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the sun rose, bathing asakusa in a warm, yellow light. as always, konro awoke with the sun. looking at the man in his arms, benimaru, who was curled up in a tight ball, snoozing away. he must’ve kicked his blanket away some point during the night, as only his legs were covered. konro gingerly pulled it back up to benimaru’s neck. he pressed his lips to benimaru’s forehead. it was a sunday, and unless there was an emergency call, benimaru could afford to sleep a while longer.
after moving some hair away from benimaru’s face, and untangling himself from benimaru, konro quietly walked out of the room to go check on the twins. the girls were excitable and loud; the only time they were quiet was when they were asleep. of course, they were also light sleepers. it didn’t take much to rouse them, but konro liked to check on his little family every morning, when the streets of their small town were still quiet, and the only sounds were the soft snores coming from benimaru. the twins were tangled up somewhere in between their individual futons.
together, as they always were. it was sweet.
with a hushed smile on his face, konro made his way to the kitchen in company seven’s operation center. he put some water in a kettle, and waited for it to heat, watching it carefully. putting the water in a mug, he retrieved a tea bag and began steeping them. the girls didn’t like tea, but benimaru was fond of it. however, letting benimaru drink tea on a relaxing day such as this one was a recipe for a mid-afternoon nap. as konro sat down at the kotatsu, left out from the night previous, he drank his tea and watched the town slowly awaken.
the streets became busier and louder, and soon, hinata and hikage came to the kitchen hand in hand, ready to demand breakfast. still sleepy, they were slightly subdued.
“konro...hikage says she wants miso soup…” hinata grumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“is that what you want?” konro asked, sometimes hinata would let hikage have what she wanted at her own expense, even though there were compromises they could make.
“...yeah,” hinata said. the pause indicated that she was lying.
“is there anything else you would like with the miso soup? it won’t take long to make at all,” konro tempted. it was relatively easy to get the answers you wanted from the twins if you knew what to say and how to say it.
“maybe rice,” hinata said. so she wanted rice, easy enough.
hikage tended to be quieter in the morning, choosing to walk around behind hinata and let her make the decisions for a while. both of them had been on a sort of savory food kick recently. the pair was always so in sync it was endearing. they always knew what the other wanted without asking. konro smiled at the children, and began work preparing their requested breakfast. konro loved doing things like this for his little family. it was a sort of domesticity he thought he would lose as a part of the special fire brigade.
benimaru would probably be fine with eating whatever the twins wanted. he wasn’t very picky about what he ate, but he could be a real brat when it came to things he didn’t like. konro happily cooked, and soon served hinata her rice and hikage her miso soup. hikage took a little while to wake up, and konro was afraid that she would fall face first into her bowl. if that happened, hinata would probably catch her. konro sat down with a bowl of miso and a side of rice. when they were about halfway through their meal, a very sleepy benimaru dragged himself to the kitchen.
his serving was already made up, and he happily propped himself down next to konro, munching quietly. konro couldn’t contain his grin. everyone he loved, in one room, happy. today would certainly be a good day. benimaru was a notoriously slow eater, but konro sat next to him until he finished. hinata and hikage had quickly gotten bored of sitting at the table in silence, and went off, likely to go play. there was no problem with that, so long as the twins didn’t cause any trouble.
just as benimaru had put his plate in the sink, the twins had come running back, dressed in their day clothes.
“konro!!! take us to the store! please~ it’s the weekend so we can go, right? right?” and so hikage has finally fully awoken. hinata followed closely behind her, both putting on their best puppy eyes in an attempt to sway konro.
“of course, but if there’s a call, you know the drill,” konro said gently. benimaru only sighed, likely peeved at the fact that he would have to change out of his warm pajamas soon.
and slowly, the day began.
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benimaru was dressed in his usual gear, as was konro, and the twins had long since been dressed. the four trailed out of their home and into the streets of asakusa. for a little while, they could walk mostly unbothered, but soon, the various kind residents would start their usual routine of sorts. the twins enjoyed going shopping with konro and benimaru, and even though they literally went with them, konro knew they would complain that there was nothing to eat later. the first stop however, would be to the clothing store that hikage asked to go to.
if they didn’t go there first, the complaining would ruin the peaceful mood of the morning. the store was relatively plain on the outside, but once you entered, you’d think you had gone through some type of portal. the interior was bright and happy, definitely a place meant to attract the children of the town. konro knew that they could spend anywhere from an hour to half of the day pacing the same seven or so isles, but he didn’t mind. as long as the twins were happy and he got the shopping done, it didn’t matter.
besides, benimaru had his arm wrapped around konro’s, and was leaning his head against konro’s shoulder. one couldn’t tell at first glance, but benimaru’s position was careful and calculated in order to make sure he didn’t touch konro’s hurt back. it was obvious that benimaru was still tired, and that was cute, konro thought. konro and benimaru followed closely behind the children, and every now and then, they would point something out that they felt strongly about. whether they called it an abomination or literally the cutest dress i’ve ever seen- konro can we get this one? please? it was nice to have something that was so mundane yet felt so important.
eventually, when konro ran out of free space on his unoccupied arm to hold various articles of clothing, he told the girls to go try on the outfits they liked. he had to make sure that they fit and that they actually liked the clothes. this process took some time, but it did make their pile of clothing thin out significantly. the cashier was very kind, and happily packed the clothes away, thanking the group of four for their service. by the end of the trip, they had probably been in the store for about three entire hours, they had a fine selection of day wear to be washed. as always, konro held the bags, the twins might leave them somewhere and konro wasn’t too fond of wasting money or losing things.
the next stop, as requested by hinata, was the ice cream stall. konro honestly should’ve seen that one coming. the twins pulled konro and benimaru along, and soon enough they had reached their destination.
