After putting on my makeup, I looked at my ears in the mirror.

         I’d given my ears to Miyagi for her birthday.

         But this was something I’d wanted too—to have her pierce my ears on her birthday.

         Now I had an earring in each ear.

         Those days in high school, when having any kind of permanent mark on our bodies was against the rules, now felt like a distant memory.

         It had been two days since I’d gotten my ears pierced.

         The small accessories Miyagi had put in my ears felt far more natural on me than I ever expected. They made my feelings for her even stronger, even more certain, and I never got tired of looking at them.

         I touched my earring with my fingers.

         It didn’t feel much different from when I touched Miyagi’s, and I let out a small sigh.

         「Well, at least our earrings match.」

         Miyagi would definitely hate it if she heard me say that, but the earrings I was wearing now looked just like the ones she used to wear. Lately, she’d only been wearing the plumeria earrings I’d given her, but just knowing she once wore earrings like these made my heart flutter.

         What happened to the first pair of earrings I put in Miyagi’s ears?

         Did she keep them somewhere, or did she throw them away?

         I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to hear it if she said she’d thrown them out.

         For me, I had no intention of throwing these earrings away. I’d even be fine with wearing them forever. But since I’d gone through the trouble of getting them pierced, it wouldn’t hurt to try on other ones too.

         Like, for example, if Miyagi were to choose a pair for me…

         「That’s probably never happening, though.」

         I let out a sigh.

         It was already hard enough just finding a chance for us to go out together, so getting her to pick out earrings for me felt about as impossible as teaching a stray cat to give me its paw.

         My piercings were supposed to heal in about a month—when Miyagi would be able to bite my ears again—but I doubted that stray cat would suddenly turn into a well-trained dog by then.

         So if I wanted new earrings, I’d just have to pick them myself.

         Well, it had only been two days since I’d gotten my ears pierced.

         Even if I planned on getting new earrings someday, there was no reason to rush.

         For now, I was happy with the little treasure I had.

         I could think about what might happen a month from now later.

         Maybe by then, some miracle would happen and Miyagi would turn into a stray cat that had learned how to give me her paw.

         I tugged lightly on my earlobe, now adorned with an earring, then glanced at the clock.

         It was still a bit too early to head to campus.

         Deciding to grab a drink before leaving, I opened my bedroom door and stepped out into the shared living space, where I found Miyagi.

         「Are you leaving already?」

         I called out to Miyagi, and she turned toward me.

         I’d noticed it while we were eating, but ever since I’d gotten my ears pierced, I could feel Miyagi staring at them. Ever since her birthday, she’d been looking at me a lot.

         「Yeah.」

         She answered, her eyes still fixed on me.

         Miyagi stared at my ears without holding back.

         I never thought earrings would lead to something like this.

         All it took was piercing my ears to catch Miyagi’s attention.

         But I wanted more than just her eyes.

         If offering up more parts of my body could draw more of her attention, I’d give her as much of myself as it took.

         And if she ever said she wanted something from me, I’d give her just about anything.

         If I asked Miyagi what she wanted from me, would she even give me an answer?

         Just as I was getting caught up in that unhealthy train of thought, Miyagi’s voice pulled me back to reality.

         「You’re not leaving yet, Sendai-san?」

         I let out a small sigh. I felt exasperated with myself for even thinking about what else I could offer her.

         Miyagi had seeped too deeply into me.

         She had become such a large part of me that it felt like she was starting to paint over everything inside me.

         If Miyagi ended up covering every last part of who I was, I wasn’t sure what would be left of me—and that thought scared me a little.

         「Sendai-san?」

         Seeing me stay quiet, Miyagi called my name.

         I couldn’t just stay silent when she was asking me a simple yes or no question, so I looked at her and smiled.

         「No, not yet. Also, I figured I’d help you put your lip balm on.」

         She didn’t seem to be wearing the lip balm I’d given her.

         「You don’t have to do that. Besides, I was just about to leave.」

         Maybe because she didn’t like what I’d said, Miyagi’s expression turned displeased.

         「Are you not planning on using the lip balm at all?」

         「I will, but not right now. And I did use it on the day you gave it to me, didn’t I?」

         「You should use it every day.」

         It would make me incredibly happy if Miyagi actually used the gift I’d gotten her.

         Just like how she brought the black cat plush with her when we moved in, I wanted her to keep using the lip balm too.

         「No.」

         「Then how about this—if you let me put the lip balm on you, I’ll do any one thing you ask of me.」

         This seemed like a better idea than trying to think of what other parts of me I could offer her, and I really did want her to make use of the lip balm I’d given her too.

         「… You’re saying you’ll do anything I ask of you?」

         「Well, anything within the realm of common sense.」

         Miyagi frowned at me.

         It wasn’t like putting on lip balm was that big of a deal, so she didn’t need to think that hard about it.

         Miyagi and I didn’t always agree on what counted as common sense, but it wasn’t like I’d ever refuse her anyway, so it shouldn’t have been an issue at all.

         Even so, she spent a full minute thinking it over before finally answering.

         「You better keep your word, Sendai-san.」

         「I will. So can you go grab your lip balm?」

         I asked, and Miyagi looked even more displeased than before. Then she pulled the lip balm out of her bag and handed it to me.

         “Wait, it wasn’t in your room?”

         I barely stopped myself from saying it out loud.

         If I had, Miyagi probably would’ve snatched the lip balm back and headed straight to school.

         「So, what is it that you want me to do in exchange?」

         「I haven’t decided yet. Can I think of something later?」

         「Sure. Now close your eyes.」

         I said quietly, and Miyagi closed her eyes without any protest.

         She didn’t need to have her eyes closed for me to apply lip balm on her, but I preferred it this way.

         Instead of using the lip balm, I touched Miyagi’s lips with my fingertips.

         Then I placed my hand on her cheek and kissed her. She tried to push me away, but I wanted more, so I leaned in to deepen the kiss.

         She kicked me in the leg, so I reluctantly pulled back. As I did, she kicked me again before saying,

         「I thought you wanted to put lip balm on me.」

         「Oops, I forgot about that.」

         I said with a grin, then took the cap off the lip balm. When I brought the sweet-smelling tube close to her, Miyagi closed her eyes again.

         Slowly, carefully, I applied it to her soft lips.

         「Okay. All done.」

         Miyagi smelled really nice.

         It made me want to kiss her again, but if I did, she’d probably never let me put lip balm on her again, so I held myself back.

         「… Thanks. I’m going to get going now.」

         She took the lip balm from my hand and put it back in her bag. Just as she turned to leave, I caught her arm.

         「Wait for me. Let’s go together.」

         「No. I’m leaving first.」

         「What? Come on, just wait a little for me.」

         「I don’t want to.」

         Miyagi shook off my hand and left the shared living space, and I hurried back to my room. I grabbed my bag and rushed to the front door. After putting on my shoes and opening it, I let out a small gasp when I saw Miyagi standing there.

         「Were you waiting for me?」

         「I wasn’t.」

         Miyagi glanced at my ears for a moment before starting to walk away. I locked the door behind me and followed after her.

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