It was Sunday night, and Toriko and I were relaxing in her apartment, our stomachs full from convenience store dinner.

Apparently, Toriko bought every kind of onigiri available on the shelves because she just "feels" like it. I ended up not picking anything I liked, knowing that I would be stuffed enough from her leftovers. She did let me decide on our drinks, because according to her, relationships are supposed to be a "give-and-take" kind of thing.

This idiot, seriously, just says anything that comes to mind.

We're comfortably settled on Toriko's couch, watching a movie. She's been bugging me for days to watch this English movie called "Friends with Benefits."

...

I know.

I was dumbfounded when she shamelessly brought up the topic for the first time.

I'm not really up-to-date on anything mainstream that's western-based, but just hearing the title is enough to give me a piece of her scheming, dirty mind.

"What?" she replied, acting innocent. "I kept seeing and hearing it online."

I gave her a squinted look to non-verbally say, Really? Couldn't you be more obvious? I didn't say anything at first because I wasn't sure, but when I looked it up, the movie was a decade old. It could not have floated on any of her social media as something recent. If I'm a betting person, I would bet a fat wad of cash that she directly looked up a lewd movie for us to watch on purpose.

I first heard of the concept of "friends with benefits" from a past conversation with Benimori-san, someone from my anthropology class.

Unsociable by choice as I was, I engaged in conversation with her way, way back in order to learn the true nature of my feelings for Toriko.

It felt like ages away.

Going back to the present, murky feelings finally cleared and were defined, Toriko and I lay comfortably cuddled in the dark, light years away from the life-threatening dangers of the Otherside, with only the light from her TV as our source of illumination.

As Kozakura-san would put it, "Who would have thought, huh?"

Who would have thought that someone as hopeless and plain as I am would catch the attention of someone as insanely beautiful as Toriko?

She has both arms wrapped in one of mine, her head rested against my shoulder, while I snuggle closely too, having both my knees up, hugging them for more warmth as we watched.

When the movie began, it introduced us to two protagonists, a simple-looking brunette and a skinny-looking blonde.

"That's Justin Timberlake," Toriko pointed out in her perfect English accent, as if it were the most interesting fact of the movie. Admittedly, I did feel like I had heard of his name before, but the face is nowhere familiar.

"Don't know him."

"How can you not know him?!"

And so the movie went on smoothly after that, with us watching quietly.

Until we got to the first raunchy parts.

We got to the part where the characters were discussing the topic of sex, equating it to a casual game of tennis, where they agreed that it should not be that big of a deal... Unlike how most adults make it to be.

To them, it's just about getting on with the game, shaking hands afterwards, and then carrying on with their normal little lives. No issues, no dramas.

"Tennis, huh." Beside me, Toriko shifted her position, laying one hand on top of my head and playing with my hair a little. "What about me, Sorawo? Do you want to play tennis with me later?"

Without taking my eyes off the screen, I answered flatly, "No."

"Aww."

Her teasing did not stop there.

From time to time, she would annoy me by planting her chin on my shoulders and then lightly grazing my ear with her nose. Just smiling silly and breathing into it.

"Cut it out," I said, shielding my ear from her face. "It tickles!"

A few moments after this, we got to the part where the characters were talking about the female lead's breasts. The characters' conversation went something like this:

"Breasts?"

"What about them?"

"They intrigue me."

The blonde guy's silly response got a faint laugh out of Toriko, which distracted me a little. Our gazes met while the breast exchange went on.

"Really? I think they're so tiny."

I'm not sure if it's accidental, but when they mentioned the word "tiny", Toriko brought her gaze down towards my chest, then rudely snorted a laugh.

"Why, you?! Ugh. I swear to g-"

"My lips are sealed," she interrupted before I could say anything else, zipping herself to silence. Toriko returned her attention back to the screen, suppressing an offensive mirth.

With a tired sigh, I pleaded, "Behave yourself, will you?"

It was a futile effort to ask her to behave, because right then, we got to some more raunchy parts: the enactment of the characters' first "tennis game."

When the scene was unfolding, I felt a little alarmed at how the characters were kissing and touching each other messily, bringing themselves to bed flustered and breathless. I felt my own breath hitch at the sight, slowly feeling myself fall into the obvious trap.

Oh no.

Beside me, I can sense a stiffened Toriko, her eyes stupidly fixed towards the screen.

Knowing her, and with her getting there first, she is, without a doubt, dangerously warming up to the same mood as I am.

This was her plan all along—to use the movie to plant ideas inside my head.

'That how it is, huh?

"That scream is so fake," I commented, attempting to display control and tell her that her sketchy plans are not going to work.

"Agreed. I think I've heard better ones, no?" she replied playfully, cringely wriggling her eyebrows at me.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, wordless at the disrespect. I can literally imagine steam gathering and rising out of my head.

Out of embarrassment or annoyance, maybe?

How can someone with an angelic face do something so unsightly?

At that point, I felt fed up.

I figured as much that it was a lost cause anyway, trying to put up defenses. That's just how it is when it comes to this part of our relationship.

