Romeo, save me â Teru Minamoto/reader oneshot
lll. In which Teru goes out of his way to save you from cruel fate.
TW! Emotional manipulation, unhealthy fixation, stalking, obsession, psychotic episodes, death, ptsd, suggestive themes.
TERU AND Y/N ARE 18 IN THIS ONESHOT, that making them 4th years.
Notes. I wanted to do a oneshot of him for a while now c:
You were both young when Teru first saw you, making your way through into his safe haven â his home.
When your eyes met, he immediately felt something stir within him and he loathed it, because it made him feel tingly, as if his emotions werenât under control and he could not predict what he would think next.
His mother was too tender-hearted at times. She held your small hand as your tried to hide behind her, your parents faintly laughing at the little scene of two young children shying away from each other. âCome, dear. This is Teru.â She gently nudged you to come forth, to which you did. âTeru, this is Y/N.â She spoke softly, carefully, mindful of both of you.
At first, Teru couldnât really understand why his mother would invite another child over, because he had many responsibilities upon his small shoulders and he had to diligently train every second of the day.
But being the polite child he was, he listened to the loving woman and moved to take your small hand in his own, pulling you away with him. That simple action glued you together.
He found solace within your presence ever since, even if it wasnât obvious to you. Teru usually wore the same calm expression, unmoved and unreadable. Still, you loved his companyâhis home, his family.
Then one day, the most tragic day of his life arrived.
It was a brutal event, one that shaped his growth and identity irreversibly. He was left with his little brother and baby sister, burdened with exorcist duties and responsibilities far beyond his years. It was a cruel reminder of why he had been trained from an early age without an ounce of compassionâ why logic and principles had to prevail over emotion.
Because weakness was equal to death.
When he lost her, he also realized something else.
The kindness in your heart, your empathy, the way you put yourself into vulnerable situations without thinkingâit was all painfully familiar. Letting that realization sink in, Teru became certain of one thingâ he swore to protect you from cruelty of fate.
Time passed rather quickly, within a blink of an eye the two of you became 4th years of Kamome Highschool, walking the same corridors day-to-day, greeting each other with soft-spoken smiles and subtle glances.
And everything be damned, you were always with him despite the circumstances laying thick. You knew the blonde-haired male too well, that he put logic and responsibilities above all else, that he did not let himself feel. Despite all that, you offered him comfort and love, platonic or not, you did not care how he would interpret it because you knew that at such critical points in life, a human being needed to have someone by their side. So you were the single anchor that he could lean on.
You had the understanding within you to invite his whole, remaining family into your own home, so your parents would offer him the comfort that his mother once offered you, when she was alive.
He appreciated such gestures from you, Kou and Tiara did too.
Since you were so tender and attentive, all the more he felt the need to protect you, to repay you, in a sense. And you were naive, too naive for your own good, you could not see the dangers that lurked all around you, the venom in otherâs hearts.
Out of pure-hearted intentions, he would always keep an eye on you, surveying what you did and whatnot, it was only necessary, for your wellbeing.
Whenever you got into trouble with other students, who would bother you and always tried to create a scene in front of others, just to make you feel embarrassed and ashamed, he would intervene. Although he did not burst into the fiasco himself, far from it, he had to be subtle, you could not know that he was the reason your problems were solved. The blonde would call upon a teacher, informing of such a scene happening and they would rush in, cutting everything off.
Then after the situation eased up, Teru would âcoincidentallyâ bump into you, asking what was wrong, since your never managed to hide away your emotions, as if he already didnât know everything perfectly well. Sly, wasnât he?
Another prime example would be that whenever a supernatural approached youâ they would be gone minutes later, when you were a little further away from the scene. He did not care how many times heâd have to do it, heâll never let those cruel, life-unworthy beings hurt you.
He was always âcoincidentallyâ near you.
It was late at evening, the sun slowly setting, with a nostalgic hue coloring the sky in beautiful waves. The trees rustled gently as the wind tickled everything in its way, having the power to lull anyone to sleep.
For a little while now, you had problems with math and he could clearly see it, since your performance had went downhill. Well, since he was good at practically everything, he insisted to teach you, so youâd grasp the whole subject better, and perhaps solve some math problems together.
Thatâs why the two of you sat in his room at the moment, with the window being open to let the fresh air in and subdue the warmth of the small space.
