“Your shoulder is wet.”
Aya pointed out when we’re alone in the room where we had Nao sleep when she stayed here.
Letting Miwa-nee cry on my shoulder was also a way for me to calm my feelings down. All this time, she was carrying that alone, trying to not let me carry the same burden.
It might be her fault but knowing that Minoru is our child and her admitting to it, more than the heavy responsibility, it’s the relief that she wouldn’t shut me down again like before. I didn’t know how I could have her acknowledge me. Maybe if I didn’t notice, she would never tell me until I became an adult.
“Ah. Don’t worry about this. How was it? You and Akane talked for so long that I couldn’t bear to interrupt.”
She would just worry if I told her about what happened with Miwa-nee.
“She told me things about you that you wouldn’t show in school. And I told her how you were in school.”
Aya giggled after it as if she remembered something that Akane told her. She’s always this adorable. It’s always great to see her open up to more people.
Well, even if it’s just to the girls also connected to me, expanding her circle of friends from Kana and Rae to Akane now.
“Did she tell you an embarrassing story about me?”
I don’t think I have one of those. But if there is, only Akane will know.
Aya giggled cutely again before answering.
“Un. You used to be bullied by Miwa-nee then Akane will comfort you.”
I see. That’s what she finds funny. ℴ𝓿.
Err… those were the times when I was still innocent after all.
“Ah. Then this time. I want to be comforted by Aya. Though I wasn’t bullied today, can you comfort me?”
When I acted innocently like this. Aya immediately blushed as if seeing a different side of me.
She stared at me dazedly before slowly nodding and opening her arms.
“C-come here. I’ll comfort you.”
Even if she’s extremely embarrassed Aya smiled enchantingly calling out to me to be in her embrace.
Since I started it, of course, I’ll follow through. Tonight is her special night. I’ll pamper her or maybe I’ll be pampered by her. It depends on anything she wants.
Taking her up on her offer, I snuggled right into her arms as I slid my arms on both of her sides and locked her into my embrace.
As I pushed my head on her still developing breast, Aya’s face who’s looking down from above me, blushed further while biting her lips.
“This is really comfortable, Aya.”
I teased her as I rubbed my cheek on her delicate chest. The softness of it was always comfortable after all.
And even though she was utterly embarrassed, Aya slowly put her hand on my head and patted it like she’s pampering a child.
Seeing my peaceful expression as I comforted myself on her chest also gave her some sense of satisfaction. This girl. She’ll be a great mother in the future.
“Ruki, I was nervous earlier but not anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“Uhm… Meeting your first love. I thought she would be scary but the way she treated me, it’s like seeing a little sister even though we’re of the same age.”
Ah. Right. Maybe all of them will think Akane will be someone who will bite them.
Only yesterday did she fully accept everything, however, she didn’t notice or she forgot that she’s already like that since before. If not, she wouldn’t put all those girls in the chat group. She was already helping me to keep the girls to myself ever since then.
When I had just accepted Akane she kept on getting jealous especially whenever I brought back a girl here. That’s normal, to be honest. Any girl would feel like that. Haruko, Yae even Miwa-nee. All of them, actually. But most of them keep it to themselves.
Then she started to change to not let me worry about her but in truth, she was already like that ever since then. Like me, she also got confused or she got drunk from our love for each other that she forgot.
In any case, I wouldn’t neglect her again. She will always be the most special.
After Aya, I planned to bring Kana or Satsuki here. Kana already met Akane but that time, she only stayed behind me.
“I see. Akane is… special. I owe a lot to her. You learned about my past, right? All those times, Akane was looking out for me, even though she was mostly ignored by me.”
“She loves you a lot…”
Aya came to the same conclusion. Akane truly loves me a lot that she turned a blind eye to everything.
“Un. She never gave up on me and even now, when normally she should be mad at what I’m doing, she supported me instead.”
“… I wish I can be like her.”
“You don’t have to. Each of you is unique on your own.”
