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暖かい
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Chapter Four
▏COCOA▕

꧁꧂

☾ STAGE TWO ☾

The feeling of warmth embraced him.

There, curled up next to his side, was the sleeping form of his lover and fiancée, (L/N) (Y/N).

His light blue eyes scanned over her figure in the darkness, and his facial expression drooped to a worried frown.

Even in deep slumber, his lover looked downright exhausted due to her growing sickness. There was no doubt he was concerned for her wellbeing, but he also despaired over the fact that nothing was working to help her.

It had just recently started getting worse out of nowhere.

She seemed mostly fine as the sickness seemed sporadic and light, but now, it was a lot more harsh and much more frequent.

Following his own instincts, he pulled her closer to his own body, hoping to shelter her with his everlasting warmth and love for her—and he also heavily wished he could give her the same warmth she let him feel just for loving him the way she did.

His movements seemed to be a mistake however, as (Y/N) suddenly shifted in her sleep, small mumbles escaping her tired lips.

He inwardly cursed at himself as he watched her slowly wake up, her eyes gradually opening to see him right next to her.

"Hakuji?" she called out to him quietly.

"Go back to sleep, my love," he hushed her gently, doing his best to persuade her to fall back to slumber. If anything, he did not want her to overwork herself, and he wanted her to get as much rest as possible so that her sickness would go away.

Too sleepy to reply or make another move, she instead complied and closed her eyes.

(Y/N) snuggled closer to him, resting her face in the crook of his neck. Hakuji allowed her to, and wrapped his arms tighter around her waist. It felt more protective this way, and he liked it, for he internally swore he would do anything to protect her.

"I love you," she mumbled to him, before going back to sleep.

Hakuji stayed silent at her confession of adoration, but she unconditionally knew he reciprocated her feelings. He did not need to say anything at all as she feel asleep to the sound of his breaths and his heartbeat.

And when Hakuji noticed her breathing had slowed down, indicating she finally fell asleep, he leaned downwards and planted a delicate kiss atop her head.

"I love you more."

꧁꧂

The feeling of warmth embraced him.

The way her hand held his own tightly, and the way her fingers interlaced with his—he didn't really care where she was taking him.

After reuniting that one fateful day in the coffee shop, they resumed their relationship as if they were still in their previous life. But this time, with (Y/N) healthy, they were able to enjoy themselves on dates.

Now, both lovers had just finished a dinner date at an expensive restaurant, and were both still dressed in their formal attire.

It was already dark, and since the restaurant was practically right next to the shore, it was even darker.

The small boardwalk they headed to was practically empty at this time of night, but (Y/N) still pulled Hakuji's hand along with her towards the wooden planks above the ocean.

"Hey, (Y/N)," Hakuji called towards his lover, a bit worried as he glanced around the empty boardwalk they traveled down. "It's really late, and super cold out here." He eyed the bare skin of his lover's arms, which he saw slightly shiver from the chill of the night. "Maybe we should start heading back, instead?"

"I just want to spend a few minutes out here," (Y/N) told him, and she seemed pretty set on going.

She halted in her tracks for a moment as Hakuji quickly let go of her hand. She turned, thinking he was going to oppose to her idea, but he instead unbuttoned and took off his dark blue blazer.

Instant warmth suddenly flooded the top half of her body when he swung his large blazer over her shoulders, leaving his top only covered by a white long-sleeved collared shirt. Hakuji then resumed holding her hand, and the two continued to walk forward, (Y/N) now comforted by the warmth of his blazer.

She pulled him to sit down on a lonely bench near the end of the boardwalk, where they were facing the pitch black ocean and the endless night sky.

The view wasn't as pretty as (Y/N) thought it would be, much to her disappointment. The stars were barely even visible against the glow of the city outside the boardwalk. All that laid before them was a pitch nothingness.

Hakuji stayed silent, waiting for her to speak as she stared out towards the crashing sea.

Instead of talking, however, she instead scooted until she was right next to him, and leaned her head down on his shoulder. Hakuji followed her movements, laying atop her, but not before placing a kiss down on her head.

She suddenly spoke, "You know I'm glad we both remember our past, right?"

Her voice was light and airy, and Hakuji almost didn't hear her as it flowed along with the wind of the sea around them.

"I know that," he replied. "I mean, I would hope that you're glad to see me again," he then lightheartedly joked.

(Y/N) let out a small hum of amusement, but not a full chuckle or laugh. At this alone, Hakuji could tell she was smiling, and quietly enjoying the moment of intimacy they shared together with a more serious tone.

He leaned away from her for a moment, and she looked up at him curiously. Hakuji felt his own heart flutter when she leaned towards his backed up form, almost as if she was following the trail of his warmth.

She stopped, however, when both his hands cupped the cheeks of her face and brought her closer to him.

Their eyes shut as Hakuji's warm lips met her sweet ones.

And they stayed like that for a moment, sitting on the bench in front of the dark ocean under the light of a single lamp post.

The cold wind around them did not matter whilst they were in each other's arms.

When they leaned away from their breathless kiss, (Y/N) could not help but smile lovingly up at her partner.

"Thank you for finding me again, Hakuji," she said to him, her arms moving upwards to wrap around his neck. She pulled him in for a tight hug, and the two lovers let out both a grin and a lighthearted laugh at each other.

(Y/N) then stood from her seat, walking towards the edge of the bench and extending an arm out to him.

Taking her signal to leave the boardwalk, he grabbed her hand, and the two of them walked down the wooden planks back to the car so they could finally end the date and go back to their respective apartments.

The two lovers walked down the empty boardwalk under the cold night, but felt immensely warm with each other.

The other's presence alone was more than enough to satisfy their happiness, and they could not ask for anything more.

This was the life they wanted to live during their past one, and now, in the modern era, they could finally experience their dream together.

With his arm protectively secured around his lover's figure, Hakuji pulled her closer to him, and planted a quick kiss to her cheek.

He felt more than grateful to her.

"Thank you for loving me again."

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