"That was fun, I'm glad we went out. The food was really good, and pretty filling too," Remarked Aria, patting her stomach with a grin as we stepped into the elevator.

"Yeah, we'll definitely have to go back there, there were a lot of other options on their menu that caught my interest," I responded with a nod.

It was about an hour and a half later, and we were back at our apartment building. We had a pretty great meal, we got fries and battered calamari for appetizers, and for our main courses, I got a fried rice with crispy fried chicken, Aria got a cheesy, spicy beef pasta, and we ended up sharing and splitting both dishes in half.

We also split our desserts, a red velvet lava cake and chocolate-stuffed churros with a caramel dip. And we got a pitcher of a sparkling mixed fruit cider, which was equal parts sweet and tart, and pretty refreshing.

All in all, everything we ordered was really good, I had a great time, and evidently, so did Aria.

As the elevator reached our floor, we stepped out and headed to my place. I unlocked the door and pushed it open, letting her in before shutting it behind me.

"Sure you don't want to go change first?" I asked her, as she took off her heels and stretched her arms up.

"No, this dress is pretty comfortable, I can sleep in it just fine," She remarked with a thumbs up.

Okay, guess that means she wants to sleep here tonight. Well, I'm certainly not going to deny her.

"Alright, if you're really sure."

"Mhm, I am. Hm, you should definitely get changed though...I know you were trying to hide it, but I could tell you were uncomfortable, especially with the tie," She replied with a wry smile.

Oops, busted.

"Heh, yeah, I'm not used to it," I laughed sheepishly, letting out a quiet sigh as I loosened the tie before pulling it off.

Aria waited in the hall as I went to my room to get changed, taking off formal wear and slipping into more comfortable clothes, a loose black t-shirt and baggy black shorts.

I can feel your exasperation towards me, Ai.

<I didn't say anything>

<You did wear a bit of blue and gray today instead of entirely black, so that's a step in the right direction>

Yeah, well, don't get used to it. I can handle it occasionally if it's for Aria's sake, but other than that, I'll be sticking with black as usual.

<Wow, how surprising>

Appreciate the sarcasm.

I sighed as I opened my door and stepped back out, Aria slumped back on the couch, before she hopped onto her feet as I approached her. Looks like she took of her earrings, necklace and bracelet.

"You alright, Kai? Your forehead's kinda scrunched up," She noticed, as she lightly poked the middle of my forehead.

"Yeah, just had to deal with Ai complaining about my wardrobe, not for the first time," I replied, as we began heading for the bedroom.

"Well, it is pretty rare to see you in colors outside of black. Wait, the cosplay outfits we bought for you are in various different colors, will you be okay wearing them?" She frowned with a look on concern on her face.

"Come on, it's not like I'd die if I wore other colors, I'm just most comfortable in black, that's all," I responded with a wry smile, before flopping onto the bed, my back sinking into the mattress slightly.

I rolled across to make room for her, as she climbed on and laid down next to me, intertwining her fingers between mine as she took hold of my hand.

"I kinda get it, my go-to option is usually a combo of black and red, I don't mind other colors or combos, but that's definitely my favorite," She grinned, before adding curiously, "By the way, about Ai...when you picture her, what do you see? Like, have you made up an appearance to imagine her as, or do you not picture anything?"

<Hm, that's an interesting question, I'd like to know the answer to that too>

Since you can read my mind, shouldn't you already know?

<I can hear your surface-level thoughts, but I can't read your subconscious or imagination>

"Huh, so that's how it works. This is pretty surreal, though it's too bad I can't hear your thoughts, Kai," Spoke up Aria.

Huh? Oh, right, since she's holding my hand, she can hear Ai right now too. I wonder...

"Hey, are you able to direct your thoughts to Ai?" I asked her curiously.

"Ooh, good question...," She responded with an intrigued look on her face, before her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

<Yes, I can hear you>

<No, he's not really thinking of anything in particular right now>

Hm?

"Wait, are you asking her to relay my thoughts to you?" I inquired in bemusement.

"Heh, sorry, I got curious," She grinned sheepishly, before adding, "Okay, let's get back to my question, how do you picture Ai in your head?"

"Well, I didn't really picture anything at first. But eventually, once I got used to her, I started picturing her as an older woman with brown hair, glasses and big boobs, and a small mole below her left eye, sorta like a hot but strict teacher vibes," I answered bluntly.

<...>

<I don't think I like that>

"Huh, I get it, that image does kinda fit her voice and tone," Nodded Aria thoughtfully.

<I was really hoping you'd disagree>

"Oh, uh...sorry," Giggled Aria apologetically.

"I just assumed you already knew, Ai," I added with a wry smile.

"Heh, if this was an anime, when we wake up tomorrow, there'd be a woman who looks exactly like what you described sleeping next to you, and I'd be all like, 'whaaa...? Who is that?! Are you cheating on me?!', and you'd be all bewildered and panicking, trying to figure out what's going on.

The woman would then wake up, and of course, turn out to be Ai, the camera then cuts to outside the building and pans up to the sky as we both yell 'HUUUUUHHHH?!', or something like that," Surmised Aria with an amused look on her face, grinning as I let out a chuckle.

That's so specific, but also definitely a trope I've seen more times than I can count.

Hey, Ai, hypothetically speaking, what's the likelihood of what Aria described happened for re-...?

<Zero percent>

Well, that was a fast response.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.