So itchy... Who's blowing on my neck...
"Mmm..." Utaha let out a soft, sleepy murmur, slowly opening her wine-red eyes, still hazy with drowsiness.
Strange. Why is my pillow suddenly so hard? And kinda round...
Confused, Utaha turned her head slightly. Instantly, a familiar sleeping face came into view.
Is this... Miyahito?
Staring at him fast asleep, Utaha paused, instinctively looking around to figure out where she was.
Hmm, this is my room.
Noticing the air conditioner seemed mounted slightly higher than usual, fragments of last night's memories slowly surfaced in her mind.
'Right. Miyahito fell asleep pretty quickly last night, and then I...'
While quietly recalling the night before, Utaha's gaze drifted past Miyahito, who was lying on his side beside her, to the empty futon behind him.
'Oh. I ended up crawling into Miyahito's futon.'
Finally remembering what she'd done, Utaha's brain completely froze.
The next second.
A faint blush unconsciously crept up her cheek, ripe and tempting like a perfectly mature fruit, practically begging to be bitten.
'Why did I crawl into his futon! Watashi!'
Covering her slightly burning cheeks with both hands, Utaha, who was also lying on her side, instinctively curled up slightly.
Feeling the firm muscle of Miyahito's arm that she was using as a pillow, her fingers slightly parted as she peeked through them.
Secretly glancing at her boyfriend's peaceful sleeping face, Utaha couldn't help but stare, captivated.
'So this is what Miyahito looks like when he's asleep. Hehe, just like a little kid.' Her lips naturally curved upward. Suddenly, she seemed to forget her earlier shyness.
Gradually, her right hand unconsciously reached out toward that cute sleeping face. Just as her fingertips were about to touch his cheek, Utaha, wearing a doting smile, raised her index finger and playfully, yet carefully, tapped the tip of Miyahito's nose.
'Wow, he frowned. Hehe, so cute.'
Watching Miyahito's brows knit together slightly at her poking, clearly disturbed in his sweet dream, Utaha found it so amusing she couldn't resist tapping his nose again.
"Mmm..."
Suddenly, a slightly annoyed, sleepy grumble from Miyahito startled Utaha. Thinking she'd actually woken him up, she recoiled as if electrocuted, quickly pulling her hand back.
Then, without someone's mischievous poking,
the displeasure on Miyahito's face quickly faded, and he seamlessly returned to his comfortable, peaceful sleeping expression.
So this is what morning grumpiness looks like? My boyfriend really is just a big kid.
Slightly propping herself up, Utaha rested one hand on the soft futon and gently brushed her fingers through the sleeping Miyahito's hair.
Her wine-red eyes reflected nothing but her lover's relaxed, contented face.
"Haa~~" Seemingly infected by his deep sleep, Utaha, who had only just woken up, couldn't help but yawn.
Withdrawing her hand, she gently rubbed her eyes with the back of it. Then, she glanced up at the clock on the nightstand above them.
Hmm, it's 8:19 AM... A bit early.
'Should I go back to sleep?' Secretly glancing at Miyahito's arm, which had served as her pillow all night, Utaha considered it.
Hmm... Never mind, better get up.
If they woke up at the same time, or if Miyahito woke up first, she wouldn't have minded. In fact, she could've used the chance to tease him.
(Utaha: Who told him to be so traditional? It's the 21st century already, yet his mindset is even more conservative than a girl's.)
But reality was that Utaha had woken up first. Thinking about how Miyahito would react when he woke up and discovered his girlfriend had crawled into his futon last night...
Well, no matter how bold Utaha usually was, that innate feminine modesty would still make her feel shy about it.
Carefully lifting a corner of the blanket, Utaha slowly, painstakingly maneuvered her slender, well-proportioned figure out from under the covers.
Just as she was about to stand up, she thoughtfully glanced back at Miyahito, who was still curled up snugly in the futon, sleeping peacefully.
For some reason, Utaha suddenly remembered there was one thing she hadn't done yet.
"Morning kiss. Almost forgot."
Murmuring this extremely softly, she knelt on both knees, palms supporting herself on the futon, and crawled over to Miyahito's side.
Looking down at his sleeping face now shadowed by her presence, Utaha's smile grew increasingly doting as she slowly leaned down.
Her slightly parted cherry-pink lips gently pressed against Miyahito's softly breathing lips, leaving a tender, fleeting "stamp."
「Ohayou, anata. (Good morning, my dear.)」
Silently wishing her sleeping boyfriend a good morning, her face radiating with loving, satisfied joy, Utaha carefully extracted herself from the futon.
Standing up, grabbing her change of clothes, she tiptoed into the washroom.
However.
Just as the sound of dripping water echoed from the bathroom connected to the washroom, the next second, Miyahito—who should have been sleeping deeply—suddenly rolled over. Then, he desperately curled into a ball, wrapping the blanket tightly around himself and clamping it firmly between his long legs.
"Oh no oh no oh no, stimulating me this much first thing in the morning..."
A muffled murmur, whether from extreme embarrassment or unconscious sleep-talking, abruptly escaped from the blanket ball.
Unfortunately, a certain light novel author who had gone for an early morning bath didn't get to hear it.
That self-talk simply vanished without a trace in the room, warmed by sunlight from outside and cooled by the refreshing breeze from the running air conditioner.
At this moment, inside this modestly sized "1DK apartment," aside from the occasional cheerful humming mixed with the sound of running water, it was so quiet it felt like time itself had stopped.
Before long.
"Hmm hmm hmm~~~" Humming a cheerful tune, Utaha stepped out of the washroom, towel-drying her damp long hair