Thin lips slowly curled up into an enchanting smile, bell-like laughter slipped past a pair of pink lips to reverberate against the cold walls of the study.

He brought a hand to his mouth, suddenly aware of his laughter before fake coughing and focusing back on the letter in his hands. Cristal blue eyes gazed over the marble white paper, following the black ink of every character with meticulous care.

Having read the letter another three times, the man neatly folded the paper before carefully tucking it back in the cream-colored envelope. He hummed to himself in thoughts, his long and slender fingers rhythmically drumming against the armrest of the sofa.

There was a light knock at the paper door before it carefully slid open to reveal the figure of a masked man. "Zhihao," the male whispered as he neared the Asian man on the sofa.

Zhihao lifted his head, his eyes glinting with concealed surprise at the sight of the younger Guardian. It wasn't often Makariy came to him, usually, both males met only for official missions requiring both their services or meetings.

"Makariy," he greeted, a pleasant smile painted on his beautifully curved lips. "Did Lyosha send you?" he asked, gently putting the envelope away in the fold of his cheongsam.

The Cloud Guardian gave a minute nod at the question.

::

Landing in Tokyo early in the morning with the jetlag to boot wasn't something Ryota was a fan of. It didn't matter how many flights he made from one side of the globe to the other, or how many hours he could go without sleep, jetlag remained a terrifying after effect.

Stepping down of the stairs and onto solid ground, he stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck as his lips opened to let a tired yawn escape him. His eyes teared up from the fatigue as he sent his brother a side glance to check on his physical state.

Fran wasn't in much better shape, eyes half-lidded and green pools clouded with unhidden tiredness he heaved a drowsy yawn, a hand to rub his eyes and another to scratch his head. His apple hat was nowhere to be seen as it had dispelled the moment he fell asleep on the plane.

Ryota's gaze softened, his hand absentmindedly going to ruffle the younger's messy locks of green, his smile deepened when he felt Fran lean into his touch, a satisfied moan escaping the younger's lips.

So cute.

The additional weight on his shoulder pulled Ryota out of his daze as he turned to face the other Mist user. Mukuro answered his look with a smirk, keeping his arm slung over the taller teen as he leaned against his figure, making Mikaël almost falter and lose his footing.

Mukuro gave a mischievous chuckle before casually poking the green's cheek with his free hand. "Oya, oya, is little Mikaël tired?" he teased, a lopsided grin on his face as he refrained a yawn from escaping his lips.

Ryota's brows twitched in discontent, both from the sudden closeness and noisiness. He rolled his eyes, feeling too tired to answer him and deal with the others relentless teasing.

Mukuro pursed his lips in a childish pout before his lips stretched out in a grin, a low chuckle slipping past them. "Kufufu, is Mikaël being shy?" he cooed, his finger never stopping its poking as he kept on adding more weight to the green's shoulder.

"C'mon, fufu, don't ignore me Mi-ka-ël," Mukuro sang, loving the way the older's face would turn stiffer with the seconds, the micro change in his expression not going past the experienced hitman.

Behind the trio, Ken, Chikusa, and M.M. followed them in relative silence, observing the scene with more or less care they trudged to the vehicle that would drive them to the airport. Mukuro-sama is in a good mood, or so they thought from the PDA the illusionist displayed.

The sleepy Francis dazedly blinked his eyes, feeling his brother's hand slip away from his hair he tilted his head. His green eyes rolled to look at the older male and he noticed the purple head that was glued to his brother's side. He paused, blinking some more before rubbing his eyes, he wasn't dreaming.

"Say, are Big Bro and Master good friends?" he asked, some genuine wonder lacing his drowsy voice as he tilted his head quizzically, his eyes never straying from the two's figures.

"Of course not, Francchi," Ryota refuted without hesitation, a brilliant grin plastered on his face. "What gave you this idea?"

Fran blinked, his eyes lolling from Mukuro to Mikaël for a moment before he furrowed his brows. "Ah."

"Kufufu, don't listen to your brother, Fran," Mukuro said, unfazed by the green's rebuttal. "Your brother and I are the bestest of friends!" he affirmed, a Cheshire grin on his face.

