It's dark by the time she gets back from her run, the sky a midnight blue just a few shades away from black.
The wind bites at her flushed, sweaty skin, burns its way to her core till chills overcome her entire body. Like a puppet who's had her strings cut, Hanako drops so her hands support her upper-body weight onto shaking knees, out of breath.
Her heartbeat is too loud in her ears, the artificial lights too bright.
She struggles to straighten up when a shadow appears in the corner of her vision, whipping around to see who would be coming back to the residence at this hour, whether that be one of Miwa's sons or the associates she rents out the two first floors to.
Whatever tension had gathered in her shoulders dissipated when she gets a good look at the person, "Oh, Yuusuke, hey."
"Hey," the boy grunts, schoolbag in hand - from a late-night study session if she had to guess, college entrance exams were coming up next winter, and Yuusuke Ema and Iori had already started to prepare for them like dedicated little soldiers, even when only the latter would be applying for university this year.
Such are the joys of high school.
"There's some leftover stew if you want some," she says, following after the boy into Sunrise residence, trying to silence her heavy, uneven breathing, "How did your tutoring session go?"
The red-haired boy hesitates slightly, holding the door for her, "Good I guess... thanks for the food," he and Subaru both have a habit of letting her lead the conversation whenever she tries and speak to them, although Subaru has been surprisingly more open lately, if still as hesitant.
Whatever, she'll take what she can get.
"You're very welcome," she gulps down the rest of the water bottle she had brought with her, the liquid running down he parched throat with the gentleness of sandpaper, "Ema told me she's been helping you with history, how is that going?"
"She's a great teacher, I just hate having so much to memorize, I mean, what's the point of learning all about some dudes from the feudal era," the boy's face scrunches up, remembering his last, less-than-stellar grade in the subject.
"Think of it as general culture," she laughs a bit, "It's not much of use in everyday, daily life, but it makes you look smart at family dinners with distant family," not that she knows much about such things, never having met any grandparents or aunts of hers, "There's a few good historic documentaries my senior year teacher recommended back then, you and Ema could watch them together as a way to study."
The boy's face flushes bright red at the idea of watching a movie with Ema, alone.
She thinks she might have found a way to motivate the boy, Hanako muses quietly, although she's not sure how she's supposed to feel about such a strong reaction at the mere mention of her sister's name.
Yuusuke's crush on her sister is easy to spot.
Or well it should be - he barely even tries to hide it, yet Hanako can admit it took more time than she'd like to actually see and comprehend that Yuusuke liked Ema, in a more than brotherly way.
Once she caught on though, it was impossible to not second-guess his every move.
How he would always blush when around his step-sister, how Ema's opinion of him mattered above anyone else's, the way he'd jump at the occasion to play video games with her. How his eyes always drift to her whenever he thinks no one's looking, she's not sure whether or not he's aware of this.
Hanako is aware, so are most of his brothers.
Tsubaki's endless, so obvious only Ema could not notice, teasing only confirmed what she already knew. It hit her sometime last week she believes, in the way most things do - too casual to be easily seen, yet too out of place for her to be obtuse.
The two of them had been huddled over Ema's English textbook when Hanako came in from school, the youngest Hinata highlighting what she believed to be most important parts of the material while Yuuusuke just stared, mapping the lines of her face.
Truthfully, she doesn't know how to feel about the whole thing.
Were it any other person in this house, Hanako would have been firmly against anything of the sort. However, she likes Yuusuke - Yuusuke who is her sister's age and kind and considerate.
They were classmates before they were siblings, she knows this, maybe things would have been easier for the poor boy had things stayed that way. She also knows that Ema wants a family, wants brothers, and not a boyfriend or a string of heartfelt romance or anything like that.
Really, there never was any dilemma in Hanako's mind, she only wishes there could be.
She likes Yuusuke, sure, but not nearly enough to even consider prioritizing his feelings at the expense of her baby sister's happiness and peace of mind.
Never.
"Ne, Yuusuke," the boy sends her a glance from over his shoulder, wondering if he's reading too much into things when he thinks that the smile he is offered is a bit placid, a bit cold, "Ema's my precious sister, so please continue to take care of her at school like you're doing right now, as her brother."
As her brother, from a distance, as long as that is what Ema wants.
Warm water runs down her body, washing away any remnants of her worries.
