Yuji was standing there, wearing a hoodie with the hood up and carrying a box of onigiri, wrapped with obsessive care under his arm. When Aiko came out of the restaurant — hair down and looking calmer than expected — he lifted the box as if it were a sacred offering.
"Careful: it contains rice jewels. And it's all my work. I swear on Gojo-sensei's karma."
Aiko raised an eyebrow. "You cooked them yourself?"
"No. But I bought them with love. And I unwrapped them three times until I found the ones with the perfect seaweed."
"Ah. Modern romance!"
"Rice, tuna and intention."
She took the box, opened it a little as they walked. She tried one.
"Damn. They're good."
Yuji put a hand on his chest, theatrically. "Thank you. Now we can officially get married."
They walked toward the Institute under a clear sky, the wind carrying the scent of grass and grilled food. They laughed quietly, like people who still had something fragile to protect but didn't want to hide it.
When they entered the courtyard, a figure was waiting, leaning against the stone wall.
Hana.
She was wearing her sports uniform, her hair tied back tight. She held a small bottle of water but she wasn't drinking it. She was watching them. Not with surprise, but with focus.
Aiko saw her immediately. She stopped for a split second. Then greeted her with a small nod — calm, measured, without bravado.
Yuji just turned to Hana, he didn't say anything. Then he turned to Aiko.
"Shall we go?"
"Yes."
They entered the dormitory.
Hana stood there, her gaze fixed on the closing door.
The room still had the usual smell of clean linen, controlled clutter and burnt rice. Yuji turned on the dim light, spread a couple of blankets on the floor, and put on an old movie that started badly after thirty seconds.
Aiko sat cross-legged, eating one onigiri after another with a thin smile on her lips.
"You got them from that place on the hill, right?"
"Only the best for my official reconciliation."
"This is emotional manipulation through carbohydrates."
"Does it work?"
"Maybe."
When they finished eating, they sat together, their plates set aside. In Yuji's room, the movie had been going on for almost half an hour. A slow, absurd affair, with papier-mâché monsters and poorly translated dialogue. The onigiri were almost gone, except for the plum one—which no one wanted to touch.
Aiko sat with her legs folded under her, her back against the wall. She was looking at the screen, but she wasn't really looking.
Yuji, on the other side of the blanket, was laughing softly at some idiotic scene. Every now and then he glanced at her, with that sweetness he couldn't hide.
"What's wrong?" she asked, without looking away.
"Nothing... you just seem...less angry."
"I'm not less angry. I'm just choosing where to vent."
Yuji stiffened slightly. Then he laughed softly. "It's scary to say that."
"It should."
Silence returned for a few minutes. But it wasn't a peaceful silence. It was one of those that vibrated.
Aiko leaned forward slightly. She picked up the last onigiri, broke it in half and threw a piece toward him. Yuji caught it.
"At least I'm useful," he muttered, with a crooked smile.
Aiko looked at him. But she didn't laugh.
Her eyes were different. Dark. Slow.
Then she moved. Slowly. She moved closer, a controlled shift of her body.
"Yuji," she said.
He looked at her. His hands on his knees, still in a composed position.
"Hmm?"
"Are you thinking that if you touch me, you're going to be wrong?"
He shook his head.
"...I'm thinking that if I touch you, I don't want to do it halfway."
She lowered her voice. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Then stop thinking."
Yuji didn't answer immediately. His breathing had stopped somewhere between his chest and throat. Aiko was there, too close. The kind of distance that leaves no room for air, but no room for escape either. Her long, loose blond hair gently caressed his arms. He stopped breathing for a moment.
"...Stop thinking..."
And she was looking at him. With those low, blue, warm, slow eyes. Hungry.
Yuji rubbed a palm against the back of his neck, then looked away.
"It's not that... I mean, I don't want to take advantage of the fact that—"
"You're not taking advantage. I'm telling you 'I want you'."
