“Who would’ve thought that such a confident and lively cutie like you would have such a hidden want.” Miyako fidgeted under my arm, her small shoulders tensing up completely.
“I guess it fits though.
Carrying everything on your shoulders is tough.
Thankfully, you don’t have to worry about that, right?
My Miyako.” She fidgeted even more, her fingers tightly knotting into the fabric of her skirt.
In our close proximity, I could hear her breathing speeding up, a soft, shallow rhythm that betrayed just how fast her heart was hammering.
“Miyako, look up at me.” She listened slowly, her head tilting back by increments until her long bangs parted.
Her face was completely flushed, her eyes glassy with so much overwhelming emotion that I decided to cut things short before any potential unsavory emotions started to arise.
“You do know you belong to me now, right?
If you don’t want to, then that sucks for you.
I can’t let you go now.” Her throat bobbed as she gulped down her nervousness.
“Y-Yes!” I didn’t say anything to answer that.
My head simply moved on its own, leaning over the small space separating us.
Chuu~ I pressed a firm kiss directly onto the top of her forehead, completely ignoring any care of PDA in the middle of the cafe.
Honestly, I never thought things would have escalated this far just because I asked her to come to a cafe with me.
I never thought the cool, perfect-like Shikimori from school would have this incredibly soft side to her.
But most importantly, I had to thank her friend for giving such stupid advice.
It worked perfectly for me, but if she were to drop a line like that to someone she was just meeting…
that wouldn’t bode well for her safety at all.
“H-Here you two go.” A young waitress suddenly appeared, her own face sporting a massive blush as she hurriedly set our coffee and plates down on the wooden table before scurrying off.
The interruption made Miyako get even more quiet.
Instead of pulling away in embarrassment, she did the exact opposite, her arms wrapping around my waist as she just hugged me back with everything she had.
[Miyako’s affection has increased by 6%!] [Miyako’s affection has reached 90%] [Reward from choice being distributed…] [A chance to strike for 100%!] I tilted my head slightly at the hovering transparent reward panel.
It didn’t feel that random for two things dealing with affection to hit completely back-to-back like this.
It could just be my insanely high charm stat at work, but the timing definitely smelled a bit odd.
“Um…” Miyako glanced up at me from my chest, her voice a tiny whisper.
“T-Thank you for humoring me.” “Humoring?” “Y-Yeah!
T-This was all a joke!
A-A big one!” “Pfft, trying to backtrack now?” I chuckled, shifting my weight.
Before she could protest, I picked her little frame up as best I could and set her right on my lap, trapping her against the edge of the table.
“I don’t think so.” Miyako went still.
Only the sound of her breathing could be heard.
Her face buried more properly on my chest.
Each hand of mine took one of hers.
A peaceful, somewhat shy atmosphere spreading from her.
[The Strike has arrived!] [If you nibble on her ear and whisper “You’ve already come this far and going back isn’t allowed.” You’ll boost her affection.] I chuckled internally.
Doing exactly what the prompt said, I nibbled on her ear gently.
“You’ve already come this far and going back isn’t allowed.” “Ek~?!” She jumped a bit, her face revealing itself to the world.
I looked at her warmly as she tried to process what just happened.
Her body shook the more it hit her.
My hand released one of hers, grabbing one of the cookies we ordered and feeding her.
“Sweet things help people think.
I would know too, since I’m looking at the sweetest treat possible.” “GAH?!” Pa~ ‘C-Crap.
She passed out???’ … ..
.
I brought Miyako to my home.
Putting her gently on my bed as she rested.
I felt bad for going too far, but seriously, it was her fault for being so adorable to tease.
This was perfect though because she wouldn’t see the current me.
‘God, the cringe?!’ I crouched down, hugging my knees and hiding my face in the moderately decorated hall.
The few pictures of mom and dad felt like they were piercing me despite me knowing that was impossible.
“Damn you, Tatsuya!
What the hell were you thinking saying all that?!” I whispered.
Forcing myself up, I rushed to the kitchen to distract myself.
Miyako’s phone, like most nowadays, had face unlock.
Her parents would worry sick if I didn’t call and let them know about her.
Plus, the kitchen would be a good distraction while I made food for us.
‘Holy shit.’ She’s actually my girlfriend now!
Score!
I quickly dialed the contact labeled ‘Mom.’ The call connected quickly, the smooth sound of her mother gently speaking over the line.
“Miyako?” “Hello, Mrs.
Shikimori.
This is Miyako’s boyfriend, Sarukomi Tatsuya.” “Boyfriend?
She actually did it?” “She talks about me?” That was definitely a pleasant surprise.
“Before that, I just wanted to let you know that she fell asleep on our date, so I brought her to my place because I don’t know where you guys live.” “You don’t have to lie, the two of you are third-years.
Just tell me you two used protection?” “M-Ma’am, I’m serious and we haven’t done any of that!
We just started dating, too!” “Pbhahaha~ I was joking.
Thank you for calling, she can stay the night if she wants.
I trust her.” “I’ll let her know, but if she wakes up before I finish making dinner, I’ll probably escort her home.” “Aww~ you can cook?
She really found a good one!” I felt my face flush a deep red for the second time in ten minutes.
I don’t know why hearing an older woman compliment my domestic skills felt so incredibly weird.
It was a good feeling, but still profoundly weird.
“T-Thanks?” “Don’t treat her too roughly tonight!
Remember, we girls need intermissions, too!” The call ended with a sharp click before I could even process the words.
‘What the fuck??????’ I stared blankly at the dark phone screen, completely flabbergasted.
The distraction hadn’t worked at all; my brain was short-circuiting worse than before.
Throwing the phone onto the counter, I grabbed a pot.
Cooking was officially the only option to save my sanity.