#mikoreitotsu

Like everyone else in Homra, Izumo was beginning to worry about his King. Mikoto had barely left his room at all for days on end, and most people hadn’t caught more than a glimpse of him in over a week. It was disconcerting to say the least. There were rumours going around that he was sick, but Izumo wasn’t totally convinced Kings could even get sick- he didn’t think a simple flu virus would be much of a match for the red aura. Still, he was concerned, and it was getting to the point where his absence around the bar was becoming quite conspicuous. So as time passed, he resolved that he ought to do something.

Armed with a bowl of the curry he’d helped Anna make earlier in the day, Izumo knocked on the door of his friend’s bedroom.

“Oi, Mikoto, ya in there?”

He hadn’t expected a reply, so he wasn’t surprised when he only received silence from within the room.

“I’m comin’ in,” Izumo warned, then gave him a few seconds before pushing open the door.

He found his friend lying on the couch in his small apartment, staring at the TV with a glassy look in his eyes, clearly not paying attention to the show that was playing. There was a sort of tension in his jaw- it was the kind of look he got on his face when he’d been in a fight and let his powers get out of hand. But there wasn’t anything Izumo knew of for him to feel guilty about- the last big scuffle Mikoto had been in was weeks ago with the Blue King, and it wasn’t like he could have accidentally hurt him; Reisi was more than strong enough to hold his own.

“You’ve been holed up in here for more than a week,” Izumo pointed out, setting the curry on the coffee table and perching on the arm of the chair. “What’s up?”

Mikoto clicked his tongue, clearly not keen on the idea of chatting about it. “Nothing.”

“You’re not sick?”

“No.”

“I’ve barely seen you in nearly a fortnight, Mikoto. Ya can’t expect me to believe it’s nothin’.”

Mikoto didn’t bother to deny that.

“…I heard through the grape vine that Awashima spotted ya goin’ into Sceptre 4’s HQ with Munakata a lil while back. She said when ya left again, you were covered in bruises, which apparently looked suspiciously like hickeys. It ain’t got anythin’ to do with that, has it?” Admittedly, Izumo hadn’t seen any signs of anything between Reisi and Mikoto, or at least anything on Mikoto’s end, but Seri apparently had some very strong suspicions, and he trusted her instincts.

Mikoto merely sighed.

“Ya can talk to me, ya know. Are ya seein’ Munakata?”

“No.”

“…Is that the problem? You wanna be seein’ Munakata but you’re not.”

Mikoto clicked his tongue, and there was a long pause before he conceded: “Sorta.”

Izumo took a moment to digest that, and he had to admit it sort of surprised him. But he realised too late he’d let his surprise show on his face, when Mikoto snapped:

“What?”

“I gotta admit, I thought the person you had feelings for was Totsuka…” Izumo admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

Mikoto clicked his tongue, then admitted: “…Yeah.” He seemed past the point of caring about what Izumo knew.

Izumo sighed, clapping his friend on the shoulder in commiseration. “Ahh, I see. That’s a rough situation to find yourself in.”

“It’s stupid.”

“What’s stupid?”

“I’m the Red King.” I shouldn’t be so affected by a stupid crush. Mikoto didn’t have to finish the sentiment for Izumo to understand the gist of what he meant.

“Ya know, Munakata’s a king too, and from what I’ve heard you’re not the only one kinda torn up by this whole situation. It sucks, but just ‘cause you’re a King doesn’t mean you’re immune to lovesickness, ya know. You’re allowed to have feelings.”

Mikoto sighed again, reaching for a crumpled pack of cigarettes from the coffee table. He seemed almost… abashed?

“I can’t believe I’m actin’ like this…” Mikoto said, finally uttering more than two words in a row as he lit his cigarette.

“Bein’ torn between two people you care about sucks. Especially when it seems like something went off between you and Reisi… I dunno the whole story but it sounds like ya had some kinda disagreement, but it’s normal to feel outta sorts after somethin’ like that.”

Mikoto exhaled a ribbon of smoke, then admitted: “I messed up. Think I hurt Munakata pretty bad.”

There it is. That explained the guilty look on Mikoto’s face earlier. Whatever he’d done, he felt awful for it, and he was likely hiding out up here to save face, so nobody else could figure out what it was that was bothering him so much.

“He’ll forgive you.”

Mikoto gave him a weak glare, as if asking how he could be so sure.

“At times like this, Totsuka’s catchphrase is important to keep in mind, don’t ya think? ‘It’ll all turn out alright’; you aren’t gonna feel like this forever. Munakata certainly ain’t gonna hold a grudge forever.”

“How do you know?” Mikoto replied flatly.

Izumo sighed. “Whatever happens, wallowin’ in your own dark mood ain’t gonna make you feel any better. Eat your food, take a shower, put some clean clothes on, maybe open a window and let some air in here. You’ll feel better.”

Mikoto let out a heavy, reluctant huff, but seemed as though he couldn’t be bothered to argue, so he sat up and reached for the bowl of curry as Izumo got up to open the curtains and the windows and tidy around a little. He stayed in the room until Mikoto had gotten into the shower to make sure he actually did it before heading back downstairs, but he’d only gotten half-way down when his phone rang. It was Tatara.

“Totsuka, what’s up?”

“Is King okay? He’s not answering his phone.”

“He’s in the shower at the minute,” Izumo said, turning and heading back up the stairs. When he got back to Mikoto’s room, he spotted his phone on the bedside table- he hadn’t heard it ringing whilst he was in his room, and surely enough, it didn’t respond when he tried to turn on the screen.

“Battery in his phone is dead, by the looks of it,” Izumo explained, plugging it into the charging cable.

“Can you tell him when he gets out of the shower to come to my apartment? I need to speak with him about something important.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah fine.” There was a pause. “I was attacked by a strain earlier, but I’m okay. Munakata found me before any damage could be done.”

Izumo clicked his tongue. “Ya can’t say somethin’ like that so casually. You really oughta be more careful,” he scolded.

“I know, I know, sorry. I’m okay though, really. Will you pass the message on to King?”

“Yeah, I’ll let him know to get down to your place when he gets outta the shower.”

“Thank you.”

“Be more careful,” Izumo chided again.

“Sorry! See you later.”

“See ya,” Izumo replied, then hung up.

When Mikoto came out of the bathroom, having thrown on a clean outfit, he gave Izumo a questioning look as though to ask why he was still in his bedroom.

“Totsuka called, he said he couldn’t get through to you.”

