll do my best, then. Stake out the market for the perfect crabs.” They were just into the start of crab season and…snow crabs were usually the best in fall… They were also huge, so depending on how hungry Arven was, they potentially would only have one. 

Doppio blinked out of his planning reverie, smiling a bit at Amaina’s costume before he grinned earnestly up at her. “When is your birthday, Angioletto? I don’t think I’ve asked… And if Kaito’s whining this much about his baby not recognizing him after a haircut,” Doppio rolled his eyes, “I think it’d be a while before he’d consider growing a beard.”

O෴O It’s a M Y S T E R Y

“To you?” Arven asked, raising an eyebrow.

o෴o maybe i don’t know THAT’S PART OF THE SECRET

“Yeah, I’ve never seen a grown man sniffle for seriously an hour straight before,” Arven huffed, thinking of dinner last night, “He made his bread rolls soggy, and still ate them. That was a lot. He doesn’t even look that different, I bet half the reason she keeps hitting him when he holds her is because she’s annoyed at being cried all over.”

Arven idly looked around the festival. He and Doppio had become pretty comfortable just talking to Amaina out loud in public– it was honestly pretty amazing, how little people seemed to care what two teenagers talking nonsense to each other might be talking about– but it made him wonder… “You guys ever wonder if around us other people are having conversations with invisible people? I wonder how common that is?”

O෴O I am not invisible I’m right here!!

Q෴Q don’t ignore meeeeeee

“I mean invisible to everyone else,” Arven said, “I just wonder how many people around us have similar secrets, I guess. I mean, Kaito of all people knew all about this stuff, and he’s the last person I would have guessed. He’s too normal for that stuff.”

O෴o …we talking about the same dungeon prisoner???

“He’s weird in a normal kind of way,” Arven clarified, “He’s just an endlessly stressed out dad, I’ve met a lot of people just like him through my travels. Well, less crazy, but still basically him. Stressed, nice, overearnest, kind of desperate to be cool. Not someone who… what did Maki call it? Takes care of magic people? Like that’s his whole thing? He did not give that vibe. So I’m curious who else I might have missed.”

“Well…” Doppio drew out, thinking, “If you ever want to delve into that secret? I don’t see why you can’t just choose a birthday. I know you did look into the general time, but…that’s what I did. I don’t see why a birthday has to be on the specific day you were born--celebrating it another time doesn’t mean it’s any less special or significant that you are alive.”

Grimacing a bit at the reminder of dinner last night--those soggy rolls had pushed him close to a horking situation--Doppio shook his head at Kaito Silliness before giving Arven a curious look. Before letting his gaze drift up, considering it. “Well…I do get the impression that it’s all supposed to be a secret, so if we can’t even guess…then people are doing well keeping that secret. And plenty of people talk to themselves, so…even if they’re not like us, and look like they’re having a two-person conversation when it’s actually three, people aren’t really going to think it’s that weird.”

Nell, a castle healer was magic…there was just a whole magic store in town, and another one with an entirely different aesthetic…there was a magic mind cat. 

“It’s probably not that rare, right?” Doppio shrugged. “Like…probably not a majority, since I don’t know why it’d be secret then, but not just a handful of people in any given place.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s a pretty safe guess, by this point,” Arven said, idly taking Doppio’s hand as they walked.

The festival was starting to get into its rhythm, people herding in more and more as the morning light warmed the chilly air. Small, crisscrossing hanging lights hung above the path they were on, and on those lights birds were starting to chill out, looking down at the gathering crowd with calculating eyes. The air smelled heavy with warm pumpkin and cinnamon, though that could just be because of the coffee he and Doppio held in their hands. A few kids had found Chief fascinating, and there was a small train of ghosts, goblins, and ghouls– as well as red dogs, a unicorn, and for some reason a small but surprisingly realistic grandfather clock– all forming behind Chief, oohing and ahhhing over the doggy costume, which Chief took in good stride. 

Arven glanced over his shoulder, chuckling a little at the awed little faces. But keeping his voice lower now, as he said, “It’s pretty exciting, that the prince is one of them. I’ll admit, it makes me feel better about how things might work out for you, Aceto. It’s good that our leaders already have a reason to want to protect cool magic people like you. With Prince Kokichi in charge, you’re not going to get left behind, you know?”

Doppio grinned as he noticed their--or, more correctly, Chief’s--entourage. At least some people knew a good costume when they saw it. And…it was cute, seeing younger kids’ costumes. Whether it was just a pair of ears and colored clothing, or something fabricated from the ground up… They all looked like they were having fun. 

Squeezing Arven’s hand a little, Doppio’s gaze softened as he nodded. “There’s nothing in national law, but…apparently there are a lot of established practices to help out people like me. Understood things about…” Doppio glanced around a little bashfully, “...circumventing the law a little, to get people what they need. People who’re in the right places to do those things.”

“...but it’s comforting knowing that Prince Kokichi knows too.” He nodded. “It…makes all of that feel less risky? Or like…maybe one day people won’t have to have a shadow network like that to be safe. I have no idea how he’d explain it, but…I don’t think it’s impossible.”

“Maybe he’ll just announce it at a Harvest festival one day,” Arven smirked, “And wait to see how people react, and if it’s bad, go, ‘oh sike Harvest joke, go back to living in your totally normal bubbles’.” Arven suddenly laughed, “Or, or, he’d announce it at the Harvest festival, the entire crowd would look back and go… yeah? We know? Did you not know??”

“I don’t know, I guess a part of me thinks waaaaay more people than we’d expect would know.” Arven shrugged. “Or are like me and when they find out, would be like, oh, yeah, I guess I did kind of know that already. What else do you call herbs that shake off death but ‘magic’? Maybe a bunch of people would have a moment like that. Like, oh yeah, so and so told me they were a psychic, I guess I kind of already knew psychics existed. Or, wow, I guess that would explain all of cousin Eddie’s werewolf tendencies, like howling at the moon and getting randomly hairy once a month under the full moon… oh, huh,” Arven tilted his head, “Do you think werewolves actually exist?”

O෴O I think you’re a werewolf, dog-boy.

“Hah hah, very funny, fairy,” Arven said, rolling his eye.

Doppio snorted softly, shaking his head. Wouldn’t that be something… Just an announcement at a festival. “It’d be wild if it could just be that…casual and work out. I mean…I guess no one I talked to was really all that surprised… It was mostly me. But…”

Doppio tilted his head as they came to what seemed to be a wagon depot, people getting on and off wagons and…okay, that sign said to the Kiginko Orchard, that was the apple one, he was pretty sure… “...Well, people are surprised by the limits of science all the time, right? Like trains still sound pretty impossible to me, but…Kaito’s seen the logistics of it. And…last year, being able to talk to someone miles away sounded impossible too. I think people would be pretty willing to accept magic things since they’ve accepted all that stuff.”

And, while he had literally no real basis to think this…Doppio did get the feeling that it was probably close that most people either knew someone involved with magic, or knew someone through someone. The degrees of separation probably weren’t that big…and when the new, inexplicable thing was about someone you cared about? It was a little easier to push the knee-jerk fear away and learn and listen. 

Snorting a little, Doppio squeezed Arven’s hand. “We’ve been together through a full moon so…I think I’d notice something like that.”

“Mmmhm.” Arven laughed, squeezing back… though, admittedly, he had gotten a little caught up, seeing the wagons. 

…why was he feeling shy? He and Doppio literally made out all the time. It wouldn’t even be their first time making out that day. Yet he was feeling bashful??

“Kaito talks about trains like they’re going to pop up any day and send us all to the moon,” Arven said, huffing a bit. “He’s way too into trains. Something like that isn’t going to happen for decades, at best,” said Arven, the apparent train-expert.

Arven walked up to the lines for the wagons and put up two fingers among the crowd. That was to show it was two people planning to ride. The coordinator nodded, looked at some of the upcoming wagons, before pointing Arven and Doppio towards the farther wagon out, which was dropping two teenage girls off back here. The teenage girls were giggling, looking very pleased with each other, and that just made Arven feel more shy and bashful. 

Arven headed over to the wagon, offering Doppio an arm to let him in first. 

Doppio nodded with a small sigh. “Even just the infrastructure is going to take years on its own… Iron mining and steel production, the permits and trade probably getting it from Luminary, prototyping and small scale safety tests for design, actually putting the rails in, building stations, and not to mention building the trains themselves… Just getting to that point is going to take a long time, and we’re still in the theory stage of getting them to work, he’s said.”

“But I do get his excitement,” Doppio said softly. “Even if it’s not something in our lifetime…could you imagine being able to cross the continent in a matter of days? Just…how much trains would be able to transport anywhere? Exporting fresh goods would actually be possible… When they get working, they’re going to change the world. I get why he’s pumped for that.”

…it wasn’t going to be his dad changing the world…

…and that was probably for the better. 

Perking up as they were directed to a wagon, Doppio gave Arven a grateful smile and stepped up into the wagon. Nothing all that remarkable, Doppio had ridden on a bunch of product wagons like this before…but he did think it was a nice touch that they’d put a blanket over a bed of hay to make it more comfortable. Turning on his knees, he offered his hands to help Arven up as well. “You ready?”

Arven nodded, taking the hand, forcing confidence in his voice. “Yep!”

The wagon started to roll, a horse whinnying lightly as it started to pull the wagon away from the crowd. Arven watched the crowd get more and more distant, lightly petting Chief’s head, who had hopped in afterwards and was happily panting on some of the hay, chilled out for the ride.

It was a sunny day. It was nice out. The scent in the air now the smell of tall grass and distant trees, and, well… Doppio. That sunshine smell wafting off of him with every small spin of wind swirling in and out of the wagon. Arven still loved that smell. That heated skin.

Arven leaned in and sniffed Doppio’s neck. Mmmmm.

When he traveled with his dad, Doppio wasn’t allowed to look outside, except if he was the one driving. There simply weren’t people-safe carriages that didn’t have windows, but the curtains were to remain closed at all times. When he traveled alone?

…Doppio always loved watching the scenery. While it was all just…arrangements of fields or trees or…other similar types of land he didn’t know how to quantify…it all looked so different, every place. Every view was something new. And…it was all beautiful. 

Of course, there was a beautiful view right next to him too. 

Doppio glanced over, amusedly smiling as Arven pressed into his neck, and he put an arm around his boyfriend’s waist. He’d just learned there was a certain expectation to these rides, but…he liked this. Just being close. So he just leaned into Arven, holding him and placing a barely-there kiss on top of his head. 

Arven smiled into Doppio’s neck, enjoying that little kiss to his forehead. Wrapping his arms around Doppio’s shoulders, Arven took another deep breath in. Letting Doppio’s scent wash over him. Burning sunshine… “I wonder why you smell like this?” Arven asked, placing a small kiss against Doppio’s neck, “Everyone else I’ve ever smelt like this was on a long trail or a beach all day. You? It’s just all of the time. It’s dizzying, sometimes. I always know where you are in a room.”

Doppio closed his eyes, letting out a little sigh at the kiss to his neck. Relaxing more against Arven and…focusing just on him. Which was pretty easy to do, honestly--Arven was someone Doppio always wanted to devote his attention towards. 

Letting out a small, bashful laugh, Doppio shrugged shallowly. “I have no idea--it’s not something I’ve really noticed about myself… A-and, I mean…I like the way you smell, but…it’s something I only really notice when we’re right by each other, or I have something of yours. I think you might just have a more sensitive nose than me…”

Huffing a small laugh, Doppio nuzzled his cheek against Arven’s head softly. “...if it’s that present, then I’m glad it’s something you like. I’d be spending almost every day solely in the shower if I stunk or something.”

Arven laughed a little, holding Doppio tighter. “I doubt we’d have gotten as close as we did as fast as we did if either of us stunk to each other. I’ve always liked how you smell. It’s a huge plus to being with you.”

“Alongside just dating someone who’s so cool,” Arven said, placing another little kiss against Doppio’s neck– it allowed him to get closer to the smell, which was nice– before grinning. “And smart. You’re so good at math. You can do advanced calculation in your head, which is basically the most magical thing about you. You’re, just…” Arven blushed a little, “Really pretty. And surprisingly strong! I’m sorry, it’s so mean to call it ‘surprising’, I just never saw it coming. Cause you’re also really cute in your sweaters that cover you all up.”

Looking up at Doppio, Arven smiled. “You’re also really sweet. I get a little defensive, when I take you out, sometimes. It seems really obvious to me that everyone and anyone would fall in love with you. It makes me protective.”

“True,” Doppio snorted. “Even being sick and hiking all day, you still just smelled like…sage? And pine needles? Just, like…fresh and naturey… You always smell nice, it’s baffling, and I get kinda worried ‘cause I sweat a lot so I always wanted to shower again before bed to not…yanno. Smell bad around you.”

It’d felt like they were on equal footing talking about smell, but…as Arven kissed at his neck more and said such…such, uh, things… Doppio scrunched his eyes shut tight as he turned bright red, his arm around Arven’s waist a little more clingy than holding. “A-Arven, you can’t just… Warn a guy, gosh…”

Half-hiding his tomato face with his free hand, Doppio peeked out from between his fingers. “That’s not fair… You’re the coolest, so saying that stuff about me…it’s too much.” Huffing, he continued, “‘Cause you’re really smart, a-and dedicated--you just…decide to do things, and you do them! Nothing can stop you, and if you need more information to get it done, you learn it. But you’re not…like, bullheaded about it, you don’t rush in without a plan. And…every time you come back after working out, I-I feel bad about staring, but…your muscles are really flexed, and you take such good care of yourself, and not just yourself! But Chief too, and it’s to the point where other people admire that love and want to copy it and…maro, you’re so hot. I just…can’t believe it sometimes.”

Shaking his head a little, Doppio hid more behind his hand. “People are always throwing themselves at you…even if it’s just to be your friend. It makes me happy, ‘cause that should happen, because you’re amazing…but I get a little jealous too, sometimes.”

Arven laughed, peeking around Doppio’s fingers, trying to catch his eyes again as Doppio hid and squirmed. Cute. And while Doppio went and said all of those lovely things, Arven tried to pry Doppio’s fingers off his face one by one, laughing every time Doppio firmly put his hand right back into place.

His laughter devolving into straight on giggles, Arven decided to place little kisses in between Doppio’s fingers, before smirking at him. “Do you? I think you might just be seeing what you want to see, if you think people are throwing themselves at me. But, I don’t mind you being jealous. I only have eyes for you anyway.”

Arven peered out at the field, seeing the long golden grass shimmer under the sunlight and sway in the wind. He could see why this was a popular makeout spot now. It was romantic, and even with the driver and horse ahead, it did sort of feel like he and Doppio were alone in the world. Nothing but them and warm air and the world all laid out beneath them. It made him sentimental.

It was far too embarrassing to say all that stuff without some kind of buffer. Doppio meant it! All of it! But…saying it straight to Arven’s face kind of felt like Doppio might…pass out or lose his voice or something, so…he needed his hand where it was. To properly let Arven know he thought all those things. 

Groaning a little, but pleasantly flustered at the kisses between his fingers, Doppio shifted to switch places and be the one hiding his face in Arven’s neck, placing a kiss there just for fair play. “I don’t think so… Maybe people aren’t confessing to you, but everyone at your school is super friendly and…i-it feels genuine that they want to, like…include you in stuff, and that they consider you a friend. And…that makes me really happy, even if it means your attention is on someone else.”

…people needed more than one person in their life. It…wasn’t good to only rely on one person. So…even if Arven didn’t particularly seem enthused…Doppio was glad other people still liked him that way. Arven deserved to have tons of people in his life. 

Arven stuck out his tongue. “Eh. Bleh. So long as I get to keep hanging out with you too.”

Arven hugged Doppio tight, before falling backwards, taking Doppio with him. Watching the sky and clouds slowly drift by, he chuckled, “This is it. This is how I fell asleep last time. There’s something really nice about watching the sky while in motion. It’s soothing, isn’t it? Maybe the princes should try taking Miyako on wagon rides the next time she’s getting fussy. I feel like it’d send anyone right to sleep.”

“...of course,” Doppio said softly, tightening his grip around Arven, “...but you deserve to have more people than me too.”

Squeaking a little as they fell down, Doppio turned his head out of Arven’s neck, disorientedly blinking for a moment before he looked up at the sky. And…it really was…

“We can let them know. I have a feeling we’ll see them at some point or another…” It was a little cold, but…the sun was still shining, and the clouds above were light and puffy. A far away form from the storm clouds just the other day. “...this really is a beautiful moment.”

Arven wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he just kept quiet, enjoying it. He knew it was, but, well… most moments with Doppio were. Arven was just enjoying living in them.

Amaina, in turn, sat on Chief’s head and watched both the boys and the world roll by. Feeling extremely accomplished.

-

“...okay, but does that count as one broccoli?” Arven mused, looking at the lineup of giant vegetables, “Or is that many different broccolis all morphed and twisted together into a giant knot?”

There was a pretty decent crowd for the giant vegetable competition, though, some of that had to be early birds who had been daydreaming about some good cider for weeks already. The cider stalls were open, the vegetables were all put on tables with their farmers names on index cards in front of them, and over on the side, a little girl was cheerfully playing an instrument while a boy was encouraging a baby on a blanket to crawl around.

“Oh, loooook who it is,” a woman drawled behind them. Arven looked back and didn’t recognize her at all, but she seemed to be talking to Doppio anyway, smiling as she gave him a little wave. “How’s the tongue piercing working out for you? Feeling more like yourself?”

Doppio tilted his head, considering the broccoli…stalk? Stalks? “...I…think it counts? Like, look at the end there, it looks…pretty much like one piece, right? So that would mean, while it was growing, all the nutrients would come through that one place so…yeah? Yeah.” Though it definitely was harder to tell than the giant carrots they’d just passed. 

Even with a significant amount of people, the atmosphere wasn’t too jarring from the relaxing wagon ride. There was a sort of peaceful liveliness in their air, though Doppio figured some of that was in part to the music the little girl was playing. It wasn’t anything like he’d ever heard before, but it filled the air sweetly, and somehow seemed to fit the gently shifting crowds of people ogling vegetables and sipping cider. 

More relaxed than the middle of the city, for sure, though…

Doppio turned with a surprised look, blinking before waving back at the woman, smiling shyly. “Oh, hi! Ah…I guess…this was what you meant by orchard before…makes sense. Um…y-yeah, it’s been really helpful. Thank you again for, um, getting it out of stock.”

Nudging Arven a little, he explained, “She sold me my tongue piercing, when I was out with Kaito.”

“Oh!” Arven said, reaching out to shake the woman’s hand, who accepted this with some amusement, “Well, thank you for looking after my boyfriend. I’m Arven.”

“Diana,” Diana greeted, looking around, “The big man himself not here? Shame, was hoping when I spotted you that the Ouma family might be nearby. I know my siblings are looking forward to Maki Harukawa taking them to the smaller haunted house later.”

“I’m sure they’ll show up here eventually, but no, we haven’t been traveling with them today,” Arven said, looking around the farm a tad more curiously now. Magic people worked here… or Diana was just the black sheep of her family. Who knew. “Any favorites for who’s going to win the giant vegetable competition?”

Diana gave Arven a dry, incredulous look, before jerking her head behind her silently. 

“...oh,” Arven said, realizing that the squash at the end of the table was not, in fact, a weird-looking statue, as he had immediately dismissed it as the first time he saw it. “Nevermind.”

“Mmmhm.” Diana hummed.

Nice. It was always a good day when he didn’t accidentally upset someone by forgetting their name. Okay… Diana the magic orchard lady. Knew Kaito. 

Doppio nodded, backing up that he was sure Kaito would come by at some point--Diana had reminded him of it when they talked at the store, after all--before he hummed in recognition. “Oh, yeah… She did say she was taking a bunch of younger kids through today. Apparently it’s being run by a friend of hers? So it’s kinda been hyped up…”

He’d really only heard stories about the big one, though. It made sense for it to be told in tales of tourist attractions, rather than a smaller one run just by a guy.

Looking over at Diana’s indication, Doppio’s eyes widened, having not really noticed it while he was looking at the other vegetables. “Wow…” he breathed, “Imagine trying to roast that notevole massa… You’d need a whole ground pit for it, like goat roasts.”

“I think he’s the one having the party too, right?” Arven said, smirking at Doppio, nudging him in the shoulder as he said conspiratorially, “We have a bit of a prank in mind for tonight, nothing crazy, just a little jumpscare. But knowing where our prankee is gonna be tonight is sort of vital for it.”

“Oh?” Diana said, raising an eyebrow, “Who’s the unlucky scarer?”

“You wouldn’t know them,” Arven said dismissively, not wanting to risk Kaito hearing about it before they managed it. “And it’s genuinely harmless, we’re just going ‘boo’. But I think it’ll be fun.” Arven grinned. “I’ve never done a Harvest prank before. Feels like a milestone.”

“I’m not sure if Harvest pranks are as common in practice as they are being talked about later,” Diana said, shrugging, “I’d recommend not locking anyone anywhere, as a strong suggestion though. I had some friends in middle school who pulled that Harvest night on another kid, and she ended up with a pretty serious phobia after that. Anything someone can’t escape from? Not safe.”

“Oh, well, like I said, we’re just startling someone anyway,” Arven said, “We’re not crazy.”

Diana shrugged. “Neither were they.”

