It's early afternoon, and Amelia is in her room finishing up her last workout routine

Amelia: 499... 500...

After completing her final set of pushups, she rises to her feet and reaches for a towel to dab away the sweat from her face

Amelia: "I think I'll squeeze in a few more pull-ups before I wrap up for the day"

Tracer: Goddamn, woman

She whips around at the sound of a voice behind her, only to find Tracer with a mischievous grin, casually leaning against the doorway. Despite Amelia's attempt to ignore her, she can't help but let out a sigh

Amelia: What do you want?

Tracer: Vivian was wondering if you're joining us for lunch

Amelia: Oh, yeah, I'll be there in a minute...

Tracer: ...By the way, didn't expect you to come out looking like that! All sweaty and showing off the abs~

Amid the confusion, Amelia quickly shifts her gaze down to her outfit – her go-to workout ensemble: a sleek crop top and form-fitting leggings

Amelia: What are you talking about?...

Tracer: I wonder if you would be sensitive to someone slowly running their finger along them~

Amelia: Can you ever shut the fuck up, cat?

Tracer: I'm just kidding! I'm just kidding! Besides, take it as a compliment! There are people out there who might appreciate your muscular look

Amelia: *rolls eyes*

Tracer: I've noticed something about you. It seems like there's something on your mind that you're hesitant to share

Amelia: What makes you think that?

Tracer: Well, for one, you're acting a lot differently than usual, which is not a bad thing. But secondly, you kept glaring at Kiryu a lot

Amelia: ...

Tracer: What's the matter?

Amelia: ... I was trying to figure out how to talk to him

Tracer: Why is that such a struggle? I thought you two had a conversation before?

Amelia: Most of them are just... arguments and it kinda dawned on me that we never... did anything normally

Tracer: Well I guess that's true

Amelia: Which leads me to want to ask you

Tracer: ?

Amelia: How do you... hang out?

Tracer was completely taken aback by Amelia's unexpected request. Her confusion quickly turned to amusement as she burst into laughter, while Amelia looked at her, unamused.

Tracer: *chuckles* Wow, the most serious woman ever asking me how to hang out... that caught me off guard!

Amelia: Shut up...

Tracer: I don't think it's that difficult. Just go to a place that both of you will find enjoyable! Get to know him, you know?

Amelia: Fun?...

She remains quiet as she starts thinking of a place where she and her brother could have fun until she finally comes up with an idea

Amelia: I think I might have something in mind

Tracer: There you go! You're getting somewhere! Anyway, we should go see if your brother is done cooking

Amelia: Yeah...

Soon, they head into the kitchen where Kiryu is busy making sandwiches. Vivian is sitting at the table, brimming with excitement, until she suddenly notices Tracer and Amelia reappearing

Vivian: Hi Amelia!

Amelia: Hey...

Kiryu: Hey girls! Just a few more seconds and lunch will be ready

Vivian: "What were you guys doing? It took you a while to get here"

Tracer: "Oh, we were just talking about how might be sensitive she is after a workout"~

After feeling annoyed, Amelia smacks Tracer on the back of her head. Tracer rubs the spot where she got hit and lets out a small chuckle

Tracer: Ow... I was just joking

Amelia: ...

Vivian: Was she trying to say you're ticklish?

Amelia: Don't worry about it...

Kiryu: And we're done!

He places the last sandwich onto a large plate with the others and then brings them over to the dining room table where everyone else is sitting

Kiryu: I've made some Club sandwiches. They're all triple-decked and filled with turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes! Enjoy!

Vivian: Hoorah!

Tracer: Never thought I'd be this thrilled to dig into a sandwich of all things

They all sat down at the table and began to eat while Amelia decided to go into the fridge first to get some cold water

Vivian: Oh, I almost forgot! Amelia, I want to ask you something!

Amelia: What?

Vivian: So, there's a party coming up in about a week, and Cassie invited me to be her bodyguard for the event

Amelia: Alright, and?

Vivian: Well, usually I would ask for your permission for something like this, but this time I was wondering if I could go without having to ask

Amelia: Oh, go ahead

Vivian: Wait, really?!

