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Chapter Text

This chapter: an invitation is received and bad decisions are made – Featuring Reigen "this is why I don't talk to my parents anymore" Arataka & Serizawa "sudden gay realizations" Katsuya

Reigen really shouldn't have been surprised when the invite landed on his desk one sunny and boring Thursday afternoon.

He picked it up with his left hand and turned it towards the light. It was easy to tell the envelope was expensive, picked out by the adoring couple with love and with care, off-white in color and with a slightly grainy to the touch feeling to it. There wasn't a doubt in Reigen's mind that he would find an identical letter in his mailbox back at the apartment, perhaps buried beneath an avalanche of bills he was pretending did not exist.

Clearly ignoring his mother's insistent phone calls, texts and emails – emails which since his last birthday were pettily redirected to the spam folder anyway – wasn't sending her the desired message. The message being 'please stop calling, texting, and emailing me at once'. He felt a little bad since he was sure she didn't mean anything by it.

But at a loss for what else to do, she had resorted to sending her own message straight to Reigen in a way even he couldn't ignore. In fact, more than anything else he had to respect her tenacity. Maybe that was something that ran in the family.

"Another thank you note?" Serizawa inquired politely. He was sorting the tea they usually served clients by the color of their packaging because it was Thursday and Thursdays were mind-numbingly slow.

"Something like that," Reigen answered, barely listening. It wasn't a strange thing for Serizawa to assume because the Spirits and Such Consultation Office only ever received thank you notes from past clients in the mailbox, usually the old-fashioned ones that didn't know what he meant when Reigen asked them to leave an online review instead. Besides those, they only got the occasional advertisement leaflets which Mob repurposed as origami paper on boring Thursdays.

He forced his fingernails between the slip, wondering for a moment if it was worth it to do this carefully enough so that he could reuse the envelope later and save himself a few bucks when in need of fancy stationery. But ultimately Reigen decided against it.

The invite inside was completely inconspicuous, almost bland. A cream-colored piece of paper with black lettering in a fancy font and little frills in the margins, as if it was an afterthought to this whole affair. The date of the event was printed largely at the top and somebody - most likely his mother - had used a red pen to underline it as well as the text at the bottom.

Reigen Arataka and guest, it said.

The word guest had even been underlined thrice, perhaps in hopes that alone would magically summon a girlfriend for him to bring along.

He stared at it and sighed, something that Serizawa was gracious enough to ignore, or maybe he didn't notice. Reigen fanned himself with the invite idly. July was nearing its end and summer was quickly going into full swing, the perfect season for weddings according to most. Reigen tried avoiding social media these days, it only gave him a headache, but he knew about his cousin's engagement through his mother. Mostly because she wouldn't shut up about it for a long while after it was first announced. That must have been a little over a year ago, so he had figured the wedding would be one of these days and it wasn't like he hadn't expected to be invited either.

The thing was that Reigen simply didn't want to go.

There were many reasons for his hesitance, most of them having to do with the prospect of spending several days in close quarters with his extended family. A family who would most likely be heckling him about his personal life, his career choices, his lack of a steady relationship, and everything else they could think of the entire time. Refusing an invitation like this wasn't considered civil but he wasn't above doing so anyway just to avoid them, especially if he could come up with a believable excuse. Being self-employed would be the obvious choice, as attending this wedding would require him to close the business and that meant missing out on revenue, something Reigen couldn't afford.

Then again, he could already hear the tone of his mother's voice when she would point out this would basically be an all-expenses-paid vacation for him. She would be expecting him to stay at the family home for the entire week surrounding the event, if not a while after. The thought alone sent a chill down his spine.

Checking the date again, he also noted the wedding was less than a week away. Maybe he could just claim he already had different plans?

He sighed once more, throwing the invite onto the desk where it slid almost off the edge, balancing on the corner. Serizawa glanced over but still didn't say anything and Reigen wondered when he would start to feel comfortable enough to speak his mind about things freely.

It was a work in progress.

"Serizawa," he said, watching as the man in question immediately sat up straight at being addressed. "You can go home, you know? It's not like we're expecting a rush of clients anymore."

Serizawa looked around at the empty office as if just noticing the lack of people and then back at Reigen with a small smile. "Are you sure, Reigen?"

Reigen nodded and waved his hand at the door. "I'm sure. I will close early today too. Go celebrate the beginning of summer break or something."

"Ah, not yet," Serizawa mumbled, rubbing the back of his head while getting up to put on his light summer jacket. It looked a bit silly, considering the near heatwave, but Reigen didn't mention it. "Exam results are due tomorrow night. I don't know if I passed all my classes yet."

Reigen only hummed in response, leaning back in his chair. "You probably did just fine."

"Y-you think?" Serizawa asked, now in front of the desk. Reigen had to crane his neck to look up at him, with the way he towered over him.

"I saw you study in the office a lot. And you mentioned going to that study group? Any teacher would have been pleased with your diligence," he answered, laughing a bit. Serizawa was the very image of a proper student, always bent over his desk with his textbooks when they weren't busy with clients. "Besides, it's only your first term. Don't take it too seriously yet," he added.

"Right-" Serizawa said, just the smallest hint of a grin on his face though he mostly looked a bit flushed. Maybe he was overheating? The temperature in Seasoning city had been almost unbearable lately. Before Reigen could ask though, Serizawa was already at the door, bowing politely. "Have a nice evening, Reigen."

"Yeah, you too."

He waited until he heard those heavy footsteps march down the stairs, followed by the trademark thud of the door to their office's building falling shut. Picking up the invite, Reigen looked it over one more time. Reigen Arataka and guest? He scoffed.

Clearly they had intended for him to bring somebody with him to this affair. Had been very adamant about it even. Reigen had a sneaking suspicion as to why, but it's not like he knew a lot of people his own age, let alone anybody single or willing to go on a date with him. And that meant there was only one person he could possibly ask.

Only one person he wanted to ask if he was being honest.

Shaking his head to dispel the thought, he tossed the invite into the trash bin next to his desk.

He decided to put it out of his mind then, at least for the rest of the evening and most of the following day. He still had until Friday night to decide whether he actually wanted to go or not. After closing the office early just as he had said, Reigen went back to his apartment to enjoy a horrible cup of instant noodles (the cheapest brand he could find at the local convenience store) and an equally horrible late-night television show that starred a host with the tackiest suit he had ever seen. Reigen wouldn't be caught dead wearing such a thing.

It wasn't exactly quality entertainment but near the end of the night, he was in a much better mood and went to bed feeling like the weight of the looming decision had left him completely. By the afternoon of the next day, the wedding had practically been forgotten and it probably would have stayed that way if Mob hadn't brought it back to his attention.

"Where did you find this?" he asked, eyeing the ominous piece of paper with horror. Because that's exactly what he felt, experiencing something straight out of the B-rated horror movies he loved to watch. Where the main character throws out the obviously possessed trinket only to find it mysteriously reappearing on their kitchen table the next morning.

"It was on the floor," Mob said simply.

Reigen exhaled a breath of relief, making sure it didn't show on his face. He had enough hauntings to last him a lifetime so he wasn't looking forward to another. Shrugging off the silly scare, he picked the invite up again. "Must have missed the trash bin."

"I wonder-" Mob hesitated - maybe he had to think twice about his next statement. He was very similar to Serizawa in that regard, uncertain about speaking up at times. Though Mob had gotten so much better at it over the years, an achievement Reigen took silent credit for. He waited for Mob to get his thoughts in a row. "I wonder if you are planning on going, Shishou? Will you be closing the office then?"

Maybe it was wrong for him to feel pleased with Mob's concern about him possibly going away for a bit. That didn't change the fact that Reigen had to suppress a smug smirk. It always felt nice to be wanted around. "No worries, Mob. I won't be going at all."

"Oh..." Mob stared at the invite for a few seconds before smiling up at him again. "I thought the timing might be perfect, that's why."

"Timing?"

Leaving the invite on his desk, Mob walked back to his chair. "It's very short notice but dad is planning to take Ritsu and me on a trip to the seaside next week. We're not sure how long we'll stay, but I thought you would want to know."

"Well, isn't that nice," Reigen said casually, feeling very much the opposite of nice. He wasn't going to show it either, because being disappointed at Mob not being disappointed at the thought of him closing the office for a while was too petty, even for him. But that didn't mean he didn't feel a little offended. "Spending quality time with family is certainly important."

"Then why are you not going to this wedding, Shishou?"

Mob seemed to regret the words immediately and stuttered through a quick apology. Reigen would be lying if he said he wasn't proud at Mob's newfound directness in asking questions, but he would have been even prouder had that directness not been aimed at himself most of the time. Things were a lot easier when Mob was a little kid and didn't look into things as much. He shrugged, waving off Mob's rapidly stammered words.

"It's different when you're an adult," he answered eventually. "Children should be free to take things easy, you know? Spend time enjoying themselves. But adults have a lot of other matters to attend to." And bills, his mind helpfully supplied. So, so many bills. Tons of them. "I just don't know if I have time to go yet. Remember this Mob, with age comes responsibility beyond measure."

He probably read that on the inside of a chocolate bar wrapper once.

Mob nodded as if this was some kind of new revelation for him that had the power to change his entire world view. Sage advice successfully delivered, Reigen moved into action when a distressed-looking client walked into the office minutes later, once again trying to forget the invite he had put thoughtlessly back on his desk.

This time it was a lot more stubborn at staying on his mind.

If Reigen didn't know any better he'd compare it to a shadow, ever blurring the edges of his vision. He hadn't been home to see his parents in years, hadn't seen much more of them than the occasional video chat. Not going would upset his mother and he couldn't place why that should bother him.

Serizawa texted him right as he was about to leave for his apartment, putting his laptop back into its bag. Reigen had been serious when he told him he'd probably pass all his classes with ease, but it was nice to be confirmed in that suspicion. Serizawa had passed them all with flying colors, top of his class.

The invite taunted him with its presence still. Reigen really should throw it away if he wasn't planning to attend. And let his mother know too. Mob's words lingered in his mind stubbornly, and he was starting to consider if the phone call and all the subsequent family drama that would come with it was worth the trouble. Maybe he could just suck it up for a week and get it over with. Then his family wouldn't have any reason to bother him again for a long while.

But if he didn't bring anybody, the trip would be that much worse and he still hadn't thought of a solution to that little conundrum. His phone buzzed again, Serizawa telling him how glad he was exams were over with.

Reigen got the inkling of an idea that would surely make him forget all about his wedding problems.

The bar they went to was more crowded than the ones Reigen usually visited.

There was a karaoke machine in the corner, where some middle-aged businessman was singing his lungs out to an American pop song in atrocious English. The man had taken off his tie and the jacket of his suit, the navy fabric hanging loosely over one shoulder while he swayed to the beat of the song he was butchering. The sight would have probably been immensely amusing to Reigen if he weren't himself two and a half glasses deep into the cheap brand beer this place served.

Serizawa wasn't even halfway through with his first one.

"You got to drink it faster than that," Reigen told him. "Otherwise you'll notice the taste." He tried downing the remainder of his glass in one go to demonstrate but had to give up half-way through due to a coughing fit.

Not following his example at all, Serizawa took a much more moderate swallow. "I thought being able to taste the alcohol was the important part? Isn't that why you drink it?"

Reigen laughed. "Not with these ones."

He'd have really loved to take Serizawa somewhere nicer to celebrate such an amazing feat, but he had to admit the experience was much more authentic this way. It reminded Reigen of his own university days and all the outlandish mistakes he had made along the way. Passing all classes in his first term meant Serizawa was already doing much better than the average student. The least they could do was indulge in the undisputed tradition of celebrating the end of the trimester by getting black-out drunk.

And no better way than inexpensive alcohol to get Reigen's minds off troubling family matters.

"What are you doing during your summer break?" Reigen asked, changing the subject to something less annoying. He'd really rather not think about that wedding anymore, but it kept popping back in his mind. The harder he tried to push it away, the more relentless it got.

Serizawa perked up at the mention of the coming month off from school. In the strange lighting of the bar, his face was slightly flushed, the same as it had been in the office. Either that or the alcohol was affecting Serizawa more than he let on. Reigen could not stop staring at his cheeks when Serizawa gave him a bright smile. He blinked out of it just in time to hear the answer to his question.

"Hm, I guess I'll probably stay home a lot. Get a head start on my studies for fall, take walks, maybe read a bit-"

Reigen interrupted him with the most incredulous face he could muster in his inebriated state, making it clear exactly what he thought of those plans. He was starting to feel the hit from that third glass and was distantly grateful he hadn't ordered another one.

"No, no, Serizawa listen." He tried putting one arm on Serizawa's elbow but missed and ended up grasping his bicep instead. The fabric of his button-up wrinkled underneath Reigen's fingers, his muscles were tense. Reigen wasn't sure why he would notice that detail. "You can't do something that boring for your first time off in forever. You have to do something fun, go somewhere." He gestured with his hand aimlessly, nearly knocking his empty glass off the table.

Serizawa caught it with his powers before it could shatter then hurriedly grabbed it before anybody could notice and put it out of harm's way from Reigen's flailing limbs. "Like where?" he asked.

Reigen opened his mouth to answer but the words go stuck underneath the bitter aftertaste down his throat. The idea that overtook him then could only be described as ludicrous, pure unbridled idiocy. It was such a stupid, nonsensical idea that his tipsy self could not stop from letting it come out a moment later, clapping Serizawa on the back to show he wasn't being entirely serious. "I guess you could come with me."

Serizawa tilted his head slightly, not getting his sudden humor. "Where are you going?"

"The most dreadful place in the universe," Reigen groaned. He could picture the house he grew up in with sudden clarity. He hadn't been there in years but now the mere thought of those winding hallways made him dizzy. "I uh- have a thing to attend to back at my family home. A wedding of relatives. If I go, I'll be closing the office anyway so it's not like you'd miss work by joining me. And we could make the trip pleasant by playing tourist." He could feel the sweat dripping at the nape of his neck, sticking to his hair. Why was he so damn nervous?

It was as if Reigen was watching himself through a dirty window. He knew what he was doing and knew it might be a terrible, horrible mistake. But he couldn't exactly stop himself, helpless to watch the disaster unfold.

Serizawa's face softened. "Well, I mean... if you'd have me, I would love to accompany you."

Which was just about the opposite reaction from what he was expecting. Maybe the joking manner in which Reigen had said it hadn't come through after all. Unable to go back on his words, he shook his head. Serizawa was looking at him curiously, waiting for him to continue.

Reigen swallowed, in too deep to retreat. He had no choice but to push through and take the full force of Serizawa's rejection once he found out what this was really about. "There is one more thing..." He let the silence hang in the air between them, though it was hardly a proper silence. The businessman at the karaoke machine had moved on from American pop and straight into the low-pitched, throat-destroying screeches of death metal. It was a little bit distracting to their current conversation, not helped by the fact that Reigen was feeling drunker by the minute. Must be the heat of the bar getting to him.

"What's the other thing?" Serizawa asked when he had kept silent for a full minute, while taking another sip of his beer.

After licking his lips, Reigen ducked his head to avoid making eye contact. "Well, if you do come with me you are going to have to pretend to be my boyfriend."

Serizawa managed to spit out his drink in a comical manner which would probably have made Reigen laugh under different circumstances, yet he was severely aware that he had just propositioned his only adult friend. In his buzzed state, it hadn't even fully sunk in before that the way Serizawa reacted to this might not only ruin the friendly relationship they already had, it might lead him to quit the office. Reigen would never see him again.

And that thought only made things so much worse.

Before Serizawa could start to formulate a response, Reigen was already opening his mouth to do damage control. "I mean, obviously you don't have to if you don't want to! It's just my family, they're- No you know what never mind... It was a joke." He hated how bad it felt to rescind his offer. He hated how fast his heart had beat when Serizawa had said yes. Reigen coughed into a fist. "Though also it would really help me out and I guess it could be very good practice in dealing with people, you need to practice with people anyway don't you, Serizawa? If you can get along with my family you can get along with anybody. But I don't want to put you on the spot so if you don't feel-"

Serizawa gripped his wrists and kept them still probably because Reigen couldn't seem to stop moving his hands in frantic gestures. He had his lips pulled half up in confused amusement, though the uncertainty in his eyes spoke volumes. Reigen was just about to tell him to forget about the whole thing, feeling as if his face must resemble a tomato at this point, when Serizawa gave him a short nod.

"I'll come."

This time it was Reigen who was left at a loss for proper words. "You will?"

"If you'd like me to." Serizawa let go of his wrists and dropped his hands into his lap. He looked impossibly even more flushed than before. Which meant they must match in complexion. "I mean, you're right about me needing to practice. And if it helps you out then... I'm glad to. I could never repay you in full for all your kindness, Reigen."

"Oh-" Reigen breathed. He didn't know what to be more surprised about, Serizawa agreeing to his spontaneous and not well thought out plan so quickly or the way it made the lump in his stomach contract even tighter. Thankfully he was far too drunk to think about it clearly, let alone start deducing what it might mean. That was a mystery for sober Reigen to deal with. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure," Serizawa said, displaying confidence not often found in him. It was strangely endearing, a thought Reigen also shook away quickly.

At this moment he was really starting to regret not ordering another beer. At least if he had he could drown down the apprehension engulfing him, telling him he had no idea what he was getting into. All the ways this could go wrong and ruin his relationship with Serizawa forever.

"I'll text you the details later tonight, it's a little last minute but we have to leave in the morning." Reigen felt weird to get back into drinking and talking casually when they had just made an arrangement to pretend date for his cousin's wedding starting tomorrow, but Serizawa was still acting the same as before their detour so Reigen wanted to as well.

But he knew that with the nervous energy coursing through him at the prospect of what would happen come morning, he wouldn't be able to go to bed anytime soon.

Chapter Text

This chapter: important meetings take place – Featuring Serizawa "regrets everything ever" Katsuya & Reigen "this is fine" Arataka

It took approximately one sleepless night for Serizawa to come to the conclusion that he had no idea what he was getting into.

His agreeing had been an impulsive decision, spurred on by his exhilaration at receiving good grades and being together with Reigen off work, just the two of them. When sunlight started to stream through his blinders and the headache of his evening in the bar truly made itself known, the memory of exactly what he had agreed to do came back in full force. He was staring up at the ceiling - as he had been most of the night - but with dawn filtering in the consequences truly started sinking in.

Serizawa had agreed to accompany Reigen to his family home and stay there for a week. Not only that, he was going to meet Reigen's parents and they would attend a wedding together, which could be considered an intimate event.

And Serizawa was expected to pretend to be Reigen's date during all this.

Pulling up the blanket to cover his face, he nearly screamed into the fabric out of pure helplessness. In not as many words Serizawa was going out with his boss of all people. Which already sounded like the plot of the most cliché rom-com you could find on daytime television without the added bonus of him maybe definitely having a big-time, tiny insignificant crush on said boss.

He dragged the blanket down again, wondering whether it was too late to give Reigen a call and tell him he wasn't coming. Serizawa hated the thought of going back on a promise even if it was unofficial and made during a tragic lapse of judgment. But he would feel even worse for putting Reigen in that situation at the last moment.

The opportunity to get away with this even presented itself when he grabbed his phone and noticed Reigen had texted him earlier this morning. Going by the time the message had been sent, Reigen hadn't slept much either. He wanted to know if Serizawa still wanted to go with him, or if he had changed his mind. It was a considerate thing to ask – maybe slightly influenced by their combined lack of common sense when the arrangement was decided upon.

But Serizawa had made up his mind already.

With some last traces of reluctance, he managed to haul himself out of bed, stretching out his arms that had gotten stiff from keeping them still in a vain attempt to fall asleep. According to his phone it was still early enough for him to take a shower, have breakfast, and then start packing; he was supposed to meet Reigen at the train station at ten.

His apprehension gradually faded away through the monotony of doing the familiar routines, though it kept simmering in the back of his mind. Curiosity had started joining it in equal measure. Six months had passed since Serizawa left Claw and all that the organization stood for behind him. During this time, Reigen had been an integral part of him adjusting to his changed life, helping him apply for university courses and even giving him a job. They had also come to know each other quite well. But Serizawa hadn't found out too many details about Reigen's personal life.

Shigeo had told him a few things, though Serizawa felt uncomfortable bothering him with his question, especially when some of them might be considered an intrusion. He didn't have as much experience with people and sometimes he didn't know if he was overstepping so he held his tongue just to be safe. Everybody at the Spirits And Such Consultation Office had been nothing but kind to him, Serizawa was beyond grateful and not about to do anything to spoil those friendships.

That didn't change the fact that Reigen could be somewhat of an enigma and this would be the easiest way for Serizawa to learn more about him. At least when the whole situation dissolved into a storm of colossal proportions there would still be a silver lining, if one motived solely by his own selfish wants.

Reigen had texted him a list of what he'd probably need to bring along. Lacking a proper suitcase because he had never traveled much before, Serizawa used a gym bag he had lying around. After putting all his carefully folded clothes into it, he placed his other stuff on top. In an oddly nostalgic way the task reminded him of school trips he went on as a young child.

He was done just in time to run a little errand before heading off to the station.

"You brought flowers?"

The amusement in Reigen's voice made Serizawa falter. It was a warm sound, just edging on fondness and he stubbornly pushed down whatever emotion that pulled out of him.

He had expected to finally see Reigen in something other than a suit, but even for the occasion he was dressed in his usual office attire: dress shirt and a pair of slacks, though missing the tie. Serizawa felt horribly underdressed in comparison with his jeans and simple sweater.

"I thought it might be appropriate," he said, to defend his decision regarding the flowers. He held the bouquet of yellow tulips up with one hand. "I'm coming as a guest after all."

"I suppose so," Reigen said. "You're coming as my boyfriend, but in that case it is definitely a good bet. You need to pretend to be nervous about meeting the in-laws."

Serizawa did not feel the need to point out nervousness was just the start of what he was feeling at the moment. They boarded the train when it pulled up at the station, searching out a four-seater that was empty. There were far more people than Serizawa had expected to be traveling to the countryside at this hour, but he supposed that as it was the start of summer vacation for elementary kids and high schoolers as well, more families might be on their way to spent time with their relatives who lived further away.

As soon as they sat down Reigen was pulling out a blue folder he used at work to collect vital client information, dropping it onto the table between them with an audible thud. Opening it revealed a disorganization of papers. "Let's talk about our fake history," Reigen began earnestly.

"Fake history?" Serizawa echoed. He couldn't read any of the documents upside down, but at least one of them he could see was a printed picture of a park he recognized from near the office.

"We can't just waltz in there unprepared, or they'll see through us immediately," Reigen said this with the gravity of somebody planning a government raid and the expression on his face told Serizawa he was being completely serious about it too. Perhaps he had misjudged which part of this charade would be hardest to deal with. "I figured it would be better if we made sure we got our story straight beforehand."

Serizawa's lip curled up into a sardonic smile not of his own volition. "Really Reigen, don't you-"

"Step one," Reigen interrupted, pointing at Serizawa with a slender finger that nearly poked him in the nose. "We can't be using such formality if we're going to convince my family we're dating. We need to be on a first-name basis."

Hearing Reigen say it so callously only made it worse. Serizawa's eyes darted to the window and he found himself wondering if he could still escape. He knew it was his own insecurities taking over and instead he took a deep breath, inhaling through his mouth to then exhale with his nose slowly as he had learned. This was nothing more than acting. As long as he kept that in mind – for the both of them – things would work out splendidly.

At least that's what he hoped.

"First-name basis, got it... Arataka." The name felt foreign on his tongue, like it was a scandal just to say it out loud. Reigen was his coworker, his friend, his boss. But that was very easy to forget when Reigen gave him a splendid smile in response.

"Step two, I think it's a good idea if we discuss some basics. How did we meet, how long have we been together, stuff like that." As he said it, Reigen was spreading out the papers in front of them. Serizawa did not ask how long he stayed up last night preparing all this.

"It looks as if you already have something in mind?" he inquired.

"Just some ideas, you can tell me what you think honestly, Seri-" Reigen caught himself. "Katsuya."

Something rushed through him then that made Serizawa pull at the sleeves of his sweater subconsciously. After his mother, he hadn't heard anybody call him by his first name in ages and it was a strange sensation. It being Reigen who was doing so didn't help any. Over the course of the next week he would need to get used to it again.

To distract himself he picked up the slip of paper nearest to him and turned it around. If the sight of the file alone had been a surprise to him, seeing the neatly typed and printed writing made the image of insanity complete. Serizawa must be a spy getting his debriefing in an action flick, minutes before being sent into enemy territory. Maybe the comparison wasn't even entirely misplaced.

"So I was thinking we met in a coffee shop. The one close to the park? We both work nearby and happened to be on break during the same time," Reigen went on undisturbed, oblivious to his growing distress.

"Wait-" Serizawa put the paper back down, his face contorting into a frown. "Is all this really necessary? Can't we be truthful about that part, I do work for you. That's a normal way for people to meet."

"Hm, I suppose that's true." But Serizawa could tell Reigen was disappointed at his hesitation at going along with his crafted story. "As your boss, that would be pretty scandalous though." It seemed like he was enjoying the dramatics of it. This information clicked in Serizawa's brain a moment later.

"Do tell me, Arataka," he said - and maybe Reigen wasn't the only one who could enjoy himself with this. Even just a little bit. At least then they'd be even. "Are you having fun with this?"

Reigen's passive face was the complete antithesis to the brazen tilt of his voice. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

Serizawa shook his head and stared out the window again. The landscape was a blur of colors rushing past in streams of solid rivers, forming indescribable shapes. It had a calming effect just staring at them, getting lost in the swirl. Serizawa supposed there was no harm in playing along.

"If I don't work for you, then where?" he asked.

Reigen perked up. "What did you want to be growing up?"

Serizawa laughed softly. "I don't remember, a shonen manga protagonist probably?"

Putting his elbow on the table, Reigen rested his chin in the hollow of his hand. "Anything that wouldn't immediately make my parents know we are lying? Unless you want to try and convince them you're a superhero in your spare time. You do have the powers for it."

"My mother would have loved for me to go to medical school," Serizawa tried.

Reigen snapped his fingers. "Perfect. You'll be a med student with a part-time job, they'll love that. We met in the coffee shop because they switched our orders on accident. We got to talking and shared our coffee breaks ever since."

"You don't take coffee breaks," Serizawa pointed out but went ignored.

Reigen continued undeterred. "That was six months ago. We've been dating for four months. You asked me on a date to the zoo to make it official."

"Why the zoo?" The train entered a tunnel, making the interior darken for a moment before the inside lighting switched on automatically. Serizawa could have sworn he saw a real glint of glee in Reigen's eyes. He clutched at his own knees.

"I looked up 'most romantic date ideas in Seasoning City' on the internet," Reigen said.

"Right." Resting his head back against the seat, Serizawa sighed under his breath. This was shaping up to be the most exhausting week of his lifetime. "I can work with that."

