Special Edition short story
Hatsushiro Kotori… or rather, Shimizu Kotori, was walking home from school with Yuuki.
“Alright, Kotori, see you at my place.”
“Yes. I made some more of that pickled cucumber you said you liked the other day.”
“Oh? Now I have something to look forward to when I get home. Well then, I’ll do my best so I can enjoy your cooking tonight.”
With that, Yuuki walked off in a different direction from the way home.
As she watched him go, she noticed he was doing a little skip, looking happy.
“…Oh, Yuuki-san.”
She’d heard married men say things like “I can do my best because I have my wife,” but to be honest, she had thought most of them were just saying it out of politeness.
But watching her own boyfriend, she thought, Ah, this person really is looking forward to eating my cooking.
To have someone need her this much…
All this time, she had been doing her best to support her now-reforming father in her mother’s place.
(But I still couldn’t take Mom’s place…)
In the end, she had never seen her father truly smile.
That’s why it made her so happy when Yuuki was genuinely pleased with something she did.
…As she walked along, lost in thought, she arrived in front of the apartment building where they both lived.
She rummaged through her bag.
She had two keys.
One was for her own room.
She used it to open her door, dropped off her school things, and immediately left.
She had been living in this room for about a month, but to be honest, she mostly only used it to sleep or store her things.
The room where she spent most of her time was the one she entered with the other key.
That key was, of course, a spare key to his room.
With a practiced hand, she opened the door and went inside.
She took off her school-issue loafers, lined them up neatly, and then used the floor wiper that was in the corner of the living room to clean the entire floor. At the same time, she wiped down the tops of the shelves and the window sills, where dust was likely to accumulate. Since she did this every day, a light once-over was enough to make it sparkling clean.
Then she carefully cleaned the bathroom and other water areas.
It was a mundane task, but she quite liked doing these little things.
And besides, he was out there right now, sweating to earn a living. She couldn’t very well complain about something like this.
“…And besides.”
She remembered how, when he was about to take a bath the other day, he had said, “It always feels so nice when it’s this clean,” and had run his finger along the bathroom wall, making a squeaking sound, and looking happy.
A natural smile spread across her face.
Yes… if this makes him comfortable, then it’s a small price to pay. She thought, simply and honestly.
“Okay. All done.”
After about thirty minutes, she had finished cleaning.
She filled the freshly cleaned tub with hot water, then took off her uniform and got in, washing away the day’s grime.
“…Phew.”
She let out a sigh of relief.
She liked baths.
Being in an enclosed space, spending some quiet time alone, gave her an indescribable sense of peace. It might have also been because her strict father never bothered her when she was in the bath.
Incidentally, this apartment had a separate toilet and bath.
Yuuki had chosen the apartment with the basic idea that as long as he could sleep, it didn’t matter, but the one thing he had been particular about was the separate bath and toilet.
Because of that, it was a little far from school and the rent was high (though the school subsidized most of it, so it didn’t really hurt his wallet), but she thought it was a good choice.
The special sense of peace you get from being separated from your daily life while soaking in a bath is something you just can’t get in a unit bath where the toilet is in the same room.
(Alright…)
After soaking for a while and getting thoroughly warmed up, she got out of the tub, squeezed some body soap onto her hand, and started washing herself.
Apparently, normal girls had all sorts of little bottles of beauty products lined up in their bathrooms, but she just used the same body soap and rinse-in shampoo as him.
She had asked Ootani, who used a lot of different things, if she should be using them, too.
“Just like people who exercise a lot don’t need diet food, a girl like you who doesn’t eat any junk food and eats a regular, balanced diet of Japanese food all the time doesn’t need any of those little tricks. Just make sure you use UV protection.”
She had said, so she had been doing just that.
After she finished washing, she rinsed off with the shower and got out of the bathroom.
She dried herself with a towel and changed into her loungewear.
…And with that, her after-school chores were done.
All that was left was to start preparing dinner about an hour before he got home. She still had nearly three hours until then.
“Well then…”
Actually, this was the time that Shimizu Kotori, as a young girl, secretly looked forward to. Even her boyfriend, Yuuki, didn’t know about this.
That secret pleasure was…
“…Hyaah!”
Plop. She collapsed onto the bed he usually slept in.
“Sniff, sniff, fwaah…”
She inhaled his scent from the pillow and let out a sigh.
Yes, her secret pleasure was to sleep in the bed he usually slept in, enveloped in his scent.
“Mmm, mmm.”
She hugged the pillow, which was soaked in his scent, and rolled around.
Then she burrowed under the covers he usually used.
A scent that was a little sweaty, but also boyish and reassuring, enveloped her entire body.
“Fnyaah…”
A completely relaxed, non-human sound escaped her lips.
It was as if she were being held by him, and the sense of security was incredible. It felt like the day’s fatigue was melting away into the futon.
And of course. It wasn’t just a sense of security; the scent that enveloped her was that of the boy she loved.
“…Ngh.”
In other words, well, it also made her feel a little… restless.
She squeezed his futon tightly between her thighs.
“…Uuun.”
A sultry sigh escaped her lips.
“…This is… really perverted of me, isn't it?”
It wasn’t just “like” a pervert; if it wasn’t her boyfriend’s things, it would be the very definition of one.
“But this… I just can’t stop…”
The sense of security, the feeling of letting go, the restlessness, and all sorts of other pleasant sensations mixed together and washed away the fatigue that had built up inside her… This moment was an irreplaceable source of healing for her.
And most of all, being enveloped in his scent, as if she were being held by him, was irresistible.
“I want him to hold me tight again…”
He had only held her twice. He hadn’t held her since the day they had visited her father.
She knew it was important to say it herself.
But this was her own selfish wish; she couldn’t help but want him to be the one to ask.
Probably because, if he were the one to ask… it would simply make her happier. As a girl.
If this continued, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to hold back and would end up saying it herself…
“…Not just holding me… but what comes after… if it’s with Yuuki-san, I…”
Just imagining that day made her heart feel warm and happy.
As she was thinking that, a pleasant drowsiness came over her.
She set the alarm on the bedside clock for an hour before he would be home, then pulled the covers up over her head again and hugged the pillow.
And enveloped in her boyfriend’s gentle scent and warmth, she slowly closed her eyes, dreaming of the day that would surely come.
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