I'm back - and so is the normal, shorter chapter length.

Anyway, this takes place all the way back in episode 5 of the first season, right after the scene where Rantaro carries Toko and Nika home! (a scene that warms my heart to this day)

Enjoy!

Dinner

Rantaro knows the way to Valt's house, because it's on the way to his own home, and it just makes sense to walk together after practicing most nights. Therefore, getting there on his own while carrying the twins is a simple feat, and the real problem doesn't surface until he finds himself standing outside the front door.

See, he's seen the outside of Valt's house often enough, and he's waved to Valt's mom in passing – but he's never actually gone inside of Valt's house, or spoken to Valt's mom.

Actually, that isn't even much of a problem, either – no, the real, actual, most pressing issue is the fact that he can't get to the doorbell with two armloads of kid. He's staring the button down and weighing the pros and cons of going for it with his elbow when Nika solves the problem for him.

She squirms awake and rubs at one eye with a fist, before apparently realizing where they are. "I'll get it," she murmurs, voice still a little heavy with sleep.

Rantaro obliges her by leaning forward some until the doorbell is within her reach. Once it's pressed, Nika settles back down and twists a hand into his shirt again.

It takes all of three seconds for Valt's mom to make it to the door, and she opens it with a smile. "Thanks for bringing them home," she says.

"No problem." Rantaro shrugs and accidentally dislodges Tokonatsu with the movement. He bounces to try and hike the boy back up into a more comfortable position, but this threatens to unsettle Nika, so he gives up and stands as still as he can so as not to drop anyone.

Fortunately, that's when Mrs. Aoi intervenes by lifting her younger son off of Rantaro's back and into her own arms. "Come on, let's get these two inside," she says, turning around to lead the way into the house.

Rantaro wraps his newly freed right arm around Nika for extra stability, and then follows. He drags the door shut behind him with his ankle before toeing off his shoes, and doesn't stop to think about using the familiar gestures in an unfamiliar house.

"We'll just put them in the living room," Valt's mother says as she heads out of the entryway and to the left, "they'll probably wake up for dinner."

"If they're anything like Valt, they definitely will." The comment falls out of his mouth before he can stop it – there's something about the atmosphere here that makes Rantaro feel at ease, and he only panics about being impolite for about two seconds before Mrs. Aoi laughs.

"Good point," she says.

The living room is bright and airy, even in the fading golden light of sunset, and there's a giant sectional couch in the middle of the floor on a spring green carpet. Mrs. Aoi deposits Tokonatsu on one half, and so Rantaro gently sets Nika down on the other.

"Well, that's them taken care of for now." Valt's mom puts her hands on her hips, and surveys her sleeping children. She's still smiling, and it's the easy, relaxed kind; it doesn't leave her face when she turns her attention to Rantaro. "Come on, you can wash up in the kitchen. Dinner's almost ready!"

"Huh?" Rantaro blinks, tucks his thumbs into his waistband and swirls his lollipop around as he averts his gaze. "I, um, probably shouldn't stay – "

"Nonsense!" Mrs. Aoi sticks a finger in the air, and the smug grin on her face makes the family resemblance between her and Valt uncanny. "My Valt probably had you training with him all this while – it's the only reason he ever comes back late. I also owe you for bringing Tokonatsu and Nika home. It would be rude to refuse."

Hands pressed to his abdomen now, Rantaro can see where Valt gets his overbearing personality. "Yes ma'am!" he choruses, and straightens his posture on reflex.

"Good." Both hands settle back on Mrs. Aoi's hips again. "It's settled. Come on!" There's an apron tied around her waist, and she wipes her hands on it as she walks.

Rantaro follows slowly, taking one last glance at Tokonatsu and Nika as he goes. The kitchen, he discovers, is just as sunny as the living room – it's warm, and smells like baking bread. There's a stool by the sink, and he doesn't need to use it to reach the faucet, but he smirks with the thought that Valt probably does.

Once his hands are washed, he stands by a little awkwardly as Mrs. Aoi puts the finishing touches on dinner.

"So, you're Boss, right?"

The use of his nickname catches him off-guard, a little, but it still makes him puff out his chest proudly at the acknowledgement. "Yes! Kiyama Rantaro, actually," he introduces, because he's certain that Valt never mentioned him by his actual name at home.

"It's nice to meet you," there's that easy smile again, the kind that leaves Rantaro wondering if this whole family is friendly and well-intentioned at all times. "Valt's told me a lot about you."

He scratches bashfully at the back of his neck. He can only imagine what Valt's had to say about him, and he's not really sure he wants to know. "Ah, well…sorry for leaving him behind at the park," he says, because yeah he did do that, didn't he?

"It's no problem," Mrs. Aoi is the picture of unconcerned as she fills a basket with bread loaves of all kinds, "he'll find his way home eventually. I saw Shu headed that way, he'll take good care of him."

Rantaro can't help but think that he ought to be able to look after Valt, too, by now. That's what friends are for, after all, and now that he finally has them he thinks he should maybe be doing more stuff like that.

Still – he did bring the twins home, and Valt was being unreasonable, anyway.

…It's his first time alone with the parent of one of his friends, he realizes. Looking at him, you might not think he's the sort to care about impressions – but he has enough trouble making friends as it is, and it's important that he doesn't mess this up so early!

But Valt's mom seems to like him. Which is definitely something, because usually adults look at him with a disappointed frown, if anything…it's his outfit, probably, but he likes it too much to change. (Or maybe he can get too loud sometimes. And he doesn't always pay proper attention in class. The lollipops probably don't help his case any either – adults hate candy, for some reason – )

"Anyway, you can have Valt's share of dinner, since he'll probably eat at Shu's."

Rantaro grins at that, because…maybe he doesn't have anything to worry about here after all. He can feel his concern melting away, leaving a warm sort of comfort in its place.

"Could you go see if you can wake Tokonatsu and Nika?" Mrs. Aoi asks as she unties her apron, "I'll have the table set for us by then."

Rantaro does as he's told, and then he sits in Valt's usual seat at the dinner table, but doesn't feel like he's intruding at all.

Over dinner, Nika babbles energetically about how ridiculous Valt is, and Tokonatsu chimes in with how even Boss makes their brother look sensible – which Rantaro announces he'll take as a compliment, much to everyone's amusement.

Halfway through dessert, Mrs. Aoi says, "I'm glad Valt is making so many good friends!" and Rantaro feels a new, comfortable pride blossoming in his chest.

He thinks he's starting to understand what the term 'home away from home' means.

This is another one that I wrote a long time ago (it was one of the first ones, actually) but only just got around to editing and posting. My pacing is all wrong you guys.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to drop a review if you liked it! Or even if you didn't - I love to hear what you guys think. Thanks for all the kind comments so far, too!