"Momo? What are you doing here?!"
Seeing who it was, Nana lowered her voice and stared in surprise.
"You two can come, why can't I?" Momo closed the door and walked over, tossing the question back at them.
"Uh..."
"So, what exactly are you two... doing?" Momo looked at Mea, then at Nana, then over at the bed, but didn't see anything obviously wrong.
Mm, brother-in-law's sleeping face really is nice to look at.
Still hugging left and right as usual too... I really want to be one of them~
"N–nothing at all, haha..." Nana forced a guilty laugh as she explained, her gaze flicking left and right, clearly not daring to look Momo in the eye.
"Super suspicious~ Mea, you tell me," Momo asked, turning to Mea.
"Hehe~ We came to prove whether brother-in-law likes me or not," Mea answered straight away.
"Mea, you..." Nana stared at her in disbelief. She just said it like that?!
You're way too honest!
"Prove brother-in-law likes you? Why do you need to prove that?" Momo frowned.
"That's because I want brother-in-law to massage my chest like he does for Nana and—mmph!"
Before she could finish, Nana slapped a hand over her mouth.
"Massage what, exactly?"
"Mmmff mmmff~"
"Hehe~ Nothing at all," Nana said with a stiff smile.
"You really think I'm going to buy that?"
"I said there's nothing!"
"Keep it down, will you? You'll wake brother-in-law and the others."
"Ugh..." Nana had no choice but to shut her mouth.
"Let Mea talk."
"No way!" Nana refused on the spot.
"With that attitude? Now it's even more suspicious. You can't hide it from me anymore."
"I..."
Nana felt a wave of frustration. Given Momo's curiosity, she was bound to find out eventually—and then Nana really would have no face left to show anyone.
She racked her brain and finally thought of a way to deal with Momo. She leaned over and whispered a few words into Mea's ear.
"Okay, now you can ask her whatever you want," Nana said, letting go of Mea.
"...Alright, Mea, you go first," Momo said, unbothered.
"Mm~ I just wanted brother-in-law to massage my chest too, but Nana said it has to be mutual, so we came to prove it," Mea replied.
"So that's how it is..." Momo looked over at Nana, smiling like a cat that'd found cream.
She immediately guessed what Mea had almost said earlier. It looked like Nana was already getting plenty of massages.
"W-Why are you looking at me like that?" Nana's heart lurched. She had the feeling Momo knew something.
"No reason." Momo just shook her head, still smiling.
"..." Nana was now almost sure of it.
"So then, Mea, how were you planning to prove it?" Momo asked again.
"Wake brother-in-law and ask him directly."
"Then why didn't you just talk to him during the day?" Momo countered.
"Oh, that's true~" Mea said, suddenly realizing.
"With you there, how are we supposed to?" Nana cut in.
"What does this have to do with me?"
"Hmph. With your personality, you'd definitely do something—either interfere or join in. We couldn't let you find out."
"You're really going to accuse me like that?"
"You know perfectly well what you're like," Nana shot back.
"Nana, I'm hurt you'd say that," Momo said, pressing a hand to her pale chest with a wounded expression.
"Drop the act. You think I'm falling for that?" Nana folded her arms and looked at her with disdain.
"I'll prove it," Momo declared solemnly.
"Huh? Prove what, exactly?"
"Mea, how about I help you tomorrow?"
"Help me?" Mea blinked, confused.
"Yup. For now, let's stop bothering brother-in-law and the others. Tomorrow when we go to the island, I'll find a chance to leave you alone with him."
"Alone with him~? Really?" Mea's eyes lit up.
"No problem at all—as long as someone doesn't mind." Momo shot Nana a meaningful look.
"Why are you looking at me? Of course I don't mind!" Nana said loudly.
"Shh, keep it down, you'll wake them up," Momo whispered.
"It is kind of weird, though. We've been making all this noise; how come brother-in-law and the others haven't woken up?" Mea wondered.
"That's simple. Brother-in-law's really busy during the day, so it's normal he sleeps like a rock at night... Anyway, let's not disturb them. We should go sleep too, or we'll have no energy to play tomorrow," Momo said, steering the two of them toward the door.
"Alright."
The three of them soon slipped out of the room. As she closed the door, Momo glanced back at Shichen on the bed. Her lips moved slightly, then she smiled and shut the door.
Silence returned.
