Archive of Our Own

Kou isn’t sure why he made the terrible decision to tell his brother that he’s dating someone.

It seemed like the natural progression of things back then, but now he’s not so sure. The day he and Mitsuba decided they’d be going on dates instead of hangouts from then on was a day full of emotion, which apparently translates to telling your somewhat clingy and possessive older brother that you have a friend you’re going out with and refusing to elaborate. He’s not even aware that he’s friends with Mitsuba, so when he inevitably discovers that Kou is more than friends with another supernatural, he’ll probably do something crazy.

Actually, truth be told, he’s not actually sure what Teru would do in that situation. On one hand, exorcizing supernaturals in the most sadistic way possible is basically his entire life’s purpose, and Kou is already stretching it by protecting Hanako from him. But on the other hand, he’s always held his younger siblings to the highest regard and would never go out of his way to do anything to make them unhappy. And practically murdering Kou’s not-boyfriend might make him at least a little sad. So maybe things will actually be fine? He doesn’t really want to bet on it. For now, he’ll just opt to deal with the minor inconvenience of hiding his relationship and trying to explain that he doesn’t really have a romantic partner, rather just someone he goes on dates with.

“It makes no sense, Kou…” Teru whines, hovering behind him as he prepares dinner. “What makes dating different than hanging out if you aren’t together?”

“Like I said,” He chops the carrots slowly while eyeing his brother to ensure he doesn’t suddenly stick his hands in the wrong place. “We know we like each other, we’re just waiting it out to see if we actually want to be together,” He collects the carrots in his hands and places them in a bowl. “Most people call it a talking stage, but that’s kinda dumb so we don’t.”

Teru leans against the counter. “How do you know when you want to be together?”

Kou shrugs. “It’s just one of those things you know.”

“Right…” He glances over at the table where their younger sister is (surprisingly quietly) coloring in a coloring book. “What do you think, Princess?”

Tiara perks up. “Hmm…” She makes an exaggerated thinking expression. “I dunno!” She finally decides after a moment of serious deliberation, then goes back to scribbling in the book. Teru frowns in dissatisfaction.

“You’re sure it doesn’t sound silly to you?” He asks, leaning his weight over the table. Kou rolls his eyes with a click of the tongue, choosing to focus on preparing the food.

“I think you sound silly, Teru-oniichan!” She giggles without looking up from her book.

“Ha! See? You can’t turn Tiara against me when I’m right. She knows what’s up.” He reaches across the entire kitchen to give the girl a high-five. 

“Hm, well I’m sure she’ll change her mind once she’s dated a few people and realizes things don’t need to be that complicated,” Teru remarks and sits down at the table.

“I have!” She exclaims, causing both boys to completely freeze in place. “Oh, but we broke up. He couldn’t even write his name, and I need someone who can keep up with my in-tell-ect,” She sounds out the word as if she just learned it.

Kou sighs in relief. “Good job knowing what you want from a partner!” He says, giving her a thumbs up. Teru, however, is still distraught.

“...You had a boyfriend…?” He asks in bewilderment. The girl just nods with a grin. “Am I really the last one to find someone?”

“Meh,” Kou points a spatula in his brother’s direction. “Remember, we’re not together yet. You could still technically beat me if you tried.”

But Teru’s head is already resting on the table in defeat. “I lost before I even had a chance… I’ll never keep up…!” He dramatically throws his arm over his forehead, which makes Kou roll his eyes while Tiara rushes over to pat his head. “How close do you think you are to making it official, anyway?”

That gives Kou pause. He… hasn’t considered that yet. He knows he likes Mitsuba, and Mitsuba’s made it clear that he likes him back. And it’s not like the dates have been going particularly badly. In fact, they’ve been amazing. He loves that they’ve done more together recently. He loves that the frequency of them being playfully mean to each other is starting to balance out with the times they’re genuinely affectionate and kind with one another. The whole reason they’re dating-but-not-dating is because Kou was still a bit confused about his feelings; he’s not anymore. He’s not quite ready to say it aloud just yet, but he’s pretty sure he loves Mitsuba. So, is there really any point to continue this stage? Should they be moving on to the next? He’d told Mitsuba that they could possibly get together in the future. Has the future come already? 

“Kou?” 

He’s snapped out of his thinking and glances at his brother over his shoulder, and he’s sure he unintentionally made some sort of indication to where his mind was at with his expression, because Teru’s jaw drops open when he meets his gaze.

“R-really!?” He genuinely sounds a little bewildered. “Are you planning on confessing?”

He presses his thumb to his lip. Should he? It’s not like there’s a high chance of him being rejected, but it seems… embarrassing? Vulnerable? He shrugs and turns back around when he realizes he’s supposed to be cooking. “I-I don’t know, maybe…” He winces when Teru makes a sound as if his heart just broke. “What? Should I not…?”

“No, you should!” He waves his hands reassuringly and tries his best to sound supportive. “I’m just a little sad I don’t get to meet this person, even though they seem so important to you.”

Urk…! That’s a bit of a blow to the heart. If only Mitsuba wasn’t a supernatural, he’d be more than happy to introduce him to Teru. In fact, he’d probably already be here, joining them for dinner and making his own jokes about Teru’s severe lack of game. It’s not like he wants to hide him. He’d love nothing more than to show him off to his family.

