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shinkai kanata had fallen in love.
once. twice. three times.
and while having three boyfriends is not exactly considered conventional… kanata has never been one to care about conventionality.
chiaki, madara, and kaoru are all vastly different, but one thing they have in common is how weak they are to their boyfriend’s wishes. that’s how the four of them ended up here, packed together like sardines in kanata’s bed. his many sea creature plushies were set aside on various surfaces for the night, allowing for just enough room on the mattress for the four of them to squeeze together as they slept.
but now sunlight streams through the window as early morning breaks, painting the inside of kanata’s eyelids a wonderful red. red— like chiaki, his hero, who’s heartbeat thumps a rhythmic melody in kanata’s ear. he loves this position: resting his head on chiaki lets him listen to the sound of his heart beating, lets him feel his chest expand every time he breathes in, and chiaki… is so, so very warm.
perhaps kanata feels a little bad for using chiaki as a pillow and human heater, but he has a feeling the other doesn’t mind at all.
he feels the rise and fall of another chest, this time against his back. kaoru’s blonde hair, likely messy from sleep, tickles at kanata’s neck. he can hear the other’s faint snores in his ear— the one that isn’t pressed against chiaki— and the sound makes kanata’s half-asleep self smile. kaoru’s arm is loosely draped over his waist to hold him close.
madara is too far to snuggle with. it’s a bit of a squeeze, the four of them in a bed like this, and his large frame is tucked against chiaki to try to fit on the mattress. they take turns on who sleeps where, and while madara got the short end of the stick this time, he’s still close enough to reach out to kanata— their hands meeting somewhere over chiaki’s body. their fingers are no longer linked now that it’s morning, but they’re still touching, and that’s enough for kanata.
he’s almost lulled back to sleep in the warmth and comfort of it all until he feels chiaki shift beneath him. it’s only after a few failed attempts of ignoring the other’s movement that kanata pries his eyelids open, heavy with sleep, to spot his boyfriend half sitting up in bed and trying to worm himself out from beneath their cuddle pile.
“...chiaki...?” kanata calls, voice low and drawled out. the other’s face turns pink once he realizes he’s been caught, but now that kanata’s awake and he doesn’t have to worry about disturbing him anymore, chiaki shimmies until he’s sitting up.
“good morning, kanata.” chiaki’s voice is uncharacteristically soft, tender, full of love— a quiet voice reserved just for him. it’s hard not to melt under the warmth of his affection.
“i’m sorry. i didn’t mean to wake you...”
kanata yawns as he sits up as well, and chiaki gently cups his cheek. kanata leans into the touch. “i was planning on going on an early morning run today,” chiaki says, and it seems he expected kanata’s sleepy pout as a response because he sheepishly averts his gaze. “i’ll be back soon, okay...?”
a moment passes before kanata slowly nods his head, and chiaki places a kiss on his cheek in gratitude. he’s halfway out of the bed when kanata murmurs a quiet “i ‘love’ you,” and chiaki turns back to look at him fondly. he can’t help but lean back over the bed to kiss him goodbye.
“i love you, too, kanata!”
he flashes one more radiant grin before pulling back and exiting the room.
kanata feels a bit colder now that his sun is no longer by his side, bathing him in his warmth. but he turns his head and immediately meets madara’s piercing green gaze. ah— that’s right, their hands were linked over chiaki’s body. he must have woken up after feeling the other’s movement, too.
madara smiles at him and there’s no need to exchange words. kanata lies back down on the mattress and madara automatically shuffles closer, wrapping an arm around his torso. kanata’s head tucks against his boyfriend’s shoulder, and madara plants a kiss on his head before burying his face in kanata’s fluffy hair.
madara’s embrace is different than chiaki’s. rather than being enveloped by the sun himself, kanata is in the middle of a forest— surrounded by the many trees all around him, protected by their canopies of branches.
kanata feels safe in madara’s strong arms. he drifts back to sleep easily.
——————————
he’s stirred awake the second time that morning as madara begins to untangle himself from the sheets. kanata’s eyes crack open, and when his boyfriend realizes he’s woken up, he grins down at him.
“gooood morning, kanata-san!” madara’s greeting is met with a wince.
“too loud,” kanata huffs in reply, sitting up and rubbing away the sleep in his eyes, but madara only laughs at his reaction.
“it’s time to wake up! you’ve already had enough time to sleep in, you knoow.” it seems madara’s cheery attitude is unperturbed by early mornings.
kanata only flops back down on the bed in response.
“haha, well, it is a weekend! i guess there’s no harm if you sleep in a little more. isn’t that right, little fishie ~ ?”
he’s running his hand through kanata’s hair now, taming his bad case of bed head, and kanata knows he’s using that nickname to try to get a grin out of him. but even though he’s aware of madara’s little tricks by now, he can’t help the way the corners of his lips curl into a small smile. kanata nods his head.
“good boy, good boy! haha!” madara then ruffles kanata’s hair, promptly ruining the work his combing had done. kanata narrows his eyes at him, but madara simply placates this with a kiss to his forehead. “i’m going to make breakfast for the four of us! we can eat together when chiaki-san returns, so you and kaoru-san can stay in bed until then.”
