A/N: Alright, smut-fest is over, the SFW fluff returns. Just a heads up for anyone who didn't like the past couple of chapters.
The bed was soft, like a cloud in the sky. Within seconds, Taki and Mitsuha passed out in each other's arms. And the warmth the two were sharing and being pressed against the other plunged them into a deeper slumber than anything they've had in a while. Among the usual stresses of life that would sometimes keep them up, usually what most deprived them of rest was loneliness. The absence of each other. And the frightening idea of never finding each other. Even when they had no idea who they were looking for. But with all the events that transpired over last few hours, all of those concerns dissipated. And they were just able to melt into sleep.
Mitsuha opened her eyes, met with a little bit of sunlight permeating through the blinds. And of course, Taki's face, just mere centimeters away from hers. For some reason, seeing Taki sleeping put her at ease. He just looked very peaceful and very innocent. She wouldn't dare interrupt his current state of rejuvenation. She turned her head and peered behind her to see his clock read 6 a.m. How could I wake up this early on a Saturday? And then she started to think about what was going on right now.
Taki-kun. I'm here. With him. He's mine again… Last night was so wonderful. I was so happy. Taki was so good to me. He's incredible… I want this to last forever.
There really wasn't much she could do at this point; her arms were still wrapped around Taki, and her legs were still tangled with his. Not wanting to risk waking him up, she decided to give into the remainder of her sleepiness and rested her head back onto Taki's pillow. Before closing her eyes again, she pressed her forehead against Taki's and planted a long kiss on his slightly parted lips. With a soft whisper, she uttered out "I love you…Taki-kun".
When Taki's lucidness returned to him, he didn't immediately open his eyes. He needed a moment to realize he was awake, so his eyes opened slowly, with his sight being slightly blurred from having been closed for several hours. And a small smile formed on his face when he was met with Mitsuha's face. Her gorgeous, flawless face.
She so beautiful…
He was almost paralyzed by her magnificence; shivers and chills invaded his body and heart rate began to climb. Never in his life did he ever think someone as beautiful as Mitsuha would share a bed with him. When he regained feeling in his hand, he lifted it and slowly caressed her cheek as she remained in peaceful slumber. Her cheek was soft and warm, much like the rest of her. And he couldn't help to stop to think about how lucky he was to have her as his girlfriend.
Mitsuha… my Mitsuha…
He put his arm back around Mitsuha and snuggled closer to her. As he began to fall back to sleep, he felt a soft sensation on his lips. His eyes opened to investigate, and he saw that it was Mitsuha. She pecked his lips with a quick kiss. And did it again. And again. She did it a few more times before Taki realized that she was probably searching for something in return. So the next time her lips reached for his, he delivered back a longer and passionate kiss. Mitsuha let out a gasp, which quickly turned into a moan, and realized that Taki was awake. When their kiss broke, she opened her eyes to a smiling Taki, piercing her brown eyes with the gaze of his sharp blue eyes. Her body was overcome by a feeling intimacy, and her feminine instincts took over once more.
"Taki-kun…"
Her last words before she took both arms and wrapped them around his head, pulling it closer to hers. She wasted no time sealing his lips with hers, and making her tongue a guest of honor in his mouth. Taki pulled Mitsuha's body closer to him, and the contact between the two of them enveloped them with a tremendous amount of desire for the other. Their hands glided across each other, and their tongues massaged each other slowly. Eventually running out of breath, they broke their kiss and looked into each other's eyes again.
"Ohayo…"
"Ohayo…"
Mitsuha, having woken up with much more energy than usual, rolled over on top of Taki, and dug her face into his, eskimo-kissing him before dropping a more traditional kiss back onto his mouth. Taki himself let his body relax and let Mitsuha work her magic; her kisses, as many as she's delivered within the past 12 hours, didn't fail to captivate him. They stayed this way for a few seconds before Mitsuha's eyes opened with panic. She pulled her face off of Taki's and sat up, gasping out of concern
"Oh my goodness! Obaa-san! Imouto-chan! They have no idea that I'm here!"
"Eh? Oh…I guess you didn't really have a chance to tell them, did you…"
"Oh, they're probably worried sick right now! I- uh- where's my phone?"
They looked around the room for a short while before eventually finding it on the ground. Mitsuha wasted no time dialing the number to her home phone, eager to let whoever answered know that she was okay.
Hello?
"Obaa-san? It's me, Mitsuha!"
Mitsuha-chan! Oh, thank the heavens you're okay! How dare you make your grandmother worry this way, where are you?!
Mitsuha became flustered and mentally scrambled to find answer; the truth would guarantee to rub Obaa-san the wrong way and give her the wrong idea (rightfully so), but she couldn't think of any reasonable or credible reason for not coming home last night, nor did she want to completely lie to her grandmother. It didn't take a genius to see Mitsuha's dilemma, let alone Taki.