Kou deems the meal finished and carefully plates the dishes to bring to the table. The three say their thanks and begin eating. The conversation topic ends up shifting focus to Tiara as she regales her brothers with tales of her latest kindergarten gossip. The two listen intently, but Kou can’t help but spare glances at his brother. To an outsider, Teru always has a relaxed expression, so it’s reasonable to assume he’s always relaxed. But Kou’s known him for long enough to pick up the subtleties, and he’s almost certain that his feelings are genuinely hurt. 

When they’re finished eating, Tiara immediately scrambles off to her room to play with whatever new toy their father got her this week, leaving the two in the kitchen to clean up.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it handled,” Kou says. “You should rest before you patrol tonight.”

Teru shakes his head and continues wiping the table down with a rag. “I don’t mind. I slept well before dinner. Besides, I feel like we never spend any time together. The least I can do is help you out a little.”

Kou’s about to protest before he takes a look at Teru and exhales in amusement at the sight. “If you’re gonna help me, you should probably use a surface cleaner instead of Tiara’s detangling spray.”

Teru blinks and looks at the bottle. “Ha! That’d make more sense, wouldn’t it?”

The two clean in silence, aside from Kou occasionally giving his brother a pointer when he does something horrifically wrong. It’s nice being helped – or at least, it’s nice that Teru’s willing to try to help – but there’s a heavy air in the room that seems like they’re both passively trying to get the other to address. Kou relents with a sigh.

“...I’ll introduce you,” He finally says.

Teru gasps and turns around in glee, and Kou immediately regrets saying it so suddenly without any thought. “Really?”

He nods and crosses his arms. “On one condition. You have to be nice to him.”

“Am I not usually nice to people?” He tilts his head. “...Oh! You never told me you were with a boy. That’s great!”

Kou grins awkwardly. “I thought I told you I was b–? …Nevermind. It’s not like you’re not nice to people, but…” He struggles to find the words without preemptively revealing that the boy in question is a supernatural. “...Whatever, you’ll understand what I mean when you meet him. Oh!” He points a soapy sponge at his brother. “And you’re only meeting him after I confess! So you’re not allowed to be disapproving when you do meet.”

Teru stares at him blankly with a confused smile. “Why are you so convinced I won’t like him? Are you dating a delinquent or something?”

“That’s…!” He bites his lip and sighs. “Sure, something like that…”

Kou’s chest feels weird. Either his heart is failing to pump blood, or he’s struggling to breathe because he’s about to throw up his lunch. Whatever it is, waiting at the mirror in his locker for Mitsuba has never been such a terrifying experience. He hopes his stomach cooperates with him when they’re out eating dinner.

Mitsuba’s not one to compliment people willy-nilly, especially not Kou, but he’s said multiple times that he doesn’t think any food could compare to the meals that he makes. It’s flattering for sure, but it’s definitely not true; he’s not insecure about his skills or anything, it’s just a fact that there’s better food out there. So tonight he’s taking Mitsuba on a proper date to a restaurant to prove just that. It’s nerve wracking in its own right that they’re going on such a serious-sounding date, so the added anxiety of his personal resolution to confess makes him feel like he genuinely might die. He pulls at the collar of his shirt. He’s not dressed to the nines or anything, but he’d be lying if he didn’t put a little more thought than usual into his attire.

Before he can brace himself, a hand suddenly grasps the top of his head. He instinctively jumps back and reaches for his staff before he realizes it wasn’t just any random supernatural, but the one he’s been anxiously awaiting the arrival of, climbing through his mirror with an evil smile.

“You totally flinched,” Mitsuba giggles as he lands on the floor. “Whoa, you’re not dressed completely stupidly today! I’d even say your outfit almost looks coordinated.”

Kou grits his teeth. “What do you mean, almost? I spent ages picking out this outfit!” He grips the bottom of his button-up to look at it again. Did he really look that bad?

Mitsuba presses a hand to his cheek. “Aww, you put in all that effort just to impress me~?” He teases. “It’s not actually that bad, we just need to get you more clothes that have similar colors,” He pinches the fabric of his shirt to inspect it, and Kou would be a liar if he claimed his hand lightly brushing his torso didn’t send the most intense shiver he’s ever felt up his body. “Hm, yeah. Button-ups are surprisingly good on you. We should go shopping for our next date and buy you more.”

Alright. Admittedly, most of their “dates” aren’t actually dates. But it’s become a habit for both of them to refer to any time they spend together that isn’t related to their usual dealings with supernaturals as dates, since hanging around with Mitsuba used to be a rarity. Now it’s every day, and the word “date” has definitely lost a little bit of meaning.

“So,” Mitsuba grasps Kou’s hand as they exit the building. “You said we’re going out to eat, right? What are we getting?”

Kou absently rubs his thumb on Mitsuba’s palm. His hand(s? He’s half convinced Mitsuba doesn’t even have a right hand) are always cold and clammy, likely a result of being a supernatural, so it’s instinct to try and warm them up. Still, their usual levels of affection are turning out to be affecting Kou a little more than usual, and it takes him a moment before he even processes the question. “You’ve never had anything other than Japanese food, right?”

Mitsuba shrugs. “I don’t think so.”

“So, we’re going out to get something else. There’s apparently a pretty good Italian place not too far from here.”

