Hours went by, yet for once in her life, she managed to stay still. Heartbeat, breath—two things she had been focused on since Takuma had finished retelling his life. Life was a strong word, as she had learned. They had moved back to her room when he showed signs of fatigue, and it had taken him less than two heartbeats to close his eyes and fall asleep. His arms were wrapped around her as he held onto her for dear life. It was always more apparent when he slept, when he lowered his guard. Sometimes he cried; sometimes he held her as if he was scared she would disappear. She hated the former. Hearing and watching him cry made her heart hurt in a way she couldn't describe. The latter she was more than happy to return. It took him an eternity to stop crying—or at least, that was what it felt like to her—near silent, as he did most things. If she hadn't known it was something he sometimes did, she might not have even noticed. It had taken her long enough to notice the first time.
His grip around her lessened, tired as he was, and finally, he fell entirely asleep—not the hyper-alert sleeping with one eye open he always did. Only then did she dare move away. He was sound asleep, and that meant it was time for her to go to work. She extricated herself from him and then pulled the light blanket he liked to sleep under over him. He didn't like the heavier one; it made him anxious about how quickly he could remove it in case he needed to move fast. Another thing she could do nothing about. Only wait and hope.
But not anymore. She had been jokingly asking for names for months now. And now that she had one, it was time to act. Itori Satsuo, a name she had never heard before. But an hour later, she knew everything that she could gather about that woman. Most of it was legal— the internet was a treasure trove of information if one knew how to use it. Some of it, on the other hand, was less so. She had contacted one of Tinker's friends and requested any available info on her. It had cost her sixty thousand U.S. dollars. Not even enough to make a dent in the money her parents had left her. And even if she had to pay a hundred times that price, she would still do it. Takuma was worth it. He was worth anything she could give.
And then she found nothing—or rather, the man she had paid didn't. Just more of the same basic information she had found on the internet. Nothing. He had even offered her money back, which was just another piece of the puzzle she could add to her slowly growing understanding of her boyfriend's past.
Because Mei could read between the lines of what he had told her. Why hadn't Takuma just dealt with her? Violence wasn't something her boyfriend was shy to use, and she knew he didn't discriminate. Punching her in the face would have been an easy way to get her off of him. Unless he couldn't win with violence alone. The reason could be many things, but one grabbed her attention like no other: Hero. A bodyguard to a high-ranking member of the H.S.P.C. Or, in this case, a close ally to one if she could use her favors and connections to acquire sensitive data. Then add to this a squeaky-clean reputation and the void of negative information on the internet. Not even a harsh comment on a forum, not even a hit piece from a web magazine that disliked the clothes she wore on a given day. There wasn't a single element out there that showed her in a bad light. And if Tinker's contact wasn't willing to push further even after being paid, then it demonstrated an artificial release of data, which meant she wouldn't go far with her usual means.
Because as much as Mei didn't understand people, she understood politics, power plays, and influence. Her mother and Tinker had taught her a lot about that part of the business. It also helped that Tinker was one of the last arms dealers in Japan. He knew things, and Mei wasn't as much of a newbie in the criminal underworld as Takuma believed. She had bought parts of a robot stolen from Tartarus scrapyard. It wasn't high on the list of crimes she could have committed, but it was worth a good few years in prison if she had been caught. Her mentor had been a door to the underworld, never willing to let her explore on her own, but happy to help her when she needed assistance that wasn't quite legal.
Itori Satsuo, philanthropist and leading spokeswoman on Quirk Counseling issues. She was far from the most well-known figure in this department, but she had enough pull to have helped pass many laws into parliament on the issue. More control, more funding. As far as everyone was concerned, she was doing good work. But Mei knew that woman had raped her boyfriend.
Rape—another thing she hadn't been able to fully comprehend. She understood it intellectually, but the visceral way he had described the utter dehumanization he had gone through with half-said sentences and a blankness in his tone made her skin crawl.
