The three of them parted ways at the corner block before Yu and Taichi's apartment complex—Fumiko ruffling Yu's hair before heading off to her own block, her eyes still flicking back at Taichi with that sharp "I'm watching you" look.
By the time Yu and Taichi reached their own building, Taichi's arms were still loaded with bags, not a single one dropped or sagging. He barely even looked winded. But inside, he made a quiet vow.
'I'll start working out more. Next time Yu wants to shop, I'll carry twice this much.'
When Yu unlocked his door and they stepped inside, Taichi dropped the bags neatly by the wall. Yu immediately crouched, tugging one open with a little spark of excitement in his eyes. He pulled out hair accessories, ribbons, some new makeup brushes, and two folded tops. The apartment air filled with a cozy domesticity as he arranged them carefully on the low table, humming under his breath.
Then he paused. His fingers lingered on a pastel scrunchie. Slowly, he looked up at Taichi, cheeks pink.
"Um… Taichi… will you… stay for dinner?"
For a split second, Taichi froze. The simple invitation hit harder than anything Yu had ever said to him. His heart hammered, and then—he smiled, slow and warm.
"I'd love to. I'm looking forward to eating whatever you make. I'm not much help in the kitchen so I'll do the dishes."
Yu's blush deepened. He bobbed his head, scrambling to his feet.
"O-okay then. I'll, um… I'll cook!"
He hurried into the kitchen, pulling out his phone. From the bookmarks, he tapped open the little collection of recipes Fumiko Fujimori had sent him. Simple dishes, written out with emojis and tips, all easy for a beginner.
Yu murmured to himself, cheeks still glowing pink, as he scrolled.
"Maybe… the omurice again? Or the miso soup and grilled salmon set… maybe both?"
Taichi leaned against the doorway, watching him bustle. The sight of Yu, ponytail swishing as he searched through the fridge, made him feel like he was standing inside a dream.
The kitchen smelled warm and savory, even if Yu fumbled his way through half the steps. The miso soup was a little too salty, and the grilled fish had stuck to the pan, but the omelet came out fluffy again—fluffy! Taichi clapped like a proud parent at the sight of it on the plate.
When Yu nervously slid the dish across the table, Taichi didn't hesitate—he dug in.
"It's good!"
Taichi said with his mouth full, smiling wide.
"Y-you don't have to eat it all if it's bad…"
Yu muttered, fiddling with his chopsticks.
"It's not bad,"
Taichi said firmly, swallowing.
"It's yours. That makes it the best."
Yu covered his face with both hands, whining.
"You're so embarrassing…"
But he couldn't stop smiling either.
The rest of dinner passed in that rhythm—Yu fussing, Taichi exaggerating his enjoyment, both of them laughing between bites.
After dinner, true to his word, Taichi gathered the dishes and took them to the sink. Yu, grateful but embarrassed, scurried to the low table, setting out his textbooks, pens, and the neat stack of notes that Fumiko Fujimori had lent him.
Inside his head, DK01 let out a long, theatrical sob.
[At last… my liege finally acts like a real student! Ah, if only the Demon Realm could see this!]
Yu's cheeks puffed pink as he muttered under his breath.
"I just don't want to go back to day one and start over again… failing my tests and homework is awfully scary…"
He opened Fumiko's notes and carefully started reading, his brows furrowing in concentration.
By the time Taichi came back, drying his hands on a towel, he found Yu hunched over his books—completely absorbed. For the first time that evening, Yu's attention wasn't on him.
A little frown tugged at Taichi's lips. Quietly, he padded over, leaned down, and without a word, slid his arms around Yu's waist.
"Taichi—?!"
Yu squeaked as he was pulled, notebook and all, onto Taichi's lap.
Taichi buried his face against Yu's shoulder, nuzzling.
"You didn't even look at me once."
"B-because I'm studying!"
Yu protested, trying to hold his pencil steady.
"I can help you study,"
Taichi mumbled into his neck.
"But you can't just ignore me."
DK01's voice wavered between fake despair and laughter.
[Ah, tragic! To see the Incubus King himself kidnapped from academia by his own beast! Woe! Woe!]
Yu flushed crimson, torn between laughing, protesting, and leaning into the warmth of Taichi's arms.
However, after a few minutes, Yu started to wriggle in Taichi's lap, trying to sit upright enough to see his notebook.
"I can't write like this!"
"Then I'll hold the book."
Taichi offered lazily, plucking the notebook from Yu's hands and propping it up against his knee. His other arm stayed tight around Yu's waist, keeping him snugly in place.
Yu huffed.
