He invites them to his place, of course.

Shuichi hesitated for a moment, though it was mostly out of habit rather than true trepidation. “... why don’t the both of you come back to my place? We could have dinner and spend some time together.”

“That sounds like it would be fun,” Mukuro replied before her eyes turned toward Maki’s. “What do you think.”

“Sure; beats being all alone on a Sunday night again,” Maki replied. “... sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude. What I meant to say was...” She squeezed Shuichi’s arm harder. “I’d love to eat dinner with you, Shuichi.”

“Alright, it’s settled then.” Shuichi pushed the girls off him so he could take out his car keys. “Hop in, and we’ll be there in just a few minutes.”

“So, this is your apartment?” Mukuro said as she walked through Shuichi’s front door and took in Shuichi’s home. “It’s much more humble than I expected it to be.”

“Well, I could have probably afforded a bigger one, but I never really saw the point since I wasn’t used to inviting people over back then,” Shuichi replied as he took off his shoes at the door. “I’m kind of glad that I chose it now though since the rent is cheap and, well… let’s just say my cost of living went up a bit recently.”

“... you know, if you really needed money, I wouldn’t mind helping you out,” said Mukuro.

“What? No, no, it’s fine, it’s fine!” Shuichi put up his hands defensively. “You two did more than enough paying for those tickets anyway. Now, what would you two like me to make you for dinner?”

“Anything that’s not noodles or takeout would be good with me,” Maki replied.

“Hmm… do you have the ingredients to make Hamburg steak?” asked Mukuro.

“Uh… I might, but to be honest I don’t think I’ve ever made anything like that myself,” said Shuichi. “What exactly is that?”

“It’s a rather delicious variation on a hamburger that’s half beef and half pork,” Mukuro explained. “Does that mean that you’ve never had one before? That is such a shame; they were such a big part of my diet growing up that I can’t even imagine what life without them would be like.”

“Okay, I suppose I could give it a shot.” Shuichi pulled out his phone and looked up a recipe for the dish. “It says here that all you need is some beef, some pork, some eggs, spices, breadcrumbs, and some onion.” Shuichi searched through his fridge and pulled out all the ingredients onto the counter. “Do you have any tips for me before I get started, Mukuro?”

“Actually… I’ve never actually made it myself.” Mukuro looked away, trying to hide how embarrassed she felt. “My sisters and I would either buy it from the store or make it for me. And when I was a mercenary, I mostly just ate MREs or ration bars, so boiling water is the most experience that I’ve actually had with cooking.”

“Well, what about you, Maki? Did you ever make anything like that?” Shuichi asked, turning to the brunette.

“I’m afraid not; food was always rather scarce at the orphanage, so we were never able to make anything too fancy,” Maki replied. “If we were lucky, we could make some fresh vegetables or fruit, but good meat was basically out of the question.”

“Wait, so… neither of you have experience with cooking?” Shuichi asked, to which Maki and Mukuro refused to meet his eye. “That’s okay; I guess we can turn this into kind of a learning experience then. Here, let me get you both some knives.”

“Knives?” Maki casually pulled out a six-inch hunter’s knife from a hidden sheath underneath her skirt. “Don’t worry, I brought my own.”

“Er, no, not combat knives; kitchen knives.” Shuichi laughed nervously as he pushed Maki’s knife hand away from him. “You know, sterile, made for chopping and not serrating. We’re going to be cutting vegetables, after all; not deer hide. Here, let me show you.”

Shuichi put on a white apron, washed his hands, took out a kitchen knife and a cutting board, and began chopping his onions on it.

“Be sure to keep your fingers in a bear-claw shape whenever you’re chopping food. You don’t want to accidentally lose a finger, after all,” Shuichi explained as he went. “Now, you two try.”

Getting out knives and cutting boards of their own, Maki and Mukuro copied Shuichi’s technique and chopped their own onions down to small, pebble-sized pieces.

“You’re gripping your knife a bit too hard, Maki,” Shuichi interjected partway through. “All you’ll do is hurt your wrist and go slower if you do it like that.”

“I know, it’s just… a **** of habit.” Maki took a deep breath and let out a long sigh before returning to her onions, much more relaxed than before. “Okay, now what?”

“Now, we start browning the onions, it looks like,” Shuichi walked over to his stove and put a small pan onto one of the burners. “Frying stuff is generally pretty easy, but you need to be careful not to burn yourself or any of the food you’re cooking, or else you could ruin the whole meal. As for frying onions, it’s a bit of a long process. Caramelizing the onion usually takes about half an hour. And it really depends if you want to sauté the onion or let it sit. You can also add in salt or sugar to flavor it if you want.”

“Half an hour seems like a pretty long time to just cook onions,” Mukuro pointed out. “Isn’t there something else we can do while they’re browning?”

“Sure; just work on forming the shape of the patties for the ground beef and pork. We need about 3 servings for the three of us. That way, by the time the caramelized onions are done, we can cook the meat straight away,” Shuichi replied. “Just follow my instructions, and you should do just fine.”

About an hour and a lot of heat and grease later, dinner was finally complete, with three plates of rice, sliced cucumbers, and three Hamburg steaks arranged around Shuichi’s dinner table.

