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It’s peaceful where they are now. The countryside has no trace of ajin, no trace of war, no trace of Sato—almost no trace of the life he lived before. They each keep a gun for safety and self-defense, and Tosaki still checks in from time to time, sends them a stipend for the work they did before to stop Sato—but it’s good. Kei finally has his quiet life.
Or so he thought; even with the struggle far behind him, it still manifests in his dreams. Kai and Kou are in the rooms next to his, but they don’t hear. It’s a quiet kind of suffering, one that leaves Kei covered in sweat and trembling, but rarely does he cry out. He can only endure, like he did months ago.
It catches up to him pretty quick; at least in Tosaki’s hideout, he was too damn worn out with Sato’s threat and training to dwell on what had happened to him. Sure, he still had gotten nightmares, but they weren’t nearly as bad or as frequent as the ones he has now.
Of course, both Kai and Kou notice. It’s not easy, after all, keeping the bags under his eyes hidden from the two of them.
“You should stay and rest,” Kai says one morning, as he and Kou get ready to work the fields. Kai tries to place his hand to Kei’s forehead, but he flinches away almost automatically. They share a brief look, and then Kai slowly tries again. This time, Kei makes sure not to pull away. “You seem to be running a temperature,” he says a moment later, and they both know he’s lying. “Stay.” Kou walks in from the bathroom, still pulling on a shirt, and glances reassuringly at Kei.
“Don’t worry, Nagai,” he chirps, and not for the first time, Kei wonders how he’s so chipper in the morning. “We’ll get everything up to your standards.” Kai laughs softly at that and pushes Kou out the door.
“Seriously,” Kai says, tone firm and body already halfway over the threshold, “get some rest, Kei.” And then they’re gone.
Kei groans, pushing the tea Kou made for him out from under his nose, and leans his head on the table. At least going to the fields would have given him a distraction.
{--+--}
Tosaki calls him around 11 am, wanting advice for how to approach a situation with a hostile ajin. Apparently this guy had taken a number of officials hostage, and was asking for monetary compensation or else they’d be killed. This ajin, just as well, has a very high disregard for his life; Tosaki explains that this dude apparently figured out he was a demi-human by committing suicide.
Kei easily gives him advice, and gets on a video chat with Tosaki and Shimomura discussing possible solutions. It’s one hell of a deja vu.
“...It’s a very fragile situation,” Tosaki explains, “and I want to make sure no one is harmed in this extraction.”
“I understand. But this is an ajin; of course, you can afford to harm that one.” Kei yawns, and Tosaki squints at him from atop his glasses.
“You seem tired.” Kei freezes for a fraction of a second before he sighs.
“Life on a farm is very different,” is all he says, and Tosaki seems to move on. Izumi, however, is watching Kei closely.
They talk for about an hour and a half until Kai and Kou walk in, and at this point Kei has a bunch of papers scattered around the coffee table, notes and blueprints marked with red pen. Kou whistles as he wipes the sweat off his brow and glances at the laptop screen in front of Kei.
“This is such a flash from the past,” he says, and then greets Tosaki and Shimomura.
“Blast from the past,” Kai corrects somewhere in the background, and Kei swallows his sigh with tea. Kou wrinkles his nose at Kei and snatches the cup out of his hands, leaving Kei to glare after him.
“This is cold,” is all Kou says before he dumps it into the sink.
“I was drinking that,” he glowers, and Kou shakes his head.
“Not anymore.” Kei whips back to the screen as Tosaki snorts and adjusts his glasses, and Izumi outright smiles. He frowns at the two of them, and then continues to talk about the plans.
“Anyway, with the structure of the building the way it is—it should be fairly easy to get in and get out while also preserving the hostages…” Kei pulled the blueprints closer to him and makes a few marks. “Of course, you’re going to have to watch the ventilation, as it’s definitely big enough for a person to crawl through. I can send you all of the paper work...”
“Is it possible to perform a guerilla tactic and surround the room? What’s the chances that would be successful?”
