Yato moored his tiny beat-up motorboat and cut off the sputtering engine. He stepped carefully from the boat onto the floating diner's much more stable deck and stretched his back painfully. He'd spent all week cleaning up the stage for the Crab Festival tomorrow night and he was finally done, meaning he could take the afternoon off with his son.

In the time between uses, a lot of things could happen to a floating stage and generally, they did. After his lunch break, he was going to do a final check of everything to make sure that the repairs were up to par (and regulation). All the work would be worth it, though. The Crab Festival was always the best night of the season, and this year it would be even better.

Yukine stepped off the boat behind him and stretched in a similar painful manner.

"That was hell," he muttered.

"Let's just get some food," Yato said, not disagreeing.

When Yato looked over his shoulder at his son he saw a smudge of brown wood polish on his cheek. He licked his thumb and reached out to wipe it off, but Yukine swatted his hand away. The two of them walked together along the narrow deck outside the diner and Yato lit up when he saw who was sitting at one of three bamboo tables inside, looking out the window at the rest of Crab Island.

"Hiyori!" Yato greeted, making a beeline for her table. Yukine rolled his eyes and followed Yato, taking a seat at her table, uninvited.

He glanced out the window and saw that, as usual, her family's medic boat was clearly visible from here. It was one of the largest and nicest boats on the sandbar and thus was anchored further out to avoid running aground.

"Oh, hey you guys, done cleaning the stage yet?" She asked, looking at their dirty clothes and the smudge Yukine hadn't let Yato wipe away.

"You know it!" Yato said brightly, exhaustion from earlier mysteriously gone. "After all, who else are they going to trust with making sure the most important day of the season goes off without a hitch?" Hiyori chuckled at his bravado.

"You mean who else are they going to rope into doing it because everyone else has standards?" Yukine asked. Yato glared at him as Hiyori laughed.

"That's a shame, my parents gave me the rest of today and tomorrow off, I was hoping I could tag along and help you finish it up."

Yato perked up cartoonishly, his face spreading into a grin. "We are actually going to do a final check, then we're going to take the afternoon off! You're welcome to come! You could see the stage before anyone else."

"I would love too!"

Hiyori and Yato exchanged a disgustingly besotted smile and Yukine found himself wishing the two of them were each 50% less idiotic.

"How are things at your family's boat? They must have gotten ready early to be letting you off the day before the festival," Yukine said, cutting through the romance in the air that was threatening to smother him.

"We are! They placed the order early and told me I could have the night off. Mom keeps mentioning me 'finding a husband.'" Hiyori rolled her eyes so hard that she missed the way Yato caught his breath.

Yukine saw Yato's entire body swell up like a balloon and he prepared for something very embarrassing to happen.

"Why don't you go with me?" Yato asked, speaking so fast that it took Hiyori's brain three full seconds to separate the words and realize what he had said.

"That would be great!" She said, in a tone that made both Yukine and Yato question if she realized she'd just been asked on a date. "I'd love to hang out with you and Yukine!"

There it was. No one who thought they were being asked on a date expected the kid to be there too. To his credit, Yato only deflated a little bit.

"Here you guys go," Kofuku said, appearing at their table and setting three meals on bamboo plates without them having ordered. "The usual for my favorite regulars!"

"I bet you say that to all the regulars," Hiyori joked.

"Nope, just the three of you, the cutest little family on this side of the gulf," Kofuku trilled.

Hiyori chuckled and shook her head, digging into her burger and fries.

"Well what about you, Kofuku?" She asked, "ho go your preparations for the Crab Festival?"

"Dai's been out all week catching some more stock, and Yatty helped us unload and store the rest of the new meat. We're all ready to go, I hung up the last of the decorations this morning."

"I noticed, they're very cute!" Yato swelled with pride as he looked from Hiyori to the crab garland that'd he'd made himself, just for Kofuku's diner.

"Yatty made most of them for us! He's so sweet!"

"He is!" Hiyori agreed, sending Yato's soul into the fifth dimension, it seemed to Yukine.

"But what about you?" Kofuku asked. "Any big plans for the festival?"

"Yato, Yukine, and I are going together," Hiyori said. Those words were enough to snap Yato out of his red-faced embarrassment enough to join the other two in physically bracing themselves for Kofuku's inevitable reaction to the news.

Kofuku squealed and threw herself at the three of them, nearly turning over their table, and squeezed them all very tightly. After several airless moments, she released her stranglehold on the three of them and they all took in large gulps of air when she left to take an order at the Swim-up window.

