Chapter Text
“Hey, Mitsuba.” Nene, the monster under Tsukasa’s care, calls out to her friend who was reading a book in the nap room. Currently, they were supposed to be babysat by Natsuhiko, but after finding Kou asleep in the nap room, the monsters left their assigned babysitter to huddle around the researcher in slumber.
It was already a known fact that Kou was the monsters’ favorite babysitter. While they care for their researchers-in-charge all the same, when it comes to who they wish to look after them when their caretakers are busy, they would always choose Kou.
“What?” Mitsuba asks, looking up at her from his book.
“Do you think Amane and Kou like each other?” the little monster asks.
Mitsuba hums “Probably. Amane was looking at a picture of Kou the other day.” he adds and Nene covers her mouth to avoid squealing.
“Should we bring them together?” she then asks, wide excited eyes staring at Mitsuba as she leans into the other monster’s personal space.
“But how?” Mitsuba blinks at her, wondering what the other monster had in mind.
Nene giggles, standing up as she huffed her chest proudly “Leave i’ to me! I read a lot of love stories so I know what to do.”
Mitsuba feels a little anxious, aware the books Tsukasa lets her read aren’t exactly the most… child-friendly types. He wonders if it’ll be safe letting her handle planning what they’ll do to get Amane and Kou together.
“What do you plan to do?” Mitsuba couldn’t help asking.
“Easy.” she leans closer to Mitsuba’s ear to tell him her plan “We lock them inside a room until they say they like each other.”
Mitsuba’s eyes widen, he was right to be anxious about Nene’s ideas “Isn’t that too much?” he asks, concerned in his tone.
“It fine! We bring Kou to Amane’s lab and then lock them there.” she elaborates.
“But you can’t lock the labs from the outside.” Mitsuba points out.
“Ah, you’re right.” Nene hums, eyes closed and brows knit together as she thought of a different plan. Then an idea comes to mind “We can hold the door closed.” she exclaims.
“Will that work?”
Nene nods, confident in her plan’s success rate “With all three of our strength combined, we can keep it closed until they confess.” she says.
“Three? Is Fairy joining us?” Mitsuba asks, turning to the sleeping monster beside Kou.
“Of course. I know Fairy wants Kou and Amane to get together, too.” Nene brings up.
“But how do we bring Kou to Amane’s lab?” was Mitsuba’s next question, somehow turning a little invested in Nene’s plan now.
Nene smiles at him and for some reason, the expression brings a shiver down his spine. He assumes he’s not going to like what was on the other monster’s mind “Just leave it to me. Now, turn around.”
Mitsuba blinks, a little confused of the instruction, but complies nonetheless. All of a sudden, he feels sharp teeth sink into the flesh of his tail and the monster yelps in pain. The sound was loud enough to stir both Kou and Fairy awake.
Fairy, immediately sensing the danger, flies over to the two little monsters to stand between them, its wings spread out as a way of protecting the injured monster. Nene simply giggles as Mitsuba cries out in pain, holding his bitten tail.
“Mitsuba! Are you okay? What happened?” came Kou’s questions as he rushes to the crying monster. Mitsuba releases his hold on his tail to raise his hands up at Kou, asking to be carried.
Kou complies, carrying the little monster in his arms “Did Nene bite your tail?” he asks, carefully caressing the monster’s tail and he sees the obvious bite mark on the tip.
Mitsuba nods, sniffing between his quiet sobs.
“Nene, why would you do that?” Kou turns to Nene to ask, rubbing Mitsuba’s back to calm his cries.
“We were just playing.” Nene replies, wide innocent eyes looking up at him “I didn’t mean to.”
Kou sighs, aware the little monster can get out of hand sometimes while playing but he can’t really stay mad at her for long “What do you say when you hurt someone?” he asks her.
“Sorry.” Nene says, head hung low in apology.
“Good girl. Now,” he then turns to the monster in his arms “let’s get you treated in the infirmary.” Kou tells him.
Suddenly, Mitsuba starts shaking his head, refusing to be taken to the infirmary it would seem “Amane.” he says to the blonde with wide pleading eyes.
“Ah, you want me to take you to Amane? Okay.” as he was just wondering what to do about the two little monsters he’ll have to leave in the nap room, he sees Tsukasa walk by “Ah, Researcher T!”
Tsukasa stops in his tracks, walking back to peek in the nap room as he was called “What is it?” he smiles.
“Can I ask you to look after Fairy and Nene for a bit?” he asks the younger twin.
