He had become a slave. Not a corporate wage slave like his parents, no he was the slave of a family that abused him. It was criminal how they treated him. Shopping for groceries that weren't even for himself was not how his weekend was meant to go.

Somehow he got roped into watching Ruby while Miyako took Aqua to an acting gig. The lady had said Ruby complained a lot the last time she'd brought Ruby to one of Aqua's acting jobs. So of course the logical decision Miyako decided was to chuck the hyperactive twin onto him while she got the easier to manage one.

"Sooo what are we getting Hachiman?" The hyperactive twin in question asked as they both entered the supermarket.

"We have a list." He said while grabbing a basket from the stack next to the entrance.

The 'list' Miyako had texted him when she'd dropped Ruby and him at the mall was filled with joke items. He could have a pretty good guess that Ai was the one who'd written it up.

At least Miyako had actually put the things they needed to get at the top of the list but those items were few. It was clear to him, this was just their excuse to have him hang out with Ruby.

"Do you want anything for tonight?"

"Not really," Ruby's hand found its way into his, "Can we get some snacks? We only have the ones I don't like left."

"I meant more for dinner."

"Curry sounds good. But snacks, yay or nay?"

"Curry it is then." Keeping Ruby close to him as they made their way towards the produce section.

"Hachiman~ snacks please?"

"If you already have stuff at home, just finish those first."

Tearing a plastic bag from the roll next to the potatoes made a sharp rip sound. Grabbing a few more bags, they might as well get what they could while here. At least this way they couldn't force him to do this again for a while.

"I already told you I don't like those, Miyako-san gets the wrong flavours even after I told her to get the right ones." He sighed, for how smart Ruby was at times, she was equally childish though he can't really fault her for that since well… she is a literal child.

"So she bought the right thing, you just don't like the flavour?"

Ruby snapped her fingers at him, "Exactly!"

"Say we do buy what you want, who's going to eat the ones you don't like leftover back home?"

"Uh well… you can do it right Hachiman?" He smacked the back of her head lightly with the bag of onions in his hand making her wince.

"I'm not your garbage bin."

"Of course not, you're more useful than that." The teasing lilt she sassed him with was something she definitely learned from watching Ai, "So please?"

"Nope," It wasn't necessary to look down to know she was pouting.

Ruby tugged his hand, drawing his attention. "Can we go there then?" She pointed at an ice cream parlour located in the supermarket next to where they'd entered.

"Ruby, we literally just had lunch." He deadpanned at her. "You even said you were full."

"That was then, now is now! There's no reason we can't get ice cream!" The conviction in her voice was awe-inspiring if it wasn't for such a stupid goal.

"I could come up with a dozen not to right now." He dragged her away towards the weighing machine so he could price his bagged produce.

"T-That doesn't matter. You're not even getting me what I want, at least let me have this."

"You're not going to let this go are you?" Glancing down to see her cheekily grinning. "Fine, we'll get it later when we're leaving. Let's grab everything else first." Ruby hummed happily, swinging their joined hands as they made their way through the store.

Maybe sometimes he gave in too easily.


"Ruby, we could get three of these boxes for the same price as the one you want."

As they were passing an aisle containing snacks, Ruby had dug her heels in and demanded cookies. Even after agreeing to get her ice cream, she still did this to him. Unbelievable.

"Well you told me I could only get one thing so I'm trying to get my money's worth." So here he was arguing with a little girl over what brand of cookies to buy.

"Okay fine, we can get three of the cheaper boxes then,"

"Nah." He heard a soft crunch as his grip tightened on the box he was holding. Smashing the cookies might just be the best option for his sanity. "These ones taste better trust me." She grabbed the pricier brand and placed it into the basket.

"Ruby, you can literally get triple the amount of cookies for the same price." He chucked the bag back onto the shelf. "They're both chocolate chip cookies they'll be the same, we don't waste mo-"

His phone vibrated in his pocket, raising a hand at Ruby he pulled it out and noticed a text from Ai.

Ai: where r u?

"Here hold this Ruby," He stopped and handed Ruby the barely filled basket while raising his phone. "Ai wants to know what we're doing." As soon as he said it, the girl was already smiling brightly for the camera, forgoing their earlier (one-sided) argument. He snapped the picture and sent it to Ai.

This had become a sort of ritual between them. Ai… didn't enjoy the fact she couldn't spend a lot of time with her children outside of their little apartment doing normal-ish things like well, going grocery shopping.

So he'd sort of been designated as the resident archivist that would catalogue all of the twins adventures. It was a job that he didn't mind doing… unlike all the others forced upon him.

Ai: my baby is so cute!

