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“...So, you can have that room.” Will gestured towards a room down the second floor hallway of his home with his thumb.
Lion didn't immediately move to investigate their assigned room. They had no worldly possessions to unpack and neatly put away, and there were still many unanswered questions they wanted to ask of Will. After surviving Bernkastel’s attempt to kill them as they escaped from the collapsing Fragment of Beatrice's miracle, as well as witnessing the final game of Battler and Beatrice's board, they had crossed the line of tiredness and entered directly into enduring until they could collapse. They were an Ushiromiya, however much that truly meant when their family wasn't nearly as noble as they'd once thought it was, and so they would not rest until their desires had been satisfied.
“Thank you, Will.” Lion was grateful to the man beyond measure, and for far more than a mere place to stay.
Will had chosen to save them. Lion didn't believe it meant that Will had believed that Lion was such a wonderful person that they were worth saving. Rather, it was because Will was the sort of person who had seen how much Lion meant to a person trapped in a horrific fate, had seen how Lion's existence was fragile but precious nevertheless, and had seen Bernkastel's cruelty as the sin it was. And then, he had chosen to save Lion even if it meant his own demise.
Will had a strength of character that Lion could admire, even if Will was also unspeakably rude, terribly crass, and horribly annoying.
“And you can have that one,” Will added, voice softening.
Clair nodded quietly. She didn't scurry - she had an air of elegance that prevented such a description from being applicable - but she walked at a fast pace. She paused at the doorframe and inclined her head.
“...Thank you.” Her eyes were dull, like that of a haunted doll brought to ‘life’ by a lingering ghost. And then, the door closed behind her as she stepped inside.
Clair's escape from that Fragment was a miracle in itself. Lion didn't quite understand the mechanics of it - after all, they had seen her corpse. It supposedly involved how Clair's existence was more metaphorical than real, and how she was a disguise or stand-in or shell for the culprit of the catbox that had been revived by Ange's protection of its mystery and Will’s protection of its miracle. So long as Ushiromiya Lion existed, the antithesis of the culprit, the culprit was ‘dead’. Clair, the killed cat, could thus live.
…It was enough to make Lion's head hurt, and they weren't sure they'd understood it correctly. It was probably why Will had told them not to think about it, not that it had stopped them.
“...Will she be alright?” they asked quietly, gaze resting on the closed door.
When Will and Lion had gone to Heaven after departing the City of Books, Clair had suddenly latched onto Lion's sleeve from amongst the bustling crowd on the streets. She had silently followed them home, barely saying a word as Will had theorized and deduced her survival. Dlanor, who had walked alongside them until departing once they'd reached Will's house, had also contributed to the conversation. All Lion had been able to do was look at the girl with concern while trying to parse what Will and Dlanor were talking about.
Will shrugged and turned away. “That's up to her. I'm guessing you still have questions?”
Lion scowled as Will began walking away. The man didn't even turn back to make sure Lion was following him. They walked downstairs, and Will chuckled as he noticed a white fluffy cat perching on top of the couch, tail lashing about.
“Sorry Diana.” He smiled, wide and honest. “We're going to have guests over for a while. Is that alright with you?”
Diana let out an irritated ‘mrow’. She huffed and turned her head away. Lion found her cute, but considering how prickly cats could be, they were unsure about approaching her.
Will glanced over to them and snorted. “I'll introduce you. If you're polite Diana won't mind you too much.”
Lion was wary, but followed Will over to the couch. Will held out his hand a few centimeters away from Diana, who acted indifferent for a moment before leaning over to sniff his hand. Then, she let out a soft purr and rubbed her cheek against the knuckles.
Will’s expression softened completely. “Good girl,” he muttered. He reached over to pet her head, tanned fingers running through soft white fur. “Good girl.”
Lion had never had a pet of their own: their parents had never considered it necessary, and all a pet would do was create noise and mess. However, when they were little, they'd had rabbits at their elementary school. They had been noisy and messy, just as their parents had said. And yet… they had been soft to the touch, and whenever Lion had been upset by the teasing the other kids would engage in, calling them all sorts of names for being androgynous and not quite fitting in, the rabbits would nibble at their fingers as if to comfort them.
