Rest and Restraints

Tsubaki had originally only gone to Dan’s house to show him a new dango recipe that she thought he might like to try out. Dan did appreciate the recipe and wanted to try it, but what Tsubaki wasn’t expecting was Shibani inviting her to nap with him on his pillow pile while they waited for Dan to finish. 

Not wanting to be rude, Tsubaki awkwardly followed Shibani over to the pillow pile. Shibani wasted no time settling into the pile, but Tsubaki hesitated. “Are you sure this is okay? I don’t want to intrude…” She also wasn’t sure if Shibani and Dan were a thing or not and if Dan would be upset at her for napping with Shibani. 

“Of course it’s okay,” Shibani waved off her concerns. “I always say the more the merrier!” After all, who didn’t like falling asleep to or waking up snuggled up with other warm bodies? Or even if Tsubaki wasn’t the snuggling type, it was still nice to sleep with another person’s presence nearby. 

“And you’re sure Dan is okay with it…?” Tsubaki glanced back over to the kitchen where the sweets maker was hard at work. She didn’t want to offend him or cause any problems, especially since she considered Dan to be a friend.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Shibani tilted his head to the side, confused. To him, Tsubaki just seemed to be needlessly worrying over something so simple and innocent.

Ah, right. Tsubaki had almost forgotten that it wasn’t common for people to get jealous and possessive over one person like she felt she might. Besides, it wasn’t like she and Shibani were going to do anything of a sexual nature, they were just going to nap. 

Tsubaki took a deep breath. “Alright.” She finally joined Shibani in the pile, though she kept a respectable distance from him. Just as Shibani expected, she was not the cuddly type, but she didn’t mind just sleeping near him. That was, if she could even fall asleep in an unfamiliar setting in the first place. Perhaps she was just overthinking it.

A few minutes passed, and when Tsubaki glanced over at Shibani, he already appeared to be fast asleep, his breathing slow and even. Returning her gaze to the ceiling, Tsubaki decided she should at least try to sleep, especially since she didn’t know how long Dan was going to take. He would surely wake her when he was done. Tsubaki finally closed her eyes. The smells wafting from Dan’s kitchen were sweet, and the sounds of him working were enough to finally lull her to sleep.

Tsubaki wasn’t sure how long had passed when she was finally shaken awake. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by Dan staring down at her. “Hey, the dango is finished.” 

“Already?” Shibani yawned as he sat up beside her and rubbed his eyes. “I was having such a good dream too…”

“If you keep complaining, you won’t get any.” Though Dan’s tone was firm as he said it, both Shibani and Tsubaki knew that it was an empty threat. 

“You wouldn’t do that to me, you like me too much.” Shibani beamed a cheeky smile at Dan, who averted his gaze in embarrassment. 

“I’ll go on ahead.” Tsubaki smiled knowingly, heading into the kitchen first to leave Dan and Shibani to their own devices for a short while longer.