Doppio smirked back, feeling the stirrings of excitement in his stomach. For just being a sheet, he was proud of the ‘ghost’ costumes they’d put together. It was amazing what a little watered down fabric paint and mesh fabric could do. And…he was sure that it wasn’t a prank that’d blow up out of control. None of Arven’s pranks so far had. 

Not like locking someone in a room. “Yikes…” Doppio frowned. “Yeah, we’re not doing anything like that. Honestly, I’m a little worried more for our safety than theirs… We’re not planning to trap them anywhere, or anything so…I think the worst outcome would really be them socking us in the gut or something.”

He wrinkled his nose. “That’d kinda suck, and…it’d probably make them feel pretty bad, rather than pranked, but…in all, not a big deal. Really, I’m just hoping for a yelp before we reveal.”

Arven snorted a little. “I don’t think they would. I’ve gone from thinking they’d fight anyone to thinking that the rumors were exag–”

“Oh, Kaito,” Diana said.

“....there are other people who have reputations for fighting–”

“But it’s Prince Kaito, right?” Diana interrupted again.

“One of his family is literally an assassin–”

“Who does not have a reputation for fighting,” Diana said, scratching inside her ear, “Whatever, I don’t care either way. But he is a big dude, with a… wild side. So maybe don’t be in punching range if you’re putting him in a punching mood.”

“Snrk-snrk-snrk,” a dry, raspy snicker came from behind them, before a gnarled, but large, hand placed itself on Arven’s back, “Some young pups can’t be strong-armed into taking good advice to save their lives. Aw, come here, let me take a look at you.”

Arven turned around to see an older woman looking fondly at him. She was the biggest little old lady he had ever seen, though her hunch made her seem smaller than she was. Before he had a chance to introduce himself, the old woman took his wrists, bringing them up to sniff one after another… before greeting, “You’re the O’Beale boy, aren’t you. Living up to your name, I see.” The woman tittered, looking him over, before tsking, reaching up and pushing his hair aside, running her thumb over his scar. “Which bastard damaged such a handsome face? Give Morai a name.”

“U-uh, I’m sorry, I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” Arven said, only not offended by his hair being pushed aside by the sheer age of the old woman. 

Diana sighed, “Grandmama, that’s rude. He’s not a cousin, leave him alone.”

“Girl, don’t tell me my business, I know an O’Beale when one’s right in front of me.” The grandmother huffed, waving the girl away, “Go play with the babies, since you think you’re so grown.”

Diana rolled her eyes, giving the boys a helpless shrug.

Doppio blinked, before his eyes widened in an impressed awe. Wow…Diana was really clever! Doppio was on Arven’s side, it wasn’t obvious at all who they’d planned on pranking, and they hadn’t really given anything away, so…wow. A detective mind for sure. He wondered if she and Shuuichi had met through that. 

But, uh…probably logical and wise, even if Doppio had already accepted the risks of being within punching range for their prank. Though, he jumped hearing someone else agree with that, turning around with a startled look before, uh…

Doppio gave Arven a concerned look before frowning gently at the old woman. “Um, sorry, but he doesn’t really like people exposing his scar like that. And…” He gave Arven an unsure look with a small, asking shrug. “...it’d be…pretty coincidental if you knew extended family of his, ma’am.”

The grandmother waved her hand dismissively at Doppio as well, unconcerned as she looked over Arven. “Name, boy.”

Arven shrugged lightly. “I’d have to just give you my own. Childhood accident. And Aceto’s right, it’s not something I like to show off,” Arven said, brushing his bangs back into place. 

“Aw, little cuilean,” the grandmother huffed, clapping Arven’s face with both sides of her hands, before shaking her head a little, stepping away, “So scattered that the little ones don’t even know their own names. What a climb it’s been. Such a climb.” The grandmother huffed, shaking her head… before looking at her granddaughter. “Where’s the big one then?”

“Not here yet, grandmama, I asked,” Diana drawled. 

“Tsk.” The grandmother shook her head, before telling the boys, “Get some food from the stalls before you go. You’re both far too skinny. You need to pack it in now so that your body has something to use when you grow the next few years. Diana, make sure they eat,” the grandmother told her granddaughter, who nodded. 

“Will do, Moira,” Diana said, watching the old woman head off, before giving the boys a small shrug, “Sorry about her. She’s used to being obeyed. I don’t care if you leave here starving, up to you.”

Doppio smiled softly and gave Diana a sort of ‘don’t worry about it’ shrug. “I think it’s just a rule that grandparents have to insist you eat something. All the nonni I talk to at that specialty store always ask me what I’m cooking and recommend more to add, and, um… You know that gelateria I went to?” he nodded to Arven. “I think I kinda broke one of the zii there’s heart ‘cause he didn’t get to use that line, since I was buying just a ridiculous amount of ice cream…”

He didn’t want to ask right in front of Diana, but Doppio brushed his hand along the back of Arven’s, tilting his head a bit. Silently asking if he was alright.

Arven smiled at Doppio, leaning in against him, just shrugging a little. He wasn’t as alarmed as he might have been, but again, he was willing to be a bit more easy going with an older person. Maybe it was a weird sort of bias to have, but he couldn’t help but kind of group old people and, say, a 7-year-old in the same ‘doesn’t know any better’ group.

“We should get some more of that ice cream before the day’s over. I bet they have a stall with some niche festival ice cream,” Arven said, looking around, before taking Doppio’s hand. “Wanna go poke some of these giant vegetables? I’m convinced some of them are statues.”

“They seemed pretty excited about making new flavors,” Doppio grinned. “I bet you’re right.” And if they remembered him--which…while Doppio did pride himself on being inconspicuous, the two men that he’d talked to that ran the gelateria seemed like the sort that remembered every customer, just that kind of vibe--then…they’d probably be pretty happy about him bringing another person to buy ice cream. The best business model, really. 

Lacing their fingers, Doppio pressed against Arven’s shoulder affectionately. “I am so curious about the consistency of that wintermelon…”

-

The wintermelon had been almost shockingly sweet, which was good, because Doppio had been right. After eating a few passed around slices of the giant vegetables, they weeeere pretty tasteless. A good way to buffer ingredients to some meals, no doubt, but not exactly fun to eat on their own. Still, it was a fun thing to watch.

The trip back on the wagon, once again, provided very little making out, but an exorbitant and obscene amount of snuggling.

Once they were back in the main festival area, Arven and Doppio decided to just wander around a bit, see what they would see. They had fun looking at the decorations set up around the festival, and while they heard about someone reading tarot cards nearby, listening in on two people discussing their ‘fortune’, they mostly just thought that was a bit curious before deciding not to bother. They had ultimately decided maybe they’d just bite the bullet and go check out the haunted house when–

The heavy sound of armor clanked behind them, as a deep, ominous voice said, “Countrymen. The kingdom is in dire straights. It is now more than ever that we need to recruit units for the war…”

Arven glanced over his shoulder, “Oh. Hey Dimitri… nice eyepatch.”

Dimitri glowered down at him for a moment, dark and imposing in a heavy blue cape and armor that looked worn and beaten down by endless battles… before grinning shyly, “Do you think so? Sorry, I was actually a little worried you’d be offended…”

Arven was briefly confused, before, oh yeah. “No, it’s fine. Lose your eye in the war?”

Dimitri nodded brightly, before glowering again, “It was a moment of betrayal. I learned quickly that I can never fully put my trust in anyone. Not even my own family…”

“You can always trust in me, your grace.” Dedan, almost dressed in armor, though his was leather and fur, clasping his prince on the shoulder, his face stoic and stern… before smiling warmly at the boys, “We’re going to play costume chess. Would you like to come?”

Ooough… Sure, most of the produce hadn’t been particularly flavorful, but now all Doppio wanted was to get an array of vegetables and roast them all up…maybe use half for a stew and just have the rest on the side. Roast up some squashes all tender and falling apart, mix with just the slightest bit of cream and spread on good bread…

(He was almost glad they hadn’t really kissed on the trip back, because Doppio had been drooling quite a bit. Autumn vegetables really were the best.)

It was fun just wandering around the festival, but Doppio did want to make an effort to still do things, so…

Doppio froze for a few moments, the grave voice behind them making him grip Arven’s hand a little tighter…but once it clicked who it was? Doppio let out a deep sigh, sagging a little. “Gosh… You get super into character just…normally, but with the whole costume--w-which looks great, by the way, Dimitri!--it’s almost like you’re someone else.”

Adjusting his hat, Doppio smiled softly at the pair of seniors (when Dedan came up) before looking a little sheepish. “...is…that just a name for playing chess while in costume, or… Um…I still don’t think I’m that good, if it’s a team thing…”

“It’s more like chess where you’re the pieces,” a jovial voice called, Josie clanking up, though Doppio could only raise his eyebrows at Josie’s take on…the whole war armor thing. From the bottom, Josie was wearing full greaves over red pants, and a teal sash over them, which seemed to fit the whole vibe Dimitri and Dedan had…but from there, it seemed that, uh…Josie had ‘lost’ a chest plate in battle, and instead was just wearing a ragged undershirt, ripped just so to expose most of his torso, while still keeping an intriguing allure. “And don’t stress about strategy--while all us pieces have a say, we do defer consultation to the king,” he nodded to Dimitri.

Before crossing an arm over to the opposite shoulder, nodding his head to Dimitri. “Duke Al-Myra-Riegan has secured additional forces, my liege. If you manage to negotiate these two, the battlefield will be filled.” He turned his head a little to wink at Arven and Doppio. “And I think you’ve set your sights on those who’ll turn the tide in our favor.”

Dimitri’s expression was all doom and gloom again, as he said low and ominous to himself, “Once more I must talk my own people into walking towards their own doom. But what else can I do? The empress grows more in power every day, and I cannot trust that the Alliance will protect us if triumphant. I must stay the course… and I feel our odds would be better if the beast tamers–”

“Trainers.” Arven corrected, amused.

“--beast trainers,” Dimitri corrected without missing a beat, “would join our side. I can offer compensation, if gold would sway you towards battle?”

“He can’t actually,” Dedan said, shrugging, “We can only pay imaginary gold, and it’s not really worth anything. Just so we’re clear. We had an ‘incident’ with Penny once based on that misunderstanding.”

Dimitri’s shoulders dropped, “I had to give her money for lunch for a month.”

From the little he knew about Penny…that sounded about right. 

Doppio glanced towards Arven with a questioning look. “...it could be fun? And…we were sorta looking for something to do anyway…” Flushing a little, he scratched his cheek in thought. “...I think I’d have to get creative, though, since you’re the one with our only trained pocket monster…”

Doing something with an illusion would just…be risky for no real reason. But…hmm… The idea of illusions…

“We’re willing to give a bit of a suspension of disbelief,” Dedan smiled, before waving for them to follow, heading off. 

Dimitri brightly laughed, following at Dedan’s heels, beaming at him as the two chatted strategy. It was… honestly kind of cute, now that Arven was paying attention to it. He had always known Dimitri was a happy sort of guy, but Arven was starting to realize a lot of that joy seemed to come from Dedan, who seemed to take a quiet sort of joy in seeing Dimitri happy and carefree. It was a sweet sort of circular back and forth of positivity, the two just entirely enjoying themselves in their game of make believe, still exploring it outside of school and basking in it for their holidays.

It was cute. Arven was happy for them.

Also, it made him the opposite of defensive with Doppio– he had no idea if they were ‘dating’ or anything like that, but they were clearly wrapped up in each other regardless– unlike Josie, who was doing that whole… being handsome thing. Arven gave the guy a bit of sideye, before saying, “Aren’t you cold in that?”

Oh he hoped they would. Maybe this was dumb too, but…it did sound like fun. 

Doppio squeezed Arven’s hand gently as they followed, Josie falling into step with them with a fond look on his face as he watched Dimitri and Dedan nerd out. Though, as Doppio nodded along in concern with Arven’s question, Josie snorted. 

“Aren’t you cold in short sleeves?” he nodded back to Arven, before laughing. “Nah, I’m built for cold weather. The shirt’s actually a compromise for storytelling, if you can believe it.” Josie rolled his eyes a bit. “The whole Grand Court of Illumination got on my ass that no warrior, other than a barbarian class, would go out on the battlefield shirtless. And throwing fists has never been my style--I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

Doppio tilted his head a bit. “But…don’t you ‘fight’ to play anyway?”

Josie waved him off. “Details~”

As they got to, wow, yeah, a giant foam chessboard, Doppio looked around, recognizing a few faces from Arven’s school, and…what looked like just people who had come to play from the festival, and…

Doppio blinked, a little surprised. “Maki?”

Maki was currently stretching in her usual costume, which she wasn’t wearing for Harvest, but for very specifically this event and all the chess events she went too– a large, red, hooded robe with a large, very impractical plastic pink scythe. She paused with her arms stretched and clasped together hiiiigh above her head, bouncing on her toes, before giving the boys a mildly startled look… before blowing some hair that had shifted to the center of her face off with a little, annoyed huff, “Oh, right. Makes sense. The highschoolers would know high schoolers.”

Dimitri glowered at her, before giving the boys an intense look, “You two know the empress’s most viscous mercenary? The ruthless fighter for hire, Byleth, the ashen demon–”

“We’re not playing yet, calm down kid.” Maki said, rolling her eyes, before raising an eyebrow at the boys, “You two are about to out me, huh. Well, it was a matter of time.”

Dimitri now looked a little lost, “...out you? As what?”

“Well, whatever, it’s a miracle I lasted this long.” Maki said, giving Dimitri a slightly dry look, “I’m not just ‘a’ Maki. I’m Maki Harukawa? I’m assuming that means something to you. Prince of the ‘Illumination’ kingdom?”

“...” Dimitri blinked, eyes wide… before his face turned bright red, “Oh.”

“Relax, it’s cute.” Maki said, “And so wildly inaccurate as to be basically not even be parody by this point.”

“We’re not paradying anything.” Dimitri squeaked, looking hopelessly embarrassed. 

Josie, good friend that he was, was turned partially to the side, doing a decent job not completely doubling over in laughter. 

Doppio looked a bit lost as well, not sure how…knowing Maki was outing anything…and he still didn’t really get it as she decided to ‘out’ herself, but…well, whatever she wanted, he supposed. Still looking between Maki and Dimitri, confused, and a little worried by how embarrassed Dimitri seemed to look, Doppio hummed softly. “...so…is this something you guys do more regularly, then? If you know each other?” 

“Once a month, at least,” Elia chirped, coming up to their forming group and giving Arven and Doppio a friendly wave. While she was still mostly dressed up for Harvest, Elia had traded out her platform boots for something a little more practical, and was wearing a short orange shoulder cape, a fiery-looking red-orange cutlass in her hand. “Though, my dear mercenary rival is more experienced than I, in that regard.”

Doppio nodded a bit, thinking that was kinda neat, in a ‘small world’ kind of way, before Fiora--wearing a red jacket with pauldrons over a blue structured shirt, and greaves taking up most of her leg area--trotted up, clanking, with a tense, stressed out look on her face. “Excuse me! I--Oh, hello, Arven, Doppio, it is good to see you, are you joining as well?-- I have a request for this game! If you all could avoid referring to me by name during the battle, I would be most appreciative.”

Maybe, for Arven and Doppio, this wouldn’t seem like the strangest request, but for anyone who had played with Fiora and knew that half the time her battle cry was simply her name, it was…suspicious. 

And, sobering from his giggle fit, Josie glanced over the crowds of people around the board, players and spectators alike, before tsking. “...I thought your father never came to the games.”

“He doesn’t,” Fiora said, the contraction almost more telling than the slight grimace on her face. 

Maki narrowed her eyes a little at that, but, well… butting into peoples personal problems was more Kaito’s thing than hers. Besides, that sort of personal problem often didn’t begin and end with a knife in the boot. A knife in the boot could sometimes distract from that sort of problem, but really only for as long as said knife was in said boot.

…Maki would keep her daggers ready, just in case.

Arven, in turn, fretted a little. Shoot, shoot, was he being asked to remember her old name? Come on, he thought he had gotten a pass on that! He had been so smug about it! But Dimitri grinned thinnly, saying, “For the sake of our newest recruits, maybe it’d be wise to make a one game rule where we refer to each other by our chess piece titles? It’d make it easier for them to know who’s what piece and keep up with the game anyway. Right?” Dimitri said, looking to the boys.

Arven shrugged, “Sure. I don’t even know what pieces me and Doppio are even.”

“Oh, I think pawns would make sense, for now. Especially while you’re learning.” Dedan offered.

Letting go of a small breath, Fiora gave Dimitri a grateful look. “I believe that would be helpful for festival on-lookers as well, since they are not as versed into our regular characters. In that case…” Puffing herself up again, Fiora beamed at the boys, striking a heroic pose. “I am one of Her Majesty’s knights! I will look forward to a respectable duel on the battlefield.”

Nodding, just fine with being a pawn, Doppio glanced to the others, hoping they would follow Fiora’s lead. Catching the glance, Josie grinned with a wink. “The same, though I fight for His Highness. The blond girl with the braid over there is Irene, and she’s the other knight for our side, and the sour-looking guy next to her is Hugo, another pawn.”

One that they had tended to use more strategically in the past months, especially since Maki had become a regular player. Hugo kind of thought the role-playing was pretty dumb, but, well…the guy was incredibly competitive, and pushed himself to match and better every player he came across. Usually they had a strategy to move Hugo across the board as quickly as they could, while dealing with whatever issues the opposing side threw at them, and promote him to a queen. 

Though, Hugo sweeps had become more rare since, as pointed out, Maki joined. 

“If you two are on Dimitri’s side? Then I’ll probably fill a spot on Eden’s team, this round,” Elia nodded, before smiling at Maki. “It’s a fun time, when we get to play on the same side.”

Doppio nodded slowly, his brows drawing in. Having a bit of information overload. “O…kay…”

Maki smirked a bit back at Elia– it was also fun when they were on opposite sides, and got to have fun trashtalking each other in a flirty way, but yeah, she enjoyed smashing the opposite team with her girlfriend too– before she huffed, resting her scythe on her shoulder, “I am a pawn of the empress, ready to chase down royalty and knock down whoever’s in my way,” she said, specifically side-eyeing Hugo at that. “Both of you don’t take it personally when we destroy you. I’m an expert at tearing down desert kingdoms.”

“...oh my god you are.” Dimitri whispered, still a little blown away– and embarrassed– to realize he had been playing with a Luminary this whole time. Oh goooooood, he had explained to her how armor functioned in those hot climates and she had just said ‘only rich people get armor that heavy and rich people don’t go out into the sun’ and he had had the audacity to snort at her. Ahhhhhhhhhh. “...uh, I-I’m the king! Of… no particular kingdom… in particular…”

“He’s the king of Illumination. Watch out, they’re dangerous.” Maki said, now quite enjoying watching the boys fluster. It was fun.

“....ahhhhhhhhh.”

“And I’m a tower for the king,” Dedan said, looking comfortable with that, “It’s simple work, but I’m a simple man.”

“Alright, alright, let’s go actually get them on the board.” Maki said, gesturing to be followed, “Come on, we’ve got a game to play, we can’t take all day. I’ve got kids who will riot. Oh, just a heads up, the rest of the family will likely be by soon. The kids are doing a burlap sake race, and they’re going to come by to watch some of the game once they’re done.”

“Well, we couldn’t avoid them all day.” Arven shrugged.

Josie gave Dimitri a few comradely pats on the back. There there, you couldn’t have known you were playing with a member of the royal family that was Luminary all these months. Let the cringe pass over you, buddy. 

(...sure, the royal family had their picture in the paper, but…that was pretty recent. And Josie literally only knew because his mom liked to keep up on current events, and his other mom gushed over the eclectic styles the whole family wore.)

Nodding, Fiora finished, “Eden is the Empress-King, and while we shuffle when the Alliance is playing for themselves, Khalid is playing the queen today…and Gerard is a bishop.”

Walking over to the board, taking their spots, Doppio colored a little, thinking about the royal family coming to watch the game but…well, honestly, we might be captured before then, so no real worry. Giving Arven a nod and Chief a pet, Doppio shrugged. “We did have to check in when they were going to the party tonight, anyway. Um…good luck, Arven.”

“We’ve got this, Aceto!” Arven grinned, giving him a wink. 

Chief barked. Just Happy To Be There.

-

“Okay, but you kids have to remember, Hannah was training to be a dancer for a little while there, before she outgrew the program,” Kaito consoled the kids, having just finished getting them all hot chocolates as the day cooled a bit, “So she’s trained to be graceful, is what I’m saying.”

“I’M TRAINED TO BE GRACEFUL!” Cali shouted, looking both frustrated and determined, “Maki says I fall with the most grace she’s ever seen!!”

That was because Maki could be mean. But Kaito just chuckled, giving his husbands a helpless shrug, “Well, consider this a way to learn how to gracefully lose. You guys will do better at the sack race next year! Hopping in a bag isn’t a baby assassin specialty anyway!”

“But, what if we had to escape from bad guys one day?” Kimiko said, looking up with big, dark eyes as she said ominously, “And they tied us up into a sack, and they were planning to throw us into the ocean to drown, and the only thing between us and our watery graves was the ability to hop-hop-hop away~” Kimiko said, hopping with every little musical ‘hop’.

“...okay, fine, I will add sack racing to our next training day, okay?” Kaito said, looking grim.

“Kaito, there aren’t any oceans around here, calm down.” Shuichi whispered to him, amused as he could see the clear signs of Kaito’s imagination getting away from him.

“They already have so many childsized sack around.” Kaito whispered in horror, “No one would even notice they went missing.”