The expression Lion had had back then as a child amongst the rabbits was surely just the same expression as the one on Will's face now. It was an open, vulnerable expression, as though comfort and years of companionship were flowing through Diana's head and Will's fingers straight to his heart. Will wasn't human - at least, Lion didn't think he was - but he was still entirely capable of such deep emotion.
“Will?” Lion prodded, keeping their voice soft and low.
Will schooled his expression, hand drifting away from Diana, who stared at Will with wide eyes. “Sorry about that. It's been a while since I was home.”
Lion chuckled. “It's alright. I've never had a pet, but it seems that you and Diana-san have a close bond.”
He coughed quietly. Perhaps it was Lion's imagination, but his cheeks seemed a bit pink. “Right… Well, just do what I did. Reach out and wait for her to judge you.”
They tentatively followed Will's instructions, holding out their hand. Diana's tail lashed back and forth, and she let out a low growl.
“Easy, Diana…” Will soothed.
Diana let out one more growl before going quiet. She ultimately sniffed Lion's hand and then rubbed her cheek against it. She didn't purr, but Lion could feel the softness of her fluffy fur. The corners of their lips curved up.
“You’re quite the lady, Diana-san. I'll be in your care,” they told her politely.
She was a cat, but she was also the cat of a witch hunter who lived in Heaven. For all they knew, she was so smart that she could speak, or perhaps she was like Bernkastel, and could change between girl and cat at will. …Though hopefully Will would have warned them if either was the case.
“If you both respect each other, you'll get along fine,” Will informed them. He sat down on the couch, and motioned for Lion to join him.
As Lion did, Diana jumped down from her perch to land on Will's lap. She shot Lion a fierce look, as if daring them to challenge her territory.
“...I was wondering what would happen now, primarily.” Lion sighed. Their hands were still and unmoving in their lap, despite the urge to fidget with them. Their upbringing had trained such bad habits out of them. “Will Clair and I be staying here for the foreseeable future? Do we need to obtain income somehow?”
“You're already talking like you're one unit,” Will noted.
Lion nodded. “Clair and I are… family, of a sort. She believed in my existence all this time, and it was able to comfort her in her darkest years. I appreciate everything you've done, Will, but… Can we still be called ‘partners’ now?”
Will blinked. “What do you mean?”
“We became partners to solve the mystery of Bernkastel's board. That finished long ago. We also went through Battler-kun’s board together. Now, I'm a remnant of a world that was destroyed, and am taking refuge in your home without anything to offer you.” Lion kept their voice calm as they explained the situation.
As the heir to a wealthy family, Lion had never gone without. They had been denied things, of course: unhealthy sweets, brain-rotting television, and unworthy acquaintances. However, they had always had wealth and social capital. With the power of money backing the Ushiromiya name, very few people dared to disrespect it. Lion had never before been in a position where they had nothing to leverage against the other party, and could only rely on their kindness. Though Will was a kind person, and they didn't doubt that they would be treated fairly, there were limits and conditions to anyone's benevolence.
Will sighed heavily. “...Is that it?”
Lion blinked. Had they heard him correctly?
“Is that it?” Will repeated himself, piercing golden eyes gazing directly into Lion's warm browns.
Lion swallowed and nodded. There was something so intense in those eyes that even Lion was unsure of how to respond.
Will leaned back into the couch and laughed. It was such a boisterous, loud sound that it startled Diana, who yowled and jumped off of Will's lap before dashing away into a hiding place somewhere, beyond Lion's line of sight. Will muffled his laughter with the dark blue sleeve of his coat, eyes sparkling as he refused to avert his gaze from a shocked and confused Lion.
“Sorry, just… I accepted you as my partner. We aren't strangers. I was thinking you could stay here. If it doesn't work out, I can reach out to the courts and probably get them to assign you an apartment.” He shrugged and waved his hand dismissively. “I'm retiring, though, so I think the company will be nice.”
