Welcome Home Hug and Lap Hug

“Welcome back, Krish-san! Thank you for your hard work.”

“I’m back. You smell nice.”

“Hehe, you must be hungry. Dinner’s ready.”

I put Krish-san’s clothes in the basket and hurried to the pond. The first thing Krish-san does when he gets home is to give Blanche some water and food. And then brush her.

Blanche’s fur is so shiny because he takes care of her like this every day. I followed his example and started brushing Pochi and Brian more often. That’s why my family members’ fur is shiny and fluffy.

“Today, I planted the seeds that Krish-san gave me. I’m looking forward to seeing them in three days.”

“I wish I could help you, but I’m sorry I don’t have many days off.”

Oh, he looks a little disappointed. Maybe Krish-san wanted to sow the seeds with me too.  I had misunderstood, but apparently Krish’s parents are still alive. They live far away.

Apparently they love kukuris and wanted to eat as many as they could grow, so they moved to the south where they are suitable for cultivation. However, they always fail, and haven’t been able to eat a single one yet. That shows how delicate kukuris are.

When Krish-san has time, he helps me plant vegetables and harvest them. He seems to enjoy farm work. I wonder if he’s like his parents.

He wrote them a letter. I heard they’ll ask to come and see the place soon.

Then I’ll meet Krish-san’s parents, right? I’m so nervous.

I’m sure they’ll be surprised to see a dwarf with his son!

After brushing Blanche, Krish-san gives her a bath. It seems like he’s careful not to let any dust get into the house.

 When that happens, I hang the basket on a nearby tree and retreat into the house. Partly to prepare dinner, but the main reason is because I’m embarrassed to see Krish-san naked.

I used to look at his back and think it was good, but since we became lovers, I’ve gotten more embarrassed and I end up screaming.

“Krish-san, I’ll leave your clothes here.”

“Mm, thank you for everything.”

I returned to the house, turning my face away unnaturally so as not to get Krish out of my sight as he began to take off his clothes.

I was nervous as I set dinner on the table. Krish-san’s bath was over in no time, and he usually returned home just as the food was set.

“Shinobu.”

As soon as he entered the front door, Krish-san called me with his arms open, just like in the morning. It was time to say “Welcome home.”

I hugged Krish-san’s waist with the same jerky movements as in the morning.

 What’s different from the morning is that Krish-san leans down and turns his cheek towards me. I stretch as far as I can and give him a kiss on the cheek. Again, I let out a yell of “Kyaaaa!!” in my head.

“I’m back, Shinobu.”

“Mm, welcome home.”

Krish-san said that saying “I’m leaving” and “I’m back” is natural, but it seems like it’s really something that happens in every household.

The first time I went to Couge’s shop, he gave me a kiss on the cheek after hugging me. I remember being impressed, thinking, “Waaa, he’s like a foreigner!!”

People in this world don’t have a convenient means of communication like a telephone, so there’s no way to know if you get into an accident at work.

 When I was told that the kiss when they’re leaving expresses the wish that the family will be safe until I get back, and the kiss when I’m home expresses the wish that the family returned safely, I told myself that I shouldn’t be embarrassed.

But as expected, it’s a pretty high hurdle for a Japanese person like me.

Anyway, today’s greetings are over!! I’ll try to do my best to be more natural when I say “goodbye” tomorrow.

After everyone eats all the food I made and I clean up, it’s time for Krish-san to have a drink. At this time, I’m acting suspiciously.

“Shinobu.”

Krish-san sat down in a chair this time and patted his knee.

I made a mistake when I licked the alcohol and lost my memory the other day.

 Apparently I sat on Krish-san’s lap and said, “I love it when Krish-san hugged me.”

We became lovers, so I don’t have to be shy. Krish-san makes me sit on his lap every night.

Really, what did I say? It’s too late to regret now.

“I love to hug you.” I feel like a kindergartener!! I guess I’m the type of person who gets clingy when I drink. If I did this to someone else, it would be sexual harassment, right? At worst, it would be molestation.

I’ve decided not to drink alcohol ever again. I don’t want to get arrested by Krish-san for getting drunk and hugging someone else. I’m sure Krish-san wouldn’t want to arrest his lover either.

“Shinobu, what’s wrong?”

“Y-yes, I’m sorry.”

As I was thinking, Krish-san called me. I feel a little guilty about sitting on Krish-san’s firm thigh muscles.

Krish-san’s muscles are there to run and catch bad guys. I wonder if it’s okay to put my butt on those precious muscles.

If you ask me if I don’t like sitting on Krish-san’s lap, I don’t mind, so I’m in trouble. In fact, it’s embarrassing, but I’m quite happy. After all, it’s been half a day since I last saw Krish-san. I think about how we were together every day when he was taking care of me.

I always take advantage of Krish-san’s consideration and sit on his lap.

I grabbed Krish-san’s shoulders and climbed up while he supported my waist with his left hand.

When we sit like this, our faces are much closer than when we’re standing. I feel embarrassed to think that his lips, which just kissed my forehead, are so close to me. Krish-san doesn’t seem to mind at all. He’s a grown man, it’s amazing.

“That’s right, Krish-san. Did something happen at the management office? Norn seemed strange when I met him last time. Is there any problem?”

“At the management office? No, I haven’t heard anything about it. How is he?”

“Hmm, it’s not like he said anything, but I guess he was irritated? The atmosphere seemed tense.”

