"And... There it is."

Clementine's father finally finished framing up the picture, and after that, he waddled over to the kitchen.

Clementine and her mother did the same as they began to talk about all sorts of mother-daughter nonsense.

But as for me... I stared at the photo for a little while longer.

I stood beside Clementine's father.

Though, the thing I was really staring at was me and Clementine.

Clementine had jumped up on my shoulders, put her coral glasses on me, and rested her elbows atop my head.

She looked very beautiful in this picture.

And for once in my life, I looked happy to be there.

"..."

Staring at the picture, I made a promise to myself.

I would protect this family no matter what.

It doesn't matter who I have to piss off or kill... I will protect them.

With that determination, I finally walked back into the kitchen.

"Awh... Come on, sweetie. Why don't you stay for the night? I'm sure both you and Amon are plenty tired."

"Mom... My bed is too small, and I'm not going to make Amon sleep on the floor. It's fine. It'll only take us a few minutes to get back home anyway. I promise we'll visit soon."

We're leaving already?

And a small bed, huh?

Guess she's worrying about the right things.

Hehe.

"Well, fine. Do whatever you want, brat. Just make sure to eat all those cookies I packed for you. Share them with Amon too."

Clementine puffed out her cheeks.

"Stop trying to fatten me up."

Then, she began walking away.

But just then, her mom leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek before smiling widely.

"Happy birthday, dear."

Clementine's earlier pouting vanished as she hugged her mother, then her father, and finally, she approached the door and slightly opened it.

Then, she nodded at me, as if telling me to get a move on.

So I did.

I said my goodbyes to Clementine's family.

Honestly... I kind of wished I could stay longer, but then again, we talked, ate food, and took photos until it got dark out.

There wasn't much else to do aside from gossip.

So after I was done saying my goodbyes to these wonderful people, I stepped one foot through the door.

That was when Clementine's father suddenly tossed something toward me.

I caught it with my Telekinesis, and to my surprise, it was a copy of the photo we took.

The same photo that was on the wall, except this one was without a frame.

"Get it framed somewhere. Oh, and Amon? I know you told me not to fret about it, but had it not been for you, I wouldn't have been able to make it to my daughter's birthday. So I thank you."

"..."

"No, thank you."

Really.

I should be the one thanking all of you guys.

With another wave, I finally left and caught up to Clementine.

She was already pretty far away from the ravine, but she was also avoiding me for some reason.

I stayed silent.

So silent that I didn't say a single word until we arrived back home.

Clementine took out a bunch of snacks and set them aside on the table, while also nibbling on a few.

I wasn't that hungry.

"We'll be doing missions tomorrow again if you're up for it. Also, I'm feeling a little tired, so I'll head to bed first."

She nodded at me and began to eat the cookies.

Really...

Just why is she giving me the cold shoulder?

Still, I went into our bedroom, undressed, and laid down comfortably.

Today was a surprisingly long day, and a lot has happened.

But I was happy.

So now, I needed to do my best to maintain that happiness for as long as I could.

Preferably... forever.

I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.

But just a few minutes later, I heard Clementine sneaking into the room, quietly undressing, and finally laying down beside me.

I didn't think anything of it at first, as we've slept beside each other hundreds of times.

Though... when she suddenly snuggled on top of me and laid down on my chest, I was left stunned.

She wasn't wearing her top.

Her breasts were pressing into my chest...

So that's why she was so quiet earlier.

She had been planning this all along.

I opened my eyes, and as I was about to look down, Clementine suddenly put her hands over my eyes.

"D-Don't look. I'm only doing this because I wanted to thank you for the present."

I sighed.

"You little temptress..."

I took her hands off my face and kissed her on the top of her head.

"Don't worry, I won't look."

Even though I really want to.

Though damn...

Without her bra... her breasts were big.

"Stop having lewd thoughts, I can feel your thing pressing into my thigh."

"...My bad."

Now that's a little awkward.

But as though she didn't care about the awkwardness, she said:

"Amon? Did you really mean what you said? I mean... about you loving me. Do you really?"

"Clementine, I would never joke around about something like that," I answered truthfully.

"Honestly... I kind of wished we had this conversation before we met your parents. It wouldn't have been as awkward."

She exhaled a warm breath on my chest.

"You know that I'm clueless about romance. I told my mother that we kiss sometimes... and she just called you my boyfriend."

After a short pause, her ears reddened.

"That's also why y-y-yesterday..."

She took a deep breath, her hands slightly trembling.

"That's why I did that yesterday. I-I was trying to imitate what was in a manga."

...Can she get any cuter?

"Don't worry about it, I don't mind. And I'm sorry for coming onto you as well, I shouldn't have done that after you—"

She pinched me, stopping me from finishing my sentence.

So I decided to bring up something else instead.

"You do know what love is, right?"

The moment I said that, she pinched my side again.

"I'm clueless about romance, but I'm not an idiot, Amon."

"Sorry..."

Sighing, she laid her head flat on my chest.

"I love you too. I think I've felt this way for a while now... so does that make us a couple?"

The way she said it so casually, my brain froze for a moment.

But when I finally realized what she said... her words made me extremely happy.

I wish we had this talk sooner.

I really do.

"Do you want us to be a couple?"

After a brief pause, she nodded.

A warm smile appeared on my face as I kissed the top of her head again.

"Then from now on, we're a couple. You can tell me anything, and you can ask me anything. I won't judge you."

"..."

"Since I'm clueless about romance... we'll have to take things slow."

"That's fine."

"...I might not be able to do what a normal girlfriend's supposed to do."

I stroked her hair.

"That's also fine."

"I won't—"

"Clementine."

I raised her chin slightly, meeting her sparkly obsidian-colored eyes.

"We can take everything at your pace. Please don't feel like you have to force yourself because of me."

"After all..."

I kissed her on the lips.

"My feelings for you won't ever change."

She sniffled slightly.

Then, she buried her face in my chest again, avoiding my gaze.

I'm glad to have met her.

I really am.

Staring at the silly Clementine who was slowly moving around all over my chest, rubbing me with her breasts, I couldn't help but smile.

I put one hand over her tailbone, and after massaging it for a few seconds, I began playing around with her thin waist.

She stopped for a moment.

Her heartbeat sped up slightly.

Even so, she eventually calmed down and wrapped her arms around my chest, then kissed my collarbone.

Finally, she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Good night~"

Before long, soft snores resounded as the defenseless Clementine fell asleep on my chest.

But even if she was defenseless, I didn't take advantage of her.

I brought my hand down a little and rested it right on her tailbone.

...I was surprised by how well I was holding back despite everything that was happening.

Regardless of that, I closed my eyes and began counting Clementine's snores until finally, I drifted asleep.

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