Hello, again. Misaki and Takumi seemed to have ended the last chapter in new territories. Let's see how far those territories could reach in this chapter ;)

Dinner passed by slower than usual. Her mother and sister carried the conversation, ignorant to the two's quietness. Misaki still hadn't quite gotten over Suzuna's surprise, but frankly, there were more pressing issues on her mind. And it was staring her right in the face.

She shifted in her seat, uncomfortable under his heavy gaze. But she could hardly blame him. It was her idea to shove her hands down his clothes in the first place. She assured herself that it wasn't such a big deal. It's not like he seemed to mind if his response was anything to go by.

Oh and that delicious response…

"-isaki, don't you agree?" Her mother finally seemed to notice her unusual demeanour.

"Uh, yeah… sure." She guessed as an appropriate response.

"Great! From now on Takumi, consider this house as your own. Misaki, you could go with Suzuna later to collect his stuff," her mother said with a pleased smile.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Takumi bowed.

It took Misaki a few minutes of undivided attention to gather enough information to realize what predicament she has placed herself into. She shot a sharp glance to the bane of her existence, and she could tell he was holding back a smile for her sake.

She kept her mouth shut until they found themselves back in the privacy of her room.

"So, I guess that makes us roommates now?" His happiness was annoying.

"I'm really starting to think you are taking advantage of the situation. Are you even sick?" She was really starting to doubt his intentions.

"If I wasn't, you wouldn't even be able to ask if I was," he eyed her soft, pink lips with interest. "But I'm feeling much better after your medicine."

"Tylenol never disappoints," Misaki said obliviously.

"Oh? But that's not the medicine I'm talking about," he said with a cheeky smile.

Misaki felt a bubble of embarrassment rise in her belly but cleverly chose to use silence as her answer. Things rarely ever go her way when competing with him.

Despite herself, she was glad that her mother was open to housing Takumi. Aside from being sick, the thought of him going to sleep every night alone was unsettling. And also, if she was only admitting to herself… it was an exciting thought to be able to wake up to his face every day, even if just temporarily.

"I didn't know Misaki's hands were so skillful," Takumi continued, teasingly.

"You shouldn't underestimate me," Misaki spoke in a strong voice. It had dawned on her that she didn't have to be the mouse in this situation. Takumi was a cat - and a sneaky one at that - but she could be a lion.

"Oh, really? Prove it then." He grabbed her hands for emphasis, placing them on his chest.

As much as Misaki hated to say, touching Takumi was always a delight. Every part of him was tight… and hard. However, the feeling was unmatched without the barrier of cotton in the way.

She could feel her heartbeat quicken as she planned her next actions. The quick beat under her palm gave her confidence. Takumi was nervous; He had been since her "massage". He was skilled at masking his emotions, but all the time spent staring at his face taught Misaki of all his tells - like the way he would bite the inside of his cheek when he was anxious.

Misaki trailed one hand down his torso to his hips. She watched his face as he watched hers. A little twitch in his cheek was the queue for her to attack. She quickly moved her hand to his behind and gave his ass a squeeze.

He gasped and felt a spark race down his body. "Did you just-" the ghost of a feeling still lingering on his cheek answered his question.

A sort of thrill ran through her as well. She had always wanted to do that; he had an impressively perky behind. She felt a bit out of control as well; it was just the two of them in her room and a new shameless confidence was coursing through her.

Takumi was at a loss of how to respond. He felt her change in demeanour, and it was both unsettling and exciting.

"Do it again," he demanded.

Misaki was surprised by his command. Was ass squeezing something sexy? Was this what they called… foreplay? The thought was deliciously scary. It was already crazy enough that she had done it once. But twice?

"Hmm… no." Misaki seemed satisfied with her answer. It was about time that she was the one in control.

Takumi chuckled, but he felt a bit embarrassed of how much he enjoyed Misaki's hands on a part of him he never considered her touching. He couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to return the favour.

"Then… how about you let me try?" Takumi even admitted to himself that this was a crazy demand. But he wondered how far he could go with this new side of Misaki. He had his limits too, and he thinks for today, a bit of ass squeezing is as much as he could take.

"You..! Pervert! Of course not!" Misaki was all for touching Takumi, but his hands on her body? Now that was a deliciously scary thought.

"I'm a pervert for asking? Don't forget that you just did it to me."

He had a point, Misaki thought dryly. It was best for her not to be thinking too much of what she had or had not done because her conscientiousness was starting to catch up to her.

"Whatever, let's just go to sleep," Misaki grumbled.

She let him use the washroom first as she made a make-shift bed of blankets and quilt. When he came out and made a bee-line for her creation, she quickly guided him to her real bed.

"You should get the bed. You're a guest and not to mention you also aren't feeling well-"

"Now, now, since when were we this formal? What happened to the handsy and greedy Misaki from a few minutes ago?" Misaki made a quick objection, but Takumi continued unperturbed, "I think we should both have the bed. Fair and square."

