Dinner at the Asahina household seems to be a tumultuous affair.
Ema hadn't realized how hungry she was until she followed Ukyo until the dining area. She turns a now familiar corner, I think I'm getting the hang of this layout, she thinks, and silently marvels at the size of the apartment residence. Then again, she's seen the many family photos plastered over the walls. With so many people living there at a time, of course they're going to need a lot of room.
The din of voices intrudes on Ema's thoughts and she slows down, allowing Azusa and Tsubaki to pass her by and enter behind Ukyo. She glances helplessly at Subaru.
"Why aren't you coming in?"
"Uh," Ema stutters.
"Don't be nervous. Everyone in there is family." Subaru says, matter of factly.
Ema can feel herself reeling a little at his words.
"Everyone already likes you, so they will too." Subaru continues, and Ema wants to groan in embarrassment.
His family, not yours. She reminds herself. Don't get your hopes up.
She enters the room and catches sight of Tsubaki who is chatting with a foreign looking, blonde teenager sitting at the heavy oak of the dining table. It is ornamental, but functional considering all of the sticky toddlers it has serviced in the past.
Azusa, in the process of getting distracted by his twin's chatter, notices the lost look on Ema's face as she enters the dining room's cavernous depths. She seems unsure, a feeling further cemented by the spikes of hastily clipped hair that bob with her whirling head, and her wide, owlish eyes.
Azusa waves her over and Ema gratefully acquiesces. Meanwhile, his eyes track the brothers sitting next to him. He's pretty sure he's witnessing several fall in love in real time with the precious little girl that had wandered into their home just earlier today. Their eyes curiously follow Ema's figure. Yusuke is red-faced, blushing over something.
To Azusa's left sits Natsume, completing the set of triplets. The older, orange-haired teen had warned them about the condition in which he found Ema, including what had driven him to walk her to the Sunshine Residence. He's since changed out of his jogging clothes and into a comfortable looking pair of pants with a long sleeved, olive shirt that contrasts with the orange tint of his hair.
When Tsubaki saw him, he had said Natsume looked a little like a carrot and Natsume had rolled his eyes.
"You don't have much of a sense of fashion either." He had nodded his chin at Tsubaki's bright pink sweater.
Now, Natsume is looking at Ema like she's a delicate figurine. Meanwhile, Azusa ignores Tsubaki's blatant fangirling and takes on the responsibility of introducing her to everyone at the table. Neither Masaomi nor Kaname could make it, though the majority of the family is still present.
Azusa takes initiative.
"You've already met most of us, except for Iori," Here, he gestures with his fork toward a silver-haired boy a few years older than Ema. He looks a little like a story book prince. "And that's Yusuke, he's your age."
The red-headed boy avoids looking at Ema. His face is fire-hydrant red and Ema is strongly reminded of Subaru.
"This is Natsume." Azusa nods toward the person sitting next to him.
Ema looks at the orange-haired teenager gratefully. Natsume looks back awkwardly, ignoring the anxious beginnings of hero worship in her eyes. Azusa half expects him to nod quietly and ignore her for the rest of the meal, but Natsume manages to surprise him.
"You look much better now." Ema grows pink at the comment and looks down at the table in embarrassment.
"Thank you." Her hands twist a few strands of hair self-consciously.
She spoons some food onto her plate - Ukyo and she really outdid themselves - and chews silently. Hikaru, who was introduced previously, looks on in amusement at a blushing Yusuke. His eyes have a knowing tilt to them.
Louis, who had been making sad, calf eyes at Ema's hair throughout his dinner, pipes in.
"You're so pretty Ema-chan. You should let me do your hair."
Ema looks at Louis in wide-eyed surprise. Azusa had also introduced him earlier as he was going through the line of Asahinas at the table.
"I'd like that a lot, if it's not too much trouble. Thank you, Louis-san." Louis' ensuing smile lights up his face.
Between fending off Tsubaki's glomps and watching Hikaru tease Yusuke, Azusa sees Ema try and cover up her own shy, little smile. He wishes she wouldn't. He's sure it would be radiant.
unrelated, but wataru is with miwa because he's a teeny toddler
this was like pulling teeth