Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

              Kokomi Teruhashi was the perfect pretty girl. She knew it and everyone around her knew it. She was held to the highest of standards… and that can wear on a girl.

              Since starting college, she’d been feeling even more pressure than high school had given her. She would get the best grades and easily befriend all her teachers, but what all she really wanted was to have someone she didn’t have to be perfect around.

              Everyone thought she was nuts when she applied to the most basic of colleges, though she knew there was no shame in any of them. She wanted what she wanted; everyone else could keep it to themselves. Of course, the colleges to which she applied happened to be the same ones her high school crush had also applied. She wasn’t trying to follow him. Well, at first, she was. She could never figure him out. He was so aloof and, dare she say it, boring, but it interested her to no end. She wasn’t worried about her future. With her good looks she could really get away with anything so picking a particular career was not too worrying at the moment.

              Kusuo Saiki just wanted a normal life. Since the moment he was born he knew his life would be anything but. It didn’t help that he was born with pink hair and purple eyes, something no one else in the world had. He didn’t notice it too much at first, but as he grew, he decided to alter the world a bit so he could fit in. After a few childhood incidents that basically exposed his powers to the world and a bit of moving around, his family had finally settled and he continued on his path towards normality. He was just trying to be normal and blend into the background completely unnoticed.

              But why would the world let him have anything nice?

              He knew Kokomi Teruhashi was going to follow him to whatever college he decided on, he’d given up on trying to shake her. He realized he didn’t mind her after he eavesdropped on a mixer. He heard her mention that she’d like him to be there even if he was just acting like a killjoy. Maybe she wasn’t as shallow as he initially thought, and maybe, just maybe, they could be friends. For real this time. And that’s when things started to get easier. He accepted her as her, and tried not to push down as much of his disdain for the friendship concept. It was an uphill battle, but one he resigned to as necessary.

              So when he walked into his first class of the first semester, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to find Kokomi in the center of the room surrounded by members of her fan club. He could hear her inner thoughts mumbling about just wanting a reprieve. She knew that no matter what college she’d gone to she would have run into this issue. It was what it was, but it didn’t stop her from being grumpy about it. Her face showed no malice though, just a beautiful smile that lit up the room.

              Kusuo sighed, resigned to being stuck with her forever. He had decided over the summer before college began that he was going to try a little harder with his friends. He showed up when they asked him to without making excuses or complaining, didn’t try to throw them off his trail because he knew they’d find their way back to him anyway. He wouldn’t say he and Kokomi were besties by any stretch, but they certainly were far friendlier. He heard her pleas and pushed past desperate creeps to snag the seat next to her.

              “… yes, thank you, I--- Saiki! Oh, my gosh, you go here, too? You’re in this class?” Every boy within three meters of her scowled at him.

              “Yes. I didn’t realize you’d applied here either. I heard you talking so I figured I’d sit here.” Kusuo slid his bag off and tucked it under the chair. Even though they’d been around each other nonstop over the break, talk of college was never really brought up. No one wanted to make it real, they just wanted to live in the moment.

              “Great! Hey, maybe we can be study buddies, I hear there’s a nice little coffee shop just down the street.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She blushed a little, looking off to the side.

              Suddenly, the room was flooded with “Hey what about me!” and “O-oh! I could be your study buddy too!” Kokomi had forgotten the swarm the moment Kusuo sat down. She examined her mistake.

              “W-well, I mean, he and I went to high school together and—” but she was cut off by more yelling before the teacher came in and called everyone to take a seat. She flushed a little more thinking about what she had said. She meant what she said to Kusuo, she just didn’t mean to say it in front of other people.

              Kusuo and Kokomi quickly found out nearly all their classes were the same. Kusuo swore to himself a bit. While he didn’t mind Kokomi as much, he still absolutely minded the gaggle of idiots that followed her like lost puppies. He heard her think to herself constantly about the various ways she could try to lose them. He chuckled to himself knowing that it wouldn’t be easy for her. Exhausting as it was, he decided to help her.

              Their final class was released in the early afternoon, the air cool and the breeze calm. Kokomi followed Kusuo tight on his heels as he headed towards the road. He could sense her minions following close behind. He turned to look at her, nodding his head towards a large tree near the front of campus. She nodded back and they quickly walked to hide behind it. The group, who was far enough behind, was immediately confused and shortly dispersed, cursing as they went, freeing Kokomi from their watchful gaze.

              “Thank you, Saiki,” she let out a relieved sigh, “I know I had this a lot in high school, but it seems to have only gotten crazier.”

He nodded, understanding and agreeing.

              “So… about my proposition from this morning. Would you like to study together? At that café? I mean we have all the same classes; I think it would just make sense.”

Kusuo thought about it for a moment. Kokomi’s following was a problem, but if no one ever saw them it might be okay. Plus, he hadn’t been to that café yet, so there were coffee jellies yet to be eaten.

              “Okay. That sounds nice. Lead the way.” He turned towards the road. She latched herself onto his arm, startling him. He didn’t hear her think about doing so it nearly threw him off balance. He didn’t actually budge though considering how much it would actually take to knock him over.

              “Yay! I’m buying!”

Kusuo smiled a bit. With such a pretty girl on his arm, he knew she would pay next to nothing. It was practically an invite to have every coffee jelly they had to offer. He let her lead him down the street.

              Kokomi always had a glow about her. A literal glow. It was always there, the intensity changing depending on her mood. Usually, when she was around Kusuo, it was fairly bright, like the headlights of a car facing you at all times. He knew it was because she liked him. And it was because of this that he realized she was shining brighter than he’d ever seen. It was like looking into the sun. He was glad he always wore shades otherwise it might blind him. He wasn’t sure how the average person could look at her without flinching in pain. He liked seeing her like this.

              There had been times where the glow was nearly undetectable. It had only happened a few times but there was always a common denominator. Kusuo tried not to think of him and how annoying he was. No, that wasn’t going to be a thought he’d have today, today was just about getting treated to coffee jelly by a friend.

              Kokomi knew her halo was brighter than usual. She was so glad to be where she was and even more glad that Kusuo hadn’t shrugged her off once she snagged his arm. Today had been perfect. All the same classes, he generally sat by her if possible, and he’d agreed to be study partners. Not to mention getting to go to a little café together. Yes, it was for studying purposes, but she had wished it was for more. But for now, friendship was invaluable. She needed someone to keep her steady.

              Some time prior---

The gaggle of teens met at the Teruhashi household in small groups. It was Kokomi’s turn to host. They went in order, meeting at one another’s house every day, getting in as much time together before college began. This was their second time here. Kusuo didn’t care for this but at least they weren’t in his room very often. It was his one place away from the rest of them, and he liked to keep it that way, but when the decision was made there really wasn’t a way for him to say no. Besides, his mother wouldn’t let him.

He walked up to the door, Nendo and Kaido behind him, arguing over something stupid. He didn’t bother paying attention, mostly because he didn’t care but also because he knew they would rehash the whole situation once everyone was seated inside.

Kusuo hesitated at door. The last time they’d been here had actually been pretty nice. Kokomi had made some brownies and cupcakes and served them with coffee in her room. Kusuo hadn’t said this out loud, but they were some of the best sweets he had ever had. He’d given Kokomi a thumbs up when she’d asked how they were. She lit up the room, nearly blinding everyone at the positive affirmation given to her by her crush. They’d put on some music and played some board games. They’d tried Monopoly before they realized they’d very well kill each other over the housing part of the game, and Nendo had already squandered all his money anyway.

They’d moved on to Candy Land, a game Kaido complained was for kids. But secretly he had a lot of fun and was very excited when he won.

It was a peaceful visit.

This visit was not going to be like that.

Kusuo could hear Kokomi yelling inside. They were the first to arrive but she wasn’t the only person home. Her horrible brother was inside, trying to get her to send off her friends before they even showed up. Makoto knew that Kusuo was to be joining them and he was jealous. Kokomi was holding her ground but Kusuo could tell she was at her wit’s end. He sighed in frustration and rang the bell.

The yelling stopped. He could hear someone walking towards the entrance. Kokomi opened the door revealing the trio outside. Her face melted into relief for a brief second, happy to see Kusuo. She was happy to see Kaido and Nendo too, but it was a different feeling. Her happiness was brief though as she realized how this visitation might go.

Makoto and their parents hadn’t been home the last time they had gotten together. It was the single day Kokomi said she could host with no interruptions. No one really asked what that meant as not everyone was privy to the situation. Kusuo was happy with this news as he knew how much Makoto hated him.

That hatred had not left.

“Hi, guys! Come on in, I made—” she was cut off as Makoto rounded the corner and caught sight of Kusuo.

“YOU!” He began stalking towards him.

“Didn’t you say you had something to do in town today?” Kokomi rested her hand on the door frame, blocking the exit. She smiled but it was not a smile of glee.

“What, no, I don’t—”

“Yes, I’m sure you did, something about TV Tokyo?” She closed her eyes, a full grin spreading across her face. Kusuo knew that she was smart and powerful, but sometimes her charms only worked so much. Since Makoto inconvenienced him personally anyway, he decided to intervene.

“Yes, you have an interview today, you can’t be late like last time or they’ll fire you.”

“Oh, shoot, you’re right! I gotta go!” He hastily grabbed his jacket, threw on some shoes, and was gone in the blink of an eye. Kusuo smiled to himself. Makoto was a bad person, but at least he was also gullible.

Kokomi sighed. “Wow, I didn’t think that would work. I was pretty sure he had today off, but I’m glad he’s gone. Anyway, hi guys. Again. Come on in!”

They took their shoes off at the doorway. Kaido and Nendo had changed subjects and happily asked for Kokomi’s thoughts on their new situation. She chatted away with them as she led them up to her room.

Her room had changed from the last couple of times he’d been there. Before it had been pink, joyful, and extremely tidy, much like Kokomi, but now…

“Sorry about the mess, things have been, uh, hectic with, you know, getting ready for college and stuff,” she said as she began stacking things and shoving them off to the side. “I meant to clean up earlier, but Makoto kept demanding my attention, I barely had time to make treats. I didn’t want you guys to see this but it’s whatever.” She finished up by grabbing a blanket and throwing it over the coffee table in the center of the room. It covered up weird marks Kusuo was sure weren’t there before.

It was like a tornado had gone through her room. The bookshelf had moved next to the door, her bed in front of her closet. The books that had previously been on the shelf were strewn all over the floor as if the shelf had been dumped out. Loose papers and articles of clothing peppered the floor as well. She ran around stacking things and putting this with that. She made her bed, shoving other random items onto the comforter, which seemed to have some damage.

Kusuo sat down at the neatly covered table but raised a concerned eyebrow at Kokomi. She knew that Makoto had given him trouble before and he knew he was a perv, especially when it came to his own sister. She gave him a little worried smile with her eyebrows slanted, an attempt to brush off the questions Kusuo’s face was asking. He decided that asking wasn’t going to be very helpful so he focused in on her thoughts. He wasn’t getting much, it was mostly laments about the room not being clean and how Makoto had to be so rude, but that’s all she thought before the doorbell rang and she ran off to greet the others.

Kaido and Nendo whispered between themselves about why the room was in such disarray. It hadn’t been like this last week. They quickly changed the subject once Kokomi came back with drinks and sweets, Chiyo, Aren, Mera, and Hairo in tow. She dispersed the drinks, giving Kusuo her birthday mug, as the remaining members of the group took a seat. Aren and Chiyo flanked Kaido, much to his excitement, which he very poorly hid. Hairo and Mera joined Nendo as they left a spot for Kokomi next to Kusuo.

Kokomi gingerly sat down next to Kusuo. At this point, everyone had figured out she had a crush on Kusuo and she was… not exactly fine with it, but the cat was out now, so no use denying it. She was thankful no one ever made a big deal about it but they still made sure she was close to him.

Kusuo now had acknowledged as well that he knew about her crush and made sure she knew he wasn’t weirded out nor did he think any less of her. He was confused about why it was him, and had said so, but was fine. He just wanted to be friends. Since then, she’d been much less tightly wound around him and it became smooth sailing though her feelings were still there.

Kusuo nibbled on his slice of cake, savoring every bite. Kokomi had really improved on her cakes. He wondered if it was just practice or if she’d learned something from his mom. Maybe both. He grabbed the mug to have some of his coffee when he realized it was the third time in a row she’d given him that mug. While she still wasn’t aware that he was actually the one to pick it out, it was her favorite and she liked sharing it with him. He was glad it was at least one good memory she had about Makoto.

Oh, right.

While everyone ate and talked, Kusuo sat silent, only speaking when spoken to. While everyone was busy discussing the edibility of something Mera mentioned, he nudged Kokomi slightly, trying to get her attention without alerting anyone else. The brush of his shoulder on hers sent a chill up her spine. She looked at him, lifting an eyebrow. He returned the look but with concern knitting his eyebrows together. She looked down, cheeks turning pink, not from making eye contact but from anger. He didn’t need to be a psychic to understand what she was saying. She knew he’d heard something, and besides, Makoto nearly attacked him. She looked back at him, an apology forming on her lips. He shook his head just enough for her to see. It wasn’t her fault. She had to know that. She looked away again, tired and forlorn.

Kusuo moved his hand onto her knee and patted gently, reassuring. She truly turned pink after that but felt a small wave of relief cover her. While he was glad they could communicate like this, he decided he’d have to hover afterward to ask her directly why her room was the way it was. She wasn’t thinking about it and was focusing very hard on the things in front of her, so he hadn’t yet figured it out.

The rest of the visit went smoothly. They played some charades (in which Kusuo and Kokomi were continuously paired up since they worked so well together), a few rounds of Candy Land, and then they rounded out the evening with a “friendly” bout of Uno. Makoto never came back while they were there which Kokomi was incredibly thankful for.

They left little by little, Aren and Kaido left together to continue their evening, Chiyo and Mera coupled up to get dinner, Hairo and Nendo went off to the gym to play a friendly match or twelve. Kusuo hovered. He heard the thoughts of his friends as they left, realizing he wasn’t leaving just yet. Kokomi also noticed and was secretly, to her non-psychic friends anyway, ecstatic that he was still there.

After the last pair left, she returned to her room where Kusuo was still sitting, having his third slice of cake. She came in and closed the door, locking it. She wondered if that came off as weird but ignored that thought.

“So… you’re still here!” she said, cheerily but confused.

“Yes, I hope that’s alright with you. I wanted to check on you before I left. You seem distant.” He felt weird speaking so bluntly. He hadn’t before really, but he knew something was up and became concerned. It was a new side effect of having friends. It had always existed actually; he just hadn’t acknowledged it until now.

“Oh… uh, yeah, I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong at all.” Her lip began to tremble. She tried hard to keep her composure.

“I don’t mean to pry, it’s just that, well, your room is a bit unlike you,” he said, grasping for words. Normally he had so much to say, but this was so weird. He would have avoided this if she’d only thought about it before.

“Oh, yeah, that. Well you know, college is starting soon so I thought I’d rearrange… or something. Just trying to, umm…” She could feel some tears welling her eyes.

He suddenly heard all he needed to hear.

“He’s giving you trouble, isn’t he.”

It wasn’t a question. She looked at him just as her face gave way. She started crying, shoving her face into her sleeve as she collapsed to the floor.

“I have to barricade myself in here at night. He tries to get in, I don’t know why or what he wants. I had to do it after I woke up one night with him staring at me, inches from my face!” She let the tears flow freely.

Kusuo didn’t know what to do about his friend crying. He’d seen her cry before but it was just an acting trick. This wasn’t, this was real and full of pain and anguish.

“That’s why I was so worried too when you all came over. I didn’t want him here. Especially,” she paused, looking away, “since I knew you were coming. I was so excited to see you but he hates you and I didn’t want him to harass you or anyone else but he’s so persistent and he’s bigger than me!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms out in a show. “I didn’t want to tell you guys no, mostly because I didn’t want to tell anyone. This is my mess.”

“No. It doesn’t have to be.” Kusuo, having paused since she started crying, resumed eating his cake.

“I don’t want anyone getting involved. He has power and money, I don’t want him trying to do something stupid.” She rubbed her eyes. The tears had slowed, her face was red and blotchy but still breathtakingly beautiful. Kusuo pondered how she pulled it off.

“I’m aware. But Teruhashi, you can’t be going through something like this alone. I know he’s a creep, but I don’t know how I can help you until you tell me. Or anyone else in the group.”

She chuckled sadly. “I’m ashamed. I don’t want to tell anyone. I really didn’t want to tell you, but…” She grabbed a napkin to dab at her perfect pink nose. “Well, clearly you can see right through me.”

He didn’t have the heart to tell her that that was something he literally could do. He’d most likely tell the group about his powers one day but now was definitely not a good time.

“It is what it is. Promise me you won’t tell anyone?” she asked.

“I promise. But also promise me that’ll you’ll ask for help whenever you may need it.”

“I think I can try to promise that. Here, umm, why don’t I give you my phone number?” She reached into her pocket to fish out her phone. Kusuo was glad for a moment that his parents had gotten him a phone. He didn’t really need one on account of him having telepathy and all, but they insisted. They swapped numbers and sat there in silence for a few moments, enjoying each other’s company.

“Thank you, by the way,” Kokomi said finally.

“For…?”

“For checking in on me. I really appreciate it,” she said, twirling a piece of her hair.

“Oh, yes. You’re welcome. I’m trying to… be a better person. I figured that paying better attention to the people around me, my, uh, friends, would be a good start,” he said tentatively, unsure of how to address his feelings. “I also hate your brother and don’t want him bothering anyone,” he added.

Kokomi let out a laugh, a genuine laugh.

“Well, I appreciate you and your honesty,” she said, smiling.

“I’m glad. Anyway…” he stood up, “I’m going to head out now. You have my number now so let me know if you need anything. I don’t want you at the mercy of your brother.”

“Thank you. I think I’d actually just like to text you every now and again, if that’s alright,” she said, standing to open the door.

“That’s fine. We’re friends. We can text. Let me know how things are going.”

“I hope to get the same in return,” she said, winking.

“Of course,” he said, smiling a little.

He followed her downstairs where he put his shoes on a bid her a good night, with a reminder that she could text him about anything at any time. She assured him she would though he knew she might not.

He began the trek home feeling… relieved? He couldn’t find the exact word but he felt better having opened himself a little to her. He was honored she’d opened a bit too. He knew she’d had issues with her brother but she never thought about it long enough for him to gauge the situation. Now he knew a little more and prepared himself to destroy Makoto Teruhashi if he ever came near his friend.

Chapter Text

When they arrived at the café, they were met with many stares. While it wasn’t very full, all eyes were on them. Kusuo hated this. He knew it was inevitable considering who he was with, but it didn’t stop him from getting annoyed. Her glow dimmed quickly, her head swinging side to side like a searchlight. He tried to get a grasp on her thoughts but it was like trying to read Nendo—nothing. He was pulled from his own thoughts once Kokomi gently asked the waiter for a seat somewhere in the back, out of sight from prying eyes.

              Once seated, they ordered and began to get comfortable.

              “So…” she began, twirling her pencil between her tiny fingers, searching for a place to begin. She felt like this was the last time she would ever see him. She couldn’t quite place why she felt that way, but she began to shudder, anticipation creeping up her back.

              Kusuo focused on her inner thoughts, but it was all jumbled. It was dozens of overlapping panicked thoughts, one after the other. It was busy, static on television late at night. He winced a little at the unexpected barrage of sound.

              “You okay?” She’d noticed. He waved his hand in dismissal. “Okay… so maybe we could start with English since that seems to have the most homework and then move on to algebra?” He nodded in agreement. They began pouring over their work, not making eye contact, something heavy in the air between them. Kusuo knew it wasn’t something he’d done but he didn’t understand what had changed from the walk to sitting down.

              Kusuo tried to focus on her thoughts again. This time he held onto a stream of thought that he understood: Makoto. Apparently, that morning she had found him digging through her laundry and as she kicked him out, found a pair of her underwear peeking out from inside his jacket. She wasn’t even sure how he got in the room. They’d fought about it and threats had been made. She was scared. He started to become angry. He didn’t like Makoto Teruhashi as much as he didn’t like Kusuo. Something about older brothers taking advantage of their younger siblings made Kusuo beyond angry.

              “What did you get for problem three?” Kusuo realized she’d been talking this entire time. Thankfully, he still knew what was going on. He pointed to his paper, turning it slightly to make it easier to read. “Oh, I see… it seems I skipped a step.” She began scribbling away, brows furrowed in concentration.

              Suddenly little alarms starting going off in Kusuo’s head. Makoto Teruhashi had made his way within his telepathy range. He tensed, taking a peek at Kokomi who looked like she was finally loosening up. He hated to ruin that for her, but considering what he’d just learned, he had to.

              “Teruhashi, does your brother know where you are?” She shot up as if he’d punched her.

              “Why, do you see him? I don’t want to see him. He can’t be here. I didn’t tell him anything.” She was in a state Kusuo had never seen her. He didn’t even know she could be like this.

              “I just have a hunch he’s on his way here. Why don’t you go hide in the bathroom and I’ll see if he shows up?”

              “Okay, yes. Yes, yes, yes, I’ll…” her voice trailed off as she shoved things into her bag.

She was gone in an instant. Kusuo was glad she hadn’t questioned him as Makoto was seconds away and he was on the warpath.

              The bell at the entrance rang and Makoto’s angry voice reverberated through the small shop.

              “You’ll tell me right now where my sister is!” He had grabbed the waiter by his apron.

 Kusuo didn’t like to see the staff treated so harshly. He got up and made his way to the front. As soon as Makoto saw him, it all clicked.

              “OH, SO IT’S YOU, YOU HAVE MY KOKOMI!”

              “I don’t have anyone, and she’s not yours,” Kusuo said. Makoto let go of the startled waiter and jumped at him. Kusuo let him grab his collar. As soon as his hands landed, he grabbed the offender’s wrist in a death grip.

              “Ow, what the hell, man? Let me go!” Makoto tried to back away, failed, and tried to recommit to the grip on Kusuo’s shirt.

              “How about you stop being so weird about your sister? She’s freaked out by you, and you’re overstepping your bounds. How about you get lost?”

Makoto was shaken but not yet deterred. “You think you’re so high and mighty since you’re in love with her, but I’m the only one who could ever love her properly!”

Kusuo tightened his grip on the wrist in his hand and grabbed the yet unrestrained wrist. Makoto’s fingers were beginning to lose their grip as they changed to purple. To Kusuo’s ears only, he could hear the strain of bones on their way to becoming dust. The tension in the restaurant weighed heavy on all who watched. Kusuo didn’t like attention, but he was angry now. He had his differences with Kokomi, but he hated perverts and knowing her brother was one—one who was creeping on her no less—didn’t sit well with him. If he broke Makoto’s wrists, it would not hang on Kusuo’s conscience.

              “Ach! Fine, fine. You win—for now. I’ll go. Just please don’t break my arms.”

Kusuo was glad he was starting to have better control over his strength, otherwise he might have actually snapped him like a toothpick. He released Makoto from the steel grasp. Makoto stumbled backward and out the door, tossing dirty looks to anyone around him.

              “Sorry about that, he’s a little obsessive.” Kusuo bowed to the waiter who’d been assaulted. He made a mental note to make sure he was tipped generously. He then made his way towards the restroom.

              He knocked on the women’s bathroom door gently, calling Kokomi’s name softly. She poked her head out tentatively, slight tear marks visible on her soft flushed cheeks.

              “I heard everything. I don’t know how you knew he was on his way, but I’m so glad you told me. I don’t know what I would have done. He’s been getting worse, I know you know how he is. I don’t know what to do about it, I mean it’s not like I have anywhere to go and I… I—” She come out of the bathroom entirely and the tears began to fall.

              “I think I’ve scared him off for now. I hope he leaves you alone. Do you… want to talk about it?” Kusuo had never been good with talking about feelings. He’d shut himself off nearly entirely for a good chunk of his life. He had recently been relearning how to get back in touch. It was another aspect of hanging out with his friends over the summer. He figured he should learn to be human eventually. Baby steps. Working one on one with Kokomi was somewhere to start, especially since he already knew some of the nonsense that had been going on.

              Kokomi, lip trembling, nodded. She then caught Kusuo off guard for the second time that day. She launched herself forward, wrapping her arms in a vice grip around his waist, tucking her face into his chest. Small sobs escaped her. He had no idea what to do. He couldn’t remember the last time someone hugged him, it was such a foreign concept to him. He’d seen people do it of course, but it’d been so long since he’d received one himself. Gingerly, he moved his arms to tenderly embrace her in return. Slowly, he patted the middle of her back in the most reassuring way he could muster. He didn’t know if he was doing this right, but it was the thought that counts.

              They stood like this for a minute before Kokomi came to her senses and realized what she was doing.

              “Oh, gosh, sorry. I know you are kind of touch averse. I didn’t even think, I just really needed a hug. Sorry. I hope you don’t mind.” With the sleeve of her jacket, she wiped her eyes aggressively with the hope her sadness would disappear within the woven material.

              “It’s fine. You clearly needed it. I think I needed it too. Dealing with your brother really is something.” He backed up a step, unsure of what was supposed to happen next. “Is that why you got worried once we arrived? Were you afraid your brother would find you here?” He knew the answer to the question already, but he didn’t want to give his powers away. She didn’t need too many surprises in a row.

              “Yeah,” she said, walking back towards the booth, “he’s been getting worse, like I said. Mom and Dad won’t listen to me about him. He’s the oldest, and a boy, so he’s the golden child. He can do no wrong. Not to mention the fact he’s the breadwinner of the household.”

Since they’d been gone, their order had arrived. Steam was still coming off the hot chocolate Kusuo had ordered, so it hadn’t been there long. He quietly thanked the gods.

              “I just want a normal brother, you know? Well, I guess you do kind of know. I mean I’ve met your brother. I can’t imagine what growing up with him was like.”

              “Oh, trust me, he was a nightmare. Not in the same capacity as yours, but a nightmare nonetheless. I understand the want for a normal brother.” Kusuo scoffed as he brought his first spoonful of coffee jelly to his lips.

              “A normal brother… feels wildly unattainable. I just need to get away from him forever. I had considered moving out, but I don’t feel comfortable living alone. I can only protect myself from so much.” She sipped her coffee pensively, thumbing the stir stick out of the way. “Not to mention since starting college, my parents are expecting more and more from me. I know I’m supposed to be perfect but all I want is to be allowed to be a regular person!”

              Kusuo understood better than anyone the want to be a regular person, it’s what he’d been striving for his entire life. He didn’t have any of the same pressures she did, but he still expected certain things from himself.

              “So you’re still living at home then?” Kusuo asked.

              “Yes. I’ll move out eventually, hopefully before I crack,” she chuckled, looking down at her plate, “I don’t know how much more I can take. But I’ll figure it out. What about you?”

              “I’m not sure where else I would go. I don’t mind my parents, though they’ve started to become more annoying as of late. They want me to get out and make more friends, but I’m good on my own,” he said.

              “Well, you still have me! I mean I know we were already friends beforehand but still, a friend.” She smiled, bright and wide. Her halo kicked up a few notches momentarily.

              “True, they’ll be glad to know you’re still around. I think you’re my mom’s favorite out of the group.”

              “Aww, don’t go saying that, I’ll get a big ego,” she laughed at her own joke.

              “Ah, I see, yes, it’s being my mom’s favorite that makes you the way you are.”

              She reached over and playfully batted at his hand. He laughed at the gesture.

              ---

              Study sessions like this continued for the next few months.

              As the months went on, Kusuo could hear Kokomi’s thought mellowing out. She was still stressed about living at home. She’d stayed a night or two at his place at this point when Makoto had gotten particularly bad. Kusuo’s parents had offered her the spare room to stay in, but she wasn’t sure. Makoto knew where the Saikis lived and she was worried something would happen. She didn’t know that Kusuo would be more than capable of keeping all of them safe. Even Kusuo confirmed to her that it would be okay, but she was adamant. She seemed to want to prove something.

