Technically, Tetsu had never asked Daiki if he could live with them. Rather, he'd stumbled downstairs one morning and there the boy was, chatting with Satsuki and bullying Kise into submitting to having breakfast cooked over his flames.

He'd introduced himself as their new housekeeper, which was ridiculous because he already had Satsuki to clean up after him but then again, she'd seemed pretty fed up recently. In the end, he'd shrugged it off; she could use the help and Kise wasn't complaining either. If he'd really been dangerous, he wouldn't have made it through the doorway.

And so Tetsu became a permanent presence in the castle.

After the initial reaction of mistrust after finding a strange boy claiming to have "wandered in" during the night, Satsuki had taken to Tetsu immediately. In fact, her daily cheer was enough to grate on Daiki's nerves on some of his worse mornings.

A few weeks after Tetsu started living with them, returning after a night out and seeing her delight in his company anew, a thought struck him. On particularly bad nights, he'd often stay away from the castle, roaming the moors or prowling through the night sky in order to cool off, to keep from accidentally taking his anger out on her. Until then, it had never occurred to him that Satsuki might have been felt lonely those times he was gone, clutching a cup of tea and staying up waiting for him until the creaking and groaning of the castle lulled her to sleep in front of the fireplace.

Stumbling in the next morning, the change was apparent. It looked like she'd actually gotten enough sleep for once, and the smile she greeted him with was the least strained he'd ever seen it. Kise had long since accepted his role in heating their breakfast and kept silent as Tetsu cracked another egg into the frying pan.

Accepting the plate Tetsu wordlessly held out a few minutes later, Daiki had to admit, it was sort of nice, having this to come back to. At any rate, his dark mood disappeared more quickly than usual. He stayed home that night.

And from then on, mornings were met with a gruff gratitude he never quite managed to put into words.

Of course Daiki had noticed the curse. However, he couldn't break it.

"Thought so," Kise sighed, exhaling a few cinders. "Not so powerful after all, huh?" He perked up, grinning.

"Don't make me cut off your wood supply," Daiki shot back.

Although he hadn't a tongue to stick out, Kise made a remarkable effort to do so anyway, before giving up and replying, "We'd both be in trouble then."

"You can survive off one log a day, right?" Daiki mused, ignoring him.

"So cruel!"

Daiki smirked, setting his feet up on the edge of the hearth and taking great delight in seeing Kise shrink away, sulking. "Back to Tetsu though, is there anything that can be done?"

"Why are you so interested in helping him out?" Kise asked, settling down.

"I'm not, really," Daiki mumbled. Curiosity was uncharacteristic of him; generosity even more so. He'd been prone to his whims before though, and didn't assign much thought to the matter. "I just felt like I might as well do something for him in return for always spending time with Satsuki."

Kise hummed. "Well, even I feel like helping him out. I've been feeling a bit more lively since he came here," he chirped, spitting sparks in his excitement.

Drawing his feet back, Daiki snapped, "Watch it!" Readjusting his position so as to put his trousers out of harm's way, he continued, "It's a curse to be overlooked, right?"

"Mm-hm. He's completely unnoticeable to others. In other words, a gray existence."

"Although we don't have any trouble seeing him," Daiki pointed out. "Us aside, if Satsuki can pay him some attention, it can't be too strong."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Kise countered. "He's a lot stronger than he seems. It's just that, whether he knows it or not, he accepts us. Rather, he expects us to see him. So we do."

Daiki sighed and ran a hand through his hair, leaving the ends sticking up in disarray. "Then what's the problem?" he demanded.

"It's himself he has a hard time accepting. Can you do anything about that?"

He hated to admit shortcomings on his part and so settled for a sulky, "I don't know."

The fire demon only rolled his eyes.

"Don't go." Satsuki sounded on the verge of tears. "Tetsu-kun, please don't leave us."

"Momoi-san," Tetsu murmured but the words died halfway out of his lips, fading into a murmur.

"He wasn't hiding it on purpose." There she went, lying for him again. "We weren't planning on not telling you."

"I know," Tetsu said, "I understand."

"You do, don't you? It's just a curse. Dai-chan—"

"Momoi-san," he interrupted. "It's okay. You don't have to explain for him." She attempted a protest but he shushed her gently as her grip on his hand tightened. "I'll hear about it when he's ready."

"Tetsu-kun…"

"I won't go anywhere."

Unseen, Daiki shrunk back into the shadows, retreating down the hall and away from the soft sound of Satsuki's relieved sobbing.

Modesty had never been one of Daiki's qualities but considering all the other changes Tetsu seemed to bring about in him, he decided he shouldn't be so surprised. "It's nothing much," he mumbled, refusing to make eye contact, "But I thought you might like it."

"It's beautiful," Tetsu said, drinking in the scenery.

Flowers surrounded them on all sides, swaying lazily in the breeze. The sun warmed the back of Daiki's neck, causing an uncomfortable flush to creep up his skin. "So you like it?" he asked, perfect in his nonchalance.

"I do."

The sincerity was sufficient enough to startle him into meeting Tetsu's eyes, crinkled in a small smile directed solely at him. Stomach twisting oddly, Daiki wondered if this would be the chance he'd been waiting for. There was only one way to find out and his impulsiveness was one thing that Tetsu would never be able to change. He leant down, holding the gaze and said bluntly, "That's good. You deserve it."

"And what have I done to deserve this?"

Daiki pretended to think. "I'm not actually sure. Just being yourself, I guess?"

Tetsu blinked, obviously startled, but otherwise neutral. It was barely sensible to him, the lines of the curse wavering in their careful hold around the boy. One last push.

"You're amazing."

Almost as soon as he'd said it, Tetsu's guard sprung up between them, the curse snapping back into place with a vengeance.

"Hardly," he said. "After all, there's only so much a person can do with no presence."

Daiki almost swore, but bit his tongue, and tried to salvage the conversation instead. "Tetsu."

"If you'll excuse me," he interrupted. "Thank you for showing me this place but I think I'll be heading back first."

Watching Tetsu speed back toward the castle, Daiki finally let loose a curse. "Damn that witch."

"Amazing," Daiki whispered, "You're amazing, Tetsu." The boy squirmed as Daiki's breath tickled his ear but seemed content with their proximity.

"If it helped you get your heart back," he murmured in response, one palm pressed firmly against Daiki's chest, up against his – gloriously thumping, so heavy, precious – heartbeat, "I supposed being unnoticeable isn't so bad."

"Like hell," Daiki said. "Like hell. There's no way you're unnoticeable. I'm always looking at you, whether I want to or not. You," he paused and huffed a sigh, already grimacing at his next words. "You light up a room." He couldn't think of any other way to put it.

He could feel the heat radiating from Tetsu's cheeks and briefly considered pulling back to get a glimpse of his expression but Tetsu held him close, absolutely refusing. Letting out a small, breathy chuckle, he said, "Can we say I have a low presence then?"

Daiki hummed, well aware of the delightful spike in pulse that last laugh had elicited from him. "You have a knack of invisibility," he said, "One that'd be pretty useful if you ever felt like training it."

"Oh? Do you think Momoi would tutor me a bit then?"

"You asshole," Daiki growled playfully, pinching whatever skin he could find on Tetsu's waist. "I'm the one offering now."

"Really? Because I was hoping that you'd offer another kiss—"

He quickly pressed his lips against Tetsu's, pulled back and repeated the chaste kiss. Tetsu returned it threefold, before pulling back and pressing their foreheads together.

"I love you," he whispered, "I think we should live happily ever after."

Daiki laughed, feeling, for once, completely satisfied with the world at large. "Sure," he said. Falling in love was as good a use for heart as any.