The fifth-floor bathroom is of a similar style as the one she uses regularly on the fourth floor - the one currently being repaired, something about a leaking pipe. Only the inside walls of the shower are different - a colorful mosaic of white, blue, and green ceramic pieces, instead of the ivory ones from the fourth floor.
She's in no hurry, rubbing some exfoliant along the surface of her skin almost languidly. There's nothing like a good shower to calm her fraying nerves, maybe it has something to do with the almost scorching temperature of the water she favors or the citrusy smell from her shower gel and body lotion.
Once her hair is all washed and detangled, she almost reluctantly crawls out of the shower's safe haven, finishing her self-care routine in a steam-filled room.
Taking a shower sometime past nine meant that taking her sweet time like this bothers no one, and maybe that's part of the reason why she's so surprised when she slips out, only to ram into something solid and, strangely enough, warm.
She squeals, eyes going wide as her hands push harshly at the offending element.
"He-hey watch out!" despite the force at which she had pushed what turns out to be a person, she does not succeed in making the brick-like surface move, only throwing herself away. She trips at the sudden movement, almost crashing into the half-opened door behind her and only being saved when she's firmly tugged back into what she had fiercely tried to get away from.
…which happens to be Subaru's very naked chest.
Hanako blinks, slowly coming to a rather mortifying conclusion, "I-I'm sorry, you scared me, I'm sorry!" sweet heavens is that boy fit.
His hands, which had instinctively gripped onto her forearms to pull her back flush against him, are made of too-long fingers and callouses from his favorite sport. Hanako quietly muses that there must not be even a hint of fat beneath all those lean muscles, chiding herself for the juvenile, unbecoming thought.
"It's fine," she doesn't notice just how intensely Subaru is looking at her. Not shy nor hesitant, he looks at her, charting the soft angles of her bone structure, of a swan-like neck that sinks into the collar of a thin sweatshirt.
It's the brush of warm breath on her face that snaps her out of her shock-induced daze, and she steps away - gently this time - from Subaru.
"Thanks for the save," she keeps her eyes firmly on his face, refusing to even glance down the naked chest and boxer briefs she knows lay below, "I hope you didn't wait too long, I didn't think anyone else would need the shower at this hour."
Casual, she needs to think casual - this is normal, not embarrassing at all.
No amount of rationalization would ever be enough to stop the pink blush resting upon her face, creeping down her neck. "It's fine, I just got here," Subaru rubs the back of his neck, unsure of why the girl is firmly looking at something above his head.
It's then that he realizes what he's wearing, or rather what he is not - namely a shirt.
"Crap, my bad!" the boy bypasses her to sink into the bathroom where he is out of view and Hanako lets herself fall against the wall closest to the door, her gaze firmly on the opposite wall, on one of the rare pictures hung up with Miwa and some of her sons.
"It's fine, don't worry about it," and she means it, it's not like she could complain as she herself had a habit of prancing around in the residence in rather light sleeping clothes on the weekend when the temperature allowed it, "Really, I don't mind."
This was his house before it was hers, and she'd hate for him to be forced to change the way he acts around the house because of her or Ema.
When she receives no answer, the young woman does not hold it against him, "Good night Subaru."
It's almost an hour later that she allows herself to think of the incident, in the privacy of her room, listening to a documentary, an interesting one on some British serial killers that she only half pays attention to, playing on the tv that her room is equipped with.
She doesn't mean to continue thinking of the brief image she had of Subaru's deliciously toned chest - if only out of respect for the poor boy who is her stepbrother.
Great, now she feels like a predator.
It's one thing to know that the Asahina men are all ridiculously handsome as well as accomplished, in that clinical, objective way one looks at others at first glance. To just state facts, without even a hint of personal opinion or appreciation - they are, after all, conventionally good-looking.
It is a whole other matter to not only know of this and to also find features pleasant to the eye, attractive even.
"Urgh!" the girl sinks her head further into her pillow, mumbling under her breath, "This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous."
God, no one can ever find out about this, she thinks and tries to focus on the bloody images that play on the decently sized screen hanging on the wall facing her bed - key elements of the Moors Murders' Modus Operandi.
When the sight of a corpse wrapped in sheer plastic sheeting does nothing to distract her, she sends her sister a quick text, asking if she is still awake. Ema answers in less than a minute with a simple : yes, want to help me level up?