âItâs not a difficult problem. Here, let me help you solve it.â Teru hummed as the two of you were in front of his work desk, seated on comfortable chairs. Despite trying to explain everything to you, he saw how drowsy and out-of-concentration you were, which made him wonder why you were acting in such a way. He could read you like an open book, clearly.
His blue eyes gazed upon you, watching your every expression as you were caught red-handed once he told you to solve the problem alone, acting as if you were desperately trying to think of a way to solve the equation, despite the fact that Teru just explained how to do it. The blonde couldnât help but smile faintly to himself, it was entertaining to watch you, really. You were truly a sight for sore eyes.
Bumping a finger gently in between your eyebrows. âDonât furrow so much, youâll get wrinkles.â He exclaimed calmly with a chuckle, propping an elbow against the sturdy surface of the work desk that the two of you sat at, placing his chin against his palm.
As you gripped the pencil in your hand until your knuckles began to turn white, Teruâs eyebrows cocked up, before he took the pencil from your hand, tapping it gently against the piece of paper that the equation was written.
âSilly, Iâll explain it to you one more time. Pay attention this time.â
The study session went on for hours, until your brain overheated and you protested against studying any longer. Of course, he lowered his resolve and let the two of your rest for a little bit. At least until Kou finished making dinner.
You both sat on his bed, backs leaning against the wall, snacking onto some ice cream. Your eyes glanced at his form, how he was now the one being deep in thought. At such moments, you realized how lucky you were to have such a friend, he was special and strong in his own way. It was admirable how he did not loose himself after his motherâs death, that will always astonish you and make you hold a soft spot for him.
âWhy the long face?â You nudged his shoulder playfully, making the blonde blink in surprise and turn to you. âYour ice cream will melt, blondie. Eat.â You snickered, whilst nibbling onto your own ice cream stick, watching how Teru was caught off guard by his own absent mindedness, as the ice cream began to melt onto his fingers.
You wished that such tranquil moments would last forever.
âDamn.â Teru muttered in irritation, scurrying over to take a napkin from the desk, wiping his sticky fingers in urgency. You laughed a little at the scene, moving a hand over your stomach. âKarma for torturing me with math.â You exclaimed, pointing a finger at the blonde, to which Teru let an unamused expression form onto his handsome face. âKarma? Really?â He huffed, plopping down onto the bed again.
Then silence fell for a little while, letting you listen to the wind.
âY/N?â He asked, turning his head to look at you, as you did the same in response. But as soon as a thought came, it disappeared, making you sit there in confusion.
Teru chuckled, swaying his hand in dismissal as he finished eating his ice cream up. âNothing, forget it. Letâs go see if Kou finished making dinner.â
âShit, shit! Iâm late!â You cussed, whilst literally jumping out of bed and hurrying over to messily put on your school uniform, not bothering to neatly do so nor to brush your locks. At all.
As you began running around the house, your parents were seated at the kitchen table, calmly eating their breakfast before work. âDid you oversleep again?â Your mother said with a sigh, not being surprised at this point. âYouâre such an airhead lately.â She didnât mean this in a mean way, and you knew that.
Running over to the table, you grabbed a toast sandwich with avocado and shoved it into your mouth, gulping it all down with tea that you stole from your dad. The man stared at you blankly, holding the newspaper in his hand. âWell okay, good morning to you too, Y/N.â
You let out a cheeky chuckle, throwing your backpack over your shoulders as you ran to put on your shoes. âSorry, mom, sorry, dad! Good luck at work!â And immediately ran out of the house, making the two adults sit in silence for a whole minute.
âCan you make me some tea?â Your dad sighed calmly, his tone gentle and soft. To which your mom responded with a sigh of her own.
You ran like crazy, there were only five minutes left until the first lesson started, and your house wasnât very close to the school building. âAh,â you exclaimed tiredly, not faltering your steps as the breeze cooled you down.
But then, as you lowered your way down through the path, you saw that there werenât any cars on the road, so a genius idea came to your mindâ to go through a shortcut. Yet, when you were about to do so, with a sudden corner being in front of you and making it impossible to see if there surely werenât any cars coming, a white dove flew in front of you, making you falter your steps. âWhat the-â
Then immediately, after a mere second, a car flew by you, up the road from which you came. You stood there, with a heaving chest, not quite believing what just happened. If not for that little guy, you would be dead. Surely. âSchool will wait.â You mumbled, hands shaking due to the adrenaline as you took your normal, safe path.
