Chapter 4

Hachiman descended the stairs to see Haruno and Komachi (fully dressed this time) joking around and just normally behaving pleasantly. He raised an eyebrow at the unusually sociable atmosphere. "So, what changed?" he asked as they all got seated on the dining table. Haruno took a seat in front of him, while Komachi sat beside him in her usual place.

"Nothing, Onii-chan!" Komachi replied immediately. "It's girl stuff. You wouldn't understand," she said with a knowing smirk.

"O… kay?" he looked at Haruno questioningly but all he received in response was a beautiful stunning smile. Hachiman sighed as he gave up on getting any information from the two women – who, by the way, were no doubt laughing at him in their heads. "Women…" he muttered purposefully loud enough so that both of them could hear him.

"HAH?" Komachi instantly shouted. "What is that supposed to mean!?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at her brother.

"It means…" Hachiman said, reaching over to cup Komachi's cheek and suddenly pinching it and stretching it, "That you're a million years too early to act smart with me, you little brat!"

"Aiii, sowwy, sowwy, Owii-chaw it hurrs!" she slurred out as tears formed in corner of her eyes. Hachiman let go with a successful smirk and Komachi rubbed her now red cheek. "Baka Onii-chan!" she said as she stuck her tongue out at Hachiman.

Haruno merely looked at the siblings' antics with a mirthful smile, reminiscing about how she used to play like this with Yukino and Hayato. "Ne, Komachi-chan," Haruno said to the youngest Hikigaya, "I can tell your brother really loves you very much," she finished with a sweet look at Hachiman.

Hachiman laughed and reached over to tousle Komachi's hair. "Of course, I do! She's my favourite sister, after all."

Komachi also smiled a little before she furrowed her brow at her brother. "Onii-chan! I'm your only sister," she said in a reprimanding tone.

Hachiman stayed quiet for a moment before turning to her with a lazy look in his eyes. "Hmm? Did you say something?" he asked. Haruno giggled at Hachiman's playfulness and Komachi growled at feeling ignored.

Dinner with Haruno was a novel experience for Hachiman. For the first time in ages, it felt like family. The household felt whole and it wasn't forced. Again, Hachiman beamed at how natural having Haruno around felt.

As they finished up dinner, Hachiman and Haruno sat on the couch to relax from the day's activities. Hachiman started up an old Avengers movie while Komachi went up to her room after quickly washing the dishes. Haruno – as she always planned to do from now – curled up against Hachiman and wrapped her arms resting her head somewhere between his chest and shoulder. Hachiman's arm was draped over her back, keeping her close and occasionally caressing her waist.

Halfway through the movie, Haruno's voice grabbed Hachiman's attention. "Hachiman…"

"Hmm?" Hachiman's eyes traveled downwards to Haruno to see her eyes straining to stay open.

"I'm sleepy," she said tiredly.

"You wanna… uh… spend the night here?" he offered bashfully.

Haruno's eyebrows rose. "Are you sure? I won't be a burden, will I?" she asked to make sure it was okay for her to spend a night with her boyfriend… on the first day.

Hachiman leaned and pecked at Haruno's forehead. "Of course not. What kind of a boyfriend do you think I am?"

"One who just got his first girlfriend today," she teased and bit the edge of a smile in a vain attempt to keep her slowly creeping grin at bay. In the end, though, it proved to be too much effort and she broke down into rolls of giggles.

Hachiman pouted playfully but perked up as a brilliant idea popped up into his mind. "Ne, Haruno?" he called out simply.

"Hmmmmm?" she said after calming down from her laughter. She drew out the 'mm' as she regarded him with warm adoring eyes.

"Are you ticklish?" he asked with a voracious grin.

The love from Haruno's eyes melted away as dread filled it. "No," Haruno said, inching away.

"Oh, yesss," Hachiman said as he jumped on her and held her hands above her head. "Hehehe," eh chuckled villainously and brought his mouth closer to her stomach. He sucked in a breath and blew the biggest raspberry he could.

"Hachiman, n- ahahahahahhahahhaha!" The sound of Haruno's laughter filled the room and Hachiman loved how sweet it sounded to him. It was soft like the tinkling of bells and flowing beautifully like a cool river on a hot summer day.

Finally, after a long minute, he let her hands go and looked at her. Her laughs died down into occasional giggles. She was still giggling from the phantom feeling of his lips on her toned belly when she heard her lover's voice. "Haruno," he spoke quietly so that only she could hear. "I think I really do love you."

Haruno reached up and pulled him down into another long kiss. "I was wondering when you'd finally say it," she said as they parted.

Hachiman laughed quietly. "Somehow, it's almost fitting that you'd know I'm in love before even I would," he said.