So that meant she would need to be dealt with. Now came the part of how she would go about it, which wasn't easy when she had a much more terrifying prospect in the form of the Warpzone Collective running around.
To forget him... there wasn't anything else she could think of that terrified her as much. The thought made her sick, and knowing that if it came to pass, there was nothing she could do about it was sobering.
So she had to prepare for a fight she could not be a part of—or to deal with someone who had the help of heroes and the government to protect her. She was out of her depth. It had never stopped her before, and it wouldn't now. So she started planning.
What could she realistically do to give Takuma and herself the advantage in any situation that could arise in the short term? In the long term, there were many weapons of mass destruction she could either acquire through Tinker or simply create herself. But she needed a solution for the trouble that might find them tomorrow.
In terms of defense, she had once told Takuma she had an auto-cannon she could bring back to life in case of an emergency. She had done so a few weeks ago; it was ready to punch through steel and concrete. Heroes and villains alike—she just needed to fine-tune the code to exclude herself, Takuma, and Izu from the firing solution. She was glad she remembered her best friend when modifying the code. In just an hour of work, she had a turret ready to defend her workshop in case of an attack. She would need more in time, but it would do for now.
Now she needed something that could help her bring the fight to her enemy. Killer robots were something she had been working on and off for a while. Robots were hard to make, harder to maintain, and finding a working code that wasn't full of malware was impossible. Using Fred'Ricks' A.I. was a crapshoot that had nearly killed her a few times. So, robots, as powerful as they could be, were a bust. She needed to get back to her roots—'The Old Reliable,' as her mom called it. Drones. Many drones.
Enough to block out the sun wouldn't be enough; she neither had the time nor the equipment to make anything that would help Takuma in any substantial way. She needed tech that an old scrapyard couldn't provide.
So she grabbed her phone and texted the only person she knew who could provide her with enough material in time. She did so between projects. She was working on Lockluster's costume, then uncovering some old forgotten baby—a drone with a chainsaw attached to it for some reason. She was also hammering a suit she found with a wrench to work out some of her frustration, imagining it was Itori, and somehow her wrench always hit her in the crotch. She couldn't touch that bitch yet, but if Itori thought she could touch her man and live to tell the tale, then she had another thing coming.
BabyMaker: I need something.
Overlord: I'm still out of those components you requested.
BabyMaker: I need my mom's special.
Overlord: Something I need to be aware of?
BabyMaker: Not yet.
Overlord: Alright, how much spice do you want with your rice?
BabyMaker: No rice. I'm going to need a mix of pasta, fish, and veggies. And I'd love it if you could add some of Freddy's sauce.
Overlord: When do you want the delivery?
BabyMaker: As soon as you can. Money isn't an issue.
Overlord: Is everything alright? Want me to call?
Given that "pasta" meant high-end electronics, "fish" was code for a small bot, and mixed with "veggies," it turned into their word for drones. "Mom's special" referred to something designed for use in legal settings. It was a miracle Tinkers hadn't called her yet—though he would, eventually.
BabyMaker: Everything's okay for now, but I'll feel better after I have some food in me.
Overlord: Consider it done. I'll deliver it myself—three days.
BabyMaker: You're the best!
Overlord: Freddy misses you.
BabyMaker: I'll try to come by and say hi soon.
Overlord: And don't get into trouble without me!
Mei giggled as she put her phone back into her coverall pocket. Then, after a moment, a thought hit her louder than the others, and she grabbed her phone again.
BabyMaker: Izu?
SmallMight: I passed!
BabyMaker: Great! Looks like having a hyper-intelligent rat as a special teacher comes with some perks.
SmallMight: It does. Nedzu kind of upped the difficulty of my test, but I still managed to pass... somehow.
BabyMaker: As a wise man once said, "You should have more confidence, you bitch!"
SmallMight: Takuma is many things… but a wise man?
BabyMaker: He has his moments.
SmallMight: He does. How is he?
