bakerstreet | ( picture prompt meme )

[As he finishes his statement, she's quiet, not replying immediately. She's...honestly really happy for them. Even if they do have to put up with this secrecy until Fuyuhiko can do what he wants. Which is why she reaches out, putting a hand on his knee for that extra added reassurance.]

You can trust me. I wouldn't dream of ruinin' this for you guys. I promise.

[And that's a cross your heart, hope to die kind of promise right there. Once that's out she sits back up and removes her hand, popping a chocolate into her mouth.]

If this was a different topic, I think I'd be offended that you'd even consider me running to them.

[He takes a second to eat his chocolate as well, less because he's actually hungry and more because it was starting to melt in his hand.]

Yeah, well. We've had to be really careful so far, so.

[So he's sorry he didn't let her know sooner. It wasn't that he didn't want to or thought she'd give them away, it's just that he never found the right opportunity. He really only gave her a warning so she would understand that this is a complete secret.]

There's really only one other person who knows, but that was Peko's doing, not mine.

[And it was really due to circumstance more than anything else. They were practically obligated to tell him after all he'd done.]

[Mentioning that Peko is the one who told someone else first is a good move, because she immediately pouts at that. Wow!!! Someone knew before his little sister?! What the fuck! But...since it's Peko's doing, she doesn't flip him shit for it.

...that doesn't get that huffy look off her face though.]

Yeah, I can imagine you have. Like I said, if it were a different topic. I get it on this one. I'd be careful too if I were in your position.

[Another few pieces of chocolate are devoured, Natsumi thinking the situation over. Man. Him and Peko. She's not really surprised, but at the same time she kind of is? It's weird.]

Have you talked to her about the whole kids thing yet? I mean I'm guessin' not since you asked me about it earlier but. I'm sure she knows you'll need an heir...you guys'd make really cute kids, damn.

[Fuyuhiko very nearly chokes on a chocolate bonbon. Fuck, that was the last thing he was ready for her to say. Instinctively, he wraps a hand around the nearest object (a chopstick), and chucks it in her general direction.]

Ugh...! N-Natsumi!

[He lets out a couple of pitiful coughs before finally swallowing the the damn thing and clearing his throat so he can speak. Even then, he's a stammering mess.]

You... you can't just go sayin' shit like that! I just... fuck, I can't believe you...

[If she knows he didn't ask her, then why does she have to keep going on about it? Besides, they haven't even... they're in high school, dammit. It's too soon to be thinking about this shit. ...Even if he is the one who brought up the topic in the first place.]

[She dodges that chopstick like a champ, laughing at his reaction. Priceless! Look at his dumb face and listen to his dumb stuttering!]

What? It's true! I can picture them now! Cute li'l shits with silver hair and gold eyes and those dumb rosy cheeks we're stuck with. Ugh, maybe they'll get lucky and freckle like you. I'm still so fucking jealous that I didn't get that shit.

[Why does he get to look so much cuter? It's not fair!]

You have to have two you know. If you have an only child I'll kick your ass and spoil the shit out of 'em more than you'll ever believe.

[Is she talking about this just to rile him up and embarrass him more? Hell yes she is.]

[He mumbles something inaudible before before burying his face, red all the way up to the tips of his ears, in both hands. God, it's times like this when he can't stand Natsumi. He tries to open up to her for once in his damn life, and this is what he gets for it. He should have known.

After a moment, he splays his fingers out and glares daggers at her through the space in between them.]

You repeat a word of this to her, you're dead meat. Got it?

[If he's reacting like this, he doubts Peko would take it much better. They're still getting used to this, they don't gotta listen to all of Natsumi's bullshit... Still, he doesn't totally hate the idea. His reaction should easily give that away.]

[Aw come on, don't be like that. She's only teasing! Evidenced by the way her smile gets just a little bit crueler as she narrows her eyes.]

We're girls, oniichan. We're prone to gossip. Peko-chan and I talk about everything together you know. School, girls, boys, you...it's bound to come up.

