Awesomeness everywhere!

He was met with big, brown eyes glowing like embers in the sun’s rays.

It made him breathless, somehow feeling a dull thud in his chest despite his flatlined heart.

“Haibara…” It came from his lips like a sigh, the name slipping off his tongue like he needed it to breathe.

A soft ‘wah’ accompanied a gummy smile. “You really grew up!” Haibara cooed, his eyes scanning Nanami’s body, amazed by the width of Kento’s shoulders and the extra centimeters he’d gained in the last few years of adolescence he never got to see. Yu’s laughter filled his ears like fragile popping bubbles as he teased Kento about how weird it was to see him in such an obnoxiously loud shirt and how he always thought that Nanami’s hair would look better parted on the other side, especially with shorter bangs. A comment on how handsome Nanami grew up to be falling on distracted ears.

He hadn’t aged a day, Nanami couldn’t help but notice. Haibara’s dark strands were still as messy and unkempt as they were the last time he’d seen him, every single smile line around his eyes in the exact same place.

“You’re still wearing that old thing?” Kento couldn’t stop himself from interrupting, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He reached to pinch at the black fabric of Haibara’s school uniform.

“I wanted you to recognize me when we finally met again,” Yu smiled teasingly as he watched Nanami rub the cloth between the pads of his fingers.

“Like I could forget,” he whispered, words laced with a fond sort of sadness. He spent every day for the past twelve years thinking about Haibara, treating him like he was the rising sun every single morning.

Nanami’s arm fell limp at his side as he truly took in the boy in front of him. It was so nostalgic that Kento couldn’t completely believe that he did enough good while he was living to earn something so wonderful in the afterlife. His tongue darted against his bottom lip as he searched for the right words to say, the words he’d rehearsed over and over again in his head as he watched Geto drape a light cloth over Haibara’s lifeless body. He wanted to say he was sorry. That he wished they could’ve grown up together. He wanted to tell him that he was angry. How he lived every day wondering if Yu was doomed from the very beginning, how he concluded that he must’ve been because the world was too dirty and rotten for a pure soul like Yu’s to thrive. He wanted to tell him all of that, but the words died on his tongue, the only thing filling his thoughts were the words he never got to say, ‘I love–’.

“Those must be heavy, huh?” Haibara hummed, staring at the brown satchel that hung heavy on Kento’s shoulder.

Ashen brows furrowed as he realized its presence, heaving it into his hands before his expression softened. It was filled to the brim with books that had collected dust on the countless shelves in his apartment, novels he wasted money on with the empty promise that he’d read them once he escaped sorcerer life.

That’s right.

This wasn’t a place where he had to worry anymore. He didn’t need to carry the burden of the curses that used to haunt him.

He’d realized then that he’d seen this place before. In a magazine he picked up out of boredom at the supermarket while he waited for the old woman in front of him to fish out exact change from her coin purse. He bought it because of one single page. A full spread where giant rocks peeked above clear water and a forest full of green blended into the horizon. The perfect retirement spot where he’d build a house and settle down.

“I don’t suppose I have a property here, do I?”

Haibara smiled from ear to ear, his arms spreading in a dramatic display, “Welcome to your front yard!” And there was that bubbly laugh again. It reminded Kento of those sticky summer nights when it was too hot to fall asleep. He glared at the ceiling, his eyes straining in the dark to see… something… anything. He’d tried so desperately to remember Yu’s smile then. The way his eyes creased and his nose scrunched. Years ago he’d already forgotten what Haibara smelled like. It didn’t come to his nose out of the blue anymore, understandably. The nose was weak to memory. A few years after that, on a similar muggy night, he'd realized he'd forgotten the tone of his laugh. The way it'd ring in his ears like bells on Christmas morning. Once he became aware of what he’d lost he tried so desperately to burn his best friend’s smile into every wrinkle of his brain. Now it was right in front of him.

“You can grumble to your subconscious if it’s not to your liking,” Yu teased, nudging his thumb to the house off in the distance behind him.

Nanami wasn’t sure if this was exactly what he had in mind. A one story, open concept with a rust colored roof. He never truly envisioned being here, the thought passing through his mind like deciding what color socks to wear on any given day.

The wood felt nice against the soles of his bare feet as they walked up a short flight of stairs to end up right in the middle of the living room, the walls few but plenty as they were adorned floor to ceiling with packed shelves.

“You weren’t too lonely, were you?” Kento grunted softly as he watched Yu plop onto the couch with the same heft as his bag.

“I had my own paradise, you know? I was actually hoping that you wouldn’t kick the bucket this early, but I guess with our line of work ten years is plenty,” Yu snorted, replying absentmindedly before his eyes widened, wiggling his eyebrows at the taller man when he’d noticed that most of the titles were of the romance genre.

“And you decided to come here?” It came out habitually like all the times he’d scolded Itadori. He took a seat beside him, melting into the sofa. The first time in a long, long time he let himself truly relax.

“It wasn’t really planned. Well, it was.” Haibara hummed thoughtfully, shifting until he found a comfortable position. “I decided I wanted to take a trip, see the world… and I ended up here,” he shrugged, tossing a book onto Kento’s stomach as he cracked one open for himself.

“Coincidentally in my paradise?” Nanami nudged his elbow into Haibara’s side, repeating the term he’d used to describe this realm.