Ai: u better not have her carry anything heavy btw

Hachiman: Please don't assume I'd do something that asinine

Hachiman: Only you would do that

He had to stop typing and move his arm to prevent Ruby from adding the bag of cookies she wanted into their basket. "Ruby, quit that. I already told you no."

"No you didn't, and stop being so stingy." Ruby slipped around him and added the bag anyway. "C'mon it's not like it's your money Hachiman, it's the prez's anyways."

That… she had a valid point. "You make a convincing argument." Ichigo would reimburse him for everything anyway, so might as well spend the guy's money.

Of course after he said it, Ruby immediately added two more extra bags with a smirk on her face and he sighed, grabbing the basket back.

This was probably not the best financial lesson to teach a child, by letting them be so spendthrift. Whatever, Ai's loaded anyways so it'll be fine.

He glanced back at his phone when he got another ping.

Ai: I would never

Ai: meanie :(

Ai: what time will u be back

Hachiman: After shopping

Ai: how long?

Hachiman: Idk like an hour? Maybe a little more or less depends on the trains

Ai: ok! sounds good have fun

Hachiman: We're just shopping for groceries Ai

Hachiman: How much fun could we really have?

Ai: if it's with you I'm sure ruby will have fun :3

Ai: I'll be back late so don't wait up

Hachiman: K

After sending that last text he definitely had to mute his phone and slip it back in his pocket. She'd be spamming him in rage for a while. He'd unmute it later after she got bored.

"What did mama say?"

"Nothing important." He pulled her along with him. Ruby didn't need to know Ai wouldn't be home today.


He sat on the chair opposite Ruby at their table. Of course before actually leaving the store Ruby still remembered their earlier deal despite the fact she reneged on it herself.

"Here you go," Ruby happily took the cup filled with cookies and cream flavoured ice cream.

"Thanks Hachiman, you're the best!" This girl was dangerous, saying stuff like that with such an adorable smile could topple even the most carefully built empires.

"Yeah, yeah, no need to butter me up. You already got what you wanted." A soft kick to his knee was what he got for his troubles.

He strummed his fingers on the table, watching Ruby scarf down the sweet deliciousness made him sigh fondly. He used to regret coming into their lives but moments like this reminded him why he changed his mind.

Then other days he'd get a migraine from some of the things Ai would do and he'd immediately regret everything all over again. It was an odd state of mind he found himself in.

"You want some?" Holding back the urge to laugh at the frankly pitiful amount of ice cream Ruby had scooped up to offer him.

"I'm good, thanks." She shrugged and ate it herself, "You know, if you don't want to share you don't have to."

"I was just being nice." Ruby got out between mouthfuls.

"It's fine to be selfish sometimes. Also slow down, don't eat so fast." She gave a thumbs-up but did not lower her pace. "Don't blame me if you get a brain freeze."

Ruby then set the cup down with a self-satisfied look on her face which also had spots of cream around her lips. He held out a tissue to Ruby while gesturing to her face.

Getting a bad feeling when her eyes shined with mischief. Ruby leaned forwards as far as she could towards the hand he held out. "You can't be serious right?" Her only response was to shut her eyes and keep nudging her smiling face towards his hand holding the tissue.

He could feel his cheeks getting flushed, he probably was as red as Ruby's eyes right now. This was absolutely mortifying, if anyone saw him do this he'd never live it down. Seeing this was a losing battle, he just wiped her lips as fast as he could before grunting when he was done.

Ruby opened her eyes giggling at him, "Here, you can have the rest. You look like you need to cool down." She slid the cup containing the melted remains of her treat to him.

He scoffed, eating the liquid ice cream like a soup. Earlier she'd said he wasn't a garbage bin but look at her now, literally giving him her unwanted leftovers. Ruby, ignorant to his thoughts, moved to sit on the chair next to him and nudged it closer.

"Hey, where are we gonna go after this?" He jumped as a freezing sensation touched his skin, glancing down he could see Ruby had snaked her hands into his shirt.

"Could you warn me before you do that?" The girl just rubbed her hands on his side making him squirm, "We're going home."

"Really? But that's so boooring. Can't we do something else?" Ruby whined while merging herself with him as she hugged him tightly.

He doubted she was actually cold, she was just being a clingy brat. Though with winter approaching, they should look to get the twins some new clothes.

"Any suggestions?"

"Huh? I don't know, aren't you the one who takes us to new places, Hachiman?" He placed the cup down.

"I didn't plan to do anything else today. Plus Aqua isn't here so it wouldn't be fair if we went anywhere new today." Ruby pouted when he pulled her hands out of his shirt.

"Well that's okay, he won't care anyway."

"Be considerate Ruby, if I went out with Aqua alone without you I'm sure you wouldn't like it." Ruby huffed and pointed her gaze away from him.

