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There weren’t any secrets in your relationship with Mei. Well, weren’t many. There were definitely a few things you’d kept from him simply because you couldn’t imagine his reaction to them. Most were innocent, and the one that weighed most on you, simply due to how often it was close to being discovered, was your stuffed animal.
Most of them were tucked away in your closet, safe from pets and prying eyes. One, however, you couldn’t bring yourself to take off of your bed. It was relatively small, a little lamb with a pink felt face and thick, soft wool. He normally sat safely on your pillows when you weren’t sleeping, but when you were preparing for Mei to come over, he was between your bed and the wall, tucked safely into the sock container you had shoved underneath your bed.
He was an innocent little secret, but one you couldn’t bare a negative reaction to. So, you never let Mei see him. That night wasn’t going to be any different.
Sitting next to your boyfriend, propped up against the wall with pillows you stole from the couch, you scrolled aimlessly through the movies on TV.
“You’re sure you don’t have anything in mind?” You asked him.
Mei glanced up at the screen, taking a brief pause from scrolling through news articles in search of any familiar names. “Something interesting.”
“Ah yes, that helps my search immensely.”
He snorted indignantly, and you bumped your elbow into his side. He gasped, fumbling with his phone for a moment before it smacked against your wall and slid down.
“Oh?” you said, eyes wide.
“Rude!” he whined, shoving his hand down after it.
“Babe, wait, let me get it,” you insisted.
The last thing you needed was the risk and responsibility of injuring the hand of the Narumiya Mei.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” he pressed, pushing you away with his free hand. “Don’t squish me.”
His expression turned confused, and you leaned away from his reach as he set his phone back on the bed before putting his hand right back down there.
“Mei!” you protested. “You got your phone, what the-”
Your voice died as you saw what he fished out.
“Is this…” He turned the stuffed animal around in his hands, brushing off a bit of dust stuck to the felt of its face.
“Nothing!” You insisted, pulling it out of his grasp and standing from your bed.
He scrambled after you as you opened your closet door, and set the stuffed animal on one of the shelves.
“Hey, wait, that’s kinda cute.” His arms came around your waist, pulling you back towards him as he reached for the stuffed animal again.
You gaped in shocked silence as he took a better look at it, picking lint and dust out of its fur. He cleaned it up until he noticed that you had turned your head to stare at him.
“What?” he asked. “It’s a plushy, for crying out loud, what’s wrong with that?”
Words failed to form in your head, so instead you stared at him, shock apparent at the utterly… mature reaction from him. You’d expected some laughing and teasing, maybe him taking it too far and making you insecure. Yet here he was, doing none of that.
“Huh,” you let out, baffling your boyfriend even further.
“Huh? What’s with that? Huh?”
You shifted in his loose grip, turning to wrap your arms around him and bury your face in his neck. “You’re more mature than I thought, Mei.”
“Says the one hiding a lamb under their bed!” He shot back. “Who do you think you are, doubting my maturity?”
“Mei, didn’t you literally make fun of my nightlight a week ago?”
He huffed, choosing not to answer as he lead you back to your bed. “Why don’t you just find a movie already, huh? I’ve been waiting forever.”
You snorted, rolling your eyes as you curled back up into his side on your bed, your lamb resting on your bedside table. Your boyfriend may be completely insufferable, but he was yours. Sooner or later you’d come to realize if that was a good or a bad thing.