“Oh,” He swings their arms together and hums. “That’s, like, spaghetti and stuff, right? Seems basic…”

“Yeah, but this is one of those places that makes basic things seem really good. Plus, there’s a bunch of other stuff you might like. Their desserts looked good, too.”

Mitsuba raises his eyebrows. “Sounds like a pretty expensive place! Are you spoiling me, Minamoto-kun?” He asks cheekily, covering their interlocked hands with his other hand. Kou clears his throat.

“Maybe I am,” He tries to sound smooth, but his annoyingly shaky voice is barely above a whisper. Still, Mitsuba seems to falter, which means it still had the intended effect.

“Y-yeah, you better…” He mumbles. Kou doesn’t dare to look at his face. The supernatural can be frustratingly cute when he’s genuinely flustered, and he doesn’t know if he can handle seeing that right now. “Your hand is sweaty. Are you nervous or something?” He jokes.

“No?” He knows by the way his grip on his hand loosens that Mitsuba doesn’t believe him. He sighs. “...Yes. Can you blame me? I want you to like it…”

Mitsuba walks slightly in front of him to look at his face. “I’ve never seen you this worried over me liking something,” He says, seemingly taken aback. He holds up his hand and smiles reassuringly. “I’ll like whatever we do. You don’t have to get so stressed over it.” It’s rare for him to make such a genuine expression, let alone say such genuine words with a gentle voice, so it hits Kou directly in the heart. It’s certainly not what he needs right now, but he can’t possibly be upset about it when he’s looking at him like that. He ducks his head down and laughs in embarrassment.

“I know, I know. I can’t help it.”

“Hm,” Mitsuba turns back around and continues walking by his side. “You’re such a suck-up.”

Aaand there it is. With every kind moment, he immediately follows it up with some kind of dig. “I am not!” He turns up his nose. “Maybe I’m just a stand-up guy.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be sure to bring that up the next time you drag me around by the scarf,” He lightly bumps into Kou’s side.

Kou returns the bump. “Hey, you always seem pretty amused when I do that. For all I know I’m doing you a favor.”

Mitsuba gapes. “You’re such a pervert!” He yells, letting go of his hand to start hitting his arm over and over.

“Pretty sure that’d make you a pervert,” He says nonchalantly, ignoring the fact that the digs in the arm are really starting to hurt. His words only frustrate the supernatural more, causing him to start hitting even harder, so Kou finally shoves him away. “Alright, alright, I'm joking! Jeez.” He rubs his arm.

Mitsuba scoffs and crosses his arms. “Your jokes aren’t funny. You’re nothing but a stupid gross pervert earring,” He flicks the omamori dangling from Kou’s ear. “Maybe you keep implying I’m a masochist because you secretly hope I am one, ‘cause you’re a sadistic little weirdo that wants to take all his troubles out on me… You’re so gross, Minamoto-kun.”

Kou frowns deeply and pinches his cheek. “What are you imagining right now…!?” He tugs at his face a couple of times before letting go. 

He rubs his face with a giggle. “Pretty much just that,” He says.

Well, at least his anxiety’s been alleviated. The two continue walking for a few more blocks before arriving at the restaurant. It’s not particularly large, but it looks quite nice. And luckily, the rooftop seating area seems to be fairly empty, so they won’t have to worry about getting weird looks from other tables. Well, he supposes Mitsuba would never have to worry about that, but Kou’s a bit tired of people thinking he’s crazy for talking to himself.

“Wow…” Mitsuba looks over the rooftop as he sits down. “This place is actually kind of cool. Now I’m excited!” He unravels the napkin containing his silverware and puts it on his lap. “So fancy… Seriously, how much did you have to save for this?”

“Not much,” He lies. In reality, he’s been saving up any money he’d received for quite a while. He didn’t have this specifically in mind, but he figured it’s about as good an excuse as any to spend the money. He’s only 15, it’s not like he’s spending it on much else. “Don’t worry about that. Just don’t look at the prices and get whatever you want, I can foot the bill.”

Mitsuba raises his eyebrows in shock and something else Kou can’t quite put his finger on. “How gentlemanly of you,” He comments with a smirk as he opens the menu. “I think I like being spoiled after all~!” He sings, putting the menu in front of his face and peeking over the top. It’s adorable. He covers his own face with his menu as well to cover his burning cheeks. 

It’s shockingly quiet after that, but Kou doesn’t mind, and seemingly, neither does Mitsuba. They’ve opted for the silent conversation of lightly kicking each other underneath the table while occasionally peeking over the top of their menus, giggling like little kids. Which, he supposes, they technically kind of are. It’s easy to forget that they’re both rather young considering all of the things they have to deal with pretty regularly, so times like this where they can goof off are a nice change of pace.

“So,” Mitsuba sets down his menu. “What’s your cover story for being at a restaurant all by yourself while ordering two meals?” He asks, cupping his head in his hands.

Kou grins. He’s particularly proud of himself for what he came up with. “I’m glad you asked. The story is that me and my girlfriend are–”

“Pause,” Mitsuba interjects. “Why am I a girl now?”

“Uh…” He puffs his cheeks and shifts his gaze. “I-I dunno. Mentioning something like that offhandedly can be pretty dicey. I’d rather not draw too much attention.”

He doesn’t look satisfied, but shrugs. “Alright. But another thing: why girlfriend? We’re not actually together… Can’t you use our way of saying it?”