He seemed blank, then he furrowed his brow, and made a surprised face. I thought he was feeling sick, but he ate a surprising amount of snacks as usual.

When he comes to play, he usually relaxes until the evening, but that day he started to get restless around noon and said, “I’m going home after all.” and left.

“Hmm.”

Krish-san looked up and acted like he was thinking. Then, his face naturally turned up, and I saw his Adam’s apple right in front of me.

 Mine isn’t that prominent, but Krish-san’s Adam’s apple is manly and I can’t help but want to touch it. It’s a sensitive spot, and I get nauseous when someone presses on it, so I don’t touch it.

But when I see it move when he drinks or eats a snack, I get excited and I understand why cats are interested in moving things.

“The meetings have been calming down lately. I don’t think there’s anything that would irritate him.”

“That’s good.”

I was a little worried because I wasn’t able to notice Norn suffering because of the gate before.

If it’s not the management office, maybe it’s something to do with Couge? But Couge was fine as usual and didn’t say anything.

 “I’ll check on him tomorrow and help out at Couge’s shop for the first time in a while.”

“In that case, how about the day after tomorrow? I’m on the night shift tomorrow, but I’ll probably be back around evening. I’ll come and pick you up, so you can wait at Couge’s until then.”

“Really? Then we can go home together.”

If I can share a ride with Krish-san and Blanche on the way home, I’ll get a ride from Genett-san in the morning. It’s been a while since the breeding season for light moss that we’ve ridden horses together, so I’m looking forward to it.

After Krish-san’s evening drink, we clean up and head upstairs holding hands. The stairs are dark and dangerous.

When I was living alone, I could easily go up and down them, but if I’m spoiled like this, I don’t think I’ll be able to survive when Krish-san returns to town.

 As we got into bed thinking that we’d worked hard again today, we both let out a comfortable sigh at the same time. We looked at each other and laughed.

Sleeping with Krish-san has become so familiar to me that I can relax my body naturally, like a conditioned reflex. It’s strange to think that being together like this is becoming more and more normal.

As I fidgeted around looking for a comfortable place to sleep, Krish-san naturally put his arm under my head. Sleeping like this has become a regular thing, and recently I’ve been using my pillow less and less.

Maybe the reason he has trouble falling asleep on nights when Krish-san is on the night shift is because he’s changed his pillow.

“Goodnight, Shinobu.”

“Goodnight….”

I drifted off to sleep. I mumbled a greeting and fell asleep in no time. It doesn’t take me more than three seconds to fall asleep at night when Krish-san is here.

“Get used to me quickly.”

For a long time, I didn’t know that every night after I went to sleep, Krish-san would mutter to me as he kissed me on the forehead.

 Krish-san was on the night shift yesterday, and as usual I didn’t sleep well. I woke up in the morning and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I got up earlier than usual and worked hard in the fields.

Today I’m going to Couge’s place, so I need to get the housework done while I can.

In the mornings when Krish-san isn’t there, breakfast is a quick meal. I quickly finish with leftovers from last night, prepare dinner and food for the family, and harvest for today. It’s a hectic day.

“Pochi, I’m going out today. I’ll probably be back in the evening. Until then, please take care of everyone.”

“Kokee!”

Pochi was so engrossed in his meal that he didn’t reply to me, but instead the lively cries of Coco-san rang out. Pyonkichi was in the shade again today, twitching his nose. Hmm, it’s peaceful.

 As I rode along in Genett-san’s cart, talking about butter sales and such, we saw Nott and Marco’s farm ahead of us on the right.

Their father returned home safely. While he was injured and unable to work, his mother worked two jobs to support the family. Now that they can harvest vegetables from Nott and Marco’s farm, she could finally quit her jobs as waitresses at the bar. Nott and Marco were very happy. She’ll continue to work at the market during the day.

She said she’s made a lot of friends at the market. She was smiling and said they were happy to have someone to talk to about her kids and housework. They’re like mommy friends.

“Oh, it’s Shinobu!!”

“Nott, Marco, good morning!!”

When Nott saw me, he ran back to the house and came back with a basket in his arms.

 “This is from Mom. She says it’s a thank you for the big pumpkin you gave me.”

“Wow, these are tea leaves!! Thank you!!”

“And here. Try this.”

Nott handed me a ripe red tomato.

“I’ve been researching fertilizer and stuff. I think it’s just as sweet as Shinobu’s tomatoes.”

Lately Nott has become a farm boy, and he seems to be trying all sorts of things on his own. He’s still a kid, but he’s impressive. Marco has become more interested in cooking than farming. He says he wants to be a chef in the future and make better sandwiches than me. He’s learning how to cook from his mom.

Maybe he’ll end up working at Couge’s shop in the future.

I took a big bite of the tomato I was given, and the natural sweetness of the tomato spread throughout my mouth. It was so fresh that the tomato juice almost spilled out of the corners of my mouth.

 “It’s amazing, it’s so delicious!! It seems to be sweeter than before. You’ve worked hard.”

Nott bashfully rubbed the area under his nose with his finger and laughed. His mother came out to the front door and waved at me.

“Nott’s mother!! Thank you for the tea!! Thank you for the tomatoes too, Nott.”

“Next time I’ll treat you to something even tastier.”

I can’t let myself be outdone by Nott. Maybe I’ll try growing some new vegetables?