Excerpt

It was the morning of the day after they arrived at the border of the uncharted territory. 

Tadashi was paying attention to his bodily sensations as usual. The positions of his limbs, the feel of the wall against his back, the feel of the clothes on his skin... Deeper and deeper he would delve in. His breathing. His heart beating. His blood rushing with every pump. 

Suddenly, he noticed a new and different sensation in his body. It felt similar to the energetic sensation he felt recently when they spent some time outside of the mecha. The moment he did, his eyes sprang open in surprise and joy but he quickly closed them shut again to familiarise himself with the sensation in his body. 

When he found that he could sense it for sure and was not just deluding himself, he turned to Naoko who was sitting beside him and was just done with her mecha practice. "I did it!" 

Naoko jumped slightly due to his sudden exclamation. 

"I finally sensed it!" He engulfed her in a big bear hug. "I'm now a step closer to you!"

His body heat and firmness of his muscles overwhelmed her senses, and the smell of his natural scent hit her. Naoko's eyes widened and her face flushed. Finding that she was suddenly conscious of things that she never paid attention to before, she froze up.

Her lack of response quickly became apparent to Tadashi. His eyes went round as he became aware of what he just did. As soon as he was aware, he jumped back and fell onto his bum. "S- Sorry! I got carried away." He apologised with his face as red as a tomato. 

His flustered behaviour brought Naoko back to reality. She blinked once then revealed a bright smile. "It's fine, it's something worth celebrating." She then got on her knees, leaned her body towards his, and put her arms around his neck. "Congratulations!" 

Tadashi froze for a second before a soft smile spread across his lips and a gentle look entered his eyes. His arms circled around her waist. "Mm. Thank you!"

Tadashi then pulled back a little and stared deep into her grey eyes. "Igarashi-san... May I address you by your given name?"

Naoko felt the warmth in his gaze, turning her smile into one that came from heart. "That would make me happy." 

"Naoko...-san." Tadashi whispered, keeping the honourific attached. 

Naoko wanted to tell him that it was okay to drop the honourific but found him slowly closing the distance between their lips. 

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