"Mom!" he set Hanako down and toed off his shoes. "We're home!"

"Welcome back!" a woman's cheerful voice rang out from somewhere within the house. I stood awkwardly in the foyer, clutching my school bag in both my hands. Hanako tumbled her way into little soft pink slippers and dashed inside.

"We have a guest!" she trumpeted.

Taro set his and his sister's shoes neatly to the side of the entranceway and then stepped into his own pale blue house slippers. He followed after her. Adell was rummaging through a small cupboard on one side of the doorway. He pulled out two pairs of plain white slippers and held one out to me.

"Come on in," he said, laying out the other pair on the floor and then walking inside. I laid my bag against the wall, removed my shoes and set them neatly in front of it, put on the slippers and hurried after him. He waved at me from a doorway and ducked inside. I entered what turned out to be the kitchen, and saw a petite woman with short blue hair and a long white apron turn from the cupboards with an energetic twirl.

"I love guests!" she skipped over to me, beaming. "Welcome!"

"Thank you very much for having me," I bowed low to her.

"Oh, psh! He's so polite! It's cute," she reached up and patted my head affectionately. "No need to be so formal, dear! You can just call me Mom, okay?"

"Ah, okay…" I glanced over at Adell. He was leaning back on the rear legs of a chair, his arms tucked behind his head. He shrugged. "Thank you, Mom," I smiled at her.

"Oh, Adell-honey, he is too cute!" she twirled away from me and over to her oldest son, gently placing a hand on the back of his chair and nudging it back down in a way that said that this was a commonplace thing. He laid the front legs back onto the ground without protest.

"Would you like some onigiri, Almaz-san?" Hanako spoke up from my left. I looked over to see her standing on a stepstool, spooning warm white rice out of a little cooker. She had a few bottles laid out on the counter beside her, but I couldn't read the labels.

"If it's not a problem," I answered her, giving her a little smile. She shook her head rapidly and nearly fell off the stool, righted herself, and hurriedly scooped out some more rice. Taro, who was sitting opposite his brother and drinking a tall glass of milk, snorted into his cup. Hanako glared evil beams of death at him.

"Sit down," Adell gestured lazily to one of the empty chairs around the kitchen table and I did so, taking the seat to his left. I kept my hands in my lap and stared at the tabletop. This day just kept getting more and more surreal. Here I was, at Adell's house, sitting in his kitchen right next to him. My whole body tingled. I had butterflies stirring crazily in my stomach, which was also tied into a million knots. Without looking up, I could feel someone's eyes on me… And I was pretty sure they were his. My body tingled, and trembled slightly.

A slight touch on my arm brought me out of my racing thoughts with a start. Hanako stood beside me, holding out a small tray with three large rice-balls placed neatly on top of it. She looked nervous.

"I…didn't know what you liked in your onigiri, so…" she fidgeted, "I, um, made some different ones. This one has umeboshi," she pointed at the leftmost one. "This one has tarako—" The middle one. "—and this one is katsuobushi," and then the right-most one. Like a flash, Adell (who had been leaning backward again) snatched his hand out and plucked up the middle one, then popped it into his mouth whole. I stared. "A-Adell-nii-chan!!" she cried, looking helplessly infuriated. "Those were for Almaz-san! I made them just for him!"

"S'good, Hanako," he mumbled through a mouthful of rice, then swallowed hugely and licked his lips, catching a stray grain of rice from the corner. I watched the way his tongue darted and felt my cheeks get incredibly hot. To distract myself, I forced myself to focus on Hanako: she looked as if she were about to cry. I placed my hands softly on top of hers.

"It's alright," I smiled. "I'm sure they're all just as delicious as that one. May I try these instead?"

She ducked her head and nodded, holding them out. I took the tray from her and patted her head gently.

"Thank you," I said. She nodded and walked back around the table to her mother's side. "Itaidakimasu," I picked one up and began to eat.

The front door practically exploded open. I nearly dropped the rice-ball into my lap. Adell almost fell over, as he was leaning backwards again. Mom, Taro, and Hanako all jumped. Rozalin came stomping into the room. Her eyes landed on me.

"Hii!" I cringed.

"Rozalin, do you have to make so much noise?" Adell sighed.

