HEATED RIVALRY • 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐱 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

EIGHTEEN.

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YOU HAD KISSED BEFORE—it would be weird if you hadn't, really. Whether it was light pecks you gave to friends in the cheeks, smooches you gave to people you had to somewhat honeytrap for missions...lip action was not unfamiliar to you. It really wasn't. But now, as you watched Arata's reaction carefully, you had never kissed before. You had never ever kissed someone out of genuine affection—no, not affection, it was too mild of a word—out of love before.

You loved him: you really did. Arata had been with you for so long, and while the others accepted your antics, Arata loved them. Cherished them. You knew deep down in your heart, in all your madness, that the others would somewhat be alienated from you, with your vastly different backgrounds. But Arata knew every bit of you. Even the ugly things that you didn't hesitate to show him.

"We're..." Arata said slowly, almost as in disbelief. Almost like he wanted to treasure this moment, and let it suspend in time. And so did you. Feelings of mirth and affection bubbled within you, so bright, so pure...god, you really liked him. In your opinion, there was a huge difference between loving someone and being in love with them. And you loved Arata.

"Finish your sentence, you fool," You laughed softly, before you offered him a smile. "Cat got your tongue?"

"—dating?" Arata finally said, and you saw how his hands fidgeted, before he pressed them against the nape of your neck, brushing a loose strand of hair behind your ear. "I can say you are my boyfriend? To everyone in the student council who asks? To anyone who asks, really?"

You could feel his hands on your skin, cold to the touch. Or perhaps you were just feeling too warm, delightfully warm. You were aware of your heartbeat thrumming against your chest, beating fast. Not even poison could have rendered like this. Arata made your heart weak.

"Shout it out to the world. I wouldn't care," you said honestly. "I am yours, you're mine...how many years of pining did this take you, Arata? Or maybe I should say—my darling boyfriend?"

The slightest bit of pink washed over his skin and his ears. You noticed how his grip on you tightened before he buried his face into your neck. A release of soft heat was felt upon your skin—he was sighing. Your breaths were close to one another now: his lips pressed into your neck, head crooked into it. His hands wrapped around you, your own hands against his chest.

So close. You two had been in this position before, but now it felt...intimate. Extremely so—he was so close to you, and he had been before, yet now you seemed to notice every detail of him: every perfect, wondrous detail you mapped out in your mind.

Arata was so absolutely beautiful, and he was yours.

"...[Name]," Arata's voice was muffled. "Do you know what I told you before?"

Your right hand reached up to fiddle with his strands of hair. You let out a gentle sigh, and your left hand cupped his cheek, forcing him to look up at you. "What?"

"I said you wouldn't ever get karma. Before karma's a bitch, and—"

"—I don't get bitches," you finished off, and you started laughing, your sides hurting. "Well, I got one. Right here, with me. I don't mean to call you a derogatory term, but you can't know what I mean, don't you?"

You sucked in a breath. Yes, you knew that the student council had certain...affections for you. But had they ever been so obviously rampant, so affectionate. You had seen the way Arata's eyes had softened as you looked towards you: he adored you, he loved you, he would have married you there and then. He looked at you like you were a constellation amongst the stars: he looked at you like he was looking at the universe. He looked at you like there were a million secrets hidden underneath your skin and he wanted to uncover them all: yet hadn't he already did?