Chapter 1372 Understanding

With Hana's arrival at the room, the first thing we did was obviously, to fix our appearances. I tucked my half-erect cock back in and buttoned my pants before helping the two girls.

First, using my and their handkerchiefs to remove the stain on their faces. Following that, I climbed up the bed and went behind them, hooking their bra back before buttoning up their uniforms.

Well, the two were once again frozen so I did all of that while Hana watched.

Even though she basically caught us with this, I was unaffected due to my shamelessness. Or maybe because I couldn't care less about her reaction. Knowing that she intentionally watched us rather than stop what was happening in her own house, there's no reason for me to be embarrassed in front of her.

Furthermore, with what she declared earlier, I decided to stop holding back my punches when it comes to dealing with her. She put herself in a situation where she, more or less, allowed me to do anything with her, after all.

​ "You two, if you think you did something wrong, apologizing is the way to go. However, in this case, you don't need to do so. I know you two still want to mend your previous connection with her. That's why allow me to carry the blame temporarily. Once everything settles down, you can confess to her about how this situation was the result of our mutual desire for each other."

After weighing our options to not make the two leave this house while carrying some guilt, I whispered that suggestion to them.

The two turned their heads to me, their eyes already communicating their acceptance of that suggestion. However, they were still a little apprehensive about acting on it.

I caressed their cheeks once more and added while putting on my shameless smile, "Oh right. I have yet to give you feedback about it… It was amazing. The sensation of your mouths down there still lingered in my mind. It's making me excited for when we can do it again."

Almost instantly, the two shuddered as the color of embarrassment and shame instantly clouded their faces. With puffed-up cheeks, they lightly hit me on my shoulder before the two sweetly whispered the same words.

"Perverted idiot, be thankful that we both love you or else…"

"Or else what? Are you going to kick my ass?"

"No. We're going to cut that off!" The same as their first response, the two shouted that in sync.

And because of their loud voice, Hana, who was standing at a distance, tilted her head in utter confusion. Her only visible eye blinked a few times as though she was trying to determine if she heard that correctly.

This turned out to be an effective diversion, isn't it? But only temporarily.

In any case, I responded to the two who were once again about to press themselves on me even with Hana's presence. Their earlier worry was pushed to the back of their minds. "Uh. Anything but that… How can we make little Chii and little Hifumi without it?"

Upon hearing that, Chii and Hifumi's blush grew a deeper red color. It's even redder than crimson. They looked like they were about to erupt. And on top of their heads, an imaginary steam oozed out.

If I had to guess, the two of them already imagined the future where we're going to have children. Really, they're just too adorable. It would be a waste not to tease them.

And so even with Hana staring at us and wondering what was happening after that lewd scene she witnessed, I started teasing the two girls, causing them to either react aggressively by biting and hitting my chest or they would simply melt like a candle in my embrace.

After witnessing this for at least three minutes, Hana finally lost her patience.

She stomped her feet and approached us.

But that's what I was waiting for. Even before she could reach our proximity, I already stood up and shamelessly hooked my arm around her waist.

Then by pushing her a bit, I started guiding her backward until we reached the doorway.

"Hmm? You look upset. What happened? Wait, let me guess. Are you upset because of what you saw or are you upset because you're not the one in their shoes?" With the same shameless smile which had been slowly becoming my default face, I raised that question to her.

Although there was a hint of apprehension on her face, Hana didn't even try to push me away or resist my hold.

A few seconds later, she averted her gaze followed by her answer that I almost failed to pick up from how low the volume she used for it. "Both."

Both, huh? As I expected, with her request in place, this girl would be really honest about her feelings.

"I see. I'm sorry that we did it here at your house. If you're going to be upset, focus it on me. I'm the one who pushed us in that situation. Besides, those two still genuinely want to reconnect with you so…"

Going by my plan to keep Chii and Hifumi blameless from this, I expected the girl to take my words at face value.

However, the response I got was a roll of her eyes followed by a smirk.