And itâs not like you were late by much, only ten minutes. The teacher excused you this time and let you sit down.
Hurriedly doing so, you didnât notice how Teru averted his calm gaze upon your form, watching how you settled down and took your books out. But somehow his posture was different, rigid, maybe? But he soon shook it away and moved his attention back onto the adult speaking.
After a little while, the lesson finally ended with the bell ringing. The school bell was your life-savior, many times that thing saved you from answering a difficult question in front of the whole class. As the students around were packing up their things and chattering, you suddenly jumped from behind Teru, leaning against his desk with a grin. âGood morning, sunshine.â You exclaimed casually, making the blonde arch an eyebrow.
For a second there you thought that you did something wrong, but then Teru tapped a finger against his chin as his blue-colored eyes gazed up and down your form. âWoke up late?â He asked with a hum and a smile of his, making you realize what this was all about. Immediately you took out your phone and began fixing your hair and collar, because those were the only things you could adjust at the moment.
âI did, I did.â You grumbled.
You thought that Teru did this out of criticism or something, because he always had a keen eye for the smallest of details. But what was the truth?
Something was weighing on his heart from the previous day, back when the two of you were chatting on his bed. And for some reason, this morning he woke up with a terrible feeling, that made him feel uneasy and queasy.
He told himself it was all because of the sudden activity in supernaturals lately, for some reason there were more active spirits than usual and he had to stay more vigilant. But it was fine, it wasnât anything new for him.
âHowâs Kou? He seemed to be down yesterday.â You asked after finishing up tidying your locks, sliding the sleek object into your pocket, to which Teru leaned back in his seat, crossing arms loosely over his chest. Was he upset? He couldnât tell nor actually care, it wasnât the first time that Kou harbored strong emotions, despite Teru always reminding him that in order to be strongâ he could not keep doing that.
âHeâs fine, donât worry about it.â He responded with his usual smile, but you didnât buy it. Still, you didnât want to be insensitive and decided to let the subject go. âOh, my mom made us bento boxes, so youâll have to eat lunch with me.â You said with another sheepish grin, wiggling your eyebrows.
You were like a warm ray of sunshine.
A little bit later that day, the two of you sat on a bench outside, near a big tree that was in the school backyard. As you both opened the bento boxes, a gleeful expression formed onto your face, as you picked up your chopsticks. âBon appetit.â
Teru, on the other hand, stared down at the box on his lap, gazing at it with a drowsy expression. He couldnât really understand what this inner tranquil was, but he did not like it and tried his best to push it all away and keep his mind steady and clear.
He subtly glanced at you, how you munched onto your food in utter joy, like nothing else existed. âDo you still befriend apparitions, Y/N?â He asked casually, keeping his tone eerily calm. He hated the topic of such things, but he was curious to see whatâd you say, if your words would somehow match the truth that he knew about you, from keeping an eye on you.
You stopped eating for a second, your hands freezing mid-air, before you gently shook your head and looked at him with a faint tilt. âWhatâs this about?â You nervously exclaimed, hoping somehow to drop the subject.
But you sensed that it would not be possible, so you cleared your throat, slightly shifting in your seat. âVery rarely.â
Teru did not move, did not budge his gaze for a whole minute, making you feel quite uncomfortable under his keen eye. It was, like, extremely strange to see the blonde act in such a way. âThey bring danger and death,â he began, elegantly moving his chopstick to pick up an octopus-shaped little sausage.
Staring at it, he decided to do something that he always avoided doing. âThe more you speak to them, the higher is the possibility of them hurting your family.â He calmly explained. A partial lie, a necessary one.
Immediately, you blinked a few times, not really processing the words that reached your ears, until you saw how collected the male before you was. Was it really the case though? You couldnât really tell, because you werenât well accustomed to the spiritual world, unlike the Minamoto family. You averted your gaze down, letting out a long exhale.
âThanks for the warning.â You muttered, before continuing to eat your food as if the subject hadnât been brought up in the first place.
Yet, when the two of you finished eating the delicious food that your mother had made, and finally parted ways, since you had different classes this time, Teru felt that same sense of unease drown his thoughts once again. To the point where couldnât think clearly, it made his nerves impeccably tingle.
