"So what's been going on with you lately?"

"Hm… Nothing new. School's the same, but-Oh! Right! Grandma and Grandpa are coming back this Sunday!"

"Ah, has it been a month already?"

"Yep! I can't wait to see what they bring back! They always choose the best souvenirs!"

"Soon enough you won't have to worry about rushing over here, isn't that right Yokozawa?"

"Well it's not like I won't end up back here most of the time anyway…" Yokozawa muttered; he wasn't in a bitter mood, rather Yokozawa didn't appreciate Kirishima trying to get a rise out of him by having him get flustered and come back with a line like, "B-But I like coming over!"

Like every day for the past month, Yokozawa sat seated for dinner at the Kirishima's. It's not like this was uncommon behavior though; Yokozawa was a frequent guest who even spent weekends there. Be it as it may, during the last month, he had found himself rushing to get to the Kirishima apartment as early as possible. He usually visited at his own leisure or waited for Kirishima to get off of work.

With Kirishima's parents overseas, Hiyori was doomed to be left alone for long stretches of time during Kirishima's busiest days. However, it was no surprise when Yokozawa took it upon himself to get to work in the mere hours of the morning and finish early just so the young girl wouldn't have to be alone all of that time. She had originally protested needing a babysitter, but Hiyori later found herself enjoying the quality time with Yokozawa. In turn, him coming a few hours earlier than expect him led Yokozawa to spending more time at the Kirishima's than usual, and he could swear that by now he was there more than his own apartment.

Since he was bound to spend so much time at their place, Kirishima had suggested that Yokozawa just move in for the month. The proposition was denied however, as Yokozawa saw the notion as unnecessary. Even so, there were some days when Hiyori would innocently asked him to spend the night, and he just couldn't deny her every time she asked.

"Even if you'll still come over all the time, it'll still feel weird," Hiyori admitted with just an inkling of disappointment in her voice. "I got so used to you being home just when I was, so it might feel a bit lonely from now on."

"N-Not really… Are you forgetting that your grandmother is coming back? She'll be able to keep you company until your father comes home."

"Eeh? It's not the same though," Hiyori insisted. "I'll really mi-"

The ringing of a cellphone cut her off before she could finish, and the three looked at each other before Kirishima realized it was his and hesitantly took out his phone.

"Ah, that's mine. Sorry, must've forgotten to put it on vibrate. I'll just turn it off and-Oh?" Kirishima took a look at the caller on his screen and decided to answer. He stood up and began to walk out to the balcony, an expression of apology on his face and a finger indicating that he'd be just a minute.

"I guess work calls," Yokozawa offered to Hiyori, who looked somewhat confused at the intrusion.

"Usually they don't disturb him this late though," she noted.

It was true; Kirishima liked to set a clear line between work and private life, and his subordinates at this point understood this, so it must have been someone important that Kirishima couldn't ignore. At least it didn't sound like Hiyori minded the interruption, Yokozawa reasoned.

"Anyway Oniichan, I was hoping that once Grandma and Grandpa get home, you'd help me cook a big feast for them!"

"Ah, that shouldn't be a problem."

"I really want them to have something special, because it's probably been a really long time since they've had a nice home cooked meal."

"Well if it's cooked by you, I'm sure they'll love it," he assured her. "What do you have in mind?"

"Hm… I don't know yet, but I wanted to try some new recipes, which is why I need your help," explained Hiyori. "How about we each choose a main dish? And then cook them both! It's a feast after all! Oh, and Father can suggest something too!"

The sound of the balcony door opening made the two turn their heads to Kirishima, who welcomed himself back in with a look of irritation on his face. He scratched the back of his head and bitterly sat down.

"What's wrong?" inquired Hiyori.

"Ah, it turns out Shizuku got sick, so they're asking me to fill in for him."

Yokozawa noticed the tilt of Hiyori's head. "He's another editor in your father's division," he informed the confused youngster as he turned to Kirishima. "What the hell? Isn't he supposed to be in charge of Ijuuin-Sensei's meet-and-greet tour tomorrow?" Originally, Yokozawa was supposed to be the sales representative in charge of this event, but knowing that Kirishima's parents would be away at the time, he had passed the job onto Henmi just in case Kirishima needed him to watch Hiyori. "They can't expect you to haul your ass all the way to Sapporo by tomorrow, do they?"