Will's words set Lion at ease. “...Alright.” They chuckled at themselves, and at how easily Will was extending them the use of his home. For a rude man who often spoke callously, he was far, far too kind. “I wouldn't mind staying.”
“Wouldn't mind?” Will raised an eyebrow.
Lion huffed and turned away, crossing their legs and arms. “I'm used to a far higher standard of living. But you'll have to do.”
Will snorted, and Lion's composure broke. They laughed together at the joke, their sounds of mirth mingling together until something shattered inside them and their laughs because shuddering sobs, eyes wet with tears they hadn't even realized they'd had waiting inside them, unshed.
“Hah… Hah…” Rather than crossing their arms in feigned haughtiness, they now ended up clutching themselves.
Their world was gone, and they could never return home. Making light of it could only help so much. Lion was a person, but they were also a story invented by a lonely witch who longed to be human. They were a Fragment so rare that there was only one Lion within countless worlds… Because, in all those other worlds, their mother had rejected them and allowed ‘Ushiromiya Lion’ to die.
“It's alright.” Will's voice, deep and rich, soothed them. A warm hand settled on their back, rubbing circles into it. “You're safe here.”
Lion nodded. It was shameful to break down in front of someone who wasn’t famil. They had been raised with the idea that private business must never be aired, and to do so would be the greatest shame. However, rather than shame, they only felt relief that Will was there.
Eventually, they calmed down. The entire time, Will hadn't faltered, offering soothing words and reassuring touch.
Lion sniffled - disgusting, how easily their body was overcome so completely with emotion - and raised their head, giving Will a soft, grateful smile.
“Thank you…” Lion said quietly.
“Do you want to rest?” Will asked. “All of this is a big adjustment.”
Lion sighed and nodded. “It is. It's hard for me to take everything in stride like you seem to. Do you have a handkerchief…? I need to clean my face.”
Will winced. “Probably not… Maybe a hand towel? Or a napkin? I think I have napkins…”
Lion sighed again. They refused to wipe their face off with their sleeve, as Will might. However… …They smiled angelically. “Alright. Thank you, Will.”
And then, they pressed their face into his shoulder and rubbed the tears (and snot) away.
“Hey!” Will scowled, eyes narrowing. “You can't just…”
Lion hummed, satisfied with the mess they'd made on his coat. “It seems I can.”
Will seemed upset, but not to the point of serious retribution. Lion had done it partly out of petulance, but they had also done it to test the man's limits. It would have been difficult to live with him if he had resorted to threats of eviction at the first sign of irritating behavior. Though perhaps such reasoning was merely an excuse on their part to be mildly cruel to him; they already trusted the man more than enough. And seeing how he reacted, upset and annoyed so adorably for a man who should be more mature than that? Beautiful. It was something Lion could focus on instead of their own emotions, which they greatly appreciated.
Will’s expression suddenly softened, and he stood up from the couch, offering Lion his hand. Lion took it and allowed the man to help them stand up. It was a warm hand, slightly larger and rougher than Lion’s own. Surely it was the hand of someone who had helped many people before Lion. And yet, in spite of the power it should have held, it was gentle.
…Lion tried to silence their thoughts as Will led them to their bedroom. They didn’t need to latch onto Will like a child, no matter how kind the man was. And yet, rather than thinking about all they had lost, wasn’t it natural to think of what they had gained?
Lying in their new bed in the darkness, longing for their energetic sister, fretful mother, and clumsy father, Lion found that they could long for everything they no longer had regardless.
There was something painfully awkward and yet enjoyable about living with someone who wasn’t a family member. Will didn’t have years upon years of context to understand Lion with, nor did he have years upon years of preconceived notions to judge Lion with, either. Will sometimes looked at Lion as though they were a spoiled young master, petulant and demanding and foolish, but for the most part Will looked at Lion with unclouded eyes. It was something even Clair, the same person and yet not, the living cat to Lion’s slaughtered one, did not afford them. When she looked at them - which was rare, given that she almost never left her room - she saw a miracle, something holy and divine. And Lion was a miracle, but they were also a person, and… it was uncomfortable, unsettling, to be reduced to something of concept rather than of flesh and blood.
