The door was pulled open and I felt my anxiety subside, my body carrying me to the entryway without a thought as Tokiko taps her boots against the ground before stepping inside. The little youkai smiles at me.

"I'm home," she says, and I feel my heart swell. At my approach, she leans in and catch her, but rather than a hug, she uses me as support while she pushes one boot off with another, and kicks it away before prying her foot out of the second. I lean my face on her blue bangs while the white-on-white of snow in the rest of her hair melts under my breath. With a giggle, Tokiko nuzzles against me. "You're so warm."

The harder she embraces me, the more her crest flares up on the back of her head, and I flinch as if it's about to smack me, stumbling back. "I don't know how I keep forgetting about that wing back there," I say.

Tokiko's actual wings shake off the frost, taking advantage of me no longer being in the splash zone of any quickly-melting drops. "Humans all look the same, your brain can't handle extra parts." She turns and makes sure she closes the door completely. I start to look up and down her black dress now, and my anxiety creeps back up on me. As if sensing it, Tokiko's crest twitches. "What's wrong?"

The bow on her blue corset is retied, like it had been undone. "Nothing, I was just—" I chuckle nervously. "It's nothing, just me being clumsy." I get back up and grab her in both arms, squeezing her while she giggles and hugs back. "So what did you get up to while you were out?"

She's giving me a knowing look that has me wondering how exactly youkai feed on fear. Does it give her insight into what exactly is making my heart thump? Even as Tokiko and I head to the kotatsu, I can't shake away the insecurities. She clears her throat and keeps her eyes set on her destination as she says, "I went to Kourindou, tried to make a deal to get my books back." She huffs and then adds with venom, "Even though they're my books and I shouldn't have to pay for them at all!"

"I can try to save up some money for you."

"He doesn't want money for them." Tokiko coughs and clears her throat. "But thank you. I love you."

At once I feel wonderful and unsettled. "I love you too," I say, impulsively and genuinely. If he won't take money, "why were you gone for so long?" I ask by accident.

Tokiko is quiet. The tension in my chest builds rapidly. "I wanted my books back, so I insisted." Her head tilts down as she flicks between looking me in the eyes and looking away. The little youkai scoots in the kotatsu and leans against me comfortingly while avoiding eye-contact. "We made a deal, but I'll have to keep going there if I want the books."

"T-the deal entails..?"

She wraps her arms around me. "Don't get mad, please?"

I'm stuck frozen, even in the heat. I can't bring any words to bare.

"I'll just be going over there, getting comfortable, and..." She looks up into my eyes with guilty expression. "And wouldn't you like me to learn those things for you anyway?"

I can't breathe.

"Actually, I guess at this point, you wouldn't be very good with that stuff even if I knew all the ins and outs myself." She brushes aside some of her hair and then holds my hand, anchoring me with her touch. "But if we ever find one of those non-Neumann-type computers, I'm sure I can put that learning to good use."

I exhale and catch my breath like a nearly drowned swimmer. Tokiko cuddles hard into my ribs.

"I can't take them home, but I can read while I'm there, that's all." Most youkai like to jump out and surprise people to scare them. She isn't the type to do that. I wish she was. At least for now just this much turns my heart into a full-course meal. And for dessert, I scare myself wondering what she'll do when I finally get used to her misleading teases and she has to go further to worry me...