Isekais Don't Exist, You're Just Trapped in a Social Experiment

9. Misfortune of the Fortunate

"What are you doing? I didn't hide us in this closet to imply anything, now isn't the time for your flirtatious antics," Tighnari hisses slightly, though he doesn't sound quite as off-put as you'd expect him to be. That said, he's definitely troubled by the overall situation, you can hear that much in his voice.

He's right though, now isn't the time for things like that. You didn't actually mean for your actions to come off that way.

"No. You're not hurt?" You finally ask, mouth like cotton. Traces of sleep continue to cling to you physically and mentally, in a way that makes you hesitant to believe this isn't a dream.

As soon as you've spoken though, Tighnari's body relaxes beside you. You hadn't noticed him tensing up when you reached for him.

"You have no reason to be concerned for me, I'm fine. You're the one that was shot..." He says, a hand grazing the upper area of your bicep where you feel a tender swelling. To your surprise, there's already a bandage around the inflamed area, a bit too tight for your taste. Tighnari obviously treated you as soon as he had the chance. "Can you describe how you feel?"

"Uh..." Noticeably, you're still sleepy. Even holding your head up is exhausting, and it lulls drastically to either side whenever you try to look around in the dark. Unfortunately, you don't have night vision like Tighnari. "My whole body feels heavy...and my leg feels sort of numb from the toes all the way to my hip. How long was I out?"

"I've estimated a bit under an hour or so, but I don't know what time it is. When I tried to look at your phone display, it wouldn't function properly," Tighnari says, shuffling beside you and removing one of your hands from his chest to place your phone in it.

Trying not to feel sheepish that you've had your hands on his chest that long, you feel the surface of your phone and tap the screen twice. When it doesn't turn on, you hold the power and volume button for a few seconds.

No dice.

"It's run out of battery, I need to charge it," you say, slipping it back into your pocket and letting your hands fidget slightly when you realize it's kind of uncomfortable having your hands in your lap rather than around his neck or on his shoulders. You know he said now wasn't the time to "flirt", but...

You give in to the urge and wrap your arms around him, giving him an honest hug. You're not trying to flirt this time.

It's because you know walking out of this little room will produce the inevitable: Tighnari's departure.

How long will I have to wait to see him again?

Why are you going to wait for him? He's better off without you poisoning him with your presence.

You force the words out of your head, the sound of Tighnari's whispering growing somewhat frustrated when you rest your head on his shoulder. "Stop with your teasing", and "please control yourself" rolling off of his tongue as you cling to him. He says your name again firmly. Whenever he says it, you get butterflies in your stomach.

"Come on, that's enough. If it'll stop this behavior, I'll admit I'm blushing, alright? You win. Now, please sit back," he pleads with vexation, making you let out a humorous exhale.

"I'm not trying to make you nervous, you dummy," you tell him plainly. "I'm just happy you're not gone yet."

You leave him to draw his own conclusion from that. You can feel his tail starting to hit your leg, making you smile when his arms eventually wrap around you.

"I'm flattered..." he eventually manages to mumble, before the tapping of his tail on your leg stops. Not because he's controlling his emotions, but because he's grabbed the end of it. You can tell because one of his arms darted off of you like lightning and hit the floor with a noticeable thud, but you pretend not to hear it. "Your arm is swollen."