Can you do a fluff one with Karma x Nagisa where they're sharing a bed? Thanks x
Bed Sharing －Karma/Nagisa
Summary: Once, falling into bed together - in the most platonic sense - had been as easy as the bright smiles they cast each other, or the banter they shared across the room, as best friends without a care in the world. But time changes people, and even if, physically, they are still sleeping side by side, Nagisa can’t deny that the two of them aren’t the same little boys they were anymore. (2980 words)
Cross-posted on FFN: [Link]
Whenever Karma and Nagisa spends the night together, they would always sleep on the same bed. It’s an unspoken agreement of sorts, or a long-held tradition, or perhaps its just something to be taken for granted between best friends.
Nagisa knows how it began, remembers fondly the nights he heard the quiet knocks on the window of his room. Back then, still in middle school, he would be all nerves as he watches the other boy, sitting on the wide ledge on the other side of the glass, showing no concern that they were 20 floors from the ground.
“What are you doing?” he’d hissed, the first time he let the other boy into his room.
Back then, Karma still had to grace to think of some excuse, “Thought of this plan we can try, to kill sensei.”
“Can’t that wait ‘til morning?”
“Okay but I’m worried if I wait until then, it won’t sound like a good idea anymore.”
It turns out, it didn’t sound a like good idea even when Nagisa was sleep-deprived in the middle of the night.
He doesn’t remember when exactly they moved from chatting on the floor to waking in the bed, cuddled together, the next morning, but he does remember the panicked rush of pushing a reluctant Karma quietly out the apartment before his mother finds out.
Nagisa knew he needed to learn to say no the next time there’s a knock at his window. But it’s hard to reject someone when they don’t even give you the time to speak.
Just waltzes around the room and plays games, reads some comics, and lounges on the bed. Nagisa knows his mum is usually still awake, so it’s not like he can let Karma out of his rooms, and there’s no way he will let Karma out the window again, assassin in training or not, so he learns to just tolerate the redhead.
He argued, for a while: “I’m too tired, Karma, you can play whatever you want, but I’ll just grab a futon for you and then I’m going back to bed.”
“Why do I have to get the floor? I’m a guest, aren’t I?”
“No, you’re just a trespasser”, Nagisa had retorted, resisting an urge to smack his face. Instead, he simply flopped down to his own bed, and slept.
He woke up with Karna’s arms wrapped around his waist and one of the redhead’s legs over his own. He had sighed, before pushing the redhead off the bed to wake him up.
Eventually, Nagisa grows to expect it, that Karma would just turn up outside his rooms suddenly and stay the night. (“How do you even get up here, anyway?” “Your fire escape is pretty close to the ledge.” “It’s actually not. Most people probably can’t make the jump.” “Lucky I’m not most people, then.”)
And somewhere in his last few months of middle school, he catches on Karma isn’t only doing this for fun. It’s the way there is tension in his movements, the force in his smiles, that Nagisa had noticed before but never quite put it all together until one night he notices Karma’s cheeks were slightly more pink on one side.
They had sat together, that night, in a silence that was not quite comfortable, but the alternative seemed worse and Nagisa wasn’t sure if he dared to break it. Instead, he had one hand on Karma’s, the other tracing the faint mark on his face.
Eventually, when they were both under the covers, lights out in the room, Nagisa mumbled, “I knew you didn’t get along with your parents, but I didn’t realise it was this bad.”
Even in the dark, Karma’s gaze was penetrating. “Don’t,” he said in a low voice. “You did fine not asking for almost a whole year.”
“This can’t go on,” Nagisa insisted.
Karma doesn’t respond for a while, to the point where Nagisa wonders if he’s asleep. But then he turns his back to Nagisa, shifting the covers as he moves. “I know,” he said at last. “That’s why, I think I’ll move to Tokyo for high school.”
