To you, From me [Chapter 2]
14 days with you! is a 18+ visual novel Minors don’t interact!
Words: 2944
Genre: OC (angel sona, they/them masc presenting) x Ren
Trigger Warnings:
Just cringe today ahah
I apologize for any mistakes, English is not my first language and I wrote that at night
Previous chapter
When I woke up in the morning, the first things I realized were a weight on my lower back and my face being deep into the pillow. So I turned over during the night, sleeping on my stomach instead of facing the wall… The weight is probably Princess, she tends to sleep here whenever she can but I feel something else, this time, something I’m not used to. My right hand isn’t empty. I tend to grab covers and pillows when I sleep because I hate having my hands “empty” but this thing wasn’t as soft…
I opened an eye and turned my head to see what I was holding, directly making eye contact with my new friend.
He’s been looking at me? Wait, since how long was he awake? Did I kick him in my sleep? I hope he was not waiting for me to get up for too long, that would be embarrassing and…
What was I holding again?
I look down and, despite my poor eyesight, I immediately recognize the hand I took in mine as if it was a plushie. Combusting on the spot, I’m suddenly wide awake and jolt out of bed, tangling myself in the covers and scaring the cat.
“WAAA!” A thump accompanies my fall as I meet the ground, most of the covers completely around my waist and legs. “Uuuuuurg… ‘Thurts….”
My cat looked at me like I offended her whole bloodline and left the room, leaving me butt hurt with a very concerned Ren on all four on my bed.
“Wow, are you okay?” He comes closer to the edge of the bed, face in a state of borderline panic. “Are you hurt??
-Ngggg… If I bruise I won’t be surprised…”
I tried to untangle myself from the bed sheets but as I’m getting even more embarrassed and frustrated, the giant cotton candy comes to my side to help me. In a few seconds, I’m free to move and rub my butt cheek as well as my ankles, which didn’t like the fall.
“What a way to wake up…” I try with a small laugh, trying to brush off what just happened.
“-I hope you don’t jump like that every morning? That was a bad fall.” He responds with a smile, helping me get up.
He handed me my glasses and our hands slightly brushed against each other, reminding me why I jumped in the first place.
“Ah!! I-I…” I put my glasses on but didn’t look at him. “Sorry for…uh… immobilizing you tonight. I… I have no excuses really. Oh damn…At least I didn’t kick you, did I?”
His face softened with a cute pink glow.
“You didn’t kick me. A-and it’s fine, I don’t mind.” He scratched his jaw then proceeded to remove the wrinkles off his top, leaving me some time to breathe the anxiety out.
“W-Well… Now I’m awake. Uh…breakfast? Oh wait, the cat. And the lock. Then breakfast! Sounds good?”
He nodded and followed me while I was feeding Princess, proposing himself to take care of the lock while I was changing the litter box. With a raised eyebrow, I made sure he was indeed able to do that and he assured me he could so we both went to our respective tasks.
I rejoined him at the door to look at this lock thing and helped him to end it faster. I felt like a tiny helper with the tools in my hands while he was expertly placing everything. I mean, I could have done it myself but I also prefer my guest to do that than cleaning my cat’s poop. The morning was embarrassing enough.
“I think the new café near the pier is open now. Would you like to go there for breakfast?
-You mean the Driftwood café? I didn’t know it was open to the public yet…” When he stood up, I stopped myself from nibbling on my lip, still healing from yesterday.
“Yeah, we could go have a look? …Like a date?”
Oh yeah, he still wanted to “thank me” for that book. Even if the lock felt enough for me, his intentions were very clear from the start.
“O-Oh… If you’re not scared I’ll embarrass the both of us again, yeah, why not!
-You’re never embarrassing Angel…”
A breath got stuck in my throat, only going out as a nervous laugh.
“I-I…I’ll take my bag then. And dress up. ‘Bathroom is this way if you need it!” I flee the situation by trotting back to my bedroom to get dressed. I really hated those pajamas…
I put on another tank top and pants, slightly more loose than those of yesterday and look at my face in the mirror. My hair is a mess of curls and knots. Brushing them a bit before attaching them in a half low bun, I curl the two strands of hair surrounding my face.
I put on a watch because I know I’ll lose track of time at some point if Ren expects me to stay the whole day with him. Not that I mind but it’ll be dark before I realize it and that could ruin my mood.
I got out to see Ren looking out the window, shushing me when I tried to ask what he’s doing. I approached to see that he was observing birds cuddling on a branch not far.
“Aaaaw stop, that’s adorable! I love birds…”
His smile answered my comment without a word then he added.
“Are you ready to go?
-I’ll grab my bag and we can go!” He nodded while I grabbed my bag and we got out.
