Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All characters, terms, and affiliates of Hot Gimmick are not mine, but belong to their respective owner, Miki Aihara, and its licensor, VIZ.

Notes: You don't need to say it. I'm aware that this isn't the chapter everyone's waiting for – TM's chapter four is. I'm still working on that one and it will be done. I refuse to give a date, for being me, I will inevitably not make it in time. Gentle encouragement in reviews and emails really do make my day, but pestering me about how it's cruel to not update quickly on the last chapter will make me want to drag my feet.

I apologize for that, but I felt that it needed to be said. Suffice it to say and however badly we wished there wasn't, we all have lives outside of the anime fandom. It catches up to us once in a while and unfortunately, it sometimes can't be ignored.

Having said that, please enjoy this humble peace offering in the stretch between TM's chapters.

Push and Pull

written by: theblackestfaery

Chapter Two: Quiet Time

It was the dust motes that woke her from her sleep. Like daytime versions of fireflies, the tufty specks winked in and out of the filtered light peeping through the drawn blinds. The sight was peaceful, calming. It matched the lazy Saturday she had spent—

Hatsumi snorted. Hm. Now if they would only stop trying to float up her nose…

Scrunching up said appendage, Hatsumi made to scratch her nose in what felt like an impending sneeze…

And found her arm locked to her side.

By another arm that was. Definitely. Not. Hers.

Hatsumi looked down, uncomprehending.

For one, the arm was large and sleekly muscled – a far cry from the one it currently pinned. And – Hatsumi gulped, a tight coil of apprehension squeezing her stomach – for another, the arm was covered in a fine layer of blonde hair.

"Wh-"

Her eyes followed the arm up past a bare shoulder to a face turned towards her in sleep. Even half buried in a pillow and with hair obstructing his face, Hatsumi would never have mistaken him for anyone else.

He breathed out, a soft huff that caressed her suddenly hot skin.

Weak, she fell back against her own pillow.

Oh. That's right.

She'd slept with Ryouki Tachibana.

Half an hour later, and she still hadn't moved. Her eyes were dry from staring at the ceiling.

She was afraid to look at him.

But no, that wasn't right. She didn't need to see him.

Her ears could hear the cadence of his breath. The smooth inhalation, the slight pause before exhalation… In, one two three, out, four five six…

Her heart calmed and she breathed in time with him for a moment. But it wasn't long until she realized what she'd been doing. Aghast, Hatsumi began to struggle.

Must… get awa--

Rub

Hatsumi froze. And yet another attack of the senses.

Her nerve endings were alive with the foreign sensation of skin against skin. Granted, the only contact she had with him right now was where his arm pressed against hers, but this was Ryouki she was thinking about. Anything to do with him touching her made… well… made her skin burn.

Hatsumi held her breath as she felt him shift. Please don't wake up. I don't think I can handle it if you did…

His arm tightened and Hatsumi found herself pulled to her side – and inevitably, face to face with –

A still slumbering Tachibana-kun.

The relief she felt was overwhelming.

And as all good things come to an end, it was short lived.

"Hey," his voice was hushed, roughened by sleep. To Hatsumi, it felt like he'd nudged her heart. She watched as he struggled to keep his eyes open. "You awake already? You had me exhausted by 3—"

"Don't say anymore!" Heart-nudging or not, Hatsumi was horrified. Really, he didn't need to say anymore.

"I have to get home." She quickly slipped out of Ryouki's loosened embrace and scooted to the edge of the bed, taking the sheets with her. She ignored his startled exclamation of surprise and reached for her shirt—

And found she was still wearing it.

Eh?

Hatsumi looked down. Still… fully… clothed.

She looked back at Ryouki.

With the exception of a missing shirt, he still had all his clothes on.

"What—"

"Nothing happened." His voice, at once resigned and amused, broke her off.

"Nothing?"

"No, and don't make me repeat myself." Ryouki propped himself up against the wall and braced an arm against a drawn up knee. "Don't you remember? You fell asleep when I left to find Mariko-san."

"Oh." Staring at him, with the setting sun casting shadows over his naked chest, an unbidden thought emerged.

Why didn't you wake me up?

"Yeah, so… you're precious virginity's safe for today, I guess."

"Yeah…" Distracted by the conflicting emotions that caused, Hatsumi didn't see him move.

One moment, at the foot of the bed, the next…

"There. Much better."

"Better?" Was he crazy? Hatsumi was in fact, sprawled against him. Limbs were tangled, hair was in her face, and – if she was right – something was nudging her hipbone.

Panic welled and she braced her hands against his chest to push away.

