I've decided to make this one a little domestic after that last chapter.

Thank you to AusllyBeliever, Momochan77, queenglitch, and for your reviews!

Disclaimer: Only Livia is mine.


Retiree Home #573: Japan

Exact Location: Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan

Block 4, House 6

09:45


Livia raised a fist to the door in front of her, giving the wood three quick knocks before quickly stuffing her hand back into her pocket. Taking a step back, Livia looked up. A small black hole had been artfully chipped away out of the door frame, looking to the untrained eye like an accident or casual wear and tear. The brunette smiled at the hole and the security camera hidden within it before glancing around the rest of the property.

It was pretty small by most standards. The house was two stories but rather narrow, as was the rest of the property. There was perhaps enough room on the lawn for a small kiddie pool come the summer months, but other than that the only decoration space was for a small garden of red and gold flowers.

Her old supervisor had never been the flashy type.

Click!

The brunette looked forward again, her smile stretching a little wider as the lock slid out of place, a short, black haired man opening the door.

"Kiku!"

Her old supervisor returned the smile, stepping back from the doorway to let her inside, "Hello, Livia."

Hastily kicking her shoes off before stepping indoors, the brunette shivered as a blast of air conditioned air hit her face. "Why is your house always so cold?"

Kiku didn't respond, shutting the door quickly behind them and pressing a button off to the side that resembled an indoor doorbell. There came the sound of three little clicks and metal scraping on metal, like a long bar rubbing through a tube, followed by a solid clunk before the older man followed the girl into the living room.

Livia was already sitting down at the low table in the middle of Kiku's living room floor when he joined her. Two steaming cups of green tea were already waiting for them at said table. Livia took a long sip as Kiku knelt down on the pillow across from her.

For a moment, the two are quiet, just soaking in each other's company. While Livia tried to visit her old supervisor at least once during her missions in Japan, that usually meant they didn't get to see each other all that often. It was nice to finally have some time to catch up.

"How have you been, Livia? It's been quite a while since your last visit. Eight months I believe?" The man smirked into his tea cup. "You hardly ever call."

Livia lifted her head to glare over the lip of her own cup. "Bullshit. I call you almost every week."

"Almost."

She gave the man's knee a light kick before dodging his retaliation. "Since you're so interested, I've been fine… ish."

"And the others?"

"Pretty good. I've already sent Jocelyn's birthday package. I hope it arrives in time. Otherwise I'll never hear the end of it."

Kiku smiled and they relaxed back into silence. Livia sighed in contentment, letting all the tension leak out of her body, eyes sliding shut as a feeling of serenity overcame her. It was beyond therapeutic to talk about her family during missions. Unless she was totally and completely alone, it was a constant acting career. Keeping up the pretense of a made-up family while pretending the one she did have didn't exist took a toll. One of the reasons she was such a good Japan Prime agent was because of Kiku. She had a safe place nearby where she could live in her actual reality for a few hours to help maintain her character and her sanity.

A quiet cough made her open her eyes again. Kiku was eyeing her hair bun. Without hesitation, Livia unclipped her recorder and offered it across the table, the man taking it reverently.

She leaned forward on her elbows, watching as he began rolling the device around in his hands. "They changed the design a bit again. Now we can bend it a little more. There are some rumors that we're going to sell the idea to Apple, but I dunno if they'll go through with it."

The man hummed. "I approve. More ways for it to be properly hidden in plain sight." His dark eyes met hers and he smiled ever so slightly. "And Saturdays…?"

"Ugh!" She snatched the recorder back. "Yes, I've been recording weekly. Almost got mauled by an attack dog last time, too, thanks for asking."

"And this coming Saturday?"

Livia paused her recorder twirling, scowl deepening as the playfulness in her voice was replaced with actual displeasure. "My Charge has invited me to a private island trip to apologize for the incident. Private plane ride, too."

"Ah?" Kiku's eyes sparkled with amusement. "So I take it you're not overly fond of your Charge?"

"How'd you guess?"

"That little crush on you he's developing is going swimmingly, then?"

She shot another kick beneath the Kotatsu, frowning when he grabbed her ankle before she made contact. But she was smiling once again when his eyes widened in surprise.

"You still wear it?"

'It', of course, was referring to the beautifully woven anklet Kiku had given his trainee the day she advanced to solo-agent status. Livia hummed and pulled her leg back.

"Of course I still wear it, I never take it off. What, were you worried I would forget about you for real?"

For a moment, Kiku said nothing. Despite how the man wasn't even in his thirties yet, he had those 'thousand-year-old' eyes that appeared to stare straight into a person's soul. For the longest time, Livia had resented that look. She hated the feeling of her protective layers of sarcasm and fighting skills being peeled away, leaving her with nothing but painful memories and tears.

Now, however, she felt comfortable under the stare. There was little Kiku didn't know about her already, and there were few people Livia trusted enough to keep her secrets. The look he gave her now spoke of familiarity and his desire to care for her.

"It is not always safe to carry items you are emotionally attached to while on missions…" Kiku's expression was unreadable. He was one of the few people who could still hide his thoughts from the brunette sitting with him, so she kept silent. Waiting for him to finish his thought.

A few seconds later and the man's shoulders relaxed. "But I'm glad that you ignore the rules so well. In this instance, at least."

"I'm glad you approve."

"Of course. Now, tell me more about this Charge of yours."

