Kota and Fuji were outside the studio entrance near the street, smoking and laughing. I waved over my head to them as I closed in, noticing that they were wearing only sweaters and hunching in their shoulders to keep warm. The end of September came with surprises in the weather, being summer-like one day, and winter-like the next. Kota tossed his cigarette into the street and held his arms open, inviting me in for a hug, just the same as Aki always did when I arrived at the studio. I happily accepted Kota's invitation, feeling a brotherly kind of protective energy from him.

Fuji lead the way back inside. "Have you slept well the past couple of nights?" Kota asked as we walked. "Hate to be the one to say it, but your eyes are looking really tired."

I shook my head to dismiss his comment, not wanting him to think he had hurt my feelings. "I haven't slept well at all, actually. I'm kind of embarrassed at how much I really depend on Aki."

"I'm coming to stay over tonight." Kota was firm in his decision. "Don't try to tell me no. I'll sleep on the couch, and probably just knowing someone else is there will help a lot." He grabbed me around my shoulders, peering at me, I assumed to try to read my reaction. "You've been through hell. I'm proud of you for sticking it out, but I'm here to help. I'll send Aki a message and let him know."

I nodded in acceptance. I felt relief to know someone I knew and trusted would be nearby. "He'll be calling soon anyway, I'll tell him too. Thank you, Kota."

We left the studio together, playfully arguing about what we would bring back to the apartment for dinner like true siblings would. We had finally decided on ducking into a small grocery market to buy a few vegetables and a small package of meat, Kota announcing that he would cook for me. He picked up a few small pastries and breads as well, which he said would be useful for a quick breakfast. I found it amazing, when I thought about the situation I was in, that I had become so close with a famous band that I had become the adopted sister to a bunch of big brothers that took care of me as if I was the most important thing in the world to them. I was excited to have Kota nearby as if he was taking the place of my best friend.

I had barely heard from Aki all day, and I took it to mean that he was keeping busy with his work. I would hear about it later. My phone finally rang at six, while I was sitting at the table under Kota's instructions while he finished cooking. I shouted to Kota that Aki was calling as I answered. "They must be keeping you really busy over there." I said after our usual greetings.

Aki made a sound of confirmation. "They are. But everything is coming together really nicely. I have a lot to show you when I get back. It's really exciting."

"Kota is here. He's cooking me dinner."

Aki laughed, as if he couldn't believe the impossibility of my statement. "I got his message earlier saying he was staying with you tonight. I'm glad. I'm sorry you've been missing out on sleep though."

"Have you been sleeping well?"

"I've been so exhausted at the end of each work day that I sleep great." He paused to chuckle. "I ended up waking up hugging a pillow this morning. I must have been thinking of you." I smiled to myself at his antics, also satisfied to hear that he was uninterrupted. I knew he was used to travel, touring with Guardian all the time at a moment's notice, and he was perfectly at home in a hotel. He didn't need familiarity to be comfortable. "Well, I'll call you again to say good night in a few hours. I'm going to get washed up and go find a quiet place to eat. Enjoy your dinner, and if Kota tries anything I'll be on the first train back to punch him."

I laughed at his comment, delivered in complete seriousness. "He won't. Enjoy your dinner too, whatever it is you find."

As I hung up the phone, I set it down on the table and let my fingers linger on it, suddenly missing Aki severely. My thoughts were interrupted thankfully by Kota setting a few plates down on the table. "This is fun." He said, sounding excited. "We haven't had a sleepover since we came back from tour. And even then, being in separate hotel rooms is hardly a sleepover."

He handed me a pair of chopsticks and a small bowl of rice, and I began to arrange my plate with food. "Is it weird having a sleepover with a girl knowing it won't end with us in bed together?" I tried a joke, but he was one step ahead of me.

"Oh, do I have to sleep on the couch?" I laughed, assuming it was a joke, but cautiously aware it might not have been. "You know I'm joking. I'm sleeping on the couch."

Kota lived alone in Tokyo, and his life hadn't changed much with the relocation from Kamakura like mine had. He moved his life to Tokyo, and continued living it just the way it was, without fitting in another person, without changing anything to please anyone else. I suddenly felt a little guilty that he was so accommodating to me. "I'm sorry, I feel a little embarrassed." I said. "I lived alone for years, then suddenly I can't sleep without Aki for one night."

Kota just laughed. "I think you're not allowing yourself to understand just how much you've experienced since we all moved to Tokyo. And that everything has been with Aki."

"I didn't want to become dependant on him. He has such an established life, I wanted to do my best to add to his life, not become a burden to him."

He laughed even harder, dropping his chopsticks to cover his mouth with his hands. "Natsuko!" He startled me with the sudden reaction and I was left sitting upright, staring at him, waiting for him to finish his laughing fit. "That's ridiculous. Is that really what you think?"

He paused, waiting for me to answer honestly. I could tell he wanted to set me straight. "Aki doesn't act that way, but I feel like I could do better."