“People would notice,” Bianka nodded assuredly, her hair even wilder and more Kokichi-like after the grand tumble she’d taken during the race. “Inventory is a huge deal. The first thing you check when something suspicious happens is if things are missing. No, what’s even sneakier is sabotage. Burlap frays really easy! So those sacks get reported as too frayed to use industrially, so they’re taken to fabric recyclers…but then someone buys them as bulk fabric, and THERE’S THE MISSING CLUE!”

Throwing a hand in the air, Bianka jumped around and pointed at her sister, still walking backwards. “The receipt for who bought the fabric from the recyclers! There’s the culprit!”

Cheri smiled fondly, and gently guided her sister around a slight dip in the ground. “Well, with the plan already exposed, then we’d find you in no time, then, hm?”

Bianka paused before sniffing. “It’d still be better if we could save ourselves.”

Laughing softly, Kokichi shrugged. “It could be fun to have more sack races--add ‘em rotation to dodgeball days? Training could just be a bunch of festival games.” Though probably not costume chess, unless they wanted to figure out how to play four pieces to a side. 

The board coming into view, Kokichi grinned. “Oh, hey! The boys are playing too! Aw…” Though, more importantly, as it looked like the game was getting towards the end… “GO MAKI-CHAN!! WOO!!”

Kaito grinned at Bianka, before nudging Shuichi again, as he had done many times by now. “Eh? Eh? Pretty good deduction right there… ehhhhh?”

Shuichi gave Kaito an amused look in turn, but didn’t say anything. No. He was not taking on any mentees right now. Hush.

“Tsk. Fussy husband.” Kaito whispered, placing a small kiss against Shuichi’s temple. 

“If they don’t find my knife, we’d be fine anyway,” Timothy said, unconcerned by this death-scenario he was being presented with, “I’d cut myself out and then cut you guys out. Then we should probably run still. Even with four against them, adults are difficult to overpower.”

“Hah! We could do it! We beat up Kaito all the time!” Cali declared.

“Yeah, cause I let you, ya little runts.” Kaito pouted, reaching over to ruffle Cali’s hair, who grinned in a way that suggested she didn’t believe him even a little bit. Whatever, he didn’t have time to school a bunch of rugrats, not when Maki was currently trying to trip up some (honestly, wow, very pretty) boy who seemed to be trying to race past her. If Kaito remembered right, if she managed to knock him on his back he’d be forced to stay at the square he fell on, but, based on the description? This was the guy Maki notoriously struggled against… though she was wrong, he was very attractive. Wow…

…wait, this might be another teenager. Kaito squinted. Conflicted between wanting to let his daydreams get away from him, but not Lewding a Loli. Darn it, lewdable or not lewdable. Lewdable or– “Ow?”

“Stop whatever you’re thinking, you have steam coming out of your ears.” Shuichi scolded.

“That’s just the hot chocolate.” Kaito muttered, before calling out, “GET EM, MAKI! GOO! GO, ooooof, wow, that was a good move.” Kaito complimented, watching the possible not lewdable man literally skid under her scythe. “STAB HIM IN THE BACK MAKI-ROLL!”

This certainly wasn’t the first fight Doppio had seen Hugo in--Dimitri had made liberal use of him and…um, well, Doppio wasn’t sure, but it kind of seemed like Dimitri was trying to quickly strike a balance of using all pieces effectively, and asking Hugo to fight before he got impatient and either left the game or just moved on his own--but…wow. He knew Maki was amazing, but…watching her fight this guy made them both seem…impossibly skilled. 

“They…do this every game?” Doppio asked Josie from the sidelines, them both having been taken out of the game by this point. Doppio, having been too intimidated using the same trick he’d been using for his Kecleon against Maki, and so had surrendered the fight, and Josie having jokingly taken a ‘fatal’ blow for another piece, jumping into the middle of the fight. 

“Mostly,” Josie said, amused as he watched his best friend have the time of his life. “Hugo only comes out to fight anyway, and I think he and Maki get a little put out if they don’t get pitted against each other. Jocks, man. They’re as scary as they are cute.”

Arven was still in the game, almost entirely by fluke. He just hadn’t been where the action was yet. He was getting increasingly annoyed by that, because now Josie had… uninterrupted Doppio-impressing time. Look at him. Standing near Doppio, being… handsome. And tall. Jackass. 

Arven continued to pout, though he was trying not to be weird about it. Like, yeah, he didn’t love it, but he wasn’t going to do anything outrageous like refuse to let Doppio be alone with hot guys. That’d suggest more things about Doppio than the actual point of his ire, which was Josie. Being charming and flirty. Gah!

Shuichi and Kaito watched proudly as Maki, in a last bid to stop the queen– and Hugo was the queen by this point– from getting across the board, grasped her fake sythe by the middle, spun it with a shout, and had it spinning towards him, aiming for his ankles to try to trip him up again… before Kaito whistled, impressed, when a blond player shot a shield arm out, stopping the scythe in its tracks. “Oh, that was cool.” Kaito said approvingly, laughing sympathetically as the guy notably winced at the unexpected amount of force in Maki’s throw.

“I could do that.” Timothy said immediately. 

“Hell yeah you could, kid,” Kaito grinned, taking Tim’s shoulder and squeezing it. “I bet you could take an even harder hit.”

Timothy nodded. Chest swelling a bit. 

Shuichi was studying the board, “Hmmm… this might be over soon.”

“Ooph,” Kokichi winced in sympathy. “I’m glad it looks like that shield is more than just a foam prop. That’s gotta sting in the joints a little.”

It was an admittedly impressive throw, and…

“That is illegal interference,” Fiora huffed, uncharacteristically quiet and towards the back as she covered Eden’s position. “Maki should have won there, should her aim strike true. I do hope this game today does not set regular precedence of ignoring the rules of chess altogether. What is the point of staging a series of duels if interference could occur whenever convenient.”

“A good storyline?” Khalid offered with an amused laugh, out of the game but still lingering towards the back of the board, Adrestia not free from dubious play themselves with a dead player still providing strategy. “We do have a bunch of new, one-time players today, after all--it’d be no fun if they got knocked out first thing because they’re new. Plus…we’ve been at it for a while. Let’s see if Hugo can seal the deal, or if Dima’ll take the bait if Maki takes him out.”

“Awwww,” Kaito grinned, watching with open adoration, “Maki wants to kill him~”

“Mmmhm.” Shuichi agreed, watching the bloodlust rise off Maki like an inferno as she glared at the blond player, her hair shifting in the heat of her fury.

“I love her~” Kaito said, before looking around, “You guys want to sit down somewhere? Kids, don’t run off too far, okay! And don’t disrupt the chess match!” Kaito called, the four kids and Chase all taking Kaito looking for a seat as a cue to start running their little heads off.

“I think I want a chair,” Shuichi pouted, looking around…

“Oh, uuuuuh,” Kaito also looked around, considered his odds of bullying a chair off of someone, before dismissing the idea as he grinned at his husband, “You can sit on me? Kaito-lap time?”

“Mmmmm,” Shuichi looked down at Kokichi, reaching to play with Miyako’s hair, Miyako snoozing a bit on Kokichi’s chest, “Do you mind if I borrow your favorite seat?”

“Hey, I just offered.”

“Hush, Kaito, I’m asking our husband.” Shuichi huffed.

Cheri glanced over with mild concern, but…well… (The fondness in their voices was more blatant and truthful than even checking on their feelings. And while it certainly seemed like Maki was pissed…a glare and intense aura weren’t dangerous. Just…intensely competitive.)

Chuckling softly (another indication things were alright), Kokichi shook his head. “Go ahead, honey. I think I’m gonna stay up.” He smirked a little, eyes returning to the board. “I believe Maki-chan can do it, but unless she pulls out something amazing? I think that kid’s gonna make it.”

Laughing brightly, Josie called out, “GO HUGO!! LAST STRETCH!!” apparently having cajoled Doppio into joining in his cheers, even if Doppio’s voice was nearly inaudible from across the board and his fist pumps covered about half the distance of Josie’s. 

Kaito laughed, before raising his eyebrows as Shuichi took his hand, grinning as he dutifully followed where Shuichi led, Shuichi off to pick his spot. 

Maki was still, technically, engaged in the duel. She was still allowed to make some sort of interference to stop, but, well, her scythe was off the board. She could see a few of her teammates stretching for it, trying to pick it up and throw it back to her, but they couldn’t actually step off their squares to do it. 

Briefly, Maki seriously considered tripping him up by throwing a dagger…

….noooo, don’t throw a real weapon during the fake chess match game. 

…again.

You’ll get scolded. Again.

So Maki just tried to see if she could give the kid heartburn just glaring at him, as the winning team cheered when Hugo slid onto the square he was aiming for. Ugh… next time.

“Awwww, next time, Maki!” Shuichi called, clapping politely as the winning team celebrated, while Kaito nuzzled his head against his neck and shoulder, his arms wrapped around Shuichi’s waist, perfectly happy to be acting as a chair. Mmmmmm, big husband time~

“Oh, did we win?” Arven asked, looking at one of his teammates, who nodded. Arven grinned, looking excitedly over to Doppio, “Hey, Aceto! We won! Apparently!!”

Grinning a little tentatively at first, but then more wholeheartedly, Doppio jogged over to Arven and Chief, giving Arven a side hug and a kiss on the cheek before he crouched to praise their small monster. Who, admittedly, didn’t see much action, but…

“Oh, you did such a good job, Chief! Bravissimo! Best boy, you…you deserve something like…a badge! For getting through the battle! Good boy, good boy!” Doppio praised as he scratched and ruffled into Chief’s ruff, giving him some very congratulatory pets. 

Sighing softly to herself, but keeping the disappointment of loss to that one moment, Fiora beamed and gave Hugo a handshake, the two of them talking about the tactics of the final moments…until Hugo was nearly bowled over, Josie practically tackling him. “That’s our big winner! Congrats, man! Knew you could speed that little ass over, my speedy boyyyy~”

Like a proud parent, Josie just laughed and hugged his friend, despite Hugo smacking the shit out of him with his sword, practically hissing and bristling like a cat, trying to get away from the affection. 

Coming over to Maki, Kokichi gave her an amused look. “I wish we’d come a little earlier, it looked like a good game! …so~? What’s the record at now between you two?” he teasingly nodded towards Hugo.

“A split even dozen.” Maki sighed, pulling Kokichi into a small half hug, before letting him go, petting Miyako’s hair a bit, “6-6. I’ve crippled myself with that damn scythe. I’ve become too dependent on throwing weapons at people, I need… like, five more scythes to work with.”

Kaito watched adoringly as Maki hugged Kokichi, before watching Doppio gush and coo over Chief while Arven watched proudly. Then he glanced over at the kids, who had all decided that apparently what they wanted to do was steal Maki’s scythe, and were now using it as a limbo stick. Weirdos. 

“Didn’t you send Firenze after the boys?” Shuichi frowned, looking around, “He better be here.”

“You worry too much, I’m sure he is.” Kaito insisted, kissing Shuichi’s neck, “Do you want to go to the haunted house after this? I bet the boys haven’t gone either.”

“Aren’t you skipping the haunted house this year?” Shuichi asked.

“I am, but I know you guys are excited for it,” Kaito shrugged, “and if it’s super scary, doing it in the middle of the day might keep the kids from getting nightmares later. Time enough to shake it off.”

“Bianka doesn’t believe in haunted house stuff, Kimiko weirdly loves it, Cali shakes off most anything thrown at her, and Timothy is mostly a danger of stabbing of one of the performers… on that note, take Timothy’s dagger from him before he goes into the haunted house.” Shuichi said.

“Yeaaaaah, will do.” Kaito promised.

“It sounds like a fun way to try out different styles, still,” Kokichi giggled. “And even if it’s more impractical for you, I’ve gotta say, you’re nailing the aesthetic. I feel like if you stood on a sloped roof with enough wind to ripple the cloak, you’d look just perfect for the kind of novel cover that I’d be tempted to buy no matter what the summary said.”

“If you all are going to split up for the haunted house, think I’ll stick with you then, cuz,” Firenze drawled, rocked back on his heels behind Kaito and Shuuichi as he surveyed the chess crowd. “It’s a large group, but Naz can follow inside while I keep an eye on the out.”

“And you’re on the coin,” Firenze looked at Kaito, coming more to the princes’ side, “Kiddos haven’t gone yet. Nonna on by the apple orchard is waitin’ on your visit, though, so be prepared for a fussy ol’ bird if ya go up.”

Most of the players made their rounds, congratulating and calling out ‘good games’, though after a point--giving Prince Kokichi, once she recognized who the clown was, a slightly nervous look--Fiora parted from her friends to talk to a balding man with a mustache the same ginger as her hair. A slight sort of tension in her form, even as the man nodded and clapped her on her arm. 

Kaito lit up when Firenze showed up– ha! See, he knew he had placed his faith in the right person– giving him a little nod in greeting, before sighing, “Ahhh, right. Well, good, at least she knows I’m coming. I’ll talk to her at some point. Maybe I’ll make a trip by myself, if no one else feels like getting some cider too.”

“You can go by yourself if you really want to.” Shuichi said, leaning back to nuzzle him, “Do you want to go while we’re at the haunted house?”

“What? Naaaah, you guys would be done way before I was.” Kaito huffed. “We’ll talk about it.”

Kaito wasn’t sure what made him look in their direction, but his eyes glanced over to some carrot-top girl. He always loved that color of orange. It was so bright and vibrant…

…her body language screamed ‘uncomfortable’. Who was the older guy touching her? Did she know him? “Hey, handsome, I’ll be right back.” Kaito said, giving Shuichi a quick kiss before trying to wiggle out from under him.

“Huh? Why?” Shuichi asked, pouting a little. It was Kaito chair time! The chair wasn’t allowed to walk off!

“I’m just checking on something.” Kaito insisted, giving him another placating kiss, before trotting over to the carrot-top girl. 

Kaito grinned, all teeth, his back straight and tall, as he loomed over the carrot-top– oh wait, older guy was a carrot-top too. Cute. Unless he was a predator, then fuck him– “Hey! You were a part of the chess game, right? I was watching, just wanted to say you played a good game!” Kaito grinned at the girl, before turning his eyes on the older carrot, “You doing the same?”

Well, that was Firenze’s cue too. Looking around, seeing where Nazumi’s attention was, checking where the kids were compared to everyone, Firenze gave Shuuichi a wink before heading off after Kaito. 

For as often as Gerard called her vapid, or unable to live in anything but a fantasy and not realize the actuality of what was going on around them, Fiora knew she was no fool. And…for the time being, the best course of action, while her father lectured her about “choosing for oneself” and “becoming irreplaceable”, was to simply nod along with a small smile. 

(...of course she had wanted to play more as well. But Fiora wasn’t about to throw off her entire team’s strategy by going off on her own. She was very good at defense, so that was where Eden had decided to utilize her, playing to each player’s strengths. And with Maki and Elia, they didn’t need everyone playing aggressively. …sure, she wanted to, and would’ve surely won, but…)

(And she did play the king in her own games. That just…wasn’t the one they were playing today. It wasn’t deferring to Eden as a superior player, it was just the game they were playing. Eden wasn’t…the natural choice. Fiora could lead just as well; better, even!)

However, something changed to the script today. 

Eyes widening slightly in surprise (and a nervous thrum running through her gut, paired with the naturally stern look on her father’s face darkening slightly) Fiora recovered quickly, puffing out her chest and beaming at Prince Kaito. In a deeper voice than she usually spoke in these days, she said, “My thanks for the compliment! Win or lose, it is always a proud achievement to remain on the board until the end. Allow me to introduce myself--I am Ferdinand von Aegir,” almost no wince at all, practically imperceptible, “And this is my father, Ludwig von Aegir.”

“Charmed,” the older man nodded, looking Kaito over with some odd combination of emotions that was both wary, evaluating, and haughty. “My son is the pride of the Aegirs--while I cannot often make it to these group recreational events, I’m glad to have made it today. It was a proud showing of your dignity, Ferdinand.”

Strained from shoulders to the grin, Fiora smiled at her father. “Thank you, Father.”

…son?

Kaito looked at little carrot-top some more, a little confused. It wouldn’t be the first time he had mistaken someone’s gender before. Kaito guessed he could kind of see it? Huh. It was just the way she– uh, he?-- held himself that was weird. And still super uncomfortable.

Also the little carrot top just looked sad. Like, really sad. Was it just something Kaito could see, or was it one of those things everyone saw but no one was talking about it? He glanced at Firenze for a clue and didn’t see anything there either. Fuck, Kaito-vision or open secret, Kaito-vision or open secret…

Kaito glanced at older carrot and frowned. Who the fuck was this? Were you side-eying him? Who the fuck appraises openly a prince–

Nooo, no, let’s not get elitist. Kaito grinned, a little curious at the man’s tone. He sounded like a noble, which was maybe what was triggering Kaito’s haughtiness so hard. “Same! He–” the sad look was back, was ‘he’ right??, “--did exceptional! Great showing! Apologies, I’m not familiar with the Aegirs title? I’m relatively ignorant of note-worthy family names within Dicea.”

Both Aegirs went a little stiff. On one hand, it was…probably good that Kaito wasn’t familiar with the name. While usually both of them were more than happy to tout family history to anyone that would listen, the reason specifically Prince Kaito, married to Prince Kokichi would know the name Aegir was…complicated. 

“Hm, I’ve heard that you abdicated any involvement with the government, so it is no surprise our name is unfamiliar,” Ludwig hummed, well-versed in politics. “We are descendents of Cichol von Aegir, one of the 12 core members of King Vander’s mercenary group, often considered the progenitor of Dicea’s government cabinet, known as the Twelve Heroes.”

“While we have no named title, obviously, the von Aegirs have long invested themselves in Dicea’s prosperity.”

While still feeling a little awkward, the pride glittering in Fiora’s eyes was real. “More recently, former von Aegirs have advocated for fair election processes, when it comes to new officials. I, myself, am looking to one day work in our government for the betterment of all Diceans.”

“I do apologize for the unacknowledged recognition, Prince Kaito,” she nodded to the prince, before beaming, “But if it is not too vain, I will hope that you will be ready to see me more frequently in the castle once I exit school and start upon my career path.”

…Kaito’s eyes sparkled, “Oh, wow! Dicea has knights?”

Kaito lit up, grinning wide, giving Ludwig a respectful bow, before beaming brightly at him, “Well met! In my country, you’d be recognized as Lord Aegir, a noble descendent of Sir Aegir, who would have been knighted for their accomplishments. I know it’s not the same in Dicea, but historically that’s how you’d be recognized in Luminary hierarchy.”

Kaito’s eyes turned to young Ferdinand, before grinning, “And a young lord that’s aspiring to be an administrator of the court? Or maybe even an advisor? Again, I know it’s not the equivalent, it’s just how I recognize what your aspirations would mean. That’s extremely impressive, especially…” Kaito looked around, like someone might be listening in, before leaning in conspiratorially, “Since most lord-heirs just grow up to be lord-heirs. Kinda like me~” Kaito grinned, winking at her, before shrugging, “We need little upstarts like you, showing us up and actually aspiring to be greater than our fathers. Which it sounds like you are well on your way!”

Suddenly blinking, Kaito looked around, “Actually, if you haven’t had a chance yet, do you want to meet Prince Kokichi? It sounds like you intend to work with him someday, I’m sure he’d love to meet you.”

Goddess, she wished. Fiora didn’t exactly know the role of knights in Luminary, but…in fairy tales? Chivalrous heroes that protected a land and its inhabitants…a-admittedly, in her daydreams Fiora had also been the protector of that land from an administrative standpoint, being everything the people under her care could ever need from a leader, but… Everything about it had seemed so incredible. 

Perhaps it wasn’t as glamorous, but doing the realistic, modern day equivalent seemed just as incredible. 

Both Aegirs startled a little bit as Kaito bowed, though…Ludwig couldn’t say he disliked it. A prince of Luminary, deferring to him? Why, in another world… 

Fiora on the other hand had a more normal, uncomfortable reaction. Though, her smile brightened again, hearing Kaito’s direct praise. “Thank you, Prince Kaito. I believe the hope should always be for the future to surpass the past, though progress is not made on hope alone. I aim to make that prophecy a reality.”

And…on that day, the name Aegir would make other people smile again too. 

Looking a little startled to have an offer to meet the prince, Fiora glanced to Ludwig, trying to judge…that. Before she smiled kindly at Kaito, giving him a grateful nod. “If it would not be an intrusion on your holiday, I would be most grateful for a purposeful introduction. Though…”

She turned to Ludwig, hands twitching slightly at her sides before stilling, refusing to give any nervous tick away. “I greatly appreciate you coming to watch my game today, Father, especially since I am aware just how busy holidays are for you. I would not want to hold you up unexpectedly, past the time you had slotted to come out…”

Giving Fiora a nod, Ludwig squeezed her shoulder as he took a step towards leaving. “Please give Prince Kokichi our best, and, Prince Momota, it was an honor to meet you. I shall see you tonight, Ferdinand, don’t return too late from the Vresvelgs. And keep in mind whose family you will be in front of.”

“Yes, Father.” Fiora nodded, giving Ludwig a wave as he left, before a small sigh left her. Not a moment of full relief, which she would not allow herself to have still in front of a stranger, but… It was easier, not being in front of her father.

…???

Kaito looked curiously at both of them. The lord-equivalent looked briefly smug, and the young lord still tense and uncomfortable. Kaito briefly looked over the lordlings skin, looking for signs of damage. Not anywhere Kaito could see, but then, that didn’t mean much.

