In Kasumi's house, inside the dining room.
Elbows resting flat on the table as the girl gazed at her lover eating the food she'd made herself, a warm, peaceful happiness slowly spread through Kasumi's chest.
This wasn't the first time she'd cooked for Fuyumi, nor the first time she'd watched him eat.
But this was the first time they sat together for a meal with no one else around.
In her own home, no less.
That made the feeling completely different.
Warm bright lights, steaming hot food rising in lazy curls, her lover's face relaxed and enjoying every bite... it gave her the illusion that the two of them were already husband and wife.
Embarrassed by her own thoughts, Kasumi let out a soft breath in her heart.
While he was taking a sip of water, she spoke up first.
"Fuyumi, how does it taste? Is it okay?"
She knew exactly how good her own cooking was.
She'd been making meals for herself since she was little.
Plus this wasn't the first time she'd fed him her food.
So, Kasumi already knew what kind of answer he'd give.
But she still couldn't help it.
She wanted to hear those sweet words come straight from his mouth.
And just as she wanted, Sasaki took a gulp of hot water as the warm liquid mixed with the faint spicy tingle still lingering in his mouth, making him exhale comfortably.
He licked his oil-glossed lips, met her expectant gaze, and nodded:
"It's really delicious."
Smiling, he picked up a piece of steak with his chopsticks, cupped it in his hand, and held it to her lips:
"Here, try some."
They'd never done any feeding stuff before because Ayato was always around...
Now facing the food her boyfriend was offering, Kasumi lightly pressed her lips together, then shyly parted her soft reddish mouth.
Sasaki pulled the chopsticks back, continued eating the meal they'd made together, and tilted his head lightly.
"You should eat too, Kasumi. You've just been staring at me the whole time. It feels kinda weird."
As soon as the words left his mouth, something seemed to occur to him and he asked, a little embarrassed but full of concern. "It wasn't because I hurt you earlier, right?"
When he'd fed her that chocolate stick just now, he was sure he hadn't used too much force.
At least not as much as he usually does with Natsuha and Sister Ayumi..
But girls were delicate everywhere. Maybe he'd still hurt her somehow.
Thinking about it, he set his chopsticks down, walked around the table, and came to her side.
Meanwhile, Kasumi swallowed the beef in her mouth as a flash of embarrassment passed through her eyes.
Even though it wasn't the first time she'd tasted his milk-flavored Pocky, doing it a few times didn't mean she could face it without blushing hard.
Now seeing him worry about her because of what he did, lost in lust, her heart felt both shy and warm.
She bit her lip lightly and shook her head. "Although it felt a little uncomfortable, you didn't hurt me. Fuyumi doesn't need to worry."
However, Sasaki didn't hear her words.
Not exactly.
However, when it came to her body, how could he just take her word for it and sit back down?
Since he was already here, he had to check personally to be sure.
Ignoring what she'd said, he cupped her face from above and said seriously. "Open your mouth. Let me take a look."
She'd just eaten... how was she supposed to open up like that?
So, her small red-bean lips clung stubbornly to her lower one as she shook her head with difficulty, cheeks still held in his palms.
"Fuyumi... really, it's fine. I already ate what you fed me just now, didn't I?"
"So it's okay. Don't worry."
The more she refused, the more suspicious he became.
His palms pressed a little firmer against her cheeks.
His thumb settled right at the edge of her soft tender lips.
"Then open up. Just a quick look and I'll relax."
Letting her lover see her in such a messy embarrassing state... that felt even harder to accept than when he touched her wet little butterfly.
So she still looked like she had no intention of opening her mouth.
Hm...When it comes to health, it is better to be safe than sorry.
If she was going to resist this hard, then he had no choice but to play dirty.
"Since Kasumi doesn't want to, then forget it."
Sasaki sighed, seemingly disappointed, and the hand cupping her face slowly loosened.
However seeing his expression, Kasumi felt her heart sting.
After all, he was only concerned because he cared... Seeing him look dejected because she'd rejected him, she couldn't bear it.
"Fuyumi, I really don't... mmph!"
Taking advantage of the moment she spoke, his thumb that hadn't fully left the corner of her mouth, suddenly hooked onto the inner wall of her oral cavity.
She never expected him to use such a rough shameless trick.
To avoid accidentally biting his finger, she had to swallow the rest of her words and open her mouth wide in a hurry.
"Mm~"
Sasaki ignored the way her willow brows furrowed in displeasure and the soft whining sound that sounded almost like a complaint.
Grinning, he pulled the corner of her mouth open wider.
"See? Should've done this earlier. Kasumi's being naughty~"
His gaze dropped lower, focusing on the inside of her mouth.
So close, the first thing he noticed was those neat rows of cute pearly white teeth.
Even though she kept moving her flat pink tongue around, trying to hide them.
But her mouth was only so big.
No matter what, he could still see.
It was obvious she took good care of her oral hygiene. No ugly stains on those jade-like teeth, or on the soft pink tongue that kept shifting between n and u shapes.
Still... maybe because he'd told her "don't waste any", he thought he saw a faint white film on the roof of her mouth and the underside of her tongue.
And those thin silver strands connecting them looked a little...
Shaking off the weird illusion, he shifted his gaze a bit deeper.
After checking the little tongue bouncing up and down with her breaths and seeing no damage, Sasaki straightened up with relief.
"Yep, nothing's wrong."
Once his finger left, the girl quickly closed her mouth and rubbed her cheeks. "Seriously... I told you it's fine, but you had to be so forceful."
Facing her pouty complaint, the boy pulled a chair over and sat right beside her and gave an apologetic smile.
"I was just worried. You refused so hard, who knows if you were hiding an injury from me."
"But Fuyumi's hiding things from me too..." she muttered softly under her breath.
"What?" Thinking she'd somehow found out about his harem, Sasaki's eyes widened in shock.
Kasumi didn't notice the strange surprise in his tone.
However, seizing the chance, she complained in a tiny voice:
"Isn't it? Doesn't Fuyumi have something he's keeping from me?"
"I..." Before he could figure out how to confess, she kept going:
"When we were upstairs just now, Fuyumi kept being distant and then close to me… I shouldn't have made Fuyumi angry, right… So Fuyumi has something he's hiding from me and doesn't know whether to tell me?"
There was indeed a reason for that, but the main reason was the fear of not being able to control himself.
Although he didn't know whether it was the right time to tell or not, but..
Now that she'd asked so directly, he wasn't going to back down or lie.
Thinking about it, Sasaki reached for her small hand, held it in his palm, and looked straight into her eyes with serious intensity.
"Yeah... there are some things I really want to tell you, Kasumi."
Seeing him so solemn, the girl instinctively sat up straighter, ready to listen carefully.
Confessing to your girlfriend that you've been cheating and that she's the later one... that takes some thick scumbag skin...uhh..serious balls.
Most people would genuinely be too embarrassed to say it… Sasaki took a deep breath and said. "Ahem... Kasumi, would you leave me?"
Hearing his words, Kasumi blinked.
After all, things were so good between them right now.
Why would she leave...?
If possible, she never intended to leave him.
She gripped his hand back and shook her head. "No way~ I want to stay with Fuyumi forever."
However, hearing her words, Sasaki didn't feel relieved at all.
After all, the more you care, the more you get hurt when you learn the cruel truth.
And even though it was only a few days since they confirmed the relationship, he'd already confirmed that she'd fallen too deep.
Now this was even more trouble.
Keeping his eyes serious, Sasaki asked. "Even if I cheated... would you still stay with me?"
"Che... cheated..."