The first time Nazuna didn't have the advice one of his kids needed wasn't until Hajime came up to him after they finished Bogie Time and asked about how to ask his crush on a date.

He had never asked his crushes on a date for… obvious reasons. He had too much self-respect to allow himself to slide back into that dehumanized position, cared too much about his kids to ever leave them. And besides, they were already in a relationship, two halves of a whole, what did they need with a third part, anyway?

A-anyway, this wasn't about him. This was about Hajime. And Ibara Saegusa, apparently. Geez, they'd gotten close fast. But… Nazuna didn't really know what to say. So he just smiled and told Hajime to follow his gut.

He guessed it must have worked, because the next day, Hajime spent hours in the CosPro offices.

And that was how everything started.

The CosPro offices gave off a much different vibe than the RythLin offices. They were sleek and dark compared to the light and studio-like vibe of RythLin. But it felt welcoming nonetheless, or at least that was Nazuna's opinion.

…Maybe it was just the poster of his crushes that was right in front of him when he entered. Made him want to be here, at any rate. Maybe he'd even actually see them…

No. Focus. You're here on a mission, Nazuna.

Hajime weaved his way through the office easily, leaving Nazuna trailing behind. Despite having only been here a few times before (to Nazuna's knowledge), Hajime seemed to know his way around. Maybe it was just a simple layout? Nazuna was admittedly not paying that much attention.

It only took a moment before they were in front of Ibara Saegusa's office, at which point Hajime hummed happily and began to knock on the door.

"Ibanyan~" Hajime called out, "It's Jimenyan~ And my Nii-chan followed me…"

After a moment, Ibara opened his door, smiling more softly than Nazuna had ever seen before. That was a point in his favor, but not enough to change Nazuna's mind about this.

"Good afternoon, Jimenyan," Ibara greeted Hajime kindly, then turned to Nazuna with a look of mild confusion, "And Nito-shi as well?"

"Saegusa," Nazuna greeted curtly.

"Nii-chan insists he needs to talk to you?" Hajime laughed slightly, scratching at the back of his neck, "Sorry…"

"Oh?" Ibara looked at Nazuna with a little more scrutiny, "What is it?"

"Yes…" Nazuna drew up straighter, all the way to his full height (which, considering that he was the second-shortest idol in Ensemble Square, was not that impressive), "If you do anything to hurt Hajime-chin or his career, I will end you."

"...What?" Ibara looked taken aback by this.

"You heard me," Nazuna said, stomping his foot, "I won't hesitate even slightly, Saegusa!"

"Nii-chan, you didn't need to threaten my boyfriend…" Hajime gave Nazuna a look like he was touched but slightly embarrassed.

"As your Nii-chan, it's my responsibility," Nazuna nodded sharply, then let his posture shift to something more casual, and his smile broadened, "Now go have fun on your date, okay?"

"Ahha, okay, Nii-chan…" Hajime laughed, then stepped forward to greet Saegusa with a kiss on the cheek. "See you later, Nii-chan."

"Ah… yes," Saegusa adjusted his glasses, "Goodbye, Nito-shi, ah… I will remember your warning."

Nazuna nodded sharply, then pivoted to head out and leave -

Only to freeze in place but a few steps away from the door that was now closing.

There, entering the office floor he had just been about to leave, were the two people with whom he would like to have a relationship similar to the one that Hajime was entering with Ibara.

Fuck.

Paperwork was the bane of anyone's existence, Shu was certain. Unfortunately, it existed, and needed to be dealt with, so here he was in the Cosmic Production main offices, having to do his unit leader paperwork - whatever it was. Logistics.

Logistics were the bane of art.

Mika, at least, was accompanying him to the offices, so that he did not have to deal with this unpleasantness on his own.

And then Mika came to a stop beside him, and with a mere glance, Shu could tell why. Across the office floor stood Nazuna, staring at them and looking for all the world like a deer caught in the headlights.

Why was he here? This wasn't his agency. Why was he looking at them like that? He did look quite nice - wait, no. He was glad he hadn't said that out loud, or else Mademoiselle would have scolded him.

"Nazuna-nii!" Mika lit up and bounced forwards, "What're ya doin' here?"

"Uh -" Nazuna blinked twice, then seemed to physically relax. "I was just talking to Saegusa about -"

"Eh, eh? But he's our boss, not yurs?" Mika cocked his head curiously.

"He and Hajime-chin started dating," Nazuna explained with a dismissive hand wave, "I don't think Saegusa would hurt Hajime-chin on purpose, but as his Nii-chan, it's my responsibility to give him a threat or two, right?"

