Disclaimer: disclaimed
Another prompt by elarhy. Thanks again!
Also, not to be whiny (okay, maybe a little bit), but I only got three reviews last chapter :( Can we change that, por favor? Thanks to those who did review!
Karin sighed. She rolled over. A minute passed. She sighed again and fumbled for the second pillow she had thrown away only minutes before. She hugged it to her chest. She sat up and undid her braid. She threw the pillow away again. She sighed again and threw her blanket off and curled her knees up to her chest. A minute later her muscles grew tense and huffing in irritation she laid eagle-spread on the mattress. She redid her braid and resumed the sprawled position. She closed her eyes, wishing for sleep.
"You always this restless?"
Her eyes opened immediately. "What're you doing here?" she snapped, lack of sleep making her more sharp than usual.
He replied without missing a beat. "Touchy."
After glowering for a moment more Karin pulled herself into a sitting position. "Sorry," she muttered.
Toushirou didn't reply but Karin knew she was forgiven; if not, he'd have left without a word. "Are you always this restless?" he repeated.
She shrugged. "It comes and goes," she answered vaguely, swinging her feet off the bed.
"Are you stressed?" he asked.
"You went to the Academy; what do you think?"
He hesitated before asking the next question. "Does this have anything to do with the anniversary of your mother's death?"
She was quite for a moment. "Okaa-san also had insomnia, but I'm the only one who inherited it." To herself, she whispered, "It's the only thing that we ever shared."
"What did she do to make it better?" he asked gently.
A fleeting smile touched her lips. "She'd just stay with me until I fell asleep. Sometimes we'd talk or read, but most of the time we had to be quiet for Yuzu." She chuckled sadly. "It's the only real alone time we ever had." She glanced up at the shinigami leaning against her window. "Don't worry; I don't expect you to do that," she joked.
He snorted. "In your dreams."
"Oh, so you don't want to sleep with me?" she asked, faking indignation. "I'm offended."
In the moonlight she couldn't see properly, but Karin thought for a moment that Toushirou's cheeks darkened. "I should patrol," he muttered.
"Why'd you come here in the first place?" she asked, disguising desperation as curiosity.
He gave her a pointed look. "Your reiatsu gets turbulent when you don't sleep. I've been close by your house all night, just in case any Hollows show up." Clearing his throat at the awkward silence, he offered lamely, "It's been a quiet night, so."
Now thankful for the concealing moonlight, Karin blushed. "Thanks," she said shyly.
"Just doing my job," he replied, not quite as businesslike as before.
After a moment of slightly-less-awkward silence, Karin asked, "When was the last time you slept?"
Toushirou shrugged, and she found herself wondering if it was the moonlight casting shadows across his eyes that made him look so tired. "Doesn't matter. I'll sleep after patrol."
"You're done now, aren't you?" Karin's bold question made them both pause. "I mean," she stammered, "You said it was a quiet night."
"What are you asking?" His blunt question, spoken in that silky voice, made her swallow.
"Look—you're tired , just too stubborn to admit it," she explained in a surprisingly steady voice, "I'll take this side," she crawled onto the far side of the bed as if to prove it, "And you can take the other one."
He didn't move. "Karin." A sigh. "I don't think that would be…appropriate."
She rolled her eyes and turned on her side. "Suit yourself," she said, ignoring the embarrassing pang in her chest.
Unseen by her, he gawked (or got as close as one so dignified could get to doing so). "Are you…sulking?"
"No," she articulated acidly.
He ran his head through his permanently-messy hair in exasperation. "It's not that I don't want to be with you, but I'm technically on duty, so—"
"I said I'm not sulking!" she snapped without turning over.
A moment passed, then another. Karin refused to turn over, although restless again, because as likely as it was for him to be gone, he was too quiet for her to be sure.
Suddenly her mattress dipped, but instead of doing what she expected and staying far enough to be "appropriate," Toushirou's muscled arms encircled her waist and his mouth rested below her ear. Neither said anything, but as Karin relaxed into his embrace and Toushirou let her shampoo smell wash over him, they didn't need to.
Surprisingly quickly, the captain's breathing evened out and his gentle grip relaxed even further. Ha, Karin thought smugly, I know you were tired. Moving slowly so as not to wake him, she turned herself to see Toushirou's face. His eyes, for once unlined with tension, were covered with skin barely paler than that of his face. His lips were parted and the quiet sound of breathing echoed from his mouth. Karin studied him for a moment, more peaceful than she'd ever seen, before she gave a quiet hum of contentment and closed her eyes again.
She did not fall asleep immediately, instead listening to the consistant thrumming of his heart and his gentle sighs. Sometime around five in the morning she was able to drift into a thin lull of rest, asleep enough to dream but awake enough to feel every movement their intertwined bodies made. When Toushirou awoke before her, his head rested on top of hers, fingers lightly brushing the small of her back. She mm-ed in discomfort as he slipped from her arm over his waist and her lips curled into a smile as he brushed his thumb over her collarbone.
When he kissed her, it was softly and yet deeply, as if he was trying to make an impression of delicacy rather than passion. Her dark eyes fluttered open as they parted, then closed as he whispered, "I'll see you later." With a final squeeze of her hand, Toushirou slipped out the open window gracefully.
Karin slept on, dreaming dreams of green eyes with a small smile on her lips.
Aw :3 Sappy stuff coming from a single girl.
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