Eventually, the couple untangled themselves from the complex mess of limbs and went to wash up and get ready to go to bed.

…

"Hachiman… What the hell is this?" Haruno asked with a blank expression that was currently scaring the living shit out of Hachiman. Not to mention the fact that she was only wearing one of Hachiman's oversized t-shirts and a pair of very revealing underwear. Damn it, he couldn't help it. His eyes kept moving down to her long gorgeous unblemished legs. The clearing of her throat made him jump and brought him back to reality.

"Uh… it's a… uh… futon?" Hachiman said as he wondered what got Haruno's panties in a bunch.

Haruno scoffed. "Yeah… as if I'm sleeping in a damn futon."

"What? No! I'm sleeping in it! There's no way I'd make you sleep in it," Hachiman cried out, almost offended at the thought that his girlfriend thought so low of him.

"Uh… No, you're not," Haruno said as she looked at him with a 'are you an idiot?' expression. "You're sleeping with me. In your bed." She said ending in a tone that cleanly conveyed that she didn't want any arguments again that.

"Y-Yes, ma'am," Hachiman said, nearly snapping to attention. He stood there, not knowing what to do before Haruno voice alerted him of his predicament.

"Well? Are you getting in the bed or do you usually sleep standing?" asked Haruno as if sensing his emotions.

"Ah, well…" Hachiman scratched his cheek. "I actually go to bed in boxers. I can't sleep with clothes on."

"I don't mind. Go on, strip that down for me," she said with a naughty twinkle in her eyes and he realized what she was doing.

Oh, two can play that game, he thought mischievously and without any hesitation stripped down to just his boxers. Haruno's eyes licked at his figure and she whistled admiringly.

"It should be a damn crime, hiding that body under all those baggy clothes," she said as she licked her lips.

"Hai, hai…" Hachiman said, waving his hands as if dismissing the compliment nonchalant, however to Haruno, the slightly pink blush on his cheeks was clear as day. Hachiman got into bed and raised his arm, "Well, Yukinoshita-sama? Will you do me the honor of joining me in bed?" he asked provocatively.

"I'd love to, Hikigaya-sama," said Haruno just a sultrily and slithered in next to him, her body lining up and flowing with his. Again, she draped an arm over him and snuggled up close enough to inhale his scent whenever she wanted.

Hachiman remotely turned off the lights and caressed Haruno's cheek with his free hand. Hachiman looked at the gorgeous form of his lover, cuddled up next to him. He gazed upon the perfect flawless skin, the piercing purple orbs that held a million tales, the black river with violet highlights that flowed from her head to her shoulder blades. If the gods are real, he told himself, then this is their masterpiece. "You're so damn beautiful," he whispered to her.

Haruno's cheeks suddenly kissed pink like a spring rose, the blooming colour especially cute against her creamy skin. She felt like her face was on fire. The sly tigress turned into a meek little kitten under the intense stare of her lover. "F-flattery will get you nowhere," Haruno said, cursing herself for stuttering. She was Haruno Yukinoshita, DAMN IT! She did not stutter, she MADE people stutter. But all that deviousness and cunning seemed to just fade away when she was with Hachiman. He brought out her true self. Hachiman, time and time again, extracted that ball of insecurities that she had tightly wound and locked away into the depths of her heart and demolished it using nothing but his voice, hands, and lips.

Hachiman laughed. It was deep rumbling laughter that vibrated her all the way to the core and made her feel warm. "It seems to be working just fine," he leaned down again and pressed his lips to hers. He kissed her, and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until they were practically just one entity and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest. Their hearts beat as one as if instinctively syncing them with each other.

Haruno wanted to say something. Express to him how much he meant to her, but the words 'I love you' were so overused these days that saying 'you're my favourite human' almost held more meaning in it. Love was an abstract concept anyway. The definition of love differed from person to person and therefore true feelings could never be objectively expressed using those words. That's why she said the one thing she would hate being done to him. "To kill you and me, Hachiman, there would only ever need to be one bullet," she said, her hands and legs tightening around him as if he were to be taken away from her at any moment. Oh, how long she had waited for this moment. And it was finally here. Truly, it had been less than a day spent together but already, she couldn't imagine life without him. How did she even survive before this? With those thoughts in mind, Haruno fell into a deep slumber, entwined in her sweetheart's embrace.

Hachiman blinked as Haruno's breathing steadied and he kept staring at the immaculate woman in his arms. At last, her statement sunk into his brain and the full force of what she had just said hit him. She would die for him. That was essentially what she meant. She loved him. Haruno loved him. He was loved. Not just fake feelings. Not just loving the feeling of love. But Haruno truly loved him. As his mind turned into a maelstrom of thoughts about how he would make her happy and love her for eternity, the exhaustion of the day finally caught up to him and Hachiman also fell away into a deep sleep as he enjoyed the warmth that his lover radiated.