Amelia: Yeah, just make sure you don't get caught by weird people

Vivian: Ok! Thank you!

Kiryu: ... Well that's new

Tracer: That's what I said!

Amelia: It's not a big deal...

Kiryu begins cleaning the kitchen as the others are still eating their sandwiches, but he shifts his focus to the girls

Kiryu: What are your plans for today, then?

Tracer: Well, I'm going to take this little munchkin on a little shopping spree, now that she got permission to go to the party!

Vivian: I have to look all pretty when I get there! But are you sure you don't wanna go?

Tracer: Eh... I'm not interested in parties, especially when they have rich people there!

Vivian: ?

Kiryu: What about you, Amelia?

Amelia: I have plans but I have to ask you about it

Kiryu: Oh... ok? What is it?

Amelia: I was wondering if you want to go and "hang out"

Within a second, Kiryu pauses for a second before turning to face Amelia, startled by what he has just heard

Kiryu: ... You... want to... hang out?...

Amelia: Yes, is that a problem?

Kiryu: Nothing, it's just... I didn't expect you to ask me that because, you know...

Amelia: Yeah, so do you want to?

Kiryu: I mean, sure just let me finish up cleaning and then I'll be ready

Amelia: Fine by me, I need to change anyways

She puts her half-eaten sandwich aside and walks back to her room to change her outfit. In the meantime, Kiryu picks up the pace in tidying up his kitchen, eager to get ready as well

Vivian: Is it me or is Amelia being-

Tracer: We know Vivi... we know...

After a few minutes, Kiryu and Amelia, who are dressed differently, wave goodbye to Tracer and Vivian and they both walk together to the main spot of Coltopia. Kiryu couldn't help but feel strange about Amelia's strange request as much as Amelia didn't seem to be bothered by it but was still happy to go along with it

Kiryu: So... What do you have in mind for us to do?

Amelia: Somewhere I believe it'll be "fun" for the both of us...

Kiryu: ... "Should I be scared of what she claims is fun for the both of us?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Announcer: Welcome to Droid Raid! The match will begin in 30 seconds!

Kiryu and Amelia soon found themselves in the Colosseum, waiting for a large door to open that is across the Colosseum, but Kiryu found himself confused as to how they got here

Kiryu: So... I'm guessing this is our hang-out?

Amelia: Yes, I figured this would be a benefit for both of us. Help each other in battle and for us to get strong

Kiryu: ... You know, having fun doesn't have to do something with strength right?

Amelia: What do you mean?

Soon the large door across from the colosseum begins to open, revealing outdated droids, who are holding different weaponry, stomping out and taking aim at them

This Colosseum game, the Droid Raid, is a limited-time event game that happens every 3 years. This game is a way for companies to sell off the old droids they don't need anymore whenever a new model is released and to make use of it by putting them for demolition against the fighters. In this game, teams of 2-4 have to defend their checkpoint for 3 waves from these droids that try to destroy it

Kiryu: I mean unless this makes you feel joy then never mind but having fun isn't always about pushing yourself like a workout!

Amelia: I know but I wasn't sure what you'd like and this was the closest thing I could think of that we'd both like

Suddenly the droids begin to charge toward the checkpoint while trying to attack both Kiryu and Amelia calmly avoid and block their attack while they continue their conversation

Kiryu: I mean I don't hate it, it's just probably because I'm used to you coming here for training wise

Amelia: ... Fair...

Kiryu: But at least you're trying to find something fun and I appreciate your concern about my likeness in "fun"

Amelia: Thanks

A droid thrusts a blade toward Kiryu who dodges and decapitates its head while Amelia continues to fire her weapon in all directions.

Amelia: If you think this is boring then I apologize

Kiryu: Oh don't worry about it. I said I didn't mind but if you like it, we can still keep doing this

Amelia: No, it's because I'm starting to get bored with this. These droids aren't meant to fight so this is like kicking a bunch of Lego

Kiryu: Oh...

Some of the droids from afar aim at them but once they fire, Kiryu quickly deflects the bullets back at them while Amelia dodges the droids that try to tackle her but she quickly shoots them down before they try to reach the checkpoint

Kiryu: You did choose what difficulty you wanted them to be right?