Yukine's eyes drifted from the walk-up windows to the plastic picnic tables set out in the water where several people were sitting and enjoying their meals under beach umbrellas. Most tourists preferred the experience of eating at a table sitting in the ocean, leaving the three bamboo tables inside for the regulars, aka fellow Crab Island workers.

There were any number of Crab Island workers, from the people who ran the float rental stand, to the floating bar, to the bouncy castle attendants, to the roving vendors selling everything from ice cream to boiled peanuts to fresh tropical produce. At least once a week Yato bought a coconut for himself and Yukine to share.

Then there were Yato and Yukine, the sand bar handymen, called upon to fix what was broken and rescue Crab Island Taxi's and personal pleasure vessels that found themselves in need of a little floating help.

It was steady work, for the tourist season at least, which was officially ending tomorrow, when the Crab Festival would take place to finish out the season with a bang and bring in one last night of stellar sales to the vendors before they returned to their offseason hustles. Several local bands came and played the event, the floating bar sold completely out of liquor, and Yato and Yukine got a full twelve hours wages rounding up all the glass bottles that drunken litterers dropped in the water and sank to the ground. Yato cleaned them up and sold them whole or used the broken pieces to make sea glass to sell.

"Yukine, you need to eat, we just got a text from one of the Crab Island Taxi's and they need a quick repair after we do our final check-up on the stage." Yukine's attention snapped back to the other two, then to his chicken fingers.

"Ugh, so much for an afternoon off. Which one is it?"

"Take." Yukine groaned loudly and dramatically. "I know, but money is money, kid," Yukine grumbled a bit, then nodded, tearing into his chicken fingers with an anger that was certainly not directed at the poor dearly departed deep-fried poultry.

"Will I be the first person that isn't the two of you to see the finished stage?" Hiyori asked. Yato nodded. "Don't I feel special."

"You are special."

"Yukine managed to disguise his sound of deep disgust as having brazenly bitten into a much too hot chicken finger, full of teenage hubris. Yukine pointedly looked anywhere but at Hiyori because he didn't think that he could tolerate whatever disgusting look she was giving Yato right now. Instead, he focused on his curly fries, carefully picking out the longest and curliest of all of them to be his top choice.

Thankfully the three of them got through the rest of their lunch without Yato and Hiyori saying anything else more mortifying and embarrassing to watch than a badly written romcom.

Once they were finished they left the money on the table and walked together to Yato and Yukine's tiny little boat with its puttering engine and Yato helped Hiyori on board. Yukine managed to suppress his grimace as he stepped into the boat on his own.

They sailed around the outskirts of the sandbar so they didn't have to navigate around quite so many tourists to the southside of the sandbar where the stage was located.

"Well, it certainly looks nice from a distance," Hiyori commented.

"Wait till you see it up close!" Yato bragged.

"We spent forever polishing, like, every surface," Yukine groaned.

"I can tell," Hiyori said, indicating the polish smudged that was still living on his face.

Yukine stuck his tongue out at her. She reciprocated the gesture and Yato chuckled, glad to see his two favorite people getting along. He grinned, turning to the control panel and flipping on the lights, finally revealing the fruits of their labor.

"Oh wow," Hiyori said, spinning on the spot and taking in her surroundings. "It looks practically new!"

Even Yukine couldn't help but swell with pride.

"We've been working non-stop for two weeks!" Yato declared. "And it's finally done!"

Hiyori looked from the polished floors to the sturdy rigging.

"I'm really impressed you two, you've done a great job!" The two grinned at each other, glad to have brought Hiyori to rain praise down on them after the weeks of hard work. They deserved the attention, after all.

Yato proceeded to give Hiyori a tour, killing two birds with one stone since he needed to walk through the entire place for his final inspection anyway. As they finished the tour Yato's phone rang and the three of them stopped while Yato answered it.

"Yato's Crab Island Handy Services, how can I help you? Take, yes, I do remember telling you that I would be there after I was done with the stage, but I'm not done with the stage so I don't know why you're talking to me in that tone of voice." Hiyori repressed a giggle while Yukine grinned. He loved seeing Take put in his place.

"Take is a real asshole," he whispered to Hiyori.

"Right, of course, I'll be there later. Later, Take." Yato hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"So who is this Take that the two of you dislike so much?" Hiyori asked as they walked toward their tiny boat.

"He runs the Sea Dragon, one of the Crab Island tours. He's an asshole."

"Yukine said as much. I've never met any of the Sea Dragon crew before."

