Work Text:
The quiet hum of her computer was the only sound keeping Ena company at 25:00—well actually, scratch that.
That and Mizuki’s laughter (cackle) through her headphones.
The glow of her monitor cast sharp light across her room, illuminating scattered sketchpads and an empty can of coffee on her desk.
“Enanan, you’re hopeless—” Mizuki wheezed between fits of giggles.
“Shut up!” Ena snapped, stylus jabbing furiously at her tablet. “Some of us have standards! Unlike you and your sparkly filters for a slower song.”
“Ohhh, she’s mad~” Mizuki sing-songed, voice breaking from laughter. “Careful K—Enanan might explode before we finish the MV!”
“Don’t drag Kanade into this!” Ena shot back, but her glare softened slightly at the quiet, breathy giggle that came from the girl on the other end.
“I think it looks good so far,” Kanade said, voice as gentle as always. “Ena, the way you did the lighting matches the song perfectly.”
Ena’s hand froze. Her face went warm. “T-thank you, K…”
Before anyone could respond, a loud banging rattled her door, shaking the frame. Ena jumped, nearly dropping her stylus.
“Ena!” Akito said, his voice muffled from the wall between her room and the hallway. “Shut the hell up already! Some of us actually need to fucking sleep!”
“Fuck off, Akito!” she yelled back, grabbing an empty cup (which she used for holding water when she paints) and chucking it at the door.
The door fell silent again, though she could practically feel her brother’s glare through the wall. Before he grumbled something unintelligible and stomped away.
She flopped back into her chair with an aggravated sigh, dragging her hands down her face. Then she froze as she noticed.
She wasn’t muted.
On the call, Mizuki was howling. “Ohhh my god, Enanan, you woke up Lil’ Bro just for me! I’m honored~!”
“Mizuki!”
“You gotta be grateful, though,” she continued, absolutely wheezing. “At least you’ve only got one sibling yelling at you! Imagine the chaos if there were more~!”
Ena groaned. “You’re seriously enjoying this way too much.”
“Kanade also has siblings,” she continued, mumbling. “But I don’t see them banging on her door every time she calls past midnight.”
Mafuyu’s voice cut in, deadpan as ever. “That’s because Kanade’s quiet. You aren’t.”
Ena’s mouth fell open. “Excuse me!?”
Mizuki’s cackle only got louder. “She’s not wrong, Enanan!”
Before Ena could fire back, a faint sound came from Kanade’s side—muffled footsteps, a knock, and a male voice.
“Kanade, Asahina-san, when are you sleeping? Tsukasa asked me to check—”
Kanade’s tone softened. “Uhm… maybe another hour, Toya.”
Mafuyu nodded, before turning back to her laptop to continue working on the lyrics to Nightcord at 25:00’s next song.
He hummed in response, and Ena could hear the faint sound of a door closing again.
Mizuki burst into another fit of laughter so strong she could barely breathe. Ena was actually starting to get concerned about Mizuki's throat and chest from how much she was laughing. “Ohhh, that’s too perfect—Toya checking on Kanade like a gentle little brother while Akito’s ready to murder you through the wall. The contrast is killing me!”
It was followed by the sound of a thud, presumably from Mizuki falling off her chair.
Kanade winced, before asking, “Amia, are you alright?”
Mizuki got back up again, sitting back down on her chair. “I’m fine! It was just too funny—”
“Shut up!” Ena hissed, tugging at her hair. “You’re all so annoying!”
Even Mafuyu let out a faint amused hum. “It is a little funny.”
Ena slumped in her chair, groaning. “Why is everyone ganging up on me tonight?”
Kanade’s soft giggle echoed in her ears, quiet but warm enough to melt her irritation just a bit. “Because we love you~” Mizuki said simply.
Ena’s face flared again. “D-don’t say things like that out loud! You’ll give people the wrong idea!”
Mizuki snorted. “Oh? What idea would that be, Enanan?”
“Mizuki!”
The others laughed again, the sound of late-night chaos and affection filling the quiet space. The call continued like that for a while—Mizuki and Ena bickering before Mafuyu scolded them, then slipping into silence as focus returned to their work.
By the time the clock blinked around 27:00 (“for fuck sake Mizuki, just say 3 AM—!”), the energy had mellowed down to their usual workflow. Kanade locked into composing, Mafuyu typing lyrics in real-time, and Mizuki had gone a full 180°, becoming quiet. Ena sat back, rubbing her eyes, feeling the burn of exhaustion creeping in.