"You wouldn't do that to me, you like me better than Aqua."

"I wouldn't do that to either of you. Also that's not true, I like both of you equally…" Forced to turn away from her doubtful eyes.

He could admit to himself he definitely did like Ruby more than Aqua, but actually stating it outloud was needlessly cruel. He could understand the feelings of an overlooked big brother quite well so it's not like he intended to favour Ruby… it just kind of happened.

Considering the fact he didn't even meet Aqua until a month or two after meeting Ruby it made sense he bonded with Ruby more. Nothing to do with the fact that he just enjoyed having a little sister type now that Komachi had grown up, nope definitely not. The siscon allegations his friends sent his way were simply fabrications.

"Anyway, we should head back now." He stood up pushing the chair back, and glanced at Ruby expectantly who hadn't moved yet. "Ruby, let's go." The girl had placed a hand on her chin while her face scrunched up cutely.

"Aqua not being here is the problem right?"

"I guess? Don't make it sound as if it's his fault by the way." Ruby hummed while ignoring him.

"Then what if we go see him? That could be fun."

"At his shoot? I thought you didn't like going to those?"

Swinging her legs lightly, "I mean yeah, it's always so stuffy in those places and boring." She turned to him and grabbed his pants, pulling him back down into his seat, "But you've never been right Hachiman? It's time for me to be the one to bring you to a new place!" Her enthusiasm made him hold back the fact that he has been to an acting set before with Ai.

To be fair to Ruby though, he'd never seen Aqua acting. So in a way it would be a new experience. Problem was he really didn't want to go to a film set, the last time he went was not enjoyable. Now that might've been because he entered the set with Ai and had to dodge a frankly stupid amount of questions while trying to maintain their cover but who could really tell?

"We could just go home though? I don't even know if we can even get on the set." He ran a hand through his hair as he let out an exasperated sigh.

"It'll be fine, Miyako-san will get us in! You asked for an idea and I gave you one," Ruby started poking his cheek, when he didn't answer. "Let's do it Hachiman, Aqua will be happy to see you for sure!" It felt like she knew exactly what to say to make him fold.

"If we can't get in, we're going home okay?" A nod.

"Fine, let's go."


"I still don't get why you had to come here Hikigaya," What a lovely greeting they received as they met Miyako standing outside the studio on the street. The woman hugged herself, trying to find shelter from the chilly breeze that swept through the street.

"Hi, good to see you too." The mocking grin he sent her way was more than enough to warm him up in pleasure.

One major benefit of listening to Ruby and coming here was getting to annoy Miyako. Serves the lady right for forcing him out on a weekend.

"Hi Miyako-san!" Ruby added in an all too sweet voice, making his grin widen.

"Hey, can we go put these in your car first?" He gestured to the bags of groceries he held.

Miyako sighed, dropping her gaze. "The things I have to put up with." She turned around and walked along the street.

"I could say the same." Miyako gave him the cold-shoulder, not responding as he and Ruby moved to match her steps.

Ruby grabbed Miyako's hand conjoining the three of them together. Making them appear like a happy family of three. Though the clear frown on Miyako's face might have dissuaded passerby's from that idea.

"It was my idea to come Miyako-san, are you mad?" The tension evaporated out of Miyako's shoulders.

Miyako huffed, "I'm not mad at you Ruby," She turned her head slightly to give him a look of contempt. "I'm just amazed at the audacity of the person who actually brought you here."

"I told you on the phone, we wanted to come see Aqua." She rolled her eyes at him.

"You could've told me earlier in the morning if you wanted to come and I would've made accommodations, Hikigaya." Explaining it to him as if he was a child. "Instead you call me an hour before arriving."

"It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Don't know if you've ever done anything like that."

Miyako barked a laugh out, "As if you're the type to do things by impulse." Well maybe he wasn't, if he didn't actually want to see Aqua he probably would have just went back. Not like Miyako would know that.

The lady then stopped them next to her parked car. Handing her keys to him while turning her body away from him.

He moved to open the booth and placed the bags in. Turning back to face Ruby and Miyako he noticed the woman had a smile on her face as Ruby chattered on to her. It was a bit funny how quickly her cheer vanished when she noticed his gaze.

"Let's go," He returned the keys with a grin he was sure would annoy her. "Aqua's probably wondering where his support went."

They walked back the way they came from, still joined together with Ruby in the middle acting as a wall.

"You know, you're both lucky. They already shot most of his scenes but there's one more he hasn't done yet." Miyako scoffed, "Any later and there wouldn't be any point in you two coming."

"What's his role today anyway? Same as usual or what?"

