It was a picturesque summer's day, with the temperature outside skyrocketing and the sky shining bright blue. Nagisa preferred to wait out such days inside with the A/C turned up high, hopefully spending some quality time with his favorite and only son. Today, he'd even picked out a few of the boy's favorite movies for the pair to watch together. Unfortunately, the universe was fighting against him at the moment.

"...I realize that, sir, but—Um..." he implored into the phone, only to be cut off once again by his boss's monotone and untiring voice. Standing at the window and admiring the lively scenery calmed his nerves somewhat—there were some older kids playing soccer outside, and Nagisa was currently rooting for the blue-shirt team—but he hadn't expected a call today. Any unexpected calls concerning his line of work brought a shudder out of him, for obvious reasons.

"Yes, but I really wasn't planning on—"

Once again, he was interrupted; his boss had no interest in the details of his personal life, he'd said many times before. The old man simply wanted Nagisa to do his best following orders, and that was all. It wasn't that he was unreasonable to work under—he was always willing to compromise with Nagisa if the assassin happened to be too busy to take a client. However, Nagisa knew that too much noncompliance would quickly make his boss antsy, and subsequently put him in hot water.

But, he'd just returned home from a job last week! He had been hoping to wait at least a little longer before taking his next client. Since starting kindergarten, Naoki's separation anxiety hadn't improved in the slightest, and he dreaded having to leave the four-year-old again so soon.

His boss spent a few more minutes assuring him that this case wouldn't take as long as the last one; he'd only be gone five days, at most. Apparently, Nagisa's skill level was exactly on par with the mission, and he would surely work well with the team being assembled for it. Hearing this—and the promised amount of money, which always sparked his interest—Nagisa sighed, knowing he would have to concede sooner or later.

"...Alright, sir. I'll—"

Suddenly, a crash. With the sound of a few loud consecutive thuds, there also came a distinct, high-pitched wailing, echoing throughout the apartment. Nagisa cursed loudly into the phone.

"Hold on—I'll be right back!" He barely excused himself before setting the phone on the kitchen counter, running to the hallway where Naoki's room resided.

When he reached the scene, it was as he expected. Various books—mostly picture books, but some were thicker and of a higher level—were strewn out across the floor, with Naoki sitting in the center, his jaw hidden away by his hands. The small soccer ball lay a few inches away, which garnered a stern glare from Nagisa.

"Naoki! Haven't you been told—if you want to play with that, you need to do it outside! You need to be more careful!"

All the scolding parent received was a wail in response, as Naoki gingerly separated his hands from his face to open his mouth wide in pain. Nagisa saw the blood on the side of his jaw, the area around the scrape sticky and inflamed, and immediately felt regretful for yelling. He knelt down to his wounded child, mentally noting to put the books back on the bookshelf later.

"...Honey, let me see..." he muttered, carefully prying Naoki's hands away before they could return to concealing the scrape. He used his other hand to brush a few tears from the boy's face; he was still crying, seemingly blind to anything but the pain. "Aw, I'm sorry..."

Naoki only sniffled, reaching his arms out for the comfort he knew his parent would provide. Nagisa didn't know whether the kid was particularly sensitive for his age or if this was typical—it wasn't as if he had much experience with small children before Naoki. Regardless, he picked up the boy and held him close as they traveled to the kitchen, where the first aid kit was hidden under the sink.

Mindful of his boss still being on hold, Nagisa swiftly set Naoki down on the counter and got to work, disinfecting and bandaging the scrape as if it was second nature—which, at this point, it was. As he pressed on the tender area, Naoki winced, still sniffling, and Nagisa talked to distract him.

"How did this happen exactly? Did your ball knock into the bookshelf again?" He knew the answer already, but was still interested in whether his son would be truthful or not.

The boy said nothing outright, simply making a small, affirmative sound before mumbling, "The books hit my face... The corners hurted me..."

"Ouch," Nagisa hummed in empathy, making sure the bandage was secure before kissing the cheek above it. "You'll be okay. Stay here a bit." He was rushing to get back to his call as he spoke, but he made sure to state his order in a firm tone so Naoki wouldn't run off to injure himself again. The toddler pouted at being left alone, but was more annoyed than sad, and sat with his legs swinging off the counter.

Taking a deep breath, Nagisa picked the receiver back up. "Sorry, sir, there was a problem... Yes." As time went on, he felt more and more stress piling up inside him; he knew there was no way he could get out of this now. "...T-Tomorrow? Are you certain...? Ah, yes, sir... Alright... Yes, I remember. I will be there... Okay. Yes. Thank you, sir. Goodbye."

He hung up and put down the phone slowly, suddenly feeling a weakness spread throughout his limbs. Just imagining the week ahead of him... he knew it was going to feel like riding a rollercoaster, and not the fun kind. He was the one who drove Naoki to his day-care every weekday; now, he unexpectedly had a job on such short notice... Karma had just finished taking care of Naoki by himself last week, and now he'd have to go through it again—surely he would get behind on his work! Perhaps Naoki would be forced to stay at home for a few days, and they would have to notify his teacher... Not that the boy would mind that, admittedly.

Nagisa was pulled from his fretful inner rambling when Naoki made a low, aggravated whine, clearly bored at waiting too long. Sighing and trying to shake out his nerves, Nagisa pulled him off the counter and made his way to the sofa.

"Wanna watch some T.V. with me?" Please, don't say you want to go outside...

"...Okay," Naoki mumbled, apparently feeling it appropriate to begin gnawing on his left hand again. Nagisa was glad the boy wasn't sucking his thumb—he'd researched, and found that habit to be typical of most young children—but this behavior only seemed worse, and he worried endlessly about it. The only times Naoki didn't have his left hand in his mouth were the times he was intensely preoccupied with something or other.

Once they were seated with Naoki curled up in his lap, Nagisa took the hand, sticky with saliva, and wrapped it in his own. He'd been in contact with what seemed like a million different types of bodily fluids by now, so it didn't bother him anymore.

They watched nonsensical kids' shows for an hour. All the while as he sat, Nagisa mentally planned out the rest of the week and barely listened to Naoki's attempts at conversation. Every once in a while he offered a "Yeah," or a "That's nice, sweetie," and Naoki didn't seem to be perturbed by his father's lack of involvement, blabbering on senselessly as kids do. When Karma finally returned home for the day, Nagisa's relief was reflected in Naoki's happy cheering.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

"Hey, squirt, how was your day—" Karma, as he set his briefcase on the nearby worktable—which was currently overcrowded with various papers, contracts, and overused coloring books—paused once he noted the bandage on his precious son's face. "...What's this?"

Nagisa nearly rolled his eyes at the melodramatic intensity of his husband's voice. "He just had an accident, playing inside. Some of his books fell on him. I patched him up; he's fine. Aren't you, pumpkin?"

Naoki nodded, squirming out of Nagisa's lap so his other father could have the honor of picking him up. As Karma complied—groaning slightly at carrying the weight of the child after such a tiresome day—Nagisa grimaced, remembering the mess in Naoki's bedroom. He still needed to clean that up.

Inspecting Naoki's face thoroughly, Karma nodded approvingly at the bandaging and pecked the top of his head before setting him back down, regardless of how Naoki whined at being let go so quickly.

"Other than that, have a good day?"

"Yeah... Well, we need to talk. I'm ordering delivery for dinner." Nagisa stood from the couch, eyeing the phone as he spoke.

Karma's eyebrow raised wearily, curious, but he could feel that Nagisa didn't want to talk about anything serious with Naoki around. "...Alright."

After the family had dinner—Naoki's take-out of choice, of course—and the child was put to bed, unknowing of the situation, Nagisa let out a sigh and sat adjacent to his lover on the sofa. Karma, once again, raised an eyebrow, now slightly worried.

"What was eating you today?"

Nagisa looked into his eyes and assessed that he wouldn't overreact, then responded monotonously, "I got a call from my boss today. Got a job—this one's important, apparently. There's no way I can turn it down. Starts tomorrow, too. I have to leave in the early morning to get picked up—five."

Pursing his lips and letting the information sink in, Karma didn't speak for a while. When he let out his words, Nagisa could easily hear the aggravation poorly hidden in them. "...Well, how long will you be gone this time?"

"Five days—at most. Maybe even three or four days, if I get it done fast. And I will. The letter with my return date will probably show by tonight or tomorrow, so you won't have to spend that long without me." Trying his best to be reassuring, Nagisa placed his hand on top of Karma's; seeing their wedding rings juxtaposed always gave him strength. "I'm sorry."

"No..." Karma sighed, and pulled his hand away to rub his face, but then quickly turned to Nagisa and pulled him closer with one arm. "It's not your fault, I know. I'm just fucking annoyed by it."

"I... know," Nagisa replied hushed, trying to be the calm to Karma's storm, and slowly closed the gap between their lips. The softness and warmth of Nagisa's lips managed to relax Karma, who pushed harder into the embrace. Like Nagisa expected, the kiss soon turned passionate, and Karma's tongue lunged into his mouth desperately before they could part. When they did, Nagisa panted for air.

Equally out of breath, Karma gripped his waist—he loved that part of Nagisa's body, how slight it was—and whispered into his ear, "If it has to be this way... I need to have you tonight." He kissed at the soft skin underneath the ear. It was maddening, how he was forced to give his husband away days at a time—even if it was for Nagisa's career, which was a core part of who Nagisa was, and Karma knew that... It'd gotten a little easier as time went on, but only because they'd become used to it.

Nagisa inhaled with a hum, thinking. He needed to wake early, so he was hoping to get to bed early as well. Though it was only around 7:30 now—he supposed...

"Take me to our room now, then..." Nagisa whispered back, and Karma breathed out in slow relief, picking him up like a bride. At least, Nagisa would allow him this—would allow himself to be thrown on the bed and for Karma to do what he wished. Neither of them smiled because they didn't have time. Although, they did have enough time for Nagisa to remind them both not to be too loud, and that Naoki was likely just falling asleep. It was funny how things worked out like that now.

As Karma pushed into him, Nagisa reveled in every moment. The pressure was exquisite.

At least this part of my day will make up for how shitty the rest has been.

He immediately berated himself for thinking such a thing, in this situation; it almost made him laugh. Karma sucked at the side of his neck, distracting him from his thoughts and inducing a low moan. As the man on top began leisurely rolling his hips, Nagisa let out a few words between his panting.

"...I... I love you—Hn... Karma... Don't—do anything... stupid... When I'm gone..."

Karma finally let out a miniscule smile—the corner of his lips upturned, barely, and he hid it in Nagisa's shoulder, moving faster. He tried to remember exactly when Nagisa had started saying these words to him—the same ones Karma would customarily say to Nagisa before he left—but he couldn't recall the point at which they'd made this change.

"...Tch, silly... I just want to... feel you, right now... Please," Karma whispered back, and Nagisa complied by staying silent aside from a few louder huffs and airy, high moans. The room was cloaked completely in darkness, the blinds and the door closed off, and it only gloriously suffocated Nagisa further, his panting breaths increasing in intensity and volume. He couldn't even see Karma's expression.

When they climaxed, Nagisa blindly clamped his lips onto his husband's to muffle the sound, and Karma unceremoniously collapsed onto him. The pair laid for a few moments, undeniably sweaty and half-conscious, before Karma rolled over tiredly, allowing Nagisa to nestle into his side. He did so, with a delirious post-orgasm hum.

Both men thought of things they wanted to talk about, but neither remembered to say them before they succumbed to sleep. Luckily, Nagisa had remembered to set his phone alarm for four in the morning, since he figured something like this would prevent him from setting the clock's alarm in time. He was dealing with Karma, after all.

As soon as he gained consciousness, Nagisa dove for his phone to turn off the alarm, not wanting to wake his partner. Once the beeping finally ceased, he took a moment to collect himself and stretched, perched on the side of the bed. It was in that moment he noticed how his muscles were screaming in agony, sore and tired, not to mention the dried bodily fluids crusted onto his backside and abdomen. He grimaced and was tempted to let out a wail of despair, but knew he had no time to pity himself—only an hour was left to prepare.

With the speed and skill of someone who'd been through this many times before, Nagisa soundlessly cleaned himself up, got dressed, and readied his work pack all within twenty minutes. Once he guaranteed that he was arranged to leave, he crept back onto the bed and slowly laid to face Karma, who was still sleeping deeply and tightly clutching a pillow in Nagisa's absence. Nagisa closed in on him and repeatedly combed a hand through his fiery hair, knowing this would be enough to wake him gradually.

Within thirty seconds of the unhurried contact, Karma's eyes were open and staring at Nagisa resignedly, but with love. The "good morning" was inherent in their eye contact, so Karma got straight to business when he spoke.

"What time is it?"

"Almost 4:30, so I'll be leaving soon. Are you going to take Naoki to and from his class until the end of the week?" Luckily, it was a Wednesday morning, so even if Nagisa took five days to complete his job, Karma would only have to drive Naoki for three days.

"I..." Karma's voice was still groggy with sleep, and he rubbed his hand over his eyes to allow himself a moment. "I... guess. I can do that. I'll let my top assistant know and get her to take care of things until I arrive. She can deal; I've got a kid to raise."

Nagisa giggled slightly at his obstinacy, though he couldn't help but feel responsible for the trouble. "...You could also ask one of the other parents to give Naoki a ride, you know. We have the number of Maeda-san—Tetsuya's mom."

Tetsuya Maeda was a boy, a few months older than Naoki, whom the soft-spoken kid had become friends with since enrolling in the kindergarten class. In fact, he was the only kid Naoki reportedly had become friends with, but Nagisa and Karma weren't too perturbed yet. One good friend was better than none, and Maeda seemed like a kind boy with a decent upbringing, so both parents approved. The mother also appeared to be amiable.

Despite this, Karma's answer was immediate. "Absolutely not. I'm not going to put our son through that."

Nagisa giggled again at how his lover's tone managed to be exhausted and overdramatic at the same time. "Carpooling isn't that awful—"

"You know how he is. It doesn't matter how close he is to his friend—he'd be uncomfortable in some unfamiliar car—" Karma interrupted himself with a yawn, "—and I won't let that happen. I'm taking him."

"...Alright." Nagisa smiled warmly, leaning in closer for a kiss. Sometimes he wondered if they spoiled their child—every time, he came to the conclusion that they did—but he hoped it wouldn't backfire in the end, even if Bitch-sensei constantly nagged them that it would.

The couple rested together lazily for a while longer, but Nagisa soon checked the time and willed himself to get up. Karma grumbled at the lost contact and raised himself as well, just to squeeze in one final embrace.

"You'd better be okay. Don't do anything stupid. We'll be fine until you get back." He whispered all the routine phrases into the assassin's ear, holding him tight. Nagisa simply smiled once they parted, nodding and turning to go to Naoki's room. After haphazardly clothing himself, Karma followed, both of them silent on the hardwood floor.

At some point during the past year, the couple had realized that they couldn't go on with things as they were, with Naoki continuously witnessing Nagisa leave and, every time, throwing a teary fit that lasted hours. It was simply too much stress, too many tears. Luckily, they talked to Irina—the busty woman was chock full of experience garnered from raising her own son—and took their former teacher's advice, despite how cruel Nagisa felt it was.

They wouldn't tell Naoki that his father was going to leave. The boy would have to wake up with Nagisa already gone, and Karma would do his best to subdue his sadness with promises of Nagisa's swift return. There was still an ample amount of tears and screams involved, but it was much less than what their former method unleashed, so the parents were relieved with their results. Even if it broke Nagisa's heart to not be able to say goodbye.

Still, he always crept into his son's room before he left. He observed the serene, sleeping face for a few moments—still chubby with baby fat and soft with baby skin—before pressing a careful kiss to the boy's forehead. Naoki didn't stir or make a sound, so Nagisa stayed for a few more seconds before exiting the room. He had to allow himself at least that much.

Karma was waiting for him back near the front door, with the same serious expression. Both of them didn't need to say much, so they only held each other loosely for a few more minutes before parting with a final kiss.

"Love you," Nagisa whispered while their faces remained close, and Karma nodded, the same sentiment apparent in his eyes. The assassin sent him a smile that said "I'll be fine," before gathering his pack and departing out the door, shutting it resolutely.

After a deep breath—adapting to the sudden silence was always difficult—Karma stretched and decided to return to bed for a few more hours. There would be no point to waking Naoki up this early, and imagining the day ahead of him gave him the urge to bury his face into his pillow.