"Read the rest of the file," Reigen said, pushing over the table towards him. "It's color-coded for your convenience."

And that was such a typical Reigen thing Serizawa couldn't even be surprised.

Gradually the train emptied around them as people got off. By the time Reigen shook his shoulder to wake him from the light slumber he had fallen into, there was nobody else in their carriage. Serizawa rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and got up.

The sun sat high in the sky, noon had come and gone during the journey. Serizawa stepped off the elevation and onto the platform while squinting into the overbearing light, waiting for Reigen to join him. As soon as he did, he grabbed Serizawa's hand and intertwined their fingers, almost making him draw his hand back on instinct.

The tightening of those fingers in his hold stopped him. Reigen's hands were warm, the skin of his fingertips slightly calloused. Serizawa shrugged off the feeling quickly as he got dragged along, blinking himself back to the present. He had to focus, he couldn't get distracted by anything.

Let alone by how nice it felt to have Reigen holding his hand like this.

The place they had arrived at could only be described as cozy. The station building looked like it came right out of a painting, all old wood and chipped paint. What once must have been a vibrant blue color had faded with time into a pastel sky shade, exposing the planks running beneath. A clock that showed the wrong time and might have quit working long before Serizawa was even born was fastened to an iron rod in the ceiling, the glass cracked or missing pieces. Looking around, it seemed that nobody else had departed at this station.

"I told you I grew up in the countryside," Reigen said in a low tone, probably noticing the look on his face. As far as the eye could see there stretched only green in all directions. Slight hills rose in the distance, the shapes of larger mountains blurry against the horizon, but mostly it seemed to be small patches of forest and farmland laced through by civilization. Picturesque would be the first word that came to mind – something out of an anime.

And for a moment Serizawa was so awed by this beauty that he forgot what they came here to do.

He was swiftly reminded when Reigen stopped dead in his tracks, almost making Serizawa run into his shoulder. There was a woman sitting on a bench near the entrance of the building and after merely one glance she could not be mistaken for anybody besides Reigen's mother.

It was clear he took after her. She had the same light hair, though hers was much longer and fell to an inch above her shoulders in loose waves. The longer strands were kept out of her face with a silver pin. Her eyes were a darker gray than Reigen's but just as vivid in their intensity. When she noticed them she got up, brushing off the ankle-length skirt she was wearing.

She opened her arms as she stepped forward and Reigen let go of Serizawa's hand in favor of hugging his mother. A small smile made the wrinkles in her face stand out when she closed her eyes, holding on for a long moment before she reluctantly pulled back.

"It's so good to see you, Arataka." Her hand remained on Reigen's shoulder as if she couldn't bear to remove it after not seeing her son all this time.

"I'm glad to see you too, mom," Reigen said and Serizawa could tell he at least partly meant it.

At once she redirected her attention to Serizawa, who was standing awkwardly with his arms held rigid at his sides. While on the train he had mentally rehearsed what he was going to say a million times over but now that it was actually happening he felt stage fright in every nerve. At a loss for what else to do, Serizawa resorted to using his secret weapon.

He held out the flowers to her, hoping he didn't come across as overly stiff. It was embarrassing to admit Serizawa was a little relieved when she took them from him. "I brought these for you." Not his best opening line, but it would have to do.

"You must be Katsuya?" He swallowed as she scrutinized his face, wondering what conclusions she was coming to about him. Funnily enough, his exams hadn't been half as stressful as this.

Then she pulled him into an embrace too, careful to not smush the tulips against his back. She smelled vaguely of lavender, in the way people do when they stick to using the same scented bath products for a very long time. Serizawa did his best to reciprocate even if he was hopelessly out of practice. "It's very nice to meet you, ma'am."

She shook her head as she let go, pinning him down with a sharp look. "None of that now. You can call me Yuuko."

"Thank you." It was hard not to enlarge the distance between them out of sheer instinct. He was somewhat comforted by Reigen's presence nearby, standing next to him. "Excuse my sudden intrusion, I believe it was a very last minute arrangement."

If nothing else, at least he still had his good manners to fall back on, hammered in by his parents while growing up. Serizawa would have never thought he'd be this thankful they were such sticklers for civility.

"Nonsense, it's no trouble at all." Yuuko went ahead of them and Serizawa grabbed Reigen's hand again, partly to keep up appearances and partly for his own sake. The hold was a solid anchor that reassured him. "Though I have to say I was very stunned when Arataka let me know you were both coming."

"And why's that?" Reigen asked casually, fingers clenching in Serizawa's grasp.

"Oh, you know dear..." Yuuko refrained from giving a clear answer but turned her head to smile back at them once more. "Don't mind an old woman having her doubts. I'm sure it's silly. We are so happy you're here, after so long."

Serizawa didn't say anything, though he noticed the way Reigen's shoulders tensed. Outside the station was a two-way road lined by shopfronts and houses on either side. There were small groups of people milling around, enjoying the summer weather over the weekend. An inn stood out among the buildings, its outdoor signage declaring rooms to let and the presence of a hot spring nearby that probably attracted considerable patronage during winter. Yuuko stopped at the sidewalk for a moment and almost instantaneously a dark car drove up to meet them.

"I would need to apologize for your father not being here," she said as a man wearing a tidy uniform stepped out of the front seat and walked around to open the door for her. "He is out of the prefecture until tomorrow, you know how busy he gets."

"Can't imagine," Reigen answered.

Yuuko got in the passenger seat while Serizawa and Reigen sat in the back. The car's windows were of the slightly tinged style you didn't often see. The driver – who Serizawa by now had realized must be a chauffeur – got back in and they pulled out into the minimal traffic already on the road. The situation confused him, but this might not be the best time to bring it up.

"Are the others at the house already?" Reigen asked. He had let go of Serizawa's hand again as they got in and crossed his arms in front of himself instead. Serizawa gripped his own knees, though it hardly had the same comforting effect.

"They arrived yesterday." Yuuko had pulled down the vanity mirror and was using it to check on her make-up. She touched her own cheek gingerly. "Aiko and her husband to be have been here longer still, making preparations. I think you'll love the ceremony, they spent a lot of time on it."

"Your house is big enough to accommodate that many people?" Serizawa had spoken before thinking, interest piqued by the conversation. They were moving away from the small commercial center of the town fast, into the countryside beyond where buildings appeared more sparingly and further apart. Despite this, the drive couldn't have taken them more than a handful of minutes.

Reigen turned to Serizawa, smiling thinly. He seemed happy at the interruption granted by him answering the question. "It's more that we don't have a large extended family. And also-"

Before he could finish his sentence the car took a turn in the road and the ground beneath them changed from smooth asphalt into gravel. Serizawa could see that this bent was an unfurling driveway leading up to a house. Though house might be an understatement.

The home that rose in front of them was easily one of the largest Serizawa had ever seen. And if he had, it was mostly in historical textbooks. Built in the classical architecture typical of the Edo period, a wooden structure made up the base while white plaster carried the sloping tiles of the roof. Wood ran all around the exterior, making a sort of walkway that bent in a shape which left Serizawa suspecting the house might be set up like a U with an inner garden. You didn't see these types of homes around much anymore.

His mouth must have fallen open as an incredulous gasp escaped him. Yuuko chuckled under her breathe and Reigen's eyes darted towards him. "-our family home is pretty old. So it has a lot of useless guest bedrooms," he finished.

"Inherited property," Yuuko said calmly, as they drove between large bushes hung heavily with flowers that lined the lane. She was clearly relishing Serizawa's reaction. "Generations of my husband's family have lived here and it seems he is reluctant to give it up." She rearranged the tulips on her lap, deft fingers separating the petals. "We modernized the inside just a few years ago, but the outside is a wonderful sight."

The car stopped right in front of the entrance, where two worn statues guarded the stairs leading onto the elevated part of the house. Reigen got out first, holding the door open for Serizawa, who was still too busy staring at their surroundings to notice much. The property was secluded, giving it an air of peace. All pretense of faking a relationship was momentarily forgotten when he realized this is where he would be staying for the foreseeable future.

Serizawa felt his heartbeat grow more erratic in his chest as he realized this was not just your average family he was going to need to impress. Reigen put one hand on his elbow as if sensing his emerging panic. "Time to meet the in-laws," he joked, to lighten the mood.

His voice had an unusually soothing effect on Serizawa, who leaned into the warmth of Reigen's touch for barely a second.

Serizawa nodded, trying to speak as if he could still breathe properly. "Time to meet the in-laws."

Chapter Text

This chapter: a marriage is discussed, just not the one intended – Featuring Reigen "I wish I hadn't stopped smoking" Arataka & Serizawa "I wish I had stopped talking" Katsuya

During the entire drive to the house, Reigen kept second-guessing his decision to come.

Obviously he had also been drunk when he made the decision, which didn't help matters any. But after a night of research and frantic typing, this morning it hadn't seemed like such a bad idea in daylight. It actually seemed as if it might be fun.

All the upsides of this charade had become clearer to him by the minute. His family would be pleased with him for once, a win for Reigen. They would never bother him about his lack of a relationship again, a win for Reigen. And he would get to spent time with Serizawa, a definitive win for Reigen.

That notion had faded as snow in the sun when they departed the train and met his mother. She looked exactly how he remembered her, yet their last face to face contact was ages ago. When she threw her arms around him what was supposed to feel like coming home hadn't at all. It had felt horribly foreign and uncomfortable. The town had not changed either, the same cobblestone lined the streets that did when he left.

The house too welcomed him back with open arms. Serizawa's reaction distracted him and Reigen was inwardly grateful for it. Maybe it was a detail he should have mentioned before, the unbridled astonishment on Serizawa's face as they rounded the bend in the driveway to see the home he grew up in was beyond amusing.

He held the door open for Serizawa to exit the car, not because of their pretense. Serizawa got out slowly, careful not to bump his head against the top of the car since he was taller than Reigen. He blinked a few times to get used to the stark contrast between the darkened interior and the bright summer sun that met them once outside.

"Time to meet the in-laws," he joked and saw Serizawa noticeably pale a bit in response, though he also squared his shoulders in resolve. Reigen couldn't blame him, knowing what was to come. And Serizawa hadn't even met his family yet.

His mother had already made her way up the steps, talking in a soft voice with the person waiting for them. Reigen glanced over, feeling tangible relief when he saw it wasn't his father she was speaking with but his uncle. His mother had already said he wouldn't be home, but Reigen wasn't sure he quite believed that. The driver was removing their luggage from the trunk to carry it inside, but Reigen pretended to tie his shoelaces to stall for time.

"Watabe Kenichi," he said under his breath. "My mother's older brother." He caught Serizawa nodding from the corner of his eye.

He straightened his back and tried to draw the tension from his frame, knowing there was no avoiding this any longer. Once again it was Serizawa who grabbed his hand instead of the other way around and gave it a small squeeze, letting Reigen know he was still right there by his side. No matter the intention – to fool his family or to genuinely make him feel better - it was a pleasant touch. They made their way up to the house together.

His mother had turned half around in waiting for them and his uncle had his hands pushed deep into the pockets of his loose shorts. It was almost comical seeing them stand next to each other in clashing attire, two pages ripped out of a fashion magazine and stitched back together. Reigen knew his mother took great pride in the standing of the family she married into and would do nothing to ruin its reputation, let alone allow it to be ruined by others.

His uncle and other family members from her side, however, mainly loved profiting from her union in any way they could, caring little for upholding its rigid, traditional manners. Another reason why Reigen hadn't seen them much growing up, his father never wanted them to come around.

"Little Arataka, how you've grown!" Kenichi bellowed loudly as they stepped closer, accompanied by a deep, full-bodied laugh. "Last time I saw you, you were probably only about ye high." He held out his hand at knee height, which might not be an exaggeration. Reigen couldn't remember spending much time – if any at all – with his mother's relatives when he was a child. The man who stood before him did not spark a single memory.

Pleasantries were exchanged and Reigen introduced his uncle to Serizawa as his date. Serizawa tried to bow but realized his mistake halfway through and shook the hand that was offered to him instead. He was rewarded with a spine-shattering clap on his shoulder which meant he was officially taken on as a new member of the family, at least by Kenichi.

"Kenichi, please," Reigen's mother said desperately, taking her brother's arm in both hands as if to physically restrain him from performing any other uncivilized greetings. She looked more than a little appalled at his casual behavior towards a stranger. "You both must be very tired from the day's travel, let me show you to your room before dinner." She directed those last words at Reigen and Serizawa.

"I'm sure they're fine," Kenichi cut in loudly, yellow-stained teeth pulling into a grin. "Aiko has been looking forward to seeing you and it's rude to keep a lady waiting." He headed inside first, not waiting for the others to respond. Reigen shrugged at Serizawa as they followed, while his mother huffed in quiet indignation but didn't verbally protest.

That wouldn't be very ladylike of her.

After they had changed into slippers at the front door, Kenichi led the way towards the living room, apparently familiar with the house. Despite it being close to a decade since Reigen had been here, he could probably still navigate these rooms blindly himself. The layout was left ingrained in his very veins, a map he traced in his mind. He wondered unthinkingly what room his mother had decided for them to stay in. Not his childhood one certainly, which he knew had been transformed into a home office by his father shortly after he left.

Serizawa was still holding onto his hand and through it, Reigen could feel him slowing down his stride as they passed one of the windows that looked out into the garden. The same bushes that stood up front bordered every edge of the property, with a field of meticulously maintained grass contained within the square they formed. Small slabs of stones had been put down to serve as pathways, though Reigen knew his family well enough to know they'd be walking over the grass in spite of that. In the far corner, the sunlight shimmered on the surface of a small pond squeezed between several wild rhododendrons.

"I was never allowed near that thing when I was a kid," Reigen said softly, so the others would not overhear. He pointed at the water to make sure Serizawa knew what he was talking about. "Mother was deathly scared I'd fall in."

"Is it that deep?" Serizawa asked.

"Not at all." They moved on as Reigen explained. "I snuck out there plenty of times to watch the fish. You'd have to make a real effort to drown in that pond."

The rest of his family was gathered in the dining room, struggling with several open notebooks he assumed were related to the wedding planning. As his uncle introduced them, Reigen felt like he was being presented to a group of strangers. None of these people had left a wisp of memory in him, if he ever met them in the first place which wasn't even a certainty. Aside from his mother and uncle, there were four more seated around the table. Both of his male cousins were older than Reigen by several years, though still unwed. Their youngest sister – Reigen's cousin Aiko – was the first in this branch of the family to get married and was sitting on the opposite side of the table next to her fiancé, a handsome young man with chiseled features.

Probably another reason why his mother was so adamant about him bringing a date. With no other family on his father's side and all those on his mother's side fitting easily into a single room, the pressure to find a suitable partner and settle down was always high. Reigen knew in the back of his mind that he would be expected to take care of his parents in their old days, though the concept hadn't sunk in yet.

He'd rather not think too much about it.

Kenichi put his hands on his daughter's shoulders with a broad grin, the pinnacle of parental pride and the innate superiority of having your child be the first to get hitched. Aiko was a slender woman of about Reigen's age, with long dark brown hair she clearly put a lot of time and effort into maintaining. Her eyes were an unusual light blue. At first, Reigen hadn't been sure if he recognized her either, but the vague impression of one of his baby pictures pushed itself to the front of his subconscious.

He might have played with her as a little kid once or twice at family functions, though he couldn't recall completely.

"And here we have the most important lady of the hour," Kenichi said, not able to give up the chance to boast, and Reigen could tell by the way that Aiko scrunched up her face that he had been acting like this from the moment her engagement was announced. The long-suffering apprehension of a child blessed with overbearing parents was etched into her every furrow.

Being born almost a decade after her two brothers, who only shared an age gap of two years at most, Reigen imaged she had become used to being the baby of the family. Add to that the fact that she was the only daughter, he could imagine things must have been quite hard on poor Aiko.

And as an only child himself, Reigen would gingerly relate.

"Father-" She tried to be subtle about cutting him off, placing her hand on his, though Kenichi ignored her in favor of moving over to his future son-in-law, a smile still firmly plastered on his lips.

"This one is almost just as special, being the groom. He's been doing his best to keep up with her, though we all know how women can get about planning their weddings." Kenichi let out a boisterous laugh, amused by his own joke. There was minimal reaction. "Suke here knows what I mean," he added, for which the future groom did give him a pity laugh.

"Yes, I'm sure he does," Reigen's mother commented lowly, waving her brother's remark away as if it were a particularly annoying fly that wouldn't stop pestering her. She turned towards Reigen and Serizawa again, who despite all the formal introductions were still standing in the doorway. "Now that that's over with, I'm sure you would really like to have a moment to yourself before dinner? I know they can be a bit..." she trailed off, eyes darting over to Kenichi, too busy with his children to notice. Putting a gentle hand on Reigen's elbow, she herded them outside. "...overwhelming."

She closed the door behind them calmly then let out a sigh. Looking at Serizawa apologetically and putting her hand over her heart, she continued. "Do forgive them, Katsuya. They're all just very excited at finally having the family together again. I do believe it hasn't been since my parents died that we've all been reunited."

"Not at all," Serizawa answered smoothly, as they started following her down the same hallway again. Reigen was once more thankful to have brought the one person who would always resort to polite deflection over confrontation, and who would take anything in kind. It was a trait Reigen had always admired in Serizawa, even after they had just met. The way this week was shaping up to be, they were both going to need it. "They seem lovely."

"Do you have a big family yourself?" Reigen's mother inquired. It might be the only conclusions she could come to, to explain Serizawa's apparent calm towards what she must consider a horribly rude reception.

Serizawa hesitated before answering. "I'm afraid not." They took a left turn into the other part of the house. "It's really only my mother and myself."

"I'm sorry to hear that." At least she seemed sincere.

She opened a door into one of the guest bedrooms, where Reigen noticed their bags were already set on the spacious double bed. The curtains had been drawn open and through the cracked window fresh air flooded inside. A mahogany dresser was pushed against the wall next to a floor mirror and a door on the other wall implied the room had a connected bathroom. Reigen saw there was a desk as well, not a usual feature for a guest room. "I hope this will suffice," his mother said. Reigen knew she was being courteous, but he couldn't help think nobody short of the emperor would complain about these sorts of accommodations.

"Thank you so much for all your kindness," he heard Serizawa say, though Reigen didn't register much through the haze that had settled in his head. He might be having a very delayed, slow-motion panic attack. As soon as his mother had closed the door he fell onto the bed face first and groaned into the sheets.

He felt the mattress dip as Serizawa sat down on the other side. "So that went a lot better than expected."

Despite himself, Reigen could not help but laugh at Serizawa's flippant tone. He pushed up on his elbows, looking at him. "I'm starting to seriously regret dragging you into this, you know. I wouldn't do this to my worst enemy, let alone somebody I actually like."

Serizawa's lip twitched at that last word, but he did a good job of hiding it. Reigen saw anyway. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think," he said.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," Reigen assured him. "When I said my family was hard to get along with, I meant it. But I'm glad you're here. Facing them alone might have just killed me."

"I'm glad I'm here too," Serizawa said. His eyes darted away right after, Reigen wasn't sure why. Then he stood up and started looking around, changing the subject. "This room is huge. And this is just a guest bedroom?"

"Pretty sure this place is bigger than my entire apartment," Reigen said. He rolled over, staring up at the ceiling, tracing intricate details in the paint. Even while stretching out his arms he could hardly feel the other side of the bed. "There's only one bed, guess we're sleeping together."

Serizawa made a noise somewhere between a squeak and a strangled gulp. He tried to cover it by coughing into his fist, but if Reigen didn't know any better he would think he was blushing as well. Probably a trick of the light.

He shouldn't be reading too much into these things.

Getting up, Reigen gestured to the pillow covered armchair in the corner. "Unless one of us sleeps on that thing but it doesn't look very comfortable."

"No," Serizawa said quickly. "I didn't mean it like that. I just hope my snoring won't keep you awake." It didn't sound half as convincing as he probably thought it did.

"I'm used to worse," Reigen answered. The walls of his apartment were so thin he had a first-row ticket to practically any midnight activities his neighbors got up to, much to his dismay. Watching Serizawa unpack in silence for a bit while he stood by motionless, Reigen's thoughts drifted to his family again.

He didn't know whether to be glad his father hadn't made a grand appearance yet, or apprehensive because that just meant postponing the inevitable. Regardless, he would be forced to face him sooner or later. Or tomorrow.

Rubbing his eyes so hard he started seeing shapes in the darkness, imprints left behind his lids by his fingerprints, Reigen forced himself to get moving. He needed to suck it up. That's why they were here. "We better get ready for dinner. It will be a whole affair." He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, wondering if he had bags under his eyes. Prodding at his own face, he supposed it would have to suffice for now.

"I did not expect your family to be this traditional," Serizawa said. He had put all his clothes away but was still looking for a convenient place to put his bag. At a loss for what to do with it, he kicked it under the bed.

Reigen smiled. "Only my parents. My father is from proper lineage and won't shut up about it, my mother takes too much pride in what she married into. Though I got to say I'm glad I don't give you the same impression."

"Not at all." Serizawa's hand hovered over the door handle to the bathroom. "N-not to say you're indecent, I just meant-"

"Yes, I know Katsuya." Reigen laughed him off. "Go on." Serizawa went into the bathroom quickly, leaving him alone in the bedroom. Shaking his head in amusement, Reigen supposed he had to get ready too.

At least with Serizawa at his side, he didn't feel as scared about facing his family anymore.

Since it was their first night being there, Reigen had expected his mother would go all out. Somehow he still felt shocked at the display before them. He was inclined to ask her if she had planned to feed a small army regiment instead of the humble gathering of family members she currently had staying in her house, but that would be rude and he didn't think she would take the joke in kind.

The shoji was pushed open since it was a pleasantly warm summer evening, making the sound of cicadas chirping away in the garden accompany the blend of their voices. Reigen had been put at the corner, near his mother who sat at the head of the table. Serizawa was sat next to him, posture stiff among people he had just met. So far Reigen thought he had coped with it all very well, but he could see the tension weigh on him now that they were literally surrounded by strangers.

Serizawa had always done well with clients too, people naturally liked him even when he wasn't inclined to seek them out and more prone to introversion. But their current situation was so different Reigen hadn't been able to predict how Serizawa would react to any of it.

"Arataka told me you're a medical student," Reigen's mother said. Her voice hardly carried over the table and the rowdy conversation of the others, another reason why she had probably seated them so close to her. "What year of your studies are you in?"

"Only my first year." Serizawa had taken a meager helping of the tempura with white rice. Reigen assumed he might be too nervous to eat properly. "I worked at an accountant office to save up money to be able to afford my studies first."

Reigen knew their preparations would not have been in vain, mentally patting himself on the back for his dedication.

His mother nodded approvingly. "It is good to develop a work ethic before undertaking such a serious education. Have you already thought about what branch you will go into?"

Reigen felt like he was watching an interrogation, but Serizawa did not seem to mind all the questioning. There was no hesitation as he answered. "Pediatrics."

Choking on the fried shrimp he was currently shoving into his mouth, Reigen had to conceal his own shock by drinking half his glass of water in one go. His mother threw him a sharp look, but more likely because she thought ill of his table manners and not because she suspected anything was going on. Reigen half expected her to start scolding him about proper chewing etiquette.

"You enjoy working with children?" she asked Serizawa. There was a curious sparkle to her eye that made Reigen feel ill at ease.

"I do. Young teenagers too." Serizawa and Reigen shared a glance and the latter had to continue eating to hide his hilarity. "They can be very rewarding to work with." Reigen repressed the urge to snort. He spared a thought for Mob and his brother, who he sincerely hoped were having a good time at the seaside.

"That's wonderful," Yuuko gushed wholeheartedly, brushing away her bangs. For dinner, she had pulled her hair back into a short braid, decorated with a beautiful clasp. Reigen thought she looked a lot older like this, the lines in her face more pronounced. "Would you want your own children one day?"

In contrast to the other questions, this seemed to catch Serizawa off guard. Reigen knew he had prepared plenty of answers, but maybe he should have warned Serizawa about his mother's favorite thread of discussion. She always came back to this subject in their every conversation.

"I uh, probably yes." In the position they were in, Reigen found he was unable to see Serizawa's face without acting inconspicuous. "Eventually, I mean."

Yuuko held her chopsticks up with slender fingers, taking small, modest bites of her food so she could keep talking. "Of course, but you mustn't wait too long. Better start sooner rather than later."

Finally Serizawa looked at him and Reigen did his best to signal non-verbally that this was probably a good place to leave it at. They really didn't need to continue this conversation. To his horror, Serizawa interpreted his rapid blinking and twitching lip as an encouragement that he was doing great.

"We will have to wait until we get married," he said.

This statement happened to be spoken just as a lull fell in the conversation Reigen's uncle was having with the others, and as it were all heads turned towards them at the same time. Reigen felt that this would be the ideal time for the earth to surge open and swallow him whole too, but no such mercy was granted to him. Instead, he started to speak.

"Not that we've already decided on it or anything." He grabbed Serizawa's arm by instinct, patting him on the elbow to reproach him for being terribly silly. "It's just something we've been thinking about, possibly for the future. Katsuya here simply gets a bit excited."

That would be sufficiently vague to satisfy his mother.

"That's wonderful!" Kenichi yelled as if they were separated by miles and not two chairs occupied by family members. "We'll look forward to having the next wedding in due time then." He raised his cup of sake in a toast and all Reigen's cousins eagerly joined the effort.

Reigen had to resist the urge to drop his head onto the table in despair. He hadn't let go of Serizawa's arm yet and the other man covered his hand with his own, a placating gesture. His palm was soft to the touch.

"Turns are out we are getting married," Serizawa said lightly. There was no mistake he was blushing this time, though they could easily play it off as part of them being a doting couple instead of the debilitating embarrassment probably plaguing him.

"You still need to propose first," Reigen answered lowly, making sure nobody would overhear. "Who's to say if I'll accept."

Serizawa's lip curled up into something that was almost a smirk, almost a frown. The complexity of his expression alerted Reigen. "Don't break my heart, Arataka."

For the moment Reigen wasn't going to mention what that statement did to him.

Chapter Text

This Chapter: Serizawa finds out the worst is always yet to come – Featuring Serizawa "can we just treat this as a vacation" Katsuya & Reigen "pretending my problems don't exist is fine" Arataka

"I'm really sorry for putting you in such an awkward position."

Reigen raised his head to look at him and grinned. Serizawa's heart skipped a beat whenever he got that expression, the ease with which it slipped onto Reigen's face. Sometimes he wished it was the same for him, that he didn't need to overthink or have second thoughts about any of the coincidences that happened to him, each decision he made.

They were back in their room again, left alone for the moment after Reigen told his family the journey had really tired them out and they would go to bed early. Serizawa was unable to sit still, pacing the room in short circles like a caged animal. Reigen was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed and his laptop open beside him.

"Don't worry about it," he said. His sincerity had a calming effect on Serizawa, he trusted Reigen not to lie to him. "It was actually kind of funny."

