The hot water felt good as I sank into its welcoming embrace.
In a bath that wasn’t mine, in a house that wasn’t mine either.
The same person who I’ve slowly been getting closer to turned out to be more…
mature than I could have ever thought.
Now that I knew his circumstances it all made perfect sense.
‘W-Why didn’t I just go home!?’ I should’ve told him that I should go, but I couldn’t.
The look on his face when I brought up his family clutched my heart.
The reason why he always seemed more mature than the other boys at school became so agonizingly clear.
The few photos I saw were from when he was younger, but none from him now.
His green eyes full of loneliness and sorrow, it didn’t take a genius to know the toll it took on him.
My mind wandered, feeling so much agony for him.
All those times I thought that I could finally beat him in an exam, or how I beat him up in my head for being so good at studying.
He probably didn’t want to be, he probably wanted to do everything but study, however he couldn’t.
As my thoughts came to align with the feelings in my heart, a spark lit in my mind.
‘I’ll make sure he doesn’t feel lonely again!’ Feeling invigorated, I shot out of the bath, drying off quickly and dressing up in Tatsuya’s spare clothes.
The oversized t-shirt practically swallowed my frame, hanging halfway down my thighs, and the scent of his laundry detergent swirled completely around me.
I stepped out of the bathroom and hurriedly went to find him.
My first guess just so happened to be the correct one.
“Tatsuya!” “Hm?
Was the bath okay?” He laid there on his bed.
His blonde hair and green eyes—a completely foreign look—despite his skin being a clear indicator of his Japanese blood.
“Yep!
What are you doing?” “Just relaxing.
You can have the bed by the way, I’ll sleep—” “No!
We can sleep together!” I hurriedly jumped next to him and laid down, the mattress shifting under my sudden weight.
If I didn’t act strongly, he would try to be polite.
Of course…
“Hahaha~” His arms wrapped around me as he pulled me closer, the sudden heat of his body pressing against mine.
Unlike others, he was 100x more confident!
I already liked him for his maturity, but him being like this only made me fall harder.
It really was nice having him, he always took the weight off my shoulders whenever he was near.
The image at school was just stressful sometimes.
‘Living up to—ah!’ ‘What am I doing?!’ I wasn’t doing this for me!
I was doing this for him!
My arms hugged him and forced me as close as possible to his body.
“Interesting.
Interesting indeed, Miyako.” He whispered, his warm and clear voice tickling my ear, sending a sudden shiver right down my spine.
“If I didn’t know better, I would think you were seducing me.” Tatsuya pulled back slightly, his hand reaching up, his fingers sliding under my chin to gently lift my face so our eyes could meet.
Up close, his green eyes looked incredibly deep, tracing every line of my panicked expression.
“Are you trying to make me feel better?” He smiled, his eyes saying it all that he knew exactly what I was doing.
“How…?” Flick~ “Pfft~ because your face is too expressive.
That, and I know you are the kind of woman who is sensitive to the emotions of others.” Tatsuya chuckled, his fingers moving from my chin to softly stroke my hair, untangling the damp strands before he pushed me gently back into his chest.
“Don’t worry, I’m not as down as you think.
Let’s just enjoy this moment together rather than worry about other stuff.” “Hm.” I hummed with silence that followed after.
We laid in the quiet room, the steady rise and fall of his chest under my cheek acting like a soothing rhythm.
Today was a strange day, it felt like Tatsuya was leagues more perfect than I ever thought he could be.
It was like something changed but I couldn’t pinpoint it either.
Not that it mattered in my heart, I was just happy we were together.
The method though— ‘SCREW YOU, INTERNET!’ I felt myself cringe against his shirt.
What friend would actually tell their friend to do that?
Exactly!
Not one!
My stupid self decided to listen to a random internet thread of all things.
‘Ugh.’ Tatsuya’s warmth at least helped calm me down, his hand slowly rubbing comforting circles into my back.
“Your mom is really funny by the way.
She told me to use protection and she hasn’t even met me.” “W-WHAT?!” I pushed myself right up, my hands pressing into the mattress on either side of his chest as I looked down into his way too sexy green eyes.
“Yeah, she didn’t even ask about you.
She just asked if I used protection.” “W-W-W-UUUUU?!” Tatsuya’s hand reached up, his palm cupping my burning cheek, his thumb brushing over my skin.
“You can’t keep showing me this face, otherwise I might really want to pounce.” “S-STOP!” I completely broke, collapsing back down and burying myself entirely under the covers.
My face dug directly into his side as I tried hiding the best I could from his teasing smirk.
‘He smells so good.’ Thankfully, he couldn’t see my face down here under the heavy blankets.
Before I knew it, I found myself falling asleep in this very position.