In a small apartment with his phone, Alec's mouth was curving from ear to ear.
Hah! His sister, a genius she was!
"Mimi, you're truly incredible. Being able to destroy a once successful company in less than a day, I applaud you!"
Sitting on her sofa with a cup of milk tea in her hand, Mimi continued to scroll through her phone.
"You only found that out now?" Mimi laughs softly while sipping her tea.
Alec awkwardly scratches his cheek. She was right. Ever since he first spoke to her eight years ago, he'd known she was a genius and an incredible child.
While on her phone scrolling through the latest news, Mimi reached for the plate of cookies in front of her.
However, just as her fair fingers touched the cookie's edge, the plate was pulled away from her.
"Eh?"
Raising her eyes from her phone, Mimi's brows tightly knit as she looked up at the culprit who stole her cookies.
"Toby! Give me back my cookies!" Mimi pouted.
Standing in front of the girl with the plate of cookies in hand was none other than Tobias Itou. His dark eyes stared down at the girl with a blank stare.
"Phone." He extended his broad hand out toward the girl.
Furrowing her brows even further, Mimi looks at the man's hand and lightly smacks it.
"No! You can't have it! Now give me my cookies!"
Tobias's brows raised with amusement toward the girl's light slap on his hand - or it had seemed light to Tobias at least.
From such an innocent smack, Mimi felt her fingers tingling from the harsh impact they made with his rough hands.
Damn this handsome man and his beautiful, firm hands!
"You shouldn't be on your phone while you eat, and have a real meal rather than junk food. It's unhealthy for you to just eat sugary foods."
Resisting the urge to stick out her tongue, Mimi sulks even further while glancing at the plate of frosted sugar cookies in the handsome man's hand.
"If I eat a proper meal and put away my phone, I can have the cookies?"
"Mn. You can have two."
"Ten!"
"Two."
"Eight?"
"Two."
Mimi scowled. "Toby, you're not really following this correctly. You're supposed to increase the number."
"Am I?" Tobias stared at Mimi amusedly, inwardly enjoying the new nickname she gave him.
The girl rapidly nodded her head with a frown. Tobias sighed lightly.
"You can have four."
Mimi went silent, her expression clearly showing that she was thinking about his offer.
Appearing reluctant, Mimi huffs. "Ng, fine! I'll have four!"
Nodding with satisfaction, Tobias walks away with the plate of cookies and stores them in the fridge. Mimi follows his movements with a frown before turning to look at Alec.
"Well go on. Get my meal ready! Those cookies aren't going to stay fresh forever! Unless you want me to cook for myself…"
Dumfounded, Alec stares at his sister in horror.
"N-No that's not necessary. I'll prepare your meal!"
Hastily getting up from his seat, Alec rushes to the kitchen.
Although he was bitter about cooking Mimi a meal, he was even more against allowing her to cook for herself.
After what took place last time…
Alec shivered upon recalling the meal she made that day.
Wanting to recreate a meal she saw online, Mimi searched the recipe and cooked it to perfection. Perfection in her eyes.
That day, she called Alec over to try her meal and upon entering he was surprised to see that the food actually looked decent. If anything it looked as if a professional made the meal!
It was almost unbelievably beautiful Alec was convinced it'd taste good. Little did he know how wrong he was.
Taking the first bite, his entire life flashed before his eyes.
Never in his life did he think he'd compare a portion of food to hell. But after one bite, Alec felt as if that was the closest he ever came to hell; to seeing the devil himself.
A he was a decent human! There was no way he'd enter such a place!
Swiftly, Alec begins chopping a piece of steak with a gloomy expression. Meanwhile, Tobias and Mimi were currently playing a game of go fish.
"Do you have a six?" Mimi stared at Tobias eagerly.
"No."
The man was staring at his cards with a cold, stern expression. Holding in a laugh, Mimi looks at Tobias with amusement.
Why did he look so serious all the time? They were just playing cards.
For the rest of the day, the two played cards while Alec prepared a large pot of curry for them. After eating, the three discussed a few things while watching TV in Mimi's living room.
Two hours passed before Tobias felt a sudden weight lean on his side. Shifting his gaze, Tobias's eyes were met with the sleeping figure of Mimi. Her head rested lightly on Tobias's arm as soft, calm breaths escaped her rosy parted lips.
Smiling gently, Tobias grabs the blanket beside him and carefully places it on the sleeping girl beside him.
He moved a few loose strands of the girl's hair away from her face and tucked them gently behind her ear.uc
Once sure she was comfortable, Tobias stared back at the television and examined the moving images on the screen with silent eyes.
Alec, who was already asleep, snored quietly on the chair he sat on, his mouth hung open while his head tilted back on the seat.
The sound of the television softly buzzed through the room, the air tender and comforting. The light of the moon streaming through the windows and onto the three peaceful figures.
For the first time, Tobias felt at peace as he stared at the two sleeping.
"Heh," He chuckled softly while covering his smiling lips with his fist.
"So this is what it felt like..."
This is what it felt to be around friends. The feeling of being around those you cared for.
Even while they were all eating together, a part of him felt warm. Felt complete. It was odd and unfamiliar.
He didn't want to lose it.
Suddenly, Mimi shifted from her position and snuggled even closer to the large man - her body moving closer to his warmth.
Watching her satisfied expression as she nestled closer to him, Tobias's usual cold gaze softened.
Ceasing her movements and falling back into a deep sleep, Mimi's chest rose and fell with rapid breaths.
Tobias observed the girl and carefully propped his head against hers. Letting out a content sigh, he quietly closed his eyes.
This warmth… he wanted it to last forever.