After dinner, Azlan began collecting dirty dishes. Akane, seeing this, immediately reacted.
"Azlan-kun, no need. Let me wash them. You've worked hard all day, just relax."
Akane approached him and tried to take the plates from Azlan's hands.
"No, let me help. You're the one who cooked, it's only fair if I clean up. I'm not used to just sitting idle when there's work. This is part of housework." Azlan refused, still holding the plate.
"But—"
"Akane. Let me help."
Akane smiled seeing his unique stubbornness.
"Alright, alright. But this is an unfair division of labor, you know. I'll wash, you dry. Okay?"
"Agreed."
So the two of them stood at the small kitchen sink. Akane deftly washed dishes with soap, while Azlan stood beside her, dish towel in hand, ready to dry every plate she handed over.
"You're surprisingly diligent, Azlan-kun." Akane commented while wiping sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
"In my village, everyone had to help. No one was allowed to just sit around." Azlan answered while carefully drying a bowl.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
After the dishes were clean and neatly arranged, they moved to the living room. Azlan sat on the sofa, watching Akane who was preparing warm barley tea. Not long after, the girl appeared carrying a tray with two matching teacups and a plate of cookies—all taken from the 4D Pocket.
Placing what she brought on the small table in front of the sofa, Akane sat across from Azlan.
"It's cold outside, so I made warm barley tea. I also found some cookies at the mall, decent for a night snack. I'm sure you need something warm after bathing." She said while pushing the teacup toward Azlan.
"Thank you." Azlan took the cup.
After that, the atmosphere became silent. Only the sound of occasional tea sips broke the silence.
(Ugh... So awkward.)
An idea emerged to spend their boring free time. Akane took several volumes of manga she had taken from the mall earlier that day.
"Since there's no TV or internet, at least we can still read manga. Don't guys like reading manga?"
Azlan looked at her and shook his head. "I can't read."
"Huh? Azlan-kun... can't read?" Akane's eyes widened.
In the modern era there were still illiterate people? Although hard to believe, she knew Azlan had no reason to lie to her.
"Honestly, I don't understand the mechanism. Somehow I can understand everything you say even though I don't know Japanese myself. But it seems that ability is limited to conversation, not including reading." Azlan shrugged, being honest. Then, he added:
"By the way, don't look at me with that pitying gaze. I mean, I can't read non-alphabetic characters like Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. I can read English and Arabic."
"I see. Sorry, my misunderstanding made you uncomfortable." Akane apologized sincerely.
"It's okay. I'm not angry about something like that." Shaking his head, Azlan answered casually.
"If Azlan-kun can't read manga, want me to read it to you?" Akane offered with a sweet smile.
"Declined. Don't treat me like a child." Azlan rolled his eyes. Akane's care that changed from a wife to like a mother made him feel helpless.
"Fufufu..." Akane suddenly giggled. "Azlan-kun yourself said you're 15 years old, while I'm two years older. You should call me Onee-san~"
Boldly, she moved to sit beside Azlan and even poked his cheek. "Come on, try saying Onee-san~"
"Impossible! Don't ever hope for it!"
The corner of his eye twitched. But strangely, Azlan wasn't angry at all. Instead, there was a warm feeling tickling his heart seeing Akane's behavior.
Suddenly Akane suggested another idea with sparkling eyes.
"If so, how about a massage? You must be tired all day accompanying me shopping and fighting Titans. Let me massage you."
"No need. You're tired too, Akane. You cleaned all day, and even cooked dinner."
"I'm not tired at all~ Compared to my trivial work, Azlan-kun who does dangerous things deserves to be pampered. Umu, it's decided, I'll massage you."
Without waiting for an answer, Akane got up from the sofa and walked behind Azlan. Her gentle hands immediately touched his shoulders, pressing with the right pressure.
"How is it? My father often asked me to massage him when I was still a child. So, I'm quite good at massaging people although not as good as professionals." Akane asked while continuing to massage gently.
Azlan initially tensed, not used to touches like this. But slowly, under the pressure of Akane's skilled fingers, the tension in his shoulders began to loosen.
"...This... Very comfortable, Akane." He finally admitted, his voice weaker than usual.
Hearing his admission, a small smile appeared on Akane's lips. She worked more diligently, her fingers finding knots of tension in Azlan's shoulders and neck. Sometimes she used her palms to rub larger areas, sometimes using her fingertips to press certain points.
