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It was what had started to become a normal lunch hour for Ken; he and Miss Ayase lingering in the courtyard, chatting amiably while Ken swapped between bites of the lunch she had insisted he eat while he tried to get in more reps of squats and pushups. He knew she was right- he needed to eat more to get stronger and the immediate combination of the two didn't do great things for his stomach’s comfort in the moment but Miss Ayase seemed pleased enough with the arrangement so he found he was too.
That was, until her friends found them.
He couldn’t quite hear their words past the thundering of his beating heart and Ken, unsurprisingly, found himself panicking and his exercises immediately forgotten as his mind instead flooded with worry about what Miss Ayase’s friends might think of her, alone with him- and they had been alone hadn’t they? He only just felt the grounding pain of tugging at his hair as his thoughts ran amok, he hadn't even considered how whatever this looked like might affect her reputation- no, how inappropriate these shared lunches he had come to savor might appear to others!!
Muuko and Miko had finally found Momo and they both knew she would be having lunch with her Bae.
While they didn't want to upset the careful new balance that the two had just started to get comfortable in they did have very important news about their upcoming mall plans for this weekend what with the shiny new bonus of an unexpected showing of a cult classic starring the very first Ken Takakura that had caught Momo’s attention years ago.
Muuko, of course, saw Momo’s Okarun and his half eaten lunch not far behind Momo. The scrappy little otaku looked terrified between the three of them (his spine straight as a board) and made all the more awkward by the resistance weights he was wearing on his widdle arms and legs- was he working out?! And omg wasn't that just adorbz af- the little nerd was so far gone for her friend it was disgustingly cute!! He seemed to be trying to make himself one with the shadows of the courtyard while Miko and Momo had already launched into discussing their battle plans.
She considered him; Momo’s Okarun looked pretty overwhelmed by the mere presence of them and he was very pointedly avoiding all attempts at eye contact so she said nothing of her very subtle plans to invite him along.
Yet.
She could give him a moment to adapt and breathe- it sounded a little like he was struggling with that, so she turned hopping into the conversation with her friends to give the dude a moment.
Ken didn’t want to deprive Momo of her friends but he knew he would just make things awkward and ruin the fun and excitement he could hear in Miss Ayase’s voice as she had her back to him.
He could feel one of Momo’s friend’s eyes on him but she (very understandably) didn’t really acknowledge him- not that he could blame her- it was honestly incredibly kind of her to overlook his transgressions of being alone with Miss Ayase, the least he could do was slip away so they could all pretend like this had never happened- the thought made his heart ache in a way he couldn’t quite name but he was sure it was the right thing to do.
Only. He couldn’t.
As he’d started to try to step back and away he’d run into something, something big.
His nervous mind tried to run through all the things it could be- he knew he was too far from any walls and he didn’t see anything for him to have run into at first- a little gasp escaped him in concern at the thought of some alien or yokai being present but they weren’t in empty space and his yokai instincts seemed to sense no real threats- those instincts registered something, sure… but it was almost… nice?
Warm.
Safe.
Happy.
…Huh.
He tried to turn, wanting to take a closer look at the non-threatening barrier only to find said barrier was actually all around him with a telltale shimmer of teal psychic energy.
Oh. He was quite literally in the grasp of one of Miss Ayase’s spectral hands. He could feel the large digits slowly close around him gently, like some kind of fragile toy and he was surprised (and relieved) both to have that train of thought cut off by the gentle stroking of a very large thumb(?) up the whole of his back that made his already struggling brain and breathing come to a very sudden halt.
Ken’s awareness only returned at the same time he heard himself let out a startled squeak, thankfully at the same time as the girls seemed to share a laugh together and he was relieved to be seemingly forgotten in the background but no less mortified by the situation.
He tried to keep a level head as his whole body was gently squeezed and jostled- that thumb was rubbing gentle circles into his shoulder and it was very distracting but he did his best to inspect Miss Ayase as casually (and appropriately) as possible, trying to figure out her game here. Her body language didn’t seem to indicate she was intentionally teasing him (and thank the stars for that) which meant she probably didn’t realize what she was doing.
And what she was doing was holding and stroking the whole of his person like something small and precious- no probably not that- maybe more like a nervous tic? Yeah, that made better sense!
Another gentle shift of the spiritual power that held him squeezed again as it seemingly adjusted her hold on him, nearly (but not quite) lifting him off his feet. Her real hands were currently on her hips (she always seemed so confident around other people) as she laughed so warmly that he could almost feel it from here- or… was that her powers?