Kirishima sighed. "I tried to get out of it, but my boss just wouldn't give in. He said that if I leave early enough tomorrow, I could get to the office and pick up the materials we need, and probably make it in time for the event if I took a bullet train."

"That's just downright preposterous," Yokozawa said disbelievingly. Though a stretch, it was true that Kirishima could probably make it on time; that still didn't excuse the fact that this was such a tall favor to ask in such short notice though.

"Yeah, it is," Kirishima echoed annoyingly as he rested his chin on his palm. "But apparently Kyo-san said he wouldn't do this event without someone who's been his editor, so it's either me or no event."

The man probably just wanted to make sure that he was familiar with the guy running his event. While Japun had all of its editors collectively work on every manga that the magazine serialized, there was always a specific editor assigned to the authors and were the ones who met and discussed things with them in person. The only two editors that have ever been put specifically in charge of Ijuuin-Sensei's works are Shizuku and Kirishima himself.

Yokozawa was about to argue, but ultimately Kirishima had been pushed into a corner; the cancellation of a top-selling author's meet and greet would probably not only have its own backlash in sales, but the company's reputation itself. In Yokozawa's opinion, however, it wouldn't hurt to postpone one day, but he was most definitely biased in keeping in mind Kirishima's good health.

"Ah, so then Father won't be here this weekend?" In the midst of a work-related discussion, the two had forgotten that Hiyori was present. She was currently giving her father a blank stare. "Does that mean I'll be here alone overnight?"

"Hm? Of course not. Tomorrow's a Friday, so Yokozawa'll be here like always."

"Wh-What?!" Yokozawa choked on the tea he was sipping down, aghast at the casualness in Kirishima's voice.

Kirishima looked at him apathetically. "It's the weekend," he reasoned, "you always come over!"

Hiyori brightened up. "Really? That's great! Without Father, it's kind of like a sleepover, don't you think?"

"Isn't it always a sleepover?" teased Kirishima, who chose to ignore Yokozawa's paling face.

Yokozawa balked at the two rejoicing, as he couldn't help but feel a pit in his stomach at Hiyori's innocent words. It was nice that she tended to think of him as one of her friends, but this was going a bit too far. What would the neighbors think, seeing a grown man like him sleeping in an apartment alone with a child? Although he was already known as a "close friend" of Kirishima's, wouldn't people be suspicious about him sleeping over without the master of the house? Not to mention, the notion was just morally wrong.

He couldn't help but frown disbelievingly in Kirishima's direction, paled with anxiety about how to go about things with Hiyori around, but he soon felt his draining blood rise back to a boil when Kirishima shrugged him off. He briefly rubbed the bridge of his nose before composing himself and requesting, "Hiyo, can I speak to your father alone for a second?" He didn't feel too bad about sending her away from the dinner table, as they were just about done eating anyway.

Hiyori's blithe demeanor suddenly turned dubious. "But the dishes…"

"Don't worry, we'll take care of them." Yokozawa frowned when she looked away and tried to encourage her with a smile. "You have school tomorrow anyway. You should finish up your homework so that you can get a good night's sleep."

Hiyori returned the grin, albeit hesitantly, and nodded. "M'kay... Thanks for helping with dinner, Oniichan," she remarked as she took sweet her time in leaving the room. Perhaps she was waiting to be told to stay, but that just didn't happen.

While Yokozawa was watching her leave, Kirishima's eyes stayed glued to him with an undecipherable emotion. When Yokozawa finally turned to him, his expression had turned to one of sarcastic shock. "What's wrong?" he asked, feigning his ignorance.

"Don't give me that crap," Yokozawa muttered harshly, being sure to check his volume just in case Hiyori was still lingering about. "How can you expect me to watch a prepubescent girl alone?!"

"What're you talking about? You watch her for me all the time," Kirishima sighed out as he waved the air with the flick of his wrist, clearly not taking Yokozawa's words seriously.

"But sleep over here?!"

"You do that too! I don't see why you're so worked up over this!"

"That's different though! You're always here when I sleep over!" It would be one thing if Hiyori was a niece of his, but they had no familial relationship whatsoever. "It's not good for me to be sleeping here alone with a girl for a whole weekend! It'd be one thing if your parents were coming back late tomorrow and I'd just have to wait for them to come on over, but they're coming back Sunday!" Rude as it may be to ask someone just returning from vacation to watch a child, it was a much better solution.