At first, Lion had focused on settling in and going on sojourns to department stores with Will to pick out furnishings for their room. Once that was settled, and with no school to attend, Lion had taken to learning about Heaven, primarily by talking to Will, reading through some of his books, and the occasional day trip with Will to go on errands. It was very different to Lion’s past life, which had, in a sense, been far more isolated. Lion had lived on an island: if they had wanted to leave, they would have needed to ask for the boat captain to take them, inform their parents, and have a reason for such an excursion. Even then, the boat would only take them to a small town - nothing like the urban sprawl of Heaven. They had been to cities before, on field trips and business trips, but such an experience paled in comparison.
Heaven, Lion thought, was even grander and more populated than Tokyo. They had been to Tokyo once as a child, their mother tightly squeezing their small hand so they wouldn’t get lost. It had been a cacophonous world of dazzling lights strobing across Lion’s retinas, pupils wide as they tried to take everything in. Heaven wasn’t urban in the sense of being highly developed, to the point of inhuman incomprehensibility that was the height of human achievement, but in sheer size: suburbs mingled with skyscrapers, parks stretched on for miniature eternities, department stores that engulfed block after block. It mixed West and East together, blending the two until they were an indistinct mush. It was ridiculous.
And yet, Will strode through Heaven without a care for how nonsensical the place was. With Lion by his side, following along - the first time Lion had been a follower since they had outgrown clinging to their mother’s sleeves - he seemed entirely at peace. For a man who exhibited such a carefree attitude, such blase acceptance of the ridiculous suited him well. However, it was irritating for Lion, who had to take more time to adjust.
Heaven was filled with things Lion had never seen before, from angels with downy white wings to other Inquisitors with striking blue uniforms and eyes that screamed holier-than-thou that Lion did not risk approaching. Or, rather, that Will did not risk approaching. Lion would be walking by his side, doing their best to keep up with their taller partner’s brisk pace, when Will would suddenly grab their arm and tug them close, cold golden eyes narrowed as he marched them past some possible threat.
The first time it happened, they had been on their way back from a short trip to a nearby grocery store. Lion was still somewhat unsteady and unmoored in Heaven, still gathering their bearings. When Will tugged them unexpectedly, they almost dropped the bag of groceries entirely, a tomato rolling out of the bag and falling to the ground.
“Hey, Will…!” Lion hissed, glaring at the man.
However, Will’s attention was elsewhere: on a man with a sword at his hip, and a long blue coat that swished as he stepped. He met Will’s cold gaze with an amused upturn of their lips and golden eyes, the precise shade of Will’s, flashing with unspoken warnings that Will heeded. Lion wanted to speak, to protest, even just to turn back and pick up the dropped tomato, but Will was already leading them away, and they followed along, biting their tongue and holding choice words back.
Later, quietly and softly, as Lion huffed over the lost tomato and how rude Will had been, Will explained. “...Some people in Heaven are dangerous.” He brought the knife down on a tomato, red guts oozing out onto the cutting board. “Heaven is meant to be for the ‘righteous’, right?”
Lion nodded. “Yes… So why should any denizen of it be a risk?”
Will snorted. “Witches like Bernkastel run the Senate. People who are ‘righteous’... mostly just want to look good, Lion. And if you want to look good…” The knife fell again. “You pick people to be the ‘bad’ ones, and destroy them.”
They scowled. They were young, and hadn’t been exposed much to corruption or injustice. They were more like concepts than realities, even though the bullet that still sometimes ached in their chest reminded them of the harsh cruelty that humans could muster for the sake of greed and pride. It felt less as though Will was speaking of a serious risk, and more as though he was judging others unfairly.
“Do you believe yourself to be better than others? You are also a citizen of this place, aren’t you?” Lion asked. They watched Will’s knife slice through red, bleeding tomato-flesh.