I feel a lot more comfortable around him, strangely. I still keep my distance because I kinda need to be able to see his eyes without breaking my neck but having him close doesn’t feel as weird as yesterday. It’s like we became friends in a day, without the struggle of having to call each other every day and painfully keep contact.
His hand brushed against mine by accident and I felt my heart jump. His hand retracted with an apology and I don’t know what possessed me but I replicated the gesture, without the accident part.
The fireworks in his eyes made their comeback and he reached before I heard my name being called. I felt my face turning to an annoyed expression before forcing myself to look at least neutral.
“Heyooo Celest! Glad to see you out this early!” Leon ran up to us with a large smile that I reciprocated when I saw his face.
“Oh hey! Yeah it happens sometimes.
-I was on my way to the beach to meet up with Jae-Hyun and Teo. Wanna come with us? Oh, you can come as well if you want, buddy” He turned to face Ren as if they were already friends but when I looked at my guest’s expression, it was everything but joy.
Both men couldn’t catch each other's vibe and it made me giggle slightly.
“Actually-
-We were about to go on a date.” Ren interrupted me and I looked up, surprised by his confidence.
“A Date?” Leon’s face showed a mix of emotions I couldn’t decipher fast enough before it softened, tugging his hands in his pockets. “I thought you would stay alone with cats for the rest of your life, darl’. Good for you! I’m glad that you’re trying that again after last time.” He faced Ren with a sharp smile morphing into a sweet one in half a second. “Take good care of them for me, won’t ya, bud?”
Despite my hearing being better than my sight, I couldn’t catch what Ren mumbled but I clearly felt him getting closer, brushing my hand with his as if to ask something. My body moving faster than my thoughts, I hooked my pinky finger into his and instantly felt heat growing in me. His hand was cold but this contact reminded me of the awakening disaster that happened earlier. I didn’t let go though.
“I can’t believe you're trying the dating scene again… I feel like a proud father…”
I rolled my eyes to Leon’s comment.
“Please, we’re basically the same age, you can’t be my father.
-A proud adoptive father then!
-You know I never ditched the dating scene completely right? I was just focusing on myself for a bit. You know how it ended…”
He sighed and took me out of Ren’s hand to pass an arm above my shoulders, separating us on purpose. Leon was now in between my date and I, tugging me away from Ren.
“That’s exactly why I’m surprised, sweetheart. How long ago have you met this guy?” He whispered in my ear, getting closer to me to block Ren’s sight of what was happening.
“H-Hey, first that’s private information and second I’m not currently dating him, I’m going on a date, that’s very different.
-Am I allowed to be worried? The rare times I saw you even thinking about dating someone, they were already close friends and both your family and us knew about them. This guy is a complete stranger to the group. Are you sure that’s not desperation? He didn’t touch you, right?
-Leon!!” I gently threw my fist at his torso and got myself out of his embrace. “I promise you, if anything goes wrong, you’ll be the first to be aware. Aren’t my night texts enough to reassure you that everything went fine yesterday? I did hang out with him and I’m still in one piece, aren’t I?
-You are but I also see a new wound on your lip.”
Shit.
“I-I got nervous! You know I bite when I'm nervous! He didn't kiss me, he didn't touch me, I hurt myself because I'm an anxiety disaster. I promise Leon, I'm fine.”
His eyes were saying everything he couldn't pronounce and I went around him to go back to Ren. This time, I deliberately grabbed his arm, leaving no space for confusion about our relationship. I felt his heat radiating next and onto me, barely holding myself from melting.
That's when I heard someone else's voice and, for the first time in two days, I appreciated the interruption.
“Oi!
-I wondered if he would ditch us.” Leon switched back to being the gentle friend I knew my whole life, greeting the newcomer.
I honestly don't remember much about how we met, I just know he was friends with my friends. At first I hated his guts but quickly learned that nobody would dare bother me with him around. First because the guy was towering everyone and then because he's a total asshole most of the time. With all my sympathy, of course.
He walks confidently toward us and, before I notice anything, purposely bumps into Ren with the clear intentions to send him flying to the metal railing behind us.
I blinked, feeling carried by Ren's weight before realizing we were not together anymore. I was in Teo’s embrace instead.
“Ah shit, sorry. I don't know how I could miss such a brightly-colored children’s mascot.
-Alright, you don't need to-”
Teo glances toward Leon to prevent him from finishing his sentence. I was completely stuck and let myself be manipulated however he wanted, lost in what the fuck happened.
Both arms around my shoulders, one of them grabbing his other biceps so I couldn't move and his chin on the top of my head, I could feel the electricity between Teo and Ren, even without seeing it.
“What are you trying to look like? The Easter bunny? My 4 year old cousin would love to meet you!
-Oi, knock it off mate…” Leon tried to stop the teasing before it got worse but Ren’s eyes were already shooting lasers.
