𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐒𝐎𝐍 heizou ( ✓ )

19; i love you

a clock on the bed stand showed 3 am, as it was precisely late in the evening. you sat up on the bed with heizou embracing you from behind, his exposed chest squeezed against your back.

you let out a yawn when you noticed the boy was clinging to you tightly. as you pulled the cover up to your bare chest, you laughed at this and asked, "what's with you becoming clingy all of a sudden?"

it's not that you mind; you adore the way he would suddenly embrace you and cling to you as if his life depended on it. you never imagined that you would fall head over heels with the boy you hated so much.

the auburn boy gave you a quick peck on the shoulder and then retorted, "how can i not after dealing with that shortie being so clinging to you all day?"

"fair point." you said, before pointing out, "the food you were making before is now cold and still unfinished." you wanted to get out of bed at this point, but the boy tightened his grip on you.

you looked at him in bewilderment as you furrowed your brows, and he pouted. "can we please stay here for a moment?"

oh no. you thought to yourself, he said 'please'. of course, he's already giving you the puppy eyes, so there's no way you're going to get away from him. you let out a sigh and then settled back with him. a calm silence that permeated the room.

"so how did you know?" you inquired, breaking the relaxed stillness as your eyes lingered on his arms around your waist.

"know which exactly?"

"that you love me?"

another moment of stillness followed as heizou continued to think to himself and choose which right words to say while you waited for him to speak.

he finally said, "i asked kazuha about how would you know if you had fallen for someone," and went on, "he responded with the things that i have been feeling about you and i in the long run found my answer."

however, he made a confession before you could finish forming a sentence. "i'm in love with you, y/n." and when he said those few words, which made your heart skip a beat, you chose not to respond to him but instead turned around and leaned your lips even closer to his.

as he released his hold on you to cup your cheeks with his hands, you pressed your lips on his. god, both of you are smitten with each other at this point. he groaned as your hands reached out and grabbed a hold of his hair from behind.

the two then released one another, panting from the lack of oxygen. however, a smile broke out on his lips, and he quickly pecked your lips before getting up. "as much as i'd like to continue more, you still haven't eaten dinner."

"but weren't you enough?" you said, plainly causing heizou's cheek to flush scarlet. he coughed awkwardly. "we both know i meant something else."

the h/c-headed girl responded with a chuckle, happy to have teased heizou and as payback for his teasings while they were doing it. after getting dressed, the pair returned to the kitchen, where heizou turned the gas back on.

you then collapsed onto the stool in front of the kitchen counter and observed the boy seasoning the dish with salt. then a question occurred to you: "so what are we now?"

he replied, oblivious to the way your expression changed and the sense of anxiety you were expressing, "oh about that, we should quit this pretend dating from now on." your heart sinks with his response.

naturally, heizou only realized this after he had already put the food on the plate. the boy immediately approached you, his gaze fixed on the way your finger was making circles on your thumb. an indicator that you are anxious.

your attention was eventually drawn to him when he put his hand on top of yours and said, "you didn't let me finish my statement," with a chuckle departing his lips. "starting now, there is no more pretend; everything is real."

the cool breeze brushed through the trees as the morning light blazed overhead, sending leaves dropping to the ground. when they finally got together for lunch, the others noticed the smile on heizou's face.

heizou was smiling more than normal, prompting aether to question, "did something fascinating happen? you're grinning more than usual." he was taking out the lunch that lumine had packed for him. venti ate some of his rice and added, "yeah! you seem far more happier than before." while nodding in agreement.

when his name was called, heizou instantly regained his composure and realized that he should not even mention what had transpired the previous evening. he smoothly lied, saying, "oh, i solved an extremely difficult puzzle yesterday, not even anyone could solve it."

that plain lie didn't convince scaramouche in the slightest; despite his several protests and curses directed at venti, venti had eventually dragged him into joining them for lunch. since the boy persisted, and scara gave up.

as heizou appeared to be telling lies throughout, scaramouche quietly sipped his carton of milk while observing the five of them. the others had to stop chatting when scara's phone suddenly started to ring in the middle of their conversation.

he withdrew his phone from his shorts, and the caller's name appeared on the indigo-headed boy's phone, confusion could be seen on his face. "i'll just take this, and i won't come back." he said, rising up from the chair and leaving without listening to venti's response.

when the grumpy boy had left the others, heizou at last admitted, "guys, i love her so much." a sweet smile breaking out on his lips by the thought of her.

venti and the other people exchanged glances at each other, and kazuha chuckled, with xiao adding, "he's so whipped."

END OF CHAPTER 19

chapter written: july 21 2022

y'all wild from the last chapter 😧😧