“Your father’s very proper.” Kaito grinned, “...was he being rude to me?”

He grinned with all of his teeth, assuring the lordling, “It’s alright if he was, that’s nothing against you. I’ve just been assured that the more familiar I find the speech, the more likely I’m being mocked to my face. That lord-heir having a bit of fun at my expense?” Kaito asked, giving the lordling a wink. “And if he was, please feel free to be less formal talking to me. If you’re going to work in the castle, I’d like to know where I stand with you.”

“Not…overtly,” Fiora said, obviously trying to be kind in the pause. “I suppose if it feels different to you, then my apologies are unneeded to a point, but my own style of speech is not meant to offend. I simply find it the most effective way to express exactly the sentiment I mean. In part, because it was the way I was taught to speak. My parents have a lot of pride in our family’s history, and while this type of speech may sound antiquated, it is what is most natural for me.”

For a moment, she seemed to look unsure and nervous…before a stream of frustration and annoyance at that anxious dithering bolstered her, and Fiora stood tall and proud as she turned to face Kaito more fully. “I would ask you to retain my first introduction in front of my father, however, I am going to give you a more proper one at this moment.”

Ludwig far away now, Fiora’s pitch slid higher as her volume rose. Herself once again. “I AM FIORA VON AEGIR! It is to my great pleasure to meet you, Prince Kaito Momota!”

Kaito laughed a little, nodding, “I get that. I’ll accept your formality as a sincere attempt at respectful openness then. Forgive me when I inevitably start cursing up a storm and add ‘like’ and ‘ya know’ to everything, I was terrible at proper formalities even back when my life sometimes literally depended on it.” Kaito snorted.

Though, his eyebrows shot up at the very new introduction… before he grinned fiercely. Clenching his hands into fists and pumping one in a small victory, “Yes! Not Kaito-vision! Or…” Kaito paused, thinking about it, “Not entirely Kaito-vision? Sorry, you have no idea what I’m talking about, but anyway! Well met, Lord Heiress Fiora,” Kaito grinned, giving her a small bow, before saying, “Alright, but for real, let me go introduce you to Prince Kokichi. You strike me as someone who needs a few connections, even if you are entirely capable otherwise. Which I think you are! I have a gut feeling about you, I’ll be your hookup to the ultimate castle hookup. Come on~”

…Kaito would keep an eye on the dad situation, if he could. 

Lots of bad dads around here. And the dude had creeped Kaito out, at one point. He couldn’t put a pin on why, but he had definitely noticed something. It had made him want to bring out his inner Princess Consort Sayaka. 

“Kaito seems to be done with whatever he was doing there,” Shuichi said to Kokichi and Maki, watching as Kaito approached with one of the players, looking triumphant, “Let’s see what this is going to be about.”

“Your grace!” Kaito called.

“Interesting start.” Maki whispered, Shuichi nodding along.

“I have someone to introduce you too! ‘Kichi, this is Fiara Von Aegir!” Kaito said, displaying the girl proudly, “She wants to work on the castle administration team someday! I figured odds are she’ll likely end up working at the castle around the time you’re the Head Ouma, at least eventually. I thought you’d like to meet her.”

“I will accept it as your own sincerity in return,” Fiora laughed. “While I do wish to aid my peers in correcting vague and unclear sentiments, a more relaxed speech pattern itself is no issue, and is as much a form of expression as my own.”

Fiora, indeed, didn’t have much of a clue as to what Kaito was cheering for, but…given it came after her corrected introduction… Ha! While ‘clocking’ was more harmful in perception, it did feel nice that a complete stranger could tell she was a woman, even while presenting more masculine. That was…it felt really good. 

Smiling brighter, Fiora followed Kaito over to the royal family with a hop in her step. “I thank you again. In actuality, ever since Arven and Doppio came to their first chess meeting, I have gained some curiosities towards you. In particular…well, this is not actually a question, but I have seen your wedding armor in the art museum metalworking exhibit! Each piece is marvelously crafted, and the social implications of such subtle design choices are fascinating. Several of us are quite interested in armor and weapons, and, not on a holiday you are enjoying with your family, of course, we would be honored if you would be amenable to speaking a bit about such subjects, along with their significance in Luminary, to us at some point.”

Kokichi turned, raising his eyebrows a little at the titles Kaito had chosen to use, though he smiled warmly at the girl he introduced as she smiled brightly back, giving a deeper greeting nod as a greeting (likely to avoid any awkwardness trying to shake hands, as Miyako was conked out in his arms). 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Fiora! It’s always a blast getting to meet younger people who are interested in getting involved with government--we’re definitely going to need you,” Kokichi chuckled, nodding back. 

“It is my aim to fulfill everything needed!” she said brightly. “And it is lovely being able to meet you in person; all of you, truly,” Fiora nodded to Shuuichi and Maki as well. “If we should one day work in closer proximity, I hope to get along well.”

Kaito beamed happily, totally able to see their futures already. Fiora was absolutely going to get into administration– after a healthy bit of being a young person and getting her education and making fun mistakes that would turn into fun stories later– and then she’d get a place on Aiichi’s administration team because she was so passionate and capable that she’d get in young, and then Aiichi would finally one day fuck off and retire and she’d work for Kokichi and every now and again she’d sigh and lean in and whisper to Kaito, “Oh, thank god, King Kokichi does this soooo much better.” And Kaito would gently remind her that Aiichi tried his best because Kaito was so emotionally mature by that point but fuck yeah Kokichi was better ha ha ha hah SUCK IT AIICHI–

“--aito?” Shuichi tried again, poking Kaito, who had been grinning blankly for a minute there.

“Hm?” Kaito hummed, glancing around to see if he could guess how much time he missed, before deciding on just saying, “I’m certain when Fiora swings by the castle to learn more about Luminary weaponry, we can get her into the administration office to talk to some of our administrators, get some general advice. It’s a perfect connection! Speaking of perfect connections, where are the boys? Has anyone told them we’re kidnapping them again?” Kaito asked, looking around.

“Kaito, it’s like you’re begging for misunderstandings.” Shuichi said blankly, while Kaito just grinned cheekily at him.

“Absolutely,” Kokichi nodded, though he smiled fondly hearing that Fiora was interested in learning stuff from Kaito as well. “We do have youth outreach programs that occasionally have intern spaces for people considering going into administrative work to see what the job really entails. And, at the very least, I’d be happy to talk to you more about the work as well.”

“I would be most grateful, and I look forward to it,” Fiora beamed, before giving Kaito a quizzical look. “Oh, if you are planning on heading to your next event, I can let Arven and Doppio know. I need to reconvene with my own party in any case.”

With a nod to each, Fiora smiled, “It has been a true pleasure,” and headed off.

“Bye Fiora~” Kaito waved, grinning brightly, before looking at his family, “She’s cute. Her dads weird though. I think he might be an asshole.”

“Unless he’s about to drown her too, for the love of god, don’t kidnap her,” Maki sighed, shaking her head, “I’m pretty sure you’re only going to get away with that so many times.”

“They gotta catch me first!” Kaito laughed, before looking around, “‘Kichi, cover our babies ears. We good… KIDS! ROUND UP, WE’RE LEAVING! THAT INCLUDES YOU TWO! DOPPIO! ARVEN!”

Arven, who had been chatting with the other chess club members, groaned, “Oh gods.”

“COME ON KIDS! MOVE YOUR CUTE COSTUMED BUTTOOTIES! ARVEN, DOPPIO, DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE! I WILL HOIST YOU TO FUN EVENTS, DARNNIT!”

Kokichi sighed, fond but a little exasperated. “Asshole dads suck, but family can deal with them, whatever way that looks like. We can exist as trustworthy adults, but unless it’s an abusive situation, we shouldn’t interfere. You have good intuition, hun, but it’s hard to get the full picture of things on a first meeting.”

Taking a few steps back for good measure, along with muffling Miyako’s ears--and hoping that the shouting wasn’t about to wake her up--Kokichi couldn’t help but snicker a bit at the teens. The embarrassment fiery. 

Turning red, Doppio glanced over, huffing…debating actually making Kaito come and physically getting them and…knowing that he actually would, and…wow, just being lifted into the air in front of everyone… Groaning, Doppio dropped his head on Arven’s shoulder. “...I say we argue what we’re planning on doing next ourselves, but…we should probably go over.”

“We could always make a run for it…” Arven siiiighed, before giving the chess club members a wave, before taking Doppio’s hand, “Alright, what are we planning to do next then?”

“Um… Well, I’m not really that hungry yet…” Doppio hummed, giving the chess club a wave as well and lacing his fingers with Arven’s. “We were kind of heading towards the haunted house, right? We could do that.”

And while the royal family had talked about it too…Doppio eyed the number of kids in the group before giving Arven a shrug. “At least I don’t think they’d all go in, right? Or…we could just go in as a different group?”

Arven nodded, “Yeah! We’re going to the haunted house, and we’re going in our own group, dammit. We’re not on babysitting duty through a bunch of jumpscares. We’ll be firm.”

“Ah, there they are!” Kaito grinned, running over to the boys, saying, “Okay, so here’s what’s happening–”

“Aceto and I,” Arven said, puffing his chest, standing straighter as he raised his chin, “Are going to the haunted house next. You’re welcome to walk with us, if you happen to be going in the same direction.”

Kaito grinned… before reaching over to ruffle Arven’s hat, ignoring his frustrated hurrumph, “Cute. Sounds like a plan! Gang, we’re following Arven to the haunted house!”

“HAUNTED HOOOOUUUSE!” Cali crowed.

“Oooooh, I wonder what the themes will be this year?” Kimiki ooo’d, her eyes eyes sparkling, “I hope we touch on the existential dread of being creatures trapped in a singular linear existence~”

“...oooookay, that’s enough theorizing, I’m sure they’ll have some great dancing skeletons for you.” Kaito said grimly, putting his hand on Kimiko’s head and turning her down the path, her giggles accompanying his grim, “Leeeet’s go.”

Doppio tried to draw himself up, looking stern to back Arven up as they stated their demands, though…as often happened when the boys tried to look more mature in this sort of situation, the effect was more ‘cute’ than ‘staunch’. 

And…well, at least they weren’t going to have to go through the house in a big group, even if they were leading it there. 

“I am really excited,” Kokichi giggled as they walked. “It was super cool last year…though I’m hoping they’re skipping any spider horror this year. Avoiding repeats of things too similar, and all that. I guess we’ll see on the content warnings sheet, though.”

Looking over at Shuuichi, Kokichi smiled softly at him. “Are you gonna go through? I would enjoy having someone’s shoulder to hide in when it gets spooky.”

Shuuichi was in a much better place than last year…but Kokichi would understand if he wanted to skip out again. Kokichi didn’t even know if Nao was still involved, but…her legacy for the haunted house would be difficult to move away from, either way. 

Shuichi nodded without hesitating, having decided months ago he was going too, “It’ll be fun. And we already have someone watching Miyako. And someone watching Kaito too.”

Kaito rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Though, Firenze, you said you were going to wait it out with me and Nazumi’s gonna go in with them, right? Good, I’m glad. Though, you can go later when we’re all in a group again, so you won’t miss out if you want to?” Kaito said, looking over his shoulder at Firenze.

Maki looked at Elia, leaning in to whisper, “Do you want to go to the haunted house? We can break off by this point, if you’d rather do anything else? Before we have to go collect our siblings, I mean.”

Kokichi lit up while his gaze softened. He was really proud… It was completely fine to not want to go, but…if it was something Shuuichi wanted, Kokichi was glad that he didn’t feel scared or pressured out of anything he wanted. He should feel safe in their home, and seeing that work out made Kokichi happy. 

Nodding, Firenze then waved off Kaito’s concern. “Don’t throw your worry my way, cuz, I can figure out my own schedule for things. Isn’t like this is only happening today, after all.” Shrugging a little, he snorted. “Honestly these things feel a little silly to me. Don’t mind ‘em, but ain’t usually my bag unless the vibes are right. Ain’t gonna ruffle me to miss it.” Those right vibes usually meant going with friends to goof off inside so…probably not what he’d do while working. 

Giving Maki a smile, Elia huffed a small laugh, before nodding over to the lower path on the hill they were heading up. “I think my time for that’s closing,” she mused, watching the familiar collection of Di Carmelos head in the same direction. “The house is usually fun, but…if we wanted to use their time going through to spend together? I definitely enjoy you more than appreciating aesthetics and jumpscares,” she winked.

Maki smiled warmly back, leaning in to give her a small kiss, “...wanna see if we can sneak into the backstage and pretend to be a part of the cast?” she whispered.

Elia blushed lightly, pleased by the kiss, before she snickered quietly. “Absolutely.”

As the two ladies giggled mischievously, Kaito looked down at Timothy. Placing a hand on his neck, he guided him to the edge of the group, “Kid, you good going through the haunted house again? You don’t have too, you can stay and keep me and your sister company.”

“Why would I not wanna go?” Timothy asked.

“Well,” Kaito frowned, looking a little uncomfortable, “...you… or, we, had a tough time at the haunted house last year…”

“We did?” Timothy asked, looking bewildered, “When?”

“...ya know what, if you feel good about it, then good.” Kaito grinned, ruffling Timothy’s hair. Guess the kid didn’t hold onto stuff like that the way Kaito did. 

It didn’t take long for the group to get to the haunted house. Kaito took Miyako from Kokichi– she thankfully was still happy enough to snooze, and thus could not know of daddy’s betrayal, giving her back to ‘weirdo-looking dad’–before giving them all a wave, heading off to sit at the tents to wait for them. Arven and Doppio lead the front of the line, still planning to go on a group on their own, when… “Oh,” Arven said, recognizing the guy in front of him, “Giovanni?”  

Giovanni looked back, carefully leaning forwards slightly to avoid hitting anyone with the small wings strapped to his back. He looked mildly surprised to see Arven and Doppio before his expression turned into a grimace, leaning towards them. “Save me,” he muttered. 

It was…a little unclear exactly what Giovanni was supposed to be, between the wings, white clothes, black curved horn jutting up while the opposite side of his hair was styled down over an eye (not dissimilar to Arven and Doppio, actually). And that uncertainty seemed to follow in most of the rambunctious group ahead, all collections of odd features. 

Doppio…didn’t get it, but he just frowned slightly in concern. “...save you from what?”

Giovanni just looked at the rest of his family, his grimace deepening. 

Arven peeked around Giovanni’s, uh, wings? To see another bundle of many wings. Raising an eyebrow, before whispering, “Yeah, we’re about to dodge our group too. Wanna be a hangeron, birdboy?”

“As long as you two aren’t making out the whole time, it’s better than this lot,” Giovanni grumbled, slowly shuffling back from his family, trying to separate. Before pausing, considering it. “...even if you do, it might be better.”

Flushing, Doppio cleared his throat and squeezed Arven’s hand, before asking, “Um…so what…are you for Harvest, Giovanni? Is your family doing a theme, or…?”

Giovanni sighed. “Ostensibly we’re cryptids of omen. I’m an ‘Absolution’. Really, the twins just threw props at us, and Mom and Aunt Dinah and Uncle Ben pressured everyone into committing.”

Doppio tilted his head a little. Before glancing at Arven with a small shrug. “...could be a neat idea for a monster.”

“...oh, hold on.” Arven smirked, taking out a small tennis ball painted in bright, red and white colors, before twisting his hat around backwards, a gleam in his eyes, “I’ve got this one.”

PING!

Shuichi glanced up at the sound, distracted from Kimiko’s theories of what might be in the haunted house this year. “...Arven. Just because Katio’s not here doesn’t mean no one’s going to say anything if you hit people with tennis balls.”

“Sorry!” Arven called back, before smirking Giovanni, “I’ve captured you.”

Giovanni’s face was scrunched, and it was clear he was re-evaluated just who the worst group to go through the haunted house would be. 

Snickering a little, though he glanced back at Shuuichi with a mildly apologetic look, Doppio laughed, “Man, you would’ve come in handy during the chess battle… I guess everyone there is playing pretend anyway, but it still felt a little awkward ‘fighting’ with an invisible monster.”

Giovanni’s nose scrunched more. “...it sounds like you two have been busy.” Though, after a moment, while he frowned more it softened his expression. “...what do you mean by ‘monsters’ though?”

“Oh, Aceto and I are… sort of making up these characters for chess club?” Arven said, “We’re making chess pieces that are actually little pocket sized monsters. They each will be different types that fit their pieces best. Like, pawns are fighter types, and horses are air types, and towers… did we go with metal or water? Something like that. We’ve written them down somewhere.” 

Arven pulled out a piece of paper, proudly showing Giovanni, “See? We’ve got all of these designs ready. Now we really just need to learn how to make the little figurines.”

Doppio nodded excitedly. “We’re thinking of making a few sets too, if we wanted to do different overall theming? Like…there’s a lot of diversity available within just elemental theming so…we’re keeping the options open just for any cool ideas we have.”

Giovanni peered over the designs (everything redrawn by Arven, as their best and clearest artist) and…a certain thrum went through him. Almost a pout on his face as he looked somewhere between Arven and Doppio, trying not to look too invested. “...so…you’re going to make pieces out of clay or something? Just adding onto chess pieces, or designing stuff from the ground up?”

“We’re not sure yet, actually.” Arven admitted, not even kind of registering that Giovanni was literally the statue guy. Arven. Arven pay attention to your classmates. ARVEN. “We haven’t tried anything yet, but I think we’re going to try to build on pre-existing pieces first? Because at least that’s something to work with. Otherwise I guess we have to learn from the ground up.”

Doppio nodded along again, before blinking, a half-remembered conversation chiming in his mind. “Oh! You do sculpting, don’t you, Giovanni? Um…I think Josie mentioned something like that, at least…”

“You could say that,” Giovanni said dryly. “It is my major track in school, anyway.”

Giving Arven a shyly excited look, Doppio gave Giovanni a soft smile. “Do…you think you’d be willing to give us some tips? Or something? We will just have to practice to get better, but…it’d help if we had some idea of what to do.”

“I guess so,” Giovanni agreed, a little too easily than what would usually get him to do things. Glancing at the paper again, he mentioned, “You might want to refine the designs a bit, or choose more vertical poses so everything still fits on the chessboard squares.” He shrugged a little. “Stuff usually goes through a few iterations anyway.”

Arven blinked… before going, “Oh! Oh yeah! You’re a statue guy.”

Listening to Doppio and Giovanni negotiate, Arven nodded along a bit, still pretty surprised. Riiiiiight, right, his classmates… knew things. Sometimes. Fascinating. 

“Yeah, we’d love your help then.” Arven agreed, “Better than trying to learn by reading about it. Or what would be more likely to happen, me and Aceto just trying trial by error forever.”

The line was rapidly moving along– the haunted house was well practiced in keeping the lines moving– and it wasn’t long before they were near the front of the line. As the line pacer asked for fingers indicating new groups, Arven put up three hands for himself, Doppio and Giovanni. 

The opening lobby was cold. And at first it was pitch dark, the doors closing behind them and enveloping them in darkness. And there was a sound, well above them. Like the waves of a beach, but muffled, flowing to and from a large, expanding space.

Then, little by little, lights lit up. Dim and barely illuminating, still not making it possible to barely see each other, but practically glowing in the otherwise dark space. Coral rocks, glowing soft purples, reds and blues, dotting around the room. Nowhere near the walls, the idea there even was walls in this room difficult to conceptualize in the dark, but littering the area to give a sense of distance and space. More and more…

And then there was a stronger sound of movement. Water pushing apart as a large force pushed through it, so quick and massive that the usual humble sounds of a fish flapping its tail seemed to echo like an earthquake. 

And, seemingly coming out of the abyss, a massive, pink eel, with big, dead eyes and sharp, razor teeth, seemed to swim through the air around them. Too big to notice them, and yet so close that it gave the sense that at any moment the eel could turn its massive, glassy white eyes to them, and decide they’d make a delightful meal.

“...cool,” Arven grinned, watching the massive creature circle around them.

As they followed the gaze of its head, the coral grew even brighter, illuminating what was, in practicality, stairs, but was dressed to look like an underwater hill. And at the top of the ‘hill’, a bright, lit vortex suddenly swirled, looking like a whirlpool through the water,  showing the door out of the room, climbing ever higher. 

Above the door the eel hovered, its sharp teeth glistening in the darkness. Waiting like it might just snap down and try to eat them once they went through.

“K E E P  G O I N G  L I T T L E  M O R S E L S.” The eel said, its slithering voice filling the room, “B E F O R E  I  A M  T E M P T E D  T O  C L O S E  T H E  R I F T. T H E R E  I S  M O R E  T O  S E E, I N  Y O U R  S H O R T, Y U M M Y  L I V E S.”

O.O

OoO AHHHHHHHHH!!!! OH SHIT IT'S A BIG FISH! 

O.O

OuO I wanna eat sushi later

At first there was something a little… Look, Doppio knew he was kind of a coward. He startled easily, but he liked to think that if he was plainly faced with something that…er, wasn’t obviously going to result in his death if he stuck around, then he’d stand up to it fine. He knew, in practicality, that the haunted house was a bunch of art crafts and lighting and people hidden behind the scenes making everything what it was. 

…but being in the dark, and faintly hearing waves wasn’t…something that necessarily soothed him like this. Keeping close to Arven, Doppio squeezed his hand. 

