Page 118 of Fumiko and the Finicky Nestmate
The strange turn of events, because Juuyu’s team kept missing or forgetting things.
Akira’s growing certainty that Tabi-oji was the Gentleman Bandit.
All the reasons why being with him had felt like going home.
Suuzu took it in without comment, his expression increasingly grave. Finally, he asked, “May I meet this person who may have sprigged you?”
“I want to find him again,” Akira admitted. “So much.”
“We will look together,” promised Suuzu.
“You know a lot about tree-kin, right?” He clasped his hands tightly in his lap. “Is it possible for Sis and me to be like that, even though neither of us has a tree?”
Suuzu warbled sadly. “A child born with a golden seed in their hand cannot prevent another from taking it. This is one of the ways the ancient groves were exploited. In times past, tree-kin were bred in order to harvest their seeds.”
Akira had been hoping and praying for a golden seed. Knowing he’d probably been born with one was tragic. In a small voice, he asked, “Do I have a twin somewhere?”
“I do not know.”
“And Sis, too?”
Suuzu solemnly repeated, “I do not know.”
Everything was suddenly awful. “I lost all the things I wanted to give you.”
With a low trill, Suuzu claimed his usual spot, seated behind Akira. Pulling him back into his chest, Suuzu began preening. Akira leaned into the familiarity, even though a small voice—Jiminy’s voice—whispered that for birds, preening was an intimacy on par with kissing.
“Suuzu?”
“Yes?”
“Are you happy?”
“Yes.”
Akira knew they had to have this out. “Could you be happier?”
“Perhaps. New reasons can arise, even in the unlikeliest of places.”
“Suuzu?”
“Yes?”
“Am I meant to be courting you?”
Suuzu’s fingers stopped their sifting.
Akira determinedly continued. “The necklace. It was exactly the right kind of thing to initiate an avian courtship.”
“Was that your intention?”
“No. I had no idea.”
Suuzu sighed and wrapped his arms around Akira’s shoulders. “That day, when you offered to build with me, I knew you did not understand the significance of your words or your gifts. But that did not diminish their import. I cherish my nest as a sign of the pact between us.”
“Oh.”
“Akira?”
