justonetruth | (no subject)

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It's late evening when this particular clamour starts rising from the Mansion's lobby. It's a happy one, filled with excited, giddy tones that briefly change to surprise and annoyance before slipping into teasing and affection.

The culprits happen to be one Kaito Kuroba and Aoko... well, normally one would assume Nakamori, but Kaito's jacketless suit and the short, white dress and white roses that Aoko is wearing might suggest otherwise. And if those didn't, the close, doting way they're hovering around each other — and the matching rings glinting on their left hands — would.

They're tousled and a little tired-looking, but there's still a strong spark in Aoko's eyes as she makes a face at her companion, her arm comfortably hooked in his. "I can keep up just fine, Bakaito, even with a detour."

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Her companion seems pretty comfortable with this level of closeness, both of his hands stuffed into the pockets of his pants, shoulders slouched casually despite his dress. It had been far too long of a day, and even with an unexpected detour to the mansion, he feels like he's allowed some semblance of relaxation.

"No way, you're too slow," he teased back, shifting his elbow a bit to nudge her, "And I bet you'd get completely lost, too.

Eyeroll. "Don't act like I've never been here before! I know my way around just as well as you do."

"Don't act like this place doesn't change directions on you just to make sure you get lost," he retorted a bit dryly, "It's not your sense of direction I'm insulting."

Though he probably could, if he really wanted to.

"I just won't let go. Then we'd get completely lost together."

His grin widens.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." After all, getting lost might guarantee them Mansion privacy.

... or it they could run into someone else along the way. It was a tossup, really.

"I never said it was bad. You were the one who brought it up." She gives him a light poke in the side, doing her best not to think about who they might run into. She does not want to spend her wedding night tense and scared. "Though if you're so worried about it, I bet if we stay in the dining room we won't get lost at all."

"People flock around the dining room like ducks around bread," he pointed out with a roll of his eyes, "If we're trying to avoid people, that's the worst way to do it."

"You never said you wanted to avoid people."

"I thought that was a given," he responds as he turns a corner, tugging her gently along with him, "You're not tired of people already?"

"I don't really mind one way or another." She hums, letting him tug her along. "It's not like a few more is going to make much difference at this point."

"I'm tired of people," he grumped, "Especially considering we don't know what kinda people we'll run into here."

Aoko fell quiet at that for a moment, face carefully neutral, then shrugged. "We can find a room, if we want..."

The grin returned, and raised a playful eyebrow at her.

"That eager already?"

He got an elbow in his ribs in response.

"Baka, not like that. Don't you want to wait until we get back to the hotel?"

"Aren't you the one who always calls me impatient?" he replied as he rubbed at his rib cage.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to control it." She hummed thoughtfully. "What kind of room do you want?"

That was a pretty good question, and he shrugged. "I dunno. D'you have anything in mind?"

"Something quiet..." Aoko tapped her chin with her free hand, staring at the ceiling without really seeing it. "...Maybe a nice reading room?"

"With a fireplace?" he offered helpfully, "It should be warm, too."

"Mmm, and something to snack on."

"And something fun. What if we added a slide or a ball pit?"

"A pillow fort and a ball pit!"

"I like the way you think, Aoko," Kaito responded, his grin merely widening. Without hesitation, he reached out to place his hand on the doorknob of the nearest door. "Ready?"

She added her hand to his with a matching grin. "Ready!"

"Mou . . ."

It's a familiar grump, from a familiar source; an Aoko, albeit a slightly older one than the Mansion's usual. Unlike the happy bride, this one is kitted out in climbing gear, and her hair is tied back into a windswept, decidedly rose-free ponytail. She rounds a hallway corner to enter the lobby, shoving something haphazardly into one of her belt pouches—

And pauses, blinking, as she takes in the scene.

There isn't an ounce of tension in this Kaito's shoulders, not as he snicker and leans into his Aoko's side happily. Even his usual insults are halfhearted and fond, and the smile curling up the corners of his lips doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

He does stop when he seems Berry, and after a few surprised blinks, he pulls a hand from his pocket and waves. It isn't unnatural to see people in this place, after all.

"Hey there~"

Aoko looks up as well and blinks back, before smiling. "Oh, hi Nakamori-san! —Or, no, wait..."

She peers more intently, noticing the slightly younger age that sets Berry apart from their tomb raiding counterpart.

"...Mmm, sorry, I'm not sure if we've met..."

Her own Kaito is nowhere near as bad as he used to be, but to see a version of him so relaxed and happy still brings a smile to Berry's (slightly dirt-streaked) face.

"Hi," she replies. "I hope I'm not interrupting—I'm . . . Blackberry."

It's been a long time since she's used that name.

"Blackberry?"

The name is a question on his tongue. He had met individuals in the mansion who didn't use the names he was familiar with back home, all for a variety of reasons. He didn't want to jump to any conclusions just yet.

"That's a unique name." He tugs on Aoko's arm lightly, still grinning, "We're just Kaito and Aoko."

The same thoughts flit through Aoko's head, but rather than voice her questions, she just gives a slight, polite bow.

"It's nice to meet you!"

"Blackberry," she confirms, with a grin that borders on wry. After a moment, it brightens, and she clasps her hands behind her back. "But I haven't really used that name since I got out of Aather, so if you want to call me Nakamori or Aoko, I won't mind."

She returns Aoko's bow. "It's nice to meet you guys, too."

It isn't until Aoko bows that Kaito does as well, though his is much lazier and very casual. It's Aoko, after all. Even if she isn't the one he knows, he automatically defaults to friendly familiarity.

"Aather's a word I haven't heard around here before," he says, "Where's that?"

Aoko, meanwhile, is showing more recognition.

"Ah! The same as Kit, right?"

"Mm, that's it!"

Since that doesn't exactly explain anything, she hastens to add, "Aather's a storybook, fairy-tale world. We were kidnapped because they needed help, the kidnappers lost our memories along the way, and we had to earn our memories back."

"Kit--" That is a name he recognizes, but Aoko hadn't mentioned anything about the world he came from. His grin quickly fades as Blackberry starts explaining the state of things, however.

Because that description was a bit too familiar.

"But you said you got out of it?" Aoko ventures. "So you got all your memories back?"

"A few years ago." Her smile turns reassuring. A few years wasn't enough time to heal all wounds, and some of the scars would never fade. But, all the same . . . "We're okay now."

We're okay now... he had never gotten the full story, but that phrase in and of itself implied a time where things weren't okay.

But that was probably something Blackberry didn't want to talk about.

"I met him once," he said, "But he was a bird at the time."

"And you were teasing him," Aoko pointed out.

"I met him... a few other times, too," she added, a bit more hesitantly. "But it was a while ago."

"It's been a while since either of us have been here," Berry confirms. ". . . especially as anything other than human."

She shifts on her feet, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I remember being a border collie once."

That declaration elicited a pause from Kaito.

"... y'know," he finally said, giving his Aoko's arm a squeeze, "Things like that really should stop surprising me at this point."

"Especially here," Aoko muttered, remembering a certain mermaid incident. Then she piped up, "How many times have you been here? Do you need any help finding things?"

Berry snickered at the pause. Really, turning into a dog was one of the least weird things she'd been through.

"I know my way around," she told Aoko. "As much as anybody can know there way around this dumb mansion, anyway." The insult is spoken with a trace of exasperated fondness; she's grown to like the Mansion, and she's made a few friends over the course of her visits.

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