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It was obviously too damn hot.
August had snuck up rather quickly this year, and so did the unbearable heat that came with it. Long gone were the days of gentle warmth with a refreshing breeze, and in came the soaring temperatures with a thick cloak of sea-side humidity. It was a Sunday afternoon and despite the conditions outside, most of the members of S.E.E.S went out to get the most of their free time before summer school started on Monday.
All that was left was a waning ceiling fan, a snoozing Koromaru, and two ridiculously bored seniors.
Mitsuru had already completed her homework that morning during breakfast, studied during lunch, and tidied up her room, which officially left her without anything to do until the rest of the members came back for dinner time. Mitsuru would’ve much rather stayed in her room for the rest of the day reading, but she lived on the 3rd floor and her room had become disgustingly stuffy and humid, even after airing it out for a while. So she was left with no choice but to sit in the common area where there was more open space.
Akihiko on the other hand, was just bored.
He could’ve trained in his room for a few hours before dinner time, or got started on his homework, or studied like Mitsuru had been nagging him to, but instead he opted to take a nap in the common area where it was less stuffy, only to be interrupted by a familiar redhead.
“Akihiko.”
“Mmmhmmhm….” He was stirring.
“…Akihiko.”
“Mmmm go away Koromaru….”
“AKIHIKO!”
“Gah! Mitsuru…. What are you doing down here?” He asked while rubbing his eyes.
“My quarters have become too hot for me to be comfortable in, so I am sitting down here instead.”
“Okay… and why exactly did you need to wake me up for that?” Akihiko was now sitting up, but his elbows were perched on his knees.
“Because I think it would be very polite if you made yourself useful and got us some refreshments.” Mitsuru replied while wafting her hand-fan.
Akihiko sighed before looking up at Mitsuru,
“What’s stopping you from doing it? Everytime I bring us something you get nitpicky about it…”
Mitsuru rolled her eyes. “Me asking you to not forget the coasters is not ’nitpicking.’ Please Akihiko I’m drenched in sweat.”
Akihiko looked her up and down before finally getting up, “Fine, only because you asked nicely…” he sighed. “Do you like lemonade?”
“That would be acceptable, thank you.”
“Alright then, I’ll be right back.” He said as he crossed Mitsuru to get to the kitchen.
“Don’t forget the coasters! I don’t want the condensation dripping all over the wood.” She shouted out at him.
“I know, I know…”
Mitsuru smiled to herself once he was in the kitchen, it was like he could never say "no" to her. She then made herself comfortable in the spot next to where Akihiko had been lying down, and she reached for the book that she had left there from yesterday evening and began reading.
It didn’t take long for Akihiko to come out with the lemonade, he was holding the glasses in one hand, and the coasters in the other. He carefully set down the coasters while giving a snarky look at Mitsuru, followed by the glasses of lemonade.
“I didn’t forget them this time, see?”
Mitsuru rolled her eyes. “That was because I reminded you before you left.”
“Oh, whatever.” Akihiko then took his place next to Mitsuru while reaching for the remote to turn on the TV.
Mitsuru graciously grabbed her glass of lemonade and drank it down while he was flipping through the channels, trying her best not to spill it all over her face.
“Damn it I hate Sundays! It’s just old people shit, nothing good is ever on!” Grumbled Akihiko. Was it really too much to ask for just ONE interesting channel on Sundays?
“You need to watch your language..”
And Mitsuru needed to start watching something else other than her companion. His shirt was sticking to him like a glove, defining each and every move he made… His hair was slightly unkept, a slight dew of sweat was traced along his neck…
Her cheeks were getting warmer, and Mitsuru picked up the pace with her fan.
Maybe the temperature is still climbing…
“Akihiko you're being overdramatic, why don't you read a book if the television really leaves you that disinterested.”
All she got was a side-eye and a scowl in return.
Eventually Akihiko gave up and settled on a butterfly documentary, it sounded relaxing and maybe he'd be able to drift back to sleep.
He grabbed his glass of lemonade that had noticeably less ice in it than Mitsuru’s, and slouched down into the couch as he sipped.
He then turned to Mitsuru with a confused look on his face
“Is there something wrong Mitsuru?”
