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Getting into a new routine takes its time. When Karamatsu had first moved in, it took a while for both of them to adjust to each other's quirks and habits.
Chibita had been sleeping alone for as long as he could remember. Karamatsu had been sharing a bed with his brothers for longer. At first, it became the obvious suggestion from Chibita that Karamatsu would sleep in a separate room, let alone bed, from him.
He hadn't expected the look of surprise from Karamatsu when he brought it up.
"What, did you think we would be sharing a bed, you idjit?" Chibita jested, a little thrown off by Karamatsu.
"Oh, uh, no. Of course not," Karamatsu shook his head quickly, "I just didn't think I would be sleeping alone."
"Those are the only two options. Sleeping with me or alone," Chibita pointed out.
"Yeah. I know."
Chibita frowned, his lips pressed together in a straight line as he tried to examine what was going through Karamatsu's mind. Karamatsu must have felt uncomfortable in the scrutinizing silence as he spoke up again, his voice regaining the cocky confidence it had been missing.
"Ha! It is no problem, my dearest Chibita! I shall sleep on my own. It is not a problem," Karamatsu grinned, finger pressed to the underside of his chin.
Chibita couldn't help but let out an audible groan from the painful tone of Karamatsu's voice.
The topic was not touched again for a couple of days. A bed was set up in the other room for Karamatsu in which he was to sleep. The first two nights passed without any incidence or second thought on Chibita's behalf.
On the third night, Chibita woke up in the middle of the night. Evidently, he had had way too much to drink in the evening beforehand and his bladder was determined to punish him for it by forcing him to abandon the warm comfort of his bed and blankets. He made his way down the hallway towards the bathroom but paused as he saw a light seeping out from the crack between the door and the floor of Karamatsu's room.
With a frown, he knocked on the door.
From the other side came a clatter. Chibita pinned the noise to be similar to the clamour of one quickly trying to pack away or hide something. He dismissed it as Karamatsu most likely staying up or waking up to watch some porn. That made sense. The door was opened just enough for Karamatsu to stick his head out and look at Chibita with a nameless expression. If Chibita had to, he would describe it as a a startled frown or a confused glare.
"What are you doing up?" Chibita asked and rubbed his eyes, "I saw the light under your door."
"Oh. Nothing. I woke up just then and was just going back to sleep," Karamatsu excused with a shrug. His face relaxed a little bit. Chibita gained the frown that Karamatsu had lost, this time with an air of suspicion rather than a having a defensive stance like the other.
"Right. Are you okay?"
Karamatsu smiled suavely and chuckled, "Ah, I am alright. There is no need to worry, my brother."
Karamatsu leant down and pecked Chibita on the head.
Chibita froze up and stared at Karamatsu with wide eyes and a red face. Karamatsu took a moment to realise what he had done. When he did, he blankly stared into the space in front of him.
A moment of awkward silence dragged itself on as the two processed what happened.
Karamatsu was flustered and stammering, "Wow, I-I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean that, I-"
"No, no. Don't worry about it," Chibita cut in, "It was just-
"Habit! I'm tired," Karamatsu quickly excused and looked away.
Chibita nodded firmly, "Right... Right. Habit. You're so used to your brothers." Karamatsu nodded again, reaffirming Chibita's own nod.
Another moment of silence.
"I should- I should uh..." Chibita took a step back and tilted his head in the direction of the bathroom.
"I should go back to sleep," Karamatsu started to close the door.
"Sleep well," Chibita said quickly and made his way towards the bathroom, head facing the floor in embarrassment.
Behind him he heard the door quickly slam shut.
Neither of them brought up what had happened the next day. Why should they have? What was there to talk about? The fact that Karamatsu had while half-asleep instinctively comforted him as though he were his brother. It was definitely that and nothing romantic, judging by the fact that Karamatsu had literally called him 'my brother' as he kissed him.
Yet why couldn't Chibita get it out of his mind.
Chibita was too caught up in mulling over those five seconds in his mind, playing the scene over like a tape, that he didn't think it necessary to dwell upon anything else of that night at all. It didn't occur to him to question why Karamatsu had been up or what he had been doing. He didn't choose to question the growingly dark bags under the other's eyes.
Chibita didn't get up the next few nights. There were moments were he briefly awoke, as though a noise had briefly jolted him awake. In these moments he glanced towards Karamatsu's door, checking to see if there was a light coming from under it. Seeing none, he felt satisfied in rolling over and going back to sleep.
After a week of Karamatsu having moved in and four days after the involuntary kiss did Chibita notice he'd been missing something.