From what he recalled, Aqua has only been in a handful of productions. All of them had been small roles, usually with Aqua well… portraying himself. A somewhat creepy and mature kid.

"It's the same, he's playing the child version of a scientist in this TV show." Miyako clicked her tongue. "I asked the director if he'd ever give Aqua a different role but he didn't say anything."

"It's not like onii-chan likes acting so it's fine." If only that were the truth Ruby.

Aqua acted nonchalant, as if he didn't care about acting but the soft smile he had when we'd compliment him after watching his finished scenes betrayed his true emotions. It was human nature to enjoy something that caused you to receive positive attention.

Thus, at the end of the day, when the director came knocking, Aqua would answer the door and take whatever role was offered even if he was more than able to decline. Despite what he would say, the boy did find some form of pleasure out of acting.

He licked his lips, hesitant to speak. "He's still young, if… if Aqua really wants to pursue acting, he'll figure it out with our help."

"You know how he is about this Hikigaya, he needs a push." Her voice tinged with frustration as she spat the words out. "He only trusts Gotanda-san when it comes to acting for some reason."

"He views us as being biased while the director can give him an objective view."

"I know that alright. It's just…" Miyako trailed off, glaring at the air in front of her as if it was the cause of her worries.

When she acted like this, he was reminded of the fact that Miyako really did treat the twins as her own children. Even if it was just a cover story, it was hard not to grow attached to children you took care of. He could sort of relate…

"Aqua's a smart kid, don't worry too much about him, Miyako." He bumped Ruby into Miyako with his leg. "This one's the real problem, an idol is way more trouble than a potential actor."

"Hey!"

"Don't need to remind me," Miyako huffed out a laugh ignoring Ruby. "I have more than enough experience with troublesome idols."

"Same here," He paused. "Only one idol for me though." Miyako coughed lightly.

Miyako covered her mouth while her shoulders shook lightly when he glanced at her, "You should say that to Ai, it's kind of romantic." She eventually got out, making him blink slowly. Taken aback at the abrupt change in topic before realising how she'd taken his words.

They were having a sort of moment and she just had to ruin it didn't she.

"Mama would love that!"

"Ai hears that kind of thing from thousands of her fans everyday. I doubt she cares."

"Coming from you it'd be different." Miyako chuckled openly when he turned his heated face away from her.

He really hated it when people suggested things like that between him and Ai. It just couldn't happen.


The studio they entered was large, there were about a half dozen sets scattered about the hall from what he could see. The film crew were bustling about, trying to maximise as much filming as they could in a day. Time was money, and where actors were concerned it could be a lot of money if there were delays.

Ruby buried herself into his chest as he carried her through the place. The girl had been walking the whole day and her movements were getting sluggish, it was only humane for him to indulge the girl when she'd raised her arms at him begging to be picked up. He followed behind Miyako as she led them to one of the many sets.

It was a rendition of a child's room, far too clean though. It barely had any toys or knick-knacks, the room was… it wasn't personalised. There were a few books and a telescope but aside from that you could barely tell a person was living there.

"You two sit here," Miyako gestured to a small wooden bench, it was behind the director's seat but it gave a good enough view of the set. "I'll go find Aqua, he should be practising his lines."

She gave him a stern look, "Remember to behave okay Hikigaya? For once don't make a fool of yourself this time." Waving her off as she walked away.

Did she have to make it sound like what happened last time was his fault? Sure he did in fact blow up at an uppity staff member but that was only because he asked way too many personal questions. The guy had to be a fan of Ai's. The idol herself did not help the situation by constantly going up to him during breaks between scenes and start talking to him casually in view of everyone as if that was a normal thing to do.

He wasn't stupid, he'd planned to make himself small and hide in dark damp corner away from everyone on that day. He'd only come in the first place to indulge Ai who would not stop pestering him. Then she just had to shine a bright spotlight onto him by bringing her glowing aura next to him on set. It was basically asking for trouble. Really, Miyako could not blame him for that.

At least right now no one seemed to be bothering him and Ruby so this was already a million times better of an experience than with Ai. The crew were busy setting up the set for filming, cameras were being moved around, lights had to be angled properly. Hardly anyone noticed them and if they did, they couldn't be bothered to ask who they were.

Some of them did wave at him, or so he thought until Ruby waved back to them. Then he realised the girl's cuteness was like a bright light in this stuffy place for the crew.

"Are you having fun?" He drawled out to Ruby while moving her off his lap. He bounced his leg trying to get rid of the numbness and get some blood flowing. "This was your idea."

Ruby shrugged, "Meh, it's fine. This is how it usually goes anyway. At least this time you're here with me Hachiman."

