There is a knock on my door. It startles me somewhat. It has been approximately twenty seconds since I have had a Chitanda-free house. I have a pretty confident guess on who is on the other side.

I am almost tempted to not answer but, although I'm not the most energetic guy in the world, I'm not the type to leave a girl standing on my doorstep in the cold.

I pick myself from the floor and begin to unlock the door once again. I open the door to Chitanda standing there, looking slightly sheepish.

"Forget something?" I say, a little dryly.

She gets straight to it.

"Um, Oreki-san" she says nervously, eyes anxiously fixated on her feet,"'it seems my bike is missing."

I look at her in surprise.

"What, really!? Did someone break the lock?"

"Well, they wouldn't have to go that far." She replies, eyes still cast downwards. "In my excitement, it seems I forget to lock my bike." She holds up a fully-operational bike lock from inside her bag.

I freeze comically. This girl… this girl is such an airhead.

I eye the outside dark contemplatively, then begin putting on my worn-down trainers whilst grabbing my coat and keys. I stride towards the garage and notice that Chitanda does not follow.

"C'mon then" I say, scratching the back of my head. "It can't be helped really. I'll give you a lift home on my bike for now."

Chitanda's eyes widen slightly in surprise before a broad smile slowly erupts on her face. Her shining eyes capture mine and, for a moment, I am lost.

"Thank you Oreki-san!" She exclaims, bounding up beside me.

I unlock the garage and lift my bike from the debris piled in the corner. It has been awhile since I cycled anywhere, I much prefer the leisurely activity of walking. Much less tiresome. With a pull, I wrench the bike from the back of the garage and check the brakes.

I only have one helmet so I grab it absentmindedly from the bike's basket and walk over to Chitanda, helmet in one hand and bike in the other. Without thinking, I lean my bike against the wall and put the helmet on Chitanda's small head, changing the fastenings and clipping it at the bottom before I fully realize what I am doing.

A light crimson dusts Chitanda's cheeks and my green eyes catch her purple ones. My hand is sheltering the curve of her face. I hadn't even realized I was touching her. I must have been using her cheek as an anchor as I clipped the helmet. She felt smooth. And warm. Like sunflower petals drenched in the rays of the midday summer sun. My hand slowly slips away, but our eyes never leave one another.

"Er…" I begin, looking away towards some non-existent entity. "Sorry, I was kind of on auto-pilot there for a second."

Chitanda's cheeks were still brushed with a soft shade of red, perhaps from the encroaching cold, but she just smiled at me and shook her head from side to side as if to say 'don't worry about it'.

I cough awkwardly, and begin to get on the bike. I have never ridden with a girl on the back of my bike before. Only Satoshi, and that must have been back in middle-school. I am slightly unsure of how to proceed.

Chitanda seems less daunted by this unfamiliar situation however, and I feel my bike shift slightly as she hops onto the back. She doesn't hold me, but sits there with an elegance that one might expect from a daughter of a well-to-do family.

I wait a few seconds before putting my weight on the pedals. We begin moving forward, slowly at first but I soon pick up pace. The air is getting colder and I would like to get Chitanda home before the cold becomes unmanageable for her. It would be nice to get home before my family returns too – I do not need my meddling sister barraging me with questions after the evening I've had.

Scenery folds away past us. Houses blur and fade away as we leave the suburbs and head towards the countryside. The road is relatively flat, though the bike begins to guide itself as gravity takes hold down a long and windy hill.

I turn a corner too quickly and I hear Chitanda yelp in surprise. Her hands tighten on the metal frame beneath her but she still looks unsteady. I slowly come to a halt.

"You okay Chitanda?" I ask, looking over my shoulder at the pale girl. She nods, but looks slightly apprehensive as well as a little cold.

Well, this isn't good.

"Here" I unbutton my white trench coat and throw it around her shoulders. She looks at me in surprise, and makes a move to return the coat to me.

I stop her before she can politely decline my offer. "I am actually pretty hot from all this cycling, Chitanda, so you would be doing me a favour by holding onto that until we get to yours."

She looks at me, unconvinced. However, she quickly notes the light sweat on my brow and the small, but quick, wisps of steam coming from my mouth.

"Okay" she starts, slowly, "only if you insist Oreki-san. I will hold onto this just until we get back to my home. Thank you."

I nod, turning back to face the road. I'm glad she didn't push it. I, more than anyone, know how stubborn she can get.

"You know Chitanda" I murmur, a blush slowly falling across my features, "you can hold onto me. If it's easier, I mean. I don't want you to fall off as I'm not used to having anyone else on the back."

