Amane was off work today, so he sat in the living room and worked through his homework, just as he did before he had a job. Mahiru was sitting beside him as she usually did, but kept glancing at him strangely.
Amane wondered if something was off about his appearance, but he had checked himself in the mirror before, and didn't notice anything particularly out of the ordinary. He didn't think he had forgotten something related to Mahiru either, so he couldn't figure out the meaning of her stares.
"Something up? You've kinda been glancing over at me a lot." "P-Pay it no mind. It's nothing."
Amane tilted his head, mostly because Mahiru was still staring in his direction as he asked that. With the way she was looking at him, he didn't think it was because of something he had done, but rather, Mahiru seemed to want to say something to him. Amane advised, "If you have something you want to say, don't hesitate to tell me, alright?"
"Ah—It's nothing much, erm… rather than having something I want to say, I was simply worried about something. I was lost in thought."
"If you're alright with me saying so, I can give you some advice. There are times when it's better to talk to someone about it than to keep it to yourself. Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, then I won't try to force you to talk."
It seemed that Mahiru had something on her mind, and she was worried about whether or not to discuss it with him. Amane, convinced that something was worrying her, nodded his head in encouragement and looked at Mahiru, inviting her to begin talking if she was okay with confiding in him.
"N-No, it's not a serious problem… I was just thinking of what to say." "And?"
"...Erm, you see… I-I really, really want to touch you, Amane-kun." "...Come again?"
For a moment, he couldn't understand what she had said and let out a confused exclamation, but Mahiru's panic after saying her desires out loud was far from normal; her face was bright red, and she flailed her arms in desperation. With tears in her eyes, "That's not what I meant!" Mahiru insisted. "I-I didn't mean it in a weird way! Erm, I haven't had much time to be close to you since you started working, so, erm, I feel like I haven't had enough contact with you lately, so... I would like to spend more time with you, Amane-kun." "Hm? If that was the case, you should've told me sooner."
"I-I mean, there's only a limited number of days off... You must be tired, so it would be bad to only spend that time with me, no? You may want to hang out with Akazawa-san or Kadowaki-san, have something else you want to do, or just take a rest, so I thought it would be bad to be selfish."
Apparently, she was worried about whether he was tired from his part-time job, had some other obligation, or if there was something else he wanted to do instead. He couldn't help but smile at her cuteness for a moment, but then the feeling turned into exasperation.
"There's no way I'd think you were selfish. You know that I don't consider that selfishness. Rather, it's asking to be pampered, which isn't the same as being selfish at all. It's not like I've refused you every time, so just try talking to me. You shouldn't limit yourself in asking for what you want for yourself."
Amane wished she would tell him when she was pained by waiting too long, and he didn't think he had become the kind of man who would call that being selfish.
"Besides, even if I say no, it's because I happen to be a bit busy right now," Amane explained. "I'd absolutely welcome it once I've finished my homework, okay? All we have to do is make time for each other for some pampering, so don't just assume it is impossible without asking."
"...Okay."
"Now that you understand, c'mere."
Once Amane spread his arms wide toward his cute girlfriend, Mahiru, who was usually very reserved when being pampered, she instead yelped this time. "Huh?"
"Didn't you want to touch me?" Amane asked.
"B-But, you were doing your homework, Amane-kun. It doesn't have to be right now."
"I haven't been given a deadline for this yet, so satisfying your heart takes priority, Mahiru. And also…"
"Also?"
"I want to recharge, too."
Mahiru wasn't the only one that was feeling lonely. Even for Amane, who was getting exhausted working at a part-time job, which he hadn't gotten used to yet, touching his girlfriend was a necessary part of healing time.
Since Amane was being so honest, Mahiru panicked a little before blushing and said, "...Okay." She then leaned against Amane's chest, entrusting her body to him.