It was afternoon when they began to head to the camping spot. Kyoya drove a four-wheeled drive on the uneven road of the forest. They couldn't drive it all the way there, instead, they had to park the vehicle first before walking on the trail for twenty minutes.
Both of them dressed warmly. Kyoya wore his usual dark colored sweater paired with a beige colored jacket. Shouko paired her turtleneck sweater with the same beige jacket as her husband. Under her long knitted skirt, she wore a pair of skinny jeans with boots.
"Wow~"
Kyoya chuckled softly once he heard his little wife's continuous blissful sigh as they walked alongside the trail. Shouko couldn't keep her eyes at one spot. She would always look around and her expression would only turn brighter.
The fallen maple and ginkgo leaves created a layer of red and golden carpet under their feet. Each of their steps would echo the crunching sounds of the dried leaves. The sound of birds chirping intertwined with the rustling of the remaining leaves on the trees.
The trail wasn't as hard as they imagined. The road was wide and clear, it was like they were strolling freely in a garden.
"Shouko, the bag is heavy," Kyoya slowed down, he stretched out a hand to take the black bag in her right hand. "Give it to me."
"No," Shouko took a step back, refusing his action. She frowned slightly as she lectured him. "Most of the items are with you. I could carry the lighter ones. It would be too hard for you if you insisted to bring all of these."
Kyoya paused his lips. He had been trying to lighten her load since the moment they got off the car but Shouko continued refusing him for the same reason.
Well, a wife slave like him couldn't even bear to let his wife suffered for a little even though for something so simple.
"Then, whenever your hand starts aching, give them to me, alright?" Kyoya finally relented after his fifth failed attempt.
"Alright~ Let's keep walking," Shouko sighed helplessly. She resumed her walk, slowly leaving Kyoya behind.
Aish, it was quite difficult too if her husband acted as if she couldn't bear even this little weight. This man was such a worrywart.
Even though she thought that way, a small smile curved up on her lips as sweetness filled her heart. Shouko quickened her steps, her cheeks began to tinge with red color.
Kyoya silently slapped his forehead. Seeing his little lady walked ahead of him, with her back facing him, he wondered if she was mad with him.
"Wife, don't walk too fast," Kyoya ran a bit to catch up with her. His usual calm voice now sounded a bit panicky. His back was burdened with heavy load yet he ran until he walked side by side with her. "Don't be mad at me, okay? I don't mean to nag at you."
Shouko looked up to see the anxious man, she burst out laughing. Her eyes bent into crescent-shaped as her sweet laughter filled the quiet forest.
"Who's mad at you?" Shouko playfully punched his chest, not noticing how intimate her gesture right now was. "Don't be silly. Just keep on walking. We have many things to be set up for."
"Okay..." Kyoya suppressed his foolish smile. Both of his hands were holding bags with a different weight in them yet they felt nothing right now.
It was so good to be with his wife.
By the time they reached the camping spot, the clock had ticked to 4 PM. True to Mrs. Shimizu's words, this hidden gem was not filled with tourists unlike the camping spot provided by the council. Shouko only saw less than five tents in the vast field near the edge of the lake.
Although this place wasn't well-known but it had decent facilities here. One could easily get clean water, dry woods and even the toilet.
"Put them down, your hands would ache if you continued holding them," Kyoya sighed again looking at his excited wife. He had just found a suitable place for them to set up their tent.
Shouko was walking back and forth as she looked at their new surrounding. Her smile couldn't possibly turn any wider than this. From the moment she stepped on the crunching leaves fallen on the ground, her heart was overflowing with excitement.
"Ah! We would set the tent up first?" Shouko put her backpack and a few items on the ground. She ran to Kyoya who was already bringing out the tent from its bag.
"The day is shorter, I'm afraid we need to pitch in the dark if we're late." Kyoya laughed softly, he rubbed her head before he patted her shoulders. "This tent is pretty easy to set up. You go and arrange the smaller items first. We have to cook using fire tonight."
"Alright~"
This was her first time going camping so it was hard for Shouko to control her giddiness. She stood in front of the bags and began to sort out what she needed to do first.
The day was cold and the night would be even colder. It was better if she began lighting up the fire. Kyoya had brought the necessary equipment so she thought it wouldn't be too hard for her to do it.
"It's better to build a fire ring first, right?" Shouko mumbled to herself as she looked at the piles of rocks near the bank. She glanced at Kyoya who was setting up the tent before she began picking the dry rocks.
