She could feel her chest tightening at the mere mention of her father. Ever since she had sent that letter from Chicago to Osaka about her and Alfred, he had practically become a spectre in her life.

"I know you don't. But you're not alone! You were there for me in Chicago, you bet I'm gonna be there for you here." Alfred's arms circled around her shoulders, trying his best to provide comfort as warm tears soaked his shoulder.

He hated nothing more than seeing her like this. Ever since they had met each other, it was Yuko giving him advice, acting as a mediary between him and Lucy, helping him piece together a new language, helping him with everything.

And what had he done? Besides playing the role of a deadweight all while tearing her apart from her closest family, nothing much.

This was exactly why he had agreed to this deal in the first place – to prove to her and her father that this relationship could work, that he could provide for her.

His thoughts were racing as he tucked her head under his chin. "Sooner or later, your old man is gonna know he was wrong. He'll be kicking himself after he sees how much money we'll be raking in!"

Relief washed over him once he felt her smile against his neck, a welcome distraction from the tears she left on his shirt.

"Al, after Mister Kamoi takes his thirty-percent, I don't think we'll be anywhere near rich." She knew he was only trying to lift her spirits, but nevertheless, she was compelled to pull him back down from the clouds. "But as long as we can make a life together, it will be more than enough for me."

She ducked out from underneath his chin, one finger reaching out to poke at his nose while her other hand rested on his chest. "And your eyeglasses are going to fall off your face."

"Not to worry, I'll be able to get new ones soon enough with our money!"

"Did you not listen to a word I said!?"

"Come on, how expensive can a new pair be, huh?"

Yuko pushed Alfred's eyeglasses back up his nose.

Even in stress-filled times like these, they were able to laugh at stupid little things that many would have taken for granted.

Stooping down to meet her forehead yet again, Alfred had planned on leaning in until–

"Apologies, is this not a good time?" They both leapt at the sudden voice, Yuko's head bopping into Alfred's chin. Kazuma and Mieko, the latter a blushing mess, stood at the entrance to the kitchen as the couple winced in pain.

"No, no, not a problem at all." Alfred sputtered a reply to Kazuma as he rubbed at his throbbing jaw.

「Sorry, we were just...finishing our discussion. Have we kept you waiting?」 Quickly wiping her eyes and rubbing the top of her head, Yuko turned towards the doorway as she made her way to Mieko and Kazuma.

She glanced between the two of them, wanting nothing more than to joke with Mieko for covering her blushing face.

「Oh come on, Micchan, haven't you ever kissed a boy before? With a cute face like that, you won't be able to avoid it much longer!」 Leaning forward with both hands on her hips, Yuko was about to tease her some more until Kazuma interrupted.

「Anyway.」 As he stepped into the kitchen, Yuko and Alfred could have sworn Kazuma was standing right in front of Mieko on purpose, blocking her from their sight completely.

"I take it the talk went..." He scanned the room, immediately noticing that something, or rather someone, was missing when they shouldn't be. "...as expected."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Alfred rounded the kitchen table and placed a hand on Yuko's shoulder. "But hey, at the end of the day the majority rules, right?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

Mieko shimmied away from Kazuma’s shadow, bumping into his arm as she made her way to Alfred and Yuko.

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「We were thinking maybe we could all go out to eat somewhere together.」 She tried to make light of the otherwise pressing circumstances, flashing an encouraging smile between the two. 「You know, to celebrate! Right, Kazu?」

His grin never wavered as Kazuma held back an eye roll at Mieko's nickname – a nickname he really wished she would reserve for moments strictly between themselves and not in the company of business partners, or anyone for that matter.

「Of course. It was my idea to go out and eat, by the way, don't let Mieko fool you.」 He shot Mieko a wink and laughed.

「Fine, fine, it was your idea, but I'm the one who came up with what we should eat! Al, have you eaten yakiniku before?」

"I...think I have." Fiddling with his eyeglasses as Mieko tapped him on the arm, Alfred glanced over to Yuko. "The grilled chicken, right?"

"Sometimes it's chicken," she shrugged. "But yes, grilled meat. Perfect for you."

He placed a hand over his heart as his eyes darted between the two girls, both of whom were now giggling with no stop in sight.

"Hey, I know I'm American and I like my meat, but Luce is way worse than I ever was! She'd only eat meat if she could, at least I throw in some vegetables!"

"Well, this is perfect for her then. I'll go and call for her." Just as Yuko was about to walk past Mieko and Kazuma, Alfred's hand gripped around her wrist.

"No, you're not." He shook his head, eyes darting from Yuko and over towards Kazuma still standing by the entryway.

"She can hear us from up there. If she wants to join us, she can come down herself. You don't need to baby her."

Yuko felt her cheek twitch as she maintained a smile on her face, her lips remaining shut in spite of the rather strong words she wanted to throw Alfred's way.

She wasn't babying Lucy, if anything she was babying him – entertaining such fragile pettiness, and in front of Mister Kamoi, no less.

"Okay, fine." Yuko huffed as she wriggled her wrist away. Her eyes remained fixated on his face as she lowered her head, always a slight movement that served as a warning for a private talking-to in the near future.

「There's a restaurant nearby which I usually frequent with friends after work.」 Kazuma felt compelled to speak up after hearing the foreboding tone in Yuko's voice. After all, he did need Alfred alive for any of his plans to work.

「One of them always goes on about how good the place's yakiniku is, although I've never had it.」 He nodded at Alfred before turning towards Mieko. 「We could all try it together! You trust Touma's opinion, don't you, Mieko?」

「When it comes to anything food-related, definitely.」 She laughed as she walked over to Yuko, circling a wrist around the older woman's arm. 「Kazuma's friends always know the good spots for food, but I never get to go with them.」 Mieko whined, shoulders sagging forward as she led her and Yuko out to the hallway.

「But not today! This time you have no choice!」 She shot a finger at Kazuma as she passed him, her grip around Yuko's arm tightening.

"Is she usually like this when she's here?" Kazuma whispered to Alfred in passing as they followed the two women out of the kitchen. He had tried to hold back his question throughout the entire afternoon, but after seeing Mieko's "alter ego" in full swing for the better half of the day, he couldn't help but ask.

"Like what?"

"Very...rambunctious."

"Oh, well yeah! You've known her longer than we have, isn't she always like this?"

Kazuma opened his mouth to speak, but for the life of him he couldn't find the right words to describe Mieko's situation.

Not finding the right words was never a problem for him before, but it was becoming a regular occurrence whenever he was speaking with Alfred.

"Lu-chan! We're going out for lunch, you should come down and join us, please!" Both men winced at Meko's sudden hollering up the stairs. Within seconds, her and Yuko were nearly halfway down the hall towards the door as the men trailed behind them.

"Ah-" Kazuma paused in his tracks, bopping his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"We were so eager to finish our talk earlier that I forgot the papers on the table. I'll go retrieve them and meet you all outside."

"Alright, no problem." Alfred nodded.

Kazuma nearly jumped out of his socks as a hard slap to the back sent shocks up and down his spine. "Don't get lost!"

Turning towards the living area, he grimaced to himself as Alfred laughed down the hall, far too amused by his own joke.

The "touchiness" of Americans was something Kazuma accepted that he would never become used to – especially from another man. Walking across the living room, past the worn sofa and into the study, he relaxed his muscles as he once again examined the room. He sucked in a breath of musty air, coughing and slapping his chest as a wayward speck of dust snuck down his throat.

Looking down at the papers strewn about the wooden table, he jerked his head to the side, jaw ticking.

The hell did I just jump into?