Azlan closed his eyes, surrendering to the relaxed feeling he rarely experienced. In silence, he thought about how a human touch could be so calming.
"You carry too many burdens, Azlan-kun. You should relax like this more often." Akane murmured gently, feeling the hard muscles under her fingers.
"..."
Azlan didn't immediately answer. He just listened to the sound of Akane's breathing and the sensation of her massage. For a moment, he could forget the Titans below, the wandering zombies, and all the threats of this destroyed world.
"This... is the first time someone has massaged me like this." His voice was almost like a whisper.
Akane's fingers stopped briefly before continuing more gently.
"If so, I'll do it more often. Every time Azlan-kun comes home from fighting, I'll welcome you with a massage."
This time, Azlan didn't object. He only nodded slowly, still with closed eyes. In the room illuminated by the oil lamp, with Akane's gentle touch on his shoulders, for the first time in a long while, Azlan felt truly at peace.
"By the way, Akane. There's something that makes me curious." Azlan spoke with closed eyes, enjoying the massage that now spread to his back.
"What is it? Just ask, I can even tell you my three sizes~ Just kidding~" Akane giggled softly, her hands moving up to Azlan's neck.
Not understanding the meaning of "three sizes" that Akane mentioned, Azlan didn't think too much about it. He only focused on the question that bothered him.
"Three sizes? Forget it, what I want to ask – every time you call my name, you always add the word '-kun'. What does it actually mean?"
Akane stopped her massage briefly, surprised that Azlan asked something so basic in Japanese.
"Ah, that! That's an honorific. A kind of title or honor suffix that we use when calling someone's name. It shows our relationship and level of respect for that person."
She resumed massaging gently while explaining.
"There are several common ones. The most neutral is '-san'. It's like 'Mr.' Or 'Miss', can be used for anyone, regardless of gender, age, or status."
"Then there's '-kun' which I use for you. This honorific is usually used by older or more senior people to call males, or by superiors for male subordinates. But among friends, especially women to men who are equal or younger, it shows familiarity, like... 'buddy' or 'bro', but with a bit of closeness."
"Since I'm two years older, and we're already close, I use '-kun'. Azlan-kun!"
Akane pressed Azlan's shoulder as emphasis on the last word.
"There's also '-sama'. That's the most formal and polite, used for gods, nobles, or very important clients. It shows the highest respect."
"Lastly, there's '-dono'. This is more archaic, almost not used anymore. Usually used to call samurai or people who had high status in the past. It's formal, but not as formal as '-sama'."
Akane finished her explanation.
Azlan nodded slowly, digesting this information. "So by calling me Azlan-kun, you consider me an equal friend?"
"Exactly!" Akane smiled. "If I called you Azlan-sama, you'd probably feel strange, right? Too stiff."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The lack of entertainment activities in the post-apocalyptic world made time feel like it moved slower. After their conversation, Azlan and Akane decided to sleep earlier, around 8:30 PM.
However, a problem immediately arose when they reached the sleeping arrangement issue. The house only had one bedroom.
"I'll sleep on the sofa. You need better rest on the bed."
"It's not fair if I sleep in a comfortable place while you sleep on a cold sofa. Besides, we've already cleaned the carpet and room."
Of course, Akane opposed Azlan. Therefore, she took out two single air mattresses that she had taken from the mall, arranging them in the room so both could sleep in one room.
"We can share a room. I trust Azlan-kun won't do inappropriate things."
Considering the difference in their strength, if Azlan truly had bad intentions, he could have done it long ago. The fact that Akane was still treated with respect so far was the best proof of the man's character.
Wearing matching pajamas—which were actually just matching loose t-shirts they found at the mall—Azlan and Akane slept on their respective single mattresses about two meters apart.
Azlan turned off the oil lamp, leaving only moonlight filtering through the window. Akane lay on her mattress, pulling the blanket up to her chin. She turned toward him.
"Good night, Azlan-kun. Sweet dreams."
"Good night." Azlan replied after a brief pause, still not used to this new habit.
The room sank into silence, filled only by the sound of their regular breathing.
For Azlan, this was his first experience sharing a bedroom with someone else since his family died. Strangely, the feeling didn't make him uncomfortable. Instead, there was a sense of calm knowing he wasn't alone.
On the opposite mattress, Akane smiled in the darkness. In this world full of zombies and Titans, she actually felt safer than she had ever felt in her life. Slowly, she fell asleep, accompanied by the regular breathing sound of the man who had become her protector.