Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Ah, today’s such a good day!” Neko leaned over the windowsill, sticking her head out of the building. “Kuroh, I’m hungry!”

“Wait a moment,” Kuroh sighed, using an elastic band to tie up his hair. “I’ll make breakfast soon.”

“Mm!” Neko grinned, her anklet jingling as she sat down. “Say, we don’t have classes today, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Then we can hang out today! With Shiro too!”

“Of course,” Kuroh idly flipped a pancake over the stove. “Do you have anywhere you want to go?”

“Nn,” Neko shook her head. “Let’s wait for Shiro to wake up.”

“If he doesn’t get up soon, I’ll wake him up myself,” Kuroh said maliciously, although there was no bite behind his words.

A peaceful silence settled over the two that were awake, only the sounds of the spatula scraping against the bottom of the pan breaking through the quietness. Outside, the sun shone brightly, casting its rays through the windows of Shiro’s dorm room. 

“Morning,” Shiro mumbled sleepily as he sat up, his eyes still closed. “Are you two both awake already?”

“Yeah,” Kuroh responded. “I just finished making breakfast.”

“We’ve been waiting for you to wake up,” Neko added as she made her way to the coffee table.

“Sorry,” Shiro smiled. “I’ll be up in a moment.”

Kuroh carried the plate of pancakes to the table, setting it down before grabbing syrup and forks. “Neko says we don’t have classes to attend today.”

“Is that so?” Shiro looked up from his hands. “Do you guys want to go anywhere?”

“We wanted you to make that decision,” Kuroh said as he cut a slice of pancake and put it on his own plate. “You are our king, anyway.”

“Don’t be like that, Kuroh,” Shiro pouted. “We’re friends. Right?”

“That’s right!” Neko lifted her arm, a smile on her face. “Shiro is ours, and we are Shiro’s!”

Kuroh looked away. “You’re so shameless.”

Shiro smiled, and the three of them continued to eat breakfast.

Eventually, they decided to leave campus and visit the hill under the railway. Flowers swayed in the gentle breeze, and the sun shining down on them created a soft aura. The sound of water splashing against the banks broke the melody of the birds that chirped in the distance, and the occasional rumble of the tracks notified them of the arrival of the train.

“Let’s make flower crowns!” Shiro grinned, pulling a few flowers by their stems. “These flowers are so beautiful.”

“Flower crowns?” Both Kuroh and Neko looked confused, staring at their King with wide eyes.

“...Eh? You don’t know what they are?”

The other two shook their heads, and Shiro sighed. “Here, let me show you. So you first start with two flowers, like this. You hold them parallel to each other, then you wrap the second stem around the first one…”

Quiet conversation floated into the air as Shiro explained and Neko cut in, only to be cut off as Kuroh shushed her. Eventually, Shiro completed a crown, lifting up for them to see. “And, like that! You’ll end up with something like this.”

“Interesting,” Kuroh nodded, picking a few flowers himself.

“I want it!” Neko reached for the flower crown, pulling it into her hands.

Kuroh watched her play with it, attempting to make one himself. By the time he finished, the crown was slightly deformed, a few of the flowers crushed. He sighed, putting it down on his lap. “I guess you’re more of a natural than me,” Kuroh smiled woefully.

“You’re not going to be the master of everything, Kuroh,” A playful smile was on Shiro’s face.

“Of course. I will try again.”

Shiro watched contentedly as his clansmen played around in the tall grass, Neko eventually falling asleep as Kuroh continued to weave flower stems. It almost felt like yesterday, the day that he fell from the Himmelreich into Ashinaka. After being accused of murdering Totsuka, Shiro was able to prove his innocence at the expense of Kuroh’s patience. 

He would be forever thankful that Kuroh did not immediately slay him, although, as the Silver King, he would’ve survived the blow anyway. Maybe things would have turned out differently if he was struck down at the beginning. Shiro lay down on the grass, folding his arms behind his back, looking at the sky. Whatever would have happened, it probably wouldn’t have been as good as this.

Neko’s anklet jingled slightly as she shifted in her sleep, holding Shiro’s first flower crown tightly. Kuroh was still diligently working on his second, and Shiro decided to work on his second as well.

As a king, he would not have expected to ever destroy the Slates, much less even interact with the other kings. However, fate rolled its die, and the outcome was set in place. A small mistake, and the world comes to a different outcome. 

“Shiro,” Kuroh’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. “...This one is slightly better.”

“Mm?” Shiro turned to look at Kuroh’s outstretched hand, a small crown on the palm of his head. “It’s very pretty.”

“Not as pretty as yours,” Kuroh responded, looking down at the grass.

“Don’t worry about it,” Shiro grasped the crown, putting it on his head. “Look, look! Do I seem like a real king now?”

“A king with a flower crown?” Kuroh smiled slightly. “It fits you.”

Shiro’s face was dusted a light pink as he fiddled with the stems and flowers on his head. “Y’know, Kuroh, I’m really thankful for you.”

“I am as well. I owe you my life.”

Shiro moved over, resting his weight on Kuroh’s shoulder. “I never thought that I would ever take on any clansmen…”

“And I never thought I would ever serve another king…”

“Yet here we are,” they ended together before looking at each other, smiling slightly. 

“I was thinking, what if you had killed me immediately after you found me? Since, your master ordered to kill the next king if he was evil.”

“That is a thought that does not cross my mind,” Kuroh let out a slow breath. “And I do not intend to press on it any more. If that had happened, I wouldn’t have been able to… experience the friendship and kindness you have shown me.”

“You’re so sappy,” Shiro smiled. “I thought you would pull out that recorder of yours and play me another poem.”

“I was thinking about it.”

“I’m happy you didn’t do it, though.”

“Are you…”

“Insulting your master? No way.”

Kuroh let out a quiet laugh, his shoulders shaking. Shiro hummed, closing his eyes as he finished weaving the last stem. “Here you go,” Shiro set the flower crown on Kuroh’s head. 

“I have to say, you look much better than I do,” Shiro grinned, letting his hand drop from Kuroh’s hair to rest on his cheek. 

“I disagree,” Kuroh leaned into the touch. “You don’t even know what you look like right now.”

“Ah, you caught me.”

Shiro leaned forward, bumping their foreheads together. “We should spend more days like this,” he murmured.

“That,” Kuroh pulled Shiro in for a chaste kiss before smiling slightly. “I can agree.”