"We still haven't decided on anything to watch..." Lucent pointed out. "You've named five different anime you watched with Nights, but we still haven't decided which we're going to watch."

"We can decide while we're eating. Or while I'm cooking," said Nitrine as he, arms full of groceries, pushed through the front door into Lucent's house.

"Perhaps we could try the first episode of something while you cook. Your 'famous mac and cheese' needs to bake, doesn't it?" Lucent followed him in, carrying nothing but his backpack. His gaze kept flicking to the bags Nitrine carried. This is my treat, he had said, but Lucent itched to help.

"Actually, it doesn't; that's my secret to getting it so creamy." Nitrine waggled a finger at Lucent before he whirled to face forward and pass through the doorway into the dining room and kitchen. As he dumped the bags onto the dining room table, both his and Lucent's gazes were caught by a strange figure sitting across the table, eating a cardboard box full of pasta and sauce. Lucent wrinkled his nose at the smell,greasy and processed, like the scent that pervaded Nitrine's old dorm.

The person across the table sat casually, face resting in their hand as they ate and took in the couple with mild curiosity. Nitrine had to do a double take between them and Lucent, and that action alone was enough to make the identity of the guest click for Lucent. "Negaluce?" he asked.

Negaluce, with xir curling blonde hair, amber eyes, broad build, and cute floral dress, smiled and said, "Hey Lucy, it's been a long time."

"Lucent," he corrected with a slight frown. When was the last time he has seen Negaluce? He remembered his eighth birthday party, where Negaluce had declared himself older and thus the true birthday boy and tried to run off with half the cake carried away in his arms. Grudges died hard: after that, Lucent had avoided him should they have happened to attend any of the same family reunions, which was, admittedly, few and far between.

"You know him?" Nitrine asked Lucent. With a sudden look of uncertainty, he glanced back at Negaluce and guessed again, "Her?"

"Xe," said Negaluce, whose correction sounded just as rote as Lucent's.

"Yeah, xe," Lucent hesitated briefly on the unfamiliar pronoun. "is my cousin. What are you doing here?"

"Gee, aren't you welcoming. No one told you? I'm moving to Bellbridge, and your parents were gracious enough to let me stay here while I looked for a flatmate and a job."

"Oh. That's... nice. Come on, Nitrine." Lucent nudged him gently to get him to follow, and both went into the kitchen, Negaluce's eyes following close behind. Once they were safely behind the swinging doors that separated the kitchen from the dining room, Lucent looked Nitrine in the eye and said, "If xe's anything like xe was when we were kids... I want you to keep your distance from xir, okay?"

"But why?" asked Nitrine, brows drawn together as he set the grocery bags on the counter. Lucent neared to help unpack.

"He—xe was a source of constant aggravation when I was young."