You loved the thrill of being petrified to the core of your soul, it would make the most of your whole day, create memories that you would share with others and laugh about, ponder over or even analyze. Which was probably why you absolutely loved exploring abandoned buildings, which were eradicating as more time passed.
As of now, you were wearing a full-black attire, because it could conceal your appearance in the dead of the night. âHere we go.â You mumbled with a wicked grin, carefully going through the bushes, which would lead to an abandoned houseâ it was a big one, honestly. Upon seeing such hidden treasure, a clever smile appeared onto your face; you hit the jackpot.
Although you wholeheartedly hoped that there werenât any caretakers of the place and you wouldnât get into trouble, because your parents would kill you, quite literally.
Taking measured steps through the eerie space, the ravens chirped above your head, as the beautiful moonlight illuminated their little bodies. You could not let yourself appreciate the sight above for long, because the wind picked up rather quickly and you were forced to swiftly snoop inside the abandoned house.
Once inside, a horrible stench filled your nostrils, making you painfully wince. It was awful, even your dadâs socks didnât stink as much, which was strange. âGod, the smell is awful.â You mumbled to yourself breathlessly, moving your hand to cover your mouth and nose, as the other turned on a flashlight.
Originally, you were supposed to go to investigate this place with some other friends from school, but they dumped you the last second and you were not going to let your plans be ruined. Despite being a little scared of doing such a thing alone.
The place was awfully old, the wood had been rotting for a while, it seemed, not to mention all the weeds that got inside the house and grew around various things, such as: stairs, windowsills and whatnot. As you went from room into room, the more you stayed there, the colder you felt, as if something was making such a phenomenon occur.
Then, you stumbled upon an old grandfather clock.
It looked beautiful, despite it being stuck in such a misfortune place. The wood was a little beat up, yet still looked pretty neat, and the details inside of the clock were magnificent; from the moon dial to the clock crown, it was mesmerizing.
But you were broken out of your trance when you heard a loud thud in the room behind the wall, immediately you snapped your head towards the direction of the noise, your heart rate increasing. Something felt off in this place, in a very peculiar way.
Before leaving, you gave the clock a small tap with your finger, making yourself chuckle silently and leave the abandoned building.
On your way home, the more you distanced yourself from the place that you were just at, the more you felt at peace for some reason. But still, some nagging foreboding made you anxious. âProbably my mind playing tricks on me.â You sighed, rubbing the back of your head with casualty that belied your inner thoughts. It was strange to walk alone in the streets at night, when every normal person was sleeping soundly.
You thought that you were just hearing things again, but then you heard it again, as if someone was literally behind you.
You snapped your head around, breathing heavily at how much it took you off guard, but no one was there. Looking around and seeing nothing, you felt your heart drop to your knees and were not playing this game anymore, this time it wasnât funny at all.
You ran as fast as you could, all the way to your house and into the backyard, to climb up to the window, which lead to your room, so your parents wouldnât wake up. Once you were inside, you immediately shut the window, still not understanding what was happening. If there was a supernatural following you, surely they would make themselves known by now, yeah?
You gulped, laughing it off as you finally felt safe, only for like two seconds when that awful apprehension came back and made you shudder. Swiftly, you changed your clothes and jumped into your bed, pulling the sheets over your form with a satisfied sigh. âSafe and sound.â You giggled happily, until your soul left your body.
âAre you?â A voice whispered into your ear, making you let out a gasp and jump.
Then you saw it, or more accurately, him. There, sat a boy on your bed with crossed legs and an unnerving smile, looking at you as if you were a playmate. Normally, you wouldnât react like this when seeing an apparition, but this time it was hard to do so because everything felt so off.
You did not say anything for a good while, only stared at him with wide eyes and a beating heart, and it made your head feel dizzy. âDonât be scared, Y/N.â The boy cooed happily, cocking his head to the side with an eerie giggle, placing a hand upon his own cheek.
That didnât make things better for you, the fact that this spirit knew your name didnât mean anything fortunate. And the fact that he could freely roam around did not ease your mind either, because you remembered how Teru explained such things to you.
âHow do you know my name?â You asked.
But the boy did not like blatantly revealing such facts, it would get rid of the suspense. âNot saying.â He shrugged, slightly leaning back.