But as the room became more than void? Doppio’s eyes widened, and even Giovanni looked around with an impressed nod, the undersea life edging way more towards ‘cool’ than ‘scary’. Except for someone with thalassophobia, of course. 

Doppio giggled a bit at the eel that appeared, quietly cooing over how cute it was, while Giovanni hummed. “...it does seem like a puppet, but…you can’t see the joint ridges at all. That’s cool.

Snorting a little at the voice the eel had--and Amaina’s request--Doppio gave the giant creature a wave before they stepped into the next room. 

And unlike the seabed, the appearance of lights flicked on with a distinctive ‘click!’ Not all that brighter than before, but spotlights only illuminated, basically, what they were pointed at, staggered just enough to encourage a path forward. And what they illuminated seemed to be…

“Paintings?” Doppio hummed, a little confused how…paintings were all that scary. Glancing back, his eyebrows raised, seeing the door they’d come out of--now hidden back in the wall--was…a large painting of underwater, the eel they’d passed creeping along from the caverns. 

Looking around, Giovanni noted, “It’s probably going to be one of those ‘eyes follow you everywhere’ gags. Classic stuff.”

Doppio didn’t know enough about it to call anything classic, but so far it just looked like an art museum. Still lifes and landscapes (Kokichi would be delighted going through, seeing a few recreations of well-known paintings from the Usott art museum on the walls) and…well, okay… Painting rotten fruit was a little…weird. And…did the people in this one always look so skeletal? And…as they walked, there was the sound of something dripping…

The painting subjects steadily got stranger and darker, until there were a few splatters of paint on the wall. And the next spotlight highlighted…

“O-oh!” Doppio quietly gasped in Arven’s ear, tensing as he watched a painted lady pull a struggling--though weakening--bloodied man through the frame. The lady made eye-contact with the boys for a moment, giving them a sultry wave before she pulled the man completely through…

And there was the sound of shifting, popping and cracking behind them, while an exit sign pointed cheerily forward.

“Oh, woah!” Arven jumped, genuinely startled to see the guy get pulled through the painting. He had been a little lost in thought, wondering if Josie would find this room fascinating or a little dull, looking in interest at an old scroll style painting with wide eyed lions with stone heads. Maybe that’d make inspiration for a cool pocket monster?

As they hurried past the sounds of breaking bones– rip in piece, painting guy– Arven startled to walk across a bunch of flower petals, red, blue and yellow, hurrying through the hallway as voices whispered behind them, “Please come back to the museum soon~ We’re always waaaaaiting for youuuuu.”

OoO I know a brain that’s a lot like that.

O.O 

OoO That dude has isssuuuuuueees.

The hallway led to something… strange. It looked like a metal closet, but with a cage door instead of a door-door. Fog ominously spilled out from the bottom of the metal caged closet. Inside was a little girl in a strange outfit,  standing on a wooden… box…

Arven squinted at her. “...wait, Aceto. Isn’t that–?”

Dr. Mariah, wearing a tidy little strange, circular hat, and a dark blue outfit with golden stripes across her chest, with white gloves, gave them a sullen, cold look beneath her heavy eyelashes. “Going up?”

Doppio glanced up fondly. {I think any mind that would be similar to stuff in a haunted house would have issues, Angelo.} Though, in fairness he had to suppose that people had to come up with this stuff. Though, again, those were just…creative thoughts. And likely not the entire landscape of a mind unless they had issues. 

Looking around the weird metal closet, Doppio blinked at Arven’s observation, before tilting his head a little. He would feel a little bad about breaking immersion, but…with just the three of them? Smiling shyly, he gave his therapist a little wave. “Happy Harvest, Dr. Mariah.”

Giovanni looked between them before grimacing a little to himself. Yeah…he was glad he didn’t go with his family. He wouldn’t exactly call his mom and Dr. Ava Mariah friends…but he wouldn’t call them enemies either. Just the weird overlap between an angel and a demon both working in a similar field. 

Crossing his arms, Giovanni looked around the closet skeptically before looking to Dr. Mariah. “...aren’t we already on the second floor? How’d we go up?”

Dr. Mariah kept her dark, brooding glower for a moment… before smiling lightly. Nodding at Doppio in acknowledgment. “Happy Harvest boys.”

What? Dr. Mariah had hobbies. She wasn’t just a therapist.

“This is a new contraption that the local university students have invented, and that the Haunted House has oh so generously offered to test for public use,” Dr. Mariah said, closing the gate once the boys were in, before looking curiously at the lever that she was stood on the box to reach, looking briefly, almost innocently, confused as she said, “Once I pull this lever, we’ll rise to the third story, where you all can continue your adventure. It’s perfectly safe, there… shouldn’t be any issues…”

She pulled the lever up, and the metal closet roared to life, briefly, ever so slightly, moving upwards… before it started to go down. 

“Oh.” Dr. Mariah said, still innocently confused, as the light in the metal closet started to flicker, the fog growing thicker, “I guess it seems we’re going… down? Well, I’m sure it’ll be alright. After all…”

Briefly a room rolled upwards outside the cage floor, on the other side of it a muscular man wearing a large, metal pyramid on his head, which tilted down to follow them before disappearing as the metal closet continued its descent downwards, before settling in a large, dark room, the floor covered in fog, as Dr. Mariah considered the boys with wide, expectant eyes. “I’m certain I can get us back up. Just give me a moment to work out the controls.”

Out of the foggy darkness, there was shuffling noises. The boys, in the flickering lights of the elevator, watched as out of the darkness shuffled stuttering, jerking bodies. Bodies dressed as sexy healers. Bodies whose arms were wrapped tightly in bandages. Bodies crawling across the floor. All shuffling towards them, faceless yet moaning.

“Oh dear.” Dr. Mariah said, flicking the lever up and down. “I certainly hope the gate holds. This is giving me some trouble.”

Arven watched, excited, as the bodies grasped the gate doors, shaking them, looking like they were trying to open the gate and get to them. As the zombies– cause that had to be what they were– shook and fought with the gate, trying to reach into the elevator and grab them, behind them, a heavy, sharp sound wracked through the room. The man with the metal pyramid on his head walking slowly out of the elevator, carrying behind him a massive, fuck-you broadsword. 

“Clear the doors, boys.” Dr. Mariah cautioned, suddenly pushing the lever all the way down, “I’ve got it now.”

The zombies backed away from the gate, shouting and wailing at them as the elevator started to rise, rise, rise. Dr. Mariah sighed in relief. “Close call right there.”

O.O

OoO Okay but pyramid head was HOT someones gotta say it

The thing was…they were moving. At first, Giovanni thought it was just some trick with false walls on scrolls giving the sense of movement, but…no. He could genuinely feel a force of motion on his body. They…were in an elevator. An…actual moving elevator… 

He was almost disappointed they didn’t mimic an actual malfunction--though that was probably better for the safety regulations--because while the sudden stop at the bottom was something that really did follow the horror theme…

…that brief sense of weightlessness… Ha. He even had wings today. 

On the other hand, Doppio was completely awed by the moving closet, eyes wide as he looked around the walls as they passed…and more than walls. Though, uh…he didn’t really get some of the styling…

“Oh…” Doppio softly hummed, watching the weirdly dressed zombies jitter and stagger forward towards their cage, and the pyramid-headed…well, swordsman he supposed, trudge behind them…

Giovanni laughed softly as the elevator rose once again. “What a perfect dead end. Fleeing to an elevator to escape, just to be caught in a roomier coffin? Nice.”

Doppio gave Amaina a mildly exasperated look, pressing closer to Arven before he gave Giovanni a small shrug. “...I’m not sure how many people’s instinct it would be to run towards a box if they’re being chased…”

Giovanni just shrugged with a small, cruel grin. 

As they got to the top and Dr. Mariah wished them a foreboding farewell, they stepped into a hallway that seemed just as dingy as the bottom of the elevator had been. And…before that, the first thing Doppio noticed was the smell. Something a little metal, a little…stale. But also…sweet?

Sniffing, he gave Arven and Giovanni a confused look. “What…is that?”

There was definitely something off about it, but for the more familiar things…well. Doppio had never been to a circus before, and wouldn’t recognize the fried, saccharine carnival smell. And the dirty, striped fabric wouldn’t be a giveaway to him either. 

“That was a really cool contraption,” Arven mused, wrapping an arm around Doppio’s waist to hug him briefly, before detangling himself so that they could both walk easier. Though, where they were next…

Arven looked around, curious, before realizing… oh no…

He took Doppio’s hand, squeezing it, as he said uncertainly, a whisper of horror in his voice, “There’s going to be clowns here.”

OoO So???

OoO Kokichi was a clown and he was CUTE

OuO I nuzzled his brain until he kicked me out

“Prince Kokichi wasn’t a clown, he was Kokichi in a clown costume.” Arven whispered, looking around nervously, that strong, circus stench filling the room. It was a convincing decoration. He felt like he really was in a clown tent. “It’s different.”

Doppio gave Arven a concerned, though confused look. “...I dunno, Prince Kokichi acts pretty clownish sometimes. …are you…?”

Giovanni snorted, looking back a little curiously. “Arven, are you scared of clowns? Threat of physical harm doesn’t get you, but actors who make little kids laugh do?” …well, that was just what real clowns were. What they could be was… “I mean…fair enough. Do you want us to guide you through?”

He had been just about to push through the curtain, but…well, if Arven had a serious issue… Kind of their fault for not looking at the content warning list. 

Arven scoffed, giving Giovanni an offended look, “What, like, close my eyes and let you lead me by the hand? No. I can handle it!”

And, just to prove his point, Arven stomped forward, pushing through the curtain himself. Not about to be showed up, especially in front of his boyfriend and his giggling little fairy, who was now dressed up in a clown costume. He had this!

Giovanni just shrugged and followed. His fear-based funeral. 

Doppio sighed and brought up the rear, giving Amaina a small smile, though what laid on the other side… “Oh gods, eeeugh!” Viscerally, full body cringing, Doppio sped up to be right behind Giovanni, trying to shield himself in his wings. Other than Arven, the only clean thing left in the room. From the game booths to the faded, chipped statues of mascot characters, everything was coated in a thick, sticky, visible layer of grime. And while there was a path for guests to walk, all the other ground looked…goopy. Like everything in the world that could congeal was there, spread out on every flat surface. 

And, attributing to the metallic smell, some of the grime was a curious shade of brown…and some spots that still looked wet were quite a bit more red. Around them was the faint, crackling sound of circus music, fading in and out, while the spots of silence seemed to be filled with…a siren? But distant. 

Trying not to throw up, Doppio shuddered, not noticing a few splorching sounds coming closer. 

“Ew.” Arven said, wrinkling his nose and checking the bottom of his shoes, before looking back at the others, “Aceto, you okay? That was kind of a loud scream of disgust. You good?”

Amaina flopped down onto Doppio’s head. I can make it pretty, if you want. Scaredy cat.

What was with the siren? It really did sound like it was far away– the sound design in the haunted house was always nuts– and there was another sound. Like… something was coming… Arven stood in front of Doppio and Giovanni a bit (well, okay, Doppio, Giovanni just happened to be there), trying to be taller and more imposing, as he looked to see what was coming.

“This is disgusting,” Doppio groaned, Giovanni giving him a skeptical look, though he didn’t push Doppio away, and in fact gently held around his wrist to pull Doppio along. He was not getting thrown up on, though. 

“This isn’t even…l-like prop design, this is just gross…” But…going through the haunted house was supposed to be an experience and…if Arven wasn’t going to hide from any potential clowns, then… Seeing Amaina’s hair flop into his face, Doppio shook his head slightly. 

The sloppy schlorping grew from not just footsteps but…almost like something was slapping the ground, and from around the booths a tall figure emerged, grinning unnaturally widely at the teens. The fabric around it seemed to have once been bright, but was now stained brown and red, while its caked makeup was almost nothing but cracks. 

“I thooought the siren was broken but noo… It seems we do have some visitors,” the clown rasped out, coming closer. “Let’s see some smiles, boys. Why don’t you play some games?”

Reaching into a nearby striped barrel, there was the sound of the clown dunking their hand into a liquid. And, the red liquid coming off in thick rivulets, it pulled out a still beating heart. “Try to hit the target on the door~ It won’t open otherwise.”

Giovanni paled…but just from the hiccuping gag he heard behind him. 

“Oh come on…” he grumbled, grabbing both Doppio and Arven around their chests and hauling them along the path. 

“Nnnnnnngh!?” Arven practically gargled, eyes wide and his face pale, taking an uncertain step back, “Oh, what the hells?”

It was easily the biggest clown Arven had ever seen (it wasn’t) and was so grotesque that Arven thought its skin might be falling off (the makeup was pretty good), but worst of all was the damn… nose (literally just a red ball). That nose haunted his nightmares. The way it… honked. 

Any second now. Any second. This abomination was going to reach up to his terrible, hideous nose and– “Gah!”

Giovanni pulled him along, while beside him Doppio was openly gagging, looking like he was going to throw up. Arven was a bit worried about his boyfriend, but felt a strong need to shout back at the clown, “Yeah! You better run! I’ll rip that thing off your face and feed it to my dog! You’re lucky Gio’s holding me back!!”

Then, as they got to the door, Arven grasped the front of Giovanni’s shirt, “Get us out of here.” 

“Leaving so soon~? You’ll miss everyone else? Ohhhh, come out, come out, wherever you are~”

“You two are ridiculous,” Giovanni sighed, stopping at the…closed door, with an obnoxious red-splattered target above it. …the clown had said it was a mechanism…

“Sorry,” Doppio gagged, putting a hand over his mouth as he shuttered. This was just unfair! He thought he was done with all that stuff! Ugh, how had they gotten it to stink in here…

Prying Arven’s grip off his shirt, Giovanni looked at the door again. …likely, someone would open it if they asked--there were all sorts of safety precautions in the house. And…he had a feeling there was some way for guests to hit the door without having to touch anything gross--usually people were encouraged to not touch any of the actors or props--or…maybe it was supposed to be scripted that the clowns would hit it…

…but he had a vomit machine and a shouty scaredy cat, and it did smell bad here. 

“Tsk,” Giovanni tsked, before glaring tiredly at Arven. “Make sure Doppio doesn’t throw up. And never talk about this to anyone.” Making sure the others were out of the way, Giovanni walked back on the path a bit before sprinting forward and launching himself into the air, almost looking like he was taking flight for a moment before he smacked a hand down on the target and the doors opened. 

O.O

QoQ So brave. We must honor his sacrifice and CARRY ON.

“We’re not leaving without him, he’s literally closer to the door than us.” Arven scoffed, though he reached forward to steady Doppio, “Though, wow, he can jump, huh? How are you doing Aceto? Holding up?”

The door opened up, and helping Doppio along, the three all shuffled out of the gross room. The door slotting closed behind them, trapping the stink and the goo with it. The hall was dark, but so far so had all of them. And Arven was surprised when the next room they headed into was also super dark, though…

In the room, basically just covering half the room, sitting there and not moving much beyond moving it’s massive, single eye back and forth and moving a few tentacles up and down.

“... oh. Hello.”

Arven blinked, staring up at the massive puppet thing. It watching them, before Arven realized it actually wanted an answer. “...hello?”

“Hi.”

“Enjoying the horrors?”

“Oh, uh… yeah. I guess?” Arven answered. “...are you the room? Is there anything else here?”

“Juuuust me. Checking in.” the massive octopus said, his eye looking around, “Making sure no one’s eaten your delicious pancreas. You kids all still have your pancreas’?”

It was easier when they weren’t literally surrounded by grime and gore, and Doppio took a grateful deep breath when they shuffled into the next room, just resting against Arven’s side for a moment. “...yeah, yeah, I’m good… Ugh… Hate stuff like that…”

“I can’t believe they made a room that was perfect for you two. Suspiciously apt,” Giovanni drolled, sighing as he adjusted his horn headband. Sneering a little, he teased, “Good thing you guys didn’t go alone. A staff member probably would’ve had to escort you out…if only for the verbal abuse you slung that guy.”

However, Giovanni’s teasing didn’t last for long. …it was mostly the light. For for a second…only seeing a single illuminated eye, a mass of tendrils curling around the room… It was almost like looking in a mirror.

(Except it wasn’t. The only body Giovanni had ever had was this one, and he couldn’t change it. Every day his reflection stared back with dull red eyes, same as his mom’s, and they’d never been luminescent yellow. Glowing.)

Still…it was just a second, Giovanni stopping cold, before he sighed, annoyed. 

Just an octopus. 

Just…

“Eeeeeeee!!” Doppio quietly squealed, his disgusted pallor quickly replaced with an adoring flush. “Oh this is so cool!!! Um, um, most people say there are only giant squids in the deep sea, but there have been reports of all sorts of creatures people aren’t sure about, because of the pressure difference, so there could be octopi!!” Doppio quickly rambled, practically hopping from foot to foot as he repeatedly pointed to the octopus, as if Giovanni and Arven could miss it.”

“I have no idea if I have a pancreas, signore polpo!” Doppio said with an excited confidence. 

…Arven beamed. Tickled pink by Cute Boyfriend Antics. He couldn’t help but briefly smirk at Giovanni, gesturing to Doppio proudly. Eh? Eh? Look at how fucking cute he was. Arven was winning. No boyfriend could compete.

Though, uuuuuh, “He does!” Arven said, hurrying forward and wrapping his arm around Doppio’s waist, pulling him close, before making sure Doppio understood, “Love the puppeteering, by the way! Very convincing! You actually look like a giant octopus!”

“I mean, I am, but sure. Thanks.”

“But it’s fine if you don’t have a pancreas, little friend. It means my other friends won’t want to eat you.”

“Might want to watch out for your boyfriend though, I guess.”

The massive octopus looked towards the door, raising a tentacle to gesture to it.

“Well, if you all are having fun and don’t need a breather? Then feel free to move on. Like I said, just checking in. You all seem like good kids. I’m hoping you survive.”

Giovanni just gave Arven a cool, amused look. Though…he had to admit. The pure joy Doppio was feeling right then, seeing a puppet of a giant octopus of all things? Mmm… Like a slow-roasted lemon pepper chicken with some sort of thick, rich sauce, savory buns with just the right amount of chew… Delicious. 

Doppio looked over at Arven in surprise, happy for the sorta hug, but…Arven, look!! They made a giant octopus!! Look at how cute it was!!!

“Thank you!” Doppio waved to the octopus as Arven and Giovanni shuffled him towards the door. “Good luck surviving in abyssal ranges! I hope you get a whale fall!!”

Following the trend, the next room was dark as well, though not pitch. You could still see the outlines of things…especially considering how close they were. There were only a few free feet forward before the path abruptly turned to the left…and something about the furniture in the way was…off. 

Giovanni sighed. “I guess it makes sense after a rest room. You two any good at mazes?” And…ones built to make you feel like you were only a foot or two tall to boot.

Arven still felt warm and Doppio’s total joy, happy enough to play along and bid the giant octopus a good day, before looking around curiously. “Wooow… honestly, I just don’t know how they do it. This is really impressive.”

Arven looked up at the furniture, and noticed every now and again there was a garden gnome, just tucked away somewhere. They were normal, except one started moving, hopping around the furniture with a little waddle…

 人

O.O

Amaina, dressed as a gnome now, waved down at Arven, before hurrying along, walking atop the maze. 

“Lets try this way.” Arven said, taking Doppio’s hand and leading the way, following her.

Doppio smiled softly and followed along, looking back to give Giovanni a small shrug before the third teen followed with a sigh. As they walked through the maze, heads not even grazing the handles of wardrobes and shoeboxes coming up to their waists, Giovanni noticed that it wasn’t just that everything was big. Ever so subtly there was a slight creaking sound, and it almost…felt like the room was breathing…

Still, he followed Arven and Doppio, a little curious about how confident they seemed to be, choosing pathways…before he heard a pattering of feet, and a small figure in a yellow raincoat waved to the group, before jumping across the haphazard pieces of the maze…exactly like how Amaina was. 

Huh…he hadn’t seen them before. He…guessed Arven just got a look…

It seemed they were making good time across the maze, until they reached a giant door, and a bunch of little gnomes were there, jumping in congratulations. Even the figure in the raincoat was clapping politely…before they suddenly grabbed one of the gnomes and turned a corner, some ripping, gnashing sounds following. 

“That one was almost pleasant,” Giovanni hummed, amused. 

 人

OoO

 人

QoQ My brethren!!

“Did the raincoat kid… eat? The gnome?” Arven asked, listening to Amaina wail in grief over her lost comrade. “Wild. I mean, still impressive, but ew.”

The next room was actually a little creepy in its clear artificialness. It was a simple, square room, but with the sky decorated onto the ceiling, and a tree and mountain landscape decorated onto the walls. And for physical objects, the room was filled with clearly constructed, artificial trees. Each trees bark long and black, some covered in greenery but some entirely bare.

The door was open on the other side of the room. Just inviting the travels to walk through.

As the did, moving through it, Arven noted, “You know, sometimes the haunted house wants you to move at a breakneck speed, but I get the sense this year they really just kinda wanted you to stroll through. Like, I think they just kinda want you to look at the craftsmanship… well, not this rooms craftsman…ship…”

Arven peered into the ‘woods’, “...did you guys see that? I swear, for a second, there was some guy in a suit there.”

Doppio grimaced a little, though…honestly he felt worse for Amaina. Which logically made sense, as she was a real person with real feelings, and the people in the haunted house were acting with props and sound effects…but still. Offering her a space in the crook of his arm against his chest, Doppio tried to console her…without looking too weird to Giovanni. 

