KINTSUkuroi
[Chapter VI] - Passionate Red

'Nghhh...!' Nicolas grunted softly as the sun rays piercing through the blinds and the joyful chirping of swallows welcomed him once again to the realm of the awoken. His eyes, not yet adjusted to the morning light, failed to recognise his surroundings. He was certain about one thing, however: this place, wherever it was, was not the location he last remembered being at. A few minutes passed until the short male's eyes finally became accostumed to daylight, thus allowing him to determine he was in his bedroom.

Finding himself in a familiar place brought some much-needed relief to the curly-haired man. That relief, nonetheless, was short-lived as he soon noticed he was unable to get out of the bed. It was almost as if the bed was pulling him back into its soft embrace with the... persuasive... hold of a loving woman.

It was only then that Nicolas noticed the pair of arms boldly wrapped around him. His gaze inevitably turned to the hands now pressing gently against his chest. Long, slender fingers which showcased a set of perfectly-preserved nails painted in amaranth red.

He had seen that shade of red before; that shade of red which screamed 'passion'. 'Where? Where have I seen that shade of red before? Why does the mere sight of it make my heart race so violently?' he struggled to remember.

"Ahhhhh~! What a wonderful night's sleep! I bet you enjoyed yourself just as much, hmm Nic~?" a voice spoke behind him.

Then it dawned on him: that voice; that manner of speech; and that shade of red, the very same shade as that of the eyes which so deeply captivated him.

His heart galloped, pounding violently against his chest.

"C-C-C-Ciel...!?" he asked in utter shock, unable to make sense of the fact that she was hugging him from behind. He was so overwhelmed by the whole situation that for a few seconds he failed to notice the greater issue...

"AAAAHHHH!!! W-W-W-WHY ARE YOU IN YOUR UNDERWEAR!?!?!?" he yelled, immediately closing his eyes, not that it would help him erase the image from his mind.

"I always sleep in my underwear. I simply don't feel comfortable otherwise." the Giant woman answered casually.

"B-B-But you can't do that with me around...!" the shy male protested.

"Right. Because you of all people would take advantage of poor, little me~." Ciel retorted with a clear hint of sarcasm, putting special emphasis on the word 'little'.

"T-That aside, h-how did you get here...? A-And why w-were you sleeping with me...?" the male inquired, still unable to fully recover from the initial shock this eventful morning had greeted him with.

"You sound as if you were unhappy that I'm here with you. Is that how you feel?" the ravenette countered, her teasing tone fading into one of concern.

"N-N-N-No, i-it's not t-that...! I-It's j-just... I-I tend to move around a l-lot in my s-sleep so i-it is likely that I-I ended up t-touching p-parts of your b-body I s-should not touch..." Nicolas struggled to voice his concerns.

Ciel stayed silent for a moment, and Nicolas feared the worst: had he really done something so inappropriate in his sleep? How would he be able to look at her in her face again? How would he ever atone for his sins? How would he ever earn her forgiveness?

The non-stop stream of self-deprecating thoughts were cut off by Ciel letting out a stiffed giggle, which shortly after turned into a burst of laughter.

"I swear, Nic! You're just too much!" the Giantess said. Noticing the confused expression on her friend's face, she continued to speak.

"You can't really move all that much when I am holding you like I held you all night, so you didn't really have any opportunity to do anything inappropriate. Well, you did use my boobs as a pillow, but that doesn't count. It wasn't really inappropriate, and I found it really cute! Besides, even if you had done something 'unsavoury' —she used her fingers to signify a pair of inverted commas in the air when she spoke the word 'unsavoury'—, I would've still forgiven you, since it would've been an accident. As for your question, last night Siule found us sitting on the bridge and took us here. She told me everything about the relationship between the two of you. By the way, you really shouldn't have worried her like you did, buster. You better apologise to her." Ciel commented on a joking tone in order to try to get him to feel better about the last few days, though she was serious about his obligation to say 'sorry' to the tawny-haired woman.

"Y-Yes... I-I will definitely apologise to her..." Nicolas said in a soft voice, devoting all his efforts to dispelling the image of Ciel in her sexy, black, lacy lingerie.

"By the way, how long are you planning to keep your eyes shut like that?" the black-haired female asked.

"W-What do you mean...? O-Obviously until you get dressed...!" Nicolas replied, wondering why Ciel would ask such an obvious question.

"Oh~? Does that mean that if I were to decide to stay like this all day, you'd keep your eyes shut for such a long time~?" Ciel teased.

"O-Of course...! I-I can't open my eyes if you're in your underwear...!" Nicolas stated.

"My, you're quite the gentleman, aren't you~ —Ciel giggled—? But really, you need not worry. I am fine with you seeing me in this outfit." she reassured him.

"B-But why...? I-I know you trust me and all, but-" Nicolas said, only for Ciel to cut him off.

"That's exactly why. I am fine with it because I trust you. And besides, it would give you something else to think about~." she spoke in a rather seductive tone before kissing his cheek, determined to make him forget about Setsuna.

Nicolas gasped and held the cheek Ciel had kissed with his hand, feeling its warmth underneath his fingers as his blush grew in intensity. It was not the first time Ciel teased him with one such kiss, but every time she did was just as effective as the previous one.

Ciel waited for a few seconds, but Nicolas still didn't dare open his eyes. The Giantess sighed. Perhaps he wasn't ready for her to tease him THAT much. She wanted to get the cheating whore out of his system, but she wasn't willing to scare the life out of him to achieve that goal.

"Okay, fine. Give me a minute. I'll get dressed." Ciel said halfheartedly.

"A-Are you mad at me...?" the Human male asked, scared to have upset his best friend.

"What? Of course not, silly! I just wished I could have seen your reaction to this lingerie set. It would have been absolutely adorable, I'm sure!" Ciel cheered.

"U-Um, s-sorry... I-I just... I-I just want to do things the right way..." Nicolas looked down.

"I know you do, sweetheart. You always do. That's one of your best traits." the Giant woman said before noticing that Siule was subtly making a sign from the window for Ciel to follow her without Nicolas suspecting.

"Sorry, Nic. I need to go for a little bit. I'll be back shortly, okay?" the buxom female smiled and ruffled the male's curly hair before slipping into her clothes and leaving the bedroom.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but listen. I guess that didn't work, huh?" Siule commented.

Ciel sighed and shook her head in response.

"I suppose we should come up with a new strategy."