It felt strange to be making a video call so late in the pandemic. They had done it almost nightly the spring prior, but soon enough they were part of each other's bubble, or rather, Teru had been absorbed into Mob and his prodigious extended-family's bubble. It was just under the ten-person limit, but only because Dimple didn't count.

First on a shared streaming platform, and then in-person, Teru and Mob had spent the quarantine binge-watching magical girl anime. They were often joined by varying members of their bubble. Ritsu "kinned" Madoka, prompting Shou to call him an "edgelord." Reigen liked Revolutionary Girl Utena. Everyone liked Kill la Kill, but especially Tome.

Teru and Mob were alone for Cardcaptor Sakura. By then the running joke about espers as magical girls had lost some of its steam, but they genuinely enjoyed Cardcaptor Sakura. Mob liked Sakura's older brother, and Teru liked Tomoyo's fashion sense.

Both boys went very quiet when Yukito confessed his love for Touya, but Mob didn't know if he liked it, and maybe Teru didn't know either. He hadn't mentioned it.

Mob was used to seeing it in anime and manga, but it wasn't usually portrayed with such simplicity. Touya was Yukito's "number one." Nothing else mattered, not even the fact that they were both boys.

Mob had known for some time that his crush on Tsubomi was only a little less superficial than those of his classmates', but it was Cardcaptor Sakura, of all things, that had provided closure. Tsubomi hadn't been his number one for some time.

Mob had called Teru on the evening of May 12th, because May 12th was his birthday. Teru hadn't wanted to miss it. Neither had Reigen.

They got a deal on the tickets, due to an error on the airline's website. The airline wasn't obligated to uphold the misprinted price, but Reigen had threatened to sue. He was becoming quite litigious in his middle-age.

Apparently, Reigen had plans to expand the Such side of Spirits & Such, and his legal knowledge was already impressive despite being entirely autodidactic.

"No one's practiced psychic law yet, so there's no precedent!"

"Now if only I could figure out what I want to do when I grow up," said Teru. "Since I'm the one who has to turn in a preferred-college form next week."

Reigen slapped him on the shoulder. "Come work for me! My business is growing!"

"Growing more ridiculous. Thanks, Shishou-san, but I'm looking for something a little… quieter."

"You mean you think Mob's looking for something a little quieter," said Reigen, but Teru was so used to the teasing by now that he barely blushed. "Fine, fine. I know you boys have your own lives to live. Dimple forbid I try to hold Mob back from his exciting future as a physio therapist. Any idea what you wanna' do, kid? Please don't say fashion design."

Teru flipped him the bird. It had a mood ring on it, so Reigen would definitely know he was feeling… mixed emotions.

"At least, wherever I go, my parents will have to pay for it," said Teru. "I should pick somewhere expensive."

"That's the spirit," said Dimple.

The night before their flight, Reigen took Mob out for ramen with six whole pieces of pork as an early apology for missing his birthday.

Mob didn't mind. It was their first chance to track down Teru's parents since the pandemic began. Apparently the papers had to be served in person, wherever they were living now. Besides, the words, "Emancipation with court-mandated alimony" made Teru smile every time Mob said them.

Mob made sure to say them a lot. Teru had a very nice smile.

"Happy birthday!" Teru said softly. He was in the hotel bathroom, sitting on the bathmat with his laptop balanced on the toilet lid.

Reigen had only been willing to shell out for one room, which Shou found funny for some reason. The hotel provided a rollaway cot, but Mob still felt a little sorry for Teru. He could hear Reigen snoring through the closed bathroom door.

"Did he at least give you the bed?" asked Mob. "I mean, thank you."

Teru laughed even more softly. "Shishou-san? Says he has a bad back, and- I quote- 'Who's going to give me a massage, huh?' He didn't seem to appreciate my suggestion if all the spluttering was anything to go by."

"Hasn't Serizawa-san been learning massage?" asked Mob.

"That's what I said. So did you open my present yet?"

"Not yet," said Mob. It was sitting on his desk, just out of the webcam's frame, just in case. "I wasn't sure if I should wait."

Mob had also been very busy, fending off birthday kisses, tickles, and punches, from Musashi, Shou, and Tome, respectively, but he didn't want Teru to feel left out.

"Go ahead." Teru only looked a little nervous, which was an improvement over the first few dozen times he had given Mob a present.

Mob picked up the present physically, but used his powers to unstick the tape so that he could save the wrapping paper. There were frogs on it.

"Oh, Teru!"

"Do you like it?"

Mob wrapped the scarf around his neck. It was purple, furry, and had googley eyes sewn on one end. "The worm-on-a-string scarf!"

"I know it's kind of… much," said Teru, "but you said that you liked it, so I thought maybe-"

"I love it." Mob's cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and Teru smiled back reflexively. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Did you have a nice day?"

Mob hummed absently, still stroking his present. Its fur was kitten-soft and such a rich shade of purple. Teru had given Mob quite a collection of clothing, but after the Monkey Shirt incident, it had become significantly more understated. This looked like something from Teru's own closet, which Mob usually only got to wear after a particularly-impromptu sleepover.

"I'm going to name him."

Teru was still smiling despite being more-or-less ignored in favor of a worm. "What are you doing to name him, Mob?"

"Earthworm Jimothy."

Teru snorted. Mob felt a flush of pride for making him make that noise, but he had to give credit where it was due. "Shou said that when he found out what you were making. I don't get it, but I like the sound of it. Earthworm Jimothy."

Teru didn't, or rather couldn't respond, muffled snorting still audible from behind his hand. His mood ring had turned the same deep purple color as Earthworm Jimothy's fur. Mob didn't know what that meant, but he hoped it meant that Teru felt good.

Mob felt good. His stomach was full of tres leches cake, and his arms were full of something soft that smelled like Teru's hairspray. Mob felt better than he had since the Second Cat Incident, and the idea of talking about it suddenly didn't seem so impossible anymore.

He had tried before, a couple of times, when he and Teru were alone. Mob couldn't tell Ritsu or his parents in case they blamed Reigen, and he couldn't tell Reigen in case he blamed himself. That left Teru, which was fine, because Mob knew he would understand. Teru had nightmares too.

"Teru?"

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to you about something… complicated? I haven't talked about it before, so it might take me some time to get the words right, but it's still bothering me, and I'm afraid that… if I don't do something about it, I'll make another mistake."

Teru frowned, but not in a bad way. "You can talk to me about anything."

"Thank you," said Mob. He rolled up Earthworm Jimothy's nose and then let it unfurl, like one of those Western confetti poppers that didn't pop- what had Shou called it? A blow-tickler. "I'm sorry. I don't know why it's still bothering me. It happened a long time ago, and it didn't really happen."

"Well, that does sound complicated," said Teru. "Why don't you start at the beginning?"