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Teru knocked on the door and Kurosaki opened it, still wearing his formal white shirt but with the tie undone and the sleeves rolled up. He looked good in it even when it was a mess, that bastard.
“Good evening, Kurosaki-san! I hope you've been well today!” Teru greeted him solemnly with her fingers on her forehead, doing a mock-military salute.
“Teru... as spirited as always.” He answered with an amused smile leaning on the doorway. “What's up? Wanna come in?”
“Yes, please!” She replied happily, she'd been worried that he'd be tired or something, but he seemed to be in a good mood. They both entered and closed the door. “I was surprised to not see you in the school garden today, so you had to go work for the agency, huh?”
“Yeah, something came up and they called me,” Kurosaki said as he started to head towards the couch. However, he then changed his mind, turned around, and gave Teru a hug. She was surprised for a second before wrapping her own arms around Kurosaki's waist and burrowing her head on his chest with a shy smile. “Why? Did you miss me?” he asked with a teasing tone.
“As if I'd miss being ordered around by a hoodlum of a janitor.”
He chuckled and let her go, but led her to sit on the couch with him.
“So did you need something or is this a social call? If you just felt like trading insults, we can do that, too, shorty.”
“Yeah, maybe later, baldy. I actually needed your expertise with technology. I've been trying to download an app on my phone but it doesn't work. Can you help me?”
“An app?” Kurosaki asked, a bit surprised. Probably because it was the first time she showed interest in apps, Teru thought. “Which one? What does it do?”
“It's like a motivational app for studying. Look.” She showed him her phone with the app ready to download. “Kiyoshi recommended it to us, you log in what lessons you've studied and the number of hours you dedicate to the lessons and you get points and trophies and stuff. And with the points you can get accessories for your avatar.”
“Wow, there really is an app for everything these days,” said Kurosaki with a smile. “But I didn't know you were having problems staying motivated to study.”
“Oh, no, it's not actually about that,” Teru repplied, shaking her hand in negation. “I want it because you can compete with your friends, and Kiyoshi was being super annoying about how much he had worked yesterday, so I really want to beat him.”
Kurosaki laughed at how matter-of-factly she said it. “Yeah, that checks out. So what's the problem?”
“So, I press download and... see? It says that I don't have any space left when I know that's not true, 'cause, look here...”
“Ah, yeah, you're right. I think I know why...” Kurosaki started to investigate the phone’s settings while explaining to Teru where to go. “Your phone probably downloads these things to the phone memory by default. That memory is usually too small, you have to change the settings here... not, here... Yeah, there. Download to memory card. Let's try it again... Yep, there you go.”
“Whoa, that was super fast! Thanks, Kurosaki! Just as expected from a computer genius, huh?”
“Yes, that's right,” he crowed, touching his chin to look sophisticated. “Praise me more, praise me more,” he said just to make Teru laugh.
“I'm even willing to make you something to drink as a thank you. Or to eat? Are you hungry?”
“No, I already had dinner, thanks. But a tea would be great.”
“Okay! Coming right up!” Teru chirped as she got up to go to the kitchen. She didn’t see the way Kurosaki stared at her as she left.
As she was turning on the kettle, she saw Kurosaki enter the kitchen.
“Ah, Kurosaki, did you want something else?”
“No, I just didn't feel like waiting in the living room,” he said with a fond smile and warm eyes.
The way he said it or the way he was looking at her, or both, made her heart jump a little and she could feel herself start to blush.
“I-I see.” Why was she so nervous? It was stupid to be nervous, don't be nervous. “By the way, Kurosaki, did Riko tell you about Sunday?”
“No, what about Sunday?” She noticed that, as Kurosaki asked this, he was moving slightly closer. She willed her heart to chill, please, chill a little.
“We are baking a cheesecake, so you are invited to come try it.”
“Really? Sounds great, I'll definitely come.” He'd reached her side by then and was standing in front of her, leaving her no choice but to lean against the kitchen counter. Why was she backing away from him, though?