Will sighed. “...I’m not.” The knife stopped. The tomato was a diced-up, dripping mess. It was unappetizing to look at for Lion, and they focused their eyes on Will. “I used to be like them. But I’ve changed.”
He sounded tired, aged; he was different from the cocky Inquisitor who did as he pleased without a care for others. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Lion bit their tongue. There was no use pressing Will: they were well aware of how stubborn he was. However, they felt it was ridiculous to assume that a random stranger would be a threat. Dlanor was also an Inquisitor, and from what they had seen of her, she was a kind person devoted to justice. She had protected Beatrice’s catbox from malicious evils. Surely, even if some Inquisitors served the Senate rather than actual justice, that didn’t mean that Will could make sweeping judgements.
They held their tongue, but as they continued living in Heaven… it continued to happen. Will would see someone with those golden eyes and that striking blue coat, and would march Lion away as swiftly as possible. Perhaps, if Lion were a romantic, they would have found such overprotective tendencies endearing. However, Lion wasn’t a romantic person, but a practical one. They found it more and more infuriating the more it occurred. And yet, no matter how they tried, Will refused to speak more on the subject. Will was eternally deflecting and declaring things to be too complex for Lion to understand. It was belittling, baffling, and, overall, unbefitting of the man Lion knew.
However, one day they found an opportunity to gain more information in the form of a visit from Dlanor. She stopped by unannounced an hour or so after lunchtime; the hour in which the plates had been cleared and Will and Lion were nursing cups of tea (Will preferred morning coffee and nothing else, but had acquiesced to after-meal teatime for Lion’s sake).
Will let her in. Appearance-wise, she didn’t seem all too different from before. She hadn’t grown a single centimeter, cut a single strand of hair, or gained a single freckle. Her uniform didn’t have a single wrinkle, and the golden armor that protected her left hand didn’t have a single blemish or dent. The primary difference between the unannounced guest that had appeared at their doorstep and the proud Inquisitor who had fought alongside Will was how quiet and tired Dlanor seemed.
Though Dlanor took a seat at the table and happily took a cup of tea with a sugar cube or two, she didn’t speak much at first. An almost childish scowl rested on her face as she sipped her tea, though the weariness in her eyes seemed to diminish the longer she sat. Will and Lion made quiet small talk to fill the silence, chatting about how they had been doing well and how Will’s stock profile had come out splendidly.
Dlanor finished her cup of tea, and refilled it, before she finally cleared her throat and spoke. “It is GOOD to see you BOTH.”
Lion nodded. “Yes, it’s been some time since we last met, Dlanor-san.”
About a month, they supposed; it was long enough that the unfamiliarity of their new life had been to transform into an almost disquietingly comfortable ‘familiar’. It felt as though it was an overly long vacation, and any day now, their parents would call the house phone and politely request Lion’s return. Jessica would grab the phone from their mother’s hands and shout excitedly into it about how Lion had to hurry up and come home before Jessica took their room and made a mess of all their things.
…But their room was the one they had in Will’s house now, on the second floor alongside Will’s and Clair’s. It didn’t have many of the trophies they’d won in school, nor did it have trinkets from trips, or photographs from various points in their life. Their sister would never invade it again to bother them while they did homework. However, they knew that they were lucky to have a room at all… No, to be alive, and to exist, at all. And so they had resolved to someday fill their new room with just as many mementos and reminders that Ushiromiya Lion had been alive. Ushiromiya Lion had breathed, and lived happily, and they had left traces of that life behind. That was their wish, small as it was.
Dlanor smiled at them. “I am glad you are settling in WELL. Is Clair doing the SAME?”
Will winced. “She’s… adjusting more slowly.” A solemn expression overtook his features, casting them in darkness. “It’s difficult for a witch to adjust to a life outside their game. Especially if they didn’t make the choice to leave.”
“I see…” Dlanor sipped her tea, and made a face. “BITTER.” She added sugar to it and stirred it in, her face lighting up as she tasted the sweetened beverage.