"Don't sweat the details," Kirishima tiredly brushed him aside, "Hiyori wants you over here anyway! She was beaming!"

"It's a grown man and a little girl alone! Don't you think that's pretty damn inappropriate?!"

"Well, no, because I trust you."

"E-Even so!" Yokozawa wouldn't take him missing the point any longer. "What do you think the neighbor's are gonna think about this whole thing? Can't she stay at a friend's place? Or even go with you?" he requested, exasperated.

"I can't ask anyone else to watch her at this late of a notice; it'd be too tall of a favor, especially since it's for more than just a night," explained Kirishima, finally confronting the issue at hand. "Plus, tomorrow's a Friday. And I won't be back until sometime Monday, so I'd be pulling her out for two days of school if I took her with me."

"..." Yokozawa brought a hand to his head in disbelief out of the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He sighed, looking down to the table. "So your parents are coming back Sunday, right? I only have to stay over until then?"

Kirishima grinned at having broken his lover down. He didn't miss the blush on the other's face, and while he couldn't tell why Yokozawa was so flustered, he had no complaints.

Yokozawa felt a squeeze on his free hand still splayed about the table and his head darted up in shock, the hint of his blush intensifying. "Huh?! What are you-"

"Thanks for doing this, I mean it." The word were said casually, but Kirishima's eyes had sincere gratitude in them. To ruin the moment however, Kirishima snapped his head in the other direction and called out, "Hey, Hiyori, Yokozawa said he wants to have a sleepover!"

"Really?!"

Yokozawa, uncomfortable with this display of affection, quickly snapped his hand back to under the table. However, he didn't have the time to reprimand Kirishima for grasping his hand as the sound of Hiyori's scurrying feet came to a close.

"Let's do something over the weekend too, then! We can always go somewhere fun, ah, but it's really up to you Oniichan!" she suggested, returning much more lively than she ever was this whole night.

He let his embarrassment dissipate as he lost himself in Hiyori's chatter about making plans for the weekend.

"You should really just spend the night," coaxed Kirishima as he closed Hiyori's slightly opened door where the two had just stolen a glance at her sleeping form. "You'll come back tomorrow anyway."

"Which is exactly why I have to go home today," retorted Yokozawa. "I may have clothes here, but only enough to last a day."

"Ah, I suppose so." Kirishima watched Yokozawa put on his jacket for a few seconds before initiating another conversation. "So while the tour does end on Sunday, there's undoubtedly going to be a drinking party that I'll be coerced into. Mind picking me up on Monday after work? It would be a pain to come back hung over, so you're free to use the car."

"Why should I do that?" asked Yokozawa as he buttoned up his jacket. The proposition confused him. If a hangover was his excuse, it would make more sense for Yokozawa to pick him up in the morning; by the afternoon, his grogginess should be long gone. "Wouldn't it just be more convenient to just take the train back?"

"Well yeah, it would be, but truth is, I'd like to have a little excursion with you. We've never been on a trip with just the two of us and there probably won't be many chances, so this'll do for now," Kirishima casually explained. "I should be at the same place where reception booked Kyo-san, so just pick me up there."

"Huh?" Yokozawa's eyes flickered wide for just a second before he snapped his head away and began to put on his shoes. "No way am I going to Sapporo just for a whim of yours…"

Smiling to himself, Kirishima walked up behind the unsuspecting Yokozawa. He leaned in, taking advantage of the man's diverted attention and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"-!" Yokozawa's head shot to the side, but before he could react, he felt a low resonance in his ear, causing him to shudder.

"See you in Sapporo," was all he said before he walked away.

Yokozawa turned around to chew out his brazen lover for doing something so daring while his daughter was present, even if she was sleeping, but decided not to make a scene so late. At least he could get a scowl in, he thought, but turning around only proved to aggravate him more as that triumphant grin shot back at him didn't seem intimidated in the least.

"Good night," Kirishima offered lowly as Yokozawa opened the door, flooding the entryway with light from the hallway.

"Tch..." Yokozawa stepped out of the apartment, but before shutting the door reciprocated the greeting with a grumbled, "G'night..."

Yokozawa brought more than just a briefcase to the office that morning. The receptionists and other coworkers he'd happen to chance upon had been asking him about the small duffel bag over his shoulder, but all he'd say was that he was watching someone's house while he was away. Someone dared to ask if it was Kirishima to which Yokozawa, in a panic, denied. 'Maybe I should've waited until after work to pack my things…' he considered.

