Habit
Summary: There are some things she has needed her time to get used to. Now, there is no going without. OneShot.
Warning: -
Set: Story-unrelated, future-fic
Disclaimer: Standards apply.
The room is dark and silent.
A little gap in the curtains lets in some of the light of a street lamp and a small stripe of light falls into Misaki's bedroom. Unable to fall asleep she lies in her bed, her eyes wide open.
The soft sounds coming from the other side of the window are familiar.
The quiet rustling of the wind in the trees. The faraway rushing of the cars on the big streets. A cat mewing. A dog barking in the neighbors' garden.
The sounds in her room are familiar, as well.
The wood of her cupboard creaks softly. Her own heart pounds in her ear where she has placed it on the pillow.
Everything about this room is well-known to her.
She has been living in this apartment for half a year now and still is amazed how quickly she has gotten used to it. It is so different that her mother's house. Bigger. Emptier, too. There aren't many photographs or pictures on the wall, nothing unnecessary. It is a functional apartment, simple, modern, and yet she has grown to love it. She knows her way. She can find the bathroom in the darkness of the night without a sound. She knows where the plates and the glasses are in the kitchen and which cabinet ought to contain which spices. She knows the flickering light in the corridor means the answering machine carries a message and the video screen next to the door isn't a book with seven seals to her anymore. She knows the handle of the bathroom door creaks with a different sound than the handle of the bedroom door and can distinguish between the sounds of the dishwasher and the washing machine. She is at home in this apartment, today more than yesterday, tomorrow more than today.
But it hasn't been easy at first.
When everything around you is foreign, when you know no one in a new town, when you leave your family behind to move out you face a state of insecurity that equals nothing you ever have experienced. And there are many things you have to get used to when your life suddenly turns upside down.
Misaki has needed time to get used to it. To her new life, to her new world. Strangely, now there is no going without those things anymore.
Which complicates the matter: She cannot fall asleep when he isn't there.
Somehow, inexplicably, she has gotten so used to Takumi's presence that the mere knowledge of him not being there stops her from falling asleep. She laid in their bed, watching the darkness, and cursed herself. She was tired, very much so. The day hadn't been easy and she had to get up early tomorrow morning and yet: despite her fatigue, despite her good intentions and her iron will, she seemed unable to fall asleep.
She shifted her position and came to lie on her right side, her legs pulled up, her arms around herself. But even in her usual sleeping position something was missing: a pair of arms around her, a steady heartbeat next to her, a warm breath at her ear. Someone was missing.
Goodness.
Hadn't she promised herself never to come to depend on someone else? She had her own income, paid her part of the rent, had her own job. But still. Not knowing whether to curse or to sigh she closed her eyes and tried for the umpteenth time to fall asleep.
Impossible.
Sighing, she pushed away the covers and trudged into the kitchen. The carpeted floor was warm and soft underneath her bare feet. Taking out the milk from the refrigerator, she warmed a mug in the microwave and added a spoon of caramel syrup and a hint of vanilla. Then she walked back, into the dark living-room, curled herself up on the sofa and sipped the milk slowly, savoring the taste. Whatever had prompted him to create such a strange drink really had been a genius' idea.
Her heart sped up when she heard the jingling sound of the key in the lock.
A few seconds later, Takumi entered their apartment, setting down a business suitcase and his jacket, rummaging around softly in the corridor. Then he entered the living-room, turned on the lights and found her sitting in the dark.
"Welcome back."
"Misaki? What are you doing here?"
She shrugged and let him kiss her on her head. She just barely managed not to blush when she met his eyes.
She did blush as his eyes travelled down her figure, taking in the shirt that barely covered her tights.
"Let me guess. You couldn't sleep."
She punished him with a death glare and didn't answer. His grin, though, told her he was proud of the fact he had guessed correctly.
Without another word he disappeared into the bedroom, taking his suitcase with him. She followed him, her feet making no noise, the mug still in her hand. Watching him from the edge of the bed, she saw him peel out of his suit and put on a shirt. He disappeared into the bathroom and she heard the water run as he brushed his teeth and cleaned his face. Then he returned to their bedroom, some strands of his hair matted to his forehead with water, his shoulders slumping slightly.
"You are tired", she stated.
He answered her inquiring gaze and nodded. Suddenly, the lines in his face seemed to belong to a man much older than him.
"How was it?"
"Exhausting."
She put down the mug on the bedside table and clambered into the bed, arranging the bed sheets besides her invitingly. He looked at her with the same wistful expression he sometimes showed and, as usual, made her feel entirely see-through. Repressing a blush – why she couldn't put behind her this habit of hers that only showed itself in his presence was beyond her – she pulled up her left brow.
"Are you coming?"
The smile blazing up in his eyes was so bright she almost had to look away in order to not be blinded. He stepped around the bed and lowered himself onto the mattress, re-arranging the sheets around him and then turning to look at her. She was poised similarly, looking at him intently. Takumi leaned forward and kissed her head again, taking in the soft smell of shampoo and books and spring. Her lashes seemed to brush her cheeks.
"Good Night."
"Good Night."
Misaki felt him wrap his arms around her. It was one of his usual gestures she had become used to: Possessive and protecting at the same time, making her feel both loved and secure. With the steady sound of his heart beat, his soft breathing at the top of her head and the feel of his arms around her she fell asleep almost instantly.
"Misaki. You know your habit of falling asleep as soon as I come to bed isn't in the least romantic, don't you?"
"P-!"
"Sssshhh, my love, we're in a public place!"
A/N Quiz: What was Misaki going to call him? *gg*