Either way, a substantial part of him wanted nothing more than to melt into the sensation.
Back to the issue at hand, please, Ken!!
Right.
He didn't only ever see her confident, did he? In her rare precious moments of vulnerability he could very clearly recall that she pulled on her own hair sometimes, much like he did.
Was this like that?
Being seen with him did make her nervous, didn't it? She said she didn't care about her reputation but he couldnt blame her one bit if that had just been bluster to asuage him…
Ugh, it was so hard to think clearly with the ever present warmth that so gently held him in place but he needed to figure this out quickly so he could figure out what to DO.
Think, Ken!
Her massive grasp adjusted again, a large digit- her thumb again he thinks now gently stroking up the side of his neck and face (just barely missing his glasses) and his face feels like it's on fire. He could only imagine he looked like the wettest, most terrified street cat receiving pets for the first time ever and an utterly alien thought within him desired nothing more than to purr at the unintended attention.
Oh, he was making this weird. He was making this so weird!
What was he supposed to do?
He didn’t want to embarrass Miss Ayase and he wasn’t sure how to even bring it up in front of people who didn’t know she had giant psychic hands in the first place and who clearly couldn’t see them now and… this wasn’t a bad experience exactly… But! Was he taking advantage of Miss Ayase by letting this go on? Sure, she was openly affectionate and touchy with her friends (and himself! A! Friend!) but in trying to imagine this… situation from her perspective, this was like… like fondling- no bad choice of words. Cupping him? Nope, that’s even worse!
Ugh, he was being a total creep, wasn’t he?
For liking this?
For wanting so desperately for her to hold him even though he knew he deserved no such thing but she was his friend and he was betraying his best friend’s trust by thinking these thoughts!
Muuko was honestly feeling a little impatient with the otaku, if anything he seemed more nervous now and looked weirdly… ruffled as he sort of swayed side to side a bit, red as a tomato.
Little dude was totes paying no attention to their conversation so… why not? She’d tried to wait until he seemed ready to join in and she was still rooting for him with every intention to leave them the rest of lunch to be cute together so she went for it.
“Hey girly,” she addressed Momo, “Do you think Okarun over there wants to join us this weekend too? We’re not so cruel as to separate you two!” she added with a playful grin and sing-song quality that very much got the desired reaction from both Momo and her man as they both seemed to squawk in indignation. She didn’t think she’d taken it so far that Momo would get all weird about it all over again, just a little fun.
Ken had only just processed that he had been included in the conversation by his nickname when the pressure around him increased well past the gentle hold he’d been enjoying enduring. He felt the air pushed from his lungs as his feet were raised just above the safety of the stable ground he had been taking for granted moments ago and there was no stopping the awful, breathy little- oh it was definitely a whine- that escaped him.
And then, when he’d thought he might survive this, that they might continue on without actively bringing him into the conversation by more than mention; Miss Ayase had turned around to look at him and they locked eyes.
In a moment, all his weight was back on the ground as he staggered, trying to at least keep himself upright but failing as he landed on his ass, hard, while he stared back at Momo’s mortified expression.
Momo hadn’t meant to drop Okarun like he’d burned her before dispelling the offending hand, she also hadn’t meant to… do whatever it was her spectral hand had been doing to him!
How long had she been doing that?
Why didn’t he say something!?
Make a sound!
Anything!
She’d felt him of course but she had been distracted- just keeping her hands busy, she didn’t know it had been him. God, he must be as mortified as she is and-
Oh no. Could Muuko and Miko see it?
Surely they would have said something if they had- No, wait, they had asked her a question! But… hell if she could remember what she’d been asked right now with his big, dumb brown eyes looking at her like that through the magnification of his glasses…
Ken knew they’d both been quiet for too long the way Miko and Muuko watched them- clearly not sure what exactly had just happened between the two of them. Not that he was really sure himself.
He had no idea what he was being invited to and it didn’t look like Miss Ayase was going to answer for him- it looked like she was having her own internal crisis and one of them needed to do something.
So, Ken tried.
“I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY BUT I WILL HAVE TO CHECK MY AVAILABILITY!” he lied suddenly and much more forcefully than he’d intended, scrambling to his feet and dropping into a bow to hide his face and shame.
He was thankful he could only hear their response, but he could still feel three sets of eyes on him.
Momo snapped back into reality when she heart Muuko reply with a legitimately confused “Ooookay. Well, it’ll be fun but no big deal! We’ll see ya if we see ya; Momo’s got the deets!”
