Peel My Orange?: ST☆RISH
You ask him to peel an orange for you...
Quartet Night - HE★VENS
Otoya Ittoki
You had seen the peel my orange trend online and wanted to try it on your boyfriend.
You had called out to him asking for an orange in the kitchen of his apartment. Of course he said yes.
You returned and sat on the couch beside him, the soccer game on TV continued as you held the fruit in your hands.
With the newfound courage you asked Otoya if he could peel it for you.
“You want me to peel your orange?” He parroted back and you nodded slowly. It was a mundane task and a little strange. You were perfectly capable of peeling the fruit yourself of course. And now you felt a little silly. “It just gets under my nails and it’s hard to peel an-”
“It’s no big deal! Lemme see,” He held out his hand, palm facing up to accept the orange. You hesitated before giving him the fruit. Otoya didn’t question you on why you needed help peeling it. And you likely didn’t need any excuse on why you needed him to peel it for you. Otoya picked at the rind with his short nails. Filed down for the purpose of playing guitar. But he managed to remove the orange outer peel with little struggle. However, the execution of his task was messy. There were large, orange peel confetti pieces on the small coffee table. Left haphazardly in a pile.
You felt like you should apologize for testing him. Maybe it was anxiety. “All done!” His declaration made your heart jump into your throat. Your orange was left in the thin white skin. Some of the strings remained. Thankfully unharmed by Otoya’s rough strategy. “Here you go- Oh I’ll grab you a plate!” He returned the fruit to your open palm. Otoya left the couch to grab you a plate so you could enjoy your orange. But you couldn’t take your eyes away from the mess he made on the table. A smile pulled at the corners of your lips.
Masato Hijirikawa
You were visiting Masato’s family for the week and your anxiety was at a high.
You made sure to be as polite as possible; especially with his father. Following Masato’s lead the best you could.
You two finally had some time alone in the evening while watching the sunset on the engawa at a small floor table. The air was cool, and in your hands was a small orange. Masato was already peeling one for himself.
You had seen something online about asking your partner to peel it, but you couldn’t bring yourself to ask Masato.
“Are you feeling stressed? I apologize, really I do. I know this kind of atmosphere can be oppressive.” Masato apologized and you quickly shook your head. “No I don’t think that! It’s really nice here! And your younger sister is so sweet.” You simply felt out of place. Masato moved his peeled orange aside and outstretched his hand. A small curl of his fingers worked as a silent instruction for you to give him your fruit so he may peel it. And you did with no resistance.
“I worry about you, that’s all.” He smiled softly as he took the orange and rolled it against the table with the flat of his palm to loosen the rind. “When I’m with you I feel like I can be myself, so I want you to feel the same way. Even if we’re under another roof.” Masato explained as he picked up the orange and began peeling it quickly. Revealing the pale mesh underneath the rind.
The peel was neatly removed into the shape of plumeria petals. Blooming in the palm of his hand. “There.” He returned it to you, fingers grazing yours. You could see that beneath his nails, some of the orange skin had collected underneath. The citrus scent clung to his flesh. Your heart was doing summersaults as your eyes met his. “Thank you…” You whispered softly, eating a slice of the orange. It was much sweeter than you thought.
Natsuki Shinomiya
Natsuki is not well versed with technology. But you had no issue keeping up with online trends.
Asking your partner to peel your orange was a social experiment to see how they would react.
You were curious. You didn’t want to post his response to the question. This was for your sake.
But when you asked him to peel the fruit, he frowned.
“This is all you want?” His eyes widened behind his thin oval frames. He was putting together a wooden bookshelf to display in your shared living room. Natsuki stayed kneeling on the floor as you approached him. The fruit was dwarfed in his large hands as he adjusted his glasses and looked it over. “I only wanted a snack! I’m not hungry right now.” It was the truth. The orange would be enough for right now. Natsuki still looked upset, shoulders sagging as he stood to retrieve a knife in the kitchen.
“The orange is so cute and small… But if you’re hungry I don’t mind making you something.” He called out from the kitchen. You weren’t sure if you could handle eating something that Natsuki fed you. It was either flavorless, a weapon of mass destruction, or a secret third thing. “I’ll make you some orange cookies once I’m finished. Or ice cream from scratch? Oh! Why don’t I try baking an orange cake with all of my love? That way you’ll be nice and full?” He cooed sweetly, returning from the kitchen.
"You don't have to!" You assured him quickly as he placed your orange in your hands. "It doesn't trouble me at all, just think of what you want for now." Natsuki giggled. The fruit had been peeled with none of the white skin remaining; except for a thin, mesh carving of Piyochan asking you to eat more.
Tokiya Ichinose
There was a trend online of people asking their partners to peel their orange for them.
Part of you didn’t want to test Tokiya, but part of you did. Just to have your curiosity satiated no matter what his response was.
He was preparing for a photo shoot and had brought you along.
It was time for a break and he came to check on you, in your hands was an orange.
“Is that all you’re planning to eat?” His brow was raised, his tone laced with concern. You shook your head as he sat next to you on a small loveseat in the lounge. “I’m not that hungry, I’ll eat more later.” You tapped your nails against the rind as Tokiya hummed. Like he was suspicious of your actions. “Well why haven’t you eaten it yet?” You nearly jumped out of your skin. He was already onto you.