Once falling back into a light sleep, Karma stayed unconscious for three more hours, until his bed began shaking in irregular intervals.

"Daddy! Papa! Wake up-up! Up!"

Since he'd grown taller, Naoki had been full-heartedly attempting to jump on his parents' bed by himself, without having to be helped up. He'd only succeeded one or two times—because he'd been clinging and climbing the sheets—so it was a tricky venture. Hearing a few louder thumps and a small grunt of pain, Karma's blood ran cold.

"Hey, don't hurt yourself..." he mumbled sleepily, turning onto his side to hoist up the stubborn kid—though he was still feeling extremely tired, so he stayed laying down and opted to place Naoki on his stomach. Since becoming more adventurous, the boy had subsequently been involved in an increasing number of small accidents and injuries—the bandage, still on his jaw, was nothing new. The parents' bedframe had been the perpetrator in these incidents numerous times, so Karma didn't want to add another accident to that list.

"I won't!" Naoki denied tenaciously, though he was mindful of his father's fatigue and made sure not to yell too loudly. He laid on his stomach so he could snuggle closer to the familiar form and whisper instead of shout. "Papa is s'posed to get me ready for s'coo. Where's Papa?"

The question, hushed near his ear, almost made Karma shudder in anticipation for the storm. He ran his hand through Naoki's hair, preemptively calming him, before answering bluntly, "Papa is on another business trip; he just left this morning. He'll be back much sooner than usual, though. In less than five days, he'll be home." Karma still wasn't certain of the return date, but he wanted to give his sensitive son the best case scenario.

As expected, Naoki's face rose out of Karma's neck immediately, and the toddler's eyes became like wide saucers. Karma braced himself, but luckily the onslaught wasn't as loud as he'd thought it would be. Thick globs of tears rolled down Naoki's cheeks, and he sniffled and whimpered, but he didn't scream.

"Is... Is it 'cos—I was being bad at s'coo? I p-pwomised I... I pwomise I'll be g-good! W-Won't do it a-again! Is Papa m-mad at me...?" Naoki stuttered out sadly amid his crying, to Karma's surprise. Where had this come from?

"H-Hey—it's not your fault, at all. Naoki, this had nothing to do with you," he tried to comfort his distressed son, drawing him closer again and running his hand through his thick shock of dark hair. "Papa isn't mad at you at all; in fact, he misses you very much whenever he has to go. You don't need to worry about anything. He loves you very much, and he'll be back before you know it."

Naoki continued to sob, but said nothing more. Karma only hoped his words got through to the toddler. Feeling his shirt grow damper by the minute, he decided to wait the 'crying period' out, methodically rubbing Naoki's back or head every few minutes.

At least he isn't screaming or anything.

It lasted almost twenty minutes, and Karma teetered on the edge of sleep again near the completion of it, but Naoki's tremors eventually settled. Peering over at the digital clock on their bedside table, Karma sighed through his nose.

"You feel okay now, buddy? We've gotta get you ready to go to school soon."

Shaking his head from beneath the man's hand—Karma thought he distinctively resembled a wet puppy shaking off water—Naoki peered up in anxious surprise. "H-Huh? But Papa..."

"He'll be alright; I'm gonna take you to school and everything until he gets back. Remember, like last week?" Karma struggled to sit up as he spoke, still holding his son.

Dissatisfied, Naoki pouted heartbreakingly, an expression both parents had gotten used to. "...Do I have to? Papa's..."

Karma wasn't willing to take any excuses, and rose from the bed, carrying the pouting boy to his own room. "I had no problem getting you ready for day-care last time; everything will be okay. I'll get you all prepared, make you a lunch, and stay with you as long as you need me when we get there, okay?" It wasn't true that he could stay that long, though, as he had to go to work. No matter how much he'd rather spend the day with his son making origami cranes, he knew he couldn't put off his job for too long. His assistant was already going to be angry enough as it was.

Again, Naoki said nothing, but nodded and hid his damp face in his father's neck as he was carried. Throughout getting dressed, the boy made a few more attempts at begging to stay home for at least the day, but Karma wouldn't have it. He'd heard it all before, after all.

It wasn't that Naoki was a spoiled or troublesome kid—well, spoiled maybe... But, Nagisa and Karma had been trying their best, and they didn't believe they were bad parents. Naoki hit all the childhood developmental milestones as expected: he was now potty-trained, had good coordination and flexibility, was curious about everything, and had a vocabulary larger than either parent had expected. Nagisa had been working to help him overcome some of his shyness and use his words more frequently, especially among strangers or unfamiliar people. Hopefully, the toddler would be making more friends soon.

Unfortunately, with every good development there seemed to be a worse one cropping up as well. Naoki's childish mood swings only intensified as time went by; like any kid, the slightest thing could send him into a violent rage or a sobbing mess. His separation anxiety only seemed to worsen since he'd started attending kindergarten. Every day that Nagisa or Karma dropped him off, he would throw a hysterical fit at the door, and the parent would have to spend at least ten minutes calming him down before it was possible to leave him. The teacher of the small day-care class had told them that it wasn't uncommon, and Naoki would grow out of it soon, just as anyone else they'd asked for advice had said. The couple only hoped so. Naoki would have to enter elementary school in about two years, and if he was still having these emotional meltdowns by then, things wouldn't be pretty.

Some nights Nagisa found himself doubting his ability to raise their child, but Karma always succeeded to cheer him up and reassure him that they were doing a good job. If Karma had any doubts of his own, he didn't show them.

Unfortunately, despite Karma's attempts to cheer his son up this particular morning, Naoki was still in low spirits during the car ride to his day-care. Through the rear-view mirror Karma spied him, settled in his booster seat with his left hand in his mouth. Thinking of Nagisa, he grimaced and decided to gently speak up for one last attempt.

"Naoki... take your hand out of your mouth, please. Just because your Papa isn't here doesn't mean you can get away with that."

The boy in the backseat glared, meeting his father's eyes through the mirror, but detached his reddening hand from his face. It had more than a few teeth marks on it, and Karma sighed.

"Aren't you excited to go see your teacher, or your friend...?" When he received no reply, Karma tried again, "...It's not that bad, really, Naoki. You know you're safe there, and the other kids are nice, aren't they?"

"I don' like the other kids." Finally, Naoki answered while still pouting, his arms loosely crossed over his seatbelt.

"Hm? Why not? Are they not nice to you?"

"No, they're fine. I guess. I jus' don' like them! I only like Maeda-kun." His son was showing his stubbornness again, that much was clear. Karma felt a migraine coming on; when he'd gotten into this, the thing he'd been dreading the most was having a kid with pig-headed tendencies. Too much like his own younger self...

"Well, you should at least try to make some more friends, Naoki. When you get to know them better, I'm sure they won't seem as bad as you might think they are. Don't just judge people without getting to know them." Saying this, he was thinking of his own friends he'd made in 3-E, hoping at least some of this would get across to Naoki lest the boy shut himself off from potential lifelong friendships.

At first, Naoki didn't reply and simply stared out the window; Karma assumed his advice had gone in one ear and out the other. Then, after a minute of silence, and in the same obstinate tone, "...Maeda-kun and me are gonna marry like you and Papa when we grow up."

He almost swerved off the road and into a traffic sign, but luckily managed to control the surprised jerk of his limbs.

"Wh-What did you just say?!" Once he shouted, he saw Naoki's eyes widen through the small mirror, and though his son schooled his expression back to passive determination a few seconds later, he still felt remorse for his tone. He continued gentler, not knowing how to deal with the situation. "...I-I just... Where did you get this idea?"

"Don' you and Papa love each other? I love Maeda-kun too, so me and him should marry." His son made it sound so simple that Karma couldn't help but shake his head in baffled amusement.

"Well, yes, but—there are different degrees of... that. It's something you'll realize when you're older... Aren't there any girls in your class who you think are pretty?" Still frazzled, Karma couldn't help but ask the question. The thought that he and Nagisa could've influenced the boy's budding sexuality in some way caused a cold lump of anxiety to nestle in his stomach.

"...Yeah, so?"

The answer settled Karma's nerves somewhat, though he was still confused at his child's attitude. "...Ever tried talking to them? Do you have any crushes?"

"I don' talk to any... What's a cr-crush?"

Finally, he seemed to get something more than stubborn disobedience out of his son—curiosity. "It's... Do you ever feel flutters in your stomach when you're around someone? It's a warm and fuzzy, happy feeling, and you might feel nervous or embarrassed, or hot all of a sudden—that's a crush."

Naoki paused for a few seconds with a thoughtful look on his face, before shaking his head slowly. "...never felt that..."

"...What about Tetsuya? Do you feel like that around him?" His hands gripped the wheel tighter as he asked, but he knew he couldn't just leave the topic alone now.

This time, Naoki suddenly got an uncomfortable look on his face—almost scared. Karma blinked in surprise, fighting to keep his focus on the road. The boy had been almost prideful when he spoke of wanting to marry his friend earlier, so this new development came out of left field. After a few more seconds of silence, he heard a quiet mumble from the backseat.

"...dunno."

"...It's alright, you don't have to know. Don't go worrying about anything like that, okay?" Through the mirror he saw Naoki nod, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he drove up to the kindergarten just in time.

He wasn't sure if the conversation he just had with his son was a good or bad thing, but he'd make sure to tell Nagisa about it as soon as his husband returned.

When the father-son duo came to the entrance of the day-care, Naoki toting his schoolbag with a distressed expression, Karma braced himself. Kneeling down and facing the toddler, he tried to put on his most comforting smile.

"Alright, bud, I've gotta go. It'll only be a few hours, okay?"

Sure enough, tears began streaming down the boy's flushing face, and he opened his mouth wide to wail as he dove forward to grasp his father's shirt. Karma pulled them off to the side, away from the entrance so other families could pass, and hugged Naoki tightly.

"Come on, Naoki, I've really gotta go. You knew this was going to happen; you've done it before. I know you can do it. Ishiyo-sensei can call me to come get you right away if something goes wrong. My office isn't that far away." It was true; Naoki's teacher had all the parents' numbers. Karma hoped his assurances would calm the boy, but he only seemed to sob harder.

"Don' wanna go! No! Daddy!" Naoki wailed into his shirt, and Karma grimaced thinking of the stains. He had to go to work straight after this...

Suddenly noticing a familiar car approaching, he decided to try a new tactic. Anything to get his son off of him and inside the day-care as fast as possible.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay—look, there's Tetsuya and his mom coming up. Don't you wanna be with your friend, Naoki? He'll be with you; you won't be alone. Here, let's clean you up a little..." Karma murmured while separating himself from Naoki slightly to wipe his face with his blazer's sleeve. Thankfully, Naoki's sobs began dying down until they were only sniffles, and Karma rejoiced as he saw the mother appear at the door with her son.

"Good morning, Akabane-san! Is everything okay?" Tetsuya's mother appeared to be in her twenties, same as Karma and Nagisa, and had white-blonde hair, same as her son. Though he didn't know much about her, Karma had made a good impression so far, and threw her a charismatic smile.

"Morning, Maeda-san! We're okay. Naoki here is just a little nervous about me leaving. I'm sure he's glad now that he has a friend to be with, though?" He looked to Naoki as he asked this, and the sniffling toddler's eyes dipped to the ground.

"I'll take care of him." The proclamation sounded so assured and responsible, Karma could barely believe it came out of a kindergartener's mouth. Yet, the blond kid pointed his dark eyes to Karma and held his hand out, palm up, towards Naoki, as if asking permission to have the boy for the day. It seemed a bit surreal to him, but Karma kept his good-natured smile and nodded. Naoki reached out to take the hand.

"Thank you; I appreciate it. Glad to know my son is in good hands when he's here."

Tetsuya nodded back, as if he were a soldier receiving orders, and Naoki glared at the ground, his face reddening again. "...M'not a baby..."

"Well then, stop crying like one!" Karma bent down to ruffle his son's hair teasingly, eliciting a yelp. The action seemed to raise everyone's spirits, and Karma bid Naoki a final goodbye. "I'll come to pick you up in the afternoon, promise. Have fun."

"Mmhmm." Naoki mumbled, hurriedly wiping a stray tear away before jolting forwards to give Karma a small farewell kiss. "Bye..."

With one last pat on the shoulder, Karma grinned and walked away with Tetsuya's mother following. Looking back at the blond boy pull Naoki into the day-care, Karma let out a relieved breath. That took much less time than usual.

"Thanks, really. His emotions run wild a lot, especially when we have to leave him. Having a friend there to comfort him really lets a load off my shoulders." He smiled at Maeda gratefully, and the woman nodded back kindly.

"I'm glad we could be of help! Tetsuya loves to take care of his friends; I swear, that boy is like a little mother hen sometimes! He just feels comfortable in a leadership role, I suppose. I'm sure little Naoki will come out of his shell in time, too."

Karma nodded amicably at the hopeful words, and bid her goodbye with a wave as he got back in the car. Truthfully, he felt rather uneasy. If what she'd said about Tetsuya was true, perhaps the boy was only so kind to Naoki because he felt pity for him, and Naoki had formed a crush on him based on that alone. Even if that was the case, though, he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

Unfortunately, the rest of Karma's day passed by miserably; he'd been swamped with work, and hadn't had adequate time to finish it all or meet with all the people he was supposed to. Sacrifices had to be made for family, he figured. Coming to his offices late and then leaving early wouldn't be a good habit to make, though. It wasn't as if he didn't have enough money to already make up for it, but he didn't want to continue the trend nevertheless.

When he picked Naoki up from the day-care, the boy seemed back to his subdued but happy self, and greeted his father with an exuberant hug. All the way home, Naoki chatted excitedly about how they were going to greet Nagisa home once he returned, and Karma listened on with a smile. This reminded him of Nagisa's still-unknown return date, and sure enough, the letter was found resting before his front door that night. It was only a blank piece of paper with a date and time in the center, depicting next Saturday night between 11 PM and 1 AM.

Four days—much to Karma's relief, it was less than five, just as he'd predicted to Naoki. He told his boy the news, and Naoki immediately yelped in elation, rattling off more plans for once his Papa was home. Karma accepted them all graciously, meanwhile thinking of his own ways to welcome his husband home Saturday night.

The next three days proceeded with ease—especially now that Karma had discovered the trick of having Tetsuya comfort Naoki as he dropped him off—and before long, Karma was putting Naoki to bed Saturday night, promising his son that his Papa would be there to wake him in the morning. As always, the toddler insisted excitedly on staying up late to greet Nagisa as soon as he walked through the front door, but during the third storybook he promptly passed out. Karma, back aching as he stood, gave him a last kiss on the forehead and left the bedroom door open a crack, drifting to the living room to wait out the rest of the night there.

Watching T.V. served little purpose, seeing as he couldn't even focus on the program, but at least it gave him something to do for the next few hours. He'd been through the process so many times by now, his nerves barely shook anymore. By the time the clock hit 11:00 he'd stretched himself out to lay on the couch rather than sit, feeling the pull of sleep slightly tug at his eyelids.

Once the clock hit 12:00, he took a deep breath and turned off the T.V. to break out a bottle of Merlot, not quite uncomfortable yet.

At 1:00, the wine bottle sat still untouched on the table, and Karma felt his hands shaking slightly, though he clenched them and closed his eyes.

It's alright, they can't get the time exactly right every time, it's alright, he'll come...

Sometime between four and five in the morning, Karma passed out on the couch without even realizing he'd been falling asleep.

"Daddy... Daddy...! Tha phone's ringing... Daddy..."

Blearily, Karma opened his eyes, and it took him longer than usual to grow accustomed to sight. His head hurt like a motherfucker, his mouth felt like it was filled with sand, and his muscles ached as they were jostled by the small form in front of him. Sitting up slowly, he batted the hands away.

"Guh... What..." he mumbled into his palms, rubbing his mouth and face while trying to will the headache away. Tiny fingers gripped onto the bottom of his shirt, and he turned his attention to the edge of the couch. Naoki stood there in his pajamas, looking up at him imploringly.

"...What time is it?" His voice sounded gravelly and hellish, and he grimaced as the same loud, obnoxious noise pierced his eardrums.

"Um..." The sleepy boy turned to observe the digital clock below the T.V. and hesitantly reported, "...six-oh... oh-someting... The phone waked me up! It's ringing lots, daddy, are you gonna get it?"