“i want peach!” hinata exclaimed.
“i want strawberry!” hikage followed.
“alright, just tell the man what you want, remember to say please and thank you,” konro said in reply.
konro turned to benimaru, who still clung to his arm.
“waka, do you want anything? might help you wake up a bit,” konro suggested.
“i don’t like sweet things,” benimaru provided.
“i know, but sometimes you sneak some sweets.”
benimaru looked away.
“i do not.”
konro just laughed.
“...vanilla,” benimaru finally said.
“anything for you,” konro smiled.
“stop being mushy, it’s gross,” benimaru complained.
nonetheless, the pair walked up behind the twins, placed their order, and paid. konro made the twins get theirs in cups instead of cones, otherwise they’d just make a mess. even with cups, napkins were still in order. benimaru got his in a cup as well, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to eat his fast enough for it to not melt everywhere. konro was the only one who got his in a cone, and reluctantly shared it once he had eaten enough of the cold chocolate dessert. benimaru liked to eat the cone sometimes, and the twins simply loved getting what they originally couldn’t have.
they had eaten in the park, and sat comfortably on a bench. the twins were playing some hand game, and benimaru was still, ever so slowly, eating his ice cream.
“where to next?” benimaru asked languidly.
“your favorite place, the market,” konro teased.
for what seemed to be the millionth time already, benimaru sighed, but the twins seemed happy. they loved the attention, and konro knew benimaru was secretly happy.
benimaru liked to feel appreciated.
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the short walk to the market was filled with two, now doses up on sugar, girls’ antics. benimaru tried to play himself off as annoyed, but even he couldn’t hide the fond smile on his lips. villagers stopped the group to talk every now and then, while konro did most of the talking, benimaru sometimes had something to add. benimaru seemed to be in a good mood. he was slightly more animated than usual, which would’ve been hard to tell if konro hadn’t known the man for so long. even though he came off as uncaring and apathetic, benimaru loved his job and he loved his town.
when they arrived at the market, making various short stops because the twins saw something they wanted to look at, konro looked through his pockets for the shopping list he had written the day before. the twins ate almost all of the snack foods they had lying around, and benimaru liked to cook sometimes, so they would have to make various stops. snacks could be found at the more out-of-town style stores, but, ingredients for cooking tasted best when the residents of asakusa farmed them. benimaru would tell him so.
deciding that it would be best to split up from here, to divide and conquer, konro gave the twins a few thousand yen and made sure to give them strict instructions. if he didn’t make them a little bit scared, they’d spend all the money on candy and would complain until konro went shopping again the following weekend. hikage was slightly more responsible, so konro put her in charge of holding the money. benimaru snickered as the rowdy pair walked off.
“if they weren’t part of the brigade, they’d be a menace to all businesses,” he joked.
benimaru rarely seemed so fond, and konro wanted to kiss him right there for being so cute. today truly was a good day, he decided. he settled for moving a piece of benimaru’s hair behind his ear, and smiled at him.
“they’re still menaces, they’re just beloved here,” konro said.
at that, the pair made their way to the farmer’s market. they would meet back up with the twins in an hour or two at the station. the roads were smooth and benimaru even got a little flustered when they started their usual praising and gift giving.
“beni, what do you think you’ll want to eat this week?” konro questioned.
“i dunno,” answered benimaru expertly.
“i’ve got some basic stuff on the list, but we might have to go shopping again in the middle of the week,” konro stated.
benimaru groaned quietly in reply.
“maybe i’ll think of something later,” he said, bored.
regardless, he followed closely behind konro as he visited the various stalls, conversing and overall enjoying his sunday afternoon. asakusa was a relaxed place, and it became even more apparent in the languid streets of the market. even the vendors seemed mostly unbothered by the rising temperatures following the sun being zenith. benimaru enjoyed quietly walking about, observing his surroundings. every now and then, konro would check up on him, making sure his feet weren’t hurting from walking too much, that he wasn’t lagging too far behind and such.
tens of stalls and about five bags of groceries later, konro announced that he was finished, and that they were going to head home and meet up with hinata and hikage. despite offering his help various times, konro always declined and carried all of the bags himself. the walk back to the station was comfortably silent, both men tired from a day under the hot sun.
upon entering the station, hinata and hikage seemed to be ravaging a bag of candy, so wrapped up in snacking that they failed to notice the presence of konro and benimaru. hinata noticed first, and then hikage whipped around, realizing that it was too late to hide the bag and accepting her fate. both looked down, and then hinata grabbed hikage‘s hand and attempted to make a run for it. benimaru grabbed the collars of their shirts, effectively stopping them.
