It was late morning, and the apartment had gone quiet for once. Kaito was at the desk, actually doing something productive for once—typing up an assignment that was due the next day. His fingers clacked away on the keyboard while the fan hummed beside him. Everything was calm.
Too calm.
He should've known better.
Just as he reached the halfway mark of his report, a soft knock came at his door.
Then silence.
Then a louder knock.
"…What now," he muttered.
Before he could even stand up, the door creaked open slowly—without permission—and Chiaka's head peeked in, her expression suspiciously innocent.
"Kaito~" she sang. "Are you busy?"
He stared at her. "What do you think?"
"Perfect," she said, ignoring his tone entirely as she slid into the room like she was invading enemy territory. "Let's go out."
He sighed. "I'm doing assignments."
"You've been doing assignments all morning."
"It's been 32 minutes."
"Exactly. Too long."
Kaito turned back to his screen, refusing to acknowledge her little rebellion.
But Chiaka wasn't giving up that easily. She tiptoed behind him, looked at the laptop screen, and immediately groaned.
"Ugh. Reports. No wonder you're frowning like an 80-year-old."
He didn't look up. "Chiaka."
"Okay, okay," she said quickly. "But hear me out. I need shampoo. Also, the fridge is empty. Also also… I'm bored."
"Sounds like a you problem."
"But if you come with me, I'll treat you to ice cream."
Kaito stopped typing.
She smirked. "Tempted?"
"…Slightly."
She leaned closer. "Triple scoop. Your choice of flavor. No sharing."
"…Fine."
He grabbed his phone and stood up. "But just one hour."
"Yay!" she jumped up in victory. "Operation: Escape Homework successful."
"Operation: Distract Me From Productivity, you mean."
As they stepped out into the summer heat, Chiaka was already chatting about all the snacks she planned to buy and all the things she totally didn't need but was still going to look at. Kaito mostly nodded, occasionally throwing in a sarcastic comment, but deep down, he didn't really mind.
She made everything feel like less of a routine. Even walking to the store felt like an adventure with her.
They reached the shopping center, and Chiaka immediately darted toward the shampoo aisle like it was a treasure hunt. Kaito followed slowly, pushing the cart as she dramatically picked up bottles and sniffed them like a wine connoisseur.
"This one smells like flowers," she announced. "Too romantic."
"This one smells like coconut. Too beachy."
"This one smells like... soap."
"They're all soap," Kaito muttered.
She gasped and pointed at him like he was a heretic. "You have no imagination."
"Or maybe I just don't spend ten minutes sniffing shampoo bottles in public."
"Oh please, like you've never—OH!" she cut herself off and grabbed a bottle. "This one. This is the one. Lavender-vanilla. Smells like bedtime and cake."
"That's oddly specific."
"And that's why it's perfect," she grinned, tossing it into the cart.
They strolled through the snack section next, where Chiaka tried to convince Kaito to buy 3-for-1 puffs "just in case of emergencies" (she didn't explain what kind of emergencies involved cheese snacks, but he figured she had a whole list in her head).
Then came the arcade.
Chiaka practically skipped toward it. "Just one game," she promised.
"You said that last time. We ended up there for an hour."
"But this time I'll win!"
She dragged him over to a two-player rhythm game and shoved a token into his hand before he could resist.
Kaito sighed in defeat and got ready.
Predictably, Chiaka lost.
"Hey! My side was lagging!"
"You missed half the beats."
"I was distracted by your smug face."
They argued all the way to the ice cream shop.
Chiaka kept pouting as she licked her mint-choco cone like it had betrayed her. Kaito sat next to her on the bench outside, eating his quietly.
"You're always so calm," she said suddenly.
Kaito looked at her. "So?"
"I dunno. You're like… the still lake next to my tornado."
He chuckled. "You mean I'm boring?"
She shook her head. "I mean you balance things out."
There was a pause.
Kaito looked down at his cone. "I never thought I'd live with someone like you."
"Same," she smiled. "I thought I'd end up alone with twenty cats."
"You still might."
"Hey!"
He laughed, and she bumped her shoulder lightly against his.
They sat there for a while, the street buzzing with distant traffic and people walking past. The heat had finally started to calm down, and the sun dipped a little lower in the sky.
Chiaka spoke again, softer this time. "Hey, Kaito…"
He glanced at her. "Hm?"
"Thanks for coming with me."
"…You bribed me with ice cream."
"I lured you with ice cream. Very different."
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
She smiled, a little more relaxed now. "You're not as boring as I thought when we first met."
"Gee, thanks."
"I mean, you're still a bit boring. But, like... funny boring."
"Wow. Flattery really isn't your strength."
"You love it," she smirked.
She stood up and stretched. "Okay! Let's head back before the heat turns me into soup."
As they walked home, their steps unconsciously matched. Chiaka kept going on about a vending machine conspiracy she'd just made up, complete with hand gestures and sound effects. Kaito pretended to look annoyed, but the corner of his mouth twitched every now and then.
She was ridiculous. Loud. Dramatic.
But somehow, her nonsense had started feeling like part of the routine.
Not the living with her part.
Just the... her part.
And honestly?
It was kind of fun.