“Sure thing.” Tsukasa replies and Kou thanks him with a bow before he begins his walk to Amane’s lab.
Mitsuba can only mentally curse Nene in his head for her brutal and painful attempt at getting Kou to go to Amane’s lab. The least he wishes the other monster could have done was told him. Luckily, Mitsuba had surprisingly above average IQ due to Amane’s rearing methods, otherwise he wouldn’t have figured her out.
***
Shock and anxiety filled Amane’s system seeing Kou arrive at his lab with Mitsuba in his arms. He immediately runs to the pair, worried something had happened “What happened?” he asks.
“Nene bit his tail.” hearing Kou’s reply brought ease to Amane knowing it wasn’t anything serious “I was going to bring him to the infirmary, but he said he wanted to come here instead.” the blonde adds.
“I see. Thank you for bringing him, Researcher K.” Amane says as he takes Mitsuba from Kou’s hold “Let’s get you patched up.” he then tells Mitsuba, voice gentle and reassuring.
“I’ll take my leave then.” before Kou could walk away, he feels something grab his coat and the two researchers turn their attention to Mitsuba.
The little monster looks up at Kou with pleading eyes as he shook his head “Mitsuba?” Amane was the one to speak, curious of his monster’s action.
“You don’t want me to leave?” Kou then asks. That receives a nod from Mitsuba.
“Kou, stay.” the kid demands in his quiet voice.
“No, Mitsuba. Researcher K is busy, we can’t bother him.” Amane tells Mitsuba, trying to pull Mitsuba’s hand away from Kou’s hold but the monster only tightens it.
“Ah, it’s fine, Researcher A. I don’t mind.” Kou says.
“But what about Fairy?” the other researcher asks, concerned for the blonde’s monster seeing as he didn’t bring him along with him.
“I asked Researcher T to look after him with Nene for a moment. It... should be fine. Probably.” even as Kou tries to assure Amane he didn’t mind, Amane could tell he was a little concerned about leaving Fairy with his younger twin.
“Well, if you insist then.” Amane doesn’t argue further. That succeeds in Mitsuba removing his hold from Kou.
Amane brings Mitsuba to the closest bathroom to carefully wash the bite wound on his tail. It didn’t seem to be deep enough to bleed, thankfully, so just a simple treatment would suffice. Once done, all three return to Amane’s lab so they can finish treating the little monster’s injury.
As they enter Amane’s lab, the researcher turns to Kou “Could you grab me the first-aid kit?” he says, albeit unconsciously, as he approaches the padded nursery.
Kou does as he’s told, going to the shelf where he remembered Amane kept the first-aid kit, and sure enough it was still there. He takes the small box and walks over to the pair. He sits himself down, opening the box to hand the tube of antibacterial ointment to Amane.
Amane takes it and applies it to Mitsuba’s tail. He feels the little monster wince, the hold on his sleeve tightening a bit but Amane hushes him, assuring him he’s alright. Afterwards, he returns the tube to Kou as Kou gives him the bandage so he can wrap Mitsuba’s injury.
“There we go. Feeling better?” Amane asks.
Mitsuba moves his tail for a bit, offering a smile as he nods. He hops off of Amane’s lap and runs off. The two researchers stand on their feet, Kou going back to the shelf to return the first-aid kit.
“I’m surprised you still remember where I kept that.” Amane muses a bit.
“You say that like I wasn’t your assistant for more than 6 months.” Kou jokes and Amane chuckles at that, the blonde had a point “Well, I should be off, then. Fairy might be looking for me.”
Just as Kou says that, they hear the laboratory door slam shut with a loud thud—was it open before?—and upon closer inspection, Mitsuba had disappeared from the room.
“What?” Amane speaks as the two approach the door. From the other side, they could hear the giggles of the monster children “Mitsuba?” the researcher calls, making an attempt to open the door but the knob would not budge.
He keeps trying but it was no use. Amane can only assume the monster kids were holding the knob from the other side.
“Are we locked in?” Kou asks, concern in his tone.
“More or less. But, it’s impossible to lock the laboratories from the outside, which could only mean…” Amane trails off, unsure what prompted this little prank from the monsters so he can only hazard a guess “The monsters are teaming up to keep us inside.”
Kou’s eyes widen, confused about Amane’s speculation “What? Why would they?” the blonde asks, approaching the door to give it a try, himself.
