THH Oneshots

Love Hotel Series - Toko Fukawa

Summary: Toko's romantic fantasy
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*Makoto POV*

I slowly open my eyes, and immediately recognize the plush bed of the Love Hotel. I sit up slowly as I rub the sleep from my eyes.
I take a look around the room. No one has come in yet, which is already strange. Even stranger, is the brand new furniture in the room.
Right beside the bed, there stands a bookshelf made of some sort of dark wood. It's stocked full of old books whose titles I don't recognize. I shift my weight off the bed, curiosity making me forget to wait for whoever will be my date.
My fingers brush along the spines of the novels, and come away dusty. I wrinkle my nose slightly before brushing my hand off on my clothes and returning my eyes to the shelf.
Out of all of the books here, there's one with a title that sort of rings a bell. "Arabian Nights." It's familiar, sure, but I can't quite place where I've heard it before. I've certainly never read a book this large in my life, so I can't have already seen it.
I pick up the book carefully, for fear of damaging it. Just as I'm inspecting the dusty cover, the sound of the door creaking open pulls my attention to the front of the room.
Toko shuffles in quietly, a nervous expression on her face. I watch silently as she takes a few steps to the center of the room. She keeps her eyes on the floor until she reaches her destination, when she lifts her gaze to the empty bed.
She seems surprised that there's no one in it, and begins to look frantically around the room. She finally catches sight of me, standing still next to the bookshelf. Her face lights up with an embarrassed blush as she squeaks in surprise.
I almost mimic the sound when she swings one leg behind the other in a graceful curtsy.
"Y-Your Majesty!" She stutters. My eyes grow wide, and I have to stop myself from dropping my jaw. I had been nervous when Toko, of all people, walked in, but I didn't expect this from her.
"I'm t-terribly sorry for t-taking so long," she continues, "b-but I'm finally d-done with my ch-chores."
I shake my head in an attempt to force my brain to work faster. I straighten my posture, holding the book close to my body in what I hoped looked proper enough to pass for royalty.
"Wonderful! You've done very well today!" I say the first thing that pops into my head. It seems to do the trick, as Toko glows at the praise.
"Ehe... W-Well, thank you, Y-Your Majesty..." she giggles. I beam at her, trying to keep my awkwardness invisible.
"I was j-just coming to see if y-you had any other t-tasks for me," Toko says hopefully. Confusion sets in my mood, dampening my expression.
This is meant to be Toko's fantasy. Why on Earth would she want to spend it being bossed around? I wrack my brain to find something in the room for her to do, but come up blank.
"Uh... well, no. Why don't you come sit with me for a while, instead?" I offer brightly.
Toko squeaks again, her expression incredulous. Her hands bunch up in her skirt, and she stumbles backwards a few steps.
Crap. That wasn't right.
"O-Oh no! No, no, no, no!" Toko insists. "It's against the r-rules for servants to t-talk with their ch-charges! I could never!"
She pulls up her skirt, does a hurried curtsy, and begins to leave the room.
"Ah- Wait!" I call out after her. Toko halts in her place, turning around slowly to meet my eyes.
I have to think. Quickly! If giving her orders is the way to keep up this fantasy, then so be it!
My attention is drawn to the worn book still in my hands. Not thinking, I hold it out in her direction and shout the order to her:
"Read to me!"
The ludicrous request is met with complete silence from everyone involved. White hot embarrassment floods my face and neck as Toko stares at me like I've gone insane.
I pull the book back towards myself, and hug it to my chest with both hands. My head ducks down in an apologetic bow.
"P-Please." My voice comes out shaky as I attempt to give reason to the order. "I've never read this one before, a-and I find it easier to focus when someone else reads to me."
Toko blinks once, twice, before she purses her lips. Her face flushes pink as she gives another curtsy, surprisingly agile despite everything.
"O-Of course, Y-Your Majesty," she responds quietly.
I smile at her acceptance, realizing that I've managed to save this, after all.
I walk over to the bed and settle on the plush covers. I sit on my knees, trying to keep some semblance of grace, and pat the space beside me.
Toko's face flushes even darker, but she complies all the same. She takes the book from my hands timidly as she sits, opening it to find the first page.
I try to relax and get my face to look like I'm listening. I need to figure out a way to turn this back to the romantic side of things, or we might be stuck in this room forever. Despite my worry, Toko manages to steal away all of my attention when she clears her throat.
She spares one last glance at me, and then begins to read.

"In tide of yore and in time long gone before, there was a King of the Kings of the Banu Sasan in the islands of India and China, there was a Lord of armies and guards and servants and dependents."

