Chapter Text
“Oreki, I’m curious about something.”
Houtarou hums in acknowledgment of the voice coming from beside him, showing that he’s listening even as he still looks down at the book in his hand.
It’s a regular Tuesday afternoon. Just Houtarou and Chitanda are here to attend the Classics Club meeting today. They’d been sitting in comfortable silence before Chitanda spoke up.
“What’s it like to kiss someone?”
That causes the lazy boy to snap his gaze toward her with a start. It’s so out of left field that he finds himself struggling to keep his composure. His face flushes as he stutters, “w-where did that come from?”
Chitanda at least has the decency to appear embarrassed as she explains herself. “Well, it’s just... I see Mayaka and Fukube kiss sometimes and it makes me... curious.”
“Why don’t you ask them then? It’s not like I’d know.” He grumbles, hiding his increasingly blushing face behind his book.
“Wait, Oreki,” Chitanda raises from her seat beside him slightly. Houtarou leans back as her face gets a little too close to his, using his book as a shield. “Have you never kissed someone before?”
He frowns, pointedly turning his face away with a grunt, “does that surprise you?”
To Houtarou’s relief, she pulls away, sitting back down with her eyebrows knit together. “It does just a little.”
“What makes you think I had that kind of experience?”
She averts her eyes as she fidgets, “I’d heard some rumors...”
Rumors? Who was going around saying he’d kissed someone before? He hadn’t thought he was interesting enough to have gossip like that surrounding him.
“Well they’re not true, I’ve never kissed anyone,” and why would he even want to? That and all it could possibly entail would consume way too much energy. That’s what he tells himself, however when Chitanda smiles shyly at him he finds his eyes traveling to her lips. He pulls his gaze away and back to his book as he closes it, carefully placing it on the table.
“I’m more surprised that you’ve never kissed anyone.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re smart, you come from a good family, you’re... not bad looking, I’d think someone would’ve tried to kiss you at some point.”
Chitanda laughs lightly, “I didn’t know you considered me such a prime kissing candidate.”
He knows she’s just teasing, but he blushes regardless. “You didn’t answer my question, why are you asking me?”
At that, Chitanda’s face turns bright red, she hides behind her hands. He hears a small squeak, but he can’t make out the words she’s saying.
“What was that?”
She speaks just a little louder, but her hands still muffle her voice.
“If you don’t tell me already I’m just gonna go home,” he huffs as he starts to stand up.
Chitanda’s hands shoot out to grab his arm, halting his escape. Her cheeks are bright red, but her look of embarrassment has twisted into determination. Her lips are pressed into a hard line, her nose is scrunched, and her eyebrows are knit together. He’s sure that look alone would’ve stopped him if she hadn’t grabbed him.
“I was hoping you could help me.” Her voice falters slightly, but she still speaks with a decisive tone.
He opens his mouth to ask her to elaborate, but stops when he catches her meaning, leaving it to hang open. His knees start to give out from the shock and he sits back down before he falls over.
“Oreki, would you kiss me?” Chitanda asks as she pulls him closer.
Houtarou is sure this has to be some kind of dream. There’s no way Eru Chitanda is actually asking him to kiss her. He blinks hard, willing himself to wake, but his efforts heed no results. This is real.
His reaction must’ve caused some panic in Chitanda because whatever confidence she had melts away and she lets go of his arm. “You don’t have to! I just thought... maybe...”
She stops, biting her lip and bringing a fist up to them. Houtarou’s eyes snap to her lips once again. He stares this time and as he does he actually considers it... kissing her.
It wouldn’t hurt, right? To kiss her just once. Certainly just giving her a small peck on the lips wouldn’t take up too much energy and would sate her curiosity...
“Okay,” he says after a moment, Chitanda looks up at him with wide eyes.
“But—“ he adds quickly, “let’s not make anything out of it, okay? This is just to satisfy your curiosity, nothing more.”