“That has a relatively high margin of error… especially with a team who is more or less inexperienced. It would be more effective to send Shimomura in after you’ve secured the rest of the building—”
“Okay, Nagai, I really don’t think that’s a good idea—”
“Nakano, no one asked—”
“But from your notes, they’re in a room without sprinklers, right? So, if I were this guy and if I appeared to be losing, I would probably set the room on fire.” Kei blinks at Kou as he sets a newly brewed tea in front of him. He looks back over the notes, and finds that he actually had written just that—in quite big letters. Somehow, he had missed it.
“... You’re right,” he mutters, and then rubs his eyes. Glancing back up at Tosaki, he continues. “So that’s definitely something you have to account for.” The two of them on the opposite side of the screen look quite surprised.
“Hey, Kei, do you want one egg or two in your noodles?” Kei glances around at Kai with a confused expression.
“What? What time is it?” Kai falters slightly, concern flashing across his face before it’s gone.
“It’s almost 2 pm,” he replies, and gets some bowls of the cabinet, along with a pot to boil the noodles. Kei grunts.
“Just one.” As Kai starts to get out the supplies for making food, Kei moves himself to give more table space, gathering up his papers and moving. “I’ll send these to your email, Tosaki. All in all, it’d be more beneficial for you to make sure that your men know about this, and that if you secure the building with a lot of them you’re liable to get a few falling from smoke poisoning as well…” He flips through more plans. “I’d suggest a small team, headed by Shimomura, to go in and perform an extraction.”
“All right. I’ll let you go, then, and contact you if I have any more concerns.” Kei nods, and Tosaki opens his mouth to say more, but Kai ducks in suddenly.
“Are these the two you worked with during the time you were pursuing Sato? Mr. Tozaki and Ms. Shimumura?” Tosaki frowns suddenly, and Kei snorts.
“It’s To-sa-ki,” he grumbles, even as Kei corrects Kai.
“Yeah. It’s Tosaki and Shimomura, though.”
“Ah, I see. My apologies.” Kai smiles sheepishly and Tosaki narrows his eyes.
“I assume this is the Kaito we’ve heard so much about?” Kei freezes and Kai blinks, turning to him with a smile.
“You told them about me?” Kei gives Tosaki a withering look, one which the older man seems to challenge.
“More like he used you against me,” he grumbles, and Kai’s face just gets confused.
“What do you mean by—” Kou suddenly squeezes into the screen once again, pushing Kai away.
“How’s ajin affairs going? You’re not causing Kei any trouble, are you?” This time, Izumi laughs right out, and Tosaki only shoots Kei a toothy grin.
“It’s amazing, how much something can change in such little time…” Tosaki shakes his head and Izumi tries to stifle herself. Kei only frowns deeper, trying to fight the heat rising to his face.
“I doubt that—”
“Aw, shit!” Kou suddenly runs to the pot, the noodles boiling and starting to overflow. Kei just clicks his tongue and sends both Kai and Kou an accusing glance.
“This is what happens when you interfere in my work,” he says, almost lazily, as he watches Kou scraping the bubbling foam into the sink and lowering the heat a couple ticks. Kai turns back to the screen.
“Regardless,” he says, gazing right at Tosaki and Shimomura, “I’m grateful that you and your team looked after these two so well.” Tosaki blinks, a bit surprised, but recovers fairly quickly from the shock and clears his throat. It takes Izumi a bit longer to snap out of it.
“Of course, though I genuinely debate on whether it was like that or the other way around.” Kai only gives him an even more dazzling grin.
“Even so,” he says, and then walks over to kick Kou off of the noodles and directs him to chop the celery. Kei, meanwhile, is running his hand down his face slowly, trying, for the love of all things holy, to disappear. He sighs and then looks back at the screen, finally, even as his face is on fire.
“...It looks like you’re very well taken care of over there,” Tosaki says, a smirk evident in his voice. Kei straightens and takes a sip from the tea.
“Call me back if you need anything,” he mutters, reaching for the end call button. “Oh, and send me an update on your wife’s condition and records.”
“I will,” Tosaki murmurs, briefly seeming lost in his own thoughts. Kei nods, and the screen goes dark. He closes the laptop lid and stretches as Kai sets a bowl in front of him, stacking the papers and moving them briefly to his desk in his room.