“Yeah, i-it'll be the first time I try to bake that kind of thing, so I don't know how it will turn out exactly,” she knew she was blabbering, but she couldn’t stop. “But I think it will be fun, and...”
“Teru,” he interrupted her, lifting her chin slightly with a finger and then touching her lips. “Don't be nervous.”
She finally looked him in the eyes and was blown away by the emotion there and by the knowledge that she was about to be kissed. She tried to say “I'm not nervous” but her brain didn’t seem to be working anymore.
When his lips touched hers, she closed her eyes, and imitated the light movements of his mouth, the soft caress of his lips, the change in the direction of his head...
And then Kurosaki licked her lips and her body caught fire. He opened her mouth with a soft touch and her breath caught in her throat. He pressed her body against the counter and a tiny noise escaped from her mouth. That's what did it. Her body overheated and the strength in her legs went bye-bye. Kurosaki, probably guessing what was happening, smoothly caught her from just above her knees and lifted her onto the counter, so Teru ended up seating on the counter with her head resting on Kurosaki's shoulders.
“Don't you dare laugh, Kurosaki. I hate you,” she said with feeling, although it came out muffled against his neck.
“I'm not laughing,” he promised, but Teru could hear his smile.
“Why does this keep happening?”
“It's normal, you're just not used to it, yet.”
The water started to boil, so Teru lifted up her head to allow Kurosaki to make his tea, even though she was supposed to be doing it. But she thought it'd be best to wait until she regained the feel of her legs first.
However, before she could stand up, Kurosaki came back, with his cup of tea, and stood between Teru's knees, keeping her on the counter.
“What are you doing, Kurosaki?” she asked with a blush at the intimate position.
“Nothing, it's just that I kinda like this new angle. I never get to look up at you,” he said with a teasing grin.
“Are you calling me a midget??”
“I'd never dare,” he replied as he took a sip of his tea.
“Anyways, I can't stay much longer, I want to go to bed early, and I still want to figure out how this app thing goes.”
“That's fine, I won't keep you. Howeverrr... that means I have to kiss you goodbye.”
Teru's heart jumped and her stomach burned despite herself. “Wha- But- We just... You don't have to...”
Kurosaki chuckled. “Sorry, I was teasing you too much.” Teru scowled at him, but only half-heartedly. He started to back away from her, which, for some reason, surprised her. Maybe it was the sudden loss of his warmth, but when he started to pull away, her hand flied to catch his shirt. They both looked equally surprised.
“Ah, sorry. I don't know why...” Teru started. But as she is saying this, she looked into herself for the reason why she didn’t want Kurosaki to go. “Maybe... maybe I want that kiss after all.”
Kurosaki's eyebrows shot up and he even blushed a little. And then he complied.
Kurosaki kissed her slowly, with pliable lips and gentle caresses. Teru wondered how many more types of kisses she could get from him. He was restraining himself, Teru thought. She could tell by the way their mouths lingered together, by the shaky breath he exhaled against her lips and by the grip he tightened just for a millisecond on her arm. This kiss didn’t overwhelm her like the last one had. Instead, it did something much worse- it left her wanting more.
Kurosaki then whispered against her ear “You are too tempting,” before caressing the shell of her ear with his lips and scrapping her really lightly with his teeth, causing a tremor to run through her neck and back. What kind of sorcery was that?!?
“Okay, let's get you home, I'm too weak against you today.” Kurosaki offered her his hand to help her get off the counter and she took it. She wasn’t too mortified at being so flustered when she saw Kurosaki's huge blush. So, at least there was that.
When they reached his door, before opening it, he leaned down and planted a quick kiss on Teru's forehead.
“See you tomorrow, Teru. I love you. Goodnight.”
And Teru, whose brain right then was practically putty, replied “Goodnight” and went out the door.
It was only when she'd walked a couple of steps that she remembered something and hurried to Kurosaki's door to knock again.
He opened the door and Teru whispered “I- I love you, too.”
Kurosaki's smile was adorable and it made Teru melt a little. He leaned again and was about to kiss her. (In the hall! where someone could see them!) But at the last moment he conquered himself and said against her lips “Waaaay too tempting,” before closing his door with that smile still on his face.
