'Hey, Nick! You're cute little sister is home,' I hollered as I kicked open the front door late in the afternoon. 'I know you're in there, I can smell your crappy man-perfume.'
There was a bang, then, 'It's called cologne,' he shouted back. 'It attracts girls like moths to a burning flame.'
'Burning lame.'
'I heard that!'
I snorted as I led Kurapika, who looked more formal and uptight than ever, into the kitchen where we plonked down our bags. Upstairs, Nicky was still banging around for the purposes of pleasing some poor girl who presumably fell for his smooth talk and regretted it when he did the inevitable victory dance. I glanced at the clock. Ten to five on Thursday which meant no one was likely to be home until nightfall, especially with my dad taking my mum for a check-up at the hospital according to the note on the fridge. I stuck my head in the freezer and was properly offended.
'If you've gone and finished the strawberry ice-cream then throw the container out, you good-for-nothing,' I shouted up at my brother.
'Oh, piss off, you wet blanket,' he yelled back.
Footsteps thundered down the stairs like a herd of rollicky elephants. Then halfway down, a surprised voice, 'Who's that you've got with you?'
I glanced at Kurapika who was just accepting a mug of tea from me. He hurriedly stood up to introduce himself. Nicky regarded him with interest.
'So,' he said. 'Are you the dead weight, the dumb doctor, the know-it-all, the assassin or the dense kid?'
Kurapika arched one eyebrow at me and I shrugged. 'He's the know-it-all.'
Nicky slapped his thigh with his hand. 'I should've known, I should've known!' Nicky crowed. 'My sister did always like the straight-laced types.'
'And you always go for skanks,' I shot back, reddening.
Nicky clicked his tongue and bounced down the rest of the stairs. He helped himself to a slice of cherry pie sitting under a lacy cover on the counter.
'Dzho you warnth thom?' he asked, chewing.
I shook my head, disgusted, and set about mixing up some pancakes. Nicky swallowed with a glunking noise that Mum scolded at him for because it sounded like he was drinking rocks. 'By the way, Del's bringing her boyfriend over again tonight. Bring a bucket and a mop for the PDA; thank God I'm outta here.'
'My sister's seeing a mechanic,' I explained to Kurapika.
'Nah, that guy's old news,' Nicky said. 'She's dating a kid named Troy now, a historian or an archaeologist or something equally nerdy.'
Kurapika nodded thoughtfully, as if this was fascinating information.
'Don't listen to him,' I said. 'This one thinks serving drinks in a barmaid's dress is peak cognitive performance. Who was that girl…?' I mused, pretending to think with a finger on my chin, the other hand whisking batter. 'That redhead with the pierced eyebrow who thought Christmas celebrated the birth of Santa?'
'She had a great ass, though,' Nicky said, unabashed.
'You are disgusting,' I told him. He stuck his tongue out at me.
After he left, leaving a cloud of noxious gas hanging over our heads, Kurapika commented, 'You two get along well.'
'We didn't always,' I said, flipping a pancake. 'He really wanted me gone at the start.'
Kurapika nodded thoughtfully. 'What changed his mind?'
I shrugged. 'My beauty and grace?'
Kurapika rolled his eyes.
I slid a pancake onto his plate. 'When he realised I wasn't out to replace Sumi. I'm glad we sorted it out because boy can be a pill.'
Kurapika said, chewing, 'What did he do?'
'Dude, one time I fell asleep on the couch and he cut off my bangs. Right off!' I exclaimed, ladling out another one onto the hot pan. 'Just snip, snip, snip across the front.'
Kurapika snorted.
'You laugh,' I grumbled, 'I looked like shorn carrot. The look on Mum's face. He got his ass whopped for days.'
'But you're best friends now?'
'That's pushing it.' I pointed my spatula at him in warning.
~oOo~
That night, we had a big family dinner. After a train, an airship, another train then a bus, Kurapika and I were ready to knock out after pancakes. But people started coming home. And then, it became An Affair.
First, it was Roger who was returning from the river with his fishing rod over his shoulder. No one had prepared him for a not-empty house because he had been singing Tammy Reed song to himself that was not only well out of his vocal range but also about having hot, hot sex in a pool. His jaunty chorus turned into a high pitched scream when he finally wandered into the kitchen and saw Kurapika and I sitting at the table drinking coffee, listening and smiling. When he recovered from his embarrassment, he managed a wave and a mumbled hello before disappearing upstairs until he was called to come down.
