CHAPTER 121

I do not own Skip Beat! Yoshiki Nakamura does.

~~Magical Summer trip ~~

~~ part 27~~

~~~False quiet~~~

Kyoko woke up with a groan, feeling the buzzing of a throbbing headache – albeit small – on the side of her head. They had come back late yesterday, and she hadn't insisted much before going to bed. But as light shined through the slip of windows peeking between the curtains, it became abundantly clear why her head would hurt.

The combination of the alcohol, even in such a ridiculously tiny amount, and what happened when she hit the mattress yesterday night, did not match well. Knowing her emotions broke and tears fell because of said intoxicated beverage did not help her.

Her mind refused to let go of yesterday's evening, replaying the divine grace of the woman she had met, like a bright blinding sky forcing a ghoul into the shadows. She had the virulent desire to rub herself clean, as if she could feel less pale and bland by washing herself. Her sleep had been filled with nightmares of naked bodies and lilac hair… Of him, in that woman's arms, kissing the voluptuous skin she had. Gliding those beautiful fingers of his, in her purple locks.

Maybe she should not have let her go without making her bald, first, she thought. Without her damn hair, she would probably be much less appealing to Ren, no?

She frowned at her violent thoughts, regretting having them in the midst of what she knew was a jealous tantrum.

She gave herself a pep-up talk until she was able to get rid of the temptation filling her mind, for the time being, and returned to the present.

Despite her longing for a prolonged shower, she showered fast when she noticed it was not early in the morning. She was one foot in her light white pants, and one arm in her sky blue shirt when she heard a knock on the door.

She hit her head against the door as she was swiftly donning her clothes, swearing as it worsened the lull of her headache.

Damn fake mocktails.

She rubbed the back of her head as she opened the door of the bedroom she was staying in, greeted by a smiling Kuu.

"Good morning. I heard suspicious curses coming, you okay?" Asked Kuu with a teasing grin, as they started walking their way to the kitchen.

She laughed slightly as she greeted him back.

"I hit my head on the side of the bathroom's door," she explained, rubbing the spot as they spoke.

Kuu eyed her with a frown, and she tried to hide how off-the-weather she was feeling, but felt like she failed when he said.

"Nothing serious? You don't look properly awake too, hard night?"

She waved her hand away. She was not about to say Ren's father she could not hold her own with alcohol and was hangover, and had drunk some, out of thorough distraction by his son, which had made her careless, before meeting his son's ex, and making her lose her cool. Which inevitably led her to a bad night filled with nightmares, violence towards said ex-girlfriend and a depressed bitterness to cherry it all. Nope, she would not do that. She already felt lame enough.

"It's nothing."

He didn't seem to believe her but she hadn't expected him to, and he didn't investigate more.

They entered the dining room and she was instantly greeted by a far too dazzling smile from Ren, as he stood and kiss her cheek.

"'Morning."He chirped merrily, and as if per his magic, her sadness evaporated like intangible smoke the moment she saw his smile, the moment he came close and she basked in his presence. As if nothing mattered anymore but his gaze on her, his joy as he talked to her. The ease in which she smiled, heart suddenly elated again, gut-punched her, as much as it made her lightheaded.

"'Morning." She replied in kind, before turning to Julie-san to greet her too. It would be okay, she would take an aspirin after breakfast. Dear lord, she had forgotten. Breakfast. The idea to eat was beyond her will, right now. Why was she in such a state for so little?

She was about to sit by Ren's when Julie-san suddenly stood on her left, looking at her worryingly.

"Oh my, Kyoko-chan, you don't look so good." She commented softly.

"I'm oka – "

"You are hangover, aren't you?"She cut in with narrowing eyes. She didn't look upset, just, her gaze said it all. She knew.

Busted.

Damn it, Julie-san's eyes were really too sharp.

She smiled abashedly at her. She briefly wondered if she should try to brush it off but Ren's mother cut the thought right out.

