Animate SS: A Mutual Weekness in Love

"Is this to your liking, Ojou-sama?"

As promised, the moment Mahiru received the photo of Amane in his part-time job uniform (taken by Miyamoto), she immediately tapped the notification and brought the image up on her phone's screen.

No one could deny that a waiter's uniform had a sharp look, but it wasn't as if wearing one would suddenly make Amane stand out all that much.

Even so, he knew that he was always the best in Mahiru's eyes, so he wasn't too surprised that she wanted to see him dressed up.

He'd sent the photo thinking that if it could make Mahiru even a little happy, then it was worth it. Sure enough, Mahiru was completely absorbed, and her eyes were fixed on the image filling her screen.

"Mahiru?"

"I think it looks wonderful." "That so?"

When he called out to her, Mahiru hugged her phone close and responded with a blissful smile that was the very definition of the word content. Amane was relieved to have met her expectations. His expression in the photo might have been a bit stiff, thanks to Miyamoto teasing him during the shoot, but Mahiru didn't seem to mind at all.

"Hey, you're smiling an awful lot."

"That's because of how handsome you look, Amane-kun."

"I think that's partly the uniform and your rose-colored lens." "It's not good to be so self-deprecating," Mahiru replied.

"I mean, I'm not exactly someone who'd go around calling myself handsome, you know."

Amane didn't think he looked terrible. He had inherited decent genes from his parents, so he figured he looked at least somewhat presentable. But he didn't think he was exceptionally handsome, nor did he believe it was something to boast about. Just imagining himself declaring, "Look at me, I'm handsome!" made him want to cringe in embarrassment and curl up on the spot.

"It wouldn't hurt to say it, you know?" Mahiru said.

"No way… I'll admit that I look handsome to you, but that's as far as I'll go."

"Goodness."

Amane could at least acknowledge that he was the most handsome to Mahiru, and he hoped she would be satisfied with that. As Mahiru muttered, "I wish you would learn to be a little more confident," Amane watched her with a wry smile. He touched her wrist lightly.

"…Wait, why're you casually trying to set that as your wallpaper?"

As he found her puffed-up cheeks adorable, he suddenly noticed she was about to change her phone's wallpaper to the photo. He stopped her without thinking. He was glad to have made Mahiru happy, but this was a different matter altogether.

"Until you invited me, I thought that looking at this would satisfy me for the time being," she answered.

"Ack, you know I'm weak when you say stuff like that." "Exactly… Am I not allowed to?"

Mahiru looked up at him. Her expression changed from her earlier sulky pout to one of pure innocence mixed with a hint of playful mischief. Her gaze made it clear that she hadn't expected him to refuse.

Amane pressed his lips together for a moment before letting out a sigh. "…So this is what it means to be weak to your lover."

Mahiru giggled. "Don't worry, I won't show it to anyone else."

"I can already imagine Chitose catching a glimpse and making a fuss about it."

"…I-I will be careful."

"That's not exactly reassuring…"

If Chitose tried to sneak a peek at Mahiru's wallpaper, then there wasn't much Amane could do. Mahiru quickly gave in under pressure, which only worried Amane more.

To try to raise her caution just a little, Amane leaned against the back of the sofa where Mahiru sat, placing some of his weight on it as he brought his face closer to hers. He could feel her body shift slightly as their breath mingled in the narrow space between them. Locking his gaze onto her caramel-colored eyes, he let a soft smile curve his lips.

"Don't let anyone see…okay?" "Y-Yesh…"

Amane whispered to her softly, his breath brushing against her skin.

Mahiru shrank slightly and nodded repeatedly, her agreement clear.

Amane was well aware that Mahiru was weak to his face and voice.

Using that to his advantage might have been foul play, but Mahiru had used the same tactic earlier. It was only fair. He smiled at her while she trembled, her face flushed red. Mahiru let out a small, frustrated "Uuuu," a sound caught somewhere between showing embarrassment and complaint.

"…Looks like you're weak to your lover too, huh, Mahiru? Now we're even, aren't we?"

Mahiru pursed her lips and gave his chest a light thump. Amane, feeling a surge of joy welling up inside him, couldn't help but shake slightly as he absorbed the soft impact, hardly painful but full of affection.