The trip to Hakone. Just you and me.
The words echoed in my head, a sweet, dangerous promise that sent a fresh wave of heat rushing to my cheeks. The rest of the afternoon passed in a happy, dizzying blur. We walked hand-in-hand through the bustling Atami streets, the weight of our shared secret, our new contract, making the ordinary world feel extraordinary.
But there was one last piece of business to attend to. One last frayed thread from the past that needed to be woven back into the present.
As we passed a small shop with a window display full of delicate, handmade accessories, I stopped, pulling Jun to a halt beside me. Intricate silver charms, colorful braided bracelets, and hairpins adorned with tiny, glittering stones were arranged on soft velvet cushions.
"Yeah," I murmured, my eyes scanning the display. "This is the one."
"You still remember what she likes?" Jun asked, his voice a low rumble beside me.
"How could I not?" I replied, a fond smile touching my lips. Aoi's taste was as unchanging as her belief in cat conspiracies: anything cute, a little bit sparkly, and absolutely nothing too mature. "What about you? What are you going to get her?"
He didn't even hesitate. "A stuffed animal."
I leveled him with a glare so potent it could have withered flowers. "She's not a child anymore, you absolute baka."
"But it's cute!" he protested.
I just sighed, dragging him into the store. "Come with me, I'll teach you."
Inside, the scent of lavender and sandalwood hung in the air. We split up, browsing the carefully arranged displays. It didn't take long. Aoi's taste was a part of my DNA.
"You think she'll like this?" Jun asked, holding up his choice a few minutes later.
"Mm," I nodded, my own selection already safely tucked away in a small paper bag.
"I think that looks nice."
I looked at the matching bags in our hands. Our peace offerings. Would she accept them? After everything, would this be enough?
As if he'd read the sudden doubt clouding my mind, a pair of strong arms wrapped around me from behind, pulling me back against the solid warmth of his chest.
"She'll love it, Yui," he murmured, his chin resting on the top of my head. "I'm sure of it."
"Mm. I hope so." I leaned back into his embrace, letting his certainty chase away my fears.
He was quiet for a moment, his hold tightening slightly. "Also, Yui… I just want to say it now. I didn't forget, you know."
"Hm?" I tilted my head back, looking up at him.
"Your birthday present," he clarified, his expression suddenly serious. "Your seventeenth one. The necklace I gave you the other day was for your sixteenth. This one… I need some more time to choose. So be patient with me, okay?"
I turned in his arms, looking up into his face. His eyes were so earnest, his expression so serious as he tried to guard his secret, that a happy, bubbling giggle escaped my lips. I reached up, cupping his cheek in my palm. "Okay."
My gaze drifted past his shoulder, toward the large, modern shopping mall gleaming at the end of the street, right next to the station. A new, wicked idea took root.
"Actually," I said, a mischievous smile spreading across my face as I took his hand, "there is one last thing I want to buy."
*
"Y-Yui… what is this place?" Jun stuttered, his feet planting themselves firmly on the polished floor. "I don't think I'm allowed inside."
"Come on, don't be stupid. You're with me," I insisted, giving his hand a firm tug.
Yes. It was an undergarment shop. A beautiful, intimidating wonderland of lace, silk, and satin. And yes, every single customer inside was a woman. I could see why he was flushed, his eyes wide as he took in the racks of delicate bras and panties. He looked like a lost lamb in a den of very fashionable wolves.
"Sit here," I commanded, pointing to a plush velvet chair in a quiet corner. "Play with your phone or something. And don't you dare go anywhere."
He nodded mutely, his eyes wide as he took in the sea of lace and silk.
It was time. I couldn't spend the rest of my life in childish sports bras and old, comfortable sleep shirts. Not after… that night. A vivid, dizzying flash of memory—the heat of his skin, the desperate tangle of our limbs, the shameless sounds I had made—sent a jolt of heat straight through me. If I had been wearing something like this…
My mission decided, I gathered an armful of potential weapons and headed for the fitting rooms. I was just about to slip behind the curtain when I paused. A wicked, wonderful idea bloomed in my mind.
"Jun," I called out, my voice sweet as honey. "Come here for a second."
He appeared instantly, his expression a perfect portrait of a man walking to his doom.
