[Hellion Brothers: Book #1] Hellion Brothers

46: Cuddles

The warmth of the morning slowly brought me back to consciousness. I sighed and tried to pull down my blanket. But then I realized that I couldn't move, and it wasn't a blanket that was keeping me warm.

I slowly opened my eyes, and came face to face with someone's chest. I was wrapped in someone's arms. I didn't even have to look up to know who it was. With this defined collarbone and broad shoulders, I knew that it was Tao. But why are we...? Why is he...? Did we...?

Oh, yes! I remember now. I cried all night and he stayed by my side to comfort me until I sleep. I guess he got exhausted too and didn't have the energy to go back to his bed anymore. I smiled to myself and carefully looked up to see his face. He was still asleep. He looks so cute when sleeping! To think that he's always making a grumpy face 24/7. Maybe if he softens his face a little, girls will be less afraid of him. They're already scared of being in a 10 foot distance from him, since he always looks like he'll rage any second.

Wait.

Speaking of rage... Could I... Could I possibly accidentally told the Gwen-incident to him last night? I mean, I tend to mumble things while crying plus, I forget 99% of things I do while half-asleep. Last night was total vulnerability for me. If he already knows, then... would he be mad at me? Baekhyun said he'll surely be mad, and I'm definite he wasn't lying that time...

"Morning," Tao suddenly mumbled with a hoarse voice, and slightly squeezed me like I was a teddy bear. He kissed my hair before pulling away to look down at me. "Your eyes are still puffy." He ran a thumb over my massive eye bags.

"You too." I tried my best not to giggle as I looked back at him.

"Oh, these are my new Gucci bags. You like them?" He blinked his eyes prettily, making me laugh. I buried my face in his warm chest, and he automatically wrapped an arm around my shoulder. I could definitely get used to this kind of cuddling. He's so... warm.

"What time did you sleep?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I'm not sure if I stopped time or not."

"What??" My eyes widened, and I frantically rolled to search for my phone under the pillows. I looked at the time, and sighed in relief when it matched the brightness of the morning. I turned back to Tao, and saw him with a mischievous smile. My eyes narrowed.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Oh nothing. I just thought," he reached out like a 3-year-old kid and rolled closer to me. "If I could stop time whenever I want, I want to do it everytime we're like this."

He placed a hand on my waist and looked deep into my eyes, as if waiting for my reaction. He's... He's acting weird...

"Since when did you become this cheesy?" I squirmed and lightly hit his chest. I could only laugh since I knew my face was already tomato red. "It's almost lunch. We have to get up."

"Noo~" he wailed and hugged me tighter to prevent me from standing up. I wanted to laugh and pinch his cheek for his cuteness. I'm glad he's letting go of his serious façade today. Maybe it's to make me feel lighter after all I went through last night.

"But we have lots of things to do. Study... Practice..."

He gave me an are-you-serious look. "You haven't slept properly for 4 days. You must at least take advantage of the weekend."

I pursed my lips. He's right. I really shouldn't have said that. I think his serious side returned because of it.

"I haven't thanked you for last night... You comforted me even though I didn't want to tell you about my problem."

"It's what I was meant to do." He smiled softly and started twiddling with random strips of my hair. "Not because I'm obligated as your anima, but because it pains me to see you upset."

I felt this stab on my heart. I looked down, afraid to meet his eyes. "Then... I'm sorry if I haven't done anything for you as your anima. All I do is worry you like this and..."

"What are you saying? You've already done everything for me." Tao tapped my chin to make me look up at him. "Just by your smile, you could make me feel like everything's gonna be ok. That for once, I can go back to being myself."

"But... I'm not being so trustworthy to you. I'm keeping secrets when I shouldn't." I bit my lip, trying my best not to choke on my tears of guilt. He suddenly leaned on his elbow to look down at me with a serious gaze.

"Maeji, it doesn't matter if you once made friends with Gwen or not. It's my fault for not telling you about her in the first place. I was afraid it'll sound like I'm condemning you to do the same."

I froze, and looked up at him with round eyes. "You... you knew?"

"It kind of slipped on your tongue last night." He shrugged.

"You're not.... mad?" He flashed a soft smile and shook his head. With that, all my tears broke out, and I came crying once again. Even though he knows it now, it only made me guiltier than ever. He still didn't get mad despite of the knowledge that I kept a secret from him. Him, my anima, that I was supposed to approach first thing when I have troubles. I did wrong, but he still cared for me.

"Shh, it's ok," he patiently wiped away every teardrop. When I finally calmed down, he gently kissed my eyes, and looked at me with warm, caring eyes. He brushed a finger over my cheek, and leaned closer to whisper against my lips.

"Don't worry, I'll always be here for you."

And that was our first kiss.

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Did I surprise you~? :3

Anyway, I'm sorry if the story is progressing like a turtle -__-

I'm getting addicted to TaoJi couple! KYAAAH~ >ㅁ<