He pushed me towards the nearest seat in the kitchen. He got to work brushing and styling. I never usually styled it myself unless it was my hairstylist doing it. Using treatments and brushing it was enough for me since I was too lazy to try to do anything else with it. It was gorgeous already so I felt there was no need to tie it up or anything. I liked my appearance in the mirror and that's all that mattered.

Just as Atsutane finished, there was a knock at the door so I ran to get it. I figured only one person could be knocking.

"Anzai! Good morning," I beamed. Even though I wished I could stop loving him, seeing him in the flesh always made my heart start pumping.

He stared at me and hesitated. "...your hair."

I grabbed the long braid hanging over my shoulder. "Oh, Atsutane did it for me. Come inside."

"Good morning, Anzai!" Atsutane greeted him. "Hey, we should all go out for breakfast! My treat!"

"Are you sure? I could try to whip something up for us here," I said.

"No way, I can't make you do that! You already let me sleep in your bed, let me treat you to breakfast. Maybe Shukishi and Rikiya can join us."

"...your bed..." Anzai muttered.

I looked at him. When our eyes met, he shook his head. "Breakfast sounds good. I can contact the others." He turned away with his phone.

We all agreed to meet up at a family restaurant and made our way there. Rikiya looked very excited as he eyed the menu.

"You're really paying right, Atsutane?" He asked.

"Yes! It's totally my treat!"

"Then I won't hold back. Don't regret it later."

Just as he said, he ordered so much food I couldn't believe he could fit it all in that small body of his. Despite being twenty-three, he still looked like a young boy. Near the end of the meal though, he boxed some of the food away for later.

"Your hair looks nice," Shukishi commented.

"Thanks," I said. "Atsutane did it for me!"

"You should style your hair more often, it's hard to keep my eyes off you."

I rolled my eyes. "If you like braids that much, you should braid your hair."

He touched the ends of his dark hair. "Did you want to see that? My hair isn't quite long enough for it I'm afraid."

"I could give you small braids!" Atsutane said.

"Leave it to the expert!" I grinned.

Shukishi's smile faltered. "Ah, I don't actually like braids that much. They only look good on Narihira."

"Are we done here?" Rikiya asked. "I've gotta stop by home before going to the bar."

"That's alright, we can go now," I said.

"I've already got the bill," Atsutane added.

We met up at the bar later for work again. I got so many compliments on my hair, I felt very happy about it. Some even invited me to drink with them but it was against our policy for bartenders to have a drink with the customers. Anzai was quick to refuse for me.

"Sorry, he can't hold his drink," he said.

I elbowed him. Why is he revealing my secret?! "I'm sorry, it's against our policy. I can make all the drinks you'd like and talk with you though."

Later I went in the back to grab another bottle that we ran out of, dragging Anzai with me.

"Don't reveal my secret like that!"

"I didn't know it was a secret."

"Of course it is! I don't want anyone to know that even one sip of alcohol knocks me out!"

"I didn't go into that much detail. And don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to you if you drink."

"That's not the point... Just try to refuse in a different way. But I can do it myself anyway!"

"You're too nice, I thought I should help you."

"You're too much sometimes..."

He suddenly touched my braid, letting it slip out of his hand. "Just be careful and rely on me. I'll defend you from every single perverted man on this planet if I have to."

I blinked up at him. He used to help me a lot with unwanted advances in high school, I wondered if he was still thinking about that. I thought I was able to refuse people better now though. If they didn't give up, I could always threaten calling the police.

"I'm not a kid anymore," I said. "I can do pretty well to protect myself."

He was quiet. "...I know. You're strong. You took down that yakuza leader."

The memory hit me, making me blush in embarrassment. I punched his arm. "Don't bring that up! That was a serious moment!"

"I know. You did well."

Is kicking someone in the nuts really doing well...? I sighed. "I'll ask for help if I need it. I promise."

He nodded. "Good." He leaned closer, causing me to stiffen. "Your hair looks nice." Then he walked away, leaving me all alone.

It took a while for me to return with the bottle. I gingerly touched my braid while I stood frozen, my face flushing. He can't say things like that... It makes my heart stop... I felt I wanted to braid it every day now. That'd be too obvious though... And it would be such a pain to do so that I'd probably give up immediately anyway.

