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Mari's parents weren't home, and the younger kids were watching TV downstairs.
That gave them some time to themselves.
The two of them sat together on Mari's bed. Hero gave her a shy kiss on the cheek once they were alone, blushing. They had kissed before, but he still got so flustered- which Mari found absolutely adorable.
She playfully kissed him back, laughing at how he buried his flushed face into his hands. After some teasing and half-hearted denials, they fell into a comfortable silence. Mari leaned her head against his shoulder, eyes closed in contentment. Hero placed an arm across her shoulder, holding her close.
They hadn't been able to meet up as often as they would've liked lately. With school, exam prep, and in Mari's case, the upcoming recital- neither of them seemed to have much downtime. Hero could feel it in the slight sag of her shoulders, the muted relief on her face- she needed a rest. She'd always been a bit too hard on herself, wanting everything to go just right. The recital in particular meant everything to her.
When he asked about how practice was going, she sighed. Her fingers curled into the fabric of her skirt. "It's… been going okay, but-"
"Could be better, huh?"
She laughed at that, the corners of her eyes crinkling up. She snuggled closer to him. "Yeah. It's not just me being a perfectionist this time though." her smile faltered. "It's Sunny, he…"
Hero knew, to an extent. Sunny had been spending more time than usual with Kel, Aubrey and Basil over the last few months. When forced to leave for his tutoring, he always looked so upset. He couldn't imagine why though.
"He told me he doesn't wanna keep playing the violin anymore- isn't that ridiculous?" Hero could sense the frustration in her tone. "He used to love practice, why's he so against it now?"
"He's probably just frustrated." Hero rubbed her shoulder. "Y'know how kids are. Kel always sulks whenever my mom nags him to do his homework."
"Yeah, I get it." Mari sighed. "But still- I really wanna do this with him. We've already practiced so much, and… it just wouldn't be the same without him." She gazed downward. "Maybe I'm overthinking this."
Hero squeezed her hand. "Yeah. After all, this is just for fun, right?" He cut her off before she could protest. "I know, you want the recital to be perfect and all- but nobody's there's gonna judge you two for messing up." he winked. "If that even happens, that is."
"Oh please!" Mari groaned, playfully smacking his arm. "Doesn't hurt to be careful!"
Hero giggled, his smile as contagious as ever. Before she knew it, they'd both fallen backwards onto the bed, laughing for no real reason.
After their laughter had died down, she spoke up. "...but really, thanks for helping me out about this. It's been bothering me for a while now."
Hero looked over to her. The faint morning sun glistened in her earnest eyes, gaze aimed at him. It was almost more than he could take.
Blushing, he reached over, clasping his hand in hers."...no problem."