"Still-" He finally stopped his pacing, tapping his foot on the ground nervously. "Do you think they'll forget about it if we don't mention it going forward?"

His question prompted Reigen to burst out in laughter, which wasn't a good sign. "Clearly you haven't known my mother for very long. She has been talking about me marrying, settling down, and giving her grandchildren since my eighteenth birthday. She's not going to drop this." After closing his laptop and getting up, Reigen retrieved some clothes from his suitcase, which was still lying unpacked at the foot of the bed. In passing him by, he put his hand on Serizawa's elbow. It was so unexpected Serizawa almost physically startled. "Seriously, don't worry about it, Katsuya. You did great."

Reigen went into the bathroom and closed the door. A moment later Serizawa heard the sound of the water running. He stood frozen to the spot, fidgeting at his own hands and stubbornly ignoring the eager feeling inside his chest. To keep himself occupied he started putting away the remainder of Reigen's clothes into the same cupboard he had put his own in.

His mind wandered as he did it, but just like this morning, the simple act of folding helped him focus. Serizawa had not become any less nervous, even though the hardest part of meeting Reigen's family was already over with. They came across nice enough to him - if clashing in personality and temperament. It was funny to imagine a person such as Reigen being raised in this environment.

Or maybe it would be exactly those circumstances that shaped him into the man Serizawa had come to know.

He still worried he was going to screw it up somehow. Serizawa was good at pretending it was effortless, but he wanted things to go well so badly it was straining, physical nausea in his gut. Restless energy swirled inside him and he had to put conscious effort into keeping it contained. He wanted to do this for Reigen and he couldn't be ruining it. Even if a part of him only wanted-

"Serizawa?" Reigen calling his name intruded on his musing and Serizawa realized he had been standing there clutching a shirt in his hands. He quickly put it into the drawer, smoothing out the wrinkles in the fabric before turning around.

"The bathroom is free," Reigen said, gesturing at the open door. He wasn't wearing the slacks and button-up anymore but had changed into a simple t-shirt and loose shorts to sleep in. Serizawa blinked at the change, perhaps because this was the first time he had seen his boss in anything but formal attire. Even when they went to the bar Reigen had still been in his work clothes. Reigen noticed what he had been doing and his eyebrows drew upward in surprise. "Were you cleaning up my stuff? You didn't have to."

Serizawa smiled. "I prefer things tidy."

"You'll make a fine husband someday," Reigen said lightheartedly - in jest about what happened at dinner, presumably - as Serizawa passed him to go into the bathroom, and he was glad he had his back towards Reigen so he couldn't see his facial expression.

Once inside he wasted no time splashing water into his face, the cold doing its job to bring him back to the present. Reigen's family was one thing, there was something much worse to contend with: his own feelings regarding this whole arrangement.

Serizawa had gravely underestimated how complicated this fake dating thing could become if you already had feelings for the person you were supposed to be pretending to date.

Shaking his head and taking a few deep breaths, he watched himself in the mirror. After everything that had happened today combined with his restless night he was exhausted and all he wanted was to go to bed. He could deal with all this senselessness tomorrow.

When he left the bathroom Reigen was already under the covers. He had his legs propped up and the laptop balancing on his stomach, which Serizawa considered a recipe for disaster, especially since he was well aware of Reigen's usual clumsiness. As he got under the blankets on his own side of the bed he noticed Reigen was replying to emails.

"You're still working?" Serizawa asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Just a few more," Reigen said, stifling a yawn that betrayed how tired he was as well. "Appointments for when we get home." In the near twilight of the room, the screen gave off a blue shine that was mirrored in his dark irises.

Adjusting his pillow and turning onto his side until his back was towards Reigen, Serizawa tried to get cozy. It was always more difficult to drift off in a bed not your own, but he was so drowsy it would hardly matter. "Don't stay up too late." A silly comment slipping out because of his diminished alertness.

His eyes had already been closed by the time Reigen responded. "I won't, dear." The tone in his voice betrayed his underlying humor, and it was said so quietly Serizawa almost didn't catch it.

He certainly was going to pretend he hadn't heard it, for his own sake.

A soft poke at his face woke Serizawa up. He screwed his eyes shut tighter, groaning when the offending digit only prodded him again, more firmly.

"Are you awake?" Reigen asked.

"I am now," Serizawa answered without opening his eyes. "Thanks for that." He heard Reigen snicker, then felt the shifting of the blankets and the rise of the mattress as he stood up.

"Just checking." Reigen's voice moved across the room as he walked. "I'm getting dressed, if you want I can show you around town today? Get out of the house for a bit, away from them?"

Rolling over and burrowing deeper into the warmth of the duvet, Serizawa didn't fully feel like getting up yet, but that was because he slept remarkably well. The expensive bed probably helped. "Sounds good," he mumbled in response, though he didn't know if Reigen heard him with the bathroom door already closed.

Through the curtains, a sliver of sunlight was stubborn in its efforts to keep him from falling back asleep. Serizawa finally opened his eyes, blinking until his surroundings stopped being a blurry mess. The spot on the bed where Reigen had slept was crumpled up and when Serizawa reached his hand out to smooth it down, he felt the lingering heat traces of Reigen's body.

He pulled his hand back and used it to scratch at the nape of his neck instead.

After they both got dressed and had breakfast – just the two of them because nobody else was awake – they went outside. Serizawa wondered if Reigen was going to drive them, but to his surprise, he started walking down the driveway.

"You don't mind, right?" Reigen asked, probably after seeing Serizawa's puzzled expression and slowing down his stride. It was still early enough for the air to not be unpleasantly warm, slightly breezy and Serizawa quickly caught up. "It's just a short way."

"Not at all." He was looking forward to it actually.

There had been a long time in Serizawa's life where he would barely leave his mother's apartment, always holed up in his bedroom in fear. After he met Toichiro he would go places, but rarely of his own volition. It wasn't until recently that Serizawa discovered the joy of casual outdoor strolls.

The scent of the countryside hung heavy around them and was slightly tangy, Serizawa found it evocative of the perfume section in a department store. The flowers had fully opened and their bold red color stood out against the leaves they perched between. Summer was probably the ideal time for them to bloom. It made their walk all the more pleasant, spent in non-oppressive silence.

As soon as they had rounded the corner the town's shape became discernible on the horizon. With little to no traffic around they walked in the middle of the road, surrounded by fields both barren and currently in use for corn, wheat, and other crops. A greenhouse with a glass roof shimmered in the sunlight.

"You told me you grew up very remotely," Serizawa said, watching a far-off red tractor spew dark exhaust gasses as it painstakingly pulled its load over uneven ground. "But somehow I hadn't expected this."

"Why not?" Reigen asked him. He didn't sound insulted but genuinely intrigued by what would make Serizawa say that.

"I-I just mean uh," Serizawa said haltingly, shoving his hands down his pockets to keep from picking at his own fingers. "It feels very not you. And you don't come across as somebody who would like it here, either."

Reigen chuckled, shrugging away Serizawa's awkwardness. "I didn't."

Is that why you left? would be the next question on Serizawa's mind, but he couldn't bring himself to speak it out loud.

The view was truly magnificent, taken right out of a picture book or watercolor painting. The green fields, the winding roads between them, the hills and further away mountains that cradled the town gently on all sides, finished off with wisps of clouds. You could frame this on a postcard and sell it.

But it did not rhyme with Serizawa's perception of Reigen.

Reigen, who held inside him the kind of unsubdued energy ready to burst at a moment's notice. Who would be on his third cup of coffee by the time Serizawa came into the office in the morning, energetically rambling about their expected clients for the day. Who thrived on being around others and helping them, who needed to be needed to feel alive.

Reigen, who was smart and lively and kind - and so much more than Serizawa ever thought he could be before they met.

As they approached the denser part of the town, their solitude was exchanged for two-story houses and the light tumult of other people going about their day. Parents out shopping dragged their unwilling children along, promising them ice cream upon going home if they behaved. Some businessmen in suits were smoking in front of the station, presumably waiting for the train that would take them to work. Here and there a couple walked arm in arm, enjoying each other's presence in quiet contentment, and Serizawa couldn't help but wonder if that was how others perceived the two of them.

In front of the inn he noticed yesterday, an old lady with a broom was cleaning the sidewalk, apron tied around her waist as she worked. Since they were going in the opposite direction this time, they walked right by the building and Serizawa studied the entrance more closely.

"There are hot springs nearby?" he asked after reading the sign. Reigen followed his eyes to the inn's window.

"Up in the mountains." With his thumb, he pointed back the way they had come. "In winter we used to get a decent amount of tourists, though it's not the biggest or most popular in the area."

"Maybe we should go," Serizawa pondered out loud.

Reigen raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. "In the middle of summer?"

"Is that not something people do?" Serizawa felt his lips jerk into a reflexive smile. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about hot springs. I've never been to one either."

As if this was the most unimaginable thing he had ever heard, Reigen's mouth nearly fell open, eyes wide. "Never?"

"Never," Serizawa confirmed. He couldn't remember if he had ever been anywhere on vacation really. After his father had left, his mother had enough trouble just making ends meet with him being her dependent. Family holidays had been out of the question.

"Then I take back what I said. We should definitely go."

On Reigen's behest, they crossed the street. Though modest in size, the town did have a pedestrian area with shops and cafes lining both sides. Near the end of it was a staircase that Serizawa could only assume lead up to a temple. Several men were busy with wooden crates and tarps and Reigen confirmed his suspicions when he pointed them out.

"They're setting up for the Toro Nagashi festival. About the most important event that happens around here. My mother will insist on us paying our respects, though it's two days after the wedding."

"Oh, right..." Serizawa was too mindful to admit he had been so engaged in their walk he had briefly forgotten about the reason they were here in the first place. "When was that again?" He couldn't remember if Reigen had told him the exact date.

"Wednesday," Reigen answered. "It's a lucky day according to the Rokuyo calendar so they chose it intentionally."

They continued walking until they reached the stairs, then turned around to start heading back. "That's very traditional."

"The only traditional thing about them," Reigen said gravely. "You'll notice the ceremony will be very in keeping with old customs, though mother told me Aiko was persistent they include plenty of western traditions too. She probably just wanted to appease the families."

Serizawa couldn't say he understood. Reigen seemed to notice as much, pushing one hand down his pockets as they started the short walk back to the house. "This is why I called it the most dreadful place in the world. You were absolutely right about me not fitting in here." Reigen rubbed his forehead with his other hand. "Sometimes I envy you, Serizawa. Not having many relations might be nice."

The comment made Serizawa stop dead in his tracks, unsure what to say. The breeze ruffled his hair. It had been gotten longer again and he needed to get it cut. The last time Reigen had done it for him, but maybe he wouldn't want to again.

Reigen turned around when he noticed Serizawa wasn't following him anymore.

Without expressing it out loud, he knew the other could read him like an open book. Serizawa didn't consider himself that easy to see through but didn't stand a chance against Reigen's observational skills either. In a matter of seconds, Reigen was backtracking, walking over with waving hands. Sweat was emerging on his forehead.

"Ah, that was tactless of me to say. Forgive me, Serizawa." As he stood in front of Serizawa, eyes edged with worry, Reigen looked as if he had kicked a puppy. Every inch of him spelled his regret. "Perhaps I can not imagine your own struggles, this caught up in my own."

Serizawa was not angry. He could perfectly follow Reigen's logic in what he said. "It's alright." Reigen did not look convinced.

They continued walking, the same silence settled over them as it did when they were on their way to town, but this time it was wrought with tension. Serizawa could tell Reigen felt troubled over what he had implied.

"If it helps," he started. It was hard to get the words out without stumbling over them. "While I used to consider my situation a convenience too, I have since changed my mind. Thanks to you."

"Me?" Reigen didn't look at him as he was speaking, hands back to being curled in his pockets.

"It wasn't until after I met you and you offered me a job that I had a lot of opportunities to expand my horizons. Through work, I got to know you and Shigeo and Tome and all the others. In a sense..." Serizawa trailed off, flustered by what he was about to say. But Reigen was still silent, the only sounds the birds in the trees and their steps gradually falling in tune with each other. Serizawa pushed through his own self-consciousness. "In a sense, it is only fair to consider you the one who gave me a family."

It felt good to say it out loud.

Reigen's shoulders relaxed, his back straightened like a physical weight had been lifted off it. He smiled at Serizawa in the exact same way he had done many times before, but it still sent a rush through him every time. Serizawa was starting to suspect he would never grow tired of it.

"I'm glad," Reigen said eventually. A shiver wracked his body moments later when the breeze picked up again. Serizawa was wearing his light summer coat, but mistaking the early morning to be the same as afternoon, Reigen only had a shirt on.

"Here." Serizawa was already shrugging off his jacket before Reigen could get a word in edgewise. He probably wanted to refuse, but as the wind caught speed again, he knew this wasn't the hill he was willing to die on.

Since their heights were different the coat looked comically big on Reigen. The sleeves came down all the way to cover most of his hands and instead of being hip length at most, it ended partway down Reigen's thighs. But when he pulled the fabric closer at the front, he looked really glad.

And really adorable, Serizawa's mind unhelpfully provided.

"Thank you," Reigen said. "It's uh, warm."

Serizawa bit his tongue to keep anything stupid from slipping out. "No problem," is what he eventually settled on.

They walked back in silence.

The house was filled with a lively atmosphere by the time they got there.

Serizawa didn't think they had been gone that long, but it looked like everybody had already finished eating and preparing for the day. Aiko and her fiancé were sitting at the kitchen table with a young, elegantly dressed woman that Yuuko informed them was a wedding planner.

"Everything should really already be taken care of by this stage," she whispered ruefully, leaning towards Serizawa and speaking behind her hand as if she was sharing an important secret. "But my brother's side of the family has always been prone to tardiness."

"Arataka told me that the ceremony will be fairly traditional," Serizawa answered. "I have never been to a wedding before, I look forward to attending it."

This made Yuuko give him a subdued smile. "Youths these days do not tend towards Shinto rituals, but plenty of elders still place a lot of value on them. I'm pleased they decided to compromise. At my wedding, there was no such thing. My husband is the conservative kind, a little too much so. Which is another reason Arataka and him do not get along as well as I'd like."

A pained expression crossed her face and Serizawa felt slightly guilty. He had a feeling she was only confiding this in him because of his perceived status as Reigen's partner, perhaps even a future husband. It wasn't actually his place to know this.

It was a short-lived thought, however, as Yuuko suddenly looked down at her phone. Her smile returned instantly. "Speak of the devil." She started to lead Serizawa back into the hallway, where Reigen was busy on his phone. He flipped it closed as soon as they walked up to him. "Arataka dear~" Yuuko's voice had a sing-song quality to it.

Serizawa could tell from Reigen's face that this tone usually didn't bode well for him.

"Yes, mother?" he said, almost matching her in sugary sweetness. Serizawa had to make an effort not to chuckle.

"Your father is about to arrive. Come greet him with me, would you?"

Practically being able to feel all humor drain from the mood, Serizawa noted Yuuko's way of speaking left no room for refusal. It was more of a command than a request, albeit one phrased politely. Reigen nodded and all three of them went out to the front door.

It had barely been a day since Serizawa had been in the opposite position, being the one arriving at the house while others waited for him. The apprehension was the same - if not worse.

Moments later a sleek, black car drove up the driveway. In color, it matched the one they had taken from the station, though the model was of different, slightly smaller make. Whoever was driving it parked it in an inlet Serizawa hadn't noticed before on the side of the house.

The man that stepped out could only be described as intimidating.

The thought that crossed Serizawa's mind first was that he reminded him of Toichiro, though he knew the comparison was discourteous given all the harm that man had wrought. Still, he could not shake the impression as Reigen's father walked up to them with confident steps, carrying himself with a certain self-importance that already rubbed Serizawa the wrong way. His dark hair was cut short and sensible, making the sharpness of his bone structure stand out, an antithesis to Reigen's much more friendlier appearance. But in their lean body shape, they were much the same, though Reigen was several inches shorter than his father.

"Masaru, dear," Reigen's mother wasted no time taking his briefcase from her husband before bowing to him. Serizawa thought it was unusual for a wife to do that, but he didn't want to judge another's customs. Reigen did not bow to his father and at a loss for which one was more appropriate, Serizawa decided to follow his example.

Masaru bent forward to give Yuuko a quick kiss, then he turned and his pale eyes settled on Reigen. They were a light grey, washed out in a way that made them appear near colorless. Cruel might not be how Serizawa would describe them, but it felt really close. He swallowed uncomfortably and waited to be addressed.

"Arataka," Masaru said. His voice was stern like a teacher's. "You have not been here in a long time. Make sure not to humiliate the family while you are."

Then – without preamble or so much as acknowledging Serizawa's existence – he walked inside.

Chapter Text

This chapter: our hopeless duo goes from naked to naked in the span of ten minutes – Featuring Reigen "no shame" Arataka & Serizawa "all the shame" Katsuya

In every one of his childhood memories Reigen could recall where his father appeared, that man was like the dark blur at the edge of his vision.

He wasn't home a lot. It was something Reigen was eternally grateful for as a little kid. Business trips, long days at the office, social events. By the age of ten, Reigen had realized how unusual it was for them to not eat together as a family and had realized that at his friends' houses it was different. He hadn't minded because he'd rather have his father not around than have him around even back then.

When Masaru was home Reigen could feel it in the air. He could tell simply by the way his mother acted. As a child, he had hated every second of it - and the most vivid memory he had was still walking out of that house for the last time, after telling them he was going to make a name for himself in favor of taking a starters position for a job within the same business his father had worked at all his life. To take advantage of the industry's inclination towards nepotism.

If it hadn't been for his mother, Reigen was sure his father would have completely disowned him after that.

"He seems very... personable," Serizawa said mildly, approximately thirty seconds after meeting Masaru in person, who had gone inside without a second glance at either of them.

Reigen put both hands on the other man's shoulders, an awkward effort since Serizawa was a little taller than him, and rested the crown of his head on Serizawa's broad chest. "Katsuya, you are too much," was all he managed to bring out.

They were in private so there technically was no need to use first names, but he had gotten into the habit over the last day. Not to mention he wasn't entirely opposed to the informality it gave them. Serizawa patted his back a few times.

His mother had gone inside with his father, probably to greet the rest of the family and unpack his stuff. This gave them only a few minutes of respite before they'd be expected to go in and play house. As confident as Reigen had been at the start, his fraying nerves were starting to take their toll on him. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this fake veneer of composure up, not with his father around.

Not to mention his reaction to Serizawa had been unpleasant, but not unexpected. And Reigen knew there was something far worse to come at dinner.

"Should we head back in?" Serizawa asked after a tense moment of silence, his hand still hovering somewhere above Reigen's shoulder blade but refraining from settling there completely.

"We should," Reigen agreed. "I just don't want to." He forced himself to take a step back, pull away. The week couldn't last forever. Before he knew it they would be going back home, back to their office, and resume life as normal. And Reigen wouldn't have to worry about what his family might think of him.

Then his pretend romance with Serizawa could revert back to a normal friendship too, a very professional business-like relationship with the appropriate distance kept at all times. Reigen wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that part yet.

"Do you still want to go to those hot springs?" he asked as they walked inside. Serizawa perked up at the mention of their earlier conversation.

"W-well, if you would still consider taking me." Serizawa was wringing his hands together as if he was suppressing the urge to apologize just for existing. "I would love to."

"I'll let my mother know," Reigen answered. "We can go this afternoon, we just need to be back in time for dinner, it will be a thing." In truth, he would rather be anywhere else aside from in this house, but he wouldn't say so out loud.

The wedding was barely three days away, it shouldn't be that hard to survive until then.

The bathhouse they arrived at was of traditional make, with an owner who looked old enough to have been there when it was built. His greying hair was long and pulled back into a tiny ponytail at the base of his skull, a bushy beard concealed most of his features. Bright blue eyes shone from between a mass of wrinkles that almost obscured all facial expressions.

He appeared exceedingly happy to have some customers in the middle of summer though, eagerly directing them to the baths and asking a ton of questions. Upon hearing that they came because Serizawa had never experienced the longstanding custom of soaking in a hot spring before, he became even keener on having them and offered them a discount for being first-timers.

Reigen – never one to say no to a good offer – gladly took it, refusing Serizawa's insistence on paying since it was his idea to come.

"Consider it thanks for being here with me," he said.

Serizawa hugged the bath towels he was carrying closer to his chest. "I don't mind being here," he said, though it was hardly a murmur. The same thing he had said several times since coming, but Reigen decided not to press the matter.

They proceeded into the changing room. It was at this point in time that Reigen started realizing fully what he had gotten himself into by agreeing to come here. The Sakuyama bathhouse was traditional in more than just appearance, also holding firm to the more old school approach of how a hot spring should be enjoyed. And this meant bathing suits were not allowed. Finding small mercy in the fact that they seemed to be the only patrons at the moment, Reigen was still acutely aware he'd be in the same room as Serizawa, naked. He'd be in the same bath as Serizawa, who would be naked too.

They'd both be naked. In the hot water. Together.

Well, that might have been a minor oversight. Shaking his head, Reigen started to unbutton his shirt. He could be professional about this, he could be professional about anything. If he could start a ghost-hunting business and hire a thirteen-year-old that could blast pure raw energy from his hands powerful enough to destroy entire cities in a matter of seconds when he got too upset, Reigen could deal with taking off his clothes in the same room as his subordinate slash only adult friend slash pretend date.

Serizawa either didn't have the same reservations or he was having a much easier time concealing them. Knowing him the way he did, it was probably the second option. Reigen glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, only to turn red in the face when he noticed Serizawa was already in his underwear. He turned away quickly, hoping the other man hadn't noticed his transgression.

He needed to be the first to get in that bath.

In record time Reigen managed to pull off the rest of his clothes - haphazardly enough that he might have ripped a button off – and shoved them into the locker. Quickly wrapping a towel around his hips, he managed to slip out before Serizawa was done undressing. He washed himself at breakneck speed, and probably not as thoroughly as was required for a public establishment. But it was all for a good cause.

With a heavy sigh, he finally stepped into the scalding water. After a few seconds of adjusting he could wade deeper, until he was submerged up to his shoulders. Mission fairly accomplished, Reigen could happily relax, helped by the comforting heat of the hot spring. Steam rose from the pool to form a blanket of mist, though it wasn't as noticeable as it was in winter since the temperature difference between the air and water wasn't nearly as extreme. It still felt very nice though, almost making him forget about his troubles. Almost being the keyword here.

Serizawa entered a moment later, furrowing his brow probably at the fact that Reigen had been in such a rush to get in the water. Hopefully, he wouldn't ask why. There was no way he could reveal the real reason.

Reigen simply wouldn't admit it was because the idea of Serizawa sitting there and watching him stroll in half-undressed with nothing but a towel covering his crotch was too much for his heart to bear.

Thankfully no questions were forthcoming and Serizawa stepped to the edge of the pool, taking in the sight of the hot spring for the first time. Reigen was looking at him and at that moment couldn't help but notice the arching of his back, the towel wrapped around Serizawa's body leaving little to the imagination except what was concealed beneath. When he bent down to put the other towels on the ground next to the stone rim, an entirely different body part drew Reigen's attention towards it.

Apparently, he had forgotten to take into account the opposite situation taking place.

Reigen sunk further underwater, feeling it saturate his hair. Only his eyes were peeking out above the surface and even then he looked away to make sure Serizawa had all the privacy he needed for getting into the pool itself and Reigen wouldn't catch a glimpse of anything else. There were some things you couldn't unsee, and Reigen was sure he'd be distracted for the rest of their stay if that were the case. He felt the rippling of the water and heard Serizawa get in as well, meaning it was safe for him to turn around. He also had to come up for air eventually.

Serizawa had hissed softly as he got in, probably not expecting how warm it would be, but adjusted to it remarkably quickly. By the time Reigen had composed himself, he was already sitting still, eyes closed as he enjoyed the way a hot spring was prone to wash away all your worries. Every line on his face had smoothed out, the most peaceful expression Reigen had ever seen on the usually so anxious man.

It was startling for entirely different reasons.

Serizawa clearing his throat snapped him out of it, and Reigen realized he had been talking to him. Pretending as if his ears had somehow gotten waterlogged by holding his head sideways, he gestured for Serizawa to repeat himself. "W-what?"

"Your father," Serizawa said. "I hope it's not too presumptuous for me to ask, but has he always been like that?"

Momentarily forgetting how distracted he was by Serizawa's abs, Reigen shifted on the rocks, trying to find a position where they weren't stabbing him in the side. "As long as I've known him, yes."

Serizawa bit his lip. "He's kind of scary."

Doing his best but failing to resist the urge to break out laughing made Serizawa give him a sheepish smile. Reigen brushed his wet bangs out of his face before answering. "He's more bark than bite, really. Or maybe not even that."

Silent fury was the only way Reigen could describe it. The type of terror that settled into your bones as a child and made itself hard to shake even into adulthood.

"I don't think he likes me very much," Serizawa said next.

"Good," Reigen put in without hesitation. "I hope you being here pisses him off." Of course, that comment only led to Serizawa looking more distressed and Reigen moved closer towards him in the water, hoping to ease some of his worries. "Believe me when I say you don't want to be the kind of person he likes."

Serizawa sat up straighter but didn't pull away from him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I say. He's a jerk, you shouldn't be concerned about what he thinks. Or people like him."

With a short hum, Serizawa leaned back against the rocks. He brought one hand up to rub his forehead and water cascaded down the toned shape of his arm, creating small splashes within the bath. Reigen had to look away again quickly.

This was turning out a lot worse than he had thought.

"What about you?" Serizawa asked. His head was tilted to the side, shoulder pulled slightly upwards. The vapor in the air made him appear blurry to Reigen, watched as if through a shimmering veil.

Reigen closed his mouth, which he only now realized must have been slightly agape. "What about me?"

"You're concerned by what he thinks, right?"

"Well-" There was no sense denying it if Serizawa already knew. Reigen always said Serizawa was more perceptive than he led on, he just hadn't considered himself as see-through as their average client. "It's different when it's your own parents. You always care what they think, even if they're jerks."

And no matter how much you tell yourself otherwise.

Reigen had stopped striving for his father's approval years ago. There was no point in chasing a goal that had already become completely unobtainable the moment he decided to go against Masaru's wishes as a young adult. But that didn't make it any easier, nor did it make him unaffected.

If Reigen truly didn't care, he wouldn't have brought Serizawa here in the first place.

The train of thought was successful in distracting him from Serizawa's... everything. Reigen shook his head and pressed his fingers against rough-hewn rock. The jagged edges hurt where they dug into his skin. "I'm afraid I've been selfish."

"Reigen-"

"Perhaps I should apologize," he cut in before Serizawa could respond. "Bringing you here might have been one of the most self-centered things I have ever done." And Reigen knew that was a long laundry list to top. "I'm sorry."