Then, it was Del and her new boy Troy, also assuming the house was empty. What's with that? They came in with a storm of giggles that were muffled and I made a turtle face of second-hand embarrassment. 'Ah, what great coffee,' I said loudly as I put my mug down with more force than necessary. The giggling stopped, then burst into full on laughter. From the hallway, 'Rissy, you prude!' The redheaded boy behind her, presumably Troy, seemed like a nice guy from his attempt to introduce himself before he was bundled upstairs by my sister, presumably to continue whatever they had started at the front door. PDA indeed. The kitchen seemed even quieter after they were gone.
Thankfully, we did not have to wait long for the parental units to come home. Dad helped Mum inside soon after and we all got up to help her get seated at the table. After many grunts and 'oopsie daisy's, she was settled snugly with a shawl around her shoulders. I noticed that her hair had greyed at the temples. Dad had deeper lines around his eyes and mouth.
'Oh, these visits are so tiring!' my mum said. Then, seeing Kurapika properly for the first time, 'Who might this be?'
'He's Kurapika, friend from the exam,' I said.
'Well, it's lovely to meet you, dear.' She held her hand out to him and, I swear to God, he contemplated kissing it like she was the Queen of Freaking England. Thankfully, he just shook.
'I apologise for the intrusion,' Kurapika said politely. 'I'm sure you would rather spend time with your whole family together.'
My mum surprised us by smacking his arm with a laugh. 'Rubbish!' she said. 'Handsome boys like you are always welcome.'
I choked on my coffee. My dad pounded me on the back with the force of a sledgehammer, and continued for good measure even when the liquid was all good and gone from my lungs.
'Stop,' I gasped, gripping the table with both hands.
My dad clapped his hands together. 'Well,' he declared. 'Let's get some grub rustled up. I'm thinking roast pork.'
'Isn't that a lot of work?,' I breathed, glancing at the clock which already read half-six.
He chuckled. 'When my daughter brings a boy home, we have to celebrate.' He caught my mum's eye. 'Especially a handsome boy.'
'Oh my God,' I said, ripping off a paper towel to wipe up the coffee I accidentally knocked out of my mug. I mean, I was aware he was good looking but… God! 'We're only here because we're doing a job for our teacher, okay?
Dad ignored me completely, instead saying to my mum, 'You know what? It's most shocking because it's Risumi. Del, well, we've had strange boys trooping through our downstairs ever since she started dating.'
'Some of them were fairly crunchy, too,' my mum commented, wrinkling her nose. 'From that alternative school, remember?'
'Right?' he said. 'And Rissy here brings one who not only stands straight like a fully evolved human being but also has manners. And on the first go, too!'
'Hello,' I protested. 'We're right here.' I waved my arms in a fashion I hoped was not too erratic. I had to stay in control after all. 'And is good posture and decent manners all it takes for you to grant me your blessings?'
'Oh, sorry, honey,' my mum said. 'Are we embarrassing you in front of your beau?'
'Beau?' I gasped. 'Are you seventy? And we're just FRIENDS!' They all laughed uproariously. Kurapika, I noticed, was shifting uncomfortably. A flush was creeping up his neck. I felt like my whole body was blushing.
My mum wiped away a tear of mirth. 'Just us oldies getting caught up in your young lives, dear,' she told Kurapika, taking his arm to sit down beside her. 'Come, tell me more about yourself.'
As I chopped veggies, I looked over my shoulder at Kurapika and my mum sitting together at the table. I could not hear what they were saying over the oven's deep hum but they seemed to be getting along. This scene, so warm, made me relax into something I had not realised I was holding onto. I smiled into the tomatoes. Then, feeling like I had been caught out, stiffened my lips into a determined scowl.
One labour of love later, dinner was ready. I hollered up the stairs for the others to come down. Once we were all seated around the table, I saw Troy take in my features in contrast to the rest of his girlfriend's family, with their honey coloured hair and healthy hale complexions, a dusting of freckles on round open faces. I watched him question my dark hair and eyes, pale skin and a pointy chin. Even Kurapika with his blonde hair seemed more of the tribe than I did. Troy, for his part, gave me a wide smile and opened conversation on a completely unrelated topic.
