Location: Kamisato Estate, Ayato's room.
"You must be joking-" You complained as you crossed your arms, looking at the two futons closely next to each other.
I didn't realize that as soon as I got married to Ayato, my clothes and a few of my personal belongings would be sent straight to the Kamisato estate. I thought I might have had one last night all to myself before moving into the estate.
"Hey, I'm not too content in sharing my room with you either."
Ayato picked up his clean clothes, walking towards the ofuro, before sliding the door open, "Aren't you coming?"
Suddenly, lewd thoughts appeared in your mind.
Imagining the young man fully exposed while warm water cleanses his soft delicate skin as droplets of water slide down his torso as he-AHH STOP THINKING ABOUT SUCH UNHOLY SCENARIOS Y/N!
You yelped out loud, "Huh!? Are you crazy?!"
your dog ears slightly twitching, "I am not going to bathe with you!"
"Woah- bold of you to assume we would bathe together." Ayato sighed, turning to face you, "listen here, inside the furo, there's a small extra room." His ear slightly turned pink, "you'll be washing up in that room."
"Oh."
"Oh? You sound disappointed, were you hoping that we would spend quality time together?"
"Quit teasing me you perverted rascal!" Y/n angrily stomped her way towards the ofuro but before she could enter, Ayato held her wrist, whispering, "Careful not to slip."
You and Ayato entered. It was sparkly clean and organized. Near the sink were well-kept jasmine flowers in an incredibly expensive vase.
You went further into the ofuro, sliding a door that lead to the room Ayato was talking about earlier.
The room was pretty small but comfortable enough to be in. Y/n slid the door closed behind her, gently removing her dirty clothes and placing them in the rattan basket.
She stepped into the wooden bathtub, it was already prefilled with hot water.
She had been waiting for a moment when she would finally be alone.
From the other side of the wall, she could hear slight movements of water.
After you finally finished bathing, you quickly noticed that you forgot to bring your clothes with you.
"No no no! Surely there's a towel here right?" You mumbled, panicking.
To your "amazing" luck, you accidentally slipped down on the floor.
"OWW!" Y/n whimpered, and instinctively placed her hands on her ankle.
Mumbled sounds came from the other room, "Y/n? Did you fall?" Ayato sounded fairly worried.
You heard quiet footsteps near the door.
This is so embarrassing.
"...Ayato, I-"
"—You fell didn't you?"
"Yea...I think I sprained my ankle."
You could tell he was stressed by the way he subtlety taps his foot.
"Are you able to stand?"
"No..." you shamelessly looked down at the wet floor, you were so embarrassed to the point where your voice started shaking "can you...umm grab my clothes from the bedroom?"
The commissioner didn't say a word, he went back to the bedroom, grabbing your clean clothes.
Faint steps came back, knocking on the door.
"Y/n..."
"Ayato..."
"Can I come in?" He hesitated.
"yea..." you murmured, blaming yourself for the awkward situation you're in.
Ayato paused for a second before sliding the door open. He avoided making any eye contact with you. He stared down at the floor, trying to hand you your clothes.
"Thanks..." You held your clothes tightly against your chest as Ayato exited the room.
After struggling to wear your clothes, you finally managed to stand up straight however, trying to walk was not in your favor.
Come on y/n, stop being helpless and open the door.
One of your "genius" ideas was to hop on foot trying to reach for the door.
To your surprise, you managed to slide the door open BUT tonight was not in your favor.
As soon as you opened the door, you lost balance, almost falling on your back before Ayato grabbed a hold of you.
His hand gripping your waist, while his other hand was tightly wrapped around your shoulder.
"How many times do I need to tell you to be careful?" His gloomy face said it all.
"I didn't want to cause any more ruckus."
"You would have caused more problems if you injured your back."
By now you should have gained a sense of how much Ayato cared about your safety by the way he spoke.
He suddenly picked you up, one arm under your legs and the other supporting your back.
Your eyes met his lovable lavender eyes, his lips soft as cotton candy, and his delicate strands of hair fell over his eyes.
This moment felt like something out of a novel.
It was way too perfect to be true.
You were placed down on your futon.
"Goodness you sure are clumsy." Ayato snickered.
He started moving his futon away from yours.
"Good grief that certainly was a close one."
"Oh yeah because I'm totally going to make a move on you!" You mocked him, feeling flustered.
"For even if you did, my heart and mind shall remain pure."
"Huuuh since when were you ever 'pure'?" Your dog ears bounced up, "you purposefully gave me jueyun chili flavored boba watching me suffer."
Ayato finally broke into a smile, slight rosy blush appeared on his face, "Haha, I did apologize for that."
I want to file a divorce already. This man likes to watch me suffer.
"Hey...how's your ankle?"
"I didn't sprain it too badly. I should be just fine tomorrow...I hope."
You shifted your body in Ayato's direction, he looked as if he had many thoughts in his mind.
You wondered what he was thinking about, however, you too had many thoughts of your own.
Deep down, you knew you couldn't get rid of your feelings for him, specifically the person he used to be.
For the majority of your life, you always wanted to be with him but what happens when he says he's not the person you used to know?
"What changed you?" You blurted out.
"Y/n...life changed me but even you have changed. Don't tell me you keep thinking back to the past."
He stood up, walking towards you, he softly kneeled, "You and I both know we don't have any feelings for each other anymore."
Ayato softly looked at you, "I know I confessed my feelings for you but that was many, many years ago. We're only together now because of the Tri-Commission."
Tonight, the stars weren't shining brightly, rather it was a night of darkness.
Loving someone meant loving them for their past, present, and future.
Loving someone meant to love a person who's in the present moment.
You can't force someone to be the person they used to be in their past only because you were in love with that version of them.
This night was filled with feelings all over the place. Ayato had the right to be upset with me.
I remember that time when he smiled so brightly when I was in a foreign place. He was the sun to my past self.
"I'm sorry." You trailed off, in hope of avoiding more frustration.
Only fate knew what will become of Y/n and Ayato in the future.
Vocabulary:
Ofuro/Furo: Furo, or the more common and polite form ofuro, is a Japanese bath/bathroom. Specifically, it is a type of bath that originated as a short, steep-sided wooden bathtub.
Futon: Japanese quilted mattress rolled out on the floor, used for bed.
Rattan Basket: storage baskets made out of fibers from the Rattan tree.