Dinner is uneventful after Ema's introduction to the Asahinas. They joke around, elbowing each other and tossing friendly insults, interacting with familial ease and plenty of brotherly teasing.
Most try to make conversation with Ema and draw her out of her shell. Fuuto, of course, is prissy and turns his nose away at the girl who, in his own words, is nothing but an intruder.
"Don't you know that's it's rude to go to someone's house without being invited?"
Ema splutters into her food and begins a storm of apologies. Across the table, still clad in his non-threatening apron, Ukyo eyes Natsume meaningfully.
Reassure her.
Natsume shakes his head imperceptibly. He doesn't know how to deal with children outside of his siblings. Ema might admire him for helping her, but there's a reason he's barely said a word to her since arriving at the Sunshine Residence.
Meanwhile, Tsubaki starts nagging at Fuuto to show good manners for once.
"The more you talk the more I want to exchange you for Ema-chan for good. Wouldn't a cute little sister be so much better than an obnoxious little brat like you?"
Fuuto sticks out his tongue at Tsubaki. Hikaru laughs, which isn't surprising. If there's anything he loves more than sowing chaos himself, it's being privy to watching chaos unfold.
Subaru tosses a balled up napkin at Fuuto with perfect precision.
"Hey!"
"Get over it. I'm glad that Tsubaki finally knocked you down a peg." Subaru grins.
It's the first time Ema has seen him let his self-consciousness go and smile fully in her presence, though he doesn't seem to realize it. It makes her want to smile, too. She quietly embeds Subaru's expression into her mind.
"Thank you for the meal," Louis's quiet voice almost gets lost in the ruckus.
"Oh? You're done already?" Ukyo sounds surprised as Louis collects his plate and goes to put it in the dishwasher.
He's usually a slow and picky eater, preferring to mull thoughtfully over the taste of his food. Sometimes, on days when Louis's airheadedness works against him, he skips meals entirely, though Ukyo's tenacity and Masaomi's concern for his brother's health mean those occasions crop up with greater rarity as the years go by.
Also, Masaomi always manages to sneak a few pieces of candy into the pockets of Louis's cardigans, if only to tide him over until his next proper meal.
Hikaru is unsurprised at his brother's enthusiasm. Ever since he began his first job sweeping up hair and manning the desk at a hair salon, Louis has been dreaming of going to beauty school.
The rest of the family is tired of his fascination with their beauty routines. Now that Ema unknowingly agreed to give Louis a go at her hair, he seems to be looking forward to the challenge.
Louis doesn't have to wait long until Ema finishes her own meal. He whisks her plate out from under her as soon as it's clear, to which she protests heavily and insists on 'carrying her own weight'.
Iori stifles a chuckle. Cute.
No wonder his brothers are so enamored.
Ema follows Louis through the house and into a large bathroom on one of the upper floors.
She sees that he's already dragged a comfortable-looking, black desk hair in front of the sink.
"Louis-san, are you sure? You don't have do do all of this for me."
"Trust me, Ema-chan, I want to."
She settles into the chair and Louis works his fingers through the short strands of her uneven hair. The lather from the shampoo smells pleasantly minty and Ema closes her eyes as Louis kneads his hands through her hair.
Ema hasn't been pampered in a while. in fact, she can't even remember the last time she got a haircut prior to today's.
It's...nice. She was nervous at Louis's enthusiasm, but under his careful ministrations, she gives in, closes her eyes, and relaxes. The bathroom smells like mint and something sweet, like vanilla. Ema takes a deep breath and shifts.
"How are you holding up?" Louis asks.
"This is really nice, Louis-san. And you're being very gentle too."
"Thank you.," Louis hesitates. "But that's not what I was talking about. Fuuto was rude to you earlier today during dinner. He's usually like that, so don't take it personally. I know he'll come around."
"It wasn't a problem, really. I'm used to it."
Louis frowns, unseen by Ema.
"But what do you mean by 'he'll come around'?"
"Fuuto gets jealous easily over other people taking away our attention but you're too sweet for him to hate you for long, Ema-chan. And you'll have plenty of time to change his mind in the future."
Ema jerks her head up and Louis immediately releases his hold on her hair. The silky strands glide through his fingers and her mourns losing the feeling of holding them in his hands.
"Oh, no. I just wandered in by accident. I shouldn't even be here! I can't impose on you all like that!"
"Why? I want you around Ema-chan. You're nice and you let me play with your hair. My brothers almost never trust me enough to let me get near theirs anymore."
Louis recalls one particular incident with a hairdryer and an impatient Yusuke and tries to contain a wince.
He directs Ema to lay back down, but she's wound up tightly, like a bowstring. Louis takes his time conditioning her hair in the hopes that she'll relax.
Once her hair is sufficiently conditioned, Louis wheels her chair around so she faces the mirror. He dries her sopping wet hair as Ema squints at herself in the bathroom mirror. Louis stands over her and gently brushes out her hair.
He picks up a pair of small, professional-looking scissors and Ema snaps her eyes shut again. She lets the snip snip lull her into a momentary sleep.
She trusts Louis. Even after knowing him for less than a day.
That could change. Think about what he just offered you, indirectly, a voice in Ema's head says. A family. A home, not just an apartment or a hotel room.
Ema grips the arm rests of the desk-chair tightly and doesn't say anything else.
tbh 1 of my fave parts of brocon is how they all tease each other and dick around mercilessly but i get so stressed at writing that part :(
hope i did ok!