𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐓 ➛ ryusae

chpt 31 ➛ shidou

Ring...

Ring...

Ri—

"Hey, baby, wha—"

"SHHHH—"

Shidou hissed in a hurried whisper, his voice laced with an excitement that made Sae pause.

Sae blinked, momentarily thrown off. His phone was barely against his ear for a second before Shidou had hit him with the most baffling, borderline suspicious-sounding demand imaginable.

"...Excuse me?" Sae drawled, leaning back against the plush seat of his chair, his brow furrowing.

There was a slight shuffle on the other end of the call, as though Shidou were shifting around, trying to get a better position somewhere. The barely-suppressed giddiness in his voice made him sound like a kid watching something absolutely scandalous unfold.

"Shhh, Sae, just—just be quiet for a second, yeah?" Shidou repeated in a hushed tone, urgency seeping into every word. "This is huge."

Sae's patience, already thin, wore itself down further. He sighed, rubbing his temple with two fingers.

"Shidou," he said flatly, "you do realize that you were the one who called me, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Shidou muttered distractedly, dismissing the point entirely. "Just trust me on this, babe. Keep your voice down."

Sae, now thoroughly unimpressed, let his head tip slightly to the side, his tone settling into its usual dry cadence.

"What, exactly, am I keeping my voice down for?"

There was a pause, followed by the distinct sound of something—perhaps a cabinet or countertop—creaking under shifting weight. And then—

"Rin and Isagi," Shidou whispered, his voice dipping into something almost reverent. "They're talking it out."

Sae's frown deepened. "Talking what out?"

"The breakup, duh."

Sae blinked once. Then twice.

"...What."

"I helped," Shidou continued, unbothered by the incredulous tone in Sae's voice. "Gave Rin a little nudge in the right direction, and now they're finally hashing it out in his room. It's all very dramatic. You would've loved it."

For a long moment, Sae simply sat there, absorbing the absolute nonsense that had just been presented to him. Then, in a slow, measured voice, he said—

"So let me get this straight—"

Shidou hummed in encouragement.

"You called me," Sae continued, "not because you missed me, not because you had anything particularly important to say, but to inform me that you are currently standing across my little brother's room, eavesdropping on his love life?"

"Not eavesdropping," Shidou corrected smoothly, the grin evident in his voice. "Supervising."

Sae exhaled sharply, dragging a hand down his face in sheer exhaustion.

"And how, exactly, did you 'help'?" he asked, already bracing himself for whatever bullshit answer was coming his way.

"Oh, you know," Shidou drawled, tapping his fingers against the marble countertop. "Just threw in a few jabs about Rin regretting the breakup, called him out on his bullshit, watched him suffer—usual best friend stuff."

"You're not his best friend."

"I could be," Shidou said smugly. "Doubt anyone else is giving him solid life advice like I am."