He comes back and settles himself beside Kou, while Kai sits across. Kei picks up his chopsticks and makes to eat, but Kai stops him.
“I thought I told you to rest,” he says, and his eyes seem to pierce through Kei.
“Tosaki called me, and it’s not like I can ignore him,” he counters; causing a stare-down. Kou finally waves a hand in between them, breaking it off.
“Tosaki gives us a good amount of money for Kei’s help, so it’s fine.” He still gives the other boy a look, but Kei ignores it. Kai and Kou set off again for the fields, Kai once again reminding Kei to rest. Kei tries (and fails) not to roll his eyes.
“Mrs. Hanazawa only gave us 3 days to plant before you two have to go back into work, so you should get going.” Kai sticks his tongue out in response, something Kei doesn’t catch, busy scanning the files to send over to Tosaki.
{--+--}
The two teens return from the field as the sun is setting, Kou trudging along and scratching his back, struggling to get maximum relief with his shirt in the other hand. Kai tries to ignore the scar running along his stomach.
“Kou, you shouldn’t have taken your shirt off—even if it was too hot, and laid down on the grass.”
“How was I supposed to know the grass would itch this much!?” He groans as he twists his arm to reach the spot in his upper back. “God damnit—I’m not flexible enough!” Kai laughs, then, and splashes his water over the other, taking his shirt and wiping it down his back. Kou sighs in relief.
“When we get back, take a shower immediately instead of marinating in your sweat like usual,” Kai orders, earning a pout from Kou.
“I don’t do that…”
“Yeah, you do.” Kou looks away, sprinting to the house as it becomes visible past the trees. Kai rolls his eyes good-naturedly and follows, but more slowly. He walks in the house and is satisfied to hear the shower turn on, and flips on the lights. He finds Kei asleep on the couch, laptop still open.
He regards his childhood friend for a moment, trying to remember when the last time he had seen the other this relaxed. It’s definitely been more than a couple years.
He shuts the laptop, smiling softly, and carefully picks Kei up—making sure not to wake him. It concerns him a bit, seeing Kei so tired he’d fall asleep in the middle of work, but it’s also endearing.
Kai walks into Kei’s room and places him gently on the bed, tucking him in. His eyebrow creases slightly as Kai lets go, but smooths back out. Kou walks in, right then, and leans on the door frame.
“He’s been acting weird lately,” he starts, voice low, and Kai nods. “It’s so odd to see him like this.” Kou pushes off the frame and walks forward as Kai steps away, and watches as the other boy pushes Kei’s fringe from his face.
“Yeah,” he murmurs, then gestures for Kou to leave. “It’s better if he gets some sleep for now.” He nods and takes his hand away, but not before casting one last look down. Kai herds him out, and glances back as well, before leaving the door cracked slightly open.
{--+--}
Kai wakes up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, but on his way back, he opts to check on Kei. After all, he barely sleeps more than 6 hours, and if Kai remembers correctly, he fell asleep around 8 pm, and it’s around 3am now. Kai pushes the door open as quiet as he can, wincing smally from the creak it produces, and peeks in.
Kei has his back to the door, and at first glance, he seems fine. Then, as Kai examines him more closely, all the pieces click slowly into place. His shoulders are tense, and the blanket’s been kicked down so it only covers his legs; Kai can see the light speckling of sweat across the neckline and in between his shoulder blades. He makes to walk in farther, but Kou’s voice sounds right behind his ear, making him jump nearly out of his skin.
“What’s up?” Kai immediately whips around, in the process Kou banging his chin on Kai’s head. They stand there for a minute, groaning, before Kai looks back up.
“Something’s wrong with Kei,” he says, and that’s all it takes for Kou to immediately become concerned. As if to emphasize Kai’s words, Kei groans, and with a shared look, the two of them make their way over.
They approach slowly, and Kai can just make out the sheen of sweat on the other’s skin, the way his body is curled in on itself, and how tight he’s clenching his jaw. Kou reaches out to Kei’s shoulder and shakes it lightly, but nothing happens.
“Turn him over,” Kai murmurs, and Kou does; this way, they can both see his face clearly in the light that floods in from the window. The expression there makes Kai’s chest twist; and judging from Kou’s face, he’s experiencing the same emotion.