              Kokomi eventually started staying with Mera or Chiyo on occasions under the guise of I-haven’t-seen-you-in-forever! due to Makoto not having as much malice towards them and the added bonus of not knowing where they lived. Kusuo approved of this as it kept her safe, and that’s all he could ask for really.

              At a week or two before they had to crack down on studying for finals, they met again at their favorite café. The owner now knew them and had their orders memorized and always had their booth in the back empty and ready for them. It was their own personal sanctuary.

              They sat across from each other, getting out school books and notebooks, ready to do their homework. The sessions went one of two ways usually: they’d sit in mutual silence working diligently on their school work, finishing quickly; or they’d continually get sidetracked and chat, joking around with one another.

              Today was the latter.

              Kokomi stared at her paper, tapping her pencil against the edge of the table. “So…” she began, sneaking a glance at Kusuo who was intently scribbling something, “Chiyo asked about you the other day.”

              Kusuo stopped writing. He knew what she had asked before he even read her mind. “What did she say?” He asked anyway.

              “She wanted to know how you’re doing, what you’re studying, blah blah blah, are you in love with me ‘yet’, what your plans post-college are. You know, the usual,” she said, smiling. A hint of deviousness playing at the corners of her lips.

              “Ah, I see. I assume she knows we go to the same college and all that, so the first two questions are easy. Post-college I haven’t given any thought, but the remaining question,” he leaned back in his seat looking at her, “I’m afraid it’s just not on the agenda. No hard feelings?”

              She could tell he was being silly. “Oh, how could you break my little heart like this, you fiend!” She threw her hand across her forehead, feigning woundedness.

              “I beg for your forgiveness, but you know I have no such desire to have feelings of that type.” He smirked, leaning his arm onto the table, face leaning on fist.

              “I shall think about forgiving your crimes against me. Perhaps one day my pride will heal from this cruel dismissal,” she began laughing at the silliness. He was aware she liked him, but she also knew that at this point friendship mattered much more to her. While she still wondered what it would be like to be with him, she was just glad to continue having him in her life.

              “More or less I just told her you don’t really develop feelings like that,” Kokomi said, taking a sip of her coffee.

              “And how’d she take that?” he asked.

              “She thinks you’re lying because you don’t want to admit you’re in love with me. I tried to explain that sometimes people just can’t, or won’t, until they find someone they actually like enough for that. But you know, she’s the romantic. She hopes you’ll change your mind,” she said, almost wistfully.

              “Do you?” he asked. It was a touchy subject. He knew she still liked him but that it wasn’t at the forefront of her thoughts anymore. He figured they would never have mixed anyway, but things had changed. He wasn’t in love with her by any means, but he wondered still if it could happen one day. It hadn’t. Maybe he just needed more time he thought.

              Kokomi looked at her mug, holding it tightly in both hands. “I… well, it doesn’t really matter what I think. It’s an unfair question to ask, and an unfair request of me to ask you.”

              “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to put you on the spot or anything,” Kusuo said. He really didn’t mean to change the mood, but he wondered sometimes. He wondered that if she said she liked him if maybe he could change his own mind. He didn’t see any real need for romance in his life, but like with a lot of things, he’d like to experience it even briefly. Nothing else had been normal for him up to this point, it wasn’t like he was asking for much. Or maybe he was.

              The air hung between them on a thin string threatening to snap at the slightest movement. Kokomi spoke first.

              “Anyway, feelings and all that aside, I’m glad you’re my friend. I don’t think I could be doing a lot of this without you.”

              He smiled. “I’m glad you’re my friend too.” Then tension popped like a balloon, the pieces falling to the ground to be forgotten as they are trodden on by happier moments.

              ---

              One autumn day, midway through their first semester, they sat down at their table in the local café, ready to work. It was about to be the weekend so there wasn’t much to do and they finished in no time. They continued to sit and chat.

              “My parents want to know why I haven’t been home all that often. I told them it’s because of Makoto.” She stirred her drink.

              “Wow, straight to the point. I imagine it didn’t go over well.” He didn’t have to imagine as she was currently reliving it in her mind.

              “Oh, yeah, it was a real mess. They accused me of being attention-seeking and trying to ruin my brother’s life, which I’m not. But if that happens, it happens, you know? I wouldn’t lose sleep over that.” She tasted her hot chocolate tentatively, gauging the temperature.

              “I would imagine not. Well that’s not good. This isn’t the first time you’ve brought it up either, is it?”

              “Nope, it’s probably the fifth or sixth time I’ve said it outright like that. But whatever. Thinking about looking for a place again, but…” she paused, sighing heavily, “there are so many factors. But he hasn’t broken into my room in a bit so that’s good at least.”

              “An improvement. You know you’re always welcome at my house,” Kusuo said as he began devouring his coffee jelly.

              “I know. I just feel like I’m intruding. Yes, I know I’m not,” she said as Kusuo looked about ready to correct her, “but I already have so many guilty feelings, I don’t feel like adding to it.”

              “Understandable. Wanna go get ice cream?” The question threw her for a loop.

              “What? But we’re already having dessert?”

              “Yeah, I know, but I want ice cream. There’s a little shop a few blocks down. I’m buying,” he said as he stacked his books.

              “Oh—okay, yeah, that sounds nice.” She blushed. She was unsure why she did that, but it was good to shake up their day to day routine every now and then.

              They went down the street to the ice cream parlor. Thankfully for the duo, there wasn’t anyone there at the moment. Kusuo ordered, already knowing what she wanted anyway. He got a double scoop of chocolate while she got a double of strawberry.

              “How’d you know?” she asked when he handed her the cone.

              “Lucky guess. Or maybe you mentioned it at some point,” Kusuo shrugged.

              They took their seats in the corner by the window. The golden evening sun came blazing through the blinds. Kusuo watched Kokomi eat her ice cream. He knew she was beautiful, but in this lighting, it was like seeing an angel head-on, and not the kind you see depicted in churches. The beams lit up her hair like stained glass, playing across her cheeks, adding to her natural halo. He always knew she was beautiful; those around her never exaggerated that, but sometimes when he could catch a good glimpse himself, he was blown away.

              The ice cream began to drip onto his hand a little, so he swiftly licked away at it as to not make it so obvious he’d forgotten it existed. She didn’t seem to be paying attention so it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was her company.

Chapter Text

The end of the semester was coming close. Kusuo and Kokomi had to double down on studying, not so much goofing off to be going on for now. Noses in their books, they sat in silence.

              Kokomi spoke first. “Makoto is getting worse.”

              Kusuo looked away from his book. “That’s not good.”

              “No, it’s not. I’ve spent the past few weeks at Chiyo’s or Mera’s, trying to limit my time at home.”

              “That’s good. Do they know what’s going on?”

              “I… haven’t told them. They know I have issues with him—”

              “Issues is too kind of a word.”

              “—but I haven’t given them any details. I think they suspect but they’ve been too gracious to ask. Thank goodness. I don’t know if I could tell them. Really, I’ve only ended up telling you so much because you understand, and you’ve witnessed it.”

              “I’ve more than witnessed it,” Kusuo said, closing the book and putting it off to the side, “He harasses me every now and again. Or used to anyway. He still thinks we’re secretly dating. So anytime he saw me, he’d take the opportunity to annoy me to death.”

              “Ughhhhh, I hate him so much.” She folded her arms on the table, setting her head on top.

              “I know. Don’t worry though; one day, you won’t live there anymore and you don’t even have to tell him where you live.”

              The air changed, almost like lightning shot through one and into the other.

              Kusuo heard her thoughts, almost louder than the words she spoke aloud. She wished to find someone she could stop being perfect around, someone who wouldn’t be weird to her or about her. Someone who wouldn’t go through her dirty laundry. He thought for a moment that maybe it could be him, maybe he could be the savior. But he did have to remember that she still had a crush on him, and he didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. But why hadn’t he thought of this before?

              She thought for a moment about asking Kusuo if he wanted to move in with her, but she knew that he knew about her crush on him and she didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. But he was so easy to be around, and crush or no crush, she wouldn’t mind living with him. And besides, since he didn’t return her feelings, she wouldn’t have to worry about any weird passes.

              Kusuo snapped up, locking eyes with Kokomi as she did the same. There had been very few times they’d had the same thought, but this had been one of those times. All tension left over from remembering the Makoto encounter melted, their energy melding together as if their minds had temporarily become one.

              “Let’s get a place together! Please! I know we have our differences but—but I think it’ll be good for us! I mean I think at this point we’re close enough.” She had lunged forward, clasping his hands in hers, catching him off guard for the third time that day. “I mean it would be beneficial anyway since we go to the same college and we have all the same classes and we wouldn’t have to worry as much about brothers and parents baring down on us and—”

              “Okay.”

              “Wait, what?”

              “I said okay. I think you’re right. And we need to get you away from your brother. If he’s escalating, who knows what’ll happen next.” He gently took his hands away from hers. She drooped in her seat, relief and confusion covering her face.

              “Okay. Yes. You’re serious? Of course, you’re serious, I’ve never seen you joke about something like this. Well… when do you want to start looking?” The confusion began to disperse. Kusuo could hear her thoughts speed up and multiply.

              “Well the sooner the better I’d guess.” He paused, sipping his hot chocolate. “I mean if we continue after school like this, it shouldn’t take too long. This would also make the commute a little shorter, no more buses hopefully.” He was thinking of the number of times strangers bumped into him and thought rude things. It was amazing he hadn’t killed someone out of frustration. People shouldn’t touch him. He didn’t mind when Kokomi did it though, there wasn’t malice, accidental or otherwise, behind her touch. He decided to parse those feelings out at a later time.

              The rest of their time was spent finishing up homework, the air between them cleared and calm, thinking about how they would go about what they needed to do next.

---

              “I guess we’ll both have to get jobs, and they’d have to be close to campus and wherever we end up living. I can start researching affordable student housing while you look to see who’s hiring?” Kokomi said.

It had been months since the initial incident and only a few weeks since the living together discussion. They’d been a little swamped with the end of the semester work so they had only now been able to sit down and discuss some of the finer details. They’d be done with school by the end of the week.

              “I wonder if this place is hiring. I wouldn’t mind a discount,” Kusuo said, sipping his second hot chocolate of the afternoon.

              “Oh, what, is my pretty girl discount not enough for you?” Kokomi snickered, tucking some hair behind her ear. Over the past few weeks, they’d become even closer and more relaxed around one another. Thanks to Kusuo always being around Kokomi, her followers had started to become deterred allowing her to have some breathing space. He didn’t mean to become basically a human shield for her, but he didn’t mind. He liked having a friend, and he had always been a sort of protector anyway, though only now did he resign himself to it without complaint. He found himself enjoying being with her and was almost looking forward to living with her.

              It was weird to him actually considering another person as friend. Obviously, his group back in high school had been his friends he just would never admit it, except once and it was only to her. He tried to here and there, but it took so long that by the time college had started, he still couldn’t find the words. But Kokomi was still there. He had time to work on his feelings around the concept of real friendship.

              “I mean it’s appreciated, but maybe one day I’d like to return the favor,” Kusuo said, setting his mug down, “I know it won’t be as steep, but considering I know you, I guess we’ll see what happens.” The glow surrounding her kicked up a few lumens.

              “I think I’d enjoy that. Hey Saiki, how do you feel about this place?” She turned her phone around to show him an apartment listing for two bedrooms, one bath, and within walking distance of their campus.

              “That one looks nice. Fairly inexpensive, too.” He paused, considering something. “I hope you don’t find this too forward but…” He turned her phone back towards her, brushing her hand accidentally causing her glow to flare for just a moment. “Since we’re going to be living together, I figured maybe you could start calling me Kusuo. If you’re okay with that, that is.”

              “Oh! Oh my gosh, yes! Yes, please, call me Kokomi!” She nearly launched out of her seat with excitement. “I was hoping you’d say something, I was actually thinking about that today anyway. Almost like you can read my mind sometimes.” Kusuo, with his mug to his lips, smiled to himself.

              “Okay, Kokomi. Shall we go check this apartment out?”

              Her heart began doing flips in her chest. Only a small handful of friends had been allowed to call her by her first name, but never a boy, let alone the one whole boy she had ever liked.

              “Yeah, let’s go when we’re done here, Kusuo.” It was his heart’s turn to do somersaults. Aside from his immediate family members, no one ever called him by his first name. It was… liberating. Like a weight had been lifted. Was this friendship? He quickly shook off the warm feeling building in his chest.

              They quickly finished up their work. Kusuo began packing up things as Kokomi paid for their meal, which the waiter knocked down to next to nothing due to her charm. Kusuo wished at that moment her charms could help do the same for rent. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to get a job, but he would rather not. While he was getting more used to being around people, it wasn’t as if he liked them thoroughly.

              Kokomi knew that getting a job would be the easiest thing for her. No one could say no to her. Yet with that knowledge, she wondered if she could get a steep discount on an apartment, or at the very least wiggle some money out of someone so she could put off getting a job. She was loving her newfound freedom in the comfort of Kusuo and she didn’t want to bottle it back up so soon. She prayed to God for a little help.

              The apartment complex was a few blocks down the street from the café so that was a plus in Kusuo’s book. As they walked down the road, Kokomi reached for his arm and wrapped hers around his.

              “Comfy?” he asked, raising a pink eyebrow.

She’d been doing this more lately. He didn’t mind, he realized he needed human contact every now and again too. It was good because it wasn’t too close but it didn’t feel disconnected either. The only downside was receiving all the glares that were shot in his direction. How dare he have the prettiest girl in the world on his arm.

              “I hope you don’t mind. I’m really jittery and I can’t tell if it’s from nerves or excitement. Probably both. I just need something to steady me a bit.” She turned her head away from his, blue hair flipping perfectly to hide a little crimson climbing her cheeks. “Anyway, we’re almost there. Do you think it’s ground floor or something high up?”

              “Doesn’t really matter to me as long as the neighbors aren’t annoying.”

              “Mmm, good point. I guess bottom floor would be better for moving furniture and whatnot, but then we’d have upstairs neighbors,” she lifted a finger to her lip, “but I also don’t want to be the upstairs neighbors annoying those below us.”

              “Well, we’re aware so it won’t be as bad.” He didn’t care too much really, he just wanted some semblance of peace and quiet. This was actually hard to obtain considering the constant flood of voices in his head. Oh, the voices in his head. He had given it some thought, but there’d been no final conclusion yet, he figured he should tell Kokomi about his powers. Since it would just be the two of them, he wouldn’t think twice about using them and that would be an awful lot of explaining to do. It would be either way, but the more control over the situation he could have the better.

              They arrived at the office of the complex. It wasn’t very flashy but not in disrepair. It was incredibly normal and blended in with everything surrounding it. It was perfect. The man behind the counter was an older man with greying hair and wrinkles around his eyes. He first glanced at Kusuo, judgment beginning to blossom before he saw Kokomi. Excellent. Maybe they would get a discount.

              “O-oh, wow. What can I do for you young kids?” he asked, only looking at Kokomi.

              “We’re here about an apartment, two bedrooms. Is it still available?” She smiled sweetly, leaning into Kusuo’s arm, turning her wiles up to eleven.

              “Yes, ma’am, it sure is. Second floor, is that alright? I can ask a tenant to move if that’d be easier for you!” his hands were clutched together at his chest.

              “The second floor is fine. May we see it?”

              He led them around the corner into the proper entrance of the complex and a few doors down on the right before climbing the steps. He opened the door, bowing to let Kokomi go first who still hadn’t let go of Kusuo. The apartment opened up into the living room, the kitchen off to the left. There was a window above the sink that looked into the complex parking lot. Across from the counter and sink was the fridge and a small area fit for a table for two. To the right was enough space for a small couch and coffee table. Between the two areas was a hallway that lead to the two bedrooms and a bathroom. It was small, but exactly what they were looking for.

              “We’ll take it!” Kokomi said, somehow reading Kusuo’s mind. It was a one and done deal.

              After a short moment or two talking about rent, Kokomi had managed to get the price so incredibly low, Kusuo wasn’t even sure if it was legal. But you wouldn’t see him complaining. At the very least it would mean they could put off getting jobs for a bit. They put in their application and were immediately approved. No need to run a credit check when you’re having a tenant as perfect as Kokomi. Things were looking good.

Chapter Text

A little less than two weeks later, on a Friday night, Kokomi was at Kusuo’s house, helping him pack.

              “Do you want these books too? Or this lamp?” she asked, holding the objects in question up.

              “Books can stay, but I want that lamp.” Kusuo was in the midst of folding the last of his cardigans, tucking them safely into boxes.

              “Okay, I’m going to take the lightbulb out and wrap it up,” she said, gently removing it.

              They continued like this in silence before Kusuo caught a train of thought that didn’t exactly alarm him but wasn’t good. He decided to tread carefully.

              “So, how did your parents take the news? Of you moving out I mean. Do they know you’re going to be living with me?” He didn’t look at her, she wouldn’t have looked at him anyway. He knew she hadn’t told them at all.

              “W-well… I, um, well…” she began, going pale and quickly turning her back towards him.

              “I see. Don’t you think you should? I imagine you’ve already gotten things packed at least?” He knew the answer to this question already but he was curious how she’d go about it.

              “I will tell them, I just figured I’d wait until I’m taking all my things out. And yeah, I’ve started packing. Really the only thing I need to worry about is a bed. Oh, that reminds me, will you be willing to help me move? I know I wouldn’t be able to do it just by myself, especially since I anticipate my parents and brother,” she grumbled at the word, “and I’d just like some backup.”

              “You’re helping me, I don’t know why I wouldn’t return the favor.” He threw a little reassuring smile her way. “Besides, if it gives me another chance to hurt your brother, I don’t think I’d mind.”

She let out a small laugh. “My hero,” she said, rolling her eyes.

              As the day continued, they managed to get every box and piece of furniture Kusuo wanted out and into the new apartment across the city. They had rented a small trailer to make the move easier. A thing or two Kusuo had to surreptitiously lift using his powers, especially after Kokomi nearly took a tumble helping his dad move a dresser up the stairs. He still hadn’t told her, but he knew the moment to tell her would be soon. Once they were done, and many discreet helpings later, they had planned on heading over to Kokomi’s to break the news to her family. They were hoping to avoid too big of a meltdown on Makoto’s part as well as clean getaway. The last thing the duo wanted was for him to know where they were moving. Kusuo’s parents, who had already been helping with the moving process, offered to chaperone just in case.

              They arrived at the Teruhashi household, Kusuo and Kokomi on high alert. Kusuo’s parents opted to stay in the car but ready to leave like a getaway car for bank robbery. She unlocked the front door, letting a sigh escape her before walking inside.

              The house was larger than most in the surrounding area due to Makoto’s income. Past the foyer, and in the living room, Kokomi’s parents were sitting on the couches, pouring over some important looking papers, oblivious to their arrival.

              “Hi, Mom, Dad.”

              “Oh, hello, Kokomi, nice to see you,” Ms. Teruhashi said, without looking up. She continued to scribble on whatever document she was working on without a care.

              “Hello, good evening,” Mr. Teruhashi said, swapping out the stack of papers he was focused on for another. He also didn’t glace up from his work, uncaring and cold.

              Kusuo had seen Kokomi slip in and out of personas at a glance but something was different here. Her thoughts quieted, almost as if she wasn’t thinking, and her eyes began to glaze over like she was just a puppet with no control. It was almost robotic, he thought, as her body stiffened and she stopped shaking. Her halo nearly disappeared. He’d never seen her like this and, quite frankly, didn’t want to see her like this again.

              “Yes, good evening. Um, so… I’m moving out. Right now.” Kokomi stood there, waiting. You could have heard the blood pumping through her veins if you listened hard enough.

              “That’s awfully funny, Kokomi,” Ms. Teruhashi started, “but we all know you like your little jokes.”

              “It’s not a joke. I’m already packed. I already signed a lease. I’m leaving tonight.” As Kokomi continued to speak, her voice became louder and more assertive.

              Her parents finally looked up from their work to look at her. It took them only a moment to realize that she hadn’t been joking. Kusuo could hear things that he didn’t think a parent could ever think about their child. It made him angry to see that they only saw Kokomi as their property, just a pretty thing to make themselves look better in their circle. And despite everything, she was only number two. He didn’t often acknowledge when he was having strong feelings, but as the tension in the air became more palpable, he discovered that he was beyond angry. He’d already experienced the whole world treat Kokomi as a commodity, but he never thought her own parents would feel the same way. He didn’t know much about them as Kokomi had never thought about them longer than a fleeting thought. For the longest time he thought she was just self-absorbed and arrogant, but clearly, that wasn’t the case. It was all for the sake of self-preservation. He chided himself for not seeing it sooner. It only took a moment for him to see that he had been the same way.

              It was them Makoto walked in. Actually, saying he walked in would be too generous as he more flung himself around the corner and at Kokomi’s feet.

              “No, Kokomi, you can’t leave!” he began sobbing, unconvincingly. “Please don’t go, you’re my baby sister, the love—I mean, the light of my life.” He reached out to grab her ankle. She kicked his hand away.

              “Kokomi! How dare you kick your brother!” Mr. Teruhashi stood up. “Apologize. Now.”

              “No. No, I don’t think I will. You’re all the problem, this is why I have to go. Makoto is the golden child, I’m just a prop to you.” Tears welled in her eyes. “And you keep letting Makoto get away with whatever it is he has for me. I caught him going through my laundry the other day and when I spoke up, you told me to get over it. How am I supposed to get over it when I don’t feel safe anymore? He’s escalating, and I don’t know what he’ll do next.” She paused; her breathing became shaky. “I just want a normal brother and parents who care about my well-being, but I guess I can only have so much. No, no, I can’t have anything so simple. I’m moving out.” She turned, motioning slightly to Kusuo to follow her.

              “FOUR EYES, HOW DARE YOU STEAL AWAY MY KOKOMI.” Makoto had gotten off the floor and began to lunge towards Kusuo. Kusuo reached one arm out and caught Makoto by the neck.

              “I told you already, she’s not yours and I’m not stealing her.” Kusuo felt himself wanting to punch the guy square in the teeth but figured that might kill him. While Makoto probably deserved it, Kusuo wasn’t in the habit of killing people. Makoto choked slightly as Kusuo dig his nails into his skin. The gesture was returned as Makoto began clawing at the hand wrapped around his throat.

              “You put our son down this instant!” Ms. Teruhashi screamed. Kusuo hadn’t realized it but he had lifted Makoto a few inches off the floor. Oops. He lowered him so his toes touched the ground ever so slightly.

              “You know, maybe if you were decent parents, this would never have come to this. Stay out of our way as we move things out. And you—” He made eye contact with the pervert. “You will stay out of the way. Forever. I don’t ever want you contacting Kokomi unless she reaches out first. Do you understand?” Makoto didn’t have the choice to say no. A raspy yes fell from his lips, heavy with anger and malice.

              “Good. Stay put and this won’t happen again.” He dropped Makoto like a sack of potatoes, leaving him to nurse the freshly blooming bruises on his neck. His parents leaned down to check on their precious star child.

              Kokomi had been waiting a few feet away, soaking up everything little by little. Her eyes were still glazed, trance-like. Kusuo walked over to her and gently took her hand to lead her upstairs. The touch of his hand snapped her out of her fuzz long enough to take him to her room. He focused on her thoughts. It was like searching for a coherent sentence in a bowl of alphabet soup. Nothing made sense, it was fragment after fragment, things fizzling in and out of existence.

              Now that Kusuo had made it obvious that he wouldn’t hesitate to throw down, the Teruhashis waited in the living as Kusuo and Kokomi went back and forth taking all her things from her room. The Saikis, still waiting in the car, were quickly briefed on what had transpired. Ms. Saiki waited at the front door to watch as the duo moved things out.

              As they got down to the last few boxes, Kusuo noticed that Kokomi started to get a little color back and her eyes had tiny sparkles back in them. Her halo was nearly back to its factory settings.

              The bed was the last thing to be moved. Kokomi decided that for now she just wanted the mattress. The rest was easy enough to replace, but she would like to have her mattress. This made for the last trip and they would be done. As they carefully maneuvered down the stairs, Kusuo leading towards the bottom, he heard a violent thought and reached up just in time to use his telekinesis to force Makoto back into the living room. He had snapped a little and decided to catch Kusuo off guard. For obvious reasons, this didn’t work. Kokomi’s parents didn’t notice exactly how he’d thrown him back, just that it had happened, and neither did Makoto as he was now fretting over a bleeding and broken nose.

              “Leave us alone. I don’t even want to see you again,” Kusuo said, voice raised and filled with threats of more violence. The Teruhashis stood and watched as they continued out the door. Ms. Saiki slammed the door behind them.

              “Umm…” Kokomi started as she and Kusuo lifted the mattress onto the trailer, “how did you do that? I never saw your hand connected with his face but he was flung back so fast… it was almost by magic.” They finished strapping the bed down. Kusuo shrugged and started to reach for the car handle before his hand was snatched away.

              “How did you do it? Are you hiding something?” Kokomi turned him around, looking pleadingly up at him. He had grown a few inches since high school while Kokomi had maybe gained only one. She held fast to his hand with both of hers which was almost enough to encase his. She brought it closer to her chest.

              “I’m not trying to accuse you of anything, and I know I’m not crazy, but I know you’ve got to be hiding something. I’ve known it since high school, but I can’t figure it out.” She gently closed her eyes as she let out a small sigh. “We’re going to be living together now. Don’t you think I should know if something’s up?”

              Kusuo looked away from her pleading face. He was planning on telling her soon, he just wanted it to be on his terms before she ever saw anything. But clearly, it was too late for that. He closed his eyes thinking hard about how to come out about it.

              “Hang on.” He leaned over to knock on the driver’s side window with his free hand. “You can go ahead without us. I have to explain… something.” His parents nodded solemnly. They knew what he had to tell Kokomi and knew it wouldn’t be easy. They drove off.

              “Wait, are we going to walk there? At this hour?” Kokomi started to panic a little.

              “No. No, what I have to tell you can help us get there.”

              “Okay, well start explaining then, please.”

              “I was going to tell you. I just didn’t exactly know when. Or how. But can you do me a favor and maybe not freak out?”

              “I can’t make that kind of promise and you know it.” A sly flash came across her eyes replacing the weary look she had had.

              “Okay. Well… I’m a psychic. I have awesome powers that barely any other human has. I’ve had them since I was born. I try to keep them hidden because, as you know, I hate attention.” He looked down realizing she still had her small hands wrapped around his. He gently pulled it away and tucked it in his hoodie pocket. He waited for the inevitable.

              “Huh. Aha. Ahahahahaha! Okay. Okay. Well. I gotta say, that’s not remotely close to what I was expecting. But I guess after knowing Auira and that weird temple perv, I guess it’s not that out of the ordinary. Oh wow, what am I saying, of course it’s out of the ordinary!” She clasped her head in her hands, trying to fulfill a promise she didn’t even make. “So…what kind of powers? Can you see ghosts too?” She straightened herself up, trying not to look as insane as she felt. Kusuo felt a sigh of relief. Though he could hear her thoughts, it wasn’t necessarily what was going to come out of her mouth.

              “Ghosts are not part of my normal bag of tricks, but every now and then I see one. Most notably Nendo’s dad. Not sure why him though. Why don’t we start walking in the general direction?” She nodded and then began to stroll to their new home.

              “Can you tell the future?”

              “That one is trickier. I can’t do it on command but sometimes I have dreams that’ll let me know when something particularly bad is going to happen, headaches usually follow these dreams. I usually prevent it if it’s going to inconvenience me personally.”

              “Sure, sure, sounds about right. Oh. Wait. Can you… read minds?” She stopped, turning in horror.

              “… well, yeah. Actually, that’s how I’m speaking to you right now.”

              “WHAT!?”

              “Aren’t I always coming in perfectly clear? It’s because I’m projecting my voice directly into your mind. And I can also hear your thoughts. Sorry about that.” He reached up to rub the back of his head apologetically.

              Kokomi was frozen on the spot. She knew that he knew about her crush on him, but she hadn’t realized he’d known the moment she figured it out herself. She balked at the idea of him knowing everything she’d ever thought about him or anyone else. She shuddered.

