As promised, after they finished eating the ice cream, he took her to Fernando's place of work. As soon as he parked his motorbike beside the building where he lives, as usual, he found Ariel looking around, looking confused.
"Charmion Cafe?"
"Yeah. Is there any problem?"
Ariel nodded slowly. "Poor you, Older Brother. You have to live in such a small place."
"The truth is, he really enjoyed it," he replied with a soft laugh. His hand subconsciously stroked Ariel's hair, which felt smooth. As soon as he realised, he immediately pulled his hand away from Ariel. "Sorry, I did not mean—"
"Where is my brother?"
The young woman did not seem bothered by his movements earlier, so he breathed a sigh of relief, leading Ariel into the cafe.
"Welcome—Indra! Have you already found her?" said Leonard who immediately approached Indra, stealing a glance at Ariel, who looked around in amazement looking at her surroundings.
He raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Yes, but how did you know about Fernando's order? I remembered I did not mention Fernando's order to you."
"Well, let's just say that I have my own way," Leonard winked at his answer.
"Ah, I know. Fernando must have told you, right?"
Leonard just laughed awkwardly when he realised his guess was hit on the nail.
"Whatever. Is Fernando still upstairs?"
"Yes, he is. I just asked for another cake to be brought upstairs."
"Thanks. Little Cotton, upstairs."
"Who are you calling Little Cotton?"
Indra, who was already walking up the stairs, turned his body slightly, looking at Ariel, who was still standing near the stairs. "What do you want me to call you? Cotton? Or—"
"Ariel. Whatever, just don't give me a dorky nickname like that!"
"Okay," he said casually, then went back up the stairs and opened the door to the second-floor room, letting Ariel, who was walking behind him, enter first. "Be careful of your step."
"I know. So noisy!"
"I will take it as a compliment."
Ariel looked away, not looking at him at all. Then, as soon as the young woman's eyes caught the image of Fernando enjoying his cake, the young woman immediately ran away from him, hugging the man from behind until the man almost choked on the cake he was eating.
"Older brother!!!"
Indra laughed, enjoying the sight in front of him. He took off the leather jacket he was wearing while placing his sports motorcycle keys on the table near the entrance, then followed the young woman who was now sitting on Fernando's lap as if it was a natural thing. Fernando did not seem to mind her childish demeanour either, and now the man was feeding the spoonful of cake he ordered from the cafe downstairs into Ariel's mouth.
It was a really quick adaptation ...
"Does it taste delicious?"
"Yes! It is very delicious! Are you the one who made it?"
"Of course not. I ordered downstairs."
"Then, the cafe downstairs is Brother's?"
"No. It's mine," Indra leaned back on the sofa and took a deep breath, relieved that he could finally rest. "I have brought your favourite little sister. Where're my thanks?"
"Thank you, Indra. You really helped me," Fernando again fed a spoonful of cake to Ariel, who was greeted with pleasure.
Inside, he was jealous. He also wanted to be given the opportunity to feed the cake to Ariel. But considering Ariel's attitude earlier, it looked like it would take a long time for his dream to come true.
"I am going to sleep. For god's sake, Fernando! Your menstrual syndrome this month is even worse than last month!"
A pillow flew at him, which he quickly parried and threw back at Fernando. This time he was satisfied for the reason of the pillow hit Fe's face so hard that the glasses the man was wearing came off.
"Indra! You are tired of living, aren't you?!"
"No. I actually really value my life," he got up from the chair, and walked towards his bedroom, which was directly behind the sofa chair Fernando was sitting on, taking the opportunity to rub the top of Ariel's head. "See you later, Little Cotton. Enjoy your time with your beloved older brother."
The young woman did not answer his words, just looked down while intertwining her ten fingers, nodding slowly.
"Since when did my sister have the nickname Little Cotton?" Fernando turned slightly to face Indra, who had opened the door to his room. "Step over my corpse first! How dare you be as close as you like to my precious baby sister!?"
"Remember. You gave me permission to do that in the first place, Fernando. Do not protest at me," commented him nonchalantly, and half yawning. "Ah, I forgot. Thank you for asking me to pick up Little Cotton. It is really a blessing for me."
Indra quickly closed the door to his room before Fernando managed to throw the fork he used to eat his cake at him.
