Giran opened the door to find y/n sitting at his desk. She held her head in her hands, puffing out her cheeks while staring at seemingly nothing on the other side of the room. Y/n had a thick pile of papers stacked next to her.

He took the paper at the very top of the stack and looked it over. It seemed like y/n finished the paperwork he had asked her to do while he was out. Giran noticed a saddened look on her face. "Still upset?" He knew the answer already. Regardless, he still asked anyway.

Y/n mumbled something almost incoherent. He caught y/n saying Tomura's name, but he couldn't make much else out. Giran asked her to sit up straight, and he repeated his question. She lifted her head and looked him in the eyes. "I miss Tomura." Her lip quivered as soon as she mentioned his name again.

Giran stopped and recounted the past few days. "It's only been a week and a half. Ya managed to survive an entire year without him. I think you'll be fine."

Y/n let out a little whine. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned forward a bit. "I am capable of being independent, I don't need him. Ya said somethin' like that, right?"

She slumped into his chair and played with her hair. "I did," she said. Y/n had a frown on her face, tears collected in her eyes, nearly on the brink of rolling down her face.

"Don't start cryin', that's lil Tomo's job for the next couple of years or so." Y/n wiped away the tears from her eyes with her sleeve and nodded. "Atta girl."

High-pitched crying came from the side room. Both y/n and Giran looked over towards the door. "Well, speakin' of cryin', that's convenient timing."

Y/n got up from his chair and walked into the room, leaving the door open behind her. Giran sat down at his chair and watched y/n try to calm down the baby. He caught small glimpses of her as she passed by the entranceway with Tomoru in her arms. The little infant fussed in her hold. Giran wished he could give y/n a suggestion for both her and Tomoru's sake, but he was at a loss.

Y/n mumbled softly and quietly as she rubbed Tomoru's back. She still had a sad look on her face. Giran has noticed it more and more over the past few days. He's tried a few things to help make her feel better. Everything from buying Tomoru new toys to giving y/n a day off from being a mom and watching the baby for her. He even enlisted help from others.

Buriki came by often. Giran has explicitly requested that he force y/n out of the office every now and again to get some fresh air. He's even asked Himiko and Twice to keep tabs on Tomura and report back to him.

From what he's heard, the blue-haired villain has been recluse. He kept to himself in that little shack, not talking to anyone who came to visit. Himiko has tried scolding sense into him. No response. At least, not one that elicited violence. Twice has made an attempt to calmly suggest how to patch things up between the two. Still, nothing.

While Giran would have never picked Tomura for y/n, he still made her happy, and in recent days, it's been evident that she cared too much about him to just let him go. There wasn't anything he could do but to help y/n. She was going to love who she wants to love, and he knew he couldn't change her mind. She's stubborn like that.

Tomoru's crying hushed down, and Giran glanced over to the open door. Y/n had her back towards Giran. The baby was resting his head on her shoulder, nuzzling into her neck as he slept, he noticed how Tomoru's chubby cheek squished against her.

Giran leaned back into his seat. "Hey, y/n!" he called. She turned around and looked at the older villain. He motioned his hand to come over.

She hugged Tomoru close to her as she approached the desk. Giran stood up and stepped in front of her. "Imma take this little guy," he said. Y/n carefully handed Giran the infant and cradled Tomoru in his arms. He tapped on his chair. "Sit for a sec."

Y/n raised a brow. She sat down at his desk. "What are you up to?" she asked.

With Tomoru in one arm, he waved y/n off. He stepped into his bedroom and opened his closet. Giran scanned over the multi-colored fabrics hanging, he grabbed one and returned to y/n. He threw the coat over y/n's shoulders with a grin. Y/n looked over the pale blue jacket with a confused expression on her face.

"I'm gonna take this lil guy out. You can be a replacement me for a bit, right?" Y/n opened her mouth, Giran cut her off before she could say anything. "I only have a small handful of appointments today. Gotta meet with a few villains in need of a group. Ordering some equipment. Nothing ya can't handle and aren't trained for."

Y/n's e/c eyes bore into him. "That's not very professional," y/n said; "I'm technically not unbiased."

Giran placed a hand on y/n's shoulder. "And ya can say I'm completely biased sometimes."

"Don't burn my business to the ground." Giran gave her a grin. Y/n cracked a small smile, giving the older villain a small fracture into the upset front she had put up.

"Well, see ya around," he said. Giran took the infant outside. He closed the door behind him and walked down the hallway leading outside.

