30 Day OTP Challenge ft. Sannochieyomi

Different Ways of Saying "I Love You"

On Friday, Nikei decided that he would have to exhaust both Mikado and Setsuka so they would be too tired to notice that he was planning something. In order to achieve this and get them off his tail, he suggested that they go visit a zoo.

Mikado and Setsuka both agreed to the idea, especially since Setsuka didn't have any jobs to take today, just as Nikei planned. It wasn't long before they got in the car and headed downtown to the nearest zoo. Setsuka was planning out which exhibits they wanted to go to, Mikado was excited because he had never been to a zoo before, and Nikei was trying to plan the quickest way to exhaust them.

Once they arrived, they stepped out of the car and came to the nearest exhibit, an aviary that people could walk through with a cage separating them and the birds. Setsuka started making jokes and Mikado read the information boards on the birds aloud, but Nikei had the map and was continuing his plot.

They visited the monkeys, the tigers, the lions, the snow leopards, the giraffes, the rhinos, the penguins, and even the snakes on their trip to the zoo. There was a handler at the last exhibit who was allowing people to have snakes on them, and Mikado unintentionally got two snakes to sleep on him at once due to his increased body temperature. Nikei was a bit frightened for him, but he at least knew they weren't poisonous.

Finally, they came to their last stop in the afternoon: the butterfly conservatory. "Wow, it's pretty humid in here," Setsuka remarked, opening her jacket to cool herself down.

"That's because it's the ideal environment for the butterflies," Nikei answered as he opened his jacket and vest too. "Not the ideal temperature for a bunch of jackasses in the middle of autumn."

"What are you guy talking about?" Mikado chuckled, completely unaffected by the heat. Nikei would envy him if he hadn't seen how Mikado bundles himself to hell and back in the winter.

They walked further into the conservatory and saw a lot of butterflies flying around and landing on pretty flowers, ones Nikei was sure were full of nectar. "They're all so colourful and beautiful..." the detective sighed as she stared at them fluttering past.

A couple of them landed on Mikado, who let out a surprised sound. "Ah, you must be confused, I'm not a flower!" the wizard exclaimed. "I know that I work on my food garden a lot, but surely it couldn't make you think I'm a plant!"

"Well, butterflies have an incredible sense of smell that they rely on to go anywhere," the journalist replied, a smug grin on his face. "Based on how often you garden and with that lavender bodywash you keep using, it's no wonder they think you're a flower, heh."

As Nikei looked upon the embarrassed wizard, he remembered how the man in front of him had nearly died. He once had gotten on Nikei's nerves to no end, and he somehow had Nikei praying in a hospital room for him to live. The situation had been fixed, but Nikei didn't know if it was permanent. The time was now or never.

And then there was Setsuka. Sweet, caring Setsuka, who always put others before herself and hid any weaknesses to take the burdens of her dear ones. He knew that he didn't deserve her, and neither did Mikado. After all, she had supported them through all of their problems without complaint. But they gave her their undying loyalty and love in return. Nikei needed to pay her back one more time.

After they left the butterfly conservatory, Nikei noticed that his lovers looked a little tired from all of their walking and taking in all of their surroundings, just as he planned. "Hey guys, why don't you head home? I still want to do a couple interviews here to see if I can make them into an article, but you guys look tired," he suggested.

"Are you sure, Nik?" Setsuka asked, and Mikado looked at him curiously too.

"Don't worry, I'll catch a bus home or something. Or call a ride. Either way, I'll be fine," he assured them. Thankfully, they bought his excuse and left for the car. Once they were out of sight, he got out his phone and called Emma. "Hey, I need your help."