Yes, perhaps helping her sister blow up some warehouses and shoot down some animated characters will do her some good. She doesn't bother answering, wrapping herself in a cocoon of blankets before making her way next door.
"Hi," she flops down onto Ema's mattress, almost flattening Juli who screeches bloody murder at her unexpected appearance, "Your video game addiction is a blessing in disguise, I swear."
Ema giggles, pausing and saving her game as a habit - one caused by the numerous times Hanako would invade her room and make it impossible for her to continue playing, either by babbling on about her day or scolding her for spending too much time on her console.
"Let's multi-play then," Ema hands her sister a remote, "I'll be the front liner and you the backup, is that good?"
Hanako shifts so instead of laying on her back, she is cushioned by the wall behind her, "Yes captain, try stretching your neck a bit, you'll end up with muscle spasms if you never take a break."
"Hai, hai," Ema's nose scrunches up adorably as she picks out gear adapted to the zone they will try and conquer along with two other random players to make a party of four - or so her sister tells her, all the while knowing Hanako will be of little help.
They still manage to clear most of the city zone before the eldest Hinata falls asleep, cheek resting on her forearm, curled on herself, and facing away from the tv screen.
Ema pauses what she is doing, brushing a strand of almost completely dried hair out of her sister's face, "Sweet dreams Hana-nee."
There's a smell she cannot place, one that makes her nostrils flare slightly.
Something clean, something crisp, and undeniably similar to the smell of the fabric softener that emanates from the bin full of fresh laundry in her hands. The breeze is colder up on the roof, and it ruffles the few strands slipping out of the bun she'd put her hair up in, as if sharpening her senses.
It's a smell she'd associate with a warm, sunny day like today, a day suited for a picnic, or even sunbathing.
Her harmless, light musings bring a smile to the girl's lips as she raises to her tiptoes to clip her and Ema's bedsheets, the thin fabric fluttering along the wind's whims.
"These will dry in no time," she mutters to herself, lids closing to let sunlight rest upon them for a long second.
Her peaceful state of mind is only heightened by the early time of the day at which she'd chosen to do some well-deserved laundry, on a Saturday no less. Perhaps that's why she doesn't notice the door to the roof quietly opening and closing to let someone onto the open surface, stalking closer to Hanako who is humming under her breath.
"Oh, Nana-chan," if the voice is supposed to sound surprised, it does not come out that way, and Louis, who had come out with his own bin of freshly cleaned clothes, smiles serenely her way when she hiccups violently in surprise, "It really is the perfect day to let clothes out to dry, ne?"
She whirls around, clutching a still-damp white shirt of hers to her chest as she lets out a heavy breath.
"You did that on purpose," she accuses, eyes narrowing with no real heat - to think such a soft-hearted guy like Louis could be so devious at times, "But yes it really is, I was thinking of going take a walk in the park later, get some ice cream maybe. I'm sure Ema and Wataru would be up for it, maybe some of the others, what about you?"
"Ah," Louis drawls out slowly, a bit dejected, "I have work later, so another time perhaps."
"Of course," Hanako helps him hang his clothes once she's done with hers, blowing a pesky curl away from her face, "The summer's only beginning so we'll have all the time in the world for some ice cream!"
The prospect of the cold treat has put her in an even better mood and Louis cannot help the fond, amused twitch of his lips, "I couldn't help but notice that your little friend isn't with you..."
The girl pauses, a bit pensive, "Oh, Juli is more Ema's pet than mine...which by the way, I was wondering if..." her words linger for a second, up in the air for him to try and decipher them.
"If I can understand him?" she clips yet another piece of clothing to the clothesline that spans from one side of the wide roof to the other, glancing at the boy once that is done.
She hesitates, fussing only slightly, "So is that a yes? Please say yes, I'd really be in a pickle if my future step-brother thought I was clinically insane, Ema would have a fit and-"
"It's a yes," Louis' mauve eyes show no sign of judgment or mischief, and the girl's shoulders drop in relief, even as her brows furrow in confusion.
"I don't know why Juli's so...sentient, but so far only Ema and I have ever been able to communicate with him...you don't seem freaked out," which she is thankful for, of course - but she feels as if Louis has more than a right to be, given the unbelievable reality of a talking squirrel that he's been confronted with.
"Well, Juli takes care of you two right?" at her curt nod, Louis smiles, "If he's been your friend for so long, I don't think that's worth freaking out about at all."