"That's not how studying works…"
"Sure it is,"
Taichi said, peering at the page.
"Here, what's this? History?"
"Y-yeah. Dates of the Sengoku period."
To Yu's shock, Taichi rattled them off with frightening ease, his memory sharper than Yu expected.
"You seriously didn't know this? It's like, the one thing every delinquent gang leader has to know—can't lose face in front of old guys in the neighborhood."
Yu blinked up at him.
"…You're weirdly helpful."
"Obviously. I'm the best boyfriend!"
Taichi said smugly, resting his chin on Yu's shoulder.
DK01 snorted in Yu's head.
[How shameful! To think the beast could outpace the princess's studies… but also… effective. Very effective. Keep exploiting this!]
Yu, red in the face, muttered.
"I-I'm not exploiting anyone…"
But he couldn't deny it—Taichi was actually helping him remember things.
Every time Yu got a question wrong, Taichi tapped his pen against Yu's forehead.
"Dummy. Don't forget."
Every time Yu got one right, Taichi kissed the top of his head and whispered.
"Good job."
Yu squeaked every time, flailing his pen, but… the material was sticking better than it ever had before.
By the time an hour had passed, Yu's notes were full of doodles Taichi had added, little hearts, crude dragons, but Yu's quiz answers were nearly flawless.
Yu slumped back against him, groaning.
"I… I actually learned something."
"Because of me."
Taichi said immediately, tightening his hold like a smug boa constrictor.
"See? You need me."
Yu turned bright pink but didn't move away, mumbling,
"Y-you're still a distraction…"
"Best distraction you'll ever have."
Taichi said with a grin, pressing his cheek to Yu's.
DK01 sighed heavily in Yu's mind.
[Truly… domestic bliss. If only this fool weren't half terrifying.]
Yu smiled faintly, hiding it in his notebook as Taichi hummed happily behind him, satisfied with being both a distraction and the reason Yu finally made progress.
Yu closed his notebook with a dramatic sigh, stretching his arms up and nearly smacking Taichi in the face with his pen.
"S-study session… complete."
"Thanks to me."
Taichi reminded him, smug and unbothered, his arms still looped around Yu's waist.
Yu wriggled free at last, cheeks flushed, and started gathering his pencils.
"You should… probably go home now. It's late."
Taichi tilted his head, watching him fumble with his books like a flustered kitten.
"…I don't wanna."
Yu froze, turning pinker.
"W-what do you mean you don't wanna?"
"I don't wanna go back there."
Taichi leaned back until he laid on the floor, arms behind his head, eyes half-lidded.
"That apartment's too damn quiet. No one waiting. No one talking. Just me and four walls. Even if I just go to grab pajamas… it's lonely."
Yu bit his lip. His heart squeezed. He wasn't sure why, but he understood. In the silence that followed, his hand drifted across the tatami and gently found Taichi's.
"…Then I'll go with you,"
Yu said softly, glancing at him from beneath his lashes.
"So you're not alone."
Taichi blinked—then sat up fast, almost startled.
"…You'd do that?"
"Y-yeah. It's not that far. Just next door, right? We can… pack a small suitcase. That way you don't have to keep wearing—"
Yu's eyes flicked toward the baggy pajama pants that sagged on Taichi's hips.
"…my dad's old clothes."
Something unreadable flickered in Taichi's eyes at the mention of Yu's father, but then he chuckled, squeezing Yu's hand.
"Tch. Fine. But only if you carry the suitcase."
"I—I will!"
Yu puffed his cheeks, indignant but secretly relieved at the lighter tone.
So the two of them slipped out into the hallway, Yu still in his soft pajamas with his white hair falling loose, Taichi towering beside him in the borrowed clothes. The apartment complex was quiet, their footsteps echoing faintly as Yu clung a little tighter to Taichi's hand—not that he'd ever admit it was for his comfort as much as Taichi's.
Inside Taichi's unit, the air smelled faintly of dust and emptiness. Yu hesitated on the threshold, suddenly seeing what Taichi meant. It felt… hollow.
"…Okay,"
Yu whispered, nodding firmly to himself.
"Let's pack."
Taichi smirked, eyes softening as he watched Yu march toward the closet like a tiny general. Together, they folded shirts, stuffed socks into corners, and wrestled with the zipper of an old suitcase until Yu, panting, declared victory.
By the time they rolled it back into Yu's place, the tension had softened into something warm.
Taichi dropped onto the bed with a huff, dragging the suitcase beside him.
"There. Problem solved. I'm officially moved in."
Yu flushed bright red.
"M-moved in?! It's just… pajamas!"
