They ended up sleeping until just before dinner, having been woken up by the maids. "Lex, wake up. We have to eat dinner soon." Lucius gently shook him. They still had some time before everyone gathered together for dinner but having slept through the afternoon right after their training, they needed to freshen themselves up before heading out.

"Ngh, five more minutes..." Alexis sleepily mumbled out before turning over to his side.

"During these times, it would be nice we were the ones who had lightning magic instead," Darcel started to lightly poke his cheek, "That way we can zap him awake."

"Stop it Haru-kun..." Neither of them reacted to the foreign name he had called out, instead they acted as if they hadn't noticed it. "Lex, wake up! We have to go see your father after dinner and if we don't go now we'll be hungry for the rest of the night!" Darcel gave him another push.

Alexis swatted away his hand, rolling over to the other side of the bed. "I can just make some instant ramen later..." He mumbled out sleepily.

Lucius sighed, he's never getting out of bed. "Shin-kun, let's go. Did we say we were going to get some kakigori after our graduation?"

Alexis slowly blinked open his eyes, subconsciously replying to his question, "But I thought Haru-kun wanted to eat yakitori and and I thought you wanted to eat tonkatsu too Ren-kun." He innocently rubbed his eyes, a stark contrast to the little devil he was earlier.

"I did say that but you have to get out of the house first before we can decide where to eat." Lucius gently pulled him up to sit on the bed.

"But I don't want to go out now. So sleepy~" Alexis coyly yawned to try and garner some of their sympathy.

"Nope, that's not going to work, Fujisaki-san. You stayed up to play games again, didn't you?" Darcel lightly flicked his forehead, causing a small grumble from him, "Ouch... Haru-kun is being mean to me, Ren-kun."

He turned to Lucius for help but only got a chuckle instead, "Come on now, let's get out of bed."

They gave him some time to process and to be fully aware of his surroundings. "Awake?" Darcel impatiently crossed his arms.

"Darc? Lu? What time is it now?" He naively stared at them, confused as to why they were next to him on the bed. "Is there something wrong?"

Lucius reached over to ruff his hair, "No. Nothing is wrong." He tugged on his arm to guide him to the bathroom where a warm bath was waiting. "Quickly freshen up. Both Darc and I are already finished. We'll wait for you until you're done."

Alexis nodded, still a little confused about where he currently was but quickly stripped and began washing himself.

As soon as Alexis was out of their view, both Lucius and Darcel sat opposite of each other in the room's lounge. "When did you first realise Aikawa?" Darcel spoke up first.

------

Alexis slowly stepped into the bathtub, fully relaxing his body. He leaned back, closing his eyes. Although time has flown by since he first woke up in this world, Shin was surprised at how peaceful it was. Although he wasn’t living the lazy, easy-going life he had before, Shin still enjoyed his life every day. Even if he was no longer on Earth, Shin had grown attached to the people here; his family, his friends especially Darcel and Lucius.

For some reason, both of them kept reminding him of ‘his’ childhood friends; Shin felt like Lucius was similar to Aikawa Ren and Darcel gave off the same feeling as Miyamoto Haru. Their personalities were so similar that Shin couldn’t help but compare them every now and then. He mindlessly played with the water, trying to get his mind off the people he could no longer meet.

‘Six years and the knowledge about the game hasn’t been helpful at all.’

After getting over the initial shock and the acceptance of being transmigrated into a game, Shin thought it was best to write down some key events that would happen in the future, mainly centred around their time in the academy. “But so far, nothing much has happened.” He mumbled, leaning over the side of the bathtub.

Instead, he spent the last few years learning about the world in general, filling in the blanks that the game never clarified and unsurprisingly, there was a lot to cover. This world felt familiar yet foreign to him: a world where he could live in but could never truly belong in. Shin ruffled his hair, there was no point in lamenting about it.

Alexis was planning to stay in the bathtub for a little longer when he heard a knock on the door, “Lex? Are you finished?” Lucius called out, a tinge of worriedness laced his words. “I’m coming! Let me dry myself.”

He stepped out of the bathtub, looking for his clothes. “Hmm?” They weren’t here.

He walked around to no avail, reluctantly wrapping himself with his towel and grabbing another to dry his hair. “Lu, have you seen my clothes? Did I forget to bring them in with me?” Alexis tousled his hair with his towel, trying to dry it quickly. “Darc, are you here too?”

He heard no response, only looking up then to see both of them slightly blushing and frozen in their spots. “What’s wrong guys?” Walking up closer, he saw that they were staring at him, “Darc? Lu? Are you there?”, waving his hand in front of their faces.

