Nodame stood in the room, watching him.
Outside, the ground was blanketed with a thin layer of snow. Pristine, white, it lay undisturbed except for the places where she'd rolled around in the grass and made snow angels. From the view from the bedroom, she could barely see the misshapen snow-Kazuo she'd painstakingly made over the last hour. Above, the full moon shone brightly in the sky, its rays trickling in, bathing the room in an ethereal luminescence.
He was already asleep, resting on his side, his arm folded under him so his head sat in the palm of his hand. He still wore his pleated white shirt and long dark pants – save for the undone top button and messy hair, he could have been dressed for the concert he'd just conducted. Behind the scent of his cologne, she could smell the faintly sweet smell of dried sweat.
I guess you really were tired, huh, Chiaki-senpai? You never go straight to sleep like that…
Her gaze lingered on him as she thought it. For once, his face was relaxed, free of the tension it usually carried, blissful, momentarily free of worry. He'd always been good looking, but… in the gentle rays of moonlight filtering into the room, he looked blissfully at peace, at ease, almost angelic – like an angel that had lain down to take a nap, and forgotten to wake up.
She decided that she liked him better when he was sleeping – he was much nicer like this, she figured, much nicer than when he was awake, anyway. None of that angry yelling he liked to do when he was awake, and none of that angsty brooding either.
…hmm?
Something caught her eye, a flicker of motion in the otherwise still room. She blinked, and took a closer look at his sleeping form. He was lightly biting his lower lip, his face pale, his forehead creased, eyebrows ever-so-slightly scrunched up, And he was… shivering?
She put her hand on his neck, alarmed to find his skin cold to the touch. She'd just gotten back, so it'd escaped her notice, but now that she thought about it… wasn't the room colder than it was supposed to be?
As she cast her gaze about, her eyes alighted on something at the far end of the room. Comprehension dawning on her, she walked over, and pulled the elaborate glass windows shut, blocking the draught that had been creeping into the room. The heater hummed to life as she flipped the switch, and it began to expel warm air.
Walking back to his bedside, she felt him again, touching two fingers to his exposed neck. Still cold – the window must have had been open for at least a good hour, and the cold had already set in the air. His bedroom was fairly large – even with the windows shut, it'd take a while to warm up. Thi was bad – he'd get sick at this rate, she thought.
Still no good, huh?
There was but one thing to be done, she thought, as she took off the winter coat she'd been wearing, unwrapping her scarf and removing her earmuffs. The cold pricked her bare arms as she removed all her clothing save the dress she'd been wearing.
"I'm sorry, senpai… please don't be mad at Nodame for doing this, but…"
Pulling off the last layer of winter clothing, she got on, lowering herself carefully on to the mattress, and positioned herself next to him, burrowing under the mattress. She curled up to fit snugly against the contours of his torso, feeling his toned torso through the fabric of her dress, the crook of her knees resting against his. Finally, she took his free hand, and draped it over herself, pulling the blankets up so all but their heads were covered. As their combined body heat gradually warmed the small space they shared, his shivering eased off, and then stopped entirely.
"…Nodame will warm your bed tonight."
It had been barely more than a whisper, but as if in response, his hand moved of its own accord, wrapped across her stomach, hugging her more tightly against his torso. He was murmuring something, still asleep, the words too soft for her to discern. A smile crept onto her face, a slight blush beginning to colour her cheeks – locked together like this, they were almost like husband and wife, sleeping together, murmuring sweet nothings to each other in the silence of the night.
This would have been nice if he was awake, wouldn't it?
With that, she let the fatigue carry her away, warm in his tight embrace.
He awoke to morning sunlight and the pleasant aroma of lavender shampoo. Somewhere, his alarm clock was beeping.
Something small and warm was snuggled up against his torso. He blinked, groggy, as his vision came into focus. In front of him, a mop of messy brown hair lay on the pillow. It was Nodame, her soft flesh pressed against his own, clutching his left arm tightly to her chest like she might hug a Puri-Gorota pillow. She wore nothing but a thin dress, the same one she'd worn yesterday.
Really, it's just like her to go to sleep without even taking a shower… well, I guess it's alright, since it's cold out and she probably didn't sweat much.
He glanced briefly at the white-covered landscape outside, then back to her huddled-up figure. Once, he might have gotten angry at her for sneaking into his bed. But this time, he only smiled, as he looked at her, still peacefully asleep, the blanket pulled up all the way to cover her neck.
It was too cold last night, huh, Nodame?
Trying to move as little as possible, he reached out behind him and shut off the alarm, the silence of a serene winter morning once more filling his bedroom. Or should he say, their bedroom? He chuckled, quietly.
Five more minutes then, you idiot.
Pulling her sleeping form tight against his torso, he closed his eyes once more, a small smile on his face, as their lazy winter morning floated away in a dream.
A/N: This fic was inspired by the last episode of Nodame Cantabile Season 2. I'm not ashamed to say, I cried after watching it.
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