Morning light spilled softly through the window blinds, brushing against my face like an annoying but gentle reminder that the world was still turning. I squinted, my eyes slowly adjusting to the warmth of the sunlight as I lazily opened them.
And then—
“WOAHHH!”
I practically flung myself back against the wall when I saw Keiko’s face so close to mine. I felt my heart skip a solid three beats, my breath caught somewhere between my throat and lungs. She was peacefully sleeping, her face mere inches from mine. And judging from the way my body was tilted toward her, it was obviously me who’d unconsciously shuffled closer during the night.
“Oh crap… thank god she didn’t wake up first,” I whispered to myself, carefully pulling myself away without making a sound. I wiped the sweat off my brow, feeling a wave of embarrassment I hadn’t expected to start my morning with. I sighed, relieved, as I glanced at her again. She was doing much better—her face had color, and when I touched her forehead lightly, it was cool. No more fever. Good.
Today was our last day off. A rare, precious day off where we didn’t have to rush to the restaurant or deal with the usual chaos. As I stretched and got out of bed, I was already mentally making a to-do list with Keiko. First, breakfast. Then… what? A movie? Maybe a walk? I wasn’t sure yet.
Right then, my phone buzzed. Junpei.
“Yo bro! Long time no see!” I answered, grinning.
“Tch. Long time my ass, Ryusei! You alive? Or did you join some underground cooking cult? You never call anymore!” Junpei sounded mock-annoyed.
“Sorry, man. Holiday season at the restaurant’s been crazy. You know how it is,” I replied.
“Yeah yeah, excuses. Geez, you’re like a whole family man now, huh?” he teased.
“Well… I am, please don't be a possessive uncle.” I laughed while tease him.
We bantered back and forth for a bit, him acting like an unwanted uncle and me playing along. It felt good to talk to him again. Then he invited me to hang out tonight, but I told him I wanted to spend the day with Keiko.
“Geez, whipped already. Alright, let me know, old man,” he chuckled.
Then I asked about his wedding plans, and for the first time in forever, he went quiet. That wasn’t like Junpei. The guy could brag about his relationship to a wall if nobody else was listening.
“Sorry, Junpei… how about tomorrow?” I offered.
“What about tomorrow?”
“Let’s hang out then.”
There was a long sigh on the other end. “Man… thank you.”
“See you tomorrow, bro,” I said, then hung up.
As I put the phone down, I turned and jumped again when I saw Keiko standing in the living room, watching me with a small smile.
“Oh my god, Keiko, don’t sneak up on me like that!” I said, clutching my chest.
“Sorry,” she giggled softly. “Didn’t want to interrupt your call with Junpei.”
“It’s fine. C’mon, let’s have breakfast.”
We sat down and ate together, the usual morning silence broken by little conversations about how she was feeling.
“I’m really well now. Thanks for taking care of me.” Keiko said.
I scratched the back of my neck, feeling a bit flustered. “N-no problem.”
Then, she asked about Junpei. Apparently, she caught a bit of the conversation, but I didn’t mind.
“He’s okay, I guess. Well… I hope so,” I said.
“You should go see him tomorrow,” she encouraged, and I nodded.
After we finished eating, I looked at her and grinned. “Now that you’ve recovered… let’s go on a date today.”
She blinked. “Eh?”
“What? You don’t wanna?”
“No—I mean, I didn’t expect it,” she admitted.
“We hardly get a day off together,” I reminded her.
Keiko smiled. “Right…”
I asked about our coworkers too, and she happily reported that Aki and Miko would be back tomorrow. Thank goodness.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” she asked.
“Uhh… Honestly I have no idea,” I admitted sheepishly.
Keiko laughed. “It’s fine. Let’s think about it while we get ready.”
We took turns in the bathroom, getting showered and changed, and honestly, I was still coming up blank. Winter meant outdoor stuff was limited, and I didn’t want to tire her out too much since she’d just recovered.
Once we were both ready, I turned to her. “Any ideas?”
Keiko shrugged. “Let’s just watch a movie first?”
I smiled. “Deal.”
We picked a rom-com. Well, technically she picked it. Keiko might look all stoic and cool on the outside, but deep down she was a hopeless romantic. She never admitted it outright, but I’d known her long enough to catch on.
Halfway through the movie, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Not at the scene, but at Keiko herself.
“What’s funny? It’s not even a funny scene,” she frowned.
“Nothing, sorry,” I grinned.
After the movie, time had slipped by without us noticing. Evening was settling in.
“Keiko,” I called out.
She turned to look at me.
I held out my hand to her, wiggling my fingers like a goofball. “Let’s go for a walk?”
She blinked, her face turning slightly pink. “W-what’s with that gesture?”
I smirked. “What? Can’t I ask my wife to hold my hand?”
She sigh. “You’re so dumb.”
But she took my hand anyway.
We decided to head for Tokyo Skytree to catch the sunset. Keiko looked genuinely happy, and I felt like the luckiest guy alive just seeing her smile like that.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured as the orange-pink hues of the sunset bathed the skyline.
“Yeah… it’s our first time up here, right?”
She nodded. “I hope we can travel more together… with Rin too.”
I chuckled. “Didn’t know you’d become a traveler now.”
She pouted. “I never said I didn’t like traveling.”
I teased, “You always cried to go home though.”
Keiko sighed dramatically. “That’s because you never plan anything properly. You took me camping in rainy season and the tent flooded, remember? And you messed up our hotel booking once and we ended up sleeping at a train station!”
I burst out laughing. “Okay, okay! You’re right, I sucked.”
“Just don’t screw it up again,” she muttered, hiding a small smile.
As we held hands and watched the sunset, something inside me melted. I couldn’t resist leaning in and giving her a quick peck on the lips. Her face turned bright red, and she instantly turned away.
“D-don’t do that in public, idiot…”
I grinned. “Too late.”
Then, like some terrible fate, a voice called out behind us.
“Keiko… Ryuko…?”
We turned around.
It was Ruka.
Oh god.
This was going to be complicated.