"So we suffer together?" She leaned into him and nodded her head making him sigh. "Aqua better appreciate us then."

"Appreciate you for what?" Ruby jolted off of him, glancing behind them at Aqua. "Also what are you two doing here?"

"Jeez don't sneak up on us like that!" Aqua ignored his sister's glare and sat next to him on the bench while Miyako stood in front of the three of them. "Hachiman wanted to come and see you."

"It's nothing, don't worry about it Aqua." His amusement rose at the sight of the child sized lab coat Aqua was wearing but he did his best to hide it. "How'd your earlier scenes go?"

Ruby, of course being a typical little sister, had no apprehension when it came to making fun of her big brother. It was an instinct they were born with really. "You look stupid onii-chan."

"It's for the role Ruby. And lab coats are cool and neat." Eh? Aqua was… defending his attire?

"Yeah maybe they are, but you're not cool in it. You just look silly." Ruby stuck her tongue out at Aqua whose right eye twitched.

"Your scenes Aqua?" He asked while placing a hand on Aqua's back.

Aqua took a breath to calm himself. It was strange seeing Aqua get this worked up. Usually he'd brush off Ruby's comments, she was only teasing him after all.

"They went alright. We didn't have to do many retakes and the director was fine with my performance."

"You did a great job Aqua," Miyako chimed in, giving an encouraging smile to the boy.

"It was nothing impressive." Aqua forced his hand with that depressed tone, he just had to ruffle the kids hair. "Hachiman!" Aqua got off the bench and smoothed down his hair aggressively.

The mess on his head reduced the effect of the glare Aqua had. "Learn how to take a compliment."

"I don't want to hear that from you. And don't do that again." Aqua sat back down with a scowl on his face.

"Alright sorry," Aqua flinched back but relaxed when Hachiman grabbed his coat rather than messing with his hair again. "Do you get to keep this?" It was slightly oversized but it fit Aqua pretty well.

"Huh? I don't think so." They both glanced forward at Miyako.

She moved to cup a feel of Aqua's coat. "It was made with Aqua's size in mind, I don't see there being an issue if he wants to keep it." She bent down to place a hand on his shoulder. "Do you want me to ask around?"

"I… I'd like that." The kid looked down into his lap trying to hide the light smile he had. It was a cute expression, which was rare from Aqua.

So Aqua did like the coat for some reason. Was this the start of his chuunibyou phase? Aqua did say the coat was cool looking… he prayed that he was wrong. He did not need Aqua going around the house doing silly twirls and shouting one-liners that would remind him of Zaimokuza. He already got enough weirdness from the other two.

"Oi, mature baby."

Behind Miyako, a middle aged man with a scruffy beard wearing a hoodie lazily sauntered towards them. He had a gruff and unkempt appearance.

"Where have you been?" The man bopped Aqua on the head with a rolled up booklet. "We're going to shoot the scene, I can't have the star of this episode disappear on me." Aqua blinked at the man unimpressed.

"Sorry director, I was the one who dragged him here." Miyako bowed lightly to the man.

"It's fine, I found him anyway." The director directed his gaze to Hachiman, finally noticing him. "And who is this on my set?"

"He's my nephew," Miyako promptly answered for him, maintaining their usual cover story. "He's close to my children so he wanted to see Aqua acting."

"Hikigaya Hachiman, nice to meet you." He waved to the director.

The guy ignored him, narrowing his eyes at Miyako. "Oi manager-san, my sets aren't for you to host your family gatherings."

"My apologies, it was a sudden decision." Miyako had a thin smile that promised pain when she faced Hachiman. "My nephew can be really problematic."

The director rubbed the back of his head. "Well it's fine I guess since he's here already." The man pointed at him with his booklet. "Just don't disrupt my crew or I'll kick you out."

"Got it."

"Hmmm, alright." He turned to Aqua. "Get on set kid, we're going to start filming." The director clapped Aqua's shoulder before leaving them.

That guy was Aqua's role model? Maybe not the right word but Aqua definitely valued the director's opinion somewhat. He was… a character for sure. Not like he could personally talk about who Aqua looked up to, he certainly hoped Aqua didn't look up to him.

Aqua bounced off the bench, "You heard him, I'll be off now."

"Aqua," The boy turned back to face them as Hachiman got up and patted his head gently, making sure not to mess up the kid's hair or he'd never hear the end of it. "Show me your best okay?"

Aqua batted his hand away, sharply looking off to the side away from him. "Yeah, fine."

He sat back down with a groan letting Aqua leave. Sometimes dealing with Aqua was way more exhausting than Ruby ironically considering their personalities. Ruby while being infinitely more demanding than Aqua was simple to handle. She wore her feelings on her sleeves, not afraid to express herself.

