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As the sun began to set, its rays streamed through the large windows and coated everything in the room with a warm orange glow. But, no matter how pretty it seemed, the light had obscured the television and made it almost impossible for the duo, who had been perched on the couch, to see what they were doing.
This resulted in one very cranky 4 year old. After she had fallen off the track one too many times, she stormed off to her room in a huff.
Rei, who remained on the couch, watched as she clambered up the stairs before pausing the game. His posture ridged as he contemplated whether or not he should go after her. If he was Kazuki, he probably would have gone right after her but he wasn’t.
Just as Rei stands up, the fumble of keys can be heard and the entrance door is pushed open.
“I’m home!” The new arrival calls out and, after a few moments of silence, pokes his head around the corner. “Where’s Miri?”
“Upstairs.” Rei replies, plopping himself back down on the couch.
“Did the pick up go alright?” Kazuki asks, taking off his jacket and slipping on his usual apron.
Rei nods his head before taking a moment to retrace his steps just in case there was anything that had slipped his mind… An angry Kazuki was not something he wanted to deal with at this moment in time; especially when they had one grumpy girl on their hands.
“Did you get the voucher?” Rei decides to ask instead, placing the controller to the side. He watches as a grin spreads across Kazuki’s face before the blond gives him a dramatic thumbs up.
“Of course!!” The young man cheerfully chirps. “Did you two eat anything when you got in?”
“Cereal.” He replies bluntly, resulting in Kazuki wincing and letting out a deep sigh.
“I’m glad you both ate something, because I did say I would be late, but is it really that difficult to cook something?” The blond grumbles with a pout.
“Miri wanted cereal.” Rei points out, as if stating the obvious.
“I seriously don’t know what the two of you would do without me.” Kazuki grumbles to himself before rolling up his sleeves and pulling out a few ingredients from the fridge.
Rei, only half listening to Kazuki rambling about what they were going to eat as well as the dangers of allowing their daughter to eat too many sugary foods, turns to look at the stairs. Miri hadn’t come down yet. His eyebrows furrow slightly before he finally decides to make his way towards the stairs.
“Where are you going?” Kazuki asks and Rei turns his attention back to his partner. He watches as they crack an egg against the side of a metal bowl and split the shell with just one hand.
“To check on Miri.” Rei replies and, before giving Kazuki the opportunity to tease him, makes his way up the spiral staircase.
When he reaches their daughter’s room, he can make out the faint sound of humming. He carefully opens the door to peer inside to find Miri sitting at her desk. She swayed to the tune of her hums as her feet swung back and forth; her bad mood completely erased from sight.
A feeling of warmth bloomed throughout Rei’s body and he found his shoulders relax; only noticing how tense he had been moments prior. His eyebrows furrow slightly as he places a hand to his chest. The feeling was unfamiliar but not unpleasant.
He quickly brushes away any thoughts in favour of heading back downstairs, leaving Miri to her own devices, but feeling remains as the corners of his mouth rise ever so slightly.
Rei can feel Kazuki‘s gaze fix on him when he practically throws himself onto the couch. He turns the television off before presses his face down into the only remaining pillow; the rest of them remain on the floor from when Miri had been down there.
“How was she?” Rei hears Kazuki finally speak up.
“Fine.” He responds with a muffled voice, doing his best to figure out why he felt so at ease in regards to Miri’s happiness but only coming up with blanks. It wasn't as if this was the first time this feeling had appeared but he still wasn't able to categorise it. It wasn't like a gunshot wound in his shoulder or a stab wound in his leg. It was intangible but filled him with such warmth.
Rei, once again, silenced his mind and closed his eyes.
The minutes seemed to drag on as Rei listened to the noises coming from the kitchen. The smell of cooking egg began to waft through the room and he pressed his face further into the couch.
Just as Rei felt the prickles of sleep finally fall upon him, Miri had rushed down the stairs and jumped right onto him.
“Rei-papa!!” The small girl yells, pressing her tiny palms against his cheeks and turning his face in her direction. “Dinners ready!! Kazuki-papa made Omurice!!”
He finally opens his eyes and sits up as Miri falls back with a giggle. He turns to look at Kazuki who only smirks.
“She said she wanted to be the one to tell you.” The blond smugly responds, coving his mouth with his hand.
Rei stares at them before wrapping his arms around Miri and standing up. He carries her to her spot and lets her wiggle out of his hold.
“I wanna do the magic spell!!” Miri announces.
“Magic spell?” Rei echoes, taking a seat next to their daughter as Kazuki begins to bring their food over.