Tomoru cuddled against his coat, his little fingers gripped and tugged on the nearest button to him on his blazer. "How about we go visit your dad," Giran muttered as he stepped outside.

"Whatcha up to grandaddy?" Giran came face-to-face with a pair of emerald eyes. His pink gaze narrowed. The trip to Tomura's abode was supposed to be mostly quiet, just him and Tomoru. He slipped past the thin-framed man. "Don't be bothering y/n today. She's doing paperwork."

He heard Buriki follow him. "Well, if I can't bug her, I'm gonna follow you."

"Lucky me," Giran muttered.

"Hm? Did you say something?" Buriki asked.

Giran changed the subject. "You don't even know where I'm going."

He has a wide, toothy grin on his face. "It's not like my partner in there is doing anything. I'd bet she's still moping over what's-his-name." Buriki snickered under his breath. "So, why not follow you around?"

"Are ya gonna stay quiet?" Giran mumbled. Buriki shook his head playfully. The older villain rolled his eyes. The desire to pull out a cigarette and smoke, sunk in. However, he respected y/n's request not to smoke around Tomoru.

Buriki shoved his hands in his pockets. "Did I ever mention what happened yesterday morning? Let me tell you, it's a riot!"

Giran groaned in response. "I hadn't smoked enough to put up with you."

Buriki chuckled and began to spin his little tale as he followed the older villain. Giran groaned again.

"This is where y/n lives? Or lived?" Buriki asked. He noticed Buriki's typically playful and carefree demeanor paused for a moment before shortly returning.

Giran walked up to the little shack and stopped right before the front door. He glanced over to Buriki. "You should stay here." Giran felt like he couldn't stress that enough.

"Listen, man, you don't know how temperamental this guy is. The fuse on this one is so short, it might as well not exist. And, well," he paused; "how do I put this lightly, you're annoying."

He noticed Buriki's gaze shift towards the door. He snickered. Giran followed his eyes and looked over towards the shack's entrance. Tomura stood in the open doorway, his arms crossed and a frown on his face. His ruby eyes moved between Giran and Buriki before settling on the infant.

Buriki looked Tomura up and down. "Oh, this is what's-his-name?" He hummed. "Dude is a three at best. I'm being kind. Wow, y/n settled, she could easily get a five."

Tomura paused for a moment. "Five?"

"This guy." He felt his blood boiling. Giran grabbed the dark-haired villain by the collar and yanked him closer to him. "Did either of your parents teach you not to poke at a bear?"

Buriki beamed, and his eyes lit up. "I ended up in prison!"

He felt like wringing his hands around Buriki's neck. "Quit poking the bear," he mumbled. Giran released his collar. Part of him feared that releasing Buriki was a terrible mistake.

"What are you two doing here?" Tomura asked. Buriki poked his head inside the shack. He scowled as he attempted to swipe at the dark-haired villain. Buriki narrowly avoided Tomura's touch, ducking below his fingers and sliding through the door frame.

Before Tomura had a chance to turn around, Buriki was gone. Giran guessed he was wandering further into the shack. His attention returned to the red-eyed villain. "Listen, we gotta talk. Why don't you take a step out for a minute or two."

Tomura looked over his shoulder, he paused for a second before looking down at Tomoru. He grumbled as he passed through the shack's entrance and stepped outside. Tomura was hunched over a little, his arms crossed.  He stared down towards the ground, only sometimes lifting his eyes to meet the infant.

"Y/n misses ya a lot," Giran began. "She's been miserable, but she doesn't want to be a pushover. Y/n just wants to be part of a family, and she wants to stand by that, so she's been forcing herself to be miserable to stand by that."

He motioned towards the infant in his arm. "It's not so hard holding the little guy. Are ya scared or something?"

Tomura tensed up, he glared at Giran. "Scared? Me?"

"I'm just trying to figure out why you won't touch Tomo." Tomura cocked his head to the side, he approached Giran slowly and reached out for Tomoru. Giran nearly pulled the infant away from the villain, unsure what exactly his intentions were.

Tomura stopped his hand. Without hesitating, the little infant reached over and grabbed Tomura's finger. He dug his tiny nails into Tomura's skin. He pulled his hand away, and the baby began to fuss in Giran's arm, whimpering softly.

Just in his line of sight, Giran caught a glimpse of Buriki minding his own business. He vanished into a room off to the side.

Tomura sighed and gave him his hand again. Tomoru held on tightly, almost like he was trying to tug him closer. Giran looked up at Tomoru. He had a deep frown on his face. "Just because she isn't around, doesn't mean she can make assumptions. I want an apology."

