Work Text:
"We gotta go house-hunting right away! We'll need to find a place and sign the lease, like, today!"
"I don't know, wouldn't tomorrow be better? I'd really rather just rest for today..."
They should've looked right away, Takumi realises as he places the meager box of pyjamas on the barren floor. Humanity had been able to leave their dying home and create a new, thriving civilisation on the planet-sized Artificial Satellite, but shitty, rent-controlled apartments had somehow made the jump to “the shining new era" when so many better things were lost to World Death.
Their living space until they get steady paycheques coming in is on the ground floor of a four-storey apartment building near one of the Satellite's parks, and Takumi can hear the shrieks of excited kids through the still-open door. The sound is cut off by the loud, intentionally obnoxious raspberry that Darumi blows as she sweeps into the apartment and kicks the door shut without turning around.
"FINALLY!" she singsongs, kicking off her shoes and flopping onto the sofa still covered in a plastic tarp. "I thought we were gonna have to sleep under an old overpass, and l'd have to hunt rats to provide sustenance for dear Mistress Tsubasa!"
She thoughtfully presses her index finger to her lips; her make-up muted after not having had an opportunity to reapply it in between taking the escape pod from the Academy and the bureaucratic process of finding a place to fit in back with humanity.
"Offer's still on the table if you want 'em, Mistress!" she screeches at the top of her lungs into the kitchen.
Tsubasa startles and nearly drops the small bag of groceries she managed to grab with what was left of their first veterans' compensation cheque. A rosy blush comes on her face - she's still getting used to the ins and outs of dating something like Darumi and she stammers over her words. "No-no, it's fine, Darumi! I, uh, bought chicken!" she says with a strained look on her face, fishing the meat out of the bag and waving it to make absolutely sure Darumi gets the message.
"Fiiinnneee. After we get evicted, then!"
Now it's Takumi's turn to flush. "We're not going to get evicted..."
"You might just about want to be when you get a look at the rest of this place," Yugamu says merrily as he strides in from the apartment's hallway. The smile that's on his face would've been immensely threatening to anyone but the three of them, but still, it makes Takumi wonder what's gotten him in such a cheerful mood.
He pecks Tsubasa on the lips and leaves her to finish stocking their mini-fridge (because of course it's just a mini-fridge. Of course.) as he follows a softly humming Yugamu down the hall. The turquoise carpet is musty, and Takumi spots dark stains on the wallpaper that he just knows will excite Darumi for all the wrong reasons.
"Here we are, cutie. Brace yourself."
A grin full of Yugamu's jagged, blindingly white teeth and his good eye twinkling with amusement is the prelude to him throwing the door at the end of the hall open and allowing Takumi to see the situation before them. Immediately, Takumi's eyes widen, prompting a whimsical giggle from Yugamu.
This is the apartment's bedroom. Singular. Even though they had expressly said at the processing centre there'd be four of them living together; Yugamu and Darumi having a separate apartment was out of the question.
And the most pressing issue...
There's just one bed. A standard double with two pillows, with threadbare sheets and a single blanket pulled halfway up.
"Are you kidding me?!" Takumi blusters out, drawing the attention of the two girls, who walk over to see for themselves. Tsubasa gasps herself, while Darumi grumbles.
"I wanted to share a bed with Mistress Tsubasa, but if you two STINKERS are gonna be there STINKING it up, maybe I should just take her with me and go back to the overpass idea!"
At this, Tsubasa blanches while Yugamu crosses his arms, the fabric of his kimono shifting. "I wanted to sleep with all three of you eventually, of course. But only after a seduction period. It being handed to me on a silver platter like this just kinda takes the kick out of it, y'know? Ah, well, I'm sure I can think of a few ways to...sweeten things, eheheheh..."
Takumi feels a tug at his hoodie and turns to see his girlfriend looking at him for support. "We can just, I guess, make do tonight?"
Tsubasa says, whipping her head around to the other two members of their relationship and accidentally brushing her ponytail against Takumi's face.
"I get paid tomorrow since they're so desperate for folks with medical knowledge, they're taking me on as an aide straight away," Yugamu says, idly playing with a knife he pulled out of his kimono sleeve. His gaze darkens. "If only they had the good sense to run a thorough background check...just kidding!"
The newly pierced tip of his tongue sticks out puckishly. "I solemnly swear to be on my bestest behaviour as the breadwinner for all you sweet little ducks. No more fun...on even days."
"And I can pick up a few shifts at the mechanics near the bank," Tsubasa adds, far less theatrically.
Takumi's sure he and Darumi can find work as cashiers or warehouse workers. Although it'd be best for them to be in the same place he can keep an eye on her. He loves Darumi more than he could've ever imagined, but Hiruko had maaaayyyybe been onto something with the suggestion to put her on a leash.
Tsubasa grabs Darumi's gloved hand and the elbow of Yugamu's flowing outfit. "Until then, "Mistress Tsubasa" and/or the sweet little duck needs help throwing together something to eat. You too, Takumi! C'mon!"
The following hour of trying to make a rushed bag of groceries into a proper meal for four people makes Takumi desperately miss having the Ration-O-Matic on hand.
*
After a slapdash dinner, they watch a movie on the digital projection interface that came with the house. It's a romantic comedy Takumi vaguely remembers his mom liking back in the TRC, and came at Tsubasa's suggestion. Darumi wanted to start a long, gory series, but relented to her "Mistress" promising they could do that tomorrow instead.