Her mind drifted to Mizuki’s teasing words from earlier—at least you only have one sibling.
“Tch… if only.” she scoffed.
She glanced toward her door. It had been quiet for a while now. Maybe Akito had gone back to sleep. Hopefully she hadn’t woken Minori or Nene. The thought of bothering all 3 of them made her wince. What an awful sibling she would be if she did...
With a sigh, she adjusted her headphones, muttering under her breath. “If those two barge in next...”
The faint light of dawn crept through the windows as Ena shuffled down the stairs, basically half-asleep already.
Her eyes stung from staring at her tablet all night, but the dull ache in her shoulders told her she’d done good work. It was enough to get Mizuki and Mafuyu to shut up. She had impressed Kanade—that thought alone was enough to keep her from collapsing face-first onto the couch grumbling.
The kitchen light was warm and soft, not an absolute flashbang to see after spending hours in the dark. Kaori, her mom, stood by the stove, humming quietly as the smell of pancakes filled the air.
“Good morning, Ena,” her mom greeted, flipping one with practiced ease (after all, pancakes were a staple in this house). “You’re up early.”
Ena grunted, rubbing her eyes. “Mm—something like that.”
Her mom glanced over with a knowing smile. “Tea?”
“Yeah. Gonna try to sleep soon.”
“You want pancakes before that?”
Ena hesitated. She had been planning to crash right after her tea, but the smell was too good to ignore. “...Just a bit.”
Her mom nodded.
She wandered toward the table—and froze halfway there.
Minori was sitting with her chin propped on one hand, staring blearily. Akito slouched in his chair, just absentmindedly cutting his pancakes into small squares. And Nene… was presumably asleep, arms folded on the table, face buried in her sleeves.
Ena blinked. “...Oh.”
Minori raised an eyebrow, her voice barely above a mumble. “Ena… can you please be a little more quiet next time?”
Ena scoffed, pouring her tea. “Aren’t you three used to this by now? It’s been, what, three years?”
Akito’s reply was flat. “You were louder last night.”
Nene looked up, then nodded in tired agreement. “The walls are pretty thin in this house, remember?”
From the stove, their mom chuckled softly. “You were arguing with someone again, weren’t you?”
“Work,” Ena muttered defensively, taking a sip of her tea.
“Easy for you to say,” Akito grumbled. “You don’t have to wake up and go to school at 07:30 in the morning.”
“Yeah!” Minori added, pouting faintly. “Some of us actually like being awake during the day”
Ena gave them a deadpan stare. “You’ll be fine.”
That earned her a tired chorus of groans.
Her mom placed a plate of pancakes in front of her. “Don’t tease them too much, Ena.”
“I’m not teasing,” she said through a mouthful.
Nene stirred a little at that, lifting her head just enough to blink blearily at her plate. “...Is there coffee?” she mumbled.
Ena sighed. “You’re impossible.”
“She’s barely awake—!” Minori said.
“Geh… ’m awake,” Nene mumbled again, though her eyes were already closing shut.
Ena tried not to laugh, hiding her grin behind her mug. “At least one of you gets me.”
“Don’t lump me in with you,” Nene muttered, voice muffled against her sleeve. “I was up playing games, not screaming at my girlfriends at 1 AM and bothering everyone else…”
“Traitor,” Ena said flatly, reaching over to flick her forehead.
Minori giggled, covering her mouth when Ena shot her a glare. Ena sighed, sinking deeper into her chair.
A glance at the clock startled Minori. “Oh shoot, we’re gonna be late!”
Akito groaned. “You’re the one who overslept, not me.”
“You didn’t even go for your morning run!” Minori pointed out, already scrambling to grab her bag.
“Yeah, because someone kept yelling past midnight!” Akito said, glaring dead at Ena.
“Don’t start again,” Ena muttered, pushing her plate away.
Nene yawned and stood up, grabbing her own bag. “C’mon. Let’s just go before we all start arguing.”
The three of them hurried toward the door. “Bye, Mom!” Minori called, half hopping as she tried to put her shoes on—somehow nearly knocking over the coat hanger by the door.
“Have a good day!” their mom replied, waving.
Ena stayed at the table, swirling her tea absently. The front door shut, and silence returned to the house. For a moment, she just stared at the empty plates, at the faint sunlight creeping across the floor.
“Oh right,” she murmured, remembering her tea. She took one last sip, letting the warmth settle in her chest, before dragging herself back upstairs. Sleep was calling.
Actually… maybe she should get them something as an apology…
That’d probably get them to shut up.