POV: Ayase Risa
Meguriya-san's words echoed in my mind as I hurried down the hallway. Her food tray wobbled in my hands.
F-Flirting…? Was I really flirting??
I nearly tripped at the thought.
Oh no. Oh no no no.
Now that I think about it… wasn't I being way too forward?
What was I even doing back there?
B-But… it felt like my hands just moved on their own when I saw his… eyes.
I pressed my lips together, heat crawling up my neck.
Absolutely not.
Nope.
Stop thinking about it.
I shook my head hard enough that a nurse passing by shot me a weird look.
Focus. Dinner.
Just deliver dinner.
Not… whatever that was.
I stepped closer to the door. Just before I could press it open, it hissed apart on its own.
"Ah—Rion—?"
He nearly walked straight into me. I jerked back, and the tray tilted dangerously in my hands.
His hands flashed out, steadying the tray before it could topple. "Ah—sorry…!"
"...It's okay," I managed, though my voice came out embarrassingly small.
His fingers brushed mine as he helped me balance the tray. I froze. And then—against every ounce of self-control I thought I had—I met his eyes.
They were tired, a little dim from worry, but somehow still… warm. Too warm...
Stop staring! Stop staring!
We sprang apart at the exact same moment.
"I—I'm going to the vending machine. I'll be back!" he blurted, already speed-walking down the hallway like he was escaping a crime scene.
I stood there with the tray in my trembling hands, wondering if my heart was supposed to beat this loudly.
"Risa-chan?" Meguriya-san's voice drifted from inside the room.
"Y-Yes!" I blurted, a little too loudly.
I slipped inside, and the door slid shut behind me with a soft hiss.
My pulse was still racing—half from almost dropping the tray, half from him—but I forced my hands to steady as I set the dinner tray onto the overbed table. Beside it, I placed the medication and an insulin pen labeled "Mrs. Meguriya."
"Here you go, Meguriya-san," I said, pushing the table gently toward her as she adjusted her bed upright.
She gave me a small smile. There was a glint in her eyes—familiar, knowing—that almost made me look away.
I swallowed, trying to focus on the food rather than the echo of Rion's gaze in my mind.
Ahh... I need to calm down...
"Thank you, dear," Meguriya-san said as I settled the tray in front of her.
She picked up the spoon with trembling fingers, so I helped guide her hand just a little. She noticed, and smiled.
"You're always so gentle."
I felt my cheeks warm. "Well... I'm just doing my job."
"Mhm." She took a small bite, then glanced at the door Rion had vanished through. "My son… he's a handful, isn't he?"
I let out a tiny laugh. "He's… unique."
"And stubborn," she added. "He won't admit it, but he rarely sleeps. He thinks I don't notice." Her eyes softened. "He's been carrying everything on his back since his father passed."
My heart tightened a little. I didn't know that.
Mrs. Meguriya continued, her voice dipping to a thoughtful hum. "He doesn't let himself rest unless someone reminds him to." She looked at me—really looked.
"But today, when you touched his face… he didn't flinch away. That boy jumps at his own shadow normally."
I froze. "...That was—! I didn't mean to—"
"I know." She chuckled softly. "You care. Even if you haven't realized it yet."
My breath caught.
Care…?
Before I could find a reply, the door hissed open.
Rion stepped in, slightly out of breath, holding a canned coffee in one hand and a jelly drink in the other. He stopped mid-step when he saw us.
"A-Ah… I, um—got these." He held them up like evidence. "For me. I mean—one's for me, one's for Mom. Not both for me. I mean—"
He was rambling. His ears were turning a soft red.
Meguriya-san hid a smile behind her spoon.
I… couldn't help smiling too.
He set the jelly drink beside the tray.
"You can have it," Meguriya-san said, flicking her hand dismissively.
"Huh?" Rion raised a brow. "No way. This is your favorite."
"Boy." Her voice sharpened—soft with age but still carrying that mother authority. "You haven't eaten anything today, have you? Look at you. I don't remember giving birth to a skeleton."
Rion recoiled. "Wha— I—"
She didn't let him finish. "Don't even try. I can tell. I'm your mother."
I couldn't help the small chuckle that slipped out.
Meguriya-san pushed the jelly drink closer to him, insisting.
Rion hesitated, scratching his cheek. "Nooo. I'll just take whatever leftovers you don't want." His eyes drifted hopefully to her tray.
"Nuh-uh." She wagged a finger. "I'm finishing this."
"Huh?? But the food looks so good today…" Rion slumped in defeat.
"Exactly." She huffed triumphantly. "Which is why it's mine."
My eyes shifted between them and the tray.
Wait—
"You've been eating her leftovers?" I asked, tilting my head.
Rion turned to me like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Hm? …Yeah."
I touched my chin thoughtfully. A realization clicked so hard I almost heard it.
"So that's why her plates were always spotless…" I muttered.
Rion flinched. "Ah—"
"Yeah, that's right." Meguriya-san fixed him with a razor-sharp stare. "He's only been eating leftovers."
"Wait—hang on—"
"You've only been eating leftovers??" The words slipped out before I could stop them. "That's not healthy! You have to eat, Rion!"
He went completely still, like someone had hit pause on him.
"This boy…" Meguriya-san sighed, shaking her head. "Usually I'd drag him to a proper restaurant myself. But I can't exactly go anywhere in this condition, huh?"
Her brow lifted—slowly, deliberately—as her gaze slid toward me.
"Unless…" she added, "someone else can drag him for me."
…What?!
"What?!" Rion blurted at the exact same time.
Heat rushed up my neck so fast it almost made me dizzy.
Is— is she expecting me to take him out?
H-Huh???
What am I supposed to say to that?!
"M-Mom… I think you need to cool down…" Rion edged toward her bedside carefully, as if approaching a ticking bomb.
"You be quiet!" she snapped at him, then broke into a cough. When she looked back at me, her eyes were startlingly clear. "So, Risa-chan. Will you go out with my son?"
I froze.
"Mother!!!" Rion yelped, voice cracking in pure panic.
Go out?!
Go out?!
My vision wobbled for a second—my heart thudding so loudly it felt like the whole room could hear it.
"Ah, I mean go out," she clarified, completely deadpan. "Like outside. To a restaurant."
Oh my god. What is wrong with me?!
The two of them bickered—Rion sputtering, Meguriya-san poking at him with that sharp tongue—while I tried to pull my soul back into my body.
"So?" Meguriya-san asked again, pinning me with a knowing stare. "What do you say?"
I opened my mouth, but the words lodged in my throat. Both of them were looking at me—waiting.
Rion looked exhausted. Pale. And if he really hadn't been eating properly… That wasn't healthy. Someone needed to make him eat something real.
Meguriya-san is counting on me.
"My—"
"'My?'" she echoed, leaning in.
I dropped my gaze, letting my hair fall to hide the heat flooding my face.
"My shift ends at eight…!" A breath caught in my chest. "Let's go have dinner after."
…
I said it.