POV Takao

"The neighborhood is certainly an improvement," Shin-chan said as we got off at the bus station Yukina has told me was closest to their new apartment.

"I don't think there is a worse neighborhood than the old one," I smirked. "But damn, if you wanted cheap sex with diseased prostitutes, it was like…a paradise."

The directions she emailed ahead to me were surprisingly clear and it was a short, pleasant walk.

"No stairs," I pouted, "I'm so jealous."

"Why? There are no stairs at our home?"

"It's the principal of the thing."

Yukina was at the window and as soon as she saw us, she bounced up and down and called to someone inside the apartment. She disappeared and when the door opened she rushed out, throwing herself into my arms.

"I've missed you," she squealed, kissing my check and then she spotted Shin-chan right behind me. She used my body as a ladder, climbing hand over hand, kicking me in the stomach as she threw her arms around his neck. Shin-chan sputtered, completely caught off guard, making me the middle of an uncomfortable sandwich. When she finally dropped off us, she grabbed Shin-chan's right hand and tugged him toward the door. My mother was standing in the doorway wearing an old robe and holding an unlit cigarette in her hand.

"I'm home," I said, knowing my smile was just as fake hers.

"Excuse the intrusion," Shin-chan said.

"You've got to do my nails," Yukina squeaked as she dragged him inside.

"Give it a break, Yukina, we only just got here," I said.

"No, now, before we run out of time!" she insisted.

"If you have your own nail care products, I will show you how to do them yourself. I am no manicurist…" Their voices disappeared down the hall.

"Wow, she's excited," I said when I was alone with my mother.

"What's he doing here?" she demanded, clicking her lighter opened and closed in a nervous tick.

"Yukina said she wanted both of us to come and work with her basketball club as her birthday present." I put my bag down by the table. The whole front room was one large space that contained living room and kitchen, just like our old apartment, but it was twice as large.

"You should have mentioned that to me," she complained.

"Yukina said –" My eyes cataloged the flat screen television on the wall.

"Yukina is a child, she will neglect details in order to get her way. You were going to have to sleep on the couch as it is, where the hell am I going to put that giant?"

"I'll sleep on the floor," I offered. Underfoot was a lush carpet that even in my socks felt like it was expensive. "Or I could sleep in that leather recliner."

"And food? Didn't I tell you that I still haven't found a job? And now I have to feed that freak of nature?"

"Stop it, Mom, we'll pay for our own food. Besides he doesn't eat as much as I do and we'll mostly be at Yukina's school. We won't be in the way. I promise."

"You're damn right you'll pay for your food, especially since you cleaned out the bank account without telling me," she sneered.

"I needed a bank closer to where I live now. It only made sense."

"You know your Aunt and Uncle are letting me stay here for free, right? I can't impose on their hospitality forever and having all these visitors will test the limits."

"I'm going to go check on Yukina and Shin-chan," I said and walked away from her.

There were two bedrooms on either side of a sumptuous bathroom. I averted my eyes from my mother's bedroom and instead went straight into the door with the happy birthday sign above it. Shin-chan was perched on the bed, his jacket discarded and his sleeves rolled up. In between his legs, my sister braced her back to his chest. Over her shoulder, he worked his magic on her nails with a file. This room was three times that of our last bedroom and she had no roommate.

"Metal nail files are inferior to glass; I suggest you purchase one if you are serious about maintain your nail health," he lectured. Yukina looked up as I came in, her mouth curved into a wicked grin.

"You steal my boyfriend and I'll murder you," I warned.

"Shin-chan's mine," she mugged, sticking out her tongue.

"I believe I have some say in this," he tutted.

"No, you don't," we both said.

Shin-chan treated the four of us to sushi when it became clear that my mother wasn't interested in feeding anyone. It was a tense sort of meal, at least for me, as my mother put on a fake smile and fawned over us, as if she suddenly cared. Shin-chan was distracted by Yukina's non-stop narrative about her basketball club and I was thankful that I don't have to hold up my end of the conversation. In the end, our sushi eaten, we went back to the apartment. Yukina was the first to fall asleep and I carried her to bed, before taking off her socks and tucking her in. My mother's door was closed when I returned to the living room. Shin-chan was staring at the pillow and blanket in his hands.

"I wasn't expected, was I?"

"Blame Yukina. Apparently she didn't bother mentioning she invited you as well."

"I believe demanded would be the better verb."

"You know what bossy little sisters are like," I dismissed.

"Should I go home? Or find a hotel? I don't want to inconvenience your family."

"If this is an inconvenience, what is living with your family?"

"Medicinal," he said, with no hint of joking. "Or maybe it would be better described as therapeutic."

"For me?"

"No," he pushed his glasses up, "for me."

"You take the couch," I said and went into the bathroom to change.

As I stripped out of my traveling clothing, I peeked inside the shower. Expensive bottles of shampoo and other bath products mocked me. The medicine cabinet, likewise held nail polish and perfumes that were not the ordinary drug store brands. When I got tired of feeling suspicious of her knew found money, I returned to the living room. Shin-chan was stretched out on the couch, his knees bent, and his feet sticking out between the cushions and the metal-framed arm. His glasses were neatly folded and placed a few inches under the couch where someone would have to intentionally try to break them. He'd already changed out of his pants in shorts. I flipped the light switch off and used the light that leaked in the window to cross the room. As I walked by him, he reached out blindly and caught my hand.

"There is enough room," he said and pulled on me. I didn't want to sleep on the floor or in the chair, I wanted to snuggle with him and forget how much I hated being here. When I remained still, but did not fight him, he used his superior weight to haul me down. I found that if I put my back to his chest and my head just below his chin, I could bend my knees at the same place he did. His right arm came under my head like a pillow and his left arm locked around my chest.

"Rest well, Shin-chan," I whispered.

"How can I not while next to you?"