Makoto put his finger to his lips and shook his head. "Nope. Knowing how shy she is, she might bolt." He gestured for them to stay silent. "Let me try to hear what she's saying." He crept toward her, surprisingly stealthy for a man of his size. The air in this corner smelled faintly electric from the charging toys.
Mafuyu-nee moved like a nervous whirlwind, picking up a sleek rose-gold vibrator, turning it over, then setting it back down with a frustrated sigh. "No, that's not right," she muttered. "The RPM is too low. He won't like that at all."
She grabbed another one, a purple silicone thing that looked frankly terrifying, and squinted at the box. "Ugh, non-body-safe materials. Absolutely not." She ran a hand through her hair. "This is a disaster. His birthday is approaching, and I still haven't found the perfect gift for him. He's going to be so disappointed."
A small whimper escaped her. "And he's going to think I don't love him anymore."
His brain short-circuited. "Mafuyu-nee? The sweet, innocent, airhead waitress who probably still thought babies came from storks? She even had a boyfriend now?"
Behind him, Yuna made a choked sound, her hand clamped over her mouth, eyes wide with horror and morbid fascination.
"Damn, I didn't know my childhood crush already had a boyfriend," Makoto thought. A sharp pang of jealousy hit him as he pictured them together, or her boyfriend using that vibrator on her.
"Shit. That should have been me instead." A selfish thought crept up in his head, and his hand accidentally knocked on the shelf.
Mafuyu-nee's head snapped up from the sounds. Her eyes went wide when she saw him standing there, surrounded by dildos. Her face, already pale with stress, flushed a deep crimson.
"Makoto-kun?" she squeaked. The vibrator slipped from her hands and hit the carpeted floor with a soft thud. Then she did exactly what he'd predicted. She turned and ran, shoving past a rack of leather harnesses, sending a display of flavored lubricants scattering as she sprinted out the front door.
The bored, pierced man at the counter didn't even look up from his phone.
Makoto stood there in a cloud of her floral perfume, the purple vibrator lying at his feet like a monument to his shattered dreams.
Yuna's hand landed on his shoulder. "You seem to be interested in Mafuyu-nee, big bro?" Her voice was low and dangerous.
Makoto grinned, though it came out sad. "She always gave us free desserts and even cooked for us, remember?" He met her eyes. "And she would actually listen to my childish dreams and stress."
His voice dropped. "Plus her ass was way bigger than my classmates' at the time. So... that's why she was my childhood crush, you know."
Yuna stared at him. Her expression cycled through jealousy, fury, and then something else that looked like pity. She let out a long breath. The rage seemed to drain away, replaced by weary understanding.
"You're an idiot," she said without heat. Just a fact. She kicked the discarded purple vibrator with her boot. "A fat, stupid, clueless idiot." A bitter smile crossed her face. "And you're mine. So you can stop drooling over miss big-ass-waitress and help me pick out your fucking collar."
She grabbed his hand, her grip surprisingly strong, and pulled him back toward the counter.
Mika calmly picked up the purple vibrator from the floor and examined it with interest. "Hmm. Multi-speed. Waterproof. Very ergonomic design."
She looked at him with a knowing smile. "Your childhood crush, huh? She has good taste." She handed him the vibrator. "You should get this for her as an apology."
Makoto noted the brand, then followed Yuna with a fond smile. "Come on, it was nothing to be jealous about. You were so into those K-pop male idols back then." His eyes sparkled. "And someone was drooling when she saw a muscular Zhongli at that GenshinCon."
Yuna's face exploded in a blush. "I-I was not! That was different! That was just an appreciation for artistic character design!"
She stalked to the counter. "We'll take the leather one," she told the bored man, her voice too loud, too cheerful. "With the bell and two leashes, one pink, one black."
The man grunted and pulled a packaged box from under the counter without looking up from his phone.
Yuna snatched it with a triumphant grin. "There. Now let's go. I've seen enough BDSM stuff for one day." She marched toward the door, twin-tails bouncing.
Mika leaned close to him, her breath warm against his ear. "Don't worry. I think your childhood crush is cute." She pulled back with a wicked glint in her eyes. "But her taste in men is terrible."
Makoto shrugged as they walked out. "I should be happy for her, I guess." He looked at the two of them. "I've already got my hands full, and I have no plan of adding a MILF to my harem."
But his mind kept wandering to those NTR scenarios he read, what if...
They walked back into the sterile, brightly lit mall. The Snorlax onesie and cute pajamas in his shopping bag felt a million miles away from the leather and lace in the other.
Yuna marched ahead like a storm of righteous indignation, but Mika fell into step beside him. She was quiet for a moment. "You know," she said, as if commenting on the weather, "he's probably not very good to her."
He stopped and turned. "Who?"
Mika smiled. "Her boyfriend. The one she's buying all those presents for." She adjusted her school bag strap.
"If he were a good boyfriend, she wouldn't look so stressed. She'd look happy and excited, like me right now." She looked up at him, eyes wide and innocent despite the sharp glint in their depths. "If he were a good boyfriend, he would have just told her what he wanted instead of making her guess."
Yuna, who'd stopped to wait, let out a derisive snort. "She's probably just too scared to ask him. Mafutu-nee always looks like she'd have a panic attack if you asked for extra ketchup."
But then she turned to Makoto, eyes narrowed, focus shifting from Mafuyu to the dreamy look on his face. "And you can stop thinking about conquering her or something." She poked him hard in his soft belly. "You're not the main character, you idiot. You're the fat, ugly bastard."
Makoto sighed and giggled. "Hey, a man can dream." He met her eyes. "I used to have lewd fantasies about you back then, too, and look what we are now." He poked her cheek back playfully.
Yuna's face went from furious glare to complete system crash. Her jaw hung open. Her eyes went wide with horror, disbelief, and a tiny flicker of triumph. "You... what?" she whispered.
Mika, watching with quiet amusement, let out a small giggle. "Oh, dear. Your perverted stepbrother is confessing his sins now."
Yuna finally rebooted. She pointed a trembling finger at him. "You pervert! You were fantasizing about your own stepsister?!" Her face turned a beautiful shade of crimson. "That's... that's..."
She seemed unable to find the right word. "Disgusting," "illegal," and "sick" all fought for dominance. But then her expression shifted. A slow, wicked, possessive smile spread across her face.
"That's hot," she concluded. She leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper.
"You should tell me, no, tell us everything."