Princess Ibara and the Holy Night. Part 1

“Ibara, shall we hug again tonight?”

“Yes.”

Night.
After her bath, Shigure-san and I sit side by side on the bedside.
I only recently discovered Shigure-san surprisingly enjoys long baths. Perhaps because she suffers from poor circulation.
　Seeing her emerge, thoroughly warmed and glowing, is frankly too much for me to bear.
Her flushed, cherry-blossom cheeks. The curve of her neck peeking from her collar. Her breasts, modest yet undeniably present.
The scent of shampoo drifting from her damp hair.
I adore Shigure-san’s scent, well, frankly, her body odour, but the scent after her bath is something else entirely.
　More accurately, it makes me go all ‘floppy’. That whole ‘weak at the knees’ thing.
Isn’t that a proper special preference? Weird, isn’t it? Before meeting Shigure-san, I never even noticed other people’s scents.
But hey, diversity, right? So today too, I’ll hug her and sniff sniff at the nape of Shigure-san’s neck.
Lovely scent. Melting. Love it.

　I love hugs. Lately, I’ve grown to love them even more.
Essentially, I’ve come to like Shigure-san more than ever before.
Even now, imagining her past with Runa-san makes my chest tighten, but that’s something I simply can’t change.
From now on, that person will always be a part of Shigure-san. It’s surely not the same place as love or romance, but precisely because of that, I can’t interfere.
　I just wish I could be the kind of person who could say that’s fine.
I’ve gone off on a tangent.
Anyway, I like Shigure-san. When she relies on me and says killer lines like “I can’t sleep without Ibara,” it just makes me like her even more.

But this story isn’t quite “happily ever after” yet. What a pain.

“…Shall we get some sleep?”

Saying that, Shigure-san patted my back. It was the signal that hug time was over, but for me, it was nowhere near enough.
So, with my arms around her back, I grabbed hold of her pyjamas, rubbed my nose against her neck, and begged for more, more. I pressed my whole front against her, as if to fill the annoying gap.
　Then Shigure-san strokes my head with the sort of soothing gesture you’d use for a whingey child, and I end up feeling like, “Oh well, what can you do?”
Then I pull my body away slightly from where we were pressed together, tilting my head at the most perfectly adorable angle. Slowly, I bring my face closer to Shigure-san’s and close my eyes.
Today, for sure—

“Oh, I haven’t sorted the non-combustible rubbish yet.”

Shigure-san stood up abruptly, leaving my kiss-ready face completely ignored.
I shot a resentful glance at her back as she tied the plastic bin bag.
But Shigure-san didn’t turn around, and the sweet, pink atmosphere that had lingered around us moments ago had vanished without a trace, nowhere to be found.
　With no other option, we slipped into bed side by side and switched off the room light.

“Goodnight, Ibara.”

Soon, Shigure-san’s breathing in sleep reached my ears.
This is it.
This is exactly it.
Since that day, the distance between Shigure-san and me hasn’t closed at all.
　Even though we bathed together and even kissed.
Even though I gave her my precious, precious first kiss, I still haven’t managed a second one. It’s like… there’s been no concrete change in our relationship.
Incidentally, that bath was a one-off too.
It’s strange. We should have become much more lovey-dovey by now.
Does Shigure-san value non-combustible rubbish more than me? Wait, that’s just being a painfully difficult girlfriend. No, no.
　It’s alright. There’s no need to rush.
Like grasping at words to reassure myself, I searched for Shigure-san’s hand in bed.
I clasped fingers that were just a little colder and just a little stiffer than mine.
Shigure-san didn’t resist while asleep. Savouring the shape of her hard nails and joints, I drifted off into a faint, fragile sleep.

　†

Breakfast the next morning.

“The day after tomorrow is already Christmas, eh? Time flies.”

As she scooped cereal (cocoa flavour) into a deep bowl, Shigure-san said this in a casual tone. That casualness was so utterly perfect that I realised, “Ah, she really is saying this without a second thought,” which made me slightly irritated, but oh well. I’ll let it slide.
Here it comes.
　Here it comes, here it comes, it’s arrived.
The reason I was so calm and collected was because it was December.
Christmas!
This is quite the event, I must say. Christmas spent with someone you like! Hah-ha! Oh yeah! That’s the feeling.
Not that I’d ever let on.
If I went all out with that level of excitement first thing in the morning, I’d scare Shigure-san off.
　Best start with a jab. Gauge the distance between us.

“You’re working, aren’t you, Shigure-san?”

Unfortunately, this year the 25th fell on a weekday. Friday. I’ve school, and Shigure-san has work. Incidentally, that last bit had an ulterior motive: confirming, “You don’t have any plans besides work, right?”

“Hmm…”

Shigure-san pondered. Eh? No way. No way, no way.
You don’t have plans, right? You’re spending it with me, aren’t you?

“Well, I was thinking of taking paid leave on the 25th.”

“Hmm.”

Oh, right. Paid leave.

…………………Why???
The spoon slipped from my hand with a clatter.
There’s only one reason a single adult woman would take time off at Christmas.
　A date.
Se’s going on a date. With someone else.
Oh no, oh no, oh no.

“Right. Ibara, I’ll be a bit late today because of a meeting, so go ahead and eat without me—”

Shigure-san was saying something, but none of the words registered.
A date. Shigure-san on a Christmas date…

“…With who?”

“Eh? No, just a client, but—”

　Clang! A bell rang in my head.
No way. Shigure-san was the sort to do that sort of thing with work contacts? A casual fling. A one-night office romance. I didn’t want to know.

“…What sort of person is he…?”

“Are you going to probe that? Well, I think he was a department head at a toy manufacturer. A father figure in his fifties, always chatting about his daughter.”

“He’s a married bloke with a wife and kids! You’re daft, Shigure! He’s definitely pulling your leg!”

“N-no, that’s not it. He’s someone I’ve known for ages, and he always asks for me specifically. He says my basic skills are solid.”

“Waaah, I don’t wanna hear it!”

†

It took a good ten minutes for the misunderstanding to clear up.

“…That can’t possibly be true.”

“…Yeah, you’re right. Sorry. I was just… going a bit bonkers…”

Stared at with a cold, piercing gaze, I repeated, “I’m sorry, I told you.”
Shigure-san cleared her throat.

“I was just thinking of going shopping. Alone.”

“That means…”

Could it be… she’s preparing a present (for me)? Eh? Eh? I’m thrilled.

“Well, I was thinking of buying a hotpot set.”

“…Eh?”

My eyes went wide.
Why? Does she think I like hotpot that much?
Not that I dislike it, mind. Hotpot.