My mouth falls open in shock as I listen. Toko is speaking more confidently and fluently than she ever has around me.
I suppose it makes sense, given her Ultimate Talent, but it's not any less of a special moment. I find myself listening intently to her lilting voice.

"He left only two sons, one in the prime of manhood and the other yet a youth, while both were Knights and Braves, albeit the elder was a doughtier horsemen than the younger."

Toko's grey eyes, hidden behind her round glasses, look slowly over the page. Her expression was one of focus as she attempted to make her voice mimic the tone of the words of the paper.
A strand of hair that had escaped from one of her braids fell into her face. She didn't seem to notice, or be bothered by it, but it took a conscious effort not to reach out and push it back for her.
She looks beautiful, I had never noticed before. How could she ever think otherwise?

"So he succeeded to the empire; when he ruled the land and forded it over to his lieges with Justice so exemplary that he... h-he..."

She trails off once her eyes flicker to me. She gazes at me with wide eyes, and her grip on the book trembles.
With a furious blush, I realize that she must have caught me staring. I scratch the back of my neck and chuckle nervously, muttering a small apology.
Toko looks as though she's going to continue reading, but she stops at the last minute. She closes the book and looks at me with an apprehensive expression.
"Y-Your Majesty, may I a-ask a qu-question?" She says, barely audible. I nod my head.
"Of course you can!" I reply cheerily. The look on her face is making me nervous, as if she'll bolt out of the room at any moment.
"Y-You said that y-you've never read this b-book bef-fore..." she murmurs, tightening her hold on the novel, "b-but... but isn't this one y-your f-favorite?" Her voice gets quieter and quieter the longer she speaks, to the point where I can barely hear that last addition.
Almost.
My breath hitches in my throat and my eyes go wide. I hadn't expected that. Maybe this is her subconscious way of pushing the fantasy along? I smile sheepishly and look down.
"Sorry... I just wanted you to stay..." I tell her. Toko blinks in shock.
"Y-You..." A fiery blush spreads across her cheeks, and she looks away from me quickly. "You did...?" Her voice is barely a mutter at this point. It's full of hope and bashfulness. Toko jerks, as if preparing to pull away, but stays put.
My eyes soften, and a find myself smiling shyly. Hesitantly, I reach out and place my hand on hers where it rests on the book.
"I want you to spend time with me. Not as a servant, but as a friend," I say earnestly, "You mean a lot to me, Toko. I... I care about you more than anyone else."
Toko looks shellshocked. She stares at me with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. Her mouth hung open for a few moments, but no sound managed to come through. Eventually, she makes a small squeaking sound, before speaking.
"I... I f-feel the same w-way, Y-Your Majesty..." She closes the book and puts it aside. She takes my hand in both of hers softly, chewing on her bottom lip. Her hands are incredibly smooth, I notice.
"I w-want to stay b-by your side. It wo-would mean everything t-to me," Toko says. She leans forward unconsciously, and I find myself drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Her face is so close to mine, and I can't take my eyes off her. She's absolutely gorgeous...
"... Pretty..." The word slips past my lips without my permission. It's nothing more than a whisper, but we're far too close for her not to hear. Toko looks away from me, embarrassed. She says nothing to me, and she bites her lip.
Neither of us moves for the longest time. I'm too distracted with admiring her to do much of anything. Her skin is so smooth, the only blemish being the beauty mark placed so delicately beneath her eye. Her eyes, hidden behind those round glasses that frame her face perfectly, are the kind of grey color that shimmers when they move.
After a while, her gaze turns back to me as she finds the confidence to look me in the eyes. We hesitate for a moment, just staring at each other in awe, before Toko moves.
Her lips just barely brush mine. The kiss is so light that I could have missed it, if I wasn't so enraptured by her. Our lips flutter together for an instant, and Toko pulls away, leaving my heart racing in my chest.
Almost immediately, Toko leaps off the bed and faces away from me. I try to call for her, but my head is spinning from the kiss, and I can't seem to find my voice. Toko turns towards me, face stained crimson, and curtseys politely.
"I-I'll see you tomorrow, Y-Your Majesty..."
Before I can say anything, she rushes off to the door. As she walks out, I catch a blushing grin on her features. I watch as she disappears through the doorway, and the door shuts behind her.
A moment of silence, as my brain works on overdrive to try and catch up with me, and a goofy grin comes across my face.
I truly never thought that Toko, of all people, would be so good at making my heart flutter restlessly. I fall back on the bed as the events that just occurred play in my mind on repeat.