Amelia: What?

Kiryu: Before you enter a match, there's an option where you can choose how hard you want these robots to be

Amelia: ... That explains a lot of why these droids suck

Kiryu: *chuckles* Kinda surprised you of all people would miss something like that

Amelia: Shut up...

The match continues as Kiryu and Amelia easily bypass the first two rounds and make it to the final round where they finish off the last droid

Kiryu: Well I can tell they're trying to make them hard but it felt like a breeze

Amelia: It only "feels" hard because they're just putting out more droids than before...

Kiryu: Ok I know that but I'm just saying-

Suddenly they hear a loud stomping with the ground shaking until from afar they see a large robot that had the height of a brute, stomping towards them while holding a large bomb as the other droid runs past it, charging at the two

Kiryu: Right, forgot every final round has a "boss mode"

Amelia: Let's just finish this match...

Amelia charges in at the brute droid while destroying the droids that pass her while Kiryu gets into a stance and grabs onto his katana. As soon she gets close to the brute droid, she begins to fire her weapon, denting its metal chest as much as she can. Out of annoyance, the brute droid tries to hit her away with the bomb but she easily avoids the attacks until leaps on top of the bomb

Amelia: Do it!

She grips the bomb and leans back, causing the brute droid to be pulled back and leaving his dented chest open for Kiryu to finally speed blitz towards the droid and unsheathes his blade, striking through it while Amelia quickly hops off after Kiryu attack

Kiryu: Got it!

The brute droid twitches a bit from the attack but Kiryu quickly swings his blade aside, throwing the core out as Amelia fires at it, destroying it. Soon the brute droid fell over with the bomb collapsing onto it, causing it to explode behind Amelia and Kiryu as they put their weapon away

Kiryu: Well at least somehow made it fun?

Amelia: It was still boring... not a good thing...

Kiryu: ?

After their match ended, Kiryu and Amelia exited the Colosseum with the rewards for their performance

Kiryu: I knew they give away money for killing these droids but I didn't think they would give us this much

Amelia: That might be another reason why this is a limited-time event...

Kiryu: Well mind as well use this money to get some groceries for dinner

Amelia: ... Then shall I head home so you can do your shopping?

Kiryu: I mean you can still come, it's can be a way to bond

Amelia: ...

Kiryu: But also if you want, I could teach you some cooking skills

Amelia: You'd be insane if I accepted that offer, you'd get mad at me over the pettiest mistake I might do

Kiryu: OK fair, but how about this? I promise I won't yell at you!

Amelia: ...

Kiryu: I swear I'll try my best!

Amelia: *sigh* Are you sure?

Kiryu: Yeah... I'll try my best...

Amelia: ... Very well... (I'm going to regret this decision)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This story is interrupted by a Chibi Amelia eating one of Chibi Kiryu's homemade cooking

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Kiryu and Amelia step into the store, Kiryu grabs a shopping cart, ready to start filling it up, while Amelia takes a moment to explore and browse around

Amelia: So what exactly are you making for tonight?

Kiryu: I was planning to make some curry but since I'm going to be teaching you some cooking skills, we're going to do something simple like steak!

Amelia: Is cooking that hard?...

Kiryu: Amelia, you have no idea and besides the best I know you've made was just fried eggs

Amelia: ...

Kiryu: Besides this will be a great opportunity for you in case I have to go somewhere so you'll be able to make something for the other and won't starve to death

Amelia: Fair...

They make their way over to the meat section where Kiryu decides on which steak he wants to take

Kiryu: Maybe we could start with a T-bone steak or a ribeye...

Amelia: Does it matter which one, they're both beef

Kiryu: Not so fast! That's your first mistake! These two are completely different when it comes to its dish!

Amelia: What?

Kiryu: It's not just the looks! Ribeye steaks have a velvety tenderness with a smooth texture if you prefer leaner cuts. While a T-bone steak has a unique blend of tenderness and flavor!

Amelia: ...