Amane moves away so Kou could attempt opening the door, and as expected, even with Kou’s strength, the knob was not budging “Like I said, it’s not locked. Someone’s holding the knob from the other side to keep us from opening the door.” the senior researcher points out once more.
Kou presses his ear against the door, and as Amane had said, he could make out the giggles of the little monsters from outside. He starts knocking as if the action would make them open the door “Fairy! Mitsuba! Nene! Open the door!” the blonde yells.
“No can do!” they hear Nene yell from the other side.
“The door is cursed now! You need to fulfill a condition to open it!” Mitsuba then explains.
Both researchers look at each other, expressions confused “A condition?” Amane asks.
“That’s right! You need to tell each other your feelings!” Fairy was the one to respond.
“Our…” Amane trails off.
“…feelings?” Kou finishes.
Amane and Kou fall silent, both of them seeming to have an idea about the ‘feelings’ they need to convey in order to unlock the door. How the little monsters figured such a thing could be brewing between the two researchers was beyond them.
However, it was a given fact that some monsters are more perceptive to others’ feelings. Perhaps it was that or both Amane and Kou simply wore their hearts on their sleeves too much ever since they started working apart.
Who can really tell?
“What should we do?” Kou turns to Amane but the senior researcher had already walked away from the door.
Amane sits himself down on the nursery “There’s no point asking them to open the door for us. So for the meantime, why don’t we sit ourselves down and wait? They’ll get tired eventually.” the researcher suggests.
Kou takes one more look at the door before taking up Amane’s suggestion. He approaches the padded nursery and sits himself down, a considerable distance away from Amane’s place.
“I apologize for troubling you, Researcher K. It would seem the injury act was all a part of the monsters’ schemes.” Amane brings up, already deducing why Mitsuba had acted the way he did, asking to be taken to Amane’s lab and telling Kou not to leave.
“It’s no trouble at all, really. Can’t say my own monster isn’t as guilty.” Kou sheepishly points out.
Silence envelops the room for a moment. It wasn’t awkward, but it also felt unnatural. Having no contact with each other for over 2 months seemed to have largen the gap between them, as Amane had suspected.
Before Akari and Midori came into their lives, Amane never felt this glaring distance between him and Kou. Even as they sat in silence in Amane’s lab back then, with Amane working on his research and Kou reading books in silence, he felt no need to create a connection.
But now, everything in his system was screaming. His mind raced, wondering what he should do. Should he talk? Should he offer him something? Should he suggest an activity they can do to past the time?
“How have you been?” when Amane finally finds his voice again, that was the first thing he manages to say.
Kou turns to him, a little surprised “Doing well. And you?”
There it was again. The instinctive, polite response. It just felt so wrong hearing Kou reply to him as if they never had a connection from all those months ago.
“Fine,” Amane says before inhaling a breath “is what I wish I could say. In reality, while it’s been great having Mitsuba around, something else has been bothering me.” The researcher admits.
“Really? What is it?” Kou ends up asking before he could think about it. Amane notices him catch himself and adds “If-If you don’t mind me asking.”
Amane crosses his feet, propping his elbows on his legs as he looks at Kou, gathering all the courage he can in order to get the feeling off of his chest—since the monsters have given him this opportunity, he might as well make the most of it.
“I mean this with no offense, Kou, but I just wanted to ask,” he starts “are you mad at me?”
The question seems to startle Kou and he blinks at Amane, confusion in his eyes “Why would I be mad at you?” the blonde asks.
“Well… it’s just…” Amane trails off a bit, trying to find the proper words to say “I feel you’ve been deliberately avoiding me since you moved out of my lab to your own. I figured you were just busy, being a solo researcher doesn’t start off easy, after all. But…”
You wouldn’t talk to me and you stopped preparing bentos for me. Amane shakes those thoughts out of his head, finding it weird to voice them out.
“As expected, it’s nothing. I was probably overthinking things. You had your own work to do and I can’t expect you to have the time for me.” Amane says with a chuckle, deciding to brush it off as he realizes how selfish he was being for bringing this up.
Because no matter how he tried to rephrase his concerns, it all just sounds like Amane was only thinking about his selfish desires. Yes, he misses Kou’s company, but he can’t monopolize his time nor expect him to make time to come to Amane’s lab and visit him.
While he misses the days when Kou would be by his side every day, that isn’t possible anymore since Kou isn’t is his assistant. And he has no reason to be taking away his time only to satisfy Amane’s needs.
