Work Text:
It was Saturday.
Saturday, oh god.
Kana, quite literally, jumped out of her bed.
She was excited.
Excited because she got the chance to babysit today.
Despite it being her first time, she wasn't nervous at all.
She glanced at the clock on the wall.
Eleven am.
There was still two hours left before she had to be there.
Thankfully, the house wasn't that far away.
About 28 minutes if she walked over there.
... She could also go there with her bike.
Her phone buzzed.
She blinked, and grabbed it from her desk nearby.
A notification from...
The parents of the kid she's babysitting.
(Crap, did I accidentally get the time wrong or something—?)
— Babysit Babysit woo woo
[Hey, just wondering if you're still coming over?
...
She sighed.
(Phew...)
— Kn
[yup
[im there at 1pm sharp
[hopefully
— Babysit Babysit woo woo
[Okay, good to know.
Kana stared at her screen for a minute, before quickly adding.
— Kn
[quick question
[do you guys have an garage or something
[so that i could put my bike somewhere
— Babysit Babysit woo woo
[Oh yes we do have an garage actually, barely used though so it might be dusty there.
— Kn
[oh thats completely fine dw
— Babysit Babysit woo woo
[dw?
— Kn
[oh sorry
[means "dont worry"
— Babysit Babysit woo woo
[Oh okay.
[😅
Kana put her phone back down.
She still has enough time before she had to go.
Lost in thought on what to do, she doesn't notice her door opening.
"Yo, Kana! Morning!"
She flinched.
Her older brother suddenly walked in with no warning.
As usual.
"Conner..." She sighed.
"Can you knock next time..."
"Nah~ Too much work."
Kana rolled her eyes.
Her gaze drifted to his outfit.
"You, look nicely dressed today."
She circled around him, inspecting him from head to toe.
"Where're you headed?"
A smirk spread across her face
"A date with Clara perhaps?"
Conner blinked
"You know damn well she's interested in someone else."
"Oh really...?"
She leaned in.
"Who?"
"H-How would I know—!?"
"Dunno."
Conner let out a sigh.
"I'm just hanging out with Alex and Zuri today."
"Alex?" Kana mumbled. "Weird, he told me he had no plans today..."
"Oh, Zuri's the one dragging him along" Conner shrugged.
Kana stared at him.
Then started giggling.
"Yeah, that makes more sense."
"Anyways, shoo."
She placed both hands against his chest and started pushing him toward the door.
"I need to get changed."
"Oh, right." Conner let himself be pushed along. "You're babysitting today, aren't you?"
"Yup~!"
"Well, have fun with that."
"I'm supposed to head out anyway."
Kana nodded enthusiastically.
"Alright~! Have fun hanging out!"
She gave him one final shove into the hallway.
"Oh! Don't forget to say hi to Alex for me!"
Conner paused.
Then...
A slow smirk spread across his face.
Kana's smile instantly disappeared.
Not even a second later—
And the bedroom door was slammed shut.
She was not going through that today.
Absolutely not.
...
Anyways—
Kana walked over to her closet in search of a change of clothes.
The moment she pulled the doors open—
A mountain of clothes burst out and collapsed on top of her.
...
Right.
Just what she needed.
《—》
About half an hour later...
Kana stepped out of her room wearing her usual outfit.
...Which totally didn't take thirty minutes to find.
She made her way downstairs. Instead of walking down them normally, she hopped onto the handrail and slid all the way to the bottom.
"What did I tell you about sliding down the stairs."
Kana froze.
Her mother had just walked through the front door.
Judging by the shopping bags in both hands, she'd only just gotten home herself.
"Nice to, see you too...?" Kana said with an awkward smile.
Ms. Muffet let out a sigh.
"Just, don't do it again."
Kana nodded obediently.
"Anyways, going out today?"
"Uh, yeah. Babysitting"
Ms. Muffet blinked.
Twice.
"...That was today?"
"... Yeah?" Kana tilted her head.
"Did I not tell you that yesterday?"
"Honey... I wasn't home yesterday."
