Absentmindedly scribbling on the back of your History book, you called out to your sibling.

"Ne, Haru-nii..."

"What?"

He answered without looking away from the grilling mackerel on the stove – it was mackerel after all, and it had to be prepared to perfection!

"Speaking hypothetically..."

Your older twin raised a curious brow, guessing that whatever was to come wouldn't be exactly pleasant to hear.

"If I was to date someone..."

Your frequent pauses were beyond unnerving, but as much as he wanted to urge you on, he kept silent; rushing you would lead nowhere. All the while, you finished up the doodle on your book, realizing with a blush that you had drawn the guy you've been crushing on since you first laid eyes on him.

"And that someone was your friend... Or kind of a friend..."

He automatically listed out all of his acquaintances with whom you'd ever had contact. You were on good terms with everyone, he noted; sometimes he wished you had a more difficult personality. You had been hanging out a lot with Nagisa lately, though.

"You like Nagisa?"

Shit.

The question just flew out of his mouth, without even a second to try and fix it.

You gave him a weird look, shaking your head vehemently while snapping your book shut. At the thought you just had slammed a book to your beloved's face, though, you inwardly flinched.

"N-Nagisa-kun?! Of course not! Oh my god, Haru-nii, don't you know NagiRei is a thing now?! I thought you knew, I mean, they're totally OTP."

It took him a moment to understand fully what you had just thrown on him so suddenly. Hazuki Nagisa and Ryuugazaki Rei were dating?! Haru did have his suspicions about Nagisa, but Rei never showed any signs of... Scratch that. Rei's symbol was a motherfucking butterfly. He sighed, placing the meal neatly on the table as he beckoned you over.

"I didn't know. Sorry... Go on."

The thought that you and Haru treated the blond as a brother crossed your mind, making you question the odd inquisition for a while before continuing, taking a seat at the table.

"It's okay, Haru-nii! But you gotta admit they're perfect together!"

It seemed your brother was having a hard time accepting the fact his underclassmen were dating. You, on the other hand, gushed over the couple, dreaming of the day you could be together with your crush, so you could finally go on a double date – despite the obvious awkwardness of such a thing.

"But honestly, Nagisa-kun just pretends to be all cute and innocent, you know? I mean, he did flirt with Rei-kun until he literally blushed his way onto the swim team. And of course, Haru-nii-san's swimming also helped, 'cause he thought it was beautiful!"

A wave of pride swelled inside of him at his sister's praise, half returning the cocky grin on her face.

"Thanks."

You giggled; Haru's obsession with water was ancient as time itself, and sometimes you wondered if he would reincarnate as a dolphin in his next life. Although, whatever was to be his next life, you still wished to be beside him as his twin (but being the oldest sometime didn't sound bad either).

As he put the food on the table, you settled to fiddle with your hands, thinking of how to go back to the previous subject.

"Anyways... Now that we cleared that it's not Nagisa-kun we're hypothetically talking about... Would you be mad? I mean, it'd be better than bringing home a complete stranger, right?"

The blue eyed swimmer cleared his throat uncomfortably, sitting directly in front of you as he searched for a way to answer without sounding overprotective or as if he didn't care at all. He did have some trouble expressing his feelings, after all. Makoto usually could read your brother easily, you did too, but you were much too absorbed in your own worries to notice his.

"It would depend on who we're talking about, I guess... But I can't really control you or your love life, so I'd just tell you to choose with care, no rushing. We're still young and, uhm, yeah."

It was the first time in your whole life you'd seen your twin being flustered. His azure orbs avoided your (e/c) ones as he picked at the food on his plate. Your lips curved upwards; for someone who expected a lot worse, you were beyond happy.

"I guess you're right, Haru-nii... Thanks!"

And you left the subject at that, merrily munching on the grilled mackerel, missing the sight of a fidgeting older brother.

Of course he'd be fidgeting. He assumed you'd tell him who was the lucky guy you wanted to date after all that talking he did. Out of the blue, Nagisa and Rei came to his mind, and he wondered if it could possibly be that you were interested in a girl. Panic was written over his features; he didn't know how to deal with something like that! It was unknown territory for him; where were mom and dad when he needed them the most?!

Your giggle interrupted his trail of thoughts, and he realized he'd been stabbing the poor fish in his plate.

"Haru-nii, why are you so nervous? We were talking hypothetically, right?"

He deadpanned your way.

"Hm. Of course. Hypothetically."

Sarcasm dripped from his last word as he put a piece of mackerel in his mouth while staring at you. You stuck your tongue out at him; he knew it unsettled you when he stared like that.

"I may or may not tell you who it is... But if you got me a (fav/cake) from that store near Mako-chan's place, I'd be more inclined to tell you!"

Haru's blank stare didn't falter as he pondered over it, and you just continued to smile up at him with mischievous (e/c) eyes.

The thought he didn't really want to know tugged at the back of his mind; he did trust his friends (most of them, anyway), but when his dear sister came to picture, it was completely different. It wasn't about competitions, Nationals and friendly rivalry – oh, no. It was about having to accept another male in (F/n)'s life, a male she'd love and cherish, and a male that could end up crushing her heart. It was not that he didn't trust her common sense to choose a significant other; sometimes she was merely too gullible to his liking, and he felt obliged to protect her from any possible threats, be it physical, be it emotional.

To put it simply, Nanase Haruka was not ready to see his sister dating.

He didn't even have a girlfriend himself! (But that was probably because his first love was a waterfall).

"Fine."

He resumed with a resigned sigh, catching a glimpse of your eyes twinkling as your smile turned into a full bloomed grin. With a small smile of his own, he turned to the dinner in front of him.

"We'll go there after school tomorrow. But eat your vegetables."

The (h/c) haired female snorted, pointing to his plate.

"Look who's talking! You barely eat yours, Haru-nii!"

Said sibling nearly choked before recovering with a smug look.

"But I'm older, so you have to do what I say."

"You're only older by a minute and a half, idiot!"

"Still older."

You only groaned before forcefully shoving a tomato down his throat with an evil laugh.

"Then you have to be the example, 'cause if you don't eat, I ain't eating!"