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 Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:03 am
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:04 am
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Akina's Christmas
December 11th, 2008
Ah, snow; so cold, yet beautiful.
Watching the snow fall, Akina felt a small smile grow on her face. Out of all of the seasons, Akina had to choose winter as her favorite, due to the beauty that snow brought upon Konoha, along with the cheer the holidays brought. Rubbing her hands together, she stepped into the warmth of the hospital, knowing that the next time she went outside, would be when she was too exhausted to appreciate the wonderful white.
“Hello Akina, there are already a couple of people waiting for your arrival, and a team is set to arrive any minute now.”
Nodding her greeting to one of the nurses, Akito, Akina continued on her way to the locker room, watching most of the chaos that the hospital held. Already, there was so much work to do, and Akina knew that she had a long night ahead of her; twelve hour shifts were too long for most, but she did not mind, taking as many as she could. It was something that occupied her, and she knew that she benefited both the shinobi, along with Konoha itself.
The locker room was quiet when she entered, Akina relieved to find herself alone; approaching her locker, Akina’s fingers quickly put in the combination, while her mind was elsewhere. Christmas was arriving pretty quickly, and Akina wondered how big the Christmas Eve celebration would be, knowing that Tea was in charge of it this year. Tea was one to go overboard of things, especially celebrations, where booze and dancing could be involved…
Akina could almost feel the hangover that she would have the next day, giving a small groan. However, it was short lived as her attention was caught elsewhere. In her locker, where she always put her jacket, hung some gloves and a long, beautiful blue scarf. Taking them out for closer examination, Akina was surprised to find the gloves to be made of some nice, soft black leather, while the scarf was made of cashmere, the color nice and dark.
Only Kinote, Hiruma, Tea and Tsunade know my combination; it had to have been an early gift from one of them.
With no more thought going towards the generous, and greatly appreciated gift, Akina quickly changed into her uniform, getting ready for a long, hard working night.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:05 am
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Akina's Christmas
December 12th, 2008
“You’ve been receiving gifts, hm?”
The park was quiet, and Akina could not find a better way to enjoy her day off, then being with Hiruma in such a quiet place. Due to the snow, many people did not venture all the way to the park, except to take romantic walks, or to cut through to get somewhere else. They had only been there for a couple of minutes, before Hiruma had questioned her on her silence; he could always tell when something was on her mind, not expecting what he had heard.
Throwing the stick for Cerberous, Hiruma’s face showed no interest in the conversation; Akina knew better, however, seeing the gleam of curiousness in his eyes. As he turned to face her, Hiruma only gave her a little smile, one he gave whenever he was going to point out the obvious.
“Well, you do realize that you help out a lot of people; I expect people to leave you gifts.”
“As true as that is, none of my patients know the combination to my locker, except you, Kinote, Tea and Tsunade. And a lot of them don’t know where I live, or that I love to make tea.”
The last comment was due to that morning, Akina thinking back to how she had walked down the stairs and to her kitchen, seeing the container on the counter. Upon closer inspection, she found it to be a large amount of tea leaves and herbs, ones she regularly used in her teas; the only thing that bothered her was that everyone had thus far denied anything to do with either gifts.
As Cerberous dropped the stick on her foot, Akina crouched down and petted him, knowing that Hiruma now was thinking hard as he crouched down beside her to take the stick. His face was solemn, his eyes now filled with determination. They did not speak for a while, both just enjoying the time, playing fetch a while longer with Cerberous, before calling it a day; both of them hadn’t worn anything too fitting for the weather, and Akina could no longer feel her toes.
The next time Hiruma spoke, was on the way back to her house, his eyes glancing over to her as Akina stretched out her arms.
“Well, if you are that bothered by it, I can look around and try to figure out who is doing this.”
Akina knew that Hiruma was overreacting by the way he spoke; he was being overly cautious about the person who was doing this. She hadn’t realized he would worry too much over it, and actually had expected him to be the one doing these random acts of kindness. Opening her door, Akina allowed him to enter first, before walking behind him, relieved to feel the warmth hit the exposed skin on her face.
