Maki rolled over to face Hinawa. Where should I start? I have so many questions.
"Have you ever smoked?" she asked, her voice just above a whisper.
Hinawa snapped his head over to look at her. "No, I've never smoked."
"Never ever?"
Hinawa sighed. "I did, like twelve years ago. I was… underage. Dumb. And had just started in the military."
Maki leaned up on her elbows. "Wait, are you telling me Mr. 'Fire Soldiers Don't Play With Fire' actually smoked ?"
Hinawa groaned. He knew this was a bad idea. Maki probably knew him better than anyone, but there were still things even she didn't know about.
"Yes, Maki. I smoked. When I was in the military I wasn't so strict about the fire thing."
Maki laid her head back on the pillow and sighed. "I can't believe you smoked."
"Don't get too excited. I couldn't stand it so I stopped. Plus my dad caught me and threatened to slap the cigarette into the back of my throat if he saw me doing it again."
"What?"
"My dad was… very much against smoking, drugs, alcohol, all that."
"But he actually hit you?" Maki asked him.
"Are these questions really necessary?" Hinawa asked.
"Lieutenant — " Maki started, but stopped when Hinawa turned his back to her.
"My dad never hit me, Maki. Now go to sleep," he told her over his shoulder.
Maki sighed. She could never imagine being hit by her father. She rolled over and closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep. But she found it hard to rest with Hinawa at her back.
Should I have kept my bra on? I really should have. My boobs are just drooping here and the lieutenant knows it, Maki thought anxiously.
"Maki," she heard Hinawa mumble in his sleep.
She leaned up and looked over her shoulder at him. "What?"
"Go to sleep."
Maki scoffed and pulled her pillow closer. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth; she had to give credit where it was due.
Hinawa ran his fingers over the blanket. He hadn't been lying when he told Maki that his father never hit him; his father disciplined him with words, not actions, and it carried over to Hinawa.
He really missed his mother when he was growing up.
He sighed and pushed his face into his pillow; he was going to go to sleep. He heard deep rhythmic breathing coming from Maki, signifying that she was finally asleep herself.
So far, our weekend is turning out to be a big piece of shit, he thought.
He rolled over to face Maki's back. Their pillow barricade was becoming squashed under their backs, and Hinawa began tossing pillows across the room.
"What are you doing?" Maki asked. The loud thumping of the pillows had woken her up.
"If we don't move these, our backs will hurt tomorrow."
Maki sighed. She didn't want to argue with the lieutenant, but he was being unreasonable.
"Lieutenant," she said, grabbing his arm as he prepared to toss the last pillow across the room. She was not about to sleep without some sort of barrier between her and him. "Go to sleep."
Hinawa shoved the pillow at her as he walked around the foot of the bed. He disappeared into the bathroom and Maki sighed as she put the pillow back where she had it.
As she drifted back to sleep, she listened for the lieutenant to come out of the bathroom.
What could he be doing in there? she wondered.
She closed her eyes and tucked her chin under her shoulder, trying to stay warm. She sighed deeply, content with her surroundings.
Hinawa came out of the bathroom and saw Maki had fallen asleep again. He noticed how she had huddled up to herself for warmth and walked over to where the extra blankets were stored and pulled one out. He spread it over the bed and sighed.
She kept one pillow between us, he thought. He climbed into bed on his side and realized why: their butts touched. He mentally facepalmed, knowing that throwing the pillows across the room was now a huge mistake.
He rolled over and faced Maki's back, staring at her long, loose dark hair. He closed his eyes, determined to not stare at Maki or any part of her body.
Not even her curves? a small part of his brain nagged. Or the small sliver of skin that is showing between her shirt and her pajama pants?
Hinawa took a deep breath and held it. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
His arm flopped lazily over Maki as he slept, and his eyes popped open as he became aware of his fingers touching her stomach.
The same stomach she desperately tried to hide from him when she walked out of the bathroom half-naked just a few hours ago.
I should move my arm, he thought. But then she'll know I put my arm over her.
He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep. He felt Maki move his arm off of her a few minutes later, a hint of amusement in her sleep-filled voice.
"That's not going to work with me, Lieutenant."
"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you," he said.
"I know."
He watched as she rolled over to face him, her violet eyes staring into his orange ones. He could see a question forming deep within them.
"What kind of books do you like to read?"
"Maki?"
"Hmm?"
"It's two am, can I answer that when I'm not half-asleep?"
Maki smiled gently. "Sure."
Hinawa rolled over, his back to Maki. She stared at the faint outline of his back in the dark, the moonlight shining through the window.
Maybe sharing a bed with him wasn't so bad, after all.