3 - Name Calling

Ren dropped his bag just as he stepped through his door. With a little whine, he threw himself to the ground and pulled his shoes off, sliding the door closed behind him with his shoeless foot. A big yawn escaped his lips, and he shook his head free of it quickly.

There was a light on in the living room. He knew his mother was away at Mrs. Hanai's for the evening and wouldn't be back until the next day. So that only left one other option for the room's occupant.

"H-hello!" He called, standing up off the floor. "I'm home..."

There was a rustle in the living room. The television was playing quite quietly underneath that rustle. Ren decided, with a tilted head, that he'd check out the living room. He dragged himself groggily to the doorway, and blushed softly when he saw Akiko curled up underneath a blanket on his couch.

The brunette had let her long hair down, as the locks flowed down underneath the blanket. The television was set up to watching old anime reruns, while a textbook lie discarded on the coffee table-the homework long forgotten. Akiko seemed to be in a light sleep, her usually bright blue eyes closed in light slumber.
Mihashi felt a small smile come on as he scratched the back of his neck. He approached the couch, and slowly slipped the blanket off without waking his girlfriend. Gently, he slid between Akiko and the back of the couch while pulling the blanket back over the two of them.

As soon as he had gotten comfortable with his arm (hesitantly) at her waist, Akiko stirred again, feeling the weigh of Mihashi's arm on her waist. He flinched, breaking a cold sweat as she adjusted herself and turned around to face him. Ren kept his arm around her as she glanced groggily at his embarrassed expression.

But she looked at him with a happy smile and greeted him contently through her sleepy voice. Ren sighed in relief, but glanced at her with a bit of determination.

"I-It's so nice to see you." He sighed, pulling the girl into a comfy embrace. The brunette could feel the boy's little toned muscles flexing as he adjusted to hold her closer. She wrapped her arms around his back, one hand reaching to stroke his back and the other reaching to play with his hair. He smiled and closed his eyes when he felt her hand in his hair.

"How was practice, Mihashi?" Akiko smiled at him, feeling his legs adjust so that they were in sync with hers. His knee sat between her knees, and her knee sat between his.

"G-g-good! Coach is really working hard with us." He responded quietly, eyes slowly opening. There was definitely something else on his mind, but he continued the conversation as he bit his bottom lip. He perked up, "H-how was your day off?"

Akiko raised an eyebrow at him, his eyes darting away from her and glancing anywhere but at her. He broke into sweat again, and even with the low light in the room, the shadows from the television made his paled skin easy to see. Something was bothering him.

"It was okay." She rubbed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. His shoulders tensed, but slowly he relaxed into it, slipping both arms down to hold her around the waist.

"What's wrong, Mihashi?"

He flinched again when she called his name, and looked down.

Akiko frowned, shifting away from him. That caught his attention, as the boy whimpered and immediately wrapped his arms tightly around her. He buried his face into her neck and brought his knees up a bit.

He was clinging into her.

She sighed and patted his head softly, blue eyes glancing down at his orange locks in the dim light. Her neck started to warm up, the blush creeping up.

"Whatever it is, you know you can tell me."

He was quiet for a moment again, before whining and clinging on a little more, shaking his head multiple times into her loose pj shirt.

"Please, Mihashi?"

Another silence.

He spoke up.

"I just...would you...ah...it's just, I'd like you to call me by my first name...if it's alright with you."

His face was a deep scarlet, and caught Akiko off guard. Her cheeks dusted a little pink as well. Ren pulled his face out of her neck to look at her with scared eyes.

"I want to be closer with you...since we've been dating for so long. I-if it's okay with you!" She could see his eyes tearing up a little bit at his fear of her rejection. Immediately, she reached down and wiped his eye.

"O-only if that's okay with you...you don't need to freak out over it..." She giggled. Her dainty hand brushed over his ruffled hair. "Jeez, you scared me-dork."
Mihashi blinked breathlessly at her, using his arms to lean over her body underneath.

"C-could I hear you say it?" He muttered softly. Ren clenched his eyes shut, bracing himself.

She laughed softly again.

"S-sure. Anything for you...Ren."

He sighed, relaxing a little. But his little smile had a bit of nervousness to it. That was often seen though.

"Thanks...Aki."

He leaned down and pressed his forehead hesitantly to hers. Akiko nodded lightly, laughing and shifting her head slightly away from him as he tickled her cheek with his nose.

Ren chuckled softly, resting his nose to hers again. Akiko leaned forward and closed the gap between them, her lips softly on his. His shoulders relaxed-responding to her simple kiss by pressing his own lips back a little harder.