Takumi got back a little late again. They ate dinner in awkward silence. Well, it was only awkward for one of them. Twilight was avoiding his gaze the entire time.
While she was washing the dishes, she felt arms wrap around her. “What are you doing?”
“Isn't it obvious?” He rested his head on hers.
“Ok, but why?”
“Is it weird that I also don't know?”
“Definitely.”
“Should I let go?”
She thought about it. It was weird, but at the same time, she was enjoying his warmth. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to let go, whether it was now or ever.
“I'll take your silence as a no.” He buried his nose in her hair and took a long sniff.
*“Hmm, strawberries.”* He thought.
She continued to wash the dishes while he held her the entire time, not wanting to let her go. When she was done, he let her go and she turned to face him, about to say something, but he beat her to it.
“Before you probably strangle me, I brought you this.” He handed her a tub of cookies and cream ice cream.
“I think I'll let you off the hook. Just this onc...”
She got cut off when he fed a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. Her signature blush appeared, and he smiled. She couldn't be mad at him, especially when her mouth was full of delicious ice cream.
She took his hand off the spoon and turned around so he wouldn't notice her embarrassment.
“She's so cute when she's embarrassed.” He thought.
Suddenly, he tasted ice-cold sweetness in his mouth.
“Even though I want to, I'd feel guilty if I ate it all without sharing.” She said while avoiding his gaze and the pink still on her ears.
“You know, this kinda counts as a kiss.”
“Not if this is a different spoon.” She smirked.
“You're no fun.” He pouted.
“And people like you are called perverts. Anyway, I’m relieved that it’s not rum and raisin.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“What’s right with it?”
“It’s good.”
“No, it’s not.”
“What do you have against it?”
“I hate raisins.”
“Why?”
“I don’t like dead grapes. Or dead fruit in general.”
“They’re not dead, just dried.”
“Makes no difference to me because they look dead.”
“This is going nowhere because it feels as if I’m arguing with a brick wall, so let’s just agree to disagree.”
“Fine.”
They continued eating the ice cream, about a quarter of the way, Takumi couldn't eat any more of it. But Twilight finished off the rest.
“How can someone so small eat so much?”
“I just so happen to have a big appetite that gets bigger when sweet things are involved.”
“Oh, so you get that hungry for me then?” He teased.
“You know what, I think it's time for bed.” She got up and left.
“Are you in that much of a hurry for me to satisfy your hunger?” He winked.
“No crossing the pillows!” She shouted over her shoulder.
Twilight was restless again that night. Mostly because Takumi kept wrapping his arms around her in his sleep and she had to take them off. This continued so many times that she lost count.
“Man, this guy's persistent, even in his sleep.” She thought.
When it happened again, she was too tired to care anymore and almost immediately fell asleep. Little did she know that he wasn't asleep. He had sensed her restlessness and decided to do something to tire her out without pissing her off.
The next day, Takumi came back a little late again.
“Hey, I need you to put this on.” He handed her a blindfold.
“Why? So you can sexually harass me without me seeing it?”
“Good idea but no. Just trust me.”
She sighed. “Fine. But don't try anything weird.”
“I won't, I promise.”
She put it on.
“Great, now stay put for a bit.”
She waited and heard him moving things back and forth. She then felt his hands on her shoulders.
“What are you doing?”
“Don't worry, just follow my lead.”
She felt him guide her somewhere. Judging by the route, she knew exactly where he was taking her. His room.
“Rengoku, why are we going to your room? I told you not to try anything weird.”
“And I promised that I wouldn't. Just remember one thing, I'll never break my promises to you.” He sat her down on the edge of the bed. “You can take the blindfold off now.” She took it off and what she saw left her speechless and confused.
She stared at the countless shopping bags that lay across the floor, not sure what to say.
“Surprise! I got you new clothes.”
“Whoa... Uhm. You didn't have to.”
“Of course, I did. I couldn't let you wear my shirts and shorts forever.”
“Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they weren't cheap at all.”
“Don’t worry about it. I just got you a few basic things like jeans, shirts, dresses and hoodies. There are pyjamas too. I wasn’t sure about underwear, so you’ll have to come with me to sort that out and shoes too, since I only got one pair because I wasn’t sure about the size. Sure, I had to blow a good portion of my savings, but I honestly didn’t mind, and you don’t have to pay me back. C'mon try them on.”
“I can't accept this.”
“Yes, you can. Think of this as a thank you gift.”
“Thank you for what?”
“For basically taking care of me. You always make me breakfast, lunch and dinner, wash my clothes and iron my uniform and many other things.” He ruffled her hair.
“Now you're making me sound like a housewife or a maid.”
“I didn't mean to offend you. If it makes you feel better, we can split the chores from now on.”
“Sure, I don't see why not.”
“And think of this as a gift from one friend to another. Nothing wrong with that, right?”
“But...”
“Please. For me.” He gave her puppy dog eyes.
“Ok. I can't say no to that face.”
“I knew you cou...”
She hugged him. “Thank you” She mumbled into his chest, and he gave her another of his gentle head pats.
“Now, go ahead and try them on.”
“Why haven't you tried them on yet?”
“I don't know, probably because you're still in the room.” She glared at him.
“Was I supposed to leave?” He asked innocently.
“That's what a normal person would have done, perv.”
“Fine. I'll leave.” He said, disappointed.
“You still aren't going to try them?”
“Not while you're standing there, refusing to let me close the door.”
“Ok fine, I'll close the door then. But it is ok if I open it every few minutes, right?”
“No, and why would that be ok?”
“Because I wanna make sure nobody breaks in through the window and tries to kill you or something.”
“Ok. One, we're like, what, seven stories high, so chances are slim. Two, even if someone did you wouldn't have to worry because I'm a wolf and I'd rip them apart before you even open that door. Three, stop being such a pervert.”
“Ok, I'll close the door and I won't open it.”
When he finally left, she unpacked everything and put them away while deciding on what to wear. Because there was no underwear, she ruled out the dresses. Also, because she didn’t like dresses all that much, but she thought that she’d at least wear one occasionally because he’d gone through all the trouble of buying them. She decided on a pair of shorts and a shirt since the weather was warm.
When she went out, she found Takumi waiting for her.
“Isn’t that better?” He asked.
“Yeah. Again, thank you.”
“The pleasure was mine.”
“How did you get the sizes right? They’re a little big but close enough to my actual sizes.”
“That was easy. I have a photographic memory, so all those times I spent staring at you a lot came in handy. I got a rough idea of what sizes might fit you. Plus, I did see you naked. It was only once, but it helped a lot. Not to mention, I kinda took your measurements while you were sleeping.”
“What?”
“I’m kidding. I got help from the shop assistant. I used a lot of hand gestures to give her your rough measurements.”
“Oh, for a second there, you were starting to sound like a creep.”
“I’d never go that far. Should we go sort out the shoes and underwear?”
“Yeah. And if it’s not too much to ask, maybe a few hair ties too.”
“No problem. But your hair looks nice the way it is.”
“Trust me, you won’t be saying that when the humidity levels get high. And it gets a little irritating when it gets in my face.”
“Have you ever tried cutting it shorter?”
“Many times, but it grows back after about two weeks each time. It’s not worth the hassle.”
“Oh.”