Chitanda gives him a curt nod, “understood.”
He wants to laugh at her seriousness, but his pounding heart keeps him from doing so. Why is he suddenly so anxious?
Okay, he just has to figure out how to go about this. Leaning in would be a start, so he takes a deep breath before tilting his body forward, toward Chitanda. She notices this and angles her head upward, closing her eyes. His heart rate shoots up as he inches closer and closer to her lips.
It’s only a light touch of the lips, lasting for a whole seven seconds or so, but it ignites a strange and unfamiliar feeling in him. They both pull back, staring at each other for a moment before awkwardly looking away.
“That was nice,” Chitanda whispers, fiddling with the hem of her skirt.
“Yeah,” Houtarou agrees quietly.
The once comfortable silence is now filled with tension, they occasionally glance at each other, all while Houtarou tries to ignore his still rapidly beating heart and the warmth spreading through his chest. Every time he steals a glance at her, his eyes focus on her lips.
Like last time, Chitanda breaks the silence.
“That was shorter than I thought.”
He finally turns to her fully and manages to make eye contact this time. “What do you mean?”
“I thought kisses were usually... longer.”
He blinks at her, he gets the sense that she’s trying to hint at something, to get something… more. “Are you still curious?”
She nods with a hum. Houtarou clears his throat, he decides to take the bait.
“Well, I guess if I leave you still curious you’re just gonna keep bugging me, right?”
“That’s right,” she agrees with a nod, ignoring the slight insult.
He sighs as if he’s ever so put-upon, “then I guess I’ll just have to kiss you again.”
“I’d like that.”
That simple phrase makes his heart beat, which had steadied out, speed back up.
As they lean in to each other, he brings a hand up to cup her cheek. Chitanda closes her eyes and leans into his palm, soft lips slightly parted. The sight makes Houtarou’s heart skip a beat. He was always aware of how beautiful she is, but seeing her with that expression makes it all the more apparent.
When their lips meet, he presses just a little harder, and they start to move against each other, finding an easy rhythm.
This kiss is certainly much longer, how long exactly, Houtarou isn’t sure. He’s too caught up in the softness and sweet taste of Chitanda’s lips to keep track. It both seemed long and altogether too short.
He turns his eyes away from Chitanda after they pull away, unable to look at her. He’s scared of what would happen if he does.
“Was that enough for you?”
“Oh, um, yes. Thank you, Oreki.”
“Mhmm.” He stands up from his seat, nearly banging his knee on the table in his haste. “I’m going home now.”
“Oh, alright, see you tomorrow.”
He only waves dismissively as he retreats.
This is bad. This is really bad.
Houtarou lays in bed, his arms swung over his eyes as he faces the ceiling. It’s been hours since he came home, but he’s still thinking about it… that kiss .
It shouldn’t mean anything to him. Even if it was his first kiss, too. Those sort of romantic notions were best saved for people who wanted to live that rose-colored lifestyle. Not for him. He only did it to satisfy Chitanda’s curiosity. Just another mystery to solve.
And yet…
And yet his lips still tingled, as did the hand he cupped her cheek with. His whole body felt warm, too warm, almost burning. He doesn’t think he’ll ever forget that expression she made when she stopped him from leaving. That fiery determination breaking through her shyness. Her red cheeks, her furrowed brows, those shining eyes. It’s become imprinted in his mind and heart.
This is bad. This is really bad.
These feelings are so overwhelming, trying to understand them saps his energy, but so does trying to suppress them. He really shouldn’t have done it. He should’ve refused her, she would’ve understood. It could’ve just been a brief, awkward memory.
Yet, when he recalls the softness of her lips and the sight of her leaning into his touch… he finds himself not fully regretting it. He thinks he’d even kiss her again if she asked.
But he’d said not to make anything out of it… and that would probably be for the best. He’s not suited for such frivolities.
He does wonder, though, how she’d react if he asked her if he could kiss her again.