              “I’m, uhh, I’m feeling a little light-headed, I think I need to sit down.” She reached towards a fence they had been passing. Kusuo reached out as well to help steady her.

              “That’s the part I was hoping you wouldn’t freak out about. Otherwise, you’re handling this much better than I thought, which is a load off my nerves.”

              “Right, right. Nice to know I can still hold onto some semblance of perfection even when given this kind of information.” She took hold of the arm he’d held out for her to link them elbow in elbow.

              “Well that was mildly traumatizing but I think I’ll live. What other kinds of nonsense can you do?” They began walking again, the light from street lamps streaming over their faces like golden ripples in a brook shining in the sun. Kokomi took notice of how the light glared off Kusuo’s glasses and hair clips. Wait, she was thinking for a moment, are those really hair clips?

              “No, they’re not hair clips. And I do wear glasses for a reason, not just a fashion accessory.”

              Her eyes bulged. Of course, he heard what she thought. “There were so many times I thought it felt like you could read my mind and now I know you can and that was so weird to have it confirmed. Oddly nice though, I guess I don’t have to use my voice all the time.” She extended her hand outwards to tap on the ball of the not-a-hair-clip closest to her. “So Mr. Mind Reader, what are they then?”

              “It’s a control device to help keep my powers in check. I guess you’d more likely call them antenna. If I don’t have them in, my power is wildly amplified and I can cause… some problems. Also, my glasses stop me from accidentally turning people to stone.”

              Kokomi was silent for a moment. Everything started to click in. Every time she’d taken out an antenna, things had gone wrong. Then there was the time he made a boar fly into space… And the rock shaped like Nendo, it wasn’t just shaped like him…

              “Yes, that rock was Nendo. He took my glasses from me and in a moment of frustration I forgot to cover my eyes.”

              “It helped us win though. Wait how did you… unstone… him?” she struggled for a word for a concept she had only just discovered.

              “It only lasts twenty-four hours. Not sure if I would leave the house much if it put people at risk of dying. I don’t feel like holding that kind of responsibility.” He kicked a rock gently, but it still launched a few dozen meters down the road.

              “Gonna go out on a limb and guess you have super strength. Oh. That’s why even the heaviest of things weren’t actually that heavy, you were cheating!” She playfully punched him on the shoulder.

              “You would be correct, though I’m not sure if it’s cheating if I’m just using my natural gifts.”

              “I’m not entirely sure if these gifts are what I’d call natural. Supernatural more like I’d think.”

              “I just meant because I was born with them. But we don’t know where they came from, or why my hair came out like this. Or my eyes.”

              “What do you mean? Most everyone has bright-colored hair like you…? My hair is bright blue for goodness sake!”

              “They didn’t before I was born.”

              “But I’m ten days older than you.”

              “Yes, but I changed the human genome as a child and kind of changed everyone’s memories to think it was all-natural. All because as a kid I was tired of everyone having black or brown hair.”

              “You could have just changed your color, couldn’t’ve you?” She began tugging on her own hair, confusion replacing the worry she previously had from finding out about the telepathy.

              “I suppose, but I was young, and while I’ve always been some kind of super-genius—not a brag, just a fact—I didn’t really think like that. I wanted to fit in without changing any aspect of myself.”

              “Hmm, I guess that makes sense. Anyway, not to change the subject but as I’m sure you know from hearing my thoughts, I’m getting kind of chilly and our apartment is still quite a bit away. Don’t suppose you have a superpower that’ll get us there faster?” She smiled sweetly, mockingly. She had no idea the door she just opened. He stopped walking, and turned to her, smiling but with different intentions.

              “Funny you should ask.”

              Poof!

              In a blink, they had teleported directly outside of the apartment complex.

              “Oh, oh my.” Kokomi’s grip on Kusuo’s arm tightened. If he was a standard human, it might have hurt.

              “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you like that.”

               Her knees buckled slightly. Her thoughts were swimming. First, he can read her mind and knew every thought, then super strength, and now he could teleport? It was too much to process.

               “It’s fine, it’s fine. Umm, take me inside, please. I don’t have the energy—” Her knees gave way and she began to fall forward. Kusuo knew that getting used to teleportation took a while. For the inexperienced it can really mess you up. He was still holding her arm so she didn’t hit the pavement. She was conscious, but barely. He scooped her into his arms. No need to cause her any more stress than he already had.

                “Ha, this is the second time now,” she mumbled, “second time I’ve passed out and you’ve had to carry me. At least this time maybe I’ll remember.”

                “Maybe,” he allowed himself a little smile. “I didn’t mean to be the one to cause you to pass out this time. We can talk about this more later.”

                “Okay, sounds good to me.” She tucked her face into his chest, taking in the smell. Fresh cinnamon maybe? She’d have plenty of time to figure it out later.

                 Kusuo walked them up the stairs to their new apartment. He thought about teleporting inside, it had been about three minutes, but he didn’t want to freak out Kokomi anymore. He couldn’t hear his parents either, they weren’t here yet. Good. He didn’t want them to see him holding Kokomi like this. They’d never shut up about it.

                 He opted for levitating her—only a little—so he could reach the key and unlock the door. She was properly asleep and didn’t seem to notice.

                 Inside was filled with all of Kusuo’s things. His mattress had been leaned against the wall in the living room. Perfect. He floated it flat on the ground as he walked over to lay Kokomi down. Once on the bed, she curled into a ball, eyes clenched tight. He tried to read her mind, but it was jumbled again like panic had taken over her in her sleep. He played a lullaby directly into her mind to calm her. Within a minute or two she straightened out a bit, facial muscles relaxing.

                 Content with her sleeping better, he started moving boxes and furniture where he wanted it. He now didn’t have to worry about her accidentally discovering his powers so he didn’t mind using them as much as he wanted. Moving in would be much simpler this way. They’d have to discuss rooms later, so for now, he’d just figured out what was where.

                 While in the final stages of sorting his boxes, his parents finally showed up, knocking loudly and startling Kokomi awake. He wished for a moment he had warned them, but it was too late. She sat up rubbing her eyes as the Saikis came in, boxes in hand.

                 “Hey son, oh wow, looks like you’ve already taken care of most of stuff here.”

                 “Yeah, well, she knows now so it doesn’t matter. Nice to speed up the process.”

                 “Oh, Ku!” Kusuo’s doting mother cried, “You’ve come so far, I can’t believe you finally shared your secret with someone!”

                 “We’re living together now, I thought she ought to know.” He rolled his eyes a little, a grin playing on his face at his mother’s sappiness.

                 “That’s right, my handsome boy is all grown up! And he has a roommate, the prettiest roommate I might add,” Ms. Saiki winked.

                 “Let’s just get the things from the trailer, shall we?” Kusuo headed out the door. Once at the car he looked both ways, up then down, and saw nothing and no one. Not even a camera. Excellent. He used his telekinesis to lift everything and hover it up the stairs.

                 “Hey! Why didn’t you ever do that for us around the house?” Mr. Saiki yelled.

                 “Keep your voice down, we don’t need anyone to see. I’m tired, that’s why I’m doing this.”

                  Kusuo heard the voice of his mother in his mind, “Are you sure it isn’t to help out your pretty little girlfriend?” Kusuo, halfway up the stairs, caught his mom’s twinkling eye.

                 “She’s not my girlfriend, and as I said, I’m just tired. Isn’t that enough?”

                 “Sure… keep telling yourself that sweetie. Love you, Ku!”

                  Kusuo rolled his eyes as he continued his trek upstairs. Once inside, he paused. He realized they hadn’t discussed who got which bedroom.

                  “Oh, I’d like the one on the left, if that’s okay,” came Kokomi’s voice, answering his question. He wondered for a moment if she was psychic too.

                   He wandered down the hallway, if you could even call it that, into the bedroom on the left. He sorted boxes that were marked and set the bed off in the right-hand corner. Kokomi peaked around his shoulder as he moved things around.

                   “Oh. Oh wow. That’s so incredible. I wish you could teach me to do that.” She stared unblinkingly as Kusuo seeming by magic moved things around.

                   “I hope that’s a good spot for your bed. It would take nothing to move it if you want,” he said, glancing at her briefly. Her halo was much brighter than usual and her eyes sparkled, filled with wonder and excitement. It made him happy. Happy? Other times he’d shown people his powers, even his own parents, it felt more like he was being studied instead of appreciated. It was a nice change of pace. He left himself smile a little.

                   “Yes, that’s fine. We can always change it anyway, no big deal,” she ran into the room and threw herself on the bed. It was a queen size and made her look a little smaller than she was. Kusuo felt warmth in his chest seeing her happy. It sure was nice to have a genuine friend.

                    “Well, that’s the last of it. Do you need anything else from us, Kusuo?” Mr. Saiki asked as he set down a few boxes.

                    “No, that’s all.” Kusuo lifted the boxes with a flick of his hand.

                    “Okay, sweetie, you take care. Oh, I just can’t believe my baby is all moved out! I’ll miss you so much!”

                    “Don’t worry mom, I’m not really that far away. I’m sure I’ll drop by from time to time.” Kusuo turned away. He didn’t want to make his mom cry because surely she would if given enough time.

                    “Well alright, we’ll leave you crazy kids to it!” Mr. Saiki began steering his beautiful wife out the door. “Goodnight!” The door closed gently behind them, leaving the room quiet and empty. Well, as quiet as it could be for a psychic who could hear nearly every thought around him. Thankfully, it was starting to entering bedtime for most people so it went from a food court level of loud to a dull roar, quiet enough for him to more easily block it out.

                     Kokomi came out of her room. She had changed from her daytime clothes into a flannel pair of pajamas, pink and white horizontal stripes. The sleeves were a bit too long for her arms as her hands were nearly hidden.

                    “So… what first, roomie?” she asked, walking into the living room area and setting herself on the floor in the midst of some miscellaneous boxes.

                    “Well have some floor seats and a small television. We could set that up and just watch something. I think we’ve done enough tonight.” The tone hinted towards what had transpired at her house.

                    “That sounds nice. I’ll find some of my blankets while you set up. I’m guessing you can do it just fine on your own,” she chuckled as she hopped over to some of the boxes sitting by the fridge.

                    He could. It only took a minute or two to set everything up. It felt freeing to be able to use his abilities without fear. Once the television was ready, he decided to assemble some of the lamps. He didn’t really want to have the top light on all the time. He found the box where Kokomi had put the lightbulbs. Each one was tenderly wrapped in scarves, handkerchiefs, and a few stray socks. Kusuo felt warmth in his chest again but pushed it aside. He put the lamps up quickly so he could put on his pajamas as well.

                    “I can’t find the blankets, do you know which box it is?” Kokomi asked.

                    “It’s in your room, back left box,” he replied. He was in the midst of digging through one of his own boxes in search of some socks. He’d already swapped out his day clothes.

                    “Oh, I found them. Can’t believe I overlooked that box. Anyway, what do you want to watch—oh!” She had walked around the corner and found Kusuo sitting, sifting through his movies wearing comfy flannels pajamas, much like hers, but instead with blue and white stripes.

                    “We’re kind of matching,” Kokomi smiled as she planted herself next to him, nudging his shoulder as she landed. “You know because…” she motioned to her hair then his and again at their clothes. “If we swapped clothes, we’d be the same color all over!” She blushed lightly, hoping what she said didn’t come off as strange. She knew he would know her intentions behind what she said, but it still freaked her out for a moment. This whole mind-reading thing was going to take some getting used to.

                    “I suppose so,” Kusuo said. He thought how silly what she said was and shook his head. Of course, he knew what she was getting at. He mulled over her thoughts as he continued sorting through the movies, shifting to the side so Kokomi could see too.

                    “You have some… interesting movies,” she said. She didn’t recognize any of the titles.

                    “I have to branch out to things that aren’t popular. That way it’s harder to get spoiled.”

                    “Oh, yeah, I guess if you can read minds it’s not hard to learn the whole plot before you sit down. But wait, I saw you at a theater once. What’s that about?”

                    “I found a ring once that somehow blocked my telepathy. Not sure how it worked really but I thought I’d wear it to the theaters. It ended up causing more problems than it was worth.”

                    “Do you still have it?” she didn’t mean to come off as cheerful at the thought, but again, this was all very new to her.

                    “No, I lost it at the shrine on New Year’s. It’s fine though, I don’t like not being able to expect what people are going to do. It’s my normal.” He picked up a movie. “How are we feeling about this weird Dracula movie? It’s not actually Dracula, it’s just similar in name.”

                    “I hope it’s not scary, I don’t think my heart could take anything else today,” she joked.

                    “No worries about your heart, I can keep you safe.” A shift in the vibe of the room. “What I mean to say is, it’ll be fine, it’s not scary. Unless you’re scared of severe corniness.”

                    Kokomi had been right, she didn’t know how much more her heart could take tonight. It began beating harder than she thought possible. Even when she had feared for their safety earlier, her heart hadn’t beat this fast. She hoped Kusuo couldn’t hear it.

                    Kusuo could hear her heart. He felt silly. Who was that? Why did it come off like flirting when that was definitely not what he was trying to do. He gritted his teeth. He’d have to try and think a little harder before opening his mouth again.

                   “Sorry. Didn’t mean to make things awkward,” Kusuo said, pulling on a stray strand of hair.

                   “You didn’t, no, don’t worry. Sorry, it’s just—well you know, and it was sweet and unexpected and… I, uhh, let’s watch knock off Dracula!” She snatched the movie from his hands and popped it into the DVD player. She leaned back into her cushion, pulling one of the blankets tight around her shoulder. Kusuo did the same with his blanket, hiding his face, which was beginning to feel warm.

                   Once the movie had begun, the tension subsided. It turned out to be some 1980’s version of Dracula with tons of fake blood and bats on strings. Otherwise, it was wildly different and very bad. It had the duo laughing shortly, their comradery reforming as the incident from moments before dispersing.

                   The movie wasn’t very long but as the night rolled on, Kokomi found herself with heavy eyelids. She wanted to go to bed, but she didn’t want the fun to end. It didn’t feel like they’d be living together, it just felt like a very personal sleepover. They’d had sleepovers before, but that was always with the whole group. And the times she did stay at his house, just the two of them, it wasn’t like this. This was much more different and… nice. It was nice.

                   She found herself leaning against Kusuo’s arm, shoving her head against his shoulder in an attempt to get comfortable. She knew it may come off as flirty, but he was so warm and smelled nice and was a new safe space. Safe.

                   Oh.

                   She hadn’t felt safe in a very long time. She was always on high alert at her parent’s house because of her brother. She was also on edge at school because of her fan club and fear of her brother making a guest appearance. Anywhere else in public gave way to the same fears. No to mention the pressures of being perfect: perfectly beautiful, perfectly talented, and perfectly academically gifted. It was tiresome. The closest to safe she’d felt was when she was with the group, but since she’d started college, what good came of that had come and gone.

                   Except with she was with Kusuo. He didn’t judge her—not anymore at least—and he never expected her to be perfect. It dawned on her that he knew she wasn’t perfect because he always heard her thoughts. He knew she was trying her best and didn’t need to ask for anything of her. He even protected her and had been all this time without her ever knowing. She felt safe with him because she was safe with him. She smiled into his arm.

                    “Kusuo, I want to let you know how much I appreciate you. You’re such a good friend and,” she yawned, “and I just feel so safe here with you. I hope you like living with… me…” she’d fallen asleep midsentence, squished up against Kusuo.

                    Kusuo smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way, Kokomi. I think we’ll do just fine here.” He stayed where he was, supporting her as she breathed evenly, finally without a care in the world. He watched the movie until he also fell asleep where he was sitting.

Chapter Text

Morning came more quickly than hoped, light flooding through the blinds in the windows not yet covered in curtains. Kusuo opened his eyes slowly, adjusting as he went, admiring the way the light played across the white ceiling. Wait, white?

He closed his eyes faster than he had opened them. When had he taken his glasses off? Hopefully, he hadn’t accidentally petrified Kokomi. He focused in on her thoughts. Good, she wasn’t a statue. She wasn’t on the floor with him anymore either. He suddenly noticed the smell of something cooking. She was across the wide-open room at the stove, making breakfast.

“Hey, sleepyhead, welcome back to the land of the living. Eggs?”

He turned his head looking in her direction, arm covering his eyes which were still pinched shut.

“That sounds nice. Where are my glasses?”

“Oh, sorry, here.” He heard her pick them up off the counter as she walked over to him, moving his arm and placing them tenderly on his face. He opened his eyes, a green tint covering her angelic face. The simple gesture made Kokomi’s heart leap. Was that too intimate? Whatever, he needed to wear his glasses. But…

“Thanks. I was afraid for a moment that I’d turned you into a rock. Did we… sleep in the living room all night?” He’d never slept next to another person so close before. He didn’t mean to sleep on the floor all night either, he was just warm and comfy and the sound of her breathing kind of soothing and—

Okay, weird thought. He shook his head lightly. He’d put that aside for later with other ideas he’d been having lately.

“Yeah. It’s weird, I don’t even remember falling asleep. Just suddenly I was awake and laying, uhh, next to you… So, I got up to make us breakfast!” She turned away quickly to hid the soft pink hugging her face. “Oh, also you have bed head. Big time.”

“Oh. I’ll fix that shortly. I didn’t know we had eggs. Or any food for that matter.” He stood up, stretching.

“That’s because we didn’t, I ran down to the corner store to grab a couple of things so we don’t starve.”

“Good idea. I just thought we’d end up eating out somewhere until we got the apartment put together,” he said, walking over to the small table and chairs his parents had gotten them. There was just enough room between the fridge and the end of the wall that lead into the hallway. It was semi-circle in shape with two chairs the fit perfectly under it. He glanced at the intricate pattern carved into the top rail before snapping back hearing Kokomi’s thoughts ask where the plates were.

He looked at her. She looked back locking eyes. It dawned on her without a word between them.

“We don’t have plates, do we? I know I brought my cooking pans hence how I made eggs but…” she trailed off thinking why she had a spatula and whisk but no plate to be seen.

“I’m going to pop off to my parents’ house, borrow some of theirs until we get our own,” he said, turning to go to his room to get dressed.

“Oh! Are you, umm, going to teleport there?”

“Why, did you want to come if I do?” he turned back to her, a smile trying to break through his neutral expression.

“I wasn’t exactly ready when you did it last night. I’d like to try while I’m actually prepared.” She jumped with joy a little.

“Okay, we can do that then. I’m going to get dressed.” He resumed walking to his room.

“Oh hey, umm, I was just wondering if we could get my bed frame, too? I mean since it probably weighs like a feather to you.”

“I think we can swing that. Let’s eat first though. Also,” he said, poking his head out his new room, “I should mention that a lot of my powers have drawbacks. Like with teleporting, I have to wait three minutes between each time.” He went back in.

“Oh. Hmm. I just hope no one realizes when we’re there. Saturday is the one day they all usually have off. Hhhh, maybe it can wait.” She started to pace.

“If we’re very careful, we can make it work.”

“Okay. But like you said, breakfast first.”

They both quickly got dressed. Kusuo donned some slacks, a button-up, and a cardigan his mom had made for him. He glanced at himself in the bathroom mirror, cleaning up the bed head he’d forgotten. He looked so silly. He didn’t usually care much about appearances, but he didn’t expect this is how his first day with Kokomi would start. He wasn’t ready for her to see him in any way outside of what had been the norm. He never thought of himself as self-conscious, but after only living with his weird parents for so long, it had just never occurred to him. He was still thinking about his glasses. He’d overheard her think something along the lines of her waking up, seeing him sleeping, and thought that maybe he’d be more comfortable without them. She just reminded herself not to look at him until he’d put them back on. It was a nice gesture.

Kusuo walked into the living room to wait for Kokomi. She popped out a few minutes later. She looked like the idea of Spring. Her hair was down in her usual style, but she’d added a small flower barrette on the right. She was also wearing a button-up, yellow with tiny white polka dots, tucked into her black slacks. It occurred to Kusuo that other than gym clothes, he didn’t think he’d ever seen her in pants. She looked really nice.

“I liked your cardigan,” Kokomi said.

“Thanks, my mom made it. I like… your barrette,” he said, stuttering a bit. He couldn’t understand it, he’d never done that. He wanted to tell her he thought she looked pretty but didn’t know how that’d come across so he didn’t.

“Thanks! It was a birthday present from Chiyo. So… shall we go?” She reached out her hand. He took it gingerly. It wasn’t often he had to touch people.

“Yes.”

Poof!

“Oh, good morning son! Hi Kokomi, how nice to see you two,” Mr. Saiki had been sitting at the table having his breakfast when they, very literally, popped in. He eyed them as they were still holding hands. Kusuo, as quickly without breaking her hand, took his hand back.

“We need plates,” he said as he walked to the cupboards.

“Uhh, hi Mr. Saiki, good morning,” Kokomi said, confused at how Kusuo had acted. Was he always like this with his dad? Was it because they were holding hands and Mr. Saiki saw? It didn’t mean anything, Kusuo just had to be touching her in order for both of them to teleport. He knew that surely…

She decided to focus on the plates.

“Ah, plates. Yeah, I guess we never got you any. Well, we have plenty, feel free to take a few. And some silverware if you need that too.” Mr. Saiki stood up, moving to put his empty plate in the sink.

Kusuo nodded. Then he froze. Slowly he turned to look at his dad who was already looking his way. Kusuo furrowed his brow. Mr. Saiki did the same but smugly. They stood like this for what felt like a lifetime. Kokomi felt like she shouldn’t have been there.

Finally, Kusuo looked away, plates and some utensils in hand.

“Okay, let’s go, Kokomi. Dad, tell Mom I said hi.” He walked over to Kokomi who took his arm.

Poof!

“Wow, what a rush! I think I like teleporting. Why don’t you do it more often?” Kokomi asked, sitting at the table. Kusuo set two plates down along with a pair of forks.

“I try to be like every else. It also keeps me unsuspicious since I don’t want anyone to know about my powers.”

“Right… but who else knows? Obviously, your parents and your brother, and now me.”

“And my grandparents. Toritsuka and Auira since they’re also both psychics in their own right. I had to tell them before they exposed me. Oh, and Akechi, too. He knew from back in the day when I was a lot more careless. I tried to hide it, but he was too quick. Not very often I get outwitted.”

Kusuo moved over to the stove where the eggs had been sitting for the past ten minutes or so. He picked the pan up and placed it on the palm of his hand.

“Kusuo, what are you doing?” Kokomi tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

“Warming it back up,” he said, as if it was the most obvious thing.

“Do you… have a power to do that?”

“Pyrokinesis. I’ve been practicing it lately since it’s getting colder.”

“Can you do the opposite? Make it cold?”

“Yes, though I wouldn’t be using that for the eggs,” he said, grabbing one of the forks and dividing the eggs onto their plates.

“I hope not,” she smiled. She could hear her stomach rumble.

Kusuo sat down. They weren’t exactly seated next to each other but they weren’t across from one another either due to the semi-circle nature of the table. He scooted his chair in and tried not to be so close to Kokomi. He was feeling weird about being so close to a human being. Another human being he meant. Sometimes he forgot. Either way, this was different from just hanging out with the group throughout high school. He was living with her now. Felt odd to think that, it was so brand new. He’d have to get used to some new stuff. It’s good to get out of your comfort zone every now and then.

They ate their eggs in silence. Kusuo drifted, peering into Kokomi’s thoughts. He wasn’t trying to be rude, but he wondered what she was thinking about.

Kokomi chewed her eggs slowly, parsing the texture and flavor. This was her new normal. She was living with her friend. Best friend maybe? Or did Chiyo still hold that position? Didn’t matter, she could have lots of best friends if she wanted. But did he feel that way? Didn’t matter. He was her friend and he’d agreed to live with her. She still couldn’t believe it. She thought he’d say no for sure and leave her right then and there. But he hadn’t. She supposed that he had heard her internal cries for help. It made her feel like a damsel in distress. And in a way she was, but she was looking to save herself, she just ended up with some help she didn’t know she desperately needed. She was grateful to him. Her chest filled with warmth. She still had feelings for him. That was a problem for future Kokomi.

Kusuo sat in amazement. She was so silly and very much overthinking everything. But considering everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, he didn’t blame her. He could never blame her. Now that he knew the whole truth, he felt bad for any time he’d had a less than generous assumption about her. All of that had changed in the past few and he was glad for it. Maybe…

“I think we are best friends now. I mean I’m not sure what all that entails, I’ve never had one,” Kusuo said, finishing off his eggs.

“Oh! Oh, you heard that. Duh, of course you did. I’m just trying to organize my thoughts. But do you really mean it?” she turned to face him, her cheeks lighting up like sparklers in June.

He was taken aback. He feared that, for the first time in his life, his face matched a tomato. “Yes. Why would I joke about that?”

“I know you wouldn’t, I’m just so happy,” she did a happy wiggle in her seat as she reached out to grab his arm in excitement.

The touch was electric. Kusuo looked at her hand on him, unmoving. It became obvious to Kokomi that she would have to stop doing that. For a moment, she wanted to lean over and—

No, no. No. She cleared her thoughts as quickly as they came. She was just over-excited about Kusuo finally admitting they were friends, best friends no less!

She let go of his arm, fretting with the hem of her shirt, tucking it back in place.

“So… when shall we go get my bed frame? And maybe start putting the apartment together.” She fidgeted with every loose object on her, and then again for good measure. Anything to keep her hands busy.

“We can do that now,” Kusuo stood up. He moved to the counter and set his plate down. He tapped it lightly. Clean. He walked back to Kokomi and did the same with her plate and the forks. She sat absolutely bewildered but decided to ask for elaboration later.

“Great. Great…” Fear began to spread through her. In and out, that was it. She had Kusuo to protect her, it would be fine.

“Oh, you know, there’s one other precaution we can take.” He grabbed her hand. She nearly yanked her hand back in surprise but caught herself.

“While we’re there, don’t make a sound and don’t let go,” he instructed. She nodded.

They continued to stand in their kitchen.

“Uhh, so what’s supposed to happen?” she asked after a minute of standing still in complete silence.

“Look at me.”

She looked at him. Well, at least that’s what she tried to do. He wasn’t there. But he must have been because she was holding his hand and… where had her hand gone? Where had any of her gone? She started to panic momentarily.

“Invisibility. It’ll only last a few minutes so don’t let go. And we’re off.”

Poof!

Kokomi blinked and they were in her room. Her old room, she reminded herself. It looked like a ghost town. Nothing remained but the bed frame. She stood there silently, squeezing Kusuo’s hand periodically as reassurance, to make sure he was still there. Once or twice he returned the sign.

Every now and then they could hear voices downstairs. Once, they felt someone walk by the room. Kokomi prayed that no one would try to come in. They wouldn’t have been able to see them, but she could see whoever came in and that was too much on its own.

At one point, someone stopped in front of the door. Kokomi’s heart stopped. Eventually, they began moving again.

There was no clock in the room, so she couldn’t be sure of how much time had passed. It felt like they’d stood there for eons. When she thought she was about to snap she heard a whisper in her head.

“Hold tight.”

Poof!

They were back at the apartment, this time in Kokomi’s room. She looked down at their hands, fingers still intertwined. Oh, she could see them again. She let go.

“So where did you want this?” Kusuo asked. He had his hand held out as it was levitating the bed frame a few feet off the ground. She laughed a little internally at how crazy this all was.

She absently motioned to the corner where her mattress lay. He lifted his other hand moving the mattress onto the bed frame and then the bed frame where the mattress had just been. It sat in the corner of the room next to where the window was. She walked over, kicked off her shoes, and threw herself onto the bed facedown.

“Are you okay?” Kusuo asked. He knew she wasn’t, but he didn’t want to make a habit of searching her mind for answers. He’d never felt weird about it before, but this was wildly new territory for him now that she was privy.

“It’s just been a long life and day and I think I want to nap but I also don’t want to be alone but I also need alone time and I think I need to have a little cry,” Kokomi said. Well, “said” may be too generous as her face was mushed into the bedspread. The sound came out muffled and a little wet as she had already begun crying silently.

              She rolled over onto her back towards the wall. A few tear stains streaked her delicate features and flushed face.

