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Arriving at the door to Nozaki’s home, Chiyo took a second to adjust her outfit before entering. A simple red knit dress for the holidays, a scarf to challenge the cold outside, and her staple black tights to seal the deal. Elated at the idea of spending the Christmas holiday with her friends, she turned the knob to the entrance, announcing her presence to the home, “Nozaki! Pardon me." Stepping in, the house was expectantly empty - she had come early to help Nozaki set up, at her own request - the sole occupant sat at his usual desk, clearly slaving away on another manuscript.
"Ah, Sakura," Nozaki greeted her after a moment, turning around from his seat across the room, "Good of you to make it."
"I'm just glad I could help out," Chiyo chuckled, setting down her supply bag in the kitchen, "Is there anything to get ready now, or should we wait a little bit longer?" Her hands reached up to untie the scarf at her neck, but she was abruptly stopped by a rushed exclamation.
“Wait - stop - don’t take that off yet -” Nozaki rushed out, hands up in a stop gesture from across the room, “I need more reference photos. That scarf is perfect.” Chiyo let out a resigned sigh - since a few months ago when she had agreed to his first modelling request, it had become a norm for Nozaki to ask for her services every so often. Leaving the scarf on and finding her way deeper into the room, she reflected on all the previous times he had asked her to model; at the end of the day, she truly didn’t mind them that much. They only frustrated her because they never went far enough to be considered intimate, but yet weren't casual enough to be just between friends - unless, Nozaki wasn’t thinking that much of the shoots. A real possibility, Chiyo thought, nodding unconsciously as Nozaki had already rushed into posing her as usual. She had become accustomed to him being close, to his gentle touch against rarely exposed skin, to quiet suggestions and camera clicks that came with acting as Nozaki's model.
"I have one more favor to ask," Breaking the silence, Nozaki spoke from his spot a few steps away, camera in hand. Apparently, while Chiyo was lost in thought, he'd gotten all the references he needed. Straightening out her clothes, she waited for the rest of his sentence, expecting it to be the preparations for their Christmas party in a few hours.
"I have another outfit I need modeled," Nozaki spoke, quick and to the point as usual, already heading from the living room towards his bedroom, where Chiyo had discovered he keeps the majority of his modelling outfits. Or hers, rather, as it seemed no one else ever wore them but her. Following a few steps behind, Chiyo called out the burning question on her mind, “But, Nozaki, what about the Christmas party?” She stood in the doorway, watching as he shuffled clothes around, digging for whatever else was needed for his manga references.
“I need references first. That’s more important than preparations,” Nozaki paused, looking temporarily at an item in his hand before continuing to search, “Behind on deadlines. Been waiting for you to model again.”
“You… you could’ve asked me over any day of the week though? It’s winter break, I really wouldn’t have minded,” Chiyo spoke softly, partially elated that she was Nozaki’s first choice for a model, but also unsure how weirded out she should be that this had become normal for her. Finally, Nozaki appeared to have found his model outfit, holding it up proudly in his hands, as he did with every one he had her model. In his hands, on a hanger, was a barely held together lingerie set - reminiscent of the first shoot she had done for him - sheer, red, lacey fabric was tied together with white, fluffy trim and string. Draped on one edge was a matching set of red kneesocks and garters, although so little fabric composed them it was hard to believe they'd be warm at all. Chiyo's displeasure must've shown clear on her face, because before she could speak, Nozaki jumped to defend it.
"Sakura, I really need you to wear this. It's for the Christmas deadline that I’m incredibly late for. It was so hard to even find this, and you’re the only one that can model for Mamiko,” he tried to explain, keeping his eyes locked onto Chiyo and away from the Christmas lingerie just in the corner of his vision, “Like last time, I already tried myself and Mikorin…” His voice sounded just as crestfallen as Chiyo felt the first time he asked, as though he were legitimately disappointed Nozaki couldn’t be his own model. Despite her reservations to doing another raunchy shoot, by god did Chiyo have a hard time turning Nozaki down - his requests were always so simple, but desperate, and seemed to truly come from a place of innocence.
“Fine. Only if we can do the party decorations after?” Chiyo asked, gingerly reaching out to take the lingerie from Nozaki’s hands.
“Party decorations after. It’ll be less than an hour, promise,” Chiyo watched the relief fill Nozaki’s face as the lingerie exchanged hands; the lack of a model and deadline stress must’ve really been weighing on him, “You’re a real lifesaver.” He finished, giving a quick gesture before exiting the bedroom to give her privacy.
