If one were to tell Kougyoku that she, the offspring of some lowly slum dwelling prostitute, would someday be the Empress of the Kou Empire, she would have assumed that you were just ridiculing her.
If one were to tell her that someday she would be be reunited with a friend who had been dead for three years, she would have probably just walked away, frightened by their wild imagination.
And yet, the fact that she was now referred to as "Your Majesty" and that very same supposedly dead friend sat across from her, skimming through yet another scroll at breakneck speeds, was living proof that life was indeed strange sometimes.
Both Kougyoku and Alibaba - sweaty, exhausted, clothes stained with ink Alibaba and Kougyoku - read in silence, pausing to show each other any new, interesting information they came across or just to give the other a much needed smile of encouragement every now and then.
Kougyoku had long ago demanded a still argumentative Ka Koubun and the others to take their leave for tonight as she had only just realized that they had not spent a single moment alone together since they were first reunited.
There was still so many questions that buzzed in her mind; about his adventures with Judar. About how it felt to come back after all this time. About whether or not he ever resented her and her family for the amount of trouble they caused him.
About whether or not he had missed her just as much as she missed him.
Kougyoku never failed to blush furiously whenever she wondered if Alibaba had missed her and this time was no exception. Though Alibaba was far too engrossed with an additional scroll to pay attention to her at this, she hide behind the one in her hands nonetheless.
Of course Alibaba missed you silly! We are friends and friends miss each other, right? she hissed to herself, if you're so uncertain why don't you just simply ask -
"Kougyoku?" said Alibaba breaking her chain of thoughts with a fright that caused her to slam the scroll down on the table.
"Y-yes?"
His head tilted in bewilderment at her reaction, but decided not to comment. Besides, he was already accustomed to her quirkiness, which he secretly found rather adorable at times like these.
"I was wondering if you wanted to..well…"
Although the lighting in the room was dim, Kougyoku could clearly see that Alibaba's face was tinted pink with a blush not much different from her own.
W-what's with that expression? Is there something important that he wants to confess to me? she hoped, attempting to make herself look somewhat presentable by running her hands through her semi matted hair and adjusting her wrinkled, stained robe. Is he going to finally tell me how much he missed me!? Will he -
"Make flower crowns!" came Alibaba's cheerful voice interrupting her thoughts once more.
"Make...flower crowns?"
"Yep. Make flowers crowns," he repeated, fingers tapping a box filled with an assortment of small flowers on the table that she had been too lost in her thoughts to notice until now. "I know that it doesn't seem like the right thing to do given the situation right now, but how about for old time's sakes? "
Kougyoku beamed for what felt like the first time in years.
Perhaps it truly was the first time in years.
"I'd love to Alibaba."
The atmosphere between them shifted to something completely different as the two scrambled to try to impress the other with their floral creation. It was not meant to be a competitive activity, but that did not stop the occasional accusations of cheating and reminders that it wasn't a competition to begin with.
"Hah! Let's see you beat this," Kougyoku huffed, holding up a what appeared to be a simple string of flowers.
"What's that suppose to be?" asked a bemused Alibaba.
"I wanted to be creative, therefore I made a dragon of course."
"A dragon? It looks more like a worm if you ask me."
"W-well, no one even asked you!" Kougyoku responded, taking mock offense. "Let me see what brilliant creation you came up with then."
"Well…" Alibaba began, guiding his crown across the table which she grabbed the moment it was within reach.
It was a crown very similar to the ones they created together in their youth, but it seemed somewhat more detailed in Kougyoku's perspective; the vibrant colors matched perfectly and he even added a sprinkle of poppy seed flowers increasing its appeal.
"Wow Alibaba! You did a great - hey...wait a minute..."
Kougyoku's further inspection of the crown revealed that the flowers were bound to a metallic ring rather than attached to each other by stems alone.
"You see! I knew you cheated!" Kougyoku sprang up from her chair which landed on the floor for her usual overly dramatic emphasis.
Alibaba nearly failed to his suppress his laughter at the sight of her. "I never said you couldn't use other materials."
"But..but..now it feels fake to me." she replied, glaring at the crown in her hands as though it had offended her somehow.
"You're just upset because I didn't care much for your worm."
"I told you it was a dragon! D-R-A-G-O-N"
"Did you know that you're really cute when you're angry?"
"What did you - "
Kougyoku didn't even have the chance to complete her sentence nor sport her usual intense blush as a hoard of small flowers landed on her face. She would have been seeing red had this been anybody other than Alibaba.
Her dear sweet Alibaba.
"Did you, the Prime Minister, just throw something, at your Emperss' face…?"
He smirked slyly. "Clearly."
"You have some nerve!" she retorted, playful, grabbing a fistful of flowers from the box and hurling them in his direction, almost completely missing her target.
"Be sure to work on your aim while you're practicing your flower - "
Like Kougyoku, Alibaba was also caught off guard by tiny flowers settling on his face.
"Ok then that settles it!"
"You started it so I'll finish it!"
She could already picture the livid face and outraged voice of Ka Kouban once he discovered how the Empress and Prime Minister were engaged in such childish antics during the night, but it did not matter to her, because in this very moment Kougyoku was temporarily able to forget her woes; her grief, her hatred, her failures, and just enjoy at least one moment of golden peace with her Alibaba.
Her dear sweet Alibaba.