"... Oh."
...
"...Well." Kana grinned.
"Now you know~!"
Ms. Muffet couldn't help but smile.
"I guess I do now."
Kana looked at the time.
Still an hour and a half left.
"I still have too much time over..."
"Well," Her mother began.
"How about—"
"Meow!"
"Oh, looks like you've got a visitor."
Kana looked down.
A small cat was rubbing against her leg, happily headbutting her foot.
She couldn't help but giggle as she crouched down.
"Hey, little buddy..."
Gently, she scratched behind the cat's ears.
"Did you have a good nap, Flora~?"
"Meoww!"
Flora purred loudly, leaning into Kana's hand.
Ms. Muffet smiled to herself.
"I'll be in the living room, honey."
With that, she walked away.
Kana kept petting Flora for another moment before carefully scooping her into her arms.
"Guess you're coming with me for a bit~"
Still carrying the content little cat, Kana made her way toward the garage. That's where she kept her bike.
When entering the room, Flora immediately leaped out of Kana's arms.
"Hey— Careful...!"
The cat trotted back into the living room without a second glance.
Kana rolled her eyes.
"You do you, I guess."
There were two bikes resting against the wall in the corner of the garage.
The grey one was hers.
She carefully pulled it away from the wall.
A plastic bag sitting in the front basket caught her attention
(Since when was this here...?)
She opened the bag and peeked inside.
... A flower.
A green hellebore.
Oh.
...
No— not now.
Kana gently lifted the flower pot out of the bag and set it on an old table nearby.
... Anyways.
She crouched down to inspect the tires.
They looked perfectly fine.
Next, she squeezed the brake levers a few times.
Still working, good.
Maybe she could ride to the park and back first. Just to test everything out.
Kana hurried back upstairs to her room, completely ignoring the scolding her mom gave her for running on the stairs.
She quickly grabbed her purse and stuffed the important things inside.
Phone.
Wallet.
Keys.
Good enough.
She calmly headed back downstairs and into the garage.
With a press of the switch on the wall, she watched the garage door quietly lift open.
(Alright...)
(Time to go.)
She hopped onto her bike and pushed off—
Only to practically launch herself out of the garage.
"...Whoa—!"
She barely managed to keep her balance.
...She forgot to check what gear the bike was in.
《—》
Kana shifted her bike into an easier gear.
Not long after, she arrived at the park.
She pedaled slowly along one of the pathways, taking in the peaceful atmosphere.
"N-No—! I-I can't stop—!?"
...
Familiar voice.
Kana glanced to the side.
There they were.
Dylan and Claire.
(Oh?)
(Already started their skateboard lessons without telling me?)
She squeezed the brakes and hopped off her bike.
"Hey, guys~!" Kana called cheerfully, waving at them.
"WATCH OUT IDIOT—!" Dylan shouted.
"Huh?"
It was only then that Kana realized why he was yelling.
Claire was speeding straight toward her on the skateboard.
"I-I'm sorry—!" Claire cried, panic written all over her face.
Kana instinctively tried to jump out of the way—
But it was already too late.
Claire crashed right into her, sending both of them tumbling onto the grass while the skateboard rolled harmlessly away.
Kana immediately burst into laughter.
Claire, on the other hand, shot upright.
"K-Kana! I-I'm so sorry! I—"
"N-No, no!" Kana quickly reassured her.
"It's okay!" She grinned. "...That was kind of funny."
Dylan came jogging over, slowing to a stop beside them.
"Are you two... alright?"
Kana looked up at him with a teasing smile.
"Wow."
"That's the first time in ages you've sounded concerned about me~"
"Now's not the time," Dylan deadpanned.
Kana shrugged, resting her hands behind her head as she casually stretched out on the grass.
"...Are you seriously just going to lie there?"
"Duh."
Dylan stared at her for a second.
Then lightly kicked her leg.
"Ow—! Okay, okay! I'm getting up!"
Kana laughed as she pushed herself back onto her feet.
"Anyways..."
She crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.