Fran minutely pursed his lips. "But Big Bro said—"

"Kufufu," Mukuro interrupted. "Mikaël is simply being shy," he sang, his grin deepening as his heterochromatic eyes glinted with unconcealed mirth.

"Oh. So Big Bro can get shy too," Fran accepted with a nod. If Master said it, then it must be true. Though intelligent for a six-year-old, Fran remained a child and was easily persuaded.

In his mind, while Mikaël and his grandmother ranked first, Mukuro as his supposed Master (who had his Brother's approval) ranked as close second, Claude being third as he was his brother's guardian while abroad.

What's more, Fran felt especially fond of the idea of his brother being shy. With a convinced nod and new glint in his eyes, as if enlightened, he took another look at his brother who heaved a defeated sigh.

"You know Big Bro, it's okay to be shy. I get shy too when I'm with Big Bro and Ella," Fran comforted, a rare bashful smile on his lips as he gazed up at his brother.

Ryota bit his lower lip, not knowing whether to feel touched by the cuteness overload or sad by the misunderstanding the Illusionist created. He settled on happiness.

A hand to ruffle his brother's bedhead again, he gently combed them while nodding, a pleasant smile on his face. "Right, it must be because Francchi is there that I got shy," he agreed. Seeing Fran's smile brightened Ryota thought lowering his pride was totally worth it.

Ah, while it's true Future Fran was strong and reliable, young and slightly more childish Fran was still the best. Nothing could beat his Francchi, Ryota confirmed as he leaned to plant a kiss on the younger's forehead.

Mukuro wouldn't admit it, but when he saw his disciple's bright smile he felt momentarily blinded.

::

"Master, is that Big Bro's girlfriend?" Fran asked in a monotone, his face back to its default expression as he tugged on the older's jacket to grab his attention.

"Kufufu, where did you learn those words, Fran?"

Fran tilted his head. "Girlfriend?" he asked, unsure and confused as to why the pineapple fairy would ask such a question.

"Fufu, right, girlfriend," Mukuro reiterated with slight aggravation.

The younger of the two blinked, tilting his head he hummed. "The TV shows that grandma watches, one of the men has a lot of friends. Grandma told me that the one he hugged was his 'girlfriend,'" he air-quoted.

Mukuro's eyebrow twitched, so the culprit was a TV show. "I see," he drawled, wondering if Mikaël was aware of it.

"So, is he Big Bro's girlfriend?"

Mukuro smirked, his heterochromatic eyes sliding to rest on Mikaël's awkward figure. Standing in the hall, a familiar pink head in his arms, Mikaël clumsily returned the younger's enthusiastic embrace.

"Kufufu, something like that yeah," Mukuro paused, his eyes flickering to the raven head behind the pink head and his smile deepened. "Though you should know that he isn't your brother's girlfriend but this guy's," he indicated in a whisper.

Fran's eyes widened in surprise before frowning and gasping— never had Mukuro seen so many expressions on the boy before, he supposed it was the effect of Mikaël and Francis' brotherly bond. "Th-then, are they having an affair?"

Mukuro choked before bursting out laughing. "Good, good, you are my student after all," he praised between his laughter, his hand repeatedly patting the boy's mop of green.

Fran who wasn't aware that he was being made fun of continued in his monologue. "Then, is my brother the third party?" he whispered, fright and surprise lacing his blank voice.

Mukuro chortled.

"Big Bro you can't!" Fran finally shouted, raising his voice as he jumped to tackle his brother from behind. Mikaël's whose arms were still occupied tottered from the unexpected impact before he regained his footing.

"What is it Francchi?" he questioned, his eyes flickered upward to suspiciously look at Mukuro's laughing figure and the Kokuyo Gang's constipated faces before he looked back at his brother's panicked expression.

Shura who remained in his Boss' arms in a koala-like grip looked over the green's shoulder to cast the French boy an inquisitive look. If he remembered correctly, that should be his future Boss' younger brother, better make a good impression. With these thoughts, he sent the boy one of his most dazzling smiles.

