Episode 26: Shower
I kept holding Honoka for a while, letting my fingers wander idly through her hair.
She stayed as she was, eyes closed, face pressed into my chest, not moving.
It was a comfortable stretch of time. But we needed to get up soon.
My body still carried the afterglow of last night, and the skin clinging faintly to the sheets was starting to bother me a little.
“Hey, Honoka.”
I gave her shoulder a gentle shake as I said it.
“Mm…”
A small, coaxing sound came back.
Whether she was still sleepy, or just wanted to stay like this longer, I couldn’t tell.
“Should we shower soon?”
At that, Honoka lifted her face without letting go of me at all.
“…Can it wait?”
Looking up at me with those glassy eyes, I felt the urge to just let her have her way.
But that wasn’t a good enough reason to put it off.
“No, come on, get up.”
I tried to loosen her arms from around me, but she clung on tighter instead.
“Just a little longer…”
As if she were pleading not to be let go.
“You can come right back to bed after the shower, you know?”
I said it with a light laugh, but Honoka didn’t answer right away.
She gripped my fingers tight and lowered her face.
Usually, in moments like this, I was the one who couldn’t let go, holding on with regret.
Just a little more — wanting to keep her close, not wanting to release her.
But now it’s different.
Every time I try to get up, Honoka winds her arms around me to hold me back.
Just like I used to.
Honoka bit her lip lightly, then slowly let the strength go out of her arms.
“…I’ll go if you come too, Yuna.”
“Sure, let’s go together.”
At that, Honoka followed along, reluctant but willing.
The grip of her hand on mine carried something uneasy in it — but I didn’t let it bother me, and just smiled.
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When I opened the bathroom door, slightly cool air touched my skin.
Our footsteps echoed quietly in the steam-free space.
I pulled the shower lever and water rushed out at once, warm mist rising almost immediately. The moment I picked up the showerhead, Honoka wrapped her arms tightly around me from behind.
“…Yuna.”
The way she said my name was somehow sweet, and faintly clinging too.
When I tried to move to angle the water, her arms tightened just slightly.
“Hey, let’s shower together?”
A ticklish breath grazed my ear.
Normally, that would be the kind of thing I’d say to her.
“Yeah, sure.”
I repositioned the showerhead and let warm water fall gently over her shoulder; she pressed herself against me immediately.
Rather than loosening her arms, she wound them tighter still, pressing soft, damp skin against my back.
Wet skin clung to mine as if drawn there, warmth seeping through from where we touched. The soft give of her against me shifted gently with every small movement.
“Hey, stay closer to me…?”
“Eh, closer than this?”
I couldn’t help a flicker of confusion, but Honoka was looking at me with a serious expression.
Her arms wound around my waist, our bodies pressed flush together.
Before, I would have been the one clinging like this, not wanting to let go — today it felt like our positions had reversed completely.
“…Can’t be helped.”
I let out a small, wry laugh and wrapped my arms around her in return.
At that, Honoka nestled into my neck, satisfied, and pressed even closer.
Beneath the sound of the shower, I could hear her faint breathing.
She kept gripping my arms again and again, as if she couldn’t settle unless she was touching me.
— As if trying not to be parted from me.
But I didn’t think too hard about why that might be.