“Yeah!! It’s a spell that makes your food extra tasty!!” The girl explains as she makes big gestures. “You squirt that red stuff on the Omurice while saying it!! I saw a pretty lady do it once!!”
“Did the spell work?”
“Yep!! It was super delicious!!” Miri beams brightly as Kazuki shares a look with Rei.
“Papa will let you do it but you have to be very careful.” Kazuki instructs as he joins them at the table, placing a bottle of tomato sauce near Miri.
The girl’s eyes almost seem to brighten so much that they shined like stars. She rapidly nods her head before picking up the bottle and leaning closer to Rei. She flips the bottle upside down and a large dollop of sauce falls right onto the Omurice.
The girl stares at the small hill of sauce before letting out a loud giggle. Kazuki was ready to take the bottle off her at a moments notice but Rei didn’t make any effort to stop their daughter.
“May your food be nice and yummy!” She sings as she draws something on her papa’s food before turning to her next target.
Rei finds the warm feeling return as he watches his partner attempt, and ultimately fail, to stop Miri from casting her magical spell. Even if the ketchup was going to be the only thing he could taste, the young man couldn’t bring himself to get annoyed.
As he watched Miri cheerfully pour sauce all over Kazuki-papa’s food, Rei allowed himself a moment to truly let his guard down. He listens to Miri's rambles about her day at day-care and observes how Kazuki made sure that Miri wasn't forgetting to eat her food by scooping up small bits for the girl to eat; tasting the overwhelming amount of ketchup which clung to the back of his throat as he ate.
The meal finished with Miri only making half the mess she usually did and the girl was more than ready to resume Morio Cart; only just allowing Kazuki to wipe her face as she bounced on the balls of her feet.
As soon as Kazuki had made sure that every speck of ketchup had been removed, their daughter zoomed to the couch. She excitedly waited for Rei to join her but, before he could, Kazuki places a hand on his shoulder. The hit-man turns to look at his partner before allowing the blond to speak to her first; free of any distractions.
He watches as Kazuki takes a seat next to Miri and their daughter tilts her head to the side.
“Miri.” Kazuki begins to speak, “you know how you’ve been so well behaved over the past few weeks and let your papa’s finish all their work?”
Miri energetically nods her head.
“Well, me and Rei-papa want to take you out for the day as a treat! What do you think? Just a day out with your papa’s?”
She takes a few moments before letting out a high-pitched squeal and throwing herself into Kazuki, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him as much as physically possible.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Kazuki remarks with a chuckle, glancing at Rei and giving him a warm smile.
It was almost time for Miri's bedtime when the girl finds Rei in the bathroom. But, instead of residing in the tub, he was leaning over the sink and carefully doing something with his hair.
"What are you doing?" Miri voices her curiosity to her papa, walking over to him to get a better look.
"Cutting my hair."
"Why?"
"So it doesn't get in my eyes when I'm working."
Miri lets out a hum and begins to twirl a few strands of hair. "You know, Mummy would take me to this place with loads of mirrors. And, Mummy's friend would cut my hair."
Rei, after shaving the last bit of his hair and turning off the electric razor, turns to look at Miri and she is more than happy to continue.
"You see, she didn't use that thing in your hand. What is it, Rei-papa?"
Rei looks at the item in his hands before looking back at his daughter. "It's a razer."
"A razer?"
He nods his head. "It lets you get rid of the hair you don't want."
"Can it make you go bald?"
"If you're not careful it can." Rei comments and the girl shudders at the thought of a bald papa.
"I'll stick to scissors!" She declares before running out of the bathroom.
It wasn't long before the fated day arrived and, after waking Rei and Miri from their slumber, Kazuki stared at the large picnic basket. It was now filled to the brim with sandwiches, rice balls, a big flask of juice and a few other simple bits for the journey.
It would be fine. He had already packed Miri's backpack with games for the journey and only hoped that she wouldn't get bored too quickly. It was about a two hour journey to their destination and he was almost certain there would at least be two pit stops.
Letting out a sigh, Kazuki unzipped his own bag to see if everything was still there... Even if he had checked it only minutes earlier, he didn't want to risk anything going wrong today. Miri was going to have the best day and he wasn't going to let anything change that!
He turns to see as Rei, carrying a sleepy Miri in his arms, made his way down the stairs and he couldn't help but smile and shake his head.
Miri was ready for the day, sporting a very cute t-shirt with kitty paws on her sleeves, but her hair was another story. The two small ponytails were crooked and a few strands of hair had already escaped the binding of the hair band.
He would have been mad if Miri hadn't looked so adorable snuggled up in Rei's arms.
"Ready?" Rei asks and Kazuki has to fight back the urge to laugh.
