Reona and I started working through chores. Her efficiency was startling — half my daily quota was done in no time. We were on a break at the dining table with drinks.
”…You’re surprisingly good at this.”
“Wait — surprisingly?”
“Riona said your room is normally a wreck, so.”
I’d been operating on the assumption that Reona was not the chores type. Apparently incorrect.
“I’m actually good at housework. Riona’s the worse of us.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yeah, Riona’s the clumsy one, despite appearances.”
“Right, she did drop her pencil case out of her backpack, and needle-jab her finger in home ec, so that tracks.”
“For the record — about eighty percent of the lunchboxes I make you eat, I make.”
“Reona, that’s actually impressive.”
“Surprisingly impressive, you mean? You should respect me more.”
She was a little put out. I went for the recovery.
“I respect you a ton. Respect-overload, exploding-with-respect level.”
“Specifically?”
“Beautiful, kind personality, off-the-charts social skills, smart, athletic — and gracious to introverts like me. Not respecting you would be the strange option.”
“Fweh!?”
I’d answered without filtering and Reona made an alarmed sound, face going red. Hold on, that was not the reaction I was expecting. I had imagined a smug yes, that’s right type of reception.
”…Don’t ambush me like that.”
“You’ve heard things like that from countless guys, you should be desensitized.”
“Coming from you — who usually don’t say things like that — the impact was devastating…”
“Yeah, fair, I usually wouldn’t.”
Saying things like that out loud usually meant being branded creepy by them, so I’d kept it to myself. The single previous time was that purikura slip in the arcade, and I’d thought I’d been muttering inaudibly.
”…All right, back to it.”
“Yeah, let’s wrap the rest.”
We finished off the dishes and cleaning. As we wrapped, Mio came in carrying a grocery bag.
“Welcome back.”
“I’m home. Oh — Reona-san, you’re here.”
“Mm-hmm. Pardon the intrusion.”
Initially Mio had been visibly tense around Reona and Riona, but by now their presence was normal — she was relaxed.
“Riona-san isn’t here?”
“Oh, she’s passed out in Ryouya-kun’s bed.”
“First day back — she’s tired.”
“Mm. Riona’s never had much stamina.”
Mio didn’t react at all to passed out in your brother’s bed, so apparently her sense of normal was getting calibrated too. As Mio was unpacking groceries, she yelped.
“Wait — no eggs?! I can’t make omu-rice tonight without eggs.”
“Nothing in the fridge?”
“No, used them all last night.”
“Different menu?”
“I already locked in mentally on omu-rice, don’t want to change it.”
Then somebody had to go buy them. Without eggs it’s just ketchup rice, after all.
“I’ll go. You just got home.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, on it.”
Reona helping had saved me a chunk of time, so I had room. I grabbed the bag off the table and headed for the entryway when Reona piped up.
“I’ll come with.”
“Just running for eggs, you can chill.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
I’d refused because experience suggested Reona’s presence would generate complications, but she was set on coming. I accepted.