Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Aaaah, it’s so cold out!”

Katsuya couldn’t help but chuckle at his boyfriend’s theatrics as they stepped back into the office, shuddering at the warmth it provided.

“Well, it’s December, after all,” he mused, taking his coat off and hanging it up on the coat rack near the door.

“Yeah, but the weather doesn’t even have the decency to snow if it’s gonna be so cold!” Arataka complained as he took his own coat off, draping it over the back of his chair.

“I think you just miss the mountains where you grew up,” Katsuya replied as he walked over to the kitchenette, grabbing a bag of tea. Arataka laughed softly as he sat down.

“Well, maybe.” He heard the click of Arataka’s mouse. “Hm... looks like we don’t have any appointments for the rest of the day. Wanna take off and grab dinner if we don’t get any walk-ins before five?”

“That sounds nice.”

“Great, where do you want to go?”

“Hmm... I don’t know, you pick.”

“I always pick, though.”

“Well, you’re better at picking stuff like that than I am.”

“What if I want to eat something spicy, though? You hate spicy food.”

Katsuya laughed, leaning back to look at his boyfriend.

“I trust you not to do something like that.”

Arataka blushed, a tiny smile on his face as he turned away. He brushed some hair behind his ear, and Katsuya’s heart skipped a beat.

I love you, Katsuya thought but didn’t say.

He had had that thought a lot, recently. It made him happy- he’d never thought he’d get to say something like that to anyone other than his mother, especially not to someone as wonderful as Arataka.

He hadn’t said it yet, of course. Even after four months of being together, it still felt... too soon. The thought of scaring Arataka off was much worse than the effort of holding those words back, so he decided not to say it.

Someday. But not yet.

“W-Well, uh... how about we just go to our regular ramen place, then? It’ll be nice with how cold it is out.”

Katsuya smiled.

“That sounds-!”

The sound of the door opening interrupted him.

“Um... e... excuse me, are you open?” A quiet, feminine voice with a slight Kansai accent asked.

“Ah, yes, we are!” Arataka said, immediately shifting into salesman mode as he got up from his desk. “Welcome to Spirits and Such, we’re very happy to have you here! How can we help you today, miss?”

“Er, well... it’s... it’s kinda complicated...”

“That’s quite alright, miss, we’re prepared for anything you might throw at us! Come, sit, my partner’s making tea if you’d like some.”

Katsuya felt an odd tingle at the back of his neck, making him pause.

“Your... your partner?”

“Yes, of course! Serizawa?” They’d agreed to only use last names around clients, but it still felt a little weird after being together for this long. “Serizawa, is the tea almost ready?”

“Almost, just one moment!”

Another weird tingle. Katsuya frowned, but shook it off, turning his attention back to the teapot.

“Right this way- ah, sorry, I didn’t ask your name.”

“Oh, um, it’s- it’s Tsumugi.”

“Tsumugi-san, then. Please take a seat.”

“A-Alright...”

The teapot whistled as the faux-leather of the seats groaned; Katsuya winced at the sudden overload of sound, but quickly shook it off and took out three cups.

“So tell me, what’s on your mind?” He heard Arataka ask as he placed the cups on the tray.

“Um, well... I guess you could say it’s- it’s a problem with my dad...”

“Ah, well, that’s very normal around your age! You’re around sixteen, right?”

“Um. I’m- I’m seventeen, actually.”

“I see, I see. Actually, now that I think about it, you’re not from Seasoning City, are you?”

“Eh? How- how did you know?”

Arataka chuckled lowly as Katsuya placed the teapot on the tray and picked it up.

“You saw all the signs, didn’t you? I’m the 21st Century’s Greatest Psychic!”

Katsuya resisted the urge to roll his eyes fondly as he turned back into the main office. He blinked at the sight of their client, but quickly plastered a smile on his face. 

Arataka of course would never admit it, but there was a much more obvious way for him to have realized Tsumugi wasn’t from around here, even besides her accent- her school uniform. None of the schools in the area had olive green blazers and plaid skirts as part of their uniform, especially not paired with a bright pink bow. Her long, dark, curly hair was a bit frizzy, cascading over her blue muffler and down to her hips. Her black tights were paired with a pair of slightly beat-up hiking boots, ones that he assumed wasn’t a typical part of the uniform, and a pair of chunky, over-the-ear headphones hung out of a beige tote bag with an Eevee keychain on it.

Her eyes were also trained straight on the coffee table, as if she were too afraid to make eye contact with Arataka.

He could kind of understand that, honestly- in his first month or so, he’d barely been able to look him in the eye for fear of somehow offending him.

He smiled gently, placing the tea tray down and picking up the pot. Just as he started pouring, though, Tsumugi inhaled sharply.

“Y-You...”

He turned, his smile turning to a frown at the wide-eyed look on her face.

“Tsumugi-san? Are you alright-?”

In the blink of an eye, all of the tea came rushing out of the top of the pot, splattering on his hands and suit sleeves. He yelped at the heat, the pot slipping out of his hands, but before he could use his powers to catch it, an entirely different aura surrounded it, a slightly pinker shade of purple than his own. 

His eyes fell on Tsumugi’s outstretched hands.

“I’m so sorry!” She cried as she placed the pot down, looking as though she were about to burst into tears at any second. “I didn’t-! I’ll pay for, for dry-cleaning or burn care or whatever-!”

“It’s fine,” Katsuya interrupted, smiling in spite of the way his skin stung from the boiling tea. “It- it happens, don’t worry about it.”

She looked like she wanted to argue, but Katsuya turned away before she could, taking off his jacket and quickly rolling up his shirt sleeves before walking over to the kitchenette to run his hands under cold water. He came back a moment later, taking the seat next to Arataka.

“So,” Arataka started after a moment. “You’re an esper.”

Tsumugi flinched, eyes darting from side to side.

“Ah, well, um... yes. I... I’ve had powers since I was... maybe five or six? That’s when I remember first noticing it, anyway.”

“I see.” Arataka leaned back in his chair, smirking a bit. “Well, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve helped plenty of espers get a handle on their powers, so-!”

“Oh!” Tsumugi shook her head. “No, um, that’s- that’s not why I’m here.”

Katsuya blinked, glancing over at Arataka, who looked just as surprised as he felt.

“You’re... you’re not?”

“No, I- I know it’s probably hard to believe after what just happened, but I actually have a pretty good handle on my powers.” She turned to Katsuya with a small smile. “I honestly was just surprised at how much you look like him.”

Katsuya blinked, then furrowed his brow and pointed at himself.

“Me? Wait, who do I look like?”

Tsumugi flinched, casting her gaze back on the coffee table.

“R-Right... um... how do I put this...?”

She was quiet for a moment, but just as Katsuya was about to speak again she suddenly stood up.

“Right! Okay, um... my... my name is...”

Tsumugi faltered for a second, hands shaking at her sides.

“Tsumugi-san-!”

“My name is Serizawa Tsumugi!” She suddenly shouted. “I’m seventeen, in class 2-B at Plum High School in Fruit City, and- and I think we have the same dad!”

She bowed deeply, hair hanging down like a waterfall.

“Nice to meet you!”

Katsuya blinked, his brain stuttering to a halt.

“S... Serizawa... Tsumugi...?”

She nodded as she stood up; her hair completely covered her face, and she parted it like curtains.

“Y-Yes, that’s me! I-I saw your picture on, on an article about the occult, and... yeah.”

“O... Oh...” 

Katsuya swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, heart pounding so hard he wouldn’t have been shocked if Arataka could feel it next to him. 

Distantly, he heard Arataka clear his throat.

“Tsu... Tsumugi-san, it’s- it’s not that I- that we don’t believe you, but it’s not like Serizawa is that uncommon of a surname.”

Tsumugi shook her head, turning to root around in her bag. She pulled out her phone, tapping on it a few times before turning it towards them. A family photo was displayed on the screen, showing Tsumugi, a young man probably a couple of years older than her, a middle-aged woman (but still younger than his mother), and...

“Look, that’s him,” Tsumugi said, pointing at the older man in the photo. “Serizawa Shinjiro.”

Katsuya’s stomach turned.

The man’s face was lined, mostly near the corners of his eyes and mouth, and he had gray hair now, but even after all this time, after nineteen years, he...

He still recognized his father’s face.

His father’s face, eyes bright and lips curved in a smile, teeth showing just a bit.

Had he ever smiled like that in any of the photos he’d taken with Katsuya and his mom?

When was the last time Katsuya had made him smile like that?

Or smile at all?

He could barely remember him ever being happy, just tired or angry or- or afraid-!

“...zawa? Katsuya? Are you okay?”

Katsuya blinked, flushing a bit when he realized that both Arataka and Tsumugi were staring at him with concern on their faces. He plastered a smile on his face.

“A-Ah, sorry, just... it’s- it’s kind of a lot to take in, yeah? I mean, up until just now I thought I was an... an only child, so...”

Tsumugi smiled, nodding as she brushed some hair behind her ear.

“I get that. I mean, I grew up thinking I only had one older brother, and then suddenly bam, it turns out I actually got a whole nother-!”

A tinny ringtone blared out, interrupting Tsumugi and nearly startling her into dropping her phone. She blinked at it, then swallowed, lips pressing into a thin line.

“Shit...” She swallowed again, then tapped her phone and put it to her ear. “H-Hey, Mom!”

Mom. 

Not his mom. Tsumugi’s mom.

His father’s wife.

Katsuya’s stomach twisted again, and he pressed his hands together, tangling his fingers.

“I’m fine! I just- well, school got out early cause of finals, so I kinda... maybe... took the train to Seasoning City.”

“WHAT?!” Katsuya heard Tsumugi’s mother yell over the phone. He and Tsumugi both flinched at the sound, Tsumugi’s eyes closing for a second as her mother continued to yell.

“No, no, I-! It’s fine, really- no, I know it’s almost three hours away, but I’m fine! I brought pepper spray and everything! A-And I brought my textbooks with me, so I can study on the train back!”

He heard her mother sigh, then say something else he couldn’t quite make out, and Tsumugi’s shoulders tensed.

“Um... well...” Tsumugi took a breath. “Mom? Did... did you know Dad had another kid before Natsuo?”

Katsuya’s heartbeat quickened, and he looked away. Her mother was silent on the other end for a good minute, then said something quick and sharp.

