Nanashi was so excited. He'd worked very hard to earn all those bits, and he knew exactly what he was going to get with them.
He rushed home as fast as he could. He was very proud of himself for building up the stamina to walk so far now. He hopped on his computer, heading to the online bit store.
Nanashi already knew what he wanted to get, but he scrolled through everything else anyway, trying to theorize who would like which gifts. Getting people presents was so fun.
"Ice Cream Pop… Natsukage likes those, the choco-banana ones!" he thought aloud. "... But I've already given him several of those. Maybe I should give him Lettuce-jiro sometime? That's from Yasune's candy shop too. And he does go there a lot. Hmm…"
He wandered about the options and thought of the friends he'd met.
After searching the bit shop for over half an hour, he finally made his way down the list of items and to the last present listed.
Love Chocolate.
They say you give them to the one who holds your heart, but Nanashi loved everybody. And it wouldn't be weird at all to give chocolate to the people you love, right? Surely this can also be a platonic thing. People love their friends.
So Nanashi got one for everybody he knew. It cost him every last bit.
Thinking about his friends smiling when they got their chocolate made him happy.
Nanashi felt the weight of all the chocolate in his inventory. Online shopping is so handy! It beats walking around a store forever. Then again, maybe he was thinking of this the wrong way. Maybe walking around a store would be good. After all, Misane said getting out was good. There has to be a positive reason to going out.
Maybe he could meet more friends that way.
So instead of saving up for the bit shop again, he would go to Yasune's to get Natsukage's Lettuce-jiro!
Speaking of gifts, he should probably get going. He has a lot of chocolate to deliver, after all.
Skipping towards the door, he glanced at his bag, now full of chocolate. The red numbers flicked across his bag. "... huh. That's interesting…" Nanase observed. His bag seemed to weigh a little more than it should. Maybe they made the chocolates a little bigger?
Well, it's not important now. He's ready to give chocolate to his friends!
Nanashi went to Sunset Hill first. Walking down the street, he found Natsukage in his usual spot between the shrine entrance and Shitara's drug store. He was leaning up against the wall, and he wasn't favoring his hurt leg anymore. It seems to have gotten better.
Nanashi approached Natsukage with an expression of glee.
One glance at Nanashi's face made Natsukage's expression screw up in confusion. "What's got you skipping around like a kid on Christmas?" he asked Nanashi with genuine curiosity. He tried to act aloof as usual, but it wasn't working that well.
"I got you something, Natsukage!" Nanashi bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet.
"... Okay? What is it then?" Natsukage waited, and when Nanashi did nothing, he began looking around elsewhere. "Is this a joke or something?" Natsukage was actually slightly amused at the idea. He didn't think Nanashi had it in him to pull a prank like this. It just didn't fit his personality.
So it didn't surprise him at all when Nanashi claimed he wasn't joking, and he did in fact have something for him.
Nanashi was a little confused about the way he felt at the moment. There was some kind of… fluttering in his stomach. Huh… it felt like when he got a crush on that one girl in grade school… What was her name? … Guess it doesn't matter now, she's not friends with him anymore.
But this can't be a crush! Nanashi had already decided that this would be a platonic thing. So he shoved his new, odd-like feelings aside and simply smiled back at Natsukage.
Oh, right. He should probably give Natsukage his present now.
Natsukage continued to stare somewhat patiently as Nanashi went through his short phase of a flustered state, back to calmly smiling, and an expression of realization donned his face as he reached into his bag to finally pull something out.
Nanashi held the chocolate out to Natsukage proudly, displaying the heart shape between his thumb, index, and middle fingers.
It took Natsukage to a second recognize the heart-shaped object, as Nanashi was excited and couldn't seem to hold the tiny object still. He grabbed Nanashi's wrist to hold it steady.
Nanashi's face was dusted a light pink and his heart started to beat a little faster, but once again he pushed away how he was feeling. It actually wasn't that hard, as he had been doing this his whole life.
Natsukage gasped slightly when he saw what Nanashi was trying to give him. "You… you really wanna give me this?" He stared at the chocolate, then up at Nanashi. He let go of his wrist.
Nanashi felt slightly sad that Natsukage let go of him.
Natsukage paused and tried speaking again. "Look, I've never gotten it from a guy before… 'Cause that's the way it usually goes." He noticed the slight disappointment on Nanashi's face before he hid it with another smile, and it made him feel regretful for getting irritated.