Oh, so that was why his head hurt so much.

He stood with a groan, his legs quaking with the sudden movement, as he tried to collect his thoughts. It was a Sunday morning—early Sunday morning—so he didn't have to take Naoki anywhere... He woke up on the couch, and not in his bedroom...

His stomach jumped.

Nagisa didn't come home the phone is ringing Nagisa didn't come home the phone is ringing Nagisa

Almost throwing himself towards the receiver, he picked up the phone and pressed it to his ear forcefully.

"H-Hello, Akabane residence—"

Naoki could only stare at his father fearfully as his expression changed. First it turned completely blank and lifeless, with vacant eyes, and then appeared the darkest expression Naoki had ever witnessed on his father's face. It was a look that screamed danger, and he knew at once that his father was extremely angry, so he backed away to hide behind the couch. He didn't know how many minutes passed as he crouched there, observing his father from his safe spot.

"Yes. Thank you. Yes."

Karma's tone was like ice, and it pushed a whimpering gasp out of Naoki. He didn't like it.

When his father hung up the phone—it seemed like he'd been on it for hours, when in reality it was probably only a minute or two—Naoki was too scared to make a sound. However, when Karma moved towards him, he didn't move away in fear of upsetting him further. Karma picked him up as if on autopilot—his hold wasn't as gentle as it usually felt, but the man still made sure not to make his son uncomfortable. Naoki expected to be taken deeper into the house, but instead Karma grabbed the keys and carried him out the door.

Naoki was confused, considering he was still in his onesie and Karma was in his clothes from the day before. Not to mention it was six in the morning, and he was still sleepy—and Karma looked even worse.

Daddy, where are we going? I'm tired and confused. Why did you get so angry? Why do we have to go somewhere? Are you mad at me? Where's Papa?

Even though he had so many things he wanted to say to his father, the words simply refused to exit his mouth, and the car ride was spent in silence. Eventually, Naoki fell asleep in the backseat, and stayed soundly slumbering as Karma carried him out of the car at their destination.

Everything around him was dark, but despite that, Nagisa could still see. His eyes had been practically trained over his years of experience, always constantly searching for the slightest movement or disturbance even in pitch blackness. This time was no different, and his hand twitched instinctively into position at his hip when he heard the leaves crinkling outside.

The body was already dead; he'd checked. A clean slice directly below the larynx is what he'd inflicted. He'd immediately known the target wouldn't survive, but also knew from the past that cockiness could only result in failure, and used his extra minute to ensure the death would be imminent. It wasn't as if he had to leave immediately, anyway; he was covered.

At least, that's what he'd been told.

Now, he was approximately four rooms away from the body. The mansion was tricky to navigate, but like any other, there were distinctive reference points in every hallway and room that Nagisa could commit to memory instantaneously. When it was life and death, it was surprisingly easy to remember the important things.

Everything came naturally and was proceeding perfectly; he'd make it out in no time, he thought. Until a piercing scream resounded from behind him, sending him into an adrenaline rush.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

He moved faster, still swift and cautious, but even wearier of sentries. Someone found the body—that much was clear. Someone found the body when that wasn't supposed to happen; Nagisa should've been covered. He'd been working with Kei and some other bastard from the company—Fujisawa. Did one of them get in trouble, mess things up? They were skilled, so it seemed unlikely, but Nagisa knew anything could happen.

All he could do now was make sure no one spotted him and try to find the other two members of his team. He didn't want to needlessly take any other lives.

His breathing slow and silent, Nagisa made his way through two other rooms concealed until it happened. A crash near him—someone was making their way clumsily and violently through the house, to this room. Someone bigger than him, Nagisa judged from the vibrations, and he concealed himself further. He wasn't worried, knowing he wouldn't have to pull any fast stops on this; he'd found Kei.

Just as he expected, Kei took care of the form before it could cause any more of an uproar and alert others to their positions. Kei threw him a proud smile, and Nagisa felt like raising an eyebrow at his friend's childishness, but kept his face neutral. No point in trying to communicate further; Nagisa already knew by looking at Kei that he hadn't been the cause of the slip up earlier. It must've been Fujisawa...

Pondering this and planning on making his next move, Nagisa slithered around the body—

And his leg was caught in a vice grip.

What followed was a struggle unlike one he'd faced in years—he was flipped and kicked out, further injuring the form which he'd thought had been unconscious. His vision suddenly became impaired, and a sharp pain seared the back of his head. Whatever it was, he paid it no mind and lashed out quietly—no screams came from him, but the man caught in the assault screamed loud. The same scream he'd heard earlier, he thought, which immediately sent him into a state of confusion. How did this person get here so quickly when they were once rooms behind him?

At once, Nagisa was taken advantage of. Anyone else would've chastised themselves for the mistake and lapse in judgement, but Nagisa simply moved on and followed his instincts. Stay alive, keep fighting, outwit them.

The man screamed again, and Nagisa felt grim that he was going to take a life unnecessarily, but there was nothing more that could be done.

As soon as he thought that—as soon as he plunged the weapon—a sudden pressure hit his lower half and spread to the rest of his body. He didn't think anymore as his brain flickered on and off, and he found himself lowering to the carpet, barely recognizing the cracking, sickening sound piercing the air.

"...I will... revenge... bastards...! Fuck... don't..."

An unfamiliar voice was yelling, the only sound able to permeate the dark velvet sheets which seemed to encase his consciousness one by one. With each, the film around his mind grew murkier and murkier, until he could identify nothing.

A concussion and two clean breaks, one in each leg. That's what the doctor had told him, and Karma thanked her with as much graciousness as he could muster—which was none.

He'd also apparently been poisoned, but it'd been extremely weak and had filtered out of his system within ten minutes of its entry. The concussion was major, though, and they were lucky Nagisa wasn't in a coma. Karma didn't understand how things like this could happen, but then he realized—of course he understood.

The anger seeping through his veins immediately directed itself at Nagisa's boss, the other assassins who worked with him—the fucker who did this to him, whoever they were. Karma would get them, he thought, get them and break their legs as well, then break every bone in their body for good measure. Anyone who looked at him could easily spot the murderous intent, so the nurses decided to steer clear of the room for the morning unless they were absolutely needed.

Naoki had been asleep since they arrived at the hospital, and hadn't woken since, something that Karma was extremely thankful for. He wasn't thinking when he'd brought his son here; of course, it wasn't as if he could leave the child home alone, but... He didn't want to think of what Naoki might do—how he might react—when he would see his father like this, with such a pale face and purple-edged eyes, with his legs held up in massive casts and an IV through his wrist...

Karma didn't cry. His fury burned too strong for that, and he didn't want to entertain the question of 'What if Nagisa had died?' All he wanted, at this point—at three hours since he'd arrived—was for Nagisa to wake up, look at him, and tell him exactly what happened.

The doctor told him that Nagisa had been admitted at 10 PM last night; when told the name of the man who'd admitted him, Karma immediately recognized him as a henchman of Nagisa's boss, therefore still one of Nagisa's superiors. Apparently, the man had provided the story that he was Nagisa's contractor, and Nagisa was a roof mechanic who'd had an accident on the job. Karma knew, at least, some minor parts of the story were probably correct, such as Nagisa having an accident 'on the job.' But this was evidently the most convenient cover. It correlated with his injuries, and the poison that had shortly rampaged Nagisa's body was apparently found—in small doses—within some construction materials.

Karma was obviously listed as family in Nagisa's records, which was why he'd been contacted; they'd apparently been endeavoring to contact him since five in the morning. Karma had no choice but to go along with the cover story and wait for Nagisa to wake up, as the nurse had said he could awaken any moment. All Karma wanted was answers.

If an 'employee' was injured on the job—enough to require overnight stay in a hospital—then one person in their immediate family could be let known the circumstances of the injury. That was the rule in place, and Karma had never wanted it to be utilized throughout Nagisa's career. Now, though, he knew he would be that one person. Any confidentiality rules would be thrown out the window in this context.

When the time began nearing 9:30, Karma sighed wearily, carefully adjusting Naoki's slumbering form in his arms. He hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep; he'd already called out of work for the day, certain he wouldn't make it. Tomorrow he might have to do the same thing, he figured—maybe he would even take the whole week off. Whatever it took, with his family in this state. Naoki was a warm weight in his arms, and the sensation made him even drowsier, but he fought off the urge to sleep. He couldn't—not until Nagisa woke up.

Ten more minutes passed like this, until Nagisa's eyes finally opened. It was slow, so slow that Karma almost wanted to rip open those eyelids himself. Perhaps his anger mixed with his exhaustion didn't create a healthy mental state.

The first thing Nagisa did when his eyes fully opened was hum to himself, his voice very low and wheezy, as he gradually scanned the room, taking in his situation. Karma reached out a hand to encase Nagisa's limp, colder one, and the injured assassin's eyes turned to him.

"Karma..." he whispered through cracked lips, and Karma already felt the fiery ripples of his anger lessen into a cool wave.

"...Nagisa... Fuck..." His own voice cracked as well, and he dipped his head, suddenly overwrought with emotions. He felt Nagisa's hand grip his own tighter and couldn't help but smile, lifting his head to let their eyes meet again.

"Sorry... I didn't come home on time... You must've been a wreck..." Nagisa's lips curled into an amused smirk, and Karma felt closer to crying than he had in the past ten hours.

"Fuck... Nagisa, don't say sorry... I..."

If you'd have died, I...

They didn't say any more, not until Nagisa could get a glass of water for his throat and have his vitals checked one more time. When they were alone again, and in a better condition to talk—the door closed for privacy—Nagisa spoke first. He was sitting up on the hospital bed, his eyes—they'd lost some of their purple-hued edges already—trained on Naoki.

"...Is he alright? He's asleep..."

"Yeah, he's been asleep for hours now—passed out on the car ride here... I feel a little bad; he doesn't even know what's going on. I didn't tell him. I was too... on edge, I guess. We woke up at six, anyway, so he was still sleepy. When he wakes up, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you." Karma's lips upturned at his last sentence.

Nagisa's own lips had been pursed at most of the explanation, but his expression turned soft near the end. "...You don't look too good, either. You're exhausted, Karma."

"Shut up—here you are, critically injured, telling me that I need rest..." Karma clenched his hand tighter, and Nagisa laughed slightly, cringing when he did. His husband immediately caught this. "See? You're the one who needs to take it easy. You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine... My head just hurts when I move too much..." Nagisa's thumb rubbed over Karma's hand to calm him, and Karma nodded with a deep breath.

"Just... Will you tell me what happened? How did you... get hurt, like this?"

The blue eyes grew more focused towards an imaginary point, and Nagisa's hand tightened. "...I will take a while—to remember everything clearly, but..."

Karma nodded, and eventually Nagisa turned back to him with assurance of having a clear explanation.

"I... I can't give you the details of the mission. It doesn't matter—I don't want to put anyone in danger. I just... I killed them, and it was successful. It was during the decline—when I was making my exit—that things turned... unexpected. Someone found the body, and I swear, that room that the body was in—it was behind me, far behind me. I was already close to getting out of there. I don't know who even let that guy so close—I was supposed to be covered, but one of my teammates messed up. He's dead now. I remember being told in the moments I was finally conscious, right after I was brought here—he's dead."

He paused to take a breath, and Karma didn't interrupt, though he was secretly glad that a man who'd been partially the cause for Nagisa's suffering was now dead. Yes, that feeling wasn't a healthy feeling to have, but Karma couldn't fight it.

"...The man who found the body—I heard him from that room, but then five minutes later, he was right there with me. I have no idea how he could've possibly caught up with me. Kei-kun took him out before I had to do anything, and I thought we were clear, then... But, the man wasn't out, really. We fought, and I think—I think he had the poison, the same we'd brought in. Well, it was on Kei-kun—I think he must've snatched it from Kei-kun at some point, I don't know. We were both poisoned, though, apparently... But there was back-up. The man escaped—disappeared, they said. It-It was his home too, but he fled from it, maybe delirious..."

When there came a longer pause, Karma realized Nagisa considered the botched report over, and carefully responded, "...What about your legs, your head? How did that happen? Was it during your fight with him?"

"I..." Nagisa closed his eyes, seemingly trying to search his brain for memories. "...I don't know if it was the poison or the concussion, but something was messing with my perception. I clearly felt the head injury, at least. They found out he'd used a cleaver—the flat end!" Nagisa hurried as soon as he noticed Karma's widened eyes, "It was in the house, in the room, I think... And he also used the handle, after that... My head was messed up, pretty bad..."

"I can see that by your bandages," Karma shot out, and Nagisa smiled grimly. The last thing he wanted was to focus on his injuries, but that seemed to be the most important thing to Karma.

"Don't worry... I'll be alright... As for my legs, I don't remember any pain. Funny, because those are the most serious... Well, anyway, I don't know what happened with those. All we can infer is that the man is very strong... Kei-kun doesn't remember what happened to me either. The breaks are clean, though. Below my knee, which is a strange place for the breaks to be unless it was deliberate that they would be there... I wouldn't think so, considering the man sounded out of his mind."

Karma grimaced at the mention of his legs—he'd seen the x-rays—and took his free hand away from Nagisa's to run it through his husband's hair. "Did you... hear him say anything, then...?"

"Nothing I can remember, at all... I heard his voice, yes, but no distinct words. I'm sure he said something, but I had little cognitive abilities at that point, so I doubt I understood..."

Whoever this man was, Karma wanted him dead—Nagisa could see this in his eyes, and reached his hand to his hair, resting it over Karma's. The fire in Karma's eyes barely lessened.

"...Sounds like you're still a little wonky... Maybe it's the medication. You should rest more, Nagisa. You'll be in this room for more than a few days, you know."

"I know..." Nagisa's eyes glinted, as if to remind his husband that he wasn't completely helpless, no matter what. "Only if you rest, too. You need it, Karma. I'm sure they have more pillows in one of those closets over there—please, sleep."

At the caring tone in his lover's voice, Karma couldn't deny him. Cradling Naoki as carefully as possible, making sure not to jostle him, Karma searched in the room's cupboards for some pillows. He found some on his second try. Nagisa smiled at the sight of his husband and son, but by the time Karma turned around and came back to his seat, Nagisa eyes were already closed, resting.

Following suit, Karma adjusting himself and Naoki until he was sure they both would be comfortable in the seat, and tried to drift to sleep. It didn't take long—within five minutes he was out, although his consciousness wavered. With such distressing events occurring, as well as having to sleep mostly upright, his body forbid him from sleeping too deeply.

Just after ten o'clock, Karma's eyes fluttered, and he was pulled out of his light sleep by a squirming in his arms. He looked down to see Naoki wriggling about, frightful and confused.

"Papa..." The boy squeaked, staring at his father before him on the bed, and Karma saw Nagisa shift, presumably about to awaken. He turned Naoki towards him, cradling his face and sending him a loving smile.

"It's okay, Naoki. Your Papa is gonna be okay, and he's here."

"P-Papa...! Papa!" Naoki repeated, trying to shift himself around to see Nagisa again, who was now looking over at the pair with sleep-bleary eyes.

"Mmn... Naoki...?" he mumbled, reaching his closest arm out. Like a puppy, Naoki squirmed faster, yearning to be within his injured father's embrace.

Karma chuckled, raising Naoki so he could get closer to the bed. "I think this little rascal wants to see you..."

"Papa! I miss't you, Papa!"

Nagisa giggled as well, taking in Naoki's slightly teary but overjoyed expression. "I missed you too, baby... Let him over here, I can take him."

"I don't want him to aggravate your injuries—" Karma immediately retorted, but stopped himself when he was met with Nagisa's persistent glare.

"He'll be okay—you won't do anything reckless, will you Naoki?"

The boy still didn't seem to understand the gravity of the situation—only overwhelmed that he could see his Papa again—and nodded quickly. Karma, as he lowered him next to Nagisa's abdomen on the bed, warned him.

"Alright—don't make any sudden movements, and don't bump anything. Be careful. Your Papa could get hurt."

Hearing this, Naoki slowly slid up once he was on the bed, until he reached Nagisa's face. The father smiled wide and held him with his IV-free arm.

"I'm so happy to see you, sweetie," Nagisa whispered as he kissed his son's nose, and Naoki squealed happily, snuggling closer.

"Me too!"