Though Dlanor was capable of charging into battle and tearing through opponent after opponent with her swords, she was also capable of acting this childishly. It was the sort of duality unique to the non-human denizens of the magical world Lion had been thrust into. It reminded them that appearances were nothing but illusions in this world, and that they were merely symbols of what lied beneath, whether it was light or darkness.
“Will, would you like to ask Clair if she’ll come down?” Lion asked sweetly. “Perhaps if there’s a visitor, she’ll reconsider.”
Will scowled, looking between Dlanor and Lion. He wasn’t an idiot, and had realized that Lion wanted to speak to Dlanor alone for a moment. However, that understanding was why he nodded and agreed, abandoning his tea (a sad thing bereft of cream and sugar) to fulfill Lion’s request.
“So, Dlanor-san…” Lion hesitated. They were used to playing around with words, veiling true intentions behind honeyed pleasantries. That was how their family did things; that was how business was done. But Dlanor wasn’t business, and Lion didn’t have hours to waste on such things. “...May I ask something?”
Dlanor blinked. “And what would that BE?”
Lion took a sip of tea. Today’s blend was an Earl Grey with rose petals. Once Will had learned that Lion preferred tea, he had gone shopping with them at a specialty store and picked out various tins of tea for them to try together. It had been a sweet gesture on his point, one that Lion appreciated, though they had laughed at how little Will knew about tea. He’d had no idea of the differences between black, green, and white, let alone how pu’erh tea was far different from ‘ordinary’ black tea. And yet, he’d bought so much tea for Lion regardless, and indulged in brewing and drinking it with Lion in the afternoons, passing the time together with books or with chatter.
“Whenever Will and I cross paths with an Inquisitor, he pulls me away.” Lion’s voice lilted, turning more pouty. They scowled, disliking it. They needed to keep their voice even and calm and polite at all times, to show the best appearance for an Ushiromiya Family Head. …Not that that mattered anymore. (And yet, that made it matter all the more.)
“Ah… I understand.” She swung her legs - they were too short to reach the floor - and hummed softly. “It is because he understands the true nature of INQUISITORS.”
“The true nature?” Lion furrowed their eyebrows.
She nodded. “Willard was also one of them ONCE. The Witch Hunters who strike down witches with no MERCY…” A sigh escaped her lips as her expression darkened. “He has CHANGED since THEN. But I can appreciate his CAUTION. You are an anomaly linked to a WITCH, so an Inquisitor might wish to EXECUTE you.”
Lion tried to imagine Will as someone like Bernkastel: someone who coldly struck down witches with a dark blade. It was difficult to imagine him like that. He was rough, callous, but in the end… Will was kind. It was the sort of kindness Lion had not known before, the selfless kind that asked for nothing at all in return and sacrificed everything for another. It was the sort of kindness that seemed more fitting for a storybook hero than a flesh and blood person like Will. Of course Will had held darkness before, in his past - and yet it seemed so distant from the Will Lion knew now. The Will who had protected Lion even with his life on the line, and who tried to defend them even now.
“Protecting me, hm…” Lion tapped the rim of their teacup with their fingernail, and listened to the light clink it produced. “How presumptuous of him.”
“He has always been SO,” Dlanor acknowledged.
“Hm? How long have you known Will, Dlanor-san?” Lion inquired.
“Since I was young.” Will was the one to reply as he returned and retook his seat. “Our fathers were close, so she was told to look after me once I joined the Inquisitors.”
Lion looked between Dlanor and Will. “Wait, so Dlanor-san…?”
Will smirked. “She’s older than me, yeah. Doesn’t look it, does she?”
Dlanor huffed. “I am still a CHILD.”
His smirk softened into a bittersweet smile. Some past tragedy shone through his eyes, one Lion knew nothing of. “Yeah. You are.”
Lion decided not to pry further. They understood why Will acted the way he did, and that was enough. Really, going so far out of his way to protect them, and yet being too embarrassed or stubborn to explain himself, merely insisting that he was right and shouldering it all on his own… They smiled. He was the sort of fool Lion liked far, far too much, no matter how annoying he could be.