He tried to fix it. "... Hey, I didn't say no or anything. Don't give me that look." Nanashi's smile looked slightly more genuine when he said that. Good.
Natsukage smiled back at him and sighed. "... Thanks."
Nanashi grinned brightly and extended his arm farther, and Natsukage took the chocolate. "I have to hand out the rest of this now!" he exclaimed and charged off down Sunset Hill, out of earshot.
"... Oh… It was a friendly thing… That sounds like something he'd do." Natsukage whispered to himself when Nanashi left.
Nanashi wandered around Sunset hill and gave everyone a chocolate. He was very joyful to see everyone so happy.
He went to Yasune's candy shop first, and visited for a while. He eyed the box of Lettuce-jiro while he was there, but then he remembered that he just spent all of his bits.
Shitara teased him a bit, which flustered him but he calmed down quickly and laughed along with her.
Takamiya got a little worked up, and Nanashi found it pretty comical.
When Nanashi offered a chocolate to Shiren, she offered him free ramen toppings as thanks, so he stayed there for lunch and they chatted amiably.
After leaving Shiren and thanking her for the ramen, he headed to the park to see the twins. When he got there, he realized he probably should've gotten two for them. Approaching, he watched as they stopped their game of tag to see what was up. Nanashi held out the chocolate, and they took it. They also realized the problem of there only being one chocolate between them, but solved the dispute by splitting it in half.
Lastly, he visited Kaori at the library. Making his way to the front of the building, she sees him and the chocolate that he's pulling out. She must have pretty good eyesight with those glasses. She started talking as soon as she saw it, and told him to come back after he "worked on himself and became a suitable man for her". She accepted it anyway though, and Nanashi tried to hide his giggles on the way out.
That was a nice adventure. Nanashi was having fun. He realized that he didn't give out chocolates to anyone where he lived, Blue Sun Street, so he made his way back with a smile.
Nanashi went to Kiri's lab first, as it was closest to his apartment, but after giving him a chocolate, Kiri got the impression that Nanashi was trying to submit himself as a test subject, so he left quickly. It was just getting too scary in there.
Sakuma, like her brother, was slightly shocked but grateful, and Nanashi returned her smile.
When Nanashi went to see Nio, he told him about how he got Love Chocolate from girls at Rat Ear all the time. They talked for a bit, and Nanashi let it slip that he's never actually had a Love Chocolate before. Nio then insisted that they share it so Nanashi could try it too, and when he held it up to feed half of the chocolate to him, Nanashi got embarrassed.
Sekiyu insisted to only see it as a business greeting. It was odd how many different ways this could be taken.
He made his way greeting everyone else in 307 Tower and decided to head off to Cocoa Alley after an enthusiastic encounter with Yukinaga.
Cocoa Alley was a jazzy place and Nanashi loved it. He immediately spotted Haruya in front of his parents' floral shop. Nanashi ran up to him with the leftover enthusiasm from Yukinaga.
Haruya looked excited to see Nanashi in such a good mood. "What's going on, Nanashi?" he greeted with a smile.
Nanashi gave Haruya a chocolate from his bag, and at first he seemed very happy about it, but then proceeded to get incredibly flustered and began to insist that he wasn't a girl. Nanashi replied that he knew Haruya wasn't a girl.
After Haruya realized that Nanashi meant it in a friendly way, he calmed down, and Nanashi left to head towards the cafe.
At the cafe, Nanashi found Rocca volunteering as usual. When he gave her a chocolate, she stuttered even more than Haruya did. It was cute.
The cafe owner, Kotora, was in the back. Receiving a chocolate launched him into a story about how he hasn't received a Love Chocolate in decades and that he was very bad at keeping lasting relationships. He also asked Nanashi to not ask him for details on that. Nanashi listened patiently as he talked, and afterwards, Kotora asked him if he would like a drink on the house. They sat and spoke some more as Nanashi finished his drink. He thanked Kotora and said goodbye to Rocca before leaving to find more friends.
Nanashi waved at Haruya as he passed him to visit Chino in her floral shop. When he gave it to her, she started talking about how her husband hand-makes Love Chocolate for her. He liked the idea, and thought about trying to make his own chocolate sometime.
