- ᴄᴜᴅᴅʟᴇs

A test hung from your hand pathetically. You walked, no, you tried to - it most likely looked like a sad-looking old woman making her way home from the store when she found out they'd ran out of her favourite type of yogurt and you kept your head low to keep from being seen or approached from your peers about the recent maths test that made a fool out of you.

You couldn't help sighing, finally happy and ready to leave when you realised the last siren that rang was actually the one to signal that it was time to go home and all you wanted to do was lay in bed and spoon with your dog. The thoughts were mystical, as if they were nothing but unreachable dreams until you finally reached your shoe locker. You looked down at the test, unable to swap your shoes with it in your hand and let it float to the ground like your motivation and cursed the gods above when it flipped to land on the the blank side so your red-inked mark was facing you, mocking you and laughing at you.

It was pathetic but damn, you didn't think you'd do so bad. Like, what the hell even happened that day? And with a swipe of your hand, you ripped the paper from the floor and almost took off in a sprint to leave the building until a sudden voice, a soft voice, a pretty one called out to you from behind you.

"[Name]-chan."

It was gentle, sweet and so nice to hear, you wanted to hear that voice say your name all the time and the weight that lifted just from hearing that single word was almost enough to make you feel like nothing was worth being upset about. Like you could just turn around and everything would be alright.

But it wasn't,

because you were so sure you'd ace the test but you didn't. You just failed so badly that you don't even comprehend how it happened. And you turned to frown at the boy who'd taken your heart and he smiled; it surely cute enough to make anyone stop and just stare.

"Makoto..." Unsure of what else to say, you waited as he approached you after bidding a goodbye to Haru and Gou.

"Y-you didn't have to-"

"I didn't have to but I wanted to, are you ready to leave?"

He had surely seen you just about ready to storm out of the place and never look back but those droopy, green eyes just pulled you back to nod up at him and take the hand he reached out to you with an eager sigh of relief when his warm hand covered your own and just because of the situation, you hugged his arm into you and wrapped it around you shoulders soon after to rub your cheek into his torso when he flinched,

"[N-Name]-chan, are you alright?!"

"Not until we get to your house, right?"

By the way you had worded your sentence, Makoto knew that you didn't want to ask but you also didn't want to just assume it would be okay to show up at his home. It didn't matter to him though because his mum loved you anyway, he only smiled down at you even if his heart was racing a mile a minute.

Makoto sat on the ground before the table, glasses on as he read over the paper you had gripped in your hand the entire way home. Unsure of why you hadn't put it away, Makoto asked about it on the way home and by the way you paled and quickly denied any paper being in your hand, he knew it was the reason for your sour mood.

Oddly enough, just as he was about to ask for it, just the sight of his face made you hand it over with pink cheeks and he didn't know why, sometimes he often guessed what you were thinking just like he and Nagisa did with Haru but he was clueless at the time when he was with you,

"Makoto, why is your bed so comfortable.." You had been whining, twisting and turning for a while before finally deciding on a position as you spooned his plushie Orca,

"I... don't get how you got this score..." Makoto almost trembled, looking back at you and he paused.

There you were, laying so undeniably comfortable and so damn cute on his bed with his plushie and he was just sitting on the ground, only a few feet away. What he'd give to get nearer to you, he didn't know, but it was really a sight for sore eyes, something he never, ever thought he'd be graced with in his lifetime.

The girl he adored was in his room and alone with him. It didn't help that he couldn't help thinking of some slightly... inappropriate things but he'd never (never, ever) have the courage to act on them, "Makoto, could you..."

He flinched, turning away when he thought he was caught and he coughed, heating up and he tried to answer as best as he could; even if his voice cracked, "Y-ye-yeah?"

"..'dle me..?"

He turned around as nonchalantly as he could, "Sorry?"

He noticed the way you raised the plushie to hide your face, "cuddle me!"

It was muffled but loud and certainly what he thought it was that you had almost yelled. He blushed deeply and thought back to last week when you had managed to plant yourself beside him when he was resting after some intense swimming practise, cuddling him wordlessly when you hugged him and wrapped your arms around his back when neither or you had the strength to speak until you'd fallen asleep.

So, he left the math test on the table that read, '18/50' and walked to you slowly, unaware of how he should initiate the cuddling and watched as you squirmed and moved further away so he could lay down. He did so, his heart thumping like a madman and he plopped down awkwardly while lifting a shaky hand to your waist, feeling your warm skin through your shirt but by the sigh of immense relief you exhaled, Makoto guessed that this was okay and it was really what you needed.