Serizawa smiled, easy and unrestrained. It was a smile Reigen wasn't treated to often, but relished every single time. "How much more do I have to keep reminding you I don't mind being here."

With a short, humorless laugh, Reigen threw his head back. "Maybe until I start to believe it."

The silence that fell over them was incomplete, broken by the soft sounds of the water movement and birds chirping away in the trees. Serizawa was pursing his lips but had so far not responded and Reigen sighed, feeling guilty. His father always brought out the worst in him, for as far as that was even possible anymore.

"That's fine," Serizawa said suddenly, seemingly reading his mind. "I'll just keep saying it then." That smile was back to being stuck on his face, the moisture in the air had darkened his hair and left his eyes glowing.

His next exhale got stuck halfway out Reigen's throat, leaving his heart motionless. He shook his head just to cast his eyes away. Sinking a little deeper into the water again, he hoped it could keep his flushed face hidden, and not show to Serizawa how much it meant for him to hear that.

Reigen really must be as stupid as some took him for.

"We'll see how you'll feel by tonight. We're having dinner with him, remember?"

Reigen was glad he had told Serizawa to bring at least one casual dress shirt on top of what he was planning to wear for the wedding. Serizawa wasn't prone to dressing up outside of work and the wedding would be the most formal event they'd engage in all week, but Reigen suspected his father viewed this dinner as formal as well.

Or at least the most important dinner of their stay and the perfect moment to impress an extended family who really didn't bother with being impressed.

Reigen was busy adjusting his collar, stealing glances at Serizawa in the mirror. The last thing he wanted was for his own anxiousness to shine through and somehow rub off on the other man, worsening what must already be escalating within Serizawa's mind. Ever since coming back to the house he had not stopped or sat still for more than a minute and – having run out of clothes to put away – had taken to adjusting the sheets of their bed a million times over.

"You're not going to mention us getting married again, are you?" Reigen asked casually, a joke to lighten the mood.

Serizawa's head shot up, either caught off guard by his question or still embarrassed about it happening at all. He did his best to throw Reigen a repentant smile. "I'll try to refrain."

When they entered the dining room everybody was already there and Reigen cursed himself internally for a tardiness he knew his father would take as a slight against his person. The seating arrangement was similar to what it had been the first night, except Masaru had claimed his place at the end of the table as was befitting for the head of the family. Reigen's mother was delegated to sitting opposite Reigen, who was increasingly starting to feel the heat of the room. He fiddled with the top button on his shirt until it came undone.

"Sorry we're late," Serizawa said, diplomatic as ever. Reigen felt himself be lightly dragged towards the table, before Serizawa was subtly pushing him down into his chair. He only hoped it wasn't too noticeable. The apology wasn't responded to, but Reigen's mother shot them a satisfied smile.

"With everybody here, we can begin," she said. "But first I want to express our well-wishes for the wedding." She tipped her glass, making the dark red liquid inside catch the light, tainting it a blood color. Reigen only ever saw his mother indulge in wine when his father was around. "May your union be a favorable one, such as mine."

Directing those last few words at Aiko and Suke, Yuuko nodded to herself in satisfaction. Reigen saw the corner of his father's lip pull up a near indescribable degree as he picked up his glass, the closest he would ever come to smiling. Something usually reserved for business partners he was trying to curry favor with. Reigen had to make a conscious effort not to frown.

He decided to focus on Serizawa instead, who was quite amusingly just finishing up his first taste of expensive wine. His face had horribly contorted as he tried to force the bitterness down without letting it show, though he wasn't doing the best job at it. Reigen stifled a laugh and bumped his leg into Serizawa's softly under the table.

"Remember what you said at the bar?" he asked in a low voice. "This would be one of those drinks you enjoy slowly."

"Or not at all," Serizawa answered, putting the glass down. He licked his lips in distaste and Reigen strived not to be captivated by this development.

The meal his mother had prepared tonight somehow – and against all expectation – managed to outdo yesterday's feast. Reigen doubted even the wedding would be this lavish. An array of thinly sliced fish neatly laid out on a rectangular plate sat nearest to him so he decided on that to forgo the need to ask his father to pass anything over. Offering it to Serizawa next, who smiled at him gratefully as he took it, Reigen was pulled out of his thoughts by his mother speaking.

"Dear, why don't you tell Arataka why you were away from home, I'm sure he'd love to hear?" she was saying, the quirk in her lip a clear indication she had ulterior motives. She always had when it came to Reigen's relationship with his father.

Resisting the urge to point out that his father's work engagements were the last thing Reigen was interested in hearing about was hard. He noticed Serizawa was being polite enough to pretend to be interested at least.

His father's fingers were curled tightly around the glass, posed near the bottom with the angle of his finger as a sign he had considerable experience at. Masaru did everything with a quiet superiority that Reigen suspected was meant to subtly make those around him feel lesser. If that was intentional or not, Reigen never figured out.

"I went up to Fukuoka to discuss a new project the company has undertaken recently," he said after a moment, putting the glass back down. "A start-up of sorts, terribly organized business but there is significant promise to the proposal if put under the proper leadership."

"Is that so?" Reigen said dully. It was close to hilarious how easy it was to slip back into old habits and for Reigen, taking in his father's words without processing any of them was akin to riding a bicycle. If you gave a nod at the right time, a small hum here and there, you could convince anybody you were listening to what they were saying.

"Of course," Masaru went on, "proper leadership is hard to find these days. Preferably we would secure a person with the needed experience but-" Interrupting himself with a small laugh as if he was about to tell a joke, his father's cold gaze settled on Reigen. "The only person with those qualifications is me."

Reigen nodded, shoving another slice of fish into his mouth. "You don't say."

"Training somebody until they meet my standards will be a hassle, but it's an effort I am willing to make for the success of this venture. It can earn the company considerable funds. But it wouldn't do to take just anyone."

"That's understandable," Reigen answered. He was wondering if it would be feasible to take Serizawa to the beach while they were here. The train ride there couldn't be more than two hours.

But when no more talk was forthcoming he realized they were expecting a different reaction from him. Looking up, Reigen's eyes met the indescribable grey of his father's, still fixed firmly on him.

His brows must have drawn up high enough to disappear into his hairline.

"Is this a joke?" he managed.

"Not at all," his mother said quickly before his father could respond. "When I heard they needed somebody for a managing position I put you up for consideration without a second thought." She sounded so exceedingly proud of herself it made Reigen's blood boil.

"Why?" His voice must have pitched higher than he expected because Reigen felt Serizawa's fingers curl around his elbow.

"What do you mean why?" This time it was Masaru that spoke first. "Be grateful your mother suggested it since it wasn't my first consideration. But I did agree it would be a good choice for your future to get experience at a real job."

"You'd be so much closer to home too," his mother added. "You could finally properly settle down."

Reigen opened his mouth to respond, closed it again, and bit his tongue hard enough to leave the foul taste of iron blossoming in the back of his throat. Through the possible retaliations swirling inside his mind, none of them were particularly tactful or words he wouldn't regret later. Serizawa beat him to answering.

"Ah, excuse me." He leaned more heavily into Reigen then, so close their arms were in full contact. "It might not be my place but, while it's a lovely proposition I believe we might need some time to think about it, Arataka and me. It's a lot to take in at once."

Reigen saw his mother's face fall in disappointment, but she recovered herself quickly. "Yes, such important decisions need to be made by a couple together. We wouldn't want you two to rush into things. Surely we can talk more about it tomorrow."

Masaru's eyes narrowed for a moment and slid over to Serizawa, expression unreadable. There was something in those eyes that gave Reigen the irresistible urge to deck his father in the face for even considering looking at Serizawa like that, but he couldn't with that very person still holding on to him.

For the moment, Reigen would consider it a small fortune.

Chapter Text

This chapter: in which ghost hunting almost but not quite becomes a family business – Featuring Serizawa "how is this my normal?" Katsuya and Reigen "how can I be this unlucky?" Arataka

There weren't many things Serizawa hated more than seeing others upset.

Which used to be one of the traits his mother adored in him, back when he was young and childish and empathy was still a thing to be adored. She had this particular way of patting his head that made him so happy, so eager to please her. For some reasons her fingers never got caught in his hair, never snagged on his curls in a painful way.

That must be why people called it a mother's touch.

But as he grew older, that same consideration for others turned into something different, much less admirable. What used to be praised as a great awareness of others people's feelings turned into him being too sensitive for his own good. And where he was first loved for being attentive and accommodating, Serizawa quickly became used to being scolded for his susceptibility.

It was much easier – Serizawa learned eventually – to hurt yourself than it was to hurt others. And much easier to tell yourself you didn't mind being hurt if it was for the sake of others too.

Whatever cold, spiteful emotion could be discerned from Masaru's piercing gaze across the table was barely a concern to him when he felt the anger coming of Reigen in waves. Serizawa pressed closer, the heat unbearable in any other circumstance pushed to the back of his mind. His finger traced along the inside of Reigen's arm, a touch so strangely intimate it would have left him reeling otherwise, until he could feel the rapid pulse underneath his fingertips through the warm skin on Reigen's wrist.

Serizawa exhaled, a quiet sound, and he knew Reigen wouldn't say anything heedless.

The rest of dinner proceeded tensely, with Yuuko continuing to urge Reigen's father to regale a thoroughly disinterested extended family with his current business engagements and Reigen occupied in silent brooding. Serizawa wished he could know what was going through his mind at the moment, but unable to do so found himself with little choice but to listen politely and give the occasional one-word reply.

They excused themselves as soon as it was appropriate to do so.

When they were in their room and still Reigen hadn't said a single word Serizawa was starting to get worried. The urge to do something was strong, but he felt at a loss for what would be appropriate, or what would even be able to console Reigen in a situation Serizawa had so little experience with himself.

Then Reigen started laughing.

The very sound of it was off, leaving Serizawa with a profound feeling of unease. His heart ached and he didn't even know why.

"God, they're always like this," Reigen said.

Serizawa hesitated, but wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't ask. "Do you want to talk about it?"

After giving him a glance, Reigen's face softened. Despite how terrible the circumstance surrounding him getting that expression had been, Serizawa couldn't help it if warmth blossomed inside his stomach at that look. Through what must have taken tremendous effort, Reigen offered him a smile. "Not at all. I just want to forget until tomorrow."

He sounded tired beyond words. Not upset or angry, just tired. He loosened his shoulders as he went into the bathroom – presumably to change. Serizawa decided to do the same, but in the bedroom itself. He couldn't be bothered to brush his teeth tonight.

When Reigen came back out Serizawa was already sitting on the bed with his legs stretched out on the duvet. He walked around to do the same, then looked at Serizawa. "Do you want to watch a movie with me? I don't think I can sleep right now."

"You brought movies?"

"I have a few on my laptop." Reigen dangled his legs off the bed to make a grab for it, nearly falling off in the process. He held the laptop up in one hand, as if showing off a coveted price. "They're uh, all really cheesy B-rated horror movies I'm afraid."

Serizawa grinned at the confession. "Of course they are."

Reigen scooted closer towards him on the bed and Serizawa did the same, meeting him in the middle. The mattress was more than large enough for two people to comfortably fit, but since the laptop screen was quite small they had to do this to both be able to see the screen.

"Vampires or zombies?" Reigen asked. His elbow pressed into Serizawa's side as he moved the cursor around on the desktop.

"You choose," Serizawa said.

Reigen nodded, thinking about it for a moment before deciding. Minutes later the room was filled with the gurgling noises of the undead, chasing a young man across the deserted streets of a ruined city. Reigen hadn't been lying when he called the movie B-rated. The special effects were atrocious, the fake blood they used struck Serizawa as a mixture between ketchup and paint. When the man's arm was ripped off by the relentless horde, it was easy to tell it was just a prop made of cheap plastic.

Frankly it was more hilarious than scary, and surprisingly better than Serizawa could have anticipated.

They shared a laugh about how bad the effects were – as well as the actor's horrible performances, which Reigen in particular seemed to enjoy the campiness off. Serizawa glanced at him, relieved to see the smile on his face suddenly felt a lot more genuine. He swallowed, knowing on the inside that the second – possibly worse - part of the conversation was yet to come.

And when it did, Serizawa vowed to not stay quiet any longer.

Reigen's solid weight leaning against him was beginning to distract him from the movie. It was a snug closeness, and Serizawa was painfully aware he could smell the feint lingering of Reigen's cologne intermingled with the fresh summer air. Pitching against him a little more, either to see the screen better or because he was getting sleepy, Reigen rested his head on Serizawa's shoulder, making it so he could only see him from the corner of his eye. They had propped the pillows against the headboard and the position wasn't exactly uncomfortable. On the contrary, Serizawa had to admit it was cozy in how natural it felt to him. How much he didn't mind being together like this.

Reigen sighed under his breath then, blinking slowly into the bright glare of the laptop screen in the dark and then closing his eyes. His body pressed into Serizawa's even more as he slumped slightly sideways. Serizawa was so intent on not moving he was practically holding his breath. The sensation of Reigen's hair brushing against the side of his neck was slightly ticklish, but not unpleasant and by the time he managed to pry his attention back to the movie four more people had died horribly.

"Not very smart of them," Reigen muttered. He had opened his eyes again, though it probably had taken an effort as he fought off sleep. "Everybody knows you always check for bites first, before letting anybody join you."

Serizawa laughed, trying to do so in a way that didn't make his shoulder jostle or Reigen might draw away again. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You won't have to," Reigen answered. "Clearly I'd be the leader of our merry group of apocalypse survivors. I have the most experience, I'd be great at the role."

"And what role will I be?"

Reigen peeked at him from underneath his lashes, half-lidded eyes and lips pulled up into a smirk. Serizawa tried hard not to commit that specific mental image to memory – or the connotations his mind could provide. "You'll be the one who's always saving my ass," Reigen said.

"I already am," Serizawa responded mildly. Even their first meeting, admits brine and ruin and a city filled with smoke, had been like that. Sometimes he wondered if Reigen remembered it in the same way Serizawa did, as one of the most important events of his life.

"Right?" Reigen shifted his position, which to Serizawa almost felt as if he was snuggling up to him. But that was a thought he wouldn't entertain. "So we already know you're good at it too."

Serizawa couldn't exactly respond with the fresh distraction that was Reigen's hand pressed against his thigh. No doubt it went unnoticed by Reigen, part way into sleep and simply using Serizawa as a convenient pillow without a second thought, but that didn't mean Serizawa wouldn't notice. He could hardly comment on it without putting them both in an awkward position though.

He did his best to concentrate on the movie

After a few more minutes Reigen's breathing evened out, growing more shallow as he fell asleep. His head was still pressed firmly into the hollow of Serizawa's shoulder, one arm held against his side while the other curled into his own body. He was close enough that Serizawa could see the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest.

Reaching out with the arm that was free he closed the laptop screen. Darkness and silence both fell over the room. Adjusting himself just enough so that he too could fall asleep, Serizawa leant into the pillows.

They'd both wake up with a crick in their necks tomorrow no doubt, but Serizawa figured they'd have enough time to regret that then.

"How many steps did you say this was?"

Reigen turned around to look at him, one foot already on the step above and several stairs ahead. For the first time since their arrival in the countryside, he was wearing a t-shirt when going out, probably because he had known ahead of time what they would be getting into. Serizawa hadn't.

"About five hundred or so." Aside from his slightly more rapid than average breathing, the uphill climb seemed to have little effect on him. "Are you going to make it?"

Serizawa would have laughed at that if he wasn't desperately trying to conserve oxygen. "Eventually," he said. "Remind me why we didn't agree to the car ride?"

"My father is the one driving," Reigen answered as he skipped down the steps again to stand next to Serizawa. Reigen's weekly runs must have been paying off, as opposed to Serizawa's much more sedentary lifestyle so far. Maybe he should ask to join him next time?

Reigen put his hands on both of his elbows. "Besides," he said, "if we had taken the car you would have missed out on this marvelous view."

Allowing himself to be spun around to admire the sight behind them, Serizawa had to admit it was almost worth the lung destroying trek up the shrine's staircase. From this height, you could see over the densely packed buildings of the town and into the landscape beyond, where the farthest houses looked like they belonged in a toy-set. Serizawa almost felt as if he could tell which one was the Reigen family home, but he wasn't sure.

"It's very nice," he agreed. "Almost makes the muscle cramps I'll have later worth it."

Reigen shook his head. "And you call me dramatic."

It only took them a few more minutes to climb the remaining steps and make it to the shrine grounds themselves. Because the town was rather small, the shrine wasn't very big either. A single red-painted building stood front and center, containing the main hall where ceremony could be held. The honden would be behind it - Serizawa remembered this from his middle school lessons - but was closed to the public except on important holidays. Instead, a few pairs of older people were standing around the miniature alters set in stone to the right of the property, leaving offerings or burning incense. On the opposite side was a small administrative building and sheds used for storage.

Reigen's family had seemingly also just arrived, Kenichi fussing over his daughter's appearance as they walked along the center square. Aiko was wearing a plain white kimono, having some trouble keeping the sleeves in place as she moved. Suke was talking to an older couple Serizawa hadn't seen before, but who were presumably his parents.

They had come to town for the wedding yesterday but had declined an offer of staying at the house. Serizawa didn't need to wonder why.

"Thankfully we won't be needed at the actual purification ceremony," Reigen said as he slipped his hand into Serizawa's to hold. It had already become an ingrained act to them both, done without a second thought. "It sounds absolutely mind-numbing."

They started walking towards the others, Serizawa curling his fingers around Reigen's just as naturally. "And yet you have made a business out of it?"

He got a nasty scowl in response, with no true ill-will behind it. "It's not the same. There's a world of difference between what we do and some old priest waving papers on a stick to ward off bad spirits that would invade your marriage. Spirits that aren't even there to begin with, mind you."

"Well, not in the marriage maybe..." Serizawa had started feeling it as they came up the staircase, though it was a faint sensation. He hadn't mentioned it since it wasn't uncommon for spirits or their lingering energy to remain at places of worship – and he had figured Reigen had known that too.

But he was uncharacteristically taken aback by Serizawa's remark. "Are you being serious?"

Serizawa wanted to reply, but before he could they made it to the gathered family and their conversation was put on hold in favor of the proceedings. Aiko and Suke led the way, with his parents and Kenichi close behind. Reigen's father was talking to an elderly man Serizawa assumed was also related to Suke, making Reigen's mother slow down her stride to walk next to Serizawa instead.

"Isn't it beautiful," she commented fondly, indicating she was looking at the traditional marriage kimono Aiko was wearing specifically for the ceremony. She would most likely wear the same one for the wedding tomorrow. Despite its lack of decoration, the material looked heavy and was probably very expensive. "I can still remember my own. What a proud young lady I must have looked back then, drowning in an abundance of fabric." She laughed lightly.

"I'm sure you were stunning," Serizawa said. If he couldn't convince Masaru to approve of him – something Reigen had made clear would be a fruitless endeavor – then he would simply need to put all his efforts into convincing Yuuko.

She gave him another modest giggle as if she couldn't fathom receiving such a compliment. "You know, I always secretly envied my brother a smidge for conceiving a daughter. It would have been lovely to have a girl myself to dress her up for occasions such as these. I had thought maybe if Reigen brought home a bride but-" Catching herself, Serizawa noticed unfeigned guilt wash over her features. "Well, not to imply I'm dissatisfied."

Serizawa did his best to seem unaffected by the turnaround. "Not at all."

"And when you do get married I imagine I could be of quite some help arranging all else involved. Arataka never was any good at the domestic stuff, as I'm sure you've noticed."

"You know I can hear you," Reigen said from his other side. Serizawa ignored him.

"I have noticed that," he said to Yuuko. "He seems incapable of telling when the tea runs out as well. I always make sure to check before leaving."

"Maybe that's because I'm not the one drinking the tea," Reigen supplied but wasn't paid any mind.

Yuuko hooked her arm in Serizawa's. "I'm happy he has found such a responsible young man to look after him, then."

"And I'm ever so happy to have Katsuya," Reigen added. It was a great trick in that it rendered Serizawa unable to respond unless he wanted to risk sounding like an embarrassed mess.

By then they had arrived at the shrine's main hall, where the couple to be wed and their parents were greeted by the priest who had been tasked to perform the ceremony. They went inside while their family would remain waiting or walk along the shrine grounds to make offerings for the couple's continued happiness and good fortune. Yuuko, with her arm still firmly attached to Serizawa, started leading them along.

"While they work on their future, we should work on ours," she said, giving Serizawa a terribly bad feeling. He knew it wasn't misplaced when he noticed Masaru had detached from the crowd as well and was waiting for them to join him. "Perhaps it would be wonderful if we could pray for the success of the company and their new project."

She finally let go of Serizawa in favor of receiving the coins Masaru had pulled out of seemingly nowhere. She handed one to Reigen and Serizawa each, keeping the last one to herself.

"Would that be necessary then?" Reigen asked, holding the money between his fingertips and turning it so it caught the light. Serizawa got the distinct impression he was avoiding looking his father in the face. "I didn't think you needed divine intervention to bring your deals to a good end."

Masaru titled his head up, as if he relished being able to look down on Reigen as he spoke his next words. "The only thing necessary is hard work and dedication. That's how a man elevates himself from others."

"But I'm sure being looked favorable upon by the gods never hurt anyone," Yuuko cut in promptly. The saisen box was just a few steps away from them and seeing that nobody else was currently using it for an offering, she went ahead. She put the coin in delicately, watching it disappear between the cracks. Then she bowed twice, clapped twice, and bowed once more – Serizawa had never seen somebody go through the custom in-person and Yuuko did it with the quiet resolve that showed she really believed in its effects.

Reigen went next, maybe because it would allow him to turn his back on Masaru's scrutinizing frown. To Serizawa's surprise, he was just as dutiful in performing the offering, making him wonder if maybe Reigen's mother had taken him to this temple more often when he was a child. It was just a short walk from their home after all.

For his own part, Serizawa could only mirror what he had seen the others do – nearly dropping his coin in his sudden nervousness to do something wrong. Masaru went last.

"May this mean a positive outcome for the project," Yuuko said when they were all done. "And a positive answer from you, Arataka?" It wasn't an outright question, but the statement still lingered in the air as if waiting for a reply.

Reigen grabbed Serizawa's hand again, more forcefully this time. "We're going to walk around for a bit." He dragged Serizawa along towards the miniature shrines they had noticed earlier, intent on avoiding the conversation a little while longer.

Serizawa could hardly complain. He wasn't exactly looking forward to having to witness Reigen's parents' reaction when he inevitably declined their 'generous' offer.

The alters they walked amongst were only about hip-height, carved in stone worn down by their exposure to the elements for longer than Serizawa could imagine. Some of these might have been built before he was born. If they had been engraved with the names of the kami they were devoted to the characters had long since eroded away, but still people came to leave their offerings on these stones. Food and flowers seemed to be the most popular choices, though small coins faded in color had been left on several as well. One of the front altars had small toys left on it, leaving Serizawa to assume it was meant to aid in the conceiving of children.

"It looks like the locals take this pretty seriously," Serizawa said. He only had Seasoning City as a point of reference, but to his estimation not as many people believed in spirits these days as they used o. When a client came to the office it often was their last resort, when all believable scenarios had been ruled out and they were wholly convinced a haunting had to be the cause of their problems.

Sometimes Serizawa's mused on if he himself would have believed in spirits if he hadn't been able to see them.

"Mostly the older generations," Reigen answered.

The energy he had been feeling earlier hung more heavily in the air among the shrines, centered around a limestone setsumatsusha that looked like it had been constructed recently. The earth around it was freshly disturbed, with the stone pathway not having sunk into the ground completely yet. "They're still building new ones though," he observed.

Reigen shrugged. "If they find reason to. This one might be dedicated to the dead," he explained, pointing out the inscription. "Those do get broken down and rebuilt often."

"Oh," Serizawa breathed. "That might explain the spirits then."

"Don't just say that so casually," Reigen complained, taking a step back. "There's one here?"

Breathing in the warm arm, Serizawa closed his eyes a moment to concentrate. "I'm not certain," he said after a moment. "It might be, you know-" He gestured with his hands awkwardly. "An accumulation of energy? Remnants of what is gone, like that one job?"

"Yeah, I recall that case."

It had been one of the first ones Serizawa had been involved with, mere days after being hired. Maybe that's why he remembered it so well. "There's no problem unless you aggravate them."

Reigen turned to leave. "Well, let's not do that then," he said. The sweeping motion was made in light-hearted jest but ended up bumping Reigen's arm into the top part of the altar, where the offerings were placed.

Serizawa could only stand and stare in dumbfounded amazement at what happened next.

"Ah, crap-" Reigen made a valiant grab for the falling ceramic dish as it approached the ground but only managed to knock it even more away from himself, where it shattered into a dozen pieces and spilled the rice inside all over the path. Serizawa felt the energy surge a moment later, a feeling that could be described as a static charge in the air leaving pinpricks dancing across his skin. Reigen might not be able to feel it as he did, but he clearly noticed that hadn't been good.

The spirit did not have any form – or not one Serizawa could discern anyway – giving credence to what he had said earlier about it being a residue. A breeze of air rushed past them and danced around their legs with unnatural strength. Serizawa could barely keep standing against its force, though thankfully it only lasted a moment. It whirled past them and over the cobblestone square, eliciting some surprised yelps from the startled people coming into contact with the sudden gust of wind before it disappeared around the back end of the sheds on the opposite end.

"Should we do something about that?" Reigen asked rather bluntly.

Serizawa smoothed down his tousled hair. "Probably."

They crossed the courtyard not quite running but close to speed walking. Serizawa felt nervousness at the curious glances they were getting for their odd behavior, glances which Reigen was disregarding easily. Serizawa could feel the presence of the spirit more strongly now that it was angered, pointing out one of the sheds. "I think it's in there."

His suspicion was confirmed as they heard a loud bang from inside.

Reigen looked over both shoulders to make sure they weren't being too inconspicuous before opening the door and slipping inside, closing it after Serizawa had followed him in. Several wooden planks had been tipped over haphazardly, a banner hung on the wall had been ripped off. The spirit was aimlessly tearing through, not formed enough to have a remaining sentience and attack those that had vexed it.

"Better take care of it fast," Reigen said. Despite not being able to see the extremely weak essence, he could follow it by the path of destruction it was leaving in the shed.

Serizawa gave a tense nod, focussing on doing just that. As though it could sense his intention – which it shouldn't be able to – the gust instantly changed directions, coming at them with intense speed. Raising his hand to exorcise it, Serizawa knew his reaction time had been slightly off when he could feel the cold wind against his arm, creeping under his sleeve. Making a split-second decision he turned around, hoping his back could catch the brunt of the rush.

It did, but it also made him stumble on his feet and pitch forward. Unable to stop himself, Serizawa could barely throw out his arms before he was falling headfirst into the ground.

Or that's where he should have been falling if Reigen hadn't been right there.