“What's your problem?
-Dunno, what's yours?”
Both men stared at each other while I, still in Teo's arms and a hand instinctively on his, didn't know what to do. With a cracked voice, I attempted to get the attention back to myself instead of letting them fight.
“Uh… maybe you should introduce each other before tearing each other to death?”
Ren's eyes softened when they met mines and in opposition, Teo held me tighter. I didn't have much opportunity to get his physical affection as we both tend to avoid it, especially in public, but that felt incredibly wrong this time and my growing discomfort was making me dizzy.
“Maybe you could release me? I'm able to use my legs, you know.”
He took a second to think, squeezed again then released while still keeping me close, a hand on my shoulder like a guard dog.
“Oh I'm not too sure, you were pretty close to the ground a moment ago!
-Compared to you, I'm always closer to the ground.” He smirked and I smiled back, still feeling uneasy about all of this.
“So…Teo, this is Ren, my…” What was he to me? A friend? A guest? A guardian? Something else?
Lost in my own mind, I instinctively took the hand he held out to me and he took me away from Teo to his greatest displeasure.
“I'm their boyfriend. Whether y’want it o’not.”
My fingers intertwined in Ren’s, his eyes were overly confident that I would not say otherwise, still holding Teo's glare.
“A-ah… uh… yeah…” I squeezed his hand in a desperate attempt to alleviate how bad I felt about all this. Teo was supposed to save me from Leon being a bit too much but my prayer was apparently answered by Satan as it was much worse now. I was lying to my friends. “Yeah, boyfriend. This. Exactly. Uhm, and Ren, this is Teo, someone I sadly call my friend despite everything.
-Aaaw you consider us friends? That's cute Doll~
-Are we not? You always used to show up whenever I’d sit for a break. Which was weird because that wasn’t exactly predictable.” Even more strange now because he kept showing up when I needed it too.
“Oh? I didn’t notice, maybe I wanted to say hi before visiting Goldie since you were on the way. Or maybe I was bored and wanted to see what someone with a lower-class income does in their free time.”
There we go. I almost missed his arrogance and fake excuses to not show he actually cared for us. Seeing me roll my eyes, he made a step toward us, only stopping because of Ren’s dark look.
“Just kidding, Doll. You’re a bit too boring for my taste anyway. I doubt you’d even be worth hiring a private investigator.” I clutch at my shirt like I’m having a heart attack, my other hand still in Ren’s.
“-Oof! You hurt me here! I’m a very interesting person!”
Leon finally stepped in, putting himself in between both men.
“Hey hey, no, you stop it. I know you like this game you two but that’s not the place or time. You need to stop trying to pick fights with everyone, mate.” Teo shot a nasty smile toward the pink giant.
“Aw, don’t get your panties in a twist, I seriously doubt Buttercup’s capable of harming a fly - let alone able to throw a decent punch.”
I lifted my gaze toward Ren’s because we were both confused. I mean, I technically “hired” him yesterday specifically to beat up some guy if they showed up. But we didn’t respond to the provocation, instead Ren only answered the nickname part.
“...My name is Ren. You can drop the nickname.
-Nah, I think Celest over here should drop you instead. Besides, the nickname suits you. Cute just like your style, don’t you think Buttercup?”
I felt the body next to me stiffen and tremble as he wanted to jump on his throat. A little thumb caress on his hand allowed his body to relax a bit but still tense. Leon stepped in once again.
“Seriously, you need to chill. Look, we’re gonna head down the beach. You sure you don’t want to tag along? I promise to make sure that Teo stays on his best behaviour.”
My nose frowned at the proposition and I shook my head without having to ask my date about his opinion.
“I’m sorry guys but this is already a bit much for me and I already made plans with Ren. Not as if I were doubting the competences of my proud adoptive father but you know how Teo can get and I’m not really in the mood to deal with it. Sorry Teo, I’ll make you cookies next time we see each other.
-Oh that’s a great deal, I should bully your friends more often!
-Teo!”
I sighed loudly as I was pulling Ren by his hand to, once again, escape the situation that made me uncomfortable. Leon shot me a wink while Teo “waved” to me with a perfect middle finger that I reciprocated. I then focus on Ren.
“I’m so sorry… I promise they’re good people. Maybe a tad overprotective but they’re doing their best.
-No problem! It’s done now so everything is fine! Right? Are you feeling okay?” His worries make me remember all the tension I kept in my body during the whole argument and I can’t stop myself from letting out a tiny whine. I removed my hand from his to properly crack my back and wrists before lightly tapping his hand to ask if I could have it again.
He observed me doing my routine without even once flinching or seeming disgusted by it and answered my silent question by handing me his hand, which I took with a timid smile.
“So, about this café?”
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