“N-no one else really knows our whole deal except for us! Look, it’s an easier cover story if I just pretend I have a girlfriend, okay? I don’t mean anything by it…” Except for the fact that he’s planning on confessing later tonight, but that’s neither here nor there. “Anyways, the story is that my girlfriend recently moved away, and today is our anniversary and she couldn’t come into town, so we’re both at restaurants pretending we’re on a date.”

He doesn’t expect to see tears in Mitsuba’s eyes when he finishes explaining. “W-wow… That’s so sad!”

Kou shrugs. “It’s happier than my original idea. I was gonna say that she passed away and every year I go on a date by myself in her honor. But I figured that’d be pretty grim to throw on a random minimum-wage worker, so I didn’t.” 

“You should be a rom-com writer or something! These are really good ideas,” He says, excitedly patting his hands on the table. “You’re secretly a romantic, aren’t you, Minamoto-kun? You’d never come up with something like that otherwise.”

Kou wouldn’t describe himself that way, but he supposes he’s had an inclination for the romantic recently, for reasons not worth explaining. Before, he wouldn’t have cared for cute dates or love stories or anything like that. It was never his style. And when it comes to other people, it’s still not. When Yashiro excitedly tells him the details of her blossoming relationship with Hanako, he’s happy for her, sure, but he’s not all that interested in if they held hands or kissed or anything like that. That’s for them to know about. But when it comes to this, he can’t help but daydream about it. Taking Mitsuba out to dinner, bringing him over to his house, holding him, kissing him… he’s absolutely whipped. Maybe that alone considers him a romantic.

He covers his face with the menu again. “You didn’t figure that out by the fancy dinner date?”

Mitsuba makes that face that Kou can’t describe again. He looks taken aback, but seemingly in a positive way…? Before he can make anything of it, the supernatural rests his head in his hand with a smile. “I guess I didn’t think of it like that. I gotta hand it to you, this is pretty romantic, if that’s what you’re going for,” He tilts his head. “... Is that what you’re going for?”

The question makes his heart beat a million beats per minute. He didn’t realize this would be happening so soon, before they were even able to order an appetizer, but here they are. Mitsuba looks at him expectantly. He has a smile on his face, but the rest of his body language tells Kou that he’s just as nervous as he is. He’s slightly digging his nails into his cheek, he’s tapping the table, he’s bouncing his leg; all while he leans over the table just a little too stiffly. And his face is completely red, just as his probably is, too. With each second that he hesitates, he only seems to grow more restless.

Kou puts his menu back down on the table and folds his hands so tightly his knuckles turn white. “...Maybe,” He says, barely above a whisper. He peers up at Mitsuba through his eyelashes, and he only looks even more nervous. The supernatural sits up abnormally straight and takes a breath.

“Why?” He asks.

“I–”

“I’m very sorry for the wait!” The two are suddenly interrupted by an apologetic waitress. “Things tend to get hectic downstairs, and it’s easy for the roof tables to be lost in the mix, and…!” She brushes her apron with her hands and clears her throat. “What can I get started for you, sir?”

Kou manages to put his and Mitsuba’s order in without issue, only stumbling over his words a couple of times. He doesn’t dare to look across the table, or else he might completely choke altogether. The only thing that brings him any sort of relief is that this waitress was very sympathetic about the story with his fake girlfriend and wished them the best. As suddenly as she appeared, she was gone inside of the restaurant.

Kou perks up when Mitsuba chuckles. “She must be a new hire or something. There’s no way an experienced waitress would be so frazzled.”

He exhales with a smile. “Yeah, probably…”

It’s quiet for a few moments while the two look around at anything but each other. Kou looks out at the sky, then at the floor, and at the fairy lights draping above the guardrails of the balcony. It’s all pretty, he’ll admit. He chose a good place for sure. He wishes he could bring himself to look at Mitsuba – the thing he really wants to look at – but that’d just be too overwhelming.

“Um…” The supernatural starts, looking across the street at the roofs of buildings. “You were saying?” There’s a hopeful lilt to his voice as he reaches across the table. 

Kou feels his eyes on him suddenly, but he doesn’t dare look up. He glances at Mitsuba’s hand and, in a moment of confidence, takes it. It feels way more intimate than all the other times they’ve held hands, and with the way the other boy’s breath hitches, he’s sure he feels the same. “W-well, you know…” He shrugs. At this moment he realizes that he totally didn’t prepare for the actual confession…! With a gulp, he lets out a breath. “I just thought… Um… Well, we’ve been doing this kind of thing for a while, and…” He clears his throat and looks up at the sky. “I dunno. I mean, I know that you like me, and I–”

He’s cut off when he hears a small “Eep!” He finally looks across the table at Mitsuba, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

“What?”

“Y-you…!” Mitsuba coughs and grits his teeth in embarrassment. “Where did you hear that!?” He chokes out and lets go of his hand to clutch his chest, leaving Kou immediately missing the contact.

His reaction catches Kou off guard, because wasn’t this supposed to be a common understanding…? He darts his eyes back and forth in confusion. “What do you mean ‘where did I hear that?’ I thought…?” He swallows. “Do you not?”

“Ah–! I–!? Huh–? Yes? I-I mean no? I–!?” He presses his hands to either side of his head. “I do!” He looks down at his lap. “I do, it’s just? Who takes someone to dinner just to tell them you know they like you…!? You sound like you’re accusing me of something! You’re putting me on the spot!” He shakes his head and rubs his eyes. Shit, is he about to cry? He does that all the time, but… “J-just tell me why you think you know that!”

