16. Having A Good Night

"Y-you know, I think it m-might be a good idea to sleep soon." Flustered, I fumbled my words while backing off a little, before coming to a stop with my back to the wall. However futile is may be, as she paced her own steps to match mine, as if we were in a metaphorical waltz.

"...I don't mind." She said with a hint of bluntness in her tone, no hint of playful joking on anything that could be latched on to to steer the conversation. So I only did the most rational thing I could. I picked her up by the shoulders, adjusted my arms to a princess carry and took her to Chiori's room.

She was expectantly blushing at me. Her blue eyes glistening while her tiny body was moving around, making me have to adjust my arms again and again.

"W-what are you... doing?" She bashfully asked.

"..." I didn't respond, averting my gaze from her twinkling eyes. She felt light as a feather, unnaturally light. Was she on a diet or something?

We entered my sisters' room. The girl in my arms was already blushing deeply.

Sorry, but no dice.

I laid her on the bed, and tucked her in.

"It's late, you should sleep."

As expected, she looked at me as if I said something incomprehensible. Well, I still hadn't properly explained, so it was natural.

"You're too young to think about stuff like that yet. Plus, I already have a girlfriend."

"I'm not underage." she retorted in a voice filled with embarassment. I didn't believe her, but just to not put her on the spot even further, I simply ignored that part and went on.

"I'll set the alarm for 6:30. It's important that you don't get seen, else this might already get messier than it is already. I'll discuss it with the rest of them later."

She showed me a displeased pouting face. It was clear she expected more. But I'm not going to cheat, I'd never do that to Chiori. That is one line I am not willing to cross.

The girl turned around and tarted whispering something to herself. I shut the door carefully to not make any sound and went back to my room.

My sister looked like she's having a nice dream. A lovely smile plastered on her face. Silently I snuck up and wedged myself in the bed. Finally I could relax and sleep already.

I was drifting off, thinking up all sorts of jumbled, nonsensical thoughts. Tomorrow was gonna be a tough day. Er, no, today was gonna be a long day. It's already today, not tomorrow.

Looking at Chiori's face one more time before falling asleep, I felt that only happy times will be there in the future.

That night, I had a very pleasant dream, just like she had.