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To make a long story short, there was only one bed.
Now, Hayate wasn't completely daft. He'd had a guest futon when he agreed to let Mima spend the night at his place. He definitely hadn't been so excited to receive Mima's call that he'd invited Mima over without any consideration for what their sleeping arrangements would be like.
Really.
Seriously.
It was just that the guest futon in question had been… incapacitated.
After Shun left to visit the nearby convenience store and didn't return for a conspicuously long time, Hayate and Mima had gone out looking for him. They'd found him right outside, still scrutinizing the building intercom and trying to remember Hayate's apartment number.
By the time they all got back upstairs, it was late enough that Shun started packing up his books and notes soon after finishing the pudding Mima had generously brought over. Hayate took that time to set out the guest futon, in the space by the coffee table.
In a rare show of foresight, Shun checked the train timetables on his phone while packing and saw that the next train left in just over five minutes.
Then, in a not-so-rare show of clumsiness, he knocked over a mostly full cup of water while shoving the rest of his things into his backpack in hopes of catching that train.
Hayate could only freeze and stare as the cup teetered over the side of the coffee table and spilled its contents all over the futon he'd just set out.
"Uh," Shun said, eloquently. "My bad."
"Don't worry about it," Hayate reassured right away. "It's just water."
He really wasn't bothered by the spill. It would dry out easily enough. The only problem was that it definitely wouldn't dry out that night, which meant…
Hayate was still staring at the futon when Mima emerged from the kitchen, where he'd been rinsing out the pudding containers for recycling. Shun sheepishly explained what had happened, and Mima also reassured him that it wasn't a big deal at all.
"Go on and catch your train, Shun-kun," Mima said. "I'll help Hayate-kun hang the futon out to dry."
Shun apologized once more before taking his leave. Mima, as promised, came back over to help Hayate with the futon. It wasn't until Mima gently laid a hand at the small of Hayate's back that Hayate jolted out of his stupor.
"Hayate-kun?"
"I'm okay!" Hayate exclaimed. He quickly stooped down to gather the futon into his arms, half-hiding his flushed face in the process. "It's my fault, really. I shouldn't have laid out the futon so close to the coffee table."
Mima smiled so softly that Hayate instantly felt more at ease. "Spending some time with you has already helped greatly, Hayate-kun. I think I'll be alright on my own for the night."
Hayate whipped his head up so quickly that he felt a bit dizzy. "You're leaving?"
Mima glanced at the futon in Hayate's arms.
Ah.
Ah, right.
It only made sense that Mima wouldn't stay the night and sleep there, now that there was kind of nowhere for him to sleep. Hayate was a bit pleased, actually, to hear Mima say just spending some time with him had helped.
But he couldn't really bring himself to be happy about this turn of events, because…
He'd been having a really nice time with Mima. He'd really looked forward to spending even more time with Mima. Maybe they could have talked late into the night, getting to know each other better. Hayate really wanted to learn more and more about Mima, like how he wasn't so good with horror games.
Hayate must not have done a very good job of hiding the crestfallen look that stole across his face, because there was a distinct touch of concern in Mima's voice when he repeated, "Hayate-kun?"
"We could share the bed," Hayate blurted out.
He surprised even himself with that, lifting his head and staring at Mima in disbelief, as though Mima had been the one to make such a bizarre suggestion. Mima blinked at him, then looked over at Hayate's bed, which sat next to the coffee table.
It was most definitely not a bed made for two people, especially not two grown men. They could probably both fit, but it would be a squeeze, and squeezing into a bed together wasn't really a thing grown men did as friends, was it?
Still, Hayate just…
He really, really didn't want Mima to go.
"It'd be a tight fit, but I wouldn't mind," he added hastily. "If you're okay with it, Mima-san."
Mima turned back to Hayate. He blinked again, like he had to wonder if Hayate was cracking a joke. Maybe Hayate should have taken that as an opportunity to laugh it off, pretending it had been a joke indeed. It was a super weird thing to suggest in earnest, wasn't it?
But then, before Hayate could open his mouth again, Mima smiled again. "If you're sure, Hayate-kun."
Hayate could only stare at him for a moment, lips slightly parted and jaw slack. To take a suggestion like that in stride so easily, to accept it like it was no big deal…
Wasn't Mima just a little too cool?
Hayate wanted so, so badly to be more like him.
"I'm sure," he said, with as much confidence as he could muster.
They moved the futon out to the balcony to dry overnight, then each took a turn in the bath. Hayate climbed into bed first, after setting out a change of clothes for Mima. He had some oversized t-shirts, so he was sure the shirt he picked would fit Mima just fine, but the sweatpants would probably be a bit short in the legs.
Hayate was sitting up in bed, leaning against the wall, when he heard the bathroom door click open, and that was when it really clicked in his head that…
That Mima, a very cool and handsome guy who Hayate liked and admired very much, was going to climb into his too-narrow bed with him. And spend the night there.
Hayate's mind suddenly found itself in overdrive.
Was this okay? Sitting up against the wall with one pillow behind his back, blankets pooled at his waist? Would it be better if he was lying down already when Mima came over? The lights were on. Were the lights supposed to be on? Was he meant to turn them off? No, right? Because Mima still needed to find his way over to the bed?
