Too Close for Comfort Pt. 1

I barely had time to step inside before I realized something was wrong.

No—something was very wrong.

My once semi-organized apartment had been turned into a disaster zone. Empty chip bags were scattered across the floor like fallen leaves. The television blared some over-the-top drama while Lana was sprawled across the couch in a completely unnatural position, clutching the remote like it was her lifeline. The scent of something sweet wafted from the kitchen, where Chloe, covered in flour, hummed to herself while mixing batter. And then there was Alice, lounging on the bean bag with a book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other—three empty bottles standing proudly beside her like trophies.

I blinked. Then again. And then once more for good measure.

"...What the hell happened here?"

Lana lazily tilted her head toward me, a half-eaten chip hanging from her lips. "Oh, hey, you're back. Took you long enough."

"Took me long enough? I was gone for an hour!"

"And? What's your point?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose, forcing myself to stay calm. "My point is—this... What the hell happened?"

Chloe beamed from the kitchen, blissfully unaware of my internal breakdown. "Oh! Aikami, welcome home! I'm making pound cake! I thought it would be nice to have something sweet for everyone."

"Yeah, real sweet."

Alice finally acknowledged my presence, flipping a page in her book without looking up. "You should invest in better wine, Aikami. The ones you have are quite weak."

I stared at the three bottles beside her. "...Weak?"

"I barely felt a buzz."

Oh, of course, she didn't. Why would she?

Lana groaned and rolled onto her stomach, resting her chin on a pillow. "Anyway, welcome home, dude. Did you actually get any studying done, or did you just stare at your book, pretending to be productive?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"A valid one."

I opened my mouth to argue but stopped. What's even the point? This is my life now.

I exhaled, stepping further into the room and kicking aside another bag of chips. "You guys are really something else..."

Chloe giggled. "But you're happy we're here, right?"

I glanced at them—Lana, lazily sprawled on the couch; Chloe, happily humming away in the kitchen; Alice, sipping her wine like an unbothered queen.

Despite the absolute mess they made, despite their ridiculous antics… I couldn't help but smile.

Yeah. They're still here. And for some reason, that made all the chaos worth it.

I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. "Alright, let's at least make this place look somewhat livable again."

Chloe perked up. "Do you need help?"

"Yes."

Lana yawned. "Nope, too late. He already claimed responsibility. That makes it his problem."

I shot her a flat look. "You caused the problem."

"Eh, details, details."

Ignoring her, I bent down and started gathering the empty chip bags, stuffing them into a garbage bag. "By the way, I ran into someone for the first time since high school. He recognized me somehow."

Alice looked up from her book, arching an eyebrow. "Oh? He recognized you without a thread? Do tell."

"Yeah, I'm not sure," I muttered, tossing another bag away. "Kind of like that Kirishima guy. Just like him, this guy approached me first." 

"Ugh... Don't bring him up," Lana grumbled.

"Oops. My bad. But yeah. Never even talked to him like that. Didn't even remember my name, which is usually how it goes. It was weird, though. Started asking what I was up to these days."

Chloe clapped her hands together. "That's nice! Did you have a good conversation?"

I shrugged. "We didn't have much to talk about. He didn't really know me, I didn't really know him. It was chill, I guess... until he asked me about my love life."

That got their attention.

Lana suddenly sat up, eyes gleaming. "Ehh~? And what did you tell him?"

I hesitated, realizing too late that I had just walked myself into a trap. No one's fault by my own, and there's no going back on it.

"…I told him I was single."

Alice smirked. "Mmm. Technically true, yet highly misleading."

"What are you on about? What's misleading about it?"

"Well, for starters..." she mused, setting her book down, "It doesn't quite capture the unique predicament you find yourself in, does it?"

Lana grinned. "Yeah, like how you're technically single, but also technically living with three insanely attractive goddesses who dote on you."

Chloe's face turned pink. "D-Dote on? I wouldn't say that…"

I groaned, rubbing my forehead. "I knew bringing this up was a mistake."