"Yes, better." Quick to capitalize on his advantage, Ryouki grabbed her wrists and pushed upwards, effectively collapsing Hatsumi's leverage. She fell against him, even more tangled limbs, more hair in her face, and more direct contact with—with—

"Stop moving and it'll go away," Ryouki gritted. Mumbling under his breath, he pulled Hatsumi more firmly against him. Hopefully.

"But—"

"No buts," Ryouki's snapped, but his actions belied his words. He placed his hands at Hatsumi's waist, not lower or higher. Just… so.

"I told you nothing happened and nothing's gonna happen." He tucked Hatsumi's face beneath his chin, but not before he saw the absolute shock freezing her face. He huffed and hugged her closer.

"Does sleeping wipe out your memory or something?"

"Eh?" What was he talking about?

"Remember how you dragged me all about the damn city looking for that shirt you swore you saw at that shop that I seriously think you just made up in your head? Remember? Only happened earlier today." Ryouki didn't wait for her to respond. "Yeah, well, we never found the shop, I lost five hours of my life that I'll never get back, and then we came back here."

"Really?"

"Really." His voice was absentminded, and he settled further back onto the bed. Hatsumi's weight settled warmly against him and he paused, the soft press of her body an acute distraction.

"Well?" Hatsumi was getting antsy.

"Just hold on, will ya? It's a long story." Most of which, Ryouki now realized, would have to be tactfully edited out. He tightened his hold as Hatsumi shifted.

"Now, where was I?"

"We came back here." He was pushing her buttons, he just had to be.

"Oh, that's right. After I came back from dismissing Mariko-san for the night, I found you asleep. I tried to wake you up by—" taking off your shirt, "shaking you on your shoulder."

"But that was like three hours ago." Hatsumi leaned away, the better to gauge the sincerity of his story. "You don't actually expect me to believe that you behaved the rest of the time, do you?"

"Yes, cause it's the truth." Well, after I tried taking your shirt off again, and groping your tits, and… Ryouki was distracted by Hatsumi's sigh.

"Still…we slept together."

"So?" Ryouki didn't get it. "We just slept in the same bed. Slept – as in resting." He shrugged. "What the hell's the big deal?"

"Cause it's more intimate than actually doing it." Frustrated, Hatsumi pushed away, settling to his side. She played with the blanket, feeling the lingering heat of their bodies in its threads. "At least, it seems like it to me."

Ryouki rolled his eyes. He didn't even know why he bothered, but the look on her face made him… ugh. "Explain."

"No, you'll think I'm stupid." Slim fingers pulled at the threads.

"Too late. Explain or you're not leaving this room, and don't think I care about what your mom will think." Ryouki bared his teeth at her in what was definitely not a smile.

"Well…" her eyes darted about. "It… It's just…"

In a flurry of movement, Hatsumi flopped over onto her other side, her back to a startled Ryouki.

Her voice was subdued, her words halting, carefully chosen.

"Strangers… they can do it without even knowing each other's names and not regret it the next day. They could walk by each other on the street, accidentally bump into one another, and they wouldn't even know it."

She rested her gaze on the far wall.

"I guess you could say the same thing for when you're sleeping – like falling asleep on the bus. But… that's somewhere public." She snuck a quick glance over her shoulder.

"But what we did… it was here, alone, in your bed. I just feel… I feel as if either of us had woken up… If either of us had woken up, we would've seen each other's dreams." Hatsumi shook her head. "I don't know what I do when I sleep, what I look like, whether or not I talk in my sleep…"

She swallowed and curled in on herself.

"That's it. I know you think it's a stupid idea, but that's how I feel."

Hatsumi waited. For what, she didn't know.

It certainly wasn't the soft slide of the blanket being placed around her shoulders or the warm arms settling about her waist. Stiffening, she began to protest.

"Ryouki, what—"

"Quiet." His softly voiced order brushed against a reddening ear. And for once, Hatsumi didn't question his intent. She turned back and let her body relax into his embrace, but not before she noticed that Ryouki lay on top of the covers.

She smiled at that, her lips stretching even more as she felt his weight settle their bodies even deeper into the mattress.

They were quiet for only a moment, an impossibly small grain of sand in the hourglass of time, but it was long enough to have her drifting off, eyes heavy with beckoning slumber. She would wonder later, though, about what she thought she'd heard.

"It's not stupid."

And a moment later.

"I want… to share your dreams."

Hatsumi closed her eyes.

End

Notes: Blargh. Excuse me while I go off into a corner and wonder if there was even a point to this chapter. Anyways, hope that at least some of you enjoyed that.