After nearly having my heart jump out of my chest thanks to my dear younger brother Latham's masterful prank, I decided I'd take a moment to collect myself in the bathroom before continuing on with the day. Of course, I already did all my morning bathroom duties beforehand when I woke up, but I feel this rollercoaster of emotions had evoked a newfound need in me to wash my face in cold water and get my bearings back. The mirror showed a wonderful mug smiling back at its reflection, with clear skin and sparkling White teeth stealing the viewer's heart away. Though I must say, these numerous scars on my face I've amassed over the years, while not really that noticeable in any other situation, do seem to pop out a lot when I'm checking myself up close like this. As a kid I thought they looked cool, but it seems as my body starts to age, they only serve to ruin my natural beauty. What a shame.
"Then, I'll see you later, hot stuff." I winked at my mirrored image as I left the bathroom, "Now, to find Cecily!"
"Psst, dear." The person in question carefully opened the door to the cellar, "Come here."
Well, speak of the devil! I didn't expect to find her so quickly, but I'm not one to complain in this situation. Though I wonder, why is she in the cellar? And her hair is a complete and total mess... Wait, those bags under her Eyes, just what the hell was she doing this whole time, and for how long?
"You doing alright?" I asked as I approached the door she tightly held onto, "What's up? Why're you whispering."
"Shh, mother's gonna be pissed if she sees this, so just please be quiet and come in." She urged me to listen to her, "Please."
"Did you mess something up?" I now noticed something was amiss so I followed her lead as I lowered my tone to match her whisper, "What could you have possibly done to make mom mad? Don't worry, she's really not the type to mind whatever happens, so calm down."
"Dear." Cecily locked the door behind me mere moments after I entered, "C-Close your Eyes."
Eh? Is this... that? Don't tell me she's actually gonna...? No, that can't be right. Come on, Lune, you're expecting too much from just this. Let's think about this rationally, okay? Alright, so first she beckoned me over into an empty room in a quiet, somewhat urgent voice. After that, she said we'll most probably get in trouble if mom finds out. Then, when I entered the cellar with her, she locked the door behind me and told me to close my Eyes... Yeah, there's nothing else that could happen apart from what I'm imagining. Hehe, I didn't take her to be this exotic~!
"And why exactly should I close my Eyes?" I thought to tease her a bit as she wobbled over to bring me a chair.
"I-It's... embarrassing." She revealed, her cheeks flushed like never before, "I know it's probably smarter to do this after we got home, but I just couldn't bring myself to wait until then."
"Yeah, I'll bet." I happily sat myself down on the chair, "Wait, don't tell me you're gonna blindfold me next?"
And tie me up immediately after, perhaps. Given the flow of things, I see no other reason as to why she would bring me a chair unless she wants to try something new like bondage. I've never really been interested in experimenting up until now, but this situation is really making me excited for what's coming up! Of course, we haven't done anything even remotely similar to this for over a week, and given how tiring of a trip this has been, I can definitely see our libidos building up steadily over time.
"Blindfold? No, just close your Eyes until I tell you to open them." She sounded oddly confused.
"Ah, so you have a surprise for me, then." I smirked, drooling over all the imaginary possibilities of what she has in store, "Is it a certain outfit? It's gotta be, I just know it."
"Eh? How'd you-?"
"Ooohh~! I actually got it right, that was a completely educated guess on my part!" My feet restlessly tapped on the ground as I barely kept my suspense in, "Ah, hurry up, I'm dying to see it!"
"O-Okay, okay! Then..." She put something on my lap, "H-Here! You can open your Eyes now!"
Eh, done already? Is it even possible to change into a sexy outfit that quickly? Cecily, she's a beast... But wait a second, that can't be right, she JUST told me to close my Eyes though? No matter how nimble you are, there's just no way anyone could ever change that fast, unless... Unless she had whatever sexy outfit she was planning to show me on already! Yeah, that'd make her earlier shy and embarrassed behavior way more understandable! Ohhh, Cecily, I can't believe we're actually gonna do this! Alright, opening my Eyes in three, two...!
"Huh?" I made a confused sound as I opened my Eyes to see a somewhat shaggy Yellow and Green scarf neatly folded on my lap, "This is...?"
"Surprise!" She bowed for some reason, "I-I made this, a-and wanted to gift it to you as a present! What do you... think?"
"Huh?" I repeated my previously made sound, "You... All this build up... for a scarf?"
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B-But... my sexy lingerie wifey... Sniffle, ugh, n-no, stop sobbing, Lune. It's obvious you misunderstood the situation just now. Cecily apparently just wanted to give you a hand-knit scarf, so get your mind out of the gutter! And hey, what the hell? It's the end of spring, so why a scarf of all things?
"I know, I know. Stop looking at me like that, I can already tell what you're thinking." Cecily sighed, "I know it's not the right season for scarves and all, but mother said this was the easiest thing to make for a total beginner, so let's just say I made it for later."