Nanashi made his way through the rest of the people in Cocoa Alley. People were mostly shocked or confused, and then grateful. He made his way through Break Passage and Sweet Beach with a smile that never left his face.
Nanashi made his way back home to Blue Sun Street after a tiring trail through five towns. He was happy, though. He wandered inside to see Mikado and Misane, and he joined them in the sitting room. They chatted for a while as Nanashi rested.
He got up after a while and gave Mikado and Misane each a chocolate from his bag. Misane took it seriously as she always does, and promised a return chocolate in the future, but Mikado thought it was a joke. He then reasoned that it was probably rude to question Nanashi's reasons for giving it to him, so he accepted it gratefully.
Nanashi left for his room with his empty bag. Wait… almost empty? Nanashi put his hand in his bag and fished out one last Love Chocolate. So that's why the bag didn't weigh right when he left…
He sat on his bed and began reasoning what to do with it.
He could always keep it for himself? Well, he already ate half of Nio's, and Ryuuji told him to eat his because he wouldn't accept those from anybody but his girlfriend, Kirara. One and a half, he doesn't need any more.
Maybe big bro Mikado? Well, he actually didn't seem to like the one he just gave him, although he was nice about it anyway.
Maybe Misane-chan? Nanashi looked into the sitting room through his doorway. Misane still looks pretty flustered, though she's good at hiding it.
Someone else then. He thought long and hard.
Come to think of it, Nanashi was feeling pretty flustered himself at one point today… When he gave Natsukage a Love Chocolate.
Love. Nanashi had told himself this would be a showing of platonic feelings, but almost everyone seemed to think otherwise.
… Maybe he should take this a little more seriously, too.
Does he have a crush on anybody?
Maybe… maybe Natsukage.
Nanashi finally lets himself feel the emotions that he shoved away earlier that day, and butterflies swarmed his stomach.
It was already pretty late though, and he was tired from walking literally everywhere today, so he decided to go and see Natsukage tomorrow. With that thought, he got ready for bed, turned out the light, and went to sleep.
Nanashi was excited. He jumped out of bed and felt nervous about what he was planning to do today. He quickly got dressed and left to see that Misane and Mikado were already awake. This makes sense, considering he got up at noon.
"Good morning, Big Bro Mikado! Misane!"
"Nanashi! How did you sleep?" Mikado asked.
"I slept well!"
"Nanashi, it's noon." Misane attempted to deadpan, but failed to conceal a smile.
"It's morning somewhere in the world!" Nanashi retorted. "I'm going out for a bit!"
Nanashi doesn't usually announce when he's going out. "... Going anywhere in particular?" Mikado questioned concerningly.
"... No! Don't follow me!" and with that, Nanashi walked out the door.
That sounds kind of concerning. "... Misane?"
"Yeah, I'll follow him."
"Thank you."
Misane made sure to keep close, but also stay far enough away to not be noticed.
It looks like Nanashi is heading to 307 Tower. Maybe he's visiting one of his friends. Why would he not want to be followed here?
Misane peered around the corner and saw Nanashi boarding the elevator to the 5th floor. She followed suit when the elevator closed and took off.
Misane got off the elevator just in time to see Nanashi round another corner into the Sky-Sea-Run practice stadium. Is he going to watch Natsukage and Yukinaga practice, maybe?
He found a seat on the bleachers, and Misane found a spot that was out of his line of sight. Hopefully he doesn't look this way.
Observation over the past 20 minutes has shown her that Nanashi has his eyes glued on Natsukage. Interesting. Maybe he needs to talk to him. Maybe he wants to hang out.
Nanashi's mind reading ability would be so helpful to her right now.
Oh, it's Natsukage's break time now. Nanashi looks really nervous. He's getting off of the bleachers to go meet with him.
This listening app still comes in handy when she needs it.
Nanashi finally found Natsukage, and started talking to him. "H-hey, uh, I was wondering if we could hang out later. Maybe get lunch and go to the park?"
"... Sure, I don't see why not. You don't usually ask to go to lunch or anything. I finish practice at 4, maybe we could meet up at 4:30?" Natsukage's voice was faint, but she could still make out what he was saying.
"Okay! I'll come back to watch you practice, I have to go do something first!"
Nanashi seemed excited and nervous as he left. His face was also pretty red.
Oh. He likes him. She should go home and give him some privacy for this.
