Title: Talking and Sleepless

Author: shima_sama (Shima And Tempis)

Fandom: Hot Gimmick

Pairing: Akane Narita and Subaru Yagi

Disclaimer: I don't own Hot Gimmick. It belongs to Viz and Miki Aihara. I also don't own the song "Talking and Sleepless." It belongs to Teddy Geiger.

Author's Note: This came out of nowhere. The song made me think of them, and it had been so long since I'd written a song fic. It's rated T for slight swearing and sexual innuendo.

----

I'm not sure what you're thinking at the door

Subaru was lazing around the Yagi apartment in lounge pants and a Gundam t-shirt when the doorbell rang. He had his headphones slung around his neck and a DS in one hand as he got up to answer. He ran his free hand through his messy black spikes and peeked at who was standing on the other side of the door.

What he saw made him drop his game to the floor, which tugged his headphones off with it. He didn't even notice. Startled and confused, he stumbled back a few steps and tried to take stock of his body and his feelings.

Akane Narita was outside the door.

Akane Narita was outside the door right now.

Akane Narita was outside the door right now, in the middle of the night.

So many thoughts rushed through Subaru's head at that point, and very few of them were any good (good as in polite). His parents were off on some sort of couple outing and told him not to wait up. Asahi was at a friend's house.

Another thought struck him. Akane Narita was outside the door, right now, in the middle of the night, and he was alone.

Without another consideration toward the consequences, Subaru jerked forward and opened the door.

And I got ice in my veins
I ask you to stay

Akane tugged at her low-cut shirt, staring down at her shoes in embarrassment. She didn't appear to know any better than he did why she was there. Mustering up the courage she was so gifted with, she dared to look him in the eye.

Subaru wasn't expecting it and found it difficult to keep himself upright.

"N-narita-san, why are you—"

Subaru cut himself off. Akane blinked once, twice, but said nothing. There was a tremble to her bottom lip that Subaru tried desperately to ignore. That worked about as well as ignoring the glimpse of cleavage he was getting.

"C-come in, w-won't you?"

So you stare
Think about it

Akane looked like she was weighing the options. She had come all the way here, after all (which had been a cold elevator trip and a few wayward steps), and he was letting her in.

The problem was that she had no reason to come in. She wasn't supposed to be here. She knew for a fact that Asahi wasn't home. So what had pulled her from the warm comfort of her bedroom, down the hall, into the elevator, and toward Subaru's door?

Do you dare?

"Okay," Akane decided finally, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her tight-fitting jeans. She snuck a glance at Subaru as she slipped past him and into the apartment.

Is this the end of the night?

"So, what did you need?" Subaru had managed to get some of his stuttering under control by busying himself with cleaning. He grabbed his headphones and game from the floor and started to put away some of the junk food he had set out on the coffee table.

Or the start of something wonderful?

That was the question of the night, really.

Rather than come up with something clever or something that made sense, Akane plopped down on the couch and looked at the older boy with wary eyes. She didn't want to spook him.

"I don't know."

I know how this looks, okay?

The way Akane was leaning gave Subaru another glimpse of what he was trying to ignore. Blushing bright red, he put the chip dip back into the refrigerator. Soon enough there was nothing else for him to put away. He cursed his sister for deciding to do her chores today of all days.

He stood in the middle of the living room not knowing what to do. Here was Akane Narita, quite possibly one of the prettiest girls he knew, sitting on his couch in nothing but a low-cut t-shirt and a pair of jeans. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this?

In his dreams, he would sit down next to her.

But he wasn't sure he was capable of doing that much while she was real and living and smelled good.

But you know how you feel.

The pretty girl on his couch rolled her eyes.

"Could you come over here and sit down so I feel less like an idiot?"

Well shit. Subaru took a deep breath. One step at a time. He padded over to the couch and sat down beside her, as far from her warmth as possible. Did she realize the effect she had on guys? Yeah, he thought, she probably did.

If he were any other guy, he might think she was doing this on purpose. But Subaru knew himself. And he certainly knew Akane. She didn't go after guys like him.

If you don't fight the feeling
Let go and believing

"Is there something I can do for you?"

Subaru asked the question after quite a few minutes of tense silence (tense on his part, at least). Akane wasn't looking at him anymore, which helped.

He knew the answer he wanted. He tried to remind himself that he was awake. That things like that didn't happen when you were awake.

"I don't know. Maybe?" She turned to him, frustrated, and closed some of the distance between them. Their knees knocked lightly. "Can you?"

"Can I—what?"

"Help me." She blew air out of her pursed lips and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Why am I here?"

Fall in love

Another question Subaru knew the answer to. Well, knew the answer that he gave to dream Akane. But dream Akane was occasionally accompanied by super powers and a mobile suit.

"I don't know." He answered honestly. "Asahi isn't here."

"I know that."

"Oh."

Strike one.

"I can't help you with your homework, either."

"Like I'd come for homework help in the middle of the night."

"Right."

Strike two.

He didn't want to strike out. "Did you…did you want to see me? About something?"

He could always hope.

If we could spend the evening

Akane let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes tiredly. Subaru realized just how late it was. She looked like she had woken up and slapped on some of her hottest comfortable clothes to come down here.

Did he mention the low-cut shirt?

"Yagi-kun, why did you let me in? It's like 2 a.m. Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

Talking and sleepless

Knowing she was avoiding the question but unwilling to press her, Subaru gestured to his video games. "I was up. And you looked like you needed something."

If you don't fight the feeling
Fall in love

"God damn it." Akane let out, all in one angry breath.

In Subaru's dreams, his world slowed and cheesy make-out music started playing right around now.

In Subaru's life, Akane shifted again until she was sitting half on his lap, her hands pressed to his shoulders.

