Mr. Kuwabara could be a stern person when he wanted to be. But Kuwabara had never seen him be stern for quite so long. He didn't crack a smile even once throughout the whole meal.
For his part, Shiro didn't seem at all bothered by Mr. Kuwabara's glower. He kept up a fairly steady stream of relaxed chatter, grinning affably the whole time. Kuwabara found he had to respect Shiro, if only a little, for being able to keep his cool like that.
After dinner Shizuru walked Shiro out, and when she returned she glared at her dad. "Would it have killed you to be nice to him?"
Mr. Kuwabara sipped his after dinner tea. "Probably."
Shizuru rolled her eyes and stomped away to her room.
"You know, Kazuma," Mr. Kuwabara said when she was gone, "I think I kind of like that boy."
Well, as long as Mr. Kuwabara said if first… "I do too," Kuwabara told him.
Mr. Kuwabara ruffled his hair. "But we don't have to let him know that yet, do we?"
Kuwabara grinned. "Nope."
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