They each looked around the new room, trying to take in the new theme and keep a look out for tricks, but…it really just seemed like an almost hokey playroom. 

“I’m not complaining,” Giovanni hummed. “If I wanted to jog for half an hour I’d go do that. But…you are right. They put a lot into the scenery this year.” Looking over where Arven was facing, Giovanni raised an eyebrow before shrugging, still strolling. “Probably.”

Doppio gave Giovanni a skeptical look. “...a-aren’t you supposed to say something like, ‘I’m sure you imagined it’ that way?”

Giovanni just sent the look back. “Creepy stuff is supposed to happen here. If Arven saw something weird, that’s probably the point.”

“He’s such a little buzzkill, I swear,” Elia sighed through a whisper.

“It’s practical, I like it.” Maki whispered back, peering through the white mask, “...So I guess Giovanni and the boys are close? I didn’t realize they hung out.”

“Neither did I,” Elia hummed, watching the boys walk. “Gio said that Arven helped him out the other day with one of his plants but…we all went to school together for years. Gio and Arven tend to get help back after class a lot, but…he’s never mentioned ever having more than a necessary conversation with him. I wonder what happened…”

Elia smiled softly. Whatever it was? …she was happy her little brother was getting more friends. He wasn’t the most outgoing, and he wasn’t really the type to get swept up by someone more outgoing either so…seeing him hanging out with people? Heh, having a proud, overbearing sister come out of the woods would probably be scarier than anything the haunted house could throw at Giovanni. 

As the two women whispered and gossiped about the boys, said boys only hear… 

Whisper, whisper.

Hsssh–hssshhh.

Whispering in the woods, as over and over again, they spotted the form of some guy just… standing there.

Menacingly.

There was a small sigh of relief as they got out the other side. “...why the hells was that so scary!?” Arven demanded, giving the room behind them an incredulous look, “That’s not just me, right!? That was creepy!”

“It’s definitely unsettling,” Doppio nodded, glancing back at the room too. “It’s an…odd choice.

“Imagination’s scarier than reality,” Giovanni yawned, before smirking as he got his breath back. “Unless in reality there’s a clown, apparently.”

“Or, like, 80 health code violations.” Doppio shuddered. 

However, the boys couldn’t sit and chat for long, as there was a sort of…clanking, scraping sound. A bursting sound followed by hissing, which…Giovanni observed, made sense, since they were surrounded by pipes, almost like…an industrial boiler room or something…

“HHHHHHRNGG!!” a furious, yet warped voice groaned, and turning the corner towards them a hulking bipedal…thing pointed a ripped pipe at them. The protruding bones and stretched muscles flexing as an array of bloodshot eyes flicked around erratically. And, quickly, the large monster man began charging at them. 

Arven spun his hat, took out his painted tennis ball and threw it at the monsters chest, “POCKET MONSTER BALL, GO!”

The tennis ball bounced off the actor. Dropping onto the ground and bouncing a few times, Arven still dramatically pointing. 

“...That means I captured you!” Arven informed the monster. “I’m a monster trainer! Consider yourself trained!”

Doppio had been gettin ready to run, this having the core signs of a chase scene to him, but as the ball lightly bounced off the actor, the four of them just stood still and stared. 

“...snrrrk.”

Before Giovanni burst into laughter, almost doubling over in his chortles before he managed to choke out, “H-hey! Hey Mister! Can we - haha! - have our ball back?!”

Doppio just blinked, almost a little shocked at just…how openly thrilled Giovanni looked, just…treating the monster like asking a curmudgeonly neighbor for a ball that went over the fence. 

The eye monster just sighed and lightly nudged the ball back towards Arven with the pipe in hand, since the costume didn’t really allow for much bending. Maybe the next group would be more in the spirit… Sure, he didn’t blame the little girl in the last group for getting too scared, but…teens, man. 

“Nnnf,” the monster grunted, pointing the way towards the next room. 

“See?” Arven said, looking proudly at Doppio, holding the pocket monster ball triumphantly, “I captured the monster, and now its showing us the way home. Truly, we have bonded… thanks man!” Arven laughed, giving the actor a small wave, before taking Doppio’s hand and heading off.

Arven was still chuckling, entirely amused with himself as he confidently walked into the next room… before SCREAMING when an explosion happened to their right. Practically jumping into Doppio’s arms as he shouted, “WHAT THE HELLS?”

When the explosion settled, the dust settled, and Arven looked in wonder around the… room? He couldn’t see where the walls started. It just… looked like it went on and on… “Wow,” he said again, looking around as he hugged Doppio, “This is incredible…”

Doppio smiled fondly and took Arven’s hand in return, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Truly the very best of monster trainers, like no one ever was. Not even the most fearsome beast makes you flinch in your quest to catch them all.”

“Except clowns.”

Doppio rolled his eyes a little at Giovanni. “Good thing clowns aren’t monsters, then.”

Both Giovanni and Doppio startled at the explosion as well, though, dutifully, Doppio caught his boyfriend, holding him close and ready to bolt…though…it didn’t seem like anything had…

“...snow?” he murmured, confused, looking at the seemingly endless white landscape. 

“...hm, I think that might’ve actually meant to be a boiler room,” Giovanni hummed, only now realizing that even the quiet rooms from before still had some sort of ambient noise…which was entirely missing here. If it weren’t for the mounds of particles everywhere, he’d almost describe it as…sterile. Or…

He gently nudged some of the…white stuff with his foot, frowning a bit as he hit…something. Something also white, that was sticking out a little, and… “...I think this is supposed to be ash.”

Arven blinked, before disentangling himself from Doppio, kneeling down and looking intently at at the stuff… before reaching down and picking some of it up. Sniffing it. “...it is, though it’s been coated with something.” Arven said, sniffing it again, before dropping it back onto the ground, standing up. Taking a deep breath of the air, tasting the scent, before deciding, “Paper? I think it’s all burnt paper. Still, wow, the effect.”

Arven took Doppio’s hand again, walking into the room. It was so eerie. He felt like he could hear his own heartbeat. His own blood running through his veins…

…the affect was lessoned a little by Amaina making snow-angels in the ash. Looking entirely pleased with herself.

“Oh, that’s good then…” Doppio murmured, even their footsteps through the room muffled. “Prince Kokichi has issues with smoke ‘n stuff, right? I can’t imagine bits of actual ash floating around would be that safe for him or other people with breathing issues…”

“The nose knows,” Giovanni hummed, partly to himself, before frowning a little more at the additional bits of bones he could spot occasionally in the ash piles. “...ugh, this is really an ‘adult-geared’ horror room, isn’t it. More about the implications of things… Creepy.”

Doppio gave him a curious look, distracted from watching Amaina have fun. “I mean…yeah, I guess if you were thinking about it as a story, it’d take a lot of stuff to produce this much ash…”

Giovanni frowned, toeing out a cracked, flaky white half-skull. “Not just any ‘stuff’.”

“...oh,” Doppio said quietly, the room feeling even more eerie now.

…it took a really hot, maintained fire to burn up bones. 

Arven glanced at Doppio, then at Giovanni, then down at Amaina, who was now happily rolling in the ash… before, turning around, he closed his eyes tight, plugged his nose, and took a deep breath before holding it– please be enough to pad, please be enough to pad– POOF!

Arven blinked, looking up at the sky painted roof… before chuckling, spreading his arms wide and moving his legs, before sitting up. His back and hair covered in charred paper, as he smirked up at Doppio, “Assuming they don’t smooth out the ash again, think this’ll convince the kids to do the same? We’re all gonna come out covered in ash, Kaito’s gonna have no idea what happened.”

“A-Arven!” Doppio yelped, reaching out to steady his boyfriend but…too slow. (And too unwilling to be truly fast.) But…considering that Arven was laughing and rolling around in the human-but-actually-paper ash, Doppio just sighed. “Gosh… Lucky there’s enough you didn’t hit your head or anything…”

“What a tragedy that would be,” Giovanni dryly hummed, idly flicking a few bits of ash that poofed up in the air. 

Sticking his tongue out at Giovanni, Doppio turned back with a small laugh. “I think it’s something they might think of anyway, but…this’ll be an idea-starter, for sure. You sure you wanna walk away covered in paper all day, though?” he asked, holding a hand out to pull Arven back up.

“I don’t mind,” Arven admitted, accepting the hand up and standing up, though he did ruffle some of the ash out of his hair, flicking it onto his hands… before going to pat Giovanni on the arm, “You’re a good sport, you know that? This has been fun.” Arven said, before brushing the ash off the rest of his hands and looking to Doppio, “Next room should be the celebration room! I remember loving these as a kid. Let’s go see what it looked like this year.”

Taking Doppio’s hand, Arven padded through the ashen room, feeling pretty happy with all of this. Honestly… the haunted house just reminded him of being a kid in general. Well, a smaller kid. He remembered facing the challenged back then too with a sort of willful disregard. Laughing at the jumpscares, playing with the parts of the set that would let him, talking to any actor or prop that would talk back to him.

The haunted house had been one of those yearly moments in his childhood where, well… it had always felt like he was doing something with other people. In a literal house that was full and lively and entirely ready to play with him.

Maybe the actors just hadn’t been willing to scare a little kid who was often going through the mansion by himself. But Arven couldn’t recall a lot of genuinely scary moments, from the haunted houses of the past. Just moments where he had felt fun and brave and laughing.

In the final room, there was laughter and cheers. The gnomes were dancing in tight, fun circles among the balconies, while a massive eel– a projection, apparently– glided across the walls. In the window, the giant octopus seemed to peek inside, a tentacle coming from the wall to wave them off. There was a pile of ash in the corner that had been built up to look like a sinister snowman of a tall, thin man in a suit, that only just barely hid the tall thin man in a suit behind him. 

On the stage, animatronic robots that Arven had noticed scattered among the carnival jauntily came to life, playing fake instruments and singing a song. Steam whistled out of pipes on the wall at appropriate moments in the songs, adding to the music. 

Arven grinned, looking at Doppio. Not saying anything, just happy and excited and wanting to bask in that with Doppio.

Giovanni snorted, looking down at the transfer of ash and not bothering to pat it off. “It’s been better than the alternative. …and, yeah. Fun. You guys are some real weirdos…but so is everyone, I guess,” he shrugged. “More fun than going through with people who don’t react at all.”

“A celebration room?” Doppio wondered, though it didn’t take long for him to find out. It seemed a little…weird and out of place for a tour that was trying to scare you the whole time…but then again, he figured that the house was meant for all people. Having a sort of culmination at the end was probably something that soothed a lot of people by the end of the house. 

Giggling a little, still giddy to see the octopus, and just…seeing all the inhabitants of each room having a good time--there was even a lady lounging on the frame of her painting, talking with the pyramid-headed guy while the two swayed a little to the robots’ music--Doppio grinned brightly through the cheers, and not even blinking blearily in the suddenly bright sunlight as they exited broke his smile. 

“...great…” Giovanni sighed, drawing Doppio’s attention…and then over to…well, he assumed Giovanni’s family, as they had been the group in front of them in line, and particularly to a splotchy-faced blond girl that seemed to be huffily turning away from each family member that tried to console her. “She’s refusing to even admit she was scared, huh…”

Running a hand through his hair, then re-adjusting his horn, Giovanni gave Doppio and Arven a small wave. “Well, that’s my cue. I’ll see you tomorrow, Arven. Bye, Doppio.”

“Goodbye!”

“Later.” Arven sent off, giving Giovanni a small wave, before giving Doppio an amused look, “I say we wait around a bit, see how covered in ash everyone is once they’re out.”

-

Kaito knew he was playing, yet again, with little baby fire…

…but Miyako’s little hands were toooo cute, and it was soooo sweet that she was just snuffling away while Kaito made her little baby arms dance around, coo’ing softly, “I’m a buff baby, look at me dance~ I can shake-ah my fanny, I can shack’ah my can~”

Miyako snorted, drooling a little, as her little baby hips wiggled in the pumpkin costume. Gah. “Is there any baby as cute as you? No? No, you’re right, there isn’t.” Kaito nodded gravely, “Terrible burden, really, being the cutest baby in the world. I don’t know how you stand it.”

Kaito then glanced around, before whispering to her with a grin, “Actually, I do know, because you get it from your dad~”

Then Kaito paused… before pouting, “Okay, well, if we’re talking ‘cute’ factor, that’s actually probably from your daddy, admittedly. But, if you we go purely by the rule of ‘cool’... no, no, that’s your dada. Hmmm…” Kaito scrunched his face a bit… before whispering, “Okay, but when you’re incredibly hot at twenty? You can tell all the people swooning over you that you got that from your dad. That one’s definitely my legacy.”

Snickering, Kaito kissed the top of Miyako’s head, before looking around. He wasn’t really sure how long the haunted house, along with the line, would really last. Looking down at the dogs at his feet, Kaito asked them, “You two bored? You wanna walk around with me?”

Chase and Chief, who were both enjoying some water bowls and doggy treats in the shade, could not have looked less interested. They didn’t even glance up. “Rude.” Kaito huffed, “Well, you’re both leashed, so it’d probably be alright for me to at least walk to a stall real quick. I won’t be gone long.”

Again, the dogs did not so much as glance at him as he stood up, Chase watching in open fascination as Chief made brutal work against a bone. Wow. What a jaw. Truly impressive. 

Kaito stood up, cradling Miyako to his chest… hesitating. Shifting back and forth on his heels a little, chewing on his bottom lip…

…okay, admittedly, like, if it was gonna happen, this would be one of the moments. 

Kaito honestly wished he was just being paranoid. It was not lost on him, how stupid it was that just walking around by himself was going to get food spilled on him. It was such a small, petty thing. It didn’t hurt… except for that one time it did. Or, second time, actually, the chili had been hot too, but… Kaito had barley felt it because he was too busy freaking out that it could have splashed on Miyako…

Kaito felt the tension grow, patting Miyako’s puffy pumpkin padded stomach. He still couldn’t understand that. Who the fuck threw chili at a baby…

Kaito looked around warily. He knew ‘disappearing’ was Firenze’s style, but he kinda wished the guy had hung around. It almost never happened when Kaito was notably with someone. Alright… alright, he was not going to be intimidated! He was just gonna go! 

…Kaito wasn’t really that hungry, he’d just sit back down.

Feeling a little mad at himself, Kaito sat back down on the fountain edge, eyeing the area where people were coming out of the haunted house. No sign of anyone yet.

Cayden Smoke hadn’t had much luck lately. In the bedroom and just, like, in general.

Oh, sure, everything was fine. He had his job and his place and his favorite drinking holes, and that was all well and good. But Cayden was the type of guy who didn’t want to settle for ‘fine’. He wanted to be great! Successful! Famous! Preferably as a musician, he thought. And it filled him with a sort of aimless resentment that he wasn’t any of those things yet. It was unfair.

…sure, Cayden could theoretically actually pursue being a musician. Which he was not currently doing and had never seriously done. But it still felt very unfair that he wasn’t one yet. He really thought it should have happened by now.

This is all to paint a picture: Cayden was a big believer in minimal effort and cut corners and big rewards just handed to him.

It was a bit of an underground secret, that people were fucking with Prince Momota. There was a lot of resentment against Luminary still, and the royal family especially, and Kaito Momota, even though his reputation steadily got better throughout the year, was still a very obvious and easy (and, honestly, somewhat deserving) target for a lot of that ire. Among certain groups, targeting Kaito for inconveniences was becoming a matter of clout, something people could brag about.

Cayden thought that was a damn shame. Kaito might have rejected him, but the big guy was still a fine slab of meat. He was probably just so stressed out from all of this. And Cayden already knew that the guy was susceptible to leaning on the first shoulder offered when he was upset.

So when Cayden spotted Kaito sitting at the found, his back turned to Cayden, Cayden thought, well… it’d be a shame if someone threw something at him now. When he was already alone and adrift at the festival, for some reason? Guy had multiple husbands and they still couldn’t keep an eye on him, huh? Shame how people wasted good things. 

But, if Kaito was drenched and then needed help, well, hey, do you remember me? You whined to me for a few hours about some guy leaving the country or something? Aww, shame about your shirt, hey, let’s go wash that off in the bathroom, yeah? 

Cayden smirked. Yeah. That’d work. 

(Cayden was ambitious. Not bright.)

Cayden glanced around, making sure no one was looking around. If he threw his drink, he just had to duck behind the fountain, crawl around it, and then pop up from the other side to help a still flustered Kaito. Cayden grinned, heart thumping slightly with excitement. Reeling his arm back and aiming–

It wasn’t so much a crunch. Firenze wasn’t crazy, he wasn’t going to break some guy’s wrist as a warning…as much as that could be a very good warning. But there was certainly a grinding sound in the dude’s wrist. 

“Hey, cuz,” Firenze said loud enough for everyone in the vicinity of the fountain to hear, his smile easy and friendly. “Careful there, looks like you almost lost your drink. Shame to waste somethin’ ya just paid for, huh?”

Honestly, being Kaito’s bodyguard hadn’t been a very difficult job so far. The guy’s life wasn’t exactly wild. Firenze didn’t mind, he liked being able to just schmooze idly around town and listen in on things not meant for little furry ears. And even being asked to keep an eye on two teens who were much more interested in making out with each other was more amusing than tedious. 

But it wasn’t like Firenze didn’t notice the looks. Not common, but…usually one or two at least on the days Kaito went into town. And looks were just looks…but they could lead to action. And today, they had. 

Overpowering the guy, Firenze forced his drink closer to the guy’s body, losing the throwing form entirely. “Party responsibly, cuz, we all want to have a good Harvest here, a’ight?”

Cayden nervous giggled, a nervous giggle that did not let up even a little bit as he gave the– honestly, very hot– guy a crooked smile. “O-oh! Wow, ‘cuz’, thanks for the… help! I was reaching up to scratch my back and, whoopsie me, forgot I was holding a drink. Really came to the rescue!” 

Cayden looked Firenze up and down… before smirking. Leaning closer, “Well, I wouldn’t mind partying with you, if you’re just going around grabbing the best looking guys arou–hrk??”

“Are you fudging serious?” Kaito snarled, grabbing the back of Cayden’s collar and pulled him out of Firenze’s grip. A hand around Miyako’s body as his eyes, too wide and literally snarling, face bright red as he growled, “Again!? You motherfudgers tried to throw something at her again?”

Cayden felt a very strange swaying motion. Oh, his feet were off the ground. That was a new one. “Oh look at that you have a daughter congratulations Kaito she’s adorable.” Cayden squeaked.

Some guys just didn’t know when to let up, huh. At least Firenze got to see the very cute moment of Kaito softening his language even in a fit of fury. The guy was every bit a dad, for real. But, some people were intent on seeing what they wanted to see. 

Leveling a cool gaze on the man dangling from Kaito’s grip, Firenze tilted his head. “Pretty bad mistake you almost made there--what kinda stronzo wants to assault a baby? Bet you feel pretty bad ‘bout what could’ve been, huh? Guilt feels like,” Firenze smirked a little, eyeing Kaito’s grip, “A tight collar? Or worse…”

His fingers flicking, Firenze held up Cayden’s ID for all to see. “Seems like you dropped this too. Since you feel so bad, you’d probably like some help talkin’ with a guard, yeah? Maybe have a little to unload the rest of that guilt. You know. From almost assaulting a family with a baby.”

Kaito was having a small problem, seeing. When he had looked over his shoulder at the commotion and saw Firenze having to push the guy’s– who Kaito was pretty sure he recognized, wasn’t this bar guy??–drink back down to his chest, he had seen red. Literal, actual red. He wasn’t even entirely sure how he had managed to get to the other side of the fountain. 

But as he blinked a few times, clearing the red from his eyes a bit, a little confused, struggling to follow Firenze’s line of logic, as he glanced down at the id… before Kaito looked around. 

Oh… people were watching. 

Kaito let go, stepping back uncertainly, unsure if he had done something wrong.He wanted to throw this asshole into the fountain. Maybe step on his damn chest and keep him down there for a second… buuuuut uh. Yeah, no, probably a bad idea. He wrapped his arms around Miyako, shielding her a bit, as he watched people whisper at each other.

But, for once, they weren’t actually whispering about him, specifically. 

“Someone threw food at a baby? What?”

“Well, he tried, anyway, did you see it, that other guy barely stopped him.”

“Isn’t that… Princess Miyako? Wait, wait, is someone throwing food at the Ouma family?”

“I swear, if LRG is starting back up…”

“Either way, what the hell…?”

Cayden smiled blankly, sweating. Ooooooh, this was the exact opposite of getting laid. Snatching his id out of Firenze’s hand, Cayden smiled crookedly, backing away and putting his hands up, “Oh, no no, lesson learned, what a beautiful baby, no need to bother the guardforce over a misunderstand–”

“I know where you drink.” Kaito growled, eyes flashing again.

“You know, maybe I should? Just to clear the air.” Cayden smiled, looking around, “Now, wheeeere would a guard be, phew, never there when ya need them huh? Classic. Alllright, you guys have a happy harvest now!”

Kaito glowered at the man, watching him walk away. Fucker… before he sighed. Letting his shoulders sag, tired. “...thanks.”

Firenze liked to think he’d kick ass and take names at this job. But…the thing that would make Kaito safer than any of his individual efforts? Was if the public was on his side. If the people throwing food were seen as losers and monsters, and no random bystander would just ignore it. Even just a sneer would help, collectively. 