Teru couldn’t help her own smile from taking over her face. She had to cover her face with her hands and jump up and down a little to will herself to control her emotions before going into her apartment, where Riko must have been waiting for her.
She didn’t even know what she was feeling. Before Kurosaki, she hadn’t known she could feel nervous, scared, excited, wanting, frustrated and flattered all at once. But she thought that's exactly what she was feeling. It was chaotic and hard to control, but she wouldn't change a thing.
Kurosaki came out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He used another smaller one to dry his hair while sighing with relief. It felt so good to not have sand all over his body. The first shower he had taken after swimming in the beach had been a short one, and he had still found sand behind his ear during dinner. So, even though it was late, he had decided to take another one before going to sleep. Because of the sand and... maybe one other reason.
He sighed once more, this time at himself, before starting to brush his teeth. Spending the day at the beach with everyone had been very enjoyable. This vacati... business trip that Master had roped them into with the agency's funds had allowed them to really spend a whole day relaxing at the beach and at the resort, which was big and comfortable without being too fancy. They had divided into two rooms. Each one had two bedrooms, one small common space and one shared bathroom. So Master and Akira were sharing a bedroom in the same room as Andy, while Teru and Riko shared a bedroom in the same room as Kurosaki.
Knowing only a wall separated him from Teru was a bit nerve-wracking, but to be honest, the whole experience of spending the day with Teru in a bikini had been pretty tiring. He had thought about asking her to go on a night walk with him on the beach after dinner, but after the last time they had been alone at his apartment, he knew that the smart thing would be to take a step back if he didn't feel strong enough to resist her. And after a whole day of seeing all that naked skin...
He finished his night routine and stepped out of the bathroom and into his room to put on his pyjamas and go to sleep. He was really looking forward to a restful night, so of course he went to find Teru sitting on his bed in her pyjamas with a book on her lap.
She instantly blushed at seeing him with only a towel and averted her eyes.
“Kurosaki! So-sorry about coming without notice. I didn't think... sorry, really, I'll leave...”
“Wait, wait! It's okay, you don't have to. Is something wrong? Has something happened??” He asked, trying not to panic. It said something about the way they had been living for the last few months that when something surprising happened, he immediately assumed that disaster was afoot.
“Oh, no, it's just that Riko passed out but I couldn't sleep. I saw your light on through the door and decided to come read for a bit, so as not to bother her. Is that okay?”
Kurosaki, now relieved that there hadn't been any disaster or kidnapping, tried to play cool his state of undress.
“Yeah, that's alright,” he answered as he grabbed his pyjamas and went back into the bathroom. Once he was dressed, with his heart still pounding in his chest, he went back into the bedroom.
Teru looked up at him with a shy smile and Kurosaki couldn’t help but think about how whipped he was.
“Kurosaki, are you tired? I can go back to my room if you want to sleep already.”
“No! No, that's fine, you can stay for a bit. I brought a book, too, so we can read for a while.”
“Great! I really want to finish this book. I only have a few pages left.”
Kurosaki took his own book from his suitcase and laid down on the bed. Teru was above the covers, so he decided to get under them. Teru was sitting with her back against the headboard.
“What are you reading?” asked Kurosaki. Teru showed him the cover of the book. It was really ugly. It had a picture of the face of a man and a woman. Their style was very early 90's and the title was in English. Next Door To Love. He lifted one eyebrow. “Is this for your English class?” Teru nodded. “Is it interesting?”
“Nop. I really hate it.”
That made Kurosaki laugh. “I thought you were looking forward to finishing it.”
“Yeah, because it's so bad I want to end this torture! My English teacher really loves dramas. Especially romantic dramas, so every year she makes us read one of these trashy books.” She pouted. It was cute. “Ah, but look! It has an interesting detail. Look at the name of one of the characters,” she pointed to one word in the text. Apparently one character was called Daisy. She sniggered. “It's a little girl.” Kurosaki rolled his eyes. How could a girl so smart have such an awful sense of humour sometimes was a mystery. “It's the man's daughter, who gets kidnapped by the mother, because they are going through a divorce.” She fake-gagged to illustrate her disdain for the plot.