Kei’s most likely been having terrible nightmares for months now, and not told anyone.
Kai glances back down at Kei as he groans again, fingers working into his bedsheets and straining. The noise is so quiet that it’s no wonder no one noticed.
“Should we wake him?”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
“Shake him?”
They exchange another look, and then at Kai’s shrug, Kou starts to shake his shoulder. After a short motion, Kei stirs, but still doesn’t wake.
“Do it harder,” Kai whispers, and Kou throws his hands up in the air.
“Hey man, I don’t want to—to hurt him!” Kai rolls his eyes and switches places with him.
“Kei,” he says, voice gradually rising, “Kei. Wake up,” He shakes Kei, and then understands Kou’s apprehension. Usually, Kei’s easy to wake up and an incredibly light sleeper.
Kou motions Kai out of the way again and Kei shifts slightly, turning his face to the side, face screwing up in discomfort. Kou gets directly on top of him this time and grips both of his shoulders; then gives a big heave.
“Kei! Wake up!” Kai gapes as Kei lurches awake and Kou is thrown across the room, blood smearing on his shirt and a dark humanoid figure shimmering into the room. Kou grunts as he falls, and then Kei’s blinking, becoming aware.
“Stop!” Just in time, the black ghost stops inches from Kou’s face, and starts to disintegrate.
“What…. a pain…” The IBM fades completely. Kei’s breathing is harsh as he tries to calm down, and Kai runs over to Kou, helping him up. He’s bleeding pretty bad, but it doesn’t seem too deep.
“Christ,” he gasps, “think I broke a rib.” He teeters out of the room, swiping Kei’s gun off the dresser along with a single bullet from the carton of ammo. Kai sighs as he goes, and then turns to Kei. He blinks at the other teen’s face, not remembering when he had ever seen that much emotion on it, and they both jump as the gunshot goes off.
Kei looks away, then, and Kai jumps forward, pulling him into a tight hug, before he can brush it off.
“Y’know, Kei, if you were having that much trouble, you could’ve come to us.” His voice is soft, and Kei only nods a fraction before digging his fingers into Kai’s shirt.
{--+--}
Kou makes tea and puts the shirt in a bag to be disposed of at a later date; the other two boys sit at the table, one across from the other, Kei staring down at his hands.
Tea is placed in front of him and Kei takes it delicately, fingers wrapping around the handle in a kind of intentional slowness. Kou sits down adjacent from them and sips his own tea. Kei’s is plain green, just how he likes it, with a single mint leaf added, Kou’s is regular black, and Kai’s is a type of spicy oolong.
They sit in silence for a few seconds until Kei finally takes a sip.
“I’m sorry,” he says, quietly, almost as if the quieter it is, the less of an impact it’ll make. Kai and Kou exchange a glance, unsure if he’s referring to one of them separately, or both of them, or the whole of it. Regardless, Kei continues to stare into the tea, the mint leaf bright and green at the bottom of his cup.
“It’s alright,” Kou says, “I wouldn’t have died anyway.” This makes Kei frown even more, for some reason, and Kai sips his drink.
“What kind of dream was it?” This makes Kei stop, and his eyes flick up to Kai before he sends his gaze back to drown in the cup. He bites his lip, eyes moving slightly out of focus. Kai tries again. “Kei.”
“Do you wanna talk about it in the morning?” Kou murmurs, and Kei shakes his head, lifting it and closing his eyes.
“No, no…” Kei sighs heavily. “It’s just… not…” He looks around and sighs again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “...Not something I’ve talked about.” This piques their interest, and Kei clenches his cup so hard his nailbeds change color. He takes a deep breath.
“I was captured. By the government,” he starts, and Kai’s face immediately changes, but Kou is still puzzled, though a bit of realization seems to dawn.
“Didn’t they just hold you there?” he ventures, and Kei shakes his head sharply, as if trying to ward off his thoughts.
“No, they didn’t.”
“...Was it torture?” Kai puts it out there, and the moment he sees Kei freeze confirms his doubts. Kei gradually unwinds, though, and breathes out a quick,
“Yeah.”