"But yur so tiny, Nazuna-nii!" Mika laughed, eyes practically sparkling, "What're ya gonna do ta 'im?"

"Don't think our history will allow you to get away with remarks on my height," Nazuna glared at Mika with little heat, "But I doubt that I'll need to do anything to Saegusa, anyway."

Shu found his voice and stepped forward to join the conversation. "Ah, but Kagehira is correct, dear Nito, you are rather… petite."

Wait, wait! That had been much too forward, hadn't it? He'd called Nazuna 'dear'! Was his panic showing? He hoped his panic wasn't showing -

"Don't think you can get away with that either!" Nazuna turned his mock hurt look on Shu, "I'll get you for that!"

Oh, good, Nazuna hadn't picked up on the 'dear'. Even better, he was pouting at Shu. He would remember this moment forever…

"So Hajime-kun an' Saegusa-senpai are datin' now?" Mika asked Nazuna, grinning and giggling lightly. Shu knew that Mika must've been enjoying the sight of Nazuna's pout as much as he was.

Nazuna nodded, dropping the pout. "Yeah, they hit it off when they got paired together on Bogie Time."

"Ah, I do remember watching that," Shu nodded, "So their chemistry is genuine?"

"You? Watching a variety show?" Nazuna laughed, "Have pigs begun to fly?"

"Ah -" Shu felt himself flush slightly. There was no way he was going to admit that he had watched it because Nazuna and the rest of Ra*bits had been on it. That sounded… well, didn't that still sound like he was too interested in Nazuna?

"Yeah!" Mika chirped, apparently not anywhere near as reserved about admitting to things like this, "You and yer bunny brothers were on it! So we watched it!"

"O-oh," Nazuna seemed somewhat taken aback by that, "Thank you, both of you."

"Don't thank us!" Mika shook his head, "It was fun!"

"It was… amusing… to see your aggression towards Tomoe," Shu admitted. Surely that wasn't too forward, was it?

Nazuna snorted. "I'm glad it was amusing for you, but I was this close" he held up his thumb and forefinger, only a couple centimeters apart, "To actually attempting something against him."

"That would have been excellent," Shu nodded, "Take him down a peg or three."

"I like Tomoe-senpai though?" Mika said with a half-smile.

"You are in the same circle as him," Shu pointed out, "Although that doesn't necessitate anything. I might be in the same circle as Amagi, but that does not mean that I care for him. He is quite irritating."

"He would not stop being insufferable," Nazuna said, "I don't want to interact with Tomoe more if I can avoid it. Unfortunately, Tomoe is in the same unit as Saegusa, and Hajime-chin is dating Saegusa now. So I might have to interact with Tomoe."

"Yes, back to my original question," Shu said again, "So the chemistry that seemed to develop between them on the show was genuine?"

"Yeah, they seem to really like each-other's company," Nazuna shrugged, smiling fondly, "I'm happy for Hajime."

"Tha's so cute!" Mika grinned, "I'll havta congratulate 'em."

"Why is Nito-shi still here?" Ibara grumbled, peeking out the blinds of his office window, "He only came here to threaten me, correct? Why is he standing around the office with Valkyrie?"

Hajime perked up excitedly, "Are they talking to him? That's wonderful to hear!"

"I thought that Nito-shi used to be a member of Valkyrie… is there bad blood between him and the current members?" Ibara had a sinking feeling that this went beyond Nazuna still being in the office of an agency he didn't belong to.

"Well…" Hajime frowned, "I supposed it isn't really my place to say… but they don't really talk directly to Nii-chan much. If they're actually talking, I don't know that I want to interrupt them…"

"My darling, I was actually going to take you somewhere on our date," Ibara sighed, "Not spend the whole time trapped in my office."

"I know, but…" Hajime joined Ibara at the window, peering out at Nazuna smiling, laughing, speaking with those two, "I want Nii-chan to be happy too…"

"Wh- darling," Ibara turned to look at his adorable, innocent little boyfriend, who had no idea what he had unleashed, "Are you saying that Nito-shi is… attracted to Valkyrie?"

"Th- that's not my place to say!" Hajime squeaked, looking mildly panicked as he waved his arms back and forth.

"That's a yes then," Ibara deadpanned. "Well then… our reservation isn't for another hour… I suppose we can let them speak a little longer."

"Ibara-kun~" Hiyori sing-songed, slightly condescending but also somewhat prying, "What's on your mind? Are you still thinking about that cute boyfriend of yours?"

