2. Goodnight (1/2)

second chapter up! i own nothing except ame. to guest1995 who asked what ame looks like, she looks similar to ema in the way siblings tend to, only with darker hair and her skin is half a shade darker.

i own nothing except ame.

goodnight

"honestly," i sighed, stroking my hand over ema's forehead. "when i say don't stress yourself, i really do mean don't stress yourself so much that you faint and scare the heck out of me. i really hate seeing you sick," i threaded my fingers through her hair gently, combing the strands out of her eyes.

masaomi knelt beside me, while ukyo drew the curtains shut. ema turned her head to face us with an apologetic smile. "sorry, ame-chan. i'm sorry for worrying you all."

"damn right you are," i muttered, kissing her forehead and nuzzling the warm but no longer burning skin. "how are you feeling?" i asked, pulling the covers higher up her chest to her chin.

"i'm feeling much better," she replied softly, her voice quiet and heavy with drug-induced drowsiness. "but i really am sorry for making you all worry so much."

kaname spoke from his place near the doorway. "there's no need to be sorry, little sister."

"in a worst case scenario," ukyo added. "we do have a physician."

he was referring to masaomi, who chuckled a tad bashfully and shrugged. "more like a pediatrician," he corrected, but he smiled kindly at us nonetheless. "just tell me if you need anything."

ema smiled up at us gratefully, looking rather cute and helpless with the covers pulled all the way up the way they were. "thank you very much," she said. "i'm alright already."

"maybe, but you're still going to stay in bed and sleep off the drugs," i instructed her, cupping her cheek with my cooler hands. "i wish this hadn't happened. i should have been there to help you with everything."

juli leaned closer to ema. "mai-chan, it isn't your fault. your job kept you late, so don't blame yourself for this. you two must be tired, since you both stayed up so late last night for work, and to finalize the moving details."

"that must have been difficult for you," an unfamiliar voice spoke from the door. a new person peered in. he was pretty, i decided, with pale ash

own hair that was arranged in a gorgeously simple and messy style. his eyes were mauve, and his expression was gentle and serene.

the

others shot him welcoming smiles from their respective places. "oh, have you come home?" ukyo asked.

he nodded, stepping further into the room. "yes...i heard voices...so i came." he had a peculiar way of speaking, i noticed. just like his demeanour, his voice was slow and relaxed, calming even.

"we mentioned him earlier," kaname turned to us. "this is the eight son, louis."

ema sat up to greet him properly, and i resisted the urge to fuss at her. "oh, i'm sorry. i'm still dressed like this..."

louis came closer and knelt beside me. "it's not...your fault, chii-chan."

how did he know that nickname? "yeah, it's not your fault," i smiled at her,

ushing the thought away for the time being. "besides, i should have gotten home earlier so i could help you anyway."

"don't be silly...mai-chan was working late...you were tired as well..." how do you know that nickname?! how do you know any of this anyway?! he ignored the perplexed expression on my face, and continued staring at ema. "you've both...been surrounded by people...you just met. you must have both...been tired."

juli turned tilted his head to the side. "did he just refer to both of you as chii-chan and mai-chan?"

ema and i glanced at each other, both wondering the exact same thing. "your hair," louis suddenly said. he leaned over to touch emi's hair, and then mine. "it's pretty. when you...recover from your cold...let me...rearrange your hair."

what? "ah, louis is a hairdresser," ukyo explained, staving off our confusion.

"oh..." i nodded in understanding. "thank you." louis smiled at us, and i smiled back.

"do you feel dizzy when you sit up?" masaomi asked kindly, turning the conversation back to ema's health.

my sister shook her head. "i'm fine," she replied. "the medicine seems to have worked."

"i see," he got to his feet and turned to ukyo. "i think you'll be fine, but let's have rice porridge for tonight's dinner."

"ah, do you need any help?" i asked, torn between offering my services, and staying with my sister. the blonde looked like he might refuse, so i pressed on before he could. "it'll reduce the workload on both of us. besides, i'm just spare baggage here."

he opened his mouth to decline again, and then he smiled. "alright then."

i grinned and turned back to ema. "sleep," i instructed her. "juli's in charge of making sure you don't get out of bed, alright?" the squirrel saluted in response, and i kissed my sister's forehead again, before spinning around to follow ukyo out of the room.