"With Miri's hair like that?"
Rei looks down at Miri before looking back at him. "I tried." He grumbles, a hint of sheepishness poking through his usually blunt voice.
"Give her here." Kazuki muses, getting ready to take their daughter out of Rei's hold. "I'll fix it while you take the stuff downstairs."
The other complies before picking up a few of the bags as Kazuki carefully makes his way back upstairs. He carefully places Miri on her bed before looking for her hairbrush, finding that it had somehow ended up under her desk.
Before she could lie down, Kazuki kneels down and gently pulls out the band. He gets to work, carefully making sure not to yank too roughly as he brushes... Although, it was easier said than done.
Luckily the job was done with only a few whines and, after making sure that Miri had gone to the toilet, the trio were all in the car.
"Are you sure you brought everything?" Kazuki asks for the third time, resulting in Rei staring at him in complete silence. "Right, well, lets go." The blond adds before starting the car and erasing any chances for Rei to decide that now was the best time to disappear back into the apartment.
It didn't take long for Miri to grow bored.
"How about we play a game of eye-spy?" Kazuki suggests, halting Miri's cries for some kind of entertainment.
"Eye-spy?" Rei asks before their daughter could say anything.
"You haven't heard of eye-spy?"
Rei shook his head and when it become clear that the other was completely serious, Kazuki lets out an overdramatic gasp. "What about you, Miri? Do you know how to play eye-spy?"
"Yep!!" Miri beams brightly. "Someone needs to spy something and everyone else has to guess what that thing is!!"
"That's right!" Kazuki muses cheerfully and the girl lets out a cheerful giggle. "We're all going to play that!"
Miri lets out a cheer and shuffles in her seat.
"Are you going first, Miri?"
The girl cheerfully nods her head before gazing outside the window. They were driving down the motorway as trees and clouds whizzed past. She lets out a hum in thought, her expression was one of pure concentration, as she tried to pick her item.
Eventually, she had picked something. "I'm ready!!" She announces loudly. "I spy my little eye something that is blue!!"
"Is it... The sky?" Kazuki asks.
"Nope!"
"The blue car in front of us?"
"Wrong!"
"Can I have a clue?" The blond asks and hears Miri let out a giggle.
"It's something in the car." She states and, whilst they were at the red lights, Kazuki glanced around the inside of the car... It couldn't be the blue light coming from the radio as Miri couldn't see that... The bags were all in the boot of the car so it couldn't be any of those...
Kazuki began to run out of options until he finally took note of the hat resting on Rei's head. It had cat ears, just like the one they had gotten for Miri during their large shopping spree, but it wasn't pink.
It was blue.
"Is it Rei-papa's hat?" He asks.
"Yep!! That's it!!" Miri beams brightly as she sways her feet back and forth, just barely missing the back of Rei's seat.
Rei, after Miri's insistence, went next but his turn quickly ended when Miri guessed his pick... The sky.
The game lasted for a while after before tampering off, the radio being the only sound breaking the comfortable silence they had fallen into.
Maybe today would go well after all.
The rest of the journey went smoothly and, besides from getting stuck in traffic a couple of times, they had made it. Kazuki turns the car into a parking spot before pulling up the breaks. He stretches his arms before glancing next to him to see that Rei had fallen asleep. Smirking to himself, he gently shakes Rei's arm and the man squints his eyes open to look at him.
"Did we make it?" He grumbles sleepily before rubbing his eyes.
Kazuki nods his head before getting out of the car, the motion waking Miri up and the girl almost instantly jolts up. She scans her surroundings and almost instantly bolts outside when Kazuki had opened her door.
Rei, not nearly as fast as their daughter, gets out the car and takes out a blue backpack from the boot. He slings it over one of his shoulders and Miri takes both of their hands, more than ready for the first event of the day.
The aquarium.
Now, Kazuki was aware that they could have gone to their local aquarium but, he had heard from the other mothers at the day care that this specific place was a hit with their families so he just HAD to take Miri and Rei there!
They all confidently stride into the building and right into a line of people. Kazuki took the backpack from Rei and pulled out a small plastic wallet. He took out a newspaper clipping and, after scanning the small print to see if he hadn't accidently missed the deadline, put the wallet back in the bag.
"Would you like a drink?" He asks Miri but the girl shakes her head; like a monkey, she clings onto Rei as the young man carries her.
Luckily, it doesn't take too long for them to reach the front desk and Kazuki proudly presents the clipping to the lady at the front desk. She looked fairly young; her black hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and not a single stand was out of place.
"This is a family coupon?" The lady points out and Kazuki nods his head. She looks at him for a few moments before turning to her computer and clicking a few buttons; presumably typing in the row of tiny numbers that were on the piece of paper.