Shouko worked diligently. In no time, a small fire ring was built. She had searched on the search engine on the necessity during camping. She thought her fire ring was as decent as what she had seen on the Internet.
"What are you doing?"
Shouko was startled. She was too engrossed in her own thought until she couldn't hear Kyoya's approaching footsteps.
"Oh, I made a fire ring," Shouko answered honestly. "This one is good, right?"
Kyoya blinked. Why did it seem like she was expecting him to praise her?
But...
"Wife, it's too far from our tent," Kyoya said, his eyes lingered on their tent before it went back to her shocked face. "We should build it closer or it would be too cold tonight... But, I do bring a heater so don't worry. It's fine here! It's fine!"
Kyoya quickly added his three last sentences as he realized her bright eyes grew dimmer as seconds passed.
"No... we should build it closer to our tent," Shouko said dejectedly. She crouched down and started to disassemble the fire ring.
Kyoya's eyes landed on the top of his wife's head. Her hands moved slowly to pick the rocks.
He coughed awkwardly, trying to mask the sound of his laugh. Then, he squatted and started helping Shouko who was still pouting.
Kyoya glanced at his little wife. He couldn't help but think she was too cute today.
With her husband's help, a new fire ring was built not far from their tent. It didn't take long for Shouko to regain her excitement especially when she saw the amber color of the fire began to warm them up.
"Alright, let's rest for a while before we cook!" Shouko clapped her hands.
It was still early so they didn't have to rush to cook dinner. She wanted to enjoy the view first.
Kyoya nodded obediently, agreeing with his wife.
To save time, both of them had prepared the ingredients at the villa. The chickens had been chopped, the fishes had been descaled and even the vegetables had been sliced. They just need to cook them over the fire.
Since she had been walking and working just now, Shouko felt stuffy wearing her long jacket. She unbuttoned the jacket, folded it on her arm and she walked toward the tent. She wanted to store it inside the tent before exploring the place.
The tent was huge. All of their bags had been placed inside. Shouko smiled seeing the interior of the tent. Her bags were on the right side and his bags were on the left. Layers and layers of thick blankets spread on the ground. It was warm and cozy.
Then, as her eyes landed on the two sleeping bags inside the tent, her body froze.
Shouko blinked. Her mind blanked before the heat started flushing her cheeks.
She had forgotten about something!
"Shouko, what's wrong?"
Kyoya found his wife looked amiss so he came to see if she was feeling under the weather. But, when he saw her red face and her eyes fixated on the sleeping bags, his smile turned into a smirk.
"What? Do you think we would sleep in two different tents?"
As his teasing voice sounded beside her ears, Shouko bit her lips in embarrassment.
In the next chapters, we would see a glimpse of their past, when they have just gotten married ~ Enjoy!
"What? Do you actually think we would sleep in two different tents?"
Shouko gritted her teeth, she quickly patted her cheeks before she stared back at Kyoya whose eyes filled with playful provocation.
"Well, it's just sharing a tent, like us sleeping together at home. What should I be embarrassed about?" Shouko retorted back. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to make it sound usual.
"Alright, we'll see about that," Kyoya smiled smugly. His snicker only grew wider.
Shouko harrumphed. She tossed her jacket inside the tent and ran toward the lake. Kyoya laughed, he quickly followed his wife from behind.
"Are you embarrassed, wife?" Kyoya teased in a low voice.
His mood was so jovial right now. The dark storm that had been brewing inside his heart since the last few weeks faded entirely as he felt the familiar warmth beside him. His eyes continued sparkling, they were brighter and more beautiful than the sun.
"Who says I'm embarrassed," Shouko held her chin high, refused to succumb under her husband's teasing.
But, her pink cheeks betrayed her.
Kyoya's eyes glinted mischievously when he saw her pink rosy cheeks. He reached out both of his hands and rubbed them.
"Ah! Don't pinch my cheeks!" Shouko tried to evade from his sudden attack but Kyoya was being persistent. He laughed as he continued playing with her soft cheeks.
Huh! Don't you think I won't dare to retaliate!
Shouko raised her hands, her fingertips lightly touched his face before she began to do the same to his cheeks.
Kyoya laughed out loud. His wife was too cute!
Right now, she looked like a kitty trying to scare people away with its tiny claws. Instead of being scratched painfully, it could only tickle people.
Kyoya released his hands, he started to find another target.
