A Call Before Sleep, A Surprise in the Morning

After finishing dinner, I went upstairs and walked to my room. I lay down on my bed and pulled out my phone before dialing Touka's number.

…

Not long after, she answered my call.

"Hello…?"

"Good evening, Touka," I said.

"Good evening to you too, Himeya."

"How was your day?" I asked.

"Hm… fun? I met a lot of people today. Well, it's because I played with the other girls in my class," she said. I could imagine what kind of face she was making right now.

"Is that so? That's good to hear," I replied.

"What about you? Did you have fun?"

"Fun, huh… Well, I wouldn't say it was fun, but I had enough moments to fill my memories for today."

"Ah, you're talking like a poet again," she teased.

"Eh…"

…

"Himeya…"

"What is it?"

"I want to see your face…"

…

"Me too," I said.

"I miss you…"

"Yeah… I feel like I'm missing part of my soul… hehe."

"Geez, I'm serious, you know."

…

She used the same kind of language as my sister.

"I see, Haru-nee's way of speaking has infected you too?"

"Ah… hehe, I guess I did pick it up, huh?"

"Say, Touka…"

"What is it?"

I pressed the video call button. A few seconds later, Touka accepted the call.

"I met an old friend of mine today," I said.

"Ah, I heard about that from Haru-nee. Who is it?"

"Her name is Alicia."

"Alicia? That sounds like a foreigner's name."

"Yep, she's Canadian."

"Hoo… I never knew you had a foreign childhood friend."

"I thought she would never return to Japan," I admitted.

"Well, she did, didn't she?" Touka said as she let go of her phone, and all I could see now was her ceiling.

"… You're not jealous, are you?" I asked.

"What would I have to be jealous about? Himeya-kun loves Touka-chan so much, after all," she said playfully.

"Hahaha, yeah, you're right."

"I also heard about your cousin. I'd like to meet her."

"… Wait, now?"

"Can I?"

"Uh, wait a sec. I'll call her."

I put down my phone, got up from my bed, and walked out of my room. I made my way to Kei's room and knocked on the door.

"Kei. Are you still up?"

Click

I heard the sound of the doorknob turning. A moment later, Kei opened the door. She stood there in front of me, wearing an oversized hoodie that hung loosely on her frame. The soft lighting in the hallway made the fabric look even cozier.

…

What am I thinking? She's my cousin, damn it.

"What is it, Nii-san?"

"It's Touka."

"What about your girlfriend?"

"She'd like to meet you."

"Huh…?"

…

15 minutes later

I was lying down on the floor while Kei was on my bed, holding my phone. Initially, she was just talking to Touka, but then, Haru-nee joined in, and before I knew it, they were having a full-on girls' talk.

…

What am I doing here…?

"Hoo, so that's what Himeya did today?" Touka asked curiously.

"Yes, like always, Nii-san kept that unfazed face of his the whole time," Kei replied.

"Hahaha, I can totally picture that," Touka laughed.

Haru-nee chuckled as well. "Hahaha, see, Himeya? People say you always have that unfazed expression."

…

"Hey, I got this face from our mother!" I argued.

"At least Mom was beautiful," Haru-nee teased.

"And I'm not?" I shot back.

"Nii-san is handsome," Kei said, giving me a thumbs-up.

"Yep, I agree with Kei-chan," Touka added.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "You guys are just messing with me at this point."

Touka giggled. "It's fun teasing you, Himeya."

Haru-nee smirked. "Well, at least we know you're not just an emotionless statue."

I rolled my eyes. "Geez, thanks for that."

We continued talking for a while longer before Touka yawned.

"It's getting late," she murmured. "I should sleep soon."

"Yeah, same here," I said.

"Good night, Himeya."

"Good night, Touka."

The call ended, and I exhaled, staring at the ceiling. Kei was still on my bed, scrolling through my phone.

"You're comfortable there, huh?" I said.

"Nii-san's bed is comfy… I want to sleep here."

"Go back to your room Kei."

Even if it was a joke, I'm still a man…

"Heeh… but, we always slept together back then."

"Yep, that's back then. We're grown up now."

"Hmm… Alright, you win, nii-san."

"Yep, that's right."

Kei then just stand on front of my door.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nii-san, I was wrong about Touka-san…"

"…Is that so?"

"Yeah, I would like to meet her in real life someday."

"Hehe, you will. Because she also like to meet you." I said.

"I'm looking forward to it. Good night, Nii-san."

"Good night Kei."

Kei then walk out of my room. I close the door and the I lay down on my bed and close my eyes.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my alarm blaring. Groaning, I sat up and stretched before grabbing my phone.

A message from Touka.

"Morning, sleepyhead. Did you sleep well?"

I smirked and typed back.

[Morning. Yeah, I did. What about you?]

Almost immediately, she responded.

[I had a weird dream… but I don't remember what it was.]

[That sounds ominous.]

[Haha, it probably wasn't anything important.]

I got out of bed and got ready for the day. As I walked downstairs, I saw Mom sitting at the dining table with a cup of coffee, her usual morning ritual.

"Morning," I greeted.

"Morning, Himeya," she said, offering me a small smile.

"Kei's not up yet?" I asked as I grabbed a glass of water.

"Hmm, why don't you wake her up?" she suggested, taking a sip of her coffee.

I let out a small sigh. "…Alright."

I went back upstairs and walked to Kei's room. The door was slightly ajar, and when I tried knocking, I realized it wasn't locked.

...

I slowly opened the door.

...

Kei was still curled up in bed, sleeping soundly under her blanket. Her breathing was soft and steady, and I could tell she hadn't woken up even once.

I walked closer and gently shook her shoulder. "Kei, it's morning already."

"Uh…" she mumbled, shifting slightly but not opening her eyes.

"Kei, breakfast is ready."

"Ueh… five more minutes, Aunt Marie…"

...

I sighed. "I'm Himeya, not Mom. Wake up, Kei."

...

She slowly opened her eyes, blinking sleepily at me.

...

"Nii-san?" she murmured, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning."

"Good morning…? Hmm…" She sat up, still holding the blanket over her body. Then, a mischievous glint appeared in her sleepy eyes. "Nii-san, are you trying to eat me up?"

...

"NO, WAKE UP!" I retorted, my face heating up.

"Hehe, I'm already awake now, Nii-san." She giggled, clearly enjoying my reaction.

...

Am I really that easy to tease…??

"Well, I'm going down now, okay?" I said, turning to leave.

Just as I reached the door, I felt a tug on my sleeve.

"Hmm, what's wrong?" I asked, glancing back at her.

"Pick up my hoodie, Nii-san."

...

I looked around the room and spotted her hoodie lying on the floor near the door.

...

Wait… if her hoodie was on the floor… then…

My eyes slowly drifted back to Kei, realization dawning on me.

...

"Ni- Nii-san, if you look at me like that, I will be embarrassed, ya know." She pouted playfully, tightening the blanket around her.

...

"PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON FIRST, DAMN IT!" I shouted, quickly grabbing her hoodie and throwing it at her face before bolting out of her room.

...

Huff… huff…

What is she thinking, sleeping naked at this age…?!