The Morning After

.

A blaring alarm shocked Sumire and Asuma awake. He turned the alarm off and confirmed the time.

Yeah, I'd better start getting ready if I'm going to meet Morgana in time. There better not be any delays on the way, or I'll never hear the end of it.

Sumire yawned and hugged him tight. "Good morning, Charming!" She greeted, kissing him energetically on the lips and then nose. She got up and stretched.

Asuma was speechless. He never expected Sumire would show such bold, nonchalant affection after falling asleep with him like this. He expected her to flip out and -

"Oh my goodness!" Exclaimed Sumire, a look of terror on her face.

Ahh, there it is.

"S-Senpai, please pardon my indecent behavior this morning! Please, l-let's forget that any of that happened and.. Oh, I'm so embarrassed.. I hadn't fully woke up yet, and I acted without thinking, and -"

"Hey, maybe we could test run this 'acting without thinking' thing of yours a little more. I must say, I could get used to it," said Asuma with a wiley smile.

"Eep! S-Stop it, Senpai, it's not funny! I didn't mean to ki-" Her eyes widened even more and her face officially turned the same color as her hair. She gasped, "Asuma-Senpai, we fell asleep together, didn't we!? I mean, I can't remember much after the movie started, and I just woke up right there next to you, so obviously it logically follows that-.." she trailed off, then blurted, "Oh my word, what is happening?"

"Sumire."

She hesitantly forced her head out from between her elbows and looked at him.

He continued calmly, "We both had a long, exhausting day yesterday. We sat to watch a movie and accidentally passed out," he paused, inviting her undivided attention, "Breathe, now.. Has anything happened that's actually bad?"

Sumire closed her eyes and took a couple deep breaths. "I guess you have a point. We're ok."

"Hey."

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too!" She relaxed, cracking a smile.

Asuma extended his arms, offering a hug. Sumire accepted. He pulled her in tight and kissed the top of her head. "Ok, let's give it another go! Good morning, my champion."

"Good morning, Charming" parroted Sumire, enjoying her boyfriend's embrace.

"Alright, we really need to move if we want to arrive on time," she admitted regrettably.

"Ok but is punctuality really THAT important when y -"

"I imagine an irate Morgana would strongly disagree with that line of reasoning."

Asuma sighed in defeat, "Touché."

They completed their morning preparations, then made their way to the bus stop where they'd have to say goodbye.

. . .

It was still very early in the morning, so only relatively few people were waiting. Asuma's bus turned the corner and headed towards the stop, though still a decent ways off. He turned to Sumire and petitioned a hug. A blush dusted her cheeks since they were in public, but she happily drew him close, savoring their last moments together in who knows how long.

"Thank you for spending your time with me, Charming."

"I wish I could spend all my time with you."

"S-Stop it.."

"When I say 'I love you,' I mean it." He said, kissing the top of her head. Her face turned crimson. She pulled him closer.

"I love you too, Asuma."

"What disrespect! Where's the 'Senpai?'"

She giggled, rolling her eyes a little at his teasing, "I love you, Asuma.." she paused for dramatic effect, "..Senpai."

"There it is!"

His easy-going confidence made her feel like they were the only two at the stop. She looked up at him and kissed him right on the lips.

"Now listen, Charming: we're going to video call at the same time every week, don't you forget! I'll text you as often as I can, and I hope you'll find time to do likewise. And we have to make time to meet up face to face - at least once a month! We'll both be busy, I know, but we've gotta make this work. Understand? I need your eyes on me."

"Maybe I should call YOU senpai," Akira quipped, playfully twirling her hair with his fingers, "For real though, my girlfriend is too hot to simply ignore."

"A-Asuma-Sen-"

The bus screeched to a stop, cutting her off.

"I love you SO much, Sumire Yoshizawa," Asuma said as he checked he still had all he brought, "I'll text you as I trek through the modern wilderness."

"I love you too. Good luck with Morgana! Oh, and say hi to the group for me!"

"Wait, what?"

Shoot, that's a surprise. "Uh, I-I just mean that you're p-probably going to be messaging them too, right? Yeah, um, sometimes you guys a-accidentally use the chat that doesn't include me, so…" She giggled nervously, trying her best to brush it off.

The bus honked its horn, the final call for passengers.

Asuma wiped the expression of suspiciousness off his face and gave Sumire one last quick hug and kiss.

"By the way, my eyes will never leave you, my champion. That's a promise." He told her emphatically.

He dashed to the bus, making it inside just in the nick of time.

Hmm.. 'Say hi to the group for me,' she said.. Are they planning something? Ha, did I really expect anything less..? Well with them, anything could happen, so I guess I should keep on my toes.

He took his seat and set down his bag. The bus pulled away from the curb and resumed its route. He looked out the window, watching Sumire as she wandered to a bench and sat down. She pulled out something medium-small from her purse. Asuma grinned as he deciphered what it was.

He pulled out his phone and typed her a text: "Keep Violet-chan close! Remember what we agreed?"

He sent the message and reminisced the previous day..