“I’m not mad at you, Amane.” he then hears Kou speak “It’s true I was busy during the move so I couldn’t find the time to visit you. Though, I also had my own stupid reasons for distracting myself.”
Hearing the blonde’s response surprises Amane a little “Stupid reasons?” he isn’t able to keep himself from asking.
Kou nods “To be honest, you weren’t just overthinking things; I was avoiding you that whole time. And I was thankful for the convenient timing that I could move out of your lab soon. I just couldn’t handle being around you any longer than I had to.”
Amane was feeling conflicted over Kou’s explanation. While he was glad that Kou wasn’t upset with him, however, it sounded as if he actually was cross with Amane. And it admittedly stung hearing him say that he couldn’t handle being around him anymore.
“That just sounds like you were ma—”
“No! I had my reasons. Well, they’re stupid reasons, but it wasn’t because I was mad at you, Amane, don’t get me wrong.” Kou immediately clarifies, adamant to clear that misunderstanding out.
“O-Okay, okay. I get it.” Amane simply says “Then, are you willing to share those ‘stupid reasons’ with me, or do you want me to speculate a guess?” the researcher decides to tease.
He sees Kou pout and he had to mentally stop himself from showing any reaction because he just looked so adorable doing that. After a few seconds of silence, Kou finally speaks, but the question surprises Amane instead “How about you, Amane? Did I ever upset you?”
Amane blinks at him “Not that I recall. Why would you assume that?” he admits.
“Really? Not even when I made you uncomfortable about that talk?”
The vagueness got Amane slightly confused “What talk? I need you to stop speaking in riddles, Kou.”
“The…” Kou trails off, trying to find the proper words “When I asked you… if you ever… crushed on someone." his voice grows quieter by the end of the sentence but Amane was still able to pick it up.
The memory comes to Amane almost immediately. How can he forget when that was the conversation that made him realize his true feelings for Kou? He remembers that day as vividly as ever.
Though now that makes Amane curious “Why would I be upset with you over that? It wasn’t as if the topic bothered me or anything.” he clarifies.
“It didn’t?” Kou looks at him with wide surprised eyes. Amane shakes his head and that receives a sigh of relief from the blonde “I’m glad. I really thought you got mad at me. You just stormed out of the room all of a sudden so I figured maybe the topic bothered you.”
That succeeds in making Amane blush from the embarrassment, mentally cursing his past self—not that he can fully blame himself, however, when his feelings started spilling the moment he realized he loved Kou.
God, just the thought of saying he loves Kou was making him giddy.
“Was that why you were avoiding me, then?” Amane then asks.
Kou scratches his cheek sheepishly “Kinda.” he admits and Amane has to agree that it sounded stupid, indeed “Well, it’s not the entire reason. But I’m not sure if I can say it right now.” Kou adds with an apologetic smile.
Amane exhales a breath, at the very least, he was relieved that some misunderstandings were being cleared “In that case, I don’t mind waiting until you’re comfortable enough to tell me. Whether it’s tomorrow, or the day after or even the following month. When you’re ready to tell me, I’ll listen.” he says, the tone of his voice reassuring.
Kou smiles at him, nodding in response “Thank you, Amane.”
Amane inhales deeply and exhales slowly, psyching himself up and gathering the courage. He needs to get his feelings out now or he’ll never know when the next opportunity could be.
Then he speaks up “I never actually got to answer your question back then.” he says. Kou looks at him curiously but he can tell his interest was piqued “Like I’ve said, I was horrible with handling feelings before. So if I ever had a crush on someone, I wouldn’t exactly know. And it was true. I did have a crush and I never knew until that conversation happened.”
Upon hearing this, Kou’s eyes widen “Really?” he then pauses, looking down at his hands as if trying to find the strength to follow-up his question “Do you… still like them now?”
Amane smiles at Kou, ever so lovingly “I do.”
He doesn’t miss the way Kou’s hand twitches, and Amane grows curious of the blonde’s reaction to this. He can only speculate but he doesn’t want to raise his hopes up.
“I see. Are they working here? Or are they from your hometown?” Kou ends up asking.
“They work here, actually. I only met them just some months ago.” Amane replies, trying to be vague but also obvious enough that he hopes Kou can make a guess.
Kou hums, fingers to his chin as he tries to think of who the person could be “Are they a researcher then?” Amane nods “They must be really great, then.”
“How so?” Amane asks, curious of Kou’s impression.