Nagisa widened his eyes, and tried not gasp. He had always thought Karma would remain local, continue on at Kunigigaoka, or just a nearby high school if it didn’t work out. Not because he didn’t believe in Karma’s ability to make it into an even more prestigious high schools, but because of his casual laziness in his attitude.
He should he relieved, even happy, that once they graduate, his friend can find reprieve. But his heart had felt heavy at the news, and he couldn’t bring himself to be truly genuine when the time finally came to wishing him farewell and good luck.
The next time one of them sleepovers at the other’s place, it’s a year since they’ve seen each other.
Nagisa goes out to Tokyo to visit Karma, who stays at the local dormitories, the redhead hadn’t wanted Nagisa to return back to the hotel at nightfall. Instead, Karma sneaked Nagisa back to his dormitory, introduced him to all his friends in the common room, then led him back to his dorm.
Karma gets the room to himself, but it’s even smaller than Nagisa’s bedroom. There’s definitely no space to lie properly on floor; the desks and chairs are too much in the way for that, so Nagisa is forced into the same single bed as Karma.
Awkward does not begin to describe the experience. It’s an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar bed that feels too small even for one person, and Nagisa couldn’t even turn without fear of either falling off or crashing into Karma.
He barely sleeps that night.
So the next year, Karma opts to crash at Nagisa’s hotel room instead. The bed is slightly bigger, and though the couch is also available, Karma’s stubborn preference for the bed hadn’t changed.
But Nagisa could feel their own dynamic changing, though. Even as they try to do the same things they’ve been doing in the past, or try introduced each other to new interests, there’s a gap that had grown in two years’ worth of absence from each other, and a few days together is not enough to bridge the gap yet.
And perhaps, that’s why Karma was even more determined to share beds, and do the same rituals they’ve always done in the past.
But they can’t live in the past forever.
As the distance between them grows, Nagisa is desperate to learn the new dance between them. It’s a light, careful tread, where Karma can’t quite meet his eyes. Sometimes, if Nagisa is quick or subtle, he’ll catch Karma’s stare before the other looks away. Their brief touches (no longer the carefree hand holding in their childhood, but there are still gentle squeezes in the shoulder, pats in the back) are firmer, but hesitation often lingers between them before the touch.
Somewhere along the line, the moments spent in bed a welcomed respite as they share a cover. Close enough to hear each other’s breaths, and somehow, in the dark, it almost feels as if not see in each other allows them not to see their own changing feelings.
Until the last holiday before the start of their final high school year.
Karma had turned to face Nagisa, their faces inches apart. “Come to Tokyo,” he offered. “For university, move to the city with me.”
Nagisa frowned. He’d considered before then about his university choices, and Tokyo had always been an option that was plausible, but one he didn’t really allow himself to think about, not daring to think of the implications. But if Karma himself was offering…
“I’ll think about it,” he hummed, noncommitally. “I’ll have to raise my grades a little higher, but I suppose it’s achievable.”
“Please come, I would be sad if you don’t.” Karma’s voice is strained.
Nagisa can’t see Karma’s expression in the dark, and he hopes it goes both ways, because he doesn’t really know how to respond to that.
“I’ll try,” he said at last.
When Nagisa tells Karma he’s moving to Tokyo, Karma was ecstatic. The nervousness leaves Nagisa when it dawns on him just how much of a help Karma is, as someone already in Tokyo, and talks of introducing Nagisa to all his favourite places and helping him settle in.
It still feels weird, Nagisa thought, to explore a side of Karma’s life that he wasn’t a part of. But maybe now, he can be apart of it, too.
And somewhere along the discussion, Karma had decided they should get an apartment together, and Nagisa hadn’t known how to say no to that.
It means there’ll be no more sleepovers, for one thing, because they would literally be living under the same roof all the time, and Nagisa doesn’t know whether to be disappointed or excited at these thoughts.
The day Nagisa moves in, four bags balanced awkwardly on his arms and the huge suitcase he’s carrying, Karma had opened the door with his eyes wide, and shirtless.