"You are good at hiding it, so I'm sure the boys haven't noticed yet, but you can't fool me. I can see the distinct nauseous feeling after alcohol, right from the way you looked at the food on the table," she slipped sweetly.

Kyoko hung her head in defeat, and gave a tame nod, as she sat down at the table, and Julie-san patted her shoulder.

"Let me just go grab an aspirin for you," she added with a comprehensive smile and Kyoko looked back at her with puzzlement, "your head is pounding, isn't it?"

Kyoko chuckled, mortified.

"Nothing escapes you, Julie-san."

"Working with modelling young women that love to party a tad too much help you pick on the tiniest signs of unwell," she said with a grin before pointing at her. "You have a perfect posture; yet, you are keeping your head inched to the side, as if to alleviate the pressure on the other. You are paler than usual and are holding your midsection tenser, as if to contain nausea. Without even counting the previous look of horror, you had when you saw the table, of course."

Uncomfortable, she coloured. Was she getting that bad at hiding what she felt?

More importantly, was it getting worse because Ren was there? Or did she just suck around this whole family?

From the corner of her eye, she saw Kuu gave a side grin to his son she didn't understand, and Ren just rolled his eyes at him. What was that?

Ren's mother sashayed away after a last grin, and she sighed as two pairs of eyes settled on her. Surrounded by curious masculine expressions. It was way too early to fight the cuteness of this family.

The ache at the back of her head nudged her again.

"Hangover?"Ren said. "But you didn't drink yesterday."

She grimaced, giving him a side glance.

"Actually … I did."

His eyes enlarged.

"But we were together the whole evening … how?"

She rubbed her forehead again.

"The Kombucha Mojito mocktails … there weren't mocktails. But I noticed too late." She summed up laconically.

She felt his move as he slid closer to her side but her head was pounding harder, so she did not turn.

"How many did you have?"

"Three."

He frowned.

"That is not so much." Voiced Kuu, clearing saying what she could feel Ren was thinking too.

She laughed self-deprecatingly, eyeing Ren as she spoke.

"My tolerance is very low. I think I told you in the past."

Ren gave a nod.

"You did but I thought it concerned wine or stronger kinds."

She snorted as she made her neck crack, trying to release some of the tension around.

"It is not wrong. But this is actually why it is not worse than this, right now. I would be a wreckage if there hadn't been sugar and juice in them. Or if I hadn't eaten as I drank them." She finished, rolling her shoulders in another attempt to ease things. She noticed Kuu standing and pouring her some water in a glass.

"I'll go prep you a few things that will help," He added with an indulgent smile as he moved towards the kitchen.

"It is not necessary, it will pass s – "

"Nonsense."

"But – "

"Thanks Dad." His son cut in just as she was about to argue again.

Silky warmth wrapped around her nape in a soothing blanket as Ren's palm settled there then, and his thumb rubbed carefully at the section connecting the top to the base of her skull.

She lifted her hand.

"You don't need to – "

"Let me."

She gave up protesting when he managed to make her produce a weird sound as some of the pain already began to lessen.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her against him before raising his other hand to her face.

His fingers glided in the softest of brushes against her forehead, freeing her face of her locks when he made them curl behind her ears.

The summery glow his fingers evoked in her returned, as his digits kindly rubbed at her temples, and for one foolish second, she had the odd idea his hands felt like the pleasant sunset that wakes you from the most wonderful nap taken on the vibrant flowery grass in the summer. Hidden in a valley, or resting on top of a windy hill. The one you indulge under the merciful shadows of branches, to hide your face from the hotness of the day. But like every day, time never stops its course, and axes changing, light finds your face again, just as the sun faces its curve down, gracing your slumbering shape with the kindest of glows. Warm and pleasant, but delicately mellow, warning you of another end of day. Whispering it in its gentle touch on your body, while it shielded you from the freshness of a night soon to announce its twinkling shadowy sky.