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"Oh, okay then." I then inspected the knitwork up close, "But wow, this really is awesome. So this is what you were up to in your spare time here. I didn't think you'd actually follow through with my suggestion to take up knitting."
"Actually, about that..." She squirmed about bashfully, "I actually started working on this ever since the first day, when you, father and Latham were in the barn."
"Wait, that early on?" I thought, "So you got the idea way before I even suggested it, then."
"Yeah, I noticed mother was having a ton of fun knitting that little sweater for their raccoon, so I asked if she could teach me how to make something as well. After a day or two of learning the basics, she challenged me with making a scarf. Halfway through, though, I thought: "Why not just gift this to Lune as a present when I'm done?", but it seems you were already one step ahead of me on that one."
Wow, we really do think alike at times. What's going on recently? I keep synchronizing with the people around me? It's definitely just a coincidence, surely, because I don't "feel" any Iro Abilities activating in me unlike with the other ones, but by the Gods if Cene starts talking in tandem with me...
"Wow, I mean... What can I say? It's awesome." I put it around my neck to try it out, "Wow, warm too. I mean I know I keep repeating it, but... wow!"
"You don't gotta wow that hard, anyone can tell just from a glance that it's itchy and scruffy as hell." She sighed, "But thanks for the encouraging words."
"No, I'm being deadass here." I shook my head, "It IS a bit chafy, but really, what woolen wear isn't? Besides, for a first try, this is really immaculate. Like, you didn't have to mix in two different colors that match our wedding rings, but you still went ahead and did it. That's awesome."
"You noticed?" She brightened up, "But no, even still, I don't think wearing it is any comfortable. Maybe keep it tucked in a drawer somewhere back home as a keepsake if you want, but even I wouldn't wanna be caught outside wearing it."
"Will you stop downplaying your achievement?" I clicked my tongue, "And what? You're telling me I can't even proudly display to the world my wife's incredible work of art she poured her heart and soul into?"
"Well duh, just wearing it makes you look poor."
"Well then it looks like I'm gonna be poor from this moment on until we reach the house." I defiantly crossed my arms and turned away.
"What?! No the hell you won't! I'd feel super bad about making you go through that embarrassment!"
"Why would you feel bad about making something?" I put my hand on the scarf to bask in its warmth, "I certainly couldn't make anything like this, so I'm just really blown away by having something handmade gifted to me by my incredible wife."
"Is that so..." She got quiet, "B-But then, won't it be super hot for you?"
"Oh right, I almost forgot it's nearing summertime." I chuckled, "Well, what's a few days of keeping my neck warm? Besides, it helps deal with the mosquitoes."
"Your logic never fails to amaze me..." She giggled as well, "Yaaaaawn~! Geez, now that all the adrenaline left my system, I'm really feeling the all-nighters."
"All-nighters!? When did-? But you...?" I stuttered at that very moment, "But, we always went to bed at the same time? Don't tell me you...?"
"Yeah, I couldn't exactly make it in time before we left if I didn't sneak out of bed every night to work on it in secret." She admitted, "Knitting something is a very long and arduous process, and it certainly doesn't help that the only times I could do it was when you weren't around, given that it was a surprise and all."
"Dude, you should've just went to sleep..." I finally got up from my chair to stand in front of her, "Here, that's better."
Putting the scarf around her neck as well so that we were both inside its embrace, I gave her a nice warm hug. Well, given the humidity of the room we were in, chained with the hot climate, the scarf and our body temperatures meshing, it was more of a scalding hot hug, but for her sleep deprived body, it surely felt nice. How do I know this? Because it didn't even take a few seconds of her gently closing her Eyes before she conked out, still standing on both legs as she slowly but surely applied more and more of her bodyweight on my chest. Really, what an idiot. A selfless, thoughtful and amazing idiot, but an idiot none the less.
"I love you." I gave her a peck on the head before carefully picking her up in a princess carry, "Alright, I'll go pack our stuff, so until then, please rest."
"Mnn... Thanksh..." She nuzzled closer to me, "Love you too."
Ah, there it is. Cecily's usually stern and very proudly uptight so as to maintain that natural leader role, but it's only in these very rare occasions that she lets those walls fall and allows herself to be spoiled. As far as I'm aware, this Cecily only ever shows up in two scenarios - When we're alone together, or when she's not fully conscious, be it from drowsiness or drunkenness. Either way, she's most similar to a cat in this state. A lovely, adorable kitty cat.
"Meow." I accidentally muttered something embarrassing.
"Mnn..." She unconsciously started petting my hair, "Good kitty..."
Dammit, I was trying to initiate a conversation with the cat, and I ended up becoming the cat instead! This is really embarrassing, but thank goodness the door's locked... Wait, I'm carrying Cecily in both hands, so how am I gonna leave the room now?