Kiryu: So if you prefer a combination of tenderness and fat, a T-bone steak is your top pick, or if you prefer a leaner option with less fat, ribeye is the ideal choice

Amelia: ... Since when the fuck did food become so complicated?...

Kiryu: Probably when we discovered we drink milk from a cow's utters

Amelia: And don't want to even know how we did...

Kiryu: So what steak do you want to cook?

Amelia: If the ribeye has less fat, then I'll take them

Kiryu: Alright! And I'll just grab some T-Bone for me to make for Vivian and Tracer! Also, mind as well grabs some cookies for them!

Amelia: *sigh* I swear they're gonna fatten themselves if they keep eating food like these

Kiryu: Which is why I always make salad or fruits for them!

Amelia: Except half of the time, they refuse to eat certain vegetables they make...

Kiryu: Which is why I'm grateful that you're there to make sure they eat them!

Amelia: ...

Kiryu: Speaking of vegetables, could you go and grab some? They shouldn't be too hard to find and pick any kind you want for us to eat!

Amelia: Sure

She walks off to grab some vegetables while Kiryu continues to shop for some ingredients. Soon, she finds the produce isle where she ponders on what vegetables should she choose

Amelia: "Knowing those two are picky with vegetables, maybe I'll grab something simple they might like..."

Soon she notices the last bag of carrots on the shelf, which is half the original price, leading her to confidently choose what she wants to purchase

Amelia: "That should do-"

As she reaches over to grab the carrots, she notices a bunch of customers are glaring at her which she looks in confusion but tries to ignore it. However the second she grips the bag, all of the customers turn and charge at her

Shopper: She got the last bag of carrots!

Shopper 2: Those carrots are mine!

Shopper 3: I'm not waiting another two days for them to get more carrots again!

Amelia: ... What?

She quickly grabs onto the carrots and quickly starts to avoid the customers who try to tackle and attack her

Amelia: The hell is wrong with you people?!

As she continues the avoid the ongoing attacks from the customer, she quickly notices someone lifting a shopping cart over their head and tries to hit her with it but she manages to dodge it, giving her a sign that there's no avoiding this

Amelia: OK fine!

She swung a punch across the customer's face who was trying to hit her with a cart. The cart flew out of the customer's grip, and she caught it, using it to defend herself against other customers who tried to attack her

Customer: Give me those carrots!

Amelia then throws the cart at one of the customers and starts using her fists to fight, while avoiding anyone who tries to grab the carrots from her. After a few minutes, the remaining customers begin to grab different items to use as weapons

Amelia: For fuck sakes-

All the customers let out a battle roar and charged at Amelia one last time, but she continued to deal with them one by one but was getting exhausted by some of the customers getting back up after getting knocked down

Customer: Pin her down!

Suddenly the remaining customers begin to dogpile onto Amelia to put a stop to her and get the bag of carrots but within a second, Amelia burst out of the pile, sending the customers flying and beating them to try to move

Amelia: *huff* *huff* Are we done?!

Customer: *groan*

Customer 2: My spleen...

Amelia: *huff* *huff* Good... fucking christ...

Kiryu: Hey, I got everything we need, are you-

As soon as Kiryu arrived at the produce isle, he found himself dumbfounded as he saw people on the ground groaning in pain while Amelia, who was wiping the dirt off of her, walked past them with the last bag of carrots

Kiryu: ... What the actual fuck happened here?

Amelia: Are customers this violent when it comes to shopping?...

Kiryu: ... Uh... depends if there's a sale going on

Amelia: Then there's your answer...

Kiryu: OK then!

She placed the bag of carrots onto their cart which was the last item they needed before they started walking to the register to pay for the food

Kiryu: Are you sure you don't want anything else?

Amelia: Yes... I just want to go home now...

Kiryu: Alright but don't complain to me when you want something

Amelia: Whatever...

He pays for the groceries and they start making their way back home to start making dinner

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night begins to fall as Kiryu and Ameli arrive back home with their groceries and see that Tracer and Vivian aren't home yet

Amelia: They're still shopping?

Kiryu: Perfect! We can start making dinner! Can you get the cookware out while I prepare myself?

Amelia: Sure...