Anzai still had surprises in store for me though. I told Atsutane that he could stay over as long as he wanted since I enjoyed his company. He was glad and said he felt the same. Then when we were at my door, Anzai spoke.

"I forgot to mention... I told the landlord about a, um, leak in my ceiling, and she said she could get someone to fix it over the next...couple days. I do need to sleep elsewhere until it's fixed though." He avoided our eyes.

"Really? That sucks. I haven't had anything like that happen in my apartment," I said.

"Perhaps I'm unlucky..." He added.

"Hey, since we both don't have a place to stay, let's all stay in Nari's apartment!" Atsutane said.

"Huh?!" I was too surprised to keep it in. I mean, Anzai sleeping in my apartment?! I never imagined something like that happening?!

"...would it be difficult?" Anzai asked. When I looked at him, he was practically giving me pleading puppy eyes. He could make that kind of expression?!

"What do you think, Nari?" Atsutane asked. "I could still find somewhere else again and let you two–"

"Nope!" I quickly said. "That sounds great! You two in my apartment! All three of us together! How could I take one of you in and leave the other out in the cold?" I laughed awkwardly. Me and Anzai alone together?! I couldn't handle that right now!

Atsutane smiled. "Then let's do that!"

I felt stiff and awkward as I let both men inside my apartment and shut the door. Anzai was glancing around as if his apartment didn't look similar at least. It made me self conscious the way he looked around, especially when we got to my bedroom. I didn't have anything embarrassing around but I was worried he would somehow find something like that.

"So," I began, "I'm afraid I don't have a futon. I should've bought one, but I can later. For now we'll have to make do with blankets on the floor or wherever else you two would like to sleep. There's a couch in the living room, although it's a bit small."

Atsutane grabbed my hand. "Let's sleep together in your bed again! That way Anzai will have enough room on the couch or the floor, whichever he decides."

"You just can't stand to sleep anywhere except the bed, can you...?"

"Oops. Was that obvious?"

Anzai stepped closer to me. "So you two did sleep together? Is there really enough room for two?" He eyed my bed.

"We fit just right, right Nari? It was close, but that made it cozy."

"He hit me in his sleep," I said.

"What?! When did I?!"

"Pfft... You were just moving around in your sleep and threw your arm on me."

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know I moved a bunch in my sleep."

"It's alright, it was funny. I guess I wouldn't mind sleeping together again."

Anzai suddenly grabbed my arm. "I was thinking of sleeping on the floor. You could sleep there with me and avoid getting hit."

"I said I was sorry!" Atsutane whined.

I glanced at his hand on my arm and up at his face. He always had a blank expression on his face and spoke in a monotone-like voice, causing me to never know what he was thinking. He always managed to catch me off guard when he did things like this.

"...do you not want to?" He asked quietly. Why did it sound like he was pleading with me?!

I couldn't say no to him. I just couldn't... He was touching me and wouldn't let go. He was looking at me with deep, moss-colored eyes that I couldn't look away from. Even if I knew I wouldn't get much sleep that night sleeping next to him, I couldn't reject him either.

"...fine," I said. "Atsutane can just monopolize my bed."

"You're so sweet, Nari!" Atsutane hugged me while I rolled my eyes. Anzai slowly loosened his grip and his hand slipped away, making my arm feel cold.

When we had all laid down with blankets over us, the lights out, and silence surrounding us, I was wide awake. Anzai's muscular body nearby was too distracting. I bet if we laid in bed together, instead of me and Atsutane, we wouldn't fit and somehow that excited me. We would've had to hold onto each other to keep from falling out of the bed... I really needed to think about something else. I hoped I could get a little bit of sleep at the very least.

Yet as I expected, I barely got enough sleep. Atsutane looked well-rested and Anzai looked the same as ever. He even got up early in the morning to stop by the gym as part of his daily routine. I got a little bit of sleep before then and then after since I felt more at ease without his body next to mine. I hoped I would get used to sleeping next to him for however long he was staying.

"Do you know when the leak will be fixed?" I asked Anzai over breakfast.

"I'm not sure. A couple days maybe. It depends how fast they want to work. What about you with your parents, Atsutane? Are they still giving you trouble?"

Atsutane nodded. "They're texting and calling but I'm ignoring them. I haven't seen the butler's car around but I figure it's only a matter of time before he finds me. I promise to be out of your hair by then, Nari."