Kou frowns, then, and grabs Kei’s hand in his own. Kei blinks at the contact, but otherwise allows it.
“What would help?” At Kai’s question, Kei just shakes his head, and they dissolve into silence. It’s not awkward or uncomfortable, it’s just… heavy. Kou’s fist under the table is clenched so hard his knuckles are about to split; Kai runs his own hand over it and entwines them so he doesn’t hurt himself. He sighs at the bit of blood stuck in his brown hair, and then glances back at Kei, who continues to stare at his tea.
This really is a crazy world they live in. Kai just wished he could do something to help.
{--+--}
They finish drinking their tea, the clock turning to 4, and they all decide to go back to sleep. Kei walks into his room and sighs, rubbing at his eyes, unsure of how he’s going to fare; compared to the previous nights, it doesn’t look too promising. He gets under the covers and stares up at the moon, beginning to set.
He starts as his door creaks open, and turns to see Kai and Kou walking in, Kou already falling asleep on his feet. Kai smiles at him and drops Kou’s hand, crawling in next to Kei.
“Wh—what are you—”
“Relax, Kei. I have a solution for you,” he whispers and climbs over, settling gingerly next to him. Kou yawns and settles himself on the other side, immediately moving closer to Kei and seeking warmth.
“Uh, what’s—” he falters as Kai leans in closer and pulls Kou’s arms closer, making sure Kei is in between the two of them. “What—”
“You have trouble sleeping, right?” Kai is inches away from Kei, and those golden eyes shine even in the dark. Kei nods. “Then maybe having some company will help,” he explains, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world.
“But I don’t—”
“Relax, Kei,” Kai murmurs, shuffling closer and pulling him under his chin. “Just sleep.”
And for the first time in a long time, he does just that.
{--+--}
Kei blinks awake to find himself face-to-face with Kai’s chest, and for a brief moment his mind goes into overdrive trying to figure out just why that was. But then he hears Kou murmur something and shift behind him, and he remembers.
And then, he realizes he didn’t have another nightmare. He sighs into Kai’s collarbone and runs both his arms around him.
“You awake?” Kai asks groggily, voice rough with sleep. Kei opens his mouth to reply, but before he can, Kai shifts so that he can run his hands through Kei’s hair. He closes his eyes at the sensation.
“Yeah,” he whispers, and Kai hums.
“Sleep well?”
“Yeah.” Kai smiles, and Kei tilts his face up so he can look at it. It’s pretty fitting that the sun is shining in right behind him, illuminating his hair; he’s practically glowing, and Kei looks quickly back down before he can be caught staring. Regardless, a slight heat rushes to his face and he relaxes in defeat, curling his fingers in Kai’s shirt.
“It’s almost 9, so we should wake Kou and get out to the fields,” Kai sighs, breath rushing out and rustling Kei’s bedhead. Kei only closes his eyes again, and listens to the beating of Kai’s heart. He barely feels it when Kai presses his lips to his hairline.
If you told him, about 4 months ago, that in the future he’d be living with both Kai and Kou in a house in the countryside with Sato locked away, he’d have laughed in your face and probably emptied a round in your gut. But now, as he laid in the soft morning light with Kou at his back and Kei in front…
He’s glad he went through hell, if only to land him here.
{--+--}
They end up sleeping until around 1 pm; that’s what happens when no one sets any alarms. Kei wiggles out from between Kai and Kou, cursing at the time, and wakes Kai in the process. Kou, however, just rolls over.
“Kou, get up! We have to plant, you idiot!” Kai’s eyes widen in surprise when he looks at the time, and then he starts laughing. He shuffles to the edge of the bed and shakes Kou, who finally sits up.
Kei throws a shirt in his face and turns, changing into his own shorts and grumbling about Ms. Hanazawa only giving them a measly three days.
“Yeah,” Kou says, quickly gaining steam as he woke, “but we have you now, so it’ll be done today!” Kai snorts.
“It’s 1 pm.”
“Oh shit,” Kou mutters, and takes the shirt and puts it on hastily. Kei starts ‘breakfast’ while Kou rushes around, and this time Kai makes the tea. While Kei cooks their eggs, Kai wanders over and leans his chin on his shoulder, and this time Kei doesn’t flinch at all.
