#sleeping in

the sun had been up for a while, creeping slow and golden across the living room floor. usually by now, aki would be dressed, half a cup of black coffee deep, hair tied and sword strapped to his back, already muttering something about how power left hair in the sink again or how denji wasn’t picking up his damn phone. but today, the apartment was still quiet. no sounds of running water, no rustle of crisp cotton work shirts, no familiar scent of tobacco drifting in the air.

you glanced at the time again on your phone, thumb idly scrolling. 9:47 a.m.

he never slept in. not unless he was dead sick or actually dead.

you waited a few more minutes, eyes flickering to the hallway. nothing. not even the creak of floorboards.

you set your phone down on the couch cushion, pulled your legs off the coffee table, and padded toward the bedroom with quiet steps. the door was already cracked, a sliver of light cutting across the wooden floor.

he was there. still curled beneath the blanket, one leg kicked out from underneath, long lashes resting over dark circles, his mouth slightly open as he breathed slow and steady.

aki hayakawa—who usually slept like a soldier with one eye open—was in a dead sleep.

you couldn’t help the small smile tugging at your mouth.

he looked so peaceful. and maybe a little too good to be real. his ponytail had loosened sometime in the night, strands of black hair fanned across the pillow. the blanket had slipped down to his waist, and the morning sun hit the sharp angle of his jaw just right.

you walked up to the edge of the bed, grabbed the blanket in both hands, and yanked it off in one quick motion.

his brow twitched.

“mm…?”

before he could properly come to, you climbed into bed, tossed one leg over his hips, and laid down on top of him with all your weight, arms looping around his neck.

"what the hell…" he mumbled, voice still gravelly with sleep, barely cracking one eye open.

you nuzzled your face against the warm skin of his collarbone. "good morning, sleeping beauty."

"get off," he grunted, hand blindly patting your thigh. "you weigh a thousand pounds."

"rude."

you only held him tighter.

he groaned again, tried to shift, but you clung like a koala.

“you never sleep in,” you mumbled against his neck. “i had to make sure you weren’t in a coma.”

“and you decided to suffocate me?”

“mm-hmm.”

his chest rose and fell beneath you, one hand finally resting lazily on your back.

"you're warm," he muttered.

"so are you."

you lifted your head just enough to look at him. his eyes were barely open, lashes still heavy with sleep. he blinked slowly, annoyed, but not really annoyed. his hand slid up from your back to the nape of your neck, fingers resting there.

"you're lucky i like you," he said.

you grinned. "you like me?"

he sighed like he regretted everything. "unfortunately."

you leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose.

"take the day off."

his eyes narrowed. “i don’t take days off.”

"then call in dead. just today."

aki stared at the ceiling for a moment. he did feel tired. heavier than usual. maybe it was the last mission. maybe it was the way your body felt against his—calming in a way he didn’t know he needed.

“you’re not gonna let me go back to sleep, are you?”

“nope.”

“fine.” he exhaled. “fifteen more minutes.”

“you said that yesterday and we laid in bed for two hours.”

“…and?”

you giggled and kissed his jaw, barely above a whisper.

“i love you when you’re like this.”

he didn’t say anything. but his arms tightened around you, and his hand started moving slowly up and down your spine.

aki hayakawa didn’t need to say much. his love was always quiet—shown in the way he let you drape yourself over him, how he didn’t push you off even though you were definitely cutting off his airflow, how he kept his eyes closed again and just held you there, heartbeat steady beneath your ear.

outside, the city kept moving. horns, footsteps, time ticking by.