"Huh? Where am … No, I fell asleep!"
Like most people who probably didn't expect to fall asleep somewhere, Fuyu's body jerked upright at the same time as she opened her eyes as she tried to look around and check her surroundings. Then, it took her a few seconds to realize her current situation.
Upon spotting me on a nearby sofa, watching over her, the girl went rigid as a sense of shame covered up her previously peacefully sleeping face. She picked up a cushion and covered her face with it as if it was going to make her disappear from my eyes.
Somehow, seeing her reaction brought a smile to my face. But then again, laughing at her would be wrong so…
"You can sleep more," I said in as gentle a tone as possible. "Akane already called your house and told your mother you'll be sleeping here."
Yep. I'm not joking about that.
"… What did you say?" She slowly lowered the cushion and stared at me, waiting for a clarification.
She then quickly searched for her bag and phone. Among those two, only her phone that was placed on the coffee table was within her reach.
She picked it up and turned it on. A moment later, she went rigid for the second time before shaking in what could be said as nervousness or realization that… she overslept.
"The trains have already stopped, unfortunately," I said, confirming that the current time she saw on her phone was true. It's already past midnight. "Even if I'm willing to escort you home, it's impossible now."
Taxis weren't really prominent here in our city. It's even expensive to call one at this time. And while it's still possible to go on foot, it'll be a long walk that I doubt she'll prefer.
"That… why didn't you wake me up, Onoda-kun?"
"You're sleeping peacefully. We can't bear to interrupt that." I answered. And as expected, she became more embarrassed the more she heard it. So, I added, "Don't worry though, I haven't been watching for long. Akane was here just a few minutes ago, watching over you."
While that was true, the two of us were actually watching her together. My silly wife kept on insisting that Fuyu would like it if she saw me upon waking up.
Now, look at her. She's more embarrassed because I was the one watching over her.
"Akane? Where is she?"
"Upstairs. Preparing a room for you."
Given that we already got permission for her to sleep here, we couldn't just let her sleep on this sofa when there were proper rooms available.
Akane even suggested bringing her into our bedroom, which I naturally rejected. Fuyu isn't one of my girls. More than that, she'd just freak out to find herself sleeping in the same bed as me.
Even if her interest in me turns out to be true, that wouldn't be a valid excuse to bring her into our bedroom without her consent.
And that's why we spent our time here, waiting for her to wake up. She wasn't in a deep slumber anyway. She just drifted off to sleep when Akane went to make the tea. It's expected that she's going to wake up at some point.
"I see… I apologize, Onoda-kun. Falling asleep here and having you watch over me."
"It's fine. I should actually be thanking you. I owe you one again for accompanying Akane, Yuuki-san. Staying up like this is nothing much. By the way, tea?" I waved my hand with a smile, deflecting her apology. And to stop us from going back to it, I offered up a drink.
Since it's already been a few hours since Akane brewed it, we put it back on a heater to keep it warm.
Fuyu still looked a little embarrassed but with our conversation going smoothly like this, her panic and nervousness gradually settled down.
"Y-yes, please." She answered before fixing herself on that sofa, bringing down her feet to the ground and sitting straight up.
"You don't have to be overly conscious, Yuuki-san. Feel at home." I intentionally chuckled at this point as a way to release the tension and lighten up the mood.
I then stood up to get her a cup of tea and returned with it in less than a minute.
For sure, Akane already finished preparing my previous room to be used by Fuyu but… knowing that girl, I wouldn't be surprised if she was already hiding somewhere, listening in on us.
In any case, I treated Fuyu normally and while our conversation only revolved around mundane things, it helped the girl relax, taking away her worry about sleeping far away from her home.
Then I steered our topic to her upcoming competition that would start this Monday. And sure enough, it quickly made her enthused that for the first time, I heard her talk about it in fiery passion. There's no doubt she loves that sport.
"Know that I won't go easy against you, Onoda-kun even if you're a beginner."
"Then I'll expect myself to lose."
