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“Sakura? I’m cold…”
More than cold, Natsuki actually feels bad. She’s actually burning hot from guilt and embarrassment for what she’s about to do, but she has a plan, and she’s committed to it.
She’s not entirely lying, at least. It is a bit chilly now that the sun has almost set… but she did plan for this. She wore a thin jacket this morning and then, once she was at Sakura’s place – where she hangs out every other week when he’s not busy patrolling the town – she made sure to work on her homework skillfully slow. There are only so many ways to purposefully mess up an equation before it starts looking suspicious, but Sakura didn’t seem to notice. Either he’s really bad at math, or his own homework and the texting he was doing were distracting enough.
Sakura turns to squint at her. “Seriously? It’s not even that cold out.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, looking down. She really is sorry. He just doesn’t know for what, exactly.
She chances an innocent peek at him just as he turns around to look down the street, thoughtful, until he decides they’re too far from his house to go back – another important part of Natsuki’s plan – and sighs.
“I knew ya shoulda worn a warmer jacket,” he grumbles, taking his hoodie off. “Put this on.”
He holds it out to her and sticks his hands in his pockets, looking as cool as ever. Natsuki murmurs a shy little thank you as she does her best to look like she’s more sorry for inconveniencing him than happy that her plan is working out so perfectly.
Feeling giddy, she sticks her hands through the too-long sleeves and slowly pulls up the zipper. She’s not cold at all, but she needs to keep it all believable, and acting like she can’t wait to get all comfy and covered up is easy, since it’s true.
Sakura’s hoodie is definitely too big for her. It feels like the warmest hug – like Sakura is hugging her. Just the thought makes her feel a little too warm.
As they keep walking, she subtly inhales Sakura’s scent. It’s so nice. Sakura smells really, really nice. A little stinky, a little sweaty, but mostly very sweet. After that time he carried her all the way to the orphanage and then weeks of sitting in his apartment surrounded by the scent, Natsuki is finally going to take it home with her.
Her plan is almost a success. All she has to do is run inside as fast as possible when they reach the facility, but the real key is grabbing Ume’s attention – while he’s not an official accomplice, he’ll distract Sakura just fine.
Until then, Natsuki seizes the opportunity to get closer to Sakura as they walk past a group of people. He’s used to her holding onto his arm by now, so he says nothing about it.
Maybe he appreciates the extra warmth. Natsuki hopes he appreciates that it’s her.