“Coincidentally,” Yu agreed with a chiming laugh. “Now let’s get to reading, there’s even more in the study.” He motioned to some unknown area of the house. “Lucky that all your paychecks didn’t go to waste since all your possessions just follow you, huh?” Nanami snorted at that. He’d long since acknowledged that money was his main drive. His focus so tunneled on making enough money so he could run away from sorcery life that he’d forgotten the end goal. He didn’t realize how much he’d actually spent on books he promised himself to read when he retired, a huff leaving his nose with the realization that this collection contributed to the paychecks that always managed to fall short. Now, he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

He sucked in a deep breath as he listened to the soft creak of the hardcover he was peeling open, his shoulders slumping as he immersed himself into the fantasy on the page. They sat in silence, soft breaths falling into a syncopated rhythm with crisp page turns. The sun set slowly in front of them, casting an orange light against their faces before Haibara heaved himself up out of his comfortable position to flick on a few lights, settling down much closer to Kento when he returned.

When he was alive Nanami never had the time to read as much as he wanted. Truthfully, it was a bit tiring reading for pleasure, especially when he’d been in the same position long enough for the moonlight to seep in, his eyes now straining in a darkness that was a little less lonely. He closed his book quietly, letting his head fall back against the firm cushion as he took in the foreign silence. One where he didn’t have to worry about what he had to do tomorrow or the annoying little low grade curses that would buzz around every so often. He could just… sit and get used to the stillness that came with peace. It was… odd. The closest he’d ever come to this feeling was the restless boredom that came to him on nights where he was too tired to move, but his brain was too active to sleep. It was different this time, though. There was a sense of satisfaction. Like he could sit like this for hours without his pessimism nagging in the back of his mind. He let his eyes flutter closed, accepting the calm air around them, unaware of how he drifted towards Haibara until the particles around him buzzed at the radiating disturbance.

“I didn’t expect the afterlife to be so warm,” Kento finally aired his thoughts, his book abandoned on the cushion beside him as he looked down to where their arms were just a hair’s distance away. Yu’s skin emitted a comfortable heat, his cropped blazer having been hung against the back of the couch long enough for Kento to have just noticed. Nanami turned onto his side, watching Haibara’s round eyes scan the page, the moon illuminating his soft features. He’d realized then that he could be braver than he was when he was a teenager and he couldn’t help himself from reaching out to cup Yu’s face in his hand. Tearing his friend’s attention from the book, he was momentarily uncaring of whether or not Haibara wanted to finish a paragraph before giving him his full attention.

In the reflection of dark, brown eyes came a chuckle that reverberated through his chest. One that he himself hadn’t heard since he was a teenager, it shook his ribs and tickled his throat. His paradise began to click into place. He felt overgrown bangs tickle his jaw, his cheeks growing a little fuller, skin a little less aged as he stared at the spitting image of his high school-self in Yu’s eyes. The uncomfortable school uniform now clinging to his drastically smaller form.

“I missed you.” It was confident, decisive. He leaned in close, resting his forehead against Haibara’s. “Grow up with me,” he breathed out, eyes closing softly as he envisioned his paradise being one where he could make up for lost time starting right when his youth had been taken from him.

He felt Yu’s body jump with gentle chuckles, “I sure would love to see your adult self again.”

It tugged Kento’s lips into a thin smile. “I don’t think paradise would give us enough despairs to accumulate,” He joked, tipping his hat to the motto he followed in the living world, dragging his arm down to loop it around Haibara’s waist, pulling him close so that they were back to chest.

“Considering the fact that you’re seventeen again, I think anything’s possible,” Yu hummed, drifting deeper into Nanami’s chest with a sort of natural intimacy they never had back then. Haibara’s feelings were seemingly mutual. Kento didn’t feel the need to confess anything, not right then at least.

They spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms, their chests rising in sync, even down to the way their shoulders jumped with soft fits of laughter. When Nanami was alive he believed that the world he’d lived in was dull and boring, tedious, but now he was speaking of his experiences like they were funny anecdotes you would find online.

“He actually reminds me a lot of you. So young, excited. Even the way you both say my name. I just about died again before I realized it was you calling for me earlier today. I would’ve smacked him so hard that it would’ve revived him back into the living world if he actually did end up here.” Kento chuckled fondly.

“But he’s got it, right?” For a split second Nanami’s eyes widened, Haibara taking the words straight out of his mind that he had trouble deciphering whether or not it came from his own lips.

Kento nodded his head, swallowing thickly, “He’s got it.”

“Good, that means there won’t be anyone bothering us for a long while. Maybe I could show you my paradise.” Yu turned to him with a blinding smile, smooth fingers tucking Kento’s bangs behind his ears. His heart knocked so loudly he’d almost forgotten how to breathe. It would’ve been nice to know that they were this compatible when they were both alive, the thought creeping into the back of Nanami’s mind before he waved them off in favor of taking advantage of the time they had now. He leaned in, sliding his palm against Yu’s forehead to push his choppy fringe up and out of the way. Ignoring how Yu stilled as he planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

“I didn’t take you for the jealous type,” Kento poked when he pulled away, his thumb running against Haibara’s plump cheek, massaging the muscle that was presumably exceptionally sore with all the smiling he’d done in the last few hours. The brunette tucked himself under Nanami’s chin, nuzzling into his boney chest, his confession coming out as mutually as Kento’s.

“Hey, I went a decade without you. It’s my turn to have you all to myself.”