Three

There was a soft voice in my ear. Then, I was shaken lightly by my shoulder. “Kakeru.”

Ah… Too tired… “Un.”

“Kakeru? Kake-chan~” The voice continued. I was a little unregistering for a while but then, when I slowly opened my eyes, I was compelled to look around. I was alone at the table- the junior had already left.

“What?” The voice asked in a small laugh. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“I am.” I looked towards the person whose grey eyes were trained on me in amusement. “But… why are you here?”

“I came to pick you up. Hikaru said that you were drunk and needed assistance.” Hiro-san shrugged and gave me a casual smile.

“He… didn’t have to send you.” I sat up and yawned. “Was I alone when you came?”

“No. A friend of yours was here but I sent him off in a taxi.”

“Is that so? Then…” I stood up and adjusted my clothes. “Shall we go?”

Everything was still a little hazy for me. Even after standing up, I just stood there. I was feeling tired and lazy. I did not want to walk. I wanted to sleep. “Hiro-san.”

“Yes?” He looked at me in question.

“Could you lend me your back?” I asked him seriously. “Please?”

“My back?” He asked in confusion. “As in… you want me to give you a piggy-back ride home?” At that realisation, he grinned.

Convenient. I didn’t need to explain my intentions. “So… could you?”

He laughed. “There’s no way that I could refuse when you’re asking me so earnestly.” He crouched before me, his back to me. “Get on, you drunk idiot.”

“Be nice.” I frowned, put my arms around his neck and climbed onto his back. With his arms beneath my knees, he supported me and stood up with a little effort. “Am I heavy?”

“If I said that you are, would you get off and walk?” He asked, adjusted me on his back and began walking out of the bar and into the cold night.

“No.” I settled in and closed my eyes. The cold did not bother me much. It was probably just a five to seven-minute walk back home anyway. Hiro-san could handle it.

“I see where your niece gets her clinginess from.” He chuckled.

“I’m not clingy.” I frowned. Then, on second thought- “How is she like me though?”

“Your brother was prepared to pick you up and I was just about to leave after dinner. Aki-chan just refused to let go of Hikaru’s leg and wanted to come along.” He made his voice shriller to imitate Aki-chan. “Otou-san, me too! I too will go!” Then, he laughed. “She wanted to come pick you up but it’s time for bed and Hikaru’s strict about these things, right? So, I offered to come and get you instead.”

“Mm.” Aki-chan could get clingy sometimes, yes.

“Oi.” He shook me a bit. “Are you sleeping? Don’t sleep. I’m carrying you home. The least that you can do is keep me company by talking.”

“Ugh. I’m sleepy.” I grumbled. “Lemme sleep.”

“You… That’s why you wanted me to carry you? Are you a kid?” He laughed.

“Compared to you.” I returned.

“Hey! I’m not that much older than you either!”

“Yes.”

“…What?”

“Yes.” I repeated, uninterested. “Good night.” I adjusted myself into a more comfortable position.

“Agh. Don’t choke me! I’ll drop you right here!”

I loosened my hold a bit. “…Sorry.”

He cleared his throat. “Don’t you have work tomorrow? How could you get wasted?”

“My project’s over.” I reported. “And I haven’t taken another one up. I listened to you.”

“You listened to me? You didn’t take another one up just because I told you not to?”

“Mm.” I really just wanted to sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time that Hikaru-nii had given me a piggy-back ride. It felt… good. It was comforting. “I want to sleep, Hiro-san~”

“No. Don’t sleep.”

“I’m sleeping…”

“Do not sleep.”

“I’m… asleep…”

He almost dropped me but then held on when I tightened my grip around his neck and then, he laughed. “I was serious when I said that I’d drop you, Kake-chan.”

“Don’t call me that.” He had gotten me to open my eyes.

“Are you angry?” He asked, sounding rather pleased with himself.

“Go to hell.” I spat.

“Hey, now! That’s no way to talk to your senior.” He was surely enjoying himself at my expense.

“Then let me sleep.”

“We’ll be there soon. I’ll drop you off and then you can sleep.”

“…Don’t ever come to pick me up again if I call in drunk.”

“Isn’t that just mean? I’m even carrying you, you know?”

That was mean. “Sorry.”

I felt his shoulders tremble as he laughed again. “Kakeru.”

… “What?”

“Does your brother allow all this childish play?”

“I’m not childish.”

“Whatever. Does he allow it?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“Hm. It’s just that it’s unusual to see you cling so much. You’ve always been frank with what you say but… you don’t tend to physically express your affections much.”

“What?”

“You’re clinging really tightly right now. That scared that I would drop you?”

…

“I’m not going to leave you anywhere here. Rest assured.”

I knew that already.

I rested my head against his and got comfortable again, this time being careful not to choke him. “Why are you still single?”

“Huh?”

I touched his uniquely coloured hair before returning to wrapping my arms around his neck. “You’re kind, attentive and can clearly take care of others. How come you do not have a wife already?”

“Oi! Wife? Shouldn’t you say ‘girlfriend’?”

“Hikaru-nii has Kaori-nee.”

“That son of a bitch got married way too early. That’s his fault.”

“I’m a son of a bitch too then.”

“Wow. Now you’re talking like a drunk.” He burst out laughing, having to catch himself before the both of us ended up on the pavement.

Don’t drop me.

“So… why are you still single?”

“I don’t really know. I’ve dated a few girls up till University but now… neither do I have the interest nor do I have the time for a serious relationship.”

“You have a sad life.”

“Look who’s talking! You’re the one between us who is married to his job. How often do you even get drunk?”

“We both have sad lives.”

He chuckled. “Right.”

Speaking of sad… “I’m going to start looking for a place of my own seriously.”

“Hm? You’re… planning to move out?”

“Mm.”

“Oh.” The atmosphere changed. “Does Hikaru know this?”

“No.”

“Shouldn’t you be telling him this?”

“He’ll tell me to stay.”

“Then, stay.”

“No.” I cleared my throat and sniffed. My nose felt cold. Just my nose. “I’m… I can’t keep troubling them. We all have our own lives.”

“I see.” He nodded. I made him hold his head still again. “If that’s what you want… I’ll keep a lookout for you. But… tell Hikaru, okay?”

“Mm.” House. I needed to start house-hunting. “Hiro-san, I want to sleep.”

He sighed. “Fine. Sleep. Seriously… Such a kid.” He let out a small laugh.

“I’m not a kid.”

“Okay. Okay. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Finally. Sleep.