At Lost For Goggles
19
It was a warm May afternoon, and Ema was sitting at the dining table, studying for her upcoming finals, when Azusa came (literally) stumbling in. He pats the kitchen counter blindly, Ema watches him curiously. What is he doing? As he keeps on patting the marble surface, his hands begin to make their way towards the knives, Ema shouts: "AZUSA-SAN, CAREFUL!" Azusa freezes and Ema jumps out of her seat and makes her way towards her brother.
"What is Azusa-san doing?," she asks.
"I-I kind of lost my glasses... Have you seen them?," Azusa asks.
Ema shakes her head: "No, I haven't. But don't you have a spare?"
"I had a spare," Azusa says, emphasizing on the word "had", "Until Tsubaki broke them."
Ema sighs: "Oh dear, here take my hand! Let's go get you new ones!" Azusa nods and takes Ema's hand.
As they walked down the street, many people kept turning to look at them, gossiping about how attractive Azusa was. These boys cause a scene wherever they go!
"H-hey Ema-chan?," Azusa says.
"Hai?"
"I-I hope I'm not causing you too much trouble... I know you have your finals coming soon...," Azusa states.
Ema reassures him: "Oh no, don't worry about it! It'll only take a minute and I'm glad to help!" Azusa blushes.
They enter the glass store and Azusa picks out a pair that looks exactly like his old. He puts them on and looks at Ema: "What do you think?"
Ema nods: "They look really good, Azusa-san!" She glances over and notices a pair that looks quite similar to his old pair, but instead of a thin black frame, it was thicker navy blue frame, and the inside was red. She grabs them and hands them over to him: "Try these!" Azusa takes the glasses from her and puts them on. He looks at her, and Ema feels her heart skip a beat. "T-they look really good, Azusa-san...," Ema says, blushing.
And oh did they, Azusa looked so handsome to her in that moment. I can't believe how I never noticed how attractive he is... Azusa smirks. He looks over at the salesperson and says: "I'll take these."
"Say Ema-chan?," Azusa says, as the pair walked home.
"Yes?," Ema says, looking up at her brother.
"How about we go on a date?," Azusa proposes.
"H-huh?," Ema says, startled.
"There's a cafe I've been dying to try out, would you like to come along with me?," Azusa asks.
"S-sure...," Ema blushes.
Azusa reaches for her hand, they hold hands as they make their way to the cafe.
"For two please," Azusa tells the waiter, holding up two fingers. The waiter sits them at a small table in front of the window and places two menus in front of them.
"This place is really nice!," Ema remarks, looking around the cafe.
"Yeah, I agree!," Azusa says.
They begin to flip through the menu, Azusa looking up once in a while to catch a glimpse of the pretty brunette in front of him.
"What are you getting?," Azusa asks.
"I was thinking of getting the parfait," Ema says, pointing at the picture of the parfait.
"That looks delicious!," Azusa comments.
"What about you, Azusa-san?," Ema asks.
"I think I'll get the matcha cake and a cup of coffee," Azusa says. Ema nods.
The waiter walks towards them and takes their order.
Azusa places his hand on top of Ema's and says: "I'm really glad you agreed to come with me."
Ema blushes. "I-I, thank you for inviting me..," Ema says shyly. Azusa smiles.
After that, Ema and Azusa walked home together. Azusa suggested they took the long route and walked through the park, since the weather was really nice, and Ema agreed. The sun was shining bright, as a weak breeze caressed them. Azusa was right, the weather was perfect. The walk was comfortably silent, but Ema could feel something was wrong.
"What's wrong, Azusa-san?," she asks, glancing over at her older brother, who had a worried expression on his face.
Azusa sighs. "I-I don't want to lose Tsubaki...," Azusa says sadly.
Ema laughs: "Why would you ever lose Tsu-" Azusa cuts her off by pulling the girl into a tight embrace, Ema's cheek flush. "A-Azusa-san?"
