Published at 6th of November 2020 10:05:09 AM
Christmas — Part 3
TL: Daemon
ED: PuffyPyjamas
Around the time when we were eating the Christmas cake, Hiiragi-chan started to get lively .
“I really do have it tough… . ”
She slumped down on the table and seemed to be in the middle of complaining to Kanata .
“Yeah . It seems pretty tough . ”
“You get it? Do you really get it?”
Kanata looked like a good listener .
Even with all the food, it was just about gone now, and the only thing left was cleanup .
Rei-chan and Sana now also seemed to get along, as the two of them were busy talking to each other .
“Then, I guess I’ll clean up since I’m not doing anything . ”
The only preparation that I did was carrying the cake after all . I can only acknowledge that Hiiragi-chan did way more work . I can really feel the extraordinary amount of passion she put into the Christmas party .
I collected the cups and plates, and after bringing them to the sink, I washed the dishes .
I’ve always thought that living with someone else would be troublesome, but somehow, I feel like this isn’t so bad .
“Rei-chan, isn’t it getting pretty late for you?”
It was just a bit past 8 PM .
“T-that’s right… I should leave soon… or else my mom…”
Hiiragi-chan, who was half asleep, reacted to the word leave, as she lazily waved her hand .
“Sensei, if you sleep there you’ll catch a cold you know?”
“No… It’s okaaay . It’s pretty warm…”
That’s only for now . Since I was worried, I had Sana and Kanata help me carry Hiiragi-chan into her bedroom .
I lay her down in bed, and pulled the blanket over her . She immediately fell into a deep sleep .
“… She drank quite a bit . ”
“Well, it’s true that she was super busy, so she probably really pushed herself for today . ”
“Sensei is really such a child . ”
Sana laughed . Since cleanup was done, we all got changed, and went home together with Rei-chan .
We locked the door from the outside and dropped the key in her mailbox . It’ll probably be okay like that .
Just like that, the home economic club’s Christmas party ended with no issues .
The next day . It was Christmas Eve .
I left my house in secret, and arrived at Hiiragi-chan’s place as planned .
“Sensei?”
Even after pressing the doorbell and knocking at the door, she wouldn’t come to answer . I called her, and realized that she had only just woken up .
“I-I just woke up… M-my head hurts…”
“You’re completely hung over . ”
It’s because she drank so much last night . When I saw the bottle, only half of it was left . Hiiragi-chan’s limits are about two cans of beer and a can of Shouchuu .
She definitely took her hands off the reins yesterday .
“Sorry… Wait a moment, I’ll come out to open it . ”
Immediately after she said that, the door opened .
She was still wearing what she wore yesterday . It seems that she continued to stay asleep after all that happened yesterday .
“Good morning, Seiji-kun . ”
When I entered, I was instantly pulled into an embrace at the entrance .
Hmmm… for me to be met with this this early in the morning…
“Good morning, Haruksan . ”
“How about a good morning kiss—”
There was the smell of alcohol, so I inadvertently tried to avoid it .
“Puhah . You smell of alcohol . ”
“No way…”
Of course, that’s the case . You’re completely hungover .
“Today, I thought a lot about our plans for going out—”
“Isn’t it tough with your head hurting from the hangover?”
“Uuu… How did you know?”
It’s because you don’t look too well . We went to the living room .
“How are you feeling? Don’t you feel bad? If you don’t feel bad, why don’t we wait and see how things are around lunch?”
“I’m used to it…”
“Drink water . Lots of it . ”
“I’m used to it…”
Hiiragi-chan started gulping a bottle of mineral water, which she prepared herself . She then sat down on the sofa and used me for a lap pillow .
“This isn’t like Christmas at all…”
“Whose fault do you think that is?”
“S-sorry… I loosened up too much . ”
She started to get teary eyed, so I patted her head to comfort her .
“It’s okay, I know you were really enjoying yourself . ”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever had a Christmas party with people like that, and so I got a little too into it . ”
“It’s not bad having a Christmas like this . ”
There might not be much difference from usual though .
“No . We’ll definitely head out at night . Even if I have to force myself . ”
“Eh? What about your hangover?”
“It’ll definitely fix itself . ”
“I guess I’ll have to believe in your unfounded confidence . ”
“Yeah . Leave it to me… But, it really wasn’t supposed to be like this… I was planning on acting like a very adult Haruksan . ”
Hiiragi-chan, who was on my lap, was the stable clumsy and airheaded Hiiragi-chan .
