Sweetheart

36

Aina and Natsu had arrived at the house right as Kelia was pulling into the driveway. They all waved at each other, and Aina helped her mom carry in all her paperwork. Once it was all dropped into her study, they all met up in the kitchen.

"I have roasted potatoes and chicken for tonight."

Aina smiled and cheered before going into the kitchen to grab the bag of potatoes. She skipped back in and tossed the bag on the dining room table, causing a loud 'thud' to echo.

"Aina!" Kelia scolded. "Don't break the table."

She let out a quick 'sorry!' and sat down, happily opening the bag and starting to peel the potatoes. Natsu set the table and looked at Kelia for directions.

"You can help peel the potatoes."

She handed him a peeler and sent him into the dining room. He sat down across from Aina and looked at the peeler funny. The brunette watched him carefully as he tried to figure it out. He had eventually found out how to use it, and he started to peel. They had peeled about half the bag when Kelia stopped them.

"How many people are we feeding?" Kelia joked."We surely can't eat that much."

Aina looked up, offended. She explained that they could very easily eat the amount they had peeled. Kelia just laughed and gave a 'whatever you say' before disappearing into the kitchen again. Natsu walked in the kitchen to get the trash barrel when he was stopped by Kelia.

"Are you coming over tomorrow as well?"

"Uh, I mean if--"

"Let me rephrase. You're coming over tomorrow as well, yes?"

Natsu stiffly nodded.

"Good. We have to go over your new plan that the judge gave."

"Mom! The washing machine broke again!"

Kelia groaned in frustration before placing the chicken back on the cutting board and washing her hands, stomping into the laundry room to see Aina glaring at the machine.

"I was just trying to start the wash for my work shirt."

Her mom sighed and popped off the outer shell, looking inside and fidgeting with the pump. They heard a gurgle and cheered. Natsu had drifted into the laundry room and leaned against the doorway to watch.

"Do you know what's wrong with it?"

"It won't fill or spin," Aina muttered.

"Well we'll just have to deal with it for a little while longer. I'm just about ready to afford to have it fixed. Now let's get back to dinner."

"What about my work shirt?"

"We'll have to bring a load to the laundromat. We'll go tomorrow since you don't have work."

They continued with their tasks, Kelia cutting up the chicken and Aina and Natsu cleaning up the potato peels. After a while, dinner was ready to eat and they all gathered around the table. Natsu sat next to Aina, leaving Kelia to face them from across the table. Aina nervously played with her hair, making sure to keep her neck covered. Kelia pushed the glass dish over to them, and Natsu gladly took some. They ate in silence, all of them enjoying their food. Aina's hand slipped over to Natsu's and gently touched his fingers with hers. He flinched, jumping slightly in his chair. His eyes snapped down to see that Aina was holding his hand while she hummed quietly, eating with a smile on her face.

"So Natsu, how is school going?"

Natsu pried his gaze off their hands and made eye contact with Kelia before shrugging and saying that it was still overly boring. He felt Aina's hand brush over his again before she grabbed his small finger. Dinner had finished, and Kelia had gone into the kitchen to finish cleaning up. Natsu carefully watched her, making sure she disappeared before turning to Aina.