“There; that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Shuichi asked as he took off his apron. “You girls did a really good job!”

“Wow… it actually looks edible,” Maki said in pure amazement. “No, not just edible… it’s appetizing. Thank you, Shuichi. I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone cook for me outside of a restaurant before.”

“Don’t worry about it; it’s my duty to make sure that my guests are well-fed, after all!” Shuichi said before they all sat down. “Now, let’s all just enjoy the meal, okay?”

“Yes.. let’s,” Mukuro said before they each gave a short prayer of thanks for the food. “Mmm…so good! Just like how I remember it when I was a kid.”

“Yes, definitely worth the effort,” Maki said through a mouthful of steak. “So, Shuichi… is it okay if we talked a bit more about what happened with Ruruka yesterday? I feel as though there are some issues that we should address.”

Shuichi sighed. “Yes, I suppose I have some explaining to do, don’t I? I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you that I thought she was my girlfriend right away; I was hoping that I could get you both to like her first before I revealed that. Plus, I, uh… wasn’t sure how you’d both react.”

“Well, we’re not officially dating so it wasn’t like you had any obligation to tell us or anything, but… you really should know to trust us by now. Do you promise not to keep secrets like that in the future?” Maki asked, to which Shuichi nodded. “Good… but that’s not the reason that I wanted to talk to you about it. What I want to know is why exactly you threw yourself to her so easily. Didn’t it occur to you at all that she might have been fleecing you?”

“Of course it did, but… I guess at the time I didn’t care.” Shuichi looked down sadly at his half-eaten steak. “After being rejected by Kae, I was so **** for validation that I was willing to go for anything. To be honest, I’m not even really sure if I want a committed relationship yet, or what I’d even want out of one if I did, but I still just… let her sweep me off my feet.”

“That’s fine; it’s perfectly okay to want to explore your own wants and desires before making such a big choice,” Mukuro reassured him. “But please keep in mind that it’s impossible to avoid getting hurt sometimes, no matter what kind of relationship you have with someone. That’s just part of life.”

“Yeah, I definitely learned that to be true. But I think I learned something else too.” Shuichi looked back up at the women sitting at his table. “I think maybe being happy isn’t about getting something you aren’t sure you want; it’s about appreciating what you have.”

“Idiot…” Maki said under her breath with a blush. “You sound like a total doormat when you speak like that…”

A few minutes later and the group finally finished their meals, their bellies full and satisfied as they wiped their mouths clean.

“Mmm… thank you once again for that, Shuichi,” Mukuro said as she handed Shuichi her plate. “Your Hamburg steak isn’t quite as good as the one my sister makes, but it was still very tasty.”

“Well, thank you both so much for stopping by and giving it a shot.” Shuichi gathered up all the dirty dishes and brought them to his kitchen sink to clean them. “By the way; would you two like me to drive you both home after this, or would you prefer to take yourselves home instead?”

“Actually…” Maki walked up behind Shuichi and wrapped her hands around his chest. “I was hoping that we could stay the night with you. Would that be alright?”

“S-stay the night?” Shuichi felt himself starting to sweat a little. “You mean just casually or…?”

“I think the answer to that should be pretty obvious,” Mukuro said, hugging him from behind as well. “I mean, we wouldn’t have to do anything you don’t want to, of course, but… we definitely want to.”

“Me too, Shuichi,” Maki whispered. “It’s been too long since I did it with someone who actually cares about me.”

“Alright; I guess there wouldn’t be anything wrong with that,” Shuichi replied, already starting to get hot under the collar. “Is it okay if we wait a little while, though? I want to digest our dinner first.”

“That’s fine with me,” Mukuro said, letting Shuichi go and heading over to Shuichi’s couch. “We can watch TV for a little while.”

Shuichi nodded and walked over to the ex-soldier, settling down in her lap and resting his back against her soft thighs and hard stomach. Maki followed suit, sitting on Shuichi’s lap and allowing him to cuddle him from behind.

After about an hour of trying, and failing, to explain the nuances of comedy to the girls, they got up from the couch and began getting ready for bed.

“Hey, which one of these doors is your bathroom?” Mukuro asked right before opening the door to Shuichi’s bedroom and revealing all the pornographic paraphernalia that he had bought from Angel lying around the room. “Oh… not this door.”

“Uh, I can explain that!” Shuichi hastily interjected as he rushed to Mukuro’s side. “It’s kind of a long story, but the gist of it is the only reason I bought this was to give money to the Atua Women’s Shelter by the red light district.”

“And you didn’t just donate money to them directly because…?” Mukuro trailed off.

“Well, Angel was just really really… convincing, I guess,” Shuichi replied, sweating.

“Of course…” Mukuro sighed. “I see that Ruruka isn’t the only woman who’s taken advantage of you, Shuichi. From now on, you really must be more careful about how you spend your money.”

“I-I understand.” Shuichi looked down at his feet, unable to meet Mukuro's eyes.

“And get rid of this stuff too,” said Maki. “It’s so distracting, and it makes it look like you’re running a brothel out of here.”