Giran sighed. "I can't believe ya managed to twist this and make it about yourself. Why can't ya be a man, suck it up, and apologize? It'll make her happy."

Giran peeked over Tomura's shoulder. "Hey, Buriki, we're leaving."

The green-eyed villain poked his head out from the door he disappeared from. "Okay!"

Tomura snapped his attention towards Buriki. "What were you doing in there?"

Buriki chuckled as he slung an arm around Tomura's shoulder. "Just looking around. Why? It looks like you don't have anything valuable to swipe up. I woulda grabbed it by now if that were the case."

Tomura turned to Giran. "Remove him before I do it."

Buriki gave Tomura a confident smirk. "Nah, you wouldn't do that. I'm wifey's partner, after all. If you're in the doghouse now, could you imagine how much trouble you'd be in."

Tomura gritted his teeth. Giran knew he had to be seeing red. He reached out and grabbed Buriki by his collar and pulled him. "What did I say about poking bears?" he spat. Buriki playfully laughed.

Giran didn't release his hold on Buriki until they were nearly in front of his office door. "Go home," he ordered.

Buriki shook his head. "Nah, I got to talk to y/n."

He sighed, deciding it was quicker to spew out whatever nonsense he wanted to say rather than trying to fight him off. Giran opened the door, allowing the dark-haired villain to enter first.

"I got to meet your hubby!" Buriki announced.

Y/n looked up from the computer screen. The sound of the keyboard typing stopped. "You what?" she choked out.

She looked past Buriki and over to Giran. "Why'd you go there?"

"We just had a talk is all," Giran waved it off and handed y/n the infant in his arms. Tomoru squirmed as they traded off.

"I stole a thing from your place!" Buriki sounded proud of himself.

Y/n cuddled Tomoru in her arms, lightly resting her cheek on the top of his h/c hair. "I'm impressed you got inside."

"I dug around your bedroom. Is hubby the kinky type or something?" Y/n frowned at Buriki, shielding Tomoru with her arm. He laughed. "Don't give me that look! I'm not the one who keeps handcuffs by the bed."

Y/n's face fell flat for a moment as if she were lost in thought. "Handcuffs?" Her eyes traveled to the floor.

Buriki reached into his pocket and placed something in y/n's hand. Giran watched the exchange, wondering what he had given her.

She looked down at her hand, revealing a tattered piece of paper. The corners of her lips twitched, and her bottom lip quivered as she stared at it.

"I think I need to go." Without saying anything else, y/n left the office.

Giran turned to the grinning villain next to him. "Were ya trying to patch things up between them?" he asked.

"Well, duh. If she's moping about hubby all day, then we aren't going to do anything fun."

Y/n stopped in front of the shack. She looked down at the piece of paper. She couldn't believe he had kept this note for over this long. In her mind, she ran through her thoughts and what she wanted to say to Tomura.

"I shouldn't have gotten mad. You were only doing what you thought was right. And I'm sorry about trying to pressure you with Tomoru. Take all the time you need to get used to him. I won't be mad." Y/n put it away into her pocket as she passed through the broken door frame.

The squeak from the hinges ran throughout the shack. Tomura emerged from the bedroom, his ruby eyes on her. Y/n felt her heart knot up. This time away from Tomura felt far too long. If not for Tomoru in her arms, she would have run up to him and hugged him.

"Tomura," Y/n began; "I–"

He looked away for a moment and walked up to her. He stared down at the baby in her arms. "I shouldn't have assumed he was the rat that gave away our location."

Y/n could see his jaw slightly moving as if he was grinding his teeth. Tomura's eyes darted around the room, finally settling on her. "And I'll try more with," he stopped and hesitated; "with Tomoru."

Her vision blurred a bit, and her chest felt heavy. He had never once addressed Tomoru by his name before. She was relieved and happy, but for some unknown reason, she was also sad. It was like her mind had no idea what emotion she should be feeling, so it opted for all of them at once.

Y/n walked up to Tomura. Her free arm wrapped around his torso and her head rested on his chest. Through teary eyes, it seemed like Tomoru was trying to reach out for Tomura. Y/n didn't think anything of it. It was nothing more than it being a pleasant thought. Her vision was still blurry, after all.

She felt weighted as Tomura placed his chin on top of her head. His steady breaths contrasted his quickened heart rate. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her gently.

Y/n wanted to stay like this forever. A rough pair of lips brushed up against her temple as Tomura buried his face in her hair. Is this what it feels like to be a family?