Corpse Bride || Haitani Brothers/OC

36 - back to you (i.)

Hikari kept her eyes on the page of her book as she heard the sliding of the bathroom door. the whole time—half an hour to be exact—she's been trying to get through the chapter, but it was difficult when the words seemed to escape right through her mind. what plagued it to the brink of endless distraction was no one other than Ran.

specifically, Ran in the shower. she could actively recall all the times they bathed together. what things they've done under the touch of the hot water.

now she could see him in her peripheral, handsomely tall and bare except for the white towel wrapped around his waist. she doesn't look up.

read, she tells herself.

he walks near without saying a word. she couldn't catch his perceptive eyes.

Ran felt rather happy to find that she was indeed here—willingly—even after he's taken a bath. she was plopped on her stomach, on his bed, a book in her hands. she always looked charmingly smart and beautiful like so, her eyes running along the lines of the page.

as he passed her by he softly touches the top of her head; she doesn't even seem to notice. he smiles to himself. there was that familiar intimacy in the air—them being them, nothing but. they wore layers of masks outdoors, Ran himself was never at ease, but they've found their way back to this place again.

"what are you reading, Hikari?"

his voice seemed natural. serene. like he was meant to speak, and that any other voice would've disrupted the static air.

"nothing."

Ran swipes through his hangers, picking out a cardigan and one of his loose pants. he looks back at her to see what she was wearing—a purple nightgown that hang loose on her shoulders he could easily pull it down. he halts that thought, prompting himself to focus on the closet once more as he chooses a purple cardigan instead.

"do I need to get you a doctor?"

"what for?"

"your injuries."

"they aren't that bad."

"I'll have to see that for myself."

"then see for yourself," she mutters with a hint of mocking.

she always loved to make fun of his nagging. he looked over his shoulder to meet her eyes. she was looking at him, her cheek on her palm.

"can I get changed here?"

"I'll watch."

"that's fine."

the towel drops down to the floor and Hikari instantly covers her eyes. Ran could only laugh at her. after a while once she hears the sound of his footsteps, she asks, "are you done?"

"I am," he says with a soft chuckle.

simultaneously, a hand touches hers, and she uncovers her eyes to find that he was crouched before the bed, his face mere inches from hers.

"sit down."

she does as he says, not saying a thing. Ran gently picks up her foot and sets it on his thigh. he inspects the bruising around her ankle with his fingers, eyes pensive as he moved up the cloth of her nightgown to see more of her skin.

"grazes," she explains as he looked up at her with an annoyed expression.

"I know what they are—why are they so many?"

"at least I'm alive though?"

he rolls his eyes. a gasp leaves her mouth however as he glides his hands up her thighs, bunching up her nightgown to get them out of the way. he curiously looked up at her once more at her reaction, then he bit his lip to prevent a smile he was unable to hide.