“Hm? What’d he want?” Mikoto asked, rubbing his hair dry with a towel.

“He said he wanted to talk to you, and for you to go meet him at his apartment.”

“Did he say what it was about?” Mikoto dropped the towel on his bed and ran a comb through his still somewhat damp hair.

“No. He did say he got caught up in a strain attack though.”

Mikoto’s head snapped around. “Is he okay?”

“He said he was fine.”

Mikoto clicked his tongue. “’Fine’ for Totsuka can mean anything from ‘just a scratch’ to ‘I have a bone poking through my skin,’” he grumbled.

“He didn’t sound like anything was wrong.”

Mikoto grunted suspiciously, making a grab for his jacket and throwing it on. He hadn’t bothered to dry or style his hair, nor had he put the jewellery he normally wore back on. “I’m gonna go check on him.”

“That’s probably a good call. See you later.”

Mikoto merely nodded as he pulled on his boots and headed swiftly for the door. Izumo couldn’t help but be quietly relieved he was finally leaving the building, even if it was under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Having the Blue King in his apartment was unusual to say the least for Tatara, but he supposed it was something he would have to get used to. He felt bad that the place wasn’t quite as tidy as he would have wanted, but Reisi didn’t seem to mind- he wandered around the main living area, looking at the photographs on the shelves and the bits and pieces Tatara had accumulated from his various hobbies, asking the occasional question about them. It was kind of nice having him around once Tatara got over how surreal it was- apart from anything else he was very pretty to look at.

When Mikoto finally arrived, he let himself into the apartment without knocking. He appeared slightly harried, or at least as much as he would ever show it. Tatara supposed Izumo had probably told him about the strain attack and he was worried- he’d clearly rushed to get here, as his hair was still damp and hung down over his forehead.

“Are you okay?” he asked, striding over to where Tatara sat. His gaze fixated almost instantly on the wound on Tatara’s cheek, and a crease formed between his brow.

“I’m fine. Some strain caught my scent, probably had a grudge against Homra or something. He chased me around a bit, but I’m okay. Munakata got there just in time,” Tatara explained, nodding towards his guest, who Mikoto didn’t seem to have noticed until now. Mikoto seemed vaguely surprised by his presence, but he didn’t say anything about it.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Mikoto asked.

“I didn’t see any need to worry you. I’m not badly hurt. The only other wound is a little scratch on my stomach, but it’s fine. Munakata patched it up.” He lifted his shirt (or rather, Reisi’s- he’d borrowed the clean garment as his own was still bloodstained) to show the wound.

“I can assure you he is fine. I was called out to a strain incident, and I found him before any major damage could be done. I took him back to Tsubaki-Mon for first aid and to take a statement about the incident. His injuries are minor- he should be back to normal within a few days at most,” Reisi reassured, and for the first time since he arrived, Mikoto looked at Reisi properly. He seemed taken aback at the civility of his tone, but there was an air of caution about him, as though he was wary of any grudges Reisi might hold after their last encounter- Tatara didn’t know all of the details, but it seemed their most recent meeting hadn’t gone well.

“Thanks…” Mikoto said quietly, though he still looked somewhat confused as to why Reisi was there.

Tatara and Reisi exchanged a significant look, then Tatara patted the sofa for Mikoto to sit down beside him.

“We actually wanted to talk to you about something,” Tatara began as Mikoto took a seat.

Mikoto once again watched Reisi with caution as he sat down the opposite side of him to Tatara, then returned his attention to his clansman.  

“What?” Mikoto asked.

Tatara was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say. He'd been confident of the outcome of the discussion ever since he'd had the idea to propose the arrangement, but suddenly he felt daunted. He hadn't been this nervous earlier talking to Reisi, but it was different this time. The stakes felt higher somehow.

A moment  passed, and Mikoto watched him expectantly, until Reisi cleared his throat and gave Tatara a look, as though asking if he wanted him to broach the subject instead. Tatara nodded.

“As you are aware, the predicament over the past few weeks has gotten to the point where it seems to be causing all three of us a fair amount of distress. You clearly have feelings for both Totsuka and I, and obviously the events that have come about as a result of that have… not been ideal,” Reisi began.

Mikoto remained deathly quiet, his jaw clenching as though he expected bad news.

“Obviously things cannot be allowed to continue in this fashion. But Totsuka has come up with a solution which I believe will be to the benefit of all of us.”

“Go on.” Mikoto’s eyes had narrowed, almost in suspicion- it seemed as though he couldn’t quite guess what Reisi was about to say next, so he was keeping his guard up.

“We both have feelings for you too,” Tatara cut in. “And that kind of really sucked initially- it seemed like there was no way out of this without someone getting hurt. But I thought about it a bit, especially after I went to visit Munakata a couple of weeks ago. I never imagined him and I being close; to be honest I didn't think he liked me very much.”

Reisi chuckled at that.

“But we actually got along quite well, and I found myself thinking about him a lot afterwards. As time went on I realised I was sort of sweet on him, and when I went back to the Sceptre 4 headquarters earlier today it only solidified that in my head, and it turned out Reisi feels the same way about me…” Tatara took a deep breath to steady himself- he could feel himself beginning to babble- but as he did he noticed Mikoto stiffen. Tatara felt a stab of guilt- he didn't want Mikoto to think he and Reisi had chosen each other over him.

“But I never stopped feeling the way I did about you. I've felt that way for years; I've been totally infatuated with you since we were teenagers, that isn't going to change in a week and a half...” He paused for thought once more. “I’ll cut to the chase. What I’m saying is we all seem to have feelings for each other, so why should we have to choose? Maybe we should all get together, you know, as a kind of all three of us dating sort of arrangement.”

There was a moment of quiet as Mikoto processed that in his head, and Tatara could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage.

Finally, Mikoto breathed: “…Thank fuck.”

Tatara noticed a smile to flickering across Reisi’s lips as he released the breath he didn’t seem to realise he’d been holding.

“Is that a yes?” Reisi asked.

Mikoto smirked faintly, but it barely disguised his relief. “Yeah, it is.”

The next thing Tatara knew, he’d thrown his arms around Mikoto without ever quite intending to, laughing in joyful disbelief as Mikoto hugged him back tightly. His embrace was everything Tatara always thought it would be- he was warm; his arms were strong, and the familiar scent of his cologne and cigarette smoke clung to his skin. It was a relief to finally hold him like this after all the years of daydreaming about it, and it was a relief to see him happy after he’d finally emerged from being locked away in his room. The faint smile still played across Mikoto’s lips, and in that moment, Tatara couldn't resist kissing him.