She walks over to the kitchen and puts down the groceries while Kiryu pulls out his apron and hat, putting them on to prepare for his cooking

Amelia: Do you really need to wear those every time you cook?

Kiryu: Safety and cleanliness is always your first priority! Also, it just feels right wearing them with it comes to this

Amelia: *rolls her eyes*

Kiryu: While I prepare the steaks, could you clean the carrots?

Amelia: Why? They're in a bag so they should be fine

Kiryu: Trust me... store products never wash their products...

Amelia: ...

She dumps the bag of carrots in a colander and begins to wash them with the sink while Kiryu takes the steaks and begins to season them

Kiryu: Now the first thing you wanna put on your steak is some seasoned meat tenderizer! They'll make your steak a lot softer to eat! And you can decide what seasonings you want for your steak like thyme, rosemary, or garlic powder

Amelia: Mhm...

Kiryu: When you are done, you can give it a try while I cook them!

Amelia: Sure...

After finishing seasoning the steak, he takes the beef and puts it on a pan where he begins to cook while Amelia takes his place and begins the seasoning

Kiryu: Now the important thing about the cooking is to make sure the insides are cooked as well!

Amelia: Mhm

Kiryu: ... Are you not interested in this?

Amelia: *sigh* No, I just feel like we barely did anything that you liked today...

He remained silent, observing the guilt etched across her face. Despite his uncertainty, he gathered the courage to inquire about what was troubling her

Kiryu: So... do you mind if I ask why you wanted to hang out?

Amelia's sudden pause catches Kiryu's attention, and a concerned expression crosses his face as she lets out a heavy sigh

Amelia: I just wish to grow a bond with you, did you not want to?-

Kiryu: Oh no, no I just found it surprising since I... tried to ask you before but always rejected it except when it came to Vivian

Amelia: I only did that to keep an eye on Vivian. Besides, have you ever seen me doing something with your guys other than bicker and just walking behind you guys?

Kiryu: I guess?...

She hands Kiryu the steak that she finished seasoning which he takes and begins to cook as Amelia starts to work on the next steak

Amelia: But I wanted to feel like we still get along since we... always get into arguments

Kiryu: Yeah... we have been arguing a lot now that I think about it...

Amelia: And I realized we... never had a bond at all and I... was just too focused on training to be stronger...

Kiryu: ...

Amelia: I've been just training my whole life so I could be there to protect the people I care about... after what happened to our dad... but never got to know myself and... I never realized that I was pushing others away because of me... and it took a Forgotten to realize that...

Kiryu: ... Well I'm glad you realized that but just because you don't have to worry about needing to rush it

Amelia: Huh?

Kiryu: Now that I understand everything, I feel like you're trying to push yourself to fix or build everything. I understand you want to make things right but sometimes it's best to take things slow

Amelia: ...

Kiryu: It's like cooking, if you rush things, you'll ruin them but if you take it nice a slow, you'll be able to make it out perfectly

As Amelia looked on, she noticed that Kiryu had polished off his first steak and was now kindly offering her a piece, which she accepted and took a bite out of

Kiryu: So what do you think?

Amelia: ... Good

Kiryu: ^_^

Amelia hands him another steak that was finished being seasoned and he starts to cook it while starts to do her next steak again

Kiryu: But I'm grateful for this hangout, and if you want, we can go out again! And this time we could go somewhere that feels like a hangout!

Amelia: Heh... Yeah...

Tracer: Ya-hoo! We're home!

Both Kiryu and Amelia look behind them to see Tracer and Vivian at the doorway holding a bunch of bags

Kiryu: Hey! Welcome back!

Tracer: We had a little shopping spree and-

Vivian: Yeah and I found this dress that's- *sniff* is that steak?!

Kiryu: Yep! Just need to cook you guys and you'll be done

Vivian: Wait... you guys were gonna eat first without us!

Kiryu: Well no, I was teaching-

Tracer: Sneaking behind our back, how tragic *chuckles*

Kiryu: Now hold on-

Amelia rolled her eyes as they playfully argued, but she couldn't help but smile now that it felt like she wasn't pushing anyone away before walking over to intervene

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Art:

Kiryu cooking