Housewarming came a lot faster than Teio had imagined.

Both she and Nature hadn't even unpacked half their belongings when Scarlet called Teio and excitedly told her she'd be coming over the next day with Vodka to see her new apartment. Nature overheard, and there was clear panic in her eyes.

"It's still very messy!" she tried to shout over the phone, but Scarlet said it didn't matter.

"It's not housewarming if it's all in place already!" she said through the loudspeaker. Nature sighed and Teio could only chuckle.

"Bring us your best gifts, then!" Teio said.

"Leave it to me!"

Scarlet ended the call there, but she clearly wasn't done talking, because the next thing Teio knew—while Nature convinced her to hurry up and unpack the rest of their stuff—McQueen called.

"I've been told that Scarlet-san plans to throw you a housewarming party tomorrow," she said. Teio scratched her head.

"Yeah, but it's not like we're done unpacking…."

"That is of no problem. Rest assured I will join the party," McQueen said. "Be sure to check the Spica group chat later. Oh, is Nature-san there as well?'

"Yeah, she's unboxing some things. Wanna talk to her?"

"Perhaps." McQueen's voice became faint, but Teio could tell she was calling for Dictus. "Ikuno-san would like to have a word with her."

"Alright, wait a sec. Nei-chaaaan!"

"It's Nature!"

"It's Ikuno Dictus."

"Oh?" Nature got to her feet and took the phone offered to her. "Hello?"

Teio left her phone with Nature as she spoke with Dictus, and decided to continue with her own unpacking. If they were going to be taking guests, then they would need to prepare some snacks to munch on. She'd also have to ask Nature if they were going to cook dinner, or if they should just buy some takeout from somewhere nearby. Then they would need enough furniture space to store the housewarming gifts Scarlet promised.

Teio thought it would be safe to assume that McQueen would also bring some gifts, and even though she'd moved out of the Mejiro estate, she still did not shed her habit of extravagant gifting, so they'd also need to prepare some extra secure space to make sure nothing happened to McQueen's gift later.

Nature's call with Dictus didn't take much time, and as Teio prepared to unbox another one of hers, Nature returned her phone. "Thanks," she said.

"So how'd it go?"

"The girls want to come with," Nature said as she scratched her head. "Tomorrow, too."

Teio chuckled a little. "Ah, seems like it'll be crowded here…."

"Ahaha, yeah…."

Teio started counting on her fingers. "So we'll have Scarlet, Vodka, McQueen, Ikuno-san, Turbo-shishou, and Tannhäuser-san, huh…."

"What about the other Spica girls?" Nature asked. Teio shook her head and showed her the Spica group chat.

"Spe-chan said she wants to use this week to brush up on studying," Teio said. "Gold Ship said she'd like to come if her food-tasting shoot ends early, but no promises. And Suzuka-san only returns to Japan every winter or so."

"Food for eight, then? Oh, and one extra just in case Gold Ship-san comes. That means I'll need to make it something that can be frozen if she doesn't come. Hmm…."

"I can cook a little, so if you need any help, just holler," Teio said. "But for now, let's get the table ready. I don't think we'll all be eating on the counter."

*

Teio had the weekend to thank for the guests coming, because no work the next day meant that she could at least crack open a few cold ones with the girls.

Turbo and Machitan surprisingly arrived first, and although Machitan brought her mochi for gifts as usual, Turbo apparently decided against it.

"I've decided to just eat whatever dish you've got!" she proudly proclaimed with confidence that was probably unfounded. Nature could only give an exasperated laugh.

"The meal's a different thing from the housewarming gift, though…."

Turbo had nothing to give but a puzzled look as a reply, which confirmed that her confidence was, indeed, unfounded.

Turbo and Machitan were excitedly going over every detail of their apartment—the shared bedroom with separate beds, the bathroom and toilet accessible from the bedroom, the living room (apparently with TV ready!), the kitchen counter, and the neatly arranged kitchen itself, where Turbo quickly deduced that it was Nature's turf—when Scarlet and Vodka arrived.

"I've told you to lay off the chocolate, didn't I!" Scarlet hissed to Vodka. The girl in question groaned.

"You put it right next to my cupcakes!"

"That doesn't make them yours!"

"Good news is," Teio said as she opened the door for them, "we've got chocolates. Want some?"

"Teiooooo!"

Scarlet burst into a hug, and Vodka showed the plastic bag she brought, ending her little banter with Scarlet there.

Dictus and McQueen arrived a little later. There was some holdup at Dictus' work, and McQueen insisted she would not go before Dictus was ready.

To Teio's surprise, McQueen brought only a small box with her for her housewarming gift.