“Well, you aren’t exactly the most sociable person and you don’t seem to be easily interested in other people. So I figured that person must be really amazing to be able to catch your attention.” Kou simply deduces.
Amane chuckles, deciding to ignore the extra comment “Well, you’re not exactly wrong. They really are an amazing researcher.” he admits.
“Ah! Is it Mei-san?” Kou then says, surprising Amane.
“Nope.” the other researcher chuckles.
“Then… Shijima-san?” Amane shakes his head “Sakura-san, then?”
Amane laughs “Researcher N would murder me if I did. But no.” as if already guessing what Kou was going to say next, Amane decides to cut in “And no, it is not Researcher N, either.”
Kou knits his brows and it amuses Amane a little that he was taking this so seriously. He admits, his curiosity tugs at his heartstrings.
“Can you give me a hint?” Kou then asks.
Amane hums in thought “I don’t mind. But why are you curious to know who this person is?” the senior researcher decides to say.
The question seems to catch Kou off-guard and he stutters a little before he could make out a response “I was just… curious, that’s all. Ah, but if I’m being annoying, please tell me.” Kou exclaims.
“It’s fine, I don’t mind.” Amane smiles then goes back to giving his hint “Let’s see… they’re actually a new researcher but they’re surprisingly really great with handling monsters. Their hometown is the village below the mountains. They’re diligent, hardworking, and very compassionate. They also have quite the skill in cooking, nothing compares to the food they make.”
As Amane continues to cite his ‘hints’ about this person, he notices Kou slowly connecting the pieces as the blush on his cheeks grow more visible hearing every word Amane says.
“They’re quite the social butterfly, and everyone else seems to appreciate their presence, too. This person taught me that I should never doubt my feelings. They helped me a lot during my research. You could say, they were the key to the answers I couldn’t find.”
And then he turns to Kou who continues to stare at him, disbelief in his expression.
“They’re name means ‘light’. And it couldn’t be the most appropriate name for someone who’s brought light upon my world.” he adds, his tone gentle as he says those words with all the love he had for the blonde.
“Amane… you mean…” Kou couldn’t find the words but Amane nods to him in response.
“Kou,” he calls for the other researcher, looking at him with the gentlest expression “I love you.”
Kou’s reaction was to raise his hands up to hide his face, unable to contain the emotions he was feeling at that moment. He doesn’t respond, and for a moment, the fear and anxiety Amane felt at the thought of telling Kou his true feelings returned all at once. But there was no going back now.
Either everything ends here; his friendship, his connection, his life with Kou.
Or this becomes the beginning of a beautiful chapter in Amane’s life.
It all depends on Kou’s response.
“What the hell…” he finally hears the blonde speak, and Amane’s heart pounded hard against his chest for a second “How can you just say that, Amane?” Kou’s voice was shaky and Amane could tell he was crying.
“Kou…?” concern fills Amane’s system. Why was he crying? Was he mad now?
Kou haphazardly wipes his tears with his sleeves. Amane manages to take a peek of the blonde’s face, unable to keep himself from thinking that he still looked pretty when crying.
Through his tears, Kou makes out a broken laugh “Man… after you told me you’d wait for me until I can say my ‘stupid reason’ to you.” he finally looks up at Amane “How am I supposed to make you wait now?”
Amane blinks at him, wondering if he was assuming correctly “Don’t tell me your other reason is…”
Kou nods, now smiling through his tears “I love you, too, Amane.”
Hearing those words, Amane finds himself getting up on his feet until he could close the distance between them. He wraps Kou in his arms, a warm embrace expressing all of Amane’s feelings as he holds the person he loves close.
Kou reciprocates the hug and the feelings Amane was pouring onto him. Finally, everything felt right. Everything was as it should be.
Amane leans away from the hug, his hand gently caressing Kou’s cheek “Can I kiss you?”
Kou’s cheeks turn a shade darker, not expecting the question from Amane “You don’t… have to ask, you k—"
Amane eats his words as he eagerly presses his lips against Kou’s. The past few weeks, he could only just imagine what kissing Kou was like. Could only think how his lips would feel against Amane’s. What he would taste like. What expressions or sounds he would make.
And now, Amane can test his hypothesis. In his arms, he can figure all those questions out.
And he does so.
The kiss deepens, even as inexperienced as the two were, their emotions start to take over. Lips danced against each other in a rhythm of their own. Even as they part for only mere millimeters to gasp for air, Amane’s immediately crashing his lips back into Kou’s.