Once she was done, she turns back to Kazuki.
"That will be 5,345 yen." She states and he places that exact amount in the small tray. The lady counts it up before giving Miri a smile and handing the small girl three tickets. "Make sure to keep hold of those for your papa's, alright?" She tells her cheerfully before pressing a button and unlocking the gates.
"I will do my best!!" Miri beams brightly, happily taking the tickets from the lady before wiggling out of Rei's hold and leading her papa's through the gates.
They make their way towards the large map and Miri stands on her tippy-toes to get a better look. There were many different areas they could go to. A jellyfish area, the glass tunnel where fish swam all around you, the glacier section which seemed to show off the animals which lived in the artic as well as a few other different sections. There was even a play area themed like a sunny day at the beach.
"Where to first?" Kazuki asks their overly excited daughter.
She lets out a long hum before finally deciding on their first destination. "That!!" She answers, pressing her finger against the picture of a seahorse.
"The off we go!!" Kazuki remarks, memorising the layout of the aquarium before walking down the corridor; small windows covered the walls and displayed little fish tanks with a plaque next to each one.
Miri cheerfully pointed out that one of them looked like nemo and she knew this because she had watched Finding Nemo in class one day.
They eventually reached the seahorse section and took in the different types the aquarium had. Their daughter bounced over to the large tube which was positioned in the centre of the room and watched as a group of seahorses bobbed in the water.
"Miri, did you know that daddy seahorses carry the baby instead of the mummy?" Kazuki states, making his way over to their daughter.
"Does that mean that I'll get a sibling?" Miri asks innocently, tilting her head to the side as Kazuki's face flushes a deep shade of red. Rei finds himself smirking at his partners distress as they attempt to explain that seahorses are one of the only species that can do this.
He quickly turns away when he feels Kazuki glare at him.
Once Miri had finally had enough of admiring the seahorses, they slowly make their way through all the different areas in the aquarium. The family found themselves admiring the glowing jellyfish, watching when one of the staff fed food to the dolphins, giggling when an axolotl excitedly played with a small pebble and spotting an otter float along the water. Miri took every little detail and Rei found himself getting swept along.
When they eventually reached the final stop, they let Miri run over to the play area whilst Kazuki got himself and Rei a drink from the stall nearby.
The two take a seat at a table near the play area and Kazuki hands his partner the hot chocolate. He silently takes it and they sit in a peaceful silence. They were both having a wonderful time with their daughter but... These few moments were needed before lunch.
Rei takes a sip from the takeout cup, tasting the sugary aftertaste of instant hot chocolate with small clumps of powder that hadn't been properly mixed in, and glances at Kazuki who was blowing into his drink in an attempt to cool it down.
He couldn't stop the smile before it spread and he knew almost instantly that Kazuki had seen it, giving the introvert a smile of his own.
They continue to drink their hot drinks before Miri joins them. She grins brightly before forcing her parents to join her in the play area so that she could show them the cool 'spinney thing' she had found.
By the time they had retrieved the picnic and found a nice park to sit in, Miri was ready to devour anything she could get her hands on. Kazuki unfolded a blue-chequered blanket plaid patterned blanket and spread it out onto the grass. He removes his shoes, Miri copying him, before taking a seat.
"Would you like a drink of juice first?" He asks Miri, taking out the large flask from the picnic basket.
She nods her head and he takes a small plastic cup before pouring some juice into it and offering it to their daughter who happily takes it from him. He watches as she drinks with a soft smile before getting out some paper plates and sandwiches.
Miri finishes her drink before taking a cheese sandwich and taking a large bite. She ate everything... apart from the crust.
"Now Miri." Kazuki begins, "you need to eat your crusts."
"But it doesn't taste as nice." She pouts and Kazuki finds himself holding back the urge to yell at Rei when his partner nods his head in agreement.
"But the crust is very healthy for you." The blond insists before taking out the box of rice balls.
Miri huffs and, when she thought Kazuki wasn't paying attention, sneakily gives her crusts to Rei who accepts them. She then takes one of the rice balls and stuffs it into her mouth, letting out a hum of pure bliss.
"Papa-Kazuki's rice balls are the best!!" She chirps cheerfully, swaying back and forth.
"Well, Miri, I also made some cake!" Kazuki announces proudly.
The girl lets out a gasp before squealing excitedly and her two parents find themselves smiling at how happy she was, not a single regret to be seen.
"Can I have some now?"
"After you eat some more sandwiches." Kazuki instructs to the small girl. They could practically see the wheels turn in her mind as she weighed out the pros and cons for going along with her papa's request.