“You don’t need to do everything alone,” he says softly, and Kei nods, throat too choked up to the respond. Kai moves away and Kou joins them; and after a nice, peaceful breakfast, they head out to the fields.
{--+--}
It’s become a regular thing, now; they transform Kai’s room into a space for Kei to work on projects, and Kei quickly fills it with cabinets and books and a visual display. One of them is dedicated to whatever current project Tosaki has Kei on, and the other is filled with his wife’s illness and all the possible solutions he can think through.
After Kai and Kou end work at the local shops in town, they come back home to Kei, who’s either watching over the fields or doing research. And at the end of the day, they go to sleep in their shared room, no longer only Kei’s; and gradually, Kei’s nightmares fade into the back of his mind, devolving to what they were supposed to be before—just memories.
{--+--}
Tosaki calls him once again on the laptop, and Kei smirks lightly as he glances at the older man through the screen. The daylight filters warm through the window, landing in a neat stack of squares on the table beside him.
“I think,” he starts, before Tosaki can say anything, “that your investment in me has paid off, Mr. Tosaki.” Kei lifts up a manilla folder. “I’ve figured out how to get your wife out of the hospital.”
{--+--}
Kei wakes up on a slow Sunday, carefully extracting himself from in between his two boyfriends—god, he still can’t get used to that word (it sends all kinds of feelings down his spine)—and begins to make tea. He checks his email, and is surprised to see something from a person named Ai. He has an idea of who it is, but...
He opens it, and it’s a single picture; it appears to be Tosaki with his wife, and they both are smiling. It’s in a house, and they’re embracing lightly; the woman has an oxygen tank in her nose, and Kei barely recognizes her as the comatose woman in the hospital bed—she looks so healthy and happy and alive.
Underneath, there’s a single sentence: Thank you.
{--+--}
Kei smiles as he watches Kai and Kou run around the field, knocking down the corn so that they can harvest it. Both of the ajin’s black ghosts follow, picking up the corn, though Kei’s occasionally drops them all and has Kou’s ghost pick them up, muttering something like,
“Idiot… do it… yourself…”
Kou’s IBM fades fairly quickly, what with being so new; so Kei’s is forced to continue. Kei’s grin widens as both Kai and Kou fall in the corn, their laughter being carried all the way to where he sits.
Kei opens his book back up and continues to read, until he hears the laughter abruptly cease. Footfalls in rapid succession cause him to look up, but by then it’s too late; Kou tackles him to the ground, landing in the stalks. Kai cackles somewhere above them and then adds himself to the pile; Kei grunts in pain and groans.
“I was reading my book,” he complains, and Kai laughs.
“Not anymore,” Kou says, and shimmies up to stare Kei straight in his face. He snickers evilly and then places a chaste kiss to Kei’s lips; and Kei goes bright red, trying to whack Kou with his book. The weight is off him, suddenly, as Kai pulls Kou off, and then Kei is pulled up; right into Kai’s arms.
“Can’t… breathe…” he wheezes, smacking Kai’s shoulder with his novel; but Kai just squeezes tighter.
“It’s okay, babe; you can’t die,” he says simply, and starts to waddle forward with Kei still in his arms.
“Hate you…. Both….”
“Love you, too.” Kou steals the book from Kei’s hand and Kai twirls them both in a circle. Kei sticks his two right between Kai’s, causing him to trip; Kei turns them so that Kai’s the one that hits the gravel. Kai groans softly. “Ow…”
“You’re the one that wouldn’t let go,” Kei reasons, and pushes up and away from Kai before he can be trapped again. Kou laughs at the two of them, specifically Kai, who gets up off the ground grumbling about his aching butt bones.
The sun is setting on the horizon, and Kei steals the book back; Kou gives chase, and Kei runs away frantically as Kai joins in. Kei doesn’t last long with the two of them, and when they enter the house that evening, their table is full of good food and banter and Kei can’t picture anywhere else he’d rather be.
So yeah, he’d say he’s pretty damn happy with how things turned out.