In Heaven, the chilly autumn turned to snowy winter. The snow wasn't so deep that they were snowed in, but it was fluffy and wet, the sort of snow that children loved to play in and adults had to shovel. However, Lion hadn't ever played in the snow: it was unbefitting, and Rokkenjima hadn't gotten the sort of snow needed for children's play. In addition, they much preferred the comfort of the indoors to the dreary, cold outside. The snow was pretty to look at, but they didn't care to touch it.
Though the weather had cooled, the house had grown warmer. Will's investments had soared to new heights of revenue, and Will had celebrated with takeout and buying badminton equipment for Lion, promising to let them teach him the sport in the spring when it was warmer. Lion hadn't been sure what to focus on - Will's promise, and the opportunity to torment him, or the fact that Will had remembered Lion's favorite sport and had gone out of his way to get them a gift.
Clair had ventured out of her room too, even joining them for the occasional meal. She didn't speak much, nor did she meet anyone's eyes, but Diana always climbed into her lap and purred loudly, and Clair stroked her chin with a very faint smile. Perhaps that was enough for now, for a witch who had resigned herself to losing everything. Lion hoped it was. Clair was sad and broken and difficult for them to understand, but they wanted her to find her own happiness, rather than relying solely on Lion's existence to be satisfied.
Lion didn't mind being a miracle, but they wanted to be less and more: they wanted to be a person.
Lion pressed their fingertips to the window. The glass was cold, though not nearly as much as the falling snow would have been. The snow was a marker of how much time had passed. Even their birthday had come and gone. Will had gotten a cake, and they'd had a small celebration, with Dlanor invited alongside Beatrice and Battler, but it had been different from what they'd expected.
Rather than turning twenty and receiving the Head ring, they still had a silver ring glittering on their finger. The ring their grandfather had promised them no longer existed. The future in which Ushiromiya Lion was Head had been shot to death. They placed a hand over their heart, wincing at the faint pain.
“Lion?” Will asked quietly, glancing up from a book. His eyes settled on their hand. “Don't let it bother you.”
Lion sighed and shook their head. “I dislike it… always being reminded of that time.”
The time they had lost everything, and yet the time they had met Will. The time their world had shattered, and yet the time they had met their partner. They had finally understood the various blessings they had received, only for those blessings to be ripped away. Though they had stopped being the beloved golden child, their fortune and family lost, Will had supported them regardless.
They wondered, sometimes, why Will was so kind to them. He was more than friendly, and distinctly not familial; it was something else they could not quite name. Or, perhaps, having never spoken it, the words felt clumsy and difficult to voice on their tongue.
Their family would never have approved. Lion knew that much. And yet, though that fact made it difficult to voice their own feelings, they understood that even if Will felt the same, Will wouldn't act first. Lion was his partner: a member of his household, a refugee of a lost world. If Will was the one to offer a hand, how could Lion reject it?
“That time…” Will sighed and glanced away. “I also can't get away from reminders.”
Lion blinked. “How so?”
Will hesitated. “...Nevermind,” he muttered.
At that time, Will had been scratched up by Bernkastel's servants, and had lost an arm. Even then, he had defended Lion until the very end with gritted teeth and an arm socket dripping with blood. It had been as awe-inspiring as it had been terrifying: to be fought over so desperately, to be so close to death, to have someone protect them with such ferocity. It was at that moment, more than anything else, that Lion had felt that they should never let Will go.
They had been strangers, partners, and almost comrades united in death. Then they had become housemates, friends, companions. They had gone shopping together, read books side by side, and drank tea together. They had picked out curtains for Lion's room and hotly debated the best new cat tree for Diana.
“I want to know.” Lion set their own book aside, carefully slipping in a bookmark before closing it. They walked over to Will, hands on their hips with a scowl marring their face. “Tell me.”
Even if it was something as insensitive as Lion reminding Will of that time, they didn't care. At some point, Will had become an important person to them. And so, they wanted to know everything they could.
Will made a face - hesitant, wary - and turned his head away. “You don't want to know.”
Lion sighed. “I'd rather learn unpleasant things than live with palatable lies.”