What's going to happen next is definitely inevitable. I know for sure.

Having made up my mind as to how I would respond, I finally said, "You know what-?"

"Hmm?"

"Come here."

For a change of pacing and a strategic power play, I turned her face towards my direction and locked her a kiss, catching her mouth slightly open by surprise.

I leaned in more as Toriko slid off balance. She had to use her arms to prop herself up as I continued to kiss her. I could feel her eyes still blinking through her lashes, still questioning what just happened.

Powered by my provoked pride, I dragged my face down towards her jaw, then behind her flushed ears, inhaling everything salaciously through those gorgeous blonde locks.

She's usually very responsive when it comes to these types of things, but her delay is evident through the stiffness of her movements.

I managed to pull off my glasses somehow and semi-tossed them at the center table situated between us and the flat screen. The noisy "clunk" it made as it landed and slid across the table to fall to the other side slightly jolted Toriko.

"S-sorawo?!"

I think I could understand. We're not really used to me leading things. But still, it's not just me who's acting weird... What is all this hesitancy for? Stopping just to check, I leveled with her, "What? Isn't this your plan all along?"

"W-what plan?!"

I rolled my eyes at her. Is she really going to make me spell it out? Hell, no. I ignored her and started kissing her again, pushing her down gently, the couch creaking from our weight.

I was over her now, on my knees, my hands planted just below her armpits. The movie continued to play in the background, unattended.

She won, and I'm turned on. Whatever else is there? And I'm not all that interested in this so-called Justin-Timberlake-Friends-with-Benefits nonsense anyway, so let's just skip wasting time and get on with it.

"Sorawo?!" she called out again breathlessly, as I started to rain down more kisses on her slender neck and collarbones.

I stopped again and asked for the second time tonight, "What?"

"What plan are you talking about?!"

Responding with certainty, I looked into her shaky, indigo eyes and said, "The only reason you want to watch this movie is so that we can get a mood going."

Toriko's mouth hanged open. Averting her eyes towards the scenes happening on the screen and meekly scratching her cheek, she said, "Well... Y-yes, but..."

"I don't want to watch anymore. If you're still curious about it, just wiki the plot later, okay?" Then I returned to kissing her, going back to leaving trails of kisses downwards, tracing the sternum even over her clothes, while my hands and elbows busied themselves, settling into a more comfortable, supporting position.

I lifted her shirt halfway, exposing a ticklish spot on her left side, just below the ribcage. This is payback for all the teasing she's done me earlier.

I heard her gulp, then she mumbled audibly to herself, "So, watching a movie is effective, hu- OW!"

She wrestled for a bit, but I held her down as I continued to hover my face and kiss over one of her sensitive spots.

"Sorawo! C-can you not s-spend too much time there?! I- gurg- AAH!"

Toriko squirmed and squealed. It was enjoyable hearing all sorts of embarrassing reactions from her. It made me feel more motivated as I continued to work on her sides and stomach.

Serves you right!

Things were fun like that for a brief moment, until one of her elbows jerked in a sudden motion, hitting me with an unrestrained force in my left eye. It landed squarely in the socket.

"Aghh!"

I immediately sat up letting her go, a white-hot, numbness spreading from my left eye then to all of my face, replaced by a persistent, throbbing pain.

"Sorawo!" Toriko followed, sitting up in panic. "I'm sorry! A-are you hurt?! Let me see!"

Untrusting of her shaking, approaching hands, I jumped back slightly and said, "N-no, no, no! Don't touch it!"

I can't open them fully. They're watering around the edges, gluing them shut. "Aaaaahhh."

I can see Toriko's worried and guilt-stricken face through my other working eye. Cute. Haha.

Trying to put on a brave front for this pathetic situation that we got ourselves in, I managed to still reassure her through the painful contractions, "Hey, it's fine." Definitely not. "Uhhh, let's wait uhh for the pain to d-die down."

"Let me get some ice," Jumping off, Toriko went briskly towards the kitchen, emerging again after a few minutes with an iced compress.

"Thanks."

So this is how boxers feel about getting punched during a match, huh?

"This is your fault, you know?" Toriko said in a weak voice beside me, a hesitant finger poking me in the arm.

The throbbing, at this point, is at its full blast. It felt like my whole face was just one giant, pain-producing, pulsating muscle. I couldn't even utter a reply through the contractions. My other eye started to swelter with tears as well.

We lay in the quiet while the movie went on, oblivious to the unfortunate incident that just happened. Sulking with deflated shoulders, Toriko watched me press the ice against my bruised eye.

In the silence, an unprecedented embarrassment settled in. What was I acting so animalistic for earlier?!

"Say something, will you?" Toriko croaked guiltily beside me, interrupting my thoughts.

I tried to blink slowly every now and then, training my eye to shift back to being normal. "'Think my eye will turn blue to black?" I said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood. Of course, my dry humor only made her feel worse. No surprises there. Good job, self. To distract her again, I pointed towards the screen and said, "Look, they're at it again."