Not prepared to keep both himself and Serizawa upright, the situation they ended up in was both of them on the floor, though the fall wasn't as disastrous as Serizawa had feared. Pushing up on one elbow – scared the spirit would be able to get away if he wasn't quick enough – he once again tried to subdue it. Its energy dwindled out in a matter of seconds.

Relieved, Serizawa slumped down. While not strong by any measure, he hated to think of what might have happened had the spirit been allowed to run rampant unchecked. He shifted and at that moment realized the exact position he was in.

Reigen was staring up at him, halfway between amused and worried. Serizawa was on top of him, his knee braced between Reigen's legs, his hands on the wooden floor of the shed sat perfectly on either side of Reigen's head. The angle was entirely unfounded, mesmerizing even. And from this close Serizawa could perfectly see the darker flecks of gray in Reigen's eyes.

"Is it gone?"

The question shook him out of his reverie. Serizawa's breath hitched – he ignored the way his chest touched that of the man beneath him, ignored how he could feel a sliver of exposed skin where Reigen's shirt had slid upward in the commotion. "Y-yeah."

He knew he should get up but his muscles refused to go through with it.

The door to the shed swung open, followed by a gasp barely smothered by the hand pressed in front of Yuuko's mouth. Serizawa looked up just in time to see Masaru and his disapproving look behind her before she threw it shut again.

He didn't have to worry about Reigen noticing his flushed face anymore, feeling all blood drain from it at once over what had just happened. Reigen made a noise underneath him that he just as desperately wanted to ignore.

"After this, my father really won't ever like you," Reigen said. And the breathless laughter that followed only half made up for it.

Chapter Text

This chapter: an impromptu trip to the beach takes place, because running away from your problems is always valid and we need a respite from the drama. Featuring Reigen "taking a break from your family is self-care" Arataka and Serizawa "I won't complain about that at all" Katsuya.

Unsurprisingly, they decided to not partake in the car ride home either.

Reigen didn't mind since he wasn't planning to accept either way, but he was more displeased with how the incident affected Serizawa, who had not taken more than a few shallow breaths in between the never-ending string of apologies he was offering Reigen on their walk down the steps. Reigen felt bad he was getting annoyed when Serizawa looked genuinely mortified at what had happened, though it wasn't Serizawa he was angry with, to begin with.

Serizawa, with his endless patience and careful touches and not a single selfish bone in his body despite the way others would take advantage of all those things.

No, more than anything else Reigen was angry at himself.

Maybe he had been enjoying it a little too much – the way he could rile his father up with Serizawa's mere presence. Against someone who would always believe he held the higher ground, it was nice for Reigen to feel as if he finally had an ace up his sleeves. And added to that the perfect excuse not to give any concrete commitment towards the business proposal as well, Masaru must be stewing in his own frustrations. He wasn't a man used to being put on hold by anyone, let alone a person he considered to be beneath him.

But Reigen couldn't deny he might have been taking advantage of the situation, without considering how Serizawa would manage being put in the crosshairs like that. As unpleasant as it was for him to admit, Reigen felt guilty.

"I'm sorry," he said firmly, interrupting Serizawa mid-sentence into another apology.

Serizawa stopped, blinked at Reigen as if it was impossible for him to comprehend this strange twist of fate. His brow hadn't stopped being pulled down into a concerned frown ever since Reigen's parents caught them in the act doing not-what-you-think-it-is on the shed's floor, but now they ascended upwards in a clean arch.

"W-what for?" he asked.

"For putting you in this situation," Reigen explained. "And for having so much amusement at it too."

They had reached the bottom of the staircase by then, a trek that had taken them way longer uphill reduced to barely anything now that they were descending the steps. Serizawa still stopped to catch his breath, winded by incessantly expressing his regret. "That's what I was saying," he protested blankly. "Or well, the first part..." He crossed his arms. "You were having fun?"

Reigen shrugged, but it was useless denying it when he had already admitted. "A bit. You have to admit it was funny."

"It was terrible."

"It was an accident, they'll get over it," Reigen assured him. "And if they truly think we'd be bold enough to sneak off on holy grounds for a quicky then that's on them. They should know better."

Serizawa's stance tightened, tucking his hands into his armpits awkwardly. "A quicky?"

"You know, se-" Reigen was interrupted by Serizawa's frantic waving.

"Yes, I do know," he said quickly to keep the sentence from being finished. Reigen had noticed Serizawa's face being abnormally pale ever since their encounter with his father – not an unusual side effect from finding yourself at the mercy of Masaru's scowl – but at the implication of what they might be perceived to be doing in that shed, it had returned to its normal color, a few shades darker red even.

Taking this as a sign they could continue walking, Reigen did just that. Serizawa fell into step next to him effortlessly and after a few seconds of silence, he cleared his throat."Do you really think they'll think that?"

Reigen stared up at the sky, a spotless blue. The weather was impeccable today, even for the time of year. He remembered the dry summers of his youth, a heat strong enough to sink into your bones. "They won't." He couldn't imagine his father wanting to spend much time thinking about anything Serizawa and Reigen might get up to in their private time, for rather obvious reasons. But he hoped his parent's opinion of him was at least high enough to know he wouldn't resort to what is casually sacrilegious. "Doesn't mean we won't get an earful once we get back home."

Nearly biting his tongue at the statement, Reigen did his best not to gag. That sure had sounded like a disobedient child lamenting how strict his parents were being. He didn't even want to consider the notion that he was going through some belated teenage rebellion.

No matter how accurate that observation might be.

Serizawa hadn't answered because he was too busy looking worried. Reigen recognized that expression and was hit with the sudden urge to get it off Serizawa's face as quickly as possible. Walking along the sidewalk his eyes fell on the train station across the road.

"Let's go to the beach," Reigen said.

The announcement was successful in its aim to wipe the worry away, replacing it with bewilderment. Clearly this was another turn of events Serizawa couldn't have predicted. "You want to go to the beach now?"

"Why not?" Reigen was already heading in the direction of the station, confident that Serizawa would simply follow him. He always had in the past.

"Because your parents are expecting us at home-" Serizawa tried. "They're probably waiting."

"That's exactly why we're not going." Reigen didn't need to look back and check when he heard Serizawa's footsteps behind him - just as he had predicted. "We're adults, I'll send them a text to let them know where we're going and that we'll be back by dinner."

Serizawa opened his mouth as if he was about to protest, then closed it and shrugged. He followed Reigen into the train station.

The place they disembarked at after a two-hour train ride could be a mirror image of the one they left behind. It formed a stark contrast to the bustling tourist towns usually found across most of the Japanese coast, thriving off summertime visitors and foreigner appeal. Instead, where they found themselves was the echo of a fishermen's settlement of days past, inhabited mostly by the descendants of those same fishermen never able to pull themselves away from their ancestor's homestead, or the odd person looking for a solitary life.

Reigen had come here as a kid sometimes. His mother would take him on the train ride when his father wasn't home and the house felt too big and empty for just the two of them. As a result, Reigen had become fond of the isolated atmosphere, and would always prefer it over crowded vacation traps. Assuming he'd ever had time to take vacations, which he didn't.

Stepping off the carriage, he inhaled the salty air so common when one got close enough to the sea. The brine gave the breeze a familiar tang that whipped around his face with cold fierceness and almost had him regretting coming in just a t-shirt. But since it was noon already, the sun had reached its highest point and a warm haze settled over his skin, making the sharp wind fairly bearable.

Serizawa had spent most of the train ride reading a crumpled newspaper left behind by a previous passenger, filling out the sudoku with a painstaking concentration that Reigen suspected was meant more to get his mind off things. But if it worked, he wouldn't complain about his companion's distractions.

"Should we go see the ocean, or do you want to eat first?" Reigen asked.

"If we came all this way to see it, we might as well go now." Serizawa scrunched up his nose, but the anxious creases in his expression had smoothed out. "If it's all the same to you?"

Reigen hummed and grabbed Serizawa's hand. Maybe he didn't realize that wasn't necessary until they were already walking down the cobblestone street that led down to the sandy dunes that formed a thin line between the town and the beach itself, but Serizawa hadn't pulled away or acknowledged the gesture, so Reigen wasn't about to draw attention to it by letting go.

It was only a short walk before they could see the ocean, a brilliant blue that shimmered brightly in the overbearing sunlight. Reigen shifted his shoes in the softening ground, realizing he better take them off if he didn't want to be fishing sand out of his socks for the rest of the day. Serizawa must have gotten the same idea because he was already doing just that.

"You're not going to ask me to race you down, right?" Reigen joked, looking at the slight slope that led down to the sea, a darkened patch where the waves had pulled back with the tide. There were barely any other people around, a lone man walking his dog off leash along the shore and a family with two small children building sandcastles while their parents sat on big beach towels.

"Not unless you really want me to," Serizawa said. "That staircase was enough exercise for one day."

Where at first their feet sunk deep into the sand and made the hike a struggle, as they approached the water the ground grew more saturated and it was easier to walk without getting stuck. The dampness against his bare feet was a strange sensation, nostalgic in a distant way. Reigen was glad they had come.

Due to the wind ripples formed easily on the water and gave the waves an unusual robustness. Standing at the edge of where land met sea, when Reigen looked at the horizon it was almost impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. If he blurred his vision together it all became the same. "Damn-" he muttered.

Serizawa tilted his head. "Damn what?" he asked. Reigen had to try not to giggle at the way he said the word, pronouncing it with a certain carelessness. Serizawa never cursed, only when he was repeating what somebody else said verbatim. Reigen always thought it had a certain charm.

"Just realizing how long it's been since I've been at the ocean," Reigen answered. "I went a lot as a kid but not since moving to Seasoning City."

"Me too." Serizawa moved his fingers through his hair. It was getting long again, but Reigen didn't know if he should mention it. He rather liked it this way, when the curls were just long enough to frame Serizawa's face. But not like when they met. Back then it obscured Serizawa's eyes, cast unreadable shadows across his face.

Reigen preferred being able to see Serizawa's eyes.

"With your mother?" he asked. After Claw, Reigen hadn't pressed Serizawa into talking about his past, the things that had happened. He didn't need to be particularly smart or good at reading people – both things Reigen considered himself to be – to tell that Serizawa carried lingering remorse over what happened while he was under Toichiro's employment. Serizawa was the kind of person to blame himself for anything that went wrong in his presence, directly his fault or otherwise.

Serizawa was the kind of person to blame himself for something he couldn't help too.

If nothing else came out of their acquaintance, he at least wanted Serizawa to learn there was no point to self-reproach. A lesson Reigen was always instilling in others, and not nearly enough in himself.

He guessed that was why people told others to take their own good advice.

Serizawa dropped his hand. "And my father, too. This was before he left."

Not wanting to ruin the moment with a dumb comment, Reigen merely nodded. He hoped Serizawa wasn't talking about this because of some misplaced feeling of obligation. That Serizawa thought he should reveal personal matters because he had seen the nasty side of Reigen's family and it was the only thing able to get them on equal footing again.

Perhaps Reigen wanted to entertain the thought that Serizawa could confide in him because he wanted to, and not because he had to. "How old were you when he left?" he asked despite himself. Curiosity could burn brighter than common sense.

Serizawa hesitated. Maybe he didn't want to answer, maybe it was so long ago he didn't remember exactly. Reigen waited while trying not to fidget. When he curled his toes they dug into the wet sand.

"Probably around eight?" Serizawa settled on eventually. "It wasn't that long after I discovered what I could do."

"Ah," Reigen muttered and didn't need to ask for further clarification.

The next wave that crashed to shore was ambitious enough to leap further than the ones before it and as a direct result straight onto their legs. Reigen yelped – and incredibly undignified noise that he was glad only Serizawa was around to witness. "Fuck-" he hissed right after when he felt the chill settle into his skin immediately. Serizawa's fast reflexes had allowed him to avoid the worst of it.

"Should have done this to begin with," Reigen said. He bend down to hike up the leg of his pants to his knees, an endeavor made more difficult because the fabric was soaked and sticking to his skin. After struggling with it for what felt like an eternity, he finally managed to get it halfway up his shins and settled for that.

Serizawa laughed at him. "You look like a student on his first school trip."

Reigen scoffed. "I'm going to choose to take that as a compliment."

Serizawa had followed his example and was now standing with the water lapping gently at his bared ankles, shoes held in one hand and socks in the other. "It wasn't," he said.

"Tell me, Katsuya," Reigen began, "when did you become so intrepid? Dare I say downright rude."

The glint in Serizawa's eyes before he answered was nothing short of enthralling. Spellbound, Reigen sometimes selfishly hoped he was the only one able to draw it out.

"I met a guy," Serizawa answered. "He taught me."

Kicking up the salty water hard enough to reach up to their midsections, Reigen scowled disapprovingly. "I assure you I'm always a good influence on the people I meet."

His kick was able to spray Serizawa enough so dark stains were left all across the fabric of his jeans, not as quick to evade this time. The responding splash he got from Serizawa, Reigen could only take in kind since he knew he deserved that one. But when a second one was quick to follow, he wasn't going to stand for such disrespect. What followed was an intense but short-lived war that ended with them both drenched up to their hips despite all their best efforts to avoid that earlier. Sitting in the sand, subduing the laughter in his chest, Reigen couldn't find he was mad about it.

Serizawa was doing his best to save his ruined pants, an effort Reigen had given up for his own clothes since he knew it would be fruitless. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, hoping it hadn't suffered from their fooling around.

His fear that it was his mother texting him back was unfounded. It was Mob, which was probably even more surprising. This might have been the first time he had texted without Reigen texting him first. Opening the message, his shock only increased when he saw that Mob had sent him a picture.

"Look at this," he said, turning the phone around so Serizawa could see the screen. The picture was a selfie, angled badly and if the blurriness was anything to go by it was the very first selfie Mob had ever taken. He was in the picture himself, doing his best to smile through the obvious effort taking his first selfie had been. His hair was a bit messy, much to Reigen's secret delight. That kid was always smoothing down any stray strands he found in a nervous habit.

Ritsu was in the picture as well, smiling a lot more relaxed than Reigen had often seen him. His arm was thrown back and around Mob's shoulder. They looked like they were having fun on their trip.

"Shigeo seems... different," Serizawa commented.

"I know." Reigen looked at the picture again, before flipping his phone closed but keeping it in his hand. "You should have seen him when he first walked into my office forever ago." Reigen would hardly recognize the scared little boy he met that day.

"So I guess that means you were right." Serizawa leaned back, putting his hands on the sand. One of his finger's brushed against Reigen's own. "You are a good influence on everybody you meet."

The fond clenching of his heart was something Reigen really could do without. "Who knows, maybe we were just a good influence on each other."

"A lot of good people are," Serizawa said. There was something about the tone in his voice – the inclination with which he said it – which made Reigen feel entirely seen through.

Waves lapped softly at the sand, the sound making for a peaceful backdrop to their conversation. Reigen's fingers curled around the phone when an idea popped into his head. "We should send one back to them."

"Send what back?"

"A picture." Reigen was already scooting closer, ignoring the unpleasant sticking of moist sand to his behind. He could complain about that later. "Come here." Holding out his arms so he could get them both in the frame, Reigen couldn't quite manage.

He pulled at Serizawa's arm to get him to cooperate, and if that ended with Serizawa laying partway in his lap just to accommodate the picture then that was a sacrifice Reigen was willing to make. He smiled as brightly as he could with Serizawa restricting his airway, even doing the peace sign he'd seen all the kids use, knowing Mob would get a kick out of it.

He wished he could see Ritsu's face when they got it though.

"It's a good picture," Reigen commented as he sent it off, accompanied by a string of nonsensical emojis just because he could. Serizawa was still leaning against him to be able to see what he was writing.

"It is," he agreed. "I do not look like I was ambushed by the camera for once."

"I'll send it to you too then." Reigen hadn't even finished the sentence before pressing the sent button. "You could use it for your license if you crop me out."

"Oh, ha ha." Serizawa rolled his eyes, a reaction Reigen was pretty sure he might have learned from Tomei - speaking of good influences. Serizawa's ID had been a much debated topic in the Spirits and Such consultation office during lunch break, yet they could still not decide if he looked more like a demon or a vagrant on his picture. Reigen had been badgering him to get a new one ever since he joined the company. "I'll think about it," Serizawa said at length, not immune to Reigen's puppy eyes.

"Great." Reigen pushed himself up on his hands, hating the instant grainy feeling all over his body from sitting in the sand so long. "Let's get ramen for lunch, I'm starving."

On the train ride back they sat next to each other rather than across. Reigen wasn't sure what prompted the decision, and maybe he was too tired to think about it much.

He was watching the landscape move past through the window, the late afternoon sun dipped down far enough to cast a warm glow on everything without quite being described as a sunset. Once again Serizawa had picked up a discarded newspaper to entertain himself with, though this time it was the crossword keeping him busy.

There was something so comfortable about the mundane silence Reigen could hardly place. Possibly it merely reminded him of when they went on cases out of the city.

He didn't mind when the quiet was broken by Serizawa though. "Five letter word for a hollow muscular organ?"

Reigen smirked. "Aren't you supposed to be the medical student here?"

Serizawa filled in an other answer instead. "Only when your parents are around."

"Pity." Reigen crossed his wrists on the table, watching Serizawa follow the movement with his eyes. "I don't dislike future doctor and stellar son-in-law Katsuya."

"O-oh-" Serizawa faltered, the pen leaving a haphazard mark where the next letter should be. "Thanks?"

Reigen laughed softy at the adorable reaction. "Heart," he said quickly, before Serizawa could get too flustered. "Five letter word for a hollow muscular organ, a heart."

And to the soft scratching of pen on paper, Reigen closed his eyes.

Chapter Text

This chapter: Some things combust, some things mend, and Serizawa learns that to assume makes an ass out of you and me. Featuring Serizawa "all in all I'll count this as a win" Katsuya and Reigen "this family is a fucking nightmare" Arataka.

From all things Serizawa remembered of his father, it was his face on the night before he left that always seemed to live within him most vividly. There was something intrinsically memorable to an eight-year-old about fear, about terror beyond all measure.

And to see that fear in the eyes of a parent when they looked at you, well – that had to be harder to forget still.

His mother used to say the other shoe always drops. He hadn't known what it meant, had mostly been confused why anybody would be throwing shoes around in the first place. Time had been a harsh teacher, however.

"Are you nervous again?" Reigen asked. "About them saying anything?"

Out in the countryside, there was less light pollution than in the city, the air an endless dark tapestry dotted with stars above them. Their shapes were so clearly defined you would need to squint to tell them apart from an airplane, to see if they were moving.

When he put his hand on his own chest Serizawa could feel his heartbeat hammering away beneath his palm, as if the very organ was trying to escape his ribcage. "I never stop being nervous," he said. "I just try to forget the feeling is there. Or concentrate on other things. It always comes back."

He didn't know if he ever admitted that to anybody before. Not even the therapist his mother had pushed on him during puberty.

"Well, that's just true for every feeling right?" Reigen asked. The street to the estate wasn't lined by any lampposts, but there wasn't any traffic either so they risked walking in the middle of the road. The night was quiet aside from the cicadas on the trees and the occasional rustling of leaves in the breeze. Dinnertime had long since come and gone.

Serizawa was staring ahead. "Is it?"

"I'd like to believe so." In the darkness, it was hard to see the expression on Reigen's face. "Because it means the good emotions also come back."

They could tell somebody was still awake from the soft glow behind the front window of the house, diffused through the shoji. Serizawa swallowed in anticipation, telling himself to keep calm over and over again like a mantra in his head.

But when they opened the door it was Yuuko alone who greeted them. Serizawa was struck by how unkempt she looked, not at all keeping up the appearance of effortless beautiful he had come to relate to her over their short acquaintance. Where her hair was usually pinned back or otherwise kept out of her face, it now hung in loose strands that were prone to getting in her eyes if she didn't keep brushing them behind her ears. Serizawa noted she wasn't wearing any make-up, for the first time since they met.

Her eyes lit up when she entered the hallway to see them coming through the door, pulling the silken yukata she was wearing over her nightclothes tighter around her body. The relief that was unmistakably on her features had an instant effect on Serizawa. That effect being overwhelming guilt mostly.

"Oh, Arataka-" Yuuko put her hand on Reigen's cheek, but pulled it back almost immediately. "I was worried, you know? Leaving your poor mother waiting." There was no sharpness to the words, nor anger.

"I'm sorry," Reigen said, and once again Serizawa could tell he meant it. That there was a sincerity there kept under careful wraps around his father that shone through only for the other parent. "We didn't expect to be home this late."

And as if Yuuko could discern as well, her features softened. The lack of makeup made the lines on her face stand out, yet somehow it made her look younger. Serizawa didn't know how that was possible, but at the same time, it made perfect sense. "No matter," she said quickly, some of the properness slipping back into her voice. But it was almost as if she was making fun of it this time. "Have you eaten? There are leftovers if you're hungry-"

"We have, it's part of the reason why we're later."

"It's my fault," Serizawa couldn't help but say. If he didn't he might combust by holding it in. "I made us miss the connecting train." He shouldn't have made them stop at that station store, but the snow globes in their display window caught his attention. Remembering a conversation he'd had with Tome just last week, he decided they should get one for her as a souvenir. They ended up getting something for Shigeo too but had lost track of time in the process.

Yuuko waved away his remark in that typical way of hers. "Really, I'm just glad you're here. I thought something terrible might have happened. Or that you might have decided to return home after-" She cut herself off, ducking her head as if it was hard to maintain eye contact all of the sudden. It was the closest Serizawa had ever seen her come to embarrassment.

"That was my fault too," Serizawa said before Reigen could respond. "I sincerely apologize." He bowed to her to express his regret, and Yuuko gave him a small smile in return.

"Oh, I'm sure it's already forgotten about," she said, though she threw a hurried glance at Reigen, which gave Serizawa the impression it wasn't forgotten at all. "Your father has retired for the evening, tomorrow is an important day after all. We'll be having dinner with the other guests too, Suke's family." There was seemingly no connection between those two statements though Serizawa knew better by now.

"I'm sure we're both looking forward to it," Reigen deadpanned.

Serizawa swallowed again. the other shoe always drops eventually.

The atmosphere in the house was oddly chilly the following day.

If Serizawa didn't know any better he might have thought he was sensing the presence of a spirit, the temperature drops when near lingerings of the dead that could send shivers down your spine.

But instead, it was watching Reigen and Masaru glare daggers at each other across the living room.

"He's going to give me the silent treatment," Reigen had said that morning, struggling with getting his buttons done in his agitation. Serizawa was scared he was going to pop the top one off with how forceful he was being. "I'm willing to bet a whole week's worth of ramen trips on it. But two can play that game."

"What game?" Serizawa had asked, ever so innocently and blissfully unaware. Oh, how he missed that time.

"The game where he sees how long it takes for his behavior to annoy me into saying something stupid."

Serizawa nodded as if that was a perfectly understandable thing for Reigen to say while thinking that it really wasn't. Besides, you didn't have to ignore Reigen to get him to say something stupid either way. Then Serizawa had tried not to chuckle at his own inner musing.

All sense of laughter had long since left him.

Masaru had barely spoken to them all day, only greeted Reigen in the morning and continued ignoring Serizawa's very existence. The incident at the temple was not brought up again – only making things tenser for them. It was bad enough to know the other shoe would drop eventually but worse to not know when to expect the hit.

He distracted himself with anything he could. The dinner table was lavishly decorated with flowers and the finest table setting. Serizawa had helped Yuuko prepare it, as well as polish the cutlery in the kitchen all day, enjoying idle chatter about the weather and Reigen's childhood. Reigen himself had spent most of it on his laptop, claiming work obligations.

Yuuko had even shown him some pictures. Reigen at six years old, standing on the tips of his toes, displayed against a backdrop of flowers along the driveway and proudly showing off an elementary school uniform in dark navy hues. His small hands were stretched forward, waving at his mother behind the camera.

"Oh, what an adorable little boy he was," Yuuko had said as she placed the frame back on the dresser she kept it on. She seemed to enjoy having somebody to indulge with.

At the moment Yuuko was busy being the perfect host, offering people drinks and navigating through the room with practiced ease, as a dancer would move across the stage. Serizawa had volunteered to help with the serving - partly to avoid Reigen and Masaru engaging in more fierce staring matches, partly to keep from having to make awkward small talk with strangers - but since he was a guest himself she wouldn't hear of it.

Meaning Serizawa was left at the mercy of his own ineptitude at carrying conversations. To his endless relief Reigen's two other cousins, whose names Serizawa had learned to be Eisei and Ichita, were glad to do the hardest part for him. They must have inherited more of their father Kenichi's character, greatly over-appreciative of their own ability to regale others and be funny while doing so, merely less keen on being the center of attention. Serizawa decided not to ask them about any lingering resentment over their much younger sister marrying before them.

Today they had the willingness of a bored audience consisting mostly of estranged family members – of the Watabe's themselves and those of Suke's side of the family - who only met up for weddings and funerals. All Serizawa really had to do was nod along and try not to answer too many questions.

He managed to keep it up all the way through until Yuuko finally started asking the guests to be seated. To accommodate the larger number of people a second table had been carried in and pushed up against the one they typically used, an assortment of chairs magicked out of seemingly nowhere placed around them. In an odd way, it gave Serizawa the impression of a formal meeting room, though the picture was offset by the decoration and the amount of food. Once more he took his place next to Reigen, the two of them sitting across from Yuuko and Masaru. The couple to be wed had claimed the head of the table due to the formality of the event.

Kenichi stood up from next to his daughter, tapping a spoon against the side of his glass to fill the room with a loud ringing noise. Serizawa had seen people do so in the movies but wasn't aware it was something people actually did for real. Once he had managed to earn the table's complete attention and the other chatter had died down, he cleared his throat.

What proceeded to unfold then had to be the longest speech Serizawa had ever had the displeasure of witnessing. At more than one point he was afraid Kenichi must be running out of breath, only for the man to take a deep inhale and go on unperturbed. For all intents and purposes, he seemed to be recounting his proudest moments in chronological order and by the time he had gotten to gushing about Aiko's teenage years, several others were eyeing the food in clear longing or glancing at each other.

Yuuko had closed her eyes, either to listen more intently or because she had drifted off to sleep. When her brother was finally done, wiping away an emotional tear from his eye that nobody else shared, she opened her eyes and sighed gratefully. "Thank you, dear brother," she said, the kind of warm sarcasm dripping off her voice that could easily be mistaken for sincerity. Serizawa knew who Reigen must have inherited that from.

Keeping her own speech as the hostess short and to the point, Yuuko thanked everybody for coming and expressed her well-wishes towards the couple much the same way she had done on the first night. Some other elder family members followed her example, as was customary for the dinner held on the night before the wedding. Reigen had confined in Serizawa that there would be more elaborate blessings to follow at the reception itself. By the time it was all through, Serizawa didn't have to wonder why Yuuko had prepared solely cold dishes for the day.