Alone in the room, Chiyo let out a heavy sigh. She was really doing this. Again. Not just acting as Mamiko’s model as she had been for awhile now, but she was doing another lingerie modelling shoot. Removing and bundling her scarf from around her neck, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and her eyes drifted once more to the various photographs pinned in the corners, and the others strewn around Nozaki’s room. Keeping her mind from wandering, Sakura returned to the task at hand, and next, off came her dress - the one Chiyo had so lovingly picked for their, now clearly delayed, Christmas celebration. She folded it neatly and set it on the nearby desk chair with her scarf, before piling her undergarments in the same corner.
Starting from the top, she slid the sheer red and white fluffy bra on, the faux feathers tickling against her skin contrasting with the scratchy, but almost soft, material of the lingerie. Next came the matching panties, less fluffy trim and more lace trim - but no less sheer. Finally, she exchanged her black tights for the lingerie set of socks, sliding on the red garters and socks, finding it was true - they were just as thin as they looked. Suddenly, the apartment felt that much colder, her skin much more exposed with very little to keep warm. Chiyo stopped for a moment to admire herself in the vanity mirror, and watched her face flush nearly as red as the underwear itself. The fabric was really, really , sheer, leaving practically nothing to the imagination.
Did Nozaki not look at this before he bought it? Chiyo thought furiously, before realizing, Oh, he didn’t. Because he couldn’t try it on.
There was no way she could model for this - at least, not as just friends, she decided, turning away from the mirror and getting ready to put her other clothes back on. Chiyo would just have to tell Nozaki she couldn’t do it, but she was afforded no such opportunity when a knock arrived on the door.
“Sakura? Can I come in?” Nozaki’s voice was lightly muffled coming through the door, “I started shabu shabu from the ingredients you brought, so we shouldn’t be too long.”
“Wait - no, Nozaki, I can’t-” Chiyo began to protest, turning to reach for the door only to find it already open with Nozaki standing in the way, having entered without a response.
“Wow, it looks perfect!” Nozaki exclaimed, rushing over and gripping Sakura by her shoulders, eyes flitting between different parts of the outfit, “I wanted a skirt for Mamiko, but I can just draw that in later.” She stood still, frozen in his grasp, as he delicately admired the outfit, hands glancing across parts of the fabric in a detailed inspection. After a moment, he appeared to snap out of his daze, Nozaki removing his hands from her and looking a bit away.
“Ah...yeah, it looks nice. Modelling. Right,” he turned towards his desk, other hand point towards his bed, “Could you lay on the bed? I’ll get the camera.”
Chiyo stood frozen for a moment, trying to process everything that had just happened in a single go. Nozaki either had no problem with how see-through the outfit was, or he hadn’t noticed; and - surely - he didn’t notice the gravity of inviting a partially naked girl to relax on his bed, right? Eventually, she found herself at the edge of his bed, falling over to lay atop the covers - a noncommittal act, in the slightest. From the corner of her eye, Chiyo could see Nozaki fiddling with his model camera near his desk, while her other senses were bombarded with the sensations surrounding her - from the faint scent of Nozaki emanating from the soft sheets, or the pounding of her heart in her chest. Interrupting her delusions was a quiet voice, announcing he’d finally got the camera ready, and in the next moment Nozaki had vanished from across the room and appeared in front of her.
Or more precisely - on top of her. Nozaki had also settled himself on the bed, kneeling, legs straddling Sakura’s thighs; peering up from her spot on the bed, Nozaki towering over her was nothing short of intimidating. With camera in hands and the usual cold glint in his eyes, Nozaki finally broke through the silence that was ringing in Chiyo’s ears.
“Whatever pose you want is fine, Sakura,” Nozaki spoke without a hint of fluster in his voice, as though he was entirely comfortable with the situation at hand, “Any pose of Mamiko laying down is fine, so whatever you choose.” Above her, he kneeled with camera in hand, his critical eye watching, waiting for her to move; between his knees, it was all she could do to not squirm under his gaze. After a moment that rested for far too long, Chiyo squeezed her eyes shut and moved into a pose that she might’ve seen in another shojo manga, far too aware that no matter what pose she struck, she’d be much more vulnerable than she’d ever wish to be. After an unknown amount of time in the dark - her eyelids shut as though shielding her from the reality of her current position - a quiet sound and soft voice gently encouraged Chiyo to return to the present.
“You don’t have to be so nervous,” Nozaki spoke, delicately clicking camera in hand, unconcerned smile hid behind it, “It's just us after all. What's there to be worried about?"
"Well, Nozaki, it's," Chiyo began, unsure of what - if anything - she could say to fix the situation; in the physicality of it, averting her eyes from his looming shape above her, she felt her cheeks flush, resisted the urge to cover her eyes in order to maintain the sprawled pose she helplessly placed herself in. She began again, barely keeping her voice from trembling, "It's awkward...being in your room. With you."
As though a period to end her statement, Nozaki’s free arm landed haphazardly next to Chiyo’s head, supporting himself over her; the sudden closing of distance, their proximity to each other, his face resting in the space mere inches above her. The hand clutching the camera had relaxed, no longer trained on Chiyo’s vulnerable form.