“Really?” Kurosaki drawled with a shit-eating grin. “In my experience it's not DAISY who always ends up kidnapped.”
Teru scowled at him. “Shut up, Kurosaki. Go bald.”
He chuckled and opened his own book. Not wanting to distract her anymore.
Suddenly, he heard her murmur a word in English, trying it out. “Hoodwink. What is that?”
“I think it's like cheating or duping someone.”
“Oh yeah, it makes sense.” She smiled at him. “You're really good at English, Kurosaki.”
He shrugged and they slipped back into silence, each one concentrating in his own book. It was really quite a domestic feeling, and Kurosaki kind of loved it.
“So, what does cuddling mean?”
“Oh... Mmm. Hugging? But usually lying down? Like, to sleep?”
“Oh, okay.” She turned the page. There was an illustration of two people embracing on a bed. “Ah, like this?” her cheeks were a bit red as she asked that. Kurosaki just nodded, suddenly nervous. After a while, she said in a low voice, “looks nice.”
After a couple of minutes, she closed the book. Kurosaki swallowed.
“Did you finish it?”
“Yep, it has a happy ending. The main characters end up together. The ones cuddling.”
“Mnh.” Why was he suddenly so tongue-tied? He didn’t know what to do next. He didn’t want Teru to leave, but Riko would kill him if he told Teru to stay the night.
Teru wasn’t looking at him directly and she was fidgeting in the way that meant that she wanted to say something but didn’t know how. Finally, she asked in a low voice, not yet meeting his eyes:
“Can we? Just for a while?”
It took him a moment to get what she was asking for, so many thoughts had raced through his head in those few seconds of silence.
Finally, he put his book on the nightstand, and opened his arms up to Teru. She got under the covers with him and hesitantly laid her head on his shoulder and put an arm across his chest, hugging him a bit awkwardly.
“Is this okay?” she asked.
He put his arms around her, pressing her more against him, moving Teru into a more comfortable position for her. Now she was leaning her body more against him, and one of her legs crossed his.
“Yep, perfect,” he reassured her, giving her a rib-crushing hug, just so that she’d grunt and giggle a little and break the tension.
“This is nice. You feel very warm, it was getting a bit chilly over the covers..”
“Mnh.”
“I can hear your heartbeat.”
“Yeah, it's being super loud right now for some reason.”
He felt Teru smile against his chest at his confession and hugged her again, this time more softly, marveling at the loveliness of her smaller form, feeling something in his chest burn and tremble with happiness. Damn, he was so whipped. Worst thing was, he knew he didn’t have enough willpower to suggest her to leave now. Which meant that Riko was going to kill him in the morning.
Just in that moment, he felt Teru’s chest expand as she took a deep breath and then exhaled against his neck, causing him goosebumps. It felt like a contented sigh.
Oh, well, he told himself. At least he’d die for a good cause.
Teru entered Kurosaki's apartment after a soft knock and heard noises in the kitchen, so she went there to find him inside with his back to her, presumably waiting for coffee to brew while scrolling down his phone. She noticed, delighted, that he was humming and felt a smile coming to her lips.
Because it was adorable and it meant he was happy? In part.
But mostly because it gave her an excellent opportunity to tease him. Her grin intensified when she recognised the song as a feel-good pop love song that had been playing frequently on the radio lately.
“Humming again, Kurosaki? Had a good day?”
Teru watched Kurosaki jump about half a meter high in the air at hearing her voice suddenly at his back and she had to cover her mouth quickly with her hand to stop herself from laughing. Accidentally startling Kurosaki was becoming a guilty pleasure of hers. And it was pretty easy, what with him telling Teru she could use her copy-key whenever she wanted to come over and with him getting so into his head sometimes.
Kurosaki turned around with an embarrassed scowl and Teru quickly hid her amusement behind an innocent smile.
“Brat! What are you doing here?”