Eyes closed, she could nearly imagine he was a ray of light waking her up, with each rub the pressure on her head diminished, until, eventually she opened her lids again to perish her gaze in the green of his, as he held her whole head in the heart of his hands.

"Better?"

Her head managed a nudge down. The pain had dropped to a light sizzle in the background.

"Thank you."

His eyes softened, and his thumbs began to rub right above her nose, in the gap of her eyes, easing more pressure out of her.

"If you would allow me, I have a few more tricks that might help if you don't mind lying down."

She was about to respond but that was the moment both his parents chose to come back, and awareness of where they were and with whom suddenly rushed back to the forefront of her mind with a sharp clarity her drowsy hangover mind was not ready or willing to handle.

Julie-san dropped a bottle of aspirin on the table and Kuu set a cup of fuming tea that smelled heavenly, and two glasses filled with colourful ingredients. She was interrupted in the process of asking what those two were, as Ren proceeded in his paradise-y rubbing movements. She returned her gaze to him and realized he was still looking at her, and expecting an answer, and she automatically lifted her hands.

"It's not that bad. It will go away in a few hours, most likely, and it is already a bit better, thanks to you."

Ren looked sceptical but while she ignored if she were thoroughly right, no matter, she couldn't suffer to prolong the closeness any longer.

She smiled reassuringly as she eyed the two drinks before giving a questioning glance to Kuu.

"With everything your parents just brought, it can only go better."

Ren relented and let her face go.

Kuu grinned.

"The tea is a mix of hot water with lemon and honey, perfect to appease stomach," he explained, "and the red glass is tomato juice. With how filled it is with nutrients and the fructose, it will help return the electrolytic balance of your body to normal, though, you drank so little it cannot be so bad."

Kuu sat down as he pointed to the last glass, a beautiful sunny colour.

"It is a smoothie, since you are nauseous, eating dry or solid food will be harder, I bet. It is made of coconut water, pineapple, ginger and green lemon, it will help detoxify your body." He gave her a knowing smile as he finished. "You probably already know that, with how knowledgeable you are with food."

Kyoko gave him as much of a grateful expression as she could, as barely a minute after Ren had stopped, the throbbing was worsening again. But she managed to shake her head.

"Thank you. But, actually, no."

All three people around the table looked at her with surprise, and she gave a light giggle she instantly regretted, when it made her head hurt harder. She grabbed the cup of tea but stopped to explain.

"Since my tolerance is so low, I rarely consume alcohol, and didn't learn the practices for hangovers," she said, a little ashamed to not have looked it through in the past, "and as a minor, when I worked at restaurants, I wasn't often in charge of it, so I was rarely exposed, even to people that might have needed those advises."

"But since you discovered your limits, you must have gone over them at some point, no?"Ren enquired, and the way he looked at her, as if his eyes shined with curiosity left her perplex.

She responded by the affirmative, grimacing in the chuckle that followed, and sipped on the delicious tea Ren's father had prepared.

"I did."

And the moment she had responded, she made a light shrug that made everyone in the room smile.

"But since I became wary of not drinking too much of it, the few times it happened I only drank water, and did not try to inform myself on the subject, I must admit," she added, bashful, massaging her neck, "I was not planning to try to reproduce the experience."

Truly, she should have looked into it. If only to know how to help a friend out. Granted, she could even say she had seen Ren wasted once, but he had been drugged, it was not because of excessive alcohol. She was not sure she had ever witnessed Ren truly going over his own limits, without other circumstances at play. She actually had no idea how he would be if he were inebriated really, really bad. She could guess sometimes, both substances might have similar effects on people, but it could also be vastly different, depending on the drug and the person.

She had seen friends drunk during a party, or just after one, but nearly never the morning after. So, the question had just never been placed in front of her. She wanted to sigh at her own lack of proactive attitude. That had been really egoistic of her.

Kuu smiled at her.

"Well, now you will know."