Case in point as Ruby grabbed his hand and placed it on her head while sporting a pout that almost made him feel bad. Forcing him into patting her head mindlessly like a robot.

Aqua on the other hand was less open, he tried to act all stoic but he did have his own feelings even if he hid them. He would lap up any praise you gave him but then try to cover up the delight he felt. The only one who could consistently get Aqua to act like his age was Ai and even around her he still tried to act all tough.

He put those thoughts aside as the lights around them dimmed. He pulled Ruby back into his lap, freeing up some room on the bench which a crewmember quickly took while giving him a thankful smile.

Focusing his eyes on the blonde boy on set, it was time for Aqua to put on a show.


"I can't believe you lied,"

Miyako glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes before returning her attention to the road. "About what Hikigaya?" Drawling out the words, as if she couldn't bother herself to deal with him.

"Aqua's role today, it was nothing like what you said it'd be." He accused, with an exaggerated tone in an attempt to draw a certain boy's attention.

Glancing at the rearview mirror he could see Aqua staring out the window. Viewing the passing scenery but he did furtively peek at them out of the corner of his eye.

"On paper it looked the same as all the other characters he played." Miyako smiled. "That last scene was something else though."

The final scene was meant to be the capstone to the backstory of a pivotal character in the show. The boy's parents had already been set up to get a divorce throughout the rest of the episode and in the scene they'd be arguing about that. The tragedy? Neither wanted the child after separating from each other.

It was the emotional climax of the episode, requiring a… finer touch that none of Aqua's previous roles needed. Now he would like to say that Aqua nailed the part, or that he smashed it out of the park but the truth was he did an alright job. For the first time at actually playing a part that had depth he did good.

The director had given Aqua a chance with that scene. To prove that he was capable of more and Aqua had delivered, not perfectly, far from it but he'd done it.

"Yeah, Aqua did an alright job. It could've been better though." Miyako gave him a sharp glare, ready to spit out some vitriol at him but he raised a hand placatingly, hoping she would trust him.

"I mean some of the line delivery didn't pack the weight it should have. It also took him a few takes to get the correct facial expressions when the boy heard the mother was trying to force him onto the father. Kind of sloppy in my opinion."

"Hikigaya, that's enough." Miyako grunted out, her jaw clenched and looking like she was trying to vaporise him with her eyes.

"Well I just think Aqua could've done better really." Shifting slightly in his seat so he could direct his voice to the back of the car, "I'm sure next time you'll figure it out right Aqua?"

The boy didn't say anything, making him turn around in his seat in concern. Aqua gripped the fabric of his shirt with his fists and his brows were furrowed as he stared deeply at the back of Miyako's seat.

"Aqua?" He spoke softly while Ruby turned her gaze up away from the video she'd been watching on his phone, noticing the rising tension in the car.

Aqua turned to face him, an uncharacteristic flame burning in his blue eyes. "I'll be better, don't worry." Aqua had a soft determined smile and he could feel his own lips tugging upwards in response.

He turned back around satisfied, "Though I don't know if you're the best person to take advice from on acting considering your own skills Hachiman." Aqua just had to get the last comment in didn't he? He could hear Ruby giggling lightly and saw a faint shadow of a smile on Miyako's face. He wasn't that bad was he?

Wisely he chose to settle in his seat not commenting. Miyako had an unsettled look when she glanced at him, clearly not happy with the way he'd handled things but accepting of the outcome.

He only did as she asked, giving Aqua a slight push… well maybe more of a shove. Maybe more aptly what he did was to give the boy a reason. A reason to take what he wanted.


As soon as they entered the apartment after being dropped off by Miyako. All three sets of eyes were drawn to the idol that was dozing off on the couch. He shut the door behind them and joined the kids in staring at Ai's sleeping form.

"Should we wake mama up?" Ruby tilted her head.

"Ai shouldn't sleep on the couch." Now even Aqua stared at him expectantly.

He huffed, resigning himself to his fate. He left the bags he was carrying on the kitchen countertop then approached the couch.

She looked so peaceful right now, it was a shame to wake her up. Her lips parted slightly as she sucked in some of the long stray strands of her hair that covered her face making her appear far cuter right now compared to how she'd look on stage.

He really didn't want to disturb her, she probably had a long day. The problem was if she needed to go somewhere and this was meant to be a short break. But would it be wrong for him to let her indulge in a nap right now?

He sat on the edge of the couch next to Ai, grabbed her phone that was next to her head and placed it on the coffee table. Looking at the kitchen, Ruby and Aqua were talking in soft tones. Aqua caught his eye and gestured to him to 'get on with it'.

Guess the decision was out of his hands.

