"Tsuna, are you sure you want to use it?"
"Mmm-hmm." Tsuna nodded without hesitation, then, seeing her hesitant expression, he teased, "Shouko, you're not going to back out, are you?"
"No... no way! I'm just a little shy, okay?!" With that, Shouko grabbed a pillow from beside her and, after a moment of hesitation, threw it at him.
She couldn't throw it at his face; if he didn't catch it and it hit him, it might hurt a little, and she'd feel bad...
Tsuna caught the flying pillow, got up, walked to the bedside, and sat down, teasing, "You weren't like this before."
This remark successfully earned him a slap from Shouko, but it also made some of the shyness in her heart dissipate.
"You said it yourself, that was before..."
Shouko crawled out from under the covers, sat on the edge of the bed like him, clapped her hands to brush off invisible dust from her thighs, her flushed eartips betraying her outwardly calm facade.
"Five minutes?"
"Mmm-hmm." Tsuna nodded, suppressing the urge to smile. "Just five minutes is fine. I'm afraid your leg will go numb if I pillow it for too long."
He knew that with the final step approaching, he absolutely couldn't smile, or Shouko might back out at any moment.
"It... it's not... that scary..." Her stammering only made her seem especially cute in Tsuna's eyes.
Seeing her usual proactive self, he had thought she was already used to it and didn't know how to be shy. Turns out she was just high-attack, low-defense...
"Then can I stack them?"
"No way... You can pillow it first, then we'll talk." With that, Shouko took the slip of paper and immediately tore it to shreds.
Tsuna nodded and didn't stand on ceremony. He adjusted his angle, and just as he was about to lay his head down, the back of his head accidentally brushed against a soft, elastic part...
"Ah!"
Before Tsuna could fully react, he was almost pushed to the floor by Shouko.
"..."
The blush on her ears rapidly spread to her cheeks.
Tsuna saw her in this state, as if she was about to turn into a steam princess, and was a little afraid she might faint. Just as he was about to say forget it, she spoke first:
"Tsuna, I'm fine, it's just a bit hot in the room..."
He silently glanced at the air conditioner that was running, completely disbelieving Shouko's excuse.
Shouko saw his hesitation and guessed he was worried about her. Without another word, she directly reached out and pressed his head onto her lap.
"Eh... Eh!"
By the time he reacted, his entire head was already resting on her lap. Compared to when she was in sixth grade, the texture had completely improved more than one level.
It was just that the half covering his eyes was a little uncomfortable, although it still didn't completely block his vision.
"Boom!"
A sudden rumble of thunder startled both of them, who had been distracted, followed by the patter of rain hitting the window.
Unable to clearly see Shouko's expression, Tsuna could only choose to close his eyes and enjoy it.
Shouko, on the other hand, chose to pick up her phone beside her to distract her wandering thoughts. Her elbow rested on Tsuna's collarbone as she silently lowered the volume of her phone's speaker.
Accompanied by the sound of the rain, the two silently felt the warmth the other brought.
---
"Tsuna... five minutes are up..."
Shouko softly called out to him. Seeing him with his eyes closed and no reaction, she could only continue chatting with Takagi on 'LINE' to distract her wandering thoughts.
She wondered if he had fallen asleep, and as soon as this thought surfaced, a wicked idea in her heart also emerged.
She could only shake her head, trying her best not to think wildly and to remain calm.
Time passed another five minutes without her noticing. By the time she fully realized it, ten minutes had already passed.
"Tsuna...?"
Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. She gently shook Tsuna, waited a while, but still got no reaction, only faint breathing.
Looking at the boy's peaceful sleeping face, the wicked idea she had suppressed earlier resurfaced...
'Shouko, Shouko, you can't do that! This is your first kiss, and it has significant commemorative value!'
A chibi Shouko with angel wings appeared in her upper left corner, constantly trying to persuade her.
'But if you don't kiss him, won't this opportunity be wasted? And if you wait for Tsuna to make the first move, who knows how long you'll have to wait!'
At this moment, another chibi Shouko with devil wings, horns, and a tail appeared in the upper right corner, even giving the angel Shouko a disdainful look.
'This is a first kiss for two people!'
'Are you going to wait a few more years if you don't kiss him now? And if you ask Tsuna now, you'll see if he agrees. Silence means consent!'
With that, the devil Shouko immediately flew over and started wrestling with the angel Shouko.
"..."
After a few minutes of brawling, the devil Shouko still had the upper hand, successfully chasing away the angel Shouko. She made a peace sign at Shouko and disappeared into thin air in the blink of an eye.
Shouko took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but her words still came out stammering: "A... Tsuna... I want to... kiss... kiss you now.
You just... say anything, and it means you refuse. If you don't say anything, it means consent, okay?"
Listening to the 'pitter-patter' of the rain outside, Shouko waited a while and didn't hear Tsuna refuse, so she understood that he agreed.
So, even if he found out later, he would forgive her...
She pushed aside the jumbled thoughts in her mind and slowly bent down...
Before she could even touch Tsuna's lips, she sat straight up again. She couldn't do it, absolutely couldn't!
It wasn't that she didn't dare to kiss him, but when she bent down, the first thing that would touch Tsuna was her part. For the first time, she had the thought of disliking her own body...
But such a small problem couldn't stump the clever Shouko!
She chose to gently lift Tsuna's head, wanting to move him to the bed. The result was also very smooth; Tsuna was not startled awake by her movements once during the process.
She even admired herself a little, for being so 'resourceful,' although it was also possible that Tsuna had simply been too busy and tired these past two weeks...
"Pat pat..."
Shouko gently patted her cheeks, shaking off the thoughts that had popped into her head. She squatted on the floor, looking at his sleeping face, liking him more and more the longer she looked.
However, she hadn't forgotten her objective. Taking a deep breath, she leaned closer to his face. Watching the distance shrink, her throat instinctively swallowed.
Her heartbeat grew louder and louder, even starting to affect her actions.
'Soft!!'
The moment Shouko made contact, her pupils immediately widened, and her eyes lit up. Today's dopamine instantly spiked!
She felt that even eating an entire strawberry shortcake couldn't compare to this feeling.
A bold idea surged into her mind.
She stuck out her tongue and licked his lips, then pressed hers against his again.
'Soft and sweet!'
Just pressing her lips like this, there was still no reaction, and the bold idea in her heart grew stronger.
Separating slightly, she moistened her own lips, and this time she wanted to try slipping her tongue in...
She never thought she would wake Tsuna...