"Welcome home, Rozalin!" Mom chirped, coming around the table to greet the girl.

"Ah! Rozalin-san!" Taro nearly knocked over his chair in his scramble to get to his feet. His drained milk glass skidded across the tabletop and almost fell. He grabbed at it, his ears tinged pink with embarrassment. "W-Welcome home," he stammered.

"What is he doing here?" Rozalin pointed at me.

"I invited him," Adell shrugged.

"You couldn't walk me home but you could invite him over!?" she cried.

"I-I'm sorry if I'm intruding, Rozalin-san," I stood, bowing to her. "It was a coincidence—"

"YOU!!" she glared hard at me. "I didn't give you permission to call me by my first name!"

"I'm sorry!" I bowed hurriedly.

"C'mon, Rozy! Don't give him a hard time!" Hanako came up beside me. "He's really nice!"

"I don't care!" she flipped her brilliant blond hair, pouting fully. "It's not fair that I have to walk home by myself when Adell and I live in the same house!"

"The house isn't that far from the school, you know," he got up and began to walk out of the kitchen. "Mom, I'm going upstairs." He glanced back at me. "Come on, Sempai."

"Huh?!" my skin began to tingle warmly. I felt the blush coming hard. "I, uh…"

"Alright, honey!" Mom called cheerfully, as if she couldn't sense either the hostility or the nervousness stirring in her kitchen. "Would you like me to bring up some snacks later?"

"Yeah," he nodded and reached over, grabbing my wrist with his hand. His touch seared me. I swallowed back a yelp of surprise. "Come on." He dragged me out of the kitchen and to a set of stairs.

"ADELL!!" Rozalin followed. "I'm not done with you!"

"Ugh," he grimaced and dragged me up the stairs. The heat of his palm against my wrist was flooding me. I was terrified, thinking he could feel my pulse thudding in his hand. When we reached the second floor landing he pulled me over to one of four doors and pushed it open, revealing a boy's room. He led me inside, released me, and then tossed the door closed behind us. I was frozen, like a deer caught in headlights, as I looked around: it was cluttered, but not truly messy; a bunk bed was pushed up against one wall; the other three were plastered with small white squares that, on closer inspection, were penciled drawings of a multitude of things. Some were decidedly childlike, but most were those of a skilled artist's hand. Adell bent and scooped up an open sketchbook, snapped it closed with a flick of his wrist, and put it on a small desk beneath the window, covered with more stray papers and scattered mechanical pencils.

"Here," he said, and put something in my hand.

"What?" I looked down at it. It was one of Hanako's rice-balls.

"That one's umeboshi," he wrinkled his nose. "Hanako's are really sour. I don't like them myself." And with that, he began consuming the last one. I hesitated, watching him eat again. He bit off smaller pieces this time, chewing thoughtfully as he looked off to one side. I watched the muscles of his jaw working, the taunt line of his neck that was exposed to my eyes, his Adam's apple moving up and down as he swallowed. I felt sluggish and dumb, just standing there staring. Shaking myself out of it, I lifted the rice-ball to my lips and nibbled on it. It was delicious.

"Hanako made these herself?" I asked, lifting my eyebrows in surprise. "They're very good."

"She loves to cook," he nodded, throwing himself down onto the lower bunk and lying on his back, still eating. I had a hard time swallowing my next bite, but I did. Then I ate some more.

"Ack!" I nearly dropped it. My eyes began to water from the shock of tasting the umeboshi. "It's really sour!"

"Told you," he laughed, finishing his with a satisfied smile.

And while I tried to swallow the next bite of sour plum and salty rice, I vaguely realized that he had laughed again. At something I had said. I made him laugh. Could I…do it again?

I ate it all and grinned at him, still feeling the sour bite on my tongue. "I bet you she tricks you into eating them," I said.

"All the time," he chuckled with another shake of his head. "I'm just glad you came over, so I wouldn't have to get surprised today."

My heart thudded in my chest. I'd made him laugh again. He was glad I was here. These things filled me until my head began to spin fuzzily. Something moved in the room, but I couldn't see what it was; I was too focused on those feelings that were swelling inside me. He's laughing. He's happy I'm here.

"Yo! Earth to Sempai!"

He was suddenly right there. His face was inches from mine, his red eyes watching my expression. I let out a yelp and stumbled backward. I slipped on something.