"Why didn't you two tell me you already started practicing?"
Dylan shot her an unimpressed look.
"U-Uhm..." Claire tilted her head. "Why would we... tell you?"
Kana gasped dramatically. "How dare you—"
"Kana."
Dylan cut her off.
"Enough."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine..."
"So," Dylan continued, "what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to take my bike out for a little ride!" Kana replied cheerfully. "But I'm supposed to babysit soon!"
Claire blinked. "Huh?"
"You're babysitting?"
"Yep! A four-year-old~!"
Claire's eyes immediately lit up.
"Ohh..."
"That sounds fun!"
"Sounds like hell," Dylan muttered.
Kana snorted. "It can't be that bad."
Dylan simply sighed. "Whatever."
"We've still got things to practice."
"I'll go get the skateboard."
He headed off toward where Claire's skateboard had rolled.
Kana watched him leave before turning back to Claire with a mischievous grin.
"Sooo..."
"Do you know the basics already?"
Claire nodded. "Mostly..."
She rubbed the back of her neck.
"I just... don't really know how to stop yet."
"Yeah I've figured that one out." Kana teased, patting her lightly on the shoulder. Claire's face only grew more red.
"Well, I'll need to go now." Kana said.
She went over to her bike again and hopped on.
"Have fun practicing!"
"Oh, also—"
She looked back over her shoulder with a mischievous grin.
"Try not to accidentally do... certain other stuff~"
Claire blinked.
"...Other stuff?"
Kana simply giggled.
Without another word, she pedaled away, leaving Claire standing there in complete confusion.
《—》
The time had finally come.
Babysitting.
As soon as Kana arrived, the garage door slowly rolled open.
She walked her bike inside, noticing how empty the garage was. A moment later, a man stepped in to greet her.
"Hello! You must be Kana, right?"
Kana nodded with a smile. "Hi! Yep, that's me!"
"Great! Well—"
Before he could finish, the sound of tiny footsteps echoed through the garage.
"Dad!"
A little girl came running in.
(...Is that who I'm supposed to babysit?)
Lily dashed around the garage for a moment before suddenly stopping in front of Kana.
"Uh... hello!" Kana greeted with a gentle smile.
Lily stared at her for a few seconds.
Then silently turned around and walked back into the house.
"...Uh..."
The father chuckled.
"She's always like that around new people."
"I-I see..." Kana rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.
"Come on in." He stepped aside and held the door open.
"I'll give you a quick tour of the house so you don't get lost."
"Alright~!"
《—》
"And this is Lily's bedroom." He gestured around the room. "Her bed's over there if she gets tired."
"I see..."
Kana nodded, taking in the adorable decorations covering the room.
"...And that's the whole house."
"Well—"
"Except the attic."
"You won't need to go up there."
"Why?" Kana tilted her head. "You hiding bodies up there or something?"
"Well, obviously."
"The previous babysitters."
Kana slowly turned to stare at him.
"...What?"
He let the silence hang for a second before waving both hands.
"I'm kidding. There's nothing up there, kiddo."
"I..."
Kana wasn't entirely sure whether to laugh or be concerned.
"Anyways."
He dropped a set of house keys into her hand.
"Keep these with you in case of an emergency."
"My older son, Qweri, should be home around two-thirty."
"Once he's back, you're free to head home."
Kana was still mentally recovering from the attic joke, but she nodded anyway.
"Well then..."
"Thanks again for doing this."
"I should get going."
"I— Oh! Right!" Kana quickly snapped out of it and smiled.
"Goodbye!"
The dad soon disappeared through the front door.
Kana's first thought was to go find Lily.
Which didn't end long.
She found her climbing the shelf— hold on.
She's doing what now.
Lily giggled innocently as she climbed higher and higher.
"H-Hey! Lily! Get down from there—!"
Kana rushed over and carefully scooped the toddler into her arms before she could climb any higher.
Lily immediately began to pout.
"You can't do that, Lily!" Kana gently set her back down on the floor before crossing her arms.
"It's dangerous."