The contact was chaste and gentle, and Tatara almost didn't quite believe it was happening. Even though he'd been the one that orchestrated all of this, it still seemed surreal. He'd fantasised about kissing Mikoto for years now, and now it was actually happening, it seemed too good to be true. His lips tingled at the contact, and goosebumps prickled down his spine, not stopping when they finally broke apart. Mikoto pulled Tatara up so he was perched in his lap, still smiling at him. There was a softness in his hazel eyes that Tatara had never seen before.

Tatara couldn’t suppress the grin that spread across his lips, wide and goofy, and it didn’t fade when Reisi leaned in and turned Mikoto’s head with his fingertips to kiss him for himself. If anything, it only made him feel more content to watch them- it felt like a happy ending. After all the kisses Reisi and Mikoto had shared before- rough and heated, and then fuelled by anger, it only seemed fair that after the pain Reisi had been through, he could finally kiss the man he loved like this. Softly, their lips curved into subtle smiles against each other, eyelids fluttering closed as Mikoto slid his arm around Reisi’s shoulders and pulled him closer. Tatara imagined this was how Reisi had wanted it to be all along, and it seemed just that he should finally have this- if anyone deserved the man he loved to feel the same way, it was Reisi. And it made Tatara happy to get to share in it.

Their kiss didn’t break for a long moment, and when they finally did, Tatara didn’t miss the faint flush of pink on Reisi’s cheeks. That was another surreal thing- seeing Munakata Reisi in a state like this. He never expected the Blue King to be the sort of person who blushed, even just faintly. But he supposed if there was ever a time for it, it was now, when he’d just found himself with two new boyfriends. Tatara couldn’t help but lean across to peck him on the lips.

Reisi smiled at the kiss, then once Tatara had pulled away, he cleared his throat and turned to Mikoto. “I wish to apologise for the way I’ve behaved over the past few weeks. I was hurt, and I allowed it to make me spiteful, but I shouldn’t have.”

“’S alright,” Mikoto replied. “I was the bigger jerk.”

“I think what everyone did is understandable considering the circumstances,” Tatara chimed in gently. “But apparently communication solves everything. Who would’ve thought, hm?” he joked.

Reisi chuckled. “It seems to me we should put the mistakes of the past few weeks behind us,” he suggested.

“Good idea,” Tatara replied, and Mikoto nodded.

“How’d you even come up with this?” Mikoto asked, looking at Tatara and gesturing with a nod between the three of them.

“…Okay, if I’m being completely honest, I sort of got the idea from a very interesting sex dream.”

Both of his boyfriends snorted at the confession.

“When I went to talk to Re-.. Can I call you Reisi?”

“I don’t see why not.” Reisi replied, but there was a faint smirk on his lips, as if to say it’s not as though you weren’t moaning that name earlier.

“When I went to talk to Reisi a little while back, I was I guess contemplating the reasons you seemed to have feelings for him, and I couldn’t help but notice he’s… well, he’s really hot, to put it bluntly.”

Mikoto chuckled.

“And once you notice that sorta thing you can’t un-notice it. And I guess it sort of snuck into my subconscious somewhere… If we’re being totally honest, I’ve had a fair few sex dreams about you in my time,” Tatara admitted, looking at Mikoto. He could feel his face heating up.

“And recently, Reisi turned up in one of them, and there was a moment after the main event where you were kissing each other and, I dunno, it just sort of set a lightbulb off when I woke up. I wanted both of you, but I also wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea of you wanting each other. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea- not just the threesomes (though I’m definitely looking forward to that) but I also just like the idea of you having each other, too. You’re a good match. I was telling Reisi about it before- he’s your stopper as much as I am.”

Mikoto nodded slowly, and Tatara noticed a faint smile on Reisi’s face.

“…Speaking of sex, in the, uh, interests of full disclosure, I figure you should probably know Reisi and I sorta… well, we figured this was the kind of discussion you want to have with a clear head and we were both kind of riled up earlier…” Tatara admitted. He couldn’t resist bracing himself, half-worried Mikoto would be jealous or something at the news, and he couldn’t quite force out the details of exactly what happened.

“We had sex,” Reisi finished the sentiment for him.

Mikoto merely gave a faint smirk, addressing Tatara: “He’s good, isn’t he?”

Tatara chuckled, relieved he took it well. “Very. And I was told some very interesting things about you and a pair of handcuffs.”

Mikoto raised an eyebrow, addressing Reisi: “Gossip.”

Reisi pushed his glasses up his nose. “You should be grateful people are saying good things about you behind your back.”

Mikoto and Tatara chuckled, and Tatara was once again struck by how surreal this all seemed. His anxiety beforehand seemed silly in retrospect- knowing how Mikoto felt, he didn’t expect him to say no. But knowing it was real now was… a lot to process. Certainly, going from being single to having two boyfriends who happened to be the Red and Blue Kings was quite a change to wrap his head around, especially after the weeks of feeling hopeless and thinking there was no way out of this that didn’t leave at least one person burned.

But as weird as it felt to be sitting beside the two Kings, knowing he was theirs, and they were his, it also felt right. It was comforting to hear them return to their normal banter after the frosty silence, and to see Mikoto back to his usual casual self. He normally seemed so calm, even when he was having a tough time, so to see something visibly get under his skin the way this whole scenario had was disconcerting. Thankfully though, now it was over, the tension seemed to have fallen out of his body. He had one arm lazily slung over Reisi’s shoulders, and the other around Tatara’s waist, relaxing into the touch of his new lovers. It was a relief to see him happy.

Reisi seemed happy too- he usually kept up his professional front at almost all times, but for once he’d allowed himself to let his guard down a little, and his contentment was written all over him. He’d sunken into the warmth of Mikoto’s body, and there was a serene look in his eyes- Tatara supposed he felt the same way as he did. After all the tension and heartbreak of what had felt far longer than a mere few weeks, it was a relief to be at the finish line, things having turned out far better than anyone could have hoped for. Well, sort of a finish line, and sort of a starting line.

The casual intimacy would definitely take some time to get used to; Tatara still didn’t quite dare to believe he wasn’t dreaming. He’d fantasised about being able to do things like cuddling like this with Mikoto for… longer than he cared to admit.