Within five more minutes, both Karma and Nagisa fell back into a wavering sleep, although Naoki was now fully rested and wide-awake. He didn't mind the silence, though. Simply resting with his Papa was more than enough to make him happy, even if he wasn't allowed to move much.

That is, he was happy until his stomach began grumbling. Hunger hit the small boy like a train, and he silently whined, unsure of what to do. He hesitated before carefully turning himself over to face his seated, non-injured father.

"Daddy... Daddy, wake up-up," he whispered, albeit loudly. Nagisa's consciousness returned for a split second, but he kept his eyes closed when he realized his son was trying his best to not disturb him.

Karma was also easily awoken, and yawned widely before getting out of his seat. "Hm? You hungry?"

Naoki didn't understand how his parents could immediately know such things without him telling them, but nodded gratefully as he was scooped up. Resting his mouth on his hand, he mumbled, "I wann'a grilled cheese..."

"Well, let's see if the hospital cafeteria has some..." Karma mused, winking to Nagisa as he left the room, seeing as the assassin now had one eye open. Once they left, Nagisa quickly succumbed to a deeper sleep.

To Naoki's relief, the cafeteria did have grilled cheeses, and it was only once the toddler was halfway finished with his meal that he began asking questions. Where they even were, why Papa was in a hospital bed with bandages all around him, why Papa couldn't come home like Karma had promised—Karma tried to answer everything to his best abilities while still hiding Nagisa's true career. That would only raise more questions, and he didn't want to expose his son to that information without Nagisa's input first.

Thankfully, Naoki seemed to take it well. He was distressed when he realized Nagisa wouldn't be home for at least another week, but the joy of seeing his Papa again overrode his worry. In the best case scenario, Nagisa would make enough progress in his recovery to be discharged once a week passed. Of course, he would still need someone overseeing his recovery at home for at least the next month or two. The doctor predicted that his injuries would take four or five months to completely heal, which staggered Karma. He knew now that he would have to take a longer leave, and probably enlist the help of a friend or two. Nagisa wouldn't want to trouble anyone, but it was inevitable. At least one person in the family needed to continue bringing in money.

With all the facets of the situation continuing to weigh on Karma's mind, he and Naoki returned home that afternoon, pledging to visit Nagisa every day until he would be discharged. When they entered the apartment, unsurprisingly, Naoki became extremely sullen and moped around gloomily for the rest of the day. Karma tried to raise his spirits, offering some of his favorite meals for dinner, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Tickling him worked for all of one minute, until Naoki suddenly became frustrated and teary-eyed at his father's behavior, kicking him away and whining to be left alone.

The week continued in the same way, with Naoki downtrodden and Karma anxious. He allowed his son at least one day off that Monday, hoping it would cheer him up somehow. It didn't do much good, and the boy's fits grew more and more uproarious as the days passed, until Karma entertained taking Naoki out of day-care for the next week or so. When he spoke to Nagisa, though, his husband advised against it. Naoki wouldn't be able to grow or learn if he was coddled so much.

Finally, after a week and a half of hell for Karma, Nagisa was announced able to return home with supervision. Karma extended his leave for a couple more days, hoping to give them enough time to contact a friend for help with Nagisa. Naoki was overjoyed at his father's return home, his mood suddenly switching from zero to one-hundred. Nagisa made him promise to behave better when going to day-care each day, and the boy pledged without a second thought, much to Karma's disbelief.

Nagisa was disheartened at how much assistance he would need just to carry out everyday tasks; he needed to keep using the wheelchair for at least another three weeks. Karma was there for anything he had trouble with—bathing, cooking dinner, getting in and out of bed... Naoki was also eager to help at any opportunity, but his exuberance proved to be more of a hindrance than an aid. Nevertheless, Nagisa thanked and praised the toddler whenever he fetched something for him. The assassin still found himself feeling less dignified, but his family gave him strength—within three weeks, he was out of a wheelchair and into crutches.

Waving with a thankful smile, Karma saw Akari out the door. Their old friend had been their primary help over the last month; she didn't have anything major going on in her life at the moment, and was always free to spend time with Nagisa and Naoki when Karma had to work. With the current rate of Nagisa's recovery, they wouldn't need her help for much longer, but it was much appreciated. She seemed to enjoy it as well, especially since she could spend time with 'her favorite nephew,' as she called Naoki.

Said 'favorite nephew' had just been put to sleep, and Karma sighed to himself as he returned to Nagisa's side on the couch. The day had been tiring for both of them. Karma and Akari had teamed up to give Naoki a bath, which ended up being an hour-long struggle. Meanwhile, Nagisa still occasionally had to take pain medication for his legs, and seeing him now, Karma could easily notice how drowsy he was.

"Want to head to bed early? I feel like relaxing," Karma casually offered, putting his arm around the smaller man. Nagisa felt slightly embarrassed at the offer—Karma must've lied about the last part for his own benefit—but nodded.

Once they arrived at the bedroom, Karma disrobed first and carefully helped Nagisa onto their bed before assisting him in undressing as well. When he began to try and help Nagisa into his nightclothes, though, the injured assassin stopped his hand. A certain idea had suddenly popped into his head.

"You... You're always taking care of me, now... Why won't you let me take care of you?"

Karma understood what he was referring to and paused. It was true. Only once had they been sexual since Nagisa's injury—a far cry from their usual pace. Looking into Nagisa's pleading and questioning eyes, Karma realized how he might've taken this.

"I... You don't need to do anything, though, Nagisa. I'm alright. And it's not because of your injuries, it's just..."

Nagisa didn't want to let him finish and began pushing him down until he was flat on the bed. He eyed his husband's flaccid length with trepidation—he needed to change that.

"Well then, I'll make you 'not alright.' And then I'll take care of you," he whispered, climbing onto Karma's body leisurely. He didn't need his legs to do this, thankfully, although the casts moved clumsily under the sheets.

The look in Nagisa's eyes was devious, similar to the gaze Karma could identify as bloodlust, and he felt sweat drip down his neck as he was cornered. There was no use fighting, he knew, especially when he noticed the familiar pulse of blood shoot through his body and down to his groin.

How only a glance could do this to him... could make him surrender...

All he could do was bare his teeth and hiss as Nagisa made the first mark against his neck, sucking desperately on the skin. It was released with a pop, and the sly assassin continued until most of Karma's neck and parts of his collarbone were covered with saliva and teeth marks. Karma growled when the sensations became too much, digging his hand through Nagisa's hair to pull him up and crash their lips together.

After their impromptu hiatus from sex, both men couldn't hold themselves back and tongued each other ravenously, though Nagisa always made sure that he stayed on top. He wasn't letting his husband get away. Eventually, he was the one who tore their mouths apart with a smacking noise, giving Karma one final nibble on the side of his chin before maneuvering himself down his lover's body. Karma's erection brushed hard against his skin with every movement, and both of them groaned under their breath.

Before long, Nagisa encircled the base of his partner's length with his hand and gave it a quick lick, even as Karma gasped in hesitation.

"W-Wait... Nagisa, you don't have to... Shit..."

He knew Karma would probably be fearful of hurting him—he was still recovering, after all—but he didn't stop as he engulfed the first half of the prick into his mouth. He wouldn't be hurt; he needed this, and so did Karma.

Within a minute or two, Karma quit complaining and resisting—his moans overrode that. Nagisa's senses were soon overwrought with the sounds, the feeling, the taste—his own hardness bumped against Karma's leg every once in a while, and he flinched. He needed more.

Releasing the length from his mouth, Nagisa breathed heavily as he pulled himself up again to meet his lover's eyes.

"I... want to make love with you, we haven't... in so long..."

Karma clenched his teeth at the whispers, since they only sent another throb to his groin. It had been a long time since they'd done that—long before Nagisa's injury.

"Fuck... Yeah, Nagisa..." Within a few moments of Karma's stuttered affirmation, Nagisa gripped his husband's shoulders tight as he raised his hips up. Karma was pressed against the entrance suddenly, and although everything was happening so fast, he held Nagisa's waist to ground him.

"H-Hold on—" hastily, he whispered, realizing Nagisa hadn't prepared himself in the slightest. When he'd said yes, he didn't realize that they would get to it so soon. Regardless, Nagisa was plunging himself down on the length, making it halfway down with a sharp, piercing groan.

"Sh-Shut up...! I n-need this... Fuck..." Nagisa moaned loudly in pain and pleasure both, Karma matching him with a groan. The heat—Nagisa was so tight, his walls clenching around him, even as he moved up again to get ready to take more—

A knock resounded on the door—two small knocks, in succession. It wasn't much, but Karma instantly heard it. He lurched up instinctively to hold Nagisa and cover his naked form. Nagisa grunted in pain, but relented—just in time, as Naoki's worried, large eyes peered around the edge of the door.

"P-Papa..."

Shit...

Nagisa seemed to be in a daze—whether it was from the shock of their son's sudden appearance or simply due to the intense feeling of his husband's cock still inside him, Karma didn't know—so Karma was forced to carefully and quickly detach himself, simultaneously crawling over to the side of the bed. Nagisa flinched and gasped audibly at the feeling, but came to his senses somewhat—at least, enough to pull the covers further against himself.

"N-Naoki... Are you okay...?" Karma asked shakily as he rapidly searched for his boxers, finding them on the floor and putting them on before rushing to the toddler. Naoki was still staring at him with wide eyes and a quivering lip.

Karma had to lean in closer to hear, "Y-Yeah... P-Papa sounded-ed like he was hurt... S-Scared me—Papa's okay?"

His heart broke as he bent to pick up the boy, holding him close and carding his hand through the dark hair comfortingly. "...Y-Yeah, he's alright, bud... Did Papa wake you up? I'm so sorry..." At a loss, he sat back down on the bed with Naoki in his arms.

Nagisa had always been the one who was more worried about this sort of thing happening—about their son walking in on them and being scarred for the rest of his life—so the fact that he was still silent unnerved Karma.

"N-No... I had a... n-nightmare..." Naoki sniffled, breaking down and letting a few tears run as he gripped his father tighter. For a few more seconds, Karma sat rocking the toddler habitually, until he eventually turned his head to glance at Nagisa. The previously horny assassin seemed to have snapped out of it, and was laying with a dazed but brooding expression. Once he met Karma's eyes, though, he sat up slightly and reached out his arms.

He didn't know how Nagisa would help—he was still naked, Karma noted—but he certainly had no solutions himself, so he gently transferred Naoki to the other parent's arms. Instead of cradling the boy close, though, Nagisa laid him down on the bed between the couple, moving his own pillow to the left so it could cushion his son's head as well.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, sweetie... Do you want to sleep here tonight...?" Nagisa's voice was still scratchy from his earlier exertion, but his eyes looked completely remorseful. Karma felt like objecting for a split second, but didn't want to chance making things worse than they already were. Instead, he slowly settled himself back on the other side of Naoki, nervously awaiting the boy's response.

Please don't ask about what we were just doing...

Eventually, Naoki nodded, and Nagisa smiled comfortingly at him. "Do you wanna talk about your nightmare?"

This time, Naoki shook his head, mumbling into his hand which he'd raised up to his mouth. "...was scary..."

Nagisa scooted nearer and tucked Naoki tighter under the blankets, still mindful of his nakedness and making sure not to get too close. Carefully, he took the small hand away from the toddler's mouth, enclosing it in his larger one. "It's okay now, baby... Daddy and I are with you. Just go to sleep. Have a nice dream, now..." He kissed Naoki's forehead, and Naoki closed his eyes, seeming to calm down.

"...Night..." The couple heard the small form mumble as it huddled closer to the pillow, and both of them repeated the same before the room became silent.

As he lay there, staring at the ceiling and occasionally glancing Naoki's way to make sure the boy was resting peacefully, Karma could only wonder.

What the fuck just happened?

Granted, it didn't seem that they'd scarred their child for life or anything. He must've not seen much, Karma thought; he didn't appear to understand that his parents were doing anything strange. As far as Karma knew, Naoki had no idea what sex was, or that it even existed.

Still, Nagisa's behavior had him on edge, and he yearned to talk to his lover. Unfortunately, once he gathered his bearings enough to attempt a hushed conversation with his husband, he found both Nagisa and Naoki deep in a serene slumber. The image managed to still his nerves, and he willed himself follow suit, turning on his side to face his family as he closed his eyes.

When Karma opened his eyes again, he was alone in the bed, much to his disappointment. He rubbed his eyes before getting up, and reached for his robe. No matter how much he yearned to fall back asleep, remembering the events of last night, he knew he and Nagisa needed to talk. He was eternally thankful it was a Sunday.

Walking out into the living room, he found Naoki watching his favorite morning show while clumsily eating his sunny-side-up eggs. At first, the toddler appeared too enraptured in his program to notice Karma's entrance, so Karma was surprised when he chirped out without looking away from the screen.

"Mornin' Daddy!"

"...Ah, morning, squirt," he muttered, ruffling Naoki's nest of shadowy hair as he shuffled past the kid. Nagisa, hearing his son's outburst, glanced over from his spot in the kitchen, concurrently turning the stove off.

"Good morning, Karma..." Nagisa greeted, handing his husband a cup of coffee, which Karma took with a nod. Quickly peeping at Naoki to make sure he was fully occupied with the television, Karma got straight to business.

"...You wanna talk? Come on."

They sat down at the table, only a few feet away from where Naoki ate, but far enough away that they were certain the boy wouldn't hear them over his show. Taking a sip of his own coffee, Nagisa started before Karma was able to—he knew the man would undoubtedly overreact about last night. Karma tended to throw things out of proportion when they concerned him or Naoki.

"Sorry about last night. I got out of hand; I know I did... Naoki didn't see anything, though. I asked him this morning, and he didn't notice anything strange. He thought we were just kissing, or something... He didn't think we were... doing anything unusual. We just... need to be more careful. I won't pull anything like that anymore, even if..." Nagisa suddenly procured a devious glare and sipped his drink before smirking at Karma. "...the feeling of having you surrender to me was divine."

Hearing all of this sent waves of relief and lust through Karma. He clenched his fist, keeping his eyes hard. "Surrender to you? I don't quite agree with that assessment of the situation..." Nagisa simply continued smirking, and Karma huffed. "Alright, alright. Just don't go so far next time you try to do that. It worried me. You could've... hurt yourself."

At that, Nagisa lost his smirk and glowered. "...I would've been fine, Karma. This is exactly what I was talking about—you need to stop taking care of me so much. Sometimes, it seems like you underestimate my strength."

"Excuse me for caring about you! Do you need me to give you a lesson in how to have sex properly?! You were out of control, Nagisa—and I know how strong you are, what you're capable of—remember..." Suddenly, he realized the increased volume of his voice, and fought to control himself. "I... You know I wouldn't underestimate you. That's not what this is about, at all..."

Though Karma's anger was close to getting the best of him, Nagisa saw the point of his argument and lost his glare. "...Alright. I-I know, Karma. Sorry, I just... got ahead of myself."

Calming down, Karma let them sit in silence for a few seconds before continuing, "Okay. I understand where you were coming from too. But, I do... I do worry about Naoki. What if we're influencing him?"

Looking thoughtful at the new topic, Nagisa rested his cheek on his hand. "...I think... Well, I won't deny that I worry about that... But, if we try to do something about it, we'll only succeed in influencing him further than we may already have. There's really nothing we can do but explain things to him when he asks. He hasn't said anything unusual about... us before, has he?"

At once, Karma remembered the conversation he'd had with Naoki in the car. With all the stress piling on during the last two months, he'd completely forgotten to inform Nagisa about it.

"Well, he has said something strange. Sort of. When I was driving him to kindergarten... While you were on your mission. He told me that... he wanted to marry his friend. That Maeda kid."

Nagisa's eyes widened at the information, though Karma hastily continued.

"He-He didn't seem to understand how serious that was when I tried to explain it to him, though. I don't know if he has a crush on his friend or not—or if he likes girls, or boys, or both, or whatever... I thought he was only saying it to annoy me, but I can't help but feel like... he might be confused about it. And fuck, if that's our fault..." He trailed off, his temper making a comeback, and Nagisa reached out to take his hand.

"Karma, it's probably not like that... He's only four years old, so it's not expected for him to know anything about crushes, or anything... It's normal for him to make silly declarations like that. Don't think too much about it, okay? If he's still confused or saying things like that when he's older, then yeah, we'll talk to him about it. But for now, I think he'll be okay just discovering things for himself, making more friends..." Nagisa drifted off, but he didn't need to say any more. Karma nodded.

