Theme #461 - Jacket

Ren stared incredulously at Cou, holding her arms protectively in front of her bare chest. He brought a hand up to rub the back of his head, smiling sheepishly at her. "It's okay, since it was all to get away from him, right? Besides, if we kept going head first like Cisqua said, we would have won anyway, I think. But it's all thanks to Ren that we were saved."

"You were acting so pitiful earlier, and now saying it's no big deal…"

Cou snapped his head to the right, raising a hand in rage as a vein pulsed in forehead. "Shut up!" Grumbling under his breath, Cou turned back to Ren, looked at her for five seconds, and then whipped his head away. Ren furrowed her eyebrows, unconsciously tightening her grip on his jacket. Was he actually mad at her…?

Her eyes flew open in shock when he grabbed her hand, gently removing it from his jacket. She blinked in surprise, though, when Cou shrugged out of his jacket, moving around to the front to throw over her shoulders. She looked at him in confusion, but he was looking away from her now, his cheeks flaring up. "Y-You should cover yourself up."

Ren nodded, lifting her arms to fit them through the sleeves - at which point Cou stared determinedly at everywhere but her - and buttoned up the front. Once she was settled, Cou stood up, holding onto Ren's elbow to steady her as he brought her up with him.

Cisqua twirled over to them, sighing in an all-knowing way. "If you don't get a hold of things, then she may really dump yooou!"

"Wha…?!" Cou rounded on her in annoyance, cheeks still red. Ren blinked in surprise when she felt Cou's hand on top of her head, moving her ribbon back into its usual place. She brought up a hand to the ribbon, staring at Cou as he and Cisqua engaged into yet another argument.

Cou…

"Hey, you know there all just gonna keep falling out if you keep moving, right?!" Cou shouted after Cisqua, who was attempting in vain to keep the treasures from falling out of her hat. He went to set forward, but stopped when he felt a pull on his jacket.

He turned around to find Ren holding onto his jacket, holding a hand up in front of her mouth in embarrassment. "Are these clothes… really okay?"

Cou flushed, looking up in embarrassment. "W-Well, yeah… they look… um… just fine, Ren. B-But don't worry, we'll get you some new clothes when we get to the next town, alright?"

Ren nodded, rubbing her eyes tiredly, shivering when a gust of wind passed by them. She blinked when a patch of red appeared in front of her eyes. Cou held up his jacket higher, waiting for her to take it. "It is a little chilly for wearing a sleeveless dress, especially compared to what you normally wear."

Ren smiled, thanking him and taking the jacket, shrugging it on as she did before. Cou turned around and kneeled down, holding out his hands behind him. Ren leaned forward, wrapping her arms securely around his neck before leaning onto his back. Cou wrapped his hands under her thighs, securing her weight before standing back up.

As the he started walking forward, Ren rested her head lightly onto his back, snuggling closer into his jacket as she drifted to sleep.