"...Pardon my intrusion."
Amane entered Mahiru's house for the first time, and marveled as he saw the living room that was cleaned and devoid of unnecessary items.
The decors of the room were a white and light green base, nary any unnecessary items, and was decorated just as she liked it.
It was the first time he was entering a girl's house, and though he was initially nervous, his anxiety appeared to be eased somewhat once he saw how neat it was.
"Please enter. It may be a little messy though."
"You sure you can say that if we compare to my house a year ago?"
Mahiru led Amane into the house, and the latter gave a wry smile at those remarks. Mahiru recalled the devastation that was his house back then, and shrugged in exaggeration.
"Well, that does not count. Do reflect back on how messy it was."
"Ugh, I can't deny that."
"You are the one who mentioned that first. Given that you are working hard to maintain the current situation, I would say that if there is anything to mention...hmm, you do casually toss your dirty clothes into the basket, and sometimes drop it on the floor. It is best of you to change this."
"Yep, better take note."
"That is good."
Amane usually would not allow Mahiru to wash his clothes, but she did see how he handled his laundry. Amane would flip his socks and clothes appropriately before dropping it into the laundry basket, but it seemed there were other aspects he had to pay attention to.
Amane quietly noted to himself these issues he had to take note of, and as he continued chatting with Mahiru, he was no longer as tense. Once again, he looked towards her house.
Her furniture was arranged neatly, as expected, and that was what he felt on first glance. It seemed so orderly, and so balanced, like a magazine.
And thus, he felt something was amiss.
"Well, your house looks pretty, but..."
"It feels devoid of life?"
"...Sorry?"
Mahiru asked with a wry smile before Amane could say so, and he awkwardly averted his eyes.
Yes, the house was neat, and cleaned thoroughly...but it did not feel as though someone lived there.
Typically put, a house would show a person's interests and living habits, but there was nary of that. A simple word, cleanliness, would suffice.
"It is fine. I too feel the same. And I have been spending more time at your place, excluding sleeping time."
"Ahh..."
"I really have been spending time at your place. Nothing much changed ever since that major cleaning."
Speaking of which, Mahiru hardly spent time at her own place. She had been at Amane's place before they dated, and moreso after.
"I-I think you can wear anything you want."
"Well, I want to wear something you like. I shall wear whatever you prefer."
It seemed Mahiru really wanted Amane to choose.
He had a look.
There was no doubt both really suited her well. Truth be told, he could not imagine any clothes that would not suit her.
However, his thought was that the loose indoor clothing might be more appropriate for Chitose than Mahiru.
He felt that the feminine, mature look baby doll dress would suit her better.
But he had a feeling it would be a bad thing to choose that.
She should understand that I don't mean anything, but my sanity willsuffer.
They would snuggle together for an entire night, and those clothes would give rise to many problems. Mahiru would feel awkward to cling together, and he would be bothered if he imposed his frustrations on her.
He had a little desire to see her in the baby doll dress, but he pointed towards the warm, comfy indoor clothes....th-the loose one, so he said, and Mahiru giggled.
"I shall wear this then."
Mahiru then lifted the matured looking baby doll dress, and kept the loose indoor clothing in the closet.
"So what's the point of me choosing?"
"I had a feeling that you probably would choose that since it reveals little, but will prefer this instead, and only eschewed so out of embarrassment. It is obvious from your attitude and averting eyes."
She was so correct, and Amane was speechless, his lips quivered.
"...You didn't have to ask if you know that."
"Fufu, I wish to know what you like, Amane-kun. I was just checking."
"...I see."
This affirmation truly was bad for his heart. His heart and stomach were wincing away.
She chose it out of consideration for Amane however, and he was delighted. His lips were merely quivering, neither smiling nor cringing.
"I shall take a bath then."
She ignored the conflicting emotions in his heart, and simply left the room. Amane knelt in the room, humming away, and heard footsteps through the door, panicking even.
Mahiru might have been acting calm, and was really conscientious inside. Amane felt a lot relieved, but he had second thoughts since it was so awkward, and his body was searing.
Amane purged away the imagination of Mahiru in swimwear as he knelt on the floor, waiting for her to be done bathing.
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