They manage to get their Satellite-line working and check in on the other survivors of the Academy as they promised. As the youngest conscripts in the SDU, the Tsukumo twins are being made to finish middle school at the Satellite's best boarding academy, much to Kako's excitement and Ima's barely concealed disdain. They spent their first veterans' cheque on beginner's motorcycles, and Takumi's heart aches at the unspoken reason.
Nozomi's not letting either Kamyuhn or the baby out of her sight, and she assures them repeatedly that she'll fight tooth and nail to ensure her newfound charges can live among humanity. She gives them the headquarters address of a Futuran-humanity peace organisation, and they make plans to meet up there later in the week.
Soon enough, it's artificially nighttime outside and the events of the day, and truthfully, the hundred days that came before it, catch up to them. Takumi leads his three drowsy partners to the bedroom. They take turns changing into their pyjamas in the apartment's tiny bathroom.
Takumi ends up having to loan Yugamu a pair, and turns away, blushing when he wanders out with his arms flung around his own shoulders.
"Takumi, sweetie, you shouldn't have!" Yugamu rasps, "Ohhhh, this is so hot."
Normally, Takumi and his sort-of-boyfriend have different opinions on what constitutes hotness, but seeing the other man there in Takumi's dark navy pyjamas that are too big for him and made him roll up the sleeves, showing off Yugamu's self-surgery scars while his eye fixates on Takumi's own pair with obvious desires...
Yeah, Takumi can admit it this time around. It's hot.
Slipping into the bed, they all sit up to figure out how this is going to work. On the left end of the bed is Darumi, then Tsubasa and Takumi in the middle, and Yugamu on the other end. They're all packed tightly, and Takumi finds himself rubbing shoulders with Tsubasa and Yugamu, who are both still smelling of their strong perfumes, and, oh God.
"Is everybody warm enough? I know we only got this one blanket, but at least it's heavy." Tsubasa fusses over the rest of them, looking over at the portable heater she took it on herself to run and get before the stores closed. It was cheap, and sputters even on its first run.
Darumi chuckles and rests her chin on Tsubasa's shoulder. "Mistress Tsubasa, your kind words will have me running hotter than if I died and went STRAIGHT to Hell," she coos, which by Darumi standards, is heartfelt enough to get Tsubasa to smile softly at her and gently kiss her on the lips.
In response, Darumi's teeth chatter in bliss as she kicks her legs under the blanket. Takumi rubs Tsubasa's hand in appreciation, while Yugamu blows her a kiss, considerate enough not to try to push Takumi out of the way.
"Let's try to get to sleep quickly," Takumi says, putting his head and tugging the blanket up further. "The sooner we can afford single beds, the better, so we need to hit the ground running in getting jobs."
A huff-sigh comes from his right. "For the love of murder, can we not just try to enjoy the moment while it lasts...make the most of it…"
There's suddenly a cold feeling on Takumi's lower back, making him yelp and shift away.
"Yu-Yugamu! Don't touch me when your hands are so cold! How old are you?"
The chastisement makes Yugamu pull his pyjama sleeves over his hands and wrap them around Takumi's waist in apology. "I'm sorry, I'm still getting used to this whole 'domestic bliss' thing," he says with a nibble at Takumi's left ear, earning a quick kiss to the cheek that makes him blush like a schoolboy. It's really impossible for Takumi to stay mad at him...
Not after what the four of them have been through.
Tsubasa grabs on to Takumi's hands and holds them in hers, while Darumi reverently plays with Tsubasa's loose, flowing mane of platinum hair. For a moment, they just stay like this.
Domestic bliss…
Is that what they have here?
It doesn't make sense to Takumi. After what happened on the other planet. losing so many people they'd have to remember far longer than they'd been able to know them. Gathered together to do awful things in the name of humanity, and now left to scrounge together lives of their own in this familiar yet completely foreign place.
Do they deserve to be happy? He wondered that to himself, the whole space trip to the Satellite.
They have nothing and nobody but themselves, Nozomi, and the Tsukumos. Everything could change tomorrow; maybe they will end up living under an overpass, hunting rats for dinner. Maybe they'll become humanitarian celebrities for aborting the mission. Or pariahs. Or fugitives from the law.
It's your future...
But right now, Takumi doesn't feel worried about any of that. He's surrounded by three people who are the bravest, most resilient, and in their own individual way, kindest he's ever met in his shorter-than-he-knew life. It's probably not very realistic or smart, and he can think of a certain someone he dearly misses who would have pointed that out to him with her usual acidic tongue, but even if their world suddenly fell apart around them once again, it'd be a little less awful this time.
As long as he has Tsubasa's excited squeals, Darumi's guttural laughter, and Yugamu's affectionate rasp to think of, Takumi would do whatever it took to make it out the other end.
Or maybe there won't be anything horrible in the future. Maybe they're done being the stars of the story.
Perhaps life is going to be something like going forward. A little bit frustrating and a little bit ridiculous, but still completely and wonderfully mundane. Yugamu working as a doctor, Tsubasa opening her own garage, Darumi getting to let her creativity and energy shine somehow, and Takumi...well, they'd cross that bridge when it comes.
For now, everything is as good as it can be.
"Goodnight, everyone," Takumi mumbles, not used to deep thinking like that and feeling even more tired than he already was.
"G'night," Tsubasa murmurs back.
"If any of you wake up with bite marks, I swear it was just bed bugs. Honest, heh-heh."
"No need to get up early tomorrow, Mistress Tsubasa. I'll handle evvvveeeerything for breakfast. It'll be great!"
Maybe they'll put off updating the bed situation for a while.
Takumi could definitely get used to this.