It felt nice to be all together. With my mum and dad who are more my family than my father and grandmother, my younger brother who was studiously avoiding mine and Kurapika's eyes, my sister who was making googly eyes at her new boyfriend ('he's the one, I just know it'), he the redhead who made them right back, my friend who looked like he had never seen asparagus before, and my older brother, halfway across town trying to find love. It was just right.
~oOo~
I knocked on the guest bedroom door and turned the knob and regretted it not one second later. I slammed the door shut. In that moment, I glimpsed Kurapika's bare back as he changed into a set of Nicky's pyjamas. Now, I was no stranger to the male torso. My dad ran a karate dojo, for goodness's sake. And often, they were fit men too. But there was just something about his back that made my heart jump in my throat.
I hastened it back to my own room and sat down on the bed. Whoa. Risumi, calm down. It's just a back. With broad shoulders, the sharp wings of his shoulder blades rising up as he lifted up the shirt, the slender narrowness of his waist. I pressed my hands to my face and groaned. Get it together.
Now, there came a knock on my door.
'Come in,' I said, wishing dearly that I had waited for an invitation before I had opened the guest bedroom door.
Kurapika poked his head in.
'Did you need something?' he asked with a hint of a smile.
I bit my lip. 'No, nothing in particular,' I said as nonchalantly as I could.
Kurapika chuckled. 'Okay, then. Good night, Risumi.'
'Good night.'
When he had gone, I buried my head in my pillow, for the first time in months might I add, and groaned out load. That fluttering feeling in my stomach was happening again, the way it always does when he takes me by surprise.
~oOo~
'Risumi, where are you?' Kurapika called out.
We were in Regents Supermarket armed with a shopping list that my mum had given us. I knew my mother's game; sending the guest and a native to the grocery store. And I knew my role – watch what Kurapika slowed down in front of, what he picked up, what he put back down because it was not on the list. So far, unfortunately for my mother, Kurapika was so diligent in following her shopping list to the T that we may never get the chance to find out what he liked to eat. Currently, he was pushing the cart somewhere in the produce section amongst all the seasonal cucumbers. Meanwhile, I had defected three aisles over in the bakery department eyeing up a tray of madeira cakes.
That morning, I was on my way to bring Kurapika down to eat breakfast when I saw that his door was open. I slowed my steps and stopped outside, just in time to hear Delphi plonk down something on the bed – soft, towels? – and say 'She's not really my sister. You know what, right?'
I could imagine Kurapika nodding.
'My real sister is dead.' Delphi's voice was clipped, like she was biting off each individual word. 'Gone. And everyone pretends this didn't happen. Like Risumi is a good enough replacement.'
I felt my stomach drop to my toes. The shock of having my subconscious thoughts suddenly voiced aloud threw me off balance.
There was some shuffling. Then, quietly, 'She's not a replacement, though,' said Kurapika.
I pressed my lips together and went back downstairs. I told my mum that they would be down soon, and got started eating, not even sure what I was putting in my mouth.
Now, I contemplated the madeira cakes as if my life depended on the wisdom of this one decision. The only other person in the house who likes madeira is Delphi, and I was no longer sure I could count on her to eat it with me. Could I finish one by myself? Hmm…
Kurapika's voice shot through my thoughts, sounding irritated now. 'Risumi!'
'Over here,' I called back.
A beat later, he was by my side. 'What are you looking so serious for?'
I looked at him. 'Do you think I can eat a whole cake?'
'I would not advise it,' he told me.
Deflated, I sighed.
'I like madeira. We can finish it together,' he said.
I was surprised. I hadn't taken Kurapika for a sweet tooth and that thought must have shown on my face because he then said, 'It's not too sweet. I like it'.
As we hunted down the rest of the shopping list, a loaf of madeira cake now balanced on Kurapika's neatly stacked Tetris-like cart, I felt like some balance had been restored to the universe. As if one person's care could keep you afloat just as another's was slipping away, or had never been there quite as you believed in the first place. But I could not resent Delphi. After all, she was right.
~oOo~
A/N: Leave review, please. I feel like I'm writing into the void. Come on, let me get some serotonin from an email pinging into my inbox.