"What is it?"
"Help me pick," I said, giving him my most innocent smile. "I need your opinion."
He looked utterly, completely terrified. The sight of him standing there, flushed and frozen in front of a row of lingerie fitting rooms, was one of the most amusing things I had ever seen.
"H-Hurry up, okay?" he stammered as I slipped behind the curtain with my selections.
I could hear him pacing nervously outside. "Wait," his voice came, muffled but panicked. "How am I supposed to give my opinion if I can't see— Hey! Don't you dare come out like that! I know there aren't any other men here, but if someone sees you in that…"
I didn't let him finish. I yanked the curtain aside just enough to snake my arm out, my fingers clamping down on his wrist. With a sharp tug, I pulled him into the tiny booth with me, the curtain falling shut behind us, plunging us into our own private little world. He stumbled, his back hitting the wall with a soft thud.
"Yui…" he breathed, his eyes wide.
I stepped back, giving him a full view. "How is it?" I asked, my voice a low purr.
The nightgown was a whisper of black silk and lace against my skin, clinging in some places and artfully revealing in others. It was the kind of thing you only wore for a special person on a very special night.
His face went from flushed to a shade of crimson I had never seen before. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"Well?" I pressed, stepping closer until my hands could rest flat against his chest. His heart was hammering against my palms, a frantic, wild rhythm. His face was so red. So cute.
"I will not," he finally managed, his voice a low, strangled rasp, "let you wear that outside of our bedroom. Ever."
"Baka," I whispered, a triumphant smile playing on my lips. "So… what do you think?" My fingers began to trace idle patterns on his chest, a slow, deliberate exploration. "Answer me already. Do you like it?"
His hand shot up, his fingers clamping around my wrist, stopping my teasing. But he didn't pull my hand away. Instead, he slowly, deliberately, guided it downward. Down, past his hammering heart, down over the flat, hard plane of his stomach.
A tiny, breathless sound escaped my lips. "…Jun…" If you go any further…
My fingertips brushed against something hard, impossibly hard, straining against the fabric of his new trousers. He didn't stop. He pressed my hand firmly against it, forcing me to feel the full, rigid length of him. He moved my hand, guiding it in a slow circle, then up and down, the back of my fingers mapping every shape, every curve of the thing that had pressed against me so insistently the other night.
His other hand came up, tilting my chin until my gaze met his. The raw hunger in his eyes stole the air from my lungs.
"This," he whispered, his voice a deep, vibrating rumble, "is how I feel, Yui."
His hand slid from my chin to the nape of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair. He pulled my head forward, and his mouth crashed down on mine. It was a kiss of pure, unadulterated want. His tongue plunged into my mouth, a hot, wet invasion that was both a battle and a surrender. It tangled with mine, a slick, desperate dance, pushing and taking, tasting and claiming, until my knees went weak.
He finally released my hand, but only to replace it. His own hands slid down my back, cupping my bottom and pulling me flush against his erection. We kissed, a messy, open-mouthed collision, as his fingers kneaded the soft flesh, a gentle squeeze, a soft, possessive pat.
When he finally pulled away, we were both breathless, our chests heaving. The look on his face was one of pure, unrestrained lust.
He sank to his knees.
His hands gripped my hips, holding me in place, his face now level with the see-through lace covering my core.
"Jun…" I breathed, my hands instinctively flying to his head, my fingers tangling in his soft hair.
His face drew closer, his breath hot against my skin. His lips were just about to make contact…
"Excuse me, miss? Is everything alright in there?"
The cheerful, polite voice of a store employee from just outside the curtain shattered the moment like a hammer hitting glass.
We exited the store a few minutes later, three more shopping bags added to our collection, and matching flushed faces that I'm sure told a story all their own.
Jun was silent as we walked toward the station, his jaw tight with a mixture of embarrassment and unresolved tension. Then, he stopped, turning to me with a look of fierce, unwavering determination.
"I'm buying them," he declared. "Right now."
"Eh?"
"The condoms," he finished, the word leaving his mouth with the force of a final verdict.
He actually said it. Out loud. In the middle of a crowded street where children and grandmothers could hear. My face, which I thought had already reached its maximum temperature, somehow found a new level of heat.
"B-Baka! Not so loud!"