𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 / 𝘪𝘬𝘶𝘺𝘢.

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 / 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳.

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'haru! [name]! i brought you some food!' makoto announced through the sliding door to the nanase household.

[name] switched the hallway light on, opening the door as haru joined her side. the siblings jolted in surprise as asahi and ikuya peered around makoto. 'why are you all here?' haru asked.

'here! this is for you. i'm coming in!' asahi said, placing a lollipop in haru's hands and messing up [name]'s hair as he walked through the house.

'we're coming in,' ikuya and makoto stated in unison. haru stared at the lollipop in his hand as his friends removed their shoes.

'i'm going to borrow your kitchen,' ikuya informed, waving at [name] as he wandered further down the hall.

'why?' she asked, following him closely.

'well, the reason haru fainted was because he neglected his health and we all wanted to make sure you were ok,' he explained. the defeated expression on his face was quickly substituted for a smile. 'to keep you from being so much trouble again, and to make sure you eat and make a full recovery... we're going to be staying here for a while.'

asahi stuck his head out of the kitchen. 'it seems that your mother is going to come back in 3 days. so until then... well, just give in,' the red-head said.

'haru, [name], don't worry. we got the ok from your mother and all of ours. you wait in the living room, guys!

'what about our ok?' haru mumbled, still holding the lollipop asahi forced onto him. [name] shrugged at him, entering the kitchen to monitor the boys' chaos.

'asahi, you're in the way. move,' ikuya demanded bluntly.

'oh, sorry,' the megaphone said, shifting away.

'why are you cutting them before removing the skin?' [name] questioned, pointing to the vegetables on the chopping board.

'stupid asahi...' the teal-haired boy added.

'what about you and these weird shapes? they're awful,' asahi retorted.

the [hair colour]-haired girl sighed, taking some of the ingredients to prepare and moving to her own small station in the kitchen.

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haru hesitated to eat any of the food that was set on the table; it looked burnt - and it was.

'i made these, those were made by the others and those were the ones that makoto's mum made,' [name] whispered to her brother, noticing his hesitance. she sat upright with a smile adorning her face. 'now, let's eat!'

'itadakimasu!' asahi exclaimed, digging into the food layed out on the table.

the group started moving food from the array of plates onto their own and started eating, ignoring the appearance, unlike haru. asahi's loud eating made the blue-eyed boy uncomfortable, but reached for the food everyone had made together. he hesitated. then he ate it. he hummed in surprise, albeit a bit delayed.

'how is it? is it good?' [name] asked.

'it's not bad,' haru replied, taking another bite.

'what's with that dishonest reaction?' ikuya said, [name] looking his way.

'you, too,' asahi imitated.

'did you say something?' the annoyance in ikuya's voice was apparent.

'nothing.'

'asahi, you're really too simple. you're really like a little kid. you jumped to such weird conclusions today,' ikuya stated.

'huh? you're the one who cried like a little kid and clung to [name] like your life depended on it,' asahi argued.

'that... that wasn't really... like that.'

'oh, yes, yes. i see.'

'what's with that reaction?'

'hey, stop that you 2,' [name] interrupted. haru's lips tugged upwards lightly.

everyone went silent, noticing the change in demeanour.

'oh! he laughed!' they said in unison.

'i didn't,' haru denied.

'no, i saw it! You definitely laughed!' asahi protested.

'me too!' ikuya added.

[name] rolled her eyes playfully and bit into her food. 'you were mistaken,' she said, grinning to herself. the environment around her had significantly lightened since everything was resolved and she knew this would be a long sleepover.