Gently shaking her, he hoped she wouldn't make things difficult. She groaned softly, shifting onto her side away from his touch.

"Ai, get up please." He tapped her cheek lightly a few times causing her eyes to open blearily, blinking slowly.

"Hachiman?" Ai mumbled out, still in a daze as her eyes adjusted to the light. Slowly the clarity in them returned until-

"Where were you?!" She shot up, nearly knocking herself into him if he didn't lean back in time. "I waited so long and you never showed up!"

"What?"

Ai grabbed his shirt and shook him repeatedly, "Don't 'what' me you idiot!"

Grabbing her hands off of him, "Maybe explain things first? I really don't know what you're talking about." He nudged his head behind her to the twins. "You should also say hi to your kids."

Ai wrenched her hands out of his grip and waved at her children who were smiling at him and Ai, "Hi kids!" Ruby giggled at that, moving to join them on the couch.

"Hi mama," Ruby gleefully sat between him and Ai leaning close to her mother. The girl regaled to Ai an exaggerated account of the day's events occupying the idol's attention for now.

He glanced back to the kitchen to see the lone other male in the house on a stool unbagging the groceries. He got up off the couch leaving Ruby and Ai to their chat.

"Aqua," He clapped a hand on the boy's shoulder and pried the plastic bag Aqua was holding away from him. "Go, tell Ai about your day."

They stared at each other both unblinking, before Aqua finally relented and got off the stool. Just for fun, he ruffled Aqua's hair making Aqua scowl at him before he left to join his sister.

He continued the work Aqua started, unbagging the groceries and sorting them away. Occasionally he would glance into the living room seeing the three Hoshino's chatting animatedly with each other. A longing feeling to join them bubbled up in his chest but he shook it off.

Mindlessly he placed things away, so familiar with where everything went. He was the one who used the kitchen the most, it was only right for him to decide where things should be. As he did that, he could hear the light approach of someone from behind him.

"I'm still mad at you," He closed a cabinet door then turned to face Ai. "Even if Ruby tells me you had a good reason for ditching me, I'm still mad so you better apologise." The serious look she had did not at all match her childish words.

"I don't have any clue what you cooked up in that brain of yours. How did I 'ditch' you?" He leaned on the countertop crossing his arms.

"You said you'd be back quick when I messaged you." She whined out, "I got so worried when you didn't show up!" Speaking with a distraught tone and dramatically she covered her face with her hands, but left a small gap to peek at him.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking what you're doing back?" Wincing when Ai punched his shoulder.

"I finished things early to surprise you!" Oh… "Jerk."

"W-well you can't blame me for that, you didn't even say anything. A simple text would have sufficed."

"Okay I don't blame you, that was maybe my bad." He raised an eyebrow at her, "Okay fineee. It was totally my bad for trying to give you a nice surprise." The sarcasm was not appreciated when he really didn't do anything wrong.

She got close to him and tiptoed as high as she could to meet his face, "I'm still mad though, so could you apologise?"

He brushed past her to store away more things, "I literally have nothing to be sorry for Ai."

"C'mon you left me alone here Hachiman, don't you feel a little bad? I was so bored y'know!"

"If you communicated like… well I don't know the adult you're supposed to be then maybe this wouldn't have happened."

Ai stepped in his way, hands clasped behind her back as she leaned forwards slightly with a playful grin. "By law I don't think I'm an adult yet Hachiman~"

He rolled his eyes, of course she had to be right about this of all things. Consoling himself with the fact that in a couple more months her point would be moot. "You're still a mother of two." He tried to sidestep her but she raised her arms to her sides blocking him.

"Semantics," Ai shrugged, acting like she didn't need to be more responsible than the average adult when she had twins. "Can't we both take fault for an honest mistake between two people."

"You do know Ruby was the one who wanted us to stay out longer right?"

"Hey, don't bring my baby girl into your evil schemes!" She glared at him but the way her lips twitched did not sell the act. "For that you should be even more serious in your apology." The smugness in her voice really wasn't warranted.

He sighed, he really was too drained to deal with this. Sometimes Ai made the weirdest demands and she would never let things go. "If I do that, can you stop being a pest?"

"Rude… but okay!"

"Alright, I'm sorry." Then he grabbed her shoulders and moved her tiny frame to the side.

As he grabbed another item to be stored away, a pair of hands joined him. "You could've at least tried to act a bit more sincere, Hachiman."

"I did what you asked." He took the bag of cookies she handed to him. "I could say I'm sorry you're an idiot? If that pleases you more." Ai snorted in a manner definitely not suited for an idol.