“Mom-!”

Tsumugi winced as her mother repeated herself, face falling a bit.

“Y-Yeah, I... okay. I’ll see you soon.” Her mother said something else. “Mmhm. You too. Bye.”

She hung up, turning back to them with a guilty expression.

“I... have to get home now.” She bowed. “I’m- I’m very sorry for any trouble I caused.”

“It’s... it’s fine,” Katsuya managed.

It wasn’t. It really, really wasn’t, but he couldn’t put that on a kid.

Tsumugi smiled, just a tiny bit, then started rooting around in her bag a bit.

“Um... I saw your consultation prices on your website. I don’t think I can really afford to pay the whole thing today, but if you have a payment plan-!”

“No, no, don’t worry about it,” Arataka interrupted, shaking his head. “Consider this a freebie.”

Tsumugi’s eyes lit up, and she smiled, bowing deeply.

“Thank you so much!”

Arataka laughed, a little too hollow to be genuine, then got up and walked Tsumugi out of the office. 

Katsuya stared at the coffee table, his mind racing.

His father... he hadn’t thought about his father in years, not since...

Since he locked himself away.

Katsuya swallowed, clenching his jaw.

It had been easier to pretend that his father stopped existing the minute he walked out the front door. That he’d disappeared to some far off place, far enough away that it made sense that Katsuya never heard from him again, where they didn’t have cell phones or email or- or a postal service.

He knew, in his heart of hearts, that such a place probably didn’t exist in this day and age- even Antarctica occassionally got mail.

His father hadn’t even left Japan.

He’d been three hours away, this whole time.

Three hours away, with a new wife and a new (better) son and a daughter, the second child that he’d pretended not to hear his parents arguing over whenever they weren’t arguing about him.

His father had a new family.

A new family, which meant he didn’t need-!

“Katsuya?”

Katsuya startled, nearly falling out of his chair. Arataka withdrew his hand from Katsuya’s shoulder, eyes wide and eyebrows high.

“Geez, you okay? Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

“I’m...”

Katsuya swallowed, clenching his fist. Arataka smiled sadly, walking over and taking the chair next to him again.

“... do you want to talk about it?”

He should. He knew he should talk about it, keeping it bottled up was only going to make it worse.

But... well, how would he even start?

Arataka knew about him hiding away in his room for fifteen years. He knew about all of the horrible things he’d done for the Pres- for Suzuki. He even knew about little things, like his awful morning breath or his love of schlocky, gory horror flicks from the seventies and eighties.

(Arataka also liked those movies, but that was neither here nor there.)

He’d seen him meltdown over too much noise on a bad day, more than once, and had just stayed with him and made sure he was okay.

Arataka knew him, and still cared about him. 

But he didn’t... didn’t know everything.

He still didn’t know why Katsuya had locked himself away, and he just... he couldn’t. He couldn’t say it.

Someday. But not yet.

“Katsuya?”

Katsuya shook his head.

“I... I’m sorry, Arataka, I just... I think I need to, to process this before I can really talk about it.”

Liar. If he had his way they’d never discuss it.

Arataka smiled, putting his hand over one of Katsuya’s. 

“That’s understandable. Rain check on dinner?”

Katsuya nodded mutely, and Arataka squeezed his hand before leaning in and kissing him on the cheek.

“Go home and get some rest, okay? I’ll close up.”

Katsuya nodded again, turning his head and kissing his boyfriend properly.

I love you, he thought again, not daring to voice it.

Not yet.

The train ride home passed in the blink of an eye. 

Or maybe it just felt that way because Katsuya spaced out so hard that he nearly missed his stop. 

He was tired, suddenly. It hadn’t really been that busy of a day, just a couple of house calls that paid very well, but he was exhausted right down to his bones as he stumbled into his apartment.

His grandparents had left him a sizable amount of money when they passed. It had sat untouched for years, so by the time he’d needed to find a place to live he’d managed to find a rather nice little place not too far from work for a good price.

It probably helped that the place had actually been haunted and the landlord had been desperate to rent it out to anyone. He felt a little bad about not telling him that he’d gotten rid of the ghosts already, but hey, he liked that discount. If he had to levitate a few cups to keep the rent down, so be it.

Arataka loved it here, too. Probably because Katsuya had an actual bedroom and a bathroom where the toilet wasn’t facing the tub.

And because his building allowed pets. He was pretty sure Arataka identified his neighbors by the names of their dogs.

He’d thought about asking him to move in a few times. He hadn’t quite figured out when his lease was up, though, and... well, to be honest, he thought it might be a bit forward at this point.

Someday. But not yet.

“I’m home,” he murmured. A soft meow greeted him, and he smiled. “Hey, Asagi.”

His cat meowed again as she walked out of his bedroom, tail swishing as she rubbed up against his leg. He knelt down, scratching her chin.

“How was your day? Do anything fun?”

Asagi purred, rubbing her face against his palm. He laughed, petting her in long strokes from head to tail.

“Good girl.”

Asagi had been a bit of an impulse adoption about a month earlier. He’d walked past the local pet store on a day when they’d been having an adoption drive, saw Asagi’s cute little face and notched ear, and... well, he had stood absolutely no chance against that. Katsuya had walked out with a bunch of cat supplies, a cat in a carrier, and a plan to order a cat tree when he got home.

He had absolutely no regrets about it. He’d loved his mom’s cat she had when he was little, even if the cat had basically no interest in him, and now Katsuya had a kitty of his own that he loved and that loved him back.

Arataka and Asagi’s relationship was a slightly different story, by which he meant that Asagi enjoyed his boyfriend’s presence, and said boyfriend was... slowly getting used to the idea that she wouldn’t claw his eyes out.

That had been quite a revelation. He’d been extremely confused when Arataka had suddenly stopped wanting to come over after he got her- he’d asked if he was allergic, which he’d denied, but hadn’t given a reason for not wanting to come over outside of his place being slightly closer to the office.

The truth eventually came out, though, when Katsuya mentioned needing to pick up cat food while Sayaka, Adam, and Kaori were visiting. Sayaka, upon hearing that, had turned right to Arataka and asked “aren’t you afraid of cats?”

Arataka had been extremely embarrassed, initially denying it, but eventually admitted (after a fight) that he’d had a bad experience with a neighborhood stray when they were about five that left him less than fond of felines.

Asagi, thankfully, had been the perfect cat for him to get used to being around; while she liked him, she also wasn’t much of a cuddler with anyone besides Katsuya, preferring to simply sit or snooze near people rather than in laps. Slowly, Arataka acclimatized to her presence, though he still wasn’t quite at petting yet.

He did catch them discussing a bird on the tree outside of Katsuya’s living room window once, though. He had the pictures to prove it.

Asagi meowed, breaking Katsuya out of his thoughts.

“Ah, right, you probably want dinner, huh?” He said, grunting as he stood up. “Let’s get you some food.”

Asagi meowed appreciatively, trotting behind him as he walked over to the kitchen. She sat patiently, only meowing a couple of times when he opened the can, then chowed down once her food was in her bowl.

“Good girl,” he murmured before sighing and loosening the knot in his tie. “I think I’ll shower before I eat my own dinner.”

Asagi didn’t answer him, her focus solely on her food. He stepped over her, socked feet padding against the wooden floor as he walked over to his bathroom.

He zoned out in the shower for... he wasn’t sure how long. Asagi scratching at the door brought him out of it, and apologized for worrying her when he got out of the bathroom. 

The leftovers from the meal he and Arataka had made together on their last date night still tasted good. He was happy about that.

He was still tired when he sat down and turned on his Mobtendo Switch, but not quite as exhausted. He could at least play Pokemon Violet for a little while- he hadn’t had a lot of time to play since the game came out, and he was really tired of trying to dodge spoilers online. All he had left before the endgame was to finish Victory Road, Clavell’s battle (and Penny’s battle after, that was a pretty obvious twist), and Arven’s battle, and he wanted to finish the gyms before challenging Arven again.

“Let’s see... I think Tulip is probably the closest, so I should switch in-!”

Katsuya froze when he saw his team, the last Pokemon in the line-up catching his eye.

An Eevee. A shiny one he’d caught the last time he played.

He swallowed.

“My name is Serizawa Tsumugi! I’m seventeen, in class 2-B at Plum High School in Fruit City, and- and I think we have the same dad!”

He groaned, fisting his hands in his hair and shaking his head.

“No, no, nononono...”

He didn’t want to think about it. Didn’t want to think about his- his younger sister, or the younger brother he apparently also had, or his dad’s wife, or...

He didn’t want to think about him. He never wanted to think about that man ever again. 

Because if he thought about him, he had to think about what happened.

About why he left.

Why he packed his bags and stormed out the front door, his mother weeping as she screamed at him to go, because if he wouldn’t help their son, then she would, because at least she saw him as a person-!

A rough tongue brushed his chin, and he blinked, glancing down at Asagi, who was licking up his tears.

Katsuya hadn’t even realized he’d started crying.

He swallowed, then reached down to scratch her behind the ears. 

“Good girl. Good kitty.”

She purred, and he sniffed just as his phone buzzed; when he picked it up, he saw a message from Arataka.

Hey. How are you feeling?

Katsuya swallowed again.

He knew he should call him. Ask him to come over.

He should be honest with him about this. Arataka deserved that honesty.

Can you come over and

He stopped, fear gripping at him. 

What would Arataka think of him if he knew why his dad had really left?

What kind of person would he think he was?

Would he just leave him too if he found out?

Katsuya’s throat went tight.

Would he hate Katsuya, if he knew the truth?

Why shouldn’t he?

He wasn’t sure if the voice that said that sounded more like his dad, Suzuki, or himself.

He swallowed, then deleted the message.

I’m okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Three dots appeared on Arataka’s side of the conversation, staying for a moment before disappearing. 

A second later, a heart emoji appeared, and despite himself Katsuya grinned.

He tried to play a little after switching the Eevee out for the Bisharp he still needed to evolve into Kingambit, but his heart just wasn’t in it. After a careless mistake nearly got his Skeledirge knocked out by an ice-type of all things, he decided to call it quits and turn the game off. He sighed, running his hands over his face. 

Briefly, he thought about messaging his therapist to ask if they could move their session to tomorrow, but decided against it; he could make it to next Wednesday. 

