Cuddles and Idiocy [DISCONTINUED]

Setting Up and Settling Down

 It had been a few hours since we got to the site, and we had already gotten used to the environment. Although we could have went in the real woods, we decided on a public campsite instead.

An and I put the wood that was supplied with our site into the fireplace. Toya and Kohane sat on the park bench that was just beyond the fireplace.

"Should we get the chairs out?" Kohane asked us as I flung my hand around. A splinter got into my palm.

"Sure. And... I should have worn gloves." I sighed as I examined the splinter in my palm. Toya got up and took my hand.

"It appears you have a splinter. I'll get the first aid kit, then I'll take over for you." I didn't want him to risk getting hurt. I didn't think we had gloves.

"Okay. Just... be careful. I don't want you getting hurt." I hollered as he walked to the camper-bus.

He returned a minute later, first aid kit in hand. "Here." He grabbed my hand. "It'll hurt a bit. Just tell me if it gets too bad, okay?" I nodded as he stroked the palm of my hand. I wasn't sure if he was merely examining it or trying to calm me.

He pinched the skin with tweezers. It felt uncomfortable, but nothing that bad. He dug deeper into where the splinter was located. "God!" I yelled suddenly and moved my hand.

Toya's disappointment was evident. Although he refused to mention it, I was able to tell that he was disappointed by the look in his eyes. That look alone made me determined to become more pain tolerant, especially when it was Toya causing the pain. It was indirect, but it was still him.

"Sorry. My reflexes just—" He shut me up with a kiss on the lips. Kohane and An remained quiet thankfully.

"It's okay. We'll try again." He smiled and grabbed the tweezer. "Just try not to focus on the pain. Think about something else."

He pinched my skin and I winced, but I kept my hand steady. He gave me a chuckle — likely an attempt at distracting me — and smiled. If he was trying to distract me from the pain, then he succeeded.

His eyes met mine. "You are doing rather well, 'kito." I looked down at my hand, and it looked rather red. The splinter seemed closer to the surface too. "Don't look at it. Look at me." I looked back up at him, but he was focused on taking the splinter out again. His determination was almost cute to me. No, it was cute.

It amazed me how he always tried so hard. He never failed to show me that he would always protect me to the best of his ability, although I wanted him to be safe before myself. That's the best thing about Toya: how he's always selfless to me.

I was interrupted. "It's done." There it was, a small splinter in the tweezers. He put it in a plastic bag and put it away. "I still don't want you to handle wood. I'll take over setting up the fire." He looked at me and his eyes showed slight worry. "Sit here with Kohane. I don't want you to get hurt again."

Just as I was about to reach out to stop him, I looked down at my hand, which was now made into a fist for a reason that I wasn't aware of. Was it a way to handle the anxiety of knowing that the same thing that happened to me could easily happen to Toya?

"Be careful. Don't hurt yourself, please." It came out surprisingly desperate. What was I doing? "If anything, and I mean anything, happened to you," I sighed to myself. "I wouldn't ever be able to forgive myself."

He looked slightly stunned before changing his expression into a smile. "Even if something did happen, it wouldn't be your fault. You don't need to be hard on yourself." He gave me a quick peck on the cheek, which I had gotten pretty used to. "Besides, a splinter won't kill me. I hopefully won't get hurt at all, but it won't be a big deal if I get one."