What?! The Magical Girls from My Favorite Yuri Are Into Me?!

That day Noah had no classes and he didn’t have to work either, so for the first time in several days his schedule was completely free, or at least that was what he had thought when he woke up.  

It all began when, at nine in the morning, he received a message from Iris.  

[Are you busy today?]  

Noah took a few seconds to answer.  

[No.]  

Iris’s reply came almost immediately.  

[Come to my house.]  

Noah stared at the screen.  

‘That direct?’  

There was no explanation, no reason, and she hadn’t even written an extra line to soften the invitation.  

She simply wanted him to go to her house, so Noah answered.  

[For what?]  

[To play.]  

[Just that?]  

A few seconds passed.  

[Do I need another reason?]  

Noah ended up accepting, and that was why he was now walking through a quiet residential area while checking the address Iris had sent him again.  

“Shouldn’t be much farther.”  

He looked at the house numbers and, after advancing a few meters, found the right one. It was a completely ordinary house.  

There was nothing particularly eye-catching about it.  

Noah approached the door, but before knocking he checked the address one more time.  

“Yeah, this is it.”  

He put his phone away, raised a hand, and knocked twice.  

Not even five seconds passed before the door opened, revealing Iris on the other side.  

“Hi.”  

Noah blinked.  

“Hi…”  

Iris was wearing comfortable clothes for staying home, an oversized T-shirt and shorts, but what stood out was how fast she had opened the door.  

“Were you right next to the door?”  

“No…?”  

“You opened it really fast.”  

Iris stayed silent for two seconds.  

“I heard you arrive.”  

Noah looked toward the street and then back at her.  

“From where?”  

Iris avoided answering.  

“Come in.”  

‘She was waiting for me.’  

Noah decided not to press the matter, so he stepped inside and took off his shoes.  

Iris closed the door behind him.  

“Excuse me.”  

“It’s fine.”  

Noah looked around the interior and saw that the living room was clean—or rather, very clean.  

The furniture was perfectly arranged, there were no clothes lying around, no open boxes, no food wrappers, and not even a single glass on the table.  

Noah kept staring for several seconds, and Iris noticed.  

“What’s wrong?”  

“Nothing.”  

“You’re staring too much.”  

Noah smiled a little.  

“I was just expecting something different.”  

Iris narrowed her eyes.  

“What were you expecting?”  

Noah carefully considered his answer.  

“Maybe… more stuff.”  

“More stuff?”  

“Something a little more… messy.”  

Iris remained completely still when she heard that, and Noah raised his hands.  

“I’m not saying it like it’s a bad thing!”  

“You thought my house would be dirty.”  

“I didn’t say dirty.”  

“You thought it.”  

“I thought it would be messy.”  

“That’s the same thing, just different words.”  

“Not exactly.”  

Iris watched him for a few seconds before turning around.  

“My mom keeps the house tidy.”  

Noah stopped smiling.  

“Your mom?”  

“Yeah.”  

Iris started walking deeper into the house while Noah followed her.  

“You live with your mom?”  

Iris looked at him over her shoulder.  

“Yeah.”  

Noah was confused.  

“I thought you lived alone.”  

“Why?”  

“Because of what you said that time.”  

Iris stopped, and Noah stopped too.  

“What time?”  

“When we went to the manga café. Don’t you remember?”  

Iris went completely still, and Noah took a second to understand the problem.  

‘Ah.’  

The two of them looked at each other, and both had remembered exactly the same thing.  

The manga café, the private booth, the conversation, and the small kiss they had ended up sharing.  

Iris looked away.  

“Just because I make money doesn’t mean I don’t live with my mom.”  

“Right.”  

Silence settled in. Noah looked to the side, and so did Iris.  

The atmosphere turned awkward with impressive speed.  

“I wasn’t talking about the kiss.”  

Noah clarified, and Iris immediately looked at him.  

“Neither was I.”  

“I didn’t say you were talking about that.”  

“Then you shouldn’t have mentioned it.”  

“You’re right.”  

Silence returned, and Noah slowly exhaled.  

‘Perfect.’  

Iris started walking again.  

“My room is upstairs.”  

“Okay.”  

They climbed the stairs without bringing up the manga café again, and Iris opened a door at the end of the hallway.  

“This is it.”  

Noah stepped inside, and his first impression was quite different from what he had expected.  

The room was somewhat dark, the curtains were completely closed, and the main source of light was the monitor turned on on the desk, but even so, everything looked relatively tidy.  

The bed was made, the desk was clear, the controllers were neatly placed next to the computer, there were a few figures on several shelves, and the manga were organized.  

Noah nodded.  

“This is pretty tidy too.”  

Iris closed the door.  

“Of course it is.”  

Noah took a few steps.  

“I thought I’d find something worse.”  

Iris sat down quickly in front of the computer.  

“You were wrong.”  

“Looks like it.”  

Noah kept looking around, but then he noticed something under the bed: a black sleeve sticking out slightly.  

Noah tilted his head.  

Then he saw a bag behind a chair, two boxes hastily stacked behind a side curtain, several cables shoved behind the desk, and an empty package hidden between two books.  

Noah looked at Iris, who wasn’t looking at him.  

Noah approached the bed, and Iris spoke.  

“No.”  

Noah stopped.  

“No what?”  

“Don’t look under there.”  

“I wasn’t going to look under there.”  

“You were leaning.”  

“I just saw something.”  

“You didn’t see anything.”  

Noah pointed at the sleeve sticking out.  

“That looks like clothes.”  

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  

“What is it?”  

Iris stayed silent, so Noah pointed at it again.  

“Is it a hoodie?”  

“No.”  

“Iris.”  

She spun the chair toward him.  

“Just stick with the room being tidy.”  

Noah looked around.  

Now that he knew what to look for, he started noticing more things.  

Behind the door there was a small mountain of clothes compressed between the wall and a box. Under the desk there were several empty cans inside a bag, and behind a perfectly stacked pile of manga there were other books placed any which way.  

Even one pillow looked suspiciously large, and Noah pointed at it.  

“What’s under that pillow?”  

Iris reacted immediately.  

“Nothing.”  

“There’s definitely something.”  

“It doesn’t matter.”  

Noah smiled.  

“Did you hide everything because I was coming?”  

Iris looked away.  

“That’s not true.”  

“So you normally keep clothes behind the door?”  

“Sometimes.”  

“And the cans under the desk?”  

“I collect them.”  

“And the stuff under the bed?”  

“It’s storage.”  

Noah let out a small laugh, and Iris frowned.  

“Don’t laugh.”  

“I’m not making fun of you.”  

“Yes you are.”  

“Okay, a little.”  

Iris grabbed a controller and tossed it to him. Noah caught it.  

“Play.”  

“Alright.”  

The mess stopped mattering, and Noah sat down next to her.