              “I’m not trying to be like this. I didn’t want you to see me like this ever, but especially not so soon, not again. But I know you get it.”

 Kusuo shifted from one foot to the other, unsure of what to do next. He decided to sit on the edge of her bed. He reached out, unsure. He finally patted her arm reassuringly.

“I do get it. Remember, I have a brother who is less than ideal myself. I know it’s not the same, but I get it.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, both thinking of what to do next. They’d already caught up on homework on Thursday in expectation of moving on Friday.

“While you rest up, I’m going to continue sorting the boxes. I’ll bring any of you remaining ones in here for you.” He started to stand up, but Kokomi pulled on his arm. He stopped, looking back at her.

“Can I… have a hug?” Her hand shook slightly on his arm. Kusuo was a little surprised but glad she had asked first.

He sat back down, turned towards her with arms wide open. She scooted herself over and threw herself into them. She buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around him tightly. He was warm and smelled like a sugary dessert.

Kusuo, still a little weirded out by physical touch like this, hesitated before hugging her back. He tentatively moved one hand to the back of her head, brushing loose strands of her hair in sync with her heartbeat. After a second, he stopped doing that. It felt natural to do that, but since when was he so full of care? If you had told him a month ago that anything that had happened recently would be his future, he might have obliterated you on the spot. But now… He had noticed he was changing and it was all because of her. It had taken so long for her to get under his skin, but had she? She’d always been there, waiting patiently, growing, hoping to bloom and make him more receptive and beautiful. He scolded himself for letting it get to this. But he supposed it was time to change and grow.

They sat there in their embrace for a few millennia. Kokomi eventually felt herself becoming sleepy beyond control and loosen her grip.

“I’m gonna nap,” she said as she backed up and curled up into a ball, eyes closed, “thank you for the hug, I needed that. Good night, love you…” She passed out.

Wait. What did she just say? He must have misheard, surely… He shook his head. Time to focus on organizing the boxes.

Chapter Text

The afternoon droned on, lazy and cool. Kusuo decided to put together his room. Every now and then he would try to do things how normal people would, but today was not the day to do that. He didn’t have any need to practice with his powers anymore, but they did continue to grow.

Using telekinesis, he moved the dresser by the door, his bookshelf next to the closet, and his desk under the window. His bed would go in the corner next to his desk. Once the furniture was where he wanted it, he started sorting his clothes, moving pieces to either the closet where they would hang themselves up or into the dresser, folding themselves neatly. He was in the middle of organizing his books and knick-knacks when a sleepy Kokomi shuffled into the door frame.

Her hair was side-swept from how she slept, her shirt untucked and a bit wrinkled, the barrette further down her hair than intended, and she was carefully rubbing her eye at the unanticipated brightness of the room. Kusuo found a stopping point and looked at her.

“Ah, Sleeping Beauty. Have a refreshing nap?” He was sitting criss-cross and patted the carpet next to him for her to sit down.

She wobbled sleepily over to where he had indicated and plopped down.

“It was good, I think I really needed that. How long was I out?”

“Maybe an hour or so. I got a lot of the living room sorted and my room is almost done too.”

“Good, good. Gosh, my hair is a mess,” she said as she attempted to comb it out with her fingers. She removed the barrette to avoid further tangling. She brushed some strands behind her ear and Kusuo could see imprints of her rumpled blanket on her soft pink cheeks, the mark of a good deep nap.

“You did need that,” he said, trying not to stare as she straightened herself out, “so I was thinking, since it’s not too late in the day, maybe we could go somewhere and find some plates. Or maybe a couch.”

“Okay, that sounds nice. Then maybe we could go out for dinner. I know you said the living room is put together, but I know the state of the kitchen isn’t ideal for cooking more than eggs,” she said. She was in the midst of fixing her shirt, tucking it back in and all.             

Kusuo glanced at her to respond but couldn’t think for a moment as he saw her. She always had her glow, but this was different. There were tinges of pink mixed in along with what came off as glitter. She was stunning. He knocked himself back to reality.

“Good idea. Any place in mind?”

“Somewhere nearby so we can get take out or something,” she said, standing, “so whenever you want to go, I’m ready.”

“I’m going to finish with my books here, then I just need to put on shoes.”

She began walking out the door before she stopped again to watch him work. She knew this was something she was going to have to get used to, but for right now it was so mind-blowing and she couldn’t take her eyes away from it. Like a magician, he lifted his hand and pointed where he wanted each object to go and then it gently placed itself on the shelf, perfectly orderly. It only took a few more minutes before all his books had been put away. All that was left were some miscellaneous things Kusuo decided could wait for later.

They grabbed their things and headed out. Since they were a little closer to the city, the walk wasn’t far. There was a furniture store not very far away and they decided to start there and work their way back. The walk there was not as leisurely as they had hoped, as fans of Kokomi’s kept coming up and stopping them. Kokomi had gotten better in the past few months about asserting herself and telling them to get lost. Every now and then Kusuo had to step in if there were too many, but otherwise, they made it there without much incident.

The store was large and full of so many options. Kokomi immediately ran to a large black pleather ottoman and threw herself on it. She relaxed into it until it dawned on her that they hadn’t even measured the area where they wanted to put a couch.

“It’s okay I did,” she heard Kusuo say.

“Oh, good. Maybe we should get a chair like this too,” she said, curling into a ball on the chair.

“Oh! Excellent choice, miss! Can I be of service?”

Kusuo knew that voice, unfortunately. It was the clerk back from when Kusuo tried to buy a new television. He had moved onto a different store apparently, and of course, it had to be this one. Just his luck.

“No, we’re just browsing right now, but we’ll find you if we need anything!” Kokomi said.

“O-oh! Okay.” He backed away as quickly as he had shown up. Kusuo was equal parts surprised, impressed, and confused.

“Really glad you sent him away, but why?” he asked.

“Well, I’m not sure what we’re looking for yet. And also, I just want the two of us to look without outside influence. I mean it’s for our apartment, we should get the main say,” she pushed herself out of the chair that was threatening to keep her.

He nodded. They walked around the store for a while, trying out various couches, disqualifying some for being too big or too expensive. They found some ridiculous looking pieces such as an alligator skin couch, fake of course, but odd nonetheless. Most of the furniture they found had bad textures or were too stiff. Feeling like Goldilocks, they tried couch after couch to no avail. They decided that the search for seating could continue another day.

They looked at some more coffee tables too, as Kokomi decided that hers would live in the living room until she found a new one. Many of them were nice, but again, nothing that they were looking for. While searching for new furniture in seriousness, they began a game. Every time they saw a peculiar looking piece of furniture, they would imagine what kind of a person would have it and what the thought process would be like that would lead to them purchasing it. Sometimes their friends would get a little caught in the mix, like when they saw the couch that seemed to be made out of red bandages, but the jokes were all in good fun.

They hadn’t realized it, but they had been searching for hours at this point. They only noticed when a voice came over the intercom announcing that the store would be closing in an hour. They made their way to the cutlery and dishware section. On their way, they also grabbed a shower curtain as Kusuo remembered not having seen one in the bathroom. They’d brought everything but that.

They didn’t need anything fancy, just something practical. They decided on a set of purple plates that came in two different sizes, a small set of matching bowls, and a few clear drinking glasses. The silverware was simple in design and sturdy. They carefully made their way to check out.

Having the perfect pretty girl at your side is already nice, but it’s even better when she manages to get steep discounts. The cashier was absolutely enamored by her beauty and cut the cost by seventy percent. Kokomi thanked her profusely as they exited the store. Other customers strained their necks as they tried to catch the tiniest glimpse of her.

The duo made their way home quickly. Once their new gains had been dropped off, it was dinner time. They popped out again for some take out, which Kokomi had called ahead for. Even over the phone they could discern her beauty and was given yet another discount. Kusuo was buying and didn’t mind paying, but he was glad anyway. Kokomi ran out to pick it up as Kusuo stayed home to wash the dishes. He was glad the diner was nearby so he was able to keep her within range of his telepathy.

It wasn’t that he didn’t think she could protect herself, but he was worried. It had been only a day, but the fact that Makoto hadn’t tried to hunt them down yet worried him. Yes, he had threatened him and broke his nose, but he wasn’t the type to give up so easily.

She hurried back, excited to dig in. Meanwhile, Kusuo had already set the table and put away the remaining dishes. He began fretting with everything else in the kitchen, putting away the dishtowels his parents gave him and tossing what food they did have into cupboards or the fridge.

While going through a box of things his parents gave him, he came across some candles with a tag tied to them. Suspicion rose in his mind. He flipped the tag over to read it, the script in his mother’s handwriting: “Ku, I thought these might be nice to have around the house for some atmosphere or for maybe a date night with your lovely Kokomi. Put one on the table for dinner sometime. I love you! Love, Mom.” He scoffed. Why did people keep insisting she was his? Wasn’t she her own person? Even if they were together, he wouldn’t be comfortable with that phrasing. That being said, maybe adding a candle would be a nice touch. He didn’t have to light it; it could just be a small centerpiece.

He put one in the middle of the table. Before he could overthink it, he continued in the living room. The coffee table had been moved to the center of the room between where the TV was sitting and where their couch would eventually go. Boxes of movies and video games sat unsorted as there wasn’t anything for them to go on yet. A new bookshelf was added to his mental list. Any blankets left around were folded and added to the floor cushions for the next time they sat down for a movie.

Kokomi came in a moment later, nearly startling Kusuo out of his thoughts.

“I got dinner! They gave us some extra rice too, so we can split that or save it for later. Oh cool, you finished the plates. I figured you would.” She carried the bag to the table and divided their orders.

              She noticed the candle and thought it sweet. Was he trying to be decorative or—?

              “It was something Mom packed for me, for decorating,” Kusuo said before she could finish her thought. He’d worried that she would think that and hoped she knew it didn’t mean anything. Friends who live together can do things like this, it was fine. Both of them were just overthinking it.

              “Nice, it adds a little something. Should we light it while we eat?” She asked as she took her seat.

              “Yeah, I can do that.”

              “Wait, what?” Kokomi barely had time to process before Kusuo touched the wick and it lit up.

              Kusuo could see the flame dancing in her eyes. She was beyond amazed. He’d mentioned pyrokinesis this morning but she hadn’t actually seen what was going on.

              “Wow… incredible.” She continued watching the flame as she ate. After it had been lit it wasn’t really anything special. And yet, she still stared in awe.

              Halfway through eating, still sitting in silence, she finally spoke again. “So your dad clearly said something to you this morning. Care to share with the class?” She asked, mouth full of rice.

              “Oh, right. Umm, not really. It’s just him and Mom insisting that we’re dating and that’s why we moved in together.”

              Kokomi choked on her rice for a moment before swallowing it all.

              “Well… ahem, hmm, that’s certainly a theory all right.” She took a swig of water.

              “You okay? Didn’t mean to alarm you. You saw how my parents were last night, they’ll believe anything but the truth.” He took this moment to take a sip of his water, allowing the glass to momentarily obscure his face. Dangit, why did his dad have to pull that this morning? At least Kokomi hadn’t heard what he actually said.

              “I’m fine, just wasn’t expecting that, though I guess you’re right, I should have known. Gosh, how improper of us to be living together before marriage,” she said shifting into a mocking tone.

              “Most definitely, what will the neighbors think!” Kusuo returned the exaggeration.

              Laughter filled what was almost an awkward moment.

              Kokomi’s laughter turned into a sigh. “I can’t believe we live here now. I feel so relieved but also my shoulders have never been tighter. I feel like I’m going to wake up any moment now and be back at my parents’ being absolutely miserable.”

              “But you won’t. And if you have nightmares or get too tightly wound, I’m… here for you.” Kusuo chose his words carefully. He meant it. He’d meant it the first time when he gave her his number and told her to call for him for anything, and he meant it now more than ever.

              “I know. Thank you,” she said. A sense of serenity came over her.

              They continued their dinner in silence, but it was friendly and unassuming. After dinner, they took turns showering and then decided to turn in for the night. With school over, they could focus on building up their new living space. It was the beginning of something beautiful.

Chapter Text

A few weeks passed, all without incident. They had fallen into a routine with one another. They swapped who made breakfast and dinner every day and tried many new recipes, most of them recommended by Kusuo’s mom.

              They’d finally gotten a couch and some curtains for all the windows, too.

              The day they got the couch was an interesting one. They had lied to the clerk about having a car and said they would just carry it out to the vehicle on their own. The employees didn’t bother to ask too many questions as it was clear they could carry it without problem. Obviously, it was just Kusuo who was lifting a good ninety percent of it with Kokomi on the other end to balance it. They did this later in the evening so they could sneakily hide behind a truck out of sight so Kusuo could teleport them home. Kokomi was practically vibrating with excitement, she felt like she was pulling off a heist. They landed in the alleyway between the office and the entrance to the complex parking lot and continued to walk the couch inside before Kusuo took over to set it where they wanted it.

              Kokomi promptly threw herself onto the couch, patting the spot next to her expectantly. Kusuo sat down just in time for Kokomi to wrap herself around him. Hugs had become more expected too. Kusuo looked forward to them by now, but didn’t let her know that. He liked how spontaneous they were. Sometimes he’d even return the hugs, but it wasn’t mandatory. They’d sit like that, half intertwined, until one or the other decided that it was time for dinner.

              Dinner would be eaten at the table in the kitchen usually, but sometimes they’d move into the living room for dinner and a movie.

              Neither had gotten jobs yet as the rent was so inexpensive, they could pay for it with pocket change for at least a year before they had to worry. The duo decided to such for jobs anyway once it came closer for the new semester. That way they’d have their new schedules and be able to better work around them.

              Kokomi had taken up more elaborate recipes as well, needing Kusuo’s helping for some of them. One night, they ended up working very late.

              “Here, can you stir this? It needs to be mixed completely while I work on this half,” Kokomi said, handing a bowl and whisk to Kusuo.

              “Continuously? Or just until it’s properly mixed,” Kusuo asked.

              “Oh, yeah, you can stop once it’s thoroughly mixed. And then I’ll need you to melt some butter to grease the pans while I combine this and that,” she said pointing to various bowls of ingredients around the kitchen.

              She was wearing her hair pulled back in a pink bandana, but still, a few strands fell loose. A matching apron with flecks of chocolate hugged her small body. She was currently fighting with a giant bowl and spoon trying to stir the contents, but it was proving difficult as it was thicker than expected.

              Kusuo didn’t have the same mixing issues as he was actually trying not to hold anything too tight and break it. Stirring was not something he was used to. Yes, he’d done it before but was not a normal part of his repertoire.

              They stood there, mirroring each other’s movements for a moment until Kusuo finished his bowl. Kokomi was scowling in frustration at the thick batter before her. He gently took the bowl from her and continued mixing. She smiled sheepishly.

              “I didn’t need your help…” she said, stretching her fingers, “but thanks. Wow, you did yours already. I shouldn’t be surprised, and yet.” She sat down at the table, absentmindedly playing with the spoon in the finished bowl. She watched as he mixed the batter as if it were water. After a moment, he sat it down.

              “Show off,” she said, getting up to combine the bowls. It was his turn to watch as she meticulously poured the contents into each cake pan, making sure each was given equal amounts of batter. She then took a knife and swirled the batter to give it a marbled look.

              While she put them in the oven, Kusuo took to licking the spatula. Chocolate, a classic. She came back to the table, sat down, and swiped the spatula from him.

              “Hey!” he tried to grab back at it.

              “I put in the most work, I should get a taste first!” she said as she held it out of his reach.

              “You know I can still reach it right?” he leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms.

              “Yeah, yeah. But you won’t,” she said, continuing to lick it.

              Kusuo got up to begin cleaning up the dishes. They rarely used the dishwasher at this point due to him being able to set time back on the dishes. It only sometimes affected any food that had been on it. Kokomi came up behind him to give him the spatula which had been cleaned off.

              “Thanks. Oh,” he said, turning to look at her, “you have a little something, right here.” Without thinking, he lightly reached out to her face where some chocolate had been left in the corner of her mouth. He rubbed his thumb over it, practically cradling her face before he realized what he was doing.

              He yanked his hand away. “Sorry, you just, uhh, had some chocolate… right there.” He turned back to what he’d been doing. Kokomi stood shocked, pink as a brilliant sunset. What was that? Who was that? He rarely initiated contact, especially something so… intimate.          

              “Oh, yeah, thanks,” she said, running her fingers over where his thumb had just been. “I’m, uh, gonna go take a shower. I’ll leave you to it.” She bolted from the room. She was aware he could hear her thoughts but she hoped to the gods that he would ignore her.

              Kusuo ignored her thoughts. Well, it wasn’t so much he was ignoring them as he was too absorbed in his own. Why did he do that? Did he suddenly feel so comfortable around her that he could just do that? He took a deep breath. It wasn’t that big of a deal, they touched all the time, she constantly hugged on his or held his arm when they were out. They’d already slept together too (not like that). Then there was the time she put his glasses on him. It wasn’t any different.

Right?

Meanwhile, Kokomi was in the shower having the biggest freak out in her life. Okay, that’s not entirely true, but it was definitely in the top five. She decided to ignore it. It didn’t mean anything. Friends could just do that right?

Kusuo began to clean off the counter and table in an absolute daze. Maybe some physical distance between the two of them was in order. It felt too… domestic. No, too familiar perhaps. Either way, he was unsure what to think about it all. Did they have to talk about this later, or could it just be swept under the rug?

“So…” Kokomi said, taking her seat at the table. Kusuo nearly jumped. He hadn’t realized how long he’d be standing there, though clearly, it was long enough for a shower.

“So…?” He said, taking his seat.

“Uh, should we talk about that or… I mean, I hope I’m not projecting or imagining things but—”

“No, no. No imagining things, but, uh, I don’t think there’s any need to talk about it. Sometimes… things… happen and it’s all good and fine.” Kusuo said, cutting her off before she said anything too damning. He didn’t feel like coming to terms with whatever was going on.

“Right, right, you’re right. Anyway,” she nudged the bowl in front of her, “should we make some popcorn and watch a movie while we wait for the cake?”

“At this hour?” Kusuo glanced at the clock on the stove. Nearly two in the morning. How’d it get so late?

“I don’t see why not. It’s the weekend and I don’t think either of us having anything planned for tomorrow.” She shrugged, getting up.

“Sounds good to me then. I’m going to shower quickly. You can pick whatever we’re going to watch.” He walked off, leaving Kokomi to her own thoughts yet again.

Over the past few weeks, they had gotten touchier. He was starting to become okay with hugs and late-night cuddles when they watched something. He’d let her hold his hand or link her arm with his whenever they went out. She was also starting to loosen up. Normally she had so many prepared faces, reactions, and responses. She’d always been a bit more lenient around him, but lately, there was no more Perfect Pretty Girl. Well, she was still the perfect pretty girl, but perfect in her sense and no one else’s. She thought back to something that had occurred a week or so ago.

---

Kusuo and Kokomi had decided to go shopping for a rug. Nothing too special, but the floor in the living room got cold at night and they figured it might help.

The trip was straightforward forward and the rug, a deep purple, was heavily discounted. Kusuo still wasn’t used to this kind of treatment, but he liked it nonetheless.

It was a fairly sizable rug and Kokomi insisted that she should carry it as repentance for all the ogling they had received because of her. Kusuo brushed this aside, she couldn’t help it, and besides, at this point, he’d basically signed up for it. Secretly though, he was using a little telekinesis to help her whenever it began to slip from her grasp. The walk home was short, but it didn’t stop the universe from throwing everything his way.

A high school student, albeit a very tall one, suddenly blocked their path. They came to a screeching halt.

“Haven’t seen you two around, doesn’t matter though. Pay the toll if you want to get through in one piece,” he punched his fist into his open hand. He seemed to think they were fellow high school students.

“Sorry, we don’t have spare cash. Why don’t you just let us through this once?” Kokomi smiled nervously at the kid.

“That’s not how this works, ya know,” he said, repeating the threatening motion.

Both Kusuo and Kokomi were fairly floored that her charms hadn’t worked on him. He was obviously beyond reasoning with.

“Let us through please, we don’t have all day,” Kusuo said, taking a step forward. This kid didn’t seem to have thoughts, much like Nendo, except this kid had nefarious intentions. The worst Nendo ever did was be unbearably annoying.

“I don’t think you heard me,” the kid reached down and grabbed Kusuo’s shirt, “pay up, brat.”

“What happened in class wasn’t your fault. You should talk to the teacher about it. I think he’ll understand and may give you a second chance.”

“Wha—” he dropped Kusuo out of shock.

“Come on, Kokomi, let’s go.” He caught her by surprise when he put his arm around her shoulder and his free hand on her arm as he led them away. Other than hugging, this was the closest they’d been. They remained like this until they got home.

Neither mentioned the closeness and the installed the rug without a word. Despite being shaken up by the strange encounter, Kokomi was on cloud nine.

---

Kokomi sifted through all the strange C-list movies Kusuo had. Nothing grabbed her attention, but that wasn’t abnormal considering she was still lost in thought. So touchy lately… she shook her hand and gently slapped her cheeks as she psyched herself out of that headspace. She decided to look at her movies instead. Maybe they’d all already been ruined for him, but the point was to spend time together and wind down. After some deliberation, she picked Breakfast at Tiffany’s. She hadn’t seen it in a while and she was sure he hadn’t seen it. Hopefully, it was old enough that he hadn’t been spoiled either.

She put in the disc while popcorn popped in the microwave. She was just getting down some bowls when Kusuo brushed up next to her.

“What movie did you pick?” He asked, taking one bowl from her.

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Hope you haven’t seen it,” she said, as she went to stop the microwave before it began beeping. She was trying very desperately not to think about the plot in any way. If he hadn’t seen it, she didn’t want to be the one to accidentally ruin it.

“Oh, you know, I don’t think I have. I know some things about it, like the insensitive Asian character and the cat named Cat, but that’s it,” he waited patiently as she opened the popcorn and began dispersing it accordingly. Their hands brushed as she reached back for his bowl. It sent a jolt throughout her body, but she managed not to show any change. She was a skilled actress, after all, being perfect called for it.

“Ah, yeah, nearly forgot about that. He’s not the main character at least,” she said, plopping down on the couch and pulling a blanket around her shoulders. Kusuo sat next to her with just a little more space than usual between them. It pained Kokomi a little, but she wasn’t going to press the issue. They started the movie and tucked into their popcorn.

As the movie went on, Kokomi felt sleepier and sleepier. She knew she needed to brush her teeth before bed, but napping a bit in the middle of the movie didn’t count. She started wobbling, eyes heavy as she leaned back. She was only slightly aware that she was sliding to the left but became blatantly obvious of the fact once she realized she was snuggled up against his arm. He had frozen at the contact, not quite sure what to do. This was a common occurrence, why did they both act so aloof?

Kokomi loosened up a moment later and decided to hell with it. She scooted right up against him, wrapped her arms around his, and leaned in. He smelled so good with hints of popcorn. She made note of what else he smelled like before falling asleep.

Chapter Text

Their neighborhood was fairly peaceful. Every now and again you had rowdy college kids try something, but otherwise, it was quiet. Well, still not all that quiet for Kusuo, but he didn’t mind as much anymore. But Kusuo had just woken up to someone at the front door. He couldn’t hear any thoughts, but he was aware of them trying to open the door. He glanced at his phone. Five in the morning. He didn’t mean for them to fall asleep in the living room again, but it was fine. He carefully slid Kokomi off his arm and gently laid a blanket over her. He got up to investigate.

As he neared the door, he became filled with rage. He didn’t understand, did this guy have a death wish? He was surely stupid, but not to this level… well, yes, actually he was.

Kusuo ripped the door open. Literally. He didn’t care though; he could fix it later. The man stumbled in and fell flat on his face. Makoto Teruhashi.

“What are you doing here!? How did you even find us?” Kusuo picked him up by the collar and walked out the door. He made sure to project directly to Makoto as to not startled Kokomi, though he figured she might have heard the snap of the door.

“I’m here for my sister!” he said, his voice cracking in panic. He grabbed at Kusuo’s arm trying to regain some balance.

“I distinctly remember telling you to never contact her again or there would be consequences.” Kusuo had continued walking forward until Makoto’s back hit the railing of the balcony. It groaned under his weight.

“I haven’t contacted her!” he said, struggling to break free. Technically he hadn’t but attempted breaking and entering wasn’t exactly a good look right now.

“You were just trying to break into our apartment, that’s not normal and not something you should ever be doing. I may kill you for this, was it worth it?” He continued shoving Makoto against the railing despite the loud strains of protest from the metal.

Suddenly, it gave way. Makoto was hanging over the edge, panic filling his entire body as he realized his feet were no longer on the ground. They were only on the second floor so the fall wouldn’t kill him, but it wouldn’t leave him looking very pretty either.

“Please, please put me down!” Makoto begged, becoming aware that he had wet himself from fear.

”Oh, I’ll put you down.” Kusuo stretched his arm out dangling Makoto even farther over the edge.

“NO, NO THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!” he screamed.

”Shut up, you’ll wake her up. I’m tired of you. I’ll let you go this one last time. Not without proper payment though,” he said. Things around him began trembling and his eyes started to glow.

Kusuo had been angry before, enraged even, but never to this level. He couldn’t think straight for the first time in his life and it was starting to scare him. He could feel psychic energy filling him up and threatening to spill over. If that happened… well, didn’t know what would happen. He’d never used emotions like this in this kind of context. He closed his eyes to concentrate on not blowing up the whole complex.

The trembling stopped, and then the glowing. Makoto still hung over the edge, tears streaming down his face. Kusuo backed out and threw him off to the side. A loud cracking sound filled the silent night air as he realized he’d just broken Makoto’s arm and possibly a few ribs. He deserved worse, Kusuo knew, but hopefully, it wouldn’t come to anything worse. While he didn’t mind the idea of killing Makoto, he didn’t know how Kokomi would react to that.

“Get out of here. If I ever see your face here again, or anywhere for that matter, you will not be walking away.”

Makoto got up, grasping his broken arm, and ran into the night.

Kusuo sighed. He touched the broken railing, restoring it. He turned towards the door. He’d been so focused on trying not to kill in cold blood that he hadn’t realized Kokomi was sitting on the floor just inside the door, watching the whole time. She was crying silently.

“Kokomi…” he kneeled down next to her. He tentatively put his arms out to her intending to touch her shoulders in reassurance. Instead, she threw herself into him, sobs wracking her body. Kusuo was shocked. He didn’t mean to pry, but he had heard her thoughts. She wasn’t angry at him like he thought she might be. No, she was relieved that Kusuo had beaten him up and scared him away.

They hadn’t heard from Makoto, or her parents come to think of it, since they’d started living together. She’d constantly been on edge, afraid of something like this happening. But despite her constant reassurances to herself that Kusuo would save her, she still was unsure. But now she could see he was there for her, always. Why she thought otherwise baffled her. Probably all had to do with her upbringing.

 Kusuo hugged her without hesitation. He pushed his face into her hair; it smelled like strawberries. He wished he could have done more to help her be calm, but knew that there is only so much one person can do.

Silently, he stood up, bringing Kokomi with him. While she continued her crying, he picked her up with one hand tucked under her legs, her arms wrapped around his neck. He walked inside, touching the door to fix as they went. He went straight to his room. He closed and locked the door as he gently set her on the bed.

“W-what, what are you doing?” she said, rubbing the tears off her face.

“I’m keeping you safe. How about you sleep in here with me? Here,” he pulled the blanket over her, “get comfy. I’ll be on the floor. I just figured you might want some companionship.”

That was exactly what she wanted. She was shocked, though she knew she shouldn’t be considering the whole psychic thing, but it didn’t stop her. She pulled the blanket up more.

“Um, Kusuo…” she began, “do you think, um, you could… sleep in the bed with me? I really need like, uh, reassuring human contact, and I hope that’s not weird or anything but I mean we were just sleeping on the couch together and—” He cut her off as he slid into the bed next to her without hesitation. It was a tiny twin size so space was limited. But neither of them felt odd about being so close. At this point, they’d been through so much together, what was sharing a bed one night?

Next to each other in bed, Kusuo laid on his back to better sleep with his glasses on. He’d already slept near her with his glasses on, he could do it again. He closed his eyes.