"Well you're about to," Yukine said, clambering into the boat.

"And here you thought you were gonna have a fun time with us today," Yato said tiredly.

"He can't possibly be that bad."

"Oi! Yato! What took you so long?"

"I told you that we were busy," Yato snapped right back, tying his vessel off to the much larger pontoon boat.

"And who is this? Did you bring a date?"

"This," Yato said, extending a hand for Hiyori to steady herself on as she climbed onto Take's boat, "Is Iki Hiyori, medical student and daughter of the owners of the first aid boat. Be nice to her or her parents may just decide to let your smart ass die in the water."

Hiyori felt that backing Yato's play was the move here, so she gave Take a venomous smile as she stepped into the shade of the canopy. Take looked slightly intimidated, as one did when they realized they may have pissed off someone who could potentially one day hold his life in her hands.

"Oh, um, Miss Iki, it's an honor to meet you," He said nervously, inclining his head politely. Hiyori returned the gesture.

"Miss Iki?" Yukine repeated quietly. Yato was caught between equal parts glee and confusion at Take's sudden shift in tone.

"So what seems to be the problem?" She asked professionally, Take blinked in confusion. "You have something that needs fixing, right? You called a handyman."

"Oh, right, well my propeller hit something in the water and broke, it jammed my engine. I have a spare propeller, but I need the engine repaired before my tour is over so I can take my guests home and bring the next group of reservations."

"Now we take a look?" Hiyori asked, turning to Yato.

"Now we take a look," he confirmed.

Hiyori stood back enough to be out of the way but close enough to watch what was going on while Take had some kind of whispered argument with his first mate. Yato groaned as soon as he opened the shell of the engine.

"What? What's that sound? What's wrong?" Take asked, crowding forward, his first mate at his shoulder.

"How long do you have until you have to take customers back?"

"An hour and a half," the first mate said. Yato shook his head.

"Well, then this is bad. You should have called me as soon as it happened. Whatever the propeller hit it hit hard and it fractured something inside your motor. You'll need to replace it to get the boat moving again."

"That does sound bad," the first mate said, scratching his head.

"Normally I can barter with another captain for a spare if they have it, but since you're mister state of the art there's only one other boat in the water that runs this rig and who will have the part you need." Yato stood and faced the two men, crossing his arms.

Take and his first mate exchanged a somber look.

"Not her," the first mate said.

"Yes, her, Kiun. Maybe you should have called her back," Yato said accusingly. Hiyori looked between the three men, Yato looking peeved and Kiun looking guilty, and had the feeling something very entertaining was about to happen.

"Oh come on, be fair, Kiun can barely see three feet in front of him, how was he supposed to see the number she wrote on his hand?"

"He could have mentioned he was blind while she was writing it."

"I was half asleep! She the one who- uh," he glanced at the yellow blob he believed to be Yukine, "Dined and dashed."

"You could try glasses, or contacts," The yellow blob put in, confirming by the sound of his voice that he was Yukine. "You're one of the most popular Tours, are you trying to tell me you can't afford specs?" Kiun wrinkled his nose in the boys direction.

"She's going to want some serious compensation in exchange for helping you. She may not even agree, out of spite. You're her competition and her ex-boyfriend."

"It was one ni- dinner."

"I'm a teenager, not a toddler. Just say that you boned."

Kiun spluttered while Yato looked scandalized that his son would ever use language like that while Hiyori leaned forward to address Kiun.

"I'm sure my parents know a good optometrist, I could get you an appointment."

"Yes!" Take, Yato, and Yukine said together.

"I see just fine!"

"Kiun you're fired if you don't do it," Take said tiredly. "Your poor eyesight is officially endangering my business. I'll pay for the fucking glasses and you're going to fucking wear them."

Yato ducked around the two of them and guided Hiyori back to the boat.

"I'll just tell her you'll pay whatever she asks, you can afford it right, moneybags?" He didn't wait for Take's response before turning on his engine and, well not speeding away, but away they went.

"To the SearchingEngine, a vessel owned by a friend of mine, Kiki," Yato told her. Something stirred in the back of Hiyori's mind, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"And she… had a one night stand with- Kiun was it?"

"Yeah, they flirted for a while before they finally did the do and he never called her. It wouldn't have been so bad, but the next time they ran into each other he didn't recognize her, on account of being blind. I've tried explaining that he's got the sight of a bat but it's too late now."

"Do you think she'll help him?"

"She was pretty mad," Yukine put in.