"Oh. I get it, Ruki. You don't have to word it like that. You're taking the blame again. Those two girls love you enough to accept the complexity and absurdity of your situation. What's pulling them back in deepening your relationship?"

"Well, you're right about that. But you see, their concern was that they didn't know how to explain themselves, especially after knowing that you peeked at us."

"You clever guy. If you told them the first time that you saw me peeking, they wouldn't be like that." Hana poked my cheek and mockingly laughed. But the next moment, a shameful expression rose on her face, "I won't deny it. We're in the same situation. I don't know how I can explain why I did that. Maybe I'm curious. Anyhow, even though I should be upset that you three did it here, I accept what you're trying to propose."

"I'm glad you're this understanding. You're still acting very mature." I released a sigh of relief and tried to tighten my arms around her.

However, as if I said something that triggered her, Hana pushed on my chest, preventing me from hugging her.

"Stop calling me mature. You know I hate that. It's the one thing that made me like this."

"I see. You're still being triggered by that, huh?"

Right. If there's one thing that could make her mood from good to bad, it's the mention of that trait of hers. Mature.

Although she opened up to me about it back then, she also stated that it's what she hated the most.

"Yes. You know you're the only one I confided in about it yet you dare use it on me. Was that intentional?"

"Partly. But that's only because I appreciate your understanding."

"Don't do it again. I lived in a dorm to stop hearing that from my parents but the people in that school still treated me the same. If you start calling me that as well… I'll lose the only place I consider my sanctuary."

At this point in our conversation, our topic was already diverted to what happened. Hana, for the first time, showed a sorrowful look in her eyes.

I guess I made a blunder by mentioning that. She hated being called mature but then, she's really acting like that. Truthfully, from my memory of her and everything I could remember from our time together, this girl also understood it. She just didn't want to acknowledge it.

Let's see. Should I start focusing on making her ease up on that natural trait of hers? It won't be a ticket straight to realizing her feelings for me but at least, as someone from my past and a girl I undoubtedly fell in love with, I also want to do something for her. Not just make her give up on stealing me.

"I see. It must be hard for you. I apologize for mindlessly blurting it out. But my point still stands. You can hate me for it but like I said before, I changed. I'm not the same Ruki that you came to get attached to."

I slowly loosened my arm, releasing her from my hold. Following this, I reached for her hand and continued, "But then again, what happened here is still our wrong. We're probably leaving for tonight after this so I won't let you be the only one losing here."

After pausing there, I held her head by cupping her cheek. Hana stared intently into my eyes, anticipating what I'm about to say next. Or maybe, she just wanted to stare at the guy who meant everything to her.

Yeah. I might be exaggerating that but from everything that happened, that was probably close to her actual evaluation of me.

Do I deserve that? I don't know… Because of everything that I did in the past and most of it something I wasn't really aware of doing, I still had this lingering thought in my mind, blaming myself for everything. It's hard to let that go but thanks to my girls, I'm slowly moving past that.

After a few seconds of silence, I leaned close and planted my lips on hers before continuing, "As compensation, I'll accept another request from you, Hana. Think about it carefully because I'm still set on making you give up on stealing me. Take it as your chance, the same way as you turned your earlier request as a free pass on me."

"… Free pass, you say? You're really too full of yourself, Ruki. Okay, I accept that. I'll think of a request that can pull me closer to my goal of stealing you." After another roll of her eyes, Hana extracted her hand from my hold and stepped to the side to walk past me.

This time, she approached the two girls that were waiting on the bed and for the next few minutes, the three of them conversed over everything that happened in the past and the present. However, they skirted past what had transpired in the living room and this room.

I watched from the side and waited for them to finish. Looking at the time, it's close to eight in the evening. About time to send the two girls home.

A lot has happened to us in this house but I guess the greatest gain was Hana accepting the two girls' intention to reconnect.

Well, let's be honest. The deepening of our relationship was actually the greatest, right?