"And they are tons of recipes online that can help too," Julie-san added. "So, if those don't work for you, and in the future, for a friend, you will be able to find everything you need just by googling it, don't worry."

She frowned. It was like they had read her mind or something.

Ren laughed, and she turned her gaze in his direction.

"It is written on your face you are upset to not have searched by yourself, even if you didn't need it."He said in lieu of explanation. "Now, drink."

And he brought the red glass closer to her, just for her eyes to take note of the already empty cup of tea.

She drank dutifully the three beverages while Ren and his parents ate, glad that she was not forced to take anything too solid at the moment. His parents ate merrily, while both her eyes and Ren's kept checking on each other. One to verify she was drinking without a fuss, and the other to be sure a plate was being emptied and a stomach being filled with proper food.

She could not help but be reminded of yesterday. She wondered what had truly happened between the two when they went to talk. She wondered if he would have loved to spend some time with his ex. If he would have stayed with the woman, if she hadn't been present, if he hadn't already been in her company. If he would have let loose with that Shannon. With someone who could hold their alcohol, you could get unhinged without a care. He had never mentioned he'd like to, not to her, at least. But it didn't mean he wouldn't like to, sometimes.

And putting aside drinking, she could imagine he might feel lonely, at times. He spent a lot of time with her, but that did not leave him much time to indulge in feminine company he would be interested into. Her chest squeezed in a buzzing aching knot, at the prospect. But stupidity eluded her. He was a man, and a human being, it would be naive to imagine he didn't have urges. A fling without attach with someone he already knew … wouldn't it be the easiest?

Sparing him many troubles.

If he needed the release.

Nausea filled her mouth in the form of a spiritual bile as her mind played it out. Yet, her physical form refused to follow her sentiment, and when they approached the end of breakfast, her body felt much better.

Both the juice and the smoothie had been swallowed without causing her too much issue, thankfully, and she might even be escaping taking a pill for her headache, considering it was slowly receding. The physical urge to throw up had disappeared, at least, though her mood had soured and she was trying her best to dissimulate it.

They were helping his parents to pick up the plates from the table when Ren eventually broached the subject of the call he had received yesterday evening.

"It was Yashiro. He told me one of the earliest jobs I had when I'm to return to Japan had been postponed, so I was thinking of staying a little longer, if it is okay with you?"He said, looking at her at the beginning before turning to his parents.

"Truly?! How many more days?!"Julie-san twirled on her spot, a now clean and dry cup still in the hand, swiftly taken from her hand, after a worried frown from her husband, and she grabbed her son's shoulders with glee, making him chuckle.

"You know it is, son," Kuu replied, giving him a smile that despite his calmer endeavour contained as much joy and excitement as Ren's mother. "Again, you should be given a correction for even thinking you had to ask the question. You should start protect your forehead. At the first occasion, I will strike."His father finished with a tease, and Kyoko noticed both the apologetic smile and the joy on his son's face. She was truly glad to be there, sometimes. Just so she could see those kinds of moments. But besides her own selfish merriment at being a witness of those displays…

Happiness filled her seeing his father being so doting towards Ren. She had the feeling he really needed it, even if he might not have been aware of it. That sort of reassurance of how much he was loved by his parents. She could see how much gratitude and joy it brought him. How much affection he had in the eyes for them. So, if her coming there had helped him getting that, then she could only be grateful he had asked her to come.

She took note of his gaze, back on her, a question in those beautiful green orbs, and she made a face that clearly shined through her ignorance on what was on his mind.

Amusement twirled in his eyes but his tone was serious when he said.

"I was wondering about you. I know you had work in the following days, so – "

"Ah…"

She had to think about it for a second. Two days from now, they were supposed to be leaving. Quite early too. She only had work on the next day of that one, but-

"I don't have any work on the day we were supposed to leave, so I could stay until the end of that day, at the very least." She had a modelling job at the end of the next morning, and a couple scenes for her role in Secret Detective. She did not have precised what she was working on to Ren on that day, and she might be able to postpone again. But she had already done it, and they were counting on her.