Lily simply wandered away without a care in the world.
"I..."
"This kid..."
Not even a second later, Lily grabbed a Barbie doll from the floor and started smacking Kana with it.
...
(Am I supposed to pretend that hurts?)
"Lily... Please don't do that."
The toddler only giggled louder and continued swinging the doll. Kana took a few steps back, avoiding the tiny attacks.
Finally, she gently took the Barbie out of Lily's hands.
"Don't hit people with your toys, okay?"
Lily immediately whined and reached both arms toward the doll.
"..."
Kana sighed.
Reluctantly, she handed it back.
The moment Lily got it, she bolted away again.
"...Okay."
"Maybe this'll be a little harder than I thought."
Kana let out a long sigh before following her into the kitchen.
(Hopefully she can't reach anything dangerous...)
...
The oven was open.
Lily was nowhere in sight.
...
She's in the goddamn oven, isn't she?
Kana hurried over and crouched down.
...
Nothing.
"...Huh?"
Then—
The sound of shattering glass echoed behind her.
Kana slowly turned around.
Broken glass was scattered across the floor.
Her eyes slowly lifted.
"..."
"...How the hell did you get up there—!?"
Lily was somehow standing on the countertop, happily smiling as if nothing had happened. Kana didn't waste another second.
She hurried over, lifted Lily into her arms, and carried her away from the broken glass.
"Look..."
"How about we watch some TV?" Kana suggested.
Lily simply stared at her.
...
Maybe she didn't like TV.
Either way, Kana needed something to keep her occupied while she cleaned up the broken glass.
She carefully lifted Lily onto the couch before turning on the television.
After scrolling for a few seconds, she settled on the first colorful-looking kids' show she could find.
"Stay here, okay?"
Without waiting for an answer, Kana hurried back into the kitchen. She carefully picked up every piece of broken glass and threw it into the trash.
Once she was sure she hadn't missed anything, she let out a relieved sigh and headed back to the living room.
...
Lily was standing directly in front of the TV.
Kana couldn't help but laugh.
"Lily..."
"You can't stand that close."
Lily turned around to look at her.
Then immediately turned back toward the TV.
Kana walked over and gently picked her up, placing her back on the couch despite the toddler's whining.
The second Kana let go—
Lily climbed right back down and returned to her spot in front of the television.
"I..."
Kana sighed.
"Fine."
"You can stand there."
She flopped down onto the couch and pulled out her phone.
Every few seconds, she glanced up to make sure Lily hadn't gotten herself into trouble again.
A new message appeared.
It was from Conner.
— Cn
[Yo, how's the babysitting going!
— Kn
[bad
[i regret doing this
[the child is chaotic
— Cn
[Shucks to be you LOL
[I'm at the forest with Zuri and Alex
— Kn
[what
[why tf are yall at the forest
[youre lying rn
— Cn
[___Image-28
— Kn
[wth
[why is alex up a tree
— Cn
[Lost a bet
[Sooo
— Kn
[what
— Cn
[Wait hold on he's slipping off
— Kn
[dude
[is he okay
[???
...
Kana never got a reply.
(...These idiots.)
She glanced back at Lily. The toddler was still standing right in front of the TV, happily dancing along to whatever song was playing.
Kana couldn't help but smile.
《—》
About an hour passed.
Kana had secretly hoped Lily would fall asleep a little early so she could enjoy five minutes of peace before it was time to leave.
...
That clearly wasn't happening.
Instead, Lily had climbed onto the couch...
Only to immediately jump off it.
Her tiny legs couldn't handle the landing.
Now Kana was stuck trying to comfort a loudly sobbing toddler.
"Shh... It's okay..."
She gently rocked Lily in her arms. Thankfully, the crying eventually faded into quiet sniffles.
Just then—
The sound of the front door unlocking echoed through the house.
...Right on time.
A boy stepped into the living room, looking completely exhausted.
(The dad said he had an older son...)
(...He didn't mention he was around my age.)
(This is awkward.)
The boy stopped walking. His tired eyes landed on Kana.