Misane left shortly after Nanashi and headed back to the apartment.
It seemed that home was also where Nanashi was heading. He started asking her questions when she walked inside.
"Misane, where did you go?"
"I had to meet up with a friend really quick."
"Oh. Okay!" he smiled at her. He always seemed to believe her, which made her feel bad about lying to him.
Nanashi packed a lunch and put it in some old tin lunchboxes that Mikado gave him once. They had some cool horror game characters on them. He put the lunches and a blanket in his bag.
"Are you having a picnic?" Mikado asked from the kitchen doorway.
"Uh… Yeah, I'm hanging out with a friend." Nanashi seemed to be rushing to leave again.
"Okay, have fun!" Mikado smiled and waved as Nanashi as he left the house.
Mikado looked at Misane with a questioning smirk.
"I feel bad about lying just now." she frowned and looked away.
"It's okay. I forgive you, and that's the same thing, technically."
Misane rolled her eyes. "I'm so glad that you forgive me in eight years." she said sarcastically.
"It still counts!" he exclaimed. "... So where did he go?"
"Um. I think he has a crush. He's going to hang out with him in a while, so I'm not following him anymore, for his privacy's sake."
"... huh… I didn't know I was bi. You're sure it's a guy?"
"Yes, there was no mistaking it."
"It's amazing what you can learn when you live with yourself. Interesting." Mikado looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Honestly, I wouldn't be so shocked if I were you. You two are hardly the same person anymore."
"You are right… Thank you, Misane. I was just a little worried about him."
Misane went to Nanashi's room and laid down on his bed. A nap sounded pretty good right now.
Nanashi took his bag with him to 307 Tower to watch Natsukage practice until 4:30. He was really good at the sport. Maybe when Nanashi builds his stamina a bit more, he could try riding on one of those manta-shaped boards.
Well, after he learns how to swim. Maybe he could ask Natsukage to teach him to swim. It'd be kind of necessary for being in the water like that.
There were some other competitors that were almost as good as Natsukage, but not quite.
But now that he thinks about it, his opinion about this might be biased because of his crush.
It didn't take long for 4:00 to roll around. Natsukage got out of the pool and spotted Nanashi getting off the bleachers.
"I thought we were gonna meet up at 4:30?" he asked Nanashi.
"I just wanted to see you practice!"
"... Right. Well, let me go dry off a little, and then we can go wherever."
Natsukage wandered to the lockers with careful footing, so as not to slip. Nanashi waited patiently until he came back a few minutes later.
"Wow! That was quick!"
"Shut up. The rest can air-dry."
They started towards the elevator, and Nanashi almost slipped in a puddle of water. Natsukage caught him by the arm before he could fall. "Careful, the tiles are always wet."
Nanashi couldn't seem to force away the blush, so he dubbed it was from embarrassment from almost falling. "T-thanks…"
"So where are we getting lunch?" Natsukage asked once they got outside.
"Well, I spent all my bits on chocolate…" Nanashi felt his stomach flip, thinking about the one still left in his bag.
"So you're making me pay?!"
"No, no!" Nanashi waved his arms around and gestured to his bag. "I- I made us lunch! We can have it at the park! It'll be nice." Nanashi grinned widely.
Natsukage couldn't hide a small smile at that.
They walked in silence until they got to the park in Sunset Hill. The twins usually played here, but they must be somewhere else. The place is quiet and empty.
Natsukage started walking toward a bench, but Nanashi shook his head and grabbed his arm, dragging him to a large nearby tree.
"What? There's a bench over…" he stopped talking when he saw Nanashi pull out a blanket and attempt to spread it on the ground. He decided to help by grabbing two corners and pulling them out. "So... a legit picnic with a blanket and everything. Okay."
They sat down and Nanashi pulled out the lunchboxes."I made tuna, and pb&j. Which do you like better?" Nanashi held out both boxes to him.
"I don't know. Which would you rather have?"
"I asked you first!" Nanashi giggled at him.
"Ugh, fine." Natsukage rolled his eyes and took a lunch box with some kind of ghost on it. It was the pb&j. Cool, he liked sweet things on occasion.
There was also applesauce, yogurt and juice boxes. It was nice.
"Hey, Nanashi, have you ever had a picnic before?"