There really was nothing that Nagisa could have done to prepare for the sight. He freezes, stiff, as his bags drop to the floor.
“Um…” Karma eyed Nagisa, then swept his gaze down to all his bags on the floor. “Right. I’ll be a second.”
The door slammed shut in Nagisa’s face, and he’s left waiting for a minute outside, before Karma returned with a proper shirt. He opened the door wide, and grabs two of Nagisa’s bags, leading him into the living room.
Nagisa followed mutely behind him, his eyes lingering at Karma’s back, trying to imagine the tanned skin underneath his shirt. Surely, it is fatigue that is making his thoughts so reckless; just a wild, untamed passing thought that demands to feel the chest and abs that Karma had revealed a moment ago.
It’s just that he wasn’t expecting it. After all, they had seen each other shirtless multiple times, back in middle school, and no one had thought anything of it. It’s so easy to forget, that there no longer children who would think staring at each other’s upper body would be perfectly acceptable, and not cause his stomach to stir so.
“Sorry about before,” Karma mumbled, settling down the bags in the living room as he turns back to face Nagisa. “I wasn’t expecting you until next week.”
Nagisa snaps his mind back to the present, tilting his head. “Oh.” He looked around the room, magazines piled on the table, a blanket draped on the couch and the tv paused half-way through a movie. “I’m sorry I interrupted. There was an earlier train and I… I’m not sure why I didn’t call beforehand, I’m sorry about that.”
Karma tilted his head, a wry smile on his face. “Stop apologising, geez, I guess I’ll show you to your bedroom and you can unpa-” Nagisa knew something was bad; can feel his own heart sinking, even before Karma turns back to Nagisa. “Oh shit, the furniture guy hasn’t come with the bed yet.”
Nagisa creased his brows. “Oh, that’s unfortunate.” He looked around once more, eyes pausing at the couch. “But it’s fine, I can make do with the couch. It’ll only be a temporary arrangement, anyway.”
Karma followed Nagisa’s gaze to the couch, and let out a dissatisfied noise from the back of his throat. “We’re not talking about one night; it’s a week. I’m sure you can do better.”
Nagisa shrugged “I really don’t mind.”
Karma put a hand to his forehead and groans. “For God’s sake, don’t be a stranger.” He pulled Nagisa to his own room and pushed the door wide. “It’s a double bed, we’ll definitely fit.”
Nagisa had nodded.
And that’s how Nagisa ended up standing in front of Karma’s bed, as night fell.
They had spent the day helping Nagisa unpack some of his bags (though without most of his furniture, it wasn’t like there was any point in unpacking his clothes or other belongings), and then Karma steered Nagisa to every room in their apartment and demanded Nagisa’s input to how he wanted their shared space arranged. (Nagisa had been genuinely honest when he insisted he didn’t care, it wasn’t just out of politeness, but Karma would have none of that. So Nagisa could only reluctantly suggest some minor shifts in furniture location to satisfy his friend.)
And it helps that they’ve done chores together, because even if Nagisa’s heart jumps a little every time Karma comes near, or if he’s mind is a loss of words whenever Karma speaks, their bodies remember each other. And the shared experience of physical exertion is a quick way to bridge the gap from the past three years apart.
It also means, by nightfall, Nagisa should be too tired to worry about anything. But then, under the large covers, listening to two sets of breathing, Nagisa finds sleep evading him.
He’s lying on his back, half tempted to look towards Karma to the right of him, but he doesn’t dare. He knows from the other’s breathing patterns that he’s not quite asleep either.
It’s Karma who breaks their uneasy silence, when he shifts on the bed. Accidentally, his finger brushes against Nagisa’s and the bluenette feels his heart batter against his chest like a mad prisoner.
He lets out a small gasp from the touch, and feels Karma’s hand freeze at the noise.
“Uh- sorry,” Karma murmurs. Then his hand is gone, leaving only emptiness under the stuffy blankets.
