Ema stared at her computer, her mouth twisting as she considered her options. Voice recording for the video game would end just in time for summer, which meant she needed to consider how she'd spend her time.
There would be plenty of gaming, of course. And hiking with Natsume as well as Subaru and Yusuke. But she wanted to do new things too. She wanted to learn new skills and push her limits, and hopefully experience things that would help her decide what she wanted to do with her life after high school.
So, she'd been researching summer internships for students. She hadn't limited herself to a particular field, wanting to look at everything she might be able to apply for. She'd found one that caught her interest. Even if she went into an entirely different field of work, it sounded like it would give her good experience, but there was a catch—it was at Ukyo's law office. That presented two complications. The first being that she didn't know if Ukyo would find it annoying to have her there. The second being that if the thought didn't annoy him, she didn't want to get the internship because Ukyo pulled strings for her.
When she'd realized the internship was at Ukyo's office, she'd nixed the idea of doing it. But she hadn't been able to find another internship as interesting as that one. And hadn't Ukyo been upset about Ema doing voice acting? He hadn't said that to her face, but he'd been very vocal about his feelings regarding Tsubaki and Azusa becoming voice actors. And he'd made plenty of faces over Ema spending so much with her voice acting jobs.
She could well imagine Ukyo telling her that she should be considering what was best for her learning and future, not thinking about how someone else might feel about it. Still, she didn't feel right applying for the internship without talking to him, so she grabbed her laptop and went in search of him.
"Yes, Ema?" he said, answering his bedroom door with a surprised look.
"There's something I want to talk to you about," she told him, clutching her laptop to her chest.
"Okay," he said slowly, his eyes on her laptop. He swung the door open before gesturing her inside. As she walked past him, she missed him glancing at the door, then deciding to leave it open.
"So, I want to have important new experiences this summer, and decided that an internship would be a good way to do that." She opened her laptop, gesturing to the page with the internship at Ukyo's company. "I did a lot of research and this internship sounds like the best one of all the ones I looked at. But I don't know want to do it if it would make you uncomfortable."
His eyebrows scrunched together as he read through the page. He turned to her with his eyebrows raised. "I didn't know you had an interest in law."
"I don't know that I do," she admitted. And maybe that was a reason she shouldn't apply. "But it sounds like it would teach me valuable skills and I want to try a variety of things. Though maybe it's not fair for me to apply when there might be other applicants who know they want to go into law and would benefit more from the experience. But, more importantly, would it bother you to have me there?"
"No, not at all," he said immediately. "I think it's a fantastic idea. You're at an age where you should try lots of things to help you learn what you're interested in, what you're good at, and what you want to do with your life. I'd be happy to help you apply."
She was relieved he wasn't opposed to the idea. But that still left her other concern. "I'd love to have your help . . . but I don't want to get the internship because I know a lawyer at the firm. Please don't think that means I don't appreciate your offer I just—"
He held up a hand to stop her. "You just want to make sure you get the internship due to your own merit. I completely respect that, Ema." She smiled, her shoulders relaxing. Thank goodness. "I think your experiences traveling will give you an edge over other applicants, though. We'll focus on that in your application." He sat at his desk, pulling up another chair for Ema and gesturing for her to sit as well.
~.~
Ukyo's heart was in disarray when Ema left his room after they submitted her application.
She wanted to intern at his law office. She'd researched several internships and felt this one sounded best. He was relieved she was finally looking into something more practical than voice acting. And he couldn't help hoping that his influence in her life was a factor in her wanting to intern at a law office.
Though those facts weren't what had his heart in disarray. If she got the internship, he'd get to have Ema to himself like the twins had. They could go to work together and have dinner afterward if work went late, just the two of them.
Unbidden, the image he'd had previously of Ema in a tight skirt with a shirt unbuttoned a little too low popped into his head. He shook his head to dislodge those thoughts as he shut his door. That was definitely not what the internship was about and he needed to keep thoughts like that in check. Or, at least until Ema graduated from high school he did.
He paused and frowned when he'd almost shut his door. Ema had shown no concern whatsoever about walking into a man's room all alone. His first instinct had been to shut his door, but he'd decided against it since it might give someone the wrong idea. Or prove too tempting for him. But now he wondered if she did the same thing with his brothers. Did she waltz into their rooms without a care in the world for how precarious a situation like that could be? And did his brothers shut the door behind her?
He was happy she trusted him—but he also wanted to lecture her about being careful. Except, if he did, maybe she wouldn't come to his room again. And he wanted her to. If she had questions about her internship, it would be perfect for her to come to his room to discuss it with him. And she'd spent time in the twins' rooms rehearsing for their anime, hadn't she? This was Ema's house too. She should be able to feel comfortable going anywhere—even if he didn't want her to be comfortable in his brothers' rooms.
He sighed and shut his door. Sharing a house with the woman you liked was complicated, even if it came with perks too.
~.~
A week later, Ukyo had begun making dinner alone when Ema appeared, a bright smile on her face. "I got the internship!"
He smiled, a wave of relief coming over him.
Some of the lawyers had been asked to give their opinion on the internship applicants and, because of Ema's request, he'd stayed far away from anything to do with the interns. But it had been difficult. Not just because he personally wanted Ema there, but because he felt she would be a good fit for the internship.
He did give one little push toward Ema. One of the lawyers reviewing the applicants had mentioned that one girl had a lot of experience with different cultures abroad. Ukyo had mentioned that such experiences could give someone an advantage in court because of their ability to look at and understand things from different perspectives. But that was all he'd said and it was true, so he didn't consider it breaking Ema's request.
"Thank you so much for helping me," Ema said, throwing her arms around him. His breath caught at the unexpected hug and she pulled back sooner than he wanted her to.
"You're welcome," he said, adjusting his glasses to cover up how much the small gesture affected him. "I'm excited to see how you'll grow from this."
