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“Miss Kobayashi?”
The red-haired woman, who had been slowly making her way through the page of a small book, glanced down at her bedmate. “Yeah?”
“It’s getting late…”
“I know. Don’t worry, I’ll go to sleep soon - promise.”
She carefully moved one arm, making sure not to pull on any of Tohru’s hair. She couldn’t help but think, again, that for someone who could change her form into whatever she wanted… she really picked quite a cumbersome amount of hair. It had been put into a loose braid, but still golden strands escaped the rushed job and tickled Kobayashi’s sides, and her arm as she rested it on the pillow Tohru laid her head on so that she could pat the dragon.
Her companion pulled a face, but opted not to argue. Instead she carefully curled closer, letting her arms snake around Kobayash’s stomach. She buried her face into the redhead’s side and let out a deep, mostly-contented sigh.
Kobayashi couldn’t help a little sigh of her own. Her bed really was not big enough for two people. Not only that, but Kobayashi had simply never been used to sleeping in close proximity with others. The first couple of nights she shared with Tohru in the old apartment had been different. The dragon had been on the floor. It was easy enough to forget she was there, even. And now, she slept with Kanna in the other room. But with a bed suited for only one occupant, it meant very little wiggle room and a lot of frivolous cuddling.
This was a rare occasion, one that often cost Kobayashi a good night’s sleep, but it was a time of year where the offer wasn’t unwelcome. The glass sliding doors shivered with a harsh winter wind, and snowflakes sparkled outside every window. The apartment was warm enough, but Kobayashi liked to save money where she could, and two of the three residents were resistant to the chilly weather anyway. Kanna, in a well insulated room with all the covers she could ever hope to hog, was fine on her own. Sharing a bed with Tohru, though crowded, was like having a space heater in bed. Kobayashi could practically feel the waves of heat rolling from her naked body.
Ah, and that was the other thing: when Tohru slept with Kobayashi, she liked to forgo her clothes. It took a couple tries to convince the human to allow it… but in the end, she supposed it meant no harm. They already washed together often, and Kobayashi herself preferred to sleep without most of her clothes on. Since being naked was the closest to her ‘normal’ state just short of turning back into a full dragon, Tohru said it made her feel most comfortable.
And, really, it wasn’t so bad. Tohru’s skin was unblemished and soft, not a single hair or scratch. Her legs tangled with Kobayashi’s under the blanket, warm thighs hugging the human’s. Kobayashi eventually acquiesced to forgoing her pajamas when they slept together as well, though she did keep her little boxers on. Skin to skin, Tohru’s internal heat seeped right into Kobayashi’s body. If it had been summer or spring, she wouldn’t be able to stand the contact. As it was now, with the touch of winter seeping into their little apartment, she could appreciate the cuddling in a way she might be hesitant to tolerate otherwise.
The heavy weight of Tohru’s breasts pressed insistently on Kobayashi’s hip as the dragon huffed. Kobayashi felt her hands begin to stealthily rub up and down on her other side, tracing small shapes into her skin. “Miss…”
Kobayashi kept her eyes to paper, still pretending to read. “Mmhm?”
“I know… If you’d rather I went to the other bed so you could sleep properly, I can-”
“No, no! Ah, Tohru…” Kobayashi looked over and tried to give her a reassuring smile. “I’ve got the day off tomorrow, remember? So I can just sleep in.”
Tohru, who had pulled her face away so she could look up at her bedmate, pouted harshly at her. “It doesn’t count as sleeping in if you were up all night long!” she whined.
Kobayashi gave her an exasperated look. “Stubborn dragon,” she grumbled, tugging on some loose strands of hair, making Tohru pout some more. But the redhead did close her book then. She put it on her nightstand and turned off the reading light. “See, it’s off now. Happy?”
In the dark, Kobayashi could barely see anything, so she jumped a bit when Tohru’s arms were suddenly wrapping around her neck. “Yes! Come here, Miss Kobayashi~”
“Oi!”
Kobayash’s face was pulled down and pressed into something warm and soft. It only took a second or two to realize what it was. The woman grit her teeth and felt her cheeks grow warm, a familiar mix of frustration, jealousy, and begrudging appreciation dropping her guard long enough for Tohru to pull the covers up and situate them properly. Kobayashi sighed and let her head rest on Tohru’s chest, closing her eyes. She listened to the dragon’s heartbeat. Even in this form, it was extraordinary… Slower than normal, but steady, each heavy thrum like the beat of wings. It seemed to Kobayashi that Tohru’s heart may be too big for her chest sometimes. She wondered if it weighed her down, to be so small like this, holding herself in a form so fragile when there was so much more to her.
“Goodnight, Miss Kobayashi,” the dragon whispered softly into her hair. Kobayashi hummed her response and made herself relax against this warm body beneath her own. They rested there, Kobayashi’s head tucked beneath Tohru’s chin, beneath the dark, the quiet and the covers.
Kobayashi wondered, suddenly, what this might be like if Tohru was in her dragon form. She thought of it while drifting off into a hazy half-dream. At first she thought her scales would be firm, hard, uncomfortable. Her body would exude too much heat - it would be sweltering to lay beside her. What if she rolled over and squashed the woman? If she wasn’t nearly gone, Kobayashi might have laughed.
But then the woman thought… it might be nice, to have so much of Tohru at once, to have that form surrounding her. Her underbelly would be smoother, softer. Maybe her scales would be cool and soothing, a counterpoint to that internal, pulsing flame.
Kobayashi thought, perhaps… it might be pleasant after all.