There was one time they had shared a bed before they had started having more… intimate encounters, as far as beds are concerned. It was over a holiday weekend at the Dojo household, since Iku still preferred to avoid her parents (specifically her mother) if she could. Bonding with a new boyfriend's family seemed like a good enough excuse for not going home to see her parents when the library was closed for a few days, and Iku grabbed onto it like a lifeline; even if "new" seemed a bit of a stretch. It wasn't as though they had slept together yet, she reasoned, sheepishly admitting as much to Toshiko over the phone as she doled out her excuses and tried to gracefully back out of the situation. In hindsight, it could be that which spurred her mother to heartily allow her to stay with him. That woman probably thinks I would magically turn into a proper lady if I were to get married….
At any rate, Iku didn't plan on sleeping with him during this outing either (in fact, she tried not to think of sleeping with him at all-with questionable success- until she could at least get used to using the word "boyfriend" first). As the warm orange afternoon glow faded out of the family room where they all sat chatting, the question of bed arrangements came up. Naturally, the Dojo household contained a guest room, but Shizuka pointed out it was full of storage boxes the family had never moved to the basement. They lapsed into silent consideration for a moment.
"...Well, we could always clean it, of course…" Dojo's father offered politely, if not a little uncertainly, as he eyed the fading daylight. "It might take a bit of time, but…"
"We've got lots of strong workers among us now, though, right? So it shouldn't take too long!" Dojo's mother cheerily picked up where his father left off. There was another beat of silence; everybody was lazy and content after having their fill of a big holiday dinner, the reluctance to clean the entire guest room practically palpable.
"She could sleep in my bed." All heads turned towards the voice that had spoken up, considering the statement, and a range of reactions played around the room. A slow, suggestive grin spread across Shizuka's face at the offer while Iku flushed red and gaped at him in shock. His parents wore similar expressions of wary concern, wondering what exactly it was their son was suggesting. Atsushi's brow creased as he watched the atmosphere change, recognizing his mistake as the words left his mouth. "And I could sleep on the couch," he snapped in clarification, frown deepening at his parents' poorly hidden relief.
"Of course! That would work fine, Atsushi, dear," his mother amended, waving off the layer of awkward that had settled over the scene with a flippant gesture. Iku averted her eyes, feeling uncomfortably like a burden and wishing the red would disappear from her face. It was going to bug her all night, thinking she had made Instructor Dojo sleep on the couch simply by being a visitor…
So when it came time for the family to retire to their respective rooms, Iku had a suggestion of her own she was determined to follow through with. In Dojo's room, she set down her bag, facing away from Dojo as he pulled nightclothes from the dresser next to the door and turned to leave. One hand on the doorknob, he was about to remind Iku where the bathroom was and where he'd be if she needed him when she spoke up.
"Um! Instructor Dojo…" He turned back to face her, tilting his head slightly to signal for her to continue. "Uh, well, if you'd like to just share your bed instead of sleeping on the couch, I wouldn't mind..." He continued to watch her, silently probing her expression, and her face grew hot under the pressure. "I know your parents seemed uncomfortable with the idea, but I assume that was on my behalf, and I don't… uh…. mind…." She tried to blurt out her last sentence in one breath but ended up hesitating towards the end, dropping her eyes to the soft carpet underfoot as she waited for him to reprimand her or reject the suggestion. She sensed him take his hand off the doorknob and shift his weight in thought for an agonizing moment.
"Are you sure?" He asked hesitantly, concerned that she was only asking out of consideration for him. Iku's head snapped up, her wide-eyed expression filled with infinitely more hope than her voice had been moments before.
"Yes, I'm sure," she replied firmly, giving a curt nod of her head. Dojo smiled warmly, a bit bemused. She looks more like she's accepting a challenge than offering to share a bed, he thought, deciding not to comment on her whiplash change of emotion.
"Well if it's fine with you, then it's fine with me," he agreed, turning back to the door. "I'll be right back."
Iku noted with no small amount of relief that Instructor Dojo's bed was just big enough for the two of them to be comfortable and have some amount of breathing room, especially since she had not spared a single thought to it when presenting her proposal. She quickly changed and crawled into the bed while Dojo was in the bathroom, turning on her side to face the wall and try to calm down her racing heart. This isn't anything new! Instructor Dojo and I hug and kiss all the time; what's the big deal about sharing a bed? It's not like we're going to be spooning or anything... Her thoughts spun on until Dojo came back into the room and flipped off the lights. But hugging and kissing, even for a few minutes at a time, is totally different from cuddling, isn't it?! She felt the mattress dip under his weight as he got into bed beside her, creaking a little with the unfamiliar heaviness of two people. He leaned over briefly to kiss her hair and whisper "goodnight" and then settled in to go to sleep. Iku managed to calm down enough to appreciate his body heat at her back, and knowing he couldn't see her red face or feel her erratic heartbeat was reassuring. After a moment, she relaxed, nuzzling into the pillow underneath her head and listening to Dojo's soft, sleepy breathing close beside her as it lulled her to a comfortable sleep.