"Okay... If you say so. I just didn't know how to handle it, I guess..."

Truthfully, Karma still felt a little weary about the situation, but Nagisa seemed to know what was best. In the end, Karma didn't enjoy dealing with these types of things; love was confusing enough for him as a kid, so having to talk to his own kid about it... It sent uncomfortable shudders down his spine.

Searching for a distraction, Karma suddenly smirked at Nagisa with a glint in his sharp eyes. "Well, now that we've settled that... We still haven't settled last night, in my opinion. Still think you can make me surrender? We were interrupted pretty early, I remember..." He leaned closer to entice his husband, but Nagisa only leaned back, a slight smile edging at his mouth.

"Idiot—didn't you learn from last night? You were the one lecturing me just now... At least wait until we're sure Naoki is asleep—it's broad daylight! I'm not going through that again." He stood up, gently smacking the side of Karma's head before making his way back to the kitchen to clean up.

"Fine, then we're settling it tonight—either way, I want a rematch. Be prepared." Karma called back with a grin. Nagisa didn't turn his head, but Karma was certain he was smirking as well.

To Karma's frustration, the rematch he was hoping for would have to wait even longer. That night, they were once again interrupted by the same scenario—Naoki knocking on the door, claiming he'd suffered another nightmare. This time, Nagisa was still partially clothed and ready to respond, cradling his son close and shushing his tears away. Karma was perplexed yet again, but couldn't do anything about it and underwent another night of sexless sleep.

Then, the exact same incident happened the next night. And the next. And the next. And the next.

It continued to happen until Karma was certain he and Nagisa wouldn't be able to get any action—or much sleep, for that matter—for the entire duration of Nagisa's recovery. They'd already passed the three-month mark, and all three members of the family were falling behind on sleep due to Naoki's new penchant for waking up in the middle of the night teary-eyed. The poor toddler began to acquire dark circles under his eyes, noticeable even to his pre-school teacher. Both parents knew something had to be done.

This is what led to Nagisa's worried pondering as he was reading Naoki to sleep on a relaxed Friday night—not relaxed for long, he knew. He and Karma had given up on trying anything racy during the night hours, and Nagisa wondered if he should simply invite Naoki into their bed straight away instead of tucking him into his own. The process seemed like a laughable farce, at this point.

"Naoki..." He couldn't help himself, and spoke up just as the boy was appearing to drift to sleep. Grumbling quietly, Naoki blinked his eyes open again and turned to look at his pensive father.

With a sigh, Nagisa took his son's hand. "These nightmares... You've been having them constantly. Are you sure you don't want to talk about them? If it's this serious, you need to tell me, sweetie." His voice was as gentle as possible, but he looked directly into Naoki's dark eyes as he spoke.

The boy blinked again, looking away. Scared, Nagisa noticed. "...No. I-It's okay, Papa..."

Interesting.

Nagisa spoke carefully and slowly. "...Naoki, you're not having nightmares, are you?" It wasn't a question.

Naoki only continued looking away, gripping his sheets tightly, and Nagisa felt pity overwhelming him. He leaned closer from his seat, rubbing his thumb over his son's hand.

"It's alright, sweetie, I won't be mad, promise. Just be honest with me. Are you having nightmares?"

This time, it was a question. After a few seconds, Naoki slowly shook his head and turned his eyes back to Nagisa, tears budding in them.

"...Why did you lie to us, darling? You can tell me. I'm not mad, I'm just worried about why you would do such a thing." While speaking, Nagisa opened his arms knowingly, and Naoki soon dove into them, his tears flowing.

"I-I jus'... I missed Papa, when you were... away, and..." He hiccupped around his words as he cried into Nagisa's neck. The assassin listened with a concerned frown, rubbing the child's back soothingly. "I... wanna be with Daddy and Papa... M'scared at night, when Papa's not there... L-Like Papa gonna be gone... already g-gone, and Naoki is... 'lone... can't sleep..."

Naoki continued sobbing into his father, and Nagisa shushed, pressing kisses to his temple. "Oh, sweetie, I'm sorry... You're not alone. I'm right here. You didn't need to lie, honey; you can still sleep with us if it makes you feel better. Come on, you don't need to stay here..."

At once, Nagisa carried Naoki and slowly tried to stand. It was true that he still needed to use his crutches—if his physical therapist saw him doing this, she would probably faint—but he was confident enough at the moment to try and transport Naoki without them. After all, he couldn't carry his son and use the crutches simultaneously. One of his legs was healing faster than the other, anyway; he could always lean on that one more, if he needed to.

He didn't need to struggle to walk for much longer; once he exited the bedroom, Karma was soon at his side, shocked.

"Nagisa! What are you doing?! You—you can't walk like that—" He scolded, quickly taking Naoki and retrieving his husband's crutches from the boy's bedroom. "What were you thinking?!"

As he maneuvered his crutches under his arms, Nagisa sighed exasperatedly. "I'm fine, Karma. You don't need to overreact. I was just bringing Naoki to our room—he's sleeping with us, indefinitely. Just—take him to our room."

Karma had many arguments that he could press further, but from Nagisa's face, he knew it wasn't the time. Instead, he acquiesced and took Naoki into their room, Nagisa following.

Once the boy was adequately tucked into the middle of the large bed, Karma looked to his husband for an explanation—Naoki's face was damp and turned away, so he obviously wasn't ready to speak. Nagisa sighed, seeing no way out.

"He hasn't really been having nightmares. He just... is scared in his room by himself, and can't fall asleep without us. He just wants to be with us, Karma. For now, we should just let him sleep here."

An apology was clearly seen in Nagisa's eyes, and Karma nodded tersely before looking back to his son. Naoki was now turned towards them, a fearful look in his eyes.

"Daddy, please don' be m-mad..." he mumbled, his hand pressing to his mouth customarily. Karma, momentarily shocked, sat on the bed to take the hand away.

Am I really mad that often...? Admittedly, Karma realized he had gotten increasingly frustrated over the past month; Naoki gave him many opportunities to be angry, with his unsolicited nightly visits. He grimaced.

"N-Naoki, I'm not mad, not at all..." He tried, but Naoki continued in a fumbling manner, as if Karma hadn't said anything.

"I-It wasn't a... f-full lie. T-The first time, I really d-did have a nightmare... M-Monster was o-outsides my window, g-gonna get me... I-It was th-the monster that hurted P-Papa... Wh-When I waked up, I wanna m-make sure Papa and Daddy are okay..." The tears returned to fall down Naoki's cheeks, and both parents' hearts broke at the boy's tale.

"Oh... Naoki, I'm sorry. There's no monster," Nagisa consoled, gently sitting himself down beside Karma to comfort the frightened toddler.

"Yeah—and don't worry. If it ever comes near your Papa—or you—again, I'll get rid of it," Karma assured gravely, ruffling his son's hair. Finally, Naoki blinked, and his expression lightened up. Both parents breathed a sigh of relief.

"...P-Pwomise...?" Naoki mumbled, and Nagisa wiped the last of his small tears away with a smile.

"Of course we promise, honey. We'll protect you. Now, go to sleep—and dream of something nice."

Keeping in mind that his fathers were watching over him, Naoki closed his eyes, and his mind drifted safely to sleep. After staring at the sleeping boy for a minute, Nagisa turned to his perplexed husband.

"You're not angry with him, huh?" He whispered, mindful of his son's sleep.

Karma shook his head, though he sighed tiredly. "No... You know I could never be mad at him..."

At this, an endeared but knowing smile plastered itself on Nagisa's face. "Yes, I know. You spoil him too much, Karma."

"He's our son; he deserves the best," he responded as if it was the most obvious fact in the universe, to which Nagisa rolled his eyes amusedly. "...Though, I'm surprised he didn't tell us about his nightmare."

"He's sensitive; he was probably too scared to. What matters is that we know now." Nagisa turned back to look at Naoki fondly as he spoke. "...I was making some tea for us, before this all happened... It might not be done still, but go finish it, will you? I'll stay with Naoki and make sure he stays asleep peacefully."

Nodding, Karma agreed and left Nagisa to stay at their son's side; relaxing with his husband, his kid, and some tea sounded like a good idea to him.

After five minutes, Karma returned with two cups, only to find Nagisa slumbering in the bed right next to Naoki. He finished both cups before joining them.

Naoki's new bedtime schedule in place, things began to liven up in the Akabane home once again. Though, Karma was slightly annoyed that now there would be absolutely no chance of he and Nagisa engaging in any 'alone time'—around five months without any release was beginning to take its toll on both parents. Nagisa's father, embarrassingly, offered to take Naoki off their hands for a day or two, but Nagisa adamantly refused simply due to the sheer humiliation he felt when graced with the suggestion.

Once the family hit the fourth month since Nagisa's road to recovery, the assassin was on his way to fully healing, and his boss notified him that he would be allowed back to work as soon as he was ready. Of course, there was no pressure—that was made very clear, to Karma's approval. Nagisa's boss also called to inform him that there were still no leads on their stray assaulter, much to Karma's vexation. The man who'd incapacitated both Nagisa and Kei was still nowhere to be found, though their company had dispatched multiple teams to search.

Nagisa would be lying to himself if he didn't feel unnerved by the lack of progress, but they didn't have time to worry about such things. Naoki's fifth birthday was fast approaching, and Nagisa was focusing more and more energy on healing—walking on his own, scheduling his last few meetings with his physical therapist. He was eager as ever to have life back to normal, and Karma had to agree, despite his innate urge to chase Nagisa's assaulter to the ends of the Earth.

It was a Wednesday, and Nagisa had scheduled a final home visit with his therapist that afternoon. To give his husband more privacy and time, Karma took on the responsibility of picking Naoki up from day-care that afternoon and stopping at the grocery store afterwards. Hopefully, by the time they got back, the therapist would be gone and Nagisa would report his progress at 99%—almost fully healed.

These every-day, typical activities such as going grocery shopping were some of the most unexciting parts of Karma's life, but looking down at Naoki now, he supposed they weren't so bad. The boy was excitedly riding in the shopping cart—'keeping their food safe from thieves,' supposedly—and smiling brightly whenever he was cooed at by a passing stranger. Karma was certain they were violating some sort of safety regulation by doing this, but he frankly didn't give a shit. It made his kid happy, and everyone else in the store simply seemed to think it was cute.

"Ugh... Brown or white eggs..." Karma mumbled, halting the cart at the egg section. Making mundane choices like this always aggravated him for some reason.

Naoki peeped up from his makeshift nest in the cart, "There are eggs other than white?!" He questioned rather loudly, causing a few people to look over with amused smiles. When he was this happy, the toddler usually overcame some of his shyness and would raise his voice without meaning to.

"Yeah, the brown eggs are... organic, I think?" Karma mused distractedly, picking up a carton of said eggs and handing them to Naoki, who placed carefully them to his left.

"Daddy, what's organic?" The boy never missed a mark, staring up at his father curiously.

Karma's eye twitched—not because of his son's insistent questioning, but because he suddenly got the feeling that he and Naoki were being stared at. It wasn't a glance, either; he practically felt a hole burning in the back of his head, and turned to his side so he could casually look.

"Uh, organic is..." Meeting the eyes of his impromptu stalker, all of Karma's thoughts ceased.

There was the woman he'd hoped to never see again—Hiromi Shiota, staring at him and his son with a mix of shock, interest, and disillusionment. Her hair appeared stringy and greying, tied back in a messy bun, and her skin looked thin as paper. At just the sight of her, Karma's body became filled to the brim with rage and disgust, his hands clenching at his sides.

I can't let you hurt Nagisa again, you won't ruin our family, just stay out, stay out, stay out

"...Daddy?" Naoki continued to stare at his father curiously, leaning up to tug at the angered man's sleeve. He easily noticed the anger in Karma's eyes—it was similar to the expression he'd seen when he saw his father on the phone, months ago—and being in a good mood, he felt brave enough to try and step in.

Two thoughts entered Karma's mind as he felt Naoki tug on his sleeve:

That bitch better not come over here, or there'll be a scene.

Fuck, I need to get Naoki away.

Deciding to follow both trains of thought, he sent a deathly glare Hiromi's way—one that clearly communicated, 'Don't you dare take a step closer or you'll be sorry.' Simultaneously, he patted his son's hand in reassurance and took hold of the cart, quickly steering them away to the nearest check-out aisle. It didn't matter that he hadn't gotten everything on their list; he wouldn't stand to spend another minute in that place.

He only looked back at Hiromi for a split second, but the expression of resigned serenity he saw was forever burned into his confused mind.

"Daddy, what happened...?" Naoki questioned as he was picked up from the cart to let their groceries be checked out. Karma sent him a poor excuse for a smile.

"Nothing at all, bud. Don't you wanna get home and see how your Papa's doing?"

The mention of Nagisa washed away any worried Naoki felt, and the boy nodded happily. "Uh-huh!"

To Karma's relief, they didn't see Hiromi a second time as they exited the store. The fact that he saw her at all—the fact that she was barely five feet away from his son—still numbed him. As he drove home, the obvious question popped into his mind. Would he tell Nagisa?

No, absolutely not, he figured. They were just getting over a major bump in the road, and informing Nagisa of what just happened would only overcomplicate things.

But, aren't Nagisa and I partners in this? Aren't we a team? Shouldn't I at least let him know?

Even so, he eventually presumed that telling Nagisa would serve no purpose. It wasn't as if anything actually happened. He saw Hiromi for a few seconds at the store, and that was it. No confrontation. Thinking this, he urged the incident to escape his mind.

It worked, and he was able to congratulate Nagisa on an almost-full recovery with nearly no reservations hiding at the back of his mind.

Only two weeks later, Nagisa's world fell apart once again. It seemed as if someone, somewhere, just wanted, more than anything else, for him to be miserable.

Naoki's birthday party had gone well, at least, even if there hadn't been many people there. Sugino and Kanzaki, along with their three-year-old daughter, sent their best wishes via e-mail, while Karma's father sent a rather expensive gaming system as a birthday present. Naoki immediately found a new hobby, and Karma found himself slightly jealous at his dad's ability to so easily win over his son.

Karasuma, Irina, and their son Ryouma had stopped by to attend the party, as well as Akari, and Maeda-san with her son Tetsuya. Although Ryouma was four years older than Naoki, the two had gotten along well since Naoki had first been adopted. Ryouma managed to get along with Tetsuya as well, and the three children spent the majority of the time playing with Naoki's new video games. While Karma saw the volume of people at the party as small, it seemed to be just right in Naoki's eyes, and the birthday boy was overall pleased with his celebration.

Everything was looking up, in the parents' eyes. In correlation with Nagisa's recovery, Naoki stayed true to his promise and was behaving better during school. He still cried, but didn't have nearly as many tantrums, and even admitted that he'd been talking to his classmates more frequently. He still hadn't mentioned any new friends, but both parents were hopeful.

In fact, everything seemed to be going too well; Nagisa felt as if the universe was tricking him, lulling him into a false sense of security. He didn't have to wait too long until he found out the reason why he felt that way.

"...Wh-What?"

All of Nagisa's breath was pushed out of him as he asked that simple, one-word question. His blue eyes were wide, unseeing, and the book he was once reading lay forgotten at his side. From the carpet, where he sat surrounded by picture books, Naoki looked up at his father in apprehension. The five-year-old had become cautious of phones, especially if one of his fathers became shocked or eerily silent while talking on one. It never boded well.

On the other line, Nagisa's father was still talking, but Nagisa was too blindsided—his throat was too dried up, and he couldn't speak even if he tried. Fruitlessly, he urged his mind to fully comprehend the situation, and he almost thought he would simply lose it and throw the phone against the wall—until his father finally paused.

"...Nagisa, would it be better if I left you to take things in for a while? I understand if you need a moment..."

This, he could comprehend. He grasped the safe-sounding words like a lifeline and answered with a weak voice, "...Yes."

"Alright. If you don't call me back by six tonight, though, I'll be calling you again to discuss more details of... the funeral, and what happens from here. Okay?"

"Y-Yes. Thank you."

"...Talk to you later, son. Take care."

"Yes. Bye."

Nagisa set the phone on the table with shaky hands, letting out an equally shaky sigh. He sat with his hands pressed against his face for a while, struggling to make sense of the situation.