“You were the one who told me yesterday to come here to hang out! I just knocked on the door and everything, it's not my fault you got scared!”
“I wasn't scared! More importantly, what the hell is that thing on your uniform?” he asked, pointing at a round colourful piece of paper held on Teru's shirt with a safety pin, like a medal. He was clearly trying to change the subject, but Teru allowed it.
“Well, it turns out you are before the current Kagamiyama High Bubble Champion Supreme,” she announced solemnly striking a pose that showed off her almost non-existing biceps.
Kurosaki regarded her dryly. “What on earth is a Bubble Champion Supreme?”
“Oh, Haruka and Ken got A LOT of free gum because of an online contest, so my friends and I decided to do a competition to see who was the best at blowing gum-bubbles. And I won.”
“It amazes me that you have time to get such good grades AND do all the stupid things you tell me about,” said Kurosaki with a mix of awe and annoyance. “But anyway, where's the contest? It's not that hard, you either know how to blow gum or you don't.”
“It actually requires a lot of skill. We were working with this,” she pulled out two big bubble gum tapes from her pockets. “So the bubbles were massive and if you aren't careful it explodes.”
“Why do you have that much gum??”
“It's my prize for winning!”
“I still think that it's a matter of luck, not skill.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, let's do it, right now!” Teru exclaimed, pointing defiantly at Kurosaki. “I challenge you to a match. If I win, you must recognise my skills and my superiority over you.”
“And what if I win?” He asked while crossing his arms. He was trying to look at her with dignified contempt, but he was clearly getting interested.
“Well, then you'll be the Bubble Champion Supreme, of course.”
“Nah, I don't care about that stupid title. Let me think...” he looked up at the ceiling in a pensive gesture. “If I win, you have to do what I say.”
“Wha- That's too vague!” she argued.
“What's the matter? Are you afraid you're gonna lose?”
“No way in hell!” Damn Kurosaki, she’d teach him not to underestimate her. “But then, if I win, you have to do whatever I say, too.”
“Oh,” Kurosaki said, his lips picking up a suggestive smirk. “Is there something you really want me to do?”
“Sh-shut up, stupid Kurosaki.” She glowered at him and gave him the gum as she tried to suppress a blush. “Let's start this.”
They both started chewing the gum. It was one whole tape for each other, so at first they looked a bit like squirrels with too many nuts in their cheeks.
When they softened the gum enough, Teru made Kurosaki look for a ruler so they could measure which one was bigger. For some reason, that made Kurosaki laugh.
“Okay, so how many tries do we have?” asked Kurosaki when he got the ruler and a paper to write the numbers.
“Three tries each. The biggest bubble wins.”
In the first round, Teru’s bubble was bigger than Kurosaki’s. But in the second round, Kurosaki’s bubble was exactly as big as Teru’s first one, which made Teru scowl. Her jaw was actually hurting a bit from chewing on gum all day, and Kurosaki was fresh and getting better. He actually had a chance to win.
Teru’s third bubble was just a tiny bit bigger than her biggest one. and Kurosaki must have been thinking something along the same lines as her, because he smirked at her.
“Worried yet?” he goaded and started doing his third one.
Teru, seeing her title in peril, got an idea.
“You know, I'm actually a bit worried. I ate so much gum today... They say if you eat too much it makes you poop NONSTOP.”
Kurosaki exhaled an uncontrollable guffaw that made the bubble explode violently and stick to his nose and cheeks. Teru laughed uproariously at his indignation.
“You cheated!” he accused, while unsticking the gum from his face.
“No way, you were talking during my turns, too!” she defended, drying a tear from her eye.
“Unbelievable...”
“Suck it up, I blew the biggest bubble, so my position as the Bubble Champion Supreme is undefeated!” She was once again flexing her non-existent biceps when she noticed Kurosaki pouting. That surprised her. Kurosaki wasn’t a gracious loser, but he tended more towards grumpiness than actual displeasure. That made her stop to actually think.
“What were you gonna ask me to do anyway?” she probed, curiously. Maybe that’s what the pouting was about.