Azusa says: "But I can't deny these feelings I have towards you..." Ema's eyes widen. "I love you, and I'm not afraid to say it," Azusa confesses, "I know I'm not the only one, but if you want me, I'm here."
He pulls away and kisses Ema on the forehead, she was at lost for words. I didn't expect Azusa to ever confess... Now I really need to pick a brother, and the sooner, the better.
A couple days later, it was time for her finals. Ema was feeling confident, but a little nervous. She knew she had studied hard, but was she truly ready. As she brushed her hair, a knock was heard at the door.
"Come in!," she calls out, not bothering to look behind her, at the door. The door opens and Subaru walks towards her, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "S-Subaru!," Ema gasps.
She turns around, Subaru places a hand on her cheek. "Do your best, okay?," Subaru says. He kisses her forehead. Ema nods, blushing. Subaru adds: "I'll be cheering you on, I can't wait to see you next year."
Ema smiles: "Thank you, Subaru."
She grabs her book bag and makes her way out to the kitchen, where Ukyo was cooking, as Hikaru and Masaomi enjoyed their breakfast. "Ohayo, Hikaru-san, Masaomi-san and Ukyo-san!," Ema exclaims.
"Good morning, Ema-chan! Big day today, huh?," Ukyo says, smiling kindly at the high schooler.
Ema nods: "Big day it is."
"Good luck on your finals today! You'll do great, just try to relax," Masaomi says. Ema nods.
"But don't be too relaxed! And make sure to always double check your answers!," Ukyo says.
Hikaru chimes in: "Ah ah ah! They say you should always go with your first instinct when taking a test, either you studied well enough to know the answer, or you didn't and don't."
Ukyo rolls his eyes. "What do I know? I'm just a lawyer," he says sarcastically.
Ema giggles. "Thanks everyone," she says.
Yuusuke comes downstairs. "Hey guys! Ema-chan, ready to go?," Yuusuke asks.
"Hai!," Ema says.
Suddenly her phone rings, she picks up: "Hello?"
"I take the time to call you during my break, the least you could do is pick up faster," Fuuto says.
"O-oh, I'm sorry Fuuto!," Ema says.
Fuuto chuckles: "I'm kidding, for real though, good luck on your finals. You probably won't need it, but just know I'm rooting for you."
Ema smiles: "Thanks Fuuto." He hangs up.
"Okay, let's go!," Ema says. Yuusuke nods and they make their way to the elevator.
Before they could react the elevator, Kaname stops them. "Imouto-chan!," he sings, wrapping his arms around the girl. Yuusuke rolls his eyes. "Good luck on your finals today," Kaname says.
"Thank you, Kaname-san," Ema replies sweetly. Kaname pulls away and kisses her cheek.
"Hey! What about me?," Yuusuke asks angrily.
"Oh? Don't tell me you want a kiss too?," Kaname teases.
"NO FUCKING THANK YOU PERVERT!"
Ema and Kaname laugh at the fuming redhead.
"Where are you going, Kaname-san?," Ema asks.
"I'm heading to work, but I promise to be there tonight to celebrate with you," Kaname says flirtatiously.
He winks at her, causing Ema to blush and Yuusuke to groan.
In the elevator, they run into Azusa and Tsubaki, who are on their way to work.
"Oh hey guys!," Ema exclaims.
"Imouto-chan!," Tsubaki exclaims happily, hugging the high schooler, "Yuu-chan... Are you guys taking that big test today?"
"Hai!," Ema says.
"Well good luck, you two! Do your best, alright?," Azusa says, ruffling Ema's hair. The teenagers nod.
Outside of the mansion, they meet Louis and Iori, who were just chitchatting as Iori watered the flowers. "Louis-san! Iori-kun!," Ema exclaims, waving at them.
"Ema-chan! Are you guys about to leave for school?," Iori asks.
"Yes! We have our finals today!," Ema says.
"Well best of luck then! Especially you to you, Yuu-chan, you'll definitely need it," Iori says, giving Yuusuke the stink eye.
"Geez, thanks bro," Yuusuke says sarcastically.