BabyMaker: Exhausted.
SmallMight: Should we maybe… push him to see a doctor?
BabyMaker: That's never gonna happen. I don't think I could even convince him to step foot in a hospital.
SmallMight: I wish I could do more.
BabyMaker: You can. I need your help, Izu.
SmallMight: What for? Is everything alright?!
BabyMaker: Yes. I want to join your training with Nedzu.
SmallMight: I... Why? I mean, sure, I can ask, but isn't that kind of a waste of time for you?
Izu had told her what he was learning with the rat: politics, investigation, crime analysis, Quirk analysis—anything an investigative Hero might need. She hadn't found the idea interesting before. Now, however, the situation had changed.
BabyMaker: Things have changed. I realized I have a lot to learn, and if he's good enough to teach you, then he can definitely teach me.
SmallMight: Does this have to do with Takuma?
The question was obvious, and she'd seen it coming. Of course, it had to do with him—she wouldn't have cared otherwise.
BabyMaker: It does. I can't tell you why, but I need to get in on those classes with Nedzu. Please.
Furr-ry has joined the channel.
Furr-ry: It would be my pleasure to have you join our lessons. Do ensure this will not impede your work on Ms. Lockluster's costume, as it is your project for the entrance exam.
BabyMaker: It's already half-done. When do I join?
Furr-ry: Monday at 10 on the dot in my office. Note that our meeting location may change but will always be inside U.A.
BabyMaker: I'll be there.
Furr-ry: It will be my pleasure to teach both of you. Duty calls.
Furr-ry has left the channel.
SmallMight: Well… that happened.
BabyMaker: Did you invite him to the chat?
SmallMight: ...No.
Mei hummed. Now she understood Takuma's paranoia and strict "no technology allowed" policy during sensitive conversations.
BabyMaker: Even more reason to learn from him, then.
SmallMight: Yeah, Nedzu has been teaching me crime analysis and hacking between lessons. It's a lot, but interesting.
BabyMaker: Izuku Hacker Midoriya, do not hack anything without me!
SmallMight: I don't even have a reason to hack anything! And since when is Hacker my middle name?
BabyMaker: As of right now. I've gotta get back to the bench—I want Lockluster's costume done as soon as possible.
SmallMight: I've got a training session with All Might. I'll text you when I'm done.
BabyMaker: Same. Later!
With that done, surprisingly quickly, she could now entirely focus on Lockluster's costume. She remembered from their little talk that she wanted to keep the fluffy sheep aesthetics; everything else was up to her, which left her with more than enough leeway to make sure that poor girl wouldn't go into the field nearly naked with half a bra. Mei winced at the thought; the lack of support made her back ache just thinking about it. She had everything she needed to put a noticeable dent in this project before Takuma woke up, and she wasn't about to miss the opportunity.
She first gutted the sheep jacket. Whatever reinforcement they had added while making it was doing more harm than good, and she found the explanation as to why the weight of the costume rested around the neck. The mesh that was supposed to hold the plate of armor in place was too short for some reason and never even made it to the abdomen while also being bundled in the front or back of the costume. Mei could see multiple breaks in the lining of the jacket that required redoing everything from the start. She could have soldered it back on, but she would rather smash her own babies than deliver a sub-par product.
It took longer than it should have, since while ripping apart the jacket of the many components that somehow ended up being useless besides looking pretty, she found a few things that were... strange. A small dynamo that pulled its current from the movement of the costume and a small transmitter. Mei didn't remember the heroine telling her anything about some in-built components. It wasn't relevant right now, and if anything, she added the components to the long list of things wrong about the costume she was compiling for Power Loader.
