{Our Shopping Trip 2}

And yet, there’s something I treasure most, something I love more than anything.

––If only I knew how to say that without sounding cheesy. I’d really, really love to know how.

By the time we had gone through all the grocery aisles, our cart was filled to the brim with items ready to be checked out.

“Shall we head to the checkout?”

“Yeah, I hope we didn’t forget anything.”

“I wonder…”

I had the feeling we were running low on something in the toiletries section. I thought for a moment and remembered we were almost out of fabric softener for laundry.

At the same time, Satou-san let out a small gasp.

“My shampoo is almost out! I need to buy some, too.”

“And we need fabric softener. Let’s go through the aisles in order.”

We turned the cart around and first headed to the shampoo aisle. After Satou-san put her shampoo refill into the cart, we moved on to the laundry section.

The shampoo sitting on top of our cart was definitely the one she always used. Of course, I didn’t know that until we started living together. Before that, I had no idea what brand of shampoo Satou-san used. Even when we got together, asking something like that felt a bit… awkward, maybe even a little creepy.

But secretly, I’d always wanted to know.

Satou-san’s soft, smooth hair always smelled so nice. Every time we met, when we sat next to each other, when I held her close—it was that scent.

Even after we’d meet, I’d sometimes recall the fragrance later when I was alone, and despite the vague memory, it had a strange way of tugging at my heart.

As I was lost in thought, we arrived at the detergent aisle, and Satou-san, ahead of me, picked up the fabric softener refill. It was the same one my family had used back home, and she seemed to like it as well, so we continued to use it for our laundry.

“This is the one, right?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

I nodded, and Satou-san, with a serious expression, stared at the soft, squishy refill pouch.

She examined the product name on the package closely, as if deep in thought.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

For some reason, she hesitated before responding.

But then, after a moment, she answered, a bit shyly.

“I’ve always thought that Atsushi-kun’s clothes smelled really nice.”

She averted her eyes, her voice becoming quieter and more embarrassed.

“Every time we met, they had the same scent, so I figured it must be from the laundry, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask.”

I understood that feeling. I couldn’t ask either.

“Recently, I realized that this was the scent. And now my clothes have the same smell. I like it, so it makes me kind of happy…”

As she said that, she looked down so deeply that I could see the crown of her head. Even with her hair tied up, her flushed ears were impossible to hide.

As I watched her, she murmured softly.

“Is it weird, thinking about things like this…?”

“Not at all.”

I answered confidently.

“It’s not weird; it’s totally normal. Happens all the time.”

“R-really?”

Satou-san immediately raised her head and looked at me with a genuinely happy expression, so I had no choice but to confess.

“Actually, I’ve always wondered about the shampoo you use, too. It smelled really nice, and I thought about asking you what brand it was. But, you know, I couldn’t.”

“Really?”

All my concerns about seeming creepy were instantly dispelled by her shy, but relieved smile.

“I guess that kind of thing happens, huh? I’m glad it wasn’t just me!”

Yeah, really.

And I’m glad I was honest with her. Satou-san seemed genuinely happy after hearing my confession.

I’m sure she had experienced something similar.

After we met and went home, she probably thought about my scent, just as I had about hers.

Even when we were apart, we were thinking of each other. And now, living together, being able to stay close like this fills me with a deep sense of happiness.

Maybe that’s my real source of energy—this happiness itself.