Kiss | June

“Can you pass me the pot?” June asks next to me with a smile that should be illegal for someone to have while doing the dishes.

Biting the inside of my cheeks to keep myself from foolishly blushing, I quickly hand him the pot from my side of the sink, and focus on rinsing the soaped up dishes he hands over to me.

I’m surprised enough he’d offered to help me with the dishes, especially given the mess Bash left in the kitchen after making lunch for all of us… I don’t know why I’m surprised though, this plain chore has become almost a routine for us to do together; when it’s his day, I offer to help, and when it’s mine, he does it as well.

We must look like a boring, old, married couple.

“I wouldn’t say old,” he chuckles by my side, the sound startling me in a way that almost makes me drop the plate I’m rinsing. “Definitely boring, though. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

“What!?”

“You’re the one who said it,” he shrugs, lips twisting up in a smile as he hands me over the pot and moves on to the next dish.

I fight back a groan. I didn’t mean to say that out loud!

Is there any way I can further embarrass myself? I always act like an utter fool next to June, it’s like he melts every brain cell I have just by standing next to me.

Ignoring the beet red blush on my cheeks, I look down and focus on my task, desperately trying to ease my hammering heart.

“I don’t mind,” June seems to sense my awkwardness, but as usual he seems to find it amusing rather than taking pity on me. “I’ve grown quite fond of doing the dishes over the past few weeks, thanks to that.”

“Well… it’s certainly less boring when you help me out.”

June laughs, walking behind me to get to my other side, dish cloth in hand to start drying the dishes I’ve already rinsed.

“If I’m being completely honest, it’s not the chore that became fun, though,” he says, throwing me a side glance to watch my reaction with sheer amusement in his eyes. “It’s spending time with you.”

That June likes teasing me is no surprise by now, but he’s on fire today, and… ugh, I love it. I don’t love how bright my cheeks probably are by now, yet I can’t deny the fuzzy feeling his words bring to my chest, nor hide the smile they bring to my face.

“I enjoy spending time with you too,” I mumble, my voice weaker than I expected, but loud enough to make June’s smile broaden a bit.

Clearing my throat to try and stay as grounded as I possibly can under the onslaught of heart attacks this man is unleashing upon me, I start putting away the dishes he dries.

"Now stop teasing me and let's get this done."

He chuckles, but complies, and we continue to work in peaceful silence for the next few minutes, like a well-oiled machine of drying, passing, and putting away.

Just like an old couple.

Letting out a deep breath, June puts down the cloth as he finishes drying the last dish.

“I also don’t mind looking like a couple when I’m with you,” he says, leaning closer to me.

Before I can turn my head around to look, he closes the gap between us, giving me a soft, warm kiss on the head, and smoothing my hair down when he steps away.

How I don’t drop the dish I’m holding is beyond me. What-- why?

“No need to freeze like that, I’m just kidding,” June lets out a hearty laugh at my reaction, shoving his hands in his pockets as he starts making his way to the door, smug smile still in place as I follow him with my eyes, mouth popped open with all the things I want to say yet no sound coming out.

“Or am I?” stopping by the door, June purses his lips, winking at me as he speaks before vanishing down the hall.

This time, I really do drop the plate I’m holding.