“okay ~” kanata hums in response, but before madara can walk away, kanata grabs his arm and pulls him closer. madara stares at his boyfriend with wide, questioning eyes. kanata’s cheeks are flushed pink, and this only intrigues madara more, until he sees kanata use his free hand to tap his lips. “…‘kiss.’”
madara momentarily short circuits.
but he comes to his senses rather quickly, not wanting to pass up this opportunity when his boyfriend was being oh so cute. he leans in and presses a kiss to kanata’s lips.
“kanata-san,” madara murmurs, and his voice makes goosebumps rise along kanata’s arms. his loud, energetic persona is dormant just for a moment; his smile is soft. “i love you.”
it’s these moments of honesty, of allowing themselves to let their guard down around each other, that makes kanata’s heart flutter.
he smiles back. “i ‘love’ you, too.”
they exchange one more kiss before he releases his grip on madara’s arm and madara exits the room.
his absence is evident in the silence that follows, and kanata almost decides to drift back to sleep until he hears a tired voice speak into his ear: “looks like it’s just you and me now.”
kanata turns around in his boyfriend’s arms. their noses are just barely touching. “kaoru... good morning ~ ♪”
“mornin’, kanata-kun.” there’s a sleepy smile on kaoru’s face, and it’s effortlessly charming. kanata finds that kaoru is the most handsome when he isn’t trying to be.
“thank you for staying in bed with me,” kanata whispers. kaoru shakes his head.
“it’s nothing. i like sleeping in. plus…” kaoru trails off, giving kanata’s waist a little squeeze. “i get you all to myself this way.”
kanata playfully rubs their noses together. “fufu, if kaoru wanted some ‘alone time’ with me, you could just ‘ask,’ you know.”
“ahh, well… i wouldn’t turn that down, but i was mostly joking,” kaoru replies sheepishly, “moricchi and mikejima-kun aren’t so bad, so i don’t mind spending time with them.” kaoru lifts a hand to push kanata’s blue locks behind his ear. “besides, i like seeing how happy you get when all of us are together.”
and how can kanata hold back a grin at that? he wraps his arms around the other, giggling sweetly as he sings his boyfriend’s name.
“ehehe.... ka~o~ru ~”
“hmm?” kaoru arches his eyebrows. “what is it?”
“i ‘love’ you.”
kaoru sputters. “wh— k-kanata-kun… you can’t just say that out of nowhere! jeez, what am i going to do with you...”
it’s far too easy to catch kaoru off guard like that, and kanata feels a sense of pride knowing that he was able to put such a wonderful blush on the other’s cheeks. kanata giggles again. “how about a ‘kiss’ ~ ?”
kaoru sighs, but kanata knows him well enough to understand his attitude isn’t out of irritation at all. kaoru leans in and presses their lips together.
he pulls back after a moment, face still flushed, and the hand that had pushed back kanata’s hair now settles on his cheek. they revel in the silence, in their mingling breaths, before kaoru says, “i love you, too.”
this time, kanata is the one to kiss him.
the kiss starts soft and slow, and it makes a bubbly feeling rise up inside of kanata. he can feel kaoru’s hand slide into his hair and kanata licks at the other’s lips like waves lapping against the shore, desperately trying to reach further and further. kaoru parts his lips and the kiss deepens. it’s wetter and a lot sloppier now— but they’re both still half asleep, and those things don’t matter as much as feeling their lips slide against each other’s, their bodies pressed close together and—
“wooooooah, there! hahaha, is mama interrupting something ~ ?”
the two reluctantly part from their kiss to find madara in the doorway holding a spatula in one hand and wearing in a pink apron over his pajamas. the sight almost makes up for the interruption. almost.
“ah, well... it’s fine, i guess,” kaoru answers, letting his body flop flat on the mattress. kanata’s lips curl into a pout as he sits up again.
“chiaki-san’s home! he said he’d take a quick shower, and the food should be ready by the time he’s done.” madara leans against the doorway, then playfully points his spatula at the pair. “just thought i would give you two lovebirds a heads up to get out of bed ~ ♪”
kanata hums a bit before answering, “alright. kaoru and i will get up.” madara takes this as a satisfactory answer— he nods his head once in confirmation before turning around and heading back into the kitchen.
green eyes then turn to his boyfriend still lying on the mattress. kanata can see how messy kaoru’s hair is from this angle, how his bottom half is absolutely tangled in the sheets, how is eyes are closed as if he’s fallen asleep again. kanata pokes at kaoru’s cheek. “kaoru ~ i think our time to ‘sleep in’ is over,” he smiles playfully down at the other, who cracks open an eye to look back at him.
kaoru sighs. “we didn’t even get to fall back asleep after mikejima-kun woke up.”
kanata pokes his cheek again. “that is because we were too busy doing ‘other things’... ♪”
that makes kaoru sit up. kanata can just barely see a hint of pink on his cheeks. “fine, fine. let’s get up.” kaoru shimmies his way out of the sheets and stands to his feet, and kanata watches as he stretches. he’s lost in his thoughts and admiration until he spots kaoru reaching out a hand to him.
“you coming?” kaoru asks.
kanata takes his hand and lets the other pull him up. and hand in hand, they enter the kitchen, where madara and chiaki are waiting for them.