Eventually she comes to a conclusion and, much to Kazuki's relief, she picks up a ham sandwich and begins to eat it without throwing a mini tantrum.
As children can be heard playing in the background, the family happily eat and drink together whilst enjoying the warm sun. Rei finds himself taking in the comfort this brought him even though they had spent the majority of the time outside of his apartment.
It was strange and, if it wasn't for Kazuki and Rei, he would have either been fast asleep in the tub or 4 hours into a game; trapping himself in a dark apartment as the blinds lock out any signs of light. He wasn't sure if he was used to these moments but Rei found himself become less and less reluctant to take part.
You could say that the hit-man was getting soft, becoming like a dull blade, but Rei knew that wasn't the case. Having someone to protect seemed to actually sharpen his drive to protect and, because of this, he couldn't allow himself to die.
As soon as the picnic had been eaten, only a few bits of food leftover, Miri quickly zoomed to the ladder and got ready to push herself down the slide.
"Thanks." Kazuki speaks up as the two of them watch their daughter cheerfully wave at them.
"For what?"
"For being here with me through all this." Kazuki explains. "I know I threw this situation on you before asking and it means a lot."
"Don't mention it." Rei remarks calmly. "Today was fun and I wouldn't change it for the world."
Before Kazuki even had the chance to respond, Rei joins their daughter and opens his arms. The girl more than willingly goes down the slide and right into her papa's arms before tugging him over to the seesaw. Rei turns to look at Kazuki and gestures for the other to join them; he does just that.
After some time spent playing together in the park, Rei carries their sleepy daughter to the car, slides her into the back and carefully straps her in. He places a kiss on her forehead before quietly closing the door and getting into the car himself.
"What about me?" Kazuki teases with a smug grin.
"Are you Miri?" Rei questions, causing his partner to let out a warm chuckle.
The journey home was peaceful and, as Rei watched the trees pass by, the now familiar feeling returned and heated his cheeks.
The trio had been home for a couple hours already and Kazuki knocked on Miri’s door, getting ready to tell the girl that it was time for bed. But, his words lodged in his throat once he opened the door. Their daughter had managed to take her scissors and cut a large chuck of hair from her fringe, strands of hair lay over her desk and Kazuki had to force himself into action before the girl resumed.
“W-wait Miri!” Kazuki called out through shaky words, his knees already growing week. The girl returns her attention to him. “Wh-what are you doing??”
“Cutting my hair!!” She replies cheerfully.
“M-Miri…” Kazuki manages to mumble out before crumpling to the ground, tears already streaming down his face. “D-do you even understand what you’ve done??”
The girl let’s out warm giggles and it took everything that Kazuki knew to not have a break down there and then.
Rei joins them and, judging from the gasp Kazuki heard, he could tell the other was just as panicked but…
“You cut your hair?” Rei asks, his voice as calm as ever and Kazuki can’t help but stare at the other, his mouth agape. Did he not see how serious this was??? How the other mothers would react to them having let their child do such a thing??? How careless they were???
Miri nods her head, swinging her legs back and forth as Rei approaches and kneels next to her; both of them unaware of the amount of distress Kazuki was currently undergoing… Or just seeing it as the usual Kazuki.
“Why?”
“I don't want my fringe anymore!" The girl states, as if her reason made perfect sense. "I don't have one of those cutty things but Miri wanted to show that she could cut her own hair as well! It was a bit scary at first but I'm not done yet!"
“Miri.” Rei begins, his tone surprisingly soft, as he takes the scissors out of their daughters hand. “Let me do the rest.”
To both their surprise, Miri energetically nods her head.
“But first we need to wash your hair.” Rei tells her as he places the scissors down on Miri's desk.
“Why?” Miri asks curiously, clearly having expected her papa to get right to cutting her hair.
“If we don’t, and I cut your hair when it’s dry, it will look bumpy and uneven. Do you want that?”
Miri shakes her head before jumping to her feet. “To the bath!!” She states, pointing dramatically at the door before taking Rei’s hand and leading him to the bathroom.
The two walk past Kazuki who was still processing what in the world had just happened.
As it turns out, Rei did an excellent job fixing the horror that had been the chunk Miri had cut in her fringe. Kazuki had half the mind to ask Rei if the other used to be a hairdresser but they glared at him before he even uttered a single word.
He lets out a sigh as he flops on the couch. Rei was currently reading Miri a bedtime story and Kazuki had taken it upon himself to hide the scissors from Miri once the incident had been resolved.
They really did need to speak to their daughter about what had happened but he knew that neither of them were looking forward to that.