Nothing. Nothing but the utensils making brief contact with the plate when trying to get the fried rice off the plate. The fried rice that Shion has made for years and eating with his son.

Tsubaki didn't expect his father to be home when he came home from school today. In fact, he didn't expect his father to make him dinner at all! Usually when Shion comes home, it's Tsubaki who makes dinner for the two of them; usually fried rice with either chicken or beef. Apparently, the call Tsubaki ignored yesterday was about Shion coming home today to eat dinner with him to make up the fact that Shion is going to be at his girlfriend's house for the weekend.

At this point, Shion practically jumps from not one or two, but three houses. One with Tsubaki, the second one is a close friend to Shion and both of them work at the same place, while the last one is with his girlfriend for eight years. Yet Shion calls Tsubaki at least five times a week on how he's doing and if he's been slacking off at school whenever he can't make it home for the weekend; the time that he should be with his only son. And that's almost all the time.

As Tsubaki is eating the fried rice off his plate, Shion got off his chair and carried his plate, empty glass, and his spoon and fork into the sink, turning the faucet on.

"Any reason why you didn't answer me yesterday, Tsubaki?" Shion demanded as he cleaned his plate.

"I… I was studying for my English quiz," Tsubaki replied, finishing up the last of his fried rice.

"Ah, yes. Your lowest grade according to your last report card."

Tsubaki didn't need to hear that again from his father. Even if it's a report card that any parent would die to see from their children.

"And how well did you do on that quiz?" Shion asked, placing the recently cleaned plate on the dishwasher.

"Perfect, as usual," Tsubaki answered, gently placing his spoon on his plate and drinking the last of his iced tea.

"That's what I like to hear."

That's all what you want to hear from me. Tsubaki wanted to say to his father, but went against it in order to avoid angering his father.

"Enough about English. How about your other subjects?" Shion wondered, sitting back down on his chair.

"All A's, none of them below a 96," Tsubaki informed his father as he finished eating his fried rice. "I hope this is to your liking, father."

"Yes, yes. You are improving, but I want more out of you."

"Of course, father."

No 'great job' or 'I'm very proud of you' like any parent would say when hearing their child accomplished this at school. It's typical for Tsubaki and his father.

DING DONG!

"Hmm? Who could it be at this hour?" Shion muttered to himself as he got up to answer the front door.

Tsubaki looked at the clock at the kitchen, reading 8:45 PM. At this time, most people would be at home getting ready for bed or finish eating dinner.

As his father is answering the door, Tsubaki got up from his chair and picked up his plate, glass, and utensils from his table and to the sink, cleaning them until there's no sign of stains anywhere. Spotless or else… Tsubaki will waste his time trying to make it clean for countless hours.

While cleaning, Tsubaki couldn't help himself but to overhear the conversation that his father is having with the person in the front door.

"… Oh no, just trying to make sure I got the right address when I pick up my younger sister for Saturday…"

"Hmm? What for?" Shion asked the visitor that Tsubaki is so sure that he knew who the visitor is.

"Apparently, my sister, Kamui, is sleeping over…"

Defiantly Xander no doubt. Kamui asked Tsubaki for directions to his house so she can show them to Xander later on and drive there to see if the directions were real and not fake. And Tsubaki thought Xander would just drive by his house to confirm that the directions are correct; not visit his house! That's the last thing the red-head wanted, especially since his father showed up unexpectedly!

"…Really? That's why?" Shion once again asked Xander. "Not often do assigned partners in school get to meet face to face. Let alone meet outside of school. Usually, they use their phones to communicate."

"Or computers," Xander added, "Anyway, I'd like to request that I speak with your son."

"I don't see why not. I'm about to leave anyway after dinner, so feel free to keep Tsubaki a little company for a few minutes."

Xander only nodded in response as he took off his shoes and slipped onto a pair of white slippers since Shion is currently wearing slippers, so Xander thought it would be fair for him to wear them too.

Right as Xander entered the kitchen, Tsubaki finished cleaning his dishes, placing them inside the dishwasher to clean them tomorrow morning.

"I see your father is home for once," Xander commented, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Only for dinner. He isn't going to sleep in his room," Tsubaki replied, opening one of the cabinets to grab two mugs; one red and one purple. "Would you like some coffee?"

Sighing, Xander answered, "Sure. I need some caffeine to keep me awake. I have to grade a few more essays before I turn them in tomorrow."

"Hmm? Most of them must have been well-written," Tsubaki added while waiting for the coffee pot to fill up.