“Good night, Kokomi. See you in the morning.” He reached over with his right arm and patted her shoulder soothingly.

“Good night, Kusuo.” She turned to snuggle into his shoulder, arm wrapped around his, absorbing his body heat.

She laid there, thinking, He saved me yet again. I can’t let this keep happening, I feel so useless. I know I’m not but I just don’t have the same capabilities Kusuo has! Ugh! But I’m also so thankful. I don’t know where I’d be if I’d never asked him to move in with me. Would I be dead… or worse?—nope, we’re not going to think about that. I’m so happy now though, I love him so much. I’m sure he knows that, even though I’d never dare say that out loud. It’s both friend love and also… hhh, it’s so agitating being in love with your best friend! What do you even do in this scenario? I want to kiss him. I know his lips would be warm and soft and gently against mine… I could kiss him. Right now. But I won’t. I don’t want to ruin what we have. Being with him is enough, it’s fine. But god, to kiss him… I think I’d want him to kiss me instead though. I don’t think I’d have the guts. I want him to kiss me, I want him to kiss me, I want him to—

“Kokomi…”

She froze where she lay. Slowly she turned her head upwards to face Kusuo.

“… yes?”

He turned towards her. He leaned close to her face, reaching out to gently brush away a stray hair. He continued closing in on her until their noses were almost touching.

“Your thoughts are too loud, and I’d like to sleep.”

Her breath caught in her throat which quickly turned into a choked laugh.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to keep you up. I keep forgetting you can hear me.” She turned white. She had just been practically begging him to kiss her. She just admitted to being in love with him for goodness sake! How embarrassing. “O-oh…”

“It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone,” he smirked. “Maybe,” he said rolling onto his back again, “maybe one day. Don’t hold your breath though, but not tonight. You’re too emotionally compromised, considering everything you’ve just witnessed. Also, don’t worry too much about the what-ifs. I promise, I will keep you safe. All will be well.”

He took the hand closest to her and found her hand, grabbing it and squeezing as gently as he could. She took hold in turn and squeezed back. Neither let go.

“Thank you. I know you will. Okay, I’ll keep my thoughts quiet now. Goodnight, Kusuo.”

“Goodnight, Kokomi.”

It didn’t take long for either of them to pass out. They were comfortable with each other. Hand in hand, they slept against each other, sharing warmth and the covers.

---

The next few days were different. Their classes were to begin again soon, but neither really wanted to return. They both expressed fatigue at the very idea of school, but that wasn’t the real reason, though the actual reasoning wasn’t spoken (aloud or otherwise).

Kusuo had lightened up tremendously. He couldn’t understand what had come over him to let Kokomi sleep in his room with him, let alone his bed, but he was glad it had happened. These informal sleepovers had continued the past few nights. It wasn’t always Kusuo’s room. After the first two nights, Kokomi asked him to join her in her room since she had a slightly larger bed, more accommodating. While they both enjoyed a bit more breathing room, they also missed “being forced” to be so close to one another. But really it didn’t matter. They’d wake up, hands clasped, bodies so close they were nearly overlapping.

The only problem really was Kusuo’s vision… problems. Once or twice, his glasses had been knocked askew just enough that Kokomi almost became a lawn ornament for the day.

“Maybe we can get you some goggles,” she joked over coffee after their fourth night of sleeping together.

“That might not be a bad idea. I wonder if I can find green ones somewhere. Summer’s practically over, I’m sure I could find some on clearance,” he sipped at his coffee, smiling mischievously into it.

“Do they have to be green?” She liked the green glasses, really, she did, but…

“No, I just prefer them,” he said, “why do you ask?”

She wanted nothing more than to be able to see his eyes for the exact shade they were, but how did she tell him that?

“Really? That’s the thing you’d be afraid to tell me?”

She jumped in her seat. “Right… right. Yeah, I just want to be able to see your eyes. I know they’re purple but I’ve never seen them outright. Also… I mean, have you ever seen me without the green tint? Do you know what I look like, like for real?”

“No, I suppose I haven’t. Maybe I’ll look into getting two pairs.”

“Why would you need the green ones if you’re only going to wearing them while you’re sleeping with me?”

They both paused. They had to work on their phrasing because it almost sounded like…

“I mean when we have sleepovers! Didn’t mean to sound like I was implying—anyway, do whatever, I just really would like to be able to look into your eyes.” He looked at her, a softness in his face. She was too flustered to notice.

“I feel like I keep shooting myself in the foot. Anyway, I’m going to start laying out some outfits for this upcoming week. I want to be as prepared as possible. God, I just don’t really want to go back, but I know I should.”

“It’ll be better this time,” he reached over to put his free hand on hers, patting softly. “I’m here, and you’ll always be coming back here. Safe and sound.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she wiggled her fingers under his hand. “Everything is so much better.” She got up and walked to her room.

Kusuo sat at the table still, hand still in the same spot it had been before she’d left. Because of his heightened senses, he could still feel the tiniest bit of residual warmth she’d left. He hadn’t realized it, but he was smiling. He hadn’t stopped smiling since Kokomi thought about wanting to see his eyes. It was just so sweet.

Wait.

Was he… falling for her? Surely not, he thought. He’d never had romantic feelings for anyone. Well, maybe Satou, but nothing ever came from that and eventually, the feeling passed. This was a similar feeling but slightly the left. It didn’t feel quite the same but had matching elements. What was different? Was this genuine? Was it forced? Twice now she had admitted to loving him, once out loud and the other in a panicked state. He wasn’t just thinking he was falling for her because he was influenced by her thoughts, right? Maybe they needed a little space from one another. Rather, Kusuo needed some space to sort out his thoughts.

He got up and walked to Kokomi’s doorway.

“Hey, Kokomi, I…” he trailed off as he watched her twirl in front of her mirror. She clearly was playing dress-up while picking out her clothes. It was a pale blue dress with tiny pearls and small white flowers covering the skirt. It was long-sleeved but off the shoulder. Lace lined the collar, the edge of the skirt, and the sleeves.

She stopped spinning and noticed Kusuo in her mirror. She turned around quickly, the skirt flipping wildly with the movement.

“Oh! Yeah, I was just trying on some stuff. I didn’t feel too comfortable wearing stuff like this, you know, before… but I think I’m ready to try again. Whatcha think?” she pulled on either side of the dress, mocking a curtsy.

“I… you…” Kusuo realized he was in a bind. Oh hell, he thought, good grief. He really needed to clear his head. “You look beautiful, Kokomi. I’m, uh, going to read today, in my room, by myself, for a bit.” He didn’t wait for her to respond as he teleported.

He didn’t really mean to teleport, but at that moment, he’d forgotten how his legs worked. He shut the door and sat down on his bed.

This was truly worrying. He’d noticed little things over the past month or two. No, it had more than just the time they’d been living together. He starting thinking of little moments from when they started college together. He’d been annoyed by her, but had he really? Even in high school, he eventually warmed up to her once he realized that she was actually a good person. Once he found out she actually liked him for him and not some made-up version she’d concocted. Then he was always saving her, and that was before he’d solidified his opinion on her. Surely that meant something… yes, it just meant he had some compassion for her and hatred for scoundrels trying to take advantage of a perfect pretty girl who didn’t want to disappoint people.

He had become even more protective as of late. Yes, it was because he found out she was at her breaking point with her brother and he already hated him, Kokomi being involved or not. But even so, he felt obligated. No, that wasn’t the word. Compelled, perhaps. He wanted to be there for her.

Kusuo had been letting his guard down around her since high school ended. He had started doing it on purpose because he knew he should actually start liking his friends. Not everyone got to be surrounded by people as loyal and loving as they were. He’d let her touch him, talk to him whenever, and he even let her call him by his first name.

Then there was the first day at the apartment and the outfit she’d worn. She had looked so cute and he wanted to tell her, but he choked. Earlier, she’d put his glasses on him so gently, and again they were both unsure.

Then the other night, she was practically begging him to kiss her. He couldn’t tell if it was the nagging sensation, heightened emotions, or genuine intrigue, but he almost did it. He didn’t even know where to begin really, but it was technically an invitation, and why shouldn’t he?

He lightly slapped his face. What was he thinking? Romance was not for him. He needed to push that idea out of his head. He needed to push Kokomi out of his head. But she’d looked so ethereal in that dress, so happy and carefree. He hadn’t choked this time, well not completely anyway, and told her she looked beautiful, and that was the truth. Really it was an understatement if anything.

He shook his head and laid down. Time to clear his head and sort out his thoughts and feelings. But first, maybe a quick nap.

---

Kokomi watched Kusuo disappear in the blink of an eye. He had called her beautiful. He’d called her beautiful! But why had he teleported? His room was right next to hers, it wasn’t a long walk or anything. She chuckled to herself. What if he was flustered because of my beauty, she thought. Her eyes widened at that prospect. How silly, Kusuo didn’t get flustered, especially over her, especially not like that.

He didn’t… right?

She was just glad he hadn’t walked in while she was changing. She didn’t care what he saw, they were adults and could handle seeing a little skin, but she also might have died of embarrassment if that had happened. She wondered if he’d seen anything anyway because of his x-ray vision. She pushed that thought away. He probably hadn’t, and if he had, it was just a sneak peek.

Of what, she thought. They would never… I mean, she’d never even kissed someone. She’d never kissed him. She hoped though, that she could one day. Even if it didn’t lead to anything, anything at all, it would be nice. But like he’d told her the other night, she shouldn’t hold her breath.

She realized how flushed she was and decided to take a break for the time being. She undressed and climbed under the covers, letting the cool blanket cover her bare, warm skin. A shiver went down her spine. Maybe a nap was in order.

---

“I love you,” he took her hands in his, “I love you with every fiber of my being. I think I always have.” He pulled her into an embrace.

Kokomi let out a sharp breath, placing her hands on Kusuo’s chest.

“I love you, too. I know always have. Oh, this is a dream come true!”

He leaned down, faces becoming parallel. He tilted his head and she matched him, lips parting ever so slightly ready to meet in the middle. They were close enough to feel each other’s breath, warm, and ever so slightly unsteady. They were millimeters apart. They began to close the gap—

“Kokomi, are you alright? Hey, Kokomi… Kokomi!”

“I’m up!” she shot upwards, knocking her face directly into Kusuo’s.

“Ow!” they said in unison. It didn’t actually hurt Kusuo, but the shock was enough to at least startle him. His glasses cracked slightly from the impact.

“God, that hurt…” Kokomi reached up to touch her forward which had a slight cut near her temple from his glasses. She let the blanket slip away from her grasp.

“Oh, uh—”

Kokomi, one eye open, glanced at Kusuo and then realized what was happening. She was still naked.

“OH SHOOT.” She pulled the blanket back up, knowing it was too late.

“Can you hand me my shirt please?” she asked sheepishly.

He reached down, eyes diverted, grabbed the first shirt he saw, and handed it to her. He then turned around. He silently tapped his glasses, fixing the crack. The last thing they needed to add to this situation was a living rock. She snatched it from his hand and quickly pulled it on. Pants could wait while she was still under the covers.

“Okay, you can look at me again. I think my forehead is bleeding a little. Anyway, why’d you wake me?”

“Oh, here.” He sat down on the bed and reached out to her face, gently touching her temple where the abrasion was. She leaned into his touch ever so slightly.

“There. Fixed.” He backed away, diverting his eyes away from her.

She touched her face where he just had. No blood, no cut, nothing.

“How did you do that?” she looked at him wide-eyed.

“I can set objects back by twenty-four hours, one a day. I set you back a day before you were injured.

“Oh wow, that’s incredible. Wait, so that’s how you fixed the railing and the door. Crazy. Incredible. Man, okay, I really wish I could have that power. That would come in handy a lot.”

While she continued chatting about how sometimes she was a little jealous of the things he could do, he was wondering why he’d come in here. The door was already open so it wasn’t like he’d just barged in. Well, he knew why but… He really shouldn’t have, especially not after…

“Anyway, I’m going to get started on dinner. I know it’s technically your turn, but I’m feeling up to the task, so no worries.”

“Oh, okay, sounds good.” She tried to not let any confusion into her voice but knew he would know anyway.

He hastily got up and left.

Weird, she thought. What else was weird was that dream. It felt so wildly real like it was actually happening. But obviously it wasn’t, she chided herself. Wishful thinking it was. Must have come about because of what she was thinking about before clocking out for however long she’d been asleep.

Kusuo knew it wasn’t just any dream. They’d both been thinking very hard about one another before their synchronized naps, it was bound to happen. They had meant on a non-physical plane, but it was them through and through. He shook his head to himself. He’d almost kissed her yet again, but even worse, he’d told her he loved her. Even more than that really. How foolish. And of course, she had reciprocated. Clearing his head hadn’t gone according to plan. He shook his head again.

Maybe… he should give this romance thing a try. If it didn’t work out, he could always set back time and scrap the whole thing.

No. No, he wouldn’t do that. If it didn’t work out, they would figure it out. They were both smart adults, they’d come to a mutual conclusion.

Chapter Text

Dinner was awkward, to say the least. Kokomi had set the table, and like Kusuo had a few weeks back, she added a candle in the middle. To add a little atmosphere. For fun. What was a little romantic candlelight between friends?

She was still feeling all sorts of something from earlier. First the compliment, then the dream, and then… he had seen her bare chest. She supposed it was only fair, she’d seen him shirtless before. Of course, it was wildly different really, but still.

They ate in silence, just trying to enjoy each other’s company, but it was hard to with all the visual and noise clutter in their brains.

Kusuo finally spoke up.

“So… sorry. About earlier. I’d just woken up and I wasn’t thinking. Either about how you would wake up or about how you might have been dressed. Or, lack thereof.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure you seeing me shirtless was going to happen one way or another.” She paused. She really had a way with words. She mentally banged her head against the wall a million times over. “BECAUSE WE LIVE TOGETHER, I MEAN. IT… I…” she put her head in her hands.

Kusuo began laughing. Really truly laughing. A deep laugh that made you want to laugh along, even if you didn’t know why. Kokomi wasn’t sure if she’d ever heard him make any sound like this. A happy sound. She began laughing too. Why was she so ridiculous? Why couldn’t she just act or speak normally? They continued laughing for a few minutes before they both finally ran out of energy. Tears streaked both of their faces. Liquid joy, dripping down their cheeks.

 “You’re incredible. And by the way, I really did mean it earlier, when I said you were beautiful. That dress was practically made for you.”

She blushed, matching the tomato that sat untouched in her salad.

              “Thank you, that means a lot.”

              Silence filled the air once more.

              “We should watch a movie,” they said in unison for the second time that day.

              “Wow, we’re really in sync today. Wild. Okay, I’ll clean up and you pick a movie.” She grabbed both their plates and began.

              “Sounds good, I’ll make some popcorn too.”

              Shortly thereafter, the lights have been turned off, pajamas had been donned, and the cuddling had commenced as some silly film about a romance between an unlikely duo.

              Kusuo had decided to ignore all logic. Though earlier in the day he decided they needed space, he didn’t really want that. He wanted to be with her. Whether that was out of romantic feelings or not, he wasn’t sure, but at this point, he didn’t care.

              Kokomi was still feeling a bit jittery from the dream, but what did it matter? It was simply that, a dream. She focused on the movie as she snuggled closer to her psychic. He had his arm around her shoulders as she had wrapped herself around his torso. Caution to the wind, she had decided.

              The film was coming to the climax where the more stubborn of the two finally came to recognize his feelings for his friend.

              Kusuo paused the movie.

              “Why’d you do that?” Kokomi asked, looking up at him.

              He didn’t answer. Instead, he rearranged them to where he was facing her, hands on her shoulders holding her steady. Or was he holding himself steady? He hoped that today they truly were in sync in every way.

              “Kokomi…” he whispered, moving one hand from her shoulder to her chin, “there’s something I have to do.”

              “Oh… okay, what is it?” she looked into his eyes, wonder and trust spread across her face. She was smiling slightly, always happy to look at his face. Their faces were getting closer, painfully slowly.

              He’d pulled her face upwards and slightly to the side as his lips collided with hers. It was tender and gentle like one would be with a baby. Kokomi panicked, frozen in place. Kusuo panicked, unsure of where to go.

              He ended the kiss just as fast as he had started it.

              “WHY DID YOU STOP!?” Kokomi said, panicked again, but this time out of fear instead of surprise. She reached out, grabbing his face gently and not so carefully slamming her face back into him. Their lips met awkwardly but met nonetheless. Kusuo backed away ever so slightly leaving some room for movement. He smiled against her lips. He’d been so worried about so much. He should have known it wasn’t going to be a problem.

              She tilted her head, their lips sliding together and fitting like long lost puzzle pieces. Neither had ever done this before, but they were quickly figuring it out. Hands were sliding everywhere they could get a grip, clothes wrinkling, and hair getting mildly tussled. It was a fun, hands-on learning experience for the both of them, and they were learning quickly, the kiss becoming hungrier with each moment.

              Kusuo pulled Kokomi into his lap, pulling her as close to him as possible. She wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers curling into his hair, careful not to nudge his antennas as the kiss became deeper and more passionate. Her hand eventually traveled down as she finally found her mark: the buttons of his shirt. She got three undone before Kusuo realized what she was doing. He wisely broke the kiss.

              “What are you doing?” he said, slightly out of breath, unsure. That was something that rarely happened. He didn’t think so much energy went into something as silly as this, but first time for everything.

              “Sorry, sorry, I, uh, I don’t know,” she said, closing her eyes, more out of breath than her partner. She shouldn’t have been able to turn anymore pink but she did.

              “No, it’s fine. I’m sorry, I should have asked before… kissing… you,” he said, confused by the words coming out of his own mouth. Him? Kissing? Utterly ridiculous, completely preposterous, and wildly unlikely. And yet…

              “I mean, I gave you permission so long ago. Hell, I’ve been giving you permission basically since day one.”

              “Day one of us living together?”

              “No, silly. Day one of realizing I lo—uh, have a crush on you.”

              “Oh.”

              The weight that oh carried was immense. How could he have been so dense?

              “Anyway, that was amazing. I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long. Well, wanted you to kiss me. Though I guess both happened. It was wonderful. We should do it again sometime,” she joked without joking. She was still in his lap, arms around his neck, his arms pulled tightly around her waist.

              “Were you trying to undress me?” Kusuo asked. Not to be blunt, but he wanted to make sure they were on the same page for future… whatever was going on.

              “Um… now if I say yes, you can’t be mad,” she had a mischievous twinkle in her eye, “but yes. I have no idea what I would have done if I’d actually gotten that far, but yeah.”

              “I don’t know what I would have done either.” The pause wasn’t very long, yet felt like an eternity. “Maybe we should do that again sometime.” He locked eyes with her. “The kissing part, I mean.”

              As if they were one, they met in the middle, lips pressed together as though they had always belonged that way. They began a dance, built of tension finally being released. Questions they’d both had were finally being answered, and yet more questions bloomed in their wake.

              They broke for a moment, foreheads touching as they locked eyes.

              “Can I…?” she spoke in her head, too afraid to speak out loud, glancing down at his shirt.

              “May… I?” he asked, completely unsure if he actually wanted to or not.

              “Yes.”

              They met again, trembling hands playing at buttons. Kusuo gave up quickly, unsure of what he wanted. He let Kokomi lead. She picked up where she left off on the fourth button of his shirt. A few seconds later, she was helping him shrug his shirt off, discarding it to the floor. Still attached at the lips, they stood as she untied his pants and pulled them off, underwear falling suit.

              Kusuo had never felt so exposed, but he didn’t care. He began to fumble with her buttons but seemed to have no control. She took his hands and placed them on her shoulders as she undid her own shirt. Once undone, he slid it off. She quickly shimmied off her pants and undies as she sat on the couch, pulling him close.

              The kiss still going strong, she let her hands travel across his bare chest and back. His skin was softer than the finest silk and incredibly warm to the touch.

              Kusuo had never had his hands shake this violently. He tried to mirror exactly what she was doing, but couldn’t bring himself to touch her breasts. It felt wrong.

              Kokomi sensed his hesitation and back away. She opened her eyes to take him in. He was pale, but his skin glowed under the dim light emitting from the television. A pink flush was covering him. He wasn’t looking at her. She let her eyes travel from his neck to his chest, his stomach and his—

              She had never seen one in real life on purpose. She’d never actually wanted to see one, but now that she was… She was conflicted about it. She quickly shook herself out of it and grabbed his face carefully.

              “You can look at me. You have permission, I promise.”

              “I’m afraid…”

              “Of what? It’s just skin. And it’s on purpose this time. Come on…”

              He slowly, painfully slowly, turned to look at her. She leaned back, her arms falling to her sides, waiting to be looked over, appraised.

              Her deep blue hair was draped over her shoulder now and laid across her right breast. They were perfect. Kusuo had never understood the obsession with them, but he kind of got it now. He could appreciate them for what they were. He continued down, her tummy soft and pudgy, ripe for the tickling. He continued on and… well he’d never understood the fascination with that either, but maybe he could—

              No. No, he thought, maybe not.

              He glanced back up at her chest and tentatively reached out. His hand hovered over the left side, unsure, practically asking for permission.

              Kokomi rolled her eyes. How could he be the most powerful being on earth and so scared to touch a boob?

              She grabbed his hand and placed it on her chest. A perfect fit, she thought. She grabbed his other hand and placed it on the other side. Satisfied with her work, she dropped her hand and looked at his face for his thoughts.

              He had gone completely white. That contrast against his hair was jarring.

              Very few things in this world could really through Kusuo off, but this was certainly now at the top of his list.

              A few moments past and Kusuo finally yanked his hands back.

              “Uh, ahem, uh, thank you… for that. Quite an experience,” he said, looking away.

              “You’re welcome. Would you, um, like to do anything else?” She began to shift her legs apart but was stopped by his hand.

              “Let’s hold off on anything else, please. This is a lot to process as is.”

              She smiled to herself. Any other man in the world wouldn’t even hesitate if they had her naked before them with this kind of offer. But he wasn’t any other man. He was Kusuo Saiki, a psychic. And she was glad she’d chosen him.

              “Okay, we don’t have to do anything at all.” She pulled her legs together, hiding her bits as to not startle him any further.

              “I think maybe I’m ready for bed,” Kusuo said, standing. He quickly snatched up his clothing, covering himself. “Um… whose room tonight?” he asked, not bothering to actually get dressed. He hoped it wasn’t presumptive of him, but he knew her by now.

              “Mine,” she said, grabbing her clothes and doing the same. She walked over to the television to turn it off. Kusuo caught a quick glance at her bottom, heart-shaped and perfect. He could not believe…

              He followed her, silently and obediently into her room. She dropped her clothes on the floor and climbed into bed, naked. Yet again.

              “You can get dressed if you like… or not,” she said, “but I’d like to feel your skin one more time tonight if that’s okay. And if you want me to get dressed too, I can.”

              Kusuo felt like he was under a spell. He dropped his clothes and climbed under the covers with her. He quickly shut and locked the door with his telekinesis, as was part of their new ritual.

              He laid on his side, facing her. She faced him, pulling him into her arms, their chests pressed together, their hearts beating in tandem.

              “Oh, wow,” Kusuo said, as he pulled her close for another kiss.

              ---

              Nothing more happened. They had fallen asleep while kissing, their movements becoming sloppier as they drifted. Clothes remained forgotten on the floor, their nakedness was going to be a surprise in the morning, but for now, they were content.

Chapter Text

Kusuo woke up first. He was lying on his back, Kokomi wrapped around him. He became immediately aware of warm flesh pressed against him. All thoughts of panic flew through him in a split second before he decided to stay where he was and not wake up his sleeping partner.

              He was content to just lie here and think, as he had much to think about. Such as, what was that last night?

              As he had thought previously, romantic feelings were completely foreign to him, but Kokomi had introduced a concept that he hadn’t even considered. Why did his thoughts lie when it came to… sexual stuff? He felt weird just thinking about it. Getting naked with her was already very odd, not bad, just… different.

              Never in his life had he ever really experienced arousal. People’s naked bodies just didn’t do it for him, but Kokomi’s kind of did. Nothing had gone all the way, but it was a start. Something he’d never experienced before.

              He suddenly became aware again that was indeed pantsless. He could feel things brush against the blanket as he rearranged his legs. He froze once again as he registered what his leg had just touched. Kokomi began to stir a moment later.

              “Mm… oh, good morning.” Her voice was raspy. She stretched her free arm upwards and brushed a loose strand of Kusuo’s hair out of his face.

              Like Kusuo had a few moments before, she suddenly realized she was completely naked, wrapped around the man she loved. Oh.

              “Oh. Oh my god. Did we… we didn’t…” she pushed herself up, pulling the blanket over her chest.

              “No, nothing happened. I think we just fell asleep like this.” He sat up, rubbing his head sheepishly. He couldn’t believe he was in this situation. He couldn’t believe he would ever in his life end up in this situation, but here he was.

              “So last night wasn’t a dream. I really did finally get to kiss you.” The tips of her ears began to turn pink. They locked eyes for a moment.

              Their lips were meeting for the first time that morning. They’d reached out simultaneously, grabbing for their softs faces. The kiss started desperate but quickly slowed down to something more tender and gentle. They were still sleepy and the kiss started to mirror that. They sat still for a moment, unmoving, taking in the sensation of each other’s lips.

              Kokomi broke first, learning to the side to place her head on his shoulder, nuzzling under his cheek.

              “I… have a lot of feelings to sort out,” he said, pressing his cheek into her silky, bed-tussled hair.

              “I would say ‘me too’, but I think we both know where I stand, considering you can, you know, read my mind and all.”

              “Right. Unfortunately, you are not afforded this same luxury. Maybe it would be easier if you could.”

              “Any way you can make that happen?” she asked, moving her head away to look at him.

              “Well yes, but actually no because I would probably still accidentally filter my thoughts.”

              “Well, just start talking and we can figure it out. If you want to talk right now anyway. We have all day, you know.” She stretched, letting the blanket fall again. He glanced over tentatively, catching a peek at her chest. It looked very nice, he decided.

              “I’m going to get dress first. I think maybe the nakedness is… distracting.” He got up and began grabbing for his clothes. It was Kokomi’s turn to feast her eyes on his bottom. She giggled to herself, pleased.

              “I can hear you,” he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. He had done it on purpose. He figured it was only fair after everything that had happened.

              She turned her head laughing, shooing him away with her hand. Once he’d pulled on his pants, he tossed her clothes to her. They got dressed in comfortable, familiar silence. It almost felt like the days of old when they would sit in the café and study together. But now they were doing a different kind of studying.

              Once dressed, they grabbed some leftovers from the fridge and made themselves comfy on the couch. They faced each other, a small dining platter between the two of them holding their bowls as a makeshift table. They waited until mostly finished before anyone spoke.

              “You are my first kiss,” Kusuo began, getting straight to the point. It startled Kokomi for a moment but quickly shook off her surprise.

              “You’re mine too,” she said, leaning towards him, placing a hand on his knee.

              “Oh. I mean, I knew that, it just feels weird to have it confirmed.”

              “Yeah, I guess I might have mentioned that in my head at some point. Yeah, no, I was saving my first kiss for someone special. Eventually, I decided that was you, I just never in a million years thought I would actually get to do that. It’s nice.” She resumed eating, finishing off some rice.

              “I’ve never been interested in romance or sex; I’ve never understood it. It just seemed more hassle than it’s worth.”

              “But…?” Kokomi prompted, hoping that wasn’t the end of his sentence.

              “But,” he continued, chewing on his words, “I’m not sure anymore. I’ve never felt… whatever it is I’m feeling… about anyone else. It just seems to be you.” He paused again. It felt like something else needed to be said, and it started to worry Kokomi.

              “So… do, um, you like me? You don’t have to answer right now, but I just, I mean, before we go any further, I MEAN like with kissing or—”

              “Yes.”

              He’d answered the question so fast it threw him off. Obviously, it was true, it was his gut reaction and there was no hesitation. He felt like a stranger in his own mind and body.