[She won't talk to Peko until Peko feels comfortable enough to bring it up to her, but hey. He doesn't have to know that.]

I bet she'll totally want to talk about it. I mean we already talked about how she feels about you before. [No, she just guessed based on how the swordswoman acted around him.] So don't be too embarrassed.

[Yeah, it should be plainly obvious that she's teasing, but anything involving Peko is serious business to him, so forgive him if he's a little gullible here. Or maybe that just works more to Natsumi's benefit here.]

D-did she really...?

[She can't just run around flaunting around that information like it's nothing! She could have seriously gotten in trouble. And if she ha gotten in trouble, his parents would have separated them without a single thought, and then...

Ugh. He doesn't even want to think about it. But he can't stop himself from wondering.]

When the hell was this?

Oh, you know, a while ago.

[She feels bad, stringing him along like this. Really, she does. But it's just in her nature. What kind of little sister would she be if she didn't tease him? Especially if he's going to sit there and actually believe her.]

We were just havin' one of our usual gossip sessions, askin' about why I don't have a boyfriend yet, and I decided to ask her the same thing. I mean obviously I know why, it was just fun teasin' her. And then wouldn't you know it? She started gettin' all flustered and weird and I pressed further and we had a whole talk about you!

[So at least, if she's telling the truth, Peko wasn't flaunting it or anything...? Natsumi will set the record straight eventually. At least before they head home. She doesn't want poor Peko catching shit just because she's making stuff up to fuck with her brother, after all.]

[He's not angry so much as he is worried. Sure, okay, it's just Natsumi, but even so, it took him this long to even find the right moment to tell her the truth about their relationship, and to think she had an inkling this whole time... It's just...

Just...

Wait a fucking minute. The color drains from his face and he fixes her with a dirty look.]

...You lying bitch.

[Of course Peko never told her. The two of them had been talking about telling Natsumi just the other day. Surely Peko would have mentioned it if his sister already knew about existing feelings. Because, you know. That would have been pretty fucking topical and crucially important to the subject at hand. So that can only mean Natsumi is lying through her teeth.]

You really had me fucking going there for a second, you know that? You're the worst, I swear...

[And there's another bout of laughter.]

Oh my god you're still so easy!

[Excuse her while she clutches her stomach with one arm, trying to hide her laughter behind her free hand but failing miserably. It's just too funny when she's able to pull this shit and he realizes it on his own, rather than having to have her spell it out that she was fucking with him. Those are probably her favorite moments.]

Yeah, it was pretty easy to tell I had you hooked! I mean, sure, I kinda guessed she had feelin's for you so I'm not surprised, but holy shit oniichan. No way she'd actually tell me!

Well, yeah. I see that now.

[After watching her laugh like a goddamn hyena at the very idea of it. But he's a little surprised that she never picked up on his feelings for Peko. She always seemed to pay so much attention to him, and no matter how hard Fuyuhiko had tried to hide his affections, there were always moments where he could feel it slipping through the cracks. Had she really never caught on? He's actually a little proud of himself; it makes him feel oddly successful.]

Whatever. You've had your laughs.

[Now it's his turn.]

So what about you, then?

[It's said with an expectant glint in his eye. Is there anybody in the reserve course she's got her sights set on? Or anyone outside of it, for that matter? She's always seemed to be a little more romantically inclined than he was (but then again, it isn't hard to be), so it's definitely not impossible.]

[Now it's her turn to choke a little, having just put a chocolate in her mouth as he asked. After a little bit of coughing, she has to roll her eyes a little at the question. But she's smiling all the same.]

Don't worry, there's no one you gotta keep your eye on, oniichan.

[Another chocolate.]

I'm not the heir, so I don't really gotta worry about findin' someone or anythin', and I'm just not interested either. Right now, I've got more important things to focus on.

[Getting into the Main Course, meeting her brothers expectations, how can she do any of that if she's ogling some guy who probably doesn't even meet her standards anyway? And she...she still has like. Zero friends....]

