"Mom, get some rest, good night."
"Good night, good night." Shizuka waved toward him dismissively.
Seeing this, Tsuna didn't say anything more, closed his laptop, stood up, and walked out of the living room.
"Shouko, are you asleep?"
Back in his room, Tsuna hesitated for a moment before taking out his phone to text her for confirmation.
"..."
Ten minutes passed since the last message without a reply. After tossing and turning in bed for a while, he no longer hesitated, stood up, and walked downstairs.
Since he didn't get a reply, he might as well just go to Shouko's house and check.
"Didn't you go to sleep?" Shizuka, who had just laid out her yoga mat in the living room, looked at him walking past in confusion.
"I'm going to Shouko's house, I'll be back soon."
"Click..."
Shizuka, who still wanted to say something, only heard the sound of the front door closing. The words that were just about to come out could only be silently swallowed back.
"Knock knock... knock..."
Tsuna knocked on the door. Only after hearing Yaeko's questioning voice from inside did he take out his key and open the front door. "Excuse me..."
He deliberately lowered his voice, also considering that grandma was already asleep.
"Tsuna? You're still awake this late?"
Tsuna stood at the entrance, catching the flash of confusion in Yaeko's eyes as she just walked out of the living room, and explained:
"Aunt, I came to find Shouko. Is she asleep?"
"Hmm..." Yaeko stopped, as if recalling something. "Shouko hasn't come out of her room since she showered tonight. She's probably too tired from the past couple of days and fell asleep."
"Is there something urgent you need to see her about?" she asked further.
"Then I'll come find her tomorrow. Aunt, you should also get some rest early. Good night."
Hearing this, Tsuna didn't say anything more. Knowing that Shouko was already asleep, there was nothing left to ask.
"Good night."
"Click..."
Upon returning home, Tsuna was naturally met with Shizuka's questioning. He used Yaeko's explanation and returned to his room, continuing to write on his laptop.
---
The indigo sky began to melt from the horizon.
Pale golden sunlight spilled over the clouds like an overturned honey pot. The thin mist in the woods shimmered with birdsong, and even the dewdrops became tiny moons hanging on the tips of the grass.
In his sleep, Tsuna faintly heard the sound of his bedroom door being opened.
But because he hadn't fallen asleep until past 1 AM, coupled with the busyness of the past two days, he gave himself a day off and didn't have to get up early for a morning run today.
He didn't pay much attention to the sound of the door opening. He felt like he couldn't even open his eyelids and fell back into a deep sleep in an instant.
And the one who opened Tsuna's room door was naturally Shouko, who came to his house to play early in the morning.
Getting up early this morning, she saw several messages Tsuna had sent her yesterday on her phone.
After reading them, she immediately explained that somehow last night, she fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed.
She sent a few more messages and then got out of bed to wash up, but when she came back, she didn't see Tsuna's reply. Coupled with what her mother had just told her about last night, she hesitated for a second or two before decisively grabbing her phone and going to his house to find him, completely forgetting about breakfast.
"Shouko, have you had breakfast yet?"
Shouko was pulled back to reality by Shizuka's shout from downstairs. She was slightly startled at first, then quickly glanced at the person on the bed.
After confirming he wasn't woken up by that sentence, she quickly walked to the stairwell: "Auntie, I'll wake Tsuna up and eat with him."
Getting a response from Shizuka, Shouko walked back into his room, gently closed the door, and walked to the bed, where her gaze was unconsciously drawn to his sleeping face.
She stared at the side of his face she had kissed yesterday for a while. After hesitating for a moment, she kicked off her cotton slippers, lifted the blanket covering him, and naturally crawled into the bed.
November was coming to an end, and due to the region, the temperature here had already started to drop.
Shouko felt incredibly warm after crawling in, but still wasn't satisfied and snuggled further into his arms.
Then, hugging him and covered by the blanket, she poked out her little head to breathe and went back to sleep.
Throughout, Tsuna was like a sleeping Sleeping Beauty in some book, showing no reaction to the outside world, letting Shouko do as she pleased.
Perhaps it was also because he smelled that familiar faint scent from over ten years ago, so he didn't pay much attention.
"Why haven't these two kids come down yet...?" Shizuka sat at the dining table, looking at the time on her phone again.
When Shouko came over, it was just past eight. Now forty minutes had passed, and she was a little confused about what they were doing upstairs, taking so long to come down.
"Just go up and take a look, then you'll know," Daisuke said calmly, swallowing the food in his mouth.
Hearing this, Shizuka no longer hesitated, stood up, and walked towards the second floor.
"Click..."
She turned the doorknob, pushed the door open, and immediately saw the two of them sleeping together, one nestled in the other's arms.
After confirming that what she had been worried about hadn't happened, she breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, she didn't forget to take out her phone, aim it at the two, snap a photo, then close the door and go downstairs to continue eating breakfast.
"What were they doing?" Daisuke asked curiously, seeing her return without the two of them following behind.
"Sleeping," Shizuka slowly ate her breakfast.
"..." Daisuke stopped asking and continued reading the newspaper delivered this morning.
He was off today and had planned to go fishing by the river with friends. It was a rare chance to relax, so he chose not to interfere with the two of them.
---
As the morning glow faded from crimson, the building windows successively opened their amber eyes. The asphalt road soaked up light and heat, becoming soft, and even the church spires became silver cones piercing the blazing white sky.
Someone who felt a bit of difficulty breathing slowly opened his eyes and saw the cute face from his dream come into reality as he woke up.
"Tsuna, the sun's up and shining." Shouko in his arms looked up and met his gaze, the corners of her mouth curving up uncontrollably.
Shouko, who had gone to bed early last night, woke up after sleeping for about an hour while hugging him. She couldn't fall back asleep afterward, so she simply hugged him and zoned out.
She could also keep smelling the nice scent on him...
"When did you come? How did I not know?" Tsuna raised his hand and rubbed his sleepy eyes.
Confirmed, it wasn't a delusion. The soft Shouko in his arms was real, and this wasn't a dream.
"Around eight something," Shouko recalled.
Tsuna reached out to grab his phone charging on the nightstand, but found it was still a bit far. He wanted to sit up but couldn't because Shouko was wrapped around him.
"No need to look, Tsuna. It's past eleven now, almost lunchtime," Shouko said calmly, as if guessing his intention.
He lifted the blanket covering them. "I need to go down and wash up."
Hearing this, Shouko finally let go of him. After he got out of bed, she silently pulled the blanket, still warm from the two of them, back over herself.
Tsuna looked back at her, shook his head helplessly, and walked downstairs.
Shouko is very timid and shy at school and around outsiders, but when she's alone with him, she likes to actively cling to him.
Completely two different personalities...
However, no matter how she changes, Shouko is still the way he likes her.