              “Oh. Oh… I… wow. Really? Like just as a friend or…? I mean I know you said you had a lot to figure out, but um…” she trailed off, fearing the worst.

              “Of course, I like you as a friend. You are my friend. None of this would be how it is if I didn’t. I guess you mean romantically though. I think the answer is also yes,” she perked up instantly, eagerly leaning forward onto her hands, “but I’m not one hundred percent sure because I’m not even sure what romantic feelings feel like. Like I said, I always thought this stuff was silly, not worth my time. But with you… I know at the very least I want to be with you.

              “You know, yesterday I decided I needed to take a short break from you so I could sort out my feelings before anything happened. Obviously, that didn’t go as planned. But,” he tilted his head, his face softening as he looked at her, her eyes wide as she soaked in every word he said, “I’m glad to be where we are.”

              She grinned from ear to ear, eyes squinting shut. She stole a kiss before Kusuo knew what hit him. He returned the smile and stole the kiss back.

              “I’m glad you’re glad. Actually, I’m beyond thrilled. In case it wasn’t obvious,” she added. “I definitely like you as a friend… and also romantically.” She twirled her hair absentmindedly, thinking of how she wanted to say what else was on her mind. She knew he probably had already heard her thoughts, but she felt it necessary to say it out loud.

              “I also would like to know you in… other ways.” She reached forward and grabbed his thigh as high as she was comfortable reaching. She inched her fingers closer towards his crotch, nearly hovering over it before thinking better of it and moving her hand back to his thigh.

              “Oh, I, um, yeah, I… well…” he had never floundered so much in his life. He’d been put in interesting positions by her before, but this was entirely new.

              “I’ve never had sex,” he blurted out.

              Kokomi paused, taken out of the moment by the outburst. She then began laughing.

              “Oh my god, of course not. Sorry, that may seem a little rude but I just mean that you’re not the type of person to be into that kind of stuff. But it’s okay! I haven’t either. It’s no big deal.” She touched his shoulder reassuringly as she spoke as if she were trying to settle a spooked horse. “Sometimes, people have to be really comfortable with someone before feelings like those are even considered. I know I’m the same way.”

              “Right, I know. I don’t know, I think maybe you’re expecting too much so soon.”

              “Kusuo, I’m not expecting anything from you. I offered last night because I was curious, but I didn’t anticipate you to say yes or anything. Oh, I hope I didn’t freak you out by undressing, well, both of us.”

              “That was fine. I’ve been trying for months to get myself out of my comfort zone anyway, and that really pushed those limits. I just don’t understand it all. I think…” he stopped, wondering if what he was going to say next, he actually meant or not, “I think… I would like to do… that… with you, one day. I’m not sure. I think right now, kissing is enough. Liking you and being with you is enough.” He took her hands in his.

              Kokomi finally relaxed a little. She took her hands back to put the tray on the floor. She promptly picked herself up and plopped down in his lap, wrapping her arms around his torso. He returned the hug, gently placing his chin on her right shoulder.

              They sat quietly for a bit, just enjoying each other’s company.

              “Are we supposed to put a label on this? I know people get really wrapped up in those,” Kusuo asked, shattering the silence.

              “Oh… I mean, I would like to. But we don’t have to right now!” Kokomi said, wavering her arms in panic. “I’m not here to put on any pressure, even though I’m sure you already know exactly what I want, but it’s not just about what I want but what you want to and—”

              “Kokomi,” Kusuo gently grabbed her arms and brought them down, “you’re not pressuring me to do anything. I am my own person, you know. I can’t believe I’m saying this, based on who I’ve been all these years but… we can be together. Like together in a relationship. I think I want that.”        

              Kokomi paused, mulling over his words.

              “What if… what if you come to find out that you don’t want that?” The air changed from happy with a touch of panic to somber faster than it ever had.

              “People grow and change. It’s just the nature of humanity. If one day we decide this isn’t what we want, then we move on. We’re adults. But in that same regard, I’m deciding now that this is what I want. I may add ‘I think’ but that’s just because I’ve never been in this position before, nor have I experienced any of these feelings like this. It’s all very new.”

              “Okay. You’re right, we are adults and we are smart adults that can figure out simple things like a little label. So… Kusuo Saiki, will you officially be my… boyfriend!” It wasn’t so much of a question as an exclamation of excitement.

              “Yes, of cou—” Kokomi was too excited and cut him off before he could finish, throwing her arms around him and going in for a kiss.

              Kusuo was caught off guard for a moment, but pleasantly surprised. He placed his hands on her face, bringing her closer as they celebrated making things official.

              They stayed embraced for a while, kissing as if they would never get to do it again. It was a whole new world for the both of them. Neither dated in high school and neither really wanted to. Kusuo had no interest and Kokomi knew she was too good for everyone. Well, almost everyone. After bonding so much from their study dates to moving in, they realized they both needed a strong connection before anything else could be considered. It had never occurred to either that some people were simply built differently, nothing wrong with it at all.

              It was Kusuo this time, who began to get a little handsy. Nothing too crazy, but he didn’t feel as nervous to brush his hands over certain areas. Kokomi was thrilled to the bone. She had wanted him to touch her so tenderly like this for so long, she was nearly ready to explode like a soda that had been shaken up.

              She tried to return the gestures, but her hands were shaking badly. She tried to resituate herself to steady her trembling body but ended up slipping off the couch, head on the path to making contact with the corner of the coffee table.

              Kusuo caught her midair— with his telekinesis. Kokomi was frozen. She had never felt this sensation before. She wasn’t even aware that the only time before that she’d experienced this was when she was unconscious.

              He wordlessly moved her to where he was carrying her again, bridal style. They held onto each other, wordlessly looking into each other’s eyes. In one swift motion, they teleported.

              Sure, the walk to Kokomi’s room was the shortest, but teleporting is far quicker than walking. They landed on the bed in the same way they’d been sitting on the couch.

              Kusuo knew they had just had a conversation on… intimacy, and how he wasn’t sure if that was something he wanted. Or at least, something he wanted to do so soon. But with the spontaneous teleporting and where they landed, he thought…

              But he didn’t have to think. Kokomi pushed him back and laid on top of him, kissing all over his face. He giggled—yes, giggled!—as she continued kissing him up as her hair brushed over his face and neck. He’d never been ticklish before, let alone tickled, but in such a vulnerable state, clearly anything was possible. He closed his eyes and tried not to tense up every time he felt the brush of her against him.

              She made her way towards his neck, kissing even more gently than she had before, pausing on his throat as he tilted his head back slightly. Farther down she went, unbuttoning his shirt completely as she kissed his chest. She helped him remove it as she had done the night before. He had to restrain his arms from flailing at this point, so he placed them on her back as she continued to kiss his stomach. He had obviously never received any intimacy like this so it was the best he could do.

              Perhaps all the previous wiggling he’d been doing encouraged her, so she continued farther down still. She began to pull down his pants, kissing his soft skin as she went.

              Alarms went off in Kusuo’s mind. Back and forth and back and forth his mind went from wanting to see where this would go to but wanting to stop. On one hand, he had just told himself that they should wait, but on the other, the opportunity kind of presented itself, so why not? Kokomi had nearly finished wiggling his pants off by the time he made a decision.

              “Wait, wait, stop.” He sat up, grabbing her arm before she could touch him anywhere below his waist.

              He quickly shuffled his pants back on, trying to steady his breath as he went. He was starting to hate being so frazzled all the time. Was this normal? Didn’t matter, he was glad he had her stop. He needed to be in a better headspace before anything else happened. For now, kissing was enough.

              “Sorry! Oh gosh, I got carried away and I—”

              “No, it’s okay, I got carried away too. I was just thinking… maybe I shouldn’t do that for a bit. I think the kissing is all I can handle.” He gently shook his head, again not believing the words leaving his mouth… well, not mouth exactly, but the sentiment remained.

              “Not gonna lie, might be kind of hard to keep my hands to myself, but it’ll be okay,” she joked at first, “but hey, we can go at your pace. Umm, here, your shirt.” Kokomi held out the shirt to let Kusuo slip back into it.

              “I know we were just talking about expectations and whatnot, I’m actually kind of confused, I guess. I have so many thoughts running through my mind, and I mean I can’t read yours and I’m trying to get a read on you and usually it’s so easy but—” she took a moment to breathe and smooth out her thoughts, “—I like you. A lot. That’s really all it comes down to.”

              Kusuo had just finished buttoning his shirt back up. He paused, trying to read her mind. He tried not to do that on purpose nowadays, but he figured it was probably okay this once.

              God, I feel so stupid. I love him so, so much and I feel like I’m already messing it up! Here I go trying to initiate… things… again. And so soon! We have all the time in the world, nothing had to happen right now! Nothing is going to happen right now! … kissing is good though, I really like kissing him. I think we’re good at it. And I really enjoy it when he touches me, I don’t care how it’s just so nice! I hope he likes it too… ugh, I just feel so weird. I don’t want to mess this up so soon.

              Why’s he looking at me like that? Oh hell, is he angry? Or is he reading my thoughts right now… hi, Kusuo, how’s it going?

              Her next thoughts consisted of a visual string of heart emojis and some other questionable imagery.

              Kusuo started laughing. “Okay, you caught me. Sorry, I really try hard not to listen in on your thoughts, especially since we moved in together, but I got a little worried. Don’t worry too much, I know you’re excited. I am too, but I think it’s actually both of us that are expecting too much right off the bat.”

              He took her hands in his, pulling her closer to him. He put his forehead against hers, letting their thoughts flow to and fro. It was easier than trying to find words to describe what they both want.

              They both wanted to be intimate, but their ideas of intimacy differed greatly. That was a problem for future them they decided.

Chapter Text

Returning to school was about as enjoyable as they had anticipated. It was nice to be able to just walk to school and not deal with parents or annoying siblings as they got ready though. Added bonus of not taking the bus either. It was a lot quieter for Kusuo, but really, he was happier he wasn’t bumping into random strangers anymore.

              Their morning routine hadn’t exactly evened out yet since making their relationship official. They had already been sleeping in the same bed for a bit, but getting out was always difficult, and now they had the additional issue of having to leave early, sometimes before the sun was even completely out.

              As an alarm or two would go off, one would hug the other tighter, refusing to let go and acknowledge the new day. Coffee and breakfast would go quickly, but between each bite, Kokomi would lean over to give Kusuo a coffee-flavored kiss. They would silently smile to each other, thrilled to finally have figured out some semblance of what they wanted out of life.

              Classes were the same as before. They were just taking more base classes so they could continue on with whatever majors they might want. Neither had really settled on anything, even in their early twenties, they weren’t sure. And they didn’t care either.

              One afternoon a few months after classes had started, they met up, deciding to do some studying at the café. Even though it had been months since their last visit, the staff recognized and greeted them by name, leading them back to their designated booth. It was like going home, in a sense.

              “Isn’t this nice? Just like when we first started out. Only this time, we’re together for real.” She smiled into her notebook, peeking over the top. She wiggled her eyebrows at him. He laughed. She was so silly. He almost wished for a moment that he’d realized sooner how and how much he cared for her… but it didn’t matter. They were together now, and that’s what did matter.

              Their schedules were fairly similar, nearly identical really, so swapping notes and comparing answers went smoothly.

              They didn’t even order as the waiter already knew and had brought their treats to them without a word. He did, however, wink at Kokomi. He had a knowing look as if he didn’t need to ask if they had confessed yet or not. She smiled, a small blush blooming on her nose. The only confirmation he needed. The chef owed him money.

              After eating and accidentally, but thankfully, finishing all the homework for the week, they paid and headed home. It was a cool night; autumn was upon them.

              They left hand in hand, Kokomi swinging her arm wildly, giggling.

              “So the waiter figured it out already,” Kusuo said, a smirk on his face.

              “Oh, I know. They’re sharp. Mildly annoying that it didn’t take but a glance for him to catch on, but what are you gonna do?”

              “What indeed. I wonder if our friend group will be as observant.”

              Kokomi furrowed her brow a bit. They had officially been together for two months. It somehow felt far too soon to tell anyone. She hadn’t even told Chiyo, and she updated her on everything all the time. She felt like maybe this was all still a dream and needed some more time to adjust. She fully intended on telling her, it just was never the right time.

              “Well, I think it’d either be Chiyo or Nendo to figure it out first. Chiyo is always begging you for updates and Nendo, as dumb as he may come off, is surprisingly astute. Especially when you don’t him to be,” Kusuo rolled his eyes. While he had his grievances with Nendo, he had grown quite fond of him in the past few months. Something about distance and not having to see him every day.

              “You still haven’t even told her that we’ve kissed, have you?” Kusuo asked, knowing the answer was no.

              “No, I haven’t. I don’t know. This still feels kind of fake to me, I don’t wanna jinx it, I guess.”

              “I don’t think that’s how that works, but I understand. This often does feel surreal.”

              Kokomi frowned.

              “But it’s not fake, this is real, and I really like being with you,” he said, nudging her shoulder with his. She smiled, her halo glowing bright, nudging him right back.

              They continued chatting until they got home. Both took their turns showering, Kusuo cooking while Kokomi was finishing up hers.

              As he was setting the table, he caught a glimpse of her ducking into her room. Seeing her naked was fairly commonplace at this point. She abandoned all feelings of shyness when it came to him seeing her, and he was trying to do the same. He still hadn’t quite figured it out.

              But this time seeing her, he felt a warmth spread throughout his body. It wasn’t a new sensation by any means, but it didn’t immediately disperse like it so often did. He could feel something… new, happening below the belt, and he wasn’t sure if he was okay with it or not.

              He decided to ignore it.

              He finished setting the table and dishing out the meal when Kokomi finally came into the room, her wet hair tied back in a braid. She was wearing a silk nightshirt that barely covered her… shorts? No, those were just her undies for sure. The feeling he was trying so hard to ignore, reignited with a fury. He was sure his face was pink, despite his trying to control it all with pyrokinesis.

              He quickly stuffed his face.

              “You okay? You look a little funny,” Kokomi said, as she stuffed her face as well.

              “I’m fine, just a little warm from the cooking. Forgot I can control my body heat and let it get out of control.”

              “Okay, well that’s good.”

              They resumed eating, but the air changed from calm to tense in an instant. Both began shivering slightly, even though neither was cold. After eating, they quietly glanced at each other.

---------------------------

              Neither was sure who started it, but they met in the middle, kissing each other like they never had before. Kokomi left her chair to sit on Kusuo’s lap, wrapping her legs around him.

              He suddenly became aware of how incredibly warm she was. He pulled her closer, as he began to grind ever so slightly against her.

              She suddenly realized that in all of the times they had kissed like this, he had never gotten completely hard for her. She didn’t take any offense at it and chalked it up to him being nervous. But this was different. She could feel all of him pressing at her. He began moving against her, which jump-started her the rest of the way. Her movements became harder, rougher.

              Kusuo was trying desperately to keep his mind in one place, but as soon as she had figured out what was going on in his pants, all bets were off. He picked her up and tossed her gently on the couch, climbing on top of her. She quickly wrapped her arms and legs around him, but he pushed back. She became worried.

              “Sorry, I’m not trying to push you to do anything I just—”

              “No, you’re not. Actually… I think maybe…” he looked at her, hoping she would gleam the rest from the look on his face.

              She sat up, reaching out to cup his bulging pants. He froze. He liked it but, he had no idea what to do next.

              “Do you want me to lead?” She asked, placing tiny kisses along his jawline.

              He nodded.

              She threw him back onto the couch and climbed on top of him. It didn’t take but a moment to get his pants off. He was a little taken aback by how fast it had happened, and by how his body was reacting, but he didn’t have much time to think about it before she started tugging at his shirt to pull it off. He lifted his arms up, letting her do whatever she wanted.

              He was now completely exposed and unsure of what was supposed to happen next. He was so out of his element, he nearly forgot he could read her mind.

              Oh my god, this is so exciting. I can’t believe we’re about to do this, I… I’m gotta stop thinking. Gotta keep him on his toes!

              She smiled at him reassuringly as she leaned down to kiss him.

              As she had done before, she started a line of kisses down his face and neck, stopping to bite occasionally as she made her way down his chest, and then down his stomach. Kusuo held his breath. He trusted her, but also he didn’t. It was just so new and he was so unsure.

              She continued down his stomach and then trailed towards the inside of his thighs. Kusuo nearly kneed her in the face. He had no idea that that part of the body could be so incredibly sensitive. He held himself down and she kissed the other thigh. She stopped for a moment, leaning forward for one last kiss before she took ahold of his member.

              Kusuo’s world was already spinning, but this was something else entirely. It felt so nice, but he couldn’t believe how such a simple thing could stimulate the whole body.

              She began working her hand up and down before gently kissing the tip. Kusuo felt like he could explode at any moment.

And he nearly did as she placed as much of him as she could in her mouth. He let out a sharp breath as her head bobbed up and down. He caressed her face, slightly guiding it to try and figure out what spots he liked best.

Just when he thought he couldn’t take it anymore, she came up for air. He sighed in both relief and frustration. She wiped her mouth off before kissing him on the lips.

She repositioned herself back on top, rubbing herself against him, friction building up.

“Can I… return the favor?” Kusuo asked, not really sure what to do.

Without a word, she hopped off and laid back on the couch, legs spread and ready for him.

He sat up and hovered over her. He decided to mimic what she had done, so first thing first: off came the panties. He noted that they were quite damp. He wondered if he had any hand in that. She wiggled her shirt off while he discarded the other item.

Like she had done to him, he kissed her face and trailed down to her neck, biting ever so gently. He didn’t want to literally take a bite out of her. Controlling his strength in this sort of situation was going to be tricky. Soft gasps fell from her lips. It riled him up further. He didn’t want to rush though. He kissed each breast carefully, paying a little mind to each nipple before trailing kisses down her tummy. She giggled at that.

He then kissed the inside of each thigh, nearly kissing her goods, but not quite. He could hear her asking him nicely to stop teasing. But he didn’t want to stop. He used his index finger and slowly brushed it up and down her entrance, focusing slightly on her clit. She squirmed under his touch. He continued this, growing bolder each time until he had slipped his finger inside of her.

She groaned at this new sensation. The sounds she made drove him crazy. He slipped in a second finger, just to see what would happen. The moans grew a little louder as he worked his fingers slowly but surely.

He paused at a point to kiss her.

“You have to keep it down, remember that we still have neighbors.”

She nodded. He continued what he had been doing, but now he was curious as to what she tasted like. Fingers still inside her, he began licking at her clit.

Kokomi couldn’t believe it. She’d heard that sex could be fun with the right partner, but this was beyond anything she had ever believed. She could feel a strong, tight sensation building up in her lower half. She felt like she was on fire. Kusuo could tell she was getting close already. He very carefully tried sucking on her clit just a little.

That was all that was needed.

She came hard, grabbing Kusuo’s head and pushing him closer into her as she rode out the sensation. Not much sound escaped her lips as she was still mildly conscientious of the thin walls around her. Kusuo continued what he was doing until she pushed him away with all her strength. Well, all that was left anyway.

She was breathing heavily as Kusuo leaned over her to kiss her. She wrapped her whole body around him again, pushing his member against her entrance. The sensation was a lot for both of them but Kusuo quickly pulled away.

“Umm… as much as I would like to, we should probably have some kind of protection.”

“Oh, right. I mean, I have an IUD, I think we’ll be okay this once. Besides,” she sat up, pressing her forehead to his, “you have some pretty cool powers that I’m sure could help out in this scenario.”

“You know, sometimes having these powers aren’t such a burden after all.”

She fell back, pulling him with her. Once again, they met. Kokomi began moving until she could feel the tip of his member line up with her entrance. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him close and inside of her.

Kusuo nearly came just with that thrust alone. He had already felt how warm she was, but this was something completely new. He grabbed her hips and slowly began a rhythm.

Kokomi closed her eyes, lost in every sensation this new act brought to her. She loosened her legs to give him more room to move. Kusuo noticed what she was doing and took advantage of the new amount of space, testing speed and how far he could pull out before going right back in. He watched her face to see what she liked best. He found a new rhythm and went at that for a bit before leaning down to kiss her.

Kissing while making love was something so spectacular, they stopped moving for a moment, just to take each other in. Kusuo was still in her entirely when he realized he’d stopped, before wiggling his body a bit to catch her off guard. She gasped, then smiled lightly hitting his shoulder in jest.

Eventually, the couch didn’t offer enough room for them anymore. Kusuo used his powers to move the coffee table over as the shifted to the floor. Kokomi rolled them over and held Kusuo’s arms down as she began to ride him. She wanted to return the favor somehow.

At her hip movements, he had to remind himself not to finish yet. He was having a lot of fun and didn’t want it to end yet.

He got one hand free and used it to play with her clit while she was still on top. It proved to be a winning match. She leaned into his hand, kissing up his neck.

“You’re going to make me finish again,” she thought, nipping at his ear.

“We can finish together,” he said.

As if on cue, she slammed into him hard, pushing him over the edge. His vision nearly went black as he was overwhelmed with pleasure.

Kokomi moaned into his ear as quietly as she could, causing both parties to spasm a little on the floor as they finished together.

Shortly, they both stopped moving. Panting, Kokomi tried to prop herself up, practically face planting into the carpet.

“Well,” she said between deep breaths, “that was amazing. Just amazing. Oh my god.”

“I agree. That was a lot of fun,” he paused, trying to catch his breath. “Sorry for, you know…”

She chuckled. “Don’t be, that was quite an interesting feeling. I mean, I did the same.”

He laughed. “And we already showered. I guess it’s shower time part two.”

“Can you just teleport us in there? That way we don’t have to worry about, umm, getting anything on the carpet.”

“Good idea.”

They landed in the shower. Kokomi slowly wiggled herself off Kusuo, fluids dripping down her leg.

“And that’s why we’re in the shower!” she reached over and turned it on, pointing the showerhead away from them.

Kusuo stood up and began to rinse off with her. They’d never showered together, but they figured they might as well after that.

Soon they had sufficiently washed off. Kokomi leaned forward to turn off the shower, but Kusuo had another idea.

He grabbed her wrists and pushed her against the wall.

“Oh? Can I help you with something?” Kokomi said, a playful smile covering her face.

“Maybe,” he said, grazing her with his freshly revived member.

“Oh, I think you can help me though,” she said pulling him towards her.

He took this as his cue. He found her entrance, pushing in slowly and deliberately, before they continued onto their second session of the night.

Post shower, they climbed into Kokomi’s bed, warm and tired from the shower. They slowly and lazily helped each other put on pajamas, stopping to kiss any exposed skin. Once dressed, they fell into bed with the covers haphazardly covering them.

“Thank you for that,” Kokomi said, taking Kusuo’s hand and placing small kisses along his knuckles.

“And thank you,” Kusuo said, stealing her free hand and kissing her in return.

“I think I like this. No, I know I like this. I hope you do too,” she said, as she shimmied closer to him ready to sleep.

“I think I like this too. It’s certainly interesting,” he paused. “So when you eventually tell Chiyo are you going to tell her about—”

“Mhmm,” she mumbled sleepily.

“All of it?” he asked, a little taken aback.

“Most likely,” she said as she drifted off.

“Well, I guess I don’t see why not, as long as she doesn’t say anything to anyone else.” He shrugged, as much as someone could with another person curled against them, and settled into a deep sleep.

Chapter Text

Morning reared its head sooner than either had hoped.

              They didn’t have anywhere to be, but the sun decided it was time to be awake. Kusuo waved his hand to close the blinds, blocking some of the light from seeping in.

              Kokomi was tucked in his arm, curled into a ball tight against his chest.

              Once awake, it only took a few minutes before Kokomi initiated for the third time, this time in her bed. They had plenty of room to roll around, and it was a much more comfortable spot at that. Afterward, they stayed put, cuddling and talking about it, wondering what they could do differently in the times to come.

              Kusuo felt a little weird this morning. He couldn’t believe he’d actually had sex with her. Her! Kokomi Teruhashi! The most perfect pretty girl in the whole world. While he was a little flustered at the fact, he also felt a tinge of pride at getting to do something only everyone else had ever dreamed of. The difference being he wasn’t a creep about it. Or was he since he felt joy at besting every other boy? Regardless, he was feeling joyful, but also…

              He didn’t feel like himself. He’d never had an interest in anything like this before, but now…? it was something he could wrestle with later.

              Kokomi stretched, the blanket falling off her, exposing her bare chest to the world. Kusuo looked over but looked away just as quickly. He could feel his face matching his hair. He felt a little hypocritical considering everything they had done up to this point. He swiped his arm out from under her, pulling himself out of bed to get dressed.

              “Did you have anything planned for today?” Kokomi asked, muffled by the shirt she hadn’t fully pulled over her head.

              “I wanted to straighten up my room. Also maybe plan a day to get together with the group. I know that’ll be tricky since school just started back up, but it’s worth a shot.”

              “Whoa, what? You wanna plan a day? Are you feeling okay?” she placed the back of her hand against his forehead in mockery.

              “I ask myself that anytime they’re brought up, but yes. I think it’s time we told them. Maybe though,” he said, pulling on a sock, “you should start by telling Chiyo. I hear you and her on the phone and how she begs for details. I still don’t understand why you won’t tell her.”

              He stood up and began to leave the room, looking back at her. She shifted uncomfortably. He usually avoided reading her mind, but occasionally he caught small glimpses. Right now, it was like fog, fog he was pushing aside and only finding a television displaying static in the midst of it.

              “I don’t know, it’s silly. I guess I just don’t want her jumping down my throat for not telling her right away,” she paused, biting her lip she looked away from him, “I also happen to know she has an ongoing bet with Auira and I don’t want to hurt her feelings even further.”

              “Auira definitely already knows and has probably convinced Chiyo about it,” Kusuo said. It had been a while since he had to think about the loveable idiots he called friends.

              “Oh. Right. I keep forgetting you’re not the only psychic.”

              “Sometimes I wish I was,” he said with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

              “Well, okay. I guess… I guess I could call Chiyo tonight and tell her. No big deal. But if you hear screaming, don’t worry about it.”

              “Okay,” he chuckled, “then should I wait until after your talk to text the group about a get-together?”

              “That’s probably a good idea. We should have them all over here! I’m not even sure they know we live in an apartment, let alone that we live together. How about this weekend?”

              “We can cook something or get takeout?” Kusuo asked.

              “Yes! Okay. I’m gonna call up Chiyo now. Wish me luck.” With the last sentence, she rolled her eyes. She shoved Kusuo the rest of the way out of her room and shut the door.

              For the first time that day, Kusuo was alone. Though it had all only happened last night, it felt like it had always been this way. He felt a little lonely, even though he knew she was just behind the door.

              He went to his room and looked around. He couldn’t believe he’d neglected his space for some long and it was time for him to do something about it. As he began reshelving books he’d gotten down for some leisure time, he thought back to a few months ago at Kokomi’s house. Her room had been in complete disarray as she tried to barricade herself in at night. He could feel a small fire of rage building in his chest at the thought of why she had to keep her room like that. He tried to push it aside as he continued cleaning.

              Once the books were back in their places, he moved onto his laundry. He realized he had neglected it and it was past the point of rewinding time on them. He sighed as he began sorting and folding what he knew, or at least suspected, to be clean. He was again reminded of the state of Kokomi’s room. He thought about Makoto and what he would do if he ever saw him again.

              Kokomi had lived in fear far longer than any of her friends had suspected, all while her parents made excuses for his predatory behavior. It made his blood boil. How many times did she go to sleep and lay there in fear of being attacked? How many times did she wake up, if she even fell asleep, and heard him trying to break into her room? What did she do in that time?

              He was yanked abruptly from his thought when he heard a commotion coming from Kokomi’s room.

              “YOU WHAAAAAAAATT!?” A distraught voice said over the phone.

              “Please don’t yell, I only have so much hearing left,” Kokomi joked.

              “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME SOONER? HOW DID AUIRA KNOW!?”

              “Well, I… I just thought you’d be angry, especially since I knew you had that bet going on and for me it just was so much to handle already, and…” she trailed off as she tried to lower her heart rate to something a little quieter.

              “Kokomi, why would I ever be mad with you? I mean I’m a little ticked right now, but this is a special circumstance,” Chiyo said, softening her voice significantly.

