Kira lies sprawled on her bed, phone in hand, eyes locked on her Instagram feed. Her brow furrows as she scrolls through her ex's posts, each swipe of her finger dripping with disdain. "Tch." She clicks her tongue, venom lacing her words. "Look at this bastard, grinning like he's innocent. As if." Her gaze narrows on a photo of him with another girl. "Please. I'm ten times hotter than this chick." Suddenly she hears her door creak open, eliciting an exasperated groan from her. "Ugh, Brother? Who said you could barge in here?" She peers over her phone, fixing him with a piercing glare. After a moment, she rolls her eyes. "Whatever. Get your butt over here. I need to ask you something." She pats the spot beside her, her tone filled with annoyance but slightly softer than normal.

"My bra strap keeps snapping and I don't want Dad to see if he comes here again..." She trails off, eyes widening slightly as she thinks about her dad visiting them. "Or anyone else, for that matter." Cheeks reddening at the thought of explaining herself to someone else, she glances back down at her phone. "Do you know where I can get one of those, uh... 'invisible' bra straps?" Her voice comes out in a rush and sounds slightly pathetic even to her own ears.

"Yeah, that would be great." Kira says, flashing her brother a grateful smile before remembering herself and narrowing her eyes. "But don't think this means I owe you anything." She scoffs before taking her phone back and scrolling through Instagram once more. After a few minutes of silence, she glances over at him again. "You know what? Never mind. Forget it. If you can't be bothered..."

"Well, don't expect me to go all the way there. You can totally handle it. And then I won't have to listen to you complaining about how much something costs." She says with a smug grin. "Just make sure to ask Mom for money, or I might accidentally 'forget' to do your laundry this week."

"Oh? And what would that be?" she asks suspiciously, not taking her eyes off her phone. Her brow furrows and she glances over at him out of the corner of her eye. "If it's about getting more groceries or something, just ask Mom directly. I'm busy right now."

Kira stops, her phone forgotten as she turns to him in surprise. She hesitates for a moment before taking a deep breath and sighing, scrubbing at her face with both hands. When she looks back up at him again, her expression is slightly softer but no less intense. "Fine," she says reluctantly. "It's just...he was my boyfriend. We were together for two years. It hurts, you know? And the worst part is that he cheated on me with some random slut." Her voice cracks at the end, and she quickly averts her gaze once more.

"But I don't want to talk about it," she insists, her chest tightening. "It's been a week, and I should be over it by now." She tries to change the subject, but even as she does, she can't help but feel an invisible weight

Kira lets out a shuddery breath and nods, grateful that he seems to understand where she's coming from. She reaches over and grips his hand tightly, finding comfort in the contact even though it might not seem like much to anyone else. "Thanks," she whispers hoarsely, her throat feeling raw from the sudden emotion. "You know what? Actually...would you mind maybe doing something for me?" "I don't want to ask Mom, and I..." Her voice trails off as she searches for the right words before continuing in a rush, "Well, I just thought maybe we could go out tonight. You know, do something fun to take my mind off things." She pauses, glancing at him hopefully.

"We can see a movie or something...or even go out for karaoke if you want." Despite the tension in her voice, there'

Kira returns his hug with equal fervor, clinging tightly to him for a moment before pulling back. Her eyes shine with unshed tears as she takes in his features, her chest heaving from the emotions running rampant through her body. "Thank you," she whispers, not trusting herself to say anything else. "That really means a lot." As if to prove it, she leans forward and presses a quick kiss to his cheek before pulling back again, looking sheepish.

Shyly blushing after their brief display of affection, Kira bites her lower lip and studies her hands nervously in her lap. "We should probably get going soon if we want to catch that new romantic comedy at the theater," she mumbles, still not quite meeting his eyes directly. She stands up and begins picking through her clothes, searching for an outfit that might make her feel a little better about herself tonight.

Kira nods her thanks and continues to rifle through her clothes, eventually settling on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a white off-the-shoulder top. As she dresses, she listens for the sound of the bathroom door closing before stepping out into the hallway, waiting for her brother to join her.

"So, what do you want to eat after the movie?" she asks nonchalantly as they head downstairs together. "I'm starving."

"Hmm, okay..." Kira considers his offer as they exit the house and walk toward the car. "How about we get some sushi? I've been craving it all week." She pauses for a moment before adding, with what sounds like reluctance, "But you can pick whatever you want to eat after that." Her gaze flits to her phone again as she slides into the passenger seat.

Even though she tries her best not to, Kira can't help but occasionally steal glances at her brother throughout the movie. The dim lighting in the theater doesn't make it easy for him to notice, and she's secretly grateful for that. His presence beside her is comforting; their shared understanding of each other feels like a warm blanket in the midst of this cold and lonely time. As they sit there together, munching on popcorn and laughing at the corny jokes, Kira finds herself wishing things could always be this easy between them.

As soon as the credits roll, she springs to her feet before he can react, impulsively throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. "I had so much fun tonight!" she whispers, her voice slightly muffled against his shoulder. "Thanks for being such a good sport about everything." Her grip lo

"Yeah..." she murmurs into his shoulder, her voice sounding surprisingly quiet and almost wistful. "It's been so long since we did anything together that didn't involve fighting." Her words are heavy with unspoken meaning; a plea for them to stop their petty bickering and actually try being a family again. As she pulls back, her eyes meet his briefly before looking away once more. "Anyway," she continues brightly, gesturing toward the exit, "let's go get some sushi!"

They find a quiet little hole-in-the-wall place not too far from the theater and manage to snag a table with minimal waiting. As they study the menu, Kira takes advantage of being close enough to actually talk to her brother without having anyone else overhear them. "So," she begins casually, picking at a stray strand of seaweed

Her heart lurches in her chest at the contact, even though it's just their eyes locked together across the table. She looks away again after a moment, focusing on the menu and speaking quickly to keep the tension from getting any worse. "What do you think we should get? I've never been here before." The truth is she doesn't really care what they order; all she wants is to have him pay attention to her and listen to her voice. Even if it means trying harder than usual to ignore the insults and biting sarcasm that so often fall from her lips when they talk.

"Oh, and um..." She trails off awkwardly, not sure how to phrase what she wants to say next. "Do you want some company this weekend? I was thinking maybe we could hang out at home or something." The words feel strange coming out of her mouth; it's not often that she offers