Work Text:
“Today, when Kohichi came to breakfast, he smelled like Dad usually smells,” Kyoko wrote in her notebook. “He claims that he just came over for breakfast, but the evidence does not corroborate his story. I did not hear his car, he could not give a specific time, and he must have showered here, or he wouldn’t smell that way. It is possible that he has gathered the same combination of hygiene products, but that is a less likely explanation. Further, when questioned about these inconsistencies, he looked at Dad a lot and became quite flustered.”
She marked the page with a small red heart in the corner, flagging it as further evidence for the hypothesis that Kohichi and her father were a couple. The evidence for this idea was rapidly mounting. The only thing that stopped her from assuming it was proven enough to ask about was that she wasn’t particularly certain why her father wouldn’t tell her. He could certainly be private about aspects of his life, but dating someone didn’t seem to be something especially sensitive. She had a vague suspicion that it might be because her grandfather wouldn’t approve. That would be a good reason to keep it generally private and he may wish to avoid making things awkward for her or giving her a secret to keep.
Kyoko sighed and carefully tore all of the pages she’d marked for this theory out of the notebook and arranged them on the ground in front of her. Her eyes flicked over bits and pieces of the information. She’d seen them coming out of the bathroom together and bathing together in a private home was likely to be, at least somewhat intimate. Kohichi made entirely excessive eye contact with her father, especially when he was drinking, which was, of course, most of the time. The presents they’d gotten each other went beyond the expected expense for friends. She nodded, decision made.
With the folded papers tucked into her jacket, she made her way downstairs to find her father. She almost went back to add “cuddling on the couch” to the list of things she’d seen them do, when she saw him, but decided she could add that verbally.
“Dad, may I speak with you for a moment about a personal matter?” Kyoko asked, coming into the view and watching them shift away from each other.
“Do you even remember that you’re a kid?” Kohichi laughed into his flask, shaking his head, “Why not “Dad, can we talk?””
Kyoko blinked at him once, decided that comment didn’t require response, and refocused on Jin.
“Of course,” Jin nodded, “Do you want it to be in private or?”
“Present company is acceptable,” she gave a slight smile, “Perhaps preferred. Dad, I’ve reviewed the evidence and find only one conclusion to be had. What do you think?” She took the papers and handed them to him.
Jin paled, then blushed as he read through his daughters notes, each presented without judgment in her small, neat handwriting. He angled the pages toward Kohichi so that he could read them as well, if he felt so inclined.
Kohichi looked at them long enough to understand the subject matter and rolled his eyes, “Fuckin’ detectives. Good lord,” he took a drink, “Smart kid.”
Jin nodded, then finished reading through everything. He was relieved to see that nearly all of the evidence she’d compiled was merely about things that happened inside their home.
“Your conclusion is correct,” he set the papers to the side and drew his startlingly precocious daughter into his lap. He kissed her forehead, “Please don’t tell anyone.”
“It’s no one’s business but ours,” she agreed, then lifted a page from the middle to show him a bit of text. It read “Dad smiles a lot more when Kohichi is around.” She looked up to make eye contact, “I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you, Kyoko,” Jin grinned, then reached over to put his arm around Kohichi as well. Her knowing would make time like this far more comfortable.