Seeing the stranger's bright smile, Fran's face turned paler. "Big Bro, don't get into an affair, you have me!" he whispered, not knowing which state of mind to adopt.

"What?" Ryota's eyes widened, hearing Mukuro's laughter amplify he hurriedly looked up to the male before looking back at his brother. "What do you mean by 'affair,' Francchi?" he questioned.

Fran bit his lower lip. "Be-because Master said he was already the mister's girlfriend," he stated, pointing at Junichiro behind them.

Shura felt himself flush at the statement, unconsciously burying his face in his hands before hiding further into his Sky's shoulder. How embarrassing, to be called a girlfriend in front of his future Boss by his future Boss' younger brother.

Junichiro who felt some attention on himself dumbly smiled, unaware of the predicament his prospective partner and friend were in. After all, the whole exchange happened in French and Junichiro wasn't one bit proficient in the language.

Fran who saw Junchiro's reaction felt his world was crumbling. "Even if he is dumb and doesn't understand he is being cheated on, you shouldn't do that Big Bro," Fran righteously pleaded.

Junichiro who didn't know he got shot while lying down kept a polite smile on his face, much to Fran's dismay. How could someone so old be so stupid? Fran felt he was especially intelligent and the man especially dumb at the moment.

Shura who heard everything had never been so glad to be born dumb. Only he knew how much he wanted to curse and moan and the younger's mortifying words.

Ryota numbly looked at his brother, Mukuro's laughter being the normal background music at his point. "Ah, Shura could you let go please," he first asked, untangling the shorter's limbs before turning to completely face his brother.

He crouched down to Francis' level, heaving a perplexed sigh. Ah, Claudecchi would be there soon, better dispel the misunderstanding quickly.

"Listen, Francchi, Shura and I are only—" he paused, not knowing what to say because what were they? He couldn't possibly introduce the pink-haired hitman as his future self's underline or something along those lines. "Shura and I are friends," he settled on, a light smile on his face.

Fran blinked, his face gradually going back to its default expression. His green eyes stared into his brother's golden pupils before he nodded. "Okay, if Big Bro says so," he accepted.

Ryota barely refrained himself from heaving a relieved sigh as he carefully ruffled his brother's locks of green before standing up. "Don't believe everything Si— Mukuro says, okay Francchi?" he instructed.

Fran gave an unnoticeable pause before humming in confirmation.

Too relieved to notice it, Ryota gave a brilliant smile before shooting Mukuro a glare, one answered by one of the teen's usual infuriating lopsided grins.

Soon, Claude joined them and Ryota bade his brother and Kokuyo Gang farewell. Both didn't go the same way after all— or so Ryota believed at the moment, after all, he wasn't aware of the brewing storms the Arcobalenos Battle would create.

Fran blankly looked on as his brother's figure got smaller, easily blending in the crowd with the other two teens and blond adult. He observed as Mikaël casually chatted with the raven head, a genuine smile on both their faces. He watched as the pink head never stopped gazing at his brother and heaved a sigh.

"Say, Master," he asked, tugging on Mukuro's shirt for attention.

The whole Kokuyo Gang zeroed their focus on their latest and youngest addition as they waited for him to go on.

"Brother was lying, right? He was being shy because I was there, right?" Fran questioned with a deadpan as he squarely looked up at the more experienced illusionist.

Mukuro minutely widened his eyes as the exited the airport to walk to the taxi station. "Why would you think so, Fran?" he asked, mirth and anticipation lacing his voice.

"Well, the pink one obviously loves Big Bro, and Big Bro didn't reject him," he trailed off, his voice growing weaker as he went on.

Mukuro's lips twisted into a devious smirk as he patted his disciple's head. "I see that Fran is quick to the uptake," he praised. "But you can't tell your brother that you know okay, he would only get more embarrassed," he paused before adding, "didn't you see how red the pink one got?"

Fran frowned for a moment, remembering how flustered the teen had appeared before nodding. "Okay, I won't ask Big Bro again," he resolutely swore.

Mukuro snorted, "Right, don't ask him," he repeated. 

Naive Fran is cute.

Thanks for reading, until next time^^