When she was done pulling apart the thing, it was as light as a feather. The fabric was top quality, if anything, so she had nothing to say about it—flame-retardant and waterproof too, which was a nice addition for pretty much every hero out there. The only thing she added to it was a cowl, with some of the same fabric she managed to grab from one of her contacts. That way, Lockluster could protect her head from fire, and she added a compact rebreather in case of poison, gas, or fumes. It wouldn't hold up long due to being smaller than a standard breathing apparatus, but it would hold up long enough in case she needed a quick in-and-out to evacuate a burning building or fight an opponent with a gas-related quirk.
Then came the moment to add some actual armor. Nothing too drastic since too much was as bad as too little, but she focused on offering protection to her arms, throat, and core. She wished she could have convinced her to let her improve her knuckle-duster, but they were of sentimental value, so she had opted out of an upgrade to her weapon. She tried the jacket on; she jumped a few times, testing how it seated on her shoulders, and hugged her body to spread the weight of the added armor. On the exterior, it was still a cute, fluffy sheep jacket, but now if someone tried to stab her, they would be surprised to find nothing but steel. She used the leftovers of Takuma's costume, the few bits and pieces of Tartarus-grade steel that she hadn't found a way to cram into her boyfriend's costume. That girl would surprise more than one villain in the coming years. Not even small-caliber fire could penetrate the small plates of steel that were meshed into her jacket. Takuma's now back-to-pristine-condition costume was proof that even a gun would fail to penetrate the steel.
'If only I could have more of it,' she sighed as she set the last piece in place before locking it firmly inside the interlocking mesh of fabric and steel. 'You won't be going anywhere, cutey,' she thought as she observed her work. Her complete work. 'Shit, how long did I—' She turned, her thought cut off as she crossed eyes with Takuma, resting his hip against her workstation with a small grin. Her heart skipped a beat, as it always did.
"Hi."
"Hi," her mouth replied before her brain could.
Her boyfriend chuckled as he started to walk toward her, silent, as he did pretty much everything. She knew that if he wanted to, he could be standing right next to her—even in bed—and she would be none the wiser. He stopped right in front of her, close enough that she could have kissed him with barely any effort.
"Are you done with Lockluster's costume?" he asked, his hand landing on her hips as he pulled her closer. It was gentle, inviting, and she let herself lean forward, wrapping her arms around his midsection and squeezing with everything she had.
"I'm happy to see you too."
"'Am done," she slurred, surprised by how dry her mouth felt, as if it were the desert, and she noticed she was a bit dizzy. "'Ow long?"
"You've been at it for eighteen hours straight," he told her, brushing her cheek with his thumb. "You're also filthy," he added with a grin that never left him as he grabbed something and handed it to her. "Drink."
She noticed the bottle, grabbed it, and drank in three big gulps. "Phew."
"I tried talking to you, but you weren't really responding, so I prepared some things," he said, still brushing away the grime on her cheek. "I have no idea how you manage to get so much grease on yourself. Anyway, sit. Food."
Mei then noticed the plate with... katsudon. "Is that—?"
"Mamadoriya's recipe," he told her with a growing smile, though he looked away, some red creeping into his cheeks. "It's my first time, so it might not be very good."
Mei grabbed the plate and fork, taking a bite. It was katsudon, though a bit too salty. "It's perfect!" she declared as she took a seat.
He giggled, shaking his head. "I'll take the compliment, but we both know I'm not there yet," he downplayed, as he did most things. "I brought enough for two more servings in case you feel like going for seconds or thirds," he added, much to her delight.
Rice, lemon, and the dreaded veggies were also present. She downed all three servings, veggies included. When she was done, she let out a long sigh.
"I love you."
Takuma giggled. "I always thought the best way to someone's heart was through the chest, but looks like the stomach works as well."
The smile in his voice was a relief to hear after their last discussion. She wanted to hear and feel more of the part of him that wasn't sad or in pain. She wanted him to show that side of himself to someone other than her.
"How are you doing?" she asked, not standing up from her chair just yet, still feeling a bit dizzy.
His grin faltered slightly. "Weird? Tired?" he listed aimlessly, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm not used to talking about myself that much, and not about subjects... like that."