              “I don’t know… it felt silly and it still feels silly. I don’t know! It is a mystery. Anyway,” she took a deep breath, “so yeah, Kusuo and I are officially an… item.” She didn’t know how else to phrase it without the words sounding like mush in her mouth.

              “That’s so crazy! You know, I never really pegged either of you for the romantic types. I mean I know you always wanted that, but I wondered if you’d never act on it. Also, your brother was always so weird towards you, I would have thought you’d be hesitant about it all, but look at you! You’ve been together a little over two months now? Insane! What was the first kiss like? How’d it happen? I need all the details!”

              “Ha, yeah, me either, so. Oh, the first time we kissed, it was really nice. Sudden. But considering I’d been waiting for it for so long, it was almost expected. Which is also what being with him for the first time was like too…” Kokomi trailed off, not wanting to use any actual words. She could feel herself starting to blush.

              “OH. MY. GOD!? WHAT!? Are you saying what I think you’re saying!? Oh my god. My little Kokomi is all grown up!” Chiyo cried over the phone. Kokomi pulled the phone away from her head as to not have her eardrums burst.

              “I mean, I’m an adult, I’ve been grown up, but yeah. I guess it’s a milestone of its own kind. Hey wait, aren't I older than you?”

              “That's beside the point. Okay but now you know you gotta tell. Me. Everything!” Chiyo squeaked. Kokomi could tell she was bouncing up and down in place.

“I will, I will. Uh, but first, Kusuo and I are thinking about having a little get together at our apartment sometime soon. Mostly so we can see everyone but also so we can announce our status. He’s going to put something in the group chat, but I figured I’d just tell you now.”

              “Oh my gosh, that sounds great! Can’t wait to see your place. Oh, and you, I guess,” Chiyo said. Kokomi could tell that she was winking.

              “Yeah, I think it’ll be nice. I miss seeing everyone all the time anyway.”

              “Me too,” Chiyo said, sighing dramatically into Kokomi’s ear.

              They sat in silence a few moments.

              “So, you gonna give me the deats? All the juicy details?”

              “I mean… I suppose I could,” she said, knowing that Chiyo was on the edge of her seat, “but first you need to update me on your life! I gave you some crucial info, I think it’s high time I got some in return.” Chiyo laughed as she proceeded to give the quickest update she could.

              Kusuo, who had more or less accidentally been eavesdropping, smiled to himself. He knew Chiyo would take the news well and was glad there wasn’t as much yelling as he had anticipated.

              He picked back up where he’d left off. Once his bed was cleared of clothes, he pulled the sheets up and took pause. Chiyo had brought up Makoto. She knew he was a sore spot for Kokomi, but she still brought up a good point. His thoughts started racing.

Was Kokomi ever safe in her own bed? How did she not constantly collapse from exhaustion? He wondered if there were any bad memories tied to it. If there were, he really hoped they’d been replaced by now.

              While he had been getting angrier by the moment, he remembered that she was safe now. She could sleep without fear. He smiled to himself as he thought about the first night, they’d shared a bed. Yes, the whole experience was started because of him, but in the end, they had gained some newfound trust in each other and some peace that she could never be harmed by him again.

              He finished up by vacuuming as he could hear Kokomi finish up her phone call. Shortly, he picked up his own phone only to find that it was later in the afternoon than he thought. How’d he let all that time slip away from him? He figured it was just because he’d been so lost in thought. Things like that didn’t happen to him often, so it was weird when it happened. He also knew Kokomi and Chiyo always talked for hours at a time, so it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. He decided to finish off the day with some laundry.

              He gathered up his clothes and walked to Kokomi’s door, knocking gently.

              “Come in!” her response came ringing in his head.

              He opened the door to find her in a similar position as he had just been in. She was in the midst of stripping the blankets off her bed. She glanced over at Kusuo and noticed the laundry basket floating behind him.

              “Oh, are you going to do laundry? Think you could do mine?” Without waiting for an answer, she piled her things on top of his.

              “I suppose,” he said sarcastically, a smile playing on his lips.

              She didn’t make eye contact with him. As a matter of fact, her eyes seemed to have been glazed over a bit. He dropped his fake-inconvenienced voice and watched her as she moved about the room. It was robotic how she moved, picking something up and putting it away without a second glance or thought. Eventually, she came to a halt. She seemed frozen in place.

              “Kokomi, are you okay?” He reached out tentatively to touch her arm.

              “Hm? Oh. Yes, just a little exhausted from that phone call. Chiyo can be a lot, you know? I’m sure you heard at least some of that conversation.” She smiled at him.

              “Yeah, I did. She seems to have taken it well.” His hand made contact with her shoulder, but she jumped under his touch. He removed his hand, backing up a little. Something was clearly wrong, he just didn’t know what.

              “Yeah… taken it well. Um, so, did you text the group chat yet? I already told Chiyo,” she said, sitting on her bed. She continued staring at nothing, unblinking.

              “I was about to, but then I saw the time. Decided to do some laundry. I’m going to do that now. Do you need anything before I head down?” There was a laundry mat in the complex, and it was just easier to sit and wait instead of popping back and forth. Of course, it was easiest for Kusuo to pop back and forth, but he liked to keep an inconspicuous profile.

              She shook her head slowly. He decided to bring her some water.

              Water and a snack dropped off, Kusuo headed down to do laundry. He was worried about her. Everything had been completely fine this morning. Hadn’t it? Maybe he was seeing things, maybe she was just tired from the phone call. The phone call… was it the Makoto comment? He decided he would just give her some space and ask after her once he was done downstairs.

              ---

              Kokomi watched Kusuo pull the door shut behind him with his telekinesis. She let out a puff of air, a substitute for laughing. Talking to Chiyo had solidified what she already knew in her mind: she and Kusuo were a couple, officially, and it was really nice. She thought about all the little moments before they’d sealed the deal with a kiss. She realized she’d missed a lot of hints. She put her head in her hands. She supposed it didn’t matter now, but she felt a little silly for being so oblivious, though she knew he had been the same.

              But Chiyo had mentioned her brother. She said she wondered if his actions would affect how she approached things later on. In truth, it did a little. In the first few weeks of moving in with Kusuo, she had locked her door at night. She knew nothing would happen to her, and certainly that Kusuo wouldn’t do anything, but old habits and strong paranoia die hard.

              She’d finally let her guard down a few days before the near-break-in incident. Thankfully, Kusuo didn’t make fun of her. He didn’t even have to ask before locking the door. Being a psychic, he probably already knew, but it still made her feel safe.

              But her brother had never made her feel safe. She always felt she was one slip up from being…

              She didn’t want to finish the thought. She shook her head, lightly slapping her cheeks to try and take herself out of it. She sighed before getting up and proceeding to tidy up her room. She’d been so focused lately on her happiness and being with Kusuo, she’d neglected basic tasks like making sure her room didn’t look like a nightmare.

              A nightmare…

              She looked up to survey the room. It wasn’t really a mess, just some books, clothing, shoes, and other random items weren’t exactly where they belonged.

              She had to sit back down. Her head was spinning. Why was her face wet? She realized she was crying. Over what? It wouldn’t take more than a half-hour to put everything back. It was silly, just silly. She was fine. Was her breathing heavier? Whatever, it was fine. She wiped away at her face and rolled up her sleeves. It was time to clean.

              ---

              Why did laundry have to take so long? It was just getting sloshed around in soapy water, how long could it really take? Kusuo sat in a worn-down plastic lawn chair in the little room, squished between a plant and a slightly off-kilter window. He could feel cool air coming through the cracks. It didn’t bother him though; he could easily warm himself up. He opened up his texting app, thinking about what to say in the group chat. He realized they hadn’t

              Kusuo:

Hello. Kokomi and I would like to invite you all over to our apartment for a nice get-together this upcoming weekend if you are available.

Nendo: BUDDY!!!!! u hav an apartment thats so cool bro!!

Kaido: I’m not sure if I’ll be available, the jet black wings never gets to rest

Kuboyasu: Shun, you don’t have anything going on, we have our calenders synced rmemeber?

Kaido: psshh well u know……. yeah I’m down for this weekend!! but we must be wary, evil is always lurking!!1!

Chiyo: about time you invited us all over!! I’m so excited to see what u guys did to decorate i hope its super cute

Kuboyasu: anyway, I’m free this weekend as well, I think it’d be fun to get to see everyone, it’s been a while.

Hairo: I’m down! I miss seeing you guys every day :)

Chisato: will there be food?

Kusuo:

Yes, Kokomi and I will be cooking. We were thinking Saturday around 2. Here’s the address.

Kusuo couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t want to admit it, especially to himself, but he was looking forward to seeing them.

              This would the first time, he realized, they would meet somewhere where they could all be safe and be themselves. No looming threat of parents or siblings, no one would have to put up a façade. He decided that he wouldn’t be wearing any sort of mask for this encounter, he would be himself. Well, more himself than he had been in the past. His real self was really only for Kokomi to see. It would take a little longer for his friends to level up to her stature.

The washing machine clicked indicating it was done. Kusuo surveyed the room. No one else was there, no cameras either. No one outside either. He used his powers to remove the clothing and place them into the dryer. If he could avoid touching damp clothing, he would.

              He turned the mechanism inside the machine telekinetically. No use spending change on a machine that barely did its job anyway. He went back to his seat. He was wondering how Kokomi was doing, she seemed a little distraught when he left, so hopefully, she was doing better.

              ---

              Kokomi was doing poorly. She had managed to organize her desk and put some books away, but otherwise, she was curled tightly in a ball in the middle of her floor. She didn’t understand why she felt so… panicked? Surely that wasn’t the right word. Either way, the tears kept flowing, the room kept spinning, and her heart rate was going nuts.

              Dammit, I should have drunk that water when he handed it to me. Now I’m not even sure I’d be able to hold the glass steady. Dammit, dammit, dammit! I need to eat. I wish Kusuo were here to hold me. No, I’m a big kid, I can handle whatever this is on my own. It’s fine, I’m fine. I’m… really not fine. Oh god, am I dying? Is this what dying feels like? Kusuo, I don’t know what your range is, but if you can hear me, can you come back and help me drink some water?

              She felt conflicted though. It felt to her like this was onset by Kusuo, so why should she want him to comfort her? Whatever the case, she needed the comfort of a person immediately.

              ---

              Kusuo looked up from his phone.

              “Kokomi? Hang on.” He checked yet again that there was no one to witness his abilities and teleported home.

              He found Kokomi as a crying heap on the floor.

              “Kokomi, hang on.” He grabbed the glass of water and knelt down next to her. He let the glass float next to him as he carefully pulled up, setting her in his last, and tucking her face into his chest. She latched onto him, trying to let the sound of her crying be muffled by his cable knit sweater.

              “Here, lean back a bit so you can drink this.” He held his arm tightly around her shoulders to help steady her.

              She tentatively drew herself away from him as he grabbed the glass from the air, positioning it at her lips. She took tiny sips, trying hard to focus only on what was in front of her. After a few moments, she took the drink from him gulping it down.

              “Sorry,” she said, setting the empty vessel aside before wrapping herself around him.

              “What on earth could you be sorry for?” Kusuo asked, running his fingers through her hair.

              “I don’t know. For interrupting the laundry, I guess.”

              Kusuo couldn’t help it; he laughed. He couldn’t stop laughing and his body shook with each passing moment. Kokomi slowly joined in, wiping the tears from her face, wondering what was wrong with her. At least there was still some joy here.

              “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. The laundry can wait. Why don’t you take a break? Your room isn’t really a mess anyway. I can even finish it up for you if you want.”

              “You don’t have to do that, it’s fine, really. Um, I think I just want to have that snack you brought me and maybe take a nap. Oh, but my bedding…”

              “Oh yeah, mine’s in the wash too. How about you cuddle up on the couch? Maybe take a nap to reset yourself a little.”

              “That sounds nice.”

              He picked her up effortlessly, carrying her into the living room. He sat her down gently as he summoned some blankets from the corner of the room. He tucked her in as he handed her some chips. He proceeded to refill her water, then tucked her in. He leaned forward, giving her a kiss on her forehead. He paused, hovering over her, before placing a few more kisses on her cheeks, nose, chin, and then on her lips. She soaked it up like a flower in the early morning light.

              “Get some rest, okay? I’ll be back shortly; I have to check on the laundry.”

              “Okay, thank you, Kusuo.”

              He smiled at her before teleporting.

              ---

              He landed back in his creaking lawn chair. The dryer was still running and he wasn’t in any hurry. Kokomi clearly needed some time to herself. He didn’t pry, but he could take a guess as to what set her into a panicked state like that.

              He leaned back in his chair, momentarily closing his eyes to organize his thoughts.

              ---

              Kokomi was so tired. From starting the day off with… physical activities, to the phone call with Chiyo, to whatever the heck was going on now, she was exhausted. She finished the second glass of water as well as the sugary treat Kusuo had left with her. Her physical self was feeling a little better. She laid back on the couch, closing her eyes. Maybe a little nap could fix all of her issues. She hoped it wouldn’t mess up her sleep schedule too much considering it was well into the evening by now. Her thoughts became fuzzier as she drifted away.

              ---

              Kusuo returned about a half-hour later, laundry in hand. He left out a small sigh of relief to find Kokomi knocked out, breathing evenly.

              Sometimes he was glad he had psychic abilities. He was able to sort his laundry from hers without even having to touch anything. Not to mention making the bed was about a million times easier since he could put on a fitted sheet without also having to wrestle with the bed. Both beds were made, all clothes folded and put away. As he had told her, he finished her room up. It wasn’t anything more than stacking some items and closing drawers.

              Dinner didn’t seem like it was going to be an event tonight. It was already so late. Doing the laundry had taken it all out of him. Well, that and having his own private panic about Kokomi’s wellbeing.

              He crouched down next to her and watched her sleep for a few minutes. He knew she was only truly at peace while she slept, but even then, she had her fair share of bad dreams. He rested himself next to her for a minute longer before tenderly picking her up. He carried her to her bed, tucking her in. He kissed her forehead as he brushed away a few stray strands of hair. She wrinkled her nose as one loose piece flipped down.

              He couldn’t believe it. She was just so beautiful. No matter what, she was truly and honestly The Perfect Pretty Girl. And she had chosen him. He still couldn’t wrap his head around that.

              Glancing at the clock, he figured it was an acceptable time to at least be in bed preparing for sleep. The bedtime routine was done fast as he just wanted to be next to her. His shirt was barely buttoned as he slid under the covers next to her, pulling her close to him. As if she knew what was happening, she nuzzled into the crook of his arm.

             “Thank you,” he whispered into her hair. He thought for a moment before whispering again. “I love you. Goodnight, Kokomi.” A prayer was made that she didn’t hear that, but he knew that whatever god was watching over him was not a fan. If she had heard though, he didn’t think he’d mind much anyway. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep, hand in hand with his best friend.

Chapter Text

The following day, Kusuo realized that Kokomi was more distant than the night before. He tried not to read her mind but continued to worry. She had gotten up and immediately bolted from the room. He heard the bathroom door close a moment later. Confused, he got up and got ready to start making breakfast.

              Kusuo was done preparing the food and setting the table and he realized Kokomi still hadn’t come out. He didn’t want to invade her space, but after yesterday, he almost wanted to. He let his mind wander into hers just a bit…

              … I want to die… hate this… his fault… he’s so…

              Kusuo instantly panicked. Was she having a repeat of yesterday? Did he accidentally cause part of it? He took a deep breath and walked over to the bathroom door. He gently knocked.

              Kokomi instantly flung the door open. She rubbed at her face as he noticed it was a bit blotchy.

              “Hey, are you ok—”

              She threw her arms around him violently. Had he been a normal human, it probably would have knocked him flat on the floor. She was sobbing and struggling to speak.

              “I-I-I g-guess I got so caught up in the excitement of g-getting to be i-intimate with you, that I-I forgot how afraid I-I was of it,” she said, the words coming out strained, “and it’s not because of you, and it’s not because of me either, it’s b-because of…” Her voice was muffled as she had her face pressed into his chest. She closed her eyes tightly.

              “You don’t have to tell me right now. And I’m not going to read your thoughts. But I am concerned about you,” Kusuo said, pulling her closer to him. He didn’t need to read her thoughts to know though. He felt a mix of emotions swirling in his chest.

              “It’s just… you know my brother was always so creepy to me. I always felt like I was going to… be taken advantage of? I knew he would try and violate me. I was just in constant fear of being hurt by him in any way, especially in that way…” she trailed off.

              “I knew he was a creep. I guess I just never realize how much duress you were under. But you’re here, safe and sound, with me now. I’ll always be here for you, Kokomi. If you want to talk more about this, we can,” Kusuo said, rubbing circles on her back.

              “Okay,” she said shakily, “but for now, I think we just need to not… do anything. Just for a bit. Anything like that I mean. Ugh, I can’t believe I didn’t realize sooner. It only clicked when Chiyo mentioned it yesterday. I guess it kind of set me off.”

              “Oh, right. About being intimate, that’s fine.” Kusuo chuckled to himself. “In the beginning, you said we could go at my pace. But now, it’s time to go at your pace.”

              She giggled a little. “Thank you. I just was so afraid for so long. And then I woke up and had kind of forgotten about yesterday and I just didn’t know where I was and I panicked. That’s why I ran from the room. I think… different things were just upsetting me. Not really sure what to do with that,” she said, “for right now though,” she pushed herself up from his chest, “I need to eat. I think a little food could save me from a lot of my problems. And water too. Then maybe we can talk some more.”

              “Excellent idea. Let’s also get some coffee jelly.”

              “You say that as if it wasn’t already a given.” She got up and stretched. Her face was still blotchy and her hair a mess, but Kusuo couldn’t help but stare. Nothing could stop her from being beyond radiant. Her halo was dimmed, but still there adding a softness to her features.

              He pulled out her chair for her and pushed her back in. Taking his seat, he reassuringly and carefully patted her back. She smiled down at her plate, afraid to make eye contact lest she begin crying again.

              Waking up next to him was the new normal for her, and had been for months now. But she’d last been asleep on the couch and had woken up in her bed with him next to her. Before she could register what was actually going on, she thought she was back home and somehow Makoto was in her bed. She was so jarred so had to leave. She felt so ridiculous for thinking any of that.

              Kusuo looked at her with big, worried eyes. Clearly, he’d caught that bit. She looked away quickly.

              She chewed her food slowly, savoring every bite like it was her last. It was something she tried to do anytime she needed to bring herself back to reality. Kusuo was an excellent cook and she loved everything he made. Once she was done, she got up and went to sit on the couch. Kusuo followed once he was done.

              Kokomi took a deep breath. “I don’t know what happened to me yesterday, but I definitely wasn’t thinking straight. Something similar happened this morning too.” She was twisting her hair. She knew he knew, but it felt better to talk it out.

              “What did happen?” Kusuo asked, gently taking her hands in his to direct her nervous energy elsewhere.

              “It was like the world was spinning, like déjà vu but a million times worse. It was like… it was like I was back home again. Everything was just so familiar and then my body just shut down.”

              “That’s not ideal. I think you were having a panic attack.”

              “Psh. Yeah, right. Me. Panicking,” Kokomi said, forcing laughter. Kusuo wasn’t laughing. She hadn’t properly appreciated until now that he furrowed his brow and pressed his lips together when he was concerned about her. It was very endearing, but also made it look like there was a giant pink V looming over his eyes. That plus his antenna really made him look like an alien. She let out a real laugh.

              “I heard that,” he said, his expression softening as his eyebrows departed.

              “I’m not poking fun or anything, I’m just observing. Anyway… you might be right. I’ve had things happen like that before, just never that intense. It all usually has to do with… you know who.”

              “I gathered that. Why didn’t you mention it before?”

              “Well, you know I wasn’t really one to ask for help. I mean you were the one who told me I could reach out, and then I never really did. Oh, I guess maybe I already had some minor ones in front of you. Like that day you all came over and again at the café… I just didn’t know what was happening and just chalked it up to nerves or whatever.”

              “That’s right, now that you mention it. You seemed so composed while your thoughts were like paper through a shredder. I guess I was just used to seeing you like that.”

              The implication of his words was not pretty. He immediately regretted it. He had paid so much attention to her the entire time, ever since they met, and yet he missed out on something so incredibly obvious. Even he, an all-seeing psychic, didn’t recognize a panic attack. Good grief, what else had he missed?

              He rubbed his thumb in circles on the backs of her hands, then kissed each hand in turn.

              “How about we make a better cleaning schedule? That way nothing gets too out of hand and it doesn’t remind you of before.”

              “That sounds nice,” she said, “and I think I want a new bed. Like a new everything. That’s part of what freaked me out this morning.”

              Kusuo thought back to yesterday’s conversation and his realization about her bed. He had been right about it bringing up bad memories. He hoped they could override them.

              “That’s a great idea. We can go shopping today if you want.”

              “I’d like that. But first, can you just, umm, teleport my entire bed, sheets and all, into a dumpster or something? Like, let’s just start over entirely.”

              “I suppose I could arrange for that,” he said, smiling, “but first, how about we finish breakfast?”

              They ate in relative silence, hand in hand. Once done, they got dressed. Kusuo made sure to give Kokomi the distance she needed as to not freak her out. She pouted when she realized what he was doing, but was also thankful. Healing isn’t linear, she reminded herself, shutting her door.

              Kusuo entered the living room a few moments later, having donned black slacks yet again, a baby blue dress shirt with a dark blue cardigan on top, another of his mother’s creations. He sat on the couch fidgeting as he waited for his partner.

              He’d never fidgeted before; he’d never really been this kind of nervous either. He didn’t have to wait long though. Kokomi came out a few moments later in an outfit that nearly mimicked his, except instead of blues she was covered in pink. They stopped and stared for a moment.

              “This is just our pajamas all over again,” Kokomi laughed, “I didn’t realize how much we just liked to match, huh.”

              “I think it’s nice. You look really nice,” Kusuo said, standing up to get the door.           

              “Thank you.” She stood on her to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

              ---

              Like a montage in a movie, then jumped from bed to bed, trying to find one they both found comfortable. They could tell some people in the store were just hoping for them to pick one and go, others were beyond jealous that it was Kusuo lying next to Kokomi, but they wanted to get it perfect so they ignored everyone. At this point, Kusuo only really slept in Kokomi’s room and his bed existed for decoration so it was important that this new bed, this fresh start, was good for both of them.

              Like Goldilocks, they eventually settled on something not too firm, not too soft and called it a day.

              They went to each store, searching for new pieces for Kokomi. Each new purchase added to their excitement, the excitement of a new beginning.

              Finally, their outing had ended. Well, almost. They decided to stop into the café for a little snack.

              The waiter, as usual, led them back to their usual spot. He quickly ran off as the café was busy this time in the afternoons. They looked over the menu, as if they didn’t have it memorized.

              Kokomi sighed, “I feel relieved. Like I’m a brand-new person. I know it won’t be delivered until tomorrow but I just feel really good about this. Maybe we should put it all in a different spot too, change up the routine.”

              “That sounds like a good idea to me, we can work on that when we get home. I guess we’ll also have to run some more laundry since we got new sheets,” he said, lazily gesturing to the bag sitting next to Kokomi.

              “Oh yeah, nearly forgot about that. Oh! Mera!”

              Mera had just come up to their table. Apparently, she now worked here, which wasn’t all that surprising.

              “Hi, guys! I haven’t seen you here in a while, how’s it going? Your usuals? I can’t wait to see your place this weekend!”

              “Yes, our usuals, please! Yeah, we’re really excited to have you all over. We haven’t hosted, like, at all, since we moved in. So it’ll be fun!” Kokomi said.

              “So… you two live together now. Now I know I’ve been oblivious before but… you two finally make it official?” She said, a glint in her eye.

              “What gave it away?” Kusuo joked.

              “Aw, you got me, the guys in the kitchen told me. Anyway, I’ll be right back with your orders!”

              She bounced away. Kusuo and Kokomi exchanged a glance of exasperation and elation.

              “Same as ever. Glad she seems to be doing okay. Wait, how did she know our usuals? Oh, she probably got that from the guys in the kitchen too, duh,” Kokomi said, knocking the heel of her hand into her forehead.

              “She did, I can confirm,” Kusuo said, leaning back in his booth.

              “So, this weekend. I guess we should start planning lunch or dinner or whatever and what we’ll do. Do we have any games? Maybe while we’re out we should grab some and…”

              Kusuo let her continue on talking. She didn’t seem to be talking to him anymore. He was just glad she seemed significantly calmer after this morning’s debacle. She continued spitballing ideas even as Mera showed up with their orders. She casually dropped a hint to Kokomi that she would eat literally anything she made so she shouldn’t sweat it so much. Besides, it was just exciting to be getting together after so long apart. As she left, Kokomi sighed, smiling to herself.

              “She’s right, I don’t know why I worry so much. I could be the worst cook in the world and she’d still eat my food though, so maybe I shouldn’t lean on that too much.”

              Kusuo grinned into his cup of coffee, “I don’t know, I think the rest of the group is very similar. But it’s a good thing you’re an excellent cook anyway. We can worry about the groceries later this week though.”

              “Yeah, I guess so. I don’t know, I just feel like we have to impress them or something. Which is just ridiculous because they’re our friends and I don’t think they put as much thought into this as I do so what does it matter?”

              “Hey, it’s okay,” Kusuo reached his hand out to her in an attempt to help ground her, “if push comes to shove, I’ll just mind control them into having a good time.”

              This elicited a laugh out of her. Mission accomplished, he thought, though the smile she eventually gave him was wistful.

              “I think I have leftover nerves from earlier. Once we’re doing with the laundry and rearranging, can we just… snuggling? Maybe put on a movie or something? I need something mindless to do, I think.” To demonstrate this, she dramatically sunk into her booth, her hair dragging behind her like a string on a balloon.

              “I think that’s doable. Got any movie in mind?”

              “No. Well, maybe something we’ve already seen so we don’t have to focus. I’m just so mentally shot. Ugh,” she said, laying her head directly on the table.

              “Should we take the rest of this to go?” Kusuo asked, tentatively nibbling on his coffee jelly.

              “Yes,” came to muffled agreement from his partner.

              As if she’d be listening in, which she might have been, Mera appeared out of nowhere with a to-go box and a bonus coffee jelly. Kusuo slipped her some cash in appreciation after paying the bill.

              The walk home wasn’t very long, and yet it felt like an eternity to Kokomi. She’d worn herself out this morning from her minor panic attack to running all over the earth just to help find some peace. They walked in silence, hand in hand. She was tired and aching all over, but at least she had him.

              Dang, I’m getting mushy. I guess I always have been just a little, but actually being with him definitely cranks that dial up. Wow, he’s so cute, the sun shining on his hair is so pretty. I wonder if the sun shining on my hair is half as nice…

              “It is,” came Kusuo’s voice in her head.

              “Hey, I thought you don’t read my mind!”

              “I don’t, but your thoughts are hard to ignore when they’re that loud. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” He smirked at her. Was that a little blush on his cheek? Surely not.

              “Oho, Mr. All Powerful Psychic getting a little flustered? It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone,” she thought to him, returning the devious look.

              They’d arrived at their apartment door at this point. Kusuo looked all around quickly. Kokomi raised an eyebrow. Why didn’t he just get out his key?

              She’d barely finished the thought before he scooped her up and teleported inside.

              “Oh! Gosh, whatta rush! Thanks for that,” she said, giggling. “Okay, so, wanna get rid of my old bed? I figured tonight we can just sleep in your room.”

              “Okay, that’ll take a little bit of thinking on my part but I’ll make it happen. Want to put this away,” he handed her the box from the café, “and maybe start on actual lunch while I do this?”

              “Sure, sounds good.”

              She turned around and started towards the kitchen, but changed her mind and turned back to look at him.

              “Hey, Kusuo?”

              “Yes?”

              “Thank you. I hope you know how much I appreciate this. How much I… appreciate you,” she smiled from ear to ear.

              “I do, I know. I appreciate you too,” he said. The softness of his face could be seen from space. He was filled with so much love for her. How could he not have ever seen it before? Hindsight and all, but at least he was here with her now.