He was an adult. He could handle this.

At least, that’s what he told himself as he drifted off to sleep. 

“Why won’t you just listen to me?!”

Katsuya winced at the heartbreak in his mother’s voice, pulling his blanket tighter around him.

“Because you’re being foolish and sentimental! Just look at what he did to you! Who’s to say he won’t do worse next time it happens?” 

“It was just an accident, and it was your f-!”

“He threw you into the wall with his mind, Nozomi! You can’t keep making excuses for him!”

Katsuya’s eyes stung, and he pressed his hands over his ears, rocking slightly in an attempt to calm himself.

“I’m not making excuses! You don’t think that what he can do terrifies me? That I have any idea what I’m doing here? This wasn’t what I planned to happen when we talked about having children, but that doesn’t matter! He’s our son, Shinjiro, it’s our job to take care of him!”

“But we can’t take care of him. You and I are not prepared for this and you know it.” He heard the sound of papers rustling. “Here, look at this.”

“Wh- a state care facility?! You can’t be serious!”

“What else are we supposed to do, Nozomi?! He’s completely out of control, and one day he’s going to kill someone! I don’t want that person to be you or me!”

“How could you say that about your own son?!”

“How can you keep denying that that thing is a monster?!”

Katsuya froze, his heart shattering.

“... get out.”

“Wh- Nozomi, come on.”

“Get out.”

“You know it’s true. Katsuya is-!”

“He’s my son. No matter what else he is, he’s my son.” He heard his mother sniff. “Even if I’m the only one raising him. So get out of my-!”

“Fuck you.” Katsuya flinched at the sheer venom in his father’s voice. “You think you can just kick me out? We bought this house together, it’s just as much mine as yours.”

“You honestly care more about this house than your son?!”

“This house hasn’t tried to kill me!”

Their voices got louder and louder as they argued; Katsuya’s head throbbed. He clutched at his hair, his ears, the blanket, anything, anything that could distract him long enough for it to stop, make it stop, make it stop

makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop

Katsuya woke with a gasp, jolting upright in bed. His heart pounded in his chest, and he sucked down air like he’d just been suffocating.

“It’s- it’s fine,” he managed, unable to stop himself from shaking. “It’s fine.”

He wasn’t in his old room. He was in his apartment.

He wasn’t twelve. He was thirty-one.

Thirty-one.

Almost the same age as his dad was when he-!

“Noooooo,” he droned, grabbing at his hair and pulling hard. “No, no, don’t- not about that, don’t think about that, it’s fine, you’re fine, you’re-!”

A soft meow broke him out of his rambling. Katsuya blinked, watching as Asagi snuggled up to him and licked at his tears again. He couldn’t stop the small, broken laugh that bubbled up in his throat, sniffling as he ran his fingers through her long, orange fur. 

“Good kitty, such a good kitty. I love you so much.”

She purred as if to say “I love you too,” and he smiled, scratching behind her ear.

Katsuya sighed once he eventually calmed down, lying back down and staring at the ceiling. Kudelia settled on his chest, still purring, and he reached up to pet her.

“You’re lucky, Asagi,” he murmured. “You’re a shelter cat. You don’t know who your dad is, and you never have to. It doesn’t even matter.”

Asagi let out a sweet little ‘mrrp,’ and he smiled again, settling down to try to get back to sleep.

He was still staring at the ceiling when the sun came up and his alarm rang for him to get up for work.

Katsuya bit back a yawn for what felt like the hundredth time that morning, rubbing at his eyes.

Today wasn’t a busy day, at least. They only had one client scheduled, and hopefully any walk-ins they had wouldn’t be too volatile.

He sighed as he opened the door to the office.

“... sir, so if you could just- please don’t touch that, sir-!”

Katsuya closed the door, biting back a groan.

He was so not in the mood to cater to a rude client today. 

It happened sometimes- people who just wanted to rant about whatever, people who had a grudge against the supernatural, and ever since Sayaka and Arataka had reconciled, weird wrestling fans who wanted to get info on her.

Arataka’s strategy was typically to be as polite but firm as possible to try and get them to leave, and if that failed, Katsuya was allowed to throw them out.

Sometimes literally, if they were being particularly obstinate.

God he wished he could just skip to the throwing them out part.

Instead, he took a breath, mentally preparing himself before plastering on a smile and opening the door again.

“Reigen, sorry I’m... late...”

All of the blood rushed out of his face when he saw who was in the office with Arataka.

“A-Ah, er, Serizawa, you’re here!” Arataka said, just a little too loud. “These people are here to see you!”

Katsuya swallowed, gripping at the straps of his bag.

“H... Hi... Dad.”

His father looked him up and down, his face unreadable.

“You’re taller than when I last saw you.”

Katsuya blinked, the strangeness of that sentence breaking him out of his stupor.

“Um... w-well, I’m- I’m thirty-one now, so-!”

“Anyway,” his father interrupted, turning to the woman with him- Katsuya realized he recognized her as the woman in the photo Tsumugi had shown him. “You happy now, Aoi? You’ve met the kid now, mystery solved.”

“Shinjiro,” Aoi hissed under her breath, giving him a look before clearing her throat and smiling politely at Katsuya. “Hello, Katsuya-san, it’s lovely to meet you. I’m Serizawa Aoi, I’m your... father’s wife.”

“H... Hello. It’s nice to meet you too... ma’am.”

Katsuya had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to say to this woman. He was way too old for a stepmother, right? They might have been married for a long time, but he’d only just met her. It was too weird to think of her that way.

Aoi cleared her throat again.

“A... Anyway, er... I just wanted to apologize for my daughter’s intrusion. Rest assured, we’ll be keeping a better eye on her from now on.”

“Oh, no, that’s, that’s not necessary,” Katsuya said quickly. He didn’t know Tsumugi all that well, and she might have just turned his entire life upside down, but he certainly didn’t want her to be punished for it. “I’m sure she only had the best of intentions.”

His father snorted.

“Right, sure. You still always assume the best of everyone, huh?”

Katsuya flinched, resisting the urge to shrink under his father’s gaze.

Arataka cleared his throat.

“Actually, I’ve found that Serizawa tends to have excellent judgment-!”

“Who asked you?” His father asked, tone sharp.

“Don’t talk to him like that,” Katsuya said before he could stop himself, anger rising in his throat.

His father turned back to him, eyebrows raised.

“And who told you you could talk back to me?” 

“Shinjiro!”

“What? What do you want me to say, Aoi, I barely know him! I was twenty when he was born, that’s a lifetime ago!”

Something in Katsuya’s chest tightened, his eyes going narrow as he looked at his father.

“... Thirty-two.”

“Eh?”

“You were thirty-two,” Katsuya started, taking a step forward, “when you left my mother and me. You were barely older than I am now.”

His father made a choked sound, eyes darting from side to side.

“That’s...”

“Shinjiro?” Aoi started, her own voice shaky. “Shinjiro, what’s he talking about? You said... you said he was four when his mother kicked you out and stopped letting you see him.”

“That’s what he told you?” Katsuya said incredulously. His tone was a little meaner than it should have been, but he was honestly too exhausted to care. “I was twelve. I had a father until I was almost a teenager, and then you left.”

“W-Well, I-!”

“I can’t believe you.” Katsuya laughed as he shook his head- the sound was hollow and humorless. “You got everything you wanted, didn’t you? A new wife, a better son... even that second child my mom couldn’t give you because getting pregnant again might just kill her.”

Aoi gasped, putting her hands over her mouth.

“H-Hey-!”

“I felt bad, you know? I felt like shit for so long, because it was my fault. I drove you away.” Katsuya’s eyes stung. “But honestly? I think you were looking for an excuse to leave anyway. I think you were unhappy, and you needed a good reason to run away without looking like the bad guy. And! And even then, you still had to lie, to make yourself look better, because what kind of person calls their own child a thing? A monster?”

His father- Shinjiro was glaring at him now. Katsuya couldn’t bring himself to care.

“I’m almost your age now. I... I went through a lot to get here. I did a lot of bad things.” He took a breath. “But you know what? I’m... I’m actually okay. I have my own place. I got my GED. I co-own a business. I have someone I care about a lot.”

Arataka gave him a small smile from behind his desk.

“Despite everything, I’m... I’m actually really happy with my life.” He smiled politely. “So, in the interest of keeping things that way, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave-!”

“Fuck you.”

Katsuya froze, blood running cold at the venom in Shinjiro’s voice. The sheer rage in his eyes made him want to- to apologize, or run and hide, or-!

“Sir, if you’re going to be rude to our staff-!” Arataka started. 

Shinjiro whirled around, and the way Arataka’s eyes went wide shook Katsuya to his core.

“He didn’t tell you, did he? About what he did that finally made me leave.”

Katsuya’s heart dropped into his stomach.

No.

No, no, nonono, Arataka couldn’t know, not yet, he wasn’t ready yet, not yet!

“Wait, don’t-!”

“He tried to kill his mother. Used his powers to throw her into a wall headfirst.”

He heard Arataka inhale sharply, and all the blood drained out of his face.

“His mother wouldn’t listen to me when I talked to her about sending him somewhere to get help. She was so convinced that staying was what was best for him, she wouldn’t even consider it! She tried to kick me out over it!”

No, no, liar, that’s not what you said to make her tell you to go-!

“So you can imagine why I had to leave.” Shinjiro sighed. “Honestly, it’s a miracle nothing’s happened to you, Reigen-san. I mean, he’s obviously still a ticking time bomb-!”

The light bulbs above them burst with a loud pop, crackling for just a second before dying without the cover. Katsuya’s aura clung to him like static, his hair moving like it was blowing in the breeze despite the stillness of the air around them.

“Leave. Now.”

It took Katsuya a second to realize that that was his own voice under all the static and distortion.

“Y... You can’t just-!” Shinjiro started, only to yelp when the lightbulb in the lamp near him burst.

“NOW.”

Shinjiro and Aoi practically fell over each other in their rush to get out of the office. The sound of the door slamming suddenly drained all of Katsuya’s anger away, his shoulders sagging as he staggered slightly.

The silence was nice. He was so tired, maybe he could just fall asleep standing-!

“K... Katsuya...?”