If most would consider that a misshaped, maybe even absurd logic, Hanako finds his reasoning positively charming.
"I'm glad you're the one able to understand him, maybe you'll be able to appease that aggressive streak of his a bit, he's so overprotective sometimes I swear," she sighs, thinking about her furry friend's endless angry fits over the years, about any male acquaintances of theirs that was not their father, "But you're right, he's been taking care of me and Ema for most of our lives."
"I haven't had the chance to talk with him yet, I wonder how he'll take to someone like me being able to understand him," the boy muses, artfully placed cream-colored hair only slightly ruffled by the wind that has messed up her hairstyle beyond recognition.
Hanako wipes a pearl of sweat off of her forehead, staring at the filled clothesline with no small amount of pride, "My guess is he'll adore you, once he gets over the fact that you're a boy."
Someone as gentle, as respectful of boundaries as Louis, was actually quite the perfect friend for Juli, since he was the very definition of harmless.
Well in Juli's eyes anyway, if anyone were to ask her, this kind of soothing presence could be quite dangerous for the hearts of unsuspecting maidens.
Or something equally shakespearesque.
"That would be nice," Louis' expression is one of gentle contentment as he helps her off the small step she had taken residence on to reach the clothesline more easily, "Shall we go back inside?"
"Yup! Breakfast should be almost done by now," her stomach grumbles, reminding her that she had fallen asleep early the day before and had thus not eaten anything in almost twenty-four hours, "I wonder what Ukyo and Ema are making."
She sends him a grateful look when he holds the door for her, the two empty clothing bins piled into her arms, "Thanks. Besides work, do you have any other plans for the day, Louis?"
"Hm, no not really," he hums softly, and she tries not to be distracted by the single dimple in his smile, "What about you, Nana-chan?"
"If the weather stays like this, I'll probably stay out in the afternoon, maybe slide in an hour of homework, I don't really have concrete plans for the day," which makes it the best kind of day.
After a quick trip by the laundry room to drop off the bins, the two of them make their way to the fifth floor, which is rather unpopulated for the weekend, "Where is everyone?"
The common room is empty except for Azusa who is reading the script for his next audio recording, the man steals a glance their way, the corners of his eyes slightly crinkling at the action, "I think Masa-nii got called at work, Kana-nii didn't come home yesterday and Tsubaki had an early meeting with our manager, I'm guessing the others are still in bed. Wataru's in the bathroom."
This makes them a grand total of six people eating at home this morning, as she has no doubt Ukyo and Ema are slaving away in the kitchen.
Hanako huffs in good humor, "It's almost noon, talk about oversleeping."
If Yuusuke is likely to sleep through the whole day if left to his own devices, she's quite sure Iori and Subaru will either come down soon or are doing something slightly more productive with their time.
"It is the weekend," Azusa says lightly, brow quirking when the girl's arms cross over her chest, fingers drumming on her arms with a sort of restlessness, "I'm going to get myself some coffee, do you guys want some?"
If Louis refuses gracefully, Azusa's lips purse thoughtfully.
"That's not a bad idea, I could use something to wake me up," however before she can ask how he takes the caffeinated beverage, the boy stands up, brushing away invisible dust from his pants. The edges of his lips curl slightly at her curious glance, "I've got two working legs, don't I? I don't see why I would make you do it for me."
"Oh," she blinks, once and then twice, sending him a hesitant, twitching smile that she hopes conveys gratefulness. Yes, that's what she should be after all - grateful, yet all she feels is reluctance.
How fucked up of a human being she must be, for something as simple as her offer of help being brushed off to affect her like this.
Azusa's right, of course he is, she is not his keeper and he is very well capable of pouring himself a cup of coffee. It's not so much as the actual situation that makes her break in a cold sweat, but rather who it makes her reminisce of.
Ema.
Her beloved sister who had always grown at a faster pace than the other children, who Hanako cannot shield from every bad thing the world has to offer, for all that she tries.
Ema who needs her less than she did when she was a tiny, wide-eyed child relying on the nearest parental figure around, or an awkward teen who preferred the company of her older sister and a squirrel to that of those in her age group.
Ema who will soon, too soon, not need her at all.
She doesn't notice the way Azusa frowns when the regularly rather talkative girl does not follow up on their conversation, when her hands shake when she pours herself a mug of coffee.