Kou opens his mouth and closes it a few times before he can find anything to say. What is he supposed to say? “I-I thought you knew that I knew… just like I thought you knew that I like you!” He presses his hands to the edge of the table and leans forward. “Th-that’s what I was trying to get to! That we both know we like each other, so we should just…!” He sees Mitsuba’s expression and loses the confidence to finish his sentence. That look is killing him.

“...I didn’t know that,” He says slowly, clearly trying to regain his composure and not completely succeeding. “I didn’t know any of that. Was I supposed to? You never said it to me, and I don’t remember ever telling it to you…” 

“You didn’t know I liked you? B-but I go on all these dates with you!”

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because Mitsuba looks positively scandalized. “You said you weren’t ready for that!” He pulls at his hair in frustration. “W-when we started, we agreed that we were just friends who go on dates!” 

“Yeah! We are, but… I don’t know… There’s still a romantic connotation, isn’t there? I thought it was unspoken, since it didn’t seem like either of us were ready to talk about it,” He says, rubbing the back of his neck. “B-but I am now! I’m so ready! I just wanted to see if you were, too, but… I-I guess I got something wrong. I’m sorry,” He bows his head down in shame. Shit. He probably sounds like an ass.

Mitsuba sighs and leans over the table to tilt his head up. “N-no, it’s fine. I think we both got something wrong,” He forces out a chuckle. “The connotation isn’t lost on me, but… I guess I was just assuming you didn’t feel that way because it didn’t seem like you wanted something like that back then,” He says, sitting back down when Kou looks up at him. “I didn’t want to force you into anything, so I just went with whatever seemed more comfortable for you and tried not to read into it…” He looks off to the side with a pensive expression. “N-now I wish I did. Seems like I would’ve felt a lot happier if I thought about it like you did.”

Kou raises his eyebrows. “You weren’t happy?”

Mitsuba shrugs and rests his head in his hand. “It’s not that I wasn’t happy at all, it’s just…” He drums his fingers on the table, not making eye contact. “I didn’t think you liked me. You know how that is, don’t you? Didn’t you like Radish-senpai?” Kou nods. He’s inclined to say ‘Not nearly as much as you,’ but that’s probably not the point. “Then you know how you can be so happy around someone, yet it feels a little sad because you know they don’t like you as much as you like them…” He lets out an exhale with a small smile. “I wouldn’t have had to think that if I knew you liked me.”

“I had no idea…” He grips his chair and looks down at his shoes. ”I’m sorry, I really thought we both knew.”

He laughs, which makes Kou look back up. “I told you it was fine, Minamoto-kun! Besides, I should be the one apologizing. I messed up your confession,” He looks down guiltily.

Right. He hasn’t really gotten a chance to do it yet, has he? “D-don’t worry about it, it’s probably for the best that I restart…”

Mitsuba immediately perks up and reaches his hand across the table, wiggling his fingers expectantly. “Well? Go ahead.”

Kou doesn’t hesitate to grasp Mitsuba’s hand and squeeze it, hoping that the action conveys… well, something. Whatever he’s going for seems to get across, because the supernatural squeezes it back with a look of fondness. If the expression he made earlier killed him, then he’s sure this one is exorcizing his spirit entirely. He gulps. “Um… Well, we both know we like each other now…” He tries his best to keep his eyes on Mitsuba, no matter how much he wants to break eye contact and pretend he’s not being watched. “So, I mean… It doesn't make sense to not… Do anything with that?” He cringes. Wording things in a normal way has never been his strong suit – much less in a romantic way. “So… I-if you want, then we should, uh…” He can’t help but chuckle at the way Mitsuba keeps leaning over the table further and further in anticipation. “...Start going out? Like for real? I want to be your boyfriend.”

He doesn’t mean to shut his eyes, but waiting for a response after trying your hardest to spit out a confession is even harder than saying the words. If his eyes were open, he’d see Mitsuba practically bouncing in his chair in excitement and trying not to cry. After a moment, he feels his hand being squeezed and finally looks at him.

“Yes!” He exclaims, standing up and leaning over the table. The gentle breeze lightly sweeps his hair out of his face, revealing his left eye. It always feels like a special occasion when Kou gets to see his whole face. “I want to be your boyfriend too, Minamoto-kun–! Er…?” He smiles awkwardly. “I-I guess it doesn’t make sense to call you that anymore, does it?”

“I don’t mind if you still want to.”

But Mitsuba shakes his head. “No, that wouldn’t be romantic at all! And I’m allowed to be romantic now, so I’m gonna take that opportunity all I can, Kou.”

The way he says it is clearly teasing, and out of context it definitely shouldn’t make Kou feel any more giddy than he already is. But it does. It does a lot. He’s no stranger to people calling him by his given name – at this point, it’s more common than not – but hearing it come from someone he likes will never cease to make him unreasonably happy. 

Mitsuba suddenly touches the side of his face with his sleeved hand. “You look like a little kid who just got a puppy for his birthday,” He giggles. Kou doesn’t even think it’s possible for him to speak anymore. Mitsuba’s still holding his other hand while practically cradling his face, and he’s particularly close to him, which doesn’t make much sense considering there should be a table in the way. Then he glances down and notices his knee on the table and panics.

