Chapter 424: Restrained Tacit Understanding (Patreon)

"Hm? Who rings the doorbell at a time like this?" Gabriel's tone turned vicious at having her fun interrupted.

She and Jhin were in the middle of pranking each other in It Takes Two!

"Didn't you invite someone over today?"

"I thought that was just one of Raphiel's pranks."

"What prank?"

"Nothing." Gabriel was not about to admit in front of him that she'd give up her gaming time for the sweets he made. If he got the idea that a few sweets were all it took to win her over, she'd be the one taking the loss.

When she still didn't budge and the doorbell kept ringing, Jhin urged, "Hurry up and get the door. It's driving me nuts."

"I don't wanna move. Go open it for me."

"Then stop leaning on me."

"No."

Jhin sighed helplessly. "Fine. I'll open it a different way."

With that, he used his [Stand] to open the door. Raphiel, that gleeful spectator, immediately pushed her way in, complaining as she came, "Gab, why did it take so long to open the door? I've got—"

"Got what?" Gabriel dropped her controller and turned around impatiently to face her, smile frozen. "Finish your sentence already. Is leaving people hanging fun?"

Raphiel's eyes slid to Jhin with keen interest, and she forced out a smile that was barely passable. "Jhin, so you're here at Gab's place."

"Yeah. I haven't visited in a while, so I made a special trip today."

"Ah… I see."

Have I been cursed with bad luck since yesterday?

Yesterday Satania ambushed me with a super-spicy rice ball, this morning I'd gained weight, and now my only source of fun has been wrecked by Jhin dropping in out of nowhere.

Raphiel was starting to crack. Was she doomed to lose everything today?

"So what do you want from me? Jhin's time playing with me is precious, and he has to head back this afternoon. If you've got nothing to say, hurry up and leave. Stop bothering us while we play!"

The sudden stroke of luck nearly made Raphiel weep with joy. Luckily she remembered there were two other people in the room, so she fought down her rising smile and bowed politely. "Then I'll come find you again this afternoon. It's a conversation between girls, so we'll have to keep Jhin out of it."

"Tch… Why so mysterious? Just go!"

"Then I won't interrupt the two of you bonding."

"Get lost. We're best friends already. What's there to bond over?"

Bang! Gabriel shoved Raphiel out, slammed the door shut, and dusted off her little hands as she walked back. "The nuisance is finally gone. Let's keep going."

Halfway through the game, Jhin suddenly remembered that she'd borrowed money from Satania and asked about it offhandedly. Her little mouth, which had been rattling on about the level design, instantly fell silent.

The odd reaction left him puzzled. "Don't tell me you actually spent it on overpriced pay-to-win items?"

"Of course not!" Gabriel shot back loudly, inwardly cursing Satania, that idiot demon, for blabbing about everything.

That money wasn't going to microtransactions. She'd been saving it up to buy something. It was just that a moment of weakness for snacks had accidentally overdrawn her already meager allowance, which was why she'd borrowed money from the idiot demon.

"Are a maid's wages and your Heaven allowance not enough for you?"

"It's not that…" She figured that even if she lied her way out of it, Jhin could easily work out where her money went by some strange means of his. So Gabriel simply told him her plan. "The day we first met is coming up soon, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Thanks for taking me in back then." He reached out and gently stroked the soft hair on top of her head.

"Hmph… Good that you know to be grateful." Gabriel hummed to herself, her pearl-smooth toes wiggling rhythmically against the floor like waves. She felt happier than when a boss drops rare gear, and riding that feeling, she went on. "Think about it. We've been best friends for quite a while now, so I figured I'd give you a present on our anniversary. I've been saving that money as a fund."

Once she'd finished explaining her plan, she suddenly felt nervous. What if Jhin didn't accept the gift?

Why isn't he saying anything? This is killing me!

If the TV hadn't kept blaring game music, the sudden quiet would have driven Gabriel mad.

"You…" She never finished. Jhin pulled her tightly into his arms from behind, and she was so startled her tongue tied itself in knots. "W-what are you doing?"

Jhin buried his whole face in her golden hair. A warm current flowed slowly through his chest, and the shift in his feelings had already shown him how he should face her from now on.

"Gabriel…" His voice brushed across her heart like a feather. Every muscle in her body went rigid, her little fists clenched, and she even stopped breathing.

Is he… is he going to confess to me?

Gabriel had never imagined that her plan to give him a gift would move him so much that he'd fall for her. And romance between angels and humans was strictly forbidden. If it was discovered, the angel would be recalled to Heaven at once, and the human's memories would be erased.

That rule had been built on the blood and tears of many angels, to protect angels sent down for training, and to protect humans, whose lives were short enough already.

"I…"

No, Jhin, don't say it. We're best friends, and you can't say something like that… If… if you really say it, then I… I…

What would I answer?

Gabriel couldn't figure it out. Maybe she'd pretend not to care and turn him down so they could stay best friends. Or maybe she'd fly into a rage, accuse him of trying to get her recalled to Heaven, and give him a thorough scolding, then find a chance to accept his apology and become best friends again.

Her feelings were like a pile of spilled seasonings, a jumble of flavors so complex she couldn't tell what any of them had been to begin with.

But right now, all she wanted was for Jhin to be sensible and not say those words.

"Whatever your gift is, I'll love it." Jhin loosened his arms, then lifted a strand of her shining golden hair and pressed a kiss to it.

Gabriel knew exactly what he'd done, but she pretended she didn't. She understood perfectly well that after a gesture like that, things between them would no longer be pure. It was like a blank sheet of paper being tinted with color through an understanding neither of them spoke aloud.

"Then look forward to it. And since I'm working so hard, how about giving me a raise?"

"I'll pass. I'm afraid you'd spend the extra on pay-to-win stuff."

"Hey, hey, hey! At a moment like this, you won't go along with the mood and give me a raise? Is your heart made of iron?"

"How about I give you a two-bar handicap in fighting games from now on?"

"Every match?"

"Sure."

"Deal, deal! This time I'm going to humiliate you for real. Come on, switch games!"

Gabriel got up to change the game. When she looked back and saw the sunlight shining through the glass onto Jhin's smiling face, the corners of her mouth curved up even higher.