"I can be pretty persuasive."

"She likes Yato."

That thing in Hiyori's mind stirred again. She shoved it away more forcefully this time.

"Everyone likes me."

"Except, it would seem, Take."

"Who, him?" Yato asked. "Take likes me, he just doesn't like to admit when he likes people. Kiun's been trying to get him to be nicer to people.

"You seemed like you didn't like him."

"I'll like him when Kiun succeeds in getting him to be nicer to people."

Hiyori filed this information away as they pulled up to Yato's friend's boat, and she recognized the ugly feeling that she'd been pushing away when the very pretty girl kissed Yato on the cheek in greeting.

Oh. She thought.

She pushed the ugly feeling away again as the girl embraced her warmly.

"Any friend of Yato's is a friend of mine! What brings you three over? I need to leave soon, you know."

"I know," Yato said, wearing a wary smile. "I need something."

"Anything."

"For a client."

"Who?"

"Him."

"No."

"Come on Kiki, not even for me?"

"You know what he did?"

"Skip his optometrist appointment? Come on, Kiki, I'm not saying you have to give him another chance, just lend him a part, if you have it. Not even him, his boss."

"They're the same person!"

"Hardly," Yukine scoffed, "at least Take has eyes."

"Please Kiki, I was trying to give my kid a day off, his break from school is ending soon, and all he does is work work work for his dear old dad, he's such a good kid you know," Hiyori looked from where Yato was draping himself over Kiki to where Yukine was rolling his eyes.

Kiki sighed heavily. "Fine, but you make sure that asshole knows that I'm doing this for Yukine because I love him, not because of him."

"I will put it in song form and serenade him with it."

"Good."

Yato told her the part they needed and she got it for him, looking like she was already regretting the decision. They boated across the island and arrived just as the first of Take's customers were returning to the boat for the ride home.

"It's about time," Take hissed.

"Well, it took some convincing," Yato hissed back.

"It'll take about thirty minutes."

"I need to be gone in fifteen!"

"It. Will. Take. Thirty. Minutes." Yato enunciated clearly, poking Take in the chest with every word.

Hiyori raised her eyebrows, never having seen this side of Yato before, and watched as Take threw up his arms and once again turned to his first mate.

The Next Day

"Hiyori, dive!" Yato shouted.

Hiyori dove, hands folded together and arms outstretched, trying to catch the beach ball before it his the water. She failed spectacularly, the ball hit the water a foot from her outstretched hands and she ate ocean, knees hitting the sand hard. Yato and Yukine both doubled over with laughter as Hiyori got to her feet, spitting out seawater.

Fueled by spite, she stood and spiked the ball as hard as she could in Yato's direction, smacking him hard in the face.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" She cried as Yato fell back into the water, creating a magnificent splash. Yukine screamed with laughter, face going red as Yato sat neck-deep in the water, looking dumbstruck.

"I meant to hit the water in front of you to splash you! I'm so sorry!"

There were three long seconds of silence where Yato blinked at her, then he too burst into laughter.

"Damn, Hiyori, you had me convinced you were a savage!" He laughed, accepting her hand and climbing to his feet.

When he stood the two of them were practically nose to nose, hands still linked, very little of the warm summer breeze passing between them. It seemed that neither of them were breathing. Hiyori felt Yato inch closer for just a second before a jet ski zoomed past and drenched to two of them with water.

"Hey! It's a no-wake zone, asshole! There are kids here!" Yukine, one of the kids, called after him. Security zoomed past them, in pursuit of the man, soaking the three of them again. As they passed by Bishamon stuck her tongue out at Yato and Kazuma gave him an apologetic smile.

"Well, that was certainly something," Hiyori laughed, "is it always this much fun with you two?"

"Oh, sometimes it's even more fun! Sometimes I have to go back and forth between five different people trading stuff just to finish one job."

"Sounds exciting!"

"It's exhausting," Yukine said.

"Why don't we dry off a bit?" Yato asked, shaking out his hair deliberately so that it splattered on both Yukine and Hiyori.

"We could get ice cream!" Yukine suggested, already flagging down the roving ice cream salesmen without waiting for an answer.

"We could eat it at Kofuku's tables," Hiyori suggested.

"Hey! Suzuha!" Yukine jumped up and down, waving to catch the attention of the ice-cream boy, and Hiyori realized now that he was that, a boy, appearing to be Yukine's age. He turned his little speedboat around when he saw Yukine and pulled up to them.

"Hey, Yukine, what can I get for you?" He asked, flashing a winning smile.

