Aki sat outside the Teremok at the mall, sipping her tarkhuna as she waited for her brother and his friend to finish their shopping. Her parents had insisted that, even though Nikolai was 14, he wasn't old enough to go to the mall by himself yet. Her papa had wheedled and pleaded with her until she rolled her eyes and agreed to take him. When they had been leaving, her brother had asked casually for her to stop and pick up Aliya too, and after some arguing she had agreed. Aki didn't like the feeling of being a chauffeur for her brother, but she did have a soft spot for Aliya, so she hadn't put up too much of a fuss. Besides, Aki was in her final year of university, and would be moving out of the house soon, so she figured it wasn't bad to spend some time with her brother like this while she could.
But as soon as they'd arrived at the mall, her brother had run off with his pretty friend, promising Aki that they would find her later at the Teremok. So here she had sat, patiently waiting for over an hour as her brother got in some quality time with Aliya.
Aki glanced idly around the area of the mall she could see, trying to ignore the chatter of a group of girls seated at the next table. They couldn't be any older than her brother, and had spent the entire time they'd been seated there giggling and talking in overly loud voices. Aki had done her best to ignore them and flick through her phone as she waited, trying to remember how she had been with her friends at that age. It was getting more and more annoying hearing them critique the looks of every boy who passed by, however.
She had almost settled into an article when she heard a particularly loud squeal from one of the girls. "Ooh, look at that boy! With the blond hair there."
Another girl chimed in, "Wow, look how tall he is! I bet it would be nice to look up at a cute boy like that."
Although it was a very generic description, Aki still glanced at the direction the girls were looking at on the off chance that it was her brother. Sure enough, there he stood, waiting in line at a nearby restaurant, unknowingly becoming the object of these ogling girls' eyes. The corner of Aki's mouth twitched in amusement as the girls continued talking about him, lowering their voices now.
"What color do you think his eyes are?"
"Oh, please be blue. I love looking up at a boy with nice blue eyes."
"You're terrible!"
The entire table dissolved into giggles. When they recovered, the first girl said, "Why don't you go find out?"
The girl who had said she preferred blue eyes blinked. "Who, me? Why should I?"
"Because you're the one who said you want them to be blue! You should find out and report back."
"Yeah, and find out if he has a girlfriend!" another one chimed in, and they all giggled again.
Aki put her phone down. As amusing as this was, it was quickly going to become awkward for her brother, and also for his friend standing on the other side of him. Apparently she was short enough compared to Nikolai that she had been overlooked by the group of girls.
But Aki knew better. Although her brother wouldn't say anything about the subject, he had been in love with his pretty little friend ever since they were small. Having a random girl walk up to him and hit on him with Aliya present would be nothing but awkward for him.
Aki stood up from her table, leaning over and addressing the girls. "I believe I can be of some help there."
The girls looked up at her, their faces an array of differing degrees of surprise. "Help with what?" one asked.
She pointed towards her brother. "That boy over there. He, in fact, does have blue eyes. But, unfortunately for you lovely ladies, he is practically engaged. You see that girl standing next to him?" The group all craned their necks for a look at the same time, and Aki almost burst into laughter at their puppy-like behavior. She continued, "Yeah, that's her. Sorry, better luck with a different blond cutie!" Winking, she walked over to her brother.
Aliya noticed her approaching first. "Aki, hello!" She waved brightly, an equally bright smile on her face. "Thanks for waiting for us! Are you hungry?"
Aki shook her head. "I already had Teremok. But I'll wait with you guys." She settled next to them in line, relishing Nikolai's embarrassed look. She grinned, deciding to take it further. She wrapped her arm around his neck, pulling his head down so she could ruffle his hair.
He jumped backwards, protesting, "Hey, Aki, cut it out!" His hands went up to his head as he tried to fix the perceived damage to his short blond locks.
Aki chuckled. "But I just love you, otouto. Don't you love your oneesan who brought you to the mall and waited oh so long for you?"
Nikolai just scowled at her, but Aliya chimed in, "I appreciate it!"
Aki smiled broadly at her. "At least I have a nice imouto."
Nikolai's face reddened a little, and he demanded, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing," Aki replied mildly. She turned her head and said quietly, "At least not yet." She caught the eyes of the group of loud girls, and flashed them a peace sign, satisfied that she had deterred them. Nobody but her was allowed to make her little brother feel awkward. Well, and maybe Aliya, some day.