Morning comes far too early.
Erich drapes an arm over his eyes, blocking out the sunlight pouring over him in an attempt to get back to sleep. He has no idea what time they finally called it quits, has no idea how long he’s actually managed to sleep, but…
He absolutely regrets staying up so late.
(Too many interesting artifacts to examine, too many unusual things to classify…)
(The sheer scope of the work ahead of them is daunting.)
(He wouldn’t have it any other way.)
(Though… perhaps with a bit more care to how late they stay up from now on.)
An arm tightens around his waist and someone grumbles something incoherent against his back, tucking their face against his body as if trying to escape the sunlight. Erich huffs a laugh and tugs the sheet higher, pulling it up from where it had tangled around their legs, and drapes it back over them both.
It’s no surprise to him that Kisuke isn’t a morning person—
(Wait.)
(Why is he…?)
(When did he…?)
Erich shifts his arm enough to stare blearily at the room around him, squinting against the sunlight until the world finally resolves into—
Kisuke’s room.
He blinks. Rubs his eyes. Takes another look, gaze roving over the dresser, the window with its dark green curtains, the plain walls…
There’s no way he’s wrong.
(Huh, he must have been more exhausted than expected last night.)
(Still… this certainly isn’t objectionable…)
Kisuke mumbles something again, then freezes and jerks upright, sending the sheet tumbling back down to their waists. He stares down at Erich, reiatsu practically ringing with shock-surprise-uncertainty, and then jerks his head to the side. “S-sorry.”
“For what, being such a furnace that we both kicked the sheets off?” Erich asks with a snort as he rolls onto his back and reaches up to scratch at the stubble along his chin. When Kisuke stays silent, reiatsu roiling with emotions, Erich frowns and sits up. “Hey, if you’re expecting me to be angry about something, I’m not. I’m surprised, especially since I don’t remember much past trying to sort the fifth box and both of us yawning—”
“You started it,” Kisuke mutters with a huff, casting a sidelong look at Erich as he does.
“That I’m going to deny, because I distinctly remember you yawning first,” Erich replies archly, then smirks when Kisuke finally looks at him properly. He can’t quite read Kisuke’s expression without his glasses, but he’s certain the man is beginning to relax; Kisuke’s reiatsu is calming down and smoothing out, at least, so he must be doing something right. “You’re a friend and I trust you, so I don’t mind that we apparently decided to share a bed last night.”
(He hasn’t shared a bed with anyone in decades…)
(He’d almost forgotten how nice it is to wake up with another person right there.)
Kisuke frowns, brows furrowing. “‘Apparently’? You… don’t remember?”
Erich shrugs and says, “No, but I don’t tend to remember things too clearly if I’m exhausted, so I’m not surprised. Do you?”
“Ah… no. I must have been really tired too,” Kisuke says with an awkward laugh. “Maa, I suppose as long as Erich-san doesn’t mind, I don’t mind either!”
(Lie.)
(Everything he’s sensing from Kisuke tells him that the man does mind not remembering.)
Erich considers his next words, running a handful of attempts through his mind before he finally settles on, “Does the why really matter? Unless you dislike sharing a bed, in which case—”
“Sharing is fine!” Kisuke hastily interrupts, then gives another awkward laugh and rubs at the back of his head when Erich arches an eyebrow at him. “I mean, I don’t mind. Usually people mind that I cling, though, so…”
“Just don’t smother me,” Erich says with amusement, then glances at the sheets pooled around their legs. “And if this is going to become a habit when we’re both exhausted and have been working together, I’d ask if you could keep the room a bit cooler. Summer’s just begun and you’re warm.”
Color blooms across Kisuke’s cheeks as he ducks his head, even the tips of his ears turning red as he mumbles something that Erich can’t catch. For a moment, Erich wonders if he’s gone too far, stepped over a boundary he didn’t know existed, but before he can say anything Kisuke finally says, “That’s… that can be done. I… there’s a kido I know. It’ll take a bit to repurpose it, but it won’t be difficult! U-uhm, I can probably key it so that it’ll activate automatically when, uh… when we’re both in here? In… in case something like last night happens again because I don’t know if either of us would have remembered and there’s no point in making it if we never remember to use it, so—mmpph?!” Kisuke stares at him with wide eyes, shocked into silence by a hand over his mouth.
(Kisuke’s lips are… surprisingly soft.)
(What would it be like to…?)
(No.)
(Kisuke’s his friend and nothing more.)
(He’s just… curious, is all.)
Erich carefully tucks his wandering thoughts aside and takes his hand away from Kisuke’s mouth before the man can get over his surprise enough to do something Kisuke-ish like licking his palm. “That’s a fine idea,” he tells Kisuke, making sure to brush sincerity-appreciation-warmth against Kisuke’s senses to drive home that he’s not being facetious. “Thank you.”
“O-of course,” Kisuke mumbles as he leans back and tugs futilely at the sheets in an attempt to free his legs. “I mean, so long as you’re not uncomfortable waking up like this, I don’t mind either. It’s… it’s nice. Er, I mean…” he trails off, casts a wary look at Erich, then swallows, yanks his legs free, and stumbles towards the door. “I’m going to ask Tessai what’s for breakfast!” Kisuke announces with forced cheer before practically fleeing the room.
“Huh.” Erich frowns at the slightly ajar door, confused by Kisuke’s abrupt departure; he’s known Kisuke long enough to recognize when the man is avoiding his own emotions, but usually he can pinpoint the cause. This time it’s almost like…
(No.)
(There has to be some other explanation.)
(There’s no way Kisuke could have a crush on him.)
(That… doesn’t make any sense.)
(Why would he…?)
(No.)
(Kisuke’s never shown interest before, so it has to be something else.)
(…right…?)