“You can if you want, but I’m not concerned about it. I just would like to thank them…”
And figure out how they had gotten my combination. It could easily be that one of the four was playing a gag on her, and she wasn’t going to let herself to get worried over something like that.
Slipping off their shoes, the two stripped off their wet garments, before making their way into the house, Akina making tea while Hiruma made the fire. It would be a comfortable day, and Akina couldn’t think of a better way of spending it, then with her best friend, and a good strong cup of tea. Grounding up some of the leaves, Akina could only thank the person in her head; she had run out of tea, and would have to have picked up some on the way back home.
“Well, I hope you’re prepared to spend the rest of the day lying on the couch, because that fire is built, and is going to last us a while.”
Hiruma had entered the kitchen quietly, peeking over her shoulder with mild interest, examining the container that sat in front of her. Chuckling, Akina could only nudge him a little to give her some room, before moving to the boiling water that sat on the stove, putting in the tea leaves.
“Hm, I suppose I can deal with that… As long as we get to watch one romance; action movies will be monopolizing most of our time.”
It was Hiruma’s turn to chuckle, as he leaned against the counter, container in hand as he examined it thoroughly.
“I guess I can deal with one.”
Making their way to the living room, with now a hot pot of tea, Akina and Hiruma cuddled together on the couch, enjoying them selves as movie after movie went by. Not a word was spoken, until Akina was close to sleep, eyes narrowed while the movie flashed on the screen. Hiruma’s chest rumbled as he spoke, yet Akina was used to this, moving closer.
“You understand, I will figure out who got into both your locker and house.”
Snuggling her head under his chin, Akina just smiled a sleepy smile, before allowing her eyes to slowly shut.
“Yes, yes… Now keep still, you’re supposed to be comfortable.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:06 am
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Akina's Christmas
December 13th, 2008
Akina allowed her mind to wander as she walked home, snuggling a little to her coat as she walked. The sunlight was just beginning to fade in the darkened sky, something that was both beautiful and inspiring; it reminded Akina of when both she and Tea had sat on the swings, talking until the stars filled the sky on a summer night. On both nights, the sky had been clear, and the sky was filled with oranges and pinks, a portrait that no artist could paint.
However, her mind was quick to return to what it had been on; her and Tea’s girls’ night out. It had been a while, since the two had gotten together and gone drinking; this was surprising, considering how the two both loved to drink. Both had been busy with their lives, Tea with ANBU while Akina was occupied with the hospital. It was amazing to think that they had so much free time in the beginning, before Akina had been in demand, and Tea was accepted into the organization where you needed the highest skills.
I don’t even know what to wear on such an occasion; however I will have to find something Tea will approve of.
One thing that she knew to expect was Tea’s want of Akina to find someone, and realized that tonight would consist of pointless hellos, dances and drinks. The drinks were the only reason Akina even accepted most of the time; nobody normally signed up to get bombarded by men. None of them ever worked out, with most of them wanting her for just one thing, while her mind was on another man. This is one thing that Akina would never admit to anyone, even her teammates from back in the day.
Akina had developed a crush on Hiruma, and had no idea how to act upon it.
Oh well, this is not something I need to be worrying about now...
Upon entering her home, Akina slipped off her shoes, before hurrying upstairs to her room to change. Her closet was filled with clothes; darker in color, blues and more neutral colors. None really stood out, except for her royal blue yukata, something that Tea always badgered her about.
“Color makes you stand out more, and you would look GREAT with some emerald green; it would make your eyes stand out!”
That idea was never carried out, as Akina refused to get something that would make her “stand out” even more then she already did. She could feel people’s eyes on her, for both her appearance, and her past.
However, she did not want to think about that either.
“Hm…”
Finally deciding on a sleek, darker blue dress, she slid it off of the hanger, placing it gently onto her bed to look at it. It would be modest, yet Tea would approve; although it flowed down to her knees, the lack of straps, and the amount of cleavage would grab the men’s attention. All she really needed to do was think of what would turn on the boys, and Akina would know what Tea would approve of.
I really don’t care if other guys are interested in me though.