Katsuya’s eyes burst open, the blood draining from his face again. Arataka was staring at him; he turned his gaze away before he could really read his expression. 

His heart ached as it pounded in his chest.

“I...”

What was he supposed to say now? How was he even supposed to approach this? 

Was there even a point in doing so?

He was so tired.

“I... I think maybe I should go home.”

He heard Arataka swallow.

“Y... Yeah, okay, if... if you think that would help. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

The question should have given him hope that things weren’t as dire as they felt.

He couldn’t muster up a single bit of hope.

“Okay,” he murmured.

Katsuya left without looking at Arataka.

He didn’t remember anything about the train ride home. He almost missed his stop again, but didn’t really feel anything when he realized that.

“I’m home.”

Asagi’s head popped up from the couch, giving a confused “mrrrp” as a greeting.

“Sorry. You can sleep more.”

She stared at him for a second, then slowly put her head back down, snuggling into the throw blanket. 

Katsuya stared out into space for a second, then dropped his bag and slipped out of his shoes before trudging over to his bedroom.

He didn’t even bother taking off any part of his suit before flopping straight onto his bed, face down. 

Sleep, thankfully, took him quickly. He wasn’t sure how long he was out, but by the time Asagi woke him up yelling for her dinner, the sky outside had turned to shades of gold and orange.

He took off his tie and suit jacket as he walked over to the kitchen, grabbing her bowl and a can of food. Even though it was a pull-tab, he still used his powers to open it- the effort was just too much.

“Here,” he mumbled, placing the bowl on the floor in front of him. Asagi chowed down, happily eating her dinner.

He wasn’t hungry.

Katsuya trudged back towards his bed.

He should probably change out of his suit, but he didn’t really feel like it. He just laid down, staring at the ceiling.

He wasn’t sleepy. Not really.

But he was still tired.

His phone buzzed against his leg, and he pulled it out of his pocket, his heart stuttering when he saw that he had a text from Arataka.

You okay?

Katsuya stared at the message for a good few minutes before he finally started to type.

Can you please come

He hit delete. 

I’m sorry about

Delete.

Are you going to break up with

Delete. 

I love y

Delete.

I don’t think I can come in tomorrow. Sorry.

Send.

His phone buzzed a moment later.

Okay. Feel better soon.

He stared at that text again for another full minute. He couldn’t quite name the sense of expectation he had until he accidentally scrolled up and saw the heart emoji Arataka had sent him the previous day.

His eyes suddenly started to sting.

It was stupid. It was stupid.

It was just a stupid cartoon heart.

Why did it hurt so much that Arataka didn’t send him one this time?

Why?

He inhaled sharply, turning over and curling into his sheets.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

How could he have been so stupid?

Why did he let himself think he could have this life? What had he ever done to deserve something so wonderful? 

He’d hurt his mother. He’d hurt his father, too, and he’d been okay with hurting him again just because he’d hurt Katsuya.

He’d probably hurt Tsumugi and Aoi and Natsuo, too. He didn’t even really know those people, and he’d hurt them just by existing.

His chest hurt. 

He should have just let his father talk. He shouldn’t have said anything, just let him talk and then leave and go back to his own life. 

Instead, Katsuya had ruined everything.

Again.

And for what?

For Arataka to find out the truth in the worst way possible?

For Katsuya to destroy the office he’d so kindly offered to share with him?

For Katsuya to scare him?

He’d started sobbing at some point. He wasn’t sure when. Asagi was there, trying to comfort him, but he couldn’t find it in him to pet her.

You’re worthless. You only ever hurt others. Why did you think you could try to be an actual person? 

Whose voice was that? Was it his?

He didn’t know anymore.

You’re horrible. 

Horrible. 

Horrible, horrible, horrible.

He was so tired.

At some point, he slept.

He got up the next day.

It was probably morning. He didn’t know.

He didn’t really care. 

His suit pieces were uncomfortable. He took them off and put on sweatpants and an old shirt.

He gave Asagi food and water.

He sat on the couch. He thought about turning the TV on.

He didn’t.

At some point, he ate something. He wasn’t sure what, but it made his stomach stop hurting so that was good.

He stared for a long time at nothing in particular.

He threw a toy for Asagi to play with.

He used the bathroom.

He fed Asagi again.

Distantly, he was aware of his phone buzzing.

He didn’t check it. Couldn’t do it.

He thought about calling his therapist. He probably should.

He didn’t.

He thought about texting Arataka.

He didn’t.

He went back to bed.

“... ri-chan... yooooo... Seri-chan... hey!”

A sudden slap woke Katsuya up; he jolted up in bed, grabbing blindly and throwing whatever had slapped him right at his bedroom wall before he’d even opened his eyes. There was a screech, followed by a splat, then the sound of something wet slowly sliding down drywall, and finally a groan.

When he finally opened his eyes, he saw a small green heap at the bottom of the wall across from him.

“What in the... Dimple?”

Dimple responded with a low groan, slowly peeling himself off the floor and rubbing his forehead(?) as he floated up towards Katsuya.

“Geez, man, you sure you weren’t a professional baseball player in a past life or something?”

“I- how would I even-?” Katsuya cleared his throat, voice rough from not speaking for an entire day. “What are you doing in my apartment?”

“Reigen sent me to check up on you. You gotta answer his texts, dude, I’m pretty sure he was about to file a missing person’s report by the time I got there.”

Guilt ate at Katsuya, especially since he couldn’t even remember where he’d left his phone, but was quickly replaced by anger, flaring up hot and sharp in his gut.

“Tell him I’m fine,” he snapped as he got out of bed, “and that I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Whoa, hey, what’s with the attitude all of a sudden?” Dimple asked as Katsuya walked over to his kitchen and got out the cat food. “Come on, you know it’s not like that. He’s just worried about you.”

Katsuya did know that. He knew he was being unfair, and he felt awful about it.

But that was just one of many things he felt awful about at the moment.

“If he’s so worried, he could have come to check on me himself instead of sending a pile of spiritual snot to do it.”

He heard Dimple inhale sharply behind him, then exhale.

“You’re clearly going through something right now, so I’m gonna let that go, but just know it was very hurtful.” Dimple floated over to him, brow furrowed as he stared at Katsuya. “You look like shit.”

Katsuya scoffed as he put the food and water down for Asagi; instead of devouring it like usual, she was too busy staring wide-eyed at Dimple.

“Now who’s making cracks about appearances?”

“I’m not joking, Seri-chan, you look awful.” Dimple sniffed, then recoiled. “Eugh, and you smell awful, too. When’s the last time you showered? Or brushed your teeth?”

“Fuck off,” Katsuya replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, I’m alive, aren’t I? Go tell Arataka that I’m fine.”

“You’re clearly not fine, though. People who are fine don’t look like,” Dimple gestured broadly at him, “ this. What’s going on with you?”

Well, he’d just ruined his dad’s marriage for the second time in his life, probably ruined the lives of his two half-siblings, and destroyed his own relationship all in one go.

He didn’t really feel like explaining that, though.

“Why do you even care?”

Dimple frowned, looking surprisingly hurt.

“Because we’re friends, Seri-chan. That’s what friends do, they tell each other their problems and try to help each other out.”

Katsuya actually hadn’t known that Dimple considered him a friend. At any other time, that probably would have made him happy.

At any other time.

“Why would you want to be friends with me?” He muttered bitterly, looking away.

“What? Dude, what are you-?”

“Dimple. Please just leave.”

Dimple was quiet for a second.

“... Serizawa. You know that people care about you, right? Shigeo, Tome-chan, me, Reigen- we all care about you.”

Katsuya’s throat went tight.

“I’m... I’m not gonna ask again, Dimple.”

“I dunno what it is you’re dealing with right now, but you gotta talk to someone about it.”

“Dimple.”

“And I get it, you probably don’t want to talk to me of all spirits about your feelings.”

“Dimple.”

“Just promise me you’ll call Reigen after I leave. He’s really worried about-!”

Katsuya’s rage suddenly spiked, and he grit his teeth. Before he could stop himself, he sent a shard of pure psychic energy hurtling at the wall, just barely missing Dimple.

“What part of ‘fuck off’ don’t you get, huh?!”

Dimple stared at the scorched spot on the wall, then turned to Katsuya with an expression he couldn’t quite read. Without a word, he disappeared through the floor.

Katsuya’s shoulders heaved as he tried to catch his breath.

He should feel bad. He probably did feel bad, and angry, and sad, and... and...

Nothing. 

He didn’t feel anything.

Just tired.

Asagi meowed at him. He glanced at her, then at the TV.

“Eat your breakfast,” he instructed, walking over and starting up Pokemon Violet again.

Arven’s battle was stupid hard. 

Admittedly, yes, he was still a bit underleveled to take him on, but how was he meant to know that Arven would have such a high-level team?!

“Stupid,” he muttered as Arven’s Mabosstiff took out his Tsareena, gritting his teeth as the battle ended. “I almost... well, no, I guess I don’t regret saving that damn dog, but ugh.”

Asagi meowed as he returned to the Pokemon Center; without looking he floated a can of food out for her, using his powers to open it and pour it into her bowl. 

“Okay, well... I guess I could try Clavell again. Or maybe I should try the Elite Four? Probably get experience faster that way-!”

A sudden buzz broke him out of his thoughts. He glanced over, eyebrows rising when he saw his phone on the side table near his couch.

“Oh... so that’s where it went.”

He swallowed.

He knew he should pick it up. It could be important.

It could also be a spam call.

Or bad news.

He didn’t want any bad news.

Katsuya swallowed again, then turned back to his game, resolving to ignore his phone.

It stopped ringing a few seconds later, and he sighed, opening up the map to set the destination marker for the Elite Four-!

It started ringing again.

He grit his teeth.

“Take a hint, why don’t you?” He muttered as he got on Miraidon and started back towards Mesagoza. The ride was at least a bit calming, dodging Pokemon as he approached-!

The phone rang yet again, causing him to accidentally swerve straight into a random Hoppip. He let out a frustrated groan, then grabbed the phone and hit answer.

“What?!” He demanded, voice just a bit too loud and rough.

“Uh, hello to you too?”

Katsuya’s anger immediately evaporated at the sound of his boyfriend’s voice.

“A... Arataka?”

“Hey. Long time no see.”