Then finally, after expressing gratitude for the meal, they could dig in. Never before had he devoted himself so thoroughly to meticulously picking at and chewing his food, but Serizawa was approaching the point where he'd do anything to make the uncomfortable mood that had settled over their part of the table bearable. Pleasant conversation carried on around them, with a word occasionally directed at them that went answered with curt responses.

Reigen continued to stubbornly refuse to make eye contact with his father, while Masaru seemed intent on fixing his cold eyes on Reigen permanently. It was an odd display and one that might have been comical in its own right if it weren't for the fact that Serizawa knew it wouldn't last.

It was like a string pulled tautly. One little disturbance could make it snap.

In the end that disturbance came from neither Masaru nor Reigen. Either annoyed with their continued bullheadedness or perhaps because she herself could not stand the tension any longer, Yuuko broke the oppressive silence that had fallen over them.

"Arataka, I realize you might not have had enough time to come to a decision yet, but it certainly would be nice if you could give us your thoughts on the proposition." Her voice was soft, so as not to carry across the room, but with how engrossed everybody else was Serizawa couldn't see this being a problem.

Reigen finally looked up, locking eyes with his mother. "What proposition?" He was acting heedless on purpose, Serizawa could tell.

Apparently, Masaru could as well. "Do not start with us," he said sternly, the low hushed sound of a storm brewing on the ocean. More bark than bite, there had to be clear intent.

Not answering besides for an offhand hum, Reigen reached out for his glass.

"Your father would like to make an announcement about the business at the wedding tomorrow. As would I. We would really prefer an answer by then." Serizawa felt bad for how much effort Yuuko was putting into being diplomatic.

"Well-" Reigen put the glass back down, but his fingers remained curled around it. "I can give you one right now. I'm refusing."

A small pang of relief flooded Serizawa at those words. He knew it wasn't really any of his business, but truthfully he had been just the tiniest amount concerned. If Reigen had taken his parents' offer, what would have happened to the office? Would he have moved out here or to some other city?

Would they still have been able to see each other at all?

Yuuko was clearly caught off guard by the answer, but Masaru didn't twitch a single muscle, unsurprised at this development. He licked his lips before talking, uncannily similar to a predator filled with displeasure. "Do you have a reason, or are you just trying to spite me again?"

"Dear-" Yuuko shot her eyes over to him, skin paling and she might have been the one to pull the string but if so only because she could not have predicted the outcome.

"That's the reason you do anything, isn't it Arataka?" Masaru went on undisturbed, still dangerously low in pitch and if anybody else at the table was even noticing the turn in the atmosphere they were excellent at turning a blind eye. "Can't live with the idea of not reaching my standards so you'll make it so you can never disappoint me?"

Serizawa's knee bounced up and down, nearly hitting the underside of the table. He restrained himself.

Reigen pierced his father with a poisonous stare. "Have you ever considered your standards are not worth my efforts?"

Whether it was his own leg or Masaru's fist that hit the table first Serizawa would never know. No matter how intensely the other guests were debating their topics of choice, it was impossible to miss the way the plates clattered on the flat surface, the way Masaru slid his chair back hard enough to crack wood against wood. All eyes were on them now – and Masaru had center stage.

"Everything I've ever done has been for the betterment of this family. For the betterment of you." Where there was no rise in pitch, there was pure, fluid hate. Enough to make Serizawa's blood run cold, meaning for Reigen it must be a hundredfold worse. "Even now after entertaining all your foolish whims of running off and becoming your own man, chasing senseless employment with no future, we only want to help you. And you would throw that back in our faces?"

The words died down for Masaru to take a sharp breath. Reigen's mouth was pushed into a thin line, the very image of disinterest. But on the glass, his fingers were shaking.

Masaru was standing upright, looking at Reigen. Looking down at him. "Are you that intent on amounting to absolutely nothing?!"

Something pushed Serizawa into motion then. He didn't know how or why – maybe in looking back on it he could be regretful over his actions. But at the moment a certain sense of control had been lost and his own nails were digging into his palms, slick with sweat. "Do not say that!"

Even the very force behind his voice was unfamiliar to him. The world was spinning, his heart racing, and the last time he did this he had just run up several flights of concrete stairs. But it was the same still.

Serizawa suddenly missed his umbrella.

"D-do not say that-" He wanted to swallow but his mouth was dry as sawdust.

Then those pale gray's shifted to him, if looks could kill Serizawa would be gone and buried. "Do not get involved in this, you are not family," Masaru said firmly.

"I'm glad," Serizawa managed to shoot back with boldness often lost on him. "Leaving this house has to be the best thing Arataka has ever done."

Yuuko gasped – not a dramatic, loud inhale filled with self-pity but something small and smothered that would make Serizawa feel guilty if he wasn't too busy trying to keep himself in check. Masaru grasped her shoulder with one hand. "You have no idea what you're talking about, what do you know about us."

"I know I love him more than either of you ever will."

The glass closest to him shattered first, then a couple more across the table. All anger rushed out of Serizawa's veins in an instant, replaced by the crippling fear of his own powers he had thought he had put behind him, only exacerbated by Reigen cursing loudly beside him. Turning his head, Serizawa saw that the glass still within his grasp had broken into several pieces. Blood was running down Reigen's palm.

Serizawa blinked at it in dumbfounded horror.

"We need some air." Instantly Reigen was tugging at his sleeve, pulling at him and the outside breeze hit Serizawa with the comparable force of a speeding truck – not that he'd know what that would be like. He couldn't breathe.

"Hey!" Reigen's fingers pressed against his cheeks. Serizawa forced his eyelids open, not having realized he had closed them in the first place. "Are you alright?"

"Alright?" Serizawa repeated in a high-pitched squeak. "Wait, your hand-" He caught Reigen around the wrist to inspect the damage, but the cut was only an inch long and not very deep.

"I'm fine," Reigen said, closing his fist. "These tend to bleed a lot but it barely hurts. Now, are you alright?"

Finally, air rushed into Serizawa's lung again. He nodded. "Absolutely. I mean, no not at all, your parents are going to kill me. I can't believe I said that to them."

"They won't kill you," Reigen said. "I won't let them."

Trying to calm down by bringing his mind back to the present, Serizawa blinked a few times. Dusk was settling on the garden, offering the scene a warm glow. A few early fireflies floated across the air, gathering above the still surface of the pond. Their reflections flickered back at them. Reigen's eyes were even more beautiful than Serizawa could recall.

"You're not angry?" he asked.

Genuine surprise colored Reigen's reply. "Why would I be angry?"

"Your father-"

With a short laugh, Reigen went to brush his hair off his forehead but thought better of it at the last moment, probably aware he'd get blood in it. "He got what he deserved. Personally, I can't believe you saved me yet again."

Serizawa's heart skipped a beat, but he couldn't quite let himself show it. "But I-" It pained him even more to say what he was about to say. "I might have been carried away, with the love thing. Even with the pretending, I wouldn't want to have said something that made you uneasy."

"Uneasy how?" Reigen asked.

Realizing with increasing panic that there was no use beating around the bush, Serizawa decided to get it over with. It had been on his mind ever since this whole trip started, but he hadn't exactly had the opportunity to ask. It could be like ripping off a bandaid: nearly painless if you do it quick enough.

"It was a bit forward and uh, I'm still a man. I didn't know how you would feel," he admitted.

Reigen titled his head, narrowed his eyes. Serizawa would swear he could physically see him connecting the dots of what he was implying in an agonizingly slow manner. When he realized to the true meaning, he seemed caught between deciding if he should be laughing or taking this seriously. "You thought I would mind? You do realize I asked you to come here to pretend to be my date, right Serizawa?"

"I don't know!" Serizawa defended himself, but he could already feel his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "That's still only pretending, I just assumed you-"

I just assumed you were straight as a board, is what Serizawa could have said if he hadn't realized how silly that would have sounded.

"No, I don't mind," Reigen had made up his mind about which reaction was more appropriate then and was laughing a little. "It's not the kind of information I put on display, you couldn't have known. But since you agreed to come while thinking that, does that mean-"

"No!" Serizawa interrupted, probably a bit too hastily given their situation. He didn't want to think about why it was suddenly vitally important to him Reigen knew he didn't swing for the right team either. "No I uh, I don't have much experience yet but, I wouldn't mind."

Whether he was saying he wouldn't dating any man or dating Reigen specifically was left unspoken.

"Good," Reigen said then. His injured hand was still caught in Serizawa's hold, loose enough to pull away but for some reason, Reigen didn't seem to be in a hurry to do so. His other fingers lingered against Serizawa's cheek. A cricket in the long grass chirped loudly, but barely audible over the rushing in his ears.

Serizawa wasn't sure why they hadn't moved yet.

He leaned forward a bit, experimentally, his head angled downward and Reigen was just staring at him, eyes dark and unreadable. Maybe he had to push up on his heels to breach the gap between them but Serizawa was certain he could meet him halfway.

Before any of that could happen the outside shoji slid open.

Serizawa pulled back so fast he nearly tripped over his feet and fell butt-first into the pond. There was something unbearably empty about the way Reigen left him. Yuuko was standing in the door opening, face caught in both worry and guilt and with a small first aid kit in her hands.

Reigen approached her and as they started talking – as Reigen offered her the small cut to patch up – Serizawa still couldn't move.

Chapter Text

This chapter: the wedding commences – Featuring Reigen "the Nile is not a river in Egypt" Arataka and Serizawa "blissfully unaware for now" Katsuya, with a bonus appearance by Shigeo "I need different adults in my life" Kageyama.

Reigen was fumbling with the tie on his suit more than he ever had before in his life.

The casual observer might assume he was nervous because he was about to attend his cousin's wedding, which under any other circumstances - and when said about any other person - might have been a reasonable assumption. In this case, however, it really couldn't be further from the truth.

He was nervous because he was about to attend a wedding held by his very annoyed family, with his only friend playing his fake date, a friend who Reigen was coming increasingly to terms with over the course of their stay might double as a crush. Which was strange, since Reigen couldn't remember the last time he had a crush on somebody. It must have been somewhere back in high school.

He didn't despise romance in theory but in practice, it had just never occurred to him as a viable option. He was much too busy with work to fall in love.

Which meant it was no wonder that it would happen to him at the most inopportune moment.

"Uh, do you... want any help with that?" Serizawa asked hesitantly, probably sensing his frustration from a mile away. His hands hovered in front of himself as if he was already halfway into the motion, but he was too self-cautious to step in without asking. Reigen dropped his own arms in defeat.

"I've done this every morning for the past decade," he told Serizawa as he stepped forward into Reigen's personal space and picked up the two dangling pieces of fabric. There was no need to clarify that, but it made Reigen feel better anyway.

"I know." With gentle hands and deft fingers, Serizawa finished the knot Reigen's nerves kept faltering on. "What is stressing you out? Do you think your father would make a scene at the wedding?"

Leave it to somebody like Serizawa to cut right to the heart of the matter. Reigen waited for him to finish, severely aware of the close proximity of their bodies and how he could feel the slight touch of Serizawa's chest against his every time the other man took a deep breath.

"Normally he wouldn't, but now I actually can't put it past him," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen him as pissed off as last night."

Serizawa wavered at the mention of those events. They hadn't really talked about it afterward, Reigen had allowed his mother to apply the unneeded bandage and they had gone back inside to finish dinner. His father had already been gone, citing some unexpected work obligation that couldn't be left unattended. The entire family would have realized he was lying, but they were all too polite to mention it outright.

Reigen knew neither of them was looking forward to this wedding if it was going to be more of the same.

"It will all turn out," he said, and at that moment he wasn't sure if he was reassuring himself or Serizawa but the soft smile he got in response was a reward in its own right. "It might even be fun, and if it isn't I've still heard there's an open bar. We could entertain ourselves."

"That's terrible, Reigen," Serizawa said, but his laughter betrayed he didn't mean it. He straightened his own tie and for the first time since waking Reigen properly looked at him. The suit Serizawa was wearing was the same one he used for work, which Reigen wouldn't complain about since it suited him well. For his own part, he was wearing a black pair of trousers and jacket with a white tie, knowing the off-grey he preferred wouldn't be formal enough for a wedding.

Not the kind of weddings his family threw at least.

"The boring part comes first," he said. "Official stuff, you know the deal." He gestured with his hand. "We'll just lay low and they won't even notice us."

"You're only making me more nervous," Serizawa complained weakly.

"And I'm only messing with you."

A knock on the door broke up their conversation and a moment later Reigen's mother was opening it to peek her head inside. She was holding on to the longer, trailing part of her dress to keep it from getting stuck or stepped on, hiking it up to reveal the sensibly short heels she was wearing underneath. She had her eyes closed. "Are you decent?"

"Yes mother," Reigen answered, relying on years of practice to not roll his eyes.

"Why, don't you look lovely?" she continued in approval after looking at them. With the door open all the way Reigen could hear the general tumult going on in the rest of the house, guests preparing hastily as the hour to set out drew near, and Kenichi in the distance yelling for his other shoe.

"I would say you are the one who looks stunning," Serizawa said. Reigen had to laugh at the way he so naturally deferred to others, but he was sure his mother was just the person to appreciate that.

"Oh, you're going to make an old lady blush." The silver bracelet on Yuuko's wrist made a soft sound as she waved the compliment away. "Are you ready to leave then, your father is already getting the car." She looked at Reigen at those words, waiting for him to decline the offer perhaps.

But he merely nodded. "Let's go to this wedding."

The wooden structure of the temple meant it stayed cool even in the blistering summer heat. Reigen blinked and tensed his jaw to suppress the immense need to yawn that was creeping up on him. Aiko raised the cup of sake to her lips for the second time while the Shinto priest spoke words that were too quiet for those in the back to hear.

Having to stand still for such a long period of time was the hardest part of all this.

Glancing at the man next to him from the corner of his vision, Reigen was more interested in looking at Serizawa than at the ceremony happening in front of him. His mind kept wandering to last night. What happened had been unusual, even for his father. Reigen had a sneaking suspicion something more deep-rooted was going on, but he wasn't about to go prying for answers. Still, he would have hated for Serizawa to become the victim of his own hesitance.

Much to his surprise, the opposite had happened. He had actually stepped in to defend Reigen when he felt most unsuited to do it himself.

Serizawa's eyes were glued to the scene in front of him, enraptured with the proceedings perhaps? He did mention he hadn't attended a wedding before – and even if he had it wasn't as common anymore to prepare an entire ritual like in the olden days. The cups were passed along to the parents, Suke's parents on one side and Kenichi on the other. In the absence of his wife, he had to drink from both cups, since leaving any drop would be like a deliberate curse spoken on the nuptial's success.

But Reigen's own gaze was drawn back to Serizawa's lips. What happened last night, he was sure he hadn't been imagining it. Still, he couldn't rule out a misinterpretation. Or wishful thinking on his part. How could he begin to presume what Serizawa might have been intending to do back then when Reigen wasn't even sure of his own intentions.

"I can assure you it's truly gone," Serizawa said. Being addressed so suddenly nearly made Reigen jump out of his skin.

He snapped his eyes forward again, hoping nobody had noticed him staring so intently at his best-friend-pretend-boyfriend's lips. "What's gone?" he asked, finding that keeping his voice quiet enough not to be overheard an impossible challenge.

"The spirit." Serizawa shuffled closer, confident that their position near the back of the room meant others wouldn't notice. "Are you concerned about it reappearing?"

Realizing how badly his intention had been misconstrued, Reigen put on a serious front. He could use this to definitely not mention his real thoughts. "Not concerned. Cautious."

From in front of them, Reigen's father cleared his throat. He had gone back to the silent brooding since last night, keeping suspiciously out of any conversation on the drive over and barely even looking at them. Even the glaring war had seen the odd ceasefire. But this little indication made it clear he was not beyond letting his annoyance shown or keeping up his good family name. Reigen bit his tongue, but didn't say anything else.

Serizawa's elbow dug into his side, a playful jab that nearly cracked a rib. Somehow it still made Reigen feel better. A reminder he would never be alone in all this.

The warm sun on his face once they left the temple was the best feeling in the world.

Reigen breathed in deeply, savoring the fresh air in his lung, and stretched his arms above his head. Standing still for a long time always made him jittery. The doting couple was herded away first, to give them time for a wardrobe change while the other guests gathered at their own leisure, preparing to travel to the venue the reception would be held at.

It was another short drive that wasn't any less tense than the one on the way over. Reigen's mother kept up a steady flow of chatter, complimenting everything from the conventional way the ceremony was held to the exchanging of the vows and the traditional wedding kimono Aiko would currently be busy changing out off. Reigen had a sneaking suspicion she would be less pleased with this second half of the wedding, inspired by western influences.

The hotel's ballroom was one mostly used for business purposes or meetings but the owners hadn't made a fuzz about renting it out for the wedding reception. With the appropriate decorations, you could hardly tell. Flowing fabric had been attached to the ceiling and walls, the warm off-white color combined with the chandelier lighting for an almost whimsical effect. The elevated stage and table for the bride and groom stood out at the back end of the room, creaking under the weight of a million flower-pieces. The other tables were similarly adorned, though the decorators had mercifully held off on the candles. Finely polished glasses made it so you could hardly look at them without blinding yourself with the light's reflection.

On the other side of the room, space had been left empty to serve as an improvised dance floor, soft music already playing from the wall-mounted speakers. Food would be served at the tables for a sit-down meal, but Reigen instantly spotted that fabled open bar he had been promised in the other corner.

Truly it was the kind of magical fairytale setting any little girl would dream of when thinking of her future wedding.

After taking a few minutes to figure out the seating arrangement – braving the temporary confusion always accompanying those affairs with large gathering – all guests had found their chairs. Reigen was dismayed but not surprised to find Serizawa and he had to share a table with his parents, as well as Kenichi and his cousins. Out of all the people in the room, perhaps the ones Reigen least wanted to spend time with.

This was quickly forgotten when the married couple made their entrance. Suke had changed from his dark wedding kimono into a suit more similar to those worn by most male guests, but with a bright yellow flower sticking from his lapel. It was the same color as the sash tied around Aiko's new dress, a sleek white gown that flared out near her ankles and had no straps. They looked much more like the couples shown on tv when portraying weddings, and the complete opposite of what Reigen knew their family liked.

Which meant he could already see his mood improving in the near future.

As the couple took their place on the stage, Suke holding out his hand to help his bride onto the elevated platform, the clapping and cheering from the crowd gradually subsided. Chatter filled the room instead and the music swelled to a louder volume. Some people made their way onto the floor to dance, while the couple was busy formally thanking the increasing procession of family members who made it to their table to give out wedding gifts.

Absolutely certain he'd rather not spent more time at the table than needed – which would be hard once the food started being served – Reigen fixed his attention on Serizawa. "Would you mind giving me this dance?"

Serizawa's eyes darted over to him like a deer caught in the headlights, then back to his parents who had not taken note of them, still engrossed in their own conversation with Kenichi. "B-but, what about laying low?"

"Oh, come on Katsuya, this is laying low." Reigen leaned in a bit closer, whisper in his voice for added effect. "You are supposed to be my boyfriend right? Boyfriends should dance together."

Serizawa sighed, long-suffering in a way people often seemed to be when spending enough time around Reigen. He considered it one of his more unique talents. Then he got up and offered Reigen his hand. They made their way onto the dance floor, not getting as much as a second glance from the other couples lost in their own worlds. Reigen stopped and suddenly realized he had no clue how to go about this.

An expert in many matters, slow dancing was not really among them. And if he had ever done it before then certainly not with a partner this much taller than himself. Serizawa stared at him, also at a loss.

Anybody who would happen to be looking at them must think they were idiots.

"Ah, I think that-" In attempting to position himself, Serizawa almost elbowed him in the side again, but to a more disastrous effect. His hand grasped Reigen's awkwardly, clammy with nervous sweat. After a moment his other slotted against Reigen's waist, the only place it would logically fit while dancing.

Reigen tried hard not to think about how he didn't really mind that at all as he settled his own hand on Serizawa's shoulder.

"And now we move?" Serizawa asked.

"Now we move," Reigen answered, doing just that. It was an uneven shuffle at first but it wasn't hard to follow the rhythm of the music. "Not ba-" Reigen was interrupted by Serizawa stepping on his foot with his full weight.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Apologies started pouring out of Serizawa's mouth instantly, and he would have pulled back if Reigen wasn't holding onto him so firmly, keeping them attached.

"It's fine," he managed once he was done hissing in pain. "let me guess, you've never done this before?"

Serizawa offered him a sheepish smile. "Not really."

"Just follow my lead."

Pulling Serizawa closer, their chests were nearly touching once they started moving again, slower but more in sync. Reigen noticed Serizawa kept glancing at their feet, scared for another misstep. Stretching out the hand still laying on the other's shoulder, Reigen used it to gently put it along the bottom of Serizawa's chin and angle his head up. "My eyes are up here," he joked.

Or it was supposed to be a joke, but then Serizawa was looking him in the eyes as asked, the warm chandelier light making every angle on his face stand out. Reigen was unable not to be aware of the faint stubble along Serizawa's cheeks, flushed either by the heat of the room or something else entirely. His irises were brown, too dark to discern yet somehow alive with color, amusement and fondness. How had Reigen never noticed that before, committed it to memory the way he wanted to with everything else about Serizawa. To never let go of again.

Whatever doubt had remained could surely be considered evaporated. He was suddenly glad for the hold around his waist or he might have just collapsed on the spot.

"Is this alright?" Serizawa asked, his voice sounded uncharacteristically sultry to Reigen's ears, but that was probably just his imagination.

It was hard to respond when his heart had just fallen clear through his chest. "Y-yeah." It took a minute for Reigen to realize he was asking about the dancing. "Yeah, it's great."

He felt more than heard Serizawa's deep laughter rumble through his chest. Oh, he was in deep trouble.

The song faded out, giving Reigen an excuse to stop moving with the last piano note lingering in the air before crudely being cut off by the start of the faster-paced dance number picked as the next track. The tonal whiplash was effective in breaking the trance that had grabbed hold of him, making him jolt hard enough to pull away completely.

If his heart had been going any faster Reigen might have thought he needed an ambulance.

"C-can I get your phone?" he asked.

Serizawa blinked at him, non-comprehending of the weird question. "My phone?"

"Your phones, yes, Serizawa can I have your phone? I need to make an important call and I left mine on the table."

"Why do-" But Reigen didn't give him the chance to finish, snatching it out of Serizawa's hand as soon as it left his pocket. He beelined it for the nearest exit, a pull-down hinged door that led to the back patio of the hotel. Nobody seemed to be around so it should be perfect.

Reigen touched the button to make the screen come alive, using the code he had seen Serizawa use a million times over to unlock the device. The background image made him stop though.

It was the picture they had taken at the beach. Serizawa had set it to his home screen. Reigen wasn't sure why this made him even more lightheaded than the whole situation already had.

Opening the contacts, he had to remind himself to scroll all the way down to the letter S to find Mob's number. He dialed it with misplaced confidence, looking around first to make sure nobody had come outside while he was doing this. His foot tapped an uneven rhythm on the paved stone, unable to keep still with uncontrollable nerves. As soon as he heard Mob start his usual greeting he was talking.

"Mob, it's me. I need your help."

A second of confused silence was all he got in response to his desperate plea for help. Then Mob decided to answer with: "Shishou, why are you calling on Serizawa's phone?" Leave it to Mob to underestimate the urgency of the situation.

"That's not important right now!" Reigen hoped he didn't sound unduly exasperated. "This is a matter of life and death, Mob."

He could hear a shuffle on the other end of the line, indicating Mob was moving while talking. "What happened?"

Reigen took a deep breath, steeled all his expectations for what was to come. It hadn't escaped him how utterly pathetic it was for him to ask advice from a middle schooler when it came to this, but Mob might be the only person Reigen trusted to be a hundred percent completely honest with him. And the only one he knew who had relevant experience on the subject. "I want you to tell me how you knew you had a crush on that girl in your school, Tsubomi?"

Once again there was no reply, and Reigen actually had to check to see if the line hadn't been cut. But then he heard Mob again. "Oh, is that all, Shishou?" Whether it was relief or not, Reigen couldn't tell. Maybe it was annoyance. Maybe Mob would hang up. Something desperate crept up Reigen's back.

"It's really an emergency," he pressed. "Life or death, remember."

Mob hummed. "Uhm, I think it was because... because my heart always beat very fast when I was near her. And I couldn't stop thinking about her all the time. I want to be close to her, and know more about her and hear her voice..."

"Right, right," Reigen nodded. The prognosis was looking bad. "Those are all feelings, but how did you know you were in love."

"I'm not sure, Shishou." Mob hesitated, and in his mind's eye Reigen could clearly see the way he was biting his lip in thought the way he always did. "I guess I just knew."

Letting his shoulders sag in defeat, Reigen sighed. "I see." There was no way around this.

"Why is this important?" Mob asked.

Fiddling with the buttons of his jacket didn't make Reigen any calmer. "You see Mob, I fear I'm suffering from a similar fate." He knew it was bad when even his own sense of humor failed him.

Mob took this information in without much surprise, considering the circumstances. "You're in love?"

"I'm afraid so," Reigen admitted.

"You're in love with Serizawa?"

Hearing that sentence was the nail in the coffin Reigen definitely didn't need. He could dig his own grave without having somebody else shove him over the threshold. "Would you look at the time, Mob, I really should get going. Have fun on your trip." He pressed the red phone icon before he could get a response. Time to feel bad about such things could always come later.

But that didn't mean Reigen wasn't painfully aware of the truth of that statement, and how little he could do about it.

Chapter Text

This chapter: the wedding ends – Featuring Serizawa "how to tell your best friend they're an idiot and you're in love with them" Katsuya and Reigen "how much do I drink to forget a stupid crush" Arataka, with another bonus appearance by Shigeo "please leave me alone" Kageyama.

After Reigen ran off with his phone, Serizawa was left at the mercy of social conventions. Returning to the table with this in mind was not the most appealing of thoughts, so he decided it better to join the slowly dwindling line of people greeting the couple. He thanked them for having him over, Aiko giving him a pleasant smile.

"Honestly we will be glad to have it done with," she said amiable, casting eyes to the room with a mixture of joy and trepidation. Serizawa hadn't spoken with her that much over his stay, but Reigen seemed to favor her between all of his cousins and that meant Serizawa liked her by association. "I can't believe we've been living towards this for over a year almost."

Suke nodded. "You have a lot to look forward to."

The comment came so much out of left field to Serizawa he didn't immediately know how to react. "M-me?"

"Oh!" Suke startled as if shocked by his own presumptions. Aiko hit his arm playfully. They seemed like a happy couple, but Serizawa remembered they called this the honeymoon phase for a reason. "We did overhear your conversation at Sunday dinner, but we didn't mean to assume it would go anywhere so quickly."

As if hit by lightning, Serizawa remembered the awkwardness from that night. It had only been a few days and yet somehow felt like a lifetime ago. "We'll see," he said, trying to laugh it off. Hopefully, it came across as evading the question without being rude.