If there was no social reward for being an asshat? Then that would keep Kaito safer, and probably help his social life a little too. 

Patting Kaito on the shoulder, Firenze nodded, peering down at Miyako. “Welcome, capo, happy to do my job. Principessina still sleep through all that?”

Rolling his eyes a little, Firenze shook his head and took out a small notepad from his pocket. “Lamb-heart seems like he would go turn himself in, but just in case…ehhh, this is legible enough for a name,” Firenze squinted at the notepad. The imprint of the ID was pretty fuzzy, but there was still enough information there for identification. Dang, he’d half been betting the guy’d forget to snag his ID back at all. Eh, shou ga nee na.

“You wanna get a drink or anythin’? Might still be a minute and a half til the whole squad comes back. And I think the public’s gotten enough moral outrage you’ll be left in peace to sip.” Firenze chuckled a bit, looking around the nearby food stands, taking advantage of the big attraction to set up shop. “Maybe even enough for a free one.”

Miyako snorted, her head rolling back against Kaito’s chest. Mouth open and drooling. Kaito patted her chin with his sleeve, before giving Firenze a grateful look, “Yeah, that sounds good. And, if I needed to, I could find that guy again. Dude tried to neg me into sleeping with him once. I’ve seen him around in bars since then, though I’m always with Waku then, and I think he’s a little afraid of her.”

Kaito pet through Miyako’s hair, frowning warily, “...let’s not tell my husbands, yeah? I don’t want to ruin their mood for the holiday.”

Casually putting his hands in his pockets as they walked to a stall, Firenze just shrugged. “You’re the big boss man, cuz. Ain’t my business to snitch to your hubbies--your relationship, your business. Prolly will go pop in at the guards’ office tomorrow. Even if that guy goes in, they’re on the lookout for people like that, yeah? Just be doin’ my due diligence makin’ sure he’s noted as a lead for that.”

Lowering his voice a little, Firenze checked in. “...you good, man? Adrenaline’s not leavin’ ya rattled or anything?”

Kaito bared his teeth a little. Not at Firenze, just, in general. Gritting his teeth… before he let out a shuddering breath. Patting his pocket, before pulling out his meditation stone, pulling out a little tissue and rubbing it in front of Miyako fitfully, “I’m good, I’m good… ugh. You know, I forgot I could feel like that.”

“Not angry, obviously.” Kaito said, rolling his eyes, “I’m angry all the time. But, like… I wanted to drown him. Just for a while. I wanted to see him terrified…”

Kaito sighed, shaking his head, ”And, then, what? My family comes out and sees dad acting like a monster? I give my small husband a damn panic attack? Shoot, Doppio comes out and starts getting, what, freaking… flashbacks? Ugh. It’s a good thing you were there. I couldn’t think. It’s been a long time since I was, like, mindlessly angry, is what it is. Ugh.”

Firenze shrugged a little. “Guess it’s good you can think of the consequences, but ain’t like that’s something folks are considering in that state. But yanno…ya didn’t hurt the dang guy.” He smirked. “Maybe made him wet his pants. So…it’s good. Ya handled the impulse and things turned out just peachy.”

“Oh, peachy,” he hummed. “Peach tea sounds good. You’re more of a coffee guy, yeah?”

“Yeah, coffee.” Kaito agreed, pulling open his purse, “Hold on, let me pay. I’m your employer and a Momota, I am not letting you buy me coffee. You want anything else with it?”

Getting their drinks, they wandered away from the stall, Kaito sipping his coffee, “Yeah, well, on top of making sure nothing happened in the first place, you’re worth your weight in gold just for being a set of eyes that keeps me from messing up. I am easily my worst enemy.”

Kaito then grinned, looking at Firenze, “But, ey! You did it! That was literally the situation we hired you for! Way to live up to expectations! I knew I had a good feeling about you. I have an instinct for these things, ya know?”

“Well, if you insist~” 

Taking their refreshments--it was getting closer to lunch time anyway, so this was good if the family decided to get food after the haunted house--and heading back to the dogs, Firenze chuckled and took a theatrical bow. “Thank you, thank you, I do aim to please. Or just do exactly my job description.”

Kaito smirked, “Just take the compliment, you did a good job… oh! Oh! Family incoming.” Kaito warned him, grinning brightly, quickly shoving his pebble back into his pocket before giving them a wave. “Heeey, over here! …what the heck happened?” He called out, his eyebrows raising as the kids raced forward.

They were all literally leaving behind ash in the breeze. Entirely covered in it. “Oh god,” Kaito groaned, covering his face and rubbing his temple as the kids rushed over to the dogs, untying their leashes, “Please tell me you all had a terrible accident.”

“It looked like snow!!” Cali said excitedly, soot all over her face. “Kimiko got underneath it entirely!”

“I was like a shark in water~” Kimiko preened, ash flaking off her in every movement.

“Oh no.” Kaito groaned, rubbing his eyes.

“It wasn’t faiiiiir,” Kokichi whined, wrapping his arms around Kaito and pressing into his side, truly upset but keeping his voice low to not bother Miyako. “There was a whole room with clowns and themed after a carnival, but there was a blood warning on it so I skipped it! Why the clown room?! My people!”

“I let them know, Prince Kokichi!” Bianka assured. “You still have the knowledge of each other in solitary!”

“I…think you mean ‘solidarity’, Bia,” Cheri softly laughed. 

Snorting, Doppio gave Arven a nod--hey, he was right--before giving Kaito a wave. “That was really cool! I’m kinda sad I’ve missed out on haunted houses before now, but I’m excited to keep the tradition up. Especially if they make more giant puppets of sea creatures.”

“Aw, my poor ‘Kichi. You want a clown, beautiful? I can go bully the haunted house clowns into coming out and saying hello?” Kaito offered, only half teasing as he rubbed Kokichi’s back. 

“I think that clown was alone, technically, so solitary might be true for one of them at least.” Timothy mused, mostly just wanting to back Bianka up. Though he whine a little when Shuichi came up to him, holding a dark blue handkerchief and determinedly wiping his face off, “Come on, I only dived in once.”

“Trust me, once was enough.” Shuichi scoffed, cleaning him off a bit, “Cali, you’re next, come over here.”

“I’ll roll in the grass!”

“That is not a solution. Come here.”

“Did you have a good time, handsome?” Kaito asked Shuichi, still rubbing Kokichi’s back, enjoying husband time, “Everything good?”

“Mmhm. Had a long, philosophical discussion with a giant orange octopus, discussing the linear nature of its existence. For Kimiko’s amusement.” Shuichi paused, “He was surprisingly well read.”

“I captured one of the actors.” Arven smirked.

“What a statement that desperately needs more context.” Kaito said, grinning, “Aww, it sounds like it was a good run this year then! That’s awesome.”

Bianka brightened, grinning as she was defended (though the pursuit of knowledge was never an attack!) though she soon echoed his whine as Cheri started cleaning her of ash as well. They would likely be meeting up with the rest of their family soon, and the threat of their dad deciding a mid-day bathtime was worth leaving the festival for was enough for Bianka to stay still. 

…that, and ash would probably dry out her skin if left on too long. 

“Wasn’t the octopus super cool?!” Doppio cheered, happy to hear the others had thought so too. Before he stuck his tongue out at Kaito a little. “The only context is Arven’s super cool. ….aaaaand, so, nice to see you all, buuuuut we’re about to head out, see ya.”

Taking Arven’s hand, Doppio took a step away.

“Firenze, can I ask you to be a hired thug for a second?” Kaito asked, smiling sweetly, “Pretty please?”

“Eh, sure,” Firenze shrugged with an amused grin. Stepping over to the boys, he put an arm around each of their shoulders and very strongly encouraged them to return to the group. “C’mon, fellas. It’s about lunch time anyway, surely you can spare a little time to get grub with the group. Use a little of that doting privilege to get free food~”

“All stuff on the potluck tables is free anyway,” Doppio huffed. “A-and we did eat kinda recently too.”

…though…he could kind of go for lunch. All the fruit and vegetable samples did feel more like a mid-morning snack…

“Yeah, and we have plans, ya know. Lots of people to see, things to do.” Arven insisted, though Firenze’s guidance was very stern as he was turned around, walking back to the front. 

Kaito scoffed, “Would you two just spend some time with us. I want to check in with you, make sure the days been going smooth. If you really, really insist on going, well, I would love to invite myself to whatever plans or friends you two are running off too. You think your friends would love to hear some of my wildly inappropriate high school stories? Oh, oh, did I ever tell you about the time I freaked out cause there was this lump on my–”

“Fine, fine, whatever!” Arven barked, looking frazzled, “We’ll stay for lunch!”

“Wow, they really did not want to hear about the lump on my toe.” Kaito whispered to the kids.

Cali snickered, while Kimiko’s nose wrinkled. Yeah, obviously they didn’t. Ew.

Doppio made a sort of growly, gargly noise in his throat before glaring at Kaito. “You can’t just invite yourself to stuff anyway…”

“Still, we would like to hear about how your day’s been,” Kokichi smiled softly at the boys. “How did you like costume chess? I’ve only played once with Kai-chan and Shuu-chan, but Maki-chan regales us with some of the crazier matches. And I didn’t get to see well in line, but, aw! Your costumes turned out great! It feels like Phanpy even matches, peeking out of your bag like that, Doppio!”

Coloring a little, Doppio rested his hand on the elephant’s head. “Thanks… I-I know it seems a little inconvenient to carry a stuffed animal around a festival, but…” He shrugged a little. It had felt…a little damning, to leave it at home, even if it’d be more convenient. 

“I suggested a baby carrier, but apparently that was going ‘too far’ and was ‘overbearing’,” Kaito said, fingering quotation marks in the air, “Then I suggested a babysitter, but I’ll admit, the argument that no one would babysit a plushie on a festival day was fairly decent.”

Arven puffed his chest a bit, before explaining, in detail, he and Doppio’s costume, and what pocket monsters were. He ended up talking for a while about it, as the younger kids, once they had asked a few clarifying questions and got a grasp of what they were talking about, seemed fascinated.

“Wait, but do they die?” Cali asked, looking a little worried, “After they battle?”

“No, they just go until they’re too tired and fall down.” Arven explained, “Like wrestling.”

“You’ve never been to a wrestling match, have you.” Kaito chuckled, amused.

“Look, maybe in Luminary wrestlers go till they die.” Arven joked, not thinking about it. “Here they go till they collapse.”

“Nope, and wrong, and nope again.” Kaito continued dryly.

“How do you convince them to fight for you?” Timothy asked.

“They do it because they think it’s fun and they love us.” Arven said, because why not? “Trainers bond with the pocket monsters until they’re ready to go to battle.”

“Conditioning would work too.” Timothy assured him, “If the love thing doesn’t.”

“What kind of pokemon have you made then?” Shuichi asked.

“Pokemon?” Arven asked, blinking.

“Oh, sorry, I was thinking of something else, just merged the words together.” Shuichi admitted, looking around.

“I made some!” Kaito grinned, “Wait till I tell you about Lickitung.”

“When we were talking about it, it seemed like a lot of the ‘fights’ would just be training, like…Arven and I each taking a side to direct them,” Doppio explained sheepishly. “So it’s like…getting stronger, and having fun cooperation, but no real stakes for the battle. I’d think only the ones who really want to fight, for whatever reason, we’d take into ‘real’ battle.”

Shyly getting their monster index--they got a proper journal for it--out of his bag (pardoning the rummaging from Phanpy), Doppio looked up, before blinking. “...pocket monsters…pokemon. I do like the sound of that better than pockmon. That’s cute…”

“Unlike your designs,” Doppio glowered at Kaito as he opened the…pokemon index. “You made them weird. On purpose. We don’t need to populate a fantasy world with creatures with overly defined tongues and lips. Weirdo.”

Sighing a little at his husband, Kokichi peered over the designs. “...oh, these are really cool! Did you two draw them?”

Doppio smiled smugly. “Arven did, he’s really good.”

Kaito smirked, “Aw, Doppio, Doppio, Doppio… the ones with tongues and lips weren’t the ‘weird’ ones.”

Timothy was going to ask what was ‘weird’ about tongues anyway, but he glanced over to see Kimiko and Cali sticking their tongues out at each other, Kimiko giggling around hers… and blushed, looking down at his shoes instead. Not exactly ‘enlightened’, but, yeah, tongues were weird.

Arven puffed up a bit, proud as Doppio gassed him up, “Fantasy creatures are fun.”

“Oh! Is that what you were drawing at the park? A fantasy creature?” Cali asked.

“...no, it was obviously Chief??”

Chief barked, tail wagging. 

Shuichi peered down at the designs, “...okay, but is that one just literally Dr. Mariah?” he asked, pointing towards Gothorita, “Also, the name seems a little on the nose.”

“Okay, but, can I design what the evolved version of Gothorita looks like?” Katio asked curiously.

Doppio shrugged a little. “We weren’t really going for, um…like all of them being clever. Like…the little version of the seahorse Josie came up with we’re calling Horsea. …n-names are kinda hard…”

Kokichi was used to a certain amount of general anxiety around Doppio, but…the sudden ramp up of panicked, guilty feelings, along with Doppio physically palling did give him some worry. 

Frowning and trying to look more annoyed than he felt, Doppio huffed. “...you can try. But if you make this one weird too, we’re not obligated to use any of your designs.”

…had? Kaito seen Dr. Mariah in the time that didn’t happen? Oh, he couldn’t remember… It all just felt like a panicked haze now. Sure it…probably wouldn’t mean anything if he used some of those residual memories, but…his stomach still lurched a little…

“O-oh, speaking of… I-I mean, like…obviously, I guess, kind of dumb to ask…” Doppio mumbled, talking more down to himself as he continued, “Did you guys see Dr. Mariah in the haunted house?”

Kaito hummed, “...I think It’d want to give heeler… lots of bows!” Kaito grinned, “...and make her tall.”

“Don’t be weird about pokemon based on our relationship therapist.” Shuichi said, reaching up to twist Kaito’s earring a little, “And we did. It was a bit surprising, as you can imagine. I thought she was like teachers and mentors, you know?”

Timothy looked up from the drawings, “What does that mean?”

“Oh, well, everyone knows that when mentors and teachers aren’t performing their duties, that they go to face a corner of a wall, close their eyes, and go into hibernation mode,” Shuichi said sagely, the kids looking at him with increasing fascination, “So I assumed Dr. Mariah was the same way. No hobbies. No events she goes to, or people she hangs out with. Just walking into a corner and, boom, hibernation.”

Kaito gave Shuichi a concerned look. “... the pokemon are really cool, kids, but let’s go get food and sit down, then we can admire them more.” He suddenly said, looking around, reaching over absentmindedly to pat Arven’s head as he said, “Good job, you’re making something really fun. It’s awesome to see you being creative.”

“Oh, uh… thanks?” Arven asked. Not surprised by the praise, as much, but a little surprised at how distracted Kaito seemed giving it. Like it was literally just an impulse for him, even when he had something else on his mind.

“Course~” Kaito said, “Shuichi, ‘Kichi, keep me company, I missed you guys in the haunted house.”

Bianka hummmmed, crossing her arms as she considered that. Sure, she’d only ever seen Mr. Cendril when he was doing teacher stuff. Even moving from the late class block the year before to this new one, teachers were always doing teacher stuff. And she did never see them at the market or at any parks…but that could entirely be observer bias! She needed more data points. 

Snorting a little, Kokichi shook his head and captured one of Kaito’s arms to hold. “Let’s go eat! And I missed you too, hun. I think you’d really enjoy the first room of it--it was all underwater stuff! Maybe we could go on a slow day for them later, and you could take a look with the lights on, if you wanted? It was really cool.”

Putting the index away in his bag for now, Doppio shrugged a little at Arven. “...want to get lunch, I guess?”

Kaito gave Kokichi a warm look… before his eyes widened, “We can do that??”

Arven, shrugging along with Doppio, walked in pace with him as the kids kept discussing pokemon ideas between each other, Cheri leading the way while Bianki worked out her theory with her. 

Shuichi and Kokichi hung back with Kaito, and Kaito, very deliberately, put Shuichi between them. 

“Am I about to be scolded?” Shuichi asked, Kaito being very brazen in his maneuvering, literally pushing him into place.

“No, no, not scolded, just checking in.” Kaito said, one hand on Miyako, the other rubbing Shuichi’s back, “...That’s surprising. To hear Dr. Mariah volunteers at the haunted house.”

“It was. She did a very good job too. There’s a man in there wearing a metal helmet, along with a few people in healers costumes, who I think would have captured your imagination Kaito.” Shuichi said.

“Right, right, but–”

“I’m trying not to make any assumptions, Kaito.” Shuichi sighed, closing his eyes, “We don’t know enough about the circumstances. And… how am I supposed to feel about it either way? My relationship therapist needs to have never spoken to anyone who’s ever potentially–”

“Definitively.” Kaito muttered. 

“--wronged me? I’d like to think I’ve gotten along enough in my journey to get past this that it’s not ‘shocking’ that Nao has, and continues to have, a life outside of me.” Shuichi sighed, shrugging. “There’s no winning in me theorizing or wondering about it.”

“Yupp,” Kokichi hummed, nodding. “It’s hard to arrange on Harvest since…well, you saw the line. But the haunted house is in operation for months every year, and not everyone that wants to see what the people working on it have done can do scary stuff well. There’s full tours with the lights on, tours without any of the actors doing anything deliberately scary, and you can request to just see certain rooms. I mean, I kinda did that today skipping the carnival room.”

More than anything, the haunted house was art. Performative and visual and constructed. And while there was a certain vision to it, there had become the expectation that the high barrier to entry of horror wasn’t something required to appreciate everything all the artists and performers and engineers had done. 

…and…Kokichi had learned a lot of that, and a lot of the behind the scenes work from…

Kokichi sighed softly. “...I mean…we don’t even know if she still works on it. I don’t think that changes any feelings you have,” he nodded to Shuuichi, “But… Well. It’s something we can talk about our next appointment, I guess. It wouldn’t be reasonable to try to dictate Dr. Mariah’s personal life, but we can all be transparent about it.”

“It’s really not the same situation at all, but…she has both you and Doppio-kun as clients, Kai-chan,” Kokichi pointed out. “I think she already has ideas of how to manage, like…conflicts of interest? Something like that.”

“Look, I’m not trying to argue that this has to be a conflict.” Kaito said, taking Miyako’s arms and hoisting them up in little baby surrender, “That’s not why I wanted to talk about this. I just want to make sure that you don’t feel like you can’t talk about this if it is bothering you, because it’d bring down the mood or something. I’m glad you’re not bothered by it! It just felt like if this was something that did bother you? It’s… kind of a heavy thing to be bothered by. I wanted to check in.”

Shuichi smiled, leaning against Kaito a bit, “You know, sometimes I think you worry about what happened to me more than I ever did. And that’s not me teasing. I appreciate that it’s something you worry about, and something you always jump to want to help me with. I’m not sure if, at least with Nao, I could possibly worry about it for longer than a minute before you’re ready to sit me down and basically beg me to cry about it.”

“The Nao situation scared me, so I fixate on it.” Kaito admitted, “And I know I should have focused on other things that were bothering you too–”

“Kaito,” Shuichi sighed, “That was not me chastising you, or asking you to apologize, or acknowledge your shortcomings, or whip yourself in the back for my amusement. I’m paying you a compliment. Take the compliment.”

“...” Kaito grinned, “Thank you, Shuichi.”

Kokichi huffed a soft laugh, looking over his husbands fondly. “I think we tend to struggle with maintaining any sort of ‘mood’ if we’re feeling different from it, to be honest. But…it’s always good to let each other know that we’ll always listen. Being partners isn’t something to put on hold.”

-

They ended up with a mix of banquet food and stall food, everyone deciding exactly what they were in the mood for and pursuing it whole-heartedly. And whole-puppy-dog-eyedly, in the teens’ case, as they did get the adults to pay for the stall food they wanted. Not that that was really necessary, Kokichi thought, since he was more than happy to get the boys food, but…it was kind of cute, both the pitiful expressions themselves, and Doppio’s awkwardness in asking for something that needed money. 

Miraculously finding two empty picnic tables by the pond, the large group found their places and dug in. 

“You’ve really spoiled me,” Doppio smiled softly, nudging his shoulder into Arven’s. “I don’t think any pumpkin soup will ever be as good as yours. Though I guess that just gets me to try other stuff. Walnuts and persimmons…who knew?” he mused, looking at the stuffed, roasted fruit for a moment before taking a bite.

Kaito nudged Shuichi, nodding towards Doppio gushing over Arven and rolling his eyes, putting his finger on his tongue and gagging a bit. Shuichi, snorted, before leaning in to whisper, “That is you and Kokichi. All the time.”

“No way I’m ever that bad.” Kaito scoffed, whispering back. 

“You are literally way more obnoxious about it.” Shuichi whispered… before peeking across the table, giving Kokichi an amused look, whispering to him, “You both are.”

“I really love the char they’ve put on the edges??” Arven said, pointing to the slightly charcoaled edge of the fruit, he and Doppio having just gotten the same thing this time, “I know charcoal’s a good flavor for a lot of meats, but fruit? There’s a surprising contrast to it that I really like.”

Then, grinning at Doppio, Arven said, “I bet you could do a lot of cool, experimental things with that. You’re really good at contrasting flavors. It’s really impressive.”

“You’re sooooo impressive,” Kaito whispered, mostly just trying to get Shuichi to chastise him again. Shuichi rolled his eyes and tsked at him, which made Kaito grin. Success.

