NOVEL NEXT Chapter 359 – Out together
The group continued to have a great time with all the things Sophia and Maya had bought. Once they had set up the solar generator and hooked up a TV to it, they ended up watching movies until everyone fell asleep in the living room together.
On the day after, they watched some more movies, played around with the tablets, and they also set up the cameras. Once they were running, Sophia took a picture of basically anything and everyone around before looking at them on the TV, as well.
The following day went a little differently than planned, though. Ari and Anna had come over the collect Maya and the other tiger, as the couple was needed in the academy because Eluna had planned something she wanted to do a few days ago already when they had disappeared. Sophia really didn’t want to, but letting them in and having to explain a lot of things in the living room, for which she hadn't come up with a reasonable excuse yet, would be even worse. Reluctantly, she agreed to go to school with them. Steph wasn't a fan either, because she didn't want to lose sight of her sister again, but the blonde somehow managed to talk her out of coming with them. So, after enjoying the blonde in the uniform for a moment or two, the dog-girl stayed behind with Chloe.
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“Let’s have a date!” It took Steph precisely five seconds to get bored in the mansion after everyone except the fox-girl left, as the wolves had also decided to go somewhere.
“E-Eh?!” Hearing that, Chloe’s entire body jerked while her ears twitched a couple of times.
“Let’s go!” She was very motivated about the idea.
“O-Okay…?” The fox-girl wasn’t against the plan. Her cheeks turned rather red, though. “What, uhh… What do you want to do?”
“I want to see more of everything! If you know any interesting places, please take me there! You’re also from a different world, so you can imagine how excited I am, right?! Oh, but I’m also getting hungry, so a nice place where the two of us can enjoy some food together first would be amazing!”
“W-Well, that does sound fun!” Chloe was getting excited about it. “I don’t know much about the capital either, though… I've been traveling until a little while ago and haven't visited this place much. Right now, I'm even just here because of Sophia's portals.”
“Even better!” The violet-haired girl didn’t seem to mind it in the slightest. “Let’s go and explore together! Let’s find something fun! Just the two of us!”
“Okay!” She liked the idea a lot.
“Food first, though!”
“Ahaha~.” This caused the fox-girl to chuckle. “You definitely are sisters.”
“Heh! Food’s important!”
“I can’t argue with that.”
“Alright, date time!”
“Let’s go!” Chloe's earlier embarrassment about the plan was gone, and she was more excited about it than ever. She alone was already plenty positive, but with Steph around, there was just no way to be reserved.
“That’s the spirit!” Liking the excited tone in her reaction, the dog-girl grabbed her hand, and the duo finally left the mansion together.
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“Uhh…” The two had been walking around in the capital for about 15 minutes already, but rather than finding something to explore, Chloe was curious about something else. “W-Why are we still holding hands…?” Ever since the dog-girl grabbed hers in the mansion, she had yet to let go of the fox.
“Why not?” Steph had a very easy and reasonable explanation for it.
“I see…” Not sure what to do with that reply, she continued to glance at their connected hands.
“Oh, does it make you uncomfortable?” The dog tried to guess the issue. “I’m kinda bad with personal space and such, so I can stop if it’s too much for you.”
“N-Not at all!” Instead, Chloe actually seemed to grip Steph’s hand harder.
“Ehehe~.” She liked her reaction.
“It’s, uhh… nice to hold hands, but… I’m not used to being so close to people. To this level, at least…”
“Didn’t we fall asleep on the sofa together last night…? I’d say we were a little cuddly before, as well, no?”
“…” The fox-girl fell silent, and the blush on her cheeks increased a little. “T-That was a first for me, too! I’ve never done that before! Same with my t-tail… I’m not that against it when someone comes in contact with it as long as they have no weird or worse intentions, but having someone use it as a pillow…”
“A-Ah…” Steph wasn’t sure how to react to that. "Why are you okay with me being so close with it then, though?"
“Hmm… I do think I’m pretty sociable and get along with everyone super fast, especially with Sophia, and the others, too, but…”
“But?”
“If we ignore our first five minutes,”
“Please do!” The dog-girl wasn’t overly proud of her overexcited meeting with the fox.