"Actually, the remaining papers I need to grade barely has anything written on it."

Tsubaki almost wanted to drop his mug when he heard that.

"W-what? Are you-"

"Yes. While there are students who go beyond expectations, like you," Xander pointed out, making Tsubaki smile a bit, "There exists students who don't even try, only satisfied with putting their name on their paper and that's it."

"And they're suppose to be in high school?!" Tsubaki questioned as he poured the coffee into both mugs and making his way to the table while carrying them.

"Sadly…" Xander saw Tsubaki sitting across him, with the red-head handing the blond a purple mug, filled with coffee, black and steam coming out of it. "Mind if I get some creamer?"

"Of course. It's in the fridge." Tsubaki pointed it to Xander.

While Xander got up from his chair and went to obtain the creamer, Tsubaki stared at the reflection from the black coffee, fading away when he stirred it with his spoon. He looked away to see if his father is done dressing up since his father is going to leave to his girlfriend's house in a few minutes, but no sight of Shion coming down the stairs. He just wants to look 'perfect' for his lover.

Tsubaki looked back at the reflection of his black coffee and he swears to the gods that the reflection is glaring and smiling at him, causing Tsubaki to drop his spoon onto the table. Luckily, Xander didn't notice, so that's a sigh of relief for the red-head. However…

The reflection didn't appear in his coffee, but instead sitting across of him, giving off the same expression as it did in the coffee.

"Surprised to see me, Mr. Imperfect?" his reflection asked Tsubaki.

Tsubaki didn't want to respond to him as Xander will think that he'll sound and look crazy.

"Oh come on. I'm waiting for an answer~!" his reflection singed to him.

"Get out," Tsubaki quietly warned his reflection.

"Why should I? Is it because of him?" the reflection pointed to Xander grabbing the creamer and shutting the door closed. "I doubt he even cares about you."

Continuing to speak in a quiet tone as he can able to, Tsubaki replied, "Yes he does. He understands the troubles I'm currently going through. He felt the pain, pressure, and struggles of becoming the perfect person to the people around him."

"Bullshit. He's secretly criticizing you to his family, especially to Kamui."

"You shut up."

"Make me. And speaking of her, how would Xander react when you tell him that you'll be sleeping with his little princess? Huh? You wouldn't have time to explain to yourself…"

"Shut up you…" Tsubaki growled to his reflection.

"He'll say that you're a dirty person who wants to fuck around with his little princess and he'll hurt you…"

"Shut up…"

"And your father will be watching you, laughing at you, saying how you're a poor excuse of a son and he'll abandon you forever because no one wants an imperfect, ugly son." the reflection leaned in closer to Tsubaki, touching his hair before pulling one strand of his hair. "And nobody wants to be around an imperfect person like you. If I were you, you should just leave this world forever. I doubt anyone would-"

Having enough of his reflection speaking down on him, Tsubaki grabbed the handle of his red mug and screamed, "JUST GO AWAY, DAMN YOU!" as the reflection faded away and Tsubaki threw the mug onto the tiled floor, the mug shattering into small pieces, alongside with the black coffee leaking across the floor. Tsubaki breathed in and out heavily before stopping after he realized what he had done.

No, no, no, no, no! I'm so screwed!

Xander noticed the noise and hurriedly set down the creamer on the table to see the mess Tsubaki has created.

"W-what happened, Tsubaki?" Xander asked as he saw Tsubaki, his knees slowly going down on the floor and just stared at the shattered pieces of the red mug and the pool of black coffee. "Hey, answer me."

"No… He'll murder me," Tsubaki can only respond to Xander without looking at him.

He? Xander assumed that Tsubaki must have meant his father and he'll most likely investigate what happened downstairs. And most likely, he'll assume it's his son rather than Xander.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Shion yelled as he made his way down the stairs. Once he entered the kitchen, he spotted the mess with the mug, and Tsubaki on his knees, staring down at the disaster. "Oh my gods, Tsubaki. Did you do this?"

No response from him.

"Tsubaki Miyazaki. Look me in the eyes," Shion walked forward to his son and grabbed his left arm hashly, forced him to look at the older man's eyes and yelled at him, "AND ANSWER ME!"

"Dad-" Tsubaki attempted to plead to his father before he realized he made another mistake.

"You will refer to me as 'father' and only 'father'! I don't need to remind you again, Tsubaki."

"I'm sorry f-father."