But even being alone on the sales floor in the wee hours of the morning didn't stop him from being bothered.

"Hope you're not planning to burn the midnight oil before a weekend," came the cocky remark, causing Yokozawa to lift his head. Takano gave a light kick to the duffel bag which was hidden under the desk. "You're here awfully early today." At the moment, they were the only two on the floor.

"Well unlike some people, I have to work on Saturdays anyway, so it wouldn't make a difference if it's a Friday or not," shot back Yokozawa. "You're here pretty early for an editor too," he retorted as he neatly shuffled his papers and set them down, sparing himself the time for a casual conversation.

Takano sat down in the seat parked at the desk adjacent to his. He straddled the chair's spine, his chest leaning against the backing and his head resting on his arms, which were in turn on top of the rim of the chair. He spun towards Yokozawa with a sour look on his face. "Isaka-san gave us tickets to some onsen that we aren't allowed to refuse. We're stuck scrambling to get this month's issue finished before Sunday," he explained. "I hear that you've been coming in this early every day lately though. What's your excuse?"

"Oh, um…" Yokozawa fumbled with coming up with an excuse. "I've been waking up earlier lately, so I thought I might as well snap it up and get some work done. 'Us' though? Does that mean it's an Emerald-wide invitation?" he asked, attempting to shift the conversation.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure he just wants a souvenir out of it though, so it's a pain."

"Well anything out of Isaka's mouth is a pain, but what does he think there's to gain out of an onsen trip?"

"Hell if I know," spat Takano as his muscled un-tensed. "All I know is that these hours of sleep that I don't have now will go to use there."

That was when Yokozawa really took a good look at Takano. "Well now that you mention it, you look like crap."

"Like that's what I need to hear first thing in the morning from the guy with the worst fashion sense in the whole sales' department," replied Takano in an attempt to dispel any worry.

"Not everyone can be born with killer looks like you to make their gaudy wardrobe look princely," came the bitter come-back. "But enough of this; Have you been eating well lately?"

"Yes, yes, I've been eating just fine," Takano replied routinely. "Believe it or not, even without you around I have the common sense to cook for myself. Plus it's not just me I'm taking care of now." It's been a while since Yokozawa had doted on him, so he had completely forgotten about the man's tendency to do so.

'Ah, he must mean Onodera…' Yokozawa thought to himself, mentally rolling his eyes at having to think about the guy. "Alright, when's the last time you slept?" Yokozawa brought the back of his hand to the other's forehead and continued to press on in his interrogation, ignoring the glare he got. "Are you going to finish on time? Are you sure that you can handle the workload all alone?"

"I've slept every night of the week," Takano informed him with the slightest hint of annoyance in his tone as he inched away Yokozawa's hand with his finger. "And I assure you we're all suffering at an equal pace."

"Alright, but how many hours of sleep?"

"God you're a pain," muttered Takano, knowing that if he answered truthfully, Yokozawa would be all over his ass.

In all honestly, he was surprised that Yokozawa still had it in him to dote on him like this; ever since Takano had rejected him, the most motherly demand that Yokozawa would bother to give would be along the lines of, "Just don't skip out on meals," or something else generic of the sorts. "Ah, by the way, when are you free? I haven't seen my cat in ages. Now that I think about it, it's been a while since we've hung out too. Spare a few hours for a drink before I leave. It'll give us some time to catch up. You don't have any plans, do you?"

Yokozawa smiled contently at the invitation, but he had prior obligations. "Before Sunday? Ah, I-" 'I'm actually busy this whole weekend,' he wanted to say, but he was cut off by an intrusive third party.

"Ah, Yokozawa! There you are!" called out Kirishima from across the room as he stormed towards the duo.

Takano turned his chair towards the voice that was much louder than it needed to be.

"K-Kirishima-san?!" Yokozawa had known that Kirishima was bound to be about the building around this time, but he hadn't noticed the man standing there. As to why he was so flustered? There was just something off about the way that Kirishima was looking at him right now...

Kirishima drew in rapidly, and while he was smiling, his eyes indicated that he felt otherwise. He was behind Yokozawa in an instant.

