"Pah~ That was delicious!"
"It's nothing, hehe."
After sorting ourselves out after from what happened earlier, we ended up having breakfast together. Sis cooked a simple omelette rice dish as she said she didn't have much in terms of meat after some tikka masala she made for our brother. It came as quite a shock to hear about our brother over breakfast like that, I wanted to meet him but according to sis he's currently away starting his new job. She texted him though, so maybe one of these days I'll also be reunited with him. It'll never be like back then... but at least with our brother here, it'll feel just a little more like home.
"Mmmm~"
"Fufu."
We both wound up smiling towards one another as we both start to clean up together, my smile refusing to leave my face, almost as if the corners of my mouth were glued in place.
Suddenly, as if to disturb this pleasant atmosphere, the door bell rang just as we were finishing up with tidying up the table.
"Ah, sorry. Gimme a sec."
"Mm."
I watched as sis opened the door to greet whoever came over, but no sooner did the door open did a bright girl with a huge smile on her face come bursting through. Does she think she owns this place? Wait, but could this be sis' roommate? But if that's the case then why is there only one bed? Could they have-
"UWAH!~ It's really her!"
"Woah..."
"Eh?"
But as if it could get worse, another girl came up from behind the girl that just burst inside past sis. Her eyes were sharp, piercing straight into me which made it difficult for me to move. What on earth is happening?
"You brought Nicole as well?"
"Ah- Sorry. I was in a call with her when you sent that text and I ended up blurting it all out. So she wanted to come with me."
Ah... So this girl must be that Midori person that sis was texting... I get it now, but I can't help but feel a bit awkward about all of this. I was hopping to enjoy some time alone with sis, but now with these people... I just-
"Reina?"
"Sorry..."
I subconsciously found myself holding myself close to sis' arm, as if to try and get some comfort out of this whole situation that had just burst itself in.
"Ahh~ Don't be sorry Reina. Thinking about it, I probably shouldn't have come over with Nicole, ehe."
"Wait, what?! But isn't this huge-?"
"We'll be taking our leave~ Sorry to barge in like this."
However, just as fast, if not even quicker than them bursting through, Midori ends up grabbing hold of Nicole before essentially dragging her and herself out of the room.
"A-Are you sure? Your place is quite a bit away."
"It's fine~ I'll stay at Nicole's."
"Wait, hang on-!"
"Let me know when's a good time to come over."
It was then that Midori turned her eyes towards me, ignoring Nicole cries, her eyes softening ever so slightly, but it was enough to let me know that she must've caught onto my discomfort, which allowed me to end up loosening my grip on sis' arm.
"Well then, take care~"
"Y-yeah..."
And just like that, the door closed, leaving just sis and I standing in the room, my arms still wrapped around sis' arm.
"Sorry. I really didn't expect them to come over like that."
"It's okay... She seemed nice."
"Midori? Yeah. She's helped me god knows how many times at this point."
I would say more, but after seeing her, all I could think of was saying she seemed nice, but even those few words made my chest sting a bit...
"...So you've been to her house?"
"Nn, but we mainly hang out at my place. I was against it at first, but Midori wore me down, hehe."
"I see..."
"Is something wrong?"
"N-no... Not really."
After exhaling quite deeply, trying to drown out this weird feeling in my chest, I let go of sis before turning to face her with a smile on my face.
"Just a bit surprised is all. Seeing you making friends like that."
Growing up as kids, sis and I would always stay together. Besides our bother and parents, we barely interacted with anyone else as the kids in the neighbourhood would always shame us for looking different than everyone else. Sure our brother helped in that regard, but that also ended up alienating us more in the process, leading us having an even harder time making friends.
So it strikes me quite strongly seeing sis acting all friendly like that with those two girls... I can't help but wonder just how many people she has made friends with during our time apart. She said that she was looking for me as well, but to see what happened just now...
"Reina?"
"Eh?"
"You alright? You were spacing out."
"Ah- ehehe. I'm alright. Was just a little startled."
"Sorry again about that. Hehe, but Midori seemed to pick up on that right away."
"Mm..."
"Just let me know when you're ready, okay? We can spend the day together alone if you like."
"..."
