For A Dozen Coffee Jellies?

'Can you what?'

"Can I come inside?"

Visions of his mother's wrath flashed in the back of his mind; even after protesting repeatedly that it was only a door-to-door salesman, she'd track Akechi down and drag him inside, whether or not she decided to harm Saiki only enough to hurt him, but not enough to be unable to accommodate to his mother's and Akechi's every whim.

He shook the thought and stepped to the side to let Akechi in.

"Oh, thank you! I didn't think you'd comply so easily."

Don't make it sound so sinister. And you can thank my mom, not me.

Akechi stepped inside, politely wiping his feet at the door.

"It still feels like such a privilege to enter the privacy of your home. It's been quite a while since I've been invited to someone's house besides yours."

I didn't invite you.

"Oh! Akechi-kun, it's so nice to see you again!"

Kurumi walked up to him, not giving the slightest hint of how she might've threatened Saiki had he not brought him inside.

"Hello, Mrs. Saiki. It's nice to see you too, although, I wasn't entirely sure I'd make it through the door."

He chuckled and Kurumi placed her hand on Saiki's shoulder and he flinched the tiniest bit.

"Well, Ku-chan has always been his old grumpy self."

Akechi smiled.

"Do you two need anything?"

"No, thank you, I don't. Unless Kusuo-kun does...?"

'No, thank you.'

Kurumi released her son, both figuratively and literally.

"Ah, your mother's as sweet as always. It's always a pleasure to see her, even if I do come to play with you."

'Stop calling it playing. What are you doing here?'

"All in due time, Kusuo-kun. Would it be alright if I go up to your room with you?"

'Fine.'

Saiki led him up the stairs and into his room, closing his door behind them. He sat on his chair, allowing Akechi to sit on the bed after taking off his shoes.

"I think it's quite endearing, how your mother calls you 'Ku-chan'."

'Shut up.'

"I wasn't poking fun, I was only saying it was sweet."

'So...?'

"So what?"

'You're not going to explain what you're doing here?'

"Ah! Yes, I almost forgot about that. Most days, I'll stop by on a whim, or out of pure boredom, but today I did come over with certain intentions. Of course, the way I say it so vaguely makes it sound intimidating in a way, but I do not mean it to have any sort of negative connotation. In fact, what I had planned was not nefarious or malicious in the slightest, but actually rather odd. It's certainly a bit unusual, especially when you consider my previous visits being spontaneous and overall, pointless, as I previously mentioned."

'Go on.'

"Well, I came over with the intention to ask something of you. I promise, it's not something inappropriate or overly intrusive; it's technically more of a request than a question. Really, it's not something specific to you, but if you want to think of it in a different way, it is something that I wouldn't ask anybody else. It's a strange request, but I think it's appropriate in this situation, considering the fact that we've known each other for a long time, and our friendship has grown stronger since we first met. Even if you don't want to say it, you must admit that we are close friends in several aspects."