“..E-erm, I feel you need to control yourself a little, Amane-kun.”

After dinner, Amane punished Mahiru with a huge dosage of pampering, and Mahiru blushed as she looked up at him.

They were merely together on the sofa, and he was just touching her, but she was rather embarrassed.

There was no actual sexual contact per se, and he did not touch her at anywhere inappropriate. The reason Mahiru’s face was so red might be because Amane had been patting her head while looking at her face, or because he had her sit on his thighs.

“You got to tell me what you know if you want me to stop.”

“I-I said that it was not anything you would be worried about.”

“In detail?”

“..There was the time when you swung on the swing, hit your head, and cried out loud. And also, you wanted to kiss Shihoko-san on the cheek, and bumped your head too hard or something.”

“Guilty. No reason to spare you.”

“Why..!”

In his younger days, Amane was too influenced by his mother’s passion that he overdid things, and often messed up. He however wondered to himself why he deserved such karma for Mahiru to know. The matter of kissing his mother was not something that should be mentioned to any man. If this was not a black history, one had to wonder what was.

Surely it was Amane who was more embarrassed than Mahiru, who was being pampered.

It did not count as he failed to do so, but he nearly brought his face onto Shihoko’s and kissed her. He had a migraine just from the mere mention.

I told you not to listen, Amane implied through his gestures, slid his fingers down her waist, and caressed her along with her body warmth. She shivered, and her tense face looked up at him.

Naturally, she was begging for him to stop, but unfortunately for her, it was a punishment, and he had no intention to stop. Shihoko was probably the one who first mentioned this, but there was no doubt Mahiru enjoyed hearing so.

Mahiru was afraid of tickles, and Amane did not go all out when tickling her. She squealed with a voice shriller than usual, and firmly latched onto him. She did not run away, for she probably feared losing her balance.

“Hiiiii..haa, so-sorry.”

“..Anything else you heard?”

“No-not this time.”

“This time?”

“I-it is a matter of context..”

“..Even if she did mention everything, you’re going to keep listening, aren’t you, Missy? Isn’t it unfair that my black history is the only thing dug up?”

“B-but, if we are talking about mine, there is a prior issue..”

And there is nothing worth talking about, once Mahiru quipped, Amane stopped tickling.

It might bring back bad memories to her, for she did not receive the care and love of her parents, and she surely did not wish to recall them.

Sorry for mentioning this stuff, Amane lowered his eyebrows, and observed Mahiru, who seemed to have understood what he was thinking, gently giggling.

“You do not have to worry. It is nothing significant to me now. I am very content now. This is enough.”

“Mahiru..”

“And I used to be very obedient, unlike you, Amane-kun.”

“Sorry for being playful..but yeah, I can’t imagine you being lively, Mahiru.”

Once he was teased at, Amane pinched Mahiru’s cheeks as retaliation, and tried to imagine a Mahiru in her childhood.

Truly, he could not imagine her being lively. She had always demanded of herself to be an obedient child, and she certainly would be a lot docile back then. He could imagine her being all obedient, and wanted to see how it would be like seeing Mahiru all lively.

..I wonder if there’ll be a kid like Mahiru.

He had a feeling that no matter which side they resembled more of, their children would be obedient, but that would only matter once they were born.

Cute is cute, no matter whether they were obedient, lively or stubborn. It would be best if they resembled Mahiru, and not as unadorable as Amane.

So Amane quietly imagined these scenes, and felt all warm and fuzzy. Mahiru then buried her face into his chest, rubbing onto it.

“..I was not actually cute back then, you know? I behaved well simply because I wished to be praised. I could do a lot of things when I was young, but I was quietly told that I was a useless one.”

“Who said that?”

“Probably the mothers of the children who played with me..Amane-kun, your face, please take note.”

“I can’t help it.”

The people who would badmouth children just loud enough for them to hear were unreliable. Amane frowned hard, and pulled away from Mahiru.

Children were often easily hurt, and yet those women with children clearly conveyed their negative emotions. Amane really wanted to reproach the women he did not know, but it was all in the past, and nothing to do with.

Luckily, Mahiru was pulled out of the mire, and did not seem emotional about it. Amane was really anxious however, and wondered what he would have done if Mahiru was hurt to the point where she could not be healed.

“Do not worry, for Koyuki-san doted on me, and praised me lots.”

“Good job Koyuki-san.”

Amane quietly gave a thumbs up to the woman whose face he did not know, the woman who raised Mahiru in her parents’ stead. He ruffled Mahiru’s head, and embraced her while she was still recollecting her memories.

“I am calmer than you think I am, Amane-kun. The things my own parents said about me hurt me more than those I do not know of.”

“..Mahiru.”

“I do not wish to say about any unhappy things. We shall stop for now. All I can say is, I felt unbearable back then, but it was that past that I get to know you and form this relationship. I will not acknowledge that past, so please do not show such a face.”

You really worry too much, so Mahiru smiled. Amane brought his lips to her forehead, and embraced her once again. She wriggled in his clutches, looking relieved, and then kissed him.

“..And now, you love me, Amane-kun. I am fine.”

Such an adorable one, Amane murmured as he saw the bashful Mahiru up close. He decided to pamper her more on this day, and kissed her once again.