Corpse Bride || Haitani Brothers/OC

21- when you're away

Hikari was glowing in the morning. her eyes were tired, sure, and not a single part of her body felt fine, and she's earned another wound, gained more bruises, but the point was that she was glowing. her sex life was active.

she wasn't able to cook breakfast for Rin so Ran's cook did it himself. the couple had just showered and Ran was applying ointment on her wound when Rindou came walking in at six in the morning. Hikari rushed to cover herself, Ran sighed, and Rindou could only stand still.

"...breakfast," was all he said.

"yeah, got it, Rin—I'll come out in a while."

in contrast to Hikari, Ran was a chirping bird. the three of them sat on the kitchen island, Ran beside Hikari and Rin across them. however, of the three, the older brother was the only one who had so much to smile and talk about.

he'd told her a while ago when he bathed her that he always sleeps so peacefully when they do it enough times to make him pass out. enough times for him, was too much times for Hikari. but as always, she gave him what he wanted—not that she could say no to his body either—and here she was suffering the consequences that Ran seemed to never experience.

"so let's go over work later on," Ran chirps, his cheek prodded against his palm.

neither of them responded as they mechanically eat their food. Rin didn't like it so much as he's grown to enjoy meals exclusively of Hikari's cooking.

"you'll probably be stuck in the office with Kokonoi for the whole day, I don't actually know—we don't have schedules—but I'll be in and out—"

Hikari choked on her food, causing Ran to halt from speaking as he gives her a glass of water. as she coughed repeatedly, she shot him a look. with what she went through yesterday night, Ran shouldn't be allowed to say in and out so casually.

"you okay?" he asks.

"how about you just stop talking for now, Ran," she smiles at him.

"I second that, why are you even here when you're not eating," Rindou scowls.

"right, please go away, Ran."

"as I was saying," Ran continues, unfazed.

Hikari and Rin shared a groan. it was too early to talk about anything.

"my work—Rindou's work too actually, not that you should care—involves going to different places; I rarely ever step foot in the office. but I will from now on, however for today, I'll be going out of Tokyo."

"okay."

"what I'm saying is that please take care of yourself, Hikari," he says, a hint of seriousness in his voice, "Sanzu won't be there because I'm taking that shithead with me, but never let your guard down still."

Hikari looks up at him curiously. if he was this worried, he'd never allow her to go to the headquarters without him by her side.

"Rin will be with you though," he adds with a mildly bitter face.

so that's why, she thought; he still trusted his brother.

"don't you have work of your own, Rin?" Hikari asks him.

he shook his head. "we prefer to kill at night."

"ah," she tightly smiles.

"but not too early in the night, maybe around ten," Ran mutters, and Rin nods in agreement.

"is killing all you ever do?" she asks, feeling out the question in her tongue.

it didn't shake her up so much. she knows they were killers, and it's not that she forgets about it, she just doesn't care about it so much anymore. as for her morality and humanity, she's not very sure where she's placed them. all she knows is that killers they may be, but she's never felt safer with anyone else.