#bd hc

And Kazuki.

There were instances where they got robbed, or there were attempts made anyway, where Rei's sole working arm was preoccupied, or he found himself in an otherwise vulnerable position.

And yet, no harm had ever come to him, and that was not because of Rei's doing at all.

It was Kazuki.

That man had stored more weapons in the crevices of the diner than Rei had back at their old place, which was an incredible feat to surpass. All weapons were well out of reach and knowledge of Miri (unbeknownst to them, Miri knows all the hiding places) and if Rei were ever in a position to be distracted or incapable of disarming an intruder, he could always count on Kazuki.

The first time happened when Rei was carrying a heavy box and carefully positioning it on his shoulder to heave it on a high shelf. He had heard the intruder, his senses still sharp as ever, but had no time to grab any of the weapons from the kitchen.

But Rei knew, he didn't need to.

The second the intruder whipped out what Rei assumed was a pistol, the same second a gut twisting scream tore from the man's throat and a loud thud followed it.

The would-be robber was sweating (and probably soiling) himself. Kazuki Kurusu stood with one arm filled with groceries and the other holding a loaded gun aimed at the guy's head, a menacing, almost sadistic smile twisting his usually kind features.

Rei smirked and finished heaving up the box on the shelf, very much unbothered by the sight before him. "Ah, did you forget to buy the lemons, again?"

Kazuki's sadistic killer smile vanished and he glanced at Rei with a twitch in his eye. "Did I forget- I'll have you know, Miri wrote down everything we needed! So no, I didn't forget to buy the lemons."

Rei rested his hand on his hip. "Outside?"

Kazuki nodded, gun never once leaving its position aimed at the intruder's head. "Yep, but she can barely wait for dinner so lets wrap this up qui-"

The intruder thought Kazuki was sufficiently distracted to attempt to tackle Rei and at least flee the scene, but as soon as he moved, Kazuki and Rei moved as well.

Rei swiped his feet out and tripped the guy, while Kazuki brutally slammed his foot on top of the guy's head. An audible thud rang through the air when the man's skull made contact with the floor, the cold steel of the gun pressed into his head. "Oi, it's rude to interrupt people while they're talking, dickhead."

Rei was already calling the police, silently lamenting the fact that they couldn't bury him in their backyard. Perhaps his plants would grow faster too that way.

Oh well.

"You didn't buy the lemons." Rei stared blankly at Kazuki while the police escorted the beat up robber outside.

Kazuki's eye twitched again. "MIRI!"

Kazuki let his goatee grow bc he saw how Miri fangirled over Rei growing out his undercut.

One day Rei just decided to grow his hair out as a sign of him letting his guard down and relaxing and Kazuki was jealous how Miri kept commenting how cool Papa Rei looked now and how he looked like some famous painter whenever he had his hair up now.

Kazuki was determined to win the Super Cool Dad award.

Because he had enough hair on his head he didn't want to cut (he tried to download a bunch of apps which let him swap out his real hair with filters, didnt work, looked freaky.

Anyway, Kazuki decides that, since he didn't want to touch the hair on his head, he would use his other secret weapon.

Hsi facial hair.

And thus, the goatee was born.

Kazuki lives every single day in denial since the Goatee Reveal and he vehemently denies Miri crying about how lame Papa Kazuki looks now and Rei shaking his head cringing very badly.

Kazuki also pointedly ignored the appointment Rei, Rei of all people, made him at the hair salon with an explicit request to shave off his goatee.

Yes anon!!! Thank you for noting it!

Young me thought they couldn’t possibly have depression because they always showered

For my younger self, I’m gonna write a depressed Rei who didn’t/couldn’t take care of himself in many aspects but was obsessed with personal hygiene because blood (not his) would get on him, his clothes, his face, under his fingernails, and he hated it

As someone who owned 50+ house plants at one point, I heard Rei’s sanity snapped into half in this scene.

I didn’t dub Rei as a colorful plant person and I still don’t, but Kazuki probably bought those. There were snake plants, rubber plants, fiddle figs, and succulents inside the house too. But I think all except the snake plants were fake mostly because the lighting condition doesn’t work for those plants.

Owning a variety of plants of that amount requires knowledge (cue Rei’s running theory) and consistent care. These plants are thriving and vibrant. Yes, this is just some background plants but it also indicates that Rei does more than just watering; he prunes and fertilizes them too. It’s a hobby that fits his personality and he probably started doing it casually because he was always home and noticed the plants needing attention (watering) when he’s on the balcony.