The tone wasn't sweet. It was true. Almost naked. Yuji bit the inside of his cheek.
Aiko was still watching him. She leaned forward slowly, placing a hand between his legs. She was touching him slowly, her hand moving gently, right there. The pressure was light, like a measured weight.
"I missed you like this too, Yuji. Not just when you write 'I miss you.'"
His gaze had gone dull. Tense. His voice lowered.
"Aiko..."
He was getting excited; Aiko could feel him hardening and growing bigger in her hand.
"Tell me you don't want me. Say it now. And I swear I'll stop."
Yuji clenched his jaw. His breathing was shallow. His hands clenched on his knees.
She leaned closer and kissed him softly under the chin. It wasn't a tender kiss. It was a taste. A test.
"If you don't speak, it means you want me..." she said softly.
Yuji shifted slightly, as if to move away. But his body did the opposite: it moved closer. His hands sought her side, brushing her shirt, her exposed hips.
"I swear I tried to be good..." he murmured.
Aiko whispered against his mouth: "I know, I believe you."
It was then that Yuji lost his balance. Or maybe he decided to stop holding on.
He grabbed her, his hands large and quick and pulled her onto him. She fell for it with a half-smile, as if she'd expected it. But she hadn't expected it to be so strong. He sat her on top of him.
"You're driving me crazy," he said. And then he kissed her—not gently. Ravenously.
Yuji held her tightly, as if the contact was never enough. Aiko sought him with her entire body, moving her hips slowly over him. It was an emotional urgency, a desire to feel chosen, taken back, wanted.
Yuji interrupted her for a second, his breath ragged.
"Show me you want me. But also show me you forgive me."
Aiko looked at him.
She leaned over him, her lips brushing his ear and whispered.
"Now stay still."
Then, without taking her eyes from his, she slowly lifted his shirt, revealing his taut, warm chest. Her fingers ran over him, tracing slow lines between his ribs and abdomen, reaching the edge of the waistband.
Yuji inhaled sharply as she kissed his collarbone, then his throat. He barely raised himself to help her free the rest of his clothes: already defenseless, but still overdressed.
Aiko smiled, her hunger was sweet and stubborn. She leaned over him; with a confident gesture, she hooked the waistband of his boxers and, without breaking his gaze, helped him slip them off. The way he held his breath said everything about how turned on he was.
"Mmm.."
Aiko let out a slow, sensual moan. She was leaning over him, taking him in her mouth, all the way down her throat. Her knees were tucked into the mattress, one hand open on Yuji's bare chest, which was slowly rising, following the irregular rhythm of his breathing. Her movements were slow. Yuji was breathing deeply, his head tilted back, his eyes half-closed. His fingers trembled slightly, tangled in the sheets. He was moaning softly, too.
Yuji placed a hand above her head and pushed her toward him. Aiko's throat was beautiful, deep, and it enveloped his large penis perfectly. Even though it was enormous, she swallowed it whole, she was so excited.
Her gestures were decisive but slow, precise, careful. No rush. No need for anything else, except to feel him letting himself go in her hands, in her mouth, at her pace.
Yuji bit his lip. Not to hold back, but to keep from losing himself too quickly.
It was an intimate act, yes. But not just physical.
She grabbed his balls and massaged them slowly. Then she ran her tongue over them. She came back up and buried her head between his legs again. She felt him throbbing.
"Oh, Aiko..." he whispered, pulling her head closer, but not too far.
She looked up for just a moment. Her blue eyes were shining.
Yuji was lost. Completely.
Soon after, Aiko straddled him, panting. Without taking her eyes off his, she was taking what she wanted. And Yuji let her do it, defenseless. His hands moved by rote: he caressed her thighs, squeezed her buttocks, touched her hips, searching for something he already had—but wanted to feel more.
"Oh, Yuji, I want you… so bad..." she whispered, leaning into his neck, gently biting his skin.