But perhaps, that single touch was all that was needed, for a sudden courage surges within Nagisa, and he reaches across. His hand can’t quite find Karma’s, so it rests on his stomach instead, and he squeezes them gently.
No words are needed, it’s their bodies that direct them into each other, Karma’s hand finding Nagisa’s ribs and pulling him towards him, their legs brushing at first, before they are tangled within each other. They are turned onto their sides now, towards each other, only a breath away.
Despite the darkness, Nagisa finds Karma’s eyes easily. They are bright, fervent, and laughing. Hesitantly, Nagisa leans his forehead forward, and the redhead responds by doing the same, a gentle bump in greeting.
It’s almost like they’re fifteen again, in Nagisa’s bedroom, quiet because they wouldn’t want his mother to hear them. This time, it’s quiet because no words are needed between them.
Their movements - the brushing against each other, their lingering touches, and eventually, their hands entwined - speak more. It catches them up from the years of distance quicker than words can, reminds them of the way they used to be in the familiar positions, but also highlights the things that have changed.
In their close proximity, Nagisa can almost feel the movement of Karma’s chest. His heart lunges, and Nagisa knows what it wants. When he meets Karma’s eyes, he notices they’re looking pointedly at him - there’s a silent question there.
“Do you want me?” Nagisa doesn’t know where he finds the courage. Just knows that it felt like the right thing to say, to ask, in an excited whisper. He pauses, and then, is even quieter as he adds, “I think I could love you.”
He looks away, into the dark nothingness hanging around the room. Doesn’t dare to see the look in Karma’s eyes, because Karma could say yes, but he could also say no - and then that would be it. And when the furniture guy finally comes around he would find that he’d sent the bed for nothing, and Nagisa would probably be out looking for something other apartment instead, that would be colder, lonelier and-
And it’s not something Nagisa could continue to worry about as he felt Karma’s firm squeeze of his hand. His eyes are drawn back to Karma as the redhead responds with a laugh - soft and low at first, before it develops into a full on guffaw.
Nagisa pulls away, brows furrowing. “What’s so funny. I meant it - I was being serious!”
“You- you can’t-” Karma is squeezing out between moments of laughter. “You can’t spring this upon me, now, when you didn’t notice all these years. How can you ask me that, when I’ve wanted you for so long?”
“What? Wait what?”
Karma is calmer now, his laughter dying off as suddenly as it began. He shrugs, “I missed you, during high school. I knew I was developing a crush even as we only kept a bare minimum of contact online. Except you never seemed to care - never even noticed, so I backed off.”
“But I…” Nagisa paused, thinking back. “You’re right, I didn’t notice, but I noticed now. My own feelings, I think they’ve always been here, too, I just never realised.”
Karma hums noncommittally, “I don’t care about that.” He leans forward, “So what do you want to do about this?”
Nagisa eyes widen, “I- haven’t thought this far yet. But I know I want to date you, to be with you.”
“Okay,” Karma pulls his arms from his covers, taking Nagisa’s head in them as he closes the distance between them, placing a chaste kiss on his forehead. “We can date, and be together, and probably discuss this tomorrow. But to be honest, I’m actually exhausted, so if we’ve got this tension out of the way, let’s sleep first.”
Nagisa nods, and shifts to a more comfortable position on the bed (still facing Karma, of course). They stay in each other’s arm for the rest of the night, and it’s the most comfortable of all the times they’ve shared a bed.
It helps, knowing, that even after his own bed arrives, he knows it wouldn’t be the last time he can have Karma in his arms as he falls into sweet, sweet dreams.
End.
hahahahahahahaha okay, you know the part of the request that says fluff? hahaahahahaha okay. i tried. i promise, i really did, but then the plot got away from me… :’) But I did have a lot of fun with this prompt though, so thanks for the request, even if I didn’t end up as fluffy as I thought it would be~