There was no sunlight streaming into the room or loud noise piercing the air to cause Iku to wake up next. No, the cause was a more subtle change. She blearily dipped into consciousness, feeling disoriented and drowsy. The room was still pitch black, and she knew only that the warmth along the side of her body was comfortable, yet something was off. Iku halfheartedly struggled to remember where she was, and when she turned her head her cheek squished into something that was definitely not a pillow. She blinked in confusion, and it came to her that she was at the Dojo house for the weekend. All at once, reality hit her and she started badly, jerking her face away from Dojo's hair. The warmth along the side of her body, she now realized, was Dojo curled into her on his side. She was lying on her back now, and could feel strong arms loosely around her waist (one arm had gotten underneath her body) and one leg tangled in Dojo's, with his head almost tucked underneath her chin. Now fully awake and stiff as a board, Iku's eyes darted around in the darkness, searching for a possible escape route from the situation.
Should I just...wake him up? Iku's eyes landed on the top of Dojo's head (or where she figured it was, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness). Her racing mind slowed down again at the calming sound of Dojo's breathing. She timidly set her face back down on top of his head. In spite of how long they'd known each other, Iku had never truly gotten the chance to see Dojo when he was asleep. The only time she would was when the task force had to go someplace by bus, and he always went to sleep after her and woke up before her. Now, with him practically pressed to her, she could feel the rise and fall of his chest with every breath that sent warm air coasting across her neck. How had they ended up in this position? Iku could only think that Dojo was just naturally snuggly in his sleep, which she found impossibly endearing. She smiled to herself, starting to enjoy the situation now that she was getting used to it. Guess I shouldn't wake him up… Iku buried her nose in his hair. He'd probably be pissed, anyway. I've never seen just-woken-up Instructor Dojo, and I don't think I want to just yet.
Dojo stirred a little then, and Iku pulled her face away from his head. She worried for a moment that her moving had woken him up, but he just hummed a little in his sleep. Before Iku could let out a sigh of relief, the warm weight of his arms around her waist tightened infinitesimally and pulled her closer against him, and her breath caught in her throat. He straightened a little so that his head wasn't underneath hers anymore but beside it on the pillow, his face now a breath away from hers. Iku forced down an impulsive squawk of surprise and the air caught in her throat. With this new development, there was very little space between their bodies at all; her side flush against him from shoulder to toe with their legs still in a tangle. If possible, she tensed even more and her breathing rate stepped up a little. Unable to focus anywhere else, she stared wide-eyed at his face, somewhat entranced.
There was a low light coming from the hallway outside the cracked door of the bedroom, allowing for her to just barely make out the soft lines of his (surprisingly) innocent-looking sleeping face. His expression looked much less sharp in sleep; more open, vulnerable. He still had his mouth turned down in a frown, but it was only a slight downward curve, looking more like a comfortable resting position than a purposeful grimace. His hair had felt soft against her face, and it tilted loosely across his forehead and the pillow, looking significantly less controlled than it did during the day. Iku felt a pull in her heart at the sight, reflecting on how much trust and love he placed in her to allow her to see him so defenseless as in sleep. She let out a long, shuddering exhale as she studied his peaceful face, allowing the tension to seep from her body muscle by muscle. Now awake and adjusted to the lighting and situation, she was thankful (despite still a little nervous) for their proximity. She felt warm all over and indescribably happy, positive she could lie there forever in his arms just watching his sweet expression and feeling his warm breath whisper across her face. She smiled to herself and put a hand lightly on his arm, tracing a feather-light path from his elbow to the sleeve of his t-shirt and back again. The scene felt so dreamlike, yet Dojo felt solid and safe and real all around her. She felt her eyes tip closed in a daze, soon settling back deep into unconsciousness like sinking into the mattress underneath her.
The next time Iku woke up, it was to a soft set of lips against her forehead and a light tickle of hair against her face. She pried her eyes open and met Dojo's, smiling groggily.
"Mornin'," she mumbled, slowly coming to and noticing that they were no longer entangled together. Dojo lay on his side next to her, propped up on his elbow and gazing down at her, his expression still soft and tired-looking from sleep, but warm with affection. His mouth turned up at the corners in response.
"Did you sleep well?" Remembering the way she had encouraged his unconscious cuddling in the middle of the night, Iku colored a little. She flicked her eyes away from his bashfully and nodded in assent, uncertain that she could respond verbally without sounding suspicious. He rolled off of his side and set his feet on the floor, getting up and out of bed. "That's good. I was worried the bed would be too small." He was turned away from her now so Iku couldn't see his face, but she could hear a grin in his voice. She supposed he might have been laughing to himself about her bedhead, which she was now trying to flatten down with one hand. Iku rolled out of bed herself next, sighing remorsefully that she had to leave the warm cocoon of body heat into the cool air of the room. She crouched down in front of her bag, shuffling through it for her brush to fix her hair.
Dojo glanced over his shoulder at her back as he pulled clothes from his dresser a few feet away. He didn't miss how she hadn't said anything about him snuggling with her last night. She must have thought it was an unconscious action, he realized, almost wishing she would ask him about it. Well, I figured she would. He turned back and closed the drawer in front of him and then moved toward the door. They both began to turn their thoughts towards the day ahead, shifting the previous night to the backs of their minds. Maybe they'd broach the subject later, but odds were good neither one would be so comfortable to mention it, thinking the other didn't think much of it.
Still, as Dojo left the room and the two started the day, they couldn't help but wonder when they would get the chance to sleep in the same bed again.