“i recall konro telling you to not buy any candy because you had ice cream earlier,” he remarked in that vaguely threatening way of his.
“w-well, it looked so good!!” hikage exclaimed.
“it was her idea!!” hinata yelled.
konro sighed fondly, the blame game would usually end bitterly, but they would make up by dinner.
“doesn’t matter who had the idea first, you were both eating the candy,” benimaru said, clearly slightly frustrated that they couldn’t just apologize and leave it at that.
konro put his hand on benimaru’s shoulder.
“i got this, you can start putting away the groceries,” he suggested.
benimaru released the girls and made his way to the kitchen where konro set the bags, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“now, as a punishment, you two are going to bed early and no dessert,” konro said.
all he got in response was a whimper from hinata.
“we’re sorry,” hikage said.
“thank you.”
with that, konro made his way to the kitchen to help benimaru.
he sure did love the twins, even if they drove him crazy.
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benimaru started preparing dinner after they put away the groceries. he looked so calm yet focused when cooking, and konro placed a kiss on his cheek before he left the kitchen to go check on the girls. he could hear them chatting excitedly from the hallway, having already forgotten about everything that had happened previously.
“did you see kominato-san?? wasn’t he cute as ever!” hinata squealed.
“i thought his brother was cuter,” hikage replied.
“of course you did,” hinata said deadpan.
konro laughed, glad neither of them were upset. he didn’t like seeing them unhappy. they were basically his children. he left the hallway without interrupting them and made his way to the living space, turning on the television. konro and benimaru liked to watch specific shows together sometimes, when the girls weren’t watching the gossip channel. currently, they were watching some documentary series about crimes in neighboring towns. benimaru pretended like he wasn’t scared of the stories, but he always burrowed that much further into konro when they went to sleep.
currently some promotional program was playing, but konro didn’t mind. he liked to have background noise. with that, he started filling out reports from infernalizations that had happened earlier in the week. it made him sad to see all of the people that had perished from their town, but he knew none of them would’ve wanted to go out any other way. benimaru took care of the town like that. konro thought that the company couldn’t have been in better hands.
konro was taken from his thoughts by benimaru calling him to tell him that dinner was ready. as he got to the kitchen, he saw benimaru traveling down the hallway to get the girls. he set the table quickly, and soon enough his favorite three people came in to the kitchen. the girls sat down next to each other at the table, and waited excitedly. they were small little things but they sure could eat a lot. konro was glad the candy hadn’t spoiled their appetite.
he stood up to help benimaru carry out the food, and set in in everyone’s respective spots. the girls waited until benimaru and konro sat down before saying a quick ‘thank you for the food!’ and digging in. benimaru muttered a ’thanks for the food’ too, and he started his slow process of eating. konro said his thanks, and they shared bits of conversation here and there. once the girls finished, they put their plates in the sink, and turned to konro.
“are you sure we have to go to bed nowwww??” hinata whined.
“yes.”
“he’ll read you a bedtime story if you ask him,” benimaru said in between bites.
the girls turned to konro, and konro nodded. he finished his food, and put his plate in the sink as well. he then began to walk to the girls’ rooms. he tucked each girl in after making sure they brushed their teeth.
“which story do you guys want to hear?” konro inquired.
“i dunno, let hinata choose,” hikage said.
they were always so indecisive.
“i wanna hear the little prince!” hinata yelled, clearly still wound up.
konro sighed and got the tattered blue book from the bookcase. it had to be hinata’s favorite because she read it so many times. he sat down on a chair in their room.
“i ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up…” konro began. hinata always loved hearing the dedications of books.
by the time he finished chapter two, the twins were fast asleep. he shut off the light and closed the door quietly. as he walked back into the living room, he saw benimaru watching television.
“are you ready for bed, beni?” konro asked. his back hurt and he was tired. sometimes he wished he had the boundless energy of hinata and hikage.
benimaru smiles at him.
“i think we should go to bed, too. but not to sleep. at least not yet,” he said suggestively.
oh, konro thought, he’s feeling like that today.
with that, konro picked up his benimaru and took him to the bedroom.
“remember to not get too carried away, beni, otherwise you’ll wake the whole town up,” konro warned.
“it’s my town, anyways.”
“damn right it is.”
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konro is thoroughly tired. he can feel the sleepiness seeping into his bones at this point.
“it was amazing, as per usual,” he remarked, kissing benimaru’s forehead.
benimaru gave a noise of acknowledgement.
“i can’t feel my legs,” benimaru complained.
konro just laughed.
“with the twins and living together and everything else, it’s like we’re already married,” he mused.
“good thing we just consummated it,” benimaru joked.
then, he turned more serious.
“i wouldn’t mind getting married, if it was to you,” he said, softly. the love he felt for konro coming through in his voice. he only ever said things like these when his mind was foggy with afterglow.
“don’t talk like that or we’re going to have to go for another round,” konro said.
“fine by me.”
with that, benimaru kissed him, slow and passionate.
maybe konro didn’t have any parents, or siblings, but he did have benimaru, hinata, and hikage.
and they were more than enough.
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