She was just finishing up zipping up the back of the dress, when the doorbell rang, something that caught Akina by surprise. Both curiosity and disappointment went through her; she didn’t like the thought of having to cancel their plans because the hospital needed her again. Keeping herself calm, she hurried down the stairs; upon opening the door, Akina’s disappointment was gone.
A package? Who delivered it?
Something bothered her about this, yet she held her blank expression as she crouched down, lifting up the package in both hands, shutting the door with her foot as she stepped inside. Entering the living room, Akina pulling a kunai out from under the cushion; in one quick movement, the box was open, Akina going through the tissue paper. The kunai was gently placed on the couch beside her, as Akina lifted the bag out of the papery mess, eyes examining it.
Made of thick, rough material, the bag was perfect in size and stature for her equipment, for when she did go on missions. There was no indication on both the bag and box of who had left this for her, yet Akina presumed that it was the same person. This time, however, they had delivered the gift to her, instead of leaving it for her to find, something that made her more curious then before.
This person needs to know a lot about me, to know that I needed these three things; I had only ripped a hole in my last bag a week ago, and that mission was classified.
Akina frowned, not knowing what to think of this, before the door opened, Tea stepping in with a smile on her face. Hair done in long, wavy curls, she was anything but conservative, a sly smile on her face as she glanced upon her confused friend.
“You better get ready now, because happy hour will be starting soon, and we do not want to miss anyone.”
Deciding it was best to not tell her friend of what was bothering her, Akina gave her a gentle smile, standing to finish everything up. A short time later, after applying some make up, and shaking her hair out a little, the two were on their way to the local bar; Tea giggled as they entered, her arm wrapped around Akina’s waist as she led her over to the bar, giving the bartender a friendly smile.
“The usual, Frank.”
The barstools were inviting, and Akina took the time to appreciate the moment of freedom, and allowed a smile to form on her face. In no time, the two girls were downing shots of vodka, cheeks colored with soft reds; Tea’s giggling almost enough to attract attention towards them. Akina was more of a relaxed drunk, while Tea just overwhelmingly flirtatious, proving it with a wave at a couple of men farther down the bar.
Akina only paid attention towards the clear liquid in her glass, which would be gone in moments, followed by another. It wasn’t hard to realize she loved her liquor, and most would be surprised by her eagerness for another shot. When she was finally dragged away from the table, to join both Tea, and a couple of men on the dance floor, Akina was warm from both the environment around her, and the booze that rested peacefully in her stomach.
No longer would she worry about the gifts that she had received, or the person that seemed to have taken an interest in her. It was only on the body that she felt behind her, grinding onto her, telling her something she didn’t bother to listen to. However, she did pay attention when a familiar voice called her name, and a familiar hand grabbed her own to pull her away from the dance. Hiruma’s voice was soft, compared to the music and sound around them, yet she heard every word.
“You are already drunk? Tea is trying to pawn you off onto some stranger, hm?”
Giving him a big, happy smile, Akina stopped him from pulling her, holding onto his hand as she glanced into his eyes.
“Yes, but now that you’re here… I can stop all this pointlessness, and dance with someone I actually want to be around.”
It wasn’t as if she was lying, but she felt a little better, a little stronger with every drink. She knew she would never get the bravery to tell him, no matter how much she drank, but any suggestion was worth it. Especially when she agreed to dance with her: when he was the one that she was willing to grind with, the one she wanted to hold onto her hips. The night was guaranteed to be wonderful, even if she did not remember the specifics.
The last thing she remembered was Hiruma carrying her home, saying something about her being such a lightweight, and drinking too much for her own good. She knew that he would take care of her, and that she would wake up in the morning beside him, both suffering a killer hangover.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:51 am
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Akina's Christmas
December 14th, 2008
“OK, almost twelve hours after I left you, you went and allowed Hiro to break your arm?”
Her eyebrow was raised at him, and Hiruma almost received a glare as he began to chuckle, sitting upon the examination table. Clothes ripped to shreds, Akina could only shake her head as she approached him, putting her hand on his chest to make sure that his arm was his only injury; ANBU was pretty tough, but she swore that Hiruma and his team came in more during their training sessions, then after missions. Perhaps it was because Hiruma and Hiro, a member of his team, never got along, constantly bickering and taking advantage of the opportunities sparring provided them with.