We spent the day relaxing, looking back at the pictures we took yesterday and watching Christmas specials on TV .
“It’s done . I’m completely fine now . ”
She said that after getting up . Since her complexion was a lot better than this morning, even if she wasn’t completely healthy, she seemed to have returned to physical form .
“That’s great . ”
“It’s thanks to the power of Seiji-kun’s lap . ”
“Does that really work on a hangover?”
“Nope . Not on the hangover, but just for me personally . ”
She said with a smile . It was a line that made me embarrassed just listening to it .
After saying that she was going to go shower, Hiiragi-chan left the living room .
As we were doing this and that, it finally turned around to 5 PM .
“I have to prepare to go out . ”
Hiiragi-chan hid her face with her towel, and passed by the living room to enter her bedroom .
She’s still adamant about that .
After waiting for another 30 minutes .
“Thank you for waiting!”
Hiiragi-chan came out of her bedroom ready to go out .
“…Where are we going?”
“Fufufu . You’ll see after we leave . ”
While happily spinning her car keys around her finger, the two of us left her house and climbed into her car .
Our destination seems to be a bit of a surprise, so I decided not to ask any further .
“I made a reservation at a restaurant . ”
“So, you are going to tell me?”
“I mean, I ended up wanting to tell you . ”
“Then that means we’re having dinner at a restaurant on a Christmas reservation…”
It’s a pretty cliché date, but it’s maybe so cliché that it couldn’t be helped .
“It went full circle to being okay . ”
“Right? I’m really looking forward to it . ”
So that’s why she dressed up a bit today . Won’t I stand out going to a restaurant like this? I am wearing a jacket that looks kind of like a suit, so I guess my clothes will somehow have to do .
With safe and stable driving, it took about 30 minutes . We arrived at our destination . It was a restaurant on the upper levels of a high-rise hotel . The car was parked in the basement parking lot .
Hiiragi-chan mentioned her reservation to the waiter, who looked at me curiously for a moment, but ended up guiding us to a seat by the window .
“Wow… The night view is pretty . ”
The restaurant was high enough to allow people to overlook the entire city, creating a scenery that looked like many colored stars shining in the night .
It was a French course meal like I expected, as the dishes came out one after the other . Isn’t this going to be quite expensive? As I was a normal citizen, I ended up slightly worrying about it .
Hiiragi-chan was enjoying the wine and the meal . I’m glad that she isn’t drinking like she was last night . For me, I had Oolong tea, and sometimes some orange juice .
I thought that the French cuisine wouldn’t match the taste of a normal person like me, but it was still quite good . It could be that it just so happened to fit my taste, because I’m a middle-aged man on the inside .
While having some meaningless conversations, the courses went by in a blink of an eye, and it soon came time for the last order .
“What are we doing after this?”
I wasn’t really that worried, but if she’s drinking, we can’t really head home .
“It’s a secret ♡”
Does that mean there is a plan? I guess there was no reason to worry about a destination after this .
Hiiragi-chan got ready, then stood up from her seat to finish the payment… I took a glance at the amount, and all I can say is that it was quite large .
“Haruksan, is it really okay? For me to not contribute at all . ”
“It’s fine . It’s fine . It was my choice to do this after all . ”
Once we got into the elevator, Hiiragi-chan pressed the button for the first floor . Aah, I somewhat have an idea of what’s planned after this .
Speaking of the devil, my thoughts were completely on point .
“A reservation for Hiiragi . ”
After speaking to a receptionist, she was then handed a key . Room 3505 .
“Your room is on the 35th floor . ”
It was on an even higher floor than the restaurant from earlier .
With some guidance, we once again got into the elevator .
Hiiragi-chan didn’t say anything and just held onto my hand .
Once the elevator stopped and we got out, we soon found our room .
A set of white sheets were laid out on a double bed, and beyond the open curtains, a night view that surpassed the one from the restaurant could be seen .
“When did you plan this?”
“About a month in advance!”
That’s quite early .
Separating from me, she fell onto the bed .
“…Seiji-kun”
She spread out her arms in preparation of accepting me .
…We ended up doing it on her birthday, but never did it a second time . We either missed the chance, or there was no opportunity in the first place . I was scared of being rejected, so I never had the courage to take it a step further .
Slowly, I fell into the bed as if to cover her .
As I was trying to take off my jacket, Hiiragi-chan placed her hand on it .
With a little bit of resistance, I slowly took off my clothes .
With a stiff face, Hiiragi-chan took a breath .
“Is something wrong?”
“No… It’s just, I feel a bit embarrassed…”