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It was already late at night and Hajime was still on the phone with Tooru when he suddenly heard a gentle knock on his bedroom door.
“Hold on a sec,” he told Tooru before he put down his phone and went to his door. When he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of Himari looking up at him with her big brown eyes while holding onto her favorite baby blue blanket.
“Kuya…” Himari mumbled, her lower lip jutting out into a pout.
“Why are you still awake, bab?” Hajime crouched down to her level and immediately wrapped his arms around her, letting her press her face on his chest.
“I couldn’t sleep, kuya… I think there’s a mumo in my room,” Himari complained as she hugged her big brother tighter.
“There’s no mumo in your room, bab. They’re not real,” Hajime reassured her before kissing the top of her head. He picked her up in his arms and closed the door before heading to his bed. It was dark in his room, given that the only light was coming from his phone where Tooru was still waiting in the other line. He sat down on the bed with Himari now perched on his lap. He leaned his back against the headboard and made Himari and himself comfortable. Himari snuggled as close to him as possible, her tiny fingers clutching tightly on her blanket and onto Hajime’s shirt.
“But I’m still scared to sleep all by myself in my room,” Himari whined. Hajime just smiled at her as he stroked her long hair.
“Alright. You can stay with me tonight, okay? I’ll protect you from the mumo.”
Himari looked up and flashed her brother the biggest smile. She was about to give him a kiss on the cheek when a faint ‘you’re so brave, kuya Hajime-chan’ was heard from the speakers of Hajime’s phone. Hajime almost forgot about Tooru. He snorted and just rolled his eyes and continued on calming Himari down. Himari looked at the illuminated screen of the phone, her eyes squinted into tiny slits. It took her a few seconds to recognize the familiar voice. She picked up the device and carefully placed it against her ear.
“Kuya Tooru…?”
“Hello, Hima-chan!” Tooru chirped from the other end of the line. “Why are you still awake? It’s pretty late already.”
“There’s a mumo in my room and I couldn’t sleep. So I went here to Kuya’s room.”
“Oh? What’s a mumo, Hima-chan?” Tooru asked.
Hajime took the phone from Himari for a moment and pressed the speaker button before handing it back to her.
“Mumo is ghost,” Hajime said in a matter-of-factly tone.
“Oh! Hima-chan, you’re afraid of ghosts?”
“Yeah… Kuya and I watched this one scary movie with a lot of ghosts in it earlier…” Himari whispered, her pout slowly turning into a frown. Hajime immediately wrapped his arms protectively around her and cradled her in his embrace.
An overly dramatic gasp was heard from the phone. “Hajime-chan, you shouldn’t let little kids like Hima-chan watch that kind of stuff! You should know better!” Tooru scolded over the phone.
“Yeah, like you know any better,” Hajime retorted as he glared down at the screen of the phone.
“Excuse me? For your information, I am great with kids. My nephew loved me! And Himari loves me, too!”
“Yeah, only because you bribe them.”
“How dare you! I do no such thing!”
Himari was now shaking in Hajime’s arms. She was having a giggling fit, her chubby hands covering her mouth to try and muffle down the sounds. But she couldn’t help it. She just let out a loud laugh which almost sounded like a squeal coming from a piglet.
“Oi, bab. Why are you laughing?” Hajime asked, his eyebrow arched upward.
“Yeah, Hima-chan, why are you laughing? What’s so funny?” Tooru asked, his voice oozing with amusement. Hajime could already see the bright smile plastered on Tooru’s stupid face.
“It’s just…” Himari started as she tried to calm herself. “You and Kuya Tooru sound just like Ma and Pa when they argue. And then right after they argue, they kiss. It’s gross, but you two sound just like them,” Himari said, her smile never leaving her face. Hajime could already feel his face burning up. He looked away from Himari and scoffed.
“We do not sound like that,” Hajime complained, face now tinged with pink. Thankfully it was too dark for Himari to notice.
“You actually sound a lot like Ma, kuya.”
“Did you hear that, Hajime-chan? We sound like a married couple. And apparently, you sound like a wife,” Tooru chuckled. Hajime could almost picture the smug face he wants to punch so hard right now.
“Shut up, Kusokawa!”
“Aww, it’s been a while since you last called me that, Hajime-chan. How nostalgic,” Tooru laughed which made Himari laugh as well.
“And now I’m wondering why I even stopped calling you that, you asshole.”
Tooru gasped ever so dramatically over the phone. “Hajime-chan, don’t say the A word in front of Hima-chan! How vulgar,” Tooru tsked in disapproval.
“It’s none of your business, you stupid idiot!”
“How mean, Iwa-chan~”
“Shut up.”
“Okay, asawa ko~”
“…”
“…”
“…”
“Hajime-chan?”
“I’m going to kill you,” Hajime grumbled, his face burning red from both embarrassment and anger.
“Asawa ko is so mean tonight. Are you on your period? Do you want me to bring you foods? A tampon, maybe? Pads? I can come over right now if you want. I don’t mind even if it’s in the middle of the night,” Tooru said, his voice laced with obvious mockery.
“… I will end you the next time I see your stupid face,” Hajime warned as he glared daggers at his phone as if it’s the most offensive object to ever exist.
“So mean, asawa ko,” Tooru teased.
“Stop calling me that!”
“Make me, asawa ko~”
“… You know what? Go to hell. I hate you. You’re stupid and annoying! Okay, bab it’s time to go to be—“ Hajime looked down at Himari, he realized that she had already fallen asleep. She was snoring softly, her chubby cheek pressed against his chest. Hajime didn’t move so to not wake her up. He picked up his phone again and turned off the speaker. He placed it against his ear once again.
“Hey, bab’s already asleep,” Hajime said as he gently rolled her onto the mattress and tucked her in with her favorite blanket. He kissed her forehead before sinking back down into his pillow, his arm lightly draped over Himari.
“Oh? Then I guess we should go to sleep too.”
“Yeah…”
“Goodnight, asawa ko.”
“…”
Tooru just laughed and said, “I love you, Hajime-chan.”
“I love you too… Asawa ko…” Hajime mumbled hesitantly, his face firing up once again.
Tooru didn’t answer. The only thing that Hajime could hear from the other end of the line was heavy breathing and quiet shuffling of sheets. It was the longest pause he had ever experienced before Tooru bursts out laughing.
Hajime immediately ended the call, threw his phone on his night stand, buried his face on the pillows and pulled Himari closer and hugged her tightly without waking her up.
How can he face Tooru after that?