She... Why...? I thought...

"P-Papa..." A small voice piped up from next to him, and Nagisa peeked out from between his fingers to see Naoki, standing at the foot of the couch and staring at him with concerned eyes.

"...Papa, are you okay?"

Immediately, Nagisa scooped up his son and hugged him close, nestling the boy into his lap. "...Of course, Naoki... I'm fine..." he answered thoughtlessly, feeling as if he were going to cry. He knew he wouldn't cry, though. He was too confused to cry, too on edge, his body in a defensive mode.

That was how Karma found his husband and son—curled up on the couch, Nagisa burying his face into Naoki's hair and Naoki blinking confusedly but surrendering to his father's grip. Automatically, Karma was thrown into a state of alarm—something bad must've happened—and a million terrible scenarios flew through his mind, though he didn't react outwardly. Staying composed, he simply set his briefcase down on the table, hung his coat up, and slowly walked over to the unmoving pair.

"...Nagisa..."

It was merely a notification that Karma was there. Hearing it, Nagisa relaxed and came to his senses, uncaging Naoki from his arms and looking to his husband.

Once meeting Nagisa's eyes, Karma immediately sensed that something serious had happened; there were no remnants of tears on his lover's face, but there was an uncanny blankness that sent him red flags. Luckily, before he was forced to make a decision on what to do next, Nagisa spoke.

"...Sorry, I didn't make dinner." In the same weary tone, Nagisa turned back to his son and continued, "Naoki, why don't you go to your room and finish that painting you were working on? I think it's turning out really good, and by the time you finish, we'll have dinner ready."

Feeling as if he was missing something, Naoki looked to Karma in confusion. Karma simply met him with a slightly stern stare—one that told him to follow Nagisa's suggestion without questions, at least for now. Understanding at least this much, the boy nodded before running off to his room.

Karma sighed once the couple was alone, dropping to sit with Nagisa on the couch. He didn't need to say anything, merely putting his arm around his husband's shoulders and waiting to listen. Eventually, Nagisa leaned his head on his shoulder and took in a breath, his face obscured.

"...My mom... She's dead."

It came as a shock to Karma, who's first thought was of how he'd just seen the woman alive only two weeks ago. She'd been standing barely five feet from him—and now, she was dead? How? Where? Why?

Speaking of which, maybe I should tell Nagisa that we saw her... No, I need to, now...

But Karma wasn't quick enough, and Nagisa was already continuing hesitantly.

"It was... suicide. She locked... herself in her car, and let the carbon monoxide kill her... She left a note..."

With each word, Karma's disbelief grew, and he held onto Nagisa tighter.

"My dad just called to let me know..." Suddenly, Nagisa was chuckling—not a happy sound, and something that sent shivers up Karma's spine. "...Can barely believe it, right? I thought that I'd been free from her, but... now, I suddenly have all these regrets...? How can life be so unfair...?" His breath hitched, though he wasn't crying. Karma still felt his body heave, and held him closer.

"...You couldn't have done anything, Nagisa..."

"Could I have?!" In a split second, Nagisa's face was raised, fronting Karma closely with a wild look in his eyes. "Couldn't I have talked to her? Tried to set things straight? Did you know, my dad... s-sent me an e-mail, a while back. It said that she might've been feeling remorseful about our situation, and she seemed to be thinking about r-reconciling. But, guess what?! I knew that, and I still... d-didn't do shit, Karma...!"

Overwhelmed, he buried his face into Karma's shirt. "Why?! Why didn't I do anything...?! I just... let this happen, when things could've gotten better... I wanted things to get better..."

He'd been forcing himself to listen and take in the information, but soon Karma couldn't take it. Hearing Nagisa, in this much pain over his mother yet again, was too much. He whispered, furiously.

"Nagisa, don't you dare think for a second that this is in any way your fault. It isn't, not at all—"

Snapping his head back up, Nagisa whispered back just as heatedly, "I know you're probably glad she's dead—but for just a moment, put yourself in my shoes. I've always, always hoped to make amends with her and have a better relationship. N-Now, there's no hope for..." The assassin visibly shook, unable to continue, and dipped his head into his husband's neck again.

Karma only stared wide-eyed. The anger and grief came off of Nagisa in powerful waves, and his grip on Karma's shirt was painful. Karma didn't want to test him; though he wouldn't admit it, he was afraid.

An indiscernible amount of time was spent there, on the couch, Nagisa now buried into Karma rather than Naoki. Too wary to speak up, Karma waited until his grieving partner finally sat up, the anger absent for now.

"I... need to call my dad back. He needs to tell me more about the funeral, her will... stuff like that." Nagisa's voice was monotonous, drained, and he removed himself from Karma's lap to reach for the phone.

"Nagisa..." Karma was still apprehensive of his lover's state, but pushed forward when Nagisa didn't stop him. "...You said she left a note? Do you know what it said?"

The phone resting listlessly in his hand, Nagisa decided to answer before pushing any buttons. "...My dad told me it was short. Just a few sentences about how it was her choice, and that it was a... fitting end to a life like hers."

Honestly, Karma had nothing much to say to that, a depressing gloom settling around them like fog. "...I'm sorry, Nagisa. I... I'm not glad that this happened, you know. Please, don't think something like that."

In truth, Karma actually wasn't sure whether he was happy or sad about it. He felt more confused than he had in a long while. Had he lied just now? There was no way of him knowing.

Nagisa could tell this easily, and found himself feeling ten times worse—not because of Karma's uncertain feelings, but because he'd been the one to say it in the first place. "...N-No, I'm... I said that without thinking. I was just overwhelmed—I just... Sorry." His voice was now weak and quiet, and Karma couldn't help scooting closer to carefully envelope him in his arms again.

"...It's okay. It's just—not your fault, Nagisa. Tell me you know that."

"I know that."

They stayed only for a few moments longer, before Nagisa proceeded to call his father and get the rest of the details. The funeral service would be held quickly, within the next week, and Nagisa would receive half of the inheritance. The other half was stated to go to Hiromi's sister and her family. Hearing this, Nagisa's heart was settled somewhat; at least Hiromi hadn't written her son out of her will. A small, cynical voice in Nagisa's head told him that she must've simply forgotten, but he desperately ignored it.

After bidding his father goodbye, Karma suggested ordering delivery; neither parent felt up to cooking at this point. Their dinner proceeded rather sullenly, with Naoki still confused and worried, until Nagisa finally bit the bullet.

"Honey, I'm sorry you're confused about what happened today," he tried to overcome his tiredness and smile comfortingly at his son from across the table, but the five-year-old only continued to fidget in his seat.

"...Are you okay?" That was all he asked, but even so, the melodic ring of his voice managed to brighten Nagisa's spirits a little.

"Yes, I'm fine. Someone... just passed away, and it came as a shock to us. You don't need to worry, though." Naoki was already somewhat familiar with the concept of death; it'd been inevitably brought up multiple times, ever since the toddler first watched Bambi. Both parents had been decent at explaining it without letting Naoki be exposed to too much or too little.

"Oh..." The boy's mouth twisted into a small frown. "...Who?"

"My mother..." Nagisa's smile waned, and Karma glanced over at him, concerned, but curious of Naoki's reaction.

Naoki's eyes widened visibly, but he quickly looked down at his plate. He'd never heard anything about Nagisa's mother before, unaware that such a person even existed. "O-Oh..." He stayed silent for a tense few seconds, drilling a hole into his unfinished meal, before looking up to Nagisa again with sad eyes. "P-Papa, I'm sorry..."

"It'll be alright, Naoki." Nagisa felt warmth course through him at his son's empathy, and reached over to pat him on the head before they continued with their meal. Only a few minutes later, though, he glanced in Naoki's direction again to see the boy's eyes filling with tears.

At the same time, Karma called out gently, "Naoki, what's wrong?"

He responded amid a few sniffles, keeping his eyes averted downwards. "I... I don'... want Papa and D-Daddy to d-die...!"

Immediately after getting his words out, Naoki began wailing, raising his hands up in fists to rub at his red face. The fathers' gazes met briefly before Nagisa hurried over to Naoki's side, kneeling and holding the child soothingly.

For the first time that day, the assassin allowed a tear to escape him, resting his head on his son's.

Because, as soon as Naoki began crying, he'd realized it. His mother's death would haunt him for a long time, he was sure; if he were in a different place in his life, it possibly would've destroyed him much more. But he didn't have to let it ruin him, or encompass his thoughts—because he had his own family, and the sobbing, black-haired five-year-old he was currently holding meant the world to him. Those feelings were incredibly strong, so strong that Nagisa could barely contain them.

Soon, Karma joined them, and the small family stayed in that position until Naoki ceased his sobs.

When they retired for the night, Karma vehemently promised the boy that neither he nor Nagisa would ever die, to Nagisa's amusement. Hearing this, Naoki didn't take long to fall asleep, happily settled in the middle of his parents' embrace. The couple had been discussing how to get the child sleeping in his own room again, since Nagisa was now healed and life was getting back to normal, but with the unexpected development of Hiromi's suicide, both fathers wouldn't have wanted Naoki anywhere else.

After being kicked in the ribs by his restless, sleeping child, Karma awoke and irritably got himself out of bed. As it was only eight on a Sunday morning, he left Nagisa and Naoki to sleep some more, going through the process of making coffee and breakfast by himself. Normally, if Nagisa wasn't on a mission, he would do the cooking, seeing as Karma was always working. After yesterday, however, Karma wanted to treat his grieving lover as kindly as possible.

Once he finished preparing breakfast, he sat with his coffee and checked his e-mail, letting the scrambled eggs and bacon stay slightly heated on the stove. He didn't have to wait long; by nine, Naoki tottered into the living room and happily greeted him, followed by a more sluggish Nagisa. Karma greeted his son back and ruffled his bedhead, to Naoki's slight distress.

"I'll make a plate for you, bud," he offered, already walking over to the stove. Naoki nodded and smiled, hoisting himself into a seat at the dinner table, as Nagisa did. Karma quickly fixed two plates and brought them over, placing one in front of each of his boys. Naoki, chipper, thanked him, while Nagisa only stared, slightly surprised.

"...Thanks, Karma," he eventually muttered, a blush coming to his cheeks at the husbandly gesture. He knew why Karma was doing this.

"No problem," Karma answered with an amiable smile, leaning over to chastely kiss his husband. As they parted, Nagisa's lips were left still puckered, expecting more. This earned him a chuckle from Karma, to which he glared and began to shovel eggs into his mouth.

Surprisingly, the mood was very light—much lighter than what it'd been last night. Nagisa's eyes still held a smidgen of gloom in them, but overall, no one would've thought that a family member just died yesterday.

When Naoki completely cleaned his plate, as usual, he kicked his legs around and obstinately asked to be excused to play outside. The parents looked to each other; their apartment complex was adjacent to a beautiful community park-playground that was usually full of kids 24/7. Naoki had only been there a few times, forced by his fathers, but it seemed very safe. By wishing to go there of his own volition, both parents were hopeful that the boy was finally beginning to open up and become more outgoing.

"Yes, you can go—but, remember, don't talk to strangers unless they're your age, and be safe." Karma knew Naoki was still far too shy to approach a stranger of his own accord, but he couldn't hold back the order. Naoki nodded in affirmation, smiling brightly.

"I'll be good!" He jumped from his seat, running to his bedroom, calling, "I wanna bring my chalks!"

Nagisa shook his head amusedly—so, that was it. The boy hadn't had many opportunities to use his new array of chalks, and now he finally had summoned up the courage to go on his own. Sure enough, Naoki then sprinted to the door, carrying his case of chalk and shouting out a quick "Bye!"

"Don't run into anyone!" Karma shouted back futilely, just as Naoki shut the door behind him. A few seconds passed, before Karma muttered, "...Did he bring his keycard with him so he can get back in...?"

"I'm sure he did. He's always bugging me to make sure I remember mine when I go out." Nagisa sighed, patting his overly worried husband on the shoulder. As soon as he stood up to take all the dishes, the phone began to ring.

"I've got it," Karma already claimed, seeing as Nagisa was taking it upon himself to clear the table. He stretched leisurely and strode over to the phone, though when he pressed it to his ear, he soon was taken aback.

"Akabane residence."

"...Ah, hello, Karma-kun. How are things?"

Hearing the voice—and noting how the man didn't introduce himself—Karma immediately recognized it as Nagisa's father. Truthfully, the two hadn't spoken in a while—they spoke rarely at all—and Karma wet his lips before answering.

"...Hello, Yoshiro-san. We're doing well, actually. I'm very sorry about... Hiromi-san, though. It's a tragedy."

"Yeah, tell me about it... Uh, did Nagisa seem to take things well?"

At first, Karma hadn't very well liked Nagisa's father, considering how he was somewhat absent during Nagisa's childhood. Eventually, though, he grew to become at least cordial with the man. After all, Yoshiro was a rather likeable guy at heart, and seemed to care deeply for his son's wellbeing—a care that shone in moments like this. It urged Karma to respond honestly and genially to the worried father.

"...Not at first, no. You can imagine, considering what Hiromi-san had done. But... now, he's better." So caught up in his conversation, Karma didn't notice that Nagisa had stopped completely still by the sink, listening acutely.

"Ah, I'm glad! I was worried, especially with him only just recovering from his injuries... I'm happy that he isn't letting it get the best of him!"

Karma almost laughed, remembering that poor Yoshiro was still oblivious to the fact that his son was an assassin. They'd told him that Nagisa had obtained his injuries by falling off a roof, similar to the story that had been reported to the hospital. Yoshiro accepted the story without any doubt, offering his son his best wishes. The man was charismatic, for sure, but also unfortunately gullible—or fortunately, in this case.

"Could I still talk with him? I have a bit more to report about the situation..."

Snapping out of his thoughts, Karma complied, "Sure thing. I'll hand the phone to him now."

"Thanks! Nice talking to you, Karma-kun."

"Ah, you too..." Karma replied mindlessly, now noticing Nagisa's mysterious stillness. Nevertheless, he walked over and tapped him on the shoulder, holding out the phone. Nagisa turned and sent him a thankful smile, taking it. Luckily, nothing in his expression appeared out of the ordinary, and Karma went to sink himself into the couch, relieved.

He spent the next twenty minutes watching Sunday morning news; it was only when Nagisa finally joined him did he realize that he hadn't been listening in on his lover's conversation. Whether that was a good or bad thing, Karma couldn't tell.

"Everything go okay with your dad?" he asked anyway, looking at his husband cautiously. Nagisa didn't seem overly distressed, his hands resting in his lap and his eyes simply worn-out.

"... Yeah, I suppose," he muttered, leaning on Karma's shoulder with a sigh.

"What did you two talk about?"

"Just my mom's... mental state before her suicide, sort of. Apparently she'd had a lot of things go wrong in her life, even before I was born—which I already sort of knew, but... My dad just said that this had been a long time coming, and I had no blame in any of it..."

Mentally, Karma noted to give Nagisa's dad a hug the next time he saw him. "...And he's right. You know that."

Nagisa knew Karma was only saying it to affirm whether it was completely true, and sighed a second time. "...Yes, I know. It's just complicated. He told me that deep in her heart, Hiromi was always completely sorry for what she did to me, and she was truly regretful that her relationship with me got... ruined... But how can we even know, you know?"

Seeing his point, Karma mulled it over, before a particular visit to the grocery store popped into his mind once again. Grimacing slightly, he figured later was better than never.

"...Well, I think we can... infer. I'm sorry for not telling you this sooner, but..."

Nagisa's eyes peeped up to stare at his husband harder, evaluating his careful tone.

"...A few weeks or so back, while you were busy getting better... Naoki and I went out to the grocery store once. And I saw her there. Your mom."

Eyes turning into saucers, Nagisa opened his mouth to speak—presumably yell—but Karma cut him off, turning to hold him tightly. "D-Don't get carried away yet—just let me explain. She was just there, suddenly staring at Naoki and me. I didn't really know how to react—of course, I felt so angry... But I thought of Naoki, and sort of panicked... I left quickly after that, and we didn't see her... Again, sorry for not telling..."

Karma trailed off apprehensively, feeling as if he hadn't done a good job of pleading his case at all. What was the point he was trying to make again? Either way, the way Nagisa was pursing his lips at him wasn't good.