“D-don’t climb the table!” He exclaims. 

“Why?”

“Because!” He doesn’t want to say it’s because the concept of someone crawling over a table just to get to him is making him ridiculously flustered. “We’re in public, you know…”

Mitsuba shrugs, but relents and sits back down. His cheek suddenly feels completely bare… He’ll have to somehow make him touch his face again later. “Nobody knows I’m climbing on their furniture, they’ll be fine. All they’ll see is you making that face you just made.”

“I didn’t make a face.”

“You did! You looked like you were going to pass out. It was funny.”

“Funny!? How is that funny?”

“Maybe not funny,” Mitsuba taps his chin. “More like really cute, which I’m not used to thinking about you.”

Kou sniffs in amusement. “That’s high praise coming from you.”

“Hm,” He tilts his head. “I might have to kill you for it. You’re encroaching on my territory.”

“Yeah, right. I’ll never come close to your level.”

Mitsuba shifts in his seat as if that were the most flattering thing he’s ever heard. “You think I’m cute?” Kou’s well aware that his words are just an attempt to rile him up and make him even more embarrassed. But he shrugs and picks his nails absently.

“Maybe I do,” He says. “Have you been waiting for me to say something like that? That I think you’re cute? Is that why you’re always bringing it up to me?”

Mitsuba coughs and lightly squeezes Kou’s hand while covering his face. “D-don’t turn it around on me so suddenly…!” He exclaims. He sounds serious, but he’s really just hiding a smile. 

“What? You don’t like compliments?”

“N-no…” His voice is completely unconvincing. Kou’s not even sure if he’s trying to hide it, either, which makes him eat up the situation even more.

“That’s a shame. I have a lot I could say, since I like you and all,” He says, resting an arm behind his head. He’s not sure why he’s putting on such a bizarre act, but Mitsuba appears to be digging it. 

“That’s fine, because I don’t wanna hear it!” He says with a nervous grin. “Besides, what else could there be other than me being cute? I already knew that.”

Kou sticks his tongue out. “There’s a lot else. Like your smile.”

“What about my smile?” He asks breathlessly.

“Oh, nothing. You said you didn’t want to hear it, so I’ll just keep it to myself…”

Mitsuba pouts. “Whaaat? No! You can’t bring that up and just pretend you didn’t say anything! What is it about my smile?”

That elicits a laugh out of Kou. “You really are desperate for praise, aren’t you? I was gonna say I love your smile. It’s really pretty and I have to look away whenever you do it because it affects me so much,” He brings his hand to his mouth. The embarrassment is starting to catch up with him. “...I didn’t think I’d admit that. Please promise you won’t stop smiling just because I said that?”

Mitsuba looks like he’s breathing heavily. “I-I…!” He taps his burning face a few times with a frazzled expression. “I won’t…” He shakes his head with a laugh. “This is so weird, Mina– …Kou. I feel like I’m dreaming or something.” Kou instinctively reaches to pinch his arm, causing him to tense his entire body. “Ow!”

“You seem awake to me,” He remarks.

He squints at him. “Jerk… I’m being serious! I didn’t think you’d ever like me, and now you’re saying all these things to me and I have no idea how to process it. I can’t tell if I want to be really mean to you or really nice to you.”

“Do both, I don’t care. Actually, now that you mention it, can I say something that might be mean?”

“Yes,” He says a little too quickly. Kou’s inclined to say something actually mean about it, but he has an actual point to make. He’ll do it next time Mitsuba answers that question so eagerly.

Kou drums his fingers on the table. “...Is it bad that I’m sort of flattered that you were sad over the idea of me not liking you?”

Luckily, Mitsuba laughs and doesn’t lunge across the table at him to beat him up. Though, honestly, he would’ve found that acceptable, too. “I mean, that makes me feel sort of insane, but you’re fine. I’m sure anyone would feel the same…” He raises an eyebrow with an accusing smirk. “And that type of thing seems to be pretty typical for you. Of course you find it flattering that I was in pain, you freaking perv.”

“Tch–! You know, the more you call me a pervert, the more I’m convinced that you’re the pervert!” He points across the table at a particularly scandalized Mitsuba.

“Don’t call me a pervert! What does that imply now that we’re dating, huh?”

“You just called me one!” Kou exclaims exasperatedly.

Mitsuba bursts into laughter, rubbing his thumb across Kou’s hand. “You should see your face right now. Maybe that’ll teach you to not say things like that to me. I’m an innocent baby, no matter how much you want to deflower me,” He says, dramatically resting his hand on his forehead. Did he just…

Kou grips his hand tightly. “I take back everything I said about you being cute,” He grumbles through grit teeth, continuing to squeeze his hand until Mitsuba relents and smacks his other hand on the table.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He smiles in relief when Kou releases the pressure on his hand. “Wow, that hurt! Your grip strength must be improving.”

Kou raises his eyebrows. “Really?”

He nods. “If you want, you can do that every now and then so we can measure the difference in time it takes for me to ask you to stop!” He says happily. Kou stares at him with narrow eyes.

“...You’re not convincing me you’re not a masochist.”

“Stop it!”