Still, even with it being confirmed that his arm was the only injury he had sustained during the fight, Akina found herself annoyed at him, a sigh escaping her.
“You understand my days are already stressful enough with a hang over; I don’t need you to get in a fight, so I have to heal you.”
Giving her one of his priceless smiles, his golden eyes shone as he watched her, and Akina swore that Hiruma knew what he did to her, every time he gave her that look. Still, she had to ignore it, getting down to business; setting his medical chart down, Akina placed both of her hands gently on the areas above and below his wounds, allowing the healing process to begin. Now that she was sober, Akina had found that her mind was frustrated, thinking about the gifts that she had been receiving. The only who would ever consider doing this type of thing to her was Hiruma, but she could tell by his body language whenever the topic was brought up; he was not the guy, and this kind of worried her.
He seemed to be able to read her mind, for he spoke quietly, his brows scrunching together as he gave her a serious look.
“Akina, you received another gift, didn’t you?”
Continuing to heal his arm, Akina didn’t look up at him, but gave him a nod.
“You are able to read me well.”
“It’s not hard, with that look in your eyes. You seem bothered, so I made a guess.”
His reply was quick, and straight to the point, his eyes looking down at her hands, not noticing her quickly sneaking a glance at him. Yet again, he looked annoyed, probably contemplating in his head what he needed to do to figure it out; he was very protective over her, and this time would not be an exception.
Akina had received the choker while healing another patient; the delivery man gave her a gentle smile, while handing the small box to her. Just like the last package, there was no indication of who could have sent it, Akina opening it to find the lovely piece of jewelry, that her client had awed at with her. It was a couple of rows of metallic beads, making the band about as thick as a pen, yet what caught her attention the most was the sun and moon that were engraved on the pieces that held the clasp; it was absolutely gorgeous, and something Akina had been looking at a while back.
“A secret admirer, huh? You’re lucky; my husband won’t even buy me jewelry like that anymore!”
However, they would not be able to talk too much about it, Akina finishing with his healing, before she went and changed in the locker room. Walking her home, Hiruma was pretty quiet, the two not discussing what was bothering both of them; instead, as Akina stepped through her front door, Hiruma decided to speak.
“So, what are you planning on doing today?”
Glancing at the clock, Akina gave him a smile over her shoulder, inviting him in she sat on the couch.
“Tea and I will be meeting up in fifteen minutes to go Christmas shopping, since I told her that I got off of work at eight.”
The couch moved under her as Hiruma sat beside her, his arm going over her shoulders as he rested it on the couch. Akina knew before he even spoke that he was going to question her on Christmas; he never gave up on trying to figure out his present, even going as far as searching her house one year. He learned from that mistake, however, and learned that if he didn’t want to go to the hospital for temporary blindness, he shouldn’t snoop around her house.
“You know, Akina, I wouldn’t mind going with-”
“Don’t worry Hiruma, I already got your gift, and it is safely packed away where you won’t find it.”
Smiling at the pout he gave her, Akina leaned against him, sighing contently as his warmth helped warm her up a little. Her house was growing a little colder, but Akina knew by the time that both she and Tea arrived back at home, the house would be warm. As Hiruma sighed, he placed his chin on the top of her head, not wanting to give up on knowing his present. However, as his mouth opened to ask, Tea opened the front door, a couple of snow flakes coming in with her as she smiled at the two. Akina could tell that the snow was getting thicker by the amount that was on Tea’s jacket, both girls going over to each other to give a hug, leaving Hiruma to start getting ready to leave himself.
“You understand we’ll be shopping for a while; I need to get presents for EVERYONE!”
Tea gave her a warm smile as the two bundled up for the snow, warning her that the weather was also supposed to get colder, which was confirmed when they opened the door. Shivering, Akina stepped out into the winter wonderland, giving Hiruma one last wave before walking to town, listening to Tea’s ideas about presents.
