Bianca and I continue walking to my next class, falling into our usual routine. Except... it's not quite our usual routine. Something feels off.
She's quiet. She's not initiating any conversation, not making her usual dry observations about the people we pass, not even complaining about school. She's just... there.
I glance over at her. Her face is carefully neutral, but there's something in the set of her jaw that screams "leave me alone."
Well, that's not happening.
"Hey, you good?"
She looks at me and shrugs. "Yeah."
Her tone is flat. Detached. The verbal equivalent of a "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging on a hotel door.
I know that tone. That's the "I don't want to talk about it" tone. The "if you push this, I will remove your kneecaps" tone.
So I let it drop.
We walk the rest of the way to my class in comfortable silence. Well, comfortable for me, anyway. I'm kind of used to Bianca's moods. She's like a cat, sometimes she wants attention, sometimes she wants to be left alone, and if you can't tell the difference, you deserve whatever scratches you get.
When we arrive at my classroom, she stops and turns to me. "Later, dork."
She's already starting to turn away when I speak up.
"Hey." I say quietly.
She stops, glancing back at me.
"Just… You know I'm here for you, right? If you need anything."
For a moment, she just looks at me. Then she makes this amused noise, a quick exhale through her nose, and a small smile appears on her face.
"Yeah. Thanks."
She steps a bit closer, and I brace myself for the inevitable hair destruction. Except this time, she doesn't mess up my hair at all.
Instead, she just lays her hand on my head, patting me gently.
"You're sweet, you know that?"
I blink. My hair survives! This is unprecedented. This is a miracle. Who is this person and what has she done with my sister?
She gives me another small smile before heading off to her next class. "See ya."
"Bye, Bianca."
I watch her go, trying to figure out what just happened. Bianca being sincere and gentle is like seeing a double rainbow, you know it's technically possible, but actually witnessing it feels vaguely unreal.
Something's definitely up with her today.
After school, I head to the Midnight Café for another shift, ready to tackle whatever the universe throws at me.
Generating quests for everything I do has become second nature at this point. It's like breathing. I don't even think about it anymore, my brain just automatically frames everything as a challenge to overcome, a goal to achieve.
I make myself some objectives while I work. Miscellaneous ones, like: I want that grumpy customer with the corner seat to leave happy today. Or, I want to anticipate the next five tables that will need water refills. Different tasks that challenge my people skills and observational abilities.
By the time my shift ends, I'm a few Evolution Points richer, and I'm tired but satisfied. But as I'm wiping down tables, my mind drifts back to Bianca.
She seemed different today. I don't know why she's in a bad mood, but all I know is that I want her out of it. And I know just the way to improve her mood.
Cake.
I head to the display case where Mr. Vale keeps the desserts. There's a small chocolate cake that practically has Bianca's name written on it. It's colored dark brown, with a thin chocolate ganache covering the top and dripping elegantly down the sides. Scattered across the top are delicate curls of shaved chocolate that catch the light.
It's beautiful. I'm already beginning to drool.
"Bringing something home today, Adam?" Mr. Vale asks when I bring it to the counter, his warm voice filled with quiet amusement.
"Yeah. My sister's having a rough day, thought this might help."
He smiles at me with that grandfatherly warmth. "That's a thoughtful gesture. Family is important." Then he waves his hands dismissively. "The cake is on the house, consider it thanks for your excellent work."
Wait, what?
"Mr. Vale, that's really nice of you, but I can't just—"
He holds up a hand, cutting me off gently. "When someone offers you a gift with sincerity, particularly an employer, the gracious thing to do is accept it."
I pause, considering what he said. I guess arguing further would be kind of insulting, wouldn't it?
I smile back at him. "Alright. Thanks, Mr. Vale. I really appreciate it."
"Think nothing of it," he says, carefully packaging the cake for me.
Twenty minutes later, I make it home, carefully cradling the cake container like it contains the Holy Grail.
"I'm home!" I shout when I head through the front door.
"Welcome back!" Selene's voice echoes from somewhere in the house, bright and cheerful.
I glance toward the living room and immediately spot Bianca lounging on the sofa. She's wrapped in a blanket like a burrito, drinking what looks like tea from a mug. She usually only gets like this when...
Oh.
Oh.
Now I realize why Bianca seemed to act differently today.
Man. Who designed women? Why do they get periods once a month, and why does it hurt them? We need to fix that ASAP.
"Hey," Bianca says when she notices me looking at her.
I raise the little container I brought home, grinning. "Got cake!"
There's a squeal from the kitchen. "Oh my God, REALLY?!"
Selene comes bouncing into view, and I see her happily making her way toward me. She has her hair tied back in a ponytail, and she's still in her school outfit: a pastel sweater with white leggings. She's wearing a cute pink apron over that.
Dang. She's looking awfully wifey right now.