"No! Don't give up easily. Tennis is really fun. We can play it just for fun and not take it seriously."
"You're contradicting yourself there, Yuuki-san."
"Eh? Am I?"
"Well, it's not bad. In fact, I like that you're not too overly passionate about it to gatekeep someone. I believe you'll be a great athlete in the future. No. You're probably already one."
"… Onoda-kun, that's unfair. You don't have to praise me like that. You're making me embarrassed."
"I'm only speaking the truth. Or at least, in my eyes, the hardworking and passionate Yuuki-san deserved this kind of praise."
"So you're saying I have no choice but to accept it?"
"Pretty much."
"You rogue. Okay, I'll accept your praise." Fuyu playfully pouted before giggling pleasantly.
In this way, our conversation progressed so smoothly that it felt like we were just friends catching up on years that we hadn't seen each other.
Right at the same time as she finished the tea, we ran out of topics.
And so, after a second of unavoidable silence, I raised a question, "Shall I guide you to your room?"
"… Un. Thank you, Onoda-kun. But where is Akane?"
"Here." I brought up my phone and showed her the silly girl's message that she sent a few minutes ago, while we were fully engaged in the topic of our conversation.
'Husband, I finished preparing the room. I also put clothes for her to change into. Guide Fuyu there once you're done talking, I'll be in our room.'
Upon reading that, Fuyu wryly smiled, not knowing how to properly react to that, "Onoda-kun…"
"That silly girl will never change." I returned the smile while shaking my head. I expected her to do something else but I guess… I didn't expect her to have me bring Fuyu to the room alone.
She really wants me to make a move on her friend. I mean, even the call to the Yuuki Household was made by her when she noticed that Fuyu might still be asleep past midnight.
"She always wants us to get along with each other. I think this is another attempt at it…"
"Yep. That's Akane's signature, alright. If Yuuki-san likes it, we can see her first."
Fuyu contemplated before shaking her head. And then with a gentle smile and concerned eyes, she said, "Uhm… It's fine. I don't want to trouble you further. You also need to rest soon…"
She trailed her voice there before sneakily glancing up at me. No matter how I tried to interpret that, she seemed to still have something to say but was deliberating whether to go for it or not.
"Is something the matter, Yuuki-san?"
"Uhm. No. It's nothing. Please guide me, Onoda-kun."
Well, if she wouldn't say it, it's also not right for me to force her to do so. I had just rehashed my image in this girl's mind. If I acted rashly or forcefully, that might crumble again. That would be even harder to rebuild. Besides, even if there's something to gain from this chance presented by Akane, I'm already drained of energy from everything I did today.
"Alright. Then… follow me." Upon saying that, I walked to where her bag was located, picked it up, and started moving toward the stairs.
I thought she was going to try and take the bag from me but surprisingly, she simply obediently followed.
For the next few seconds as we climbed up the stairs, an awkward silence built around us.
"Here it is, Yuuki-san." I stopped in front of my previous room and opened the door for her.
"Thank you." The girl stared at me for a moment before bowing her head slightly as she took a few steps, entering the room.
I was about to pull the door close for her but Fuyu turned around to face me again. This time, there was a complicated expression on her face as she started fidgeting.
After waiting for, at most, five seconds, she stabilized her footing and stared straight at me. And as though gathering her courage, she took a deep breath before saying, "Uhm… Good night, Onoda-kun."
Well, as I expected. It's only that. It's not disappointing, of course. I knew that's all she wanted to say, after all. No matter the chances presented in front of her, the girl would always be afraid to take another step because… she cares a lot about Akane. But that's assuming she also likes me. But well, there's no way to find out what's really in her mind unless I fished it out of her mouth.
"Mhm. Good night, Yuuki-san." I put on a smile and patted her head.
Obviously, she didn't expect the pat. Nonetheless, she didn't stop me from doing so and accepted it while looking very comfortable.
A while later, she muttered in an almost inaudible voice as though it was a thought that unconsciously spilled out of her mind, "I love this…"
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