The two banter for the remainder of the date, occasionally stopping whenever the waitress comes by so that Kou doesn’t look like he’s absolutely insane. More importantly, their hands almost never unlink, even when the food comes and it’d make much more sense to temporarily stop so they can eat properly. It’s not like the food even matters anymore. Ideally, Kou would have confessed after they ate so they could properly enjoy it, but the way it happened was much better than anything he could think of, so he doesn’t mind. Besides, now that they’ve already gotten that out of the way, Kou has an excuse to reach over the table and wipe tomato sauce off of Mitsuba’s face without it being weird. 

To say the date went great is an understatement. By the time the two leave the restaurant, they’re both still excited over the novelty of their relationship, walking hand in hand the entire trip back.

“Oh, right,” Kou says at some point. Mitsuba glances at him. “I… Sorta, uh… Well, I guess I should have run it by you first, but I sort of promised my brother I’d introduce him to you after I confessed.”

Mitsuba grinds to a halt. “You mean the scary exorcist brother?”

“I only have one brother…”

“Right, so your scary exorcist brother…” He squints at him. “Aaand why exactly would you promise this scary exorcist brother that he can meet your cute, meek little supernatural boyfriend?”

Kou waves his hand dismissively. “You’re not that meek…”

“Kou!”

The usage of his given name catches him completely off guard. He kind of hopes he never gets used to it. “Right, uh… I don’t know. He just seemed sad that I was holding out on him, so I told him I’d let him meet you… and I told him to be nice!” He exclaims, pointing his finger up. “So he’s not gonna hurt you.”

Mitsuba grimaces. “He agreed to be nice to a supernatural?”

He purses his lips. “Well, he doesn’t exactly…”

“...He doesn’t know I’m a supernatural,” Mitsuba finishes his sentence without a hint of amusement and sighs when Kou reluctantly nods. “You should’ve at least told him that… When is he expecting to meet me?” Kou shrinks in on himself, making Mitsuba’s eyebrows knit together. “...Tell me he doesn’t want to meet me right now.”

Kou grins nervously. “He may or may not be waiting outside of my house for us…?” Mitsuba gapes at him in astonishment. He knows it was a poorly thought out idea, but Teru looked so sad the other day! He couldn’t just let him think he didn’t want to share anything with him anymore… Besides, when he told him this morning that he’d be confessing, he looked absolutely thrilled! “Listen, he’ll be fine! I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything to you,” He squeezes his hand. “I am your boyfriend now. It’s kind of my job to protect you, isn’t it?”

Mitsuba shakes his head with a giggle at his flirting attempt and lightly bumps their shoulders together. “You’re only getting a pass because I find that kind of thing attractive,” He points a finger in Kou’s face and continues walking.

“Oh!” Kou grins. “I’m attractive?”

“I never said you were inherently attractive,” He says pointedly. “I just find being protected like I’m something precious pretty appealing. Feel free to act on that.”

Kou laughs and swings their arms together. “I can do that.”

When they start to approach the street of Kou’s house, Mitsuba pauses. “You’re sure it’s gonna be fine?” He asks, turning towards him and covering their linked hands with his other.

“Yeah, totally!” Kou uses his free hand to brush a strand of Mitsuba’s hair behind his ear and tries not to freak out over the newly acceptable action. “Teru-nii may take his job pretty seriously, but he cares about me a liiittle more. He wouldn’t hurt you if it meant I’d be pissed at him forever.”

“You’d be pissed forever?” He repeats quietly. “N-no, that’s… I mean, will things be fine for you? I imagine things might get a little tense once he knows you’re dating the thing he’s dedicated his life to destroying…” He purses his lips together. “I guess I just don’t wanna come between you. I like that you get along so well.”

Kou smiles in confusion. “You’re being surprisingly considerate.”

“C-could you actually address what I said before making comments!?” Mitsuba looks at the ground with tense shoulders.

“Sorry,” Kou shifts his weight on his hip. “I’m sure he’ll have his share of things to say, but I already decided that I’m fine with that. Besides, there’d be more tension between us if I didn’t tell him. So really, you don’t have to worry about it.”

Mitsuba takes a deep breath and sighs. “If you’re sure.”

Kou nods and squeezes his hand. “I’m sure.” 

If he’s honest, he’s not sure, but it doesn’t exactly seem productive to tell Mitsuba that. Things between him and Teru have already been pretty weird ever since Kou started defending supernaturals. There’s no telling how strained things might get when he learns that the guy he’s been rambling on and on about for the better part of the past few months is one, too. 

Best not to linger on it. Probably.

He braces himself as he turns the corner of his street, officially becoming noticeable by Teru, who, as expected, is waiting outside of the Minamoto residence. To Kou’s dismay and lack of foresight, his brother is already dressed and ready for his patrol with his sword out. He couldn’t have chosen a more intimidating time to introduce him to an apparition. Mitsuba walks close behind Kou, practically glued to his arm. He can’t exactly blame him. He’s dreading the moment that…

Teru finally notices their approach. “Ah, Kou! Is that…!” He can see the moment Teru processes the situation just by his eyes, but he somehow doesn’t break his smile. It’s certainly a bit more strained, though. “... Kou?” He says, demanding an explanation.

Kou is quick to speak. “T-Teru-nii! I want you to meet my…” He gulps. Saying the word out loud is daunting. “...m-my boyfriend. Um… This is Mitsuba!”