I end up saying nothing in response, only holding onto sis' shirt before we both end up moving to the couch to relax.
With a new change of space however, with both of us now sitting on the couch, I can't help but feel a bit awkward about it. Sure I'm happy that I'm with sis, I'm over the moon in fact, but I can't help but feel a bit selfish having driven her friends away. I've calmed down enough to maybe handle it if that's what sis wants... Yeah.
"Hey, you sure you're okay?"
"...I'm sorry. Could you maybe call your friends back?"
"Huh?"
"They seemed excited, and you also looked happy talking with them... I don't want to feel like I'm a both-er?"
Suddenly, before I could finish my sentence, sis wrapped her arm around my waist, pulling me in close, shifting most of my weight against her in the process.
"Would it help if I said that I also didn't want them here?"
"Eh?"
"You're right that I was happy, but if Midori didn't leave by herself, I would've sent her and Nicole back myself."
"B-but aren't they your friends?"
"You're more important than them, Reina."
Hearing sis' words alleviates the heavy feeling in my chest almost instantly as I let my body relax in her embrace, submitting more of myself against her, and almost instantly, as if feeling me relax, sis holds me a little tighter in response.
"We've only just reunited. A part of me still thinks that this is all just one big dream. But if this really is reality, then I'd want to spend this time with you and you alone."
"Sis..."
"We've been apart for so long. I can always see Midori anytime."
Feeling a warm, fluttery feeling bubbling up inside my chest, quickly replacing that awkward, heavy feeling from earlier, I wound up wrapping both my arms around sis as I end up pushing sis down from the side, practically tackling her to the couch as I find myself now on top of sis, with her back now resting against the cushion. My hair now cascading on either side of us.
"Reina."
"Sis..."
Staring into her eyes like this only makes this feeling stronger as I stare into our endless amount of reflections. It's like our eyes are mirrors in a way as I'm not quite sure as to who I'm actually looking at; sis or myself.
"Ah-!"
Just then, breaking the silence, I feel myself being pulled down into a tight embrace as our chests press against one another while I lay atop of her.
"...Let's just stay like this, okay?"
"M-mm..."
I relax in sis' embrace as I feel the warmth of our bodies slowly becoming one. However, out of no where, I feel my vision growing blurry as tears quickly began to spill out of my eyes before quickly being soaked into sis' shirt.
"Pfft. Are we both crying?"
"Eh?"
It's then that I looked up to see that sis was also tearing up. Not out of sadness... Far from it, as I feel the same way.
"I wonder if dad would be happy."
"...Mm."
I recall the day where where our father passed right in front of us in that hospital bed. He wanted us to stay together, to look out for one another, yet-
"We wound up breaking that promise immediately... I know it wasn't our fault, but it still hurts knowing we couldn't even do that much."
"I guess we'll just have to make it up to them from now on."
"Fufu. You think they're watching us now?"
"Nn... I'm sure of it."
I follow sis' gaze over to the picture that's rested on the bedside table. It's a photo of our family when we were kids, holding our stuffed bunny plushies.
"Do you still have yours?"
"Mhmm. What about you?"
"Yeah, although it's a bit torn. It's just on the bed there."
I mustn't have saw it from how dark it was earlier, but now that sis points it out, I can see that black bunny plushie tucked away in the back there.
"Mine is back at Kanon's place..."
"Kanon?"
"Ah- She helped me find a job. I'm staying at their place at the moment."
"...Y-you know you could just live here... with me."
"But are you sure I won't be a-"
Suddenly, cutting me off from speaking further, I feel a soft, supple sensation on my lips as my vision quickly catches up to the sensation as I see sis's face right up against my own, our lips pressed up against one another. Her hand gently moves up my arm, the one that was cut as her fingers gently moves over the wound before she eventually breaks away from the kiss, leaving me speechless as I remain on top of her.
"Sorry. I just-"
As if to payback for what she did, I move down, as if chasing sis, quickly enclosing her lips with my own once more, leaving her with no way to escape. With my eyes closed like this, it honestly feels like I'm back to when we were kids, unlike the short kiss we shared when sis was half asleep. But after a few seconds, I gently lift myself away from sis, breaking the kiss once more.
"Okay."
"Huh?"
