Chapter 33: Me and Haru

～～～～～～～～～
This has to be a dream.

The sky is clear, a gentle breeze is blowing, and the place looks like an endless green meadow.

At some point, a goddess had ended up in my arms.

To me, this goddess was radiant, warm, and gave off a calm, gentle light.

And she was mine. Mine alone. I wouldn't give her to anyone.

At long last, she'd finally become mine.

Haru, I love you.
～～～～～～～～～

In the morning, I slowly got up from bed.
Yesterday, I might’ve gone a bit overboard.

Since it was Sunday, I put my all into making a bento and brought it to Kiri’s house.

Of course, the main dish was hamburger steak. I mean, that’s about all I can make—I’ve been slacking, after all.
From now on, I want to expand my repertoire and make Kiri happy.
I’ve got to keep working hard so I can make even tastier meals.

And after the meal, well... you know. That.
I don’t need to spell it out.

It felt even more intimate than before. It was incredibly satisfying and brought immense pleasure.
I felt Kiri’s deep love, and I wanted to return that in every way I could.
I genuinely wanted to melt into her, mix together, and become one—so much so that I kept thinking about it over and over.

I’ll probably be hooked for a while.

Looking back, this weekend was really intense.

Just thinking about it makes my heart flutter, and I feel so light on my feet.
That haze in my chest I felt up until this morning? Gone like it was never there. I can’t even remember why I was worried.

I wonder if things could’ve turned out like this sooner if I hadn’t been so hung up on stuff.
…But then again, I don’t think we would’ve ended up like we are now.

If things had stayed the same back then, I don’t think we could’ve become best friends as well as lovers.
Depending on how things went, maybe Kiri would’ve even dumped me someday.
Back then, I was just another girl.

A girl who just wanted to be liked by Kurakomu-kun, who spoke in polite language and acted all sweet. That kind of girl.
It was nothing like the best friend and lover dynamic Kiri really wanted.

But now, it’s different.
Because we started over as best friends, even the way I speak has changed.
Now I can look at both my own feelings and Kiri’s and choose what’s right. That’s the kind of relationship we have.

At the core of it, we both truly wanted to be lovers built on our best-friend bond, and that desire aligned perfectly.

Thinking about it like that, it really feels like me and Kiri are a miracle.
I almost feel like we’re the only ones in the world who’ve had a connection like this.

And that means we really are the happiest people in the world.

Heh… If this keeps going forever, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Oh yeah, now that I think about it, when Kiri came to pick me up yesterday, he said something like this:

"I’m gonna marry Haru and move into your family, ma’am!"

A bold proposal—and a declaration of moving in!?

After that, Kiri talked to me and Mom about everything that had happened since he moved away back in middle school.
Apparently, he said that because he really doesn’t want to stay at his current house.

I didn’t mind either way, but Mom had a different take.

"Grow into a proper adult first, and then we’ll talk again. If you still feel the same way and want to marry into our family, then I’ll gladly accept you. Oh! And don’t worry, I already approve of you marrying Haru either way."

Mom!? was my first reaction, but honestly, either way is fine.
I’m planning to spend my life with Kiri, so it doesn’t really matter. …Actually, being the one who’s “marrying into” her family might feel a bit easier for me, to be honest.

After hearing what Mom said, it looked like Kiri got the message.

"Then, when the time comes, I’ll bring it up again properly. Mother-in-law."

When Mom heard that, she was surprised at first, but soon she was smiling happily.

Still, for Kiri to have gone through something like that back in middle school... I wish he’d told us sooner.
...I get it. He didn’t want to worry me.
But from now on, I hope he won’t keep things to himself and will talk to me too.

“Good morning! You’re early again today!”

As usual, Kiri came to pick me up, and I greeted him in my summer uniform.

“Nah, it’s the same time as always. Good morning.”

“Well, it’s just a greeting, so don’t read too much into it.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

I took Kiri’s outstretched hand. We linked fingers like lovers.

“Yeah. Let’s go. I’m off!”

Just as I finished my morning goodbye inside and was about to close the door, Kiri cut in.

“I'm off, Mother-in-law!”

That guy’s already at it... well, whatever. But I have to lay down the rules.

“I’m sure you know, but she’s my mom, okay?”

“I know, I know. She’s my mother-in-law too, after all.”

“Not yet!! That’s too soon!”

I’ll introduce him to Dad soon too, yeah, that’s the plan.
I wonder if he’ll properly call him “Father-in-law.” That’ll be fun.
Well, knowing my dad, he’d probably be happy to have a new son.

As we walked together, the road felt new even though it was the same one as last week.
Everything I saw seemed to sparkle, as if the world itself was celebrating us.

At a glance, it might seem like nothing’s changed between us.
But the way Kiri and I face each other, our thoughts and feelings—they’ve changed a lot. Mostly me, though.

From now on, as best friends and lovers, I want to stay close to Kiri.

And today is really perfect weather—a clear sky as if it’s celebrating our new start. It has to be this way.
After all, I’m, as my name says, a “sunny girl,” not a “sunny boy.”

“Kiri, I’m the happiest person in the world.”

“Me too. I’m the happiest in the universe, Haru.”

Saying that, we smiled at each other.