“I don’t think it’s that awkward. You’re doing great,” Nozaki’s stern, always calm voice, finally faltered on the last word of his compliment. At his praise, Chiyo felt her face heat up - she didn’t even know her cheeks could feel so warm, or perhaps it was from the warmth of Nozaki above her - and she could no longer avert her eyes from the truth staring her down. She watched as his eyes turned from their normal, passive gaze, to one puzzled, even troubled, perhaps realizing just exactly what was happening around him.
“Oh...This is a shoujo manga scene, isn’t it…?” Nozaki asked, almost to himself, Chiyo feeling the sheet rustle underneath her, next to her head. He had abandoned the camera, it now laid a bit away from his fingertips, placed haphazardly, and Nozaki’s hand instead taking to rumpling the sheets underneath his fingertips.
“Mhm…” Chiyo nodded breathlessly in agreement, left speechless from just how close he really was to her. Speechless from just how warm he felt against her exposed, air chilled skin, speechless from his hesitant gaze, speechless from the shallow breaths falling against her cheeks and lips. Yet somehow, Nozaki found words - not ones either of them could’ve expected.
“Next, was...this...right?” Nozaki murmured slowly, inching closer with hesitation unusual for the author, until his lips met Sakura’s as delicately as though he were handling fine China. Now forced into speechlessness, breath taken from her, she laid in shock for the seemingly endless moment of Nozaki’s warmth against her, surprised by how delicate, how soft his kiss was. After a simple moment, he drew away, and Nozaki immediately cast his eyes off of Chiyo and to the sheets entangled between his fingers. He could instantly feel the warmth in his cheeks match the pink growing on Sakura’s cheeks, both of them matching the red of the lingerie, as the whole situation became a bit more evident to the pair.
“A….Ah….?” Sakura could only squeak quietly, lips trying to formulate any semblance of words, her fingers touching the remnants of warmth from where he had touched her, “N...Nozaki...I...you…”
“I...I know…,” He answered her aimlessly, frantically avoiding her eyes but couldn’t help a sideglance to her flustered expression. Nozaki couldn’t help it, beginning to sit back onto his heels, pushing himself up by his arms against the bed until he was stopped by an exclamation.
“Wait - Nozaki, um…” Chiyo called out to him as he began to retreat, recluse into silence, hand rushing to grab his withdrawing wrist, “If...I know, it’s a lot, but...um...one more?”
Forgoing even an answer, Nozaki came back to lean over her, once again hesitantly closing the distance between them, returning to press an identical kiss against her lips, just as delicate as the first. He pulled away just as quickly as it had happened, their shared moment feeling ethereal, temporary, removed as Chiyo placed a hand against Nozaki’s broad shoulders to keep him close and secure. That single movement pushed Nozaki over the edge, and he returned to grant a more forceful kiss, almost hungry with the way he bestowed harsher kisses intermixed with the feather light, delicate ones that Nozaki had given her before. Chiyo was helpless to do anything but revel in his warmth, feeling her own vulnerability as arms wrapped around shoulders pulled her close to him; her airchilled, overly exposed chest pressing against the warmed fabric of Nozaki’s shirt.
“Nozaki! Chiyo! We’re here!” A voice rang down the halls, its owner outside the door of Nozaki’s apartment, accompanied by the ring of the doorbell. As the sound echoed, reaching the pair focused only on each other, they froze, before quickly separating from each other. Squirming, Chiyo kicked the comforter as she tried to gain a footing, instinctually covering herself, although there was little left to be protected. In turn, Nozaki sat back on his heels, hand covering as much of his face as he could muster, hiding flushed cheeks behind nimble fingers.
“Nozaki...the party...the door...what are we going to do?” Chiyo stammered, fingers nervously playing with the slim fabric covering her body.
“Uh, I’ll...distract them. Get the party ready. Get dressed in the mean time?” Nozaki rose from the bed, quickly facing away from Sakura, half to head to the living room, half to hide himself from her. With that, the sound of the doorbell rang again, and he quickly stepped out, leaving Sakura alone in the semi-dark room, exposed. Alone, she quickly rose from the bed, head still spinning from the feelings, the sensations, that she could hardly believe had happened. Snapping from her daze, Sakura quickly found her earlier discarded garments, tossing the knit dress over her head and readorning her shoulders with her scarf. The feel of the lingerie against both her skin and the fabric of her normal outfit was uncomfortable, a feeling she wasn’t accustomed to, but at the very least, Sakura took comfort in knowing it was easy to hide.
--
Nozaki really wasn’t prepared to open the front door. But he clearly didn’t have time to waste, hearing the chatter on the other side. Opening the door, two familiar faces and cheery tones greeted him.