Ema and Ukyo had both greeted them when they entered the kitchen, yet their words seemed to have passed over her head completely, her eyes unfocused. Neither of the two takes note of it, too busy discussing Ema's latest test results.
"You're unusually quiet, is everything alright?" as someone who spends most of his life in the company of Tsubaki who is the very definition of loud - from his personality to his voice itself, silence is certainly welcomed at times, but all too easy to notice.
She's very, very glad the boy purposely keeps his voice low and glances his way with an almost unnoticeable flinch.
"Oh, of course," there's a giggle that tumbles out of Hanako's mouth, and Azusa briefly wonders if it sounds this nervous to his ears alone, "My head's a bit in the clouds this morning, that's all."
He clearly does not believe her, but does not pry.
Despite this, he keeps his eyes on her as the girl allows all signs of weakness to drain from her face, her lips curling in an easy-going smile as she asks Ukyo how many plates they'll need, setting up the table as her sister and step-brother finish up with the cooking.
It makes something like unease churn low in Azusa's stomach, the way she effortlessly conceals whatever is bothering her so nothing seems amiss.
He briefly wonders if she does it often.
Had he not caught her in a fleeting moment of weakness, he has no doubt he never would have noticed the strain she seemed to be under. Such a thought is worrisome, to say the least, but the context is all wrong for him to try and say anything about it.
So he doesn't, and watches as Hanako glances his way every so often between mouthfuls of food and her animated discussion with her sister, trying to figure out if he had seen anything he should not have.
Eventually, she comes out to the conclusion that it doesn't matter either way because she is not all that close with the man, and that he, out of all of his brothers, has perhaps the best understanding of boundaries.
"Can we really Hana-nee?!" the bottom of her flowing top finds itself clutched within Wataru's hold when the idea of a walk in the park and some ice cream arises.
The young woman's lips quirk as she reaches over to swipe the boy's chin clean of bits of rice that had stuck to it, "Of course, as long as your brothers don't mind. You're all welcome to come with, of course."
She had helped the boy finish his homework the day before and so she knew the chances of any objection were slight, "Yay! Ice cream with my big sisters!"
Hanako doesn't think she will ever get tired of the boy's carefree, enthusiastic nature.
"It is an incredibly beautiful day," Ukyo says almost regretfully, glancing at the world outside the window, "I would have been glad to go with you all, but I've got a case to prepare for..."
"We understand," Ema smiles, unaware that the sight of it only seems to bring the man more discomfort, "There's always next time...what about you Azusa-san, Louis-san?"
Azusa shakes his head, "I'm feeling a bit under the weather, so I think I'll stay home for the day," the youngest sister doesn't let herself be bothered, even as Louis informs her that he also has work.
If anything, and she'd never admit this out loud, Ema thinks it's nice to have a day out with only her sister and Wataru.
She'd never say this out loud but having her sister for herself was increasingly hard these days, and while she adored this new big family of theirs, she was quite unused to having to share.
It's a selfish, childish thought she knows, one constructed by habit mostly. One driven by their father's absence and Hanako's small circle of people she actually cares about.
Hanako is the kind of person who has no problem fitting in with the crowd, holding a conversation, and building friendly acquaintances. But rarely does she ever let anyone inside her life, let them get to truly know her.
It's a privilege Ema knows to cherish, because to those few individuals that weasel their way into her heart, she awards with nothing less than devotion. No one knows this better than herself after all.
The teenager's pinkie finger curls around her sister's underneath the table's wooden surface, Hanako's gaze finding her own unflinchingly as Ema smiles almost shyly.
Neither lets go, eating what little is left of their food with their other hand, content with the minimal physical contact to remind each other of the other's presence.
If they rarely ever use words to express this, neither would want it to be any other way.
Without knowing what possesses her to do so, Hanako snaps a quick picture of the scene before her eyes, shaking with laughter as she does so.
Her phone is slipped back into the back pocket of her jeans once she has sent the slightly blurry image in both the group chat she has with Mayu and Kana, and to Masaomi.
She doubts the picture can truly express the hilarity of the moment, and she can barely feel the reproachful glances from those around them, taking a stroll in the popular Inokashira park like they are.