Covering the microphone on her phone, Mitsuha let out a loud whisper.
"What should I say? What should I say?"
"Eh? Uhh… just tell her you were out drinking and your friend didn't want you to go home by yourself. So you crashed at their place for the night so that you wouldn't risk anything happening on the way back. It was late, after all."
"Oh! Taki-kun, you're a genius!"
She uncovered the microphone and put it back to her mouth.
"I was just out with friends. And I had a little bit to drink, so I spent the night at their place. So that I would be absolutely safe. They're trustworthy, Obaa-san, they took care of me!"
Taki couldn't help but tickle his ego a little bit after coming up with such a brilliant response. After all, he knew both Mitsuha's grandmother and sister very well since he technically lived with them for a couple of weeks. Which he then couldn't help but think Wow, I haven't talked to them for 5 years…I wonder how they're doing. Eh. I'm pretty sure I'll find out pretty soon.
Well, that was very irresponsible of you, Mitsuha-chan. But…that was very thoughtful of your friends to keep you safe. You never know what can happen late at night. Do I know these friends?
"You don't…in fact I ju-…I mean…no. You haven't met them before. But you will! Very soon, in fact. I'd like to introduce you and Yotsuha. You guys would really like him."
And almost instantaneously, Mitsuha cringed and realized her mistake, willing to trade a lot of things to undo that last word. Taki himself almost facepalmed. And all Mitsuha could do was brace herself for the storm that was about to come.
HE, MITSUHA?! YOU SPENT THE NIGHT WITH A MAN?! YOU ARE SO IRRESPONSIBLE, I AM SO ASHAMED OF YOU! YOU'RE STILL A YOUNG WOMAN, HOW COULD YOU THINK THIS WAS OKAY?!
"OBAA-SA-…I mean…Obaa-san. I…I wish you wouldn't worry about me like that. I'm 25. Okay? I think I should be free to pursue happiness as I please. And this man…oh, this man is so dear to me. He's so special, and he means absolutely everything to me. Oh, I know you would lo-"
I DO NOT WANT TO MEET THIS PERSON! HE HAD YOU DRINK SO THAT HE COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WEREN'T SMARTER THAN THIS!
"No! It's not what you think! This is so different from what actually happe-"
YOU WILL SEE THIS MAN NO MORE, MITSUHA! I CANNOT TOLERATE A MAN WHO DARE IMPURIFY MY GRANDDAUGHTER LIKE THIS! YOU ARE TO RETURN HERE RIGHT NOW!
"Wait! Obaa-sa-"
The call ended abruptly, leaving Mitsuha at an absolute loss for words. She stared down at the ground in shock. Her hands trembled, and eventually lost grip of her phone. Before it hit the ground and inevitably shattered, Taki pounced over and took it to prevent its damage. And as he looked at Mitsuha, he was met with a tough crossroads. Selfishly, part of him wanted to tell her that she has nothing to worry about, and that she should just stay with him, and hope that her grandmother would understand one day. But that was it, though. He knows her, and he knows Mitsuha's relationship with her. Hitoha was very traditional and very spiritual, valued purity and connection to the gods greatly. And she was incredibly protective of Mitsuha. This first impression of him on her was not a very good one, and one that would be near impossible to shake from her and overcome. He already accepted in his head that he would never win Hitoha's approval. And he wasn't about to jeopardize their relationship for his own desires.
"Mitsuha…" he took her by the shoulders, trying his hardest to comfort her. But he wasn't sure what to say. He knew Mitsuha wanted to hear something. Just not what exactly it was. He figured the best thing to do was to give her some space and time to think. She probably had a tremendous deal on her mind. But as he started to remove his hands from her shoulders, she stepped forward, closer to Taki. And she pressed her face against his chest and put her hands on his stomach.
"Taki-kun…I'm…I'm going to ask you something…something incredibly selfish. But…this is the only way I can live. And be happy"
Taki looked for something to say, but figured it would be best to just let her propose her request.
"I…would it be too much to ask…to…let me move in here?"
"Mitsuha! I…I can't…"
Mitsuha looked up at him with tears forming in her eyes, obviously not pleased with his reaction.
"Mitsuha…this is crazy. We met…literally not even a day ago. We've spent one night together. We're still getting to know each other. Look…I love you. I love you so much. You're my flesh and blood, and I'd do anything to protect and make you happy. But I think you're over thinking things. Why don't we ju-"
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT, TAKI-KUN?! HOW DID WE 'JUST MEET'? WE'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR 8 YEARS! DID THE LAST 12 HOURS MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?! I HAD…THE MOST INCREDIBLE NIGHT, THE HAPPIEST NIGHT, THE MOST MEMORABLE NIGHT I'VE HAD IN YEARS, MAYBE MY ENTIRE LIFE! I DECIDED IN MY HEAD THAT YOU WERE MY SOULMATE, THE ONE I'D SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH!"