"Aki doesn't feel that way. Trust me, Aki tells me everything. You should hear how he talks about you." He picked up his chopsticks again, the smile still lingering on his face. "You have nothing to worry about." I left out the fact that I had heard Aki talking about me to Kota during the tour, as I pretended to be asleep.

With Kota on the couch in the living room, I decided to go to bed in Aki's t-shirt and my most modest underwear, just in case something were to happen, like if I woke up screaming from a nightmare and he came rushing in to check on me. I kept Aki's sweater tucked close against my body, hugging it like a security blanket, with the collar against my face so I could smell his lingering cologne there. I was able to fully relax into Aki's side of the bed with his sweater as my security blanket, and the knowledge that someone I knew and trusted was in the next room.

My sense of peace was broken by a sensation like someone trying to pull the sweater from my grip. I didn't fully wake up, but made a sound of disapproval as I involuntarily felt myself hold onto the sweater tighter to prevent it from being taken. I heard an amused laughter in the distance of my mind, followed by a voice saying, "Natsu, let go." A body slid under the covers, and I felt the warmth against me, startling me, as the sweater was successfully wrenched from my grip.

"Kota, what are you-" But Kota didn't call me 'Natsu'. Sleep was holding on tight to me, despite how hard I fought to make sense of what was happening.

"Hey." There was laughter again, followed by the feeling of engulfing arms around me, holding me close to the warmth of the body.

At the contact, my eyes snapped open. A face gradually came into focus. "Aki!" I returned his embrace as quickly and as firmly as I could, burying my face against his chest. "I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow night."

"I wasn't supposed to. I pushed to finish the work so I could come home early. We worked late, but we finished, so I'm home." He took a deep breath, his grip tightening around me, as if he was simply using the breath to move his lungs so he could hold me closer. "Now what are you doing on my side of the bed hugging my sweater?"

I laughed into his chest. "I missed you."

"What a coincidence." He said as he hooked his hand under my knee, pulling my leg atop his hip. He rolled over me, pushing me to my back, and hovered above me. "I missed you." My hands floated up to catch his face as he leaned down to kiss me, lingering for a moment. "Don't tell anyone I'm back though, okay? I'm staying home tomorrow, I'm exhausted."

"Can I stay home with you?"

"No. Go to school." He laughed again. "I'll walk with you, we can get coffee on the way. And I'll meet you after to walk home."

I nodded. "Fine, deal."

He nodded back to me, but got up quickly out of bed. "I'll be right back, I'm going to say goodnight to Kota."

I listened closely to the conversation between them just outside the bedroom door, curious to know how they would interact. I was sure that Aki hadn't woken Kota when he arrived, as the lights were still off outside the bedroom. I propped myself up slightly on my elbows to look around, identifying Aki's suitcase and backpack tucked into the corner of the bedroom. He had turned on a small nightlight which cast a small glow just enough to let his eyes adjust to the darkness after coming in from outside.

I heard Kota's voice from the living room. "Aki, get off me. Also Aki, what are you doing here right now?"

Aki's laughter flooded the room. "I came home early, you're not dreaming." He said. "Thank you for taking care of Natsu. Go back to sleep, good night."

"No problem. Good night, Aki."

As I followed the sound of Aki shuffling back to the bedroom, I flipped open my phone to check the time. It was just after one in the morning. I realized as Aki returned to the bedroom that he had been wearing only sweat pants, and he stripped himself before climbing back over me. He reached for the hem of the shirt I was wearing. "Are you wearing my shirt too?" His expression was content and amused as he pulled the shirt off over my head. He rolled to settle himself beside me again, holding my thigh against his hip to turn me with him.

"I always wear your shirts anyway." I bit my lip slightly as I looked at his tired eyes.

He smiled softly, gazing at me it seemed, his expression just content to take in the sight of my face. "That's true." He said. He seemed to be waiting for me to say something, to do something.

I began to let my hands wander across his skin, to remind myself that he was really there with me, and to offer him a comforting touch. He seemed to understand the intention that I had as I took in the feel of him under my fingertips, as I felt his eyes on my face watching my expression, watching my cheeks turn hot. I thought it must have been dark enough that he wouldn't see the blush on my skin, and I turned my gaze upward to him, catching him in a slow kiss. Though we were already wrapped up together, my thigh atop his hip where he had placed it, I moved myself closer to close the distance. Closer, closer.

His hand suddenly gripped my waist, holding me in place. "Don't play with fire." He said, twisting his torso so he could outstretch an arm and reach his nightstand behind him. He turned back toward me with the corner of a familiar little square package between his teeth, ripping the top open.

"Sorry, Aki, if you're too tired-"

He silenced me with the same type of slow kiss that I had started. "You caught me off guard is all." He smiled against the kiss in that joyful, playful, kind of way he always did, and I felt his heartbeat against me pick up speed.