She hadn’t realized she was still staring.
“O-oh no… I just wanted to make sure you didn't spill any lemonade on the sofa.”
He furrowed his brows before shrugging and looking back at the TV.
Mitsuru decided to put down her glass she had been coddling and busy herself with her book, maybe that would steady her wandering mind.
-
-
It had been about 20 minutes and Akihiko had really made himself comfortable, even hooking his arm around the back of the couch.
His body slowly started shifting towards Mitsuru without realizing, and if she had noticed she didn't say anything about it.
Akihiko began to flex his hands out of boredom, normally he kept a hand-squeezer on him to keep his hands busy, but he had left it upstairs, and really had no intentions on getting back up.
He started running his hands up and down the back of the couch, and the upper cushions behind Mitsuru, gently grazing the collar of her shirt a couple of times.
Oh I hope I'm not irritating her…
Akihiko stole a glance at Mitsuru’s face and if anything she looked, pleased? Her face wasn't necessarily relaxed but she didn't appear to be upset or anything, besides the fact that her cheeks looked more flushed than they did when she first woke him up. She looked comfortable, almost letting her neck lean into it.
Akihiko’s eyes still lingered on Mitsuru, her hair had been scooped up into a bun, and she had loose hairs sticking to her face and neck from sweat. She was wearing a sleeveless button-up that had the first couple of buttons undone, and the collar was gripping around the skin of her neck.
Mitsuru was also wearing a burgundy pencil skirt and had her legs crossed, and she kept crossing and uncrossing them, most likely from the heat. She had also picked up her fan again, and with each beat the baby hairs that had curled up from sweat swayed in a satisfying manner.
Just makes me wanna reach out and touch it…
And so Akihiko unconsciously reached over and started playing with the loose hairs around Mitsuru's neck and temples.
He could see her eyes flicker for a brief second, but she didn't reprimand him for it.
This is… relaxing.
Akihiko had let his eyes go back to the documentary, but his hand was still idly playing with her hair, even traveling down to the back of her ears, trailing his fingers down her neck in small swirls. Mitsuru had let a gentle sigh slip through…
He had never felt her shiver before in his life.
-
-
Oh God.
Akihiko was making Mitsuru uncomfortable in the best way possible. Her head began to tilt back as he started drawing shapeless patterns in her loose hairs, and it was driving her crazy.
So crazy in fact she began to lose focus in her book, and Mitsuru’s eyes began to blur. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, trying to get her mind back on track, which had almost worked until…
O-oh stop it Akihiko!
Akihiko’s warm, calloused hands had slipped behind Mitsuru’s ears, swirling her hair between his fingers, and a shiver she had never experienced before ran down her spine, and the flush from her cheeks spread down to her neck. Her eyes rolled back into focus as a quiet sigh escaped her lips.
He's going to set me on fire.
“Ahem… Akihiko?”
He kept playing with her hair.
“Akihiko.”
“What Mitsuru?”
“I understand it's hot and you're bored, but you need to find something else better to do.”
You're scrambling my brain.
“Do I have to?”
“Yes, now get your hands out of my hair, I'm not a dog.” Said Mitsuru as she swatted Akihiko’s hand away.
Akihiko exhaled sharply, “Fine… but there's nothing to do! And it's so hot..” He whined as his arms flopped to his sides.
“You are almost eighteen years old, go find something to do.” He could be so childish at times.
Akihiko rolled his eyes in silence as he shifted away from Mitsuru, biting his lip.
“I'm fixing myself a snack then, do you want anything?”
Possibly…
“If the juniors hadn't finished it, could you bring me a slice of the cake I bought? Thank you.”
“Well isn’t that funny! While I was getting the lemonade I noticed there was enough for two more slices in the fridge, fitting huh?” Akihiko then got up and stretched his arms above his head, lifting his shirt a bit showing his torso.
Mitsuru had to avert her gaze.
“I'll be right back, fork or spoon?”
Akihiko asked as he headed for the kitchen.
“Fork, please.”
Once Akihiko was gone, Mitsuru reached up to massage her neck where his fingers had previously been. She let her head hang on the back of the couch as she gazed up at the ceiling.
Since when was I so quick to melt?