"Neko. Neko I can't breathe."
Currently, said short, messy-haired girl is tightly hugging Shiro, arms around his neck and her feet practically above the ground, and her face buried into the crook of Shiro's neck.
Shiro is hugging her back but he also cannot breathe.
"Neko I-"
The feline just shakes her head, bells jingling away, and tightens the hug. She has quite the grip for someone her size and age.
Unfortunately, Shiro is different from that and can only support a person's entire weight for so long. Neko will not let go so he honestly just has to accept the fact that he needs to just sit on the ground.
Or lie down according to gravity and Neko, that works too.
There's a profound bit of silence between the two before one can hear Neko sniffing a bit.
"Shiro isn't allowed to do that again. Shiro can't disappear." Her voice is a mixture of emotions, ranging from downright relieved to maybe desperate.
It doesn't seem like Neko is keen on letting either of them move right now. She can hear a heartbeat she hasn't heard in ages. With it, a familiar, calming scent, and the shape of a chest that she seemed to meld into perfectly.
She could fall asleep for 1000 days like this and still smile.
"Shiro's all I need. So long as I have him, then…that's good enough for me..."
Words she's already said once in her life, but now was the most important time to say them.
Shiro pats her head, only to stop after a few seconds, and leaves his hand resting there. He's smiling even if Neko can't see the smile.
"I know. I'm your Shiro, right? Isana Yashiro, you named me and everything."
Neko nods slightly. "And I'm-"
"My Neko. I know."
The girl buries her face against him more, shifting in a way so that now she was nuzzling Shiro's neck. Her long hair and breathing tickles his neck a bit.
The light chuckle Shiro makes has him wondering...
"Hey, aren't you hungry?"
Neko shakes her head. "Uh uh. Not right now."
This was better than any sort of gourmet feast she could be having.
This was much.
Much.
Better.