"Mmhm."
Taichi cracked a grin, tugging Yu down beside him.
"Whatever you say… honey."
Yu squeaked, burying his face in the blanket, while DK01's dry voice hummed in his mind.
[Observation: The beast has snuck into the princess's castle. Probability of permanent residency: 98%.]
Yu groaned, covering his head with his hands, but his gaze slipped through the gaps of his fingers and crept back to Taichi's anyway.
Yu, to distract himself, began unpacking Taichi's suitcase, making space in the closet for both of their clothes. By the time Yu finished, Taichi had already claimed the bathroom, toothbrush in his mouth like he'd been living here forever.
Yu leaned against the doorway, flustered.
"…You know that's my toothbrush cup, right?"
"Yeah."
Taichi grinned around the foam, spitting into the sink.
"Now it's ours."
Yu nearly dropped the hairbrush he was holding.
"D-don't say it like that!"
They ended up brushing side by side, shoulders bumping, Yu trying to pretend he wasn't hyperaware of how domestic it all felt. Afterward, Yu carefully brushed his hair, letting the long white strands spill loose down his shoulders. Taichi's gaze lingered so intensely in the mirror that Yu squeaked and shoved past him with a mutter.
"S-stop staring."
Taichi chuckled, but followed him back into the bedroom anyway.
Yu fussed with the bed, fluffing the pillows, setting the blanket evenly. When he finally slipped into his own side, he thought maybe Taichi would respect the invisible boundary between them.
He thought wrong.
The mattress dipped as Taichi sprawled right up against him, rolling onto his side to face Yu with the easy confidence of someone who belonged there.
"This beats sleeping alone."
Yu huffed, cheeks red, and yanked the blanket up to hide most of his face.
"Y-you're impossible."
But he didn't push him away.
Instead, Taichi reached out and tugged the blanket down just enough to see Yu's flushed cheeks and loose hair shining under the dim light. His hand found Yu's, large and warm, and threaded their fingers together like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Night, Yu."
"…Goodnight,"
Yu whispered back, voice small but steady.
DK01 piped up softly in his mind.
[Status update: cohabitation initiated. Beast has infiltrated the castle and claimed a pillow. Congratulations, Princess—you now have a live-in guardian.]
Yu groaned into the blanket, but the warmth in his chest wouldn't go away.
By the time the lights clicked off, Yu had unconsciously snuggled closer, head buried against Taichi's chest, and Taichi—smiling like a fool—wrapped his arms around him protectively.
And just like that, in the quiet hum of the apartment, the unofficial "move-in" was sealed.
---
The alarm went off, but Yu wasn't the one to hit snooze. A heavy arm draped across his waist made him realize—again—that he wasn't waking up alone anymore.
By the time he wriggled free and shuffled into the bathroom, there were two toothbrushes in his cup. His pink one. And next to it—green. Taichi's. Yu stared at the matching pair and muttered,
"I didn't agree to this…"
DK01 hummed in his head, smug.
[Correction: you didn't disagree loudly enough.]
Yu sighed and started brushing, but when he reached for his usual set of red hair ties, the cup was empty. Again.
"Oi, Taichi!"
He called into the apartment.
A sheepish voice answered back.
"Borrowed them! They look better on me anyway."
"They don't!"
Yu sputtered, holding up the only two ties left in the cup: both green. The same green as Taichi's eyes.
"Now I have to wear these!"
Taichi smirked, reaching over to tie Yu's long white hair into neat twin buns with the green ties and red ribbons over them.
"Perfect. Red for the princess. Green for her beast. Balance, right?"
Yu turned pink, but didn't argue—he couldn't when Taichi was so careful threading the ribbons.
Breakfast wasn't much easier. Yu flipped omelets in a hurry while Taichi hovered like a giant shadow at his back, taste-testing anything he could get his hands on. When Yu finally managed to shoo him away and pack up his bento, he realized—he'd made two. One red bento box, one green.
"…I didn't even mean to."
Taichi peeked over his shoulder, grinning like a wolf.
"That's called instinct. You're already cooking for two."
Yu groaned, but when he set the matching lunches in their bags, he didn't undo it.
By the time they reached the corner, Fumiko Fujimori and Sakura Sato were already waiting. Yu jogged up to them with a shy smile, waving, while Taichi trailed just a step behind, carrying both their bags like it was natural.
The girls' gazes flicked immediately to the details: matching bento bags. Taichi hovering. And sure enough, when Taichi was closer they saw it. His wild dark black hair was pulled back with Yu's red elastics.