Katsuya swallowed, guilt bubbling up in his gut. He grabbed the remote, turning the TV off with a click.

“Um. Hi.” He bit his lip, mind racing to try and think of something, anything to say. “What... um. Why are you calling me?”

“Well, I just sent Tome-chan and Teru-kun home for the day, and I was wondering if I should pick up something from the convenience store for us to eat.”

Katsuya blinked. 

“U... us?”

“Well, yeah, it’d be rude of me to come over with food and not bring you any, right? Oh, unless you had dinner already.”

“Um. No. No, I... haven’t eaten dinner yet.”

He hadn’t eaten lunch, either. Or breakfast.

When was that meal he had yesterday again?

“Okay, great! I’m thinking... instant noodles? It’s not the same as going to our regular joint, but it’s something, right?”

Katsuya blinked, his brain finally catching up with an important detail.

“Wait, wait, you... you want to come over? To my apartment?”

“Well, that’s where you are, aren’t you?” Arataka paused, and Katsuya heard him swallow on the other end. “Um. Unless... unless you don’t want me to? I, I know I’m being a little presumptous here, but... well... I miss you.”

Katsuya’s throat tightened, heart racing in his chest.

He missed Arataka. He missed him so much it physically ached, and he suddenly felt as though if he didn’t see his face again soon he might just keel over and die.

“I...” Katsuya slowly got up, walking over towards his bathroom. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds-!”

He stopped abruptly when he saw his own reflection in his bathroom mirror, resisting the urge to grimace.

“Katsuya? You good?”

“Oh, um... actually, could you give me maybe... twenty minutes to get ready?” He turned, then grimaced when he caught sight of the litter box. “Make that thirty.”

Arataka laughed softly, and despite everything Katsuya’s heart soared at the sound.

“It’ll probably take me that long to get there, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Katsuya bid him goodbye, then slipped his phone back in the pocket of his sweatpants. 

He grimaced at the litter box.

“... gotta at least try to look like a competent adult.”

He got to work.

Despite Katsuya’s... complicated relationship with his powers, he had to admit- they did help a lot with cleaning. He was able to get the litter box cleaned, his kitchen in decent condition, and the trash out the door and down the chute all while in the shower.

Admittedly that last one might have scared his landlord, but hey, that worked for him.

Unfortunately, not even psychic powers could stop the flow of time- or at least, his couldn’t. He’d barely gotten regular clothes on and his teeth brushed when he heard a knock on the door, startling him into dropping his razor.

“Katsuya?”

“Uh, um, just- just a second!” 

Katsuya bit back a groan, examining the thick hair growing all over his lower face and jaw, then finally just putting the razor away. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled as he approached his front door.

“Just... be casual,” he muttered under his breath. He plastered on a grin as he opened his front door, leaning on the frame. “Heeeeeey.”

Shit. Too casual.

“Hey yourself,” Arataka replied, either not noticing Katsuya’s stupidity or kindly choosing to ignore it. He held up a plastic bag with the words “thank you” printed on it over and over again. “Hungry?”

Katsuya opened his mouth to answer, only for his stomach to beat him to the punch with a loud, painful growl. He flushed as Arataka laughed.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said as he walked into Katsuya’s apartment, slipping off his shoes and taking off his coat. “How about I get these started and we talk over dinner?”

Katsuya froze as he closed his front door, mind screeching to a halt.

Talk.

Arataka wanted to talk.

That... usually meant something bad, right?

It meant you wanted to break up with someone, right?

Did Arataka want to break up with him? He wouldn’t blame him, but why would he go to all this trouble just to dump him?

Actually, it sort of made sense- deep down, he was a very kind person, of course he’d feed Katsuya and make sure he was somewhere comfortable and safe before he dumped him.

Still, what was he supposed to do here? Should he bring it up? Should he let Arataka get around to it? What was he-?

“Katsuya?”

Katsuya jolted, whirling around. Arataka was staring at him, eyebrows furrowed.

“You okay? You’re kind of just... staring at your front door.”

Katsuya swallowed, then forced a smile.

“I-I’m fine! Just... hungry.”

Arataka didn’t look like he fully believed him, but didn’t press it, just smiling back and walking over to the kitchen.

“Hey, Asagi-chan. Er, stay over there, please.”

Katsuya chuckled despite himself, running his hand through his still damp hair and walking over to the kitchen, trying to ignore the churning of his stomach.

They chatted amicably (pointlessly) while the noodles cooked. Arataka told him about how Teru had taken down a rather stubborn ghost that wanted to either eat or marry Tome (he hadn’t been quite sure which), and Katsuya listened intently, if only because he liked the sound of his voice.

He wasn’t sure how much longer he’d get to hear it.

The noodles from the convenience store were surprisingly delicious. Maybe it was because he wasn’t sure when he last ate.

It didn’t escape his notice that Arataka had bought a non-spicy bowl for him and a spicy bowl for himself.

He smiled just a little at that.

“... soooo...” Arataka started after he threw out the bowls and utensils. He glanced away from Katsuya, twiddling his thumbs.

Katsuya swallowed.

It hurt. It already hurt, knowing what he wanted to say, and he’d expected it to hurt because he really did love Arataka so much, but he hadn’t realized it would hurt like this.

He clutched at his jeans, willing himself not to cry.

“You... you wanted to talk?” He tried.

“Ah, y... yeah, I did... um...” Arataka pursed his lips, drumming his fingers against the table. “How should I start this...”

He trailed off. The lump in Katsuya’s throat got bigger.

He didn’t know what to do. He’d never gotten dumped before- the closest thing he could think of was when Minegishi (gently) rebuffed him after he tried to kiss them that one time, and that didn’t really count because he didn’t have feelings for them.

It hurt. He didn’t know what to do, and it hurt.

Arataka inhaled.

“Okay, so-!”

“Arataka?”

Arataka blinked, then smiled gently.

“Yes?”

“I...” There was too much to say. Too much, and he couldn’t even say half of what he wanted to say, because he was afraid that would just guilt Arataka into changing his mind and he couldn’t stand the thought of making him stay when he didn’t want to. “I just wanted...”

Katsuya’s eyes stung. He looked down at the table.

“I just wanted to say that... you made me really happy. That’s all.” His heart ached, and he wished more than anything that he could just disappear. “You... I understand why you want to break up with me, I just wanted to say that before-!”

“WHAT?!”

Katsuya jolted, eyes wide as he looked up at a rather shocked Arataka.

“Katsuya, where on earth did you get the idea that I want to break up with you?!”

“Y... You don’t?”

“No!” Arataka said emphatically, nearly knocking his chair over as he stood up, walked around the table, and grabbed Katsuya’s hands. Katsuya flushed, looking away. “Katsuya, please look at me.”

After a second, he did, resisting the urge to flinch away from the intense look in his boyfriend’s eyes.

“I’m not breaking up with you. I’m sorry if I did or said anything that made you think otherwise.” He pulled one of Katsuya’s hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “You’re too important to me to let go of just like that.”

Katsuya blinked.

The lump in his throat grew impossibly bigger.

“... why?”

Arataka blinked.

“Wh- Why? What do you mean, ‘why?’”

What was wrong with him?

“Why stay?” He pulled his hands away from Arataka. “Why would you stay with- with someone like me?”

Why did it still hurt so much?

“... what do you mean?” 

Arataka wanted to stay, so why...

“You- you heard my- Shinjiro.” Katsuya swallowed around the lump in his throat. “I hurt my mother. She- she had to go to the hospital for... for three days after, I... I could have killed her.”

Why did he still feel like this?

“Katsuya-!”

“I could have killed my own mother, Arataka!” He cried out, rage and despair and sheer loneliness all boiling in his gut. “I could-! If, if I lose control again, I could hurt someone else! I could hurt you!”

“You wouldn’t,” Arataka said quickly, taking his hands again. “You wouldn’t do that, Katsuya, I know you wouldn’t-!”

“No you don’t! You- you don’t know that, how could you ever possibly know something like that?!”

Arataka swallowed, then squeezed his hand gently.

“Because I trust you not to do something like that.”

Something in Katsuya just... broke at that. He was completely frozen as his vision blurred, big, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. 

Something wooden creaked and cracked under him, deafening in his ears. The kitchen faucet started running. The TV turned on, still blaring the battle theme.

Distantly, he heard Arataka call his name, softly at first, then more urgently.

His heartbeat and his own jagged breaths nearly drowned him out, though. It was loud, loud, loud, everything was loud and he wanted- wanted something, wanted something, what was it

What did he want 

What was it

So tired and sad and his throat hurt and he just wanted

Wanted 

What was it

What was it

Suddenly it was dark

There was a hand on his back

Rubbing

It was nice

Something in his lap

Purring, vibrating, soft

That was nice too

“Breathe”

A voice

A good voice

He liked that voice

A ra ta ka

He breathed in

And out

In 

And out

In 

And out

“Good, like that”

Ara taka

His throat hurt a little less

He was still tired

But it wasn’t so bad now

He was... he was...

“Katsuya? Can you hear me?”

“... Arataka...”

Katsuya blinked in the darkness; after a second, he realized he was covered in fabric. Slowly, he reached up, pulling it off of his head and letting it drape over his shoulders.

Arataka smiled at him.

“Hey there.”

“... did... did you cover me with the throw blanket from the couch?”

Arataka flushed, clearing his throat and glancing away.

“A-Ah, well... you- you told me that, that blocking out light helps when you get like that, so...”

Despite how completely exhausted he was, Katsuya managed a smile, reaching over and squeezing his boyfriend’s hand.

“Thank you.” He blinked, realizing that Arataka was now kneeling at his eye level. “Um... wait, how did I end up on the floor...?”

“Er... well, your chair sort of... disintegrated?”

Katsuya blinked again, looking around to find that his chair had indeed disappeared from beneath him, save for the wooden seat under his butt.

“Aw, I liked that chair,” he muttered. Arataka laughed, which made him smile again.

A meow caught his attention.

“Oh, you should thank Asagi-chan, too,” Arataka told him. “You should have seen her, she leapt right into action when your chair fell.”

Katsuya smiled, petting his cat gently.

“Good girl.”

She trilled, leaning into his touch briefly before hopping out of his lap and strolling back over to the couch.