Livia rolled her eyes, leaning back on her hands. "Nothing to really say. You already know how I got into this job, protecting his brother and what not, and last time he didn't pay much attention to me. Now that he's going to inherit his family's company he's trying to cozy up to me as a business partner. His friends are crazy and he's not much better. He treats everyone he's close to with a fake cold interference. He absolutely refuses to see the good things life has dumped into his lap. A loving staff, his sister, his friends. Sometimes I just want to-" Livia mimicked grabbing someone by the front of their shirt and shaking them. "He's such a jackass and I pushed him into the pool a few days ago and now his friends think we like each other and now I'm starting to think that he actually does and-"

"Huh."

Livia paused immediately, drawing her eyebrows together. "What do you mean, 'Huh'?"

"Nothing." Kiku took another sip of tea, the corners of his small smile peeking out around his tea cup. "I'm just surprised by how passionate you sound. You've never complained about a Charge this much before. Not even the one from Ireland who was into… what did you call it? Parkour?"

"So? This one's more annoying." She narrowed her eyes as Kiku's smile grew a little more. "You're laughing at me. Why?"

"No reason."

"Oh god not you, too! Come on, I was counting on you, Kiku!"

The man chuckled and set the empty cup down. "Very well, let's change the subject if it upsets you so much. What of the others. His friends you mentioned? You tend to overuse the word crazy so I'm curious as to what you mean by it this time."

"They're gonna get their friend and themselves killed, is what I mean. They won't leave me alone, no matter what I say. They've showed up at my apartment two Saturdays in a row and both times refused to leave without me. One of them even forced me to join their club at school… a host club if you can believe it. Apparently I'm mysterious, which is a weird way of saying frigid in my opinion."

"Haven't you tried to make them hate you yet? That is your usual style."

Livia dropped her eyes to the tabletop, fingers tightening their grip around her tea cup.

Kiku raised an eyebrow. "Usually, when people you meet on your missions start trying to become your friend, you cut off all ties and watch from a distance, as to not make a significant impact when you leave. What changed?"

The brunette shrugged, nonchalant. "Just… trying something new, I guess. It's working so far, at least. And it makes the job easier in some ways. Besides, they aren't all bad. The girl is chill."

"Livia-chan, do you want friends?"

"What do you mean? I have friends!"

The 'thousand-year-old' look was back again. "I know you do… but do you want to be friends with this club that you're talking about?"

When she didn't answer right away, Kiku nodded and leaned back a little, eyes refocusing on the empty air above Livia's head. "It's nothing abnormal, Livia-chan. Especially not for agents around your age. Wanting even a vague and temporary glimpse into a normal life, with normal friends… you don't always have the time to reconnect with people at R.A.R.E., no matter how close you are. There's too much motion, not enough consistency. And now you're here with these people, and something about them has clicked with you. From the sounds of it, their personalities match with your lifestyle of constant motion and mild chaos, but they also have a feeling of solidarity that you lack."

Livia stared into her lap, avoiding Kiku's eyes as he returned to staring straight at her. "I'm glad that you get to experience something like that now, even if it's only for a little while."

The silence stretched for another minute, Kiku taking the time to carefully carry their empty tea cups into the kitchen, giving Livia some space. Walking back, his voice was soft as he asked, "Have you given any more thought to your career once you retire?"

He got a half-hearted shrug for his efforts. "Dunno still. I've got a few years left, right?"

"Indeed you do, but it doesn't hurt to think of something now. You have a wide range of skills to work with."

The girl laughed, finally looking back up with a mischievous smile. "I suppose that's one way to put it."

Kiku didn't show it, but he was glad his little protégé had taken the olive branch. She didn't always know how to engage in their deep talks regarding herself. Sure, she'd go off on another person for taking the good things in their life for granted, but at the same time Kiku knew that she did her darndest to ignore what she was missing from her own. It was her personal form of protecting herself. He regretted not catching on to it earlier on in their training.

"Well… I do like the idea of being a translator. I like tutoring the Beginning Japanese classes during my breaks. Maybe I'll even settle down for a worldwide business or something?"

Kiku nodded, pleased. "So you're thinking about becoming an English to Japanese translator? Or the other way around? What of your living arrangements?"

"Well, if I had it my way, I'd be able to travel between Japan and England, so I'd probably just get two apartments-"

"England? Not America?"

Livia tensed again. "I… I just thought that since I'm a Japan Prime and U.K. Prime agent it would be…" She bit at her bottom lip, her hands now clenched into fists in her lap.

"Livia-chan?"

"Do you know why they won't adopt us?"

"Do they know that's what you want? Is that what you want?"

"Yes! ...No? I don't know…" She tugged at her shirt. "I mean there are worse things that could happen. I'll always miss my mom and dad and my nana. Always, but…"

Kiku nodded along, his eyes trailing over to a family shrine in the back corner of the room, a photograph of a smiling man placed in the middle.

"But, I want them to be my legal family. Even if it's just more ties that could be taken away from me, I want it. They know how to protect themselves too. I haven't even dared talk to Connor about any of this yet."

"Well, perhaps that should be the first step. Talk to your brother. He may surprise you with his answer, which will give you a clearer direction to go down. After all, only the two of you can decide if it's something you really want. Do not forget; you are each other's first priority, and you are still children."

"So is Alfred… in a way."

The man across from her laughed. "Indeed he is. I recall training with him all those years ago!" The two shared a short laugh together before Kiku calmed down enough to speak again. "You do not need all the answers today. They'll come to you. Now, why don't you end your long for today and tell me more about this school project you mentioned on the wire. It sounds interesting."

"Interesting? Oh, please. End log."


All of my (limited) descriptions of the house came from Google Maps. Best I can do.

If you liked, please favorite, follow, or review!

See you next chapter!