And besides, it's hard to find a guy that isn't one: a meat head, two: only interested in sex, or three: scared of me.

[...well, okay. There is Hajime. But she's pretty sure even though he's not one of the above, he'd be too scared of her brother to date her. And who can blame him?]

[He only barely restrains a roll of his eyes.]

Uh-huh. Sure.

[It's not that he doesn't believe her. He understands that struggle just as much as she does, honestly, but she's taking what he considers to be some major leaps in her answer. Especially when his initial question was so intentionally vague. He gave her all this room to answer however she liked, so what is she taking the typical route for?

Oh well. She's just given him a better opportunity to get back at her. He'd be remiss not to take it.]

Could always go for a girl, then.

[He says it like the simple and clear-cut solution it is, because he really couldn't give less of a shit about Natsumi's love life anyway (or so he tells himself). He's only talking about this to watch her stumble through an answer (and to let her know he loves and supports her no matter what, just like she does him).]

H-haaaah?

[She's definite caught off guard by that. There are a few moments where she stumbles, the start of words and answers that never quite make it all the way to the end before she just...shuts up and takes a deep breath. Calm down Natsumi. This is definitely nothing to get worked up over.]

L-like girls are any better! Again, you've got that whole "scared of me" problem, except worse, because all girls know just how fuckin' mean and awful other girls are. And then there's that: girls are mean and awful. Pretty sure if they don't hate me for bein' prettier than they are, they hate me for bein' richer.

[If it was Peko, maybe, but she had already sworn herself off from Peko the minute she caught on that she liked Fuyuhiko. Let them have that happiness. That's more important, and Peko's the kind of girl he deserves.]

Look, I'm just not interested, okay? Like I said, there are way more important things I've gotta work on! If I'm busy screwing around with all this datin' and romance shit, I'm gonna fall behind on what actually matters to me. Relationships take work and I just don't give enough of a shit to put that work into 'em.

[Yeah, okay, cake time. She drags that over to her, cleaning a chopstick off and using it to haphazardly cut herself out a slice. Not even caring about using her hands, it's a small enough slice not to make too big of a mess.]

Hell, it's too much work just to maintain friendships. The only friend I've got is Hinata and that's because he won't leave me alone. It's really annoyin'!

[No it's not.]

[As soon as she goes for the cake, his hands dart out to grab some, too. He finds himself pretty busy cutting out a slice practically twice the size of hers, and so he's not really paying much mind to that last bit until he hears the name "Hinata" thrown in there.

Well, this is certainly convenient. He definitely doesn't mind it.]

So you guys are friends, then.

[He had thought as much, but all Peko ever told him is that she had seen the two of them talking often during frequent check-ins at Natsumi's classroom and that Hinata supposedly sees her as a friend. But that's all secondhand information and, well, Peko isn't exactly the greatest translator when it comes to social dialogue. So there had been room for doubt.]

Huh. Well. If it makes my life easier...

[The two people who know about him and Peko get along fine and dandy. He will consider this victory, although he's not entirely sure what for. Everything just... feels a bit more secure this way. Like his secrets can be easily contained.]

I guess so. As much as you can call "an annoyin' guy who cares way too much about my well bein' for his own good and I just put up with it" bein' friends.

[No, she likes it, really. It's kind of nice having someone actually care about her, even if she doesn't acknowledge it.]

I mean he's not so bad, just really weird. Normal and borin' as fuckin' hell, the kind of guy you'd totally think would piss himself meeting a member of our clan, but he's totally fine with talkin' to me and shit. Fuck, he even tries reprimandin' me when I get into fights with that Sato bitch. Can you believe that? Ballsy as fuck.

[IT'S WEIRD. She watches him take his slice of cake, finishing hers off and going for another small piece. If she had a fork and a plate you'd better believe she'd be going at it like him. But she has Dignity, thank you!!]

What exactly is makin' your life easier, huh?

[Look. No one's around to see. He doesn't give a shit if Natsumi judges him. As long as he doesn't get cake all over his clothes, he'll be fine.]