It was strange though- almost the opposite was true with Reisi. He’d never even considered seeing him in this way until a short while ago, but infatuation had hit him hard, and he found himself staring at Reisi just as often as he was staring at Mikoto, admiring the different ways in which the two Kings were beautiful as he listened to them continuing their playful banter.

Everything about this scenario seemed so dreamlike, especially the way it had been so… easy. After everything, all it had taken was a short conversation, and then they’d fallen straight into being together in this way as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

It was weird.

“By the way, what was Totsuka doin’ at Sceptre 4?” Izumo’s question was casual, dropped into the middle of a conversation, but Tatara’s visit was news to Mikoto, and he sighed in exasperation.

“He was there?”

“Yeah, Seri-chan mentioned seeing him earlier today.”

Mikoto shrugged. “Dunno. Didn’t tell me he was going.” That was only half true- while Tatara hadn’t told Mikoto his plans, Mikoto knew exactly why he’d visited.

“Huh, ‘s weird,” Izumo replied, but said nothing more of it, which Mikoto was grateful for.

He stared at the ceiling, mulling over the fact that Tatara had forced his hand, though whether that was intentional or not Mikoto couldn’t say. But the reality was that he couldn’t just sit here after Tatara had been to apologise on his behalf. Reisi probably thought badly enough of him without the person he probably wanted to see the least out of anyone showing Mikoto up- what kind of an impression did it give that Tatara of all people had visited, but not Mikoto himself? Not that Mikoto was usually one to concern himself with impressions, but this was one of those scenarios that called for a special exception. He didn’t need to drag his own name any further through the mud in Reisi’s eyes than he already had, not if he wanted to keep him as a friend.

So once the bar had started to get busier for the evening and nobody would notice him leaving, Mikoto shrugged on his jacket and headed for Tsubaki-Mon, choosing to walk the distance in the hope the steady rhythm of his footsteps would quiet his chattering mind. But that didn’t work as well as he’d hoped; what-ifs and worst case scenarios were still spinning at a thousand miles an hour as he reached the Blue clan’s headquarters.  

When he arrived at the entrance to the compound, Mikoto didn’t have to ring the bell or explain his purpose; the gates opened for him, as did the doors of the building, without him having to say a word. Nobody met him in the lobby to escort him to Reisi’s office, but he knew the way. Though he did notice the Lieutenant leaning against the banister of the staircase, giving him a cold glare as he passed. Perhaps he’d been less subtle about his hook-up than he thought.

When he knocked on the door of Reisi’s office, there was a pause that felt far longer than it actually was, followed by a call of:

“Who is it?”

Normally Mikoto would have made a joke at that point, but it didn’t feel appropriate. “Suoh,” he answered simply.

There was another silence, before he heard: “Come in,” uttered in a professional tone, and Mikoto opened the door.

Reisi’s expression was smooth as he watched Mikoto enter. He was sitting upright in his chair, his back straight and his hands folded on the desk before him, as though Mikoto was there for a job interview rather than a personal visit. As his guest crossed the room, Reisi got to his feet, rounding his desk to stand the same side of it as Mikoto and leaning his hip against the chair.

“Suoh,” he said coolly, by way of greeting, and Mikoto nodded in acknowledgement.

“I think you know why I’m here,” he said, pulling a box of cigarettes from his pocket and taking one himself before offering the box to Reisi. It was partly a peace offering, but also partly to calm himself down- he wasn’t nervous as such, but he wasn’t entirely sure how best to go about this conversation, and he hoped the nicotine would clear his head.

Reisi took a cigarette from the open box offered to him, but retrieved a lighter from his drawer and lit it himself, rather than allowing Mikoto to do so with his aura.

“Perhaps,” he said finally.

“Someone told me that what happened meant something different to you than to me.”

“Yes, I think it did.”

“If I knew I wouldn’t’ve done it.” There was an uncomfortable pause. “I didn’t want to lead you on or use you.” It was difficult to voice even those simple sentiments; Mikoto felt exposed, and his voice was stiff. He didn’t do well at sharing his emotions; that was why he leant so much on Tatara: because Tatara just read them off him like an autocue, and he didn’t have to go through this struggle to put these things into words. But he reasoned with himself if he felt exposed now, it was nothing compared to what he’d put Reisi through, so he forced the words out.

“You couldn’t have known,” Reisi said, but his tone was noncommittal, unconvinced.

Mikoto gave a stiff nod, unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say next, so he opted for weak humour and hoped for the best: “You don’t hate me completely, do you?”

The silence before Reisi replied lasted a fraction of a second too long. “No. But it is going to sting for a while, no matter whether I am logically aware of what your intentions were.”

Mikoto nodded, grunting in understanding.

“Have you asked Totsuka out yet?”

The question caught Mikoto off-guard. “No.”

“Why not?”

Mikoto clicked his tongue. “Wouldn’t feel right.” He chose not to elaborate any further on the reasons why.

“You ought to go for it- Totsuka will not turn you down.”

Mikoto gave a humourless chuckle, half-wary this was some sort of revenge attempt. If it was, he would have understood, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a sore spot for Reisi to be poking at. “How can you be so sure?”

“He has feelings for you.”

“How do you know?” Mikoto couldn’t help but narrow his eyes. He didn’t think Reisi was the type to sink low enough to use a lie like this as ammunition, and as much as Mikoto knew he sort of deserved it, the false hope left a sour taste in his mouth. He could feel himself becoming irritated.

“He told me.” Reisi was looking directly into his eyes as he spoke. And he was definitely telling the truth.

Mikoto was quiet for a moment, processing the information. If only knowing Tatara wanted him too made things easier. In another universe, where he wasn’t a King and he didn’t have a Sword of Damocles and he’d never met Munakata Reisi, maybe it would have. But Mikoto was never that lucky, and things were never that simple.

When Mikoto didn’t say anything, Reisi continued: “He was trying to empathise with me, and he disclosed that he was like me, in that we both had feelings for you but you wanted someone else. He had no idea the person you told me you wanted was him.”

Mikoto felt a stab of guilt at that.

“So I told him that he was the one you had feelings for,” Reisi said, deadpan.

“What?” A spark of anger flared in Mikoto’s chest. He’d never wanted Tatara to know; as much as he hated the self-sacrificing stereotype, Mikoto was very aware of the dangers of his powers, both of losing control of them, and the enemies he had because of them. He couldn’t stand the thought of hurting Tatara, or someone hurting him to get to Mikoto, so he’d planned to keep his distance, keep his feelings buried and never act on them. And now Tatara knew, and Mikoto wouldn’t be strong enough to turn him down if he felt the same. He hadn’t even intended to tell Reisi, but in the turmoil of figuring out that the feelings that he’d been torturing himself over for months really were romantic, he really was in love with Tatara, it had just sort of… slipped out.

