Work Text:
Click.
Toru looked up in surprise. “Mashirao, what are you doing?”
“Turning the lights off,” he answered, tossing an amused smile over his shoulder at her as he crossed the room toward the window. He pulled his heavy curtains shut, darkening the room even further.
“Yeah, but… why?” He could make her out shifting on his mattress, just barely. “It’s not even eight yet.”
“Because.” Mashirao shrugged one shoulder, well aware that she’d be annoyed with the non-answer. But she’d get the idea soon enough. Approaching her now, he gently pulled her phone from her hand and put it aside on the shelf of his headboard before joining her on the mattress. He wrapped his arms around her and tugged, feeling a moment’s resistance before she let him drag her down to lie next to him. He couldn’t lie on his back without crushing his tail, but if they lay facing each other, she could lean forward and rest against him. Eyes drifting shut, he let out a long, contented hum.
“What’s gotten into you?” she asked, a tiny smile in her tone.
“Nothing,” he fibbed.
“…Okay.” She snuggled into him, apparently accepting it for the time being, which was exactly what he’d been aiming for. As she settled into his chest, he let his hands glide down her back until he found the hem of her sweater. She made a happy little humming sound as he slid his fingers beneath the knit and then ran his hands upward once again, resting his bare forearms against the warm skin of her back. “Just what are you after, mister?” she asked him now, still smiling.
“Nothing!” he repeated, only this time it was true. It wasn’t one of those days. “I just… love the feeling of you lying on my chest. With you there I feel warm and safe and completely happy.”
There was a pause, and then he felt her squirm a little, pressing her face into his t-shirt. He knew the gesture; she was both pleased and embarrassed. It helped that he could feel her jaw tightening as she tried to fight down a grin.
“You’re so soft,” he continued, drawing light circles against her skin with the fingertips of one hand. “And the perfect size for cuddling with. You feel just right, when you’re here with me.”
Toru mumbled something into his chest. It was muffled, but he knew her well enough to hear it: “You’re cute.”
He shifted his head down to kiss the top of hers, taking a moment to linger and breathe deeply. “And you smell good,” he added. “I like your shampoo.”
Another muffled response from the vicinity of his armpit: “Oh my goddddd.” Then she lifted her face and wiggled her way upwards until she could kiss his chin.
“Mm,” he hummed, before she could say anything else. “And your breath still smells like cinnamon.” Sato had made a delicious coffee cake for dessert that evening, and she’d been more than happy to indulge.
“You’re too much,” she whispered, still obviously grinning, and she peppered kisses up his jawline toward his left ear. He splayed his hands flat against her back, enjoying the contact. “What am I going to do with you?”
“You can keep doing exactly what you’re doing,” he teased, pressing his thumb into her side just enough to tickle and make her giggle. “God, I love that laugh.” He wrapped his tail up around one of her legs, instinctively trying to keep her as close as he possibly could. “One of the best things I’ve ever heard.”
“Mashiraaaao!” She abandoned her trail of kisses, ducking her face into the crook of his neck.
“That’s the other one.”
“What?”
“Your voice,” he explained, smiling. “That’s the other best thing I’ve ever heard.” He took a long, deep breath, meditating on the feeling of her chest against his. “Your laugh, your voice, your heartbeat, even just your breathing. I love all of it.”
He was laying it on pretty thick. Surely she’d caught on by now. But she didn’t seem to mind.
“You’re gonna be the death of me,” she mumbled into his neck, pressing another kiss against his skin.
“I should hope not,” he laughed gently.
“Then stop this!” Toru said, giggling again. She lifted her face away from the collar of his shirt and landed a kiss on his lips – quick at first, then longer, as he pressed his hands into her skin and chased her mouth with his own. Sweet, lazy, loving, he held her close and kissed her until he was out of breath.
“Mmn,” he hummed, smiling against her lips. “You taste good, too. A little bonus perk to Sato’s baking, I suppose.”
She snickered. “I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear it.”
“We could probably keep that part to ourselves,” Mashirao admitted, laughing outright now.
As she laughed with him, he felt her hair fall across his cheek. Finally, almost reluctantly, he pulled one of his hands out from inside her sweater to brush her hair back behind her ear, then stroke it slowly. “Your hair is soft, too,” he sighed. “Silky. I don’t know how you keep it like that.”
“Expensive conditioner,” she joked, kissing his nose this time. For the first time, she wormed her hands up from around him to hold his face. He gave her another contented hum, moving his own hand from her head to weave his fingers between hers on his cheek.
“God, I love your hands.” He squeezed her fingers.
Based on her voice, she was smiling harder than ever now. “You’re so…”
He waited a moment, amused, before asking, “So what?”
But Toru decided to change tack. “I know what you’re doing.”
“I figured you must, by now.” He turned his face to kiss her palm, then put his hand on her back again, just long enough to roll her over so he could kneel on his hands and knees above her. She laughed and wiggled as he kissed all over her face, then shifted downward and pushed her sweater up so he could kiss all over her stomach. “I love how warm you are,” he told her between kisses. “Your cheeks are so soft. And your tummy was just made for kissing. I love how ticklish you are, and the way you squirm and giggle when I do this.” He poked her in the sides. “And how good your skin smells after a shower.”
“Yeah, well…” She squirmed again, laughing, as he found the sensitive spot just above her hip. She seemed to be having trouble concentrating. Mashirao grinned as he crawled back up towards her head. “I like how soft the tuft on your tail is. And I like your spicy-smelling shaving cream. And I love the little sound you make when I kiss you… right… here.” Managing to get her hands on his shoulders, she pulled herself up to kiss the pulse point under his chin, prompting him to bite his lip and release a shaky little sigh.
“Now you’re getting it,” he whispered, leaning down for another long, deep kiss. He felt her thigh hooking over his hip, and one of her hands landing on his lower back, just above the base of his tail. “Your legs feel nice around my waist,” he teased in her ear. Then he pulled back and kissed his way down her neck. “Your skin tastes good.” Her other hand found the back of his head, fingers raking through his hair. “And when your breath gets short just from laughing and kissing… my knees would give out underneath me if I weren’t already down here, Toru,” he told her.
“I can’t believe you,” she complained, and he could tell she was biting back a smile again. When he rested his cheek against hers for a half a second, her face was warm. He was pleased with himself.
“Sometimes,” he said carefully, “I even like that no one but me knows exactly how beautiful you really are.”
Suddenly her hands left his head and his back, and he realised with amusement that she was covering her face. Gently, he kissed her knuckles until she was ready to re-emerge.
“Thank you, Mashirao,” she breathed eventually, parting her hands slightly.
He kissed the back of one hand, encouraging her to let him in. “I love you,” he reminded her, voice soft.
“I love you too.” Then she reached up to pull him in for another kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. The way she was smiling against his mouth, he was all too happy to oblige.