"Your Highness!" Ibara exclaimed, "Are you claiming that I was not putting it all into our practice?"

"Don't pretend your mind wasn't elsewhere!" Hiyori sniffed, "And I know you had a date with Hajime-kun yesterday~"

"My date went fine, Your Highness, thank you for asking," Ibara smiled.

"But there's something on your mind~!" Hiyori continued to needle, "What is it?"

"Nothing related to Jimenyan," Ibara waved Hiyori off, "Not directly, at any rate."

"Something indirectly related to Hajime-kun?" Hiyori scooched around in front of Ibara, grinning widely, "Did someone challenge you for his affections?"

"Ohii-san, stop badgering Ibara," Jun tried to interject, but Hiyori had the scent of gossip now, and he was going to pry the information from Ibara, one way or another.

"No-one challenged me for Jimenyan's affections," Ibara deflected, "Let's get back to practice, Your Highness."

"I also want to know what's happening," Nagisa interjected, "I am curious."

"Not you too, Your Excellency!" Ibara gasped.

"Nagisa-kun, good!" Hiyori smiled, "Now, Ibara-kun~ tell us~!"

"...I was threatened. Are you happy now?" Ibara admitted after a moment of consideration.

"Threatened…? Oh! You mean someone gave you a shovel talk?" Hiyori blinked for a moment, before the implications of Ibara's statement sunk in, "Someone told you to treat Hajime-kun well or else?"

"...Yes, Nito-shi seemed very adamant on that point," Ibara sighed, "As though I would hurt my sweet, devious little bunny."

Hiyori laughed, "Oh, what a wonderful Hiyori! That is delightful!"

"Nito-senpai cares a lot about his unitmates," Jun remarked.

"He sees them as his little brothers," Hiyori waved his hand dismissively, "It's all rather sweet, in a way."

"Yes, well," Ibara rolled his eyes, "He seems to care about his former unitmates in a different way, if the near-hour he spent conversing with them after was any indication."

"...Oh?" Hiyori's grin seemed to grow impossibly bigger, nearly splitting his face.

"I am sure Shu-kun was happy to speak with him," Nagisa remarked.

"I was about to leave my office with Jimenyan in tow to head to our reservation," Ibara explained, "But Jimenyan asked me to let them talk uninterrupted. He said something about wanting Nito-shi to be happy. I assumed that meant Nito-shi was romantically interested in Valkyrie. Jimenyan did not confirm but also did not deny."

"What did he say exactly?" Hiyori's grin was at this point a bit scary, so Ibara complied.

"...He said that it wasn't his place to say."

"Ah, what a brilliant Hiyori!" Hiyori jumped away from Ibara, turning and grabbing his phone, "I have to go!"

"But what about -" Ibara began, only for Hiyori to exit the room swiftly, closing the door behind him, "...practice…"

"...Well, if Ohii-san is leaving, I am too," Jun shrugged and grabbed his stuff, "I'm going to go play Skullgirls or something."

"...It seems practice is over," Nagisa commented after Jun left, "It wasn't very long today."

Ibara just sighed. There wasn't much else he could do.

"I have gathered you all here to this emergency meeting of the Pretty Five because I have important news!" Hiyori crowed.

"And you couldn't just send it in the group chat?" Tori asked.

"This kind of important news? Of course not!" Hiyori scoffed.

"What kinda important news 's it?" Mika cocked his head curiously.

"The kind that has to do with you, Mika-kun!" Hiyori said delightedly, "The kind I know you'll want to hear!"

"And the rest of us are here because…?" Tori still seemed irritated that he was present.

"Arashi-chan and Aira-kun doubtlessly also want to hear this," Hiyori pointed out, "And you, Little Princess-chan, wouldn't want to be left out!"

"It's gossip?" Aira lit up, then looked confused, "Wait, how can it be gossip? You wouldn't be this happy if it was bad news, and it's not exactly still news at all that Kagehira-senpai is dating Itsuki-senpai…"

Arashi gasped. "Wait, are you going to say -?"

"S-spit it out, please!" Mika looked like he was vibrating in anticipation, like he thought he knew what was going to be said but didn't have the ability to believe it.

"Well, Ibara-kun said that yesterday he and Hajime-kun were about to set out for their date yesterday when -"

"Wait, Saegusa-senpai and Shino-senpai are dating?" Aira yelped.

"Oh, I heard about that!" Arashi cooed, "They started dating after Bogie Time, right? How cute~!"

"They did? For real?" Aira bounced in his seat, "That's so exciting!"

