"It's just getting drunk, isn't it? It's not like it's never happened before. Who needs your care anyway?"
Kurenai sounded like she was sulking, "I'll keep drinking after you leave!"
"That won't do," Aoba held her slender, fair hand, which felt a little warm from her emotional state.
"If I saw you feeling awful with no one to take care of you, my heart would ache."
"Stop saying such cheesy things!"
Kurenai shoved him, trying to pull her hand back.
Because of the alcohol, Aoba couldn't tell whether she was blushing from anger or something else.
But Kurenai no longer made any move to fetch more wine.
"Who are you going to accompany tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is Sakura and Ino. The day after is Karin and Tenten," Aoba answered honestly.
"You sure are a busy man."
Kurenai said with sarcastic tone.
"Well, New Year's is coming soon. After I become Hokage, I won't have much time left," Aoba came up with a justification that Kurenai would accept.
"Hmph!", Kurenai still huffed, pouting unhappily.
'Hmm… do mature big sisters always show a childish side when they're drunk?', Aoba, on impulse, poked her cheek.
Kurenai froze, her head buzzing, unsure how to respond.
'Am I supposed to poke him back?'
"It's getting late."
Aoba quickly withdrew his hand and stood up.
"The wine is gone. I should head out."
"Ah… oh."
Kurenai slowly processed it, not saying anything, though she felt a little disappointed inside.
Everything she'd thought about, all the possibilities she had imagined, none of it happened.
'This bastard has such self-control.'
'With his level of emotional sensitivity, there is no way he didn't notice what I was thinking.'
'Or is he playing hard to get… waiting for me to make the first move?'
'Damn it, how can I possibly take the initiative to be an old cow eating tender grass, and be the tenth girl at that.'
Kurenai was adamant inside.
Yet when Aoba walked toward the door, she also stood and quietly followed behind him.
Just as the door opened, she suddenly reached out and grabbed the back of his clothes.
"What is it?", Aoba looked at her in confusion.
'What is it?'
Kurenai didn't know herself. She'd been thinking about "old cow eating tender grass," and somehow that made her reach out on instinct.
'Why did I grab his clothes, am I reluctant?'
'Say something,' she needed an excuse quickly.
Her emotions were in chaos, her mind scattered, her body frozen in place as she held onto Aoba's collar.
"Uh… good night."
Aoba turned and looked at her seriously.
"That's it?"
Kurenai hesitated, then reached up to straighten his collar, "Be careful on the way."
The next second, her wrist was caught, and she was pulled right into his chest.
"A-Aoba?"
Kurenai looked up, flustered.
"Kurenai-nee, you hinted at me this clearly. If I still don't react, wouldn't I be completely clueless?", Aoba gazed at her panicked eyes.
"I… when did I ever hint?", Kurenai looked away, guilty.
Aoba smiled and said, "Kurenai-nee, if you don't like what happens next, you can push me away."
After saying that, he leaned in and kissed her lips.
Kurenai stared in shock as she felt her lips being held, but she didn't resist; she simply closed her eyes.
'If an old cow eats tender grass, then so be it. If I am the tenth, then the tenth. At least I am not the youngest.'
'Better than overthinking every day, worrying and hesitating.'
She didn't even know why things turned out this way. Nothing dramatic or earth-shattering had happened between them.
At most, she'd gotten a brat who argued with her all the time. Someone annoying at her side when she drank alone. Someone besides Anko who celebrated her birthday. Someone who had her back on missions.
But real-life emotions aren't loud or dramatic like in stories. Usually, they seep quietly into your life.
Those tiny, seemingly insignificant changes in everyday life—those were what gradually built a bridge between two hearts.
But eventually, Kurenai did push him away, because she was running out of breath.
"So does this mean Kurenai-nee accepts my confession?"
Aoba looked at her slightly swollen, reddened lips. She was clumsy but determined to take the lead, 'Such a competitive and adorable big sister.'
Kurenai had been absentmindedly stroking her lips with her finger, as if savoring the touch.
Hearing his words snapped her back.
She glared at him, shoved him out the door, and slammed it shut with a bang.
Aoba stood there stunned, 'Was the kiss not good enough?'
As he wondered, the door suddenly opened again and a red-faced head poked out.
"After you finish accompanying Tenten and the others… come… come drink with me again!", Kurenai forced the sentence out, then shut the door again.
Then, like all her strength had vanished, she slid down against the door.
In the empty home, it didn't feel as lonely as before.
'A playboy is a playboy. We have already kissed, what else can I say?'
'I'll just assume he is practicing techniques with the others…'
Kurenai pouted and sighed.
This was the only way to comfort herself. She was already in too deep.
Outside the door, after hearing her words, Aoba naturally understood what she meant.
Feeling relieved, he used Flying Thunder God and vanished.
———
"Why are you back so late? And you reek of alcohol. Did you go drinking with Hinata and the others?", Yugao frowned, clearly unhappy about the smell on him.
Aoba scratched his head awkwardly and said truthfully, "No, I just stopped by to see Kurenai-nee before coming home. Drank a couple cups with her."
"Ah, Kurenai?"
Hearing it was Kurenai, Yugao didn't say anything more.
With their years of friendship, she had long accepted Kurenai as one of their own. Nothing more to say.
She did wonder, though, why Aoba still hadn't taken her down.
"Is Yugito in the bath right now?"
Aoba heard the water running in the bathroom.
"You want to bathe with her?", Yugao asked.
"Pretty much. I just need to talk to her about something."
Aoba grinned mischievously and headed toward the bathroom.
He was, in truth, a very "petty" man.
Yugao and Konan didn't really understand, but they followed him anyway.
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