“I know, it is a little… tacky… and I would have gotten rid of it if I could, but it was all just so expensive,” Shuichi explained.

“That doesn’t matter; having this stuff around isn’t going to get you your money back,” Maki pointed out. “It’s just going to lead to more awkward situations like this.”

“Perhaps we can help you get rid of it?” Mukuro suggested. “Find someone to sell it to perhaps.”

“Maybe, but… who would want to buy something like that?” Shuichi asked, looking toward Angel’s orgy statue sitting across from his bed.

“Oh, I think I might know someone who’d be interested,” Maki said before throwing a sheet over the artwork. “For now, though, let’s just focus on getting ready for bed.”

“Of course.” Shuichi nodded and showed the girls his bathroom. “I have some spare toothbrushes if you need them.”

“Thank you, but I’d rather take a shower first,” Mukuro said as she began stripping out of her dress and revealing the pair of dog tags that she had hidden underneath it. “Would either of you like to join me? It would save time and water.”

“Um, t-that’s ok Mukuro! I rather you girls take the shower first before me.” Shuichi stammered.

“Very well then. How about you Maki?” Mukuro asked.

Maki didn’t respond. Instead, there was an ugly pause of silence that felt like an eternity as she stared seemingly at nothing. Neither Shuichi nor Mukuro knew if she was going to do it until she abruptly answered.

“No, I’m good. I’ll wait until you finish.” Maki said in her normal composed voice.

“…alright then. I’ll be sure that I won’t take long.” Mukuro answered before closing the door and curtains to Shuichi’s shower. Shuichi and Maki, meanwhile, got to work brushing their teeth together in silence.

“So, Maki… are you alright?” Shuichi asked as he brushed, breaking the silence.

“Of course. Why do you ask?” Maki replied.

“It’s just… a little worried, I guess. You acted a little strangely when Mukuro asked that particular question, is all.” Shuichi explained.

“Don’t worry about it, Shuichi; it’s nothing you need to concern yourself over.” Maki spit and began rinsing. “And if it was a problem, you’d be the first to know.”

“…alright then. I’ll stop worrying,” Shuichi said, the subtext of Maki’s words clear; she really didn’t want to talk about it. “I’ll be here if you ever need me though, alright?”

“Thank you, Shuichi,” Maki said as she finished up. “That means a lot to me.”

“Okay, I’m all done in here,” Mukuro said as she emerged from the shower, grabbing one of Shuichi’s towels from the wall to dry herself with. “I’ll be waiting in the bedroom if either of you needs me.”

“Alright then. I suppose it’s my turn to take the showers next.” Maki took off her clothes and entered the showers.

Shuichi, wanting to respect Maki’s privacy, waited in his living room for Maki to finish before heading into the shower himself. It was the second shower he’d taken that day, but he made sure to be extra thorough this time; he’d slept with both Maki and Mukuro before, but the ever-present specter of their expectations still loomed over his head as he washed the smell of butter popcorn from hair.

“Hello, Maki,” Mukuro greeted as the ex-assassin walked into the room. Mukuro was lying naked except for her gloves on a towel on Shuichi’s bed, in the middle of finishing up drying her hair with Shuichi’s hairdryer. “Did you have a good shower?”

“Of course - it’s not every day that I get to use a shower that clean,” Maki replied, taking the hairdryer from Mukuro’s hand. “So… we’re really going to do this, huh?”

“Yes; we’re going to have sex normally,” Mukuro replied nonchalantly. “With an indoor bed and everything.”

“You mean, we’ll be having sex with Shuichi together, right?” Maki asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“I guess that’s technically true, but we’re still going to be naked together, sharing the same bed, mixing our fluids… even if we never touch each other, it’s hard to deny that we’re having sex,” Mukuro explained.

“Tch.” Maki blushed and began stroking some of the dry portions of her hair. “Why did you have to put it like that? Are you trying to make me out to be a lesbian?”

“I’m not questioning your sexuality at all; I’m just stating the facts,” Mukuro countered. “If you really don’t feel anything between us, then you don’t have to think of me as a real ‘partner’ if you don’t wish to.”

“No… it’s not that I don't have any feelings, it’s just… I don’t know what I’m feeling.” Maki sighed and returned to drying her hair, sitting on the bed next to Mukuro. “To be perfectly honest, I was convinced I was asexual until I met Shuichi. Ever since then, I thought he was the one exception, but then I met you and… you make me feel strange too, but in a different way… a way I don’t really understand.” Maki’s legs shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t have anything against being attracted to women, but I guess that I was so convinced for the longest time that I wasn’t that I can’t process the idea that I might.”

“Oh…” Mukuro paused for a few moments to think. “I can try to help you through those feelings if you’re comfortable. We have all night to take things at your pace, after all.”

“...” Before Maki could reply, however, the door to the bedroom opened and revealed Shuichi wearing his white bathrobe.

“H-hey there, girls,” Shuichi greeted as he walked in. “So, are you ready to get started?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be.” Maki put the hairdryer away and motioned for Shuichi to get on the bed.

“Good, good.” Shuichi crawled onto the bed. “So… how should we get started?”