“Oh, the rind is a little hard for me to peel. So I’m looking for... A... Soft spot.” You looked down at the fruit feeling anxious. You were struggling to come up with something. “A soft spot?” You nodded, even if it was obvious Tokiya wasn't falling for it. “You’ll starve before you find a ‘soft spot’. Give it to me.” He instructed and you quickly gave the citrus fruit to him. He started at the top and neatly peeled the rind downwards. “It’s easier to use a knife.” Tokiya explained quietly. His eyes focused and softening as he sighed.
“You could’ve asked me directly.” Tokiya’s voice was soft. “I wouldn’t say no to something so simple.” He carefully returned your orange to your hands. The neatly unfolded skin served as a napkin or plate for the fruit. “Besides,” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to your temple. You could smell the orange mixing with his cologne. “It makes me feel important when you can’t do something like this on your own.” He teased and stole one of your orange slices for himself. You didn't mind.
Ren Jinguji
The trend of asking your partner to peel an orange for you was blowing up on social media
You were sure Ren has already seen it during a late night scroll, or maybe Ai clued him in during a gaming session...
When you entered his apartment, you had a small bag of fruit from the grocery store. Tensing up when you noticed he had fallen asleep on the couch.
You pulled out the orange, and let out a startled sound when Ren's voice carried into the kitchen.
"Need help?" He asked with a yawn. Stretching his arms up with a soft pop in his joints. His hair loose around his shoulders as he entered the small kitchenette where you stood holding the orange. "Sorry, did I wake you up?" You had forgotten all about the fruit. Ren shook his head with a soft smile. "I needed to get up anyways." He took the orange from your hand, looking it over thoughtfully.
"Have you eaten today?" He asked, leaning back against the counter as he began picking at the rind. Ren started to frown, struggling in silence as he pulled and picked at the outer skin. It looked like he was pulling away the shell of a boiled egg. You shook your head in response to his question. "Not yet, I'm not super hungry." You grumbled, feeling his eyes roam over your body. "Well an orange isn't enough." The tone in his voice was stern, but playful. He grabbed you a plate once your massacred rind was discarded into the trash.
He handed you the plate and pressed a hand against your lower back. "I'll take a shower, and then we can go somewhere. Just wait for me." You nodded and looked down at the slices on your plate. Even if he was rough with the peeling, your fruit was unharmed. You wanted to muster the strength to ask if his shower had room for two. But you chose to sit and eat instead.
Syo Kurusu
You had seen a trend online last night of people asking their partners to peel an orange for them. Like a trust test or something.
You didn't see it as a big deal for yourself to ask your boyfriend to peel your orange. But it could be fun to see his reaction.
The two of you were sitting on the couch side by side, curled up together watching The Prince of Fighting.
In your hands was an orange, and you tapped at the rind with a small rind before asking Syo could he peel it for you.
He paused, you could almost see the gears in his mind rotating. "Is that a metaphor?" Syo asked suspiciously and you raised an eyebrow. "Never mind, forget what I said." He smiled before holding out his hand to take the orange from you. Your eyes turned back to the TV, then back to Syo as he stood and took your fruit with him to the kitchen.
What was he talking about..? A metaphor for what..? You looked at the TV, then back to the kitchen. He returned with a plate and a smile, proudly bestowing you his best work. He had cut the top and bottom of the orange off. Unrolling the citrus fruit to expose the slices, making it easy to pluck them free. How creative.
"Tadaaah! You might want to eat more than this. An orange isn't enough..." He gave you the plate as he sat next to you on the couch. "I know, I know, I'll eat more later." You grumbled as you pulled one of the slices free. You still wanted to ask him about the metaphor.
Cecil Aijima
During an afternoon scroll, you saw a trend of people asking their partners to peel an orange for them.
You thought the idea was cute! And it seemed like harmless fun, so you decided to try it on Cecil.
He was sunbathing outside, stretched out on a slab of limestone. You were visiting his home and you had grabbed an orange to eat.
Your eyes met, and you sat next to him on the warm, carved surface.
"Do you want me to peel it?" Cecil asked and you nodded. It was as though he read your mind. You watched as the prince made an indent with his nail, and worked his way around to peel the fruit in a neat spiral shape. Taking most of the thin, pale mesh with it to leave the orange slices behind. "You peel it in a spiral?" You asked softly and he nodded. "Yes! If it's in one piece it won't make a mess." Cecil smiled as he stopped around the center and broke the peel off.
The fruit was now in a bowl, made by the remaining orange rind at the bottom. Easy for you to pull the fruit out and eat. "All done!" He handed it back to you, stretching out his body as he looked at the bright citrus peel between his fingers.
You pulled one of the slices from the makeshift bowl. Looking at it with a flutter in your chest. "M... Maeto." You murmured with warmth filling your face. You didn't know if you said the phrase correctly or used the right pronunciation. But you did appreciate him peeling it. With the slice of fruit between your fingers, you fed it to a pleased looking prince.
