*:･ﾟYou Bet I Stare ･ﾟ:*

CHAPTER 34 - waste my mind

SOUSUKE
—❁—

After a little while longer at the festival, Kou and I were now sat at the same picnic table that we were sitting at earlier today. I now had 3 more plushie additions to the pink penguin that Kou won me at that ring toss game, since he wanted to spoil me—or in his words: "win me over all over again". I guess buying people things is still his preferred love language.

"Is that Taiyaki good?" I sit there and watch Kou smack the bite of the fish-shaped pastry around in his mouth, smiling as he nods.

How was it possible for him to get even more handsome.. almost alluring..

"Do you want a bite?" He holds the pastry out to me and looks at me. It did look pretty good.. but I feel like it would be weird and awkward to eat after him, considering our current circumstances. "Uh.. I mean—" My eyes glance at the pastry as he holds it out to me even more. "I promise you that I don't have some deadly illness that results in a slow and painful death." My eyes move back up and meet Kous eyes. There were those pretty blue pupils of his.. piercing the back of my skull like it was nothing. "You don't think it would be awkward?" "Nah, I mean.. come on Mitsuba—it's not like I'm shoving my tongue down your throat or anything.. it's just a harmless little fishie pastry." My eyebrows raise as I feel my face grow all warm. Was that comment really necessary? "Come onnnn! It's really good!" He smiles and waves the pastry around. "I know you want to! Look how yummy it is!" I keep my eyes locked on Kou before sighing and giving in. "Will it make you shut up if I take a bite?" "Yes, and it will even make me very happy." "Fine.." I lean down and take a bite of the Taiyaki pastry that Kou is holding out to me, keeping my gaze stuck on his eyes the entire time I'm doing so.

I could tell that it was making him nervous as I sat back up and enjoyed the bite in my mouth. Damn.. that pastry is actually insanely good.

"Was that your way of attempting to seduce me or something.." He mutters and pulls the pastry away from me, and his comment makes me gasp. "Of course that's what you think! You really are still a pervert!" I quickly get an angry little look on my face. "I am not! You were the one that made everything weird just now!" He shoots back before taking another bite of the Taiyaki. "How did I make it weird!? All I did was take a bite of your stupid fish! Like what you wanted me to do!" He gasps before staring me down. "Do not bring my fish into this.. he is not stupid.." "Is too!" Kou sticks his tongue out at me before eating the last of his pastry. "You're such a child." I mutter as I watch him crumple up the packaging that the pastry was in. "Well y'know Mitsuba.. if I'm a child, then you know what that makes you?" He gets up and looks down at me as I stay seated at the table. "What?" I grab my penguin plushie as Kou grabs my other two plushies that he won me and also gets up from the table, looking up at Kou as we begin walking around the festival again. "Considering we used to go out, if I'm a child and you're now what? Like.. 19?" I squint as I listen to him, cutting him off before he can finish his thought. "I know what you're trying to say, and it wouldn't even make sense. We stopped seeing each other a long time ago, so there's no laws being broken right now." "Right.." Kou mutters and adjusts his grip on the plushies that he's carrying as we walk. "So.. tell me how you've been."

He looks down at me as I look up at him. He was still much taller than I was, at least by a few inches. I'd say he's about 5'11 now, so he's a good 3 inches taller than me.

"I've been dying to know." His voice became calmer, and his soft little smile made my body feel all warm. "Oh.. well—" I shrug and look forwards, still hugging my penguin up close to me. "I've been fine. I guess I've just been living life one day at a time, but then again that's the least that any person can do." Kou nods. "Any boyfriends?" I shake my head, "Partners?" I shake my head once more. He then just raises an eyebrow and glances at me for a quick second before looking back up ahead. "Girlfriends?" I raise my eyebrows a bit and look up at him. "Do I come off that way?" "If I'm being completely honest, no. Not at all. But it still didn't hurt to ask you—considering that you're pretty enough to pull anyone that you want to." "Is that a general compliment or a flirtatious compliment?" Kou smiles as he just shrugs. Yeah, that was definitely a flirtatious compliment. I get what he's trying to play at.