“Nozaki! We’re a bit early, but we brought the drinks!” Kashima grinned, lifting two chock-full store bags to Nozaki’s line of sight.
“Sorry for no forewarning, Nozaki. We just figured it wasn’t right to let you and Sakura do all the setting up,” Hori smiled, hand ushering himself and Kashima from outside into the entranceway, “Pardon us.” The pair crowded into his apartment without a word from Nozaki himself, and he shut the door behind them as the pair set their supplies down.
Taking his scarf off, Hori turned to Nozaki, tilting his head, “Are you alright? You look a little red. You aren’t sick, are you?”
“N-no, it’s just the...uh, the hotpot,” Nozaki stammered, pointing with one hand to the ceramic nabemono atop the table, the other rising to touch his heated cheeks, “I was making hotpot before I opened the door.”
“Hey, where’s Chiyo?” Kashima asked, already settling herself at the table, nabemono lid in hand as she inspected the contents, “I saw her shoes at the door, but she’s not here?”
“She’s...in the bathroom,” Nozaki spat out, taking a seat at the table with Hori, and hoping his lie would buy Sakura enough time.
Thankfully, his lie sufficed - after only a bit of conversation, Sakura snuck herself from Nozaki’s room, grabbing herself the final spot at the small table in between Kashima and Nozaki.
“Ah! Welcome back, Chiyo, you look so pretty today!” Kashima praised, taking Sakura’s hand as she settled herself next to the other woman.
“Awh, Kashima, thank you. I picked it out special for today,” Chiyo grinned, free hand playing with the end of her dress. Hori and Nozaki, neither talking much themselves, affixed themselves to the girl’s conversation, busying themselves with prepping the nabemono.
“Buuut, I have to ask,” Kashima withdrew her hand, putting it to her chin and nodding, “Aren’t those socks a bit thin considering today’s weather? You must’ve froze out there.”
Chiyo jolted at Kashima’s hesitant touch, her hand resting atop the sheer, thin, fabric of the lingerie’s kneehigh socks. The very same ones, in her rush to get dressed, she had forgotten to exchange for her usual black ones - the one item that would give away the secret under her dress. Her nervous gaze swapped from the hand on her thigh to Nozaki’s gaze - which, despite the situation, showed no fear, yet it was obvious by his attention to her that he knew what happened. Finding no solace with him, Sakura quickly returned her attention to Kashima, stumbling for any sort of lie.
“A-ah, well, I didn’t realize how thin they were when I bought them. I just thought they looked nice with the dress…” Chiyo forced a nervous laugh, playing with the fabric of the garters. Looking at her lap, she really did think the red matched her dress, but they were definitely chilly, and suddenly Sakura dreaded the idea of having to wear them home. Feeling the fabric between her fingers and against her skin, under her dress, reminded her of what had happened mere minutes ago, and Chiyo could feel her face flush red. Hopefully, the others couldn’t see how red she was from here.
“They do suit you and your outfit,” Kashima finally withdrew her hand, another praise spilling from her lips, “On the way home, we should buy you warmer ones, okay?”
“Mn, okay. Thank you, Kashima,” Chiyo nodded, looking up, “A-anyways, I know it’s a bit early but should we break out some snacks? Or drinks? It’s still awhile before the others get here, so…”
“Nice idea, Sakura. I got some milk tea, if you give me just a second,” Hori gave a quick gesture, rising from the table.
“Ohh, me too, Hori-senpai!” Kashima said, scrambling into a standing position to follow Hori away to the kitchen, nearly knocking the table in the process. Now that they were alone, Chiyo leaned a little closer to him to avoid the other pair catching on.
“Nozaki, can’t you just get my clothes from your room and I’ll change in the bathroom? I don’t want to go home wearing...y’know…” Chiyo whispered, swapping her gaze between the red socks adorning her thighs and the pair handling drinks in the kitchen.
“Are you crazy?” Nozaki retorted back, a bit more fierce than expected of him, “I didn’t finish taking reference photos.”
“What!? When are you going to take those?” Chiyo hissed, struggling to keep her voice low, “Mikoshiba will be here soon, then the party, and then after we go home! When are you going to take the photos, and when will I get to change?”
“You’ll just have to stay later,” Nozaki huffed, pulling away from Chiyo, “But first, the party?”
As the last words rolled from his tongue, Kashima and Hori, toting two drinks each, returned to the table, their friendly banter drowning out any lingering whispers. At the same time, Chiyo felt a sudden warmth on her thigh, above the sheer garments, and looked down to find palm and fingers gently hugging the surface of her leg, attached to the man who mere seconds ago shut down any plans for her escape.
With the warmth of Nozaki’s hand against her, and the gentle ringing in her ears of the Christmas table’s conversation, Sakura knew it was just the beginning of a very long night.