“Why?” Mikoto demanded.

“Because he’s a nice young man, and he doesn’t deserve to be put through the same thing you put me through: of being in love with someone he thinks is in love with someone else. You ought to go for it, and stop stringing the poor boy along.” There was an edge to Reisi’s voice; he couldn’t quite disguise the spite. Mikoto had never seen Reisi like this before, never seen him genuinely angry. He was always so composed, so professional. It stung to know he’d done this to him.

Mikoto had to grit his teeth to keep his tone civil. His hands had curled into fists at his sides. “It’s not that simple.”

“It could not get any more simple! You want him, he wants you. What could possibly be stopping you from seeking happiness? And don’t you dare come out with any of that self-martyring tripe about how you’re afraid of hurting him. You weren’t so careful about not hurting me, and it hurts far more to love someone and know that you can’t have them.”

Something in Mikoto snapped. He tasted copper on the back of his tongue, and a flash of white hot rage shot down his spine. Without realising what he was doing, he closed the space between them and seized Reisi by the collar, half-snarling:

“Don’t tell me I don’t care about you.”

Reisi’s eyes widened suddenly, the sharp spite that had burned in them a moment ago vanishing in favour of what looked to be shock. His voice was quieter and less confrontational when he next spoke, the hurt beginning to show through his anger. “Then prove it.”

Mikoto didn't know what possessed him to do it, but the next thing he knew, his fingers were tangled in Reisi's hair and he was kissing him. But it was different from the first time; it wasn't heated or passionate, not a simple release of built-up sexual tension. The kiss was firm, and beneath it there smouldered a sort of longing, almost sadness.

Reisi froze in shock at first, then raised his hands instinctively to grip Mikoto's arms as if he intended to push him away. But he didn't; as the initial surprise passed, he couldn't stop himself from melting into the contact, allowing his arms to snake around Mikoto's shoulders and grip the back of his jacket, the same desperate longing burning in his own touch as in Mikoto's. He was conflicted- that much was obvious by the tension in his shoulders, but his desire to indulge the fantasy seemed to outweigh his instinct for self-preservation.

When they finally broke apart and Reisi opened his eyes, a storm of emotions flickered across his features in quick succession; shame, and then heartbreak, and then finally mounting anger, but before he had a chance to shout at Mikoto for doing it again, drawing out this torture even further, Mikoto spoke, his voice low and quiet:

“That’s why it’s not simple. I can’t…” choose between you and Tatara. The unspoken words hung uncomfortably in the air.

Reisi’s anger evaporated. It made sense now why Mikoto had put off coming to apologise for so long: his feelings had changed since their encounter, and now he was conflicted.

Which meant Reisi had a chance. And he didn’t know how that made him feel. The idea that this maybe wasn’t all for nought, that there was hope that one day Mikoto might truly feel the same for him, released the crushing pressure from Reisi’s ribcage that he’d almost gotten used to; he’d been just-about-coping with for so long that he nearly didn’t notice the feeling anymore. And now, the possibility of quieting the chronic ache of unrequited love seemed almost too good to be true.

Which was exactly the problem- what good was hope if it was false hope? What if Mikoto said all this, and then still chose Tatara? It would only crush Reisi all over again, and he didn’t know if he could withstand a second blow. He’d barely been able to keep up appearances the first time.

Mikoto didn’t meet Reisi’s eye as he allowed him to absorb the information. They were both quiet for a moment, until Reisi couldn’t bare the silence anymore, and he pulled Mikoto in by the grip he still had on his arms to kiss him again, finding himself unable to care about the consequences. If Mikoto could be selfish, then so could he, and Reisi decided that if he was going to be tortured by false hope he should at least make the most of it while he could. Mikoto yielded to the kiss- he never had been one for self-control, even if the thing he wanted was only going to hurt him- and when they finally broke apart, there was a glimmer of yearning in his eyes, subtle and wistful. It seemed all this longing and indecision was really tearing him to pieces.

Good.

As much as Reisi was head over heels for him, he couldn’t help but take just a little bit of sadistic pleasure in the knowledge that Mikoto was suffering- part of him felt like he deserved it after what he was putting him through. An even smaller part of him felt guilty for feeling that way, but it was quite small indeed. Mostly, he just felt awful to know that Mikoto’s indecision was likely going to burn him again soon when he finally resolved it, tear away that last shred of hope this afternoon had given him.

Apparently, Reisi’s dismay at that thought had shown through in his expression, because he saw Mikoto’s face falter, almost imperceptibly. Reisi had never seen a vulnerable emotion show on Mikoto’s face- never seen a hint of sadness or fear, and even when he was enraged, you’d barely know he was a little irritated from his facial expression. But in that moment, he looked exposed, almost ashamed. It was subtle, but the slight downward curve of his mouth, the crease between his brows, and the dimness of his eyes betrayed him. Reisi noticed the way Mikoto was staring back at him, his melancholy gaze flickering from his own to drop to his lips every so often, until he screwed his eyes shut and turned suddenly on his heel.

“I have to go,” he said simply, striding towards the door and shoving his hands in his pockets.

Reisi was amazed at his ability to remain cool as he replied with a simple: “Goodbye,” ignoring the tingle Mikoto’s lips had left on his own.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite that simple. Now that Mikoto knew Reisi had feelings for him, it had altered his perspective both of Reisi himself, and of what had happened between them.

On a basic level, Mikoto couldn’t deny that he’d enjoyed the physical aspect of what happened between them- Reisi was objectively a very attractive man, and very good in bed. But beyond that, having been forced to reflect on it, he also had to accept that the two of them had chemistry; if they didn’t, the tension wouldn’t have built up between them like it had and Mikoto wouldn’t have ended up nearly fucking him in an alleyway. But aside from that, when they weren’t at odds over King business, they had a reasonably good rapport with one another. Even when they were fighting, Mikoto enjoyed their banter, and he couldn’t help but notice that from time to time it strayed into flirtier territory, but he’d just thought it was a joke before. And when they saw each other whilst ‘off-duty’ (as rare as that was), they got on very well.

Acknowledging this was making things very confusing for Mikoto; it raised uncomfortable questions about what the implications of all that were, and whether or not he would want to do it again under different circumstances. And it raised even more uncomfortable answers.