Flat on her back, Ema stares up at the sky as if it holds the answer to her silent prayers, a sticky bubblegum-colored substance staining the cute halter top she had borrowed from her sister earlier that day. Meanwhile, a disheartened Wataru is staring down at his fallen ice cream cone, the one that had flown into a high arc only to land on Ema's chest when the boy had tripped, colliding with his sister and bringing the two of them where they are now.
"I-I'm sorry nee-chan," the boy looks close to tears, half-laid on the girl who is still unresponsive, "I didn't mean to...the duck just scared me."
As if answering to the accusation, the duck that had caused all of this squawks loudly, ruffling its wings as it moves back to the pond near them.
Hanako tries and fails to silence her giggles, helping the boy up, and then her sister, "Don't worry Wataru, it was just an accident," Ema nods at her sister's words, reassuring the boy that she's not mad at him, trying to convey to her sister that she is sorry as well, for having dirtied a shirt that was not hers.
Hanako shakes her head good-naturedly, mouthing that she doesn't mind.
Wetting some napkins in the pond, they futilely try to erase the bright pink stain, only succeeding in spreading it further onto the fabric.
"Here," Hanako says once they finally give up on salvaging the shirt, stripping out of her large sweatshirt, and slipping it over her sister's shoulders, "Wear this, we can wash everything when we get back home."
And well if that didn't work, then she'd just have an excuse to drag Ema to the nearest shopping mall.
"Thanks, Hana-nee," Ema lets her sister zip up the oversized fabric all the way up, something like delight hiding in the corners of her smile at the comforting, somewhat tropical, somewhat citrusy smell that comes off the clothing.
Seeing the boy she has come to truly consider as her brother disheartened over the whole ordeal, Hanako ruffles the fluffy mess of salmon-colored hair resting on top of his head, handing her the only intact ice cream cone - her own.
"I should've gone with a smaller size, I'm pretty full," she says when the boy hesitates to take a lick, "If you don't want it, it'll just end in the trash," as if personally offended by this, Wataru quickly takes a bite out of the mint flavored ice cream, pulling a face at the contact between his teeth and the frozen treat.
"Thanks Hana-nee, you're the best!" the three of them sit down a bit further away, where the sun casts a favorable light down upon them, Ema's head laying on her sister's lap as they chat about whatever comes to mind - Wataru's growing interest in soccer, some anime the twins voiced a few years ago, plans for summer vacations.
Somewhere along the line, Ema had fallen asleep, the hair Hanako had released from her sister's usual ponytail laying around her head like a halo, spilling from Hanako's thighs and onto viridian grass.
Wataru looks cross between the idea of joining the girl in her spontaneous nap or continuing to talk with his elder sister. Ultimately, he loses his battle against drowsiness and falls asleep mid-sentence, unconsciously moving towards Ema's bigger, warmer form so he is hiding his closed lids from the sun into the crook of the girl's neck.
Leaning back with a hand supporting her, Hanako scrolls on her phone, letting the two sleep. The peaceful moment has something warm, increasingly familiar curling in her ribcage.
Time ticks by, and truly, she wouldn't mind staying like this for the rest of her days.
The fact that she is sure to get sunburnt all over her upper half because of her now naked shoulders and her direction facing the sun's glare is forgotten, as is the lack of blood circulation in her legs.
She remembers Kana calling her an enabler once and smiles at the thought, only rousing her siblings from their nap when she gets a text from Ukyo wondering if they plan to get home anytime soon.
"Maa-kun!" of course, as fate wills it so, they enter Sunrise residence at the same time as Masaomi exits the garage, car keys dangling from his fingertips.
The man is immediately assaulted by an overexcited Wataru who hugs him, all the while babbling on about how his two amazing big sisters took him out to get some ice cream and feed the ducks today.
"Welcome home," Hanako allows her lips to curl slowly, the corners of her eyes creasing when the man softly pats the top of his brother's head, smiling their way as if his day has just been brightened considerably.
"It's good to be home," Masaomi utters, pressing the elevator button for the main floor, with Wataru still clinging to him like a monkey, "I'm glad you all had fun."
"We really did!" Ema chirps, beaming at the older man, and then at her sister, "Next time, let's bring everyone, right Hana-nee?" Hanako brings the girl to her side in a half-hug as they huddle themselves in the confined space, bobbing her head up and down, "Of course."
Not to sound like a broken record, but she can actually see herself getting used to all of this - eccentric brothers she never asked for and all.