0𝙁𝙇𝙐𝙊𝙓𝙀𝙏𝙄𝙉𝙀ˢʰⁱⁿˢᵒᵘ

𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤ˢᵉᵛᵉⁿᵗʸ

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chapter seventy

"So that's where my conditioner went," Korei hummed as she grabbed Shinsou's shampoo out of his shower basket. He was letting her wash his hair, something that he always wanted her to do. Korei always soothed him whenever she played with his hair, so having her wash his hair would be ultra-relaxing since they were in the shower. The only thing he didn't like was that he had to bend awkwardly for her to reach. "Did I leave it at home when I left to pack my room at Gran's?"

"Yeah," Shinsou spoke, feeling Korei start to lather the shampoo in his hair. She was so gentle and careful, massaging his scalp with her fingers and nails. "I stopped by your room before coming here to give it to you but then I figured I could find you in here. After all, you did say you wanted to do something like this."

"Well, thank you for bringing it back to me, Hoshi-kun-er, uh, s-sorry. I meant to just say...Hoshi." Korei stammered out, freezing slightly before she heard Shinsou's quiet scoff. She didn't know if he was mad at her or not, but it sounded like he might have just been mad at himself.

"I was lying earlier, I like when you add 'kun' to my name. And you're perfect as you are so, you don't need to change to please me," he whispered to her, his eyes squeezed shut as Korei rinsed the soap from his hair. His hand twitched, reaching forward to place itself on her hip as she continued to wash his hair. "An-and you're not annoying, Korei. I...love hearing you talk. I love you."

She blushed, smiling at his form as she brushed her fingers through his soaked hair. It's a lot softer than most people probably think, it's just knotted and messy all the time. Letting her hands drop to his jaw, she tilted his head up and then swiped the wet hair out of his face so she could see him. "I love you too, Toshi."

Shinsou tried to ignore the blush on his cheeks but he knew it was almost impossible. Korei pinched his warm cheek before turning her attention back to washing his hair. He waited as she picked out his conditioner, only he didn't let her open it up. Instead, he placed his lips to hers in the softest way possible. It left Korei's lips tingling and feeling as though he had just grazed his over them. She wasn't satisfied with that.

"You're such a tease, Hoshi-kun," she swatted his shoulder, watching him smirk before starting to wash his hair. "After I finish your hair, can you do mine? I already used shampoo, I just need the conditioner."

"Yeah, I can do it for you, kitten," he hummed, his mind drifting to what would happen after they were finished washing each other's hair. Had Korei been in the shower long? If not, would she want him to help her with her body wash? He could definitely wash her back for her. That was a problem he had for himself, not being able to easily wash his back. "Thank you...by the way."

"Oh? What for?" Korei asked, her head tilted to the side in confusion. Shinsou managed a half-smile, his hand gradually moving up her side to cup her cheek. He swiped his thumb over the water droplets that raced down her cheeks, taking his time to observe the plumpness of her lips. Korei didn't bother to rush him, comforted by the look in his indigo eyes.

"For accepting my apology," he whispered and she just smiled brightly once again. A quiet giggle escaped her lips, causing Shinsou's stomach to erupt with this fluttery feeling. Her giggle grew into a hearty laugh, which made it impossible for him to not join in. "What's so funny?" He asked through the joyous chuckles, his hands now resting on her shoulders.

"Hitoshi, I love you," she breathed out, calming herself down. She led them out of the water, not wanting to deal with it anymore as she tried to get her thoughts out. "The things you said did hurt me, but I don't hold them against you. We're bound to get frustrated with one another when it comes down to it. I mean, I'm pretty much glued to your side whenever I get the opportunity so it's understandable that you'd get sick of me. A-and for some reason, the guys in our class are really friendly to me, which would easily be mistaken for flirting, so I get that too. I know that you have insecurities, we all do, but I just want to know what it is that I can do that will help ease these insecurities?" She explained, unknowingly shocking her boyfriend. He couldn't believe how mature she sounded. Not even his own mother and father were that understanding with one another...if Kei yelled then Katsuō yelled back, it was never something like this. "I'll try harder to show people that I only want you, and I'll do better showing you that as well. You're amazing to me, Hitoshi, and I want to make sure that you understand that. I'm not going to leave you for someone else because I love you."

Shinsou didn't know how to respond to that. Was he supposed to give his own long speech about how he's going to try his best to love her? Does he just whisper out a 'thank you' and then continue on with their shower? What the hell was he supposed to do in this situation?

Korei took his silence as a good sign. Part of her did want him to say something but she understood that it could have been a lot to understand. She'd just wait for him to tell her what it was that would help him see that she didn't want anyone else but him. "I promised you that it'd just be you and me, didn't I? Remember?"

Shinsou stared at her for a moment, nodding slowly to let her know that he did remember. How could he have forgotten? That moment played on repeat in his mind as he tried to sleep every night. The way Korei held him made him feel safe and he never even realized that he felt unsafe everywhere else. "...we don't need anyone else..." he whispered softly, feeling Korei's soft touch against his cheeks. Instead of saying anything else, he pressed his lips to hers and initiated a passionate make-out.

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