After several more than uncomfortable seconds, Nagisa finally responded, "...Okay. So you just saw her looking at you, and left. Is that all?" He didn't sound very mad, but he was quiet, enough to set off a slight warning bell in Karma's head.

"W-Well, not really... I mean, she did look sort of depressed... And shocked, at Naoki probably, but... N-Nagisa, I don't think she was hostile towards our family, is what I'm trying to say." Yeah, that was it.

This time, Nagisa's eyes widened again, and Karma immediately understood what he was probably thinking. "And n-no—that doesn't mean that it's your fault for not stepping up to contact her again. It was entirely her decision whether or not to do that, you know? She probably was... Well, maybe once she saw Naoki and me together like that, she was finally at peace that you had your own life—your own family. S-She didn't die detesting that fact, or denying it... I'm sure, in the end, she was accepting of us. I swear, I saw that, in how she looked at us..."

Does this mean that seeing Naoki and I was what gave her the drive to end her life—because she was at peace with it? I don't know how I feel about that...

Still, Karma waited for Nagisa's reaction once he'd finished his piece. At first, his face stayed neutral, but soon he dipped it, a few tears escaping his eyes. Immediately, Karma scooped him closer, and they embraced with Nagisa's face burying below his lover's head.

"...Th-Thank you, Karma..." He heard, barely muffled by his shirt, and he let out a long breath of relief. He hadn't messed up. Somehow, he'd said something right, even if he was just talking off the top of his head.

After a few shaky sobs, Nagisa turned back up with a smile, his eyes still red-rimmed. "I love you... I haven't said it enough, lately. But I love you."

Karma could only blink, stunned by the beautiful image. "...You don't even have to say it..." I love you too.

His lover only giggled back, wiping his face with a hand before surging forwards for a kiss. Karma gratefully accepted, opening his mouth and searching out the other man's tongue. They met, and Nagisa hummed contentedly as he melted further into his husband's form.

When they parted, Karma found himself on his back with Nagisa on top of him, grinning down. The previously grieving assassin kissed him once more before moving downwards, nibbling at his exposed neck.

"You have to go to a meeting in a few hours, right?" The question was breathed just below his ear, and Karma had to think for a while before answering.

"Yeah... But, that's a few hours away, right?" Not satisfied to be laying meekly on his back, Karma trailed his hands down to crawl back up underneath Nagisa's shirt, clenching at his bare waist playfully. This issued a laugh from Nagisa, and Karma smiled, leaning up to lock their lips in another kiss.

"Wh-What are you guys doing?"

They should've expected it by now. Still shocked, Karma shot up and just missed colliding his forehead with his lover's. Unlike him, Nagisa stayed calm and sat up, turning to his confused, slightly worried son.

"We're just expressing our love for each other, Naoki. It's nothing to be worried about. Did you have fun outside?" Nagisa smoothly spoke with a smile. Meanwhile, Karma was breathing a little heavily and sitting up slowly.

"Um, yeah... What's ek-pressing love—like that? I don' get it..." Naoki stubbornly went on, gripping his chalk box more tightly in frustration. Holding back a chuckle at his child's cute ignorance, Nagisa surged forwards to pick him up and settle them back on the sofa, the chalk case falling to the floor.

"You don't know? It's just like this—!" Nagisa uttered, before mercilessly tickling the five-year-old and pressing an array of kisses to his cheeks and neck. Naoki immediately burst into laughter, screeching as he wiggled and tried to escape. The high-pitched squealing only urged Nagisa on, and he lifted his son's shirt to blow a raspberry into his stomach. Pleading for mercy amidst his unrelenting giggles, Naoki turned completely red in the face.

Now smiling at the happy image, Karma felt strangely at peace. For both him and Nagisa, all thoughts of the mystery perpetrator who'd broken Nagisa's legs had been sent straight to the backs of their minds. Even as Hiromi's death still acted as a light mist in the household, not so easily forgotten, both men were entirely positive they would make it through stronger than before.

"Alright, class, we're going to break for recess now! Follow Sayuri-sensei outside, and remember to play safe!"

Ishiyo-sensei raised her voice louder as the kids jumped out of their seats and ran to the door before she even finished the announcement. Sayuri-sensei stopped them before they could enter the hallway, directing them to form a line before nodding to the other teacher and leading them outside. About a third of the kindergarteners chose to stay inside, however, including Naoki.

As always, though, Tetsuya came to meet him at his seat, looking at him with unassuming jade eyes. "Akabane-kun, do you want to come outside with me?"

The answer never changed. Naoki looked away, embarrassed at his inhibition. "...N-No, I'm fine here. You can go though, Maeda-kun."

Instead, the older boy simply pulled up a nearby chair and sat at the desk as well, not appearing annoyed in the slightest. This was what Naoki liked about his friend, though it confused him as well. Tetsuya had plenty of other friends—some, Naoki was sure, were better friends with him than he was—but he would hang out with Naoki instead, making sure the quieter boy was never too lonely. He didn't understand why Tetsuya did this, but there lingered a silent hope in the back of his mind that it was because, maybe, Tetsuya liked him just as much as he liked Tetsuya.

"Naoki-chan, Tetsuya-chan, are you sure you two don't want to go outside today? The weather is very nice right now!" Ishiyo-sensei approached them kindly with a smile. She'd gotten used to Naoki's shyness, and had been urging him to open up more as the year progressed.

To her disappointment, both boys shook their heads, but she knew she couldn't force them. "Alright, but know that the opportunity is still there." She left them to approach another group of students, and Naoki sighed in relief.

Tetsuya didn't speak for a few minutes, and Naoki increasingly felt on edge. He wasn't as shy with his friend, but he simply didn't have anything to talk about at the moment. His mind scrambled for something to say, and he felt his cheeks heating up, his palms getting sweaty.

"Hey, d'you wanna have a sleepover sometime?"

Thankfully, Tetsuya finally spoke, and a long breath escaped Naoki. Immediately after, though, he tilted his head, taking in the question. He'd heard kids talking about sleepovers before, but he'd never taken them into consideration himself.

"Um, I dunno. I've never been to one before..."

Sensing his uneasiness, Tetsuya smiled encouragingly and leaned forwards onto the desk separating them. "Well, it's lots of fun! You get to watch movies and stay up a little later, and have dinner with friends and stuff. And play video games. And pillow fights are really fun, too!"

His brain eagerly soaking up the new information, Naoki's large eyes sparkled. "O-Oh, have you ever been to one...?"

"Of course! I've had them with Aki-kun and Daichi-kun, and Jurou-kun. It's really fun, promise!"

Naoki felt stupid—obviously Tetsuya had done it before! Probably everyone had done it, other than him... He felt even more self-conscious, but his excitement at the idea of a sleepover overpowered his embarrassment.

"It sounds fun, Maeda-kun..." He said happily, but his face fell when a pressing concern entered his mind.

I'm still scared when I go to sleep...

It'd been a week since he began to sleep in his own bed again, and during three of those seven nights, he'd been w0ken up in the middle of the night by some sort of bumping noise. He already felt frightened enough, falling asleep fitfully without either of his parents near, so the noises utterly terrified him. It would be a thump, a bang from outside his window, some sort of rattling—no matter what it was, it urged him to, without fail, flee to his fathers' room. They still let him sleep with them in those cases, which was comforting, but Naoki wondered if he'd ever be able to sleep alone without being scared.

And at a sleepover, he wouldn't have his parents to run to. Even if it was at his house, he'd still be expected to sleep next to his friend... Thinking of having Tetsuya see him like that—scared out of his wits, too scared to fall asleep—made him turn entirely despondent.

Tetsuya noticed his friend's sullen look, and asked, concerned, "Are you okay, Akabane-kun? You don't have to if you don't want... I mean, it was just an idea."

"N-No, I do want to...!" Naoki shot his head up, adamantly shaking his hands. "It's just..." He looked away again, a pout forming on his lips. Confiding in his friend about something like this was just too humiliating...

"What is it, Akabane-kun?" When he got no answer from the hesitant boy, Tetsuya leaned forward again, making his voice gentle. "You can tell me, Akabane-kun. I won't laugh at you. Promise."

His friend's words lessened his fear somewhat, so Naoki opened his mouth. "I... Just, at nighttime, I..." His voice lowered to a shaky mumble. "I get scared... too scared to sleep sometimes. It's embarrassing..."

True to his words, Tetsuya didn't laugh, instead feeling pity for Naoki. "...What makes you scared?"

"Um, well... I have nightmares, about... a monster near my room..." This time, Naoki whispered, feeling as if what he was saying should be a strictly confidential secret. "It makes noises, and scares me..."

Tetsuya looked slightly alarmed, his eyes widened. "Is it in your room?" He whispered just the same, taking his friend completely seriously.

"Um, I don' think so... S'outside my window... I hear all the noises it makes. M'scared it might try to get in..." Just talking about it scared Naoki, who unconsciously made himself smaller and shrunk down in his seat.

"Don't your daddies protect you? If you're scared, you could go to them," Tetsuya tried to assure him. Naoki nodded hesitantly.

"Y-Yeah, they do, b-but I can't sleep with them all the times..." He knew it was childish to sleep with his parents, so when he finally admitted it he ducked his head down. "That's why I don' really wanna have a sleepover right now... Wh-What if I get scared and w-want my parents... S-Sorry, it's embarrassing..." His face felt overwhelmingly red, but he lifted it as Tetsuya reached over to touch his arm supportively.

Luckily, the other boy didn't appear mocking or irritated at all—only kind. "It's okay, Akabane-kun. We can just have one once the monster goes away. Is that fine?"

Confused, Naoki nodded. "Y-Yeah. But... d'you really think it'll go away? S'been there for a long time..."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Does your window have a lock?"

"Um... I dunno..." Naoki was still hesitant, but Tetsuya was now smiling triumphantly.

"If it does, just make sure to lock it at nighttime. That way, the monster can't get in for sure! And if it doesn't have a lock, your parents can seal it some other way if you ask them. My little brother had a monster outside his window, and this worked for him, so I'm sure it'll work for you!"

Tetsuya's idea suddenly made him feel much more confident, and he smiled graciously. "O-Okay! I'll try it... An' then we can have a sleepover! I p-promise!"

Smiling back at him, Tetsuya squeezed his arm happily before pulling away. "Great...! Oh, and... Do you mind if I call you Naoki-kun?"

In a split second, Naoki's face and neck turned a startling red; one wouldn't be surprised to see steam coming out of his ears. "A-Ah, um, Maeda-kun..." He almost couldn't think with how nervous he was. Why would Tetsuya want to do that? Even so, he supposed he would allow his friend to do what he wanted... He didn't want to be rude. Even if it did feel weird. "Um... I guess so."

Noticing his friend's sudden nervousness, Tetsuya grew slightly concerned, but smiled at being given permission. "Okay, great, Naoki-kun! You can call me Tetsuya-kun instead of Maeda-kun, too!" He already had stood up from his seat, even as Naoki sat there stuttering.

"E-Eh, M-Maeda-kun... A-Are you sure...? I, um..." His blush only grew, and he floundered confusedly, but Tetsuya simply grinned and pulled Naoki up from his seat.

"Yes—call me Tetsuya. D'you wanna go play cards? I know we could play Go Fish again, but I wanna teach you War. It's funner!" He was already tugging Naoki along, whose nerves were tingling mercilessly.

"Ah... O-Okay..."

Naoki figured he'd allow himself to be tugged; he needed to step out of his comfort zone, anyway. Following Tetsuya's advice was always better than letting himself be secluded and cagey. If he became more social, it would please his parents as well.

Still, the butterflies flying through his stomach whenever he called Tetsuya by his given name made him wince.

Turning on his side and snuggling into his blankets more, Naoki sighed contentedly. It was around eight, and Nagisa had just put him to bed, leaving his bedroom door slightly cracked open as usual. Keeping it fully open scared Naoki, as he'd have a full view of the wide, dark hallway, but having it completely closed was also slightly daunting.

Since Tetsuya had told him of the trick to keeping monsters out, Naoki had been locking his window by himself each night. He'd been ecstatic when he discovered that his window did have a lock, and frightened when he realized that he hadn't been locking it until now. Anything could've gotten into his room at any moment, and he would've been completely defenseless!

Now, though, the knowledge that his window was tightly locked and secure was enough to keep him feeling safe as he slept. He no longer had any nightmares, and since he began locking his window, any noises that used to wake him up seemed to have stopped! He reminded himself to thank Tetsuya later—because of his friend's plan, Naoki wasn't nearly as scared anymore, and he could tell that his parents were proud of him. Hopefully, he could even have his first sleepover soon! The thought excited him, and he smiled giddily into his pillow.

Forcing his thoughts to stop running so quickly, he turned himself into a more comfortable position. Within a couple of minutes, his breath slowed steadily, and he drifted off to sleep.

...Unfortunately, it didn't last more than five hours. In the dead of night, Naoki suddenly found himself returning to consciousness, ever so slowly. His eyes needed no time to adjust to the darkness of the room, and he immediately quaked. He never liked this time of night.

Before he could question why he woke up, he heard it—a rattling noise, coming from outside. Or more specifically, his window. As soon as he noticed it, he didn't move—couldn't move, becoming completely immobile in shock and fear. He could barely breathe, in fear that his panting would be too loud.

Like any other kid, Naoki had an active imagination, and sometimes it scared him—for instance, when he'd dreamt of the same monster that had hurt his Papa chasing him down as well. However, he knew that was all it was—his imagination. The realization that the rattling he was hearing—becoming more insistent now, and never stopping—was real sent him into a state of terror.

He knew monsters didn't really exist... Did they?

Was there someone trying to get into his window? Was it a person?

Trembling underneath his blankets, he couldn't turn around to check—couldn't even move his head underneath the covers to hide. He was still immobile for some reason, though he was screaming at himself to move.

He could move his eyes, at least. He eyed his door, just a few feet from him, still cracked open. Couldn't he run and get his parents?

The rattling carried on.

I have to go now, before whatever's outside gets in.

Yes, he thought, building the courage to scramble out of his bed on the count of three. Because who knew how long that thing had been shaking the window to get in—it could've been hours, and he'd only just now woken up. Maybe it was close to urging the lock open somehow. He needed to run, now.

One... Two... Three...!

With instincts controlling him, he shot out of his bed in a flash and opened his door, not daring to look behind him.

A few seconds later, down the hall and in the parents' bedroom, Nagisa's eyes opened smoothly. As soon as he awakened—there was no ten-second period of half-lucidness—he stayed still and started evaluating exactly what had woken him up.

He'd heard a squeal, coming from somewhere farther down the hallway—that was it.

It took him a fraction of a second to realize it, and a fraction more to realize the tense air throughout the apartment.

An intruder is here.

He could sense it, as easy as breathing. His instincts kicking into action automatically, he slipped his hand down between the side of the mattress and the headboard, gripping the slender knife that was sandwiched between them. He and Karma were always prepared.

Soundless and fluid, he slithered from the bed and zipped his way to the door. A few more thumps resounded through the apartment, and something crashed in the living room, broken. Whoever was in their home wasn't sneaking around anymore, it seemed.

A second set of tiny footsteps pattered faster, frantic.

Nagisa moved so quickly, like a ghost, that he reached the scene less than five seconds after he first woke up. He only took a glance and reacted intuitively, because at the opening of the hallway connecting to the living room, his son was against the wall and a towering figure was advancing towards him.

Naoki.

With only one word running throughout his mind, Nagisa made his first audible step forward—just enough to turn the intruder's attention his way. The man had only met his eyes for a second, and Nagisa noticed two things: this was the man who'd attacked him and Kei, and the man was holding a knife as well.

Strangely, no thoughts of taking revenge for his injuries entered Nagisa's mind, because it was already filled to the brim with Naoki.

Luckily for the assassin, who'd stopped momentarily to evaluate the distance between this man and his son and how was he going to make this work without Naoki getting hurt, the giant man started speaking.

"Aha... There you are... You—fucker, you took something important away from me... m-my son—you fucking killed him! You need to know how it feels—!"

He didn't get to finish speaking—the man's voice, what he was saying, was like acid in Nagisa's ears.

So fast that anyone watching wouldn't be able to see him, Nagisa strode forwards and struck his knife into the man's jugular with a strong arm, disarming the man with his other hand. The knife got lodged messily in his neck, unfortunately, and red, warm liquid instantaneously covered Nagisa's vision. It soon died out, though, and the apartment was silent.