After a moment, they joined her. Arataka made them some hot cocoa- apparently his grandma had taught him a recipe with simple ingredients when he and Sayaka were kids.

They were quiet for a while as they drank it, their shoulders touching.

It was nice.

“So...” Arataka started when their cocoa was nearly gone, already pretty cooled off besides. “You wanna talk about what happened?”

Katsuya flinched, training his eyes on the floor as he put his mug down.

“Um. I. I don’t... I don’t know why that happened. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Arataka said gently. “It happens, it’s okay. And that wasn’t what I meant. I was talking about what happened with Shinjiro.”

He flinched again, stomach turning. He pressed his hands together, tangling his fingers.

“... it’s... it’s like he said. It... it was an accident, but... I was twelve, and I was freaking out about something, and I...”

He could still hear the way her scream cut off suddenly when she hit the wall. 

“... do you remember what you were freaking out about?”

Katsuya blinked, glancing over at him. Arataka’s eyes were serious, determined.

“Um... why... why do you ask?”

Arataka hesitated, then sighed, brushing some hair behind his ear.

“Look, I... I can’t lie and say that what your- what Shinjiro said didn’t kind of freak me out-!”

Katsuya flinched, lip trembling as he turned away.

“No, no, hey, don’t...” Arataka sighed again, taking one of Katsuya’s hands. “I wanted the full story, but I didn’t trust Shinjiro to tell me the truth, and you didn’t seem like you were in a place to talk, so... I went to see your mom.”

Katsuya’s eyes went wide as he turned to his boyfriend.

“My... my mom?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, I do talk to her pretty often- you know that.”

Katsuya did know that. Arataka had gotten along swimmingly with his mom ever since he met her a month ago.

Which was also when Katsuya met her boyfriend, but that was neither here nor there.

“I talked to her about what happened that day, and...” Arataka hesitated, squeezing Katsuya’s hand gently. “Katsuya, do you remember what happened before you lost control of your powers?”

“I...”

He hadn’t actually thought about what happened before that in... a very long time. He furrowed his brow, running through his memories of that day.

He’d gotten a bad grade on a test- math. He’d been... afraid?

What was he afraid of?

He went home. His mother comforted him over the test and decided to make omurice for dinner.

Shinjiro didn’t get home until after his plate was cold. 

And then...

Katsuya’s throat tightened again.

Shinjiro yelled at him. He was angry, so angry, Katsuya wasn’t even sure why he was so angry because he could retake the test, but he just kept yelling and yelling and he was so mean and

His mom

His mom stepped in and

And

Shinjiro’s hand

NO.

Katsuya whimpered, pulling the blanket tighter around himself.

“N-No.”

“Katsuya?”

Katsuya inhaled sharply, eyes stinging a little as he turned back to Arataka.

“I... I’m sorry,” he managed, shaking his head. “I don’t... I can’t...”

Arataka smiled softly, sadly, squeezing his hand again. 

“That’s okay. You don’t have to remember it right now. But... maybe talk about it with your therapist? I think it’ll help if you remember the full context of what happened.”

Katsuya nodded mutely.

He really, really didn’t want to talk about it with his therapist. He wanted to bury it and all his memories of Shinjiro away where he never had to think about them ever again.

But he knew that wouldn’t work. Not forever. 

If he kept it bottled up, this would just happen again, and he didn’t want it to happen again, because he hated feeling like this.

Anything had to be better than feeling like this.

“Okay,” he finally said. “I’ll... I’ll try.”

“That’s all you can do,” Arataka said. “Now... do you want a hug? Because I’d really like one, and you look like you could use one.”

Katsuya sniffed, then nodded, turning towards his boyfriend and wrapping his arms around him. Arataka buried his face in Katsuya’s shoulder, and he turned to bury his own in his hair.

I love you.

He still didn’t say it.

Not yet.

“I’m sorry I was distant,” he murmured. “I was just... scared.”

“S’okay,” Arataka replied. “Although... please make sure to text me back, next time? I was really worried about you.”

Katsuya tensed, embarrassment burning hot in his gut.

“Sorry... I just... it’s embarrassing now, but I was scared to look at my phone.”

“What? Why?”

Katsuya bit his lip, tapping his fingers against Arataka’s back.

“Well... whenever we text, you always send a heart at the end of the conversation. When the thing with... with Shinjiro happened, you didn’t send me one, so I thought... I thought you were upset and you wanted to-!”

Arataka pulled away, a puzzled look on his face.

“I did send you a heart, though.”

Katsuya blinked.

“What? No you didn’t.”

“Yes I did, I remember doing it.”

“Arataka, I’m pretty sure you didn’t, I stared at that screen for like ten minutes after your last text that night.”

Arataka frowned, then pulled his phone out of his pocket, scrolling for a bit before his eyebrows rose.

“Oh. Oh. I see what the problem is.” He turned his phone towards Katsuya. “I did send you a heart, but I forgot to do it for a couple of hours.”

Katsuya blinked, peering at the screen. There, sandwiched between the “feel better soon” and a long line of concerned texts was a red cartoon heart.

Embarrassment spiked in Katsuya’s gut, and he groaned, covering his face.

“I’m so sorry,” he mumbled, voice muffled by his hands. “God, I’m so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid,” Arataka chastised softly, taking his hands away from his face. “You had a bad day, it makes sense that you were a little fragile. It’s not like I’ve never read too far into something or missed a detail that made me think you felt a certain way when you really didn’t.”

Katsuya smiled, just a little.

“Still, I didn’t know you put so much stock into a single emoji.”

Katsuya flushed, glancing away.

“I... I know it’s silly-!”

“It’s not silly!” Arataka interrupted, shaking his head. “If it makes you happy, it’s not silly. Tell you what, you make sure to respond to my texts and I’ll make sure to send you hearts in a timely manner. Deal?”

Katsuya smiled again, nodding.

“Deal.” He leaned over, pressing a kiss to Arataka’s forehead. “Thank you.”

Arataka huffed, bringing one of Katsuya’s hands near his mouth.

“Don’t thank me,” he said before kissing Katsuya’s knuckles softly. “It’s not that much to do for someone I love.”

Katsuya blinked.

Someone I love.

Arataka said...

Did Arataka...

“Katsuya?” Arataka asked. “You okay?”

“... you love me?” He asked before he could stop himself.

Arataka blinked, once.

Twice. 

Three times.

Then he turned beet red, eyes going wide and mouth opening slightly.

“I! I, um, uh, I...” Arataka swallowed, eyes darting around the room. He kind of looked like he wanted to bolt, and Katsuya resisted the urge to grab him so he wouldn’t.

Tension hung over them like... like...

Actually, Katsuya was too tired to think of a metaphor.

Finally, Arataka cleared his throat, eyes trained on the tiny space between them.

“I... yeah.” He took a breath, then looked him right in the eye. “I love you. I love you, Katsuya- oh shit you’re crying.”

Katsuya blinked, wiping at his eyes.

“Oh. I am.”

“Why?”

“Um... I don’t. I don’t know?”

He really didn’t. His brain was... too tired to figure that out.

He didn’t like how guilty Arataka looked, though.

“I’m so-!”

“Don’t say that. Are you sorry that you love me?”

“What? No, of course not!”

“Then don’t say you’re sorry.” Katsuya smiled. “I love you too, Arataka.”

Arataka blinked, then screwed up his face slightly, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

“Wait, why are you crying?”

Arataka laughed, sniffing and wiping at his eyes.

“I don’t know either!”

Katsuya blinked, then snickered, helpless to stop the laughter bubbling up and out of his throat. He and Arataka leaned on each other, laughing and crying for... he wasn’t sure how long. 

He didn’t really care, either.

“... that was weird,” Katsuya murmured after they both finally calmed down. They were lying on the couch, Arataka on top of him. His hair was soft as he ran his fingers through it.

“Maybe it’s a children of divorce thing? Well, my parents aren’t divorced, but they really should be.” Arataka looked up at him, a small smile on his face. “That’s why I was nervous about saying it, anyway.”

A small chuckle escaped Katsuya’s lips.

“Me too. I really wanted to say it, but I was afraid I’d scare you off.”

Arataka snorted, moving to place his hands on Katsuya’s chest and resting his chin on them.

“You couldn’t scare me off if you tried.”

“Oh?”

“Yep.” Arataka reached up and tapped his nose lightly. “You’re stuck with me now, big guy.”

Katsuya grinned, something brave and a little reckless flaring up in his gut.

“If that’s so, then when’s your lease up?”

“Hm?”

“Your lease on your apartment. When is it up?”

Arataka blinked, furrowing his brow slightly.

“Uh... middle of January, why?”

“Move in with me.”

Arataka blinked again before his eyes went wide.

“You... what? Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, you spend more time here than you do at your own place, right? I know it’s further from the office, but...” Katsuya smiled. “I really want to live with you.”

“I...” Arataka’s eyes were a little shiny as he swallowed, then nodded. “O... Okay.”

“Okay?”

Arataka nodded again, scooting up so that they were face to face.

“I want to live with you too.”

Katsuya beamed, leaning up to capture his lips in a kiss.

Then he remembered something, breaking away.

“Oh, I should tell you, you’ll have to pretend that the place is haunted whenever the landlord comes around.”

Arataka blinked.

“What? Why?”

Katsuya grinned.

“It keeps the rent down.”

Arataka blinked again, then burst out laughing, trembling on top of him.

“Katsuya!”

“What? The rent in this city is practically unlivable, isn’t it?”

Arataka snickered, then brushed his lips against Katsuya’s.

“I think I’ve rubbed off on you a little too much.”

“Hmmm, maybe,” Katsuya said with a grin, slowly trailing his hands down his boyfriend’s back. “But you know...”

Arataka let out a squawk when Katsuya cupped his butt in his hands, squeezing lightly.

“I think I like it when you rub off on me.”

Arataka blushed an enticing shade of red, then snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Flirt,” he said quietly before leaning down and kissing Katsuya firmly. Katsuya sighed against his lips, squeezing his butt once more before moving one of his hands to the small of Arataka’s back, pressing his fingers right at the spot that he knew drove him wild.

The little moan he earned from Arataka warmed him all the way down to his toes. He moved his other hand up to the hem of his shirt, slipping his thumb under and-!

“Nya.”

“Ack!”