              He quickly walked to her, taking her face in his hands, and kissed her. It was so routine at this point, and yet it always managed to surprise her. She shook it off quickly and returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him as close as she could. They stayed standing there for a few moments before they mutually broke away. They pressed their foreheads together for a brief second before continuing with the tasks that had been placed before them.

Chapter Text

It was tricky, but Kusuo got rid of the bed, frame and all. Normally he would just apport things like this, but the last thing he wanted was garbage all over the floor. Not to mention there wasn’t anything in the dumpster remotely close to being worth what the bed was. At least nothing he wanted.

              Once the bed was gone, he went to help Kokomi with lunch so they could get on to the arranging sooner.

              Lunch consisted of sandwiches, a low-effort yet delicious meal. They were devoured in no time. They shortly made their way to Kokomi’s now eerily empty room.

              “Oh, gosh, this feels weird. But also, nice, I mean look how spacious!” she said, flopping down on the floor to make what can only be described as carpet angels.

              “So, you want to move your bookshelves and dresser over here and place your bed over there?” he gesticulated as he spoke.

              “Yeah, that sounds good.” She wasn’t even looking. He didn’t mind though; it wasn’t like having to move furniture was hard or anything.

              She got up as she saw her bookshelf floating over her. He finished the placement and she repeated the action of falling to the floor in the now empty space.

              “Maybe I should vacuum first. Eh, it’s whatever. Okay, let’s watch a movie, preferably something I can just pass out to.” She draped her arm over her eyes, flailing her other arm outwards.

              “Alright, come one, let’s put on our pajamas and cuddle.”

              “Carry me?” she reached out with grabby hands with absolutely no intention of moving on her own. He rolled his eyes but couldn’t help but smiling at her anyway as he reached out, picking her up and setting her upright with his telekinesis.

              “That never gets old.”

              “I only did it to you for the first time a few days ago.”

              “My statement still stands, it’s very fun.” As she spoke, she was placed gently on her feet. She promptly began changing. Kusuo joined her. His pajamas now lived in her room. It felt a little odd and misplaced, but it was more convenient.

              Once dressed, Kusuo once again picked up Kokomi, though this time without telekinesis, just him swinging her into his arms. She wrapped herself around him, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. He was very grateful at that moment that he wasn’t ticklish.

              Movie and cuddles commenced. It didn’t take very long before Kokomi was breathing evenly off in dreamland. She clearly needed to rest and it seemed it was going to take a bit for her to get back up to regular speed. He kissed her forehead as he decided to join her in the nap session.

              Thankfully, this week they didn’t have school. It made for having large things, such as mattresses and bedframes, easier to be delivered.

              The next day, Kusuo greeted the delivery people and directed them to where the new bed was to be set up. Kokomi was hiding in Kusuo’s room, not wanting to deal with people who weren’t Kusuo. Plus, she was still in bed and didn’t feel like moving just yet.

              The bed was swiftly assembled and the people left, leaving Kusuo alone. He knocked, letting Kokomi know it was safe to come out again.

              She came out of the room, stretching, her hair sticking in odd directions. Kusuo stifled a laugh.

              “Oh, wow!” she said as she walked into her room. The bed was larger than her last and was no longer in the corner. Now it would be easier access to the bed for both of them. Kusuo had already taken a second to put the new sheets on.

              She grabbed Kusuo’s hand and walked over to the bed and ever so carefully sat down. She closed her eyes, content.

              “It’s soooo comfy.” She fell back into the mattress as she wiggled herself farther up. He joined her, still holding her hand.

              “Wow, this is really nice. I think we made a good decision.”

              “Yes, I think so too. Oh. Shoot.” She looked at him, shame peeking over her face. “So, uh, we didn’t get a new comforter. Or pillows.”

              “I know. It’s not pressing though, and we can use mine for now anyway.”

              “Look at you, always thinking ahead. ‘Cause clearly I wasn’t,” she scoffed, “but it doesn’t matter. It’s not pressing as you said.”

              They laid there for a while longer, enjoying the new mattress, the new placement of the bed, just everything, as their feet dangling over the edge.

              “Hey, Kusuo?” Kokomi said after a while.

              “Yes?”

              “I love you.”

              “I love you, too.”

              They turned towards each other, both shocked though they really shouldn't have been. Looks of pure joy spread across their faces as they met in the middle, a celebratory kiss commencing. They began repositioning themselves so they were completely on the bed comfortably as they continued the kiss.

              The kiss started to escalate as hands started to wander, but they stopped just as suddenly as it began.

              “Sorry, sorry, I forgot for a moment. I was just so excited,” Kusuo said, straightening his glasses that were threatening to slip off his face.

              “It’s fine, I almost forgot too. It was nice though. Plus,” she said, grinning mischievously as she grabbed his butt, “we’ll have to break in this mattress one day.”

              “One day being the operative words here,” he said, returning the action which resulted in a tiny squeak from her.

              “I’m in no rush, I’m just thinking about it,” she raised her hands, feigning innocence.

              “Well, that’s good. We can continue kissing though, it feels like it’s been a minute since we’ve gotten to do just that. And I enjoy it, and I imagine you do as well, so…” he shrugged.

              “Oh, I do,” she said, as she wrapped herself around him once again, nearly knocking the air out of him as she pressed her lips to his with fervor.

              They rolled around for a bit kissing until they grew tired. They kissing then became lazy as they just appreciated the company and holding each other.

              “I love you,” Kusuo whispered after each little kiss he gave her up and down her collar bone and neck.

              “You know, I know you already knew. I’m sure you’ve been hearing me say it in my head for god knows how long. And,” she paused, mulling over whether or not she wanted to voice this, but decided to anyway, “I did hear you say it to me other night. I only woke up for a split second because I could feel something on my face, it was just a hair, but I heard you. I passed back out after that though, so I figured you hadn’t caught on.”

              Kusuo turned about as pink as his hair. He knew the gods were working against him.

              “I’m both glad and a bit embarrassed that you heard that. In the end, I’m just glad you love me too.”

              “How could I not?”

              They laid there in silence for a bit. The curtains were open and the sun was pouring in. Like cats, they placed themselves directly in the sunbeam to soak up as much warmth as they could.

              “We have to plan for this weekend, I don’t want to be doing anything last minute,” Kokomi said, covering her face with her forearm.

              “I can focus on all the cleaning if you want to cook. We can go shopping tomorrow. All will be well. Or else,” he joked.

              She laughed, “Okay, I think I can handle that.”

              The rest of the day passed without any events. Bedsheets were swapped around, breakfast and lunch were had, movie night was decided, and eventually, they retired to bed having already made a list of things they were going to buy the following day.

Chapter Text

Kusuo woke up to see that Kokomi was no longer in bed. He didn’t think much of it, she got up earlier than him on occasions. He got out of bed himself and walked towards the door. He felt something sinister behind it. He ripped the door off its hinges as he walked into the living room.           

              There, Makoto stood over Kokomi’s unconscious body, a crazed look in his eyes. Without thinking, Kusuo teleported over, grabbed his neck in his hands, and crushed it in an instant—

              Kusuo woke up to see that Kokomi was tucked in, still deep in sleep. It wasn’t even morning; it was the middle of the night. He got up to inspect the house. Obviously, he would have heard Makoto if he was there. He realized the front door was unlocked. Was that all it took to fight off the premonition? He locked the door and sat on the couch. As much as he wanted to continue sleeping, her safety came first. He would wait until morning to see what would come of it.

              All night he sat and waited. A time or two he thought he could hear Makoto’s thoughts, but each time it was fleeting and nothing came of it. Surely, he wouldn’t be so stupid as to try and break in again, would he? Kusuo had already made sure to make it perfectly clear what would happen if he were to do so.

              Morning came, but Makoto never showed his face. Good. Kusuo didn’t want to kill him over his partner’s unconscious body, that just wouldn’t sit well with him.

              But was it really something so simple as locking a door that deterred him? He couldn’t figure it out, but either way, a new day had dawned and Kokomi was still safe.

              She stumbled into the living room shortly thereafter, confused and her hair a mess. He sat still on the couch, stoic.

              “Where’d you go? I noticed sometime earlier you were gone, but I figured you’d come back. What’s up?” she said, plopping down next to him as she rubbed her eyes.

              “I had a premonition. Had to make sure it didn’t come true.”

              “Huh, forgot you could do that. So did it come true?”

              “No. At least, it hasn’t. It better not come true.” He clenched his fists, releasing and tightening again in an attempt to calm himself.

              “What happened in it?” Kokomi asked. She noticed his hands and took them in her own, squeezing them reassuringly.

              “I’d rather not tell you. It wasn’t good.” He gave her a slightly pleading look, hoping she wouldn’t press on. She received the message but remained worried.

              “Okay, as long as you’re alright and it doesn’t come true,” she stood, pausing first to kiss his forehead, “anyway, I’m going to make a quick breakfast so we can go shopping and get it over with quickly.”

             ---

Saturday afternoon rolled around. It was a nice sunny day with very few clouds. Kokomi was feeling excited. It had been a while since she’d seen her friends and was ready to catch up. So much had happened in a few months

              A knock at the door echoed through the living room.

"Hi everyone, please come in," Kusuo held the door open, gesturing for his friends to come inside. By some stroke of luck, or a curse depending on how you looked at it, everyone had shown up at the same time. At least I only have to get the door once, he thought to himself.

"Have a seat if you'd like," he said, pointing over to the cleared-off space in the living room.

"Hi, Teruhashi!" Kobayasu and Hairo said, waving in unison.

"Kokomiiiiii!!" Chiyo ran over to Kokomi, who was in the midst of stirring up some pudding last second, wrapping her arms around her, nearly causing the pudding to slosh everywhere. Kusuo saw it happen and subtly stopped it.

"BUDDY!!" Nendo picked up Kusuo like he was nothing. Kusuo wanted so badly to phase out of existence, but at the same time was thankful for the hug. He would never admit it, but he had missed his friends a lot and was fairly happy to see them, even if they were rowdy and a little annoying. He was just glad that he was next to indestructible, otherwise, his ribs would be dust.

"Nice to see you, Nendo," he squeaked out. He couldn't actually have the air knocked out of him, but this was as close as it was going to get.

He sat him back down as the rest of the crew finished up their greetings. Kusuo reached out to Kokomi, asking if she needed any help. Kokomi answered by finding that Chiyo had already started taking dishes over to the table. Clearly, she wanted this party to be started as soon as could be.

Chiyo ran back into the kitchen to grab the remaining dish. Kokomi had already taken her seat next to Kusuo and struck up a conversation with Chisato and Aiura. Kaido, Nendo, and Kobayasu had started some small argument between the three of them about something inane, while Hairo asked Kusuo about the neighborhood and where they'd gotten such a lovely table like this.

Chiyo, being the lovely friend she was, began bringing over the final pieces. Unfortunately, she was never very graceful and yet so talented at the same moment. She tripped.

Everything happened in what felt like an eternity. The food began to fly, heading straight towards Aiura and Chisato. Chiyo was poised to fall straight into the middle of the table. The glass table. On the hardwood floors. Everyone began to either brace for impact or try to catch their falling companion and the dishes.

Kusuo didn’t hesitate. He didn't even think. He stopped her and the food mid-air.

It was like time had stopped and then began moving backward. Chiyo was suddenly on her feet again and the food sat neatly on the table in front of her. Time hadn’t actually stopped, but Kusuo did worry for a moment.

Everyone remained quiet as the weight of what he'd done hit him like a train. He’d never broken out in a sweat like this and he hoped he never would again. Aiura and Kokomi exchanged looks. Hairo was the first to break the silence.

"Saiki, and I don't mean to be rude, or to pry, but would maybe explain how the hell you did… that."

Chaos erupted. Everyone began talking at once, asking a million questions, even those who already knew.

Kusuo stood and held up his hand, motioning for them to stop talking. Miraculously, it worked, no powers necessary. He wasn't exactly sure where to go from here. It was hard enough showing and explaining to Kokomi, but now he had to show six other people. Well, five but Aiura was just as confused at this moment.

"Well... it's simple actually. I'm a psychic."

Surprisingly, everyone remained quiet.

"So... you have like supernatural abilities, and that's what you just used to stop me from smashing into the table?" Chiyo asked, eyes wide and still frozen in the spot Kusuo had set her in. She lightly tapped her legs with her hands, mostly in a nervous fashion but also in an unconscious inspection to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

"Yes."

"Simple. Sure, yes, very simple. Now, how long exactly have you had these?" Kobayasu asked. He leaned forward on his hand, trying to look suave, but had the same dumbfounded look that everyone else had. He trembled slightly. Kusuo peered into his mind a quick moment. Just as he had expected, his mind was about as fried as everyone else's.

"My whole life."

"And how long has Kokomi known?" Chiyo asked. She had her moments of brilliance.

"Since Kusuo got me out of my abusive household," Kokomi said quietly as she gripped the edge of the table like her life depended on it. Her hand was white from the strain. Kusuo could hear her strangled thoughts begging for the moment to be over and not have to speak about this, about anything regarding her previous life.

"Kokomi..." Chiyo's face dropped. While she hadn't exactly been privy to the exact going ons in the Teruhashi home, she knew things were bad. But to the point that Kokomi looked like she'd vomit if she had to speak again? Absolutely insane. Chiyo sat down, taking Kokomi’s hands in her own.

"I can explain everything if you want. But please be patient and no yelling," Kusuo said.

It took longer than anticipated, but he got through it. Everyone actually was far more understanding and accepting than he thought. Plus, he discovered he wasn't as surreptitious as he previously had thought. Obviously weird things happened around him, and now they'd all been explained away.

"So my buddy's a mind reader, who would have guessed," Nendo mused as he downed a cup of pudding.

"I'm a little creeped out by that really, but I guess it can't be helped," Kobayasu muttered, closing his eyes and crossing his arms in contemplation.

"Yeah, I'm not really a fan of that either, but Saiki, how could you hide such cool and awesome powers from us? I thought we were your friends," Kaido said, pouting like a puppy.

"I was afraid," Kusuo said, "afraid that if you knew, you'd treat me differently or maybe..." he trailed off. He didn’t want to admit so much to them but especially he didn't want to admit that he was fearful of them abandoning him. Kokomi, freeing one hand from Chiyo, reached out to hold his hand, unaware of the new can of worms this would open.

"Speaking of treat you differently, wanna explain that too? I mean since we're already here," Hairo said, raising an eyebrow. It wasn't accusatory though but more playful. Kusuo noted that though everyone was still in shock from the brand-new information, they were quick to forgive and move on.

"Oh." He looked at their intertwined fingers. They all knew. They knew from the moment they found out they lived together, but this was just concrete confirmation.

"Well. You already knew that I had a crush on him since... forever. One thing kind of led to another, and well, we've been dating for quite a few months now." Kokomi squeezed his hand, giving him a small smile. Kusuo breathed a sigh of relief. Her smile could cure anything.

Silence. Then suddenly they all burst out in congratulations. They had all been waiting for this moment for so long and their patience had finally paid off. Chiyo was easily the most excited about the whole thing, even though she had been in the know for a while now.

For every moment of worry Kusuo had had about his life and how his friends would react about it, he never anticipated them to accept everything so willingly and without much question. He expected ridicule, poking, prodding, and finally being ousted from the group. Of course, he would have understood had any of that happened, but the fact that it didn’t nearly brought a singular tear to his eye. He’d already shown enough emotion today, he needed to keep that in check.

The conversation changed from raucous jubilation to a somber tone in one fell swoop.

“Kokomi, I don’t wanna upset you, but… what happened? With your home life, I mean. I mean you don’t have to talk about it, but if you need someone to be taken care of, I know a guy or two willing to help,” Koboyasu said with a wink and devilish grin.

Kokomi took a deep breath. Everyone looked at her. Not expectantly, but a layer of anticipation fell over them. Both Chiyo and Kusuo gave their respective Kokomi hands a squeeze of reassurance. She knew that if they could accept Kusuo’s psychic abilities, learning about her home life would be a breeze.

“My brother wanted to have a… a relationship with me. It was getting out of hand, and I couldn’t do anything. But then everything changed so quickly, and now I’m here. Safe and sound.” She tried to look cheery all things considered, but there was a mask covering the vast amounts of pain she was feeling. She looked up quickly, “Thank you, Koboyasu, but I don’t think we’ll need anyone, umm, taken care of. But the offer is appreciated.”

"So why hasn't he been brought to justice? Surely your parents are aware of how he treated you right?" Hairo asked. Always the observant one, thinking of everything.

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you, that he'd been found out. Well, the truth is my parents knew the whole time. They didn't care. Even when I begged for them to do something, even something as simple as getting me a better lock for my door, he could do no wrong," she sighed heavily, closing her eyes momentarily, "but I finally had had enough. That's when Kusuo came in."

"I broke his nose. And his arm. And a few ribs." He stated it so casually and off-hand most had to do a double-take.

"Yes, you did, it was lovely. No, my parents didn't care about me or my well-being because I wasn't bringing in the money. He bought the house, he paid all the bills, he was the golden child. I was just a beautiful object for them to occasionally show off, but I was mostly kept in my case."

Kusuo moved his hand from hers to reach out to rub her shoulder in reassurance. Instead, she leaned into him, practically slumping over.

“Have you heard from him since?” Chisato asked.

Everyone turned to Chisato who had been quietly listening and shoveling food in her mouth while her friends sat enraptured by Kusuo and Kokomi’s tales. She had eaten at least half of what had been put out. That wasn’t of much worry however, Kokomi had made some extras and hid them. She had to chuckle to herself though for being smart enough to not bring out everything.

“Since we’ve moved here, only once,” Kokomi said, “and Kusuo chased him off really quick. I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to come by here again if he values his life.”

“Oh yeah, I bet those powers come in handy when dealing with a guy like him!” Kaido said, his eyes lighting up.

“I have to remember to keep my emotions in check. I nearly killed him last time. I just hope there’s never a next time. Hurting him doesn’t hurt me though, breaking a bone or two does feel good. Especially when it’s his bones.”

“Are you in the mood for breaking bones right now or were you just, ya know, talking?” Aiura piped up from behind the crystal ball she had at some point pulled out of her bag.

“Why, what are you seeing?” Kokomi began shaking, paling at the gush of thoughts filling her head.

She nodded at Kusuo. He gathered the info he needed from her before getting up and opening the front door.

He wasn’t sure how he missed it, but considering the commotion from all the brand-new revelations happening and general brain fog from dealing with people, he shouldn’t have been too surprised.

Outside stood one Makoto Teruhashi. He was a little rough-looking. His arm was in a sling, though he should have been beyond healed from their last spat. His clothes were tattered and covered what Kusuo figured was bloodstains, and he was missing a shoe as the other one threatened to trip him with an unwound shoelace. None of these things mattered in comparison to what he was holding in his unbroken arm.

He held up his arm, pointing a gun directly at Kusuo.

“LONG TIME, NO SEE, YOU KOKOMI STEALING BASTARD.” His arm was shaky, but the gun remained trained on the shocked psychic.

Kokomi and friends slowly but surely peaked around the door to gauge the situation. Kokomi nearly fainted from feeling so many emotions at once. Hairo pulled her back into the living room while Chiyo and Aiura flanked Kusuo.

“You both need to go back inside, now!” Kusuo thought to them.

“Nuh-uh, no way, like I’d miss this! Plus, I saw what’s gonna happen anyway so you, like, totally need my assistance,” Aiura shot back. This was true, Kusuo thought, and any information was better than none.

“I’m not going to let this guy bully our Kokomi anymore!” Chiyo thought, holding up a triumphant fist.

“Chiyo, you do need to go back inside. I don’t want to have to focus on keeping both of you safe from this madman. Aiura, you can stay but only because you have insight.” He lightly began nudging Chiyo back through the door, being sure to keep himself in front of her at all times.

“Oh, I see, you’re just collecting girls to keep for yourself and you just HAD to start with MY KOKOMI.” He was shouting again, but this time he was swinging the gun around like it was a magic wand. Kusuo didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that spell. Yes, he could stop it, but he didn’t want it to come to that, there had to be easier ways to deescalate this scene.

He thought for a moment about replacing a portion of his memory, but that could only change so much. Perhaps if he took off his inhibitors, he could… no, that might do some real irreparable damage. Not that Kusuo really cared, but that might weigh a little too heavy on his mind.

Makoto was a fool, a creep, a danger to himself and others, but he was still Kokomi’s brother. Even if she asked him to kill Makoto, he wouldn’t do it. Would he deserve it? Most likely. Scratch that, yes, he would. But Kusuo wasn’t in the business of killing the siblings of his lovers. Well, lover. Singular. But either way, causing death or damage beyond help was something he was eager to avoid. He had to weigh and sift through any and all ideas.

As he was coming to a conclusion, he realized the trigger had been pulled. He stopped the bullet a meter or so in front of the gun, watching it clatter to the ground. Aiura stopped herself from screaming.

The sound of the gun going off reverberated throughout the complex. Great. Now the neighbors would come to check out the commotion. That could be good, but it could also be very bad. Now there were witnesses, but also potential victims. Kusuo could only protect so many from such a pinpointed issue.

At that moment, one neighbor stuck his head out his door.

“Everything alright?” He asked.

“Oh, just fine, accidentally ran into the railing, you know how squeaky those things can be,” Makoto said, giving the neighbor a blindingly bright smile as he shoved the gun into his jacket.

“Oh. Okay. Sure. Well, be careful then,” he said as he closed his door. Anyone else who had been listening while Makoto spit his lies gently departed, leaving them alone on the balcony.

“You knew what would happen if you returned,” Kusuo said.

“I figured I’d call your bluff. Surely you wouldn’t hurt me, I’m a star! Imagine the outrage it would cause. Not to mention I know you wouldn’t kill me in front of her.” At that, he lightly gestured with the gun off behind Kusuo, towards Kokomi who was hiding behind Kobayasu.

“I don’t want to kill you. I don’t want to kill anyone. But I will follow through on my threat if you come any closer. It’d be best for your health if you left now.”

Kusuo could feel the power within building up. He wouldn’t let it spill out like last time. He knew better, especially with all of his friends present. He took a step towards Makoto. Makoto held the gun out towards him again.

“I know you’re some kind of freak. I’ve known for a while. But you stopping that bullet earlier was just further proof. And now it only goes to show this is not a balanced battle.”

Kusuo nearly hesitated but thought better of it. He continued on, watching Makoto’s hand become shakier and shakier until he reached him. Makoto quickly fired off a few rounds. Kusuo caught them without blinking.

He finally reached his attacker and grabbed the gun. Makoto let off one more round before Kusuo crushed the tool in his hands. He really felt the heat off that one but paid it no mind. The now mangled metal fell to the ground with a clunk.

Makoto looked on in fear. Fear might not actually be the correct word though to describe the look upon his face. He may as well have passed on from shock by the time Kusuo had his hand around his throat.

Kusuo was suddenly hit with the memory of his premonition. He stopped, though his grip on Makoto’s throat did not lessen. He glanced back at Kokomi. She was silently crying. No, she wasn’t, he could hear her sniffles though she tried to hide them. Everything was actually very loud, between everyone shouting and his own thoughts whirring and sirens off in the distance. He couldn’t kill him, even if he really wanted to. He would simply dispose of him another way.

He teleported, Makoto in tow.

Everyone stopped shooting at once, Kokomi’s tears coming to an abrupt end.

“Where’d go!?” Kobayasu yelled.

“Umm, a room? A tea room? Wait, tea rooms aren’t this grey. Like, what am I looking at?” Aiura said, having gone to look at her crystal ball as soon as Kusuo grabbed the gun.

“Oh.” She said, slumping onto the floor, twirling her hair in thought. “He’s taken him to a prison.”

Every who was still in the doorway came inside, shut the door, and sat down, a little lost as to how to respond to her words.

Kokomi, still white as fresh snow, collapsed on the couch, sound asleep.

The group sat in silence.

“What good does that do? He needs to be arrested right? And I mean, they wouldn’t arrest him here, he’s Toru Mugami! No way they’d through him behind bars,” Kaido said, tucking his face into his crossed arms.

“Well… it might not work here. But what if he wasn’t in Japan anymore?” Kobayasu thought. But that thought ended quickly as Kusuo had rejoined them.

“Funny you say that. I thought maybe the Americans might be able to do something for us. Turns out I was right. It’ll be a minute before he ever sees this country again.”

He smiled at that. His first real smile of relief, and was aimed at his friends. But no one returned the smile. He couldn’t understand. Kobayasu came up to him with a kitchen towel and shoved it into Kusuo’s side. It hurt.

Wait, it hurt?

Kusuo looked down to find his shirt and part of his pants covered in blood. His blood. Looks like that last shot had landed, but he’d failed to notice as he was a bit preoccupied in his trying not to murder plot. He wasn’t even aware he could be shot. All power had been diverted away from shields for himself at that moment, so he supposed it shouldn’t be that big of a shot but he’d never gotten so much as a paper cut. This was definitely new.

He sat down; towel pressed in place. No big deal, he could fix himself. It was just off-putting that it took him so long to notice.

Kaido seemed to be most shocked by Kusuo’s self-healing clothes, pulling this way and that at his sleeves, even as Kusuo made his way over to where Kokomi still laid unconscious.

Chiyo had her cradled in her lap. Kusuo gently brushed some hair out of her face before sitting in front of the couch.

“So,” he said.

“So,” Nendo said. Until then, Kusuo had nearly forgotten he was there. He turned and smiled gently at his “best buddy.”

“So we got to see the fortunate ending to this brother saga?” Chisato said, shoveling what was left of the food on the table. No one else had much of an appetite so it wasn’t missed.

“Yes. Didn’t mean for this lunch to be so eventful. I’m glad you all know the truth now. It feels… good. It feels nice.” Kusuo said. He wasn’t so much hesitating as it just felt odd expressing pleasantries after what had transpired.

Silence lightly layered the room as they sat. Chiyo eventually got up and brought everyone water.

Eventually, everyone decided on a movie just so they would no longer have to process in the quiet.

Kokomi woke up halfway through. She said nothing but looked at Kusuo before grabbing his hand and leading them to her room. She shut the door behind them.

“So what did you do with him?” she asked, her eyes rimmed with red.

“I didn’t kill him. He’s in prison. In America.” Kusuo said, taking her hands into his.

“Oh.” She sighed the word and let it roll off her tongue like she was confessing a sin.

Kusuo tried not to, but couldn’t help it. He peaked into her mind and found that she fully expected that he had killed her brother. She was prepared to leave Kusuo had that been the case. Though deep inside her, he could still see she wouldn’t have minded if he had been killed. He was a pest.

Kusuo brought her in for a hug and her tears began anew.

“You’re safe,” Kusuo murmured into her hair, “no one will hurt you ever again.”

---

Three years had passed since the incident and not a peep had been heard from Makoto Teruhashi in all that time.

“What about this one?” Kokomi asked, pointing out a nice house with a pink front door.

“I don’t know, I liked the one with the blue shutters more. I thought the view would be better.” Kusuo said, sipping his morning coffee.

The couple had been out of college a short while but had landed decent jobs that allowed them plenty of freedom. It was time to move, however, and house hunting proved to be slightly harder than apartment shopping. The housing market was one issue they couldn't solve with their therapists.

“Yeah, I guess that one was nice. It's also closer to Chiyo and Auira. If we picked that one, can we paint the door pink?”

Kusuo beamed at her. “Of course. We can get that rug you wanted too. Though we can do that or whatever house I guess.”

She got up from the table and faced him; she took his coffee out of his hands, much to his chagrin. She wrapped her arms around his neck, peppering his cheeks with kisses.

“Can we get married too?” she asked, a devilish grin on her angel face.

Kusuo paused for a moment. He knew this day would come, but he didn’t expect it over breakfast and house hunting.

He leaned in to kiss her. She kissed back. They stayed locked together a few minutes, each enjoying the other's soft skin and coffee breath.

Eventually, they broke apart, tenderly, coming back for small kisses once and twice more before merely holding onto the other.

He smiled at her playfully. “Good grief, I thought you’d never ask.”