"Be like that then," She bumped her shoulder into his. "How was getting to see Aqua's acting though? Was it worth skipping out on meeting Japan's number one idol~" Ai posed in a cutesy manner placing a hand on her hip while raising a peace-sign next to her eye as she winked at him with the signature smile she'd practised for years dancing on her face.

He'd never admit it to her but… he could see why so many people went crazy for her. The light drumming of his heartbeat was enough evidence.

Averting his gaze from the bright star next to him, "All that title is good for is feeding your already overinflated ego."

"Well you do a good job at bruising it don't you?" She nudged her elbow into his side, so annoying. "Aqua?"

"He was good, the role he played had a lot of depth and he managed to portray it well." He glanced at her when she didn't hand him anything else. Her mouth partly open as she stared at him like she'd found a new puzzle to solve. "What is it?"

"Oh… well it's just weird seeing you compliment someone involved in entertainment so easily." Ai put a finger on her cheek, "Was Aqua that amazing?"

"I'm not the best judge but Aqua understood the role he got and expressed it well." He paused, glancing behind them at the living room where Aqua and Ruby were watching a show of some kind.

"He enjoys it, acting that is. It's one of the few things I've seen him genuinely interested in." Ai hummed lightly in agreement while handing him the last bag.

"He told me how in his next role he'd have to get a lot better. Maybe we could get him some acting classes?" A pleasant warmth spread through his body at her words.

"Maybe… it's better to ask if he even wants them or not in the first place."

Though thinking about it, he did have firsthand experience on how being shoved into an extracurricular activity even if you didn't want it, could change your life for the better. It was something to consider if Aqua didn't want the classes. He could ask Hiratsuka-sensei for her opinion.

"Well he'll be fine anyway if he wants to be an actor, he's got the whole power of Ichigo-pro behind him!"

"Nepotism isn't a good thing Ai." She laughed at him as if he'd said something stupid.

"We've been over this, connections are a big part of the industry."

"Yeah I get that part, still doesn't make it good."

"Well don't be mad if it works in our favour." Ai grabbed his hand and tried to pull him out of the kitchen. "That's a problem for future us to worry about anyway. Let's go sit with the kids, we put everything away already."

He got dragged a bit before he planted his feet, stopping her from tugging him further away. "I was going to start on dinner."

"Really? We can just order, don't worry about it." He would accept that offer on most days, but…

"Ruby asked me to make curry." Ai's shoulders slouched and her body sagged in disappointment.

"W-we could order curry then?" He gave her a look, making her crumple into herself in disappointment. "Fine~ we'll make the curry then." Ai started rolling up the sleeves of her sweater.

"We?" Ai glared at him for that comment.

"It'll be finished faster if we work together, Hachiman." Maybe with anyone else he would agree to that statement. With Ai? It felt better to just go at things alone.

"With your cooking skills?"

"Oh c'mon! You're the one who taught me sensei." She spat the title out mockingly while patting his cheek a few times in a patronising manner

"Don't remind me, that was a disaster." The memory sent a chill down his spine causing him to involuntarily shudder. "And maybe as your sensei I know how bad you are."

"It's just curry." Sniffing at him. "Even I could do that on my own."

At the genuine heat in her eyes, he was compelled to comply. "Fine, fine." Turning around he pulled out their ingredients and placed them on the countertop. "Just help me prepare things first, dice up some of these vegetables."

Ai sidled up to him, smiling as he handed her a knife. Thankfully for his fraying sanity, they worked in silence. He wasn't sure he had the energy left to deal with more of her… everything really.

Today has been such a long day. After they ate dinner he was out of here, he needed the peace and calm his apartment provided. The problem was, the next day he'd probably be back here and it would be another long one.

If everyday was long, then maybe no day was long. This was just his life.


So uh I wrote another chapter for a story meant to be a oneshot... whoops. I just couldn't leave this pairing alone when I watched the new OnK s2 episodes and reading Behind Those Eyes. Also I have an exam coming up and I procrastinate a lot so this filled up my 'free' time.

I'll be real, I have no idea where this story would go. I just kind of want to keep writing fluff between the Hoshino's and Hachiman. So if you're expecting a well written plot I don't know if I got that in me. I do have a semblance of a plot structured out but it's super vague and just for me to compile a list of future chapter ideas.

I'm still surprised at the attention this fic got so thank you guys for all the nice words. I kind of just winged the first chapter after years of not writing anything and some of you pointed out there were definitely problems. I did kind of rewrite the first chapter, keeping the same story but just fixing the POV issues... at least I hoped I fixed them. I still kind of winged this 2nd chapter but I did try to put more time and effort.

I'm honestly happy to get criticism so if there's things that feel off in this 2nd chapter lemme know and I'll try to get better.

Anyway all that being said, hope you enjoyed thanks for reading.