Kurosaki suddenly looked away, grumbling a bit. But after a bit of coaxing, he replied:
“I was gonna ask you to kiss me,” he murmured in his embarrassed voice, still not looking at her. “Like, you initiating the kiss. And it had to be 10 seconds long. That kinda stuff.”
Teru's eyes opened widely at hearing that and she could feel herself blushing. It was true that she rarely initiated kisses. And when she did, they were usually quick pecks. She was about to accuse him of being a pervert to lessen her embarrassment, but the vulnerability in his face stopped her and made her feel vaguely guilty. Was she supposed to do stuff like that? Had she been ignoring some unspoken couple's rule?
Before she could decide what to answer to Kurosaki, he shook his grumpiness and covered his embarrassment with a sheepish grin before looking at her. “So, what do you want me to do? Have you decided yet?”
Teru hadn't had any objective in mind before the contest started. But she now knew what she wanted to do.
“Sit down on the couch. Close your eyes.”
He gave her a mistrustful look. “You're not gonna shave my hair off, are you?” He asked while he did as told. “Because I can take a prank, but that'd be officially Too Much.”
She rolled her eyes. “You aren't in any position to make demands. Close your eyes.” She stood in front of him.
“If you're gonna write offensive things on my face, at least don't do it with a permanent market.”
“Shut up already,” she said with a bit of a nervous laugh. “You can't move unless I move you, and until I tell you to move. ”
Teru could definitely feel her heart beating hard in her chest. Her palms were a bit sweaty and she swallowed nervously. As she gathered courage, she saw that the silence was making Kurosaki a bit twitchy.
“Teru?” He asked, a bit unsure.
So she decided not to think about it too much.
She pushed Kurosaki's shoulders till he was leaning back on the sofa and climbed on his lap, with each knee either side of him, although staying away from his...um, most compromising area.
Kurosaki's face didn’t quite know what expression to settle in.
She held his face between her hands and saw him swallow.
Teru finally kissed him. Very lightly at first. Just a brush of her lips against his. And she heard him inhale through his nose.
She started by doing what he usually did to her… She kissed his upper lip, then the bottom lip, then corner of his mouth, all the while, Kurosaki stayed still...
Then, Teru pushed down her nervousness and tried something she’d never tried before. She licked Kurosaki’s bottom lip slowly, from corner to corner, and bit it tenderly. She guessed he liked that because a low sound escaped Kurosaki’s mouth. And, god, what a sound.
It wasn’t loud or anything, but it did things to Teru’s mind and body. It made her proud to be the one to have caused it. It made her feel powerful and weak at the same time. How was that possible?
And most of all, it woke up wild instincts inside her.
And for some reason, those instincts told her to run her hands through Kurosaki’s hair as she kissed him deeper, her tongue slithering through his lips.
This time, Kurosaki uttered a full-on moan that made heat explode in Teru’s stomach. She did that.
Kurosaki’s hands flew to Teru’s hips, but she put them back on the couch. “You can’t move yet,” Teru whispered against his lips in a display of confidence that she didn’t know where it came from, and continued to kiss him. He moaned her name and she tightened her hands on his hair, feeling the need to hold onto something.
With every brush of their tongues she could feel her breathing accelerating, her skin warming, her heartbeat bursting in her chest and... and suddenly, between her legs.
That… that was new. That confused her and gave her back the sense to stop and lean away from Kurosaki’s mouth, although not off the couch yet.
They were both panting and Kurosaki finally opened his eyes. Teru had never seen him like that- with red cheeks and droopy eyelids and mouth swollen and half-opened. His hair was a mess. It was a good look on him.
Damn, I did that.
That new, wild side of her that felt proud was stronger, in that moment, than the side of her that felt embarrassed. She guessed it’d be better to leave before her embarrassed side gained ground.
She got off the couch slowly, not trusting her legs entirely, and saw Kurosaki grab the couch cushions as his whole body tensed and his gaze sharpened on her. It looked like he was keeping himself from following her.
“I-” Teru cleared her throat to make it work. “I should go, I’m having dinner with Riko.”