What was the protocol for this?
More importantly, what was this?
Hayate had gone to an all-boys school, so it wasn't like he'd never shared a bed with a friend before. There had been plenty of times where other guys had been hanging out in his and his roommate's dorm room, only to decide to crash there when they couldn't be bothered to sneak back into their own rooms so late at night.
But this wasn't high school. He and Mima weren't kids.
Didn't it mean something when adults shared a bed together?
And did Hayate want it to mean something?
When Mima came over, with his glasses already off, he didn't seem to notice that Hayate was wobbling on the fine line between overthinking this and hyperventilating about this. If Mima did notice, he was too polite to call attention to it. He'd already changed into the clothes Hayate had set by the bathroom, so he came straight over to the bed and lifted a corner of the covers to take a seat at the edge of the mattress.
Hayate was pretty sure he felt his heart in his throat.
"My alarm is set for six," Mima said, as calm and collected as ever. "Is that too early for you?"
"Not at all," Hayate managed to murmur, even though he felt a tiny bit faint.
"Oh? Do you usually get up so early as well, Hayate-kun?"
Hayate considered lying for just a split second, before shaking his head and coming out with the truth. "Not usually. But it's okay if you wake me up, I don't mind."
"I'll try not to," Mima promised.
"No, I… want you to."
Mima turned to Hayate, with his brows slightly arched. Maybe with confusion, maybe with curiosity. Most likely a mixture of the two.
Hayate had to admit that was fair enough. He'd said a very curious and confusing thing, after all. He worried at his lower lip for a moment before ducking his head and mumbling, "I would want to say good morning and see you off at the door. So… please do wake me up."
Mima studied him for a moment longer. His expression wasn't all that different from the ones he normally wore—warm and kind, bordering on affectionate. But Hayate's heart continued to hammer away, and he couldn't even begin to guess what Mima was thinking today.
"Hayate…"
Hayate jumped at that. His name, just his name, spoken so softly. Maybe even tenderly. He curled his fingers in his comforter just to have something to hold on to, and his eyes widened to saucers when Mima placed a hand between them and leaned in closer.
When he was so close that Hayate could practically count his eyelashes, he stopped and smiled once more.
"I'll do that, then," Mima promised.
Hayate made a noise that was not unlike an inquisitive squeak.
"I'll wake you up. I would very much like to say good morning to you, and to have you see me off."
Hayate was pretty sure his heart would have beat harder if it could have done so without exploding. He knew he could be said to be pretty obtuse, but he wasn't completely without a clue.
He was starting to recognize these feelings, and he was starting to understand why he felt so nervous about sharing a bed with Mima. He even started to get a better idea of why he hadn't wanted Mima to leave tonight.
He liked Mima, didn't he?
He liked Mima a lot.
And he was pretty sure, judging by the knowing smile Mima wore, that Mima had just realized the same thing.
Mima still climbed under the covers and lay down next to him, though. They both turned onto their sides, facing each other, and Mima murmured a soft good night.
"Good night," Hayate whispered back.
He wasn't able to fall asleep right away. Every time he closed his eyes, he opened them again a few seconds later to sneak a peek at Mima's handsome face. Mima was never looking back. His breathing had evened out quite quickly, and he seemed to be deep asleep.
They didn't talk late into the night at all, but Hayate was pretty sure he wouldn't have traded this for the world.
Eventually, Hayate did drift off. He slept so well that he didn't stir again until Mima's alarm sounded from the nightstand where Mima had left his phone right next to Hayate's own.
Hayate must have shifted a bit closer in the night, because when he opened his eyes, he had his head on Mima's shoulder and a hand on Mima's chest. One of Mima's arms had found its way around Hayate too.
Neither of them rushed to disentangle themselves. Mima didn't seem too surprised or alarmed at all to find them in this position. He greeted Hayate with a sleepy smile and snoozed his alarm for five minutes, before finally shifting to sit up when it started to chirp again.
They got up together, like it was something they'd done countless times before and would do countless times again. Hayate made a pot of coffee while Mima washed up and changed back into his suit. They had some toast for breakfast, and at one point Mima brushed some crumbs away from the corner of Hayate's lips with his thumb.
Hayate wondered for a while if he was still fast asleep and dreaming. It didn't feel quite real, to go from realizing he had a crush on Mima one night to being so domestic with Mima the very next day.
But he liked this, so much that his chest felt a little too full and tight all morning.
When Mima was ready to go, he made his way to the door and stepped into his shoes. Hayate brought over his bag and stopped behind him in the entryway. Mima thanked him with a smile, and their fingers brushed when Mima took his bag.
"I'll be off, Hayate-kun."
Hayate lifted a hand. He let it rest softly against Mima's back when Mima turned to reach for the door.
Somehow, Hayate could see it. It came to him like a premonition. He could see that this was only the first morning of its kind, and he could see that he and Mima would have many more just like it as their futures continued to intertwine.
Hayate could tell they both felt it. That something had changed for them, between them.
They hadn't talked about it, not yet. And they wouldn't, not yet. Now wasn't the right time, but the right time would come.
Right now, there was only one thing Hayate needed to say.
He curled his fingers against Mima's back and ducked his head with a smile he couldn't contain.
"Take care, Mima-san."