Faking a relationship was one thing, he wasn't sure faking a wedding would be within his capabilities as an actor.

It wasn't until a moment later that Serizawa realized that his most pressing complaint about such a situation shouldn't be that he didn't have the acting skill for it and rather the more logical protest that he didn't want to be married to Reigen to begin with.

Much like the devil – said to come around when one invoked its name – Reigen appeared beside him. Serizawa might have been surprised to a mortifying degree, but luckily Reigen didn't notice as he exchanged his own thanks with the couple. When they turned around to return to their table, he pushed Serizawa's phone back into his hands.

"Thanks for lending me this."

"Any time." Serizawa turned the device around in his hand. "Did you get the uh, work thing sorted?"

Reigen's face contorted into a humorous combination of a frown and a smile. "I definitely came to a conclusion." Serizawa couldn't tell if that was supposed to be a good thing or a bad thing. "Shall we go back? Unless you want to try for another round of dancing?"

As tempting as the offer was to Serizawa he had to decline. "Uh, you can go ahead. I'll be right there."

"Okay..." Reigen quirked a curious eyebrow at him but didn't ask any further questions, something Serizawa was internally grateful for. He was a bit embarrassed about what he was planning to do.

Shuffling his feet, he waited for Reigen to be far away enough before turning around. He spotted a door that led to the secluded back patio area of the hotel, which looked sufficiently empty to be perfect for what he needed. He was already dialing the number as he made his way outside.

The dial tone only rang once before Shigeo picked up.

"Shishou?" he said.

"Uh, no. It's me. Serizawa." He was befuddled by the need to introduce himself when calling with his own cell phone. "Why did you-"

"Never mind," Shigeo said, a small nervous squick slipping into his voice as if he had said something he shouldn't have. Serizawa would have been concerned, if he hadn't been so preoccupied with his own troubles.

"I know this is weird," he began, before realizing how much weirder it was for a grown adult man to apologize for asking a simple question. "But I just wanted to ask. You wouldn't happen to know if Reigen ever had... a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend I guess. Or currently has one?"

If there really was such a thing as instant regret, then that must be what Serizawa was feeling right then. Maybe if the gods were real and if they were compassionate, he could be struck by lightning and not have to finish this conversation.

"No, he hasn't," Shigeo answered simply. Serizawa had to be grateful for how direct the middle schooler was, which was an excellent way to not make this any more awkward than it already was.

Now if only Serizawa could make up his mind on whether this was a good development or a bad one.

He could hear Shigeo's calm breathing on the other end of the line, followed by a sharp inhale signifying he was harnessing his own boldness. Serizawa knew that inhale well, he had used it plenty of times before. "Serizawa, if you don't mind... Why are you asking this?"

"I don't know," Serizawa admitted lamely. "I guess I am trying to figure out if I have a shot or something."

And against all odds – in that exact moment – it didn't feel like such a weird thing at all to tell Shigeo this. Serizawa didn't have a lot of memories of having friends, maybe when he was very small and even then the other kids probably only liked him because it was easy to get him to do things for them. Now he had Reigen, he had Sho and Tome. He had Shigeo who had sat down with him on the staircase of a collapsing building and told him about fear and kindness.

Serizawa had people around him again, who only wanted for him to be happy. And he wanted the same for them. It wasn't weird at all.

"If you want to know if you have a shot, why don't you ask him?"

Shigeo's soft voice was nearly too quiet for Serizawa to catch, or maybe he just didn't want to. Because he knew that what Shigeo was saying was the only logical response, but that didn't take away the fear of possible rejection. "I don't know."

"I really think you should tell him," Shigeo said, full of conviction and whole-hearted encouragement.

"Maybe," Serizawa answered. The door to the patio slid open, the sound of a grating metal against plastic signaling somebody's approach. Serizawa should probably head back inside and see how Reigen was faring anyway. "Thanks, Shigeo. I have to go."

He hung up and was about to turn around when a chilly voice stopped him.

"Serizawa, was it?" Masaru had the tone of somebody who could hardly care enough to remember the name of a person who worked under them, who they regarded as entirely inconsequential. A fake warmth seeped into his voice, disinterest clouded by thinly veiled politeness.

Despite himself – despite how much he hated it – it was impossible for Serizawa not to slip back into old habits. "Yes sir?"

The other man's frame was loose, relaxed. Serizawa hadn't seen it like that before, maybe that's why it subconsciously put him on guard. Masaru approached him as a hunter does its pray, casual confidence in having the upper hand. Serizawa swallowed.

"Would you walk with me?" Masaru asked. The politeness of his voice would betray nothing of the strained interactions they had so far, as if they all had been wiped away with the flick of a wrist.

Once again Serizawa was reminded of Toichiro in the worst possible way.

He followed Masaru into the garden's main part along the small gravel road that winded between the bushes, glad that the sun was already starting its slow descent towards the horizon. It would take a while for it to disappear completely – especially since it was summer – but its sickening glare wasn't half as bad as it was before. Masaru flicked a cigarette out of his front pocket, retrieving another one to offer Serizawa.

"I don't smoke," he said rather tersely.

"Neither do I." Masaru placed the cigarette back. "Not when my wife asks, at least." And the smile he threw Serizawa's way was sharp and full of too many teeth. A lighter appeared out of his pocket, which Masaru used to light his cigarette, before taking a long drag.

They stood in silence, a heavy atmosphere only slightly uplifted by the sound of one of the fountains in the garden. Serizawa felt unreal, as if he was stuck in a dream. Or being crushed under a great weight. The whiplash was maddening.

He wanted to say something but Masaru beat him to it.

"Let me ask you a question," he said, letting out a puff of smoke that pooled into the air, dissipated too slowly and hung around his nose with every exhale. Serizawa could smell they were the expensive kind of cigarettes that are scented with mint, a thin veneer of pleasantness plastered on something truly unpleasant. How oddly fitting. "What do you want from my son."

Feeling numb to his very core, Serizawa could only repeat the question. "What do I want?"

"What do you gain?" Masaru drew the last word out, rolling it around on his tongue. "I've been in this world long enough to know everybody is always working towards some goal. I'd like to figure out what yours is."

Trying to get some of the excess nervous energy out of his system, Serizawa shuffled his feet. He almost wished he had accepted that cigarette, just to give his hands something to do. "Isn't that a bit depressing?"

Masaru raised his eyebrows at him and in that moment he looked almost like Reigen but also not at all. "Maybe."

"If you're always expecting for others to have ulterior motives, I can't imagine it would be easy to built healthy relationships."

With a short laugh – almost more like a bark, an animal snapping its teeth – Masaru took another drag. He tapped the cigarettes against a nearby flowerpot, dispersing the ashes between green leaves of peony. "In that case, why don't I ask another question." Their eyes locked, unmoving. "Are you lying to Arataka as well, or just to me?"

Serizawa's heart stopped.

It had crossed his mind over and over what he should do when somebody found them out and yet somehow he wasn't prepared for it actually happening. He felt all the blood in his face must have drained and he looked horribly pale, going by Masaru's mischievous smirk it was clearly visible to others too.

Oh, how stupid they had been, thinking they could get away with this forever.

"It wasn't that hard to look into your name. Do you think universities don't keep records? Granted, not many would go to these lengths to prove their suspicions but what I found was telling enough," Masaru said.

Making more of an effort to not let his surprise show on his face, Serizawa must be grinding his teeth hard enough to hurt. His dentist wouldn't be pleased with him later. "What do you mean?"

"Cut the crap." Masaru extinguished the remaining stub on the side of the ceramic pot, then threw the dud onto the ground and stepped on it with one foot. "I know you're not a medical student. You don't even go to university, you take night classes. So, does Arataka know?"

Serizawa's throat was too tight to answer, yet he had to force himself through it. As it was he had two options – either dig a deeper hole or confess the part already uncovered to draw attention away from what hadn't. And he had spent enough time around Reigen to know which one was the better course of action.

"It was Arataka's idea actually."

The small victory he had felt at genuinely taking Masaru by surprise was quickly extinguished by the placid expression that immediately followed. Straightening his sleeves, Masaru made quick and measured movements. He was physically taking back control of the situation. "Very well, then you already know you're out of his league."

Where those words should probably illicit anger, the need to defend himself from such bold accusations, all Serizawa registered was vague acceptance. Deep down – way, way down – he might have even agreed.

"Clearly if you both saw the need to lie about your position in society, you acknowledge the differences in your status." The clinical manner of speaking could cut through Serizawa like a knife, the pragmatic sense of a discussion that left no room for dispute. Masaru was not sharing opinions, merely facts. "You already understand there is no future for you together."

Every conscious inch of Serizawa was telling him to respond – to deny what obviously had to be the conservative ideals of a condescending autocrat. Yet somehow he couldn't get himself to move, couldn't even get his mind to form the words.

"Arataka is a smart boy, but I fear my own recklessness in raising him has left him misguided. If he'd only allow me, I could chip at away all this unrefined idiocy to get at the diamond I know to be beneath. You have to understand-" and as Masaru spoke those words, he crossed the distance between them. His claws dug into Serizawa's back, or maybe he merely put a hand on his shoulder. "- I only want the best for my son."

By the time Serizawa had mustered the power to blink, Masaru had already walked past him. The sound of the undersides of his leather shoes on pebbles already faded into the background. The duplicity of those final words echoed within Serizawa's perception.

He dug his nails into his hand until the pain became too distracting to bear.

With nothing else to do, Serizawa went inside a few minutes later. Masaru and Yuuko weren't at the table, Serizawa could only presume they were dancing but he didn't particularly care to find out. Reigen was slumped a bit forward into his seat, hand curled around a tall glass of champagne.

That's when Serizawa noticed the three empty glasses accompanying the current one.

"Finally, you came back!" Reigen got up from the chair but almost knocked it over. He steadied himself by putting a hand on Serizawa's shoulder. The opposite one from where Masaru had put his own. "Let's get out of here."

Serizawa put a hand on his elbow to steady him. "You want to leave? What about dinner?"

"Unless you're really looking forward to that shrimp cocktail, I promise it's not worth it." Reigen tilted up his glass again to drain the remaining champagne. "And I need to avoid my old man, he's being annoying. I promise they won't care."

Serizawa doubted that. He watched as Reigen put the glass down among its comrades. "Was I gone that long or are you just a quick drinker?" he joked.

"Everybody is a quick drinker with my family around."

And to that Serizawa would certainly not object.

Since the hotel was situated in the middle of town, the walk they took leading them back to the house was the same one they had walked a few days prior. The sun was setting this time, painting the sky a mix of purples and reds while casting outstretched shadows on the ground. Reigen was unable to shut up, probably due to the alcohol. He wasn't drunk perse, but probably just south of being there and it reminded Serizawa of the night this all started, the night that was the catalyst for all he had to deal with now.

He couldn't bring himself to regret it.

But he wasn't listening, unable to over the reverberations left by Masaru. Serizawa knew he should know better, but knowing and knowing are two different things and a seed once planted needed a lot of power to be weeded out.

You could pull at it, but a fast wrench wasn't all you needed to get it loose. Maybe he had been naive to believe otherwise.

Taking advantage of Reigen's inherent need for oxygen, Serizawa waited for a split second break in the other's monologue to assert himself. "Can I ask you a question?"

Without answering, Reigen kept walking. The road was asphalt, but on both sides were shallow ditches Serizawa imagined were full of water in the other seasons, for the crops. At the moment they ran dry though. As if it was some immeasurable challenge, Reigen was walking along the edge in painstaking concentration, arms outstretched to keep his balance. Kids would probably consider it a game, Reigen might have done it every day when he was younger. Walking to and from school.

He threw back his head to look at Serizawa. "Sorry, I was waiting for the question," he laughed.

"R-right, uh..." Trying to compose himself had never been this hard. "When you need to confess something important, do you think it's better to get it over with quickly or-"

"Quickly," Reigen answered without missing a beat. He turned sideways to face Serizawa properly while still walking. "It's like ripping off a bandaid, I think. The quicker you do it, the less you feel the pain."

It made sense, it had to make sense. Serizawa wanted it to make sense. Confessing you had a crush on somebody you were already pretending to date had to be the most nonsensical thing in the world. "Then I have something important to tell you..." If he waited any longer his heart might burst.

Reigen was still looking at him, still walking. "Yeah?"

"I- uh, I think I-"

Then Reigen disappeared before Serizawa's very eyes.

Or not so much disappear as manage to full stupidly into a ditch. Serizawa stopped and stared, mouth halfway open – halfway into a confession he had to muster all his resolve to even jump start but never got to finish. Reigen's leg was sticking out of the ditch, that's how shallow it was.

"I'm fine," Reigen yelled, volume not quite matching the urgency of the situation.

"Thank god." Serizawa walked over, stretched out his hand to help the best-friend-not-quite-boyfriend he had been so zealously about to declare his love for out of the ditch. Reigen managed to get upright just fine but cringed when his foot touched the ground.

"Fuck!"

"Did you hurt yourself?" Serizawa's failed attempt at a romance movie-worthy moment was forgotten in light of this fresh worry. But Reigen shook his head.

"No, it's fine. I think I just twisted it." He tried to take a few steps on it and hide the flinching. "See, I'll be good as new tomorrow."

"Not if you strain it further," Serizawa said. He cast his mind around for a solution, but as they were stranded on a near-deserted road around sunset in the middle of nowhere and with more than fifteen minutes left to walk, he couldn't see many alternatives. "I'll carry you."

Reigen laughed as if this was the most absurd proposal he had ever heard. "Serizawa, I am a grown man."

Serizawa sighed. "A grown man who just managed to twist his ankle by falling drunkenly into a ditch."

"I'm not drunk," Reigen protested.

"And I'm definitely carrying you." Serizawa turned around, crouching down a bit to make it easier. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we get home."

"You're not giving me a piggyback ride," Reigen said, but Serizawa could hear his resolve was already crumbling. "Besides, I'm way too heavy."

"Psychic powers, remember?" Serizawa clarified. "If you rather I could also leave you here until tomorrow."

He felt Reigen's arms lock around his neck a moment later, accompanied by a disgruntled noise he gladly ignored.

Pushing his hands up to support Reigen's thighs, Serizawa easily hoisted him onto his back. Even without his powers, it wouldn't be too hard for the short distance they were traveling. Reigen wasn't light exactly, but Serizawa knew he could manage if he wanted to. When he started walking, Reigen held on closer to keep from falling off, pushing his arms to the front. It was almost an embrace, his chin resting on Serizawa's shoulder.

"So-" he said softly, breath ghosting along the outer edge of Serizawa's ear. "What important thing did you need to tell me?"

Eternally grateful Reigen couldn't see his stupid blushing face, Serizawa nearly bit his tongue. The moment was gone, and maybe that was just fate telling him something important too.

Or maybe he should have been listening to Masaru all along.

"Nothing," he lied, as the sun set on another day.

Chapter Text

This chapter: a mother takes a stand – Featuring Reigen "not mad just impressed" Arataka and Serizawa "kinda impressed but mostly scared" Katsuya.

The next morning rewarded Reigen with a throbbing headache and a stabbing pain in his foot that served as solid reminders of his escapades the previous night.

While stumbling into a ditch couldn't be described as his finest moment in adulthood, it certainly was softened somewhat by the only person present to witness it also being the only person Reigen didn't mind witnessing it. He could trust Serizawa to keep his secret safe.

Speaking of, the man in question was still fast asleep. Reigen didn't entirely remember getting home last night. All he recalled was feeling giddy and flustered and being deposited on the bed at some point. His shoes were thrown into the corner, but he was still wearing his suit – now creased beyond belief from sleeping in it. It was nearly a miracle his tie hadn't choked him during the night.

He loosened it as he set out in search of a painkiller and some ice. He'd be sure to feel better by the afternoon, but for the moment he was having painful flashbacks to some of his less savory teenage experiences when friends had challenged him into doing stupid shit.

Reigen had lacked a certain common sense during puberty.

He gingerly limped his way into the kitchen, blinking at the harsh lighting that only made his headache worse. Everybody else must still be asleep, probably because they came home late last night. He kneeled in front of the freezer, a small compartment beneath the fridge – still the same one they've had since his childhood. Digging around for a bit he finally retrieved a bag of frozen vegetables he could wrap in a towel to put on his sore ankle.

"What are you looking for, dear?"

Smacking his head on the bottom of the fridge, Reigen winced. His mother walked into the kitchen, chuckling at his clumsiness. She started to make coffee while he sat down on a chair to put the ice on his ankle. He should have gotten a second bag for his head.

"I'm going to assume you had fun last night?" she said. Her back was turned towards him, so Reigen couldn't read the expression on her face, but just from her tone, he could tell she was amused by the situation. He wondered offhandedly if she would still feel that way once his father woke up.

Sometimes it was like she was a different person when Masaru wasn't around.

"So much fun I hardly remember," he said, and that did get a disapproving click of the tongue in response.

She turned around to put a cup of coffee in front of him before sitting down with her own. "Well, you missed the delightful speech of your uncle. I believe he was crying by the end of it. Couldn't say the same for his audience."

Reigen took a sip of his coffee, bitter and black. Just the right thing to wake him up. "We didn't miss anything important then?"

His mother laughed softly, trying but failing to compose her face back into a frown. "Taka, please. You're being terrible."

Last time she had called him that, he had been small enough to fit in her lap.

Looking around the kitchen, he couldn't recall how much time they spent here together when his father was gone. Reigen was always eager to help her while cooking because she let him lick the spoons when they were done. He would put his fingers into the bowl when she wasn't looking, until that time he burnt himself so badly he was crying. "Maybe this can be a lesson," she had said sternly, but still kissed the bandage when she finished applying it.

How many days had he sat at that table: reading, drawing, doing homework – while his mother sewed the buttons back on his school uniform, humming along to the radio.

It was funny how he had forgotten all that. Or maybe it had simply been overshadowed by all the rest, a dark cloud that drowns out the sun.

"I'm sorry." Reigen twirled the cup around on the table in a nervous gesture. It helped him concentrate, keeping his hands still made him distracted. "I hope us leaving early didn't cause any trouble."

His mother pretended to be genuinely surprised. "Oh my, has Katsuya rubbed off on you that much?"

"Very funny," Reigen commented. "Is it really that hard to believe I'd care?"

Maybe he had sounded more gruff than he had intended to because his mother put her hand on his arm that was lying on the table soothingly. He stopped turning the cup. "Of course not." In the soft morning light, her eyes were more colorful than ever, the dark brown shining through with amber. Her lips pulled up slightly. "I just worry... with how things are with your father."

Reigen didn't say anything. His fingers had frozen on the cup, tracing an old crack in the ceramic. He took a small breath, but it felt like it didn't fully reach his lungs. "Why do you stay?"

In the silence of the kitchen, it was hard not to look at her. The question didn't seem like it caught her off guard. Perhaps she had seen it coming from a mile away. Reigen had wanted to ask it for years now. Had wanted to ask it the week after he left this town behind.

Eventually, Yuuko exhaled into the silence. "We all make decisions in life, Arataka. Afterward, we get to worry if we were right or wrong in making them, but we still bear the consequences."

"I choose to leave," Reigen said. "You could too."

"I could." His mother stared beyond him, into the garden. A redstart had descended next to the pond, dipping its head into the cold water. It shook its feathers, a blur of brown, black, and white as droplets sprayed in all directions. Then it flew off again. "But I made this life too. I'm grateful for all it gave me."

There was no answer to that.

After a moment she continued speaking. "Your father is a difficult person. He has strange ways of showing he cares." Her hand retreated from his arm, as if she knew he wouldn't be happy hearing this next part. "But he does care."

"Yeah, about his own self-interests."

Her smile faded, replaced by something forced. Reigen felt bad – felt bad not for his father but for the woman he didn't deserve. Then he blinked and she was looking at him again, the smallest twinkle in her eye.

"He cares about the wrong things sometimes, yes. But he cares about his family more than anything. Even if he's wrong in the way he goes about it." She winked at him. "Which is exactly why you should know when to listen to him and when not to."

Nodding, he took another drink of coffee. It didn't taste half as stale as the one they made at the office.

"Tell me, Arataka. Are you happy with him?"

It took a moment for him to realize the subject had shifted. Coughing out the remaining coffee and trying to play it off as an accident instead of surprised embarrassment, Reigen swallowed. "I uh- yes." The realization of last night came back then. It hadn't left, it just hadn't demanded his full attention yet. He hadn't allowed it to. But now it was impossible to push away. "Yes, I am." Happier than he had ever been.

His mother took his empty cup from him. "Then that's all you need. And all I need as well."

Suddenly he felt incredibly guilty about all those emails sitting in his spam folder.

Reigen watched her back as she rinsed out their mugs. Her hair hung loose again, slightly curled at the bottom. Her shoulders were relaxed, released from their rigid need to be kept straightened around other people. He could see her as she truly was.

Then she glanced at him over her shoulder. "And I've been meaning to propose this, but..." Her trailing off betrayed hesitance as she worried her lip between her teeth. "I know you were supposed to be leaving later this afternoon. And we haven't really talked about it yet. The festival-"

"Yes, we'll stay."

Reigen had predicted she would ask about them extending their visit as early as the day of their arrival. He remembered walking through town with Serizawa and them being busy setting up the stands. He hadn't decided back then what to do with the offer, but seeing his mother like this, expectant and genuinely excited, it felt impossible to say no.

"I mean, I'll have to run it by Katsuya first but I can't imagine he'll mind. He actually wanted to go," he went on.

She clapped her hands in delight. "Wonderful! It will be just like when you were little."

"Not exactly the same I hope," Reigen laughed. He was terribly afraid of the festival's fireworks as a kid and would cry at them every time. He couldn't stand loud noises back then.

He wondered when that had changed.

Serizawa was awake when he got back to the bedroom, so Reigen simply flopped onto the bed beside him.

What had felt slightly weird at the beginning – having to share a bed that was – had become so natural to him he almost suspected he would miss it when it was gone. There was something inherently comforting about having Serizawa's presence near to him at night.

There was something comforting about having Serizawa's presence near him all the time actually.

Reigen buried his face in the pillow to not let the expression be shown. He didn't have time to turn into an overthinking blushing mess.

"Hangover?" Serizawa guessed out loud, misinterpreting his posture for another kind of agony.

"That too," he admitted. His ankle felt better after the ice and painkiller he took afterward. And he could walk just fine, but he probably needed a few more glasses of water for that headache to clear up all the way.

"Do you even remember that you fell in a ditch?"

Reigen groaned into the pillow. "I remember that part, yes. Thank you."

Serizawa chuckled warmly, the ringing of church bells and comfort. Reigen wondered if the pillow would be enough to smother himself with.

"Anything else?" And then the edge of anticipation to Serizawa's voice snapped him out of it.

"I don't think so?" He turned to look at Serizawa, who was standing in front of the mirror trying to smooth his hair into a somewhat reasonable shape. It always refused to allow that. "Should there be anything else?"

Serizawa's eyes caught his in the reflection of the mirror. "No-" he said quickly. Too quickly, for Reigen's taste.

He wrecked his brain trying to catch what important thing he must be forgetting, but after that third wine, it had all become a blur. It wasn't every day you realize you're in love with your best friend – a best friend who probably doesn't even like you back.

All Reigen had wanted to do back then was get shitfaced and then leave before his dad found out.

He breathed in the scent of the pillow, which over time had changed from the smell of fresh laundry into a fragrance he could only relate to the man standing in front of the mirror. It was a silly thought, but maybe he should just ask him.

Maybe Reigen just had to ask if Serizawa felt the same. Get this whole thing over with. "Hey, Serizawa. Have you considered-" The words caught in his throat. He looked away from the reflection, unable to keep looking in those eyes.

Serizawa moved, his clothes made a rustling sound as he did. "Considered what?"

"Considered if you'd still like to go to the festival?" It wasn't what Reigen had set out to ask, but when in Rome. He rolled over on his side, hoping that would help play it off like asking about the festival had been his intention all along. "My mother invited us, asked if we could stay another night. You don't have classes until Monday do you?"

"I don't." Serizawa turned around, none the wiser. "And I'd love to go."

Reigen felt like he had dodged a bullet somehow. "I'll let her know. She can probably find some old yukata lying around we can wear."

"We're wearing yukata?" Serizawa asked, surprised.

"It's part of the tradition." Reigen shrugged. "You don't have to, but why not go all out?" He hadn't worn anything even vaguely resembling a kimono in ages. But he knew his mother would be elated at the prospect, so Reigen was willing to make the effort for her.

And the idea of seeing Serizawa in one wasn't entirely holding him back either.

As expected his mother jumped at the opportunity of getting to play dress-up.

Reigen had always imagined she had spent her entire life wishing for a little girl, but when conceiving became as difficult as it had for his parents, by the time he came along they probably were glad to have a child either way. And considering his father's stance on gender roles, he must have been more pleased still. A perfect boy to uphold the family name.

While Reigen had not been a fussy child – at least, he has been told he wasn't – his mother had occasionally lamented his disdain for letting her put him in a million different handmade outfits as he grew older. Once Reigen had learned to walk as a toddler, the first thing he started doing was running away whenever she got out her dress pins.

This was her opportunity to redeem herself.

"I think any which one would be fine," Reigen tried. He knew his plea would fall on deaf ears, but you can't fault a fool for trying. His mother was elbows deep digging into the drawers of a dresser in one of the spare bedrooms. It was filled to the brim with the flowing cotton fabric of the many yukatas the family had acquired over the years.

"Nonsense," Yuuko said seriously, the creases in her brow the evidence of true concentration. "We can't just have you wearing any old thing. The colors have to at least match."

She pulled out a dark red yukata with white triangular patterns but shook her head disapprovingly. Reigen shrugged at Serizawa, who was courteous enough to let his mother have this fun.

"Here!" What appeared seemed vaguely recognizable to Reigen, as if maybe he had seen his father wear it ages ago. The midnight blue fabric was interwoven with golden details, almost seeming like starbursts against the dark blue hue. The same golden color formed a trim along the collar and both sleeves, which were short enough that they wouldn't fall much further than halfway along the forearm. Perfect for summer evenings.

She threw it at Reigen, who barely managed to catch it and the black sash that was meant to tie the yukata close – which hit him square in the face before falling limply in his hands. "Thanks."

"Now, for Katsuya... a lighter color would work better." Her search continued a few minutes longer, after which she carefully retrieved her prize. The second yukata she had chosen was such a pale gray it almost could be mistaken for white. Light blue flowers blossomed along the edges of the sleeves and around the back of the garment, though the rest was left bare. Simple but pretty.

Yuuko folded it neatly before laying it on the bed, gesturing for Reigen to hand her back the other one she had thrown at him. "We'll hang these to air out until tonight. Do you need sandals too?"

Reigen was about to answer her, when the door to the bedroom opened, interrupting his thought. He didn't need to turn around to find out who it was, there was only one person who would walk in unannounced in this house.