When the two girls finally ended their shopping day, both were content with what they had gotten: Tea had purchased Kakashi a new Icha Icha book a couple of days before it was due to be out, and gotten it signed by the perverted author himself, Kinote a pair of boxers that had the words “I Love Ramen” on the back, his children some toys, and other presents for the rest of her list. Meanwhile, Akina found a nice notebook to give Kinote, knowing that he needed one to keep track of his students’ achievements, reminding Tea that she had already gotten her gifts for everyone else earlier. Akina knew that this would start a pillow fight later on, but she couldn’t help but smile as she spoke.
“I was smart enough to buy my presents before the rush in December.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 3:11 am
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Akina's Christmas
December 15th, 2008
I never realized how dark Disney actually was, until seeing it now.
Relaxing on the couch, Akina had a child in both of her arms, taking up her stomach area and sharing the cushion with her. Both Karley and Kris were attached to their “aunt” Akina, something that brought a smile onto her face whenever she thought of them. This time was not any different; although their eyes were glued onto the television screen, the two and four year old had some sort of contact with her: Karley held onto her fingers, while Kris leaned against her, playing with her hair every once in a while. He especially did this whenever a romantic part came on, commenting about cooties and such.
“You know, Kris, I’m a girl so you are saying I have cooties.”
The four year old would turn around and give her a big smile, often cuddling a little closer, or messing her hair around.
“Yeah, but you’re family, so you’re not contagious.”
It was amazing, some of the words that these kids had learned. Akina was really proud of Kris when he had first said “contagious”, even using the right definition.
Hell, Akina was proud of Karley, when she had just happened to be there when she had spoken her first word: Kitty.
Sometimes, Akina felt like a parent, something that both frightened her, and excited her at the same time. Of course, Akina knew that having children of her own would be completely different, but it was something she wanted to accomplish sometime in her life. Kinote told her that she would be a great mother, and even Hiruma, although joking half of the time, told her anyone would be lucky to have her as their mother.
As the movie ended, the two squirmed impatiently in her lap, both knowing what was yet to come; Karley’s big grey eyes looked up at me, a small smile on Kris’ as he hopped off of the couch. Akina knew that they had been looking forward to this, yet she decided to draw it out a little longer, to tease them a little. With a small smile, she leaned back on the arm of the couch, pulling Karley a little closer to her.
“That movie was so good, but now I’m so sleepy… I think it’s nap time, what do you two think?”
Little smiles grew on the children’s faces as they shook their heads, their protests loud and obvious, as Karley even shook her finger at Akina. This only caused Akina to chuckle, while she moved to the edge of the couch, setting Karley on the floor so she could get up. Pulling at her hand, both Kris and Karley knew that Akina had “given” in to their request, the three moving to the kitchen.
Akina always thought that Kinote and Hinata had done a great job designing their kitchen; the beautiful granite counter tops a beautiful dark green and black mixture, while the wooden floor was very simple, yet elegant.
Too bad we’ll probably be making a mess of it.
“Alright, you two know the rules.”
Nodding eagerly, the two lined up in front of her, waiting anxiously for her to put their aprons on so that they could get to work. They had started their cookie making probably a year ago, and now she couldn’t get away without baking with them. It was not like she minded; there was nothing cuter then seeing two children in aprons, excited to bake.
Tying the aprons around their waists, Akina smiled, standing up to put her own apron on while the two children got to work. Every time, they used the same recipe, so by this time the two knew what measuring cups they needed, along with the ingredients. It was Karley’s job to put everything in to get mixed, and it was Kris’ job to stir the ingredients together, and tell Akina what they needed. Standing by the counter, Akina moved their stools closer with her foot, while watching Kris as he hurried along to grab the eggs.
“Alright, little man, what do we need first?”
Karley hurried over to her stool, climbing up and reaching her hands out towards her brother; meanwhile, he put a finger to his chin to think, a determined look in his eyes.
“Two eggs?”
Giving him an encouraging smile, Akina nodded, watching happily as the boy’s eyes lit up cheerfully. Grabbing the eggs from the refrigerator, he hurried over to his sister to give her the eggs, where Akina held her up so she could break them into the mixing bowl. As they continued to make the dough, which was getting everywhere, Akina couldn’t help but not care about the mess they were making; she was only happy that they were having so much fun, and were working well together. The two children were too busy mixing, and tasting, that they hadn’t noticed the small smile she gave them.