"Are you really that dense?" She was staring at him with those eyes of hers again. Subaru tried to ignore the rush of blood to his extremities. "I'm a girl. It's the middle of the night. And you're alone. And you let me in."

We could spend the evening

"I-I don't understand what you mean." His stutter was back full-force. Their legs were touching, and that was pretty much all he could understand at that moment.

Akane changed from pressing her hands on his shoulders to resting her elbows there. The action brought their faces closer, and Akane was all but curled up in his lap. She played with the tips of his spikes.

"I like you, Subaru."

Talking and sleepless

"I like you. I don't know why." She smiled sheepishly at him. "But I'm here. And you're alone. And you let me in."

You're all, "It's late, and I'm tired."

Subaru wanted to believe he wasn't dreaming. He really did. His brain was telling him to flee while his body really wanted to see where this was going. But his brain controlled his body and he pushed her gently from his lap. After that delicate gesture he was up and standing again in seconds.

"It's late." He commented, nervous, hands in his pockets this time to hide what her being in his lap had done to him.

"I'd love to stay."

"We've been over this, Subaru. I know how late it is." She pouted, arms across her chest, which only helped to tug her collar down. He turned from her, looking at some strange painting his parents had put up on the wall. "Look at me, Subaru."

Why don't you say what you mean?

"I can't."

Akane let out a giggle, and suddenly Subaru knew he was right—she was doing this on purpose.

"Why not?"

"I can't because…because you're there. I mean here. And you're—you—"

"Subaru."

But you're caught in the scene.

Despite himself, he looked at her.

And then he really wished he hadn't.

Subaru wasn't more experienced that Akane, but he was still older. He needed self-control in a situation like this. He needed to tell her (like in all the anime with strong male leads) that she needed to go back to her apartment and sleep off whatever was making her do this. He needed to go to sleep himself and pretend none of this ever happened.

He needed to at least stop staring at her.

Akane was leaning forward just a little bit, her hands to either side. Her hair had fallen into her face and her legs were crossed. And she was inviting him to sit next to her with her eyes, her hands, her body. And he desperately wanted to, even though he knew she was doing this on purpose. That for her, this was probably what she did every night. Go to a guy's house and get his…attention.

"You should go home."

Honey pie, you're really something neat

You're something else

That obviously startled her. Her eyes widened, she released her seductive position, and he saw confusion and surprise flash across her features.

"But—Subaru—"

"You should. Your parents will worry, and Hatsumi, and—" Subaru rushed toward her and grabbed her by the shoulders, tugging her up. Then he proceeded to push her toward the door, reaching for the knob at the same time. Just as he was about to tug the door open, though, Akane swirled around and pressed herself against it to keep it closed.

I want to get into your head

Oh I swear it's all I want

"No." She pouted and crossed her arms haughtily over her chest. Subaru felt for a minute like he was dealing with his sister back when she was seven or so.

"Narita," he said calmly, trying to reach for the doorknob again. She wouldn't let him near it unless he wanted to touch her as well. And that was something he really couldn't do.

"It's Akane," she said slyly. "And can't you at least talk to me for a while? I'm here, you let me in, might as well see where this takes us." She winked at him and held up her pinky finger. "Just talking. That's it. Promise."

I know how this looks, okay?

But you know how you feel.

Making the promise involved touching her, so Subaru decided against it. Still, besides letting her do what she wanted, every other option seemed to involve getting too close to her. He sighed, rubbing his forehead, and moved away from the door to let her past him. Akane, never one to lose, dragged her first finger along his chest as she passed and plopped down, satisfied, on his couch.

"Now sit down properly. I won't bite." She peeked at him over the back of the couch and saw his dubious look. "Fine. You can stand there and be awkward." She turned around, put her hands behind her head, and stretched her legs until her feet were resting on the coffee table.

"Question one…" She started, and Subaru found himself walking until he was in front of her. She grinned, but made no further comment on his hands in his pockets or his need to have the table between them. "How come you're alone?"

Subaru choked a little. "That's what you want to ask?"

"Would you rather I ask what you're doing with your hands in your pockets?"

He blushed. "No, no, that's fine. My parents went to…rekindle their relationship." He tripped over the words. He was so stupid to let this happen. "And you know about Asahi. She went over to Ke—Ka—"

"Ka-chan's house." Akane finished for him. Her body visibly relaxed from its catlike pose.

If you don't fight the feeling

Let go and believing

Fall in love

If we could spend the evening

Talking and sleepless

By the time the clock on the table told Subaru happily that it was almost 4 a.m., the tense air had somehow magically lifted. When Akane wasn't hunting, she was far easier to be around. (Not that he didn't like to be around her when she was, of course, just that it was more inappropriate.) She kept up her line of questions until he found himself curious to know more about her, and before he knew it they were having a conversation.

They had very little in common when it came to hobbies, although apparently some of Akane's favorite musicians also did music for some of Subaru's favorite anime. But their schools and friends and families seemed to be fair game for their tired minds.

We'll run our mouths

Until it's light out

Around 3, Subaru finally sat down again. Closer, this time.

Around 3:30, Akane felt her head lolling, and although their talk continued, all her responses came from a comfortable spot on Subaru's shoulder.

If you don't fight the feeling

"Hey, Subaru?"

"Hm?"

Akane looked up at him. Although he had not moved her head, his hands were still clasped tightly in his lap. His knuckles were white.

"One more question."

"What is it?"

Fall in love

"Do you want to kiss me?"

"Wh-what?"

Then we could spend the evening

In Subaru's dreams, he took the initiative and closed the distance between them.

In Subaru's life, Akane did all the work.

Talking and sleepless

Not that he minded.