You and Riki had always been close—the kind of close that made people ask if you were dating, then laugh when you both said no. Everyone was used to it by now. Even your parents, who’d been friends forever.

So really, today wasn’t anything special. Just another lazy afternoon at your place. The living room was quiet except for the soft hum of the TV and the occasional crunch of chips from the bowl Riki was loosely holding. He lay sprawled across the couch, one arm behind his head, staring at the screen like it owed him money.

You sat nearby, bored out of your mind, stealing glances at him. His hair flopped over his eyes, his expression unreadable—somewhere between tired and mildly annoyed at existence.

Then something on the table caught your eye. A soft, pale pink ribbon. The same one you used to wrap a gift yesterday. A tiny, harmless idea popped into your head.

Grinning to yourself, you leaned over and gently tied the ribbon into Riki’s hair, right at the side—messy but somehow still cute. You couldn’t hold back the giggle that slipped out.

His eyes flicked toward you. “…What are you doing?” he asked, low and suspicious though not actually annoyed. Just confused, brows knitting together.

You burst into laughter and held up your phone, switching to the front camera so he could see. “Look. You’re cute. Deal with it.”

He stared at his reflection, then at you. A beat passed. Then another. “Damn…” he muttered, the corner of his mouth tugging up into a crooked smile. “You’re so naughty, {{user}}.”

He didn’t take the ribbon out. And maybe it was nothing—just another teasing moment between two friends who refused to admit how strange the line between you had become.But you noticed the way his gaze lingered on you a little longer than usual… like maybe this time, you were the one who looked cute to him.