❝ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴍᴇ. ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ.❞

╰──➤ 𝘾𝙊𝙉𝙐𝙉𝘿𝙍𝙐𝙈

Scaramouche was forced to leave after Makoto messaged him and told him Ei was demanding him home for dinner. A few hours later, you looked at your phone with a smile as the screen showed the picture you took earlier in the day. They both looked so unbothered, though that changed when they realized you were there. They had the same annoyed expression on their faces.

Suddenly, a notification popped up and you clicked on it, taking you to your messages.

Mona
I'm getting an interview at Komore Teahouse on Wednesday<3
sent 9:43 pm

Me
Really??
sent 9:43 pm

Mona
Yep, I called them today to ask for a job
sent 9:44 pm

Me
I wish you the best of luck ^^
sent 9:44 pm

Mona
Thanks, I'm probably going to need it
sent 9:44 pm

Me
Dw, you'll do great
Anyway, I have some work to do, so I'll ttyl
sent 9:45 pm

Mona
Alright, ttyl
sent 9:45 pm

♕︎❯────「♕︎」────❮♕︎

"I showed Mom your history test for you," Makoto said as she opened the door to her brother's room. "She thinks you cheated."

"Of course she does," he scoffed while he laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He took his earbuds out, letting the muffled music play quietly in the background. "I told her I got a tutor, didn't I? I'm pretty sure I remember telling her."

"Yeah," she sighed. "She still doesn't believe it, though."

"I don't see her problem. She told me to get my grades up, and that's what I'm doing, but she's still mad about it? For fuck's sake," he grumbled.

"You know her... Never satisfied..."

"Yeah."

Suddenly, his phone beeped and he picked it up to look at whatever notification he got. He saw a message from you and furrowed his eyebrows, clicking on it. It was the picture you took of him and Teucer. You sent a message along with it.

Y/n📸
[Image]
Didn't know you were so good with kids, Mr. I-Hate-Everyone.
sent 10:03 pm

He smiled and Makoto's eyes widened at the sight. She hadn't seen him smile like that in... forever.

"Did you just smile?"

"What? Did you think I was incapable of smiling?" He asked, lifting his head up and forcing on a frown.

"No, it's just... I can't remember the last time I saw you smile."

"Whatever."

"What were you so happy about anyway?" She queried.

"Nothing. Get out, I'm gonna take a shower."

"Okay-"

♕︎❯────「♕︎」────❮♕︎

"You're up earlier than usual, what's the rush?" Ajax asked.

"Just stressed, that's all. I need to take more hours at the teahouse and I was gonna ask Ayaka for more worktime. We have to find someone to take care of Teucer, though..."

"Could you ask Mona to do it?" He queried.

"Maybe for a day, but she's probably going to get a job and work a later shift."

"Then what about that Scaramouche kid? By the way, you should've told me you were tutoring him."

You didn't know your brother knew him, but they saw each other when Scaramouche was leaving and the tension in the room heightened immediately. You didn't look forward to the next time they encountered each other. Neither of them even bothered to explain how they met!

"Did you just call him a kid?"

"He's short like one."

You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose, "You're just really tall. Anyway, I doubt he'd want to babysit, but I'll ask."

"Good," he smiled. "You should go back to bed, it's like five in the morning."

"I'm fine," you shrugged, sitting down at the dining table. "Have you heard from Mom and Dad?"

"Nope. Nothing from Tonia or Anthon either."

"I bet they're not even allowed to contact us," you said.

"Yeah..."

"Y/n...? Ajax...?"

You turned around in your seat and saw Teucer walking into the room, tiredly rubbing his eyes. You hurriedly went up to him.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" You spoke softly while Ajax watched from the background.

"I heard you and I thought something was wrong..." He replied.

"Thank you, Teucer, but we're okay," you stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get you back to bed."

You turned him around and gently pushed him forward. He began walking with you and you glanced back to your older brother, who smiled in response. Once Teucer hopped back into bed, you kissed his forehead and smiled.

"Goodnight."

"Y/n..."

"Hm?" You hummed.

"Thank you for taking care of me. I love you."

You weren't expecting such a comment, but you appreciated it to the bottom of your heart. Your smile grew wider and you poked his cheek.

"No need to thank me, it's my responsibility. I love you too, now go to bed."

"Okay," he grinned.

♕︎❯────「♕︎」────❮♕︎

You decided to bring your camera to school in hopes of practicing taking photos of people. You didn't want to take pictures without permission, but you also wanted to get images of people acting naturally, so you figured you'd throw all of them away afterward.

"That's the camera you use?"

You sucked in a sharp breath and closed your locker, turning around to face Scaramouche.

"Yeah. Don't try to steal it or I'll actually murder you," you said, referencing when he initially tried to steal your photobook. 

"I would never," he replied sarcastically. "Anyway, would you kindly delete that picture of me and your brother?"

"No."

He let out a deep groan, showing his pure annoyance with you, "Why not?"

You took a moment to pull out your phone. You faced the screen toward him and clicked the power button. The picture was your lockscreen.

Scaramouche wasn't sure what to say, but he was definitely embarrassed, "Put that away, I don't want anyone seeing that!"

"Okay," you chuckled, shoving your phone back in your pocket. "Anyway, it's cute. You got Teucer from thinking of you as a murderous psycho to his favorite artist. He praised you highly last night, after you left."

As you talked, you began walking to homeroom, so he walked alongside you, subconsciously trying to match his footsteps with yours. 

"Did he really?" He questioned, his voice and eyes showcasing his genuine curiosity. You wouldn't say he seemed eager, but he wanted to know.

"Yep. Also, speaking of Teucer, I have something to ask you," you mention while turning into another hallway, where your homeroom classroom resided.

"What is it?" He asked as you entered the room, casually making your way to your seats.

As you hung your bag on the back of your seat, you answered, "Can you babysit Teucer after work?"

Part of him wanted to flat out refuse, but he thought of how nice it would be to stay out of the house for a while and have good reason for it.

"Depends. How long?"

"Hm..." You hummed. "6:40 to 10:00? It's kinda late, I know. I also wouldn't be able to pay you, and you'd have to do it for a while. A few weeks at least."

"You expect me to do that for free? We're barely even friends, why do you even need a babysitter in the first place?"

Admittedly, you were a bit hurt by his comment, though you wouldn't say it aloud. In your mind, you at least hoped he thought of you as a friend.

"I'm taking more hours at the teahouse," you responded. "And usually, Ajax leaves right when I get home, so if I get home later, Teucer will be alone."

"...And remind me why I'd be doing that for free?"

"I don't have money."

"...No."

"Okay," you sighed. 

"Just have Ajax find someone."

"I don't want one of his college friends watching over my darling little brother, I don't trust them," you stated.

While you were busy interacting with Scaramouche, Xiao sat down in his seat and rolled his eyes at how loud you were speaking. 

"You realize Ajax doesn't like me, right?" He asked.

"Yes, in fact, I do realize that. But he even told me he'd be fine with you babysitting. I still don't know how you know him, by the way," you pointed out.

"An old art class I used to take."

.....

"Ajax took art classes?"

"You didn't know?" He replied with a raise of his eyebrows, clearly stating his shock. 

"No, I didn't."

Scaramouche could see a distant look swirling in your eyes and sighed, his next words going against his better judgement.

"I'll do it," he mumbled.

"Really? You don't have to," you said, blinking away any tears that might've been threatening to push through.

"I know. Don't get the wrong idea, I just want to stay away from home for a while..."

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" You teased with a playful smirk that lingered in his mind longer than it should've.

"I'm sure."