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Barok had kept a close eye on the calendar since the beginning of that month, and that day, it had finally arrived: the first anniversary of the day he invited Kazuma and Ryunosuke to move into his home, to which they said yes.
Klint, as the hopeless romantic he had been, never missed those dates. It had become a tradition in their home to celebrate their wedding anniversary—and also their meeting anniversary, and the anniversary of their first kiss, among other occasions.
Barok wouldn’t go that far, of course… But he liked the idea of celebrating something as important to him as having his partners by his side. They didn’t have an official anniversary for their relationship, since it had been more of a slow progression until they came to the point they were. Instead, the one date he could think of that carried a deep meaning to him was when they agreed to his proposal of sharing a home with him—the closest three men could hope to get to a proper marriage.
As the day came to an end, he thought about how to touch on that subject. The door to their office opened, and neither of them was surprised when Ryunosuke walked in with a wide smile.
“Good evening!”
Barok looked at him, forcing a serious expression. “What is a defense attorney doing at our office at this hour?”
“I thought I’d wait for you, so we can go back together.”
Kazuma scoffed. “How clingy…”
“And you hate it, don’t you?”
“So much…”
Ryunosuke crouched beside Kazuma, who pulled him into a side hug. Barok observed them and their habitual playfulness from his desk, slightly nervous as he gathered his courage to speak.
“Do you have plans for tonight?”
The other two looked at him, intrigued.
“No plans. Why?” asked Kazuma.
“Would you mind accompanying me for dinner, then?”
Ryunosuke’s face lit up. “Sure! Where are we going?”
Barok named a fancy restaurant, which clearly surprised his partners.
“Someone is feeling generous,” said Kazuma.
“I suppose so,” said Barok. “Today is a special day, after all.”
Ryunosuke tilted his head, slightly surprised. “Is it?”
Barok nodded. “Today, it has been one year since you moved into my home.”
Kazuma and Ryunosuke exchanged a glance, then looked at Barok.
“That’s right!” said Ryunosuke.
Kazuma observed him, an interested smile on his lips. “These dates are really important to you, aren’t they?”
“It has not always been like this,” Barok admitted. “But I might have become a sentimental man with time.”
“It makes sense,” said Kazuma. “It surprised me when you celebrated my first year as your apprentice, as well.”
“I couldn’t tell if you would like it or be angry at me.”
“Why would I be angry?”
“I wasn’t sure if I was overstepping my boundaries.”
Kazuma chuckled at those words. “No. I was surprised, but it made me happy.”
“That is good to hear.”
“I thought it was obvious.”
Without another word, Kazuma stood up, moving to Barok’s side, hugging his neck, and burying his face in his hair.
“You are behaving quite unprofessionally,” said Barok.
“You can discount it from my salary.”
“Aren’t you done with work for the day, though?” Ryunosuke pointed out.
“You are correct.” Barok raised his hand, caressing Kazuma’s neck. “I suppose you won’t get in trouble this time.”
“This is good to know.”
Ryunosuke observed them with an amused smile. “And I’m the clingy one…”
“You are,” said Kazuma.
“Yes, right…”
Barok chose not to join that silly argument—whenever he made that mistake, those two ended up joining forces against him.
They left the office together, going to the restaurant, where Barok had reserved a table for them on the back corner, a quite private place where they wouldn’t catch anyone’s attention. They soon ordered their meals, and Barok requested a bottle of wine as they waited.
Ryunosuke smiled after his first sip. “This is good.”
“You shouldn’t drink much,” said Kazuma.
“I won’t. And wait…” Ryunosuke narrowed his eyes at him. “You’re the one who should be careful with how much you drink.”
Neither of them was wrong, and Barok knew firsthand how little it took for them to become altered when drinking.
“You two have a surprisingly low tolerance to alcohol.”
“Yes…” said Ryunosuke with an embarrassed laugh.
Kazuma, on the other hand, shrugged, a smile on his lips. “A little shouldn’t hurt, though.”
“Kazuma…” Ryunosuke narrowed his eyes at him. “You’re even worse than me.”
“I’m not that weak. I can handle it, as long as I don’t exaggerate.”
Which was a lie. But that was a special day, so Barok chose to be a little lenient and let it pass. They continued that light-hearted conversation until the food arrived a while later. It was quite good, and Ryunosuke made his approval clear with all his pleased sounds. Kazuma looked at him with fondness disguised as annoyance.
“Slow down, or you’ll choke on your food,” he said.
“But… it’s so good!”
“I know, I know… That’s why it would be a shame if you died without finishing it.”
With a displeased grunt, Ryunosuke did what he said. Kazuma grinned slightly, then took a napkin, cleaning a smudge of sauce from the corner of Ryunosuke’s mouth.
“You’re so clumsy,” he said. “It’s like I’m watching a little mouse eat.”
“Leave me be.” Ryunosuke lightly poked him with his elbow. “If you keep talking, I’ll eat yours, too.”
“Can’t you two behave for a few minutes?” asked Barok. “I would prefer it if we were not asked to leave by the restaurant staff.”
“Me too!” said Ryunosuke. “I haven’t eaten enough yet.”
“We’d better hurry, my lord, or he might steal our meals as well.”
Barok sighed. “That might be for the best.”
