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Suddenly, there’s warmth beside him. Arms wrap around his waist. On his shoulder, a chin. “A warning would be appreciated,” Gentaro drawls.
“Okie dokie, here’s a warning: kiss incoming!” Swift and sweet, Hifumi pecks his cheek. Gentaro feigns a sigh, rolls his eyes, and moves to turn the page when Hifumi says, “Wait, wait! I’m not done reading.”
“Read faster, then.”
“I just sat down!”
“Very sorry, sir, but I’m afraid that’s not my problem.” So onwards with the novel Gentaro proceeds.
In retaliation, Hifumi squeezes him. Surely Hifumi is pouting, as aged as he is, though his complaints are cut short with a gasp. “Oh, oh, oh!” He points at the name in the top paragraph. “One of my clients is cray cray ‘bout him, he’s her fave!”
“Him?” is Gentaro’s unimpressed response. The character in question plays support to the protagonist; sharp and cunning, yet fearsome when enraged. A fine fellow, indeed, and one to Gentaro’s liking—not that he’ll admit that to Hifumi. Especially when he’s competing with those so-called kittens for his affections.
“Yeppers, that’s what she told me!”
“Did she tell you how he makes a fool out of himself? That he slips upon a banana peel and tears open the space-time continuum in doing so?”
“Space-time continuum is bonkers! All she mentioned was the whole ‘softie under the bad boy act’ shtick.”
“Well, it was but a lie.”
“So no banana peels involved?”
“Hm… Perhaps, perhaps not.”
Hifumi giggles, knowing yet tickled, and scooches closer, eager to follow along the reading. Leaning into Hifumi’s embrace is convenience, not fondness—or so Gentaro claims. It will be easier to let go of this—this normalcy that he’s come to cherish—if he holds it at a distance.
(Still, is it so bad if he indulges a bit?)
“So, like, what chapter are you up to? What’s going on? Did he fumble that banana already?” asks Hifumi.
Gentaro hides his smile behind a hum, fingers drumming the book as a scenario unfolds in his mind. While Hifumi’s princesses of the night can divulge the true narrative, only here can he experience the twists unique to Yumeno Gentaro’s tales. Spinning yet another story, Gentaro begins, “Let’s see…”