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"We're all done here, Kyou-san." Tetsu nodded at him in half greeting, half confirmation. "I went through everything myself and organized your things just like they were in your old office."
"Good." Kyouya nodded, glancing around in what had been a library in the Cavallone mansion. Well, one of the libraries, in any case. Now all the books had been relocated to other such rooms to make way for papers, documents, and files that until the day before had been housed in his office in the Foundation Headquarters. "And everything else?"
"All taken care of." His next-in-command allowed himself a small, satisfied smile. "The hotline for the headquarters has been installed and works, and the last of your personal things have been moved over. We've also managed to arrange for a joined guard duty until the wedding."
Now, Kyouya couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. "I sleep in the same bed as their boss, Tetsu. Whatever opinions they may hold about me, they're not going to get slack on the security if doing so would mean putting him in danger as well." He could understand being careful, but there were limits to everything.
"It's not that I don't trust the Cavallone security, Kyou-san," Tetsu said. "Consider it a matter of honour. After the ceremony you will belong to the Cavallone family, but until then, your safety should be our responsibility alone."
Kyouya snorted, moving over to examine the folders in the bookshelves lining one wall. "I haven't seen you standing guard here all those times I have been staying over."
"That's different, Kyou-san." How would that be any different? "Those times you were a guest here. From now on, this will be your main residence."
"You are not making any sense, Tetsu." Nevertheless, he allowed himself a small smirk as his fingertips trailed the thick folders. "I don't understand why you are all making such a huge deal out of this. For the past year at least, I have been spending more nights here than I have in the headquarters. All that changes today is my official address, and the fact I can now do my work here when I'm not travelling."
"The difference is in the sentiment, Kyou-san." Tetsu shook his head. "Even if your routines may not experience much change, it is a different matter for you to be living here instead of staying as a guest. I'm sure the Cavallone feel the same."
"Their dear boss seems to have been under the impression I live here for several years, now." Kyouya rolled his eyes. "You of all people should know how little weight I put on other people's impressions. If the guards allow me through without a fight either way, it doesn't matter much to me where other people think I live. For business purposes, the only change will come at the time of the actual wedding, and thus this particular step is inconsequential in that respect as well. To me, the greatest impact is getting my favourite couch here." He walked to the couch that had been placed in the very best spot in the room, patting the black surface in an almost fond manner.
"It is indeed a step, though," Tetsu pointed out. "A step towards a very particular goal. I know you only care about the end result, Kyou-san, but at least allow the rest of us to also pay attention to the journey towards it."
"The end result being a legal contract that likewise has no direct impact on my daily life." Kyouya rolled his eyes, sitting down on the couch. "You herbivores are all making too much of a deal out of this. The only actual consequences of my marrying Dino, unless either of us dies all of a sudden, will be that people will be forced to treat us as a couple, and I will have to make actual appearances in social functions instead of slinking off before anyone sees me."
"If it was just that, you wouldn't go through all this trouble," Tetsu said with conviction. "It has to mean more to you than that."
"Does it, though?" Kyouya raised his eyebrows. "To me, the matters of inheritance and power are enough of a reason to deal with the chaos. That, and getting Dino to stop whining about it."
"You mean, making him happy." Tetsu's lips twitched just a bit.
"If he's happy, he whines less, which in turn makes me happy. Everyone wins." Kyouya turned a bit, stretching his legs out on the couch.
"So if he's unhappy, you aren't happy either."
"Don't read too much into it." Kyouya's lips twitched as he leant back, closing his eyes as he looked for a comfortable position. "I have just found it is often less trouble to alleviate whatever problem is ailing him than it is to deal with his displeasure."
"Whatever you say, Kyou-san." Tetsu sounded far too amused. Kyouya would have glared at him if he hadn't just found the perfect position. "Most people wouldn't be so indifferent about getting married."
"I never claimed to be most people," Kyouya murmured. "I cannot see the fuss, but I will go along with it."
"I just can't quite believe you would marry simply for the sake of convenience."
For a moment, Kyouya was quiet. Then he said, "Tetsu... you do not seem to understand."
"Understand what, Kyou-san?"
"My reasons for my indifference." Kyouya crossed his ankles, hands behind his head. "You all behave like this is a big and significant step, moving into the mansion. For me, it's not. The big step was when I first stayed over here. Another came when the Vongola first marked this down as one of the locations where I might be found, and when I walked in the garden and realized they had added a bench in my favourite napping spot, and when I first got my mail from Romario in the morning. It doesn't matter to me what the address on those envelopes is, or whether I can be sure my favourite yukata is in the wardrobe here and not wherever my official residence may lie." He paused. "Okay, so the yukata might matter, but it hardly shatters my world either way."
"It's not all about the practical matters, Kyou-san," Tetsu reminded him. "There are feelings involved as well in these proceedings."
Now, Kyouya opened one eye, looking at his second-in-command rearranging some papers at his desk. "Tetsu. Do you really think I would allow myself to be tied down to any extent if there were no feelings involved?"
"Kyou-san?" Tetsu blinked at him.
"It doesn't matter to me because it doesn't make a difference. I'm not talking about difference in practical matters, here. What isn't any different is how I feel." Kyouya shook his head. "Living here officially rather than as a guest won't change my feelings on waking up next to Dino. Exchanging vows won't change how I feel about him. You're wrong, Tetsu. It is only for the sake of convenience that I'm going through the motions, and for the sake of other people." For Dino's sake, most of all. "As far as I am concerned, the big changes have all already happened."
For a moment, Tetsu was silent. As he spoke, he sounded almost wondering. "I never knew you were such a romantic, Kyou-san."
Kyouya snorted, eyes falling shut again. "If you leave at this very moment, I might let you live despite that comment."
"Understood, Kyou-san." He could hear the grin so clearly in Tetsu's voice, the sound was still echoing in the room even as his second closed the door.
Herbivores. Kyouya snorted. Insufferable idiots.
As he awoke an undeterminable time later, drawn from his sleep by the gentle touch of a pair of lips against his own and greeted by Dino's smile, he figured he might be able to tolerate it after all.