“...Alright. I'm sorry for keeping this from you until now.”
With the internal heating working its hardest, the house was more than warm enough to combat the winter chill. Will always wore long sleeves regardless, at least down to his elbows. Lion was flabbergasted when Will lifted up his shirt and pulled it over his head. For a moment they wondered what it had to do with Will's apology or explanation.
And then, they realized what Will had meant. High up on his left arm, at the point where it had once been cut off, was an unmistakable scar. It spanned the circumference of the arm, and it was a deep red, not yet fading into the quiet oblivion all scars were destined to. It was rougher than the scar that marked the bullet that had entered Lion's chest, less precise, but that was only to be expected, given the different sources.
Without thinking, Lion reached out to touch the scar. “Does it hurt…?”
Will shook his head. “Usually it doesn't.”
Lion snorted. “The same could be said of mine.”
He shrugged. “Surviving certain death isn't easy.”
“Still…” Lion's fingertips traced over the marks. “Why didn't you tell me?”
“You had a lot going on.” Will stared at Lion's hand, at his arm, rather than meeting Lion's eyes.
“We're partners, aren't we?” Lion scolded. “Doesn't that mean we should share things?”
“But -” Will tried to protest.
“I like you, so you can't just -” Lion swallowed. “Ah, well…” Their fingers froze.
Somehow, the forbidden words had slipped out.
“You…” Will seemed even more dumbfounded than Lion. “You can take it back, you know. Words said in the heat of the moment don't need to be accepted. I know I'm…” His smile turned wry. “I'm not the most ideal person for you.”
Lion understood that. They could meet someone without a dark history, an ambiguous (and decently older) age, and a cat that didn't demand royal treatment. However…
“An ideal person doesn't exist,” they stated firmly. They pinched his arm in lieu of lower down, ignoring his hiss of pain. Their face was red, but they pressed on regardless. “I don't want anyone else to be my partner. And I don't like anyone else like this.”
Will swallowed. “...Alright.” He let out a long sigh. “Then…”
Will reached out with his scarred arm to cup Lion's cheek. It was more intense than their hands entwining; Will's hand felt hot, like a crackling fireplace that would engulf them entirely. They leaned into the touch. They invited in the flame.
“Shall we be something more than partners?” Lion murmured.
Will nodded. He seemed torn between stupefaction, disbelief, and desire. “Yes. But you need to let me know if you're uncomfortable. At any time.” His voice, a soft ‘yes’, sharpened into warnings.
“I will.” Lion smiled as they promised.
Rather than desiring to bridge the gap - soon, someday, sometime - between their lips, Lion could only gaze into golden eyes that longed for more in their stead, and yet did not act.
“Haaah. You'll have to be pushy sometimes, Will,” they warned.
Will smirked. “Or else what?”
Lion smirked in return. Rather than a noble young master, having been kept and spoiled by this man, deprived of the rigid mansion filled with expectations, they had become a mischievous cat.
“I might just push you around,” they declared. They retreated, the warmth of their partner clinging to their cheek even after the hand had lost contact.
Will chuckled. “We’ll see. I like you too. So maybe you'll be the one pushed around if I stop holding back.”
Lion's face flushed, heat and blood and color rushing to it as they coughed a few times. “Right…”
“That's why I want to let you set the pace,” Will added softly. “You don't have much experience, do you?”
Lion shook their head. Their face only grew redder.
Will held out his hand. “Then, slowly. Together. We can do this, can't we?”
Lion took his hand. Will's hand had always been warm, and always gripped theirs with reassuring firmness. “We can.”
They were partners, after all. Lion could navigate the heavens with Will by their side. What difference was a nascent relationship between them, raking away leaves and shoveling away snow to reveal the budding flowers beneath?
Lion had lost a world, a life, a family. However, they had gained new friends, new family… and a partner who was more than a companion in solving mystery, and was now solving love with them. The miracle of their existence paled in comparison to the miracle of the many small happinesses they had gathered.
They squeezed Will's hand. The arm he had lost had returned. And so too would all the happiness Lion had lost on that day.