"A fun mistake," Lana teased. "But hey! We learned something new, yeah? People are starting to strike up a conversation with Aikami despite not having a thread. We're getting there, even though we don't even know why it's happening."

"Can you really take credit for that...?"

Alice chuckled. "Anyway, what was the conclusion? Did you happen to tell him why you were still single?"

"I told him I was just focusing on school."

Lana snorted. "Lame."

Chloe tilted her head. "Well, it's not wrong…"

Alice chuckled. "Oh, Aikami. You truly are a master of avoidance."

I scowled, tossing an empty soda can into the trash. "What exactly is it that I'm avoiding? And why does everything I do warrant an interrogation?"

Lana leaned back against the couch, grinning. "Hey, don't blame us. We're just invested in our favorite human's love life."

"There is no love life."

"For now. Eventually, you're gonna get a girlfriend, and then—... A-and then..."

She stopped herself before turning away.

I raised an eyebrow. "And then what?"

"N-never mind! We'll figure that out when we get your thread dilemma situated. For now, though..."

She mumbled that last bit, so I couldn't hear exactly what she said. Without a doubt, she did say something. And I think I heard...

'Just be satisfied with us.'

The realization hit me harder than I expected.

 That's... not what she actually said, right? Maybe I misheard. Her voice was really quiet, after all. But if that's the case... then why is she refusing to look at me?

"L-Lana? What was that last part? I didn't catch it."

"Nothing!"

"Um... Alright then..."

I quickly moved to pick up the wine bottles near Alice, hoping to calm my nerves a bit. She watched me with amusement as I gathered them.

"I wasn't finished with those, you know."

"Alice. There's nothing left in these."

She smirked, sipping from her still-full glass. "Then perhaps you should get better wine next time."

"Eh?! I'm not even the one who bought these! I don't drink wine!"

"Ah... So it seems."

I shook my head, dumping the bottles in the recycling bin.

By the time I finished cleaning, the apartment was—if not spotless—at least less of a disaster. I plopped onto the couch with a sigh, rubbing my face.

"Well, that was exhausting."

Chloe walked over, wiping her flour-covered hands on her apron. "Thank you for cleaning, Aikami. I really do appreciate it."

Alice raised her glass. "Yes, good work, housekeeper."

Lana patted my back. "Yeah, you're a real trooper. I'd have just left it."

"I mean... You did leave it."

She grinned. "Exactly."

"And when exactly did I become the housekeeper of my own house? If anything, you guys should be doing all that."

"Oh? And do you want us to? We'll be like the housewives."

"The... The h-housewi—...?"

She giggled, shooting me a very knowing smile. "Oh my, Aikami. Your face is beet red. Is something wrong?"

You. That's exactly what's wrong, but I can't necessarily say that, especially when her sisters are looking dead at me as if anticipating an answer.

I sighed again. "Nothing..." But there was no real frustration behind it. As chaotic as they were, I wouldn't trade this for anything.

Even if it meant constantly cleaning up after them.

"Oh! Aikami!" Lana exclaimed, catching me by surprise.

"Y-yeah? What's up?"

"You hungry?"

"Um... A little bit, I guess. Is there even anything to eat?"

"Nope, which leads me to Lana's surprise plan, version two! Let's go get some groceries! We've gone out for groceries plenty of times, but we've never been with you. What do you say? It'll be fun!"

I leaned back on the seat. "Groceries, huh? Haven't done that in like... four years?"

Chloe pinched my arm with a frown. "That's not a good thing, Aikami."

"I mean, it's not like I really had much of a choice."

"Heh." Alice sat her finished glass of wine on the table and stood up. "Then we should go before it gets too late."

The girls made their way to the door.

Lana perked up with a resounding cheer. "I'm excited! What are we gonna make?"

Alice smiled. "We'll figure that out when we get there. Come along, Aikami."

"Hah... Coming."