146 - A Heavenly Time (Patreon)

RAW

Lying on the bed, Haruto rests his head on Ayaka’s lap.

From above, her cheerful voice reaches him.

"Do you prefer subtitles or dubbing, Haruto?"

"I usually go for subtitles, but since that means I can't look away from the screen, I'm fine with dubbing this time. What about you?"

"I'm a dubbing person. So, let's go with that?"

"Yeah."

Haruto responds briefly. Ayaka continues stroking his head with her right hand while using the remote in her left to adjust the audio and subtitle settings before starting the movie.

As the production company logos appear on the screen, she murmurs, "It's starting," and places the remote down.

Haruto, still resting his head on her thighs, turns his body slightly to face the portable DVD player's screen. At that moment, Ayaka's left hand, which had set down the remote, gently rests near his waist.

"By the way, Haruto, you said you were interested in this drama before. Is this your type of show?"

"Kind of. Plus, it was a huge topic for a while, so I got curious."

"I didn't expect you to care about trends. You always seemed like someone who doesn't follow them, so this is a bit surprising."

"That’s how you saw me? Well, I guess I don’t really keep up with trending music, for example."

"Right, your go-to is enka."

Hearing Ayaka’s soft chuckle from above, Haruto tilts his head up to look at her.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Nope, not at all. I love your enka singing, Haruto."

"...Thanks."

Ayaka smiles brightly down at him, making Haruto turn his face back to the drama, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Once again, her gentle chuckle reaches him. Then, out of nowhere, her hair softly falls over his face, and at the same time, a warm, tender sensation touches his left cheek.

A barely audible “chu” sound lingers in the air, and Haruto instinctively turns his face up again, only to be met with Ayaka’s beaming smile.

"...Ayaka-san?"

"Hehe, when you're lying on my lap, I can kiss you as much as I want."

She speaks happily, clearly enjoying herself.

Faced with her adorable, captivating expression, Haruto feels a mix of joy, embarrassment, and flustered excitement, making his heart tingle.

"...That requires an advance reservation. We don’t offer same-day services."

"Hmm? Then... I'm kissing you now."

Before he can protest, Ayaka lightly presses her lips against his cheek again.

"Wait, did you even hear what I just said?"

Haruto tries to keep his mouth from breaking into a grin as he looks up at her seriously. But she just keeps smiling.

"I did. That's why I gave you a heads-up before kissing you."

"You completely ignored the ‘same-day’ part, huh..."

"Yep."

Ayaka nods immediately, making Haruto let out a small chuckle.

"Haruto, do you not like it? You don't want to kiss me?"

"...Of course not."

"You want to kiss me?"

"...I do."

"Okay... chu."

"Mm."

The third kiss from Ayaka lands on Haruto’s lips.

At this point, he can no longer control his facial muscles—his lips curve into an undeniable smile.

"That was sneaky."

"It wasn’t. I just wanted to kiss you."

"...That’s exactly what makes it sneaky."

Still resting his head on her lap, Haruto reaches up and gently strokes Ayaka’s cheek.

"You really need to be more aware of how charming you are. At this rate, I might go into cardiac arrest."

"That would be a problem. I’d have to give you mouth-to-mouth."

"Wait, that’s for resuscitation, and I’m not—mmph."

Before he can finish his sentence, Ayaka seals his lips with another kiss.

Since he’s lying on her lap, there’s nowhere to escape. Just as she said, it’s "kiss unlimited."

"Feeling revived?"

"I'm about to flatline."

"Then I have to keep going with the CPR."

Enjoying herself far too much, Ayaka keeps stealing his lips. Haruto, realizing it’s futile to correct her about proper resuscitation methods, simply strokes her head.

"Chu... Hehe, lap pillows are the best."

"...Next time I get one, I need to mentally prepare."

"Then I’ll surprise you with an ambush lap pillow."

"No, seriously, don’t. That’s dangerous."

"What’s so dangerous about it?"

"That’s... Oh, wait, we’ve barely watched the drama. If we don’t pay attention now, we won’t understand what’s going on later."

While the lovebirds are completely immersed in their own world, the portable DVD player continues playing the globally popular drama, ignored.

"You’re right. Let’s start it over from the beginning."

Ayaka picks up the remote and rewinds the episode.

"This time, we’ll focus, okay?"

"Yeah, we’ll watch properly."

Haruto warns her, and Ayaka nods obediently.

True to her word, she refrains from sudden kisses and quietly watches the drama.

The opening scene depicts the protagonist’s peaceful daily life.

As the main character, a journalist, arrives at the office, Ayaka glances at the bag of popcorn.

"Which flavor do you want first? Salted or honey butter?"

"Hmm... salted."

"Okay."

She nods and opens the bag of salted popcorn.

"Lying like this makes it hard to reach the popcorn."

"Then I’ll feed you."

She picks up two pieces of popcorn and brings one to Haruto’s lips.

"Here."

"Thanks."

It’s Friday night.

Lazing around, watching a drama while being fed popcorn on Ayaka’s lap—Haruto can’t help but murmur,

"This must be heaven..."

"Hm? Did you say something?"

Ayaka tilts her head, looking down at him.

"Uh, nothing. Looks like the zombies are about to show up."

"Yeah... it's getting kind of scary."

The previously peaceful atmosphere shifts into something eerie.

A typically bustling night district now stands eerily silent, its lights flickering ominously.

"Scenes like this usually mean a sudden zombie attack. Oh, here they come."

"Ahh!?"

A bloodied zombie crashes through a restaurant window, lunging at the protagonist. He is tackled to the ground.

The zombie, baring its teeth, thrashes wildly. The protagonist struggles to push it away. The camera shakes violently, emphasizing the intensity of the scene.

The tension freezes Ayaka’s hand, which had been stroking Haruto’s head.

"Oh no, he's gonna get bitten! He’s—oh! Ohh, that was close—ah!"

"If the main character turned into a zombie right away, the story would end. He’ll be fine."

"You never know... Ahh! He got bitten! He totally got bitten! Look!"

"Huh? Oh, you’re right... What happens now?"

Haruto had expected a predictable escape, but the protagonist actually gets bitten.

Ayaka gasps. "He got bitten..."

Intrigued by the unexpected turn of events, Haruto starts theorizing.

"Maybe he’s immune to the virus? Or maybe there's a vaccine, and the story revolves around that..."

"The zombies are terrifying, but this drama is so good!"

"Yeah."

The globally acclaimed drama proves its worth as they quickly get drawn into the plot.

About thirty minutes in, Haruto shifts slightly.

"Hm? What’s wrong?"

"Lying like this makes it hard to see the screen."

"Want to sit up?"

"Yeah, maybe."

"Okay... Oh, I got an idea!"

Ayaka’s eyes light up.

"What is it?"

She flashes a bright smile.

"Sit up and open your legs a bit."

"Like this?"

He props a cushion against the wall, leans back, and sits with his legs slightly apart.

Then, Ayaka plops down between them.

"Hehe, VIP seat."

She leans back against him.

Haruto, realizing this is another kind of heaven, wraps his arms around her.

"Hehe, now I can cover my eyes with your hands when it gets scary."

Giggling, she takes his hands and places them over her eyes.

"If I peek through my fingers, it's not as scary."

"That’s totally a horror movie trope."

Laughing, Haruto tightens his embrace.