Yokozawa couldn't bring himself to question the man's off-kilter behavior, instead opting to inquire, "Why are you still here? Weren't you supposed to be on your way to Sapporo?"

"Yeah, well, I thought I'd drop by to say goodbye before I left; wouldn't want you missing me too badly, would ya'?" he asked as he bent over and slung an arm over Yokozawa's shoulder.

"H-Hey!" barked Yokozawa. He shoved the arm off of his shoulder, but that proved to be fruitless as he soon found the weight back on him. Yokozawa could only inch away from the face that was now nearing his own, unintentionally shooting his friend a perplexed look of irritability. Trying to quell any brewing misunderstandings, Yokozawa gave an awkward laugh and lightly pushed at Kirishima's forearm, signalling for him to let go.

Takano raised his eye at the odd interaction but chose not to confront it. "I hear that Ijuuin-Sensei has some events around Sapporo. I take it that you're in charge of that then?"

"Mm, yeah, so I should be on my way out soon," Kirishima commented playfully as he heartily waved the files in his hand. Despite speaking to Takano, his gaze didn't leave Yokozawa.

"Then quit messing around and get going," growled Yokozawa.

"Just needed to confirm a couple of things first," told Kirishima as he finally let go of Yokozawa's shoulder; nonetheless he leaned in even more, gradually expelling the distance between their already close faces. "You will watch Hiyori the whole weekend, right?" The face he had challenged Yokozawa to refute.

Yokozawa in turn scowled, as it seemed more of a command than a harmless inquisition. "We've been over this already!" he snapped, leaning away as Kirishima grew closer.

"Then about the signings… Just so we're prepared to deal with whatever when I get there, have all the gifts to the attendees been shipped to one store or to the respective stores?"

"Take it up with Henmi, you know that I wasn't in charge of this," he snarled bitterly; it was a poorly disguised warning for Kirishima to take it down a notch, but the nonchalant expression on the other's face indicated that the hint was being ignored. This made Yokozawa's eyes arch in irritation.

Takano had long since caught wind of the uncomfortable atmosphere and rose an eyebrow at the unexpected display. "I'll leave you two to it then," he interrupted as he stood up to take his leave. "Some other time then, Yokozawa," he proposed with a lazy wave of his hand.

Yokozawa looked anxiously at his friend's fleeting form, then disbelievingly at Kirishima.

"Hm, I guess that's my cue too then," spoke Kirishima as he finally gave the other some personal space and took a deep breath."Yokozawa, I-"

"Ah, wait, Masamune!"

All of the muscles in Kirishima's body tensed up; Takano may have ignored the call of his name, but that didn't quell Kirishima's unease even the slightest bit. The air between him and Yokozawa was stale until they both heard Takano distantly step into the elevator.

Yokozawa whirled to the man next to him and immediately raised his voice. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"..." Instead of looking guilty, Kirishima looked equally as frustrated.

"It's one thing when you're being clingy, but what the hell was that?!" It's not like this was the first time Kirishima attempted to indulge in PDA with Yokozawa, but it had never been to this explicit of an extent. "Actually, even when you're not this touchy, you hanging over me has gone too far! Don't you have any tact?!"

Kirishima could feel his eye twitch. "Do I have tact? Yokozawa, what the hell were you doing with Takano?" he shot back with exasperation and animosity prevalent on his face and tone.

"What do you mean?! Don't tell me you thought I was going to blow Hiyori off for a few drinks!" Yokozawa grew livid at the thought of Kirishima thinking that he would ditch taking care of Hiyori for just a few hours of pleasure. Maybe that was why Kirishima had stormed in; had he come in the middle of Takano trying to make plans with him?

Kirishima's mouth went agape with shock at the accusation that was evidently way off base. "What?! Of course not!"

"Or did you think I was up to something?" Yokozawa dared to ask, his eyes challenging Kirishima to confirm it.

"No, I-! I just…" Kirishima sighed and broke eye contact as the tension on his face broke down. "I don't think you were up to anything, it's just that... seeing you with Takano just…" Kirishima paused to find the right words.

"So that's it? You were just jealous?!"

Kirishima jolted at the temper still apparent in Yokozawa's voice. Usually this would be the time were Yokozawa would assure him, albeit reluctantly, that he had eyes for no one else and that it was no use having such a petty jealousy, yet... at the moment Yokozawa showed no sign of calming down. Kirishima couldn't help but feel that Yokozawa was trying to make him feel sheepish for his behavior.