Arataka sprang up, eyes wide as he stared at Asagi. Asagi stared back, swishing her tail.

“Ah... right, the cat...”

Katsuya frowned, glancing between his cat and his boyfriend.

“... I can move her into my room, if you want. Or we can move there.”

Arataka swallowed, something in his eyes changing as he sat up.

“No, I... you know what? This... this is Asagi-chan’s home too.” He swallowed again, then took a breath. “So... so if I’m gonna live here, we need to get along, right?”

Katsuya blinked, scooting out from under him. He watched as Arataka lifted his hand shakily towards Asagi, something clicking in his brain.

“Arataka, you don’t have to-!”

“I want to!” Arataka insisted. “I... I love you, and you love Asagi-chan, and I trust your judgment, so... so I’m going to pet this damn cat!”

A part of Katsuya wanted to laugh at the absurdity of that statement, but he didn’t want to embarrass Arataka accidentally, so he just nodded. 

“Let her sniff your hand first,” he instructed. “Cats prefer to choose who they let pet them.”

“Oh, dogs do that too,” Arataka commented, his voice just as shaky as his hand. He gulped, then slowly, slowly lifted his hand in front of Asagi’s face.

Asagi leaned in, sniffing for barely a second, then immediately smushed her face into Arataka’s hand, purring as if to say “finally.”

Arataka made a tiny, high-pitched noise. He moved his hands between her ears, ruffling her fur gently.

“Not- not like that, that’s how you pet a dog,” Katsuya told him. “Long strokes, down to her tail.”

“Oh.” Arataka did as Katsuya suggested, and Asagi’s purrs grew even louder, making Arataka gasp in delight. “Katsuya! Katsuya, look, she likes it!”

Katsuya grinned from ear to ear, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m so proud of you.”

“Agh, come on, don’t be cheesy!” 

“I will be!” Katsuya declared, pressing another kiss to his cheek, then another to his temple. “I’m cheesy because I love you!”

He could almost feel Arataka roll his eyes, but he could also feel him grin.

“I’ve created a monster.”

Katsuya laughed, kissing him properly on the lips this time.

“Yup. But y’know what?”

“What?”

Katsuya grinned, pressing his forehead to Arataka’s.

“You’re stuck with me. Cause you love me too.”

Arataka smiled, then kissed him.

“Yeah. I really do.” He paused, cheeks turning just a bit red. “So, uh... is that offer to move this to your bedroom still open, or mmmmmph.”

“God I’m bored.”

Katsuya chuckled, glancing over at Tome, who was lounging on the couch.

“No one asked you to come in today, Tome-chan,” Arataka reminded her.

“It’s winter break, I was bored!” Tome retorted, sitting up and putting her face in her hands. “But there’s not anything to do here, either!”

“Well, it is almost Christmas.”

“Which means it’s not Christmas,” Katsuya said automatically.

Tome laughed, flashing him a thumbs up.

“Oi, you two, no video game references that I don’t understand!” Arataka said, his tone warning.

“You’d understand if you just played the game already. It’s been on phones forever, so you don’t even have the excuse of not owning a console!”

“I-I’m busy!”

“He’s just bad at those types of games,” Dimple said as he floated past, arms behind his head(?). Arataka sputtered.

“Wow, really? I wouldn’t have expected that from someone like you, Reigen.”

“I’m not!”

“You totally are, you failed the first case. Who fails the tutorial, man?”

Arataka grumbled about the judge being biased, which was actually true but not quite the excuse he thought it was, and Katsuya laughed.

“I could help you, y’know,” he said. “I think I’ve played those games so many times that I have all the answers memorized.”

“Ooh, you should take him up on that offer, Reigen, maybe you’ll actually know what the kids are talking about sometimes!” Dimple teased.

“Would you get out of here?!”

“Ehhhh... nah. Ritsu-chan’s hanging around with Shou, and Shigeo’s on a date with that Hanazawa kid.”

“Wait, Teru actually asked him out?!”

“I don’t think Shigeo actually knows it’s a date,” Dimple clarified. “And it doesn’t seem like Hanazawa knows he doesn’t know, either... actually, maybe I’ll go follow them around, seems like it would be funny to see that blow up.”

“Don’t leave if you’re just gonna make them miserable!” Arataka yelled.

Katsuya chuckled as Arataka and Dimple squabbled, shaking his head.

Dimple had been surprisingly understanding when he apologized for nearly turning him into a Dimple-shaped stain on his kitchen wall (and for throwing him at his bedroom wall). 

“We all got shit to deal with, man,” he’d said. “Just try not to take it out on others.”

Dimple was rather wise, he thought.

Not that he’d ever tell him that. The last thing the spirit needed was an even bigger ego.

“Oh, that reminds me, what time is it?” Tome asked suddenly.

“Ummm...” Katsuya checked the time on his phone. “Around one, why?”

“Lunch break!” She announced, getting up from the couch and bouncing over to Arataka’s desk. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Eh? Go where?”

“To get soba!” Tome pouted. “You promised that we’d get soba to bring back to the office last time I came in, and then you said ‘next time, Tome-chan,’ so this is next time!”

“Wh- Tome-chan, it’s snowing,” Arataka said, gesturing at the white flakes drifting down to earth outside the office window.

“You like snow,” Katsuya pointed out.

“I do, but I don’t wanna trudge up and down the street in it just to get noodles!”

“Puuhhhh-leeeeeassseeeee?” Tome asked, sticking out her bottom lip and batting her eyes.

Oh no. Arataka was absolutely weak to puppy-dog eyes.

(Katsuya may or may not have known this from experience.)

Arataka’s expression twisted with resistance, but in the end, it was futile.

“Aaaaah, fine, fine! But don’t blame me if you’re freezing by the time we get back!”

Tome cheered as Arataka got out of his seat, practically skipping over to grab her coat.

“You want your usual?” Arataka asked as he slipped on his coat.

“Ah, that would be great, thanks. Be safe.”

“We will.” Arataka smiled at him. “I love you.”

Even after saying it countless times over the past couple of weeks, hearing Arataka say that still made Katsuya grin like an idiot while butterflies fluttered in his stomach.

“I love you, too.”

Dimple and Tome gagged overdramatically.

“Oi, don’t be rude to the person buying you lunch!”

“I don’t eat food, you have no power over me,” Dimple replied. 

“I know a bunch of espers who could make your afterlife much, much harder, so watch it!”

Katsuya chuckled as the trio left the office, shaking his head. 

Not much happened for the next little while. He took a phone call that sounded promising, writing down the details on his notepad.

“Mmhm, four-thirty tomorrow sounds great, sir.” He heard the doorbell ring, and judging from the lack of chatter or complaints, it was likely a customer. He put the phone down by his shoulder. “I’ll be with you in just a moment! Yes, sir, I’m still here...”

Katsuya finished taking the phone call a moment later, hanging up and putting the office phone away. He turned, a polite smile on his face.

“Welcome to Spirits and Such, how may I... help...” He blinked. “Oh, um... hello, Tsumugi-san.”

Tsumugi fiddled with her Eevee keychain, not saying anything. She wasn’t in uniform today, instead wearing a heavy coat over a bright yellow sweater, paired with skinny jeans tucked into her hiking boots. She still had her blue muffler, and her hair was somehow even frizzier than last time.

She also looked like she might burst into tears at any second.

Katsuya tried to give her a comforting smile.

“Tsumugi-san-!”

“I’m so sorry!” She yelled suddenly, bowing deeply. Her hair fell in front of her again.

Katsuya blinked.

“Wh... wait, what are you sorry for?”

Tsumugi sprang up, her hair covering her face, and she once again parted it, revealing a very, very distraught expression.

“I-It’s-! It’s my fault! It’s my fault that Dad came here and yelled at you and I caused you so much trouble cause I was being selfish-!”

“Tsumugi-san-!”

“And I just wanted- well it doesn’t matter what I wanted, I still hurt you and I’m sorry and-!”

“Tsumugi-!”

“IjustwantedtofindsomeoneelselikemetotalktoandIfoundoutaboutyouandIwashopingto-!”

“Tsumugi!” Katsuya finally said emphatically, putting his hands on her shoulders. “Tsumugi, slow down. I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”

Tsumugi gulped down a breath, nodding as she wiped at her eyes. 

“Oh, here,” Katsuya said, floating over the box of tissues and offering it to her. She took it gratefully, then blew her nose. “Why don’t we sit down, yeah?”

She nodded again, clutching at the straps of her tote bag as she took a seat on the couch. 

They were quiet for a second as Katsuya thought of how to begin.

“Okay,” he started, keeping his voice low and steady. “Tsumugi, before I say anything, I want you to know- it wasn’t your fault.”

Tsumugi’s eyes widened, and she shook her head.

“No, no, it was totally my fault! If I hadn’t- hadn’t come here, Mom and Dad wouldn’t have even known where you were!”

“That’s true, but you had no way of knowing they’d come here, or stopping them.” Katsuya gave her a serious look. “You’re still just a kid, Tsumugi. You can’t control what your parents do. Okay?”

Tsumugi swallowed, taking a big lock of hair in her hands and fiddling with it.

“E-Even still, I... I still feel bad. Dad... Dad was angry when they got home, he... said you threatened them? Um. Maybe you did, but... Dad exaggerates stuff like that to... nevermind.”

Something hot and angry twisted in Katsuya’s gut; he took a deep breath to push it down.

“I... I’m not proud of it, but I did lose control of my powers while your parents were here. I can see how that would be threatening.” He smiled gently. “Still, that’s not your fault. It’s not something you had any control over. Please don’t feel bad about it.”

“... I can’t help it, though,” Tsumugi said quietly, eyes trained on her lap. “I just... I feel so awful, knowing he came here and...”

Katsuya swallowed, trying to figure out a gentle way to ask.

“... Tsumugi,” he finally started. “Tsumugi, do you know what...”

The words stuck in his throat. 

It was still hard to say it. It had been hard to accept the idea, to let go of the belief that somehow, some way, Katsuya had deserved the way Shinjiro had treated him. His therapist had had to ask if he thought his mother deserved to be treated the way Shinjiro treated her before it finally got through to him.

He took a deep breath.

“Tsumugi, do you know what emotional abuse is?”

Tsumugi’s eyes went wide, lips parting silently before closing. She looked down, her eyes trained on the coffee table. 