Almost overnight, Reisi had quickly become the central theme of his every intrusive thought; he found himself dreaming about him more nights than not, fantasising about him as he drifted between sleep and wakefulness- some of the thoughts were simply sexual, but some were more romantic- kissing him, even simply spending time with him…

He didn’t really have a crush, did he? He was the Red King; he didn’t do schoolboy-ish things like that.

But he still missed the way Reisi’s hands and his lips had felt against him, still had a guilty desire to see him again under similar circumstances. Except he didn’t want to see him at the same time, because he didn’t know how he would face him after what he’d done. It was odd- they could fight until both of them were bloodied and bruised and aching and Reisi could lecture him about Sanctums and Weismann levels until the cows came home and they would clash inevitably over Mikoto’s carelessness, and then the next day they would act as if everything was fine. They smiled as they called each other irritating- a stick in the mud, reckless, like breathing toxic air. Because they knew it didn’t really hurt.

But this wasn’t like that. This wasn’t simply a professional difference of opinion. Mikoto had actually hurt him; now he knew that that look in Reisi’s eye as Mikoto had left his room had been pain, the expression haunted him at every inopportune moment. The stab of guilt in his abdomen had become a constant stomach ache. It was exhausting.

Mikoto was a very direct person. Trivialities and empty politeness meant nothing to him. In any other circumstance, he would have gone straight to Tsubaki-Mon and explained himself. Except there was one snag, and it was Tatara.

Even with all this dreaming and fantasising and what Mikoto refused to call crushing, his feelings for Tatara had never faded. How could he feel like this about two people at the same time? Granted, he wouldn’t quite call what he felt for Reisi love, but it rang with the echoes of how he’d felt when he was falling for Tatara, and if he allowed this to go on much longer…

How could he choose?

Not that he ever intended to; as far as he was concerned, both of them were better off without him.

But still, while he wanted to see Reisi, he also really didn’t want to see him. He didn’t know what to say to him to remedy what he’d done, but part of him also didn’t want to face him and risk these feelings getting any stronger- even if he never intended to act on them, he was the Red King, and he refused to be the kind of person who fretted over which boy he liked more. He was too old for that. So he kept putting it off and putting it off until it had been over a week, and then two. They’d seen each other in passing out on clan business, but Reisi had been cold and overly-polite; there was none of their usual friendly banter, and each glimpse of his face brought another stab of guilt in Mikoto’s gut, but also a faint effervescent feeling in his chest, like a balloon inflating, and it was becoming harder to ignore that this was exactly what he’d felt when he looked at Tatara while he was falling for him. It was still how he felt when he looked at him now.

This was all becoming far too complicated, and Mikoto wasn’t good at complicated.

When Tatara noticed Reisi’s aloof demeanour when the two clans had crossed paths, he deduced that Mikoto still hadn’t apologised, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much, but he felt compelled to do something. Mikoto seemed to be quietly tearing himself apart over what happened, but his reaction was confusing to Tatara- he seemed far too distressed about the whole thing. Nobody else in Homra would have noticed it, but Tatara could sense a vibe about Mikoto that was just… off. He was subdued, or at least more so than usual, and to the untrained eye, it seemed as though he was taking more naps than he normally did, but Tatara could tell he wasn’t actually sleeping, merely lying on the couch with his eyes closed. Tatara decided something needed to be done; if nothing else, he thought it was important for Mikoto to have friends outside of Homra, and he didn’t want the rift between him and Reisi to grow so deep that it became irreparable.

So he found himself outside the imposing gates of Sceptre 4’s headquarters, twiddling his thumbs as he worked up the courage to press the button on the intercom. However, it seemed he’d been spotted by the security camera before he’d had the chance, and a tinny voice sounded from the speakers.

“Do you have business with Annex 4?”

“Ahh, yes… It’s Totsuka Tatara, from Homra. I’ve come to see Munakata Reisi with a message from the Red King.”

There was a pause, then the gates swung open smoothly and the voice over the intercom said: “Someone will meet you in the lobby and take you up.”

The courtyard of Sceptre 4’s headquarters was a vast, almost intimidating expanse of white marble tiles, reminiscent of the courtyard of some European stately home. It took just long enough to make one nervous to cross it on the way to the double doors, which swung smoothly open for him. Waiting just inside the lobby was Awashima Seri, her arms folded across her chest.

“A little way off the beaten track, aren’t you?” she said coolly.

“Clan business,” he replied, equally calmly. There was a sort of sour look on Seri’s place, as if she was displeased by something.  “It’s not as though you aren’t at Homra every other week,” he countered as the doors closed behind him and he crossed the lobby, a lavish, high-ceilinged room with Grecian columns and even more marble.

“I know why you’re here,” she said, lowering her voice as she gestured for Tatara to follow her up the grand staircase in the centre of the room. “Suoh Mikoto arrived at Sceptre 4 in handcuffs and left two hours later covered in love bites; it doesn’t take a genius to work out what happened. And ever since then, the Captain has been acting… strange. As though something is bothering him. I’ve never seen him this subdued.”

“Handcuffs? King didn’t mention that…”

Seri clicked her tongue in exasperation. “Your King did something to upset him and I want to know what.”

“That’s not really my secret to share,” Tatara said, rubbing the back of his head. “Plus, if I tell you, you’ll tell Kusanagi-san, and King is getting enough grief from himself without a lecture from his best friend.”

“So he does feel bad?”

“Of course. I think that’s why he hasn’t come and apologised earlier; he’s too ashamed of what he did to face him.”

“I didn’t know the Red King showed any emotions aside from flippancy.”

“Ouch. Kusanagi is right when he calls you the cold-hearted woman, you know.”

“The Captain is my friend, and he’s too polite to stand up for himself. I feel I ought to give Suoh a slap on his behalf,” she grumbled.

“He does show emotion, you know. It’s just difficult to read unless you know him well. He cares about Munakata.”

“Apparently not enough.”

“He didn’t know that what he was doing would hurt him; it was just a miscommunication. That’s why I’m here- to smooth things out and lay a path for them to reconcile. King isn’t really a talking-things-out sort of person, but I know he wants to apologise.”

Seri sighed as she led him up one of the crimson-carpeted hallways.

“You ought to give him the benefit of the doubt, just for now,” Tatara said softly.

“I’m reasonably sure Munakata has feelings for him, and that’s why he’s so upset by all this,” she replied, not looking Tatara in the eye.