"Do you think that you can use that as an excuse every time you act up?!"

Kirishima's eyes went wide. Yokozawa was never this bold when pointing out a fault. He locked eyes with his significant other and saw none of his usual compassion present. Yokozawa was bringing up a topic unrelated to the argument at hand, yet Kirishima felt a pit in his stomach at the other's newly revealed opinion of his own tendencies. Instead of correcting the other, he let Yokozawa continue on his tangent. Curiosity killed the cat, after all.

"You just look at me with those suave eyes and expect me to melt after revealing that you raised hell just because you just 'couldn't help it,' but you've gone too far this time! Don't you think that he suspects something now?! Would you really have done this in front of other people?! I know Masamune won't spread around something like this, but I still-!"

"So… You didn't tell him?" Kirishima had been backing down in the argument, but his adrenaline was back to pumping. There was a slight twitch in his eye when Yokozawa had sung praise about his friend, but that wasn't the issue he wanted to address right now.

"Of course not!" snapped Yokozawa, as if Kirishima should've assumed on his own that that was the case. "It would be one thing if it was just a friendly slap on the shoulder, but surely even you thought that that display was beyond common sense!"

"-!" Kirishima bolted upwards. "How have you not managed to tell him about us at this point?!" It would be one thing if Takano was just a co-worker, or a casual friend, but this was Yokozawa's former love that was put into question. It's not like he'd be fazed to hear that Yokozawa was dating another man. He hadn't exactly expected Yokozawa to go advertising that he had a new relationship, but the fact that he kept this from Takano of all people...

Biting his lip at the new height difference, Yokozawa stood up himself. "There's no good reason to! And we're not talking about that right now!"

"Well then let's make it what we're talking about!"

Before they could continue arguing, the sound of the elevator ding, followed by the low murmurs of idle chat broke whatever heated words that were about to come out; this was probably for the better, but the unresolved tension left both men insatiable and ready to go at it.

"Are you sure you can even spare the time to bicker? Catch your damn train and get the hell outta' here." Yokozawa kept his volume in check upon the arrival of coworkers, but his tone was no less colder.

Kirishima glowered at the man before shooting over his shoulder with a growl. He marched right out of sales, ignoring the greetings of the three sales representatives; he didn't even bother trying to dispel their murmurs about his apparent bad mood; not having the patience for masking his ill mannerisms, he opted to leave before he might blow up at anyone else.

"Ahaha, good morning Yokozawa-san! "

Without breaking eye contact with the place that Kirishima once stood, Yokozawa nodded and muttered some half-hearted "good morning."

"I guess that you've got to lay down the law, even this early in the morning, huh?" The tone was playful, and indicated that the newcomers had the impression that Yokozawa was just being his usual hard-ass self. It was good that they didn't suspect an actual fight went down, but the naivety nonetheless wasn't helping him to calm down.

Yokozawa murmured gibberish that sounded like an agreement and sat down, rubbing the bridge of his nose in agitation.

"But even if you two are close, don't you think that that was a bit harsh to Kirishima-san? He looked pretty miffed, a-and he usually... never…" The jocose tone in the man's voice had gradually phased into reluctance, eventually fizzling out into nothing when he noticed the grumpy look on Yokozawa's face.

"What a waste of time… I came here early to get some work out of the way but ended up getting nothing done," Yokozawa finally muttered as he rested his forehead on his hand. Recalling Takano's mention of an expedited deadline, he began with, "What's the status on this month's Emerald?"

While he wasn't any later than any normal work day, Yokozawa found himself sprinting all the way to the Kirishima's. By now, Hiyori would have been alone for a while, and that thought alone caused him to forget to even bring her a treat this time.

He considered that after their fight this morning, Kirishima wouldn't want him watching Hiyori while he was all worked up and hot headed, but since he got no texts from either party, he couldn't say for sure. Maybe Hiyori was cutting him off too? It wouldn't hurt to check on her anyway. He could have called to make sure, but just in case he was being exiled from the Kirishima household, he could at least catch the girl by surprise and take Sorata back while the atmosphere recovered.

At the door, Yokozawa crouched just the slightest bit to catch his breath and fumbled about his pockets looking for his key; he didn't like to use it, but just in case Hiyori wasn't home, it would have to do. He opened it and was surprised to see Hiyori at the end of the entryway, already standing there to greet him.

