“Honestly! What are you even saying!!”
Face bright red, glaring at Yuzuru—then turning away.
That had been Arisa’s reaction to his suggestion.
Yuzuru himself had only meant it half as a joke, so he brushed it off at the time, saying as much—but—
He glanced sideways at Arisa, running beside him.
Her flaxen hair was tied up, her expression serious—though she looked a little strained—as she kept pace with him.
They were currently jogging around a nearby park.
They weren’t sprinting, but the fact she could run alongside him at all spoke volumes—Arisa had quite the stamina and leg strength.
(…Does it hurt, though?)
In sync with her steps, the soft weight on her chest bounced up and down.
Of course, she was wearing a sports bra (probably), so it wasn’t exactly a full-blown earthquake, but—
Still, about a magnitude three.
The kind where, on a rainy day, you might get a landslide, or an elderly person might lose their balance and break a bone—
In the worst case, even fatalities weren’t out of the question.
Could her small shoulders really handle that burden?
As her fiancé, shouldn’t he be helping carry that weight instead?
While he entertained such utterly idiotic thoughts—
“…Where are you looking?”
Their eyes met—her jade gaze fixed on him.
Shot with a flat, unimpressed look, Yuzuru casually turned forward.
“No, nowhere. …If it gets tough, just tell me.”
It was early evening, a bit cooler than before—
But it was still midsummer.
High heat, high humidity.
In other words, a risk of heatstroke.
He spoke as if he were simply being considerate.
Arisa replied, “I’m fine,” and faced forward.
Then—
“…Pervert.”
She muttered it under her breath.
So she’d noticed.
After finishing their target distance, they sat on a nearby bench and wiped off their sweat.
“It’s hot…”
“…It is.”
No matter how much they wiped, sweat kept pouring out.
Not just their faces—under their clothes felt unpleasant too.
Yuzuru slipped his towel inside his shirt to wipe himself down.
Though, since his clothes were already soaked, it didn’t help much.
Glancing beside him, he saw Arisa doing something similar.
Her hand slipped inside her clothes as she wiped away sweat.
She wasn’t lifting her shirt, so nothing was visible—but somehow, it still felt… suggestive.
“What is it?”
“No, it’s just…”
Yuzuru glanced around.
There was no one else nearby—just the two of them.
“…You were looking at me in a dirty way again, weren’t you? Honestly…”
It can’t be helped, she seemed to say, furrowing her brows in an exaggerated way.
Still, she didn’t look angry.
If anything, she seemed a little pleased.
“Well… I won’t deny it.”
“…That’s surprisingly honest.”
It was true.
Rather, it was impossible not to look at Arisa that way.
Because, as far as Yuzuru was concerned, there wasn’t a single part of her that wasn’t alluring.
Though perhaps it wasn’t that Arisa herself was inherently suggestive—
Maybe his own eyes had some kind of “Arisa-is-sexy filter.”
Either way, the result was the same.
“Still… what I meant to say was…”
“…What?”
He scratched his cheek, hesitated slightly, then said—
“Those… defenceless moments… I’d rather you only show them when we’re alone.”
There hadn’t been anyone around just now—
But still, he didn’t want other men seeing her like that.
…He didn’t really want to sound overly possessive, though.
“I-I see…”
Caught off guard, Arisa blushed and lowered her gaze.
Then quietly—
“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful…”
“Y-yeah… I mean, you don’t have to worry that much.”
“…Doesn’t it bother you?”
She sounded slightly dissatisfied.
Apparently, she wanted it to bother him.
“No, it does.”
“Then I’ll be careful.”
As they spoke, their sweating began to subside.
Yuzuru pulled out his flask and drank the sports drink inside.
After exercise, it tasted especially good.
“…Huh?”
A confused voice came from beside him.
Arisa rummaged through her bag, tilting her head—
Then began taking things out one by one.
…But no flask appeared.
“Did you forget it?”
“…Probably. It’s fine.”
It wasn’t far back to Yuzuru’s place.
She could drink as much as she liked once they got back—
“Want some?”
He held out his flask.
Considering the risk of heatstroke, it was better she drank sooner.
“Eh, but…”
“Well, no pressure.”
He said that, and she shook her head.
“…I’ll drink.”
She took the flask.
After staring at the mouthpiece for a moment, she pressed her lips to it and began to drink slowly—
“Come to think of it, that’s an indirect kiss.”
“—cough!”
Perfect timing.
She choked slightly.
Chuckling, Yuzuru gently rubbed her back.
Arisa shot him a sharp glare.
“Honestly…!”
“Sorry, sorry… want to stop?”
“…I’ll drink.”
Despite everything, she kept going.
Her ears tinged red as she drank the sports drink.
Her pale throat moved with each swallow.
“Thank you.”
“Sure.”
She returned the flask.
It was now empty, noticeably lighter.
“Let’s head back.”
“Yeah.”
And so they made their way home.
As soon as they got back, Arisa spoke.
“May I use the shower first?”
“Go ahead.”
After thanking him, she entered the changing room—
Then peeked her head out.
“Don’t peek, alright?”
“I won’t.”
“Hmm, but you are a bit of a pervert, Yuzuru-san.”
She giggled, then shut the door.
Left alone, Yuzuru let out a wry smile.
Lately, Arisa had started dropping her guard more—in a good way.
He didn’t mind at all.
These days, it wasn’t unusual for her to use his shower, so he even kept her bath supplies at his place.
Strictly speaking, he wasn’t supposed to use them—
Though occasionally, he’d secretly try them and think, “Oh… this smells like Arisa…”
That, of course, was a secret.
After a while, Arisa came out wearing a loose outfit—white shirt and shorts.
Her skin was slightly flushed from the heat.
“Alright, I’ll go in.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t peek, alright?”
“That’s just creepy.”
He tried joking in a falsetto voice, but she shot him down immediately.
Shrugging, Yuzuru went in, quickly washed off the sweat, and got changed.
When he stepped out—
Arisa was there to greet him.
But something seemed… off.
“Ah, Yuzuru-san…”
She looked restless.
Even though some time had passed since her shower, her cheeks were still faintly red.
Her eyes darted about—
And then, for some reason, she sat down formally on her knees.
“…?”
Not quite understanding, Yuzuru sat seiza in front of her as well.
She flinched.
Then, looking slightly downward, she asked—
“Um… so, what shall we do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Y-you know… that…”
“…That?”
Tilting his head, Yuzuru genuinely didn’t understand.
Arisa, flustered and a bit annoyed, said—
“D-don’t play dumb…”
And then—
“…The reward.”