My eyes are fixed at the road ahead, so I can't tell what expression Chitanda is wearing. I almost turn my head to see, but I resist. Curiosity killed the cat. Or, in my case, has continuously led to more wearisome activities and explanations than I had ever wished for before Chitanda's bright light penetrated my overcast, grey-coloured days.

"Thank you, Oreki-san" she says quietly, and I feel small arms slowly envelop me from behind. Her arms latch together around my mid-section and I feel her head rest against my back between my shoulder blades. She feels so warm against me. I smell Chitanda more strongly than ever – sweet green tea and the scent of fresh grass after rain. I become self-conscious. I hope I don't smell salty from my pretzel based diet and the sweat on my back.

What is with this atmosphere. This not the lazy evening I had planned. I am glad that no one is here to see this. It would be too embarrassing. However, I am more glad that Chitanda can't see my face right now. I am red from ear-to-ear and, as much as I would deny otherwise, it defiantly was not because of the cold.

I begin pedaling once again, blush never once leaving my face. This is too troublesome. Mist has begun covering nearby paddy-fields. I feel like I am travelling back in time, to a feudal land long forgotten. Only the occasional light streaming past from the headlights of passing cars reminds me that we are not in a bye-gone era, that it is not just the two of us.

Eventually, we near the Chitanda estate. I cycle over to the large gates and brake slowly, putting my foot on the ground to bring the bike to a full stop. Chitanda cautiously releases her hands from around my waist, and I can feel the tight knot in my stomach that has been there since she first held me finally begin to loosen. I look at my watch. It only took twenty minutes from my house, so I still may be able to get home before my parents and, more importantly, my sister notice I even left.

I feel Chitanda move off my bike and hear her delicately place her bag on the ground next to her.

"I am in your debt, Oreki-san." I look over my shoulder and see Chitanda smiling at me, a hint of a blush on her face. "It seems I have been quite the burden on you today."

"Don't worry about it, Chitanda. You should report your missing bike to the police though, hopefully you'll be able to get it back somehow." I reply, scratching the back of my head, hoping that the blush on my face from earlier has subsided.

She plays with her hands, seemingly nervous. "I will inform them in the morning, I think. Thank you for your concern, you are always so kind to me Oreki-san."

Even if my blush from earlier had faded, it didn't much matter as I'm sure it has returned in full force. "Well, I couldn't just leave you stranded outside my house, could I?"

A soft smile dances on her lips. "Yes, of course," she says, "still, I really do appreciate it."

A sudden look of surprise washes over her features. She begins taking off the coat, realizing that it's still draped around her person. It is much too big on her; the white trench coat goes well below her knees and her arms barely poke out the end of the sleeves. I blush.

Cute.

I take my coat from her pale hands and stuff my own arms down the sleeves.

It's still warm.


It takes me roughly twenty minutes to cycle back to mine. I was a little quicker due to the lighter load. I see my house in the distance, and notice the car in the driveway. Damn, didn't manage to beat my family home then.

I cruise to the front gate and dismount. I put the bike away in the shed, carefully locking the door behind me. After fumbling around in my pocket for the house keys for a few minutes, I finally feel the cool metal against my hand and move to unlock the front door.

I see my sister almost as soon as I enter the house. She is casually leaning against the kitchen sink, smiling to herself.

"Two mugs Houtarou. What have you been up to?" Tomoe's grin widens. "You had a guest on your precious Sunday?"

She picks up the mug and pretends to study it. "I assume it wasn't Satoshi either, as I know neither of you would have bothered brewing tea…"

She looks up at me, grin now so wide that the Cheshire cat would have had a run for his money. "Let me guess, Chitanda-san dropped by?" She can tell by the look on my face that she is dead-on, as usual.

Damn you Aniki.

Tomoe strides over to me and pats my head, ensuring she makes a mess of the mop of my dark hair.

"Make sure you don't tire yourself out chasing girls Houtarou, I know how my precious baby brother needs to conserve his energy."

I pull a face and swat her away. Smirking, she walks past me and up the stairs, leaving me alone in the hall. Kicking off my shoes and placing my coat on the hanger, I amble over to the heap of blankets left on the lounger.

I fall face first into them, finally feeling as though I have returned home after a long journey.

I grab the remote and turn on the TV. A 1970s film about the Meiji Restoration begins to play in front of me, though I am barely paying attention. I close my eyes and take a long, deep breath.

Power connected. Energy is recharging. Current charge: 0%.


A/N: And now it starts to get fluffy, wahoo! My favorite! I'm updating much earlier so that people get a better idea about what kind of fic this is / whether it is the type of thing you want to keep reading!

What do you guys think about the chapter length btw? I try and get to around 2000 words per chapter just to keep the updates regular, but would you guys prefer longer chapters in exchange for a longer wait between chapters? Let me know~