"Wait wait wait, what's the occasion?!" Selene asks, her pink eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Can't I just do something nice for my family?"
"Hmmm..." She leans in closer, studying my face, then her voice drops to a whisper. "This is about Bianca, isn't it?"
"She seemed off today," I whisper back.
Selene's face lights up. She reaches up and pats my head affectionately. "You're the best little brother ever, you know that?"
"Oi, what are you two whispering about over there?" Bianca calls from the couch, eyebrow raised.
"Nothing!" Selene shouts back innocently. Then she turns to me and makes grabby hands at the cake. "Gimme gimme gimme!"
I give her the container, and she practically vibrates with joy. "Ooh! We can have it for dessert!"
"What kind?" Bianca asks from the sofa.
"Chocolate," I say, shooting her a wink.
"Fuck yeah," she says, pumping a fist in the air before returning to her tea.
I make my way to the sofa, dropping down beside Bianca. I give her thigh a gentle pat, a simple gesture of solidarity.
We don't talk for a while. We just sit there, existing in the same space. Bianca continues calmly drinking from her mug. Sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is just be there without trying to fix anything.
Then she turns to look at me. "So seriously, what's with the cake?" she asks, those teal eyes fixed on mine.
I can tell she wants a real answer. She doesn't want me to deflect or make a joke. So I shrug. "I mean, you seemed kinda down today. Figured a dessert might help."
She looks away briefly, and...
Oh my, is she blushing? I need a picture of this.
I slowly pull out my phone from my pocket.
"Don't even fucking think about it," she says flatly.
I slowly put my phone back into my pocket.
Worth a shot.
Then she turns back to me, and there's this smile on her face, genuine and warm and completely unlike her usual smirk.
"Thanks, Adam. That's... really sweet of you."
And now it's my turn to blush. I'm just not used to Bianca being so sincere. It's like seeing a solar eclipse: rare, beautiful, and you're not entirely sure you should be looking directly at it.
She stares deeply into my eyes for a moment, long enough that I start to feel self-conscious, then she leans in and gives me a quick kiss on my cheek.
The warmth of her lips lingers even after she pulls away.
"What was that for?" I ask, grinning.
"For being a good brother, dork," she says, rolling her eyes but smiling.
She leans her head against my shoulder and grabs my left hand with her right.
I can't resist. I lean in to give her a kiss on her forehead.
She stills for a second. "...And what was that for?" Bianca asks quietly.
"For being cute." I say without thinking too much about it.
She stares at me for a moment, one eyebrow raised, and I can see the wheels turning in her head. For a second I think she's going to say something sarcastic, but instead she just returns her head to my shoulder without a word.
We spend the next few minutes quietly playing with each other's hands, her tracing the lines on my palm, me gently squeezing her fingers, just these small, absent-minded touches that somehow feel more intimate than any conversation could be.
"Dinner time!" Selene calls from the kitchen, breaking the moment.
We eat together at the table, and Selene has absolutely killed it with tonight's meal: lasagna!
And not just any lasagna, this is the good stuff. Layers of pasta, meat sauce, and cheese that's still bubbling slightly from the oven. The cheese is that perfect golden-brown on top, and when I cut into it with my fork, everything holds together in a perfect, delicious slice.
Selene doesn't cook very often, and I'm pretty sure this might be the only thing she knows how to make. Which is fine. If you're going to know how to make only one dish, lasagna is a solid choice.
And after lasagna comes dessert.
Selene carefully brings out the chocolate cake and places it on the table. "Oh my God, this looks so good! I need a picture!"
She pulls out her phone while Bianca just stares at the cake. Her eyes are slightly glazed over, and I'm pretty sure if you scanned her brain right now, it would just be one word repeating on loop: cake, cake, cake, cake...
We slice up portions and divide it between us, leaving a large section for Mom.
I grab a fork and I'm about to dig in when Bianca's hand shoots out, grabbing my wrist. "Hold up."
"What?"
She picks up a piece of cake with her own fork, a little smirk playing on her lips. "Say ahh."
"Uh... what are you doing?"
"Ahh," she repeats, holding the fork up to my mouth.
I sigh, but I'm also smiling. "Ahh."
She feeds me the bite, and holy shit, it's incredible. Rich, sweet, the chocolate literally melting on my tongue.
Then another fork appears to my right.
I turn to see Selene grinning at me, a piece of cake on her fork. "My turn! Ahh!"
"You guys are ridiculous."
"Ahh!" Selene insists.
I eat the piece she's offering, and then Bianca's already got another forkful ready.
"Okay, what is happening right now?"
"Payment for the cake," Bianca says matter-of-factly.
"Duh! You brought cake, we feed you cake. That's just how it works," Selene adds, like this is some universal law I should already know.
"That doesn't make any sense."
"Ahh," Bianca says again, fork hovering near my mouth.
You know what? I'm not going to question this any further.