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“Well, here we are!”
Tsukasa opened the door to her house. After a long day at school, she was looking forward to being able to relax. She was even more excited about the guest she had brought home with her.
Masaru, Tsukasa’s new boyfriend, followed her inside and kicked off his shoes. Despite his stature making him look somewhat intimidating, he was rather shy, though he always seemed to be more at ease whenever he was by her side. This put him at odds with Kagami, who was still a little uneasy about her little sister dating. However, she had agreed to give them some space today, so long as they didn’t get too carried away. She hurried ahead to her bedroom.
Tsukasa led Masaru to the living room and picked up two cushions. She set one of them in front of the TV and sat down. “Where do you want to sit?” she asked, handing the other cushion to him.
Masaru timidly set the other cushion directly behind Tsukasa. He sat with his legs apart and hugged her. “Is this okay?”
“Perfect.” Tsukasa turned on the TV and found an anime that looked cute before nestling into Masaru’s chest. She was mostly looking for something to put on in the background while they cuddled. He let one hand rest on top of her head and made small circles on it with his fingertips. It was rare for him to hold her, but it was at times like these when she appreciated how much bigger he was. His embrace made her feel tiny, but protected. She knew she had nothing to fear when he was with her.
“Soft. Soft. Soft.”
Tsukasa looked up. Masaru was quietly mumbling to himself, repeating that word over and over. At the same time, his hands caressed and squeezed her upper arms. “Is something wrong?” she asked.
He blushed. “Oh, sorry. I was just thinking about how soft your skin is. I…like soft things.”
An idea came to Tsukasa’s mind. “Wait here; I’ll be right back.” She ran to her bedroom, changed her clothes, grabbed the Keroro plushie resting on the bed, and ran back. This was the softest thing she could think of, and he could squeeze it as much as he wanted. “Why don’t you try this?”
After thinking about it for a moment, Masaru took the plushie from her and held it against his body, supporting its head with one hand and the bottom with the other. “It’s even softer than you. But, it also kind of makes me feel sleepy.”
“Yeah, I’m a little sleepy too. Maybe we could take a nap?”
“We could, but I think your sister would get mad at us if I slept in your bed.”
“Hmm, good point. I think we might have an extra futon lying around somewhere. Let me go check.” Tsukasa opened the hallway closet and found two pillows, a duvet, and the futon itself. When she returned with everything, Masaru was still cradling the plushie, slowly rocking it back and forth like a baby.
“You smell like her,” he murmured. He was off in his own world.
Even as she knelt back down to unroll the futon and get under the duvet, she kept her eyes on him. “Come here, Saru-chan.”
Masaru snapped out of it. “Saru-chan? Where did that come from?”
“Well, I give nicknames to some of my friends, so I thought I’d give one to you. And you just looked so cute while standing there with that plushie in your arms.” She pulled back the opposite corner of the duvet and lay on her back. “You can bring it with you if you want.”
Masaru sat on the futon and set the plushie aside. He leaned over and put one hand on the other side of her, getting on top. “I love you, Tsukasa,” he said softly before kissing her.
Tsukasa was taken by surprise. They had only kissed a handful of times, and they had never gone this deep. She knew this was a step too far, but she had also secretly hoped it would happen. Her body started heating up in a way that it never had before, drawing her further into his spell. As he put more of his weight on her, he slipped his tongue into her mouth. A moan snuck out of her; all she could think about was how much she loved him.
Just as she was starting to think she couldn’t take it anymore, Masaru pulled away, giving them both a chance to breathe. They looked around to make sure they weren’t being watched before heaving a sigh of relief. He picked the plushie back up and wrapped it snugly in his arms. “Was…that too much?”
“A little, but it didn’t feel bad. Just warn me next time.”
Masaru pulled the duvet up to his shoulders and put his head on Tsukasa’s chest. “Would you mind holding me?”
Tsukasa put one arm around him while using the other to gently stroke his hair. “Of course I don’t mind. I’ll hold you as much as you want.” Despite the aloof way he tended to act in public, she knew he was sensitive on the inside and in need of support. Something about this position felt natural. There was nowhere she needed to be, nothing she needed to do, except rest.
“I can hear your heartbeat,” he whispered. “It has a nice rhythm to it.”
After turning off the TV, Tsukasa pulled Masaru closer to her so she could hug him tight. The week before, Konata jokingly asked her whether she had slept with him yet. She didn’t understand what was so funny about that question, but at least now she could say that she had. Her heartbeat was apparently the perfect lullaby to make him fall asleep within a few minutes. After that, she closed her eyes and allowed herself to slip away into oblivion.
“What’s going on here?”
A familiar voice jolted Tsukasa from her slumber. Her father was standing above her, no doubt confused as to why there was a futon in the middle of the living room. She and Masaru sat up and yawned. “Good morning, dad,” she greeted him while still half asleep. “We were just napping.”
“I can see that.” He turned his attention to Masaru. “And who might you be? I don’t believe we’ve met.”
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Masaru got on his knees and prostrated himself before Tsukasa’s father. “I’m so sorry! I wasn’t doing anything inappropriate with your daughter, I swear!”
“Whoa, hang on there, young man. I just wanted to know who you are.”
“Masaru Nomura, sir! I’m a first-year at her school!”
“Let me explain,” Tsukasa interrupted. “Masaru and I have been dating for a little while now, and I thought it would be nice if we could hang out after school. We were both tired, though, so I laid out the guest futon for us. He’s really sweet, trust me!”
Tsukasa’s father shrugged. “Well, I guess it’s not that big a deal. It would have been nice to know in advance that we were having company tonight, though.”
“So, does that mean you’re not going to kick me out?” Masaru asked, looking up at him.
“Not yet, at least.”
Her mother came into the room. “Oh, so you’re that boy Tsukasa talks so much about! Would you like to stay for dinner?”
Masaru bowed once more. “I’d love to. Thank you very much for your hospitality.”
Tsukasa got up so she could help with dinner. As she followed her parents out of the living room, she turned around to see if Masaru was coming. The plushie was back on his shoulder, safe and sound. He took Tsukasa by the hand and smiled. Though the two things he was holding were soft, perhaps his heart was the softest of all.