It took Nagisa a few seconds to snap out of the murderous mode he'd found himself in, but when he did, he slowly took in the scene. He was covered in blood—but more importantly, so was Naoki. His little boy, with his shirt and face splattered, eyes wide and blank. His face was pale as a sheet, and Nagisa faintly noticed his hands were shaking.

"N... Naoki..." Nagisa called softly, though it came out gravelly with emotion. His son didn't look up, not showing any signs of having heard his father, and Nagisa slowly stepped forwards.

We... should clean up. Naoki is bloody. He's scared.

He, somehow, couldn't listen to his own mind, instead kneeling down to his son's level and carefully, slowly, enveloping him in his own stained arms, as if he were made of glass and could break at any minute.

"It's okay, baby... You're okay..." He muttered unthinkingly into his son's ear, stroking his neck and head, willing his heart to stop beating so fast. After a minute or two, though, he realized it wasn't his heart that was going a mile a minute—it was Naoki's.

Soon, Naoki dipped his head into Nagisa's neck, and Nagisa could feel the spot become wet before long, even amid all the blood. He held tighter.

It could've been a few minutes or an hour, Nagisa wasn't sure, but eventually he whispered in his son's ear again, "Let's clean ourselves up."

After a few seconds with no response, he felt Naoki nod against his shoulder, and he slowly raised to his feet, cradling the boy in his arms. He walked soundlessly still, until they were in the bathroom, where he did everything mechanically—placing Naoki on the counter, filling up the tub and making sure the water's temperature was just right, undressing himself, undressing his son, throwing their red-stained clothes to form a pile farthest from sight, and carefully lowering himself and his son into the warm water. Faintly, he noted that he'd perhaps made it too hot, but Naoki didn't protest. Could he?

He's broken. I've broken him.

Nagisa hurriedly tried to shake the horrid thought from his mind. It didn't work.

He's seen death. It's been on him. He's seen me take a life. I'm a monster to him. He's going to turn out all messed up because I...

He felt weak, powerless, wrapping his arms around Naoki from where he sat behind the boy, burying his face into that black hair and letting his tears fall into it. His sobs were the only sounds heard in the room, echoing off the walls, a constant reminder of how he'd failed at being a good father.

Naoki, after a minute of Nagisa's weeping, suddenly moved—finally. It was just a slight shift in the water, but Nagisa clung to it desperately, and was elated when the boy actually spoke.

"Papa... m'sticky..."

His voice was extremely quiet, but it sounded loud in the small, resonant room. Nagisa quickly began scrubbing at his son, washing water over him and utilizing the two wash rags and soap bars sitting on the bath's rim. Within minutes, the water slowly turned a rusty color. Nagisa's tears never stopped flowing, though he urged them to stop so he could focus on cleaning off Naoki.

It never crossed his mind to wash his son's hair—not in this newly tainted water—but there was some blood spotted in the boy's bangs as well, so Nagisa had to wet them at least a little. Once he turned Naoki around so he could clean his face, he noticed that the child, while still pale and distant, didn't appear as traumatized as he once had. A small spark of relief shot within him, but not enough to overpower his incredible guilt and anxiety.

"Papa..." Naoki mumbled out again, and Nagisa realized that the boy's face had been clean long ago. Now, all he was doing was lightly tracing and caressing it with his fingers, mindlessly. "...You're messy..."

Faintly, Nagisa also noticed that Naoki was right; he hadn't washed himself off yet, and his neck, face, and arms were probably bloody in places. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to let go of his son.

Naoki, when he figured out that Nagisa wouldn't clean himself, picked up the rag and wiped his father clumsily. He cleaned off most of the blood, and when he got to Nagisa's face, tried to wipe the tears that were still relentlessly flowing. The fruitless action only made Nagisa cry harder; when he saw the tears beginning to crawl down Naoki's cheeks, he cried harder still.

"...Naoki... Stop, honey..." He reached out to encompass the small form, taking the rag from him and letting it float in the ruddy water. Naoki again buried his face in Nagisa's neck and began to shake.

While he felt completely hopeless—lost in despair, not seeing any light up ahead—there was a small voice in the back of his mind that told him it was going to be okay. Naoki was crying, which meant that he was feeling; Nagisa hadn't broken him. Naoki was holding him; he didn't see Nagisa as a monster. Naoki had called him 'Papa'; Nagisa was still a father.

His tears finally stopped, though he supposed Naoki was crying for him now.

They sat there pitifully in the water for a half-hour longer, the water cooling around them. Then, Nagisa heard a shout from further in the apartment.

"Fucking hell! What the fuck is this?!"

He almost laughed. Karma's voice grounded him, though, and he was already looking at the door as it opened to his lover's wild expression.

"N-Nagisa..." Karma choked, unable to speak as he took in the bloody water, the pile of clothes in the corner, his son with his head in Nagisa's shoulder. Seeing as his husband was speechless, Nagisa trusted himself to speak without breaking down.

"Could you get rid of the body—just, away from sight, from..."

His voice was cracked, but he thought he did a good job considering the situation. What he couldn't say out loud, he tried to convey with his eyes—wide, fearful, sad eyes. Karma seemed to understand what had happened immediately, sending a worried glance Naoki's way before exiting to fulfill Nagisa's request.

In the time Karma was gone, Nagisa felt Naoki stop shaking. He hoped the boy was sleeping—anything to keep him from this sorry reality—but didn't check to see. At this point, he wasn't confident that he could move from his position. He was too fixed in it and felt that if he or Naoki stirred, everything would shatter apart.

Karma returned after twenty minutes, and sighed when he found his husband and son in the same pose from before, statues. At least, Nagisa looked up to him when he sank to the edge of the tub; the downcast assassin observed that Karma had changed his clothes from before.

"It's going to be okay."

Nagisa knew that one was directed at him; Karma reached his hand out to caress his cheek as he spoke. Karma's hand on his skin was the warmest sensation he'd felt since he awakened, he thought—even warmer than the water had been. When Karma continued to speak, he lowered his eyes to their hiding son, also lowering his hand to rest on Naoki's back.

"Naoki, Nagisa protected you. We will always protect you from any harm. Remember that. You're safe here."

Naoki peeked out from Nagisa's neck—surprising to both men—and blinked at Karma. Hoping it meant something good, Karma leaned down to kiss them both. Once those lips pressed lightly to his cheek, Nagisa felt the hope, as if it transferred to him through their skin.

Jon Moschella's son had been Nagisa's target on that mission months ago, and revenge was what led him to stalking their home for months before breaking and entering, planning to kill Nagisa's own son, and then kill Nagisa. That was what an informant working under Nagisa's boss had told them; the man had been part of a team searching for Moschella, though the team had only discovered this information after Nagisa had already killed the man.

Yes, Nagisa did feel guilt concerning his job, when he thought about his targets—they usually had families and friends of their own who would be devastated once their loved one was discovered assassinated. This guilt only grew when Nagisa gained a family of his own; he now understood how such loss would feel.

But it was a fact of life, and one that he could always refrain from thinking about when he was actively on the job.

He felt no sorrow for Jon Moschella, not after the trauma Naoki suffered. According to the informant, Moschella had been staking out their apartment and attempting to enter for at least two months, meaning that Naoki's 'nightmares' may as well have been reality. Moschella only succeeded that night due to his sheer determination; the man had waited too long, and was going to lose it if he couldn't carry out his plan soon. He'd seemed to be rather unstable and uncertain about taking a life; whether or not he would've followed through if Nagisa hadn't acted in time, the fathers didn't want to think about.

The window understandably had to be replaced, as the glass had been broken in places so Moschella could reach in to unlock his entrance. Nagisa's company assured that they would pay for it, as well as take care of the disposal of Moschella's body. Karma had called them right away, assuming it would be so—his first thought had been that the man had obviously been out for Nagisa because of his career.

Naoki didn't go to kindergarten the next day, predictably, and for the following week. Some of Nagisa and Karma's old 3-E classmates were informed of the situation, but none visited to comfort the boy. It would've been too much. Rather, the first thought in the couple's minds had immediately been to look for a therapist—someone that could surely help. But, it had to be someone familiar with this sort of risky situation.

After a considerable amount of thought—mostly carried out by Karma, as Nagisa was still rather wobbly and focused most of his energy on coddling Naoki—they decided to ask Nagisa's coworkers if anyone knew of someone who could help with their situation. Luckily, a fellow assassin who Nagisa could say he trusted responded, referring them to his sister who was a children's therapist and knew of their line of work. With the knowledge that she would keep everything confidential, Nagisa and Karma invited her over to meet Naoki.

The five-year-old had stayed closed off and downcast since the incident, barely saying anything, which was extremely worrying. He never rejected his parents' embraces, at least, and sometimes still sought them out. He'd also reverted back to sleeping with Nagisa and Karma instead of in his own room, with which the couple automatically complied.

When the therapist came, introducing herself as Saki, Naoki didn't shy away, but didn't make an effort either. Nagisa stayed close to him at all times during the sessions, though by the end of the week—Saki had visited each day, getting Naoki to open up more and more—Saki assured them that Naoki needed no more help. Sure enough, the boy came to Nagisa on the last day after Saki had left, tentatively approaching him after dinner.

"Papa..."

Though he spoke to Saki about the incident—he understood that he needed to, in her case—he still hadn't talked much to either of his parents, upsetting them immensely. When the boy drew near him now, though, Nagisa felt a large weight lift of his shoulders.

"What is it, sweetie...?" He asked gently, kneeling down to reach Naoki's height. The boy looked to him with watery eyes.

"I... I... Thank you for saving me. I l-love you, Papa."

It was simple—simpler than Nagisa had imagined—but still managed to make his throat clench. Inhaling deeply, he wrapped his arms around his son, pressing his lips to his ear.

"Oh, Naoki... I love you too. Thank you so much for telling me this. I've been so afraid, t-that you'd think I was... I was a monster, a killer. I'm s-so sorry you had to see that... Please forgive me, sweetie..." A few tears squeezed out of his eyes, and Nagisa shut them tightly. He felt Naoki's small hands reach up to grip his shirt.

"...I-I forgive you, Papa. You had to do it, p-protecting me... P-Papa... You're not th-the monster..."

Nagisa noticed his son beginning to shake and leaned back slightly to press their foreheads together, stroking Naoki's hair comfortingly.

"P-Papa... Th-That man... It was s-so scary...!" The child could barely get it out before he began wailing, fat tears trailing down his cheeks, and Nagisa hugged him tightly, rocking them slightly.

"It's over now, Naoki. He's not going to get you, and you'll never see him ever again. I promise, we'll always protect you... Always..."

Though Naoki was crying loudly, Nagisa was elated. The boy was finally getting his feelings out; hopefully, he'd be back to his normal self soon. Learning that your father is an assassin would definitely be a shock to any child, but Nagisa was now more optimistic that Naoki would be okay. Karma had noted that, perhaps, it would make him stronger; that would be ideal.

That night, Naoki fell asleep in his parents' bed long before either father retired for sleep—a change from the past week. Nagisa smiled as he and Karma settled down, still opting to keep Naoki's slumbering form between them. He noticed that the boy's left hand was halfway in his mouth as he slept, and carefully removed it, placing it under the covers.

They still hadn't urged Naoki to think about going back to kindergarten, but soon they knew the boy would have to. They'd informed Naoki's teacher that he'd witnessed a death and was shocked—no more, no less than that—and Ishiyo-sensei had kindly offered him as much time as he needed. Even so, the couple didn't want Naoki to miss too much school; Tetsuya was likely worried about him, though his mother hadn't called.

Meeting Karma's eyes from across their son, Nagisa turned onto his side. Sensing that both of them would take a while to fall asleep, Karma whispered to him with glinting eyes.

"I really wanted to kill that guy myself, you know... I'm glad you did, though."

"Karma..." Nagisa hushed back, almost exasperated. After all that had happened, Karma still had the nerve to say such things.

Thankfully, Karma's expression turned slightly more serious. "You did the right thing, Nagisa. From a father's standpoint—I just... I feel the need to thank you for saving our son's life. If you weren't at the ready... I don't want to imagine what could've happened. Thank you."

Now, Nagisa's cheeks grew slightly pink. "I... Karma..."

"And from a husband's standpoint..." Karma's mouth fluidly slid into a smirk as he reached out his hand to stroke Nagisa's cheek. "I love how you can protect this household. It's sort of sexy—"

"Karma!" Nagisa whispered scathingly, wishing he could chuck a pillow at the man across from him. Instead, mindful of Naoki's sleep, he settled for tightly grasping the hand on his face, squeezing its fingers. Karma's smirk only widened.

"Okay, I'll be more serious. Honestly, though, I... couldn't be prouder of you. You're a magnificent father, Nagisa. I know it's hard for you to think that right now—but it's true. And Naoki adores you, even if he did see you kill someone. You've done so much for him. Just—trust me on this, okay?"

Karma said it so bluntly, Nagisa almost flinched. Even so, he felt himself getting emotional, and nodded, now gently holding the hand close to his face. "...Yeah."

"And—I guarantee that when Naoki grows up more, he's going to think you're so fucking cool. An assassin as a dad—the way you killed to protect him—he'll think you're the most badass parent ever! Trust me." Karma's cheeky grin only made Nagisa want to bury his face into the pillow.

While he was still a little hesitant, he nodded again. "...If you say so." He noticed Naoki shift in his sleep slightly, and let go of Karma's hand, remembering that they should lower their voices more.

"Oh, and..." Karma continued brazenly whispering as he pulled his hand back. "...We haven't had sex in ages. Set a date with me sometime, will you?"

Nagisa felt blood rush up to his ears, and ducked his head down to hide it. Hearing Karma's chuckle, he realized his efforts were futile. "W-Well... When Naoki goes back to kindergarten, you can try and get off work... And then we'll see." He hurriedly finished, turning his back to his husband. Truthfully, though, he was feeling pent up by now. Maybe he did need some sort of way to relieve all his stress, all these anxieties...

When Karma didn't reply, presumably settling down to fall asleep, Nagisa couldn't help but mumble out, "I love you..."

"...I love you too."

There was no teasing tone in Karma's voice this time—only earnestness, sincerity, and it warmed Nagisa's heart.

On a mild Friday afternoon, Naoki set down his small pack and turned to face his father, nervous but excited. In the corner of his eye he could see Tetsuya waiting for him, and his heart beat fast, even as Karma knelt down and held his shoulders.

It'd taken him a very long time to build up this courage and to get back to himself, but now the day had finally come. In just a few more months, he would be in elementary school; the world wasn't going to wait for him forever. The boy knew he had to push himself, even if it was scary.

"You have everything? Ready for us to go?" Karma questioned softly. Nagisa's voice in the background, conversing with Tetsuya's mom still, also calmed his nerves.

"Y-Yeah!"

Doubts still ran through his mind. How could his fathers protect him if they were miles away? What if something happened?

Karma smiled, assuring. "Good. We're a phone call away, and we can come get you any time. If, at any moment, you want to come home, just tell Maeda-san and she'll let us know. I promise."

Naoki pouted, though truthfully he felt much safer already at Karma's promise. "M'not a baby, I said! I'll be fine!"

It was almost shocking to Karma, who'd already heard more than enough of "Don't leave, Daddy!" in his lifetime. Pride filled his chest, and he ruffled his son's nest of hair. It was tangled; they'd have to get it cut soon, he silently noted.

"Alright, alright. Love you. Goodbye until tomorrow." Karma kissed Naoki's forehead before straightening back up, just as Nagisa approached to face their slightly embarrassed son.

Instead of saying anything, Nagisa simply gave him a look—a knowing look, with his head slightly tilted, asking for reaffirmation. Naoki understood what he meant; they'd discussed it before they left their house.

No telling anyone about Papa's real job.

Naoki nodded strongly, a fierce resolve in his eyes, and Nagisa smiled before bending down for a goodbye kiss. As he leaned back up, whispers left his lips.

"We're still here if you need anything. Tetsuya will protect you too. I love you, sweetie."

An embarrassed blush tinting his cheeks, Naoki mumbled back, "Love you too..."

And that was that. The adults bid their goodbyes, and his parents were gone. He turned to face Tetsuya again, and though his nervousness had returned, the five-year-old also felt more determined than he ever had before.