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Another hard day's work done. Ann felt like she did a really good job with that winter photoshoot. Now she can finally head home and warm herself up.
As she walked down the street, Ann clung to her boyfriend's arm and leaned her head against his shoulder. Akira didn't mind it, however. His gripped arm was propped up accordingly to accommodate Ann's show of affection. Ann smiled with glee as she giggled to herself, her breath forming a puff of cold mist in the winter afternoon air.
It was cold. Really cold. Ann had been freezing for a long while thanks to her and staff constantly moving around the park for various scenic spots. Since Akira came to pick her up and she changed back into her regular clothes, she has been staying close to him for both affection and warmth. And since today was so cold, Akira suggested that they try out the new kotatsu they bought for the house recently. Hence Ann’s cheerful mood as she walked with Akira down the street.
She was so looking forward to this.
The last time that she had used a kotatsu, according to Ann’s recent memory, was back in middle school with Shiho. It was during one of the many times she was invited over to her house after school. And she had so much fun hanging out with Shiho and her parents while in their kotatsu. Of course, she wanted that experience with her own parents, but since they were hardly ever in one place, much less at home, there was little point in them owning one.
But now that she and Akira were living together, they were free to have their own kotatsu and take it out for a spin!
The minute that they arrived home, Ann kicked off her shoes and stretched out her arms with a satisfied hum. After Akira closed the door behind him and set his shoes down next to Ann’s, he immediately headed towards the closet where they stored the table for the kotatsu. Ann excitedly went towards the living room to gather and arrange the pillows. Morgana, who was sitting upon the sofa nearby, looked at the two of them with a curious look to his eye.
"Welcome home, Lady Ann," he greeted Ann pleasantly, before he said what he really wanted to ask. "What are you two doing?"
"Oh, Morgana! We're gonna use the new kotatsu today!" Ann answered cheerfully, setting the pillows on the floor. "I'm just trying to set up the pillows before Akira comes in with the table."
"It's natural that today would be a good time to set it up. It was pretty cold this morning, and you left early for another photoshoot, right? You must've been freezing." he commented.
"I was, oh my god," Ann replied with exasperation. "I had fun at the photoshoot, of course. But it was so cold and windy at the time that it was a struggle to keep warm."
"No worries, we'll be sure to help you warm up and relax," Morgana assured, before looking towards the side of the room where Akira was. "A gentleman wouldn't leave a lady to freeze. Isn't that right, Akira?"
"Naturally," Akira answered easily from the closet. "I'm definitely planning on making us some coffee after we get this kotatsu set up."
"Ooh, that'd be perfect!" Ann said enthusiastically.
Akira carefully gathered the folded table and carried it out towards the living room proper. Ann noticed him coming and stood up from her spot on the floor, ready to help him out at a moment's notice.
"Need some help there, Akira?" she asked.
"I'm good on this front," Akira assured her, lightly patting the table's surface. "Can you get the blanket out?"
"Sure thing." Ann said, nodding at him.
As Akira sat down and started to put the table and heater together, Ann walked over to the closet where they stored the table. She reached into the closet and carefully took out a folded comforter. It had a plaid checkered design with red squares, thick cream stripes that stretched across the comforter, and thin navy blue stripes that accentuated the red squares. There were a lot of options that Ann wanted to go with while shopping. So many colors and patterns that she and Akira debated over as they whittled down their options one by one. After much debate, this was the comforter that Ann and Akira chose for their first kotatsu.
The comforter itself was already pretty thick, as it looked big when Ann tried to carry it out of the closet. Just imagine when they actually get the kotatsu working. It's going to be so cozy!
With the big comforter in her hands, Ann then closed the closet door with her foot before walking back to Akira. From the looks of it, he had set up the table and was working on setting up the heater beneath it. Ann waited for the perfect moment, watching Akira work until it looked like he got it all set up. Once his body relaxed, Ann threw the comforter on top of his dangling legs.
"Huh? Hey!" Akira cried.
"You looked a little cold." Ann quipped.
"Haha," Akira said dryly, peeking at her from underneath the table. "I'm definitely gonna get you back for that."
"Alright, tough guy." Ann mused, satisfied.
After a few more moments of adjusting everything, Akira finally moved from under the table with a satisfied look on his face. Once he sat up, he grabbed at the comforter and moved it away from his legs, but he still hung on to the ends.
"Ready to put this up?" he asked Ann.