“... yes,” she mumbled. “I- they talked about it in, in a psychology class I’m taking.”

She looked up, eyes a little wild.

“But! But I don’t- I don’t think it’s like that, he’s not... he’s not like that all the time, so-!”

“Tsumugi,” Katsuya interrupted, keeping his voice firm. “Tsumugi, he should never be like that. He’s your father, it’s his job to raise you and love you, not insult and belittle you.”

“B-But, I...” Tsumugi swallowed, looking down. “But he wasn’t like this before I... I...”

“... before you got powers?” Katsuya prompted. “He wasn’t like that with me before I got mine, either.”

Tsumugi shook her head, then hesitated, then nodded.

“Well, no, he... he was better before the powers, but I... the thing is, I’m...”

She looked like she was either going to vomit or cry at any second, and Katsuya’s heart broke at the fear in her eyes.

“Tsumugi-!”

“I’m gay.”

Katsuya blinked.

“... oh.”

Tsumugi sniffed, not looking up at him. 

“I-I... I came out to, to my family a month ago. Natsuo is supportive, but he doesn’t live at home anymore. Mom... Mom’s still processing, and Dad... he’s just angry. He’s so angry, and- and I just... I wanted someone to, to just...”

Katsuya’s heart ached as he realized just what she’d been looking for when she came to find him.

“You wanted someone to accept you as you are.”

Tsumugi flinched, seeming to shrink into her hair.

“I-I understand if, if you don’t want to... I mean, it’s a lot to ask of someone you just met, especially if they’ve already turned your whole life upside down, but I just thought that, that since you’d experienced rejection over your powers you’d-!”

“Tsumugi, I’m gay too.”

Tsumugi blinked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

“Wh... What?”

“I’m gay. Arataka- er, the blond man you met last time- he’s my boyfriend.”

Tsumugi blinked again, then finally- finally seemed to relax.

“Oh. That... that makes sense, actually.”

“It does?”

Tsumugi smiled just a tiny bit.

“Well... I didn’t want to assume, but he kind of looked at you like you hung the moon or something...”

Katsuya blinked, then laughed, his cheeks heating a bit.

“Would you believe that I had no idea he liked me until our first kiss?”

She giggled at that, and Katsuya smiled.

He then frowned and cleared his throat.

“Still... you understand, right? None of this is your fault.”

Tsumugi flinched, eyes going straight back to the coffee table.

“But... but I-!”

“No buts. No one deserves to be treated the way he’s treated you, especially not a child.”

Tsumugi hesitated, not looking back at Katsuya.

After a moment, he sighed, pulling a pen and one of his business cards out of his pocket. He wrote down his number, then held it out to her.

“Here, take this, okay?”

Tsumugi frowned, taking the card from him.

“What’s this?”

“That’s my cell phone number. If anything happens- if you need anything, I want you to call me. Okay?”

Tsumugi inhaled sharply, shaking her head.

“N-No, I couldn’t-!”

“No buts. I don’t want...”

Katsuya trailed off, grimacing slightly.

He was still... unpacking everything to do with Shinjiro. 

All the things he said. 

All the things he did.

How all of that flowed into his relationship with the Pres- Suzuki. 

It was hard.

It was hard, and he wasn’t ready to talk about it outside of therapy.

Not yet.

“I don’t want things to get as bad for you as they got for me,” he decided. “So please, just take it.”

Tsumugi hesitated, then nodded.

Then she bit her lip.

“Um. Would. Would it be okay if... y-you, you can say no, but... well...”

“Tsumugi-?”

“Would you be okay with me texting you even if it’s not an emergency?!” She asked quickly, as if she were rushing to get the question out before she chickened out.

Katsuya blinked, then smiled.

“That would be fine, Tsumugi. I don’t mind at-!”

Beep!

Katsuya blinked again, pulling out his phone and looking at his texts.

Hello! This is Tsumugi!

Katsuya raised his eyebrows, then glanced up at Tsumugi, who appeared to be attempting to hide in her hair again.

He smiled, then saved her as a contact before typing his own message.

Hello, Tsumugi. This is Katsuya.

Her phone buzzed when she received his message, startling her a bit, but when she saw it she smiled.

“Um... is... is it okay if I call you that? Katsuya, I mean?”

Katsuya frowned.

“Why wouldn’t it be? It’s my name.”

“Well, I mean... you’re almost twice my age, so...”

Katsuya blinked, then smiled and shook his head.

“Well, it’s not like you can call me ‘Serizawa,’ is it?”

She laughed a little.

“I-I guess not... sorry, I just... this is all really new to me.”

“It’s new to me too.” He smiled. “We’ll figure it out, though.”

Tsumugi smiled at him.

“That sounds-!”

The door burst open, cutting her off and making her squeak in surprise.

“We have returned with sustenance!” Tome declared grandly as she walked into the office, only to flinch when she saw Tsumugi. “Oh, sh- erm, I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t see you there! How has Serizawa-san been assisting you today?”

“Oh, no, no, no!” Tsumugi said quickly, standing up and waving her hands. “I-I’m not, not a customer!”

“Hah?” Tome asked, immediately shifting out of secretary mode. “Then what are you doing-?”

“Tome-chan!” He heard Arataka scold from the stairwell; he appeared seconds later, holding several boxes and looking inordinately sweaty given the freezing temperature outside. “Tome-chan, you can’t just run up the stairs and leave me with-!”

Arataka paused, blinking at the sight of Tsumugi- for some reason, seeing them while standing up made him realize she was actually a little taller than him.

“Oh, um...” He smiled politely. “Hello again, Tsumugi-san.”

“H-Hello...”

“Wait, wait, again? Do you guys know this girl?”

“Um, well...” Tsumugi took a deep breath, standing at attention. “S... Serizawa Tsumugi, age seventeen, class 2-B at Plum High School in Fruit City!”

She bowed deeply, hair draping down again. Katsuya wondered if it would be overstepping to suggest a haircut. Or at least to yell less.

“Nice to meet you!”

“... huh? W... Wait, Seri- Serizawa Tsumugi?!” Tome pointed right at Katsuya. “You! You’re Serizawa!”

“Yes, I am, Tome-chan.”

She pointed at Tsumugi.

“And you’re Serizawa?!”

“Um... yes?”

“But you’re-!” Tome blinked, then narrowed her eyes. “Serizawa. Is this your secret love child?”

Katsuya blinked.

“W... What?! Tome-chan, that’s-! That’s impossible for a number of reasons, I... wait, how old do you think I am?”

Tome shrugged.

“I’unno, like, forty?”

“Forty- I’m thirty-one!”

Tome opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off by the sound of Tsumugi bursting into giggles.

“I’m-! I’m sorry, I-I don’t mean to laugh, I just-!” Tsumugi nearly doubled over with laughter, covering her mouth with her hands.

When Katsuya glanced over at Tome, he saw that her face had turned rather pink.

“Oh,” he heard her murmur, almost too quiet to hear. “Oh, wow, you’re really...”

“Hm?” Tsumugi asked, just barely keeping her giggles under control. “I’m really what?”

Tome jolted, face going bright red and eyes darting from side to side.

“A-Ah, nothing! Nevermind!” Tome quickly turned to Katsuya. “A-Anyway! If, if Tsu- Tsumugi-san’s not your secret lovechild or whatever, then what gives?”

“Ah, well, er, Tsumugi is my...” Katsuya hesitated, thinking it over, then smiled. “Tsumugi is my younger sister.”

Tsumugi glanced over at him, seeming surprised. He smiled at her.

After a second, she smiled back.

“Oh, your younger sister... wait, what?! Since when do you have a younger sister?!”

“Well, I guess since seventeen years ago, technically, but I only found out about it a couple of weeks ago. It’s... complicated.”

“Too complicated to get into before the noodles are cold,” Arataka called from his desk. “Come on, Tome-chan, you hate cold soba.”

Tome did not answer; when Katsuya looked over at her, he discovered that she was staring at his sister.

Glancing at said sister revealed she was staring right back at his secretary.

Something clicked, and Katsuya suppressed a grin.

Instead, he cleared his throat, making them both jump.

“Tome-chan, your lunch?”

“Right!” Tome all but squeaked, turning robotically towards the takeout. “Food! Food is good!”

“Oh, brother,” he heard Dimple mutter. “If I wanted to watch two people stare at each other, I’d be hanging around with Shigeo and Hanazawa.”

“Be nice, Dimple,” Katsuya scolded lightly. “Oh, Tsumugi, this is Dimple. He... works here, sort of.”

“Hey.” Dimple turned to Katsuya, eyebrow quirked. “You sure they didn’t just make a girl clone of you, man?”

“That only happens in comic books, Dimple.”

Dimple’s eyebrow remained quirked as he gestured broadly around them.

“... okay, fair, but I’m pretty sure she’s not a clone-!”

Tsumugi’s phone beeped, and she yelped when she saw the message on it.

“Oh, shit! I’m so sorry, I have to get home! Mom and Dad will kill me if they know I’m gone.”

“Ah, alright.” He gave her a look. “I mean it, Tsumugi, if you ever need anything-!”

“I’ll call you, I promise!” She gave a quick bow to Arataka. “It was very nice to see you again, Reigen-san!”

“You too, kid. Feel free to stop by any time.”

She smiled, then looked a little shy as she turned to Tome. 

“It... it was very nice to meet you, Tome-san.”

“Uh, yeah, me- me too.” Tome flushed. “You! It, it was nice to meet you too!”

Oh, no, this might just be too cute for Katsuya’s poor heart.

Tsumugi giggled, then bid goodbye to Dimple and waved as she left.

Tome stood in place for a second, staring out into the space Tsumugi had left behind.

“... um... Serizawa-san?”

“Hm?”

Tome turned toward him, though she didn’t look him in the eyes.

“Do... do you think, maybe...”

“... I think you can maybe catch up with Tsumugi and give her your number if you start running now.”

“Really?!” Tome said, eyes practically sparkling. “Okay! I’m gonna go do that now!”

“Alright- ah, wait, don’t forget your-!”

She slammed the door on the way out.

“... coat.”

“... well. I guess that’s young love for you,” Dimple commented.

Katsuya and Arataka looked at each other, then immediately burst out laughing.