"Chi-chan, do your best. Yuu-chan, do your absolute absolute best," Louis says. Yuusuke rolls his eyes.
He grabs Ema's wrist and drags her away: "Alright Ema, let's go, or we'll be late!"
After finals, Ema leaves the school and hears a car honking at her. She glances over and sees Natsume's car.
"Natsume!," Ema exclaims, running towards the man's car. "What are you doing here?," Ema asks, placing her hands on his rolled down window.
"I have a surprise for you to celebrate the end of your finals! Hop in!," Natsume says.
Ema smiles brightly and gets in the car, sitting on the passenger side. She closes the door and Natsume wraps his arm around her, pulling her in to kiss her temple: "You know, I'm really proud of you, Ema."
Ema blushes at Natsume's kind words. "Thanks, Natsume.."
Natsume drives her to the arcade. They play every game in there, Ema beating him every time. They have a blast, Ema couldn't stop smiling the entire time.
After their trip to the arcade, Natsume drove Ema home. He stops in front of the Sunrise Residence.
"Thanks for today's treat, Natsume! I had a lot of fun!," Ema exclaims.
"No problem," Natsume says. He looks down at his feet, with an unsure look on his face.
Ema could feel something was wrong. "Is everything alright, Natsume?," she asks.
"Y-yeah! I'm fine!," Natsume reassures.
Ema isn't sure if she believes him, but she nods and leaves the car anyways. He'll talk to me about it when he's ready. As she walks towards the building, Ema begins to wonder what was on Natsume's mind. Is he angry at me? Did I do something wrong? Maybe he's angry at one of the brothers? Or maybe it's work related?
Before she could enter the mansion, Natsume grabs her arm and pulls her into a hug.
She gasps: "N-Natsume?" I can hear his heart racing...
Natsume says: "I-I don't know if this is the right thing to do... A-and I know my brothers are far more successful and more deserving of you... but I can't suppress these feelings any longer." He pulls away from here. "I think I'm falling in love with-"
The sound of a bag dropping causes them both to jump, Natsume turns around. They see an angry Subaru, glaring at them.
"S-Subaru?," Ema questions cautiously.
"Back off!," Subaru orders.
"Hey, calm down-," Natsume says.
"Didn't you hear me? I SAID BACK OFF!," Subaru shouts, lunging towards Natsume.
He punches the man in the face, Natsume falls to the ground. "Natsume!," Ema gasps. Subaru jumps on top of Natsume and begins to punch him over and over again.
"WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO DO TO HER?," Subaru barks. Natsume puts his arms up in an attempt to shield his face.
"Subaru, get off of him!," Ema cries out. She tries to pull the 6' basketball player off of the struggling salesman.
As if on cue, Kaname comes home. He runs towards them and swiftly pulls Subaru off of his brother, causing Subaru to stumble and fall onto his back. "GO TO YOUR ROOM!," Kaname scolds. Ema was terrified, she had never seen Kaname so angry before. Subaru stares at him with big eyes. "NOW!," Kaname barks. Subaru gets up and scrambles into the building.
As rain begins to pour, Kaname turns to Natsume: "You, get your ass home. You're damn lucky I showed up, or you wouldn't have even made it home alive." Natsume nods, grateful Kaname stopped Subaru. He gets up slowly, Ema rushes to help him up. He dusts himself off and makes his way to his car. They hear his car drive off.
Tears began to stream down Ema's face. She blamed herself for the incident. If only I had picked sooner, could I have prevented this? Ema sobs.
Kaname wraps his arms around her. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Imouto-chan, it was never my intentions," Kaname says softly.
"It's all my fault," Ema cries.
"No, Imouto-chan, it wasn't your fault," Kaname says, he pulls away from her, keeping his hands on her shoulders, "All of us brothers have been acting like jerks, and we apologize deeply for putting you through this mess. It's not your fault... You don't have to pick now, but remember, what I said at the parent-teacher meeting still stands." Kaname kisses her forehead, and makes his way into the mansion.
Who am I going to pick?