The morning light slipped through the curtains, pale and cold.
Yumi stirred, her body sore, her head heavy.
She blinked at the ceiling, unsure when she had fallen asleep, but that was the best sleep she had gotten in a while.
Her heart felt light and heavy at the same time.
Toji's arm was still around her, their skin warm against each other. Bodies bare and naked.
The sheets were a mess.
For a while, she just lay there, staring at his sleeping face.
His hair fell loosely over his forehead, his breathing deep and even.
He used to shoot his eyes wide open the moment she stirred, probably an assassin's instinct. But these days, he had been relaxed...perhaps safer.
He slept better, and his guarded instinct seems calmed.
Something about the sight made her mellow in ways she couldn't explain.
She didn't want to move. She didn't want to go anywhere.
The contrast between his warmth and the office made her hate working even more.
He felt like the only safe place in the world right now. After everything that happened yesterday, she no longer had the strength to go to work.
The old her would have never allowed this kind of weakness.
But somehow, being pampered by Toji had softened her, made her softer than she wanted to admit.
Was buying him a mistake? Such a thought wasn't entertained for more than 5 seconds
She reached for her phone and dialled a number.
"Good morning, Princess," Lewis's voice came through immediately.
Yumi: "Lewis. I caught a terrible cold."
Lewis: "Oh my. Did you? I'll call the doctor right away."
Before she could respond, Toji stirred.
His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her closer.
"Stop working already," he muttered against her neck. Half asleep still.
She shivered. "No need for a doctor. I'll just rest for a few days," she said quickly into the phone. "Any urgent work, send it to my apartment. All meetings can be postponed or attended by you. Report back when you're done. You can reschedule for highly important ones online."
There was a pause. Then Lewis hesitated. "Yes, Princess… but…"
Her brows furrowed. "But what?"
"I don't think this is a good move," he sighed. "You've never taken a day off before, not even when you were sick. Doing it now, right after what happened yesterday… it might make the boss suspicious."
"Suspicious of what?"
"You know what I mean, Princess."
And she did. Yumi knew exactly what he meant. Lewis had been by her side since she could barely walk, back when he was still a teenager.
He understood her better than she realised - understood the kind of life she lived, the position she is in, and the heart she kept buried beneath it.
She sighed, "You're right, prepare the car, I'll-" before she could finish, Toji snatched her phone.
"Eh-" she couldn't fight back because the call was ended.
"What a load of bullshit," he sounded annoyed and threw the phone across the room. "Shut your eyes and go back to sleep," he said, wrapping his arms around her again.
"um..." She froze for a second; she should've said something, but then only quietly closed her eyes again, not sure why she obeyed so quickly.
Toji noticed it too. It was strange how easily she listened. She used to talk like she owned him, but suddenly she followed his words without resistance.
He shouldn't have liked it, but he did.
The compliance and the way her gaze weakened when she looked at him. Why shouldn't he?
A faint smirk tugged at his lips. "Good girl."
Her chest fluttered, the words sinking deeper than they should. She turned her face slightly away.
-----
When she woke again, the sky had turned pale blue and bright. The bed beside her was empty, but the smell of coffee drifted from the kitchen.
She padded out sleepily. The first thing she did was mumble his name, "Toji..." wrapping her arms around his waist from behind.
Always touchy, it was the usual.
But somehow, things felt even more intimate now than before.
There was a softness in her that hadn't been there before, a change that Toji noticed immediately.
He was cooking. The sound of oil crackling filled the room. She shoved her face into his broad, muscular back.
He remembered what she said last night after he teased, "I realised that you're really obedient and easily swayed, Princess Yumi."
"I know. So don't leverage it. Don't hurt me. Don't leave me."
Those words had stuck with him. They shouldn't have meant anything, but Something about them made his chest feel weird.
"What are you cooking?" she asked against his back.
"Breakfast."
"What breakfast?"
"Human's breakfast."
"Toji, turn to me."
"Ms Princess, I'm cooking."
"Toji, hug me."
"You're already hugging."
She shut up a little too soon, face pressed to his back again. The silence between them stretched.
Guilt tugged at him for a reason he couldn't name.
He sighed, set the spatula down, and turned. His hand lifted to her cheek before he bent down to kiss her forehead, and her eyes sparkled and lips widened with a weirdly innocent grin.
Ugh. His heart. His heart is feeling strange again.
He told himself it was just to please her, part of the job. But every time he repeated that to himself, it sounded less convincing.
----
They ate together in the dining room. The long table felt too big for two people, but Toji sat close beside her instead of at the other end.
The sunlight filtering through the tall windows made the plates gleam.
He had cooked something simple: eggs, toast, and coffee.
"You eat like a bird," he said after a while, watching her poke at her food.
"I'm reading."
"Yeah, I can see that." His tone was dry. "Real romantic. I make breakfast, you date your paperwork."
She didn't respond, flipping through a report Lewis had sent earlier.
Her eyes were focused.
"Princess."
"Hmm?"
"Put it down."
"I'll be quick."
Toji leaned forward, snatched the folder from her hands, and tossed it onto the empty seat beside him. "I said put it down."
She blinked, startled, lips parting slightly. "Um…"
"You're not eating."
"I'm working."
"Stop working."
Her voice softened and became automatic. "Okay."
He stared at her for a moment, guilt already creeping in again. "Tch. Whatever." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not your boss. Do what you want."
Her eyes flicked up, searching. "Are you angry?"
He froze. "No."
"You look angry."
"I said I'm not."
She went quiet again, setting her fork down.
He watched her shoulders tense, like she was bracing for something.
It hit him then that she wasn't arguing because she didn't want to upset him. The thought made something twist uncomfortably in his chest.
"Eat," he grabbed her fork and cut a piece of food.
He held it up to her mouth.
She blinked once, then leaned forward, and she took the bite.
"Good girl," he said without thinking.
Her eyes lifted slightly at the words. She chewed slowly, gaze fixed on him as if trying to figure out whether he meant it.
He coughed, looking away. "Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like that."
"Mmm, okay." Then she looked outside.
His smile turned crooked.
She's actually listening to everything.