Rei had been sheltered by Nahoya. The two, who’d gone easily from friends to lovers, had always existed in a comfortable and measured space. They were sweet, moving with the kind of synchrony that older couples might envy. Rarely did they ever step on each other’s toes. It was an extraordinarily neat kind of life, and one that Rei had thought she’d be content with. She’d grown more distant since they moved in together, at the end of their first university degrees and at the beginning of their higher pursuits. It had been a decision of economy more than anything else, though Rei had still flitted around and glowed a bit in the setup of the small space they now called home. It had been novelty that had engaged her, she realized now, and it had faded as quickly as changing their shared bedsheets became routine.<br/><br/>Naho had noticed the shift in their relationship, but he’d been won over by the same explanation she’d given herself. Her new graduate program was stressful, she was a bit tired, and their love was a mature one. Mature love did not require the wild passions of teenage frenzy. This final point had been a little humorous to them both, at the time. The pair had rarely shared any sort of frenzy. Rather, they shared the quieter satisfaction of having grown up together, and in some ways, grown up for each other. It was the culmination of all Nahoya’s sheltering that left her confused and floundering against his little brother’s toying.<br/><br/>She was quiet for most of dinner, eating her food with great interest and avoiding having to look either brother in the eye for all too long. Rei was certain that Kitato hadn’t done it as a favor, but she was grateful that he seemed to be keeping Naho happy and distracted anyhow.<br/><br/>She struggled against the tug of his leg periodically, as if she were testing his resolve, but gave up almost as quickly as she began each time. Rei didn’t like how aware of her own skin their tangled limbs made her, but she didn’t well know what else to do. By the time it was time to clear the table, Naho seemed to have spirits buoyed proportional to her own creeping distress. In Kit’s insistence, Rei tasted her own uncertainty and something entirely new. A small and flaring fear.<br/><br/>“Ah, yea, we’ll get it Naho. You slaved away over the stove, so this is the least we can do.” She blurted, almost overly-eager to agree with Kitato. It wasn’t because she wanted Naho to leave, and it wasn’t because Naho smelled funny. Rei just needed an inch to breath, and it seemed quite apparent it wasn’t going to be Kitato who gave it to her. Rei plastered on a wide smile for Nahoya. It wasn’t even pretend. It made her heart hurt a little to see him so moved by Kit’s fairly empty gesture, and it seemed like all she could offer was to be encouraging that he enjoy the simple kindness.<br/><br/>She swallowed hard when they were alone and Kit’s fingers traced the collar of her shirt. “Okay.” She said, and her voice was smaller than she’d wanted it to be. “Let’s be quick about it.” Rei murmured. She followed him a little numbly to the sink and didn’t know whether to be tense or not as they went about the dishes. It was like he was intent on forcing her into high alert at all times, and Rei was certain she’d not be able to sustain it.<br/><br/>When they had finished the dishes, she wiped her hands on a dishrag and planted her palms on her hips with some satisfaction. Kitato hadn’t done anything else confusing, which somehow felt like a triumph. She’d managed to splash a bit of water on herself during the task, and now went about peeling the damp cloth of the t-shirt away from where it clung to her stomach. She made a face, but was a good deal more lighthearted about it than she’d been at the dinner table. “Nahoya is so happy when you spend the time to talk with him like that.” She said abruptly, glancing up to look at Kit for the first time since she’d approached the sink. She gave him a small, hopeful smile. “I’m sure he’s going to tell me all about how pleased he was when I get to the room.” She hesitated. “It’d be nice if you two had more time like that, together.”<br/><br/>It was probably a terrible sort of effort, to slide back into her place as being something of a caring sister-in-law. Like she had any right to suggest things on behalf of Nahoya’s happiness now. Still, Rei seemed eager to cling to whatever naivety she could recover. Surely, if they could do simple household chores at each other’s side like nothing had happen, they could make something of a return to normalcy. First days at school were always a little rough.