"Welcome, Oniichan!" Yokozawa noted that she was already donned in an apron.

"Ah… Did you start making dinner already? I'm sorry I couldn't be here on time to help you," he said as he began to slip off his shoes and coat.

"Mm-mm, don't worry about it," Hiyori assured him as she pranced back to the kitchen, a jump in her step. "You must've been working hard today, so I'm just glad that you'll be able to relax for once. I'm almost done," she informed him from the kitchen. "I'm just glad you made it!"

"..." Hiyori didn't seem to have any intention of chewing him out, but just to make sure… "Did your father not mention anything?" he asked, making his way into the kitchen to set the table.

Hiyori popped up from looking at the pot and tilted her head. "Why? Did something happen?"

"... Not at all." He couldn't bring himself to look at her when he said so and instead occupied himself with setting the table. "I just assumed that being the doting father he is, he'd have sent you a hundred messages by now."

"Actually, I haven't gotten any! Which is weird, because I was preparing myself for a barrage, but I guess not," she trilled as she stirred the pot. "He must be really busy."

It was impossible that Kirishima had forgotten about Hiyori. Yokozawa had he expected him to ask her to stay over at a friend's place or something else, but maybe he had just decided to keep Hiyori out of this particular fight. Yokozawa wholeheartedly agreed with the notion; their fights were usually one-sided so it was rare for both parties to be in mutual aggression, and that could be ugly to watch; there was no reason to ruin the youngster's weekend.

A smile cracked on Yokozawa's lips when Sorata briefly brushed between his legs before making his way to the couch, knocking him from his thoughts.

"Ah, that reminds me! Since father's going to be gone until Monday, can we save the dinner for Grandma and Grandpa until then?"

And just like that, Yokozawa's smile went. "Sure." That was as long as they were on speaking terms by then.

That whole night, Yokozawa waited for a text or a call from Kirishima, to him or Hiyori, but one never came. Over dinner, Yokozawa and Hiyori had conversed about what dishes they could cook and what they could do to spend their Saturday. Yokozawa had ultimately suggested going to the museum. As far as he knew, Hiyori could be seen drawing at any given time being the avid manga fan she was, and getting second place for her painting in that competition only increased her infatuation. Evidently, it was the right suggestion because the girl was ecstatic. Although they'd be going rather late in the afternoon due to Yokozawa's work hours, Hiyori didn't show that she minded.

Granted he found himself looking forward to the museum trip as well, Yokozawa found himself restless that whole night. Talking to Hiyori had calmed his anger, and he could only hope that a successful meet-and-greet had done the same for Kirishima. Yokozawa resorted to staring at the guestroom ceiling trying to think of ways to mend this mess.

While Kirishima had dodged every one of his inquiries, Yokozawa supposed that he was insensitive himself, and ultimately decided that prolonging their stalemate would be a waste of time. Yet, when morning came and Yokozawa had to prepare for work, he had found no solutions. 'Maybe this is good,' he tried to justify; it'd give him more time to think his words through, and it was better to talk these things out in person, after all.

'I guess I'll just have to pick him up as planned then,' he thought incredulously. It mildly gnawed at the back of his mind he was somewhat looking forward to what little small surprise Kirishima had planned, even if the whim did ruffle him up a bit; that was assuming that he and Kirishima mended their differences anyway. 'Anything that could bridge this fight,' he declared to himself.

"Leaving so soon, Oniichan?" asked Hiyori, who had just woken up and ducked out of her room. She was an early bird, but Yokozawa was hoping that she would sleep in this one time. "Isn't this early, even for you?"

"Yeah, but I want to be back as soon as possible," he explained as he smiled fondly at her. "It would be bad if I ended up late like yesterday. We have plans after all, don't we?"

With this, Hiyori's eyes rose with excitement and she nodded. "Yup! Take care, Oniichan!"

Yokozawa nodded back at her and proceeded down the entryway, a tinging feeling at the back of his mind. Hiyori didn't seem to notice what bad mood both men were in, and he'd like to keep it that way.

Chapter 1 : The Wrong Idea.

(A/N) : I don't know if Sapporo is that far of a train ride that it may take a few hours, but. If anyone wants to correct me on this, please feel free.

I also apologize for the lack of editing.

Anyway, thank you for reading!