"Misaki, have you finished packing yet?" Saruhiko called from his cupboard where he was digging out a few more shirts.

"I'm almost done!" Misaki called back.

It was time for the yearly inspection of the harvest of the surrounding villages and it was Saruhiko's turn to carry out the inspection this year. He didn't want to leave Misaki alone at home for the few weeks he'd be gone, so he would be going along too.

He was packing the last tunic neatly when a pair of arms wound themselves around his waist and he felt a slight weight on his head.

"Hey, if you're done then go saddle the horses first. I'll be out in a while."

Misaki felt a huff of warm breath as Saruhiko laughed. "You're not going to fall off Tsubaki this time, are you?"

"For the last time, that was the first time I rode without you behind me and I freaked out. I didn't know she was going to turn and throw me off." Misaki scowled and playfully lashed at Saruhiko's legs with his tail.

Misaki remembered waking up on his birthday tangled up with Saruhiko. After they ate the simple breakfast that Saruhiko prepared, he was blindfolded and led out to the small field near the house and told to wait for a few minutes. When Saruhiko came back, he asked Misaki to reach out in front of him. At first, he'd been perplexed to feel something warm with short bristly hair. Saruhiko chuckled and placed his hand over his, asking him to guess what it was. When Misaki shook his head, indicating that he'd given up guessing, Saruhiko laughed and removed the blindfold to reveal a cream mare.

"I thought if you had your own horse, I'd be able to teach you how to ride and I could bring you with me if I had to go away for a few days. And, well, you seem to be okay with Ryuu so I thought you wouldn't have any objections to having a horse."

Misaki reached out to stroke her muzzle, but she beat him to it, nuzzling his hair and ears. He nearly shied away in panic, but he managed to stop himself and reached out to stroke her neck instead. Saruhiko smiled when he named her Tsubaki.

"Of course you'd name her after a flower, wouldn't you, my beautiful blossom?" Saruhiko teased.

"Shut up." Misaki growled back half-heartedly.

Saruhiko had gradually taught him how to ride and he was glad that she wasn't quite as large as Ryuu. More than once, they had gone out riding on a whim, Saruhiko being glad to just drop his work for a ride through the forest.

And now, they were going to travel the countryside for a month, checking up on the villages. Misaki shooed Saruhiko out of his room. He used it for little more than storage space for his clothes now that he slept in Saruhiko's bed. Looking back, things had changed drastically since he first came to live with Saruhiko.

He made his way to the small built-in stable which would be expanded while they were away to make it less cramped for Ryuu and Tsubaki. Saruhiko was saddling Ryuu and loading on the saddlebags. This time, it was Misaki who embraced Saruhiko from the back. Saruhiko turned around in Misaki's grasp to hug him back and nuzzle his head.

"Go saddle Tsubaki. I'll bring Ryuu out first so that you have space."

Misaki nodded. He turned to reach out for her saddle. He was glad to have such a sweet-tempered mare for his own. It wasn't to say that Ryuu was ill-tempered. He was more mischievous than Tsubaki and tended to act in a way that reminded Misaki of his master.

Soon, he led Tsubaki out to join Saruhiko. It was early evening and they would be riding to the nearest village to arrive slightly after nightfall. Saruhiko was silhouetted against the sky and something inside his head just clicked and he realised how much he'd fallen for Saruhiko since the beginning. He didn't know if Saruhiko felt the same way, but even if he didn't, he'd thawed out and Misaki was glad for that. His azure eyes finally reflected the warmth the colour suggested.

He called out to Saruhiko as he mounted Tsubaki and they rode off to the gates to meet Reisi before they left.

"You're not going to complain about me missing your birthday this year, are you?" Saruhiko joked as he dismounted.

"I wasn't going to until you reminded me. It'll be different without you this year."

"What, you mean I was that significant in the celebrations? I thought all I was good for was stopping you from getting drunk."

"Why, you impudent thing. I can't believe I let you live with me all those years!"

"Well, your father did take me in and told you to treat me like I was your younger brother." Saruhiko moved to hug Reisi. "And you are the brother I never had."

Reisi returned the hug. "Stay safe, Saruhiko," he whispered. "And you too, Misaki." He looked up at Misaki. "Keep each other safe. I don't want to lose the people I've come to consider my family."

With that, Saruhiko remounted Ryuu and calling goodbyes, they rode off towards the village.


A/N: I'm sorry I took so long to update this. There was just a lot going on and I lost sight of this story for a while. I've got my plot ideas back though, it's just going to take a while for me to piece them together bit by bit. I'l try to be a bit more regular, but no promises. My end of term tests are coming round and I'll have to study for those. Oh joy.

In case anyone is wondering, Misaki (美咲) literally means beautiful blossom and Tsubaki (椿) means camellia. That's why Saruhiko teases Misaki about naming his horse after a flower.

And about that last bit, when I'm not in Reisaru mode, they're kind of my brotp. I have absolutely no idea why. And since Saruhiko is practically Reisi's family, Misaki is Reisi's family by extension since he and Saruhiko are very close. I don't even know if I'm making sense anymore.

Oh and one last thing. If there are any Psycho-Pass fans out there, I might be posting up some angsty drabbles soon. There are just too many deaths for me to contain my feels and not enough fics out there.