The wingman nobody asked for

Hey, is it okay if I call?

Shuuichi was laying in his sheets, reading a book to try to get himself to fall asleep. He wasn't sure why it was so difficult to fall asleep, it's been a problem since he entered highschool and he hadn't been able to fix it since. He tried reading before bed many times and sleepy time tea. He kept trying to focus on the pages to force himself to feel at least a little tired. It was out of the blue that his phone suddenly started to ring. When he heard the sound of the ringtone, he quickly put down his book and grabbed the phone. He looked at the screen and at the caller ID.

Incoming call
Amami-kun

Shuuichi was a little surprised that Rantarou would consider calling him again. However, he was rather glad that Rantarou was calling. Their last conversation felt nice and Shuuichi found himself a little more comfortable with talking to Rantarou. At the second ring, Shuuichi immediately answered, giving a small greeting. "Hello..?" He asked softly and Rantarou greeted him back. "You don't mind me calling you at this time, right?" Rantarou asked as Shuuichi turned to the alarm clock that sat on his bedside table. It was approximately 10 PM. It was almost the same time as the night before. "No, I-I don't mind at all.." Shuuichi replied when he realized that he delayed his response. He hoped that he didn't give the other the wrong idea. "That's good to hear. I was hoping that we can get to know each other better." Rantarou said casually. Shuuichi couldn't help but to be amazed how Rantarou was willing to say that so easily without feeling flustered.

"I'm going to direct it all on you if that's okay. It's only right if I give you some of the attention." Rantarou said and Shuuichi shook his head, forgetting that this was over the phone and he could not be seen. "No! I won't have anything to say or contribute..!" Shuuichi said defensively. Shuuichi heard a chuckle from the other side. "Sorry about that. I'll take initiative." Rantarou said, sounding clearly amused. Shuuichi could hear Rantarou about to say something until another voice made itself faintly visible in the background. "I'm sorry Saihara, I'll be right back my sister needs me." He said as Shuuichi could hear the sounds of Rantarou getting out of bed and putting down his phone. Shuuichi just held his own phone close to him as he waited for Rantarou to come back. After a while, he could hear rustling of the bed sheets.

"Alright I'm back. She didn't need much, luckily." Rantarou said as the rustling ceased. "Oh yeah Saihara, you told me that you're an only child, right?" Rantarou asked. "Y-Yeah.. why do you bring that up?" Shuuichi replied and all he heard was a light laugh. "I'd say you're lucky in a way. Since I have to deal with all 12 of my little sisters." Rantarou said. "It's a lot of work but I don't mind. I care about them a lot." Rantarou then added but Shuuichi wasn't paying attention to the second part. He was absolutely shocked at the first part.

"Wait a minute! T-twelve?!" Shuuichi asked in awe. "Yep! Proud big bro of 12 little sisters!" Rantarou said with a jovial triumph. "Do you have anyone in your family you would want to talk about?" Rantarou asked, wanting to know more about Shuuichi. "Well.. My parents work overseas all the time so I live with my uncle who works as a detective. He's always working so I don't get to see him much but he tells me a lot of interesting stories about his work... I look up to him if that's safe to say.. I-I mean I do want to take forensics next year..." Shuuichi sounded serious but he slowly became sheepish as he spoke about his uncle and his work. "So you aim to be a detective?" Rantarou asked, he seemed intrigued. "Imean... I-if it's possible..." Shuuichi reluctantly replied. "Aw, don't say that. I'm sure it's possible." Rantarou said reassuringly. Shuuichi can sense that Rantarou was not going to take his pessimism.

"Do you have a career you want to do..?" Shuuichi asked, trying to avert the attention back to Rantarou. He could hear Rantarou pondering for a moment. "Well, nothing in particular comes in mind but doing something with traveling sounds cool." He said casually before he added in a nervous laugh. "It's probably nothing compared to the future you have planned for yourself. Considering that I'm not 100% sure as of yet." He said with a light hearted tone. "W-well my future is not set in stone either! And your future is not nothing..!" Shuuichi tried to refute and he heard Rantarou laugh. "You sound more like a lawyer when you do that." He said in between bits of laughter. Shuuichi couldn't muster up anything else to say. Instead, he just quietly laid there in his bed. He couldn't help but to appreciate the sound of Rantarou's laughter, though it was disappointing that the quality is lowered due to it being merely recorded. It must be better hearing it in person...