The closer he got, the stiffer they became before Darcel broke the silence, “Go put your clothes on.” He avoided Alexis’s eye, coughing to cover his awkwardness. Lucius broke from his gaze, quickly directing Alexis to his clothes, “You forgot to bring them when you left earlier. After you finish changing, we’ll go to the dining room for dinner.”

He nodded, beginning to put on his pants with his back facing them. “Um, Lex? Why don’t you change in the bathroom?” Lucius averted his eyes while trying to suggest it to Alexis. Darcel was also staring at the ground instead of him. “What’s wrong with me changing here?” Alexis couldn’t understand why they were so different from their usual self.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit…” He paused slightly, “inappropriate for you to be changing in front of us?” Darcel finally looked into his eyes, but his cheeks were dusted with pink, “I don’t see anything wrong with it. After all, this isn’t the first time that I’ve changed in front of you.” Alexis tilted his head, brushing off his comment.

“Yeah but that’s…”

“That’s?”

“Never mind, hurry up and finish changing. I’ve gone hungry waiting for you.” Darcel crossed his arms and legs, turning his head away. He looked quite childish, causing small stifled laughter from Alexis.

Alexis reached out for his shirt but a dull pain throbbed at his shoulders, “..!!!” He tried to reach for it again but a hand grabbed it before he could. “Are you still hurt?” Lucius began to dress him instead, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He leaned down slightly to button up his shirt.

Lucius was now a few centimetres taller than Alexis while Darcel was the tallest out of the three. Although they were still in the middle of growing, Alexis could tell that he wouldn't be taller than them. Oh, how nice it would be to be tall, sighing in his mind. If he told them his thoughts, they would simply call him cute and tease him about it.

“What’s wrong Lex?” Lucius had finished, now ushering him to the couch. Before Alexis could sit down, Darcel pulled him into his lap and began drying his hair with his magic. “I’ll tie your hair after. Just stay still.” Alexis leaned back against his chest, closing his eyes, letting Darcel run his fingers through his hair. He hummed in satisfaction, unconsciously snuggling into the crook of his neck.

Lucius flashed a jealous look towards Darcel before turning away, pretending not to notice them, going off to find a hair ribbon. “Stop moving Lex.” Alexis chose to ignore his words, putting more of his weight against Darcel, “Lex, stop it. I’m almost done.” Darcel tried to mask his desperation by quickly finishing his job but it only made it more obvious.

Lucius returned to their side, passing the ribbon to Darcel. Alexis noticed that Lucius wasn’t going to sit down, patting on the spot next to him. Lucius gave him a gentle smile before sitting down. Alexis reached out for his hand before leaning back onto Darcel. He closed his eyes once more, the ends of his lips curling up into a smile.

“What are you smiling about?” Darcel poked his cheek lightly, his hair was now neatly in a ponytail. He guided Alexis’s head to his neck so he would be more comfortable. Alexis started to play with his finger with his other hand, a peaceful and relaxed expression worn on his face.

“I was just thinking how nice it would be if we were able to stay together, simply idling away our peaceful days together.” Even if something were to happen, he was sure he would be alright as long as they were with him.

“I trust you guys.”

“What’s with that? That was random.”

Darcel bowed his head, letting his hair cover his face but he could see. Alexis could see the reddening blush spreading across his cheeks, “What’s so embarrassing about that Darc?” He reached out to brush away his bangs, revealing Darcel’s shy expression. “Can’t handle my honesty?”

“Shut up.” Darcel tried to jerk his head but Alexis caught him.

“Hehe, you’re so shy after a few words.” Alexis giggled softly, turning to face Lucius, only to see that he had the same expression as well. “Even you as well.”

Alexis had a small endearing grin on his face, “Were you guys not thinking the same thing as me?” He intertwined his fingers with theirs as he teased them lightly.

“It’s because we’re thinking the same thing that we’re embarrassed.” Lucius leaned over, resting his head against Alexis’s shoulder; Darcel doing the same. “I’m glad that we’re just as important to you as you are to us.” Darcel whispered lightly near his ear.

Alexis squirmed from the gentle tingles his words sent through his body, “I… I don’t think I could ever replace you with someone else.”

He couldn't prevent his face from turning red, choosing to avoid looking at them in the eyes, not noticing the small glances Lucius and Darcel shot at each other. A smile began to bloom on their faces, filled with love and adoration; the person in their arms now was their only one from their past to now and into the future.

A/N:

I can feel the singleness that is in my bones. Oh, Alexis, how nice of you to have such doting friends :))

Hopefully you are just fully invested in this as I am. I won't let you down with the cute scenes!