"Yes, yes, but -" Hiyori cut them off, continuing, "He was stopped when Hajime-kun spotted Nazuna-kun talking to Mika-kun and Shu-kun~"

"...Yeah?" Mika blinked in confusion, "Me an' Oshi-san were talkin' ta Nazuna-nii. He said he'd jus' talked ta Saegusa-senpai 'bout somethin' 'bout Hajime-kun?"

"Yes, yes, a shovel talk, but -"

"Nito-senpai gave Saegusa-senpai a shovel talk?" Aira yelped.

The rest of the group all turned to look at their youngest member.

"S-sorry! Please continue!"

"Anyway, when Ibara-kun asked why they couldn't walk through your conversation, Hajime-kun responded in a way that while it didn't confirm anything, made it sound like Nazuna-kun had feelings for the two of you."

"What?" Aira needed to stop yelping. It was probably bad for his throat.

A big smile spread across Mika's face as he bounced up from his seat, phone in hand. "I havta go!" he darted from the room.

"Go get your man!" Arashi yelled after him, "Good luck, Mika-chan!"

"That's what this was all about?" Tori rolled his eyes, "Well, I wish Kagehira-senpai luck too, but wasn't the emergency meeting a little much?"

"...Kagehira-senpai and Itsuki-senpai want to date Nito-senpai?"

"...I think we may have broken Aira-chan," Arashi pointed out.

Shu had simply been sitting in his room, sewing an outfit for Mademoiselle, when suddenly someone began banging on the door. Since none of his other roommates were in at the moment, Shu disentangled himself from his project and made his way to the door.

"Oshi-san this's really important!" Mika very nearly yelled in his face the moment the door was opened.

"Kagehira, what -"

"Remember yesterday when we ran inta Nazuna-nii in tha CosPro offices an' then we talked ta him fer a while and all?" Mika pushed his way into Shu's room and began pacing back and forth, practically vibrating with emotion, although Shu wasn't quite sure what.

"Yes, of course," Shu nodded, "He talked to us for nearly a whole hour… he even pouted and smiled… it was… delightful."

"Yeah but weren't it odd tha' he had just been talkin' to Saegusa-senpai about his an' Hajime-kun's date but then we didn't see Saegusa-senpai and Hajime-kun leave like… at all?" Mika seemed to be leading the conversation somewhere, and it was beginning to make Shu slightly nervous.

"I… suppose that is a bit odd…"

"Well, Tomoe-senpai said tha' Saegusa-senpai said tha' Hajime-kun told 'im not ta interrupt us and - and -"

"And?" Shu asked, "What is it?"

"Oshi-san, we have a chance." Mika grabbed Shu's hands, looking directly into his face with his mismatched eyes wide, "Oshi-san, Hajime-kun implied that Nazuna-nii was interested."

"God…" Shu felt himself wavering on his feet, "I - I need to sit down."

"Ah! A'course!" Mika practically shoved Shu into a nearby chair, "It's… it's big."

"Nito… we could have Nito… romantically…" Shu's voice had - even to himself, it had a quality of airiness, of unreality.

"I wanna kiss 'im, Oshi-san," Mika plopped himself down on Shu's bed, "I really wanna kiss 'im."

"As do I…" Shu couldn't help the smile that began to spread over his face. "We - we need to do this properly, and really romance him, and it needs to be perfect, and -"

"Orrrrr…" Mika broke in, "We could just kiss 'im."

"What? But what if we're wrong?" Shu looked at his boyfriend in confusion and disbelief.

"But like… What if 'e takes it bad? Bein' romanced?" Mika countered, "Ya know prolly better than I why 'e left Valkyrie… What if overplannin' drives 'im off? From more than just our unit…"

"I…" Shu's face fell somewhat, "You… you're right. But I don't know if I can 'just kiss him'."

"Then I'll go first," Mika nodded decisively, and stood, marching towards the door, "Nazuna-nii should be in 'is room, righ'?"

"W-wait, now?" Shu wasn't sure where he found the energy to stand at that moment, but he did nonetheless, "You're going to go kiss Nito now?"

"No reason ta wait!" Mika chirped, and flung open the door, turning quickly to make his way to the one next to it. Shu scrambled after him, hoping against hope that this wouldn't end in disaster.

Nazuna wasn't sure what was going on, but it smelled a little like scheming. Earlier in the day, things had been normal, and when he'd first gotten back to his dorm after practice, Natsume had been doing some sort of magical research while reclined on his bed. Then, not long after, he'd begun coughing like he'd choked on the air before abruptly saying he was going to study in the library.

