Half Of Our Whole

15. Summer Air

Lunch went as well as Ikuto could've hoped. They talked and ate for about an hour, only pausing when Miyako got a brief call from Momoko, although she wouldn't tell him what it was about. Girl stuff he assumed.

"So what now?" Ikuto asked, arms laced behind the back of his head as they walked down the freshly populated streets.

"What do you mean?" Miyako asked, carrying a large white styrofoam container that was filled with cookies she claimed her sisters killed for. She shifted it to one hand as she reached to zip up her coat and Ikuto took the opportunity to snatch it from her hands. She laughed as he pretended to steal a cookie, sticking his hand in greedily. She snatched it back instantly, cradling it away from the hungry boy.

"Oh come on, just one cookie?" He begged, sticking out his lip and widening his eyes. Miyako laughed at this.

"Someone aught to tell you that you have the worst puppy dog face ever," Miyako giggled, examining his face. He looked more surprisedly constipated than anything else. Miyako giggled, earning a frown from Ikuto. "Although that is cute," she said, motioning to his new expression.

"Just face it Miya," He said, sticking his hands in his pocket and gazing down at her. He leaned forward slightly so they were about an inch apart, making Miyako stop. "Everything I do is cute," he said in a husky tone. Miyako didn't know how to respond to that, especially with a hot blush growing on her cheeks, so she quickly tugged her scarf up and bumped him away as playfully as she could.

"Whatever you say," she responded shakily with a small nervous laugh. Ikuto raised an eyebrow at this but just shrugged and began to walk. Miyako caught up to him, taking advantage of the situation to gaze quietly at him. He had changed a lot in the past few months. No longer was he the mousy garden boy that she'd wandered across, but rather a proud tall young man on his way into life. Miyako also took notice of how his appearance had changed. He still wore jeans and t-shirts like his brothers but now his fanned out black hair fit his face shape, although she still didn't feel like that was the color for him, and his navy eyes only seemed to deepen, if that's possible. She recalled him as cute before, puppy dog cute, but now she couldn't deny that he was handsome. And don't get her started on his body. One of the times she'd almost fainted upon seeing him shirtless.

"You okay, you look red," Ikuto commented, gazing concernedly at her face. In response she blushed redder, mentally slapping herself for dawning on such a subject. Instead she grabbed the incredibly thin texture of her blue scarf and shrugged it closer to her face. She shivered as a breeze passed by it onto her face and recalled Momoko warning her that it wouldn't be enough. Sometimes she hated her sister.

Ikuto however completely misread the situation and took haste to taking off his own thick scarf and wrapping it around her. Miyako stifled a small gasp of surprise as his fingers brushed against her cheeks, wrapping the scarf around her face.

"There you go," he said after a second, smiling cheekily down at her. Miyako blinked in surprise as the sweet smell of fresh air filled her senses. She discovered a little bit ago that, against her assumptions, the smell was just Ikuto's natural smell. She sniffed it in slightly and shivered as the blush got hotter. She turned her head away quickly and nodded slightly.

"Thanks," she whispered, hugging the scarf between her hands. She saw Ikuto shrug from the corner of her eye, but she also noticed a faint redness on his cheeks.

"Do you, um, want to take a walk through the park?" Ikuto asked politely, motioning towards the metal gates. Miyako followed his eyes and nodded quickly, giving him a small smile. He nodded back and headed towards the gates, Miyako by his side.

The two walked through the park, finding it mostly empty during this time of day. Miyako stopped to gaze at a few stray flowers, drawing Ikuto towards her.