“Ah, you three are making your cookies again.”
Turning towards the door, Akina gave Hiruma a little nod of acknowledgement, while sticking a little cookie dough into her mouth. Here was another person who was absolutely great with children, the two children giving little screams of surprise and happiness as they ran towards him. Karley lifted her arms to be carried, while Kris just smiled.
“Uncle Hiruma! You came!”
Crouching down, Hiruma picked up Karley, setting her on his shoulder, while looking at Kris with a little smirk, scuffing up the boy’s hair. Akina loved to see the look in their eyes when they looked at him, and just found the entire environment to be one of happiness and love, the same as when the kids were around their own parents.
“Of course I came, there was no way I was going to miss some of your famous cookies!”
Hiruma then turned his attention towards Akina, a small smile on his face as he approached her, ignoring the girl on his shoulder that now began to braid some of his hair. With the look on his face, Akina was unable to do anything but smile back.
“You...”
He spoke slowly, while raising his hand up to her face, gently whipping something off of her cheek.
“Have flour on your face. I hope you don’t mind that I decided to come by; I knew you had the day off, and thought I could watch them with you.”
Holding in a blush, Akina only nodded, avoiding eye contact with him by keeping her concentration on Karley. Brushing some of the girl’s messy hair out of her face, Akina smiled, containing herself before looking over to him.
“I don’t mind at all, they would love it. They only have enough time for one more movie, and then it’s to bed.”
With that said, the four continued to bake cookies until they were out of dough, before retiring to the living room for their last movie. The children chose “Sleeping Beauty”, cuddling close to both adults as Akina’s fingers ran through their hair.
Being this way, made Akina feel wonderful, as if both her and Hiruma were together, and had kids of their own. She wondered, if they were ever together, if this is what it would feel like, to have a family with him. Would he still hold her, like he did now, so both of them could relax on the couch?
Before she could get any further with those thoughts, she stopped herself, continuing to watch the television. She knew that if anything was going to happen to them, it would have happened sooner, and they would probably continue to be “just friends”. Still, she couldn’t even really complain about that, especially since she got to be around him all the time.
The movie seemed to go by quickly, and the children were put into bed; tucked in with their favorite stuffed animal, and a book, both Kris and Karley could barely keep their eyes open. Smiling a gentle smile, Akina gave them both one last hug, before walking to the door, shutting of the light and walking out of the room. Hiruma was on the couch still, his golden eyes meeting Akina’s own as he gave her a smile.
“I found out that a romantic movie happened to be in their DVD player, so I guess tonight you’ll be lucky.”
A chuckle escaped Akina’s lips as she walked over, sitting down beside him, before lying down herself. She knew that he had put the movie in, but would give him the benefit of keeping his pride.
“Ah, I see. Well, before we start this thing, I might as well let you know that I received another gift.”
This, of course, caught Hiruma’s attention; if she hadn’t been lying down on him, he would have sat up and looked at her. The serious look he gave her explained that she needed to explain, a sigh escaping her before she looked away from him.
“I found a basket full of relaxing candles and bath stuff by my bath tub this morning.”
Truthfully, she still had no clue who could have been doing it, but she was not too concerned; only a select few knew this information about her. Eventually, someone would fess up to it, and inform her of their mischief…
Hiruma, however, did not feel the same, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the television.
“Well, I guess I’m sort of interested in how they are going to be giving you your gifts while you’re on the mission with us.”
By us, he meant his team; Akina had been informed that morning that she would be joining them for the next three days. This was a little exciting, because she would be able to work beside Hiruma again, but she was not looking forward to seeing Hiro again.
Brought back to reality by Hiruma, Akina glanced up at him as he squeezed her a little tighter, his eyes looking down at her, the two making eye contact.
“Let’s start this movie already.”
With a small nod, Akina reached over and started the movie, using the remote on the table, before cuddling back to him. She would not worry about it right now; no, she would enjoy her time with Hiruma while she could.
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