Serial Dating

Just Clearing Something Up

They were silent as they passed the marble archway into the sushi bar. The corner of the bar was empty, so Lee took one edge while Sen took the adjacent one. Ellis perched himself on the stool beside Sen and, waving the waiter over, got them three menus.

Lee put his backpack between his feet and said, "Alright then. Out with it."

"Straight to the point," Sen hummed. He propped his chin on his hand and studied Lee for a moment with those wide, vacant eyes. Lee frowned at him as he leant back in his stool and crossed his arms. "I just want the best for you, Leon."

"Your 'best' is my 'worst'."

"So dramatic," he sighed. "Do our words not have value to you?"

"They do," Lee said. He looked down at the crimson candle holder in front of him as he said, "They cost about as much as gas station gum."

"Kiko applied to USFC," he said.

Lee's breath stilled in his throat. He looked up from the crimson candle. Kiko Asano. Lee knew that some day soon Kiki would pick a university, and given their parents' track record, Lee knew it'd have to be University of San Francisco, California. Kiki's grades were good enough for USFC Law, too.

The difference, though, was a matter of how much value their parents gave to Kiki.

"How much does that cost to you?" Sen inquired, tipping his head to the side.

Lee swallowed hard. He clenched his fists against his biceps. His tongue felt numb in his mouth the longer he stared at Sen's unblinking eyes. "What does Dad want with her?" he asked.

The waiter interrupted them. Sen and Lee had both been there enough times to know their orders by heart, and relayed them without taking their eyes off of one another. When the waiter left, Sen cleared his throat and said:

"Nothing in particular... if you play nice."

Lee ground his teeth together as Sen sat forward on his stool.

"He's willing to pay for Kiki's education, but the major depends on what you decide to do."

"Did she make it in?" Lee said. USFC Law went unspoken.

"We'll know by next month."

Lee relaxed back in his seat. There was a chance that Kiki purposefully bombed the entry exam, but even if that was the case, Kiki's education wasn't necessarily paid for. There was no way he could fathom putting Kiki through the bullshit he had to deal with this semester. It'd only get worse from here on out, but Lee could handle the workload.

He didn't want Kiki to have to handle anything.

He reached for his water glass and said, "We'll talk next month, then."

"Registration is happening soon, isn't it? We should talk now," Sen insisted.

"No, we don't," Lee bit out, teeth clenched. He eyed Sen sharply and said, "I liked you better when you didn't have your nose in my shit."

"I'm just a concerned brother, is all," Sen said.

"Right," Lee droned. He met eyes with Ellis, who closed his fist beneath his chin. Ellis's calm facade unnerved Lee to an alarming degree. Lee looked away for the sake of his sanity and chugged his glass of water to avoid conversation.

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