"The very last late-night snack before I go. The very last one." Feeling like his own phrasing had come out a bit off, Kaito rephrased it.
If he were being more precise, what he should have said was: the last late-night snack before he left Liyue — for now. Because after he left tomorrow, he'd be back before long. That much was beyond question.
Of course, Miko and Lumine and everyone else had no way of knowing that. Only he did.
"There we go. Always saying things that sound so ominous — honestly." Miko immediately put on the air of a world-weary elder scolding a wayward junior.
"When have I ever 'always' said ominous things?" Kaito was genuinely baffled by what she'd said.
He'd accept it if she called his immediate phrasing unlucky — but "always"? He absolutely was not going to let that one slide.
"Then go ask Lumine." Rather than answer him, Miko simply pointed at Lumine beside them, gesturing for Kaito to direct the question her way.
Lumine, for her part, looked utterly puzzled. For a moment she had no idea what to say.
"I don't think… that's quite right?" After a long pause, she finally said that much.
She'd tried her best to think back over the things Kaito had said recently, and she really couldn't find any evidence of it.
"Ah, then I must be misremembering." Miko gave a little laugh, looking completely unbothered.
This woman…
Watching Miko carry on as though nothing had happened at all, Kaito could only feel a mild, exasperated helplessness.
But at that moment, something else crept back into his thoughts — the scene from just a little while ago. If he hadn't been imagining things, Miko had been about to walk toward him, and he'd had the distinct impression she was going to sit down beside him. As for why she'd stopped herself — he suspected it was because Lumine had come in at that exact moment.
Honestly, when it came to having both Lumine and Miko around at the same time, he genuinely didn't know what the right move was.
Whatever else, he was absolutely going to treat them both equally — there was no question of letting either of them feel neglected. But whether it was inexperience or something else, the moment the two of them were together, he didn't dare reach for either one. He was terrified that whichever one he touched first, the other would feel left out.
The result was that the whole atmosphere between them felt exactly like it used to — like three people being perfectly polite to each other and nothing more. Which left Kaito feeling rather helpless.
And it wasn't just him, either. Miko and Lumine seemed to be in the same boat. The three of them together had a strangely ceremonious, guest-and-host sort of feeling to it.
It wasn't bad, exactly. But it was definitely a little odd.
Haah…
What am I supposed to do here?
Kaito decided he had to do something. He couldn't let things keep drifting on like this. The awkward part was, he had absolutely no idea what.
No, no, no—
Stop overthinking it!
Just go for it!
Like a man making up his mind to leap off a ledge, Kaito opened his mouth: "Alright, both of you — come sit on my lap."
Hm?
Not expecting Kaito to suddenly say something like that, Lumine blinked, caught off guard.
Miko, on the other hand, cut straight to the question: "Why do you suddenly want us sitting on your lap? You're not about to try something sneaky, are you?"
"What do you mean, 'try something sneaky'? Just come here already — isn't 'because I want to' reason enough?" Ignoring Miko's nonsense, Kaito stated plainly that this was simply something he liked.
"Well, if it's what you want — I'll humor you." With that, Miko stood up and settled herself on Kaito's left leg.
Seeing that, Lumine rose as well, came to his side, and sat down on his right leg.
"One on each side." Kaito rested a hand on each of them with an air of deep satisfaction.
"Someone's hands are misbehaving." Miko's body gave a small shiver, and she sounded a little put-out.
"That's right." Lumine glanced down, then glanced toward Miko's side, and muttered quietly under her breath.
"Well, when it's like this, of course my hands aren't going to behave." Kaito said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Lumine." Miko suddenly turned to look at her.
"What is it?" Lumine, who had already gone a little pink in the face, looked back at her with mild confusion.
"If this guy's hands aren't behaving, then ours shouldn't either." Miko's tone was perfectly matter-of-fact as she met Lumine's eyes.
Lumine clearly hadn't understood what she meant.
"Huh?" She blinked again. Our hands shouldn't behave either?
What was Miko trying to do?
Was she suggesting they… touch Kaito somewhere?
The thought floated up in her mind, but Lumine just watched Miko without reacting. She genuinely didn't know what Miko was about to pull.
"Are you two about to — " Kaito's expression shifted mid-sentence, and he finished: "Your hands are misbehaving too, aren't they."
"Whose fault is it that they are." Miko remained perfectly unrepentant.
Lumine, meanwhile, stared down in wide-eyed surprise at what Miko was doing — because her own hands had not moved one bit.
But Kaito seemed to have already assumed she was in on it too. Well, then. She might as well join in.
Though — what exactly were they doing right now? Where was this going?
Oh, right…
Were they about to be "tidied up" — me and Miko both?
Something Miko had said to her not long ago suddenly surfaced in her mind, and Lumine thought she was starting to understand.
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