Wriothesley's POV
These clothes were...
Way too fancy for a shopping trip and way too expensive for my budget.
Had it not been for the fact that I was given the strong impression that Chiori might just murder me if I didn't put them on, I probably wouldn't be wearing them.
That and...
Neuvillette asked her to match our clothes?
That's kind of cute.
Though with our distinctly different styles, I'm curious what she will come up with.
And it looks like I won't have to wait long.
Chiori soon returned, looking incredibly proud of herself.
"Heh. I win." She muttered."
Win?
Win what?
But before I could ask, she spoke again, this time clearly for me to hear.
"Prepare to be amazed by my hard work!" She chuckled.
And amazed I was.
Chiori had yet to finish speaking when Neuvillette walked out from behind the wall looking...
He looked absolutely stunning!
Chiori truly has a way with clothes. Especially those pants...
Oh god, I'm not gonna survive today, am I?!
Chiori!
This is attempted murder!
Those pants are unfair!
And...
Was he wearing make-up?
It wasn't much, but there was certainly a slight difference from how he looked before.
Still the most beautiful being on earth next to my princess, make-up or not.
But seriously...
Before Neuvillette could get close enough to hear me speaking, I quickly pulled Chiro close to whisper into her ear.
"Do you wish to ruin me?!" I whispered to her.
"On the contrary. Considering your habit of staring at his ass, I'm making your day better." She retorted.
Damn it!
She noticed?!
"Chiori, I-"
"What are you two whispering about so loudly?" Neuvillette smiled gently.
Oh oh.
When did he get this close?
How much did he hear?
"I've heard something about ruining something. Surely it was not-"
"I was just saying that you are pretty enough to bring a country to ruin." A said without thinking.
Ah, damn it.
That was the most cheesy thing I could have said!
Instantly, Neuvillette turned as red as a tomato.
"Oh- Ah.. I- I- Thank you... You look quite handsome yourself. I'm not sure about the criteria that are needed to ruin a country, but you are the most handsome man I've seen if that counts for something." He muttered, before turning away to avoid my gaze.
M-Me?
The most handsome man he has ever seen-
Surely that is an exaggeration.
I'm not that much of a looker.
"T-Thank you." Was the only thing I managed to spit out.
I too attempted to avoid his eyes by looking away, only to lock eyes with Chiori.
Chiori whose gaze seemed to scream 'You f*cking idiot.' as she looked at me.
I'm trying my best, okay?!
It's your fault that I'm in this state!
"Okay, so now I want a picture." She suddenly declared.
"What?"
"Excuse me?"
We both looked at her utterly baffled.
"I gave you both a set of clothes I think I deserve a picture."
I'm pretty sure we were both forced to wear these.
But that look in her eyes didn't leave room for protest.
At least she promised not to use it for advertisement purposes and to just keep it to herself.
As such we were both dragged to an elaborately decorated wall.
Fortunately, she didn't pull out a giant camera or anything and was only going to use her phone to take the picture.
Phew.
So we were standing there, very very close to each other. At some point, Neuvillette had also gone ahead and held my hand, but I can't say exactly when.
Just as I was thinking that we could quickly get this over with and we could escape Chiori's clutches, she suddenly looked up from her phone and called out to Neuvillette, pointing at her cheek.
Hmm?
What does she-
I didn't have time to contemplate the reason for her actions nor the grin that surfaced on her face right after. Not as my mind went completely blank right the same instant when I felt Neuvillette's lips touch my cheek.
?!?!?!
Wha-
What-
That-
What was-
Why-
Huh?
The next thing I knew was that we were no longer in Chiori's shop but rather back on the ground floor and I was holding two large bags in one hand and Neuvillette's hand with the other.
HUH??!
When did we get down here?
And-
And why did Neuvillette kiss me?!
It was just a kiss on the cheek but still-
Aah!
I can't even think!
"-so let's go for the hair ties first." Neuvillette ended a sentence I didn't even realize he started.
"What?" I asked dumbly.
"Hair ties, Wriothesley. As I've explained previously, Lynette has a habit of losing her hair ties. Is everything alright? You've been a bit out of it ever since we left Chiori's place." He said worriedly.
"Yeah- I just... You... You kissed me."
I was so out of it I pointed at my cheek like an idiot.
"Yes, I did. Did you not like it?"
He wore such a pitiful expression that even if I had hated it I wouldn't have been able to say it.
Not that I hated it.
Oh, no, no, no. Far from it.
"It's not that I didn't like it..."
It was just so sudden and I have yet to process it still, okay?
And the fact that Neuvillette once again decided to blind me with a smile certainly doesn't help at all.
"I'm glad." He smiled.
I was left speechless.
Again.
But seriously, who could blame me?
An angel was holding my hand dragging me around the mall.
Right.
After.
Kissing.
Me.
-
Neuvillette's POV
Oh, good lord!
I should not have listened to Chiori!
How could I just kiss him like that?!
He says he didn't dislike it but he's been completely out of it ever since I did it!
But-
But...
I like it...
It was nice...
His cheek is softer than I expected.
I kind of want to do it again...
But what if he didn't actually like it?!
What if he's just saying it so I don't feel bad?!
Just look at him! He still won't look me in the eyes!
Did I mess up?
Should I just ask again?
This is really embarrassing!
But-
But-
"Wriothesley..." I called out eventually.
He jumped like a frightened rabbit.
"Huh? Yeah? Yes? Did you say something?" He asked all flustered.
"So... Uhm... Did you really not dislike it that I kissed you?"
He stopped walking and froze in place.
Not good?
"No, no, no, no, no. I didn't dislike it. Not at all. I enjoyed it..."
Oh.
"Really?" I asked hopefully.
"Y-Yeah." Wriothesley stuttered.
"So... Can I kiss you again?"
The question was out before I could stop it.
Wriothesley's face turned redder than it already was and he once again turned away from me, avoiding my gaze.
Just when I was starting to think that I may have been too impulsive and hasty with the request, he nodded.
"Y-Yeah... Sure. Anytime..."
Anytime?
"Really?" I asked excitedly.
Delight filled my whole body as he nodded again.
Wow!
Really?
Can I really?
And... And if he's letting me do this, does that mean he likes me too?
Do you just ask about that kind of thing?
Well, for now, I can just kiss him, right?
And maybe a bit later too.
And... And...
And then we can go have lunch together.
Hmm...
Yes...
This is nice.