WHO KNEW anyway this was supposed to be smut but I GUESS IT IS NOT ANYMORE NOT EVEN CLOSE
“My parents aren’t gonna be home ‘til later.”
It was only one sentence, thrown out in-between comments on the latest Shonen Jump and whether his cat needed a collar. Mal didn’t even bother to look up from his magazine as he said it. But next to him, Rochelle froze up.
“…a-aah. Is t-that… s-so…?”
She blushed even as the words fell from her mouth. She’d tried to stay casual, but she was no good at hiding her sudden rush of nerves, and Mal’s chuckle made it clear that he’d noticed. It only made her cheeks redden further.
“Are you thinking of something happening~?” He turned to grin at her, and she ducked her head. “Hehehehe! You totally are!”
“I’m n-not! G-geeeeeeez!” Oh god she didn’t even sound convincing to HERSELF. Of course she was thinking of things! She’d read enough manga that started with a boy and girl alone in their bedroom and ended in moans and admittedly unrealistic amounts of fluids.
Well, she figured it was unrealistic.
He was laughing again, but he’d returned to his reading material for the moment, giving her time to calm herself down. She… she was NOT going to think about those things, not when he was close enough to touch…! Oh gosh, no, definitely not…!
Rochelle sighed slightly, brushing her bangs down to keep her hands busy. Mal… really was close. Not like there was a lot of room in his bedroom or anything… but when he’d come in with snacks, he’d taken a seat right next to her…
“Y-you know, y-you always tease m-me about this…! D-do you… don’t you think… s-sometimes…!?” She glanced at him, straightening and flushing once more as Mal began to cackle.
“Think about whaaaaaaaat~?” Oh god he was looking at her SHE’D ATTRACTED TOO MUCH ATTENTION ABORT ABORT LOOK AWAY! Ohhhhh nooooo, she could FEEL his eyes on her stop trying to catch her attention! “Come on, Ro, I don’t understand what you’re talking about~!”
“Y-you do! You t-totally understand! D-don’t t-tease meeeeee!” Rochelle began to squirm, biting her lip as he leaned in. She risked a glance at his expression, shining with amusement as he tried to rile her up, and immediately had to look away again. “Mal-kuuuuuuun! Stop it! S-stop, I-I can’t…!”
“Come on, say it! What were you thinking of doing, huh~?”
“N-nothing! N-n-nothing a-at all! S-stop, i-if you keep teasing me I—”
“You’re not going to die! You’ve never died! If you died everytime you got embarrassed, you’d be a zombie by now!”
“Maaaaaaaaaal!” She turned back towards him, her face bright red, and her hand brushed against his.
Both of them froze.
Oh gosh.
Oh gosh.
Rochelle could feel her heart start to race immediately, and every instinct in her body told her to flee. He was too close, he was too warm, he was going to do something terrible she needed to get away RIGHT NOW, she couldn’t let her fingers twine into his, she couldn’t just blush and look away.
He squeezed her fingertips ever so slightly, just enough that it could be a mistake if she hadn’t glanced out from behind her bangs. His cheeks were reddening.
“…”
There was the sound of pages flipping as he opened his magazine again, even as he slipped his fingertips a little farther, sneaking inside her sleeve and brushing her palm just enough to make her tremble.
Silence settled around them as they stayed like that, the shadows growing longer. His clock ticked away each second, almost louder than the beating of Ro’s heart as they held hands. The loudest noises were the turning of pages and the rumble of his cat’s breath as it slept on the foot of his bed. Once in a while, one would shift, stretching their legs and slipping slightly closer, but they never quite managed to pull their hands away.
His was surprisingly soft, and warm, and she couldn’t help but think that she would do anything if it meant she didn’t have to let go.
When the sound of footsteps drifted up from below, mingled with his mother’s voice… it was still too soon.
“…I… s-shouldn’t…” He twitched as she spoke again for the first time. Rochelle was quiet, but it sounded so loud just between the two. “…stay much l-longer. I… M-mom’ll be expecting… dinner…”
“…alright. Yeah.”
He didn’t look up, but he finally pulled his hand away, slipping back without saying anything else.
Rochelle bit her lip slightly, her face reddening. Her hand felt far too lonely. The spell was broken, and in a few more seconds it would be gone.
“…Mal…”
He turned towards her, and she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. Just a moment, just a single second more.
“Ihavetogonowsorry.” She didn’t wait for his response, couldn’t look at him as she stumbled to her feet and dashed for the door. Her face was bright red, and her heart wouldn’t stop racing until she had made it home and collapsed on her couch in a fit of squeaks and fidgeting.
And so she didn’t see Mal’s face slowly turn red, or the smile that spread across his face as he sat alone in his room and savored the memory of his first kiss.