He stared for a moment, clearly trying to process why a stranger was holding his little sister.
Kana offered an awkward smile.
"U-Uhm... hello—"
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"...Who even are you?"
Kana blinked, caught off guard by the interruption.
"...Babysitting?" she answered awkwardly, still gently rocking Lily.
"Oh."
"So nobody thought to tell me about that." He sighed.
"Hello, I guess. I'm Qweri."
"I-I'm Kana..."
"How much longer are you staying?"
Kana tilted her head. "Your dad told me I could leave once you got home...?"
"Oh."
"M'kay."
He gave a small shrug before heading upstairs without another word.
Kana watched him disappear.
...
(Well...)
(I guess I should leave?)
"Wait."
"Hold on."
Qweri walked back downstairs.
"I just saw my dad's messages."
"Here's your pay."
...
Right.
Kana had completely forgotten she was getting paid for this.
He held out the money, and she quickly accepted it.
"Oh and I'll put her to bed."
He gently lifted Lily out of Kana's arms and started walking toward her bedroom.
"U-Uh, wait!" Kana called after him.
"What."
His tired stare was somehow intimidating.
"I..."
"The spare keys..."
"Oh."
"I don't really care." He shrugged.
"Just throw them in the mailbox when you leave."
"Dad'll check it later anyway."
Without another word, he disappeared into Lily's bedroom.
Kana let out a small sigh. Guess that was her cue to head home.
She walked into the garage, where her bike was still leaning against the wall. After slipping her bag over her shoulder, she climbed onto the bike.
Just as she was about to push off—
Qweri stepped back into the garage.
"You forgot this."
Kana looked over.
...
Her phone.
"Oh!"
"Thank you—"
She reached out for it.
Instead of handing it over, Qweri simply walked past her.
He unzipped her bag, slipped the phone inside, zipped it back up, and stepped away.
Kana blinked.
"..."
"...Thanks."
Qweri sighed.
"Double-check your stuff next time."
"Jeez." He shoved his hands into his pockets.
"So... Is this gonna be a weekly thing or something?"
Kana tilted her head. "I-I think so...?"
He rolled his eyes. "Alright."
"See you next week."
"...Or don't."
"I don't really care."
"A-Ah... See you...!"
Kana pushed off and rode out of the garage, heading back home.
(...Never again.)
《—》
Not long after, Kana arrived home. The first thing she did was flop face-first onto the couch.
"So..."
"How'd babysitting go?"
Her mother smiled, gently ruffling Kana's hair. Kana immediately sat up and leaned into the affection.
"It was... decent."
"The toddler was a little chaotic."
Her mother chuckled.
"Every toddler's chaotic."
"You'll get used to it."
Kana sighed dramatically.
"Yeah, yeah..." She finally pulled away.
"I was so excited to leave earlier that I forgot to bring anything to eat."
Her stomach growled as if to emphasize the point.
"Well, lucky for you," Ms. Muffet replied, "dinner's almost ready."
"Give it another two minutes."
Kana nodded. "Alright..."
Her mother disappeared into the kitchen. Left alone in the living room, Kana pulled out her phone.
Finally.
A reply from Conner.
— Cn
[Oh, he's totally fine.
[Just...
[Limping for now.
Kana stared at the screen.
Then audibly gasped.
— Kn
[excuse me
— Cn
[Don't worry, he already went home!
[It's just me and Zuri now.
[We're at the train station.
— Kn
[i see
— Cn
[How'd babysitting go?
— Kn
[okay i guess
"Kana! Food's ready!" her mother called from the kitchen.
— Kn
[gonna eat
[cya
— Cn
[Alright.
[Hope you choke on your food.
Kana snorted.
— Kn
[oh shut up you
She locked her phone with a grin before getting to her feet.
As she walked toward the kitchen, her thoughts drifted back to Lily. She'd probably be seeing the little troublemaker again next week.
...
And Qweri, too.
He was...
Interesting, to say the least.
Maybe next time—
She'd try becoming friends with him.