Ryunosuke simply grinned before filling his mouth again. They ate without haste, having more wine between the courses, which made the conversation between those two louder and more nonsensical by the minute.
It started with recollections of their time in university, then moved to some strange adventures they had with a certain detective, then to the times Susato had trained her martial arts skills on them. And, regardless of the topic, they always found a way to include Barok in it—even if against his will.
“I don’t know…” said Ryunosuke. “I’m sure she could make him fall, but throwing someone this big could be a little too much.”
“Nonsense,” Kazuma scowled. “You, of all people, should know how powerful she is. She could throw Barok across the room without any trouble.”
That wasn’t a pleasant thing to imagine…
“Across the entire room?” Ryunosuke thought a little. “But he’s so heavy…”
“Across the entire room,” Kazuma insisted. “If you doubt it, we should ask her for a demonstration.”
He looked at Barok, who raised his hand in an attempt to end that line of thought. “Please, keep me out of these demonstrations.”
“You’re no fun, dear prosecutor…”
Despite his words, Kazuma leaned against Barok’s arm, looking at him with a sweet smile he often showed when under the influence of alcohol.
“But that’s part of what makes you so charming,” he added.
That open flirting was another symptom of it. Barok lightly caressed his cheek, but soon Kazuma turned his face toward Ryunosuke, who casually tried to steal a piece of meat from his plate. Before he could, Kazuma slapped his hand.
“Stop stealing my food!”
Ryunosuke pouted. “But you abandoned it…”
“I’m not finished yet.”
“But…”
“Control yourself, Ryunosuke Naruhodo. Are you not ashamed of acting like a child at your age?”
Ryunosuke grumbled in dissatisfaction, but returned to his own plate. Barok had to hold back a slight chuckle at their childish behavior; they often acted that way, with their guards completely lowered around each other.
By the time their desserts arrived, the alcohol had already done most of its job. Ryunosuke laughed for no reason, while Kazuma slowly went from equally loud to quiet but clingy. Barok watched as they moved closer, Ryunosuke happily devouring his dessert, feeding some of it to the barely functioning Kazuma, who hugged him as if his very life depended on it.
“Come on, Kazuma… If you don’t eat yours, I’ll do it,” said Ryunosuke, not for the first time that night.
Kazuma shrugged, not letting go. Barok tried to pull Kazuma away from Ryunosuke, only to have his arm grabbed as well, with so much strength it almost made him fall.
“So greedy…” Barok murmured. “Come, let Ryunosuke eat in peace. You have yours.”
Kazuma grumbled something in protest, but somehow Barok managed to make him sit straight—for a few seconds, before he plopped against Barok. With an exasperated sigh, Barok took a piece of his dessert, feeding it to him like Ryunosuke had been doing.
“Here.”
Seeming pleased, Kazuma took a bite from it. It was slightly embarrassing, but Barok reminded himself that no one could see them in that corner of the restaurant. As soon as he had a few more bites, Kazuma hugged Barok’s arm with all of his strength, refusing to let go even after falling asleep. Ryunosuke laughed.
“Kazuma is so cute when he’s drunk…” He lightly poked Kazuma’s cheek. “I can even do this without him getting mad.”
He kept giggling to himself as he reached for his glass of wine, which Barok gently removed from his hand.
“You should stop for tonight.”
“Really?” He sounded surprised. “I’m fine, though.”
“If you pass out like Kazuma, I won’t be able to get you both home.”
“That’s true…” He considered it for a moment. “And maybe I’m getting a little dizzy.”
Dizzy was certainly downplaying it, but Barok simply nodded in response. “We should be going home now.”
“Alright.” Ryunosuke patted his stomach, pleased after devouring his dessert, and half of Barok and Kazuma’s as well. “Can I go with you?”
Barok furrowed his brow. “You live with me.”
“Ah, you’re right. That’s so cool!”
And he said he wasn’t that drunk… Barok paid their bill, then placed Kazuma on his back, carrying him while keeping an eye on Ryunosuke, who hummed happily to himself as they left the place.
“Be careful where you step,” said Barok.
Ryunosuke responded with a ’sure’ that ended in a long yawn. “I’m getting sleepy…”
Barok opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, he noticed how Ryunosuke suddenly started to walk in a crooked line.
“Ryunosuke, look where you—”
Before Barok could stop him, Ryunosuke slammed his head against the lamppost. He let out a loud yelp, and Barok rushed to his side.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes…” Ryunosuke looked at the lamppost, confused. “Was this here before?”
“Yes, it has always been there.”
“Huh…”
“You should watch where you’re going.” He adjusted Kazuma on his back, balancing his weight with a single hand while offering the other to Ryunosuke. “Here, give me your hand.”
Ryunosuke held it without complaints, a surprised smile taking his face. “Your hand is so big…”
“I am aware.”
“I feel like a kid.”
“A child shouldn’t drink so much.”
“I’m not drunk, though.”
“Yes, of course.”
And, like that, he started his humming again. Barok held back a smile as he searched for a carriage to take them back home, already thinking of all the trouble he would have to get those two ready for bed—once again, he made a promise to himself to never allow them near anything alcoholic again, knowing that he would forget about those troubles with time, and repeat the same mistake.
Well, just once in a while, it was fine.