She hummed as she moved to sit on his lap, an arm around his shoulder as she leaned against him. Takuma was touchy; as much as he hated physical contact with other people, when she was concerned, he never could seem to have enough, so she made herself available when she could. And to be fair, she enjoyed having him close to her just as much.
"It's okay, my auto-cannon is ready for use, and I'll give you the application I made if you ever need to activate it in case of emergency," she told him, loving the expression of disbelief on his face. "What? If they want to get you, they better be ready to go through me. And the babies I'm going to make—give me a few months, and you'll have an entire swarm of drones to call for help when you need it."
"Isn't that...a bit much?" he asked, unsure.
"Nope," she denied. "If those mindfuckers come back, maybe I won't remember you, but my babies won't forget their father!"
She watched him blink, his mouth half-open. "I...that might actually work," he let out, gobsmacked. "If I have access to them and the right authorization, I don't think there's anything that would stop me from using them if you were to forget about me."
"That's what I thought!" she declared, bouncing a bit. "They play with the human mind, but there's no intelligence behind software made to listen to you. I just need to work on it to make it more useful than a recon drone, or an attack one with a gun or a buzzsaw. But if they don't come back too soon, then they would have to deal with you and every single one of my babies, ready to make them pay for every inch!"
Her voice took a fanatical tone in the end, but she couldn't care less. His wide eyes and misty gaze were why she didn't care to hold back. She had the feeling there were enough people who had let him down in the past. She wouldn't be one of them.
He shook against her with laughter, hidden behind his breath. "...Thanks."
His voice was so small, it made her heart ache. There was something about being the only person he was comfortable around that made her feel...special, but also scared to mess up. Takuma didn't trust her in a day. And after today, she could understand why.
How terrified was he when he first woke up in her house? Bloody and covered in bandages. He must have realized it was better than what the criminals out there would have done to him, but...he was defenseless, wounded as he was. Did he wonder if she was about to hurt him? She knew he did, because she remembered the night she had ended her baby-making session later than usual and walked in on him sleeping on the couch. The blanket had fallen during the night. So she had walked in closer and put it back onto him. She hadn't realized at the time, but he had been awake. The way he had moved when she'd laid the blanket on him. He played it off well. But with hindsight, she realized Takuma had flinched. From her. Then the morning after, he had simply told her there was nothing he could do against her. And she had been so focused on not being alone for a time, she'd simply asked him to be her friend. Because she couldn't stand being alone any longer. She had missed the entire point of the meeting until recently. Until she started to piece together how scared he truly was.
And it made her angry, so angry she wished she could rip those who did this to him with her bare hands. But it would have to wait. She had a cuddly kitten of a boyfriend to love. Mei squeezed him tightly, and he returned the embrace to her delight. Her hand ran against the skin of his shoulders, feeling the muscle underneath. To say her boyfriend was attractive would have been the understatement of the century. To her, at least, there wasn't a thing she would change. She took a second to feel everything: his chest against hers, biceps and hands around her side keeping her upright. She felt safe when he was there, in a way she could hardly describe. She felt like she could turn into the most brittle metal in the world and still be fine. As long as he was here, there was nothing that could touch her. Because he was here, and she wasn't alone—not anymore.
He kissed her on the crown of the head, something she got used to and learned to love. It was a bit awkward at first, going from the distant and enigmatic boy to the cuddly cuddle-bug her boyfriend truly was under the surface. She wouldn't trade the older version for the new one. This one was hers and hers alone.
She looked up and met his blank stare. Anyone else would have missed the way his cheek rose slightly—not quite a smile, but the tension was there. His gaze was softer than the hardened glare he sent to everyone else but her. There was a thing she loved to do that never failed to soften his gaze: a kiss on the lips, short and sweet. Another. His lips met hers this time, and she went farther still as her heartbeat started to hammer in her chest. His arm held her closer still as she went for another kiss. She stopped before she could go farther.