He hears him moan against the kiss the longer they went on. And Amane was getting addicted to it.
“Amane, wait—” Kou tries to say but Amane ignores his plea. He’s waited for too long and all that was on his mind was how much he wanted to express his love for Kou.
His hands find their way to Kou’s back, trying to press their bodies closer but their position on the padded nursery wasn’t the most convenient. He feels Kou’s hands on the back of his head, caught between caressing and pulling on the strands. Kou’s touch was electrifying and it only fueled the desire in Amane more.
Only when he feels those hands pull him hard enough for him to lean away from Kou did Amane snap out of it. Meanwhile, Kou leans his forehead on Amane’s chest as the two panted, getting the air back in their lungs.
“God…” he hears Kou groan “are you… trying to… suck the life out of me?” Kou says between pants.
Amane chuckles, pressing his lips on Kou’s head “Sorry. I got ahead of myself.” he whispers.
He hears Kou chuckle, still, leaning back to look at Amane, arms still over his shoulders as the other’s hands rested on his waist “Guess the little monsters’ plan worked, huh?” he then says.
“Yeah. I’m glad it did.” Amane agrees, leaning in to give Kou a quick kiss. Kou presses a hand over Amane’s mouth afterwards.
“That’s enough already, Amane. Jeez.” Kou sighs.
Amane giggles, taking Kou’s hand and then pressing a soft kiss on his palm “Okay. I’ll stop for now.” he grins at the blonde, succeeding in making him blush from the action.
All of a sudden, they hear the door open and the little monsters appear before them “Alright! Time’s up…” their words trail off as they notice the position the two researchers were in; they sat between each other’s legs, Kou’s own going over Amane’s upper thigh as one of his arms were still around the other’s shoulders, one of Amane’s hands kept their place on Kou’s waist while the other held Kou’s wrist.
Mitsuba’s expression showed slight disgust while Nene and Fairy’s eyes lit up at the intimacy of their bodies.
“Looks like the plan worked!” they hear Tsukasa exclaim, only noticing then that the younger twin was standing behind the little monsters this whole time.
Realizing their embarrassing display, Kou immediately gets up on his feet, a visible blush still on his face as he straightens his clothing “I-Is the curse over?” he clears his throat to ask.
Nene grins at him “Of course it is! Amane and Kou are a couple now, yayy!” she cheers, hugging Mitsuba as she jumped in joy. Fairy and Tsukasa join in the celebratory hug.
Kou simply smiles at the adorable scene. Amane stands beside him “That’s right. We are.” he says, taking Kou’s hand and entwining their fingers.
The action surprises Kou and the blush on his cheeks grow redder, but he decides to indulge him as he tightens his hold, squeezing the other’s hand in his.
***
The halls of Kamome Monster Nursery were painted in an orange hue as the light of the setting sun courses through the windows. Children’s voices could be faintly heard from one of the laboratories along with joyous giggles.
Kou knocks on the laboratory’s door to announce his arrival before opening it. The scene that greeted him was of Amane having Nene sitting on his shoulders as they ran around the padded nursery. Fairy flew close by as Mitsuba chased after them, imitating fake monster roars.
“Quick, Amane, it’s time for the super powered laser attack!” Nene yells.
Amane turns around to face Mitsuba, raising his open palms up and makes what seems to be laser noises as he does so. Mitsuba and Fairy pretend to be hit and they dramatically fall to the ground with a yell, pretending to be dead.
“We’ve done it, Princess Nene! The kingdom is saved!” Amane exclaims and the monster child on his shoulders giggle in glee.
They hear Kou clap and all attention turns to the researcher who arrived “Great job! Congratulations for saving the kingdom." he cheers.
“Kou!” all three monsters yell, each of them running to hug Kou.
“Looks like you all had fun.” Kou points out, carrying Fairy into his arms “Unfortunately, it is time for me to take Fairy to prepare for dinner so playtime is over.” he adds and the monsters whined in protest. Kou simply laughs at their reactions.
“Oh, Researcher K, I should return this before I forget.” Amane speaks up.
Kou watches him walk over to his desk to grab the wrapped bento box he had given him this morning “Thank you. It was delicious, as always.” Amane says as he hands the box to Kou.
“I’m glad. Do you have anything you want to eat for tomorrow?” Kou then asks.
Amane hums as he thought “Surprise me?” he replies with a grin.
Kou chuckles “Alright then.”
And then Amane leans in to give Kou a quick kiss on the lips “I’ll look forward to it.”