“I know. Anyone with an ounce of social awareness can tell that. Unfortunately King isn’t really a people person; I think he’s the only one who didn’t know.”

Seri sighed again, coming to a stop outside a grand mahogany door. “Just… make sure they make up. I can’t stand to see the Captain in this state.”

“I’ll do my best,” he replied, resting a hand on her shoulder for a brief moment in what he hoped was a reassuring way. She responded with what could have been a flicker of a smile, though if Tatara had blinked he would have missed it, before knocking on the door to the office.

“Captain, you have a visitor.”

“Come in,” came Reisi’s reply from within the room.

The two clansmen exchanged brief nods, then Seri turned on her heel and headed back down the corridor as Tatara pushed open the door. He didn’t miss the way the corner of Reisi’s mouth twitched in disdain as he entered the room.

“Take a seat.” Reisi’s tone was blank. Tatara was no stranger to the fact that Reisi wasn’t exactly his biggest fan; he knew he took issue with his recklessness and how often he got himself into danger, mostly because of how much it worried Mikoto whenever Tatara narrowly escaped ending up in the hospital, and the subsequent effect that had on his Weismann level.

Obediently, Tatara sat down, trying to keep his expression positive. His gaze wandered around the office, partly to avoid Reisi’s piercing gaze, and partly to look for some way to break the ice before he launched into the somewhat awkward topic he’d come to talk about. His eyes quickly settled on the jigsaw puzzle laid out on the floor behind the desk- it was immense, with what looked to be thousands of small pieces, and mostly complete. It depicted a photograph of the night sky, with the Milky Way galaxy strewn across the centre of the image like a paint splatter.

“That’s a beautiful puzzle…” Tatara said softly, and Reisi appeared initially caught off-guard, but he perked up slightly at the mention of his hobby.

“I took the photograph myself on a trip to Hawaii; atop the mountain on the largest island is a prime location for viewing the night sky due to the altitude and low light pollution, and there are a collection of observatories there…” he trailed off, seeming to realise he was rambling.

“So you’re a photographer?” Tatara brightened at the knowledge of their shared hobby.

“I’ve dabbled in the past,” he said, then paused to clear his throat before asking: “So what brings you here?”

“I came to apologise on my King’s behalf for what happened the other week; he didn’t mean any harm.”

“It is not necessary for you to apologise for him. You are not his keeper; Suoh is old enough to be responsible for his own actions.”

“I know, but he’s… I don’t know, he seems almost too ashamed to come and do it himself. He does want to, but I think he’s embarrassed, to be perfectly honest. He didn’t know you had feelings for him; he’s not good at reading people.”

“And what makes you think I have feelings for him.”

“Not to toot my own horn or anything, but quite good at reading people, and it’s written all over you.” He paused for a moment, then added: “And I guess I know how you feel. Well, not really, I can’t say I’ve ever had the opportunity of getting between the sheets with him, but I feel the same way about him as you do, and we’re both in the predicament of liking him while he likes someone else…”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Reisi cut in, raising an eyebrow.

“He told me that he said to you there was someone he liked after… you know.”

“…The person Suoh told me he was interested in romantically was you.”

“…Oh.”

Tatara didn’t really know what to do with that information; he hadn’t expected it in the slightest. It had never even crossed his mind that it could be him; he’d had his suspicions it might be Izumo, or perhaps even Misaki, but himself? He hadn’t even dared to hope Mikoto might feel the same way about him as he did.

“…Well now I feel like an idiot,” he said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. Of course this had to come out right after he’d claimed to be good at reading people. And he’d come to try and console Reisi, but he supposed he was the last person he wanted to see right now. Tatara couldn’t help but feel somewhat mortified.

Reisi sighed. “Of course it’s you Suoh is attracted to. You are his best friend, and his ‘stopper,’ and pardon me but you’re quite beautiful.”

Tatara felt his cheeks flush faintly. “Well, it’s not like I couldn’t say the same thing about you,” he protested. “For starters, you’re mind-blowingly attractive. You’re tall and you’ve got the pretty blue eyes and the big muscles and everyone’s weak for a guy in uniform. And you’re King’s friend too, and you’re just as much his stopper as I am.” He wasn’t quite sure what had possessed him to point this out; perhaps it was partly because he couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea that Mikoto had feelings for him, and he was trying to object to the idea- it seemed too good to be true.

“How am I his stopper?”

“Well I just help him keep it all in, but King can’t suppress his powers forever; it has to come out sometime. And when it does, you’re the only person who’s an equal match for him. It’s only with you that he can really let loose without worrying about hurting someone. You shouldn’t get knocked down by what happened- you’re important to Mikoto. Hell, he trusted you enough to get down and dirty, and to tell you about his feelings. He doesn’t open up to people very often; that’s really big. And no matter what, you give Mikoto something nobody else can.”

Reisi sighed, looking down at the desk, but it was clear that Tatara’s words had struck a chord in him. He was quiet for a long moment, appearing to mull over what had been said, before he finally looked up and cleared his throat. “I’m afraid I must cut our visit short; I have some business that needs attending to. Thank you for stopping by.”

Tatara got to his feet, offering his hand to shake, and Reisi took it. “Of course. Thanks for seeing me,” he said, shooting Reisi his trademark bright smile before he turned to leave the room.

When Mikoto arrived back at the bar from Sceptre 4’s headquarters, it was mostly empty, except for Tatara, who was napping on the sofa as he usually did during quiet afternoons.

“Oi,” Mikoto said as he sat down on the couch beside him. “I told ya not to sleep in here.”

Tatara, roused by his voice, looked up groggily and gave his friend a dopey, half-awake smile that made Mikoto’s chest feel tight. “I was just napping…” he protested weakly, interrupted by a yawn part-way through the sentence.

“There’s a bed upstairs. You’ll get sore sleeping on the couch.”

“You’re starting to sound like Kusanagi-san~. Since when do you care so much?”

Mikoto shrugged. “Difficult enough takin’ care of you when you don’t have a bad back.”

“Now you just sound like an old man~,” Tatara teased, sitting up with the blanket still draped around his shoulders like a cape. As he did so, he seemed to catch sight of something, and the sleepiness vanished from his expression to be replaced immediately by a look of intrigue.

“Is that…?” he asked, tilting his head as he stared at Mikoto’s throat, and then he reached up to pull back the collar of his shirt to reveal more of the mark he’d spotted. “I thought so! King, why are you covered in love bites?”

“Got laid,” Mikoto said with a shrug.

