It was the next morning when Takumi woke up. He carefully got up so he wouldn't wake her up. When he was ready for school, he kissed her forehead before leaving. For a moment there, he thought he saw a smile on her face.
She woke up to someone stroking her hair. She was lying down, her head resting on Takumi's lap. She turned to face him without getting up.
"How long was I out?" She asked while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"The whole day. It's almost five."
"I don't feel like going to work tomorrow."
"Maybe you should. It might help you take your mind off things."
"Maybe. But I should eat first before deciding on anything. I think it's your turn to cook."
"On it."
They ate in silence; she was still obviously bothered by what had happened. When they were getting ready for bed, Takumi came up to her. He cupped her face and kissed her. She gave him a confused look.
"For someone so smart, you can be a real idiot sometimes." He kissed her forehead, "You never listen to me..." Then her cheek, "Or get what I'm trying to say." Her other cheek, "And you also don't take what I say seriously." Her nose, "This time I need to you listen and take me seriously. Stop beating yourself up over it because it wasn't your fault. You only snapped because you were hurt, angry, and you were fed up," He brushed his lips against her neck.
"Stop, that tickles," She snorted.
"There's that smile."
"Ok, you got me."
"I'm not sure if it's too soon, but mind if I ask you something about the whole Trey thing? It's kinda been bugging me a little."
She sighed. "I guess I'll answer whatever you have to ask."
"You said that you were trying to maintain your patience the whole time he was you know. What I don't understand is: why? I know you well enough to know you would have lashed out at him immediately. Why did you choose to keep your cool instead?"
"Is that what's been bugging you?"
"I know it's dumb, but I really wanna know."
"Ok, well uh. If you must know, that's what my mom told me to do in such situations."
"That's weird but ok."
"You see, my mom always told me that if my mate ever gives me bullshit in public, I should pretend like nothing's wrong and wait until we're alone so that I can stab his balls. That way no one would interfere. And yes, those were her exact words."
"I guess I was fussing over nothing. Remind me to never piss you off that much. I'd like to keep my testicles intact."
"I know you well enough to know you'd never do that to anyone. Look, you're a good guy, and I do like you. It's just: I've spent most of my life not caring about having a mate because not all men can be like my dad and certain circumstances made me more adamant about it. No offence, but you being human also raises some doubts because of a lack of a strong bond. I can bring the physical aspects to the table, and as much as I want to, I don't know if I can love you. I don't want to be with you if I can't give you what you're already giving me and if I'll spend the majority of the time having doubts. That would be unfair to you."
"I understand. But I can promise to wait for as long as it takes."
The next morning was chaos.
"Fuck, I can't believe I overslept. Why didn't you wake me up?" She was fumbling to get dressed.
"I tried a bunch of times, but you didn't want to wake up. You even tried to kick me in your sleep. Could you calm down; you're barely dressing properly."
"Not happening. Today I have an important meeting in ten minutes, and I can't be late for my first one."
"Ok, calm down. I'll help you."
"And how are you going to do that?"
"Hand me your tie."
"Ok."
"You keep buttoning your shirt while I do your tie." They finished within seconds, and she continued to put her blazer on while he tied her hair into a ponytail.
"Great, I should be able to make it if I run. Thanks for the help, and have a good day at school, ok," She kissed his cheek and ran out the door. He chuckled as it reminded him of his mom before he started living alone.
The day went by slowly for Takumi. When the bell rang for the end of the day, he immediately left and made his way to the entrance.
"What happened to you? You look like crap."
"Twilight?"
"Last time I checked, that's my name. So yeah, it's me."
"What brings you here?"
"I thought it'd be better to head back together."
"You missed me that much?"
"Maybe I should have just gone alone," She rolled her eyes and walked off.
"Hold on, I was just kidding," He caught up to her. "So, how was your day?"
"Good news, I made it on time. Bad news, that meeting was boring and the rest of the day sucked."
"Can't be that bad."
"I was seriously considering jumping out the window. I was barely even paying attention half the time. Not to mention, I was on my feet the whole day, even during lunch, because I was eating while working. So right now, I feel like shit."
"So maybe it was. At least that makes two of us. The feeling like shit part, I mean."
She gave him a perplexed look.
"What?" He asked.
"You just swore."
"I'm confused."
"It's weird." She snorted. "That was the first time I've heard you swear."
"Oh. I didn't realise."
"Anyway, there was this guy who kept weirdly staring at me."
"Define weird."
"It felt like his eyes were undressing me. And he's old enough to be my da..."
He stopped in his tracks.
"What?"
He bent down so they could more or less be at eye level with each other.
"Did he try anything?"
"No…"
"Did you report it?"
"There was no evidence so HR couldn't do anything besides give him a warning, I couldn't gouge his eyes out for obvious reasons, so I told my boss, and he suspended the guy. He also said that from now on, I'll be partnered up with one of the guys there. Sort of like an assigned big brother. The guard my dad sent told me that I'll never have to worry about the perv. I didn't ask for details, but I'm guessing threats and violence were involved."
"That's a relief."
After a short while of walking, she felt a little taller and lighter.
"Wait...something's not right. Are you seriously giving me a piggyback ride?"
"I don't see why not."
"You know what, I'm too tired to fight back. Anyway, school's almost out. Got any plans?"
"Not really. I'll be staying with my parents until school starts again. Do you want to come with me?"
"Sure, why not?"
"You're not going to protest because of a certain someone?"
"Nope, in fact, I'm not worried at all."
"Are you okay? I think the fatigue is starting to get to your brain."
"I'm fine."
"You're planning something, aren't you?"
"No, what makes you say that?"
"I knew it."
"Okay, so maybe I am. But I promise that no one is going to get hurt."
"You really are a handful; you know that?"
"I know, but I'm your handful."
"Oh really?" He smirked.
"I didn't mean like that, just... forget I ever said anything. Oh, but I'll be staying with you for a week because I wanna spend Christmas and New Year's with my dad."
"It's better than nothing."
When they got home, he put her down.
"Thanks for the ride."
"Do I get a reward?"
"It's considered a red flag if you expect something in return after doing something nice."
"Fair point."