'No sex. Bad,' she reprimanded herself.
Just because she would have had his dick inside her long ago if she could didn't mean now was the time. Not after... yesterday? Time had flown by her once again, and it was annoying.
"I'm not made of glass, you know," he reassured her, his hand slipping under her tank top.
They didn't move after that. Takuma liked to put his hand under her clothes, against her skin. To him, it was nothing, but she had to get used to not getting her hopes up when her boyfriend played her like a violin by doing that. Sex hadn't ever interested her before she met him, but now she thought about it almost as much as she did about her babies. Which was a lot. She could feel the hardness growing against her butt. She liked having that effect on him.
But that wasn't what she wanted right now.
"You're not," she replied in kind, kissing his cheek. "But I've been working for..."
"Eighteen hours."
"Eighteen hours straight, and I feel downright awful," she told him. Food and water had helped, but now that she'd left the zone, she was flagging. Hard.
"The gremlin must rest!" he joked, scooping her up into a princess carry.
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and let herself be carried. It was fun. And also another opportunity to feel him against her.
"I need a shower," she realized, catching the scent of a pink strand of hair somehow covered in grease and soot.
'I didn't handle explosives, did I?' she wondered, unsure.
"Then shower it is," Takuma stated, making straight for the bathroom.
"Those two showerheads were a genius idea," Mei said as he gently set her back down on her feet.
"An idea is worth nothing without the means to bring it to reality," her boyfriend drawled as he helped her take off her stained and greased tank top. "And that's something only you can do."
She noticed the clean clothes already waiting for her next to the sink. Takuma's knack for thinking ahead felt like a divine helping hand sometimes. He unhooked her bra, and she tossed it onto the pile next to the washing machine. Then she jumped out of her coveralls and panties before walking to the shower.
"Don't think you're getting out of this one," she threatened jokingly as he was already halfway out of his own clothes.
"The gremlin wants; the gremlin receives," he let out in the same parody tone he liked to use to mock Fred'Ricks.
She turned on the shower, fiddling with the knobs until she found a temperature they both liked. He joined her just as she found the sweet spot. The water turned shades of black and gray as it washed away the grease and oil before finally running clear.
"Since I've already showered, this one's mostly for you," he told her, grabbing her shampoo bottle. "Pampering will now commence. Do not resist."
"Resistance is futile!" she replied with mock strength, leaning back against him. She decided to enjoy the moment as his hands went to her hair, applying the shampoo while massaging her scalp.
Her boyfriend knew her body better than she did by now, and he found the spots where his fingers could do the most good in barely two heartbeats. She had to bite back a moan as she melted into his arms.
"I'll never understand how half of these things end up in your hair," Takuma said, his voice full of disbelief as he removed a piece of metal and tossed it into the trash bag.
"It must've fallen in when I was digging for one of my old drones," she offered, though not fully trusting her own explanation.
"Your aptitude for getting scrap stuck in your hair will always surprise me," he chuckled as the water rinsed away the conditioner. "Alright, squeaky-clean Mei. For how long that'll last, nobody knows."
She giggled at his words, grateful he didn't mind the grime much. She always did her best to stay clean, but she never knew what could happen between now and the next break in her work. Cleanliness was secondary to baby-making, after all.
"You want to do the rest yourself?" he asked, always so concerned about her well-being.
"Don't miss an inch!" she shot back with a grin over her shoulder that made him roll his eyes.
"Yes, ma'am," he said dryly, adjusting the showerhead as he continued helping her.
She took a long breath to gather her courage as she prepared for her boyfriend's hand dancing across her skin. And she thanked herself for it, as when he touched her back, with hands covered in body wash, he used this moment to start massaging her tense shoulders. She let out a groan as the tension slowly started to melt away as he made his way to her back, then back up to her arm.
"That's good," she mumbled, flagging even harder than she previously did.
"I aim to please," he let out with a smile in his voice behind her.