Yu, still flustered, said,
"S-sorry we're late! We, um… overslept."
The girls exchanged a look—equal parts disbelief and dawning realization.
"Together?"
Sakura asked pointedly.
Taichi's arm slid casually around Yu's waist, his grin daring them to comment.
"Obviously."
Yu nearly combusted on the spot.
The four of them fell into step, the morning sunlight stretching long shadows on the pavement. Yu tried to act normal—swinging his bento bag, humming softly—but he could feel both Fumiko and Sakura staring holes into the side of his head.
Finally, Fumiko spoke, her voice stern but motherly.
"Yu-chan… don't you think you and Taichi are moving way too fast?"
Yu blinked, almost tripping over his own slippers.
"Huh? Fast?"
"You're living together now, aren't you?"
Sakura cut in, smirking.
"You even match your hair ties. That's, like, married-couple-level domestic already."
Yu flailed his hands.
"N-no, no! It's not like that! He just—well, Taichi lives next door to me, so it's really easy! And we've known each other since we were little kids, so it's not totally fast—"
Fumiko frowned, unconvinced.
"Known each other or not, that doesn't mean he should be practically moved in already. What if people start talking?"
"They are talking."
Sakura sang, poking Yu in the cheek with her finger.
"Rumor mill says you've tamed the school beast. And now the beast is stealing your hair ties and sleeping under your roof, huh? Roommate, boyfriend… what's next, husband?"
Yu's face went crimson.
"S-Sakura-chan!! Don't say it like that!!"
Fumiko groaned into her hand, muttering,
"I knew it… you're way too innocent for this."
And through it all, Taichi walked silently at Yu's side, bags dangling from both hands, his gaze locked on Yu with a dopey, unguarded stare. Every time Yu flushed or flustered, his grin widened—like nothing in the world mattered except the fact that Yu was his, walking with him, shoulder brushing his.
Sakura caught him staring and leaned closer to Yu, whispering conspiratorially,
"Your 'roommate' looks like a puppy that just got adopted."
Yu buried his face in his hands with a squeak.
Fumiko sighed louder, this time directly at Taichi.
"You'd better treat her well, or else—"
Taichi finally broke his silence, voice low but sure.
"I will."
The girls exchanged looks again, caught off guard by the sincerity. Yu peeked between his fingers, heart doing an anxious little skip.
Yu thought—hoped—that maybe the subject would die down before they reached the school. But the girls weren't finished.
"Wait, wait,"
Sakura said, tugging Yu's arm before they crossed the street.
"So if he's basically living with you now… does that mean he's seen you with your morning bedhead?"
Yu's ears went scarlet.
"W-why would you say that out loud!?"
Fumiko arched a brow, smug.
"I'm more concerned about meals. Yu-chan, you barely survived cooking for yourself. Now you're making food for two?"
"I—"
Yu waved his bento bag.
"I-I'm managing! I didn't even burn the eggs this morning!"
Sakura grinned like a cat.
"So you're basically a little housewife now."
Yu yelped.
"I—I'm not a housewife!!"
Through all of this, Taichi walked in perfect silence, carrying his and Yu's schoolbags over one shoulder, face glowing with a pride so obvious it was ridiculous. Every time Yu got flustered, his chest puffed up a little more, as if Yu's embarrassment were a trophy he'd earned.
By the time they reached the school gate, Yu was practically smoking from the ears, Sakura was laughing, and Fumiko was sighing into her sleeve like a long-suffering parent.
And then—
"—Wait, what was that?"
One passing student whispered, eyes going wide.
"Did you hear that? They're living together?"
Another chimed in.
"Princess Yu… and the Beast… under one roof!"
The murmurs spread faster than wildfire. Students loitering near the gates suddenly perked up, leaning in to listen. Whispers carried:
"They walk to school together every morning."
"He's even carrying her bag!"
"They're totally domestic already—like a couple married ten years!"
Yu froze mid-step, his entire body locking up like he'd walked into a spotlight.
"E-everyone—w-we weren't—It's not—!!"
Sakura smirked at him, whispering gleefully,
"Congrats, Yu. You're officially the school's favorite drama."
Fumiko pressed a hand to her temple, muttering,
"This is going to be a nightmare…"
Meanwhile, Taichi didn't even flinch. If anything, he straightened his back, slid his arm protectively behind Yu's shoulder, and glared down any student staring too hard—like a guard dog proudly baring its teeth while sitting at his master's side.
The whispers only grew louder.
"See? Totally tamed him."
"The Princess and her Beast."
"They look… kind of cute together, don't they?"
Yu wished the ground would just swallow him whole.