"Or I could leave early in the morning of the next day, at most." She settled on simply saying. A plane should be able to take her on time for her modelling gig, even if she were to leave in the morning, and obviously, more so if she left the evening before.

"But I don't think I can push things more than that."

"I understand."He said, "I would love if you could stay more,"-and we would too – , said his parents in chorus, making them both smile, "but please do what is the easiest. I know you already arranged your schedule a lot."

She agreed after a smile.

"I'll stay until at least the end of that day, then." She decided, turning to Ren's parents as she said it. "If that's okay with both of you, of course."

Both nodded and his parents suspended more discussion when they informed them they had work planned for the end of the morning straight to the end of the afternoon, and would return around that time.

§§§

Half an hour later, they were standing in the living room after finishing sorting away the remains of breakfast, since Kuu and Julie had to leave before they could finish all together.

"How is the head?"Ren enquired out of the blue with a grin that left her arching an inquisitive eyebrow, providing said grin to stretch even further.

"Much better."

"Did you take an aspirin?"

She shook her head.

"Didn't even need it. Your father tricks worked wonders."She smiled as she continued. "I'm planning to ask him for the recipes before we leave."

"Even if I hope I won't need them, honestly."

Ren chuckled and crossing his thighs over, as he leaned on the couch arm on her left, he craned his neck to the side with a mocking face.

"Such a fragile tolerance."

She sighed through her grin.

"Yes, I know."

"Maybe we should try toughen that up."

She made a face and he burst out, his laugh lightening the whole room with its warm glow.

"No thanks."

Just remembering left a bad taste in her mouth.

"I'm curious, though."He said after a second.

"About what?"

"How unravelled those inebriated experiences for you." He said, his eyes twinkling.

She messed with her hair.

"That is not worth remembering."

He snorted.

"And retelling?"

"Even more appalling."

She did not want to tell him. The mere idea to report the unfortunate tales of her few encounters with alcohol and the consequences of her former ignorance of her limits was daunting.

"You seem to be remembering something funny." Ren commented, staring at her face.

"Not possible. My memory was wiped out." Nose upturned and away from him.

He laughed again.

"Please."

She refused to look at him, she knew what she would discover.

"Nope."

"Please Kyoko, tell me."

She shook her head.

A finger suddenly entered in collision with the soft cushion-y side of her flank as he poked her, and she both squeaked and jumped at the feeling, finally turning to him.

"Ren!" She exclaimed but didn't have more time to process he was already attacking her opposite side, tickling her this time.

"Youu!"

She grabbed his wrists, attempting to move his hands away from her waist.

"Just you wait!" She threatened, resulting in more laughs from him as her voice promised one thousand and one evil.

She jumped forward, pushing him on his shoulders as she tried to find a place she could find purchase to tickle and poke him. But in the momentum, she lost her balance when the support she had on his shoulders disappeared, preceded by Ren as he fell, and they both tumbled backward.

When her world stopped twirling, her body was found snuggly encased in his embrace while her bust pressed against his chest.

Batting his lashes charmingly, he said, laughingly, "You didn't have to jump and push me down to have me all to yourself – and he parted his arms away – , I'm all yours."

She lifted her bust, resting on her forearms, just to bring a little gap between their tops. Damn that chest had been firm under her. She tried not think too much, to keep her sanity.

"I should just pinch you all around." She said with a menacing grin.

"Or – … you could just kiss me all around … I'm helpless right now, after all."

She was so unprepared for this kind of proposition, especially with that half-serious look he seemed to have in the eye – , she coloured vividly, flabbergasted.

She remained gaping, too stunned to say something.

"Aww… Such a rare occurrence of colouration these days," Ren commented merrily, and then his palm was against her cheek and his thumb caressed the spot she could imagine had the tones of a sunburn right now.