His hands moved to her back, spreading the body wash evenly before his hands made their way to her abdomen and slowly started to make their way higher. The wait was half the battle, a battle she nearly lost, but it was worth it. Under her breasts and then around them, he was taking his sweet time, but in the end, she got what she wanted as he finally reached her chest. The touch was sweet and gentle; she felt her body relax, like a string pulled taut finally allowed to let go. The massage was exquisite, and she wondered how it would feel when it wasn't a byproduct of being pampered. His touch left her chest sooner than she would have hoped, going lower, toward her core, a gentle brush. Not where she would have hoped, but conscious as she found nothing of the tantalizing pleasure of her boyfriend's ministrations.
'Down girl,' she told herself as she followed her boyfriend's hands, making sure her butt, thighs, and legs were also covered in body wash. 'Is this heaven or hell?'
"And done," he let out, just before turning the shower back toward her to wash it away.
His arm around her, his hand on her belly, she simply waited for the water to do its job.
"I can definitely get used to this," she mumbled.
"I don't believe the micro-sleep helped you enjoy the experience, but why not," he shrugged, before turning the shower off and then taking her into a princess carry.
Did she fall asleep? She didn't think so, but in hindsight...he had been rather quick about it.
"Nooo, I want to enjoy being massaged," she pouted in his arms as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You're impossible," he said with a small grin as he let her down before grabbing a towel and starting to dry her hair. "But I guess this is what I signed up for."
"Impossible is fun; everyone else is boring," she replied as she let him wash the water out of her hair.
"You have a point," he agreed easily as he went on with drying her.
Mei finally took action and grabbed the change of clothes he had brought earlier, only to realize it was warm. As if someone had taken great care to make sure her clothes had been heated. This was a perfect example of what living with him felt like: acts of care, even to the smallest detail. Even to the point where she felt like she wasn't doing enough. She was always too spread out, even when a thought hit her, something she could do for him, half the time she forgot by the time she reached the door. It made her feel inadequate.
A clothed Takuma hugged her from behind as she was done putting on her own clothes. "You're going to bed now, young lady."
"Never," she replied, knowing full well how her cuddly boyfriend would react.
By picking her off the floor again. "I can get used to this."
"Good. Bed. Now," he drawled as he carried her to her bedroom and then dropped her gently on the bed. "Now go to sleep. I'll have some more food ready for when—"
Mei knew where this was going, so she simply made a grab for him and heaved him over her and onto the bed with her. He was heavy, but she had more than enough muscle to lump him around, at least in short bursts. "Not in your dream. How do you expect me to sleep without my cuddly kitten of a boyfriend around to hug?" she demanded, only half-serious.
Takuma never blushed easily. But he did now, as he looked at her with eyes full of surprise. "Cuddly kitten?" he asked slowly.
Mei felt heat gather to her cheeks as she now realized she hadn't ever called him that to his face. "The description fits," was all she said, as she made herself comfortable against him.
She hooked her leg around his as the other went above his hips. She then scooted up just enough so his head rested on her chest for once.
Before she was done, Takuma started to laugh—not the half-laugh he gave from time to time, but a full one, strong and hearty, one she wanted to hear more of.
"Cuddly kitten. That's not the worst thing I've been called," he said, with a smile on his lips. "Thank you."
"I've done nothing to be thanked for," she retorted, but he shook his head before kissing her on the lips.
"I mean it. Thank you...fo-for making me feel like a person," he let out, this time more shy as he didn't quite look her in the eyes.
Her heart gave her the impression she had been stabbed with a very sharp blade as she could only find it in herself to hug him with everything she had. "Always," she said, as he hugged her back with as much strength. "I love you."
"I love you too," he replied.
He fell asleep first, and Mei followed soon after, but not before thinking long and hard on her plan and realizing something.
'Give me one year; after that, he won't ever have to fight alone.'
Her prayer was sent to the ether, with none who could or cared to answer.