But it wasn't as hot as before.

At this point, an attempt to salvage the situation is in vain. Whatever mood we were in before, this has long been gone.

We sat awkwardly beside each other, not knowing what to do. Toriko looked like she was about to cry. The image reminded me of a remorseful golden retriever.

I sighed. This is hopeless.

Ice still pressed on my face, I patted my lap, inviting her to move closer. "Come. Oh, and can you bring the remote with you?"

Still a little weepy, Toriko perked up. "Hmm? Why?" She did so anyway, despite.

"Now, where did we stop?" Continuing the movie is the only way I can think of distracting Toriko from feeling depressed.

While I ran the movie back, Toriko sat herself beside me, putting her long legs over my lap and sliding her arms carefully around my neck. "Hey, careful. It still hurts, you know."

She buried her face behind my right ear. Given that she's much taller than me, it was a little suffocating to drown in her blonde hair as she hugged me like this. I had to tilt my face away from her a little bit to protect my bruise from any sudden movements.

In a small, resentful tone, she said, "I thought you didn't want to watch anymore?"

Yes, but I thought, we don't have that much of a choice now, do we?

While I was busy trying to resume where we left off, Toriko mumbled something I wasn't able to hear. "Come again?"

"I said I love you."

Hah.

I placed the remote aside and made small, soothing circles on her back, "I know, I know. It was an accident, okay?"

"Does it still hurt?"

"Yeah... But you know, I'll live." I leaned out a little in order to give her a kiss on the forehead to let her know it's truly okay.

I pressed play to keep the movie going. We let it fill the silence and awkwardness.

So that's how we ended up watching the whole thing.

...

The movie didn't turn out to be that bad. It was interesting enough for me to be attentive until the end; I even had a few exchanges with Toriko here and there.

It really did prove to be a good escape from the pitiable accident earlier. My face is done being ice-soaked; it's less painful now, and Toriko seemed more cheerful.

After brushing my teeth, I caught her in her bedroom, preparing some school stuff into her bag, dressed comfortably in her sleeping clothes. The room was only lit up by her bedside lamp table, and the light coming from the door where I came from.

When she saw me come in, all dressed up for bed too, she smiled and started talking about the movie again. "I like that bit where Justin says, 'I want my best friend back, because I'm in love with her.'"

"Don't you think the girl's reply was a little meh? 'Kiss me?' or something? Blargh."

Toriko laughed at my bad imitation. "Yeah, it was kinda lame. So, did you like it?"

"The movie? Yeah, it wasn't that bad."

"Really?"

"I mean, it's nothing groundbreaking but Justin and... J-jamie, right? Yeah, I like them."

"Uh huh," she said, breaking into a grin, accepting of my honest review.

I moved in front of her vanity mirror to examine my bruise.

"Hey, are you not into horror movies, Sorawo? Maybe we should try that next time since, you know, you're into a lot of dark stuff."

"Oh yeah. What do you have in mind?" I would probably say anything right now to appease Toriko. Seeing the red markings beneath my left brow reminded me again of her sulking. I will never admit this to a single soul out there, but sometimes she's easier to manage when she's her usual bright self.

"Have you heard of The Conjuring? The Exorcism of Emily Rose? Or The Silence of the Lambs? Or..." There was a hesitating pause before she continued, probably just putting in some good thought, "Fifty Shades of Grey?"

Toriko mentioned a lot of complicated English titles, so the one at the end was the only one that stuck. "Fifty... what? Is it good?"

"Fif-? I-I'm not sure, but I would like to see it for myself. Heard it was, uhhh, interesting."

"What is it about?" After settling to just cover up my bruise tomorrow with makeup, I went to bed with my phone in hand. "What's the full title again? I'm gonna ch-"

"Hey! Your eye... H-how is it? It's a little red around here."

I don't know how Toriko managed to jump from her original place to beside me on the bed, but it happened. She was on her knees, all over my face, examining my left eye with a hand.

"Huh? Hey, don't stare at it too much. It will be fine."

"'Think we should have you x-rayed? What if there's a concussion?"

"Nah, that's over doing it."

"Will you be okay later when you sleep? I have painkillers."

"No, I think I'm good."

"I heard it heals quicker if you let someone kiss it."

"Nope. Anything else?"

Toriko placed a hand on her chin, thinking deeply. "Nope." After that, she proceeded to get under the covers, then turned off the lamp. She had to stretch to be able to reach it because it's on my side of the bed. Seriously, she could have just asked. "Wait, are you done fixing your stuff?"

"Yup! I mean, not quite, but I'll deal with them tomorrow since I have ti- hey, Sorawo, can you put this away?"

"Right, sorry." I forgot about my phone, which Toriko seems to have sat up on.

"So, you're okay with Fifty Shades of Grey next time?"

"Yeah, that."

"Promise?"

"Sure," It's just a movie; how harmless can it be?

"I'm gonna look forward to it then!" I couldn't see Toriko's face in the dark, but she sounded really ecstatic.