"we should consider marriage."
you blink. nanami's knife never loses its rhythm.
you put down your pen and cushion your chin on one hand, eyeing him. he's unbothered. he keeps prepping the ingredients for dinner, his forearms flexing with each pass of the knife. the tight ridge of his broad shoulders always loosens in the kitchen.
"for us or for someone else, kento?" you ask, biting back your little smile.
he levels an unimpressed look your way. "for us."
"it took me a year to convince you to date me," you say. "you can't blame me for checking."
(i don't want you to get hurt, he says on a humid summer day. he gazes out into the campus courtyard, eyes hidden beneath the gleam of his sunglasses.
you suck the watermelon juice off your sticky fingers. i'm aware, you say, nonchalant. but sometimes being hurt just means you've lived well.
he looks at you differently, after that.)
nanami hums; the oil sizzles as he adds the vegetables to the pan. the steam wisps around him. there's the smallest upward tilt to his lips, and his dark eyes make you think of warm summer nights, heavy and honeyed.
he sets a lid over the pan, rinses his hands, and pads over to you. you open your legs to let him press between. he lays a heavy hand on your thigh, his thumb slipping under the hem of your shorts.
"so," you say, "we're considering, huh?"
"yes," he says. "i'd like to know that when something happens to me, you'll be taken care of. being legally married helps ensure that."
you wind your arms around his neck, pull him further into the cradle of your hips.
"yes," he says, deadpan. he tugs you closer still. "that's the only reason."
you laugh and hook your legs around his hips. "you realize that with you, this is basically an actual proposal, kento."
nanami leans down, catches you in a deep, aching kiss.
turnnoffyourmind
yousharknotpass
dededos
andulkaphoto
origamiaround