They all have their own unique traits which set them apart from the others though that’s not the part that made me love them, it’s still something that was truly special.
“I don’t know what I can do for you, Ruki.”
Aya shook her head as she pulled my head up to align it to hers. Looking straight at me with those seemingly lost eyes.
If I don’t give her an answer she will keep thinking about it. Yae also has this same dilemma. She wanted to do something for me when in truth, she didn’t have to. But then if I put myself in their shoes, that’s probably what I will feel as well. That’s why, I have to give them some kind of purpose, to stop them from thinking like that.
They’re already good on their own and whether I will love them or not doesn’t depend on what they can do for me.
“Loving me is enough, Aya. We’re still young and we’re still working towards what we wanted to do in the future.”
With our faces aligned, I only moved a bit to plant a kiss on her lips, only a soft kiss to remind her. Aya closed her eyes for a bit to savor that feeling.
When she opened her eyes again, she looked at me and silently asked.
“Future… Will I still be able to stay with you by then? Won’t you marry Akane?”
“You see, I’m working for the future where I can be with all of you. Uhm that is if you still feel the same by then. I will marry Akane, yes. But I also want to marry you, Satsuki, Nami, everyone. I’m this greedy.”
Telling her my greed to take them all as my wife, though it sounds unrealistic but if it’s possible, I will. And that is if they stay.
“It will be hard but… if that’s what it takes to stay with you…”
I shook my head at her answer. Her words just meant that she will accept it silently.
“We can work on that together. However, Aya, right now, we have to focus on what we can do and not what we have to do. Say, what do you want to be in the future?”
I cupped her cheek in my palm and caressed her face with my thumb. I will ask everyone this question, knowing what they want to do in the future, it will be easier to help them. ‘What we can do’ correlates to something in the realm of possibility. ‘What we have to do’ on the other hand carries a certain amount of pressure and something one might even be forced to do even if they can’t.
“Uhm. Apart from being your wife… I want to become a librarian.”
Books really couldn’t be separated from her. Those are her companions when I still haven’t breached her shell.
“I see. That suits my Aya perfectly. However, don’t librarians have to interact with people that will borrow a book?”
“Un. That’s why thank you for your efforts for pulling me out o–”
I cut off her sentence to stop her from thanking me again.
“That’s more of your efforts, right? Now that I know what you want to do, though it’s not that different than what we’re doing already, we just have to level it up a bit.”
Kissing her again, Aya responded to it before nodding her head. She’s already opening up to people but what she needed for what she wanted to do in the future was to interact with more. It doesn’t necessitate for her to open up to them as well. And that’s something ‘we can do’ and not ‘we have to do’.
“We’ll let you interact with more people so that in the future when you take up that role, even if you still retain your shyness, you will have no problem interacting with new faces.”
This time, Aya was the one who kissed me after she took in my words. And her kiss, though soft, carried her intention.
“Un. I’ll do my best. But Ruki, tonight, I want to become one with you…”
After saying that, Aya started to heat up… Saying those words still embarrassed her but when she saw my unchanged look at her, she calmed down.
“Me too. That’s also what I want tonight.”
“Un. I’m waiting for this day… I will also show you how serious I am, Ruki.”
“You’ve already shown me, Aya.”
“Uhm…That’s not enough, I want to also feel you here and here.”
Aya pointed at her heart first and after that was the part below her belly button. Even with her embarrassment, she kept on throwing these assertive gestures.
To save her from further embarrassment, I pushed her down on the bed with me lying next to her. Turning her body to face me while slowly pulling her closer, I whispered to her.
“You don’t need to push yourself anymore, Aya. Let me take care of you tonight.”
Aya nodded. Her eyes which had that hopeful glint were staring at me lovingly.
“Un. Love me, Ruki.”
After saying that, she closed her eyes as her arms slipped over to the back of my head and pulled it towards her. Initiating our first passionate kiss tonight, Aya let herself be taken completely in my embrace. Her slightly thin body, though trembling, was making itself comfortable as the passion between us started to be ignited.