"See… Like this…" And to her utter dismal, he rose from his lying position to press a brush of lips against her other cheek, worsening the boiling sensation in it and rendering her even more speechless.

Worse, he did not stop there. He pecked her forehead, her chin – making her acutely aware of how close it was to her mouth – , her nose, and when she thought he was finally going to spare her mere mortal abilities and willpower, he pecked the side of her neck, just under her lobe, sending a chill all the way down her spine.

She grabbed his collar in a rush, desperate to hide her reaction and pushed him back down and into the cushions. He didn't defend himself at all.

"One of these days, all this teasing is going to bite you back in the butt."She hissed near his own ear with a cold smirk. "Ren."

He eyed her with too much pleasure gleaming in his gaze and let his arms fell back above the opposite armchair from the one he had been sitting on earlier. As if he was giving her full access to him.

"You promise?"

His whisper was low and odd, appreciative. And addictive.

Her locks fell around their faces as she leaned closer to his face and stood on all four above him.

He was driving her nuts. She wanted so much to kiss him, her restraint was tightening her chest with each deep breath she was taking to quiet down, to remain in control; it felt like the longer it went on, the smaller the inspirations she managed to pass through.

She let her right fingers glided into the silky locks, threading delicately and she saw his lids drop a bit at the sensation. He was not letting his gaze falter from her, and observed her every move.

This man needed a lesson.

"I guess pinches would not be enough…"

With her left hand, she grabbed the wrist on the same side and pulled his arm taut and further behind. There was not one movement of resistance from him as she did.

Then,

She tilted her head and let the skin of her cheek glide against his own as she approached her lips to his ear once more.

"You forget I know you have sensitive ears…"She murmured right against the shell of it, and she felt him tense up.

And she bit into it. Not too hard. Just enough for him to feel it, given his sensitivity.

He made an interesting sound, and she suddenly felt the hand, the one that was not restrained at the wrist by her own, at her waist, grasping.

She lifted back her head to dive her gaze into his, locking their eyes into a match of intensity she failed to fully comprehend.

The stare he gave her then … had such an emotional pull, an electric appeal… For one second … one second…

She thought she was going to lose it and press her lips on his, right here and right there. Until she had no more oxygen to spare…

Until she could touch … until she could warm herself … until she could feel… Until she could embrace…

If only from a little closer … that flame, she felt in him.

It was crumbling pieces of countenance she gathered around herself and on her face, still shivering from the impact of his lips inside, and trembling like a leaf, when she spoke again.

"Stop teasing … I will bite back if you tease me too much." She said with as much nonchalance and chill she could muster as she stepped down from him.

"Also, didn't you have something you wanted to speak about earlier?" She asked, too hesitant to look in his direction. But there would have been nothing to see, as he had dropped an arm over his eyes the moment she had turned away.

He didn't reply and she moved, intending to bring more space between them before turning around, but the moment she made a step, her arm was grabbed softly.

He had his full hand against his mouth and nose when she pivoted in his direction, as if he was suffering one million pains, and he gave her a tired grumpy glance.

"My teasing and yours are on different kind of level."

She just stared at him blankly. She was not sure what she was supposed to make of that. No matter the interpretation, she was most certain she would disagree anyway. And she was the one who should be annoyed after what he had just pulled. Since when did you peck around your friends?! Huh?! What sort of treatment was that? Did he want her to die from over-pleasure and over-pain at once?

"Do I really need to explain what kind of sensitivity my ears have to make this unfair?"He asked, not letting her gaze go.

She blinked, taken by surprise for a split second before understanding.

She snorted, making him arch a brow very high.

"That won't be necessary."

Oh, she knew it was an erogenous zone, alright. But to see how bothered he looked, she had to ponder. Could you really cause this kind of arousal from just a little bite?

It wasn't like she was attractive to him. Would such a prank be enough to cause such a … rise?

