A Matter of Family

Night - Chapter 9: Home

A story by Umi Sonoda.

I looked over her shoulder closest to me and saw she had her eyes closed, like her precious gemstones were closed for exhibition. So close against her back I was sure I was breathing on her neck. So far, a few times I had called out the golden-haired angel she stood tall on her fake sleep. I knew because she then removed my hand from between her thighs. She pulled on it too that made me fall on top of her after she opened up.

The bed was messy. Sheet was wrinkled, and blanket was pulled across. The pillows had been flipped and turned and flipped again. The bed was very messy. I already finished my warm milk by my end table while she still had half of her water bottle. It was 2 A.M. and I was wide awake.

'Come on, Umi. Haven't you had enough? I already gave my best today.'

Her eyes were still shut, just like how I remembered them as she tried her best to hold back an hour prior. I continued on playing with her locket until I even noticed the very detail that I hadn't noticed before – the slightly twisted and bent part of the chain that held the lace and the heart together. It was because I couldn't do much with one hand while the other still cuffed by her. 5 past and I was still not tired.

'Aren't you tired, Umi?' she asked after she finally opened her eyes. She rubbed her finger on my lip too while she slowly opened hers, which I only knew it meant one thing. I moved up to meet the same level as her and I kissed her, then as well her jaw and her neck. 'You're not supposed to have a late-night snack... Sometimes... Russian dishes, even chocolates have alcohol in them. And you don't want that... do you?' She then distanced me with my plate of fresh and ripe fruit. 'How are you so energetic tonight, Umi?'

'I took a few sip of your coffee. And now I can hear my blood pumping.'

She looked over to her end table while she was still holding my face. So I looked up and down at her body whilst she was distracted. 'That was 4 hours ago, Umi. You shouldn't have... Umi!' She nudged me that made me look at her eyes again to notice she was already looking at me back. 'You shouldn't have taken a sip. That was a strong one I made to accompany me through my assignment.'

'How's that going for you?'

'You should know better for being an expert on keeping me distracted,' she replied while I removed her hands and pinned them above her head. 'I barely got through it and the coffee didn't help.' She paused. For a while too. I was to blame, actually because I kept her mouth busy until I continued to move down on her like how I did earlier. I pinned her hands with only my left hand and it was enough to immobilise her. 'Things like what you're doing right now, is where my coffee went. By the looks... of it you're not going to sleep soon, so can you let go of my hands... so we can do this properly?'

Without a slight hesitation I released her but it was one of those mistakes that would haunt me forever, because she covered herself with a blanket instead. I was tricked. I no longer could see her elegant build.

'Just to let you know, there are other things couples do when they can't sleep.' This time she had definitely opened her eyes, because I saw the reflection of the light from the moon on her eyes and she looked beautiful. 'It's called bed talk. And the first thing in my mind is how beautiful you look.' She pulled me down so I could rest on her arm while we kept a distance so I could still see her without getting a headache for staring so close. 'And the second thing is: I notice you behave very differently in bed than anywhere else, Umi. Somehow you don't blush, you don't hesitate, you're even... in charge. It's also a surprise that you would ask me to wear my old uniform, which by the way, where are they now?'

'O-on the floor.' I pulled on the blanket too to cover myself. Quietly I said as she embraced me, 'well, this is part of being in a relationship isn't it? And anyway, I'm not ashamed anymore as long as it's the two of us.' But it was hard to say, to confess, something like that to my own lover. Just with her smile she took every breath of my words out of me. 'I'm sorry if I'm too overwhelming you. I want to enjoy every second of this relationship and I thought... it made you happy.'