“Yes, I gathered that. Tell me the juicy details! Who’s the lucky lady?”

“We’re in the middle of the bar,” Mikoto protested in a deadpan voice- it wasn’t a conversation he especially wanted his clan to walk in on, especially not Anna, or worse, Izumo. If Izumo found out about this he’d never hear the end of it. And he didn’t need Misaki finding out he’d fucked the Blue King either- he still harboured a grudge against Sceptre 4 for what he perceived as stealing Saruhiko, and Mikoto didn’t particularly want to deal with the inevitable reproachful looks he’d get for ‘sleeping with the enemy.’

“Then tell me upstairs where we won’t get interrupted,” Tatara insisted, immediately on his feet and seizing Mikoto’s wrist to pull him upstairs. Mikoto couldn’t say no to that face, and with a sigh, he stood up and allowed Tatara to tow him up to the apartment above the bar. The pair took a seat on the sofa in Mikoto’s room, and Tatara gave him an expectant look, repeating his earlier question:

“So who is the lucky lady?”

“Munakata.”

Tatara took a moment to digest this information, a look that was half intrigued and half scandalised crossing his face. Finally, he burst out: “How didn’t I figure out you were into men? The accessories should have at least given me a clue!” he complained, more to himself than to Mikoto, and as he spoke, he reached out and brushed the necklace Mikoto wore with his fingertip, seeming exasperated. “And the hair, the skinny jeans…”

“Isn’t that stereotyping?”

“Shush, I’m gay; we know the signs. I’m annoyed I never saw them before.”

“You’re gay?” Mikoto said in mock surprise.

Tatara stuck his tongue out at him.

“If it’s any consolation, I didn’t figure it out until this morning anyway. Not really.”

“So you screwed a guy while you thought you were straight?” Tatara raised an eyebrow at him.

“I had suspicions. Screwing a guy confirmed them.”

“I see… so it was just an experiment then?” Tatara said, but there was an odd quality to his voice, almost reproving.

“Didn’t intend it to be that way.”

“How did it even happen?”

“We were fighting, he had me pinned against a wall, and then we were kissing. He took me back to HQ and we fucked.”

“And you don’t have any romantic feelings towards him? Don’t wanna date him or make this a regular thing?” He almost sounded… jealous? No, that wasn’t possible.

“Don’t think so.”

“King!” Tatara sounded scandalised.

“What?”

“That’s awful!”

“What’s wrong with casual sex?” Mikoto’s eyebrows creased in the middle at Tatara’s judgemental tone.

“Nothing, but that wasn’t what it was to him!”

“What d’you mean?”

“Honestly, King, if you can’t tell that Munakata has a crush on you from twenty paces…”

“…Really?” Mikoto’s stomach dropped.

“I’d bet 10,000 yen on it.”

“…Ah.”

“…What?”

“How can you tell?”

“He looks at you like… well like someone who has a crush on you!  I don’t know, anyone who’s not completely socially inept would tell you the same thing. Ask Kusanagi, I bet he’ll agree with me. And he has connections; he’s totally screwing the Blues’ Lieutenant- she’ll definitely know.”

Mikoto was quiet for a moment as a pang of guilt twisted in the pit of his stomach. That explained the odd look on Reisi’s face as he’d left that morning. How badly it must have hurt him… Mikoto could only imagine how he would have felt if he’d slept with Tatara only for him to tell him he was in love with someone else immediately afterwards. And the most humiliating thing was that Mikoto had no idea that Reisi felt that way until it was too late and the damage was done. He felt like an idiot. Maybe he and Reisi never quite saw eye to eye with one another as Blue King and Red King, but as Reisi and Mikoto… he had to admit he was fond of his counterpart. Maybe in different circumstances they would have been good friends. He’d certainly never had any intention of bringing harm on him, not like this.

“…What’s that look for?” Tatara asked sceptically. “Don’t tell me it gets even worse…”

Mikoto sighed. “I told him after that I’d figured out my sexuality ‘cause of it.”

Tatara narrowed his eyes, sensing an unspoken second half to that sentence. It was eerie how clearly Tatara could see right through him. “And…?”

“…And I told him ‘cause I figured out my sexuality with him, I figured out there was another guy...”

“So let me get this straight. You slept with Munakata, and then told him that you like someone else, but you weren’t sure you liked that person romantically because you didn’t know you were into guys until you slept with Munakata?”

Mikoto grimaced slightly at the word choice- liked felt so middle-school, so incapable of encompassing what he felt for Tatara, but now wasn’t the time to protest. “Yeah, something like that. I didn’t do it as an experiment, it just sorta happened, and figuring it out was a side effect.”

“Oh, King… That’s still really messed up...”

“I know that now.”

“You need to apologise to him.”

“Wouldn’t it just embarrass him to know I know he feels that way?”

“He probably feels like crap, so at this point exceptions should be made- you’d do more good by apologising than bad by embarrassing him. So you really should go and talk to him.”

Mikoto sighed, then nodded. “Yeah, I will.”

Tatara caught his gaze- Mikoto hadn’t been making eye contact with him- and he gave him a sympathetic look. “Don’t beat yourself up too much. You didn’t know.”

“Doesn’t mean it wasn’t shitty,” Mikoto replied, looking away once more.

“Let him get a few extra free punches in the next time you two have one of your King Battle Extravaganzas, might make him feel a bit better,” Tatara said light-heartedly.

Mikoto gave a half-hearted chuckle at the suggestion.

“…So who is it you told him you liked?”

Mikoto tried his best to keep a blank expression as he shrugged and said: “Doesn’t matter.”

“You’re worried about hurting them,” Tatara said, more of a statement than a question.

Mikoto had been avoiding his eyes as best he could until this point, but he couldn’t help but look up at Tatara in astonishment at that comment. No matter how many times it happened, it was still somewhat unnerving to Mikoto when Tatara did that- stared straight through him as if his every thought was written upon his skin. He had no idea how Tatara could have worked out that part of the reason he didn’t want to mention anything to ‘his love interest’ was that he didn’t want to put him in harm’s way- first it had just been because of how dangerous his powers were, but now after what he’d done to Reisi…

Mikoto sighed again- part of him had been worried Tatara might figure out it was him that he’d told Reisi he was in love with, but thankfully he showed no sign of suspicion.

“This doesn’t make you a bad guy, King. You didn’t know, and you didn’t mean for any of this. Just go and talk to him, clear the air, and you’ll both feel better, okay?”