"Mitsuha…do you not think I feel that way too? Believe me. I would…absolutely love for you to move in here. So I can wake up with you in my arms every single morning. So that I can take care of you and make sure you're the happiest woman in the world. Do you really think I don't want that?"
"THEN WHAT'S THE PROBLEM, THEN?!"
"Mitsuha…you…you can't put me before your family…there, I said it. I'm not going to let you jeopardize your relationship with your grandmother for me. I don't want that. Your grandmother loves you so much. And only wants you to be safe."
"BUT SHE TREATS ME LIKE I'M STILL A LITTLE GIRL! Taki-kun…I…I'm sorry. But…you don't see how we live at home."
"I'm pretty sure I have a good idea. I mean we switch bodi-"
"I know that. But…the thing is…my grandmother knew the entire time. That we were switching bodies. She said she experienced something like that herself. Many, many years ago. So obviously, when she sees me going through this cycle, she'll naturally act a little differently, just out of reaction to what was going on. So to be honest…as much as you think you know about my family…you don't know anything at all. And I'm sorry if that sounds rude…but you can't decide or assume how my grandmother feels about me."
"Well, how in the world can I be wrong? She loves you, right?"
"She…she does."
"And she wants you to be happy, right?"
"Debatable. Completely debatable."
"Well…okay, this one I know for certain. She just wants to spend as much time with you as she possibly can. I…I don't mean to be grim, or push any sensitive buttons. But your grandmother…probably just doesn't know how many years she has left. And doesn't want to leave anything on the table, you know what I mean?"
Mitsuha stood in silence, in total agreement and slight embarrassment that he was 100% right. And that her argument was countered with seemingly little effort.
"Mitsuha…I want you to be happy. And I know for a fact…that if you were to leave your grandmother on terms like these…you would live with guilt and a feeling of regret forever. Given everything she did for you."
"Taki-kun, I…you…always think rationally. I make so many decisions with my heart and not my head. You…I know now…the right thing to do would be to go back to my grandmother. Thank you for helping me realize that. But I promise! I will stand up for you to her! And I will change the way she sees you! I will fight for you! She'll see how wonderful you are!"
The flatter overcame Taki, and his face softened as he could only look at Mitsuha with a smile.
"I can only hope…I…I heard everything she said. And…I'm not sure…"
"Wait! So you did get the sake just to get me drunk? Did you really just want to take advantage of me?"
"D-…Did you just hear yourself? I…I can't believe that after everything, you'd make that judgement on my character like that…"
"Taki-kun! I…I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that." Tears started to well, and her composure was starting to diminish.
"I'm…I'm so confused right now. I'm so conflicted! I…I just want everything to work out…"
She broke down in Taki's arms, who held her and held her close. He didn't want to see Mitsuha like this.
"Only time will tell. But…time's passing. Best not worry your grandmother any longer."
Mitsuha could only nod as her face was dug into Taki's chest. The two got dressed and made their way to the train station. Taki never used the train on any weekends, so he wasn't sure how it would work. But thankfully, the line that would take Mitsuha home was up and running, with an arrival just about when they would get there. During their walk there, Mitsuha couldn't help but observe her surroundings, as the same walk they took last night looked drastically different in broad daylight. It was like it was a completely different place. And her desire to explore and be here again strengthened.
Before Mitsuha boarded the train, she turned to Taki and pecked a quick kiss on his cheek.
"I will see you again. Don't worry. I'll make this work."
"You do what you need to. Don't worry about me."
"Until next time. My love."
Mitsuha boarded the train and turned around to see Taki once more. To avoid any possible emotional breakdowns from either of them, they decided to just wave at each other before the door closed. And soon after, it did, but before the train could pick up speed and take off, Mitsuha blew him a kiss through the door's window, which he hesitantly returned, not wanting to compromise his masculinity in public. And before long the train was gone. Taki turned around and began to trek back to his home. Unable to help but think. That this may well be the last time he sees her for a long time.
A/N: Hey y'all! Hope you liked this chapter. Now, this is where the actual story and some very slight drama starts to come in. I'm just a little disappointed that after 2600 or so words, not really much happened. That's something I'll work on. But the fluff's gotta stay. I think with these two, it's sort of a charm. Given that they had very limited physical contact in the movie, I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I left the movie wanting a little more in the intimacy department. So that's how the fluff spawns. Anyway, as always, thank you so much if you've read this far; it's really what keeps me going. School's over soon, so the chapters from here on out should be a little better (by how much, who knows) since I won't have much to worry about. Again, thanks a ton for reading. See you guys whenever. Cheers.