Recognizing the casual dismissal for what it was she turned back to her friends.
“We’ll figure it out, see you later!” she called back, her voice just a little higher than was strictly normal, waiting only a moment for them to turn away before she nearly barreled past Okarun, grabbing him just as he came up from his bow, and pulling him around the corner for an interrogation.
Ken was apologizing before his back hit the brick wall and both of Miss Ayase’s very corporeal arms caging him in on both sides.
“What. Was. That?” She demanded, sounding furious.
“I don’t know!” He replied back, closing his eyes tightly, waiting for his end to come, his voice only barely above a whisper but as honest as he could be given the circumstances.
His end didn’t come, and he felt her move away from him and take a steadying breath. In a tense, but much calmer tone now, thankfully, he heard her try again, “I’m sorry, Okarun. I didn’t know I was doing… that”.
He opened his eyes again to look at her, not far from him now- but no longer so close, trapping him like she was before.
She looked past his shoulder, ashamed and glaring daggers at the innocent bricks as she played with her own bangs. ”Um, what exactly was I doing to you?” she asked with an uncharacteristic lack of confidence.
Momo waited as Okarun seemed to just… stare at her as she waited for a response and that just let her get into her own head about the whole thing- he looked stunned- had she hurt him? He looked very… ‘Manhandled’ was the word that came to mind and a tiny part of her liked that way more than she should have when she had just… I dunno, assaulted probably, her best friend!
She could feel the pressure of her own lip caught between her teeth. She knew he probably needed time to get the words out and she could wait, she had to.
He finally moved and her eyes locked onto his face as glare overtook his glasses, hiding his eyes from her as he dumbly pointed at her hand and said simply: “That.”
“Hah?”
He squirmed and quickly added, averting his eyes again, “I um, I think you were just fidgeting! L-like you are with your hair right now. It’s, um. It’s ...okay?”
Ken watched as it was Momo’s turn to freeze like a deer in the headlights as she released her lock of hair and just… stared at him.
He had been so proud of responding honestly and thought he’d provided a pretty good and honest out (for the both of them!) but he couldn’t quite read her expression so his anxiety rushed to fill more of the silence.
“I liked it.” he added dumbly and he could feel what little pride he had within him dying like a smothered flame.
Unfortunately, it seemed this was the wrong thing to say.
Suddenly, Miss Ayase was in his face again, looking angry and he did his best to will himself to melt into the wall at his back. The attempt was, of course, unsuccessful.
“You’re not a fucking fidget spinner, you dummy!” she grit out and he was so, so relieved she seemed to have ignored that last comment from him, she was such a good friend and he was such an awkward fellow.
“I didn’t know what else to do!” and oh that definitely sounded so whiny, why was he like this?
She gave another disgruntled huff and a surprisingly gentle “punch” to his arm before she straightened up, giving him space to breathe again (though he found himself missing the closeness- not helpful!!)
“Look,” she finally said pointedly looking off to the side, “I didn’t mean to do that and I’ll try not to do it again. But like, if I slip up, say something, yeah? Make a sound. I dunno, make me look at you or whatever so I can knock it off.”
“What kind of sound?” he found himself asking, “Perhaps some kind of signal- like a- a bird call or-?” he offered, trying to be helpful but was interrupted by barely restrained snicker from her.
“How about you try clearing your throat or coughing or whatever in case we’re- I dunno, inside or something?” She hesitated for a moment before a glint of mischief seemed to sparkle in her eyes, “Unless you wanna go around making bird calls for no visible reason? That’s cool too, I guess.”
"No! No, I um, I like your idea better, Miss Ayase," he replied hastily, grabbing his glasses to hide the embarassed grimace he was sure he was making.
"Good, yeah." She looked around and spied their forgoten bentos, "Let's uh, finish eating then?" she offered.
"Yes!" said Ken, gratefully as he carefully stepped out of her space to collect his food- his heart had enough exercise for now he decided before he remembered that they'd kinda agreed to something? Maybe? "What um, what else did we need to figure out," he asked, feeling his face heat and voice pitch traitorously as he continued, "I was, ah, a little… distracted?"
Momo had already forgotten most of that conversation but she was quick and it wasn't gone for good in her mind- "Oh! Yeah! Right- um, do you wanna come with us to see a movie this Saturday, after school?"
The smile that lit up his face was bright enough to blind a weaker woman.
"Yeah," he said, "I think I'd like that a lot, thank you, Miss Ayase."