She had a hard time believing that.

But nonetheless. She crossed her arms.

"You brought this upon yourself. Serve you right for teasing me so much."

He gaped at her.

"Are you sure you – "

"Oh, I got you alright, Ren."She spoke softly, though she repressed a smile with much difficulty, even eyeing slightly down his body before continuing. "I wish I could say I'm sorry as I truly didn't expect a little bite would affect you – …"

She returned her gaze at him.

"But I'm still mildly annoyed, so right now my only thought is that you deserve it."

His expression at her words was so shocked then, she couldn't help but chuckle and he dropped his arm over his eyes again.

"Merciless."He mumbled and she went to sit on the side of the couch's arm his head was resting on.

"Ha! That's the hospital mocking the charity."She said and he grumbled something again but didn't remove his arm. It was cute, how unsettled he was. But she felt kinda bad now. Worse, pride filled her chest at the idea she had been able to provoke such a reaction in him, even if it had been artificial.

When another minute passed without him saying a word, she took pity in him, and thoughtlessly begun to caress his hair, messing them and twirling her fingers in it. Letting her elbow rest on her thigh, she dropped her chin in her raised hand, propping her head with it. She really felt shameful about it now.

He lifted his arm from his face then, and inched his neck backward to catch her gaze with his, curious.

"I really should apologize, huh?"She mumbled, her mouth behind her palm, embarrassment swelling further. "I'm sorry. I really hadn't thought you would … it could – …"

"… Get a rise out of me?"He finished, his eyes turning soft as he gave an upside-down smile, and the way he phrased it brought racier images in her mind she cared to admit, and she could help but blush.

" … that."She said lamely.

She thought he was chuckling at the tone she had used when he didn't say anything else, but then she felt one of his arms wrap around her middle section and felt him pulling her against his head briefly as he hugged her.

"Don't apologize. You were right anyway, I got what I deserved."

She looked down at him and he had that complicated expression, as if he was amused at himself, but oddly okay about it. But when his gaze lifted upward to look at her, she was lost again. Her whole focus into trying to decipher what his gaze was saying, losing grip in the wonders of its depths. What of that mellow sadness? What of that undemanding amusement? As if … relenting?

What of that willing resignation?

Like someone devoted to a cause … or someone?

She didn't like it. It was far too unpleasant to see him like this. She felt like tearing up, chest clenching at his expression. It felt too much like he was giving free will over his being to someone else? As if he didn't have a choice in something. It felt wrong. She wanted to bring unrestrained joy back in him.

The tips of her fingers were near the side of his eye, brushing, before she had thought of this.

"You okay?"

More submitting amusement swelled in his eyes, and she couldn't help but frown, torn at the sight and what it could mean. He grabbed the tips still touching the top of his cheek, and wrapped his deft fingers around them.

"More than okay."

She was not sure she could believe that, and she guessed she was doing an awful job at hiding her worry because he added.

"See, you clearly prefer when I tease you. You don't believe I'm normal when I don't."

Kyoko snorted, seeing what he was doing but still falling for it.

"That's probably because I'm too used to it, silly. Which just means you successfully brainwashed me, that's all."

"That doesn't look so bad from how I see things, seeing we clearly established I enjoy to tease you a little too much." He said with a nonplussed smile.

She tried to resist, she really did. But she couldn't. And the fit of giggles she had been battling won, until she dropped her head against the tip of his shoulder.

"Arfgg … you are so – … unrelenting."

" … bet I am." She thought she heard him say but she was still lost to her laughs and it got forgotten to her by the time she recovered.

"So … cough… Are you finally going to tell me what you wanted to speak about earlier?" She enquired once she had got herself under control.

"Ah."

He said before twisting and sitting up.

"Right. Do you have clothes you don't care too much about?"

PS: Well. I hope you will enjoy it. Kisses.

Mimagfan.

AUTHOR OUT.