章 47: Little By Little, She Broke Through The Walls Guarding His Heart
"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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