When Chitoge came back from New York with a newfound love for colorful beaded bracelets, Raku never thought it would last the week — much less the month.
But here she was, on a Sunday afternoon, creating her (possibly) hundredth beaded bracelet. She had given every single one of her creations to the members of the Bee Hive Gang and they swore they'd treasure it with their life. When she gave a simple black and yellow one to Claude, he had burst into tears and Chitoge had walked away without looking back, shaking her head in annoyance (all the while sporting a small satisfied smile).
So it was a wonder to him, her boyfriend, as to why she'd given one to literally every single person she knew but not him. He was getting annoyed seeing their friends at school sporting one of her homemade bracelets. She was getting better at mix-matching them, too, and by the time she gave one to Tsugumi, the combination was so stylish that people kept pestering her to start selling them online.
Chitoge had dismissed them, simply saying that it was a hobby and nothing else.
"Tell me how you got into this again," Raku nudged her back with his foot.
He was laying on her bed reading a manga and Chitoge was crouched over a table at the end of the bed. She made an annoyed sound, slapped his foot away, and ignored him.
"Tell me," Raku nudged her again.
"I told you already," Chitoge groaned, catching his foot and pinching his toe lightly. "My baby cousin in New York was making some and her parents gave me the complete set before I came back."
"I thought this was gonna be a temporary thing," Raku said, wiggling his toes playfully. Chitoge spread her fingers and interlaced them with his toes to stop him from moving, the tips of her fingers resting gently on the sole of his foot.
"Well, it's fun," Chitoge turned, smiling. "You should give it a try."
"No," Raku pulled his foot away. "It's lame."
"Oh?" Chitoge raised one eyebrow at him. "And why is it lame?"
"I mean," Raku pushed himself up to get a better look at her. "It's a girl—"
"Yes?" Chitoge narrowed her eyes dangerously.
"Nothing," he mumbled, getting off the bed and stretching lazily.
"You were gonna say it's a girly thing, weren't you?" Chitoge sighed, putting down the bracelet she was working on.
"No…" he said, hesitantly. He knew how much Chitoge hated it when people gender certain roles and hobbies that didn't need gendering. Such as creating homemade bracelets. And he cursed himself because he knew better than saying such an ignorant comment.
"Make me one," Chitoge said.
He turned to look at her and she was sitting on the edge of her bed, smiling up at him.
"Why?" he asked, taking a small step towards her.
"It'll be cute if I make you one and you make me one," she said, reaching out for him.
Raku took her hand involuntarily and sighed.
"You'll have to teach me," he said.
"It's not that hard," she grinned, pulling on him while making space for him on the bed.
"Your first few ones were a disaster," he commented, nudging her shoulder lightly. "Move over more."
"Okay, yeah," Chitoge laughed, moving more towards the wall. "It takes some skills."
Raku made himself more comfortable on the bed before crouching over the table, grabbing a piece of transparent elastic string and a few colorful beads.
"For someone who said this is a girly activity you sure do get into it fast," Chitoge said, looking at Raku who was deep in concentration all of a sudden.
"That was a stupid thing I said," Raku said, focusing to get a yellow bead into the string.
"It was a stupid thing you said," Chitoge nodded. She grabbed her unfinished bracelet and continued working on it, reaching for a dark purple bead.
"… this is fun," Raku mumbled after a few minutes of silence.
Chitoge turned towards him, smiling. She leaned over and kissed him softly on the cheek.
"Yeah," she nodded. "It is."
The next morning at school, Chitoge had a satisfied smile on her face when she saw him adorn the bracelet she made him as a phone strap. The dark purple and blue combination with a few light pinks in between them matched the color of his phone surprisingly well.
"You're such a cheese," she commented, walking up next to him.
"I guess we're the same," he grinned, looking at her phone where she had used the bracelet he made her as a phone strap as well.
"This'll make it less likely for me to lose it," Chitoge said, blushing slightly. She looked at the bracelet, admiring the pastel colors he chose — light yellow and pink with a few purples in between.
"Well," Raku shrugged, putting his phone back in his pocket. "This'll make it more obvious to people that I belong to you."
"God," Chitoge groaned, interlacing her fingers with his. "Stop yourself before I smack you across the country."
"That's fine," Raku kissed the back of her hand. "You'll find me anyway. After all, I'm chained to you now."
"Oh my god," Chitoge covered her face with her empty hand. "This is why I didn't want to make you one."
Raku laughed, kissing her temple before pulling out his phone again to check his messages. Chitoge glanced at the bracelet he made her and sighed.
"It's so annoying how good you are at this on your first try."
a/n
all aboard the cheese train. i re-read this story a few times but i think there are still some parts that need a second read before it makes sense so i apologize for that.
— dd.