"Ah, there you are dear." Yuuko walked up to her husband, smoothing down her blouse. "What great timing. We were just considering our arrangement for tonight. Will you be accompanying us?"

Reigen couldn't help but frown at the formal speech his mother adopted as soon as her husband walked into the room. It could only be described as unnatural.

Masaru shook his head. "I'm afraid work obligations will keep me busy." He didn't sound terribly sorry about it to Reigen. The thought was wiped away when his father's eyes settled on him. "Speaking of work, have you given my offer any more consideration?"

Unable to keep the confusion off his face, Reigen had no choice but to let it shine through. "I thought I already had given you an answer."

"So you did." His father took another step into the room as if physically closing the distance would somehow intimidate Reigen into reconsidering. "Perhaps you had changed your mind? What with recent developments."

Serizawa stiffened beside Reigen. Reigen knew he was missing something, but couldn't openly question it if he didn't want to look horribly misinformed. "I haven't, in the slightest."

"I'm sure you can find somebody else for the business," his mother cut in, trying to ease the already building tension. Reigen felt bad for her always having to play mediator.

His father looked displeased all the same. "It's not about me being unable to find somebody else," he said. "It's about me wanting to-"

"Masaru, stop."

He stared at her, the frown on his face deepening. Reigen could only discern the disgust inside of himself, how his father looked right then as a child who was told no for the very first time.

"Are you encouraging this?" There was danger in that voice, the threat of a challenge untaken.

Yuuko did not react to the provocation. "I'm encouraging Arataka knowing what he wants out of life. That's how we raised him."

Masaru bristled. "We raised him not to fail this family name. Why must you condone this farce? He's even dating another man-"

Whatever Masaru was about to say was interrupted by his wife's hand hitting his cheek. Instinctively, Reigen might have flinched despite it not even being him who had been hit. The result was similar to stepping into an ice-cold shower unexpectedly, an icy sensation that ran all the way through. Serizawa had tensed even more.

"Go outside now." Reigen hardly recognized his mother's voice when she addressed them.

"Mom-"

"Just for a minute." She smiled at him and it was so much the antithesis of that same smile a few hours earlier that Reigen couldn't do anything but heed her words. "I'll be right there."

Serizawa had grabbed his hand – either for his own sake or Reigen's, it would bring them both comfort – and closed the door once they were both outside. Whatever ensued between those two was too hushed for them to hear.

Reigen's hands were shaking.

He didn't know why. It was stupid – it was really fucking stupid. He had no reason to be upset. But his hands were shaking and the rest of his body too and then Serizawa was holding him, wrapping his arms around Reigen to keep him still.

If he could just breathe in tune with Serizawa's heartbeat, he knew everything would be alright.

"Your father," Serizawa said, when it felt safe enough to break the silence. He took a step back, but Reigen already missed that warmth of that embrace. "He looked into me, so he knows I'm not a med student. Just a lowly salary worker. I don't think he knows about the ghost hunting though."

Despite himself, Reigen couldn't help but snort. "Figures he'd do something like that." That explained the comment about developments.

The door opened again. Reigen's mother came out and closed it behind her, face composed as if nothing had happened. But they could both tell her red-rimmed eyes and the slightly paler tracks of tears that had run along her cheeks.

"Are you-" Reigen began, but she put her hand on his arm.

"We all make our choices. You don't get to carry my mistakes dear," she said. "Don't worry about him and his old-fashioned ideas. We'll have fun tonight."

Reigen couldn't do much more than nod, dumbstruck.

"Oh, and Katsuya dear?" She turned to him and Serizawa jumped like a soldier called to attention.

"Y-yes ma'am?"

"One is never too old to start their education, whichever direction it takes them in." She leaned in as if to whisper in his ears, though spoke loud enough for Reigen to easily catch still. "I'm glad you both have found what makes you happy in life."

Serizawa tried to smile, though he ended up looking vaguely terrified instead. Reigen couldn't blame him. "Thank you."

"Now, about those sandals..."

With some uncomfortable amusement, Reigen had to consider if maybe he had been terrified of the wrong parent all along.

Chapter Text

This chapter: lanterns aren't the only things getting heated at this festival – Featuring Serizawa "finally daring to take a chance" Katsuya and Reigen "thank god one of us has the courage to make the first move" Arataka.

"How do I look?" Serizawa asked anxiously, turning himself around in front of the mirror. He hadn't worn traditional clothing in forever and honestly, wasn't sure if he was pulling the look off. Any yukata always felt too baggy to him, as if he had to move carefully or the fabric would fall off. He tugged at the sash again to make sure it was secure.

"You look fine," Reigen assured him. "I mean, you look good. Which is fine. Better than fine even." He stumbled over his words a bit. Serizawa figured it must be the fight his parents had that was still bothering him. Yuuko had refused to elaborate on it, and for his own part, Serizawa wasn't going to ask.

They were only staying for one more night.

The prospect of going back to their daily life was both reassuring and daunting. Serizawa wasn't sure what had changed between them - though something certainly would have. Reigen and he had been friends before, but it was different to have such intimate knowledge of a person's private life. To have shared a bed with them and-

He shook his head. Maybe the changes had been mostly inside himself.

"These are such a hassle," Reigen was complaining to himself. Serizawa turned around to see him tugging at the sleeves. They weren't nearly as cumbersome as those on a proper kimono would be, yet still too big for Reigen. He must be less tall than the family member who it had originally been intended for.

"I like them," Serizawa said automatically. Say what you would about Yuuko, she knew a thing or two about fashion. Despite not having the best fit, Reigen's yukata fell around his frame nicely, the color suiting his lighter hair color. When he moved, there was an elegant air to the way the fabric flowed. Serizawa found himself blushing in the face of his own thoughts. "I mean, we never get much chance to wear traditional clothing while in the city." Not a complete lie at least.

He just needed to put tomorrow out of his mind for the time being.

"I'll wear a suit over this any day," Reigen said. He bunched the sleeves up around his elbows. "Ready to go?"

Serizawa's mouth was almost too dry for him to give a proper answer. "I'm ready."

The festival grounds were lavishly decorated for the occasions, much more so than Serizawa had expected for this small town. Wires had been strung between all lampposts and rooftops, hung heavy with lanterns that flickered life onto the scene. They had barely started approaching and an assault of intermingled scents was already upon them, making Serizawa thankful he had eaten before they came. All of the typical festival activities and foods imaginable must have been available going by the number of stands that had popped up along the street, all leading in a line towards the temple stairs, where the kami would be worshiped. Around the bottom of the hill, the pathway led round and to the river.

Toro Nagashi - or so Reigen had informed him - was about honoring your ancestors, and to do that one would send a floating lantern down the river. With it, you could send your wishes for the future, or any passing regrets you had. Visiting the graveyard was also a common tradition, but Reigen had politely declined his mother's offer to join her in that regard.

"Well, I'm sure you two will manage to enjoy yourself." Yuuko winked at Reigen, which he didn't acknowledge but made Serizawa chuckle. "We'll meet each other again a little later?"

They watched her start to ascend the temple stairs for a moment. Then Reigen shrugged and grabbed Serizawa's hand. "It's your first time, right?"

Trying not to notice the double entendre his own mind supplied in response to those words, Serizawa nodded. "Yeah. I didn't even go as a kid."

"Then let's make up for that."

They walked along the cobblestone path, enjoying the pleasant atmosphere that naturally hung around events like these. Children ran around playfully, weaving through the legs of adults as they chased each other with breathless cries. The lantern light almost blotted out the distant glow of stars in the cloudless sky, but if Serizawa squinted enough he was just able to discern the shape of a crescent moon. Reigen pulled him along and pointed out stands hung with masks in spirit's likeness and games set up with various prices. From ring tossing to senbonbiki, all manner of activities had been provided.

Near the foot of the stairs, a statue of the kami was set up for offerings, in exchange for which you'd pull a thin strip of calligraphy paper out of a box. Supposedly this could predict your fortune.

"I never have any luck with these," Reigen lamented even as he was drawing one. He folded the paper open and sighed, showing Serizawa. "See, half-blessing. At least I didn't get cursed this time."

"Maybe I can share some of mine with you?" Serizawa said. Future blessing was proclaimed in large characters at the top of the fortune he had drawn.

"The ideal time to make important changes and decisions in your life," Reigen read out loud. A smile curled around his lips as they continued walking, side by side and close enough that their shoulders occasionally brushed into each other. "I could use that."

Serizawa breathed in the warm summer air and secretly wished this moment could last forever.

"Wait, you never went to a festival, not even as a kid you said?" Reigen suddenly stopped and Serizawa had to stop too since they were still connected through their intertwined fingers. Maybe that would be what he missed most when they went back home, being able to hold Reigen's hand without a second thought like this.

"Not even once." It was probably not the most pressing thing on his mother's mind after his father left and she had to put all her effort into supporting them both.

"Then you have to try this."

The stand that Reigen walked them to was crowded around by parents, watching their children kneel in front of a large circular tub of water. Just below the shimmering surface must be at least fifty goldfish, swimming around without a care in the world. They didn't even seem bothered as small bowls with paper bottoms were lowered into the tub, the kids desperately trying to snare a fish of their own. The game seemed to entail both patience and agility. Go too fast and the fish could easily escape your grasp, wait too long and the paper would wear thin and give out. Some people were encouraging their children to do their best, while others were more than pleased to see them fail. Winning a goldfish meant taking them home and not every parent was jumping at the opportunity for a newfound pet.

Reigen of course belonged in the former bracket.

"But I'm an adult," Serizawa protested meekly, a plea that fell on deaf man's ears. Reigen was already handing him a poi made of washi paper he had been given after exchanging money with the vendor. In his other hand was a plastic bag filled with water. Kneeling down next to the tub and pulling Serizawa with him, Reigen was possibly more excited about this than warranted.

"So? It's harder than you think if you give it a try. I know I never managed it."

Serizawa nodded, noticing at least one disgruntled child being carried off in tears after being unsuccessful in their attempts to win the game.

He waited to lower the net into the water, watching carefully. The fish were deceptively calm, but Serizawa knew the water was likely to play tricks on the eyes. With the way the surface rippled from every movement, it was impossible to tell the depth of the tub and by extension - how far he had to reach to catch a fish. If he miscalculated, he'd simply aim too high.

Biting his lip for extra concentration, Serizawa started feeling the giddy excitement that made this game so appealing for most in the first place. Reigen wasn't looking at the water but rather at his face - something that would normally make him nervous but now filled Serizawa with the urge to impress him.

Which was silly because winning a children's game shouldn't be impressive to anyone.

When one of the fish swam right beneath his hand, Serizawa moved. He didn't know who out of the two of them was more surprised that he managed to catch one on his first try - Reigen's mouth practically fell open in shock. He only recovered in time to extend the tiny plastic bag they could use to take it home, something Serizawa only now realized would really be happening. Maybe he hadn't thought this through.

Reigen held the bag up a bit, with both hands and meticulous care. The fish was smaller than his companions still in the tub were, but a beautiful pure white in color with big patches of orange and some tiny spots of black.

"Did you cheat?" Reigen asked.

Serizawa sputtered and tried not to sound too affronted. "Is that what you think of me?"

"Not at all." Reigen lowered the bag again to look at him, the warm lantern light reflecting off his face, glowing. "I just genuinely thought it was impossible to win these on the first try, they're usually rigged."

Serizawa laughed. "Maybe I'm just that amazing."

The joke fell flat when Reigen smiled at him. "Maybe you are."

Doing his best not to be obvious, Serizawa looked away. One of the boys near them clapped in delight when his older sister managed to catch a fish for him, hugging her with all his might. She patted his head.

"It is kind of ridiculous though…" Reigen said, and Serizawa forced his attention back. "We're not even married and we're already adopting."

Serizawa took the bag from him, face heating up impossibly even more. "The fish?"

"Our fish." Reigen tapped his chin in thought. "I'm thinking of Kachi for a name. I feel it's suitable."

Shaking his head, Serizawa didn't protest. He was fairly certain Reigen had named every single potted plant in their office, he would just never admit to it.

The fish would be a fine addition.

"What are you wishing for?" Reigen asked.

"If I tell you then that would defeat the purpose right?" Serizawa was having considerable trouble with the writing, finding the paper surface of the lantern too small to comfortably fit his spacious scrawling on. This is why he preferred taking his notes for class with a laptop.

Reigen pursed his lips, displeased with his unwillingness to answer, but didn't ask again. He had finished his own lantern a while ago, folding the paper with practiced ease. He really wasn't lying when he said that attending the festival used to be a yearly occurrence for him. Leaning forward, Reigen offered Serizawa another one of his takoyaki.

"That's a superstition."

A bold statement coming from somebody who made part of his living off other people's superstitions, but Serizawa didn't feel the need to point that out. He finished his last line, ending it with the mandatory thanks to the kami should it decide to bless him with good fortune as well.

He couldn't shake the thought that no divine intervention in the world would be enough to help him with what he had written down.

"How do you-" Serizawa started a valiant attempt at folding the papers into a hollow square to be put over the candle but failed miserably. Reigen put his hands over Serizawa's own, nearly making him jump out of his skin with how close he suddenly was.

Another thing Serizawa was going to miss. The casual familiarity of Reigen's touch would fade from his life if they went back home. He swallowed away the disappointment this warranted inside his mind.

They put the lanterns in the water, watching them slowly drift away. There they joined dozens of others, bumping into each other as the stream carried them downriver. As magical as the sight was, Serizawa couldn't help but feel oddly saddened by it - and not just because these floating lights were meant to symbolize the departed souls of the dead.

The materials used for the lanterns were such that they would all degrade with time. In a few days, nothing would be left of the wishes sent down so ceremoniously. It was the gesture that carried the weight of intention, he knew, but that didn't make it any less forlorn in Serizawa's mind.

With sunlight, these wishes too would fade.

Reigen curled his fingers tighter around Serizawa's hand as they walked back towards the temple grounds.

They met Yuuko at the top of the staircase. She asked them how the festival had been for them and gushed over the sight of Kachi, swimming lazy circles in its baggy.

"I do believe we have a bowl at home," she said thoughtfully. "Or something that can serve for you to take him on the train without risk. Until you can get a proper aquarium." She took the bag from Reigen. "I'll keep little Kachi safe until then, before Arataka confines you to that horrible office of his."

Reigen was predictably offended at her comment. "We've kept plenty of plants alive and happy in the office."

"I know," Yuuko said. Then she turned to Serizawa. "Thank you for taking responsibility."

Serizawa burst out laughing, and didn't mind if it made Reigen pout at him like a petulant child. In fact, he quite enjoyed it. Yuuko promised to find them after she had been around the stands herself. Now that most people had descended to the river for the show that was about to commence, the stalls would be less crowded.

"There is a reason we came up here, you know," Reigen said then. "We didn't just go up all those stairs again for fun."

Serizawa hoped so, since the sandals had made climbing the steps that much harder. He had nearly broken his neck climbing the hill, but Reigen had assured him it would be worth it in the end.

"Most people watch the firework from the riverbank," Reigen explained, leading Serizawa off the path a bit and into the grass and shrubbery growing along the temple grounds. Once they passed a few trees, they found themselves at the slope of the hill, with a perfect view of the town below. "But we discovered this pot when I was younger. It's much less crowded here, and just as easy to see the fireworks from."

As if fate itself decided to confirm this declaration, the first arrow exploded in the sky. Serizawa could see the river run below, and the place the firework was being shot from. But Reigen hadn't been lying about how well you could see the display from this vantage point.

Firework after firework made the sky explode with colors, greens and reds that sparked in the night before falling down like wayward stars thrown from the heavens. Some lingered longer than others, almost suspended as if their very presence would defy gravity. Even before they had started falling completely, the next arrow would burst open, illuminating the scene.

The display was downright breathtaking, and more than Serizawa had ever seen in his life. But partway through he made the mistake of looking at the man standing next to him.

Reigen was staring up at the stars, completely oblivious to the way Serizawa was fascinated by him instead. Every burst of firework made bright colors mirror in his eyes, threw shadows over them both. Their hands were still clasped together and for what was not the first time this evening, Serizawa was hit by the sudden clarity that he didn't want to let go.

He didn't want this to be over anytime soon.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Reigen asked, and then he was turning his head, smiling at Serizawa in a way that was both uniquely his and truly captivating and Serizawa felt his heart grow tight with endearment.

"It is..." was the most he managed to say before it broke the resolve inside him.

Instinct was the only word he could use to describe what spurred his actions, the overwhelming impulse and an understanding that if Serizawa didn't risk doing something stupid now he would never again.

And he was either right or he was wrong but all he knew was that he couldn't live with the burden of never knowing which it was.

The distance was closed easily, mere inches bridged by a slight lean and bending down, and then his lips locked with Reigen's, a soft press that was more question than statement. As if he was even then seeking for permission to be allowed this selfishness in finding out.

Reigen made a noise, half smothered in the suddenness and for one fragile moment, Serizawa thought he was pulling back. Maybe he had misinterpreted the smallest signs out of his own desire for requital.

Maybe Reigen hadn't felt the same way about him after all.

But then that fear was stifled by Reigen pressing forward again, the kiss growing closer but just as chaste. What couldn't have lasted more than a handful of seconds at most felt like an eternity to Serizawa, but when the next firework exploded across the sky they were already breaking apart.

For the first time - completely freely in allowing himself to do so - Serizawa thought Reigen must be the most astounding person he had ever met.

Reigen laughed, slightly breathless and tinged with amusement. His eyes were half-lidded. "I thought you were never going to get around to doing that," he said.

Serizawa could feel his entire face heat up but didn't have much time to think about it when he was kissed again.

Chapter Text

This chapter: all good things must come to an end, for new beginnings to prosper – Featuring Reigen "actually done with this shit now" Arataka and Serizawa "happiest man on earth" Katsuya.

If anybody were to ask, Reigen would have to tell them that he had not spent the last three days vicariously daydreaming about what it would be like for Serizawa Katsuya to kiss him.

Because Reigen was a fraud and a liar - a very good one at that. And he had not spent the better part of his adult years biting his tongue every time an embarrassing thought crossed his mind just for his entire image to be ruined by the first reasonably handsome, kind, and amazing man to walk into his life.

But that had been before Serizawa was actually kissing him, which he was doing at the moment, pressing against him in both hesitance and impatience, equal measures of satisfaction at having done something risky and fear over the consequences of such a dangerous lapse of judgment.

Maybe that's what Reigen should be thinking about too: consequences. Instead, he was pressing back and bringing his hands up to grab onto Serizawa's elbows, hoping to find a modicum of balance in the world. Holding on for dear life, not minding one bit if it took forever for him to find so long as it meant the touch would continue indefinitely.

And if he told Serizawa how much he had wanted this, perhaps that didn't have to be such a bad thing.

They kissed again, prompted by Reigen this time who felt that he should. To make sure Serizawa had gotten the message. The touch was soft and comfortable and weirdly nostalgic like coming home was supposed to be, which described Serizawa perfectly to Reigen. It lingered when he pulled back, at which point Serizawa had turned a shade of red usually only seen in sunburnt people.

As if he only now realized what he had done, Serizawa jumped. "Oh, I uh- I didn't mean to-"

"I certainly hope you did," Reigen said lightly, the rushing in his head making it a bit harder than usual to form the words.

"No! I mean, yes-" Serizawa went on urgently, then covered his face with his hands. "Great, now I'm ruining the moment."

Reigen laughed, endeared with whole the affair and still slightly breathless. "We were having a moment?"

With a sigh, Serizawa seemed to resign himself to the turn of events. His hands were still pushed against Reigen's sides from when they were kissing, as he hadn't pulled them away yet after they stopped – something Reigen was secretly thankful for.

He allowed Serizawa to stay like that for a few seconds longer, inner delight barely snuffed out by the suddenness of it all but Reigen knew they would have to address this sooner or later and he'd rather do that before his mother came traipsing through the bushes with a search party thinking they had fallen off the mountain or something.

That didn't mean he wouldn't appreciate it had he been given the ability to soak in the afterglow forever.

"So uh..." He licked his lips, suddenly at a loss for what to say. "Are we dating now? Like, real dating."

Serizawa finally pulled back, almost making Reigen regret speaking up. "I guess?"

"Is that a question or...?"

A small laugh escaped Serizawa. "I would say yes, if you want to as well."

Reigen looked away, hating the stubborn blush creeping its way back onto his face. He had just kissed this man for God's sake – twice. You'd think he'd be over his own embarrassment by now. But there was a difference between actions and words and for him, there had always been a certain disconnect between them.

He felt he was finally reaching a point where he was ready to say some things out loud instead of keeping them bottled up.

"I do," Reigen said decidedly, bringing up one hand to cup against the side of Serizawa's face and it was warm and natural. The faintest hint of stubble that he could trace beneath his fingertips. Like puzzle pieces that fit so naturally into place. "I'd love that, actually."

Serizawa's shoulders sagged a little in relief. Reigen hadn't noticed him actively holding his breath the entire time but there was definitely a sense of pressure lifted off him. Which in turn only made Reigen feel better. He bit his lip.

"After all, you did already propose to me. We might be doing this whole relationship thing in the wrong order."

The firework display had wrapped up at this point, leaving them in the dark of a twilight rapidly turning into night. They should be heading back, Reigen knew, but somehow still couldn't bring himself to move.

"I'm not exactly experienced at this," Serizawa said, half light-hearted and half self-reproach. His eyes shifted over Reigen's face.

"Hm, then I guess that's all the more opportunity for me to teach you."

Reigen wasted no time pushing up on his toes to kiss Serizawa again.

They should really pat themselves on the back later because they must be excellent actors.

If his mother had taken any notice of the shift in their dynamic, she wasn't being upfront about it. Reigen wondered if they had simply been that naturally convincing as a couple and if so, what that said about the two of them and their relationship before this trip.

They walked home beneath the stars, idle chatter and stolen glances. He was still trying to wrap his head around what had happened, how a week that he had been dreading far too long and went into thinking that coming out of the other end unscathed was the best he could hope for, had become the complete opposite of all his expectations.

Reigen should get drunk more often.

The thought couldn't even be stifled by their arrival back to the house, windows still illuminated by the telltale glow of his father working away into the night. Reigen's mother hushed their soft laughter as they went inside, ever mindful of others. Pushing against Serizawa's elbow playfully, they made their way into the kitchen.

Masaru looked up from his papers, features drawn back in stubborn consternation. He had clearly been disturbed by their noisy entrance, and Reigen waited for him to comment on it but his father apparently thought better of it.

Tomorrow, Reigen reminded himself. Tomorrow they would be going home and none of it would even matter.

As his mother started going on about the festival and what a shame it was Masaru hadn't joined them, she retrieved a large bowl from beneath the kitchen sink and started filling it with water. The plastic baggy with Kachi was put carefully inside, where it would have to remain for a while for the fish to be able to adjust. Reigen watched it turn circles in its confinement without a care in the world.

"Next time you should really join us," his mother finished.

Tapping his brow with a pen, Reigen's father sighed. "I had to arrange an entire transfer last minute since we had to fill the position left vacant by Arataka not deciding to take it."

The jab was weak at best and not even aimed at him. Yet Reigen couldn't help bristling in response. Maybe that's what people meant when they described it like a volcano, not a sudden combustion but a slow built-up of frustration that had no choice but to blow up eventually.

"And I'm still extremely glad I didn't," he heard himself say. "In fact, I would rather have gone back to that shitty office job I had before than work at your company."

Shutting his jaw with an audible click, his father stared at him. Reigen couldn't tell if he was perturbed at his words, his tone, or at him speaking up at all. After a second, he seemed to compose himself.

"If you want to spend the rest of your life as a failure to the family name then so be it."

Despite everything, the words still stung – in a distant sort of way. Reigen clicked his tongue. "Miles better than spending it with a father who doesn't give a shit about me and lives off nepotism to fill the emptiness of his life."

Masaru's cold gaze fell on Reigen, but what had once felt like a blizzard barely even touched him anymore.

"If that is your final decision, this will be the last time you set foot in this house."

There was the threat Reigen had been anticipating. The words of a desperate man pulling at straws. His father must know he had no bargaining chips left to play if he resorted to such a hollow ultimatum.

And pathetically enough, Reigen knew that under any other circumstances it might have worked. He might have been intimidated by the finality lurking beneath the surface of this statement. No matter how much you hated something, it could be easy to crawl back towards it if you were too scared not to.

Or if you had nothing else to return to.

Serizawa clutched Reigen's hand tighter in his own.

"That would be the point, yeah."

He had never seen his father turn pale so quickly, followed by a quick reddening of the face as he realized his intimidation tactic had missed the mark. "You're making a mistake!" he tried, voice rising in pitch. At that moment Reigen couldn't tell what about this man had frightened him to begin with. "You'll be back!"

"No, I don't think we will be!"

Then he was outside of the room, without even remembering walking out and still connected to Serizawa by them holding hands. It was like a weak mirror image of before the festival, Reigen shaking again. And just like before Serizawa moved to envelop him by instinct, comfort him.

Reigen shook his head, trying to speak but unable to. Serizawa looked worried.

"Are you-"

Switching to a few rapid nods, Reigen tried to stifle his laughter. Serizawa looked appropriately confused about the situation.

"I should have done this ages ago," Reigen managed to say. He felt dizzy, but that was probably just the adrenaline rush. "Katsuya, I should have done this from the very start."

Serizawa blinked at him. "Ah, uh... yes, I agree." But he could probably understand better than anybody else why Reigen hadn't.

"And I never should have let him get away with being an asshole in the first place. Especially to you." He shook his head, on the edge of an apology but unable to give one. He knew Serizawa would tell him he had nothing to apologize for anyway.

The smile on Serizawa's face told him he knew regardless.

"Let's go pack our bags," Reigen said. He was ready for the charade to be over.

The town faded from view behind them as the train pulled out of the station, shrinking the building down until it was merely a dot on the horizon. Reigen stared at it listlessly, some odd combination of nostalgia and release coalescing in his gut.

A week ago, he couldn't have waited to leave this place behind him. And while that hadn't changed exactly, it was definitely not the kind of departure he had been expecting. His mother had seen them off at the station, not quite hurt hiding behind her eyes.

Reigen had put it in clear words that he would genuinely love for her to come visit them anytime. Without his father. He was kind of looking forward to it already.

Tapping his fingers on the window in an unsteady rhythm, Serizawa caught his wrist and pulled his arm towards the space between them instead. Without hesitation, Reigen entwined their fingers. Not much different from how they did when just arriving.

"So we've had the adoption, the wedding, the proposal, and the sleeping together all over with," he said lightly. "Once we get back home maybe I could take you on a proper first date."

With a hum, Serizawa leaned back in the seat, using his other hand to keep Kachi's bowl steady on the fold-out table. "I'd love that, actually," he answered.

Reigen smiled and didn't even feel the need to look out the window again as his hometown disappeared from view.

How could a heart like yours

Ever love a heart like mine?

How could I live before?

How could I have been so blind?

You opened up my eyes