"Keep your shoes off the mat," she said forcefully. I turned to her and saw her frowning face. With a sigh, I did as told. We were about to enter a bear's home, couldn't she be gentler with me?

My heart was pounding ridiculously fast and my hands were sweating buckets. Beyond this door were her parents - the bears - and I was Goldilocks.

Since that day, we've managed to successfully decline all invitations to her family dinner. Alas, we knew we couldn't avoid the inevitable and decided to finally get on with it last week. Having dinner with the bears would be one more item out of my long list of things I don't want to do but have to.

Her hands were shaking as she reached for the doorbell.

"Why are your hands shaking?" I asked.

I know I'm a lost cause but was I really that bad?

"I'm just nervous," she said softly. "Good luck to us, I guess."

With that, she pressed the button and my desire to self-combust reached its climax.

Sadly, I did not combust.

The door was opened by her mother, poised and elegantly dressed in her traditional attire. I gulped a quarter of my fear away.

"Good evening, Mom." she said. I saw her clutch the sash of her handbag tighter.

I bowed half-heartedly. "Good evening."

"Yes yes, hello to the both of you," she welcomed us with a thin smile. "Come in."

She led us to the living room with haste.

"Yukino's father will be coming soon," she said. "I hope you don't mind waiting a little longer."

I sat beside Yukinoshita on the black leather sofa, subtly glancing around as I did so. It was a modest house, minimally decorated yet seemed so full of intricate details. It was clear that whoever designed the house knew exactly what they wanted. Eyeing the view outside the window, I noticed it was already dusk.

Yukinoshita's mother sat opposite of us and immediately turned her attention to me. Starting off painfully right off the bat, huh?

"Say, Hikigaya-kun," she called out. "Why was it so difficult to get you to come here?"

She asked me that with a cunning smile that challenged my ability to reason.

I gulped before laughing dryly. "Well, you see, the life of a high school student comes with its fair share of commitments..."

Yukinoshita coughed beside me. "He just didn't want to come, Mother."

I glared at her silently. She gave me a side-glance and slyly smiled. Was she on my side or not?

Damn you.

"I expected as such," she replied, nodding her head. "Well then, since we finally have Hikigaya-kun here, it's a time for celebration, no?"

The only thing to celebrate about today is how my heart is still pumping.

"I'll go check on the food," she said, standing up and walking away. "Give me a moment."

When she was long gone out of sight, I turned to Yukinoshita.

"What was that for?" I complained with a hushed voice.

She gave me a deathly cold stare.

"After what happened, I don't think lying to them would make a difference anymore," she explained. "Don't worry, Hikigaya-kun, believe it or not, I have your back."

She smiled at me benignly. That face was not fair at all.

She's the reason I have trust issues but I have to say, hearing her say that reassured my poor heart.

"Is your sister coming?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nee-san has some business to attend to at her university."

"That's good, that's good…" I mumbled.

Having her here would be dangerous for me. Who knows what she would start to blabber about to them? She knows far too much about my idiocy after all.

I turned to the bookshelf across the room. It was lined with books ranging from manifestos to modern classic literature. Most of the books that Yukinoshita read in the clubroom were on that bookshelf.

Beside the bookshelf was a rectangular glass box casing. It was around my height and it displayed rare wines and champagnes. Huh, I wouldn't have thought that her parents would be fond of alcohol. Well, her mother didn't seem like the type to drink given her repressive personality so the alcohol collection likely belonged to the father.

The simple thought of Yukinoshita's father made the hair on my neck stand on its end so I sighed.

"Is there anything I should know before your father comes?" I asked.

Yukinoshita hung her head down in deep thought.

"He's similar to you in a way I don't think I can explain," she replied.

"Is he nice at the very least?"

"Nicer than my mother."

I heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear."

"He's quite blunt and straightforward so you may have to take note of that," she added quickly.

Before I could say anything further, the front door swung open swiftly.

"SORRY I'M LATE!" a deep, husky voice yelled.

Yukinoshita's mother appeared beside me.

"Dear, please lower your voice down." she said exasperatedly. "We have visitors."

The father looked nice as Yukinoshita said. Unlike his wife, his aura was warm. I was beginning to like the man at that moment.

He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that," he said, showing an unnerving smile.

Huh, even after probably 20 years of marriage, he still feels the same tension with his wife. I was starting to see why Yukinoshita said I was similar to him.

He turned to Yukinoshita and I and his smile faded faster than I could prepare myself for.

The feeling of his aura went from warm, fuzzy sunshine to the cold depths of the Mariana trench. It was devoid of emotion and filled with danger and the unknown.

I steeled myself for whatever that was going to happen next by sitting up straight. Yukinoshita did so too.

He pointed at me.

"Yukino and.. her boyfriend?" he asked cluelessly.

"Ah…" my voice trailed off. I shot a look at Yukinoshita but even she was flustered.

Damn it.

He coughed dryly. "Nevermind that," he said, sensing the awkward atmosphere."What's your name, boy?"

"Hikigaya Hachiman, sir."

"I'll call you Hikigaya-kun from now on then."

I nodded silently.

He smiled slightly as he removed his blazer and hung it on the coat hanger.

"Isn't Haruno coming?" he called out to his wife.

Seeing that she shook her head, he sighed lightly.

"Well then," he continued with a tone of finality. "Let's have dinner then."

/

Hello, EJ here. I haven't written a fanfic in a long while but here I am. I just want to say that future updates will not come anytime soon, hehe. Maybe an update every two months or so, I guess. Well, I'm working on the second chapter now so that's that. I hope you enjoyed this short first chapter though. The next one will be slightly longer, I promise. Thanks for reading :)