Yukino is very light.
Akira thought as he held her gently, walking through the hallway toward her bedroom door. Without paying much attention to the room's layout, he pushed it open and stepped inside, his steps steady and quiet.
In his arms, Yukino Yukinoshita buried her head against his chest. Her heart was tangled between shyness and nervousness. She could feel the warmth of his body through his shirt, which only made her own pulse race faster.
Finally, Akira lowered her carefully onto the soft bed.
"Good night, my princess," he said softly.
Yukino looked up at him.
The gentle smile on his face made her chest tighten for a reason she couldn't quite explain. Without another word, Akira turned, left the room, and quietly closed the door behind him.
For a moment, she just lay there, staring at the ceiling. Her heart was still pounding wildly—like a startled deer—and part of her had been prepared to push him away if he tried anything.
But she hadn't expected Akira to be so… well-behaved.
"Is it really because of a sense of responsibility?" she murmured, recalling her sister's teasing evaluation of Akira.
...
The next morning, sunlight filtered through the apartment windows.
Akira had already gone for a morning run, starting from Yukino's apartment and looping through the quiet streets before returning after half an hour.
On the way back, he stopped by the supermarket to buy ingredients for breakfast.
When he returned, Yukino was still asleep. Although she wasn't as much of a late sleeper as Yui Yuigahama, she did enjoy the occasional slow morning, especially on a Saturday when there was no schoolwork to worry about.
Akira walked into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast.
His movements were steady—cracking eggs, toasting bread, preparing tea.
By the time everything was nearly ready, Yukino had woken up.
She had changed into a fresh outfit, and there was a soft, unguarded cuteness in her expression that made her usual coolness seem distant.
"Good morning, my princess," Akira greeted with a small smile.
"D-Don't call me that," Yukino replied, her cheeks flushing slightly.
"Okay, okay, Yukino~" he said with a teasing tone, changing the address as he carried the breakfast to the living room.
Yukino followed quietly behind him. The two of them sat at the dining table and ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"Um… Akira," Yukino spoke softly, setting her cup down. "Where are we going today?"
"That's a secret," Akira replied with a grin. "I want to take you somewhere different."
"... I'm not used to crowded places," she said, her voice hesitant.
"I know. The place I chose is quiet. Peaceful. You'll like it," he reassured. "And at night… we'll stay at my place."
At those words, a faint blush crept across Yukino's face.
She didn't reply, but her lack of protest was enough for Akira to know she had accepted his plan.
After finishing breakfast, they cleaned the dishes together, the morning sunlight casting a warm glow across the kitchen.
Then they took the elevator down, and by the time they stepped outside, the car Akira had arranged was already waiting at the apartment entrance.
….
Their first place to stop wasn't Akira's idea—it was Yukino's.
Since Akira had started coming to her apartment frequently, she thought it might be convenient for him to keep some clothes there.
So, their first destination of the day was a shopping mall.
Naturally, Akira didn't refuse. But once they entered the store, he couldn't resist teasing her a little.
"Yukino, are you sure we're in a clothing store? It feels like you're testing bulletproof gear," Akira said with a grin as she carefully examined a shirt's stitching.
"I… I don't know much about clothes," Yukino admitted, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
"That's fine," Akira chuckled. "I'll choose, and you pay. Seems fair for a date."
"That's fine. You can pick as many as you like. Suits too—you'll need them eventually. Maybe even have a few custom-made," Yukino said without hesitation.
Neither of them were short on money, and buying something for someone they cared about didn't seem like a big deal. So Akira began trying on various outfits.
Yukino watched quietly, her gaze soft yet thoughtful.
Everything he wore looked good on him, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something—perhaps a certain warmth—was missing.
After a while, Akira had picked out more than a dozen sets of clothes.
Without a word, Yukino paid for them all.
The store clerk's expression turned subtly strange, but Akira didn't seem to care.
He thanked them politely, collected the receipts, and left the store with Yukino.
Before long, they found another boutique specializing in custom-made suits. Yukino insisted on ordering five tailored suits for Akira.
He tried to refuse out of politeness, but she was firm—and, in the end, he gave up with a small smile.
The second stop on their date was Akira's choice—a quiet aquarium.
There were no giant pandas to see, but the stillness and beauty of the underwater world were more than enough.
As they watched schools of fish glide past, the gentle play of light through the water made everything feel serene and distant—like they had stepped into another world.
For Yukino, who disliked noisy crowds, it was perfect. She relaxed more visibly with every passing moment.
Akira wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they stood beneath a massive tank, watching a swarm of silver fish drift above them.
"Akira, do you like fish?" Yukino asked suddenly.
"I like braised fish," he replied casually.
Yukino glared at him instantly. "That's not what I meant."
"I know," he said, chuckling. "I don't really like fish themselves, but I do like the calm of the underwater world. It feels… peaceful. Unfortunately, I can't dive, so I've never seen the real deep sea."
Yukino's expression softened. "I can teach you how to dive. It's not hard."
Akira glanced at her, a faint smile returning. "Yukino knows quite a lot."
"... My sister taught me," she replied, her tone quiet but fond. "She's… good at everything."
"There are still things she can't do," Akira said.
"You mean technology?" she asked curiously.
"No," he replied softly, watching a large fish pass by. "I mean… she can't like anyone."
Yukino looked at him, caught off guard.
Akira didn't elaborate. He just kept his eyes fixed on the aquarium's shimmering light.
"My sister is the kind of person who would sacrifice everything for the Yukinoshita family," Yukino said after a moment, her tone subdued. "That's why people should keep their distance from her, especially you."
"Yes," Akira said quietly. "My jealous Princess."
The water rippled gently beyond the glass, filling the silence that followed.
....
After leaving the aquarium, Akira brought Yukino to a small art store.
"Even when you're on a date, you don't forget about work?" Yukino asked as she watched him select sketchbooks and pens.
"It's not work. I just want to draw a bit later," Akira replied. "After this, we'll go to the library. We might stay there for a while."
Yukino blinked. Then she realized what he was planning.
Later, in the quiet library, they sat facing each other at a small wooden table.
Akira was completely focused on his sketchpad, pencil moving steadily over the page. Across from him, Yukino read a thick hardcover novel, occasionally glancing up at him from behind the cover.
Their date wasn't filled with flashy activities or noisy laughter. But for both of them, this quiet moment—just existing together in calm harmony—was more than enough.
For Yui Yuigahama, dates were light-hearted and spontaneous. With Yukino Yukinoshita, however, everything felt different—more delicate, more grounded, as if every moment carried its own quiet meaning.
And perhaps, that was exactly why Akira found himself smiling as his pencil moved across the paper.
...
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