"Ah—!"

"Shit!" he lunged forward and grabbed my arm. I hit the wall anyway. Stars jumped out and danced in front of my eyes. Another thud and he was over me, one of his forearms lifted to the wall so as not to hit it as well. He looked down at me with a frown. "Are you okay?"

"I… I…!" My head spun and my face burned. I struggled to find something coherent to say. "I… Sorry!"

"Are you okay?" he repeated, moving himself backward so he sat back on his haunches, still directly in front of me. His head tilted to one side as his eyes looked me over questioningly.

"I'm… fine!" I gave out a shaky laugh, using the wall to push myself up into a sitting position as well. "Just… you surprised me!"

"You hit your head," he stated.

"Ah, well, yes, I did…"

"Let me see it."

"What?"

He leaned close again, his hand moving quickly once more and clasping the back of my neck, bending me forward. I froze as he inspected the back of my head, his warm hand cradling my neck gently. I could feel his fingers twitching slightly, or was that my nerves making my skin jump beneath his fingertips? His breath was hot and it rolled across my neck, making me shiver. I pressed my lips together and tried not to whimper aloud. When I breathed in, I could smell his scent: a mix of spices and fragrant smoke, like from a wood fire. The moment seemed endless, but it was probably only a couple of maddening heartbeats long.

"You seem fine," his grip relaxed and I could sit up again. His face was close.

"Hii!" I jumped slightly.

"Are you nervous?" he frowned at me.

"Wha—? No!" I stammered. "No, no! I'm just, it kind of surprised me, that's all! Ahahaha…!" I forced myself to laugh. It sounded so fake that I just cringed and dropped it. I rubbed the back of my head nervously and my fingers bumped something…

His hand was still there on the back of my head.

Another shiver raced up my body and I snatched my hand away. Then I winced. Good job, Captain Obvious, I groaned to myself. He watched me with unclear eyes, his frown deepening so that a small worry line drew itself down the center of his forehead.

"You are nervous," he said. I didn't argue this time, I just nodded. "Why?" he asked me.

"Because…" I said through a suddenly dry throat. Because I like you. I couldn't say that! I was a guy, he was a guy, and he'd think I was weird or worse, a pervert. Then he'd never look at me or greet me or smile at me ever again. I couldn't bear the thought of it. I clenched a hand over my heart instead and looked away pointedly. "I'm…making an idiot of myself. And you've been really kind to invite me to your house like this. I'm sorry I'm acting so strange."

He looked as if he didn't believe me. But he took it: "It's fine." However, he didn't move away from me. I glanced back at him; his face had turned thoughtful. Then, as if deciding something, it firmed out determinedly and he leaned forward again, placing his hands against the wall on either side of me. His face turned down to mine. I turned mine up to look into his eyes. He was…so close. It was so nerve-wracking, but I also couldn't help but stare at it all again: his slanted red eyes, his long twin scars on either cheek, his slightly parted lips… Wait. What?

Adell lowered his head toward mine. More specifically, he lowered his mouth towards mine.

There was a knock at the door.

I flailed, he jumped, his chin connected with my head, and we fell away from each other with similar cries of surprise and pain. His mother opened the door and looked at us: Adell rubbed his chin and looked despondent, while I clasped both hands on my head and tried to stop my heart from exploding inside my chest. Just…what had been happening there?!

"Are you two okay?" she set the tray on the dresser by the door and hurried over, kneeling between us. "Did you guys both try and get up at the same time?" We nodded simultaneously. She smiled sympathetically and extended a hand to me first. I took it and we both stood. Adell got to his feet beside me, his hand still rubbing his chin. Mom went back to the tray and carried it all the way into the room, holding it out to us with another bright smile. "Rozalin and I baked the cookies, and Hanako made the tea. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?"

Adell wrinkled his nose and took the tray. "Okay, Mom. Thanks," he nodded.

"Have fun, you two!" she waved and went out, closing the door behind her. We both looked at the tray in Adell's hands for a quiet moment.

"I hope she didn't poison the cookies, or something," I mumbled, thinking of Rozalin's icy glare of death when I said this. Adell blinked, then tossed back his head and laughed. After a moment, I smiled and laughed too.