“Hehe.” She let out another small chuckle before continuing. “It… It sounds pretty cheesy and is super embarrassing to admit, but… even though we basically just met, I’ve never felt as comfortable and at ease with someone as I do with you… In both lives.”
"Seriously?!" Steph's tail still had yet to stop wagging since it grew on her lower back, but it just got even more lively.
“S-Seriously…” Chloe only got more embarrassed in return.
“YAY!” Hearing that, the dog-girl let go of her hand, after all, and instead jumped at the fox and tightly hugged her side. “I love to hear that! It makes me super happy!”
“G-Glad to hear…" The pink-haired girl was getting uncharacteristically shy a lot lately. “Y-You seem to be quite used to all this, though…”
"Hmm?" Giving her another quick squeeze, Steph then parted from her again while pointing at herself. "Me?"
“No, that girl over there.” Rolling her eyes, Chloe then pointed at a wolf-girl quite a bit away from them at the far end of the street.
“Ahaha, I’m not sure? I’ve always been pretty clingy and liked to glomp my friends a lot, but walking around while holding hands wasn’t something I did often. And something like last night, watching a movie together while being all close and kinda cuddly, that’s something that was exclusively reserved for Sophia.”
“Is that so…?”
“Yes!” Steph nodded a couple of times. “I'm quite extroverted. I like to play a little, and flirting is great fun, but I haven't done anything more serious yet because cuddling with my sister doesn't count in that regard."
"S-Seriously…?"
"Seriously!"
"W-With me, it counts, then…? Why…?”
“That’s a good question.” The dog-girl tilted her head. “When I first saw you, woah, is all I could think about. That never happened before~. You’re positively amazing!”
“You also are amazing!”
“Ehehe~.” Steph liked that. “I wanted and still want to get closer to you, and I don’t mean your tail! Okay, your tail is included, b-but you can’t blame me for that!”
“I wasn’t going to. Fluff is justice, after all.” Chloe stole a short glance at the dog’s tail while saying so. While it had a good bit less volume than her own, it still looked incredibly soft and pleasant to the touch.
“You really are perfect!” Steph smiled at her. “Sophia's the only one who touched it so far, and she was anything but gentle, so I don't exactly know how it feels, but I already do get that it’s something very personal… Still, you can try and cuddle a little with it once we’re home~. That’s only fair, I’d say!”
“…” She didn’t seem to be against the idea.
“Back to the previous topic!" Her smile only got bigger. "Aside from you being perfect, it’s the same for me, as well. I've never felt as comfortable and at ease around someone as I do with you. Again, Sophia’s my sister, so she doesn’t count for that. I also agree it's weird because we just met, but maybe it was just meant to be~.”
“R-Really…?”
“Really!”
“I’m really happy that I’m not alone with that feeling!” Chloe's smile turned incredibly gentle.
“Yep!” The dog-girl had a similar expression. “That’s why I hope you’re okay with me wanting to get to know you even better! Get much closer, too!”
“Absolutely!” She gave her a big nod. “I want the same!”
“Yay!” The two seemed to want the same. “Alrighty, let’s continue our date!” Saying so, Steph held out her hand.
“Okay!” Still smiling broadly, Chloe immediately followed suit and gently grabbed it with her own. “Though, continue?”
“Let’s get it started!” The dog slightly corrected herself.
“Hehe.”
“Also, I’m even hungrier now! Do you know a nice place with a good atmosphere where we can get breakfast? Hmm… Or maybe brunch?” She noticed that breakfast time was stretching it a little already.
“I’m not so sure about the good atmosphere part, but I know a place with amazing food!”
“Honestly, that’s all that really counts! Fancy is overrated, anyway!”
“Back to the basics?”
“Yes!”
“Alright, let’s go!”
“Okay!”
Once their little chat was over and their stomachs had won, Chloe guided them to a well-liked restaurant of hers. They hadn’t let go of each other’s hands not even once on the way. Steph’s tail was also wagging so hard that it actually was dangerous to approach her from behind, and Chloe's, too, was gently swishing from side to side in a similar, but slower motion.