Yato started prodding Hiyori with his elbow, gleefully raising his eyebrows and indicating the two talking boys.

"Hey, Suzuha!" Hiyori noticed the shy hint to Yukine's smile and the slight pink on his cheeks that wasn't from the sun.

"Who is he?" Hiyori whispered.

"A friend of Yukine's. He goes to their rival school, but they've been getting along pretty well recently." Hiyori nodded in understanding, looking up when Suzuha addressed her.

"An ice cream sandwich."

Suzuha nodded. "And one ice cream shaped like Spongebob for Yato, who is a monster who likes to devour beloved characters."

"His weird misshapen face fuels me."

"That is how food works, yes," Suzuha said. The three of them chuckled and Hiyori paid.

They waded together to the plastic tables and sat down, enjoying their mid-afternoon snack as they watched the pontoon boats with the last tourists of the season come and go. Yato chomped into Spongebob's weird misshapen ice cream head with his teeth like an animal.

As the day went on the crowd got older, drunker, and wilder. Slowly the crowd began migrating towards the stage area and Yato was grinning with pride while the onstage band warmed up as the sun started to set. Yukine was the youngest person insight. A few people cast him sideways glances, wondering who brought their child to an adult party.

"Yukine!" A voice called.

The three of them turned around to see Suzuha approaching on a large float being pulled by the head of security, Bishamon.

"Hey, Suzuha!" Yukine said. Yato's face took on a similar smug expression to before and he stepped back.

"Do you wanna get on and sit with me for the concert?" Suzuha asked.

"We got it after someone spilled their beer on Suzuha," Bishamon said.

"He'd love too, that's a great way to keep them from getting plowed down by drunken idiots," Yato said.

Yukine cast him a suspicious glance before clambering onto the float beside Suzuha. He blushed when he realized how close they would be sitting. Yato exchanged a look with Bishamon and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, my nephew can do much better than your lousy son," she muttered.

"Yukine's a good boy, Bishamon," Hiyori said gently. "Even if his father is sketchy at times." Yato moaned in agony and fell dramatically backward into Kazuma's arms.

"Be less sketchy then," Kazuma said fondly, setting Yato on his feet. Yato looked scandalized but protested no further.

"Shouldn't the two of you be patrolling and being sure no drunken idiot punches another drunken idiot?"

"Viina and I got the night off because we worked the last three festivals in a row," Kazuma said.

"Good you're finally getting to enjoy yourself," Hiyori said.

Bishamon and Kazuma eventually moved to the other side of the big swan to act as a buffer for more drunken idiots so the boys wouldn't be jostled so much, leaving Hiyori and Yato feeling much more alone.

He kept sneaking glances out of the corners of his eyes at her while she bopped and jumped to the music, occasionally singing along.

"I'm really glad you came with us tonight," Yato said. Hiyori turned to look at him and smiled. "Of course, I love spending time with you two."

"We both really like you too," Yato said, the pounding of his heart starting to drown out the throbbing music. Hiyori grinned. Now was the time. He needed to tell her, right now. Before he lost his nerve. Yukine was concerned with his crush and Bishamon and Kazuma were somewhere on the other side of the swan float, out of sight.

Taking a deep breath Yato reached out and captured Hiyori's finger in his before he could chicken out. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise.

"I don't know if you realized but this was supposed to be a date, Yukine thought you didn't know because I invited you to go out with me and my kid, so I just wanted to say that," he said quickly, grateful for the darkness that would be covering up his ever rising blush. His heart hurt when she tilted her head back and laughed.

"Yato, I knew it was a date," she said.

"You did?"

"Of course, we've been flirting for months, didn't you notice?" Yato pursed his lips, feeling his cheeks flush as Yukine laughed from somewhere above his head, apparently having extricated himself from conversation just in time to see Yato fumble the play.

"Are you sure you wanna date an idiot like my dad?" Yukine said. Hiyori cast him a warm look.

"I knew he was an idiot when I said yes, Yukine."

"Hey!" Yato protested, drawing more laughter from his assembled family. "You're all so mean to me!"

"I'm sorry," Hiyori said, linking her arm through his and pulling him closer. "Allow me to make it up to you," she murmured, once again setting Yato's face aflame. He stared at her a long time, taking in her smiling features in the half light before a sudden calm came over him and he realized that he wasn't going to scare her away. Slowly Yato leaned in and kissed Hiyori, pulling her closer as the first band of the night finished and did cannonballs off the stage to thunderous applause.