His lips turned downwards as he raised the flimsy thing to the heater, angling the book to reveal her artwork. What were once detailed black lines over paper was now an inky blotch that spread across the parchment. "I'm sorry..." His eyes started to water a little again.
Amber panicked, alarmed at his reaction. Was he actually crying? She squinted, shocked at the sight of beads of tears welling up at the corners of his eyes.
He was!
"Please, it's just paper and ink. It's replaceable compared to you," she told him quickly.
The sight of him tearing up made her heart hurt and she hated to see him sad. Those teary eyes made her heart burn painfully. It felt as if someone had shoved a red hot poker deep into her left ventricle, cooking the muscle inside.
"B-but..." His voice trembled as he stammered out his words.
"I couldn't care less about that damn thing." She shook her head. "Homework? I can redo it," she told him firmly. She would only have to sacrifice a few hours of sleep. Maybe her health. "But you? You're worth more than any sketchbook to me."
He was. He was her soulmate, the other part of her soul. Meeting him on the street had been a lucky blessing that Fate had gifted to her.
"I-I," he blushed prettily at her words, his sad expression transforming into a pleased, shy smile.
He scratched the back of his neck bashfully, playing a little with his hands. He looked pretty like that, with his cheeks dusted a soft pink and his skin a gentle gold in the light. "But your art..."
"I can draw that again. It's fine." She soothed, her voice dipping into a gentle coo to staunch the flow of his tears. Her eyes zeroed in on the watery orbs. "Stop worrying, dummy."
She smiled, using her fingers to rub the creases between his brows. He appeared surprised by her actions, but he didn't move away, letting her smooth out the dips in his face.
His eyes were shy as they moved to dart over her hands, then to her face. The baby pink of his cheeks was increasing in saturation and hue, changing into a violent red that blossomed over his skin and spread down his neck.
Like an unfurling rose that transformed from the pink buds into stunning red petals. Her lips quirked at the sight. She wondered whether she would have this effect on him forever or if this was just temporary.
She would kill to see adorable Hikaru for the rest of her life.
"O-ok..." He blushed, cheeks turning a brighter shade of red before he looked away to fiddle with the heater again, even though the settings were pushed as high as they could go.
She could tell that he was panicking as the silence dragged longer. He was usually portrayed as the more talkative, confident one in the group in the media. To see him so flustered and shy was...Different. He cleared his throat, shifting in his seat as he spoke.
"My Dad is going to kill me," he murmured softly, playing with his sleeves.
He squeezed the edges and a steady stream of water flowed out from his jacket to drip onto the carpet of his car. He grimaced and sighed, his bottom lip jutted out cutely. "I can't believe I made both of us run in the rain."
"On the bright side, we did check off one to-do on my bucket list," she said. He glanced at her, a brow raised in question. She shrugged, giving him a lazy grin as her voice dipped. "Romantic kissing in the rain."
He flushed turning into a more vibrant shade of beetroot if that was even possible. God, he is so, sooo cute. Her mind cooed over the sight of him blushing and squirming at her words.
She expected him to look away. Expected him to falter in embarrassment but was surprised to find herself met with a pair of unwavering eyes. Eyes that looked into hers straight-on without fear.
Those eyes were stormy, dark and chaotic with his emotions. They bored into her skin letting loose the emotions that came from deep within his body and soul.
Lust. Want. Need.
An expression that she found familiar having seen it in Sieon and Ezra's eyes. She flushed, feeling her cheeks warm up at his intense gaze.
It reminded her of how those sweet, delicate kisses had turned into a full-on heavy petting session. Her fingers gripping on his tiny waist, thumb rubbing against the deep V of his hips. His own hands were cupping a firm feel of her ass as he pulled her onto his hardness, pressing into her core.
They had broken apart when the thunder had struck a little too close for comfort, darting to his car for shelter and safety. Hikaru had spotted her single bare foot and he had swooped her off her feet to carry her for the rest of the way. That had been seriously romantic and so damn fucking hot.
"I-it was nice," Hikaru stammered out softly, breaking her out of her own thoughts. "But let's not do that anytime soon again. I was afraid the whole time that we would get struck by lightning." She huffed, letting a puff of amusement escape her lips.
"With all those taller lamps beside us?"
"Hey!" He chided her. She laughed then, giggling at his false expression of anger. The pout and frown was cute on his face. Seriously, seriously cute. "The weather is weird and I worry for your safety." He ended those words with a hard stare, his face melting from the playful pout to one of seriousness.
He reached for the zipper of his jacket. "Take off your wet clothes...You'll catch a cold." He peeled off his own jacket to toss it at the backseat haphazardly. The action revealed the thin t-shirt underneath that clung tightly to his muscles like a second skin.
Holy shit.
Her eyes went round at the sight. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Where was all that muscle in his music videos? Amber flushed, averting her eyes quickly but she found herself trying to catch another glimpse of his body.
His muscles were hard and steely at all the right places, refined and shaped by physical training. They made for a pretty sight, creating oddly erotic dips and lines in his clothes.
Her eyes were hooked. Hooked on the slope of his hip bones that created a V shape which led to his groin. The bump of his abdominal muscles. The sinewy ridges along his ribs that led to bulging chest muscles and defined collar bones. That final delicious spread of meat that stretched over his broad shoulders and bulged at his arms.
With the tapered waist and lean perfectly shaped muscles, he was extremely aesthetically pleasing to her eyes. Why did his stylist always conceal this perfect body under so many layers of thick glittery clothes? Her mind swerved flashing images of his usual dressing. Suits. Long sleeves. Double layers. Sweaters. Hell, if she were the stylist she would be dressing him in clothes that clung to his frame and emphasised on the thinness of his waist.
What she would give to see him take off that shirt...
"You like this?" Her soulmate teased and her eyes darted to him quickly, feeling as if she were caught doing something naughty. She snapped her mouth shut at his words, swallowing the pool of saliva that had threatened to escape her lips. Shit did she drool? She swallowed again, her cheeks hot and sweat beading on her back.
When did it get so damn hot?
He was smiling cheekily, looking proud despite the dust of pink on his cheeks. "I bet you can wash your clothes on my abs." What? She raised a brow at his words, snorting at his nod towards the English phrase.
Washboard abs.
"Hmmm we can try," she raised a brow. He flushed, seemingly losing his sudden burst of confidence as he returned to his embarrassed cuter state. "Yeah, I like it. You look good. Too good." She said, answering his question. Her voice was soft and far away as she absent-mindedly traced a finger from his heart down to his stomach.
The hard velvet of his muscles felt amazing under her fingers. He was not the soft gentle rolls of fat she was used to on her own body. Hikaru was all hard velvety muscle. The steel of his body resisting the press of her fingers.
She was pretty sure he was flexing under her touch just to impress her further. She smirked, almost laughing out loud at the look of concentration on his face. The adorable crease between his brows and the jut of muscle at his clenched jaw indicated his exertion.
Her fingers trailed down. She was not really thinking of anything except marvelling at the texture. Just as how one would enjoy running their fingers along fluffy velvet blankets.
He stopped her then, his fingers clutching hers tightly before she could go any further. She blinked, eyes shifting to meet his. What? She blinked again, confused. He was blushing, the colour bright red on his plump cheeks, a smile stretching across full lips.
"You're a pervert," he chided softly, but the smile remained on his lips a pleased, smug grin. His voice had dipped into a low rumble akin to a soft purr of a cat. She gawked, finally realising where the hell her hand was running to and what she was essentially going to touch if she ventured any lower.
WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE DOING?