"Um… about that…"
"I just couldn't help myself…"
"It's all your fault, Clara. You're just too mesmerizing…"
"Besides, didn't you enjoy it too, just now?"
After kneading the softness of Clara's chest a few times, the tingling sensation shooting through her body jolted Clara awake. She let out a sharp yelp and pushed Firefly away with all her might.
Her ruby-like eyes shimmered with unshed tears, as if she were about to cry.
Her fingers clutched tightly at the hem of her clothes, as though seeking some shred of comfort. Her face was a portrait of grievance and fear, her expression full of wariness towards Firefly.
Seeing Clara like this, Firefly's heart softened with a pang of guilt. "Sorry…" she said, her voice tinged with awkwardness.
But honestly, who would've thought? Clara might look plain and unremarkable on the outside, but to the touch, she was unexpectedly, wonderfully pleasant~
Recalling the sensation from just moments ago, Firefly's mind began to wander restlessly. She wished she could turn back time, to before Clara had reacted, and squeeze a few more times…
The slight swell fit perfectly into Firefly's small hand, as if custom-made for her grasp.
Soft, yet with a smooth, silky quality—probably thanks to Clara's flawless skin.
As for the little cottage atop those soft hills… what a shame. Firefly hadn't even had the chance to knock gently on the door with her fingers before Clara interrupted…
That was Firefly's greatest regret.
If only time could…
"So… according to you… it's my fault…" Clara said softly, sniffling slightly before wiping the tears from her eyes. She looked at Firefly, her face full of resentment, her voice trembling a little.
"Yeah—I mean, no! Not entirely your fault…"
Honestly, the first response that popped into Firefly's mind was, 'Yes, exactly. It is your fault, Clara.'
Who told you to be so darn cute and tempting?
Setting aside the facts, aren't you at least a little to blame?
But seeing Clara on the verge of shedding her little pearls, Firefly swallowed the words she was about to say.
She gathered her thoughts, trying to comfort Clara:
"Actually, it's my fault. My willpower wasn't strong enough. Seeing how adorable you were, Clara, my body just… overruled my brain…"
"If my self-control were stronger, this never would've happened…"
Yeah, right…
Firefly silently added that last part in her mind.
Given how utterly adorable Clara is, even if my willpower were multiplied ten, a hundred, even a thousand times… I still wouldn't be able to resist…
Because my resistance to Clara is zero!
And zero times anything is still zero. So, I have absolutely no resistance against Clara whatsoever!!!
"..."
Listening to Firefly, Clara clearly didn't buy it completely.
If only Firefly had managed to hide that nostalgic, savoring look in her eyes while saying all that, Clara might have believed her a tiny bit…
But like this? Clara couldn't bring herself to believe a single word.
"I'm sorry…"
Perhaps sensing Clara's distrust, Firefly's mind raced. She walked up to Clara and gently pulled her into a hug.
"Mmph…"
Once enveloped in Firefly's embrace, Clara initially thought about struggling. But feeling the gentle warmth radiating from Firefly, she stopped resisting and let herself be held…
However! Even though she was allowing this, if Firefly dared try anything like that again, she shouldn't blame Clara for giving her a good whack!
Would she really do it?
Probably…?
But Clara didn't want to hurt Firefly…
Although she didn't dislike this feeling… she absolutely couldn't act too eager about it either…
Otherwise, Firefly might…
"Clara, I promise you, I'll never force you to do something like that again…" Firefly's gentle voice murmured, spoken against Clara's hair as she breathed in her scent.
That's what she said out loud, anyway. What she thought internally was another matter…
"Oh, really…" Clara couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
"You said the same thing last time, and then just now you still…"
"That was an accident, a complete accident… hehe…" Hearing this, Firefly's smile stiffened, and she let out an awkward chuckle.
"Accidents don't happen every time, so you don't need to worry, Clara."
"So you're saying there's still a possibility of these so-called 'accidents' happening, right?" Clara pushed Firefly away, putting on an act of being seriously angry.
'Accidents don't happen every time'—so in the future, anytime Firefly pulled something like this, she could just use "it was an accident" as an excuse, right?
"Hah… well, not entirely…" With her plan seen through, Firefly felt rather awkward.
After all, she'd just admitted she had zero resistance against Clara. So any little temptation could lead to an "accident."
"If you were truly against it, an accident would be absolutely impossible!"
Seeing Clara seem genuinely resistant, Firefly set aside her playful intentions and said with complete seriousness:
This sentence held no tricks or hidden meanings from Firefly. If Clara were truly and utterly opposed to something, even if it meant Firefly's Entropy Loss Syndrome flared up and she dissipated on the spot, she would never do anything to Clara!
Absolutely never!
"Uh… well… you don't have to be that serious about it…" Clara was taken aback by Firefly's intense sincerity.
Truth be told, everything up until now—being pinned down by Firefly, the tearful act after being toyed with, even the angry performance just now listening to Firefly's explanations—had all been an act by Clara.
As a member of the Masked Fools, Clara's acting skills were among the best in the universe. If she really committed to a role, Firefly wouldn't be able to spot a single flaw.
And Clara's goal in all this was simple: she just wanted Firefly to understand that she was somewhat "averse" to this sort of thing…
Because, if she acted like she thoroughly enjoyed and reveled in it, wouldn't she just get taken adva— No, no, no… what on earth was she thinking?!
The mere thought of possibly being stripped bare by Firefly in the future, subjected to relentless… ahem… activity, instantly painted Clara's cheeks a deep scarlet…
Pat pat, pat pat…
Clara quickly raised her hands and patted her own cheeks, trying to calm her racing heart a little.
Even though that feeling was really… pleasant, she couldn't afford to get lost in…
No, no, no, argh!
Clara lifted a fist and bonked herself on the head, snapping herself out of it.
"Clara!"
Seeing Clara resort to self-harm, Firefly panicked instantly. In a flash, she was right in front of Clara, urgently saying:
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was wrong, I was really wrong. Please don't do this…"
She didn't know why Clara had suddenly hit herself, but given what had just happened, it was hard for Firefly not to think her own actions had hurt Clara…
"Huh?" Hearing Firefly's voice, Clara quickly snapped back to reality.
Seeing Firefly looking so distraught she might cry, Clara felt confused.
Wait.
Wasn't I the one who got bullied? Why are you about to cry?
Though perplexed, seeing Firefly's state, Clara hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and gently embracing her.
Then, thinking back to what Firefly had just said, she went along with it:
"Okay~ I believe you. Things like that won't happen again…"
They absolutely, positively will NOT happen again!!!
While Clara wasn't entirely sure what Firefly was referring to, she knew exactly what she herself meant.
Being pinned down by Firefly and then… thoroughly explored from top to bottom…
That will absolutely, absolutely, ABSOLUTELY never happen!!!!
…
A/N: Just a note: To avoid getting locked in the little black room, from this chapter onward, we're putting the brakes on the steamier stuff.
Probably… maybe… perhaps?
…
T/N: Sad…
…
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