"Good. Now, tell me if you-"

"Sir," Xander popped into the conversation. "It was my fault. We spotted a cockroach on the table, and while getting rid of it, I accidentally knocked the mug off the table with my elbow."

"Huh? I-" Tsubaki stopped speaking when he witnessed Xander's middle and ring finger crossing together on his hips, recognizing the message Xander sent him through the signals.

"Really?" Shion not trusting Xander's word. "Are you sure about that?"

Xander nodded his head and replied with, "I assure you that an insect like a cockroach would make anyone scream, even your son and especially a grown adult like me."

Looking at his son and at the black-brown liquid on the tiled floor, Shion sighed and said, "Alright. But clean up this mess. I'm about to leave, so don't get into too much trouble. Alright?"

"Yes, father. I promise," Tsubaki replied, looking into his father's eyes.

"Very well. I'll see you very soon."

Shion walked away from the kitchen and slipped out of his slippers and into his brown loafers before he exited the house, leaving Tsubaki and Xander alone in the house. The moment his father left the house, Tsubaki hugged Xander tightly, muttering to him, "Oh, thank you," multiple times before the red-head buried his head onto Xander's shirt.

"Tsubaki, are you-" Xander was about to ask the red-head until Tsubaki lifted his head, revealing that his eyes didn't form any tears like Xander expected.

"Gods, I can't believe you lied to my father."

"I didn't want you to get punished for something so minuscule like spilling coffee onto the floor." Xander went ahead and ripped two sheets of paper towels, one soaking the liquid on the floor, and the other he'll use later to dry. It's not the proper way to clean the floor, but it's better than leaving the liquid to remain and eventually dry up to get sticky. As he's wiping the floor with the second paper towel, Xander asked Tsubaki, "By the way, why did you actually spilled the coffee?"

No… Tsubaki prayed to the Gods that Xander didn't ask him that question. It's enough that Xander knew his self-harming addiction he's attempting to break away slowly, but for him to reveal he's seeing his inner-thoughts/reflections taunting him, oh gods, Xander will surly think Tsubaki is severely insane.

Yet at the same time, maybe Xander won't; going through something similar to that while getting himself back on control a couple of years ago. Tsubaki will never know unless he tries.

"I- I don't want you to think that I sound crazy, but-" Tsubaki gulped a bit before confessing, "I saw- I saw myself, taunting me and saying you secretly don't like me."

Xander didn't say anything, leaving the paper towels on the floor as he went back to sit on the chair, alongside Tsubaki, head slumped on the table.

"I wanted to ignore these thoughts, but then my reflection kept pressing on, stating you'll hate me for sure when Kamui must sleep with me tomorrow."

Xander still didn't respond, eyebrows raised a bit when he heard the last bit.

"But before you make any rash assumptions, it means I'm simply…" Tsubaki bit his lip a bit before he manages to blurt out, "Kamui and I will share the same bed, maybe cuddling if possible. Nothing relating to-"

"I get it," Xander nodded his head, not wanting to hear any variation of 'that' word.

"And my reflection kept going on and on, saying you'll secretly take pleasure in my pain whenever my father criticizes me for making a simple mistake that can't be controlled, and telling me to just die already." Tsubaki deeply sighed, leaned back on his chair and said, "I'm sorry you had to see my father get furious around me."

"Tsubaki," Xander took a short sip of his coffee before he continued, "I don't despise you in any way, no matter what your thoughts tell you. And yes, witnessing your father's anger was quite unfortunate, but your father's rage doesn't measure up to mine…"

Of course. Especially during Xander's high school years. He didn't want to relive those days where he felt pressured on not making even a single mistake and endured the pain that was meant for his siblings, especially Kamui and Elise.

"Thanks, Xander." Tsubaki smiled, lifting his head off the table. "Tomorrow, I'll take good care of Kamui. I promise."

"Alright. I trust you."

Lying down on her bed after brushing her teeth and brushing her sandy blond locks, Kamui looked at her phone screen, reading the messages she received from Silas since he heard of the bet.

Silas: You'll wear cat ears tomorrow? What, no cat tail to go along with that?

Kamui: Only cat ears and a choker with a bell. People would grab the tail if I manage to wear that.

Silas: Makes sense.

Kamui: Anyway, tomorrow means I'm sleeping over at Tsubaki's house. You've been there before, right? Xander told me the house was huge.

Silas: Yeah, Tsubaki's house is really big both on the inside and outside. Though typically…

Kamui: I know.