Then, his hands landed on her waist. It was already too late by the time Shouko noticed.
"Ah! Hahaha! No! You... sneaky... hahaha!"
Shouko could only laugh. Her small hands moved to shake off Kyoya's hands that were tickling her waist but her effort was meaningless. Her husband continued tickling her until she was breathless. In the end, she could only lay weakly on his chest once he retracted his hands.
"You... meanie," Shouko berated him in a quiet voice. Her slender fingers went to pinch his right arm.
Kyoya laughed as he felt her soft hand trying to pinch him. He gently held her in his arms. The sunlight fell on her hair, illuminating each strand of her black hair.
"Don't you feel less awkward now?" He whispered by her right ear.
Shouko was confused. It took her a moment to understand the meaning behind his words. Her eyes gradually widened. She tilted her head, looking at him with disbelief. Her eyes blinked a few times before she slowly nodded.
It was true that she felt awkward when she thought of them having to sleep together in the small tent but as Kyoya continued teasing her, she found that the awkwardness faded away.
His course of action was weird but this was his way to make her feel more comfortable with him.
Then, her hands wrapped around his waist. She snuggled closer to him, surprising Kyoya.
"Shouko?" Although he sounded excited, there was still a hint of disbelief.
"I'm hugging my husband back. It's not something to be ashamed, right?" Her voice was so soft in their close vicinity, muffled by his layers of clothes.
The light in Kyoya's eyes grew gentler. The corner of his lips curled up as his smile turned radiant. One of his wide palm rubbed her head as the other one secured her waist. He lightly nodded his head.
"En."
Throughout the five years of their marriage, he had clearly understood his wife's temperament.
She was soft and quiet but when it was needed, she would continue to hold onto her belief without wavering.
She was shy and reserved yet she wasn't ignorant and not afraid to take matters into her own hands.
Little by little, she broke through the walls guarding his heart. By the time he realized it, he had deeply been entranced by her existence beside him.
It was like the first time she silently approached him who was sitting alone in the garden at midnight, gazing at a distance that he himself wasn't sure of.
That night, he was sleepless. Even though Dr. Sagawa tried hard to make him sleep, he still failed.
Kyoya went to his study, trying to put his focus on work yet he couldn't do it. He felt so distracted yet helpless because he couldn't point out what made him felt so. Feeling frustrated, he went downstairs to the garden.
At that time, the garden wasn't as beautiful as its current state. There were only a few flowers adorning the flower bed.
While Kyoya was lost in his thoughts, a hand came into his view from his right side, holding a mug of hot chocolate. The sweet scent of the drink floated in the air, slowly enticing him. As his eyes traced the hand up to the arm, he met a pair of clear eyes looking back at him.
"Do you want some?" She asked with a small smile. "I put some marshmallows in the hot chocolate."
"En," Kyoya remembered he nodded slightly. The indifferent mask he always wore in front of people cracked, revealing a little of his emotion.
He took the mug from her, the tips of his fingers lightly touching hers. Under the moonlight, they appeared so soft and milky.
He didn't ask why did she appear suddenly and she didn't ask what was bothering him.
Both of them sat on the wooden bench overlooking the flower beds with an appropriate gap between them. It was the beginning of autumn, a few weeks after their marriage in the late summer. She was dressed in a white cotton nightgown with a shawl draped over her shoulders. The ends of her long hair fluttered below her waist as wind occasionally blew.
They sat in silence while sipping the hot chocolate. He had been accustomed to eating her desserts but this was his first time drinking something made by her.
The rich and mellow hot chocolate left bittersweet aftertaste lingering on his tongue. By the time he finished it, he found that he no longer felt stuffy. Kyoya himself was surprised by it.
"It's delicious."
He was the one who broke the silence between them. His dark eyes landed on her face. She chuckled when she heard him praising the drink.
"It really should be delicious. Do you think it's easy to finely chop the chocolate bar and melt it?"
Her eyes curved, looking similar to the radiant crescent moon on the night sky. He could see her pearly white teeth as she chuckled.
The cheeky way she replied to him made him stunned before the corner of his lips rose faintly.
They didn't continue to converse yet to Kyoya, the air became much pleasant than earlier.
At first, Kyoya wasn't sure what to do when his newly married wife started making desserts for him. Over time, he accepted it that it was her way to be closer to him.
Seeing that this little lady had a good temperament, he wasn't opposed to the idea as he himself gradually learned to act as a husband to her.
She was a good woman.
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