Immediately, Kurosaki shook his head and that sharp gaze vanished and his body relaxed a little.
“Yeah.” How did his voice get so low? “Right. Riko. Go, don’t keep her waiting. I- I’ll see you tomorrow, Teru.”
So she left his house and stood in the corridor, leaning against Kurosaki’s door for a few seconds, trying to get her facial expression under control, when she heard from the other side of the door a distant, very long, and quite frustrated, “oooh, my gooood...”
She bit her lip and couldn’t help but think, “yeah, same,” as she willed her hormones to calm down.
Kurosaki stared at the coffee cup Riko had left on his table, but his mind was focused on something else. More accurately, on a certain short high-schooler currently studying for her exams in the apartment next door.
He pulled out his phone and went to his chat with Teru, reading it again. The same night of that bubble gum competition, Kurosaki had sent her a text.
You:
Hey, you sleeping?
Teru:
Not yet, what’s up?
You:
So, I really enjoyed kissing you today. Or rather, you kissing me.
You:
But now I’m worried that I pressured you into doing it, by telling you what I wanted my price to be.
You:
You know that you can tell me “no” to ANYTHING I suggest or ask, right??? I’d never be angry at you for that.
Teru:
I know that, Kurosaki. It’s not like I’m a wilting flower.
Teru:
I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do.
Teru:
Or that I didn’t enjoy.
You:
Oh, ok.
You:
Shit, now I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep.
Then Teru had finished the conversation with an emoji smiling shyly and they had bid each other goodnight.
Kurosaki smiled down at his phone.
Flirting was always fun. But with Teru it was amazing, and it made him feel warm all over.
And up until now, flirting with Teru and teasing her had been uncomplicated and innocent to a point. She was young, inexperienced, and no part of her wanted or was ready to go beyond kissing. Honestly, Kurosaki was thankful for that.
His feelings for Teru might mean that his friends would forever label him a lolicon, he had made his peace with that, somewhat… But still, he was determined to remain a decent adult.
And Teru’s nervousness and inexperience had always kept his feet on the ground. It had always made him keep his good sense when they were alone. No part of her was ready for more.
Now, he wasn’t so sure.
He had started to suspect after that - amazing, scorching, heart-stopping - kiss. But a few minutes ago, Riko had given him another clue, while they were having coffee and talking about nothing.
Riko had made a comment about Teru taking her exams even more seriously than usual.
“Honestly, it’s impossible to forget that Soichiro and her are siblings, she gets so weird sometimes,” she had said with a warm chuckle. “I went into her bedroom the other night to bring her a cup of tea and she had laid some paper sheets on top of her textbooks and was copying sutras. She had also put on her wall messages like ‘mind before matter’ and things like that. She told me it was in preparation for studying. I’ve never seen anyone prepare to study like that.”
Kurosaki had laughed with her, but now that he was alone, he couldn’t help but wonder.
Copying sutras was what he did when he was feeling… um… frustrated.
Kiyoshi had seen him doing it. It wasn’t a leap to think that he’d told Teru about it. And Teru was relatively innocent, but neither of them were stupid.
The unavoidable conclusion was that Teru was trying that technique because she was… frustrated, too.
Kurosaki didn’t even dare to think about what other word he could apply to what Teru might be feeling, because if he did, he would literally put his foot through a wall.
He sank into the sofa with a groan and pressed his hands against his eyes, trying to distract himself.
There was no use thinking about it. He couldn’t do anything about it. Teru had friends her own age that could relate to her if she wanted to talk about it, there was no way she’d come to him for advice about something like that.
Kurosaki’s whole body tensed as his traitor brain supplied him with a fantasy of a very frustrated Teru calling him in the middle of the night, asking him what to do. And him telling her how to get to know herself, how to move, how to touch, as he heard her moaning on the phone.
Shit, shit, shit.
He threw himself out of the sofa, feeling like a pervert and a bad man.
A shower to calm down, and sutras as punishment. Now.
This situation with Teru was going to be the death of him. And he wouldn’t change a single thing.