Episode 22: A Melting Night
“Really…?”
A voice that couldn’t quite hide its anxiety.
I gave a quiet nod.
But I knew that alone wasn’t going to be enough for Honoka right now.
So this time, I was the one who brought our lips together.
“…Mm…”
Honoka’s shoulders trembled faintly.
Into the small gap of her startled breath, I slipped my tongue, gently.
“Hh…uu…mm…!”
Each time our lips met, Honoka let out a small, aching breath.
Her arms came around my back, pulling me close.
The strength in them was more than I’d expected — as if she were pleading, through her body, that she didn’t want to let go.
“…Honoka…”
My voice saying her name grew soft without my meaning it to.
Honoka’s fingers found my neck, trailing heat as they moved.
Wherever those fingertips traced along my spine, my skin answered them.
“…More…”
She breathed the word in a hoarse voice, half a plea.
Her arms wound around me, tight, as if to keep me from slipping away.
There was a desperation in it that I found unbearably dear, and I pressed my lips softly to her throat.
When I traced there with the tip of my tongue, Honoka’s body shivered.
“Don’t…aaah…”
A sweet breath escaped her.
Trembling fingers clung to my back.
I brought my lips slowly to her ear.
“…I love you, Honoka…”
At my whisper, her shoulders jolted.
“…Yuna…”
Her voice was trembling, and there were tears in it.
“…Keep loving me…always, always…okay…?”
The words came from her in a breaking voice — aching in how completely direct they were.
“…Of course I will.”
I answered without hesitation.
In that instant, as if she could no longer hold back, Honoka brought her lips to mine again.
“…mm…hh…”
Breathless. Deep.
A kiss that staked everything on this single moment.
“…I love you…I love you…!”
Repeating it in a voice close to tears, Honoka held me tight.
That warmth burned through my chest, sinking deep.
Distance — I didn’t need it anymore.
We simply continued to reach for each other, as if confirming that the other was truly there.
Before I knew it, we were tangled deep together on the sofa.
Each time heated skin met skin, reason dissolved a little more.
Honoka’s lips sought mine again and again, and wouldn’t pull away.
Her arms held me with force, winding around me, keeping me from leaving.
Her fingertips were trembling — and even so, they refused to loosen.
— As if she were afraid of letting go of me.
“…Yuna…!”
Each time my name was called in that breaking voice, my chest was squeezed almost past bearing.
It occurred to me, then.
Until just a few days ago, I was the one holding Honoka in place.
Not wanting to give her to anyone, wanting to make everything about her mine alone.
I leaned on her, monopolised her, reached for her again and again.
But now —
It was the other way around.
Honoka was desperate.
She held me as if clinging to me, as if to keep me from getting away.
The force with which her nails pressed into my skin as she clung — it made something ache deep inside me.
I had been the one who wouldn’t release Honoka.
And now it was Honoka who wouldn’t let go of me.
“…I’ll always be right here.”
When I breathed it against her ear, Honoka answered in a voice close to tears: “…yeah.”
The trembling in her voice was so dear to me that I pressed my lips to her cheek.
Once more, I touched her.
Again —
Each time, Honoka let out a small soft breath, and clung to me, reaching.
“Hey…Yuna…”
She touched my cheek gently, looking at me with eyes that shimmered.
In those eyes was a tender ache, and just the faintest heat.
“…Don’t let go of me tonight…okay…?”
The words came so thin they seemed about to disappear — and yet they shook my chest hard.
“…Yeah.”
There was nothing left in me to resist with.
I brought my arm around Honoka’s back and drew her close.
Feeling her slight shoulders trembling, I brought my lips softly to her ear.
“…We’ll be together all night.”
At my whisper, Honoka gave a small nod and leaned her cheek against me, as if finally able to rest.
We rose slowly from the sofa together, feeling the warmth of each other.
Honoka held my hand and leaned into me as if asking me to carry some of her weight.
Her knees were unsteady; her leg brushed against mine.
Even so she made no move to pull apart, twining her fingers through mine, holding tight.
Down the hallway that led to the bedroom, her body stayed pressed against mine.
Walking with our arms wound together like that, shoulders touching, warmth passing between us.
Honoka gripped my fingers hard.
I smiled softly, and holding her hand firmly in return, disappeared with Honoka into the room.
Tonight — I wouldn’t run away. Not anywhere.
As if confirming each other’s existence, we melted quietly into the night.