"I have been in possession of this for a while," she said with a dazzling smile. "I figured it would very much be fitting for the occasion."

Judging from the size, Teio guessed that it was a glass bottle, but McQueen replied with only an enigmatic smile.

The air was starting to grow cold, so Nature decided on simple soups to serve everyone. Turbo and Machitan had both come in sweaters, and everyone else had worn longer sleeves and gloves, too. Teio lent her a hand with the prep, and they decided to get it quickly ready before Vodka and Scarlet get into another argument.

"Sorry we couldn't serve much," Nature said as she poured a portion into her bowl. "We don't exactly have a lot at hand right now."

"All good, all good!" Machitan calmly replied, "Nature cooked for us, after all!"

They cheered for the soup. McQueen took her phone out and scrolled a little. "Gold Ship-san couldn't come," she reported. "It seems the shoot is going to run late, she said."

"Aww," Teio groaned. "Oh, well. More soup for me!"

Like with Machitan and Turbo earlier, after they finished their meal, Teio gave McQueen and Dictus a tour of her apartment with Nature. Dictus was nodding seriously at every feature, like considering whether she should look for some of those for herself, while there was something about McQueen's smile that Teio couldn't quite put her finger on.

The evening sky grew darker, and it was finally time for McQueen to pull out her gift—a bottle of vintage wine.

"This one is approximately 150 years old," she proudly said. "I figured there's no better way to celebrate, no?"

Teio scratched her head when she realized that McQueen's gift ended up being extravagant, after all.

"So now, the biggest question in the room," Scarlet said after a gulp. "How did this come to be?"

Everyone threw an expectant look at Teio and Nature as the question dropped. Nature blushed, and decided to sip her share of the wine. Teio laughed awkwardly.

"Oh, how do I say this?" she said. "It was a lot less dramatic than you think."

"Who first asked to move?" Vodka asked.

"I did," Nature shyly said. "I've been considering to move for a while, and I've also looked around for properties around my workplace."

There seemed to be some tacit understanding in McQueen's eyes, like she just confirmed something. What about, exactly, Teio had no idea.

"And you chose on this one?" Machitan asked. Nature nodded.

"It's decently priced and the features are great. The air of the place also feels nice."

There was a collective nod of agreement. "Then, why Teio?" Turbo asked. Nature hid her face with her hands in response.

"Ah, we've been in contact a lot lately," Teio said. She took another gulp of her alcohol. "I met Nature during work errand. We talked a bunch since."

"I got comfortable," Nature softly said in a pitch Teio never heard before. "So I thought, why not? It's nice to have someone I know around, after all."

"And I was getting lonely too," Teio supplied. "Ahaha, you should've all seen Nature's face when she asked me to move in. She was red as a tomato."

"Oh stop it!" Nature exclaimed, giving Teio's shoulder a soft punch. "A-anyway, I took all my guts and went with it. Surprisingly Teio agreed."

"I get to live closer to where I work, I have all I need around here, and now I have a friend with me," Teio said quickly. "What's to lose?"

Teio could feel Machitan looking over her and Nature with an observing gaze. "You two sure are close, eh."

What nobody expected was, when it was finally time to leave before the last train left, McQueen was drunk to the point of being half-asleep. Teio didn't remember her drinking that much, but then again, usually a can was enough to get her sloshed, so it could simply be tolerance issue. Dictus patiently lifted McQueen on her shoulder.

"Sorry to bother you," she politely said. "Teio-san, congratulations on the move in. Nature-san, it really is nice to see you again. I hope your life forward becomes much more fulfilling."

"Thank you," Nature said. "You two be careful, okay?"

To Teio's surprise, Dictus smiled like she'd never seen her do before. "Of course. We'll see you later."

"We'll be going too, then," Scarlet said. "Teio, congratulations on the move in. You two be good, okay!"

She hugged Teio one more time, and finally left with Vodka. Machitan gave Nature a pat on her head.

"Congratulations," she said. "Are you happy?"

Nature smiled. "Yeah."

"All good, then!" Machitan said. "Turbo, let's go!"

Turbo groaned as she left the room. "I'll see you later, Teio, Nature!"

Teio waved back. "See you later, Shishou!"

And with it, their new home was quiet again. Teio sighed. "Let's get cleaning up, then?"

"Let's," Nature said. "Ahh, that was nice."

"It was, wasn't it?"

Teio decided to let her hands get busy, because for once, there was one thought lingering in her mind. She'd asked Dictus to help take McQueen home a few times before—McQueen was weak to alcohol, after all, and she usually drank a bit whenever she came over—but something felt different this time. McQueen felt slightly detached the entire day, and there's that way Dictus smiled, too.

It's just their usual. Why did it bother Teio so much?