"Thought you'd never ask." Ann replied easily.
Ann leaned down and grabbed the other side of the comforter. Together, she and Akira brought it over the table and the pillows and draped it over everything. She made a couple of adjustments to the pillows underneath everything, just in case. Once everything looked like they were in tip-top shape, Akira placed the final shelf up top. Now their kotatsu looked complete.
"It looks good, you two," Morgana praised, his tail lightly patting against the sofa. "Seems very warm and inviting."
"Thanks, Morgana!" Ann thanked, nodding happily. "Akira deserves most of the credit for putting everything together."
"Your decorating deserves some praise too, don't forget." Akira pointed out. Ann then formed a small smile as she lightly nudged Akira’s arm.
"So… the moment of truth." Ann then mused, now looking back at their handiwork.
"Ladies first." Akira said in response.
With a nod, Ann moved around the table and took a seat on one of the pillows. As Akira came around the other end, Ann lifted up a part of the comforter so that he would slip into the spot next to her. Taking her up on her invitation, Akira sat down next to Ann and slipped his legs under the comforter. Ann then released it and made herself comfortable while letting the heat warm up her body.
And man, was this a cozy feeling!
The warmth that was exuding from beneath her feet was such a welcome feeling after a hard day's work in the winter. Ann hummed sweetly to herself with delight as she snuggled the covers. Akira couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction as he watched.
"Enjoying yourself?" he quipped.
"Mmm… Soooooo warm… ~" Ann gushed to herself. With a satisfied smile, Ann then leaned her body against Akira's arm, making herself even more comfortable. "This was definitely a good idea. Ahh, I'm in heaven…"
"H-Hey now, I still have to make the coffee…" Akira reminded her, still laughing all the while.
"Mmm… You've gotta warm up first before you go!" Ann protested, snuggling her cheek against Akira's arm.
"Trust me. Between you and the kotatsu, I'm getting plenty warm," Akira said, before giving her a quick kiss upon the top of her head. "Now lemme make this coffee."
"Oh, fine. Only 'cause you make the best," Ann pouted, reluctantly lifting herself off of her caring boyfriend. "But hurry back!"
Still snickering under his breath, Akira simply gave her a playful wink before getting up from his spot. As he walked off towards the kitchen, Ann wrapped more of the comforter around herself before sinking a little further into her seat. She smiled to herself in content as more of the heat from down below washed over her body, making her forget that she was ever cold. With Akira next to her along with a cup of his freshly made coffee, this feeling would be all the more sweeter.
Hmm… What else could they do in the meantime? Ann tapped a finger against her chin in thought. She did promise to help Akira out with studying his notes from his class earlier today, so she should probably get up and get some flash cards to make while he's making the coffee… But what about afterwards? They're gonna need to cool off and unwind with something…
Ann suddenly shot back up from her sunken position in the kotatsu. She just had a great idea!
"Hey, Akira!" Ann called out.
"Yeah?" Akira responded.
"After we study… You wanna watch a movie?"
—--
What was once a little study session in the kotatsu turned into a movie date. And that movie date eventually turned into a little movie marathon that stretched into the night.
The table on the kotatsu was littered with flash cards, notebooks, bowls and DVD cases of the movies they've watched. Yowl's Moving Palace, Sid Palmer vs the World, and now the last 20 minutes of Britt Jenkins's Journal was playing on the TV. In the meantime, Ann and Akira were sitting next to each other, sleeping soundly as they rested their heads on top of each other with the kotatsu still keeping them warm..
Morgana, still on the sofa behind them, shook his head.
"Geez, look at this mess. And they both got work and classes to do tomorrow too…" he sighed.
He leaped onto the table and stepped his paw against the remote, eventually turning off the movie that was on its last stretch. As Morgana turned around, he took a moment to glance at the slumbering couple still under the kotatsu.
Ann let out a quiet yawn before she snuggled her head against the crook of Akira’s neck, looking content. Akira hardly moved in his sleep, but his arm wrapped loosely behind Ann and the peaceful look on his face said it all.
Morgana couldn't help but smile a little at the sight.
"They’re going to get a nasty crick in their necks when they wake up," he mused, before he jumped back on the sofa. "But since they look so peaceful, I'll be gracious enough to not wake them up. Just this once."
Morgana then curled his body and laid his head down to go to sleep himself. With everyone inside warm and content, the little apartment then fell into a comfortable silence in the cold winter night.