TIMELINE: Post-canon; established relationship


Spending time with kids is a lot more fun than Parad thought.

Now don't get him wrong, he likes children well enough. But the paediatrician in the Houjou household has always been Emu, so he's never sure if he could sit down with a bunch of kids and have so much fun with them. Now though, sitting and laughing with them in the hospital courtyard as he's covered in paint from head to toe, Parad's quite sure he can get along with them just fine.

"What about this colour, Parad-nii?" Haruna asks, one of the four kids that's in his group. The little girl holds up a bottle of teal coloured paint, looking at him in curiosity. "I think it's pretty."

Smiling, he nods with a laugh. "It is, and it suits Emu too."

"Really?" a boy named Daiki peers at the colour. "What colour is it? Green or blue?"

"It's kinda both," he explains, swiping his cheek to wipe off a streak of paint. But from the giggles around him, Parad thinks he probably made it worse. Poking his tongue out at the kids, he leans back on his palms. "But the proper name for it would be 'teal'. It looks pretty soothing, doesn't it?"

A pair of twins; Subaru and Wataru nod with a grin. "It does!"

"Oooh, so that's why it suits Houjou-sensei!" Haruna exclaims as she turns to him with a toothy grin. "Right, Parad-nii?"

Parad returns the grin, smoothing down a cowlick on the girl's head. "Yup. The colour suits him best along with pink."

He watches fondly as the kids chat amongst themselves about all the different colours they want to use for their tie-dye clothes they're making. Tipping his head back, Parad basks in the soft sunlight shining through the rustling leaves overhead. High up in the branches, clothes of all kinds are hanged to dry on the late summer's day.

"Why do you look like a Picasso painting?"

Blinking in surprise, Parad turns his head to find a smiling Emu standing over their group. With a grin of delight, he looks to the children with a stage whisper.

"You hear that kiddos? I look like a Picasso painting!"

Subaru pouts at him. "What's that?"

"A famous painter." Standing up, Parad throws his arms out and twirls in place. "Emu's basically saying that you kiddos are just as good as a famous painter!"

Haruna gasps with a smile, turning to Emu with a clap of her hands. "Really, Houjou-sensei?"

"Definitely," Emu agrees with a kind, encouraging smile. He then curiously looks around at their handiwork. "What is all of this?"

Wataru's hand shoots up, waving around in excitement. "We're making tie-dye!"

"Wow," Emu breathes, giddily circling around the kids to appreciate their crafts. "These look so amazing!"

The children grin as they chorus. "Thank you~!"

"Parad-nii!" Haruna calls out to him and he finds the little girl pointing to Emu with a beam. "Go on!"

Confused, his lover gives him a questioning look and Parad chuckles as he nervously rubs his neck.

Daiki huffs and makes his way to him, dragging Parad by the hand until they're standing in front of Emu. "Give it to him, Parad-nii."

"Give me what?" Emu asks gently, hands in coat pockets and looking up at him under his lashes.

Clearing his throat, Parad snaps his fingers and materialises a shirt dyed in an array of pink, teal, and green with accidental hints of red, blue and orange at the edges (resulted when Parad forgot to be careful with the bucket).

Despite wanting to redo his work, the kids insisted that it made the shirt much better with the unplanned splash of colour. In the end, he left it as it is.

Ears burning, Parad offers it to Emu. "Here, I made this for you."

The surprise delight on Emu's face makes him blush even more and Parad watches on as Emu takes the shirt and runs a gentle hand to it. Then with a beam, Emu leans up to kiss him; gentle and chaste.

It's only because of the kids are present that he doesn't deepen it, content to return it just as softly.

"Thank you," Emu murmurs against his lips, fingers caressing his jaw before the doctor leans back. "It's beautiful."

Parad ruffles his curls, feeling shy. "You like it?"

"I love it," Emu reassures, hugging the shirt close to his chest with a dopey grin.

The children snicker before they singsong behind him. "Told ya~!"

When he turns to blow a blasberry at them, it sets off a round of laughter from the brats and causing him to roll his eyes. Parad is mollified though when Emu tucks himself to his side and reaches up to kiss his cheek. Smiling, he press his lips to Emu's forehead before they join the kids back on the warm grass.

"Can I join in?" Emu asks as he settles down beside him, a hand gesturing to the array of paint and buckets.

Wataru nods, an eager smile on his face as he passes a spare bucket for Emu. "Of course, Sensei!"

"What colour would you like, Houjou-sensei?" Haruna asks, peering up at Emu.

Laughing, the paediatrician reaches over to the collection of paint and fishes out three bottles; red, blue and orange. "These, of course!"

"Wait..." Parad gives his lover a questioning glance. "Aren't those...?"

Emu gives him a smile, leaning up to bump his nose against Parad's before playfully poking a tongue out. "Your colours. I want us to match, after all."

"In that case." Plucking the bottles for pink, green, and teal from his side, Parad passes them over to Emu with a grin. "Don't forget yours too."

Emu takes them with a smile. "Thank you...ah, hold on." Grabbing the tie-dye shirt, Emu gives it a careful once over before looking up at him. "Do we have any gold paint?"

"Gold?" Eyes widening in realisation, Parad looks at the shirt more closely before smacking his forehead with a groan. "I forgot to put in the gold for Muteki!"

Chuckling, Emu gives his shoulder a playful nudge. "Hey, don't worry about it. After all, gold is both of our colour so dyeing it on together suits us best anyway."

"...true." Parad waves to the kids. "You kids know if we have any gold paint?"

Subaru makes a thoughtful noise, rummaging through their collection before shouting in triumph. "Got it!"

"Awesome," he and Emu exclaim in unison with a grin.

Daiki gives them a confused look. "But why gold?"

Exchanging a meaningful look with Emu, they share a laugh as get to work.

"Gold is invincibility," he explains, dunking the shirt back into the bucket after Emu passes it to him.

Emu hums with a smile as he carefully picks a shirt from a pile. "And me and Parad? We're invincible together."

"I don't get it," Haruna mutters, scratching her head and getting paint in her hair. "Is this a couple thing?"

They shrug with a snicker. "Sorta."

"Adults are weird," Wataru declares while the other three kids nod sagely, causing him and Emu to laugh.

By late afternoon, they lie on the sun warm grass as all of their finished work hanged securely up on the branches. His and Emu's matching shirts are easily spotted amongst the flurry of colours; fluttering gently against the breeze as they mix with the golden sunbeams.