Chapter 64: Dyed in Your Colors.
....
Nana and Momo stared at each other in utter shock; their big sister's brief sentence contained a monumental amount of information.
Particularly for Nana—who had only recently stepped into a whole new world after being dragged into playing dating games by her sister—a fully censored, pitch-black Black Dragon version of Kihara automatically materialized in her mind, causing a massive cloud of steam to erupt from the top of her head with a loud poof.
Her eyes spun into dizzy swirls as she passed out cold from the sheer embarrassment of her inner fantasy.
Fortunately, Momo reacted with lightning speed, catching her sister just in time so she didn't hit the ground and make a sound that would alert the two inside the bathroom. She then tiptoed back up to the attic, dragging Nana along with her.
Because the sudden slip put an abrupt end to the kiss, Kihara and Lala pretended as if nothing had happened, stepping out of the bathroom one after the other.
As night fell, Kihara tossed and turned in bed, utterly unable to fall asleep. Sinking his consciousness into the shadow space, he saw Shinobu lying sprawled out on the couch in a thoroughly ungraceful posture, fast asleep. Left with no choice, he abandoned the thought of waking her for a late-night chat.
"This is pure torture..."
Taking a deep breath, he slowly exhaled the scorching heat built up in his chest, feeling a tiny bit better as he stared blankly up at the unremarkable ceiling.
Just then, faint footsteps echoed from outside the door. Kihara raised an eyebrow slightly, turning his head toward the locked bedroom door.
With a crisp click, the door handle was slowly turned and pushed open.
A stray pink strand of hair slipped through the door crack first, followed by Lala herself.
The moment she stepped into the room, she caught Kihara's bright, dark eyes gleaming in the shadow cast by the moonlight. Free of even a shred of embarrassment, she let out a delighted, hushed cheer: "Hooray, you're not asleep!"
"It's so late. What brings you over to see me?"
"I felt super peaceful sleeping with you last time, so I wanted to experience it again," Lala stated her thoughts with total candor. Then, tapping her index fingers together, she pursed her lips and said sheepishly, "Plus... there's a very important question I want to ask you."
"No problem. Come over and lie down first."
"Yay!" She let out a quiet cheer, slipping under the covers like an agile eel. Expertly resting her hand and thigh over his body, she nuzzled her cheek against his chest, letting out a soft sigh: "This really feels so comfortable..."
'You're comfortable, but I'm suffering over here...'
Kihara had already been holding in a wave of pent-up heat after Lala barged into the bathroom earlier today and interrupted his good time with Shinobu. Now, this completely naive girl was actively throwing herself straight into his arms.
Whether it was the marshmallow-soft, uniquely fragrant body in his arms or the long, gentle breaths brushing against his collarbone, every single detail plucked at his most fragile nerve.
Had he not already been a seasoned veteran with over a dozen girlfriends, his brain probably would have been fried completely by now.
"Kihara, do you know what it feels like to like someone? Momo said that 'liking you' and 'liking a food to eat' are completely different concepts and feelings."
"Is that the question you wanted to ask?"
"Mmhmm."
Kihara wrapped his right arm around her delicate, slender waist, while his left hand twirled a lock of pink hair between his fingers. He looked down into her emerald eyes, which were filled with an intense craving for knowledge.
"To me, romance isn't always something dramatic like in novels and manga. It can also be a lot like a quiet stream—a relationship without grand twists and turns that naturally arrives at the destination called 'romance.'"
"Then do you like me?"
Amused into a laugh by her silly question, Kihara leaned down while Lala was completely unguarded, landing a soft kiss on her tender lips—a quick touch before pulling away.
"If I didn't like you, why would I have proposed to you the very moment we met?"
Lala knitted her brows in genuine frustration: "I wasn't prepared just now, so I didn't get to remember what kissing actually feels like at all. How about you kiss me one more time?"
"Should this kiss be longer or shorter then?"
"Longer!"
Her unreserved desire poured like a cup of strong liquor into Kihara's scalding chest. Grasping her delicate chin, he leaned down and kissed her with intensity.
"Mmh..."
In a split second, Lala's pupils dilated wide. The entire world fell dead silent; no other sounds lingered in her ears save for her heart pounding like a roaring engine.
She was like a toddler just learning to walk, step-by-step discovering how to use her legs under Kihara's patient guidance, before running freely alongside him under the enchanting night sky, bathed in the evening breeze.
A long while later, their lips parted.
Lala's captivating green eyes glistened with shimmering ripples, her innocent aura touched with a hint of allure thanks to her peach-flushed cheeks. Opening her small cherry mouth, she gasped heavily for air.
"You don't need to listen to Momo and force yourself to do things you aren't used to. I truly enjoy the time I spend with you; there's zero need to go out of your way to prove an invisible, intangible feeling like affection."
"Mmhmm! Then does this mean we're officially a real couple now?"
"Of course."
Lala could no longer suppress the joy in her heart, wrapping her arms tight around Kihara's neck as she cheered out loud: "THAT'S AWESOME!!!!!"
Her complete lack of volume control naturally woke Nana and Momo, who were still drifting off to sleep up in the attic.
Hearing her voice booming from the second floor, the former's face shifted dramatically as she sprinted downstairs like a flash of lightning, while the latter let out a yawn and ambled out of her room.
Nana kicked the door open, casually flicking on the lights. Her messy pink hair and ferocious glare made her look just like a puffed-up cat. Her razor-sharp gaze swept across the two of them; only after confirming their clothes were completely neat did she breathe a relief in her heart.
"Big sister! What are you doing barging into brother-in-law's room in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?!"
"Heehee... I was just... hehe... wanting to talk to Kihara... hahaha..."
Lala couldn't hold back the smile on her face at all, letting out giggles every few words. Had Nana not trusted Kihara's character, she would have suspected he had secretly fed her sister something strange.
"You can't just casually run into a guy's room at night! They'll turn into big bad wolves and do shameless things! Let me take you back to sleep."
Normally, Kihara would have let Lala head back with Nana. But the atmosphere between them tonight was absolutely perfect—they were just about to naturally explore the mysteries of life, only to be interrupted yet again. Who could possibly bear that?
"Nana, let Lala stay here tonight."
"Brother-in-law, what are you..."
Halfway through her sentence, Nana realized that Kihara and Lala's relationship wasn't that of an ordinary boy and girl. It was completely normal for a betrothed couple to sleep in the same room.
At the very least, out in space, no one had ever heard of a ridiculous case where a fiancé got dragged off to prison just for sleeping alongside his betrothed.
It was then that Momo walked over, rubbing her sleepy eyes, resting her hand on Nana's shoulder: "Let's head back. Don't disturb brother-in-law and big sister's rest."
"Give me a break. It's not even certain whether they'll get any sleep tonight."
"Haha, that's just dramatic embellishment in stories. You don't actually believe a person can keep going for a whole night, do you?"
Giggling quietly, Momo pulled the bedroom door shut. Lala retracted her gaze, asking curiously: "Kihara, what did Nana mean by 'not getting any sleep'?"
"You'll find out very soon."
"Hmm?"
Lala's pure, blank-canvas innocence was finally dyed in Kihara's own colors.
.....
Thank you for reading.