After they ate, Danika insisted that Shinichi call Ryuske, "Won"t he be worried when he gets home and you"re not there, but your phone is?""I"m not a little kid, he won"t worry," Shinichi protested. He looked at her worried expression and shook his head. "But I"ll call so that you"ll stop worrying."
Her expression was funny. She obviously still wanted him to call, but didn"t like the reason he"d agreed to call.
He blinked in surprise when Ryuske answered, "h.e.l.lo darling, I thought you"d never call?"
"Dad," Shinichi complained.
"What"s up," Ryuske asked curiously, and then added more seriously, "is everything alright?"
"Everything"s fine," Shinichi replied quickly. "I"m just staying over and she insisted I call," he explained ruefully.
"She"s a sweet girl," Ryuske replied with amus.e.m.e.nt.
"Yeah," Shinichi agreed, and reached out to pinch her cheek lightly. "G"night."
Ryuske laughed as Shinichi disconnected the call. Danika scrunched her face up into a grimace, and Shinichi grinned at her.
"Thanks," she said grudgingly.
"Earned another kiss?" he suggested.
She grinned at him and scooted closer.
--
Danika shifted restlessly. She was really tired, but she couldn"t sleep. She really wanted to cuddle with Shinichi some more, but even though he was laying on the futon within arms reach of the VR-medi pod, she didn"t think she should ask. He needed to sleep. She couldn"t imagine how tired he must be after traveling all morning, and then rushing over to spend the day with her.
After a bit she opened the cover though and leaned on the edge to look at him. His eyes opened, and he asked, "Danika?"
She blushed and dropped the cover back between them. She writhed in embarra.s.sment. Retreating like that was almost as bad as being caught staring. There was a light tapping on the cover.
She took a deep breath and opened it again. She struggled to try to form some kind of apology or explanation, but Shinichi just wordlessly held his arms out invitingly. She stopped trying to make her mouth form words and pulled herself over the edge.
--
Shinichi grinned as Danika blushed and snuggled into his side. He didn"t want to push her into anything, but it was kind of frustrating to sleep so close to her without being able to touch her. He ran his hands down her back and she pressed herself tighter against him.
He grinned and shifted his hips so that she was better balanced and ran his fingers through her hair. She let out a deep sigh instead of lifting her face so that he could kiss her. He frowned a little and just petted her instead.
She went to sleep. He couldn"t quite believe it. She couldn"t really be that naive could she? He was a thousand miles from being able to fall asleep with her cuddled against him. He shifted her enough that he could see her face. In the dim light from her windows her expression looked somehow smugly content.
She was like a cat, he decided a while later. Cats didn"t care if anyone else on the bed was comfortable, as long as they had possession of their preferred spot, all was well with the world. Eventually his exhaustion and her warmth won the battle for sleep.
--
Danika woke up, and for a moment she was alarmed by the resistance to her first movements, but then she realized that it was because she was still wrapped up with Shinichi on the little futon. She disentangled herself enough to look at him. His sleeping position didn"t look very comfortable. He"d been letting her hog the mattress and had slid halfway off of it.
Her movements woke him, and he sighed and pried one eye open. He saw her looking at him and gave her a wry smile. She stretched as far as she could but she still had to reach up and pull his head toward her to kiss him.
"Danika," he almost groaned her name as he breathed it out protestingly after the kiss.
His hand slid over her hip and tightened, but he stopped there and closed his eyes again and sighed. He drew in a deep breath, and she told him, "I love you."
--
Shinichi felt like his hands trembled as he hugged her tighter against him. He knew her words were his reward for holding back and letting her sleep comfortably beside him. They made the whole sleepless night worth it.
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After a moment he realized that he hadn"t replied yet, but she wasn"t looking at him questioningly. Her face said that she felt happy and smug. He released her hip and caressed her cheek. "Me too," he agreed.
He kissed her and felt her whole body respond. This was going to kill him, he decided. Maybe he wasn"t going to be able to sleep over until she was ready to do more. Her face was flushed in a blush that he knew ran across far more of her than he could see.
She hid her face against his shoulder, and he closed his eyes and tried to calm down a little, but then she asked in a surprisingly normal tone of voice, although it was tinged with embarra.s.sment, "Do you want to?"
He didn"t answer with words, but he responded to her suggestions. She didn"t have to say much, since he had been moving her around whenever he wanted to cuddle.
--
Afterward, Shinichi immediately fell asleep. Danika felt a little surprised, and a little irritated, but mostly guilty. He was obviously so tired that he probably hadn"t been able to sleep much before.
She checked her phone, and then gingerly disentangled herself from him. She needed to be logged in for her morning meeting soon. He"d sounded like he was free until the afternoon, so she decided to let him sleep.
It was both a little strange, and a bit cozy feeling, trying to get ready very quietly. She nibbled fruit and cheese while starting a souffle in her rice cooker for Shinichi when he woke.
--
Danika took a quick break to check on Shinichi after the morning meeting. He was still sleeping soundly. She was just about to reconnect when her phone went off.
"He"s still at your place right?" Akito asked almost smugly.
"Yeah?" Danika agreed warily.
"Pa.s.s him the phone," he instructed.
"He"s still sleeping," she replied a little nervously.
"Well, wake him up?" Akito insisted.
"But he didn"t get much sleep last night, I thought you guys didn"t have to be anywhere until the afternoon?" Danika questioned.
"Are you bragging?" Akito asked laughingly.
"What?" Danika asked blankly. A moment later she blushed, but couldn"t form another reply.
"Nevermind, just wake him up." Akito explained, "It isn"t until this afternoon, but you live like an hour away from him don"t you? And our manager is already buzzing around trying to coordinate outfits and stuff, and finding things to complain about. He totally freaked when Shin didn"t answer, until I explained about his phone."
"Tell him to come back with food," Naoki added suddenly in the background. Akito obediently repeated the request.
"Wouldn"t it be better if he eats before he goes?" Danika asked doubtfully.
"For us, silly," Akito explained laughingly. "You can feed him first if you want, just tell him to hurry and have him call me."
After the call ended, Danika woke Shinichi apologetically. He didn"t complain, just grinned at her and pulled her down for a kiss before sitting up.
"I need to get back to work, but I made you breakfast," she mumbled. "And Akito wants you to call, Naoki said to get them food, and they want you to hurry."
"Sweet. Thanks. Don"t worry, you can go back to work. I"ll just eat and run," he replied easily.
She hesitated, but she wasn"t sure what else to say.
His fingers were warm as he caressed her cheek. "This is the best day so far," he said lightly.
She looked at his hopeful expression and laughed with relief. "Yeah," she agreed happily.