…

For the first time in years, Haruno had a sleep without nightmares. In fact, last night had been one of the best dreams of her life. She had finally won her love's heart and went to sleep with him. Or so she thought.

When she finally woke up to the alarm blaring in her room, Haruno found that she couldn't move at all. In fact, she looked down and saw that she was actually sleeping half on top of a chiseled body of a man, and this wasn't her room at all! What the hell, she thought. She didn't remember having any targets last night. Actually, wait… what did happen last night? All I remember is the dream- her thoughts stopped short and suddenly she was afraid to look up. Haruno didn't want to look at the face of whom this body belonged to. The rational part of her mind was reassuring her that Hachiman was still here. It was all real. He still loved her, but at the moment, her insecure irrational self, had taken over. No, just like before, she couldn't remember anymore how to live without him.

"Uhh…" came a deep groan from above followed by a BANG that shut off the alarm. Haruno felt a hand pat her head and stroke her hair. "Thank god it wasn't just a dream," came a voice that could only belong to one person. Haruno finally looked up and the handsomely smiling visage of Hachiman filled her view. "Morning, sunshine!" he said cheerfully. Hachiman was happier than ever to begin the day with his girlfriend in his arms. Haruno's face must've caused him immense distress because as soon as he saw that it didn't change, his expression also changed to one of fear. "Haruno?" he asked, still fearing that she would reject him and that everything yesterday was only a joke.

Haruno smiled brightly. "I'm so happy it's real!" she squealed and buried herself under the covers with him.

Hachiman felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. She still loved him. Haruno was still his lover and if he had anything to say about it, she'd stay his lover. In the end, however, as much as he wanted to stay with her, sharing each others' warmth, the day still had to go on. "Well I'm just as happy as happy as you are…" he began, "but we still have to get up." Haruno's head popped out of the covers in a cute pout.

"Mou… why!? I want to sleep more with my Hachi-kun," she said as she nuzzled up to him cutely.

"And I want to spend more time with my Haru-chan, but… school, y'know," Hachiman placated.

"School can wait," she replied simply.

"And what excuse, do you suppose I use when Hiratsuka-sensei asks why I'm late?" Hachiman asked amusedly.

"…" Haruno was quiet for a second before she spoke, "Our education system sucks ass."

Hachiman laughed a loud hearty laugh at how similar both he and Haruno thought before a great idea wormed its way into his brain. "Then maybe we should change it."

"Huh?" Haruno said, looking confused. "Whaddya mean?" she said, still half asleep.

"Your Dad's already a politician. Why don't you try running for prime minister?" Hachiman said in a contemplative way.

Now, Haruno was fully awake and staring at him with wide eyes. "Hachiman… You're serious?" she asked.

"Why not? With your people skills and my computer skills, we can single-handedly take down all the competition," Hachiman said convincingly. "Think about it. You can lead people to your whims, while I'll spill secrets of whoever tries to go against you."

"Hachiman…" Haruno said with dawning realization. "Are you secretly a genius?"

"No. Not secretly. I'm actually a genius. I just don't show it cuz I'm lazy," Hachiman said with a sigh. "Anyway, just think about it, will ya?" he asked to which Haruno nodded. "Awesome… now, are you going to let me get up?"

"Nope."

"Are you ticklish?" he asked with a devilish grin. Haruno shot up instantly.

"Nooo! I give!" she said sat up on the opposite side of the bed.

Hachiman promptly averted his gaze with a blush. Haruno was still wearing the incredibly oversized t-shirt which was riding lower and lower with every movement of hers. Her panties were also already lower than they should be, showing a bit of her clean-shaven mons. Unfortunately, Hachiman's actions didn't go unnoticed by Haruno, and like any great girlfriend should do, she took advantage and started teasing him.

Thankfully, for Hachiman, it didn't last long, and he quickly started to get ready for school.

…

Haruno pulled up the school in her BMW i8 again and looked at Hachiman. "Well?" she prompted before he could exit the car.

"Huh?" he said intelligently. "Well, what?"

"Geez, Hachiman," Haruno said and puckered her lips. Then, it finally clicked.

Hachiman leaned over and captured Haruno's lips with his own in a deep, loving kiss. He pulled away and Haruno smiled at how quickly he was learning. "Have a great day at work!" he said and quickly placed another kiss on her cheek before exiting the car with a "Love ya!" and walking away.

Haruno brought her hand up to her cheek to the place where Hachiman's lips had met her skin and cupped it as if trying to keep the warmth there forever, and smiled. "Love you too," she mumbled to herself and drove away.