"for taking a bath," he told us. "please use the one on the fifth floor. the bath in this room is currently

oken."

"i'll leave instructions on how to get there on your desks," kaname added as the five of us backed out of the room. "don't stay in too long. goodnight, little sister."

he shut the door quietly, and i exhaled softly. i really hated it when ema got sick for any reason, no matter how minor. she was always the delicate one of us both, the one that needed to be protected from things. not protecting her made me feel like i was somehow a bad sister.

"little sister?" masaomi touched my shoulder, sounding concerned. i quickly fixed a smile on my face and shook my head.

"it's nothing," i replied. "i just hate seeing ema-chan sick."

ukyo smiled down at me, and even kaname's normally flirty smile seemed kinder. "ema-chan will be fine," ukyo told me. "in the meantime, we should make her something delicious to eat when she wakes up, shouldn't we?"

"yep!" i chirped, rocking forward and backward on the balls of my feet. kaname wrapped an arm around my shoulders and cooed something about me being adorable as we made our way downstairs to the kitchen, but i didn't mind. ema and i hadn't had much in terms of human contact, although she'd had more of it than i had. kaname was warm, and his clothes were like a large blanket.

ukyo glanced back at us and shook his head with a wry smile. before any of us had even touched down on the landing, the other

others were off the couch and asking about ema. wataru raced for me, attaching himself to my waist. i automatically stepped out of kaname's hug to hold him closer.

they look...so worried, i stared at the boys in wonder. of course i'd have been worried if they hadn't been, but i hadn't expected this level of genuine concern. well, it was ema, she had that effect on lots of people.

"ema-chan is fine," masaomi answered. "the fever has been reduced, but she's resting right now. she will also be eating in her room for tonight."

there were sighs of relief. ukyo directed me to the kitchen and

ought out everything we needed to make the porridge. he even gave me an apron, the first one was too large, but the second one – which was pink and blue – fit a bit better. he then explained that it actually belonged to wataru, hence the colours and smaller fit.

i started by washing the rice in the sink. ema and i used to do the cooking back home, whether sick or healthy, though i took on the bulk of the burden more often than she did since i knew more dishes and enjoyed the act.

i started singing inaudibly as i worked, but i could hear my voice cracking terribly on the notes, so i stopped and hoped that no one had heard.

"well done, ame-chan," ukyo commended, peering into the pot where the rice pudding was warming gently. "would you mind setting the table? the plates are in that cupboard."

"okay," i carried out a set of white china plates and cutlery, and placed them on the table.

tsubaki sighed happily from the lounge where he and the other

others were talking amongst themselves, and also watching me. "i could get used to this," he grinned. "ame-chan, you look really cute in that apron."

"big sister is wearing my apron!" wataru beamed happily. he skipped over to me, staring at the plates i had set out. "big sister, are you going to eat with us?"

"i want to, but ema-chan isn't feeling well," i crouched down to look into his eyes. "don't you think i should spend time with her?" he pouted, puffing out his cheeks, but nodded. i smiled back, and patted his head gently. "thank you for being so kind, wata-chan. you can come with me to see ema-chan though, is that okay?"

he cheered happily. "yay, i get to see sis!" he practically vi

ated with joy as i dished two bowls of porridge, adding less sugar and more milk to one of them the way i knew my sister liked it, and placed it on a tray.

"let's go, wataru-chan." we made our way upstairs, wataru skipping around me and ahead of me. when we reached ema's door, he pressed the buzzer to the room, and

ightened when ema opened the door. she had changed into her pyjamas – a pink and white shirt and frilled pink bubble shorts.

she looked slightly dazed and surprised to see us. i raised the tray higher. "i

ought food."

"sis, are you feeling okay?" wataru asked worriedly, grabbing her hand. "we won't get to play together today, but that's okay. i can wait until sis feels better!"