"I'll stay."
I collapse on top of sis, putting all of my weight onto her as I rest my head back on her chest.
"I can't bear the thought of losing you again."
"Nn... Neither... And I promise to keep you safe."
Sis once again gently caresses my injury with her fingers. It's not painful at all, if anything it's almost ticklish in a way, leaving me smiling as I continue to lay against sis.
"I'm not heavy, am I?"
"Pfft, of course not."
"So I can stay like this?"
"Nn."
As if to reaffirm it, sis wraps her arms back around me as we remain glued to the couch, our hearts now beating in sync with each other.
After some time, sis reaches for the tv remote before turning it on with us now more in a seated position. That said, I'm still practically laying on sis still.
*"With winter having already touch parts of the country, it's high time to get ready and stay warm with this fresh, new selection of winter clothing~!"*
Nothing much of interest is on as we wound up just watching the commercials.
"Oh! What about that scarf? From our last birthday. You still have that?"
"Mhmm! I'll be sure to bring that over as well- oh?"
During the time as we watched tv together, I ended up messaging Kanon's father once more, this time talking about how I plan to move in with my sister, and just now, I finally got a response. Sis also leans her head over to read the message with me as I go to open it, both of us now properly seated.
Message: "What's the address? We'll help move your things tomorrow for you. Anna will be a bit upset, but I hope you'll still be attending school, correct?"
Reina: "Yes. The school isn't too far from here. I could maybe meet Anna along the way. But is it really okay to leave all my things to you?"
"Oh? You going to school?"
"Ah, yeah."
"Do you know which one?"
"Ah, I forgot the name, hehe."
During our little back and forth, the phone buzzes once more as I get a response.
Message: "Of course! I could honestly do it myself. You really didn't pack too many things. Also I'd appreciate it if you could do that for Anna."
Reina: "Alright. Then I'll be in your care."
I send that response before nestling myself back against sis.
"Who's Anna?"
"Kanon's younger sister. I'll be attending the same school as her."
"Hmmm..."
"Sis?"
"...Just made me think about how we might not be attending the same school."
"...Yeah."
I've also been thinking about that for a bit now. I guess it's only natural after having spent so much time away from one another, I almost want to try and catch up as much as possible of all the lost time, but I guess not everything goes your way.
"Well, at least you got the okay to stay here."
"Mhmm!"
Wanting to not think about anything negative, I clutch onto sis more tightly as we both continue to watch the tv.
"I'll be in your care, sis."
"Nn. Same here."
Meanwhile at Nicole's place-
"Hahhh~ I still don't know why we didn't just hang out at Luna's. Her sister was right there!"
"Like I said, they just reunited. It was a mistake to just barge up there uninvited like that."
It was Nicole's idea of going, but I wound up getting swept up in the idea. It was only when we arrived did I realise what a mistake that was. God I probably looked like such an idiot...
"So when are we supposed to meet them?"
"When they're ready, obviously."
"Hahh~ Fine~"
Nicole slumps down on her bed as I remain standing, thinking about the events from earlier. I'd hope Reina doesn't hate me, but maybe the damage is already done. Nicole didn't see it, but I could see the life being sucked out of Reina's eyes when we arrived. I just hope next time we meet it's under better circumstances.
"Pfft. But I guess that ruins your plan, right?"
"Huh?"
"About your date with Luna."
"I-It wasn't going to be a date! We were just going to search for her sister."
"Alone, which makes it a date."
"Is that really how it goes?"
"Yup~ But too bad~ Looks like you'll have to wait now in order to get a smooch of Luna's lips~"
"Nicole!"
"HAHAHA!"
I am a bit annoyed with Nicole's teasing, but I don't blame her after what happened with her now ex-boyfriend. If it means it'll make her feel a bit happier, I'll gladly take a few hits like this. Plus, it's not the end of the world, we've agreed to share lunches at school now so-
"Oh!"
"Hmm?"
"You think I could borrow your kitchen?"
"What for?"
"I wanna try out some new techniques I've been researching~"
"...You say that, but your eyes say something completely different."
"Oh come on Nicole~ Won't you help a friend out with her cooking? You'll help taste test right? You did promise after all~"
"...I have a bad feeling about this."