I mean...

[He decides to swallow the bite of cake he has in his mouth before finishing that statement. He can at least takes pride in his table manners (or "table" manners, in this case).]

If you guys both know, it'll be easier to rant to you guys and shit since we kinda got no one else to go to. Less running around. Saves us time.

[Of course he's telling her Hinata is Mystery Person Number Two in the most nonchalant way possible. To Fuyuhiko, Hinata is little more than some guy who happens to go to school with him.

...Well. Okay. If he's friends with Peko and Natsumi, then that changes shit. But he doesn't want to linger on that thought too much right now. Yukizome already bothers him enough about making friends in the first place; knowing he'll have to learn how to get along with this guy now is filling him with a very similar sort of anxiety.]

What?!

[She almost drops her slice of cake, the offense she's taking to this very obvious in her voice.]

You're tellin' me that bland, borin', harmless looking loser is the guy she told before tellin' me?! What the fuck!

[Holy shit. If it was someone talented, someone from their class or just...literally anyone from the Main Course at all, that'd be one thing. But no. No. It's a talentless Reserve Course trash loser like Hajime Hinata. Ow??????? Wow Peko, what the hell!]

I'm going to be the fuckin' shit out of him!

[And yet it's poor Hajime who takes the fall for this...]

Calm down! She had a damn good reason for it, okay?!

[At least let him explain before you start randomly attacking Peko! God, Natsumi.]

We woulda told you first if she hadn't already been keeping him updated in the first place. Apparently the two of them are... friends or something.

[He emphasizes "friends" almost as if it's a question. That what they seem to function as, but he's not quite sure if that's how Peko views their relationship.]

She was runnin' by your classroom so often to check up on you that she just wound up bumpin' into him all the time. And, well, neither of them really have a lot going on in the friend department, so I guess it just sorta... worked out that way.

[And this is the part of the story where his expression turns a bit sour, his eyes narrowing slightly at his oversized slice of cake.]

So apparently she starts tellin' him all about this childhood friend of hers that she's got this big fucking thing for, right? Like... could it have killed her to be a little more careful? But. Whatever.

[He's absentmindedly picking at his cake with one chopstick now, slowing turning a small section of the slice into a chocolately mush.]

She didn't really mean to tell him it was me. But after all she'd let him in on... after she told him we finally got over ourselves and got together, I guess he spotted us walking together once or twice and... the guy's smarter than he looks, okay?

[...He's got some good deduction skills. Could make a pretty decent detective or something.]

[She listens to the explanation, eyes narrowing further as he talks.]

...tch, whatever.

[She can't argue that he's smarter than he looks. She definitely knows that first hand. But she also still can't help the sullen and pouty look as she goes back to her cake. And Hajime is still probably going to get his ass kicked later, honestly, just maybe not as badly as she made it sound at first.]

At least they're friends I guess. They definitely both need it. I think Peko-chan deserves better but hey, at least he's more trustworthy than I am.

[She's going to be sore about this for a while...]

Hey.

[He fixes her with a serious look. He's not stupid; he knows that she's still upset, and it's supposed to be his job to fix that.]

If it were my choice you would have known first.

[But life is a bitch and Peko spilled way more information than she should have. They're lucky Hinata's as easy to threaten and desperate to make friends as he is, otherwise they could be in a lot of trouble. ...Well, and he's just a decent guy. There's that, too. But that's all circumstance. It shouldn't be something that Natsumi has to beat herself up over.]

That's why I'm telling you now. This is the first real chance I got.

[He couldn't do it while they were at school; not when there were people everywhere, the reverse course dorms had thin walls, and Natsumi wasn't permitted on the main course's campus (no matter how much Fuyuhiko tried to reason with the Head of Security). So he had to wait until they were on break. But talking about it in the house was even riskier, with their parents close by and so many clan members wandering about. This is the only place he's felt safe enough to broach the subject with her.]

( picture prompt meme )

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