Move My Heart (Lev Haiba x Reader)

Chapter 17: Family Dinner

*Lev's pov*
Lev had awoken with a start, and looking to his right, he saw y/n resting her head on his shoulder. He guessed that her head had fallen to the side as she slept, and he watched her sleep peacefully, breathing deeply, her hair looking slightly disheveled. Some of her drools had wet part of his shirt, but he didn't mind. If anything, she looked adorable, like a sleeping puppy. His shoulder had tensed slightly, but she didn't move. He tried to reposition himself into a more comfortable position, but gave up at the expense of waking her. He shut his eyes, trying to fall back asleep, but he couldn't. He would close his eyes, but then opened them to look over at her. Even though his shoulder began to cramp, he didn't mind at all. The last time he had gotten to study her face like this was their first evening in Tokyo, when she had fallen asleep on the hill by Nekoma. The memories replayed in his mind, and eventually he too drifted asleep.

"Y/n, wake up." You felt a hand gently shake your shoulder, and opened your eyes to see your mom smiling at you.
"You slept like a baby during the whole ride. You missed some beautiful scenery, too," she said, and you stretched in your seat, lifting your head. Your head had been resting against what you thought was the chair, but as you rubbed your eyes, you realized that you had been laying against Lev.
"You fell asleep on me," he whispered, and you immediately felt embarrassed.
"You should have woken me up," you said, patting your hair with your hands in an attempt to straighten it out.
"We're getting off the train in five," you mom chimed in, ending the conversation before it went anywhere. Lev got up and stretched, having to bend slightly due to the fact that his head missed the luggage compartment by an inch. You did the same, still feeling slightly disconcerted that you had fallen asleep on him without noticing. Part of you was glad he didn't wake you though, because that would have surely been more awkward.

The house that you were staying at was a small but beautiful one, right in the countryside of Japan. The drive there was incredibly scenic, and your leftover tiredness from your nap quickly dissipated. Even Lev looked impressed, his eyes glued to the landscape as you drove through beautiful green fields. Once in the house, Lev's mom directed everyone in the group to their respective rooms, and you spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking, and exploring a bit of the house while everyone else settled in. At that point, it was evening, and the long afternoon trip had made you extremely hungry. As you walked into the kitchen, still discovering the house, you saw Lev's mom unpacking some paper bags that were propped on the counter.
"Where'd this food come from?" you asked, puzzled.
"There's a small grocery store right down the road, and I figured since everyone was probably tired and hungry from the train ride, I could run over and get some food for us," she explained, and you began to unpack one of the bags with her.
"Thank you, this looks great," you said, and as if in response, your stomach growled loudly. You immediately blamed it on your hunger, embarrassed, but Lev's mom laughed.
"Want to help me prepare some dinner?" she asked, and you agreed. She had bought a variety ready to go food, onigiri, and veggies, and you went to pop some heatable tofu in the microwave. You and Lev's mom conversed lightly, mostly about school and adapting to your new life here, and you were surprised by how good of a listener she was. You were thankful she didn't mention Lev, because you weren't exactly keen on talking about him right now. As you set the table, she went to go round up the rest of the group, and soon everyone was seated at the dining room table, digging into the simple, but still delicious, food. For the most part, the conversation revolved around random adult - oriented subjects, which bored you, and it seemed to bore Lev, too.
"So, I heard Alisa has a new boyfriend," your dad mentioned casually, giving Lev's dad a sympathetic glance. Lev's dad scoffed, but his mom beamed. You raised your head, finally interested in what was being discussed.
"That's right! They met at her college, and although we haven't met him yet, we've seen pictures, and they look adorable together," she said proudly.
"I'm definitely keen on meeting him soon," Lev's dad added, and the table laughed.
"You know, boys have always been interested in Alisa, and she's had quite a few boyfriends, but I think this one might be special," Lev's mom said. "Don't you remember, how boys would always send letters to our house, professing their love for her? Once, someone even left a bouquet of flowers at our doorstep!" Her husband rolled his eyes, laughing.
"Really?" your dad asked, laughing. "Well, y/n, I hope no boys are chasing after you too much," he added jokingly.
"Y/n's quite popular here," Lev said innocently, and you shot him a look. Your father raised his eyebrows, and looked at you quizzingly.
"Really?" He asked, and you quickly responded.
"He's joking," you said, and you felt Lev's eyes on you from across the table.
"There was that one boy who liked you, right? What was his name again? Yun, right?" your mom asked.
"This other boy from her school just asked her out too," Lev added, and your mom looked at you.
"Lev!" You hissed, and he frowned in response.
"Why didn't you tell me?" your mom asked, and you sighed.
"I would have, mom, I promise." Lev gave you a confused look, and he quickly added in,
"I didn't know your parents didn't know."
"You shouldn't bring up something like that anyways, Lev," you said, but you tried not to look bothered. You were annoyed he had shared that, but you weren't planning on overdramatizing the situation.
"Who was it?" your mom asked, and Lev kept his gaze on you.
"Oh, just a friend from school," you said, hoping to steer the conversation in another direction. Thankfully this time Lev didn't jump in to elaborate.
"I remember last time we all had dinner, wasn't there another boy who liked you? Seems like you've got quite the competition, Lev," Lev's dad said teasingly. You and Lev both grew red, and avoided eye contact.
"Dad, stop," he groaned, and the parents laughed.
"He's only teasing," Lev's mom said, but Lev sunk into his chair, embarrassed.
"Lev's got quite a fanclub too, you know," his mother added, and Lev shot his mom a look.
"That's true, girls are always coming up to and asking for his number. I swear, half of them think he's a famous model from abroad," his father added. Lev sunk even lower into his seat, frowning.
"You don't need to talk about that, dad," he said.
"Looks like that made someone jealous," Lev's mom chimed in, motioning in your direction, and the table turned to look at you. You hadn't realized that you had contorted your face into a frown as the conversation progressed, and you immediately shifted to a neutral expression.
"Me? Why?" you asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.
"Y/n, no need to be jealous, Lev's always turning those girls down anyways. He can't even properly talk to a girl," his dad said, obviously teasing, but by the look on Lev's face, he didn't appreciate the joke. That last part reminded you of what you had said to him during your fight, and you guessed that Lev remembered too.
"Dad, seriously stop. Of course I can talk to a girl," He said sternly, staring at his father. Your parents shifted, beginning to seem uncomfortable with the topic, but Lev's dad didn't seem to see an issue.
"Lev, y/n doesn't count as talking to a girl," his father joked. "If you ask me, he's always been a bit awkward around girls." Lev's face grew expressionless, his mouth pulled into a thin line. Lev wasn't the type to anger easily, and you had only seen him like this once, during your fight, so you figured he was genuinely upset.
"Lev, your dad's just joking," you said sympathetically, and as his eyes met yours, he looked conflicted.
The parents laughed, and conversation shifted to some other topic, but you couldn't get the look on Lev's face out of your mind. He remained pretty silent during the rest of dinner, and you tried to give him a reassuring smile, but his eyes constantly ignored yours. What I would give right now to be able to read his thoughts, you thought, but unfortunately, that wasn't how these kind of things worked.