Reflect || Toge Inumaki x Oc (Female)

Chapter 21: Pets

ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ່࡚ࠢ࠘ ⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏 ♡

Kaori flopped happily onto the bed that held a familiar smell. She exhaled happily, rolling onto her sides and exclaiming to her boyfriend, "I almost never come into your room!"

And it was true. The pair often only hung out in Kaori's room, possibly because Toge's homework often lay across every surface of his room, leaving no space to walk.

He shrugged his shoulders, standing over where she still lay rolling like a dog across his comforter. "I cleaned recently, found some notes I lost too."

She hummed, sitting up and rocking on her heels, "the ones you needed for Monday's test?"

Sadly, he nods, his lips turning into a pout.

Kaori lets a giggle escape from her lips, kneeling in front of him and pulling his shoulders down so she could wrap her arms around his neck. "Couldn't have failed, right?"

Toge sighed, returning the hug and leaning down to her, "I hope not."

She smiled, leaning backwards and falling onto the mattress, dragging him down with her. He grunted as his forehead slammed against the bedding, and again when she rolled her body on top of his. Kaori tumbled off of him, curling herself against his side and lying comfortably beside him. The blonde moved some of his hair out of his eyes, his movements being disrupted as Kaori's back laid across his other arm. Her fingers soon ran through his hair, starting at the surface, and soon moving to massage his scalp.

Toge hummed, the feeling relaxing him after the long week of school. The perfume on her neck radiated a subtle smell of roses as her pulse continued steadily, luring in the boy beside her with the scent. The arm she laid across was wrapped around her, followed by his left arm wrapping over her shoulder.

"That feels nice," he mumbled, pressing the top of his head further into her palm.

Initially, his silver-tinted hair reminded Kaori of Mellow. This similarity drew her in, her hand reaching out for a familiar touch. Although it reminded her of her childhood, Mellow was one of two good parts of her life back home.

Her second hand glided up past the short hairs in front of his ear, joining her other hand atop his hair. Kaori pet it softly, "your hair is soft like my cat."

The boy's eyes opened slowly, "your cat?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers.

One of her hands came down to trace his cheekbone, "your eyes too," she continued.

"Do you have a cat?" He pushed the question forward again.

Finally, a "yes" was the answer to his question. "Her name is Mellow."

"Why didn't you ever mention you had a cat?"

"I don't have time to go back and see her," was one of the reasons she gave, the other too personal to share at this point. "I thought that if I never said anything, I wouldn't miss her as much."

The skin on his face drooped, following the downwards curl of his lips as he frowned. His forehead tucked into her collarbone, offering her the comfort that he would have wanted if he was in a situation such as hers. "I'm sorry."

"Why would you be sorry?"

He gave her body a squeeze, returning to the space he lay in previously before speaking again. "You could have had time if you weren't here with me on the weekends," he said, realizing he must be the one holding her back, keeping her from her family.

"I like being here with you," she told him honestly. "There are more reasons I can't go besides time, it's not your fault."

"Then why don't you visit?" he questioned her further.

"My da- well..." she began to trail, her thoughts being scattered before she placed the pieces back together, "I can't."

"What is it?" he asked, open to letting her spill her thoughts.

She blankly stared into space, messing with just a few strands of his fur now. "I don't want to tell you... yet."

He wouldn't push her any further. He accepted her secrecy.

The air was silent for a moment, only the rustling of his sheets made a noise as he moved to sit up straight. A normal topic would clear this intense air.

"Do you have any pictures of her?"

Slowly, she regathered herself, pointing across him to the desk beside his bed. Toge stood up, returning with her phone for what he assumed he wanted her to grab. When he returned to sit beside her, she was sitting up, her gloomy eyes returning back to a semi-normal state of bright sage. Her phone was handed to her, and the mattress dipped as he sat to her left. Her head hit his shoulder, and her thumbs hit the screen as she searched for an album of pictures titled "Mellow."

Each image was different. The age of the cat continued to increase as the photos progressed. Each sleeping position, loaf of bread, and attempt at a tongue-out photograph was saved in a place she could find them all at a glance. The tucked away collection brought warmth into her heart, making her wonder why she ever devoid herself of this happiness in the first place. Her first real yellow.

And her second, sitting beside her currently, was already planning what he would do to surprise his first. Later that night, he scrolled through his phone, contacting the local custom gift shop and placing an order. All made possible by his girlfriend and her multitudes of cat pictures.