Sorry for intruding so suddenly," Haruka Minami said cheerfully as she stepped into Riku's apartment, her overnight bag slung over her shoulder. "The construction in my place is unbearable. It feels like the ceiling might fall on my head any minute."
Aika Hoshino crossed her arms. "And that somehow leads you here?"
"She had nowhere else to go," Riku Kazehaya explained with an awkward chuckle. "It's just for two weeks until the repairs are done."
Aika clicked her tongue. "Two whole weeks…"
Haruka flashed a teasing smile. "You're not mad, are you, Aika?"
Aika forced a tight smile. "Not at all. Let's just get through it."
Later that night…
The three of them stood in front of one bed.
"There's no futon?" Aika asked, glaring at Riku like he had committed a crime against humanity.
"I forgot to ask Mom to bring it from home…" Riku confessed, scratching his cheek nervously.
"I don't mind sharing," Haruka chimed in, already tossing her pillow onto the bed. "We've all known each other since middle school, right?"
"That doesn't mean you get to share skin-to-skin time with Riku," Aika muttered.
"Oh?" Haruka leaned closer. "You sound like a jealous girlfriend."
"I am his girlfriend!"
Riku's eyes darted between the two like a cornered animal. "H-How about this—uh, we all sleep in a line, evenly spaced?"
Aika huffed. "Fine. But I'm sleeping in the middle."
Midnight.
Moonlight filtered softly through the curtains. The room was quiet… until Riku shifted slightly in his sleep—and his arm draped over someone.
A second later, he stirred again, feeling something soft pressing against him.
His eyes fluttered open, and in his groggy confusion, he found both Aika and Haruka leaned toward him… practically on top of him.
"H-Huh!?" he yelped, bolting upright. "W-What are you two doing!?"
Aika blinked sleepily. "You were grabbing me again, weren't you…?"
Riku's face turned red. "N-No! I mean—I might have—but not on purpose!"
Still half-asleep, Aika leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Idiot…"
Before Riku could even process it, Haruka, who had clearly been awake for a while, suddenly leaned in as well and—
Lip to lip.
A soft, deliberate kiss that made Riku's eyes widen like saucers.
He gasped and fell backward in panic, rolling onto Aika's lap. His face buried in her thighs.
"H-HELP!"
Aika froze. "W-What are you doing!?"
"I'm hiding!! Your lap is safe! Motherly even!" he muffled into her skin.
Aika's face went beet red. "D-Don't say stuff like that with your face in my lap, you perv!!"
Haruka giggled, propping her head up on her hand. "You two are just too cute."
Aika, flustered beyond belief, looked down at Riku's head still buried in her lap and gave up with a sigh. She placed a hand on his head and gently stroked it once.
"…Fine. But new rule."
She looked over at Haruka with a sharp glare.
"From now on, I sleep in the middle."
Riku slowly peeked up. "T-Thank you, goddess…"
Haruka just laughed. "Guess it's two weeks of cozy nights and awkward mornings."
To be continued...