"Fair and square my ass. You're going to hog up the entire thing with your giant self and who knows what you'll pull while I'm asleep," Misaki complained.

"Uh uh," Takumi disagreed, "that's my line. Who knows what Misaki's naughty hands would get up to when no-one is watching." Takumi shook his head in disappointment.

Misaki was about ready to kill a man.

"I'm going to use the washroom now, and if I come back and you're not asleep on my bed, I will punish you," she threatened.

"Misaki, you shouldn't say naughty things so shamelessly." Again, Takumi shook his head.

Misaki felt something throbbing in her forehead, but she ignored it and the ball of annoyance in front of her to go calm herself in the bathroom.

She changed her clothes and cleaned herself up. With her hand on the doorknob, Misaki turned her face to the mirror one last time. She smoothed down her eyebrows and then poked at her flat hair. She moved her hair about a dozen times until they were in a more appealing position. With a small smile at the mirror, Misaki was ready for bed.

She convinced herself that she was not doing this for her boyfriend - she just wanted to look good for herself. Self-love is important, after all.

To her satisfaction, Takumi was already under her covers with his eyes closed. All without needing her persuasion. Impressive.

Right before she was about to enter her own pile of blankets, she felt something tug at her shirt.

"Won't you sleep with me?" He looked at her with wide, pleading eyes.

To her dismay, he was always the cutest when spouting the most vulgar of things. Misaki learned best from him to never judge a book from its cover.

"No." She wasn't about to lose a Friday night's rest - her favourite - to whatever he had in mind.

"Fine. But that means you owe me."

She took back what she said about being able to see his face in the morning. There was nothing good about Takumi living here.

She ignored him and got comfortable in her blankets. Misaki closed her eyes, hoping to not lose any more precious sleep.

A few seconds passed, but Misaki's body refused to shut down. It was too aware of her boyfriend's presence not too far away from her. Tonight would mark the first time they have slept together.

Although he was quiet, Takumi was wide awake. His thoughts were in tune with hers. There was something special about being in the same room, lights off and their guards down to fall asleep together. He couldn't even see her and yet it felt so intimate.

…

Takumi woke up before Misaki. He peeked over the edge of the bed, finding Misaki curled into a ball.

He left his bed to take a closer look at the beautiful form in front of him. He was used to Misaki being the reason he got out of bed every morning. Although the sheets around her were in chaos, she was still and calm. He fixed the blanket to cover her feet, and tucked her arms back in. With a quick kiss to her forehead, he was off to get ready for the day.

He decided to take a shower first, and while he lathered his body with Misaki's body wash, he tried not to let himself get too excited by the idea that this same liquid has been over Misaki's b-

"Takumi, hurry up!" Misaki yelled, disrupting his thoughts.

She crab-walked across the room, cursing her boyfriend with every limped step. She needed the bathroom. NOW.

With all the trouble Takumi had been causing her, Misaki totally forgot that she was a healthy teenage girl with regular periods.

She had already hidden any evidence of it from her blankets and had changed out of her (now ruined) silk pyjamas. All of her period care items were in the bathroom, and she didn't know how much longer she could survive with the tissues filling her underwear.

"Misaki?" Takumi questioned. His shirt and pants were both drenched, and Misaki could see the bathroom light's reflection on the wet floor. Takumi followed her gaze and said, "Sorry… I didn't know where you kept extra towels, and I assumed you didn't want me to use yours. Although I must say, I would have been fine-"

"-Yeah yeah, cool, now MOVE." Misaki pushed her way through him and into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Right now, a bit of water on the floor and a wet boyfriend was the least of her problems. She had other spills to take care of.

Takumi stared at the closed door. If he had known any better, he would think Misaki was the sick one with how strange she's been acting since yesterday. He reminisced her hands on him with a smile.

Misaki cursed Takumi under her breath as she furiously rubbed her stained underwear under the cold water. She couldn't even remember why she had worn her favourite pair to bed in the first place. All she knows is that this whole situation could have been avoided if he had just worn his damn jacket that night.

A knock on the door woke her up from her blame-everything-on-Takumi reverie.

"Misaki, do you want me to put away your bedsheets?"

Misaki thought she was about to faint. "NO!" she hollered, trying even more desperately to clean herself up.

Takumi was taken aback by her tone. Misaki sure wasn't a morning person.

He looked at her sheets, debating whether he should go against her orders and help her out. He was sure she just didn't want him to exert himself with his current health, although at the moment, he was more concerned about her health. She seemed stressed, if all the ruckus she was making in the bathroom was anything to go by.

He concluded that he would make her morning better and made his way towards her unsuspecting sheets.

Uh oh, that doesn't sound good. Or maybe that's exactly what some of you Misaki-torturers love to see… Tsk tsk, really guys, you should give the poor girl a break.

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