"Get some sleep," she said a little later, once they'd reached their room doors in the hallway. Then she turned away without looking back and went into her own room.
Nana stared at the closed door for a long moment.
"Nana? What's wrong?" Mea asked, puzzled.
"Momo's being weird. I get the feeling something's off," Nana muttered.
"Maybe she's just tired. Come on, let's sleep. Tomorrow we can keep 'proving' things~" Mea said, full of anticipation.
"She doesn't look tired to me. I bet she's got something planned... probably for tomorrow. You be careful," Nana warned seriously.
"What's there to be careful about? I don't mind."
"...You should mind a little. You're still a girl," Nana said helplessly.
"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. Let's just go to bed."
"Fine."
They both went back to their rooms. In a few seconds, the entire house fell silent.
But not long after, Momo's door opened again—soundless this time.
She slipped out, closing the door quietly behind her, then leaned against Nana's door to listen for any movement inside.
Hearing nothing, she padded softly down the hall to Shichen's room again.
She didn't hesitate this time; she pushed the door open and walked straight over to the bed.
Looking at Shichen's sleeping face, she couldn't stop the excitement bubbling inside her. Smiling from ear to ear, she murmured, "Brother-in-law, are you really going to keep pretending to sleep~?"
"..."
Shichen opened his eyes, his expression full of resignation.
"What were you three doing just now?" he asked.
Of course he'd been awake a long time. The door opening had woken him, but he'd kept his eyes shut, curious what Nana and Mea were up to.
In the end, they hadn't done anything!
Aside from Mea briefly using his hand as a stethoscope stand.
Not nearly enough.
"Hehehe~ that wasn't on me," Momo said, shaking her head.
"Then what did you come back for?" Shichen sat up and looked at her.
"They messed up my plans, obviously. I had to come fix it."
"Fix it, huh... What kind of 'plan' do you have in the middle of the night?"
"In the middle of the night, what else could I possibly be here for, brother-in-law~?" Momo raised a brow at him and tossed the question back.
"No idea."
"Hey~ brother-in-law, don't pretend you don't know."
"Alright, alright. But aren't you planning to have fun at the beach tomorrow?"
"I am going to the beach tomorrow~ which is exactly why I need your help, brother-in-law~"
"Help? You can just say you don't want to go."
"No, no. I need a proper excuse."
"What kind of excuse?"
"The kind where I literally can't get out of bed~"
"You're sure about that?" Shichen blinked at her. Of course he knew exactly what she meant.
"I'm sure. I've been waiting for this forever~" Momo pouted, looking utterly wronged.
"Waiting forever, huh... you really are a dangerous little sister-in-law."
"Hehehe~ So how does brother-in-law feel?"
"Me?"
Shichen didn't answer. He simply climbed out of bed, walked over to her, and picked her up.
"Don't cry about it later, okay~?" he warned.
"Brother-in-law, please be gentle~" Momo beamed, absolutely glowing.
"I can't promise that."
"Let's go to my room..."
"Alright."
Shichen carried her to her room, set her gently on the bed, and then put up a barrier.
Momo sat up, her tail swishing excitedly behind her. Pinching the hem of her nightgown, she lifted it in one motion.
The room seemed to flush pink.
Her pale, rosy skin was impossibly soft and youthful.
Momo was only wearing a single undergarment; nobody sleeps in a full set.
Shichen's gaze heated up despite himself. He walked to the edge of the bed and leaned over her.
"Brother-in-law~" Momo's voice was soft and sweet.
"I don't think I'll be able to stay gentle," Shichen said quietly.
"Why not?"
"Because, my Momo, right now, you're way too tempting."
"Brother-in-law!" Momo's heart swelled with joy, and she wrapped her arms around him.
"Momo..." Shichen held her tighter, his hand naturally finding her tail.
"Mm~ B-brother-in-law, can I make a little request?" she asked in a syrupy tone.
"What is it?"
"Later... can you 'taste' my tail?"
That line made Shichen think of Tohru for a moment, though the meaning here was clearly different.
"That's all?" he asked.
"Brother-in-law... take care of me," Momo said, closing her eyes.
Shichen didn't say another word. He lowered his head and kissed her, intense and burning.
Soon the room filled with faint, breathy sounds that pricked at the ears.
Like a soft, wavering song—sweet and unbroken.
At some point, the creaking of the bed frame joined in, loud and insistent.
No one outside heard a thing.