Nico spins dramatically and then tries 'kabedon' with him-- but she can't reach over his head. With a little effort, she presses the palm of her hand to the wall near his shoulders instead. She's trying very hard to take this seriously. But she also looks like she's on the verge of bursting into a fit of giggles.
BACK PRESSED AGAINST the wall, eyes wide in surprise, Tino looked down as Nico, a small wisp of a girl, proceeded to lock him in place with her arm. He stood between her body and the wall, with Nico’s palm pressing on the spot beside him. The look she had on told him how hard it was for her to keep a straight face, and the way she stood spoke of the slight physical struggle she was going through just to do this.
The ‘kabedon’, as Maki Honoka had put it–he could hear her voice saying it inside his mind again at this very moment–was an act done usually by the taller, more dominant male character in a drama or manga, whereby the female character stood trapped between his body and a wall, with one arm pressing forward to keep her in place. A “vulgar” tactic, she’d gone so far as to call it, and Tino never forgot that. Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time it happened to him–and much like this instance, it hadn’t been his idea to initiate. However, while that estranged girl’s attempt back in second year had been more than a little awkward and funny, Tino couldn’t help but feel differently about this one.
For a second there–and don’t you dare call him out on this–Tino had felt his heart beat just a tiny bit faster. Immediately after seeing Nico’s attempt to hide her laughter, though, Tino pushed it back and chuckled, hoping against hope that his cheeks weren’t warming up too much. It felt nothing at all like what had happened years ago in that empty classroom with that person he barely knew. This one actually worked like it was supposed to, even if it did come from someone who couldn’t take it seriously.
Of course, Tino was going to keep that to himself.
“What are you doing, Nico?” he said, a ring of laughter punctuating his words as he brought a hand up to gently rub the top of Nico’s head. “Did Honoka-chan put you up to this?” He wouldn’t be surprised if she did. …Although he’d be less surprised if Nico, hearing about his latest writing session with Honoka, decided she’d try it on him herself.
…He secretly hoped it was the latter.