Yuji made a low noise, his breath caught.
"Aiko..." he called her, as if he wanted to say something more, but didn't know where to begin.
He looked at her. He never spoke in these situations, he just wanted to enjoy himself with her. His heart was pounding, he wanted to feel her, have her…
She penetrated herself completely. Yuji grabbed her bare hips.
He looked at her as if there was nothing else in the world. As if every heartbeat were the first. Aiko began to move. With her own rhythm. Yuji followed her with his body and his gaze was completely lost, but lucid enough not to miss a single expression on her face.
"Look at the way you look at me!" she murmured. "Tell me...that you still want me…" she said.
Yuji closed his eyes, leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her.
"I always...want you…Even when… you're angry." He groaned. Then he continued: "Even… when you drive me crazy. Even when… I don't know if you forgive me."
She smiled against his shoulder. Then she whispered in his ear, unrestrained:
"Then make me yours. But all the way."
Yuji didn't reply. But he changed pace.
He grabbed her hips, guiding her with gentle but firm force. His gaze had darkened, deepened. Aiko let herself be taken in. She wanted it this way. She wanted it all.
"Take off... your shirt..." he said, his eyes shining.
She moaned loudly, took off her shirt revealing her round, braless breasts. Yuji brushed her nipples with his fingers and she leaned toward him to kiss him. A hungry kiss. He grabbed her breasts in his hands, licking her nipples while pounding her from below. Then he held her still, suspended a few inches above him and launched into a series of rapid thrusts.
Aiko threw her head back, Yuji was breathing hard but no one was going to stop him at that moment.
"Oh... Yuji... AH..."
With her back arched, she let herself go into an intense orgasm, growing more and more beautiful. She didn't scream but she began to tremble all over, starting from her legs. Yuji noticed this, so he increased his movements even more. He felt her warm, very wet, enveloping him perfectly. She was throbbing and trembling around his enormous penis.
"Yes... Aiko... come... for me..."
She let out a long moan and let her head fall onto his shoulder, while he decided not to slow down at all. He was pounding her incredibly hard. Aiko looked at him: tousled pink hair, flushed cheeks, bright eyes, a tender, slightly awkward look. A statuesque physique, broad shoulders, large hands, gentle eyes...he was beautiful.
"I love you, Yuji."
"You don't know how much I love you... Aiko... "
When the wave came, it came for both of them. Aiko felt it rise like a current that took her breath away and gave it back in a flash; she screamed loudly and looked into his eyes, the whole time. Yuji followed her at the same moment, a muffled moan against her shoulder, as if he wanted to hold back but he couldn't. They remained close together until the world returned to normal.
***
Yuji opened his eyes slowly; he remained still for a moment, then reached out to search. Warm skin. A bare shoulder. A calm breath. A light lock of hair with that clean smell of rice shampoo.
Aiko was curled up against him, her forehead resting on his chest. Her lips were slightly parted, her face calm; yet, under the covers, a thread of tension ran down her spine, like an echo of the habit of never completely letting her guard down.
Yuji stared at her for a few seconds longer than necessary. He let his breathing match hers, then he slowly stroked her back with two fingers, vertebra after vertebra. He felt the heat follow his gesture; she took a deeper breath, her body tightening slightly.
He kissed her hair, and remained there, holding her, until the light filled the room more fully.
"I can't believe you're really here," he murmured.
She made a low sound, a half-moan that was neither a yes nor a no. Then she raised her head. Her eyes still puffy from sleep, but alive.
"What did you say?"
"That you're beautiful even when you sleep. But like...you make me nervous." He looked at her. She raised herself slightly, she was completely naked, a piece of sheet revealing her breasts.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to—" he said, looking away, his cheeks burning.
"Yuji, we're literally—"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm not still emotional, okay?"
She looked at him for a second, then leaned over and kissed him on the shoulder.
"You're an idiot. But an adorable one." She smiled sweetly.