âLetâs be friends.â
The following day Teru felt awful, his body ached like it never had before, his head felt as if it was being crushed to the lack of sleep. Despite his physical state, he could not skip even a single day of school for a few obvious reasons: his grades would drop and he would not be able to keep an eye on you.
Although he found it strange that despite walking around the whole building, he never really saw you, it was very unusual of you not to run around the place, or go to him.
When he found you, sitting in your classroom, he walked up to you with a majorly confused expression upon his handsome face. âAre you okay?â He asked, sitting down at the seat in front of you, shifting his body so heâd be face-to-face with you. And the worst part of it all was that you only answered him with a brief and simple âI didnât sleep so good.â
He didnât buy it, not one bit.
And for a whole week you acted in such a way, avoided everyone and anyone, did not try to talk with him, like you usually would.
Then finally, he saw why.
There was a spirit latched onto you, feeding off of you with a sadistic glee. He saw that being each and every time that he came across you, whenever you felt down. It was not some weak spiritual being, no, this supernatural was very strong. How did you manage to come across such being was beyond logic, but he could not wait and had to take action.
Then, one day, as everything seemed to be fine and you were merely walking through the hallway in your own world, with no other student being around, a sudden pressure upon your head made you loose all consciousness and fall down onto the ground.
It felt as if you were gone forever, but in reality it was only a few hours. Your consciousness slowly came back, making your eyes flutter open painfully. âWhat the hell..â you grumbled, trying to move but could not do so, because when you looked down, you saw your body being held by some disgusting black substance, the smell wasnât all that nice either.
âYouâll get hurt if you move.â A familiar voice made you look up and you saw that same boy, that made your life flip upside down. He stood there with a sly grin, gazing at you in what seemed to be âadorationâ.
âI like to keep things brief, so-â in a steadfast second, sudden lightning particles made your breath hitch as you felt yourself falling down, since your body was freed from the disgusting substance holding you.
That boy disappeared into fluid smoke, as a pain-stricken expression filled his features. All that in such a brief period of time, it made everything feel surreal.
Before you could fall down, you felt gentle hands embracing your form.
Looking up, you saw those hauntingly beautiful blue eyes that youâve grown so fond of, staring at you in both disappointment and anger, making you wince. âTeru-â he did not listen, he did not let you speak, not after what had just happened, what he figured out with great effort.
You went to some abandoned building, on your own, despite his warnings that supernaturals can cause great misfortunes in your life, even cause death, but you still put yourself in danger, willingly. âI told you not to befriend them.â The blonde managed to muster out in a strained voice, holding you up in bridal style.
For a second there, due to how close the two of you were and how you were being held, you felt heat rising to your face and tried to talk your way out of the situation. âY- you know, things happen and-â Teru tightened his grip on you oh-so slightly, making your heart skip a beat.
âI wonât let you get hurt, even if youâll hate me for it.â As those words reached you, he reached to press two fingertips against your forehead, lulling you to sleep.
Birds gently chirped outside, as slowly the sky had gotten darker due to the fact that it was about to rain quite soon, making those little animals look for shelter. The wind had picked up once again, like that day when you explored that damned buildingâ those noises of nature made you slowly wake up. You havenât slept that good for a while, to the point where you were drooling in your sleep.
You sat up, stretching your arms above your head as you looked around the place and figured that you were in the blondeâs room. Immediate confusion appeared on your face, you couldnât remember why or how you ended up here.
As you kept thinking over and over again, trying to remember what happened, you saw heard the door open as Teru stepped into the room. For a second he seemed surprised to see you awake, before it was all gone and he closed the door. Locked it.
âYouâre awake.â He calmly exclaimed, walking over to the bed, on which you laid, with your locks all messy and all-rested-up face. âFeel any pain?â He asked, sitting down onto the edge of the plush surface, as you gazed at him. He knew what you were thinking about, very well.
âNot really, I guess.â You shrugged, rubbing the back of your neck with a gentle exhale, feeling your muscles being all relaxed and ready to go. âHow did I end up in your room?â You asked, looking at Teru with a perplexed look, to which the blonde only smiled, eyes moving down to look at your hand.
âI took you here.â Brief, short. That was his answer.
Surprise enveloped your entire face, he could see that clear as day, but didnât really care.
