[Third Person POV]
Miku walked over without hesitation, slipping her arms around Clark's neck in a soft embrace.
"The hell? What are you doing? That wasn't an invitation to co and hug ," Clark muttered in his usual monotone, giving her a sharp side-eye like she'd just broken so unwritten law.
"I don't care," Miku answered easily, her grin disarming in its sincerity. "It looked like you needed it. You might not think highly of yourself, Clark, but I do. You shouldn't hate yourself. You're an amazing person with qualities most people don't even have."
Clark grimaced as though her arms were made of fire, his shoulders stiff. "What I need is for you to stop touching …"
Her giggle rang out like a bell, unbothered, as she let go. Still, curiosity tugged at her, and she tilted her head. "Why is it you hate being touched so much? You were the sa when we were younger."
Clark scoffed, scooping up his can of soda and taking a long sip as though the drink might wash away the conversation. "Don't think that just because I shared a little fragnt about myself with you, I'm suddenly going to start spilling my guts. I only told you that because it was sothing I figured out when I saw you just now. Nothing more."
"Well… I'm just glad you were willing to share that much with ." Her smile softened, warm and patient in a way that made Clark uncomfortable—like she was shining a light into places he'd rather keep buried. "So thank you."
"Whatever," Clark muttered, eyes shifting away as he drank again. However, he could feel her gaze on him, burning with curiosity, as if she was trying to unravel him thread by thread.
He ran his hand through his hair with a tired exhale. Ruffling his ssy hair, he finally shut his eyes. "…I don't like being touched for a lot of reasons. I value personal space. Privacy matters to . Physical contact feels like… like soone is invading that space, that privacy. Another thing—" he paused, "—I was raised to be tough. To be strong. Hugging soone, letting yourself be vulnerable like that—it's not sothing I'm all too used to. So now it feels… unnatural. Uncomfortable."
He stared down at the can in his hand. For a mont, his reflection on the aluminum blurred into another image—his father's face from his previous life. He was the toughest man he knew, never once showing any weakness to him as he raised him by himself, sothing he had admired about him and sothing he subconsciously picked up.
Frustration bubbled up, and Clark raked a hand through his hair with a low groan. "Ughhh… this entire conversation is making uncomfortable. I don't even know why I'm saying all this to you! God, you're really pissing off right now."
Miku didn't flinch. She only smiled, quiet joy flickering in her expression. To her, this was progress. He was letting her see him. And she had a feeling that wasn't sothing he did lightly.
Clark leveled her with a flat, dangerous stare. "Keep staring at like that and the next thing you know, there's going to be a Coke can smacking you right on the head."
Miku looked away quickly, but her shoulders shook with stifled laughter. She leaned back against the wall, giggling into her drink. "I'm sorry for staring. I can't help it. I'm just… honestly really happy that you found it in yourself to open up to ."
Her voice softened as she glanced down at her can, tracing the rim with her finger. "I thought since we only t once in the past, it was going to be so much harder to reconnect. But it doesn't feel like that at all. It feels like we just picked up where we left off… like no ti has passed. In fact, it's almost like being apart made us closer"
Clark rolled his eyes as he drained the last of his soda. Without hesitation, he crushed the can flat between his palms until the aluminum squealed. He started playing around with it and finally asked, "So… what was up with your sister? Was she bothering just to be annoying, or what?"
The way he said it made it clear—he wanted to move on. And yet, even as the conversation shifted, he didn't get up. He didn't walk away. And he couldn't quite explain why.
"Ah, no—it was honestly an important matter. Important to us, anyways," Miku said, scratching her cheek nervously. "You see… we didn't exactly do well in the mock exam. Honestly, we did pretty badly. Our dad's pretty strict when it cos to grades, so he's not going to like that. He expects great results from us, so we might get into so trouble. He might forgive it this ti since it was the first exam and we can bla it on not being too prepared, getting used to the school and all, but if it happens again…"
Her voice trailed off, and she shifted uncomfortably.
Clark frowned, his brows knitting together. "What? Does he physically abuse you or sothing?"
"Huh?! Wha—No! Nothing that extre!" Miku flailed her hands in a panic, desperate to clear the misunderstanding. "He'll probably just take away so of our privileges or things like that."
"Then why did you pause?" Clark shot back, his tone edged with sarcasm. "That pause didn't help your case."
Miku's cheeks flushed bright red, her lips tightening. "I… I just didn't want to get into details, okay?"
"Whatever," Clark scoffed. "Still don't get how any of this has to do with ."
Pressing her fingers together, Miku forced herself to explain. "Well… Yotsuba got the idea to hire the top student as our tutor to help us study. That ended up being you. Itsuki and I were against it, but Nino and Ichika thought it was a good idea. So, it was three against two—we lost. And since it was Yotsuba's idea, we left it to her to actually hire you."
Clark snorted, leaning back. "Well, it's a good thing I spat in her face."
Miku's expression fell flat. Her tone grew uncharacteristically serious. "Yeah, I didn't like that. She's still my sister, you know. I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that again."
Clark raised a brow, intrigued by the sudden steel in her voice. He'd pegged her as ek, timid even, but the way she straightened at the ntion of her sister made him grin faintly. "Oh? So you can bite."
She didn't rise to the bait, just stared him down.
Clark's smirk softened. "Then I apologize. Guess I might've taken that a bit too far."
Miku gave a small nod. "I'll tell her you said sorry, though I'm not sure how she'll take it. You could make it up to her by becoming our tutor."
A sly smirk tugged at her lips.
Clark let out a single sharp laugh. "Ha! Good one! You do realize I've got other responsibilities, right?" His expression cooled, serious again.
"I know," Miku admitted, her tone gentler now. "That's why I was against the idea in the first place. But… it doesn't have to be every day. Only when you have ti. You know… when you're not busy saving the world."
Clark eyed her flatly. "So you seriously want to use what little free ti I get—the only ti I have to myself—and give that up just to teach a bunch of girls I barely even know? That's what you're asking ?"
Miku hesitated, then added softly, "…You'll get paid."
"I'll get paid huh", Clark slowly pulled off his glasses and held them out to her. "Here."
"Eh? What for?" she asked, blinking as she reached for them.
"Because it seems you need them more than I do," Clark said, his tone dry. "Do I look fucking poor to you? That you think money would entice ?"
Miku froze, hand halfway between them. Then she puffed out her cheeks in a small, pouty sulk, her lips tightening in frustration.
Clark blinked at the sight, sliding his glasses back onto his face. He didn't say it aloud, but sothing about her puffed cheeks—her quiet indignation—struck him as oddly… endearing.
He clicked his tongue and looked away. "…Tch. Ridiculous."
********************************************
Read More advance Chapters on: patreon/Shadow_D_Monarch3
User Comments
0 comments from readers