"Then forget it. You'd be better off drawing a few more illustrations and finishing the commission I gave you sooner."
"…"
Her rising emotions were ruined by someone, and Shouko opened her mouth with an "aww," biting down hard on his shoulder.
"Easy, easy." Tsuna tensed his body and quickly patted her back, begging for mercy.
When she let go, the white fabric was stained with a small dark patch from saliva and teeth marks — a wet impression with faint indentations.
Before he could make another move, his body was restrained again by Shouko's hands. Seeing her so dependent, he felt a little helpless:
"Shouko, you're not planning to hug me like this until it's time to go to sleep, are you?"
Shouko bumped his chest with her head in dissatisfaction. "We're already dating, and you still call me Shouko?"
"It's a habit. I really can't change it right away…"
Tsuna pushed her away a little, but the next second she hugged him again. He inexplicably felt like he was being clung to by a koala.
"I want to go to the bathroom, Shouko. Can you let go first, please?"
"Oh— oh."
Saying that, Shouko released him, fell backward onto the bed, and expertly rolled twice to wrap herself completely in the blanket.
Tsuna looked at her for a couple of seconds, then turned and left the room.
Shouko, however, poked her head out of the blanket and stared at his back until he disappeared, before retracting her gaze.
Only after confirming he had truly left did she joyfully roll around on the bed. If she wasn't afraid of startling Mom and Uncle Miyamura downstairs, she would have laughed out loud.
"Shouko?"
When Tsuna returned to the bedroom, he only saw the messy blanket on the bed — and Shouko wasn't on the chair, either.
As he wondered, he heard Shouko and his mother chatting downstairs. Without hesitation, he turned and walked down.
"Yuzuru just left. Is something wrong?" Shizuka looked at the girl in front of her, who couldn't suppress her smile, feeling a little puzzled.
In the past, after she and Tsuna went up to the second floor, she would only come down when it was time to leave — unless it was something urgent.
But looking at her now — radiating happiness — it didn't seem like anything urgent was amiss.
"Nothing, Mom."
Shouko smiled and shook her head, her peripheral vision catching sight of the figure appearing at the living room entrance. She stood up and ran over to embrace his firm, warm arm.
"Mom, I have big news to announce!"
Before Shizuka could ask, she eagerly continued, "Tsuna agreed to be my boyfriend!"
Matching her last sentence, her smile seemed to reach the ceiling.
Tsuna helplessly poked her forehead, somewhat wishing she would revert to her previous shy, stammering self.
"Oh…" Shizuka nodded calmly, watching the two of them sit on the sofa beside her.
"Mom… why aren't you reacting at all?"
"What else do you want?" Shizuka rolled a beautiful white eye at her son. "What kind of reaction do you expect? For me to firmly disagree?"
"Besides, you two should have been together ages ago — but you dragged it out for so long. And judging by what Shouko said just now, she was the one who confessed…"
Seeing her son's lack of initiative, she patted his arm in dissatisfaction.
Her peripheral vision also caught Shouko about to defend him, but a half-smile stopped her.
"Go, go," Shizuka waved impatiently, "You're interrupting my drama."
"…"
Tsuna could only lead Shouko out of the living room after hearing that.
Once she confirmed the two had returned upstairs, she could no longer contain her excitement. She picked up her phone and called Yaeko next door.
"Moshi moshi? What's wrong, Shizuka?"
As soon as the call connected, Yaeko's puzzled voice came through.
"My son and your daughter are together!"
"Ah?"
"Beep— beep— beep—"
Shizuka hung up immediately after saying it, savoring the thrill. Only when Yaeko called back did she explain properly.
"Shouko…"
"What's wrong?"
"Can you let go of me? I need to draw illustrations…"
Tsuna looked at Shouko, who had immediately clung to him after returning to the bedroom, feeling speechless.
Before their relationship was confirmed, overly intimate gestures like hugging had gradually increased with age — and then slowly faded.
But now—
"Tsuna, let me hug you first. I can draw later."
The person lost in thought was interrupted by Shouko's muffled voice from his embrace. He rubbed his chin against her head. Neither of them would lose from this, so he might as well hug her…
The autumn rain fell with bursts of thunder, and the window echoed with rhythmic pat-pat sounds.
Tsuna's gaze shifted from the curtain of rain outside to Shouko, who was nestled in his arms like a small bird. "Shouko, it's been almost thirty minutes. How about we draw some illustrations first?"
"Tsuna." Shouko looked up and met his helpless eyes. "Actually… tomorrow—"
"Ah—!"
Before she could finish, she covered her head with both hands, looking at him with teary eyes.
"Draw slowly. When you come back, I'll give you a mysterious reward."
Tsuna gently rubbed the spot on her head he'd flicked.
"W-what reward?"
Tsuna didn't answer.
Shouko could only return to her seat, glancing back at him with reluctance before obediently beginning her unfinished drawings.
"…"
Tsuna returned to his computer, ignoring her frequent glances and focusing on the work his old man had assigned him.
The heavy rain gradually weakened with time and finally stopped after a flash of lightning.
Shouko rubbed her slightly sore hand joints, then looked up at him — still staring blankly at the screen.
"Tsuna, it's time. What's the reward?"
Tsuna glanced at the time on the bottom corner of the screen: 22:16. Then he retracted his gaze and waved at her.
"Come here."
Full of anticipation, Shouko leaned closer without hesitation.
But before she made contact, a warm sensation pressed against her lips — and she froze.
Tsuna ignored her flushed cheeks and gently rubbed her head. "The rain outside stopped. Head back and sleep early. Don't stay up late."
He thought that Shouko like this was adorable — though he liked her regardless.
"Ah? Oh— oh…"
Shouko touched her lips, nodding blankly before standing up to leave.
This felt completely different from a stolen kiss. Looking into Tsuna's smiling eyes, she kept replaying the feeling in her mind.
Seeing her like this, Tsuna smiled and opened the door for her. The moment he turned back, he froze — a face suddenly leaned toward him.
"…"
"Who taught you to stick out your tongue?" Tsuna touched his bitten upper lip. Although she failed to actually reach him, he was still speechless.
Shouko, having succeeded in her own stolen kiss, chose not to explain and quickly fled.
Click.
A faint taste of rust touched his tongue. Tsuna grabbed his phone and opened the front camera, spotting a small break in his upper lip from the bite.