âDo you.. remember what happened to you?â He inquired softly, gently, as if youâd break if he werenât careful. Of course, you blinked a few times, trying to think about it but nothing came to mind for a while.
Until everything finally came crashing down.
âI almost-â you began, but he ended your sentence instead. âYou almost died.â
Silence fell between the two of you, as he did not look up to gaze into your eyes for a while. Deep down, he wanted to hold your hand, to make sure that you werenât a fragment of his imagination, but he restrained himself from doing so.
âWhat happened to.. him?â You asked, with a hint of hesitance and fear in your beautiful voice, that Teru grew to love and appreciate.
Another moment of silence, this time it being more heavy than it previously was. You understood why it happened, why Teru did it and you were grateful for it, you really were, but at the same time saddeness engulfed your heart.
âY/N, do you now understand why I always warned you? Why I never wanted you to befriend them?â He asked sternly, with a sense of pain harboring in his voice, but very faintly. You were overwhelmed, you truly were. Because of your stupidity and carelessness, you almost got yourself killed, it was so selfish.
Teru would have lost another person that he held dear, your parents would have lost their only child that they loved very much, your friends would have lost their little jokesterâ everything would have been ruined and gone. And at the same time you were scared of your best friend, for the first time in your life. You knew how he could be, that he exorcised spirits on a daily basis practically, but the way he spoke, looked at you and the fact that he made you loose consciousness made it all feel somewhat wrong. You tried your best not to cry, not to let those feelings show, but it was so hard once the realization hit.
âI know!â You yelled out, making the blonde freeze in shock at your reaction. Lowering your head, making your locks fall over your face, you let the tears spill, gripping the sheets beneath you. âIâm scared.â You said with a shaken-up voice, not being able to hide anything that you felt at all. You couldnât grasp if you were grateful or shaken up by Teruâs act.
But the blonde simply stared at you, he did not say anything for a while. Before he could overthink his actions, the male moved his hands to forcefully make you tilt your face to look at him, which made you stiffen. âScared?â Teru repeated, eyes darkening for a second before a wicked thought entered his mind. Not letting you get a breather, he crashed his lips into yours, making you wiggle and try to escape his grasp, but he did not let you do so.
He did not let you move, not even a little bit, as he got lost in the feeling of your lips against his, for a while.
As he finally let you break the kiss, he gazed into your eyes with a complex expression: cold and warm at the same time. âI will not let history repeat itself.â
After that, your relationship with him changed somehow. Strangely, after that kiss, that he forced you into, you werenât mad at him for a while, only for a little bit. What you did know that you were definitely scared of him. All those strong emotions washed away when you were in your house, in your own room, being able to think clearly again.
The fact that he, Teru Minamoto, liked you was baffling. You couldnât really believe it and certainly did not understand how your relationship would look like now. How you would act towards him.
Well, you didnât know that until you went to school a few days later.
When you walked intro the classroom and saw him sitting there, like he usually did, not being bothered by anything in the slightest, it made you feel fuzzy and dizzy. Trying to ignore such feelings in your chest, you sat down in your seat.
He didnât look at you immediately, quite the opposite. He only stared at his book, reading god-knows-what, and that made you feel a little underwhelmed.
Until you hear him stand up, take a step closer to you and lean down to whisper in your ear. âLetâs go to the rooftop after this lesson.â And with that moved to sit back down in his seat, leaving you with your mouth agape.
And like so, you did exactly that. The two of you swiftly left the classroom after the bell rang, walking side-by-side in silence, until you reached the rooftop. Walking closer to the railing, you tried to calm down your nerves, but the way Teru stayed silent didnât help at all.
Then, so suddenly, he grabbed your wrist again and forcefully pulled you into his embrace, as one hand moved to hold your waist, whilst the other moved onto your chin. âI will always protect you, Y/N.â He cooed, glancing down at your lips, then at your eyes again. âAll I need, is for you to trust me. You will, wonât you?â He pushed on, moving dangerously close into your face again, which made your cheeks redden.
You simply stared at him, not knowing what to do or say, and only decided to comply. Because you did not wish Teru to be angry again. âI will.â
With that, he pressed his lips against yours once more, this time the kiss being wanted, desired. He put all the frustration, pain and anger into that kiss, making you wince at the intensity of it. He nibbled onto your lip, before licking the subtle wound with his tongue, letting his arms snake around your waist.
