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With a plopping sound, the fruit on the surface of the water swayed.

The yuzu in the bathtub ebbed and flowed, here and there, whenever Zui Getsu moved.

The smallish ones that Mao Mao got for him.

"There are so many of them," she said, "Let's put them in the bath."

"It promotes blood circulation, so it’ll warm you up."

With that said, Zui Getsu hugged Mao Mao from behind as she placed the yuzu in the bathtub.

The words that he'd been longing to say all this time but hadn't been able to get out of his mouth, he mustered up the courage to say them.

"W– Won’t you join me?"

He fumbled.

Pursing his lips tightly at his behaviour, he waited fearfully for Mao Mao's reaction.

While he squeezed his eyes shut because he could only see a future where he was rejected again with frosty eyes, the sigh he heard was enough to make Zui Getsu prepared to lose the battle, but…

"Okay, I'll get ready, so Zui Getsu-san, you can go in first."

Because of the unexpected answer, Zui Getsu felt his blood circulation improving excessively, even before he got into the bath.

And now, Zui Getsu was in the bathtub, waiting for Mao Mao to arrive.

(Is she really coming?)

She urged him to go in first, but at this rate, he was starting to feel like he would wind up dizzy.

He was just thinking, "Well, I suppose it can't be helped," when he heard someone in the changing room, followed by the sound of clothes rustling.

(Really–?!)

Even though he had proposed it himself, when it looked like it was going to happen, Zui Getsu involuntarily placed his clenched hand on top of his heart, as it leapt up and down.

He couldn't help but be aware of the person on the other side of the door, her figure through the frosted glass. His blood circulation was about to increase due to something other than the efficacy of the yuzu, so he moved in a panic, disrupting the water's surface with a splash.

"Excuse me."

Mao Mao came in with the light noise of the door opening.

"Tha– That was quick?!"

With a shrill, excited voice, Zui Getsu looked at Mao Mao and instantly looked away.

Mao Mao draped a towel over her front, but the lines of her slender body were visible in the vivid light, and the heat of his own body grew more and more intense.

He turned away, but the sound of the shower behind him, the sound of the pump, the sound of the scrubbing and washing…

While his ears perked up, gathering those, his mouth twisted at the dilemma of wanting to see but being unable to.

Readying himself, he glanced back stealthily, but his eyes met with Mao Mao holding a sponge with bubbles on it, and Zui Getsu turned his head back vigorously.

However, the lines leading to her bare shoulders and chest that he had just caught sight of, made him naturally slouch.

(I wish the water was cloudy.)

It was impossible for this cat not to notice Zui Getsu's physical changes, nor was it likely that she would regard it favourably.

In the meantime, the sound of the running shower stopped, and there were signs that Mao Mao was moving.

When Zui Getsu turned around, what she saw was Mao Mao with an embarrassed face and a hand on the bathtub.

"………"

"I need to get in there, so make some room please."

"Ah, yeah."

Mao Mao, raising an eyebrow at the speechless Zui Getsu, spoke up.

When Zui Getsu made room in the bathtub, Mao Mao slipped into it.

Then, after distancing herself from Zui Getsu, she picked up the floating yuzu and held it up to her nose.

"Smells good, doesn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Have you warmed up?"

"Yeah."

"…Was this delicious?"

"Yeah."

"How many did you eat?"

"Yeah."

"………"

Mao Mao's expression changed to one of concern as Zui Getsu seemed to be completely out of his mind.

"Perhaps, you’ve gotten dizzy?"

"Yeah."

As she thought, "This can't be good," Zui Getsu caught Mao Mao's outstretched hand and pulled her into a hug at once.

There was a loud sound of splashing water, and the backsplash covered Mao Mao's face, but there was a feeling more noticeable than that.

His muscular arms holding her body to his bare, firm male chest and the feeling on her stomach…

"You know it’s hitting me, right?"

"Yeah."

(Nothing but this again.)

Mao Mao firstly ignored the thing hitting her stomach and then moved her face to check if Zui Getsu, who only responded in the same way as a broken toy, was dizzy from staying in too long.

Looking up into Zui Getsu's eyes, Mao Mao twisted her face.

There he was, clad in more sex appeal than Mao Mao could imagine, but with the eyes of a stray dog.

Those pupils, together with the arms that held her tightly and that one hitting her stomach, were attesting to the future he sought.

Even Mao Mao knew this was going to happen when this situation was initially suggested.

She knew it, but…

(I’m in trouble.)

This one was more worked up than she expected.

Even if chicken bones were in front of him, he would likely devour her completely.

(It’s usually that and yet, what's up with him?)

Suddenly, a heavy body slumped over Mao Mao, as she thought about it.

"Wai… Zui Getsu-san– Heavy–"

While protesting, she looked up again, and on Zui Getsu's face, his eyes were closed and his cheeks were dyed red.

"Hot…"

He was dizzy.

Lying on the sofa, Zui Getsu regretted it vehemently.

He was upset with himself for missing out on a great opportunity.

Even if he regretted it, he couldn't regret it, so he grasped the fist, about the size of his missed cat, that rested on his forehead.

And then there was a cooling sensation.

"Yes, it’s a towel. And you should take this."

"Yes…"

He had no choice but to listen obediently to Mao Mao's nonchalant attitude.

The sports drink that was offered to him certainly seemed to permeate his body.

Mao Mao, gazing at Zui Getsu acting like that, let out a sigh.

"You'll go to bed quietly today."

Tightly, Zui Getsu's eyebrows furrowed and his lips were clenched firmly together.

(That's easy to understand, huh.)

She laid her hand on the wet towel on Zui Getsu's forehead as she thought, "Where's the composed expression you had out there?"

"You can't afford to collapse again."

"…I know."

Mao Mao smiled bitterly at Zui Getsu's mouth, which was pouting like a child's.

"There's still a lot of yuzu."

A big sister gave her a bag full of yuzu that was difficult to carry home.

"I'll go in first tomorrow and wait for you."

At Mao Mao's words, Zui Getsu bolted up.

"So that would mean that, wouldn't it?! Are you sure?!"

(How badly do you want to go in with me…)

Mao Mao nodded while pulling away from Zui Getsu's intensity, and like a child who had been rewarded, he laughed and lay flat on the sofa again.

"So go to bed quietly today, please."

"I get it."

As Zui Getsu was in high spirits, Mao Mao thought, "Was I too hasty?" and the next night she was painfully aware that she was too hasty as expected.

This is an early winter story about a bewitching beauty and his adorable beloved.