Kokichi glanced up and grinned unapologetically, just shrugging. He loved his husbands and he wasn’t afraid to show it! Constantly! Whole-heartedly! And he didn’t care if it was in public either--they could adore his amazing guys too. …and it was very cute seeing Doppio and Arven do the same with each other. 

(...look, he hadn’t wanted to get too ahead of himself, but…reading a teenage psychology book couldn’t hurt him. Emotional openness was a good value, but teenagers tended to suppress things, whether to try and superficially fit in with others, or to not show any vulnerabilities, or just because they were feeling emotions more strongly and didn’t know how to deal with that. So…seeing Doppio and Arven unafraid to express their feelings to each other was a nice thing to see.)

Blushing, Doppio shrugged a little, though there was a little smile on his face. “I know it’s really good on pineapple… Um, in kind of the same principle, it should be good for most sugary fruits since the sugar would caramelize a bit. But, yeah, just roasting like this is interesting… Maybe next market day we should get whatever looks good and try some things out? It’s always fun, cooking with you.”

Shaking his head a little, Kokichi snorted. “How’re you liking your food, Kai-chan? I know I’m torturing you with spicy lips right now,” he laughed bashfully, “But this mackerel and chili oil is so good. The taro too!”

Kaito was a simple man, when it came to some things. He saw a stall selling different kinds of meats on sticks? He got a bunch of sticks covered in meats. They even had, dun-dun-dun… spice… well, no, not ‘spicy’ spice, but, like, seasoning, and really strong seasoning at that. He carefully tried each chunk of meat, suspicious of real spice… but so far it had been fine, and he was starting to get a cocky. 

“It’s good! There’s some real thick pieces of pepper on these, and my tongue’s not even tingling.” Kaito said, lifting his chin proudly.

“You know, you did have bell peppers in one of the other festivals, didn’t you?” Shuichi asked, like the thought had just occurred to him (he hadn’t, he had been considering this for about twenty minutes now), “Those are pretty hot, aren’t they? And you handled it just fine. Maybe you should try spicy food again, maybe you’ve developed a tolerance.”

Kaito blinked, before considering Kokichi’s food, “...you think?”

“It would make sense, wouldn’t it?” Shuichi asked, sipping his tea.

{Mean}

“I mean, I wouldn’t complain if you wanted to give it a shot,” Kokichi smiled softly. “But I think you should still build up slowly. You don’t immediately start cantering once you get your balance on a horse, after all.”

Picking up one of his fried, curried taro slices with a fork, Kokichi offered it. “Wanna try? It’s pretty flavorful, but the starch of the potato should help tone it down a little.”

Doppio glanced over, his attention finally pulled from Arven. “Uh… Are you sure, Prince Kokichi? It’d be pretty gross if Kaito started throwing up.”

Shuichi smirked a little, before hiding it behind his tea. Yes, he knew. 

The kids were in their own little world, still discussing pokemon stuff, having convinced Arven and Doppio to let them read the pokemon index among themselves, discussing which of the currently designed pokemon were best. They were all four already starting to develop some hard opinions. 

Kaito looked a little wary as he took the fork, leaning in to sniff it and letting his nose wrinkle a bit, before scoffing at Doppio, “I’m not gonna throw up from just one bite–”

“You literally told us you would, back at the hotel.” Arven reminded him… before adding in, “And then you did. A lot.”

“I thought I was being poisoned! I made myself throw up!” Kaito bawked, before looking flustered, he took a steadying breath… and then popped it into his mouth.

“...” Kaito carefully chewed it, “...well, I mean, it tastes good.”

“Mmm,” Shuichi agreed, sipping his tea, “...Kaito, you’re sweating.”

“Nnnnnnnnn.” Kaito whined, brow furrowing, face turning red. “Water??”

“Actually, you really want milk or something… I mean, not that we have milk, but.” Arven shrugged, watching with amusement as Kaito’s skin got even redder, the man just whimpering now.

Kokichi nodded regretfully. “I learned that early too. Never try to make my family think they’re poisoned unless you immediately wanna see vomit.” He liked to think he’d grown a lot since trying to prank Maki, though. Maybe not entirely, since he’d still offered Kaito the potato, but…

…well, he hadn’t thought it’d be that bad! Curry spices weren’t that spicy unless you did that on purpose, and Kaito liked curry nights! Sometimes! Incredibly mild versions, but…

Sighing, Kokichi moved a cup of water closer to Kaito. “More baby steps, then.”

Looking a little incredulously at Kaito, Doppio shook his head a little before getting up. “I’ll go see if there’s some place selling dairy drinks nearby. Hang in there, Kaito, don’t die.”

“Oh, Doppio, you don’t have to…” Arven tried, though his boyfriend was already up and going.

Kaito gargled something into his water, swallowed, tried again, before gasping out, “Someone please keep an eye on him??”

“I’ll go,” Shuichi said, standing up and stretching a little, “I know what kind of dairy products you like.” He said, leaning down to place a kiss against Kaito’s temple, “And it was very impressive for you to try that.”

“Thanks.” Kaito gasped around the water.

Shuichi smiled, playing with Kaito’s hair briefly– fluffy– before heading off, following Doppio. 

It didn’t take long to catch up to him, and Shuichi called out, “Doppio, do you mind some company?”

“He’s very sweet,” Kokichi grinned at Arven. “I know he likes being helpful, but…still. It’s kind. I’m glad you two have each other.”

Doppio slowed, perking slightly before offering Shuuichi an awkward smile and a small shake of the head. “No, I don’t… Though I-I really don’t mind paying for a drink on my own, if that’s why, um…”

Looking around the stalls--hm, ice cream would work, but Doppio would circle back to that if nothing else showed up--he gave Shuuichi a sheepish look. “...he’s really not playing that up, right? Like…I know he’s not, but…it feels a little… I don’t know. Not impossible, but like…it’s going to look over-dramatic no matter what, even if he’s 100% sincere.”

“Oh, you are asking a question I’ve literally been asking since I was eleven.” Shuichi laughed, shaking his head, “And, this is maybe unkind, but I’ve gotten to a point where I think Kaito’s impulse is to always oversell whatever’s going on with him a little bit? I’m not saying he’s always ‘faking it’... but I think at least subconsciously he enjoys making a spectacle of himself… or maybe even consciously, I have no idea. I’m still trying to work it out.”

Shuichi had said he was going to keep an eye on Doppio to Kaito, and he had said he was going to help choose a product to Doppio, and both of those things were a little true. But the real reason he had wanted to follow Doppio was curiosity over the boy. Not that Shuichi considered himself the ‘cold’ type, but he knew he was a little prone to apathy, sometimes, if someone else was handling a situation or he didn’t feel like he could affect something. He had felt sorry for Doppio’s situation, but Kaito was doing enough worrying about it for everyone, and Kokichi and Maki and Lake had all handled the practical sides of it anyway.

So, that was to say, Shuichi had cared, without being terribly invested.

But, like… now the guy was a tulpa. A weird little magic person, insanely rare to even magical people.

Shuichi was interested, as he asked, “You haven’t been to many of these festivals before, have you? Neither have I. Are you enjoying yourself?”

“An enigma wrapped in a mystery,” Doppio said dryly, though…he supposed he didn’t really find it that annoying…most of the time. He didn’t have to guess about Kaito’s mood or his wants, which did make things easier…and while sometimes Kaito’s compliments seemed a little disingenuous too…well, that was something Doppio could try to just accept, he supposed. When Kaito wasn’t getting a big head over it. 

Hmmm…dairy drink, dairy drink… Not a straight up dessert, if they could help it, but… “O-oh, does Kaito like lassi? It looks like they have non-sweet ones here… And that’s better than anything carbonated…”

Getting into line--pretty short, thankfully--Doppio smiled shyly and nodded. “It’s been a lot of fun. I mean…I’ve been in towns while festivals have gone on, but…I’ve never really felt like I’ve gone to a festival before, if that makes sense? It’s kind of nice, um…feeling like you’re part of the whole vibe going on.”

“Um…are you having a good time, Shuuichi? Are Luminary festivals that different?”

“Oh, Luminary doesn’t have ‘festivals’.” Shuichi said idly, and instead of asking what ‘lassi’ was, immediately answered, “He loves lassi, that’ll be perfect.”

It didn’t occur to Shuichi to clarify the difference between Luminary and Dicean holidays, as he continued, “It’s fun, but it can be a little overwhelming, sometimes. I find myself needing breaks to just sit and take a breath more often than my husbands ever do.”

Looking curiously at Doppio, he asked, “What about you? Though perhaps you and Arven don’t move as quickly as Kaito and Kokichi both seem to insist on doing.”

“Oh? Oh… I guess there are a lot of other ways to celebrate holidays too,” Doppio mused, trying to be fair, but…not really having any ideas of what those other ways could be. Getting high and giving people money, he guessed? Like Kaito had done for his religious holiday. That did seem far more low key than festivals… “I suppose that was a big discovery, living here.”

Pretty overwhelming if you weren’t used to it, definitely. 

Laughing softly, Doppio nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, we haven’t really done anything that hectic today… We entered Chief in the dog costume contest this morning, then went out to the apple orchard for the giant vegetable competition, then, um, Dimitri and the others from the chess club asked us to join their game w-which you saw, so we did that, and…the haunted house and then…now. So not that much.”

“Sounds good,” Shuichi said, “We’ve mostly been letting the kids run from thing to thing. We spent a lot of time at the game stalls this morning, which is a lot of fun. Though, Kokichi absolutely refuses to help me win games by cheating.” Shuichi said, chuckling a little, “There was this one stall where the person running the game wants people to guess how much of items were in various jars? I feel like Kokichi could do that one really easily, but no. He insisted we just eye-ball it.”

Placing their order and moving to the side, Doppio smiled softly. “They do look like they’re having fun. …they’re all dressed like you, right? That’s really cute.”

Snorting a little, Doppio looked both amused and confused. “Really? I thought Prince Kokichi hated math… I guess that doesn’t mean he can’t do it, necessarily… Did any of you guys get close?”

“Timothy did, but he couldn’t explain how he did it.” Shuichi said, “My guess is it was just an honest lucky guess, while Kaito was crowing that Timothy’s inherited his gut instincts. I think Kaito forgets sometimes that Timothy is not his biological son.” Shuichi said, literally just saying an idle thought aloud, no particular connotations to it.

When the stall called for them, Shuichi stepped forward to pick them up. 

Shuichi knew now was a bad time to discuss the tulpa stuff with Doppio, but that was alright. He was just trying to get to know the guy a little more. He had a little more tact than Kaito, he couldn’t just rush into these things.

The two made a little more small chit-chat, before settling back into the table, Shuichi passing Kaito– who already looked fine again, honestly– his lassi. “Doppio got you this, Kaito.”

“...?” Kaito grinned, looking at it in blank confusion, before saying, “Oh, thanks! This…” he squinted at it, trying to figure out what the hell it was, “...shake looks great! Thank you guys!” 

“If it’s not too weird for me to say? …as someone Kaito tried to parent, I don’t think biological connection really means much,” Doppio snorted. “If he’s decided to dad you, it seems like threatening legal action is the only thing that’ll tone down the paternal overbearingness. For his actual son, it seems like that connection’s stronger than any…like, obligatory duty from blood.”

Sitting back down by Arven, Doppio pressed their shoulders together fondly before raising an eyebrow at Kaito. “...it’s lassi? You’re welcome?”

“Oh, I think we’ve had some before, Kai-chan,” Kokichi nodded. “It’s the flavored yogurt drink! What kind did you get, Doppio?”

“Just plain, unsweetened,” Doppio informed, “I-I figured just getting straight cooling would be best…”

Lassi? Like the dog? Kaito wondered, sipping at the drink… oh! Yogurt! Oh, nice. Well, a type of yogurt anyway. Had he had this before? He might have. Hmmmm~

Kaito, looking entirely pleased with his drink, gave them both another grateful nod, before suddenly saying with determination, “Okay! This is supposed to cool me down, right!? Then let me try it again!”

Shuichi, settled in beside him, blinked… “What? No, you don’t have to do that, Kaito.”

“But you said it was impressive that I tried it! So, what’s even more impressive than trying it once?” Kaito grinned, beaming at Shuichi with a thumbs up, “Trying it again and upping the ante! Especially since I now have the cure right here! In a heroic pup!”

The kids looked up, glanced at Kaito, glanced at the dogs, “...what is Chase supposed to do?” Timothy asked the girls, confused, “I missed the first part of this.”

“I think Mister Kaito is getting a puppy!” Kimiko decided, jumping in her seat a bit.

“What, more pets? Didn’t he just get a thousand fish?” Cali scoffed, “He’s gettin’ greedy.”

Kaito slapped the table, grinning fiercely at Kokichi, “Alright babe! Fork me up! Let’s shove some lava in me!”

Doppio was…similarly confused, for many reasons, and the kids’ theories didn’t help. Like…trying something you just found out you couldn’t handle, even if you did have something to soothe, wasn’t impressive… It was kinda dumb. And… 

He leaned into Arven, confusedly murmuring, “Did…he misspeak, and meant ‘cup’?”

Sighing, Kokichi gave Kaito a fond look and split another of his taro slices with his fork. “If you really were looking to increase your spice tolerance, I’d think you’d want to try something milder that you can handle easier…but this is the most mild thing I have. Are you sure, hun?”

Kaito had really, really liked Shuichi saying he was impressed with him. “Yep! I’ve got this!” Kaito insisted, looking proud and eager as he accepted the fork from Kokichi, glancing at Shuichi– who was now looking a bit wary– and giving him a wink, before boldly popping the whole thing into his mouth, and just to really impress, holding it on his tongue.

“...” Kaito passed Kokichi his fork back, a thoughtful, curious look on his face, before saying around the taro, “wow, it’s actually a bit easier when you don’t chew–oh, nope, there it is.”

Kaito did a full body shudder, and Arven watched as Kaito suddenly tried to rapidly chew on the vegetable, before seeming to gag on it a bit, reaching for the lassi. “Oh, that’s gonna be a rough mix.” Arven observed, watching Kaito try to drink the lassi and eat the taro at the same time. “Oh, pleeease don’t throw up.”

It seemed to be a very near thing, Kaito literally standing up to walk away from the table, clearly not wanting to vomit on his family’s food as he squatted down, resting on his knees and waiting for the taste and affect to wear off. Shuichi sighed, getting up to check on him, rubbing Kaito’s back as he gagged. 

Arven chuckled, more than a little amused, as he whispered to Doppio, “Honestly, is there a prank we could possibly play that’s worse than just what he does to himself?”

“Oh hun…” Kokichi sighed, bringing over water as well as he joined his husbands. Maybe one day Kaito would gladly enjoy lightly spiced foods…but it was a ways off. 

Whispering back, Doppio smirked, “I don’t think so? At least it gives us a working example of how far not to take things. Kaito will always have that covered.”

Cheri had briefly gotten up from the table, looking around to see if she could spot Lio or Nela nearby, and with the adults gone? Bianka folded her hands under her chin, looking at Arven and Doppio with a strangely intense look. “Nela said there were a lot of weird rumors going on about you two recently. She said they were just people being nosy and rude, but a lot of rumors have a spark of the truth.”

“Clear something up for me, would you boys?” she asked. “Did you leave town to pursue being sex workers, only to get busted and dragged back by the Guardforce and be put on trial for breaking child safety laws?”

Doppio blinked at the girl, blanching. “W-what?”

“Sex workers?” Arven scoffed, “Is that what people are saying? You try to sell elephants to one strip club, and suddenly you’re ‘working’ in the sex industry. No, we’re in trouble for illegal multi-ton animal smuggling.”

“What’s a strip club?” Cali whispered to Timothy, who shrugged, while Kimiko giggled. 

“We were doing really well for a second there, before we were caught. We had all sorts of heavy-weight animals waiting for their new forever homes. Rhinos, whales…” Arven chewed on some fruit, trying to think of more heavy animals, “...hippos. But they caught us, so… ah well.”

“Hhhhhh!” added Doppio. 

At first, Bianka had an appropriate look of journalistic skepticism…before her eyes widened in awe. “You were doing illegal animal trading?! That’s huge news! Wow, how did people get that so wrong…” she muttered. 

She really did want to find the unbiased truth…but Bianka couldn’t help leaning forward, genuine curiosity in her eyes. “Are you guys the one behind the white alligator in the swamp?! Sadie said white alligators don’t exist, but she’s really dumb and doesn’t know about albinism,” she nodded to her friends (along with having bonded a bit with Tim that summer, Bianka’s tendency to butt heads with Kimiko’s bully had quickly endeared her to the other girls), “But! People do say that it’s really rare, and despite reportedly being huge, not a lot of people have seen it, and none of the scientific community have been able to tag it for studies. Did you two bring it here from a sink?!”

Doppio blinked, scratching his cheek a little. “I…don’t think there are any sinks in Dicea… There’s a giant white gator in the swamp??”

“Allegedly,” Bianka nodded.

Kimiko nodded safely, “Sadie is very dumb.”

Arven raised an eyebrow. Tell them how you really feel about this Sadie girl, damn. 

“I’m not sure if the white alligator is one of ours.” Arven said, humming like he was really trying to wrack his brain with it, “See, a giant gator would be one of our multi-ton animals fully grown. But before it gains all that weight, we really don’t want anything to do with it. Baby elephants, baby whales, baby gators? Not our field of expertise. We’d be able to smuggle it now, but not if it’s been growing in the swamp all by itself all this time.”

Looking at Doppio, Arven smirked, “What do you think, Aceto? Should we go hunt a gator? Go back to our animal smuggling ways?”

Timothy watched Doppio and Arven curiously. Not saying anything.

Putting her index finger and thumb around her chin in an L, Bianka considered that, nodding as it made sense. “I see… Even for illegal smuggling, it’d be too mean to take baby animals away from their parents and keep them in captivity.”

Glancing down, Doppio paused, gnawing on his lip…before he blushed a bit. “...it would be really cool to catch a look at an elusive like…local cryptid, basically… I-I know alligators are surprisingly fast, even on land, so you really shouldn’t get close, but…with binoculars, we wouldn’t have to…” Shyly smiling a little more, he rocked his heels in the grass under the table. “I’ve never been out to the swamp. I bet there’s all sorts of unique animals out there…”

Arven grinned, before saying to the kids, “Whelp, you heard my boyfriend. Looks like I’m back in the smuggling trade. Don’t tell on us, okay? It’ll be one last big job, finding a home for the giant albino swamp gator. After that, we can retire for good.”

Timothy tilted his head. “...” before deciding not to say anything. It wasn’t really his friends business, that Doppio had been running from his dad. No one had even really told Timothy that explicitly, he had just sort of worked it out from eavesdropping into enough conversations. Doppio’s dad was violent, and he and Arven had been trying to escape him.

And his own dad hadn’t wanted them to be alone. So he and Lake had gone to drag them back. 

Timothy had thought a few times that he should tell Doppio that Tim would defend him, if someone came to get him. He didn’t have a spear anymore, but he had a dagger, and he wasn’t afraid. There just hadn’t been a chance to do it yet, really, more than anything. If Doppio was around, usually so was his dad, fussing over him.

(Sometimes Timothy felt a little weird about that. He wasn’t sure how to describe it. He wasn’t feeling ignored, like he had when dad had refused to leave Prince Kokichi’s side all the time when the prince was sick. It was just… weird. Sometimes. Watching Kaito fuss over a different, older kid.)

(...Timothy was tougher than Doppio, so, well, it was understandable Doppio needed all this fussing. Like Prince Kokichi needing all that time and attention. Sometimes people just needed that, he guessed.)

“Think any of you guys would want the gator if we capture it?” Arven asked.

“Oh, oh!” Kimiko said, immediately raising her hand.

It was a little dramatization for the kids, but…Doppio would still appreciate their silence if he and Arven did make plans to go to the swamp. Kaito hadn’t said anything about stopping him and Arven from leaving town for Arven’s birthday, or taking other trips, but…Doppio was pretty sure he’d had an exact conversation about Kaito being wary about people being around big animals with sharp teeth. 

“It’s tempting fate, going on one last job while we’re under scrutiny,” Doppio smirked, amused, “But…I can’t say a last hurrah doesn’t sound like a blast.” He closed his eyes, face scrunching in cuteness as he blushed. “Seeing an alligator spin in the water…or seeing their cute throats! I’d just lose it!”

Nodding in agreement, Bianka pointed to Kimiko. “Kimi would take super good care of a gator! Your mom is cool about everything, so you could totally turn a bathroom into an amphibian aquarium!”

“I still think you should ask your mom ahead of time,” Cheri said, amused at what she’d walked back into. “What would you need an aquarium for?”

Bianka turned away, zipping her lips. “That’s strictly confidential.”

“What? Confidential from who?” Kaito said, wiping his mouth as he and the husbands returned, settling back in, “You know your heir-apparent is right here. I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to keep anything confidential from him.”

“Actually, there’s quite a few laws specifying that specifically isn’t the case.” Shuichi mused, ignoring Kaito ‘shush’ motions. “I learned that in university, as part of confidentiality laws.”

“Stop, Shuichi, I’m trying to lie to the kids,” Kaito pouted, before squinting at them, “Alright, spill the beans. All the beans. What’d we miss?”

“Sorry, dad.” Timothy shrugged, “Confidential.”

“My own son! Breaking the law!”

“Again, not the law.” Shuichi clarified.