"No, actually! I've always wondered what it was like!" his eyes were shining with excitement as he looked up to the sky. Natsukage grinned at him.
They ate their sandwiches in a comfortable silence.
When they finished their food, Nanashi looked into his bag again, feeling butterflies again.
"You okay? You're looking a little red."
Nanashi jumped, startled by the sudden noise. "Wha?! N-no! I'm… I'm okay."
Natsukage waited for Nanashi to say what was bothering him, but when he said nothing, he decided to just guess.
"Were you… gonna show me something? Or… I dunno."
Nanashi's face was on fire. He put his palms on his cheeks to try to cool it off. "I- no!" he looked over and Natsukage raised a brow. "Um… I mean… yeah, actually…" Nanashi looked back at his bag, hands still on his face, and waited for himself to calm down. It didn't seem to be working.
"... It's not something weird, is it?" Natsukage eyed Nanashi's bag for a moment too, but then figured that that was probably rude or something. "... You don't have to show me anything if you don't want to, you know."
"But I do! I, um…" Nanashi figured he should just spit everything out, so that's what he did. "I… Yesterday. Yesterday I spent all my bits on chocolate, because I wanted to share my love, and that's what those are for. So I got one for everybody and handed them all out. But then I got home and… Well, I was just thinking…"
There was a long pause.
"Don't think too much, you'll hurt your head." Natsukage huffed a breath of laughter, but continued to wait for him to gather his thoughts.
Nanashi removed his hands from his face and looked up. "I gave them out platonically, you know…"
"Yeah, I figured." Natsukage watched him and kept quiet as invitation to continue.
"But hardly anybody seemed to take it that way. I guess you can't do that platonically… or something. And when I got home… I- I noticed that my bag wasn't empty… And I was thinking of what to do with this last one…"
"... You could always just eat it? They're pretty good, actually."
Nanashi smiled at him. "Haha, I know. I had one and a half yesterday!"
"Wh- … why a half?"
"Nio gave me half of his when I said I'd never had one, and then Ryuuji said he only accepts the ones from his girlfriend, so he made me eat his myself."
"Oh."
"But as I was saying… I was thinking of what to do with it, and almost everyone took it seriously… Like it was something you only do for people you love more than platonically."
"Well, yeah. That's generally how it works."
"So I was… I decided to take it a little more seriously, too. I have one left, and I was trying to think… if I liked anybody like that…"
Natsukage stayed silent and watched him closely. This was important to Nanashi.
"So I thought about everyone I saw yesterday… and then I remembered… the butterflies. When I gave it to you."
Natsukage gasped quietly, but didn't say anything. He just stared with wide eyes as he attempted to hide his surprise.
"I… want to take this a little more seriously… and share my maybe not-so-platonic… feelings…" Nanashi reached into his bag and pulled out the chocolate. He held it in a tight upward-facing fist towards Natsukage, looking down with his eyes shut tight. He looked like he was waiting for an inevitable rejection.
Which he didn't get.
Natsukage bit back a smile as he reached for Nanashi's hand. Gently, he took hold of his still tightly-closed fist and barely brushed his lips against his fingers.
Nanashi gasped loudly and his eyes went wide as he looked and their eyes met.
Natsukage couldn't hold back his smile anymore, and he tried to turn his head away to hide it. His face was now burning almost as red as Nanashi's.
Nanashi loosened his grip on the chocolate and held it out open-palm.
The candy was now slightly misshapen. "Hey! You melted my heart!"
Nanashi blushed even brighter. He hid his face in his free hand and began giggling. Natsukage couldn't help giggling along with him.
"Hey, Nanashi."
Nanashi looked up again to see the most beautiful smile across Natsukage's face. He's never smiled like that before. "Yes?"
"Thank you."
"Ahaha! You're welcome!"
Natsukage took the misshapen candy from Nanashi's hand and put it in his own bag, where he could keep it safe.
Nanashi flopped back on the grass with a loud sigh and closed his eyes, still grinning ear to ear. Natsukage just watched him for a moment before laying down next to him on his side.
Nanashi giggled again. "I'm so relieved! I was really nervous about that!"
"Haha, I could tell! Your fist was pale and your face was like a tomato."
"Hey!" Nanashi snorted at him and lightly shoved him over onto his back.
Natsukage laughed, and Nanashi laughed with him.
