My Futanari Lover

17-II

"Mhmm..."

Irine groaned, blinking her eyes several times. She pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes. Ugh, my body feels sore...

"Had a good nap?"

"Hmmm...?" Irine turned to the familiar voice. Her hazy vision slowly cleared up as she recognized the boy across the table. "... Mabel?"

"Yo." Mabel tossed a card onto the table. "Madonna and Cecilia are out having lunch. They'll be back soon."

"Oh." She rubbed her head and looked around. This is the club room. "Did I... fall asleep?"

"Yep." He nodded, then tossed another card. "Well, I wouldn't put it that way. Madonna put you to sleep after you, uh... got invested in your card divinations, shall I say?"

"... Oh?" Her eyes widened in realization as memories rushed through her mind. She quickly bowed her head, red creeping up her cheeks. "Oh! I'm so sorry!"

"Mhmm?" He raised his brow.

"I got too carried away!" She clasped her hands together. "I didn't mean to get so heated up over cards!"

Wait, she's self-aware? Mabel tilted his head, amused. "Oh, don't worry about it. It was–as you put it–fascinating."

"Awwwh..." her face heated up, growing flustered. I got too into it and acted like such a fool!

"It was nice to see you getting in the zone." He chuckled. "As expected of a master of the dark arts."

"Meanie." Irine pouted and slumped her arms on the table. "You're making fun of me."

"Am I, now?" Mabel shook his head and smirked. "No, no. I'm simply fascinated by your performance."

"Cut it out..." She grumbled. It's only the first day of the Occult Club...

"Sorry, sorry." He shuffled all the cards back into a deck. He offered it to Irine. "Here. Your cards. Madonna told me I could play with them."

"Oh." Irine took the deck from his hand. These cards are...? She slid a card out, noticing the slightly tattered edges and black tints.

He folded his arms on the table. "... You've still been keeping them all this time."

"... Yeah!" Irine rubbed a thumb over the deck. "Why wouldn't I?"

"It looks worn out already." He laid his head on his hand. "You should probably replace them."

"No." She held the deck in both hands close to her chest. "These cards are special to me."

"Special...?" he arched his brows, curious. "Why's that?"

"... because they were a gift from you, Mabel."

Her words caused his cheeks to rise in heat. Red slowly crept up to his ears. Not the answer I was expecting. To introduce Irine to some card tricks, he gave her his old deck for her to practice. Not like he needed it anymore. But I didn't think she'd keep using them until now.

"This gift was my very step into the world of magic." Her fingers clenched the deck, a gentle smile forming on her lips.

"I see..." He turned his head to the side. "That's... nice to hear. But I don't mind if you want to replace–..."

"Never will." She shook her head, closing her eyes. "They're... precious to me, Mabel."

"... Oh."

The two remained still, both their faces tainted with a shy red. An awkward silence filled the atmosphere. Mabel racked his mind on what to say next to cut through this awkwardness. His heart thumped against his chest, so loud even his ears picked up on it. Maybe even she could hear it! What am I even thinking... it was just my first gift to her. There was no deeper meaning to it.