***
A knock on the door of his room managed to wake Indra up. He groaned softly, glanced at the digital clock mounted on the nightstand near his bed, and then lay down again, still reluctant to wake up. In his heart, he cursed the sound of the knock on the door, which was getting louder and louder. It was obvious that the person who knocked on the door of his room was not the type to patiently wait.
But who was the one knocking on his door? As he recalled, only he and Fernando lived here. He himself only stays on weekdays at the cafe, so he could keep an eye on the cafe closely without the hassle of riding his sports motorcycle for two hours from the apartment where he lives. Meanwhile, he allowed Fernando to stay at the cafe where he worked to express his gratitude for saving him a few years ago. Also, for the reason that the man also donated some of his money as his business capital to make this cafe.
As a result of that, he always tried to compromise with whatever Fernando asked him to do.
Annoyed by the sound of knocking that did not stop, he got up from his bed, forcing his legs, which were still lazy to move. As soon as he arrived in front of the bedroom door, his hand turned to the doorknob. He was looking at a young, cute woman, about 150 centimetres tall, standing in front of him with a frown on her face.
Ah, he just remembered now. Even though he himself brought this young woman to his place, he almost forgot. His sleepiness disappeared in an instant, flashing a smile at the young woman who did not seem too provoked by his charming smile. His hand rested on the half-open door, blocking her from peeking into his messy room.
"Hello, Ariel. Where's your older brother?"
Ariel grunted as his response, apparently not liking the way he called her, so he changed his strategy.
"What do you want, Little Cotton?"
Ariel's face was still frowning, but the girl's cheeks were red. The beautiful eyes of the young woman, who he had just realised had different eye colours, looked in another direction. This was the first time he had seen a heterochromia case person directly, so he subconsciously looked at Ariel's eyes, which he thought were very beautiful. The right eye was light blue, like seawater, while the left eye was hazel, further enhancing the cuteness of this girl.
"What are you looking at?! Do you want to tease my eye colour?"
He understood now, the reason behind her curt's response to him.
"Did I say that I wanted to tease your eye colour, Little Cotton?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, pretending to be confused.
"What did I say to you?! Don't try to call me Little Cotton!"
"But the nickname suits you really well," Indra said, pretending to be sad while looking at Ariel, curious about her reaction.
"W-what should I care about you!? Do as-as-you-want!"
Indra laughed softly, rubbing the top of Ariel's head until the young woman, who was still wearing her school uniform, now lowered her head, hiding her blushing face. If he was given a chance to hug her small body, he would do it right now. But he did not want to make this young woman hate him, so for now, all he could do was rub the top of her head. "Where is Fernando?"
"Over there. Sleeping," said Ariel, removing Indra's hand from his head. "Who told you that you could touch my head?"
"You do not like it? Strange, since I am sure you are enjoying it," Indra turned his gaze behind Ariel, indifferent to the young woman's curt response. Behind the young woman—on the sofa, he saw the figure of Fernando who was sound asleep until his body slumped, almost kissing the floor, still wearing dark blue framed glasses that matched the man's light blue hair. Then his gaze returned to Ariel who threw a sharp glare at him. "Then why are you here?"
"Take me home! It is your responsibility after you brought me here."
"And making you finally meet your older brother? I will gladly do that, no problem, really," Indra seemed relaxed in her response.
Not at all.To be honest, he was actually trying so hard to hold off his evil attempt to kiss those tiny lips right now. "But are you sure you want to go home first? Do you want to visit the cafe below? You have not eaten anything since the morning, have you?"
"You do not need to–"
There was a rumbling sound that came from Ariel's stomach, followed by a more visible blush on the face of the spicy-mouthed woman. Indra covered under his nose, trying not to laugh at Ariel, who was trying so hard to hide her embarrassment.
"Shut up! Do not laugh at me!"
"Who is laughing at you?"
"You!"
"Me? It is just your feelings. So, do you want to come downstairs with me or not?"
Ariel nodded. "Okay. But it is not like it is because of you, you know."
"Wait here for a moment. I want to change my clothes first."
"Do not make me wait too long!"
"Yes. I understand, Little Cotton. I will not take a long time," he said while rubbing the top of Ariel's head, then turned back into his room and closed the door.
***