That wouldn't have been a cause for suspicion, except for the hacking and choking noises, and the fact he felt the need to loudly announce that he was leaving.

Now, Nazuna was having a little trouble concentrating on his paper. Something was up, and it wasn't conducive to an academic environment. Which was unfortunate, because he didn't really want to work in the library for this particular assignment.

Or any assignment.

Anything important.

Anything people might judge him on.

Nazuna stood, moving over to the cage where his pet bunnies were kept. Sighing, he opened it, and took out one of them, March. Contact with March and Tick always helped. And March and Tick couldn't judge him, either.

He sat on his bed, scratching March's head, for some amount of time he wasn't really measuring, until he was pulled back to reality by the sound of someone banging at the door.

He wondered who it could be - not Natsume, who had a key, or Leo, who not only also had a key but was currently in Italy. It could technically be anyone else in Ensemble Square…

Nazuna frowned and put March back in his cage. He really didn't have any idea…

However, who he was met with when he opened the door was still somehow completely unexpected.

"Mika-chin? Itsuki? What are you doing here?" he blinked at them in mild confusion.

"Long story," Mika said, and Nazuna vaguely noticed that Shu looked incredibly nervous for some reason, which was somewhat unlike him.

Nazuna did not, however, have time to ponder the matter, as Mika grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him close. Nazuna let out a "Haaah?" and had the vague thought that he must've done something to piss off Valkyrie somehow, before -

Huh.

What.

What?

That wasn't -

This was -

Mika was kissing him

Something in Nazuna just… stopped responding. He must've started daydreaming when he was petting March, and this was the result, right? There was no way this was real. It - It couldn't be.

But if it was a dream… there was no harm in kissing back, right?

Nazuna let himself press into the kiss, and he felt Mika smile underneath it. The hands gripped into his shirt dropped the fabric and shifted around to hold Nazuna from behind - hold him closer. Nazuna's own hands came up to settle on Mika's hips - were those really Mika's hips under his fingers?

Perfection could only last so long, and soon they were breaking apart for air. Nazuna gasped, uncertain as to if that had really happened. Was Mika smiling at him like that real? The breathlessness of being kissed well, the giddiness in his chest, were they real?

If this was real, how had it happened? What was going on?

Mika's next words, "Yur turn, Oshi-san!" didn't clarify a thing. They did, however, draw Nazuna's attention to Shu, who had been standing there the whole time.

He also looked incredibly nervous still.

"Nito-" the pink-haired man began, "Dear Nito, I - that is, may I please have the honor of - ah -" Shu reached a hand out, fingers poised just so, and in but a moment, it became clear to Nazuna what Shu was asking.

Could he… have this?

Were they really reaching out to him like this? Now?

…He wanted it.

Nazuna threw caution to the wind and this time, he was the one with his hands in someone's shirt - he pulled Shu forward by his lapels, finally finally kissing the boy who had first charmed him so.

His first love, so bright it had burned him, now tempered to a comfortable warmth and being offered once more, an intoxicating offer he could not refuse.

His second love, a love that was sweet and pure, but rendered syrupy and inescapable by the passion within, tainted by the whole situation and thought to be irrecoverable but -

Here they were.

Shu's hands were on his waist in a way unlike they had ever been before. Mika was draping himself over Nazuna, his head resting on Nazuna's.

Why had they chosen this moment to come to him? Did it matter?

In this moment in time, everything was so wonderfully, unbelievably perfect.

"Nii-chan, you're moving weird," Tomoya remarked. This remark caused both Mitsuru and Hajime to look over at the eldest, most experienced member of their unit, and -

Oh.

Hajime recognized those sort of movements.

"Nii-chan!" Hajime gasped, "Congratulations?"

Nazuna flushed, evidently embarrassed by how easily it could be told, but still said, "Thank you, Hajime-chin."

"What?" Mitsuru cocked his head curiously, "What happened?"

"Well," Nazuna addressed Mitsuru, "Evidently Hajime-chin let something slip to Saegusa… Who told Tomoe… Who told Mika-chin…"

"Aha… sorry, Nii-chan…" Hajime laughed sheepishly.

Nazuna laughed in response. "Don't worry, Hajime-chin. It all worked out, didn't it?"

"Wait," Tomoya blinked, "Are you saying - why you're moving weird is - Nii-chan! What if they hurt you again?"

"They've grown, I was more worried about them not wanting me to intrude -"

"Mitsuru, Hajime, come on! We had better give Valkyrie a talking to."