Kamui didn't manage to finish the message she was going to send to Silas when her phone suddenly ringed and the screen showed an image of Tsubaki making a peace sign, smiling while standing in front of the jellyfish tank. She took the photo of him two weeks ago during their visit at the Izumo Center Aquarium and thought Tsubaki looked cute on that photo. Plus, it's the only one she has of him.

She decided to answer the call and waited to listen to Tsubaki's pleasant voice through her speakers.

"Oh, thank the gods you've picked up the phone," Tsubaki replied to his partner.

Giggling to herself, Kaumi answered, "Hey there, Tsubaki. How are you tonight?"

"Hmm… Honestly, not that well." Tsubaki's cheery tone suddenly turned somber. "My father visited me for dinner…"

"Really? How did it went?"

"Originally, he ditched dinner plans for Friday and decided he should make it up by eating dinner with me today. And on how dinner went… Typical."

Kamui didn't even need to ask Tsubaki about what he meant by that answer. The red-head told the blond already about parts of his home life.

"Your brother visited my house to check if the address was right," Tsubaki added. "And while he was there, my father scolded me for spilling coffee and breaking a mug. Right in front of Xander."

"W-what?!" Xander didn't mention this to Kamui at all when he came back home.

"I was lucky Xander lied to my father to get me out of his scoldings. You know, you're lucky to have a brother like Xander. No wait, lucky to have a loving family like yours. Anyone would die to have a family that cares for you." Kamui can hear Tsubaki laugh a bit and the sound of him plopping down on somewhere soft, most likely his bed.

"Getting ready for bed?" Kamui asked Tsubaki.

"Yeah. It's already 11. You?"

"I'm about to. Heck, I'm already lying down on my bed in my nightdress. You know, it almost feels like you're next to me."

"Same. But tomorrow, you and I will be sleeping together on the same bed."

Kamui blushed just thinking about sleeping next to Tsubaki. She wonders if he snores loudly like she does, or takes soft breaths when trying to sleep. Or if he'll hold Tsubasa tightly to him. Speaking of stuffed animals, what if Tsubaki decides to hug Kamui like one or vise-versa? Or what if their lips will barely touch while they're sleeping and eventually evolves into an actual kiss?!

Gods! Kamui's fantasies of tomorrow will wait!

"Hey, Tsubaki. Can you do something for me?" Kamui requested the red-head on the phone.

"What is it?" Tsubaki questioned, eager to do a favor for Kamui.

Taking a deep breath, Kamui started to sing, "~Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are?~"

Getting the gist of Kamui's request, Tsubaki cleared his throat and started to sing from where Kamui left off, "~Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky.~"

"~Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are?~" both of the teens concluded singing before laughing a little.

"Does this nursery rhyme help you sleep?" Tsubaki asked Kamui.

"When I was younger. Plus, I wanted to hear you sing a bit and cheer you up a little after your incident with your father," Kamui confessed.

"Ah. I feel a bit better. And you sound really cute when you sing."

"You too. Though you sound a lot better when you sing the latest single from the Soarin' Knights. Especially-"

"H-hey!"

"It's true!" Kamui said before she accidentally added something that she might regret:

"Besides, you're voice is sexy, just like your appearance."

Both of the teens remained in silence after that comment. Kamui covered her mouth, realizing what she has said to Tsubaki. Gods, it's enough to admit to Tsubaki that he's a good-looking person, but to comment on his voice?! Oh, gods.

"Uh… W-we better get to bed now, right?" Kamui suggested, ready to end the call.

"Yep. See you tomorrow, my little kitten~," Tsubaki singed a bit before he hung him, leaving Kamui with her face blushing red and leaving her to imagine tomorrow's events.

Mainly her and Tsubaki sleeping together in the same bed. Oh, how blissful will that be for the two of them.

Author's Note: WHEW! So, this ended up being a lot shorter, meaning this is a Paralogue taking place between Chapter 6 and the REAL Chapter 7. This was suppose to be part of Chapter 7, but I cut it due to the fact that the word count may go overboard (and believe me, I've done that a few times). And the fact University took over for me in terms of essays, short stories to write, and countless reading assignments to complete.

Also, this isn't the first Paralogue that will take place in "Perfectionist Complex". So see some in the future. And Paralogues will not have snippets of "Pancakes".

Anyway, I hope you love this Paralogue/Chapter 6.5 and I'll get the REAL Chapter 7 in the future. Most likely before 2018 hits.

Have a nice day! ;D