"So, how was your first picnic?" Natsukage looked up at him from his position on the ground.
"The best! You have no idea! I'm never forgetting this…" Nanashi flopped back onto his back next to Natsukage and put an arm behind his head, mirroring Natsukage's position.
"Well, I dunno… I mean, I might have an idea… I was there, after all." He reached down to take hold of Nanashi's free hand resting on the ground between them, while simultaneously turning his head to hide the blush on his face.
"That's true…" Nanashi murmured, and closed his eyes. They simply laid there, and ended up falling asleep.
After napping for a couple of hours, Natsukage was shaking Nanashi's shoulder. Nanashi woke with a start, and blushed again at the sight of Natsukage leaning over him.
"You gotta wake up. We fell asleep." Natsukage seems to be blushing as well.
"Aww, it's getting late…" Nanashi whined.
"Oh, don't complain."
"But don't you wish this lasted longer?"
Natsukage looked off to the side. "... Well, yeah, but I mean… As you said, it is getting kinda late. I should be going home. Mom and Sakuma are going to get worried if I'm gone too long."
Nanashi frowned.
"Stop pouting! I… I'll come and see you after practice tomorrow, okay?"
Nanashi grinned and nodded. "Okay, can you help me fold this back up?"
They each grabbed two corners and extended their arms. The blanket reached almost farther than their arms' length, so they were standing nose-to-nose trying to bring it together. Nanashi smirked and pecked him on the lips while taking the other two corners of the blanket from him.
Natsukage's face went bright red and he tried to be nonchalant about it, but he was a little flustered. He bent down to take the bottom and hand it to Nanashi, who pecked him again. Natsukage stared at him for a second while biting his lip, and in a burst of energy, he grabbed Nanashi's face and kissed him properly. When he pulled back smiling, he saw that Nanashi was red-faced as well.
He grinned wider and took the blanket from him to finish folding it before Nanashi short-circuited or something. He stuffed the blanket and lunchboxes back into Nanashi's bag and handed it to him.
They figured they could walk together for a bit, since they both lived on Blue Sun Street. After they got to Nanashi's apartment, they hugged each other tightly.
"See you tomorrow, Nanashi!" Natsukage waved and headed towards Bitwave where his sister and his parents were waiting for him.
Nanashi walked inside before calming down, and regretted showing Misane and Mikado his red face.
"So how was your… friendly outing?" Mikado grinned at him.
Nanashi picked up on his tone, and he and Misane both glared at him.
"Did you follow me? I said not to!" Nanashi was more flustered than angry, but he ran to his room anyway.
Misane shot another glare at Mikado. "Don't tease him, he doesn't need that right now." She followed after Nanashi and knocked on the door. He let her in, but locked it behind her.
"I'm... not mad at him." Nanashi frowned at the floor.
"I know. Although, he still shouldn't have teased you."
"Well yeah, but… I mean, he was probably just worried."
"... He didn't actually follow you."
"... Did he read my mind?"
"I suppose he could have, but no. He actually sent me to follow you. I'm sorry for invading your privacy like that, and for lying about where I was." Misane looked guilty.
"Don't worry about that!" he smiled at her, and she looked slightly relieved. Nanashi forgave others so easily. "But, um… What did you see?" he looked a little nervous.
"Not much. I saw you and Natsukage at 307 Tower, and I left when I noticed you had a crush on him. You got really flustered around him, and your face was burning."
Nanashi sighed in relief. She didn't see them kissing or holding hands… good.
They went and sat on Nanashi's bed. "I must admit though, I am curious… but I won't ask if you don't want me to."
Nanashi smiled at her for allowing him to omit, but he decided to tell her what happened anyway.
He told her how he bought everyone a chocolate, and gave Natsukage his first, and how when he finished giving all of them out he still had one left, so he decided to give it to Natsukage in a more serious manner. He claimed that their picnic went well, but opted to leave details out of that.
He was so happy to confide in Misane with this. He doesn't think he'd be able to tell anyone else.
Misane was glad he had such a good time, and she left his room and went to Mikado's room to go to sleep.
Nanashi laid in bed as Misane left, and wondered what Natsukage had planned tomorrow. Maybe he hasn't planned anything yet. Even so, Nanashi was excited. He brushed his knuckles with his fingers and felt his heart beat faster.
He drifted off to sleep with a smile and a melting heart.