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Mei Meido sat beside Rentarou with a smile. Besides the time she spent with Master Hahari, these were her favorite times of the day. Right now, he's staying over at the Hanazono Mansion to spend time with Mei, and she couldn't help but be happy.
"Hey, um, Mei?" Rentarou took her hand. "Is there anything you'd like to do?"
Mei smiled back. "What do you want to do?"
"Mei...we've talked about this. You can be more selfish! You matter just as much as everyone else! So...tell me. What do you want to do?"
Mei hesitated, then replied, "I want...to cuddle."
Her face was starting to burn.
"Okay! Any specific position?"
"Um...perhaps..." Mei's mind raced. There were so many cuddling positions, and she wanted to try them all—
"How about we try all of them?"
Mei sighed in relief; she knew Rentarou was smiling genuinely when he said that. "That...yes, that sounds nice."
Rentarou wrapped an arm around Mei's waist and pulled her close to his side. Mei rested her head against his shoulder.
"Is this good?" Mei asked.
"Everything's good with you!" Rentarou chirped.
"...Right." Mei buried her face into his shoulder, then tensed. "Ah, sorry—
"No, no! Please, don't apologize!" Rentarou cupped her cheek. "Do whatever you want. Whatever feels natural. That way, I know you're enjoying this!"
"...I enjoy everything..." Mei murmured, "...when I'm with you."
Mei felt a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Mei."
"I-I love you, too."
Mei had a feeling Rentarou was internally squealing at her stutter. Why did she stutter? Even after all this time, why are they in the honeymoon stage?
Is she really worth being loved like this, even after so much time has passed?
"Mei? What's wrong?"
"Ah—" Right, Rentarou can read her expressions well. "I was just thinking..." She hesitated, not wanting to make him upset...but she spoke up anyway. "You still love me after all this time. You love me so, so much, and I'm incredibly grateful that I'm useful to you as a maid and a girlfriend. However...I have heard that the new, exciting feelings one feels at the very start of a relationship fade over time." Mei swallowed hard. "If I may ask...how are you still able to look at me after all this time and believe I'm just as special as I was when we first met?"
"Mei..." Rentarou hugged her a little tighter. "Before I met you, I was happy because I had the others. Yet...I'm even happier now that I have you. Before any of you, I just wanted to be loved and have a girlfriend I could cherish, but...nobody reciprocated my feelings."
"Rentarou..." How could that be? How could anyone reject you?
"So once I was told I'd meet one hundred girlfriends and decided to date each one...I vowed from that day forward to never take them for granted. Mei Meido, the reason I still feel just as in love and happy to see you as when we first met...is because you're you. You're devoted, kind, beautiful...and you went through so, so much. I have millions of reasons why I love you, but I'd use up every character that the Ao3 writing box allows."
"Rentarou..." Mei cupped his cheek and pulled him down. His lips were as soft as always...and Mei figured that maybe they could cuddle like this for a while.
After all...wasn't she maid just for him to cuddle with?