Karamatsu slept in. Chibita didn't mind as he more often than not did. Karamatsu wasn't necessarily a late sleeper, but Chibita was an early riser so was used to being up before him. Usually he would allow Karamatsu to stay undisturbed in bed but there was something of his in his room that he had to retrieve. Not a problem, Chibita had thought. He would just sneak in and grab it, leaving Karamatsu to sleep. When he went to open the door, however, he was confronted with a problem he didn't expect. It wouldn't budge. Chibita frowned and gave it another push. Again, the door was jammed. Chibita shoved the door to no effect. Getting frustrated, he slammed his shoulder into the door, finally getting it open. He leant down to examine why the door hadn't opened. A towel had been wedged underneath the crack of the door, making it hard to open.
Chibita didn't question it and instead just retrieved the item he was looking for and left.
Only that night while Chibita was lying in bed, woken up in the middle of the night again, did he think back to what had happened. He had been so quick to dismiss it as being nothing important. The towel must have just fallen there by accident. But that couldn't be right. Karamatsu was such a neat and tidy person and having a towel out of place just didn't seem right for him. The towel couldn't have just been placed there either. It seemed almost deliberately shoved under there, pressed very tightly.
But why?
Chibita's eyes glanced their way towards the door in question. Karamatsu's must have been asleep as there was no light coming from under the door-
Oh.
Chibita worked out what was going on.
Chibita rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh. He pulled himself into a sitting position for but a moment before dragging himself to his feet. In a tired saunter, he made his way towards the door and lazily dragged his knuckles on the wood in an exhausted knock. There again was the frantic sound of something being hidden, followed by someone getting to their feet. There was a click of a light switch. Either it just got turned on or off. When the door was opened, he would be able to tell if it had been on or off before he'd knocked. After another moment, the door was opened. The light in the room was off. So it had been on previously. Karamatsu had been awake that whole time.
"Ah, my Chibita, waking me up at such an hour? What is it that you want?" Karamatsu asked and faked a yawn.
Chibita wasn't falling for it, "Why were you awake?"
Karamatsu faltered, "I... I wasn't."
"Don't lie to me, Karamatsu," Chibita sighed. Karamatsu didn't respond. At least now he wasn't lying.
Chibita pressed his lips together before asking, "Can I come in?"
Karamatsu stepped out of the doorway and pulled the door all of the way open. Chibita took the invitation and walked into the room. He sat down on Karamatsu's bed and looked up at him. Karamatsu took his place sitting beside him.
"I know you've been blocking off the light from your room with a towel so I won't know you're awake," Chibita said quietly.
"I'm sorry," Karamatsu said as an automated response.
Chibita shook his head dismissively. He asked, "What have you been doing up?"
"Reading. Writing. Just stuff," Karamatsu's voice was empty.
"Have you been sleeping?" Chibita asked.
Karamatsu hesitated in answering. He chewed on his lip for a moment before admitting unsurely, "Not... Not as much as I would like to be."
"Are you okay?"Karamatsu looked over to Chibita. Even in the dark of the room Chibita could see the disconcerting expression on Karamatsu's face. His voice betrays a sad broken tone that Karamatsu would refuse it ever held.
"I... I try to sleep but then I... I keep expecting they'll be there. They're not there. It's just an empty space beside me. I don't have Ichimatsu on my right or Todomatsu on my left. It's just... empty." He lets out a shaky breath to punctuate himself. "I've... I've never slept alone before. Not before this."
Chibita stared down at his legs for a moment. Finally he let out a groan.
"You can't sleep alone?" he asked in an irritated tone.
"No, sor-" Karamatsu started.
"You know you could have told me that, right!" Chibita's voice was snappy as he pulled back the blankets of Karamatsu's bed.
Karamatsu raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you...?"
"I'm sleeping with you, you idjit!" Chibita huffed and to prove his point got under the covers. He battled Karamatsu's stare of disbelief with a glare.
"Well what are you waiting for, idjit? Get in?" Karamatsu didn't wait for another invitation. He laid down next to Chibita and pulled the blankets up to his neck. There they lay next to each other stiffly for a moment. Chibita assured, "And if you need someone to hug while you sleep, don't hesitate to-" Instantly Karamatsu's arms found their way around Chibita's waist and his face into his neck. Chibita flushed again but a small content smile overcame his face. He reciprocated the hug, strewing his arms around Karamatsu's neck.
"Thank you Chibita, I-" Chibita cut him off with a kiss on his forehead. That made him shut up and tense up.
"Habit," Chibita lied, mirroring Karamatsu's excuse from the other night, "Now quiet and go to sleep before I change my mind." Karamatsu didn't say another word, but as they drifted to sleep he could feel his lips on his neck turned up into a smile.