His Shoes
By Maria Szabo
Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction and no profit is being made save that of enjoyment.
When the King of Tai wants to know if his Saiho is in attendance at the Main Hall, he does not ask the servants. It is not required. All he needs to do is look in the doorway, for it is the habit of Taiki to leave his shoes in the doorway, even in winter. When it was cool, he would wear slippers. In the heat of summer, it was not unusual to see him barefoot.
It was an odd custom. At first, Gyousou was taken aback. He vaguely recalled that in the past, in that brief time they'd had together before the separation that nearly killed both of them and their kingdom, he'd noticed the quirk and thought to ask the kirin about it. He wasn't sure if it had to do with Taiki being a kirin, or if it was something strange the boy had picked up when he'd lived in Hourai.
He'd once tried to ask the King of En about it, but Enhou had laughed long and loud at the question.
"He still does that, does he?"
"Does your kirin do that?"
"Enki? Hell, no. He never had any manners to begin with."
The question was never brought up again, and Gyousou was left to wonder. The reason was that important, he supposed. So long as Taiki stayed healthy and didn't catch cold or step on anything sharp, he saw no reason to bring the matter up.
In actuality, the King of Tai looked forward to seeing the sight of his Saiho's shoes in the doorway. It meant that, for a while at least, Taiki was safe, and with him.
Fin