“Of course,” He says kindly, but it’s impossible not to catch the double meaning. Of course you’d end up with a supernatural, how am I even surprised? Teru makes no attempt to hold his hand out for a handshake or otherwise address the boy, only staring at Mitsuba with a sickeningly polite smile that somehow manages to look unwelcoming. Kou lightly nudges his side, and Mitsuba scrambles to speak.

“I-it’s nice to properly meet you…!” He sputters and bows way deeper than necessary. 

Teru tilts his head slightly and finally takes his gaze off Mitsuba, causing him to visibly relax. “This is the boy you’ve been talking about?” Kou nods. He inhales deeply, clearly trying not to drop his smile. At least so far he’s keeping his promise to be nice. “...I’m glad to put a face to the stories. He talks about you a lot,” He says, shutting his eyes.

“H-he does?” Mitsuba looks at Kou with a shy yet teasing smile. “What, you’re one of those people who sits in a circle and talks about their crush while swinging their legs and twirling their hair? I’m guessing Radish-senpai and Honorable No. 7 probably know way too much, huh? Huh?” He pokes at Kou’s face.

Kou sticks his tongue out and puts his palm over Mitsuba’s face to shove him away. “S-stop! It’s nothing like that…!”

“It is sort of like that.” Kou perks his head up. In a shocking turn of events, Teru seems to be amused. Albeit, he still looks guarded and like he plans on having a long conversation about everything when Mitsuba leaves, but he’s at least chuckling. “Except you tend to twirl your earring since you have short hair.”

Kou instinctively covers his earring and Mitsuba barks out a laugh. “Of course! It always comes back to your stupid little earring! Lame traffic safety earring? More like lame super-gay earring,” He teases, poking and prodding at Kou’s sides to elicit a reaction.

“I’m not super gay! Shut up!” He fails to dodge Mitsuba’s jabs. “T-teru-nii! Help me!”

Mitsuba freezes at those words, and looks up at the older teen with a horrified expression. Before Kou can realize his slip-up and correct himself, Teru shakes his head with an unreadable expression. “I can’t help you if he’s right,” He says.

Kou isn’t sure if he’d rather him say that or have exorcized Mitsuba right then and there.

“You…!”

“Ha!” Mitsuba flicks at his earring. “If I get to gang up on you like this more in the future, then I’m glad you introduced us!” He exclaims. “Uh… I should probably go now. Being out here at night freaks me out a little… I-it was nice to meet you, Minamoto-san,” He smiles nervously at Teru.

He blinks, surprised for some reason. “...Yeah,” He says, returning the smile. He’s still clearly bothered, but something about it is slightly more genuine than it had been a moment ago. Crazy.

Mitsuba turns to Kou with subdued excitement. Kou nods with a grin. “R-right, well…” 

“Mhm…” Kou rubs the back of his neck. “T-today was… Um…” He laughs instead of finishing his sentence, trying his hardest not to look over at his brother.

Mitsuba giggles. “Yeah.”

He lingers for a moment, seemingly weighing something in his mind. After a while of him staring at him strangely while licking his lips (vaguely unsettling), he presses a particularly wet kiss to Kou’s cheek and promptly runs off before he can say anything. “See you later!” He calls, disappearing into the night. Kou taps his cheek and fails to hide his glee. Wow. Wow. 

“Kou.”

Right. He turns around nervously. “L-look, nii-chan–” He stops when Teru raises a hand.

He sighs. “There’s nothing I can say to make you do anything differently,” Teru says, sounding resigned. “I can’t say I’m exactly surprised, but I’m not particularly happy, either.”

Kou slumps his shoulders. “I–”

“But,” Teru’s expression softens. “...I trust you to not let yourself get hurt. I’m… not excited, but… More than anything, I like to see you happy. And if he’s the one who does that for you, I won’t interfere. Just be careful.”

Kou blinks a few times and looks up at his brother in awe. “Teru-nii…”

“Besides,” Teru begins to walk away, then turns back around to face Kou. “He’s… interesting. Does he tease you like that all the time?”

Kou grits his teeth in annoyance. “Yes…”

Teru exhales in amusement and brings a finger to his chin. “Maybe it’s for the best, then. I didn’t tease you as much as I should have when we were younger.”

Excuse me!?

Kou scoffs. “Is that seriously your only compliment to his personality…!? That’s, like, my least favorite part!” He’s lying. As frustrating as his insults can be, he’s not sure if Mitsuba would be as fun to be around if he weren’t like that. 

Teru just hums and continues to walk away. Kou watches for a while, still occasionally tapping his cheek as the kiss keeps replaying in his mind. It’s not really a first kiss, since he was barely a participant in it, but it certainly counts for something. Just like how their date today wasn’t their first date, but it felt like it. Did this day seriously go that perfectly? Even Teru’s reaction, which Kou would have assumed would put a slight (or potentially major) damper on things, was pretty mild, all things considered. He’d even venture to say he sounded almost approving. Or at the very least, barely tolerating. It’s better than him having slashed Mitsuba up with his sword, at least.

After a while, Kou realizes that Teru has been out of sight for a while, and he no longer has any reason to be outside. He’s inclined to stay out just a little longer – as if that will somehow extend this amazing day – but ultimately opts to quietly slip inside and straight up to his room. He can have more amazing days in the future; he’s getting tired. Not bothering to change out of his clothes, he lays down on his bed and drifts to sleep (surprisingly easily, might he add) with a hand cupping his cheek.