'Damn, why didn't I pay attention?' I thought as I leaned against the door and took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
The scene of Darkness in his underwear reflected in the mirror was still burning in my mind. I felt the blood rush to my face. And just remembering her expression, with those surprisingly wide eyes and her trembling mouth...
'She didn't shout at me,' I realized. "I wonder if..."
I could have sworn there was a touch of hesitation in her voice when she asked what I was doing. So, before I could rationalize the situation or act sensibly, I found myself driven by a strange and somewhat reckless desire to enter that room again. My fingers trembled slightly as I touched the doorknob again.
'After all, Darkness... she's not exactly shy, is she? I'll just... see what happens,' I thought.
With a careful movement, I pushed the door again, this time opening it just enough to peek inside. Darkness was still there, right in front of the mirror. She now had an expression that oscillated between confusion and... perhaps a touch of embarrassment? Her body was bulky, very bulky, but also well defined as you would expect from a crusader.
Quickly, her golden eyes turned to me in the reflection in the mirror, wide for a moment before she turned her body to face me, instinctively crossing her arms at chest level to hide what the bra was already hiding. The movement was so abrupt that the fabric of her bra trembled a little, and her cheeks took on a deep blush.
"L-Leonard?!" She stammered, tightening her arms around herself. "Really, what are you doing?"
Hesitantly, I stepped inside. Unable to stop my own instincts. The walls of her room weren't much different from mine, they were a light beige color.
I entered, hesitant but unable to stop myself, carefully closing the door behind me. Our surroundings seemed closed in, almost too intimate. The walls of the room were light beige, but the furniture was much more delicate. Probably because she was a noblewoman and was used to beautiful things.
"I'm sorry... I didn't know you were... like this." I said, opening my arms.
Darkness looked away for a moment and turned sideways. She had a strange way of dealing with awkward situations, I knew that. It was as if she secretly liked feeling vulnerable. Part of me wanted to believe that was why she wasn't punching me in the face or screaming for help.
"W-what do you want from me?" Darkness asked.
I approached, slowly, as if I didn't want to break the moment, but at the same time fascinated by the situation. Darkness kept looking at me, trying to look firm, but her wide eyes betrayed her.
"I just... I was lost. I didn't know where the bathroom was." I said.
Darkness let out a nervous laugh, an almost forced sound. "You really do have the worst timing, Leonard."
"Maybe. Or maybe it's fate." I said, tossing my head slightly to one side.
She looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. "Fate? You think seeing a lady in... at a time like this is fate?"
"I think... you haven't thrown me out yet," I replied, teasing her.
Her eyes widened again and for a second I thought she was going to flinch. But instead, Darkness lowered her gaze. Her hand loosened its grip on her breast, and she looked away.
"Maybe because... part of me doesn't want you to go." She said with such a flush on her face that her skin seemed to have a naturally reddish hue.
The shock was instantaneous. I hadn't expected her to say that. Darkness was always the most restrained in her desires, always denied them, and although her masochistic traits were evident in battle, hearing something like that at such an intimate moment messed with my perception of her.
"So... can I stay?" As I took another step closer to her, I asked.
"Yes, but if... if you do something stupid, I'll kill you."
I smiled, moving closer until I could feel the warmth of her body just a few centimeters from mine. "I think I can risk it."
Darkness lifted her head slightly and stared at me for a moment, trying to maintain her posture, but the truth was that the tension between us was already beyond what either of us could ignore. Slowly, she uncrossed her arms, allowing me to see more of her body while her eyes shone with a mixture of shame and desire.
At this point, I raised my right hand and grasped her chin, lightly kneading her cheeks with my fingers.
[You received 1 Heart with Darkness.]
'Ow, it's surprisingly easy to win hearts with the girls in this universe.' I concluded mentally.
Her skin was warm to the touch, and the slight tremor I saw in her lips made me realize how nervous she was. Her breathing was fast. And, for a brief moment, I thought about pulling back, about giving her the space that any sensible person would need in that situation.
But I didn't.
I moved forward.
My lips met hers, and I saw the shock in Darkness as her eyes widened for a brief second before slowly closing. Darkness hesitated at first, but soon I felt her mouth open slightly, allowing our tongues to finally meet.
My fingers trailed down from her chin to her neck. Darkness, for her part, kept her arms at her sides, as if fighting the temptation to push me away or pull me closer.
Her hesitation didn't last long.
With a move I hadn't expected, Darkness let out a little moan that vibrated against my lips and, in an impulse of emotion that was very characteristic of her, she tried to push me back with her hands. But instead of resisting, I used that moment to turn the situation in my favor. With a quick twist, I pushed Darkness against the bed behind her. She fell with a soft thud, and the impact caused her blonde hair to spill around her face.
Her eyes were wide again, but this time there was something different about them. A mixture of surprise, embarrassment and, most importantly, desire. She gasped, trying to control her breathing as she stared down at me, as if processing what had just happened. And, for a moment, I thought she was going to attack me, kick me, do something that would be typical of the Darkness I knew, but no...
"Leonard... This... This isn't right." She put her hands on her breasts again, denying it.
"Isn't it?" I said and approached her again.
Darkness was a warrior, a crusader who faced monsters and dangers with a smile on her face, a woman who was proud of her strength. But there, at that moment, lying beneath me, she seemed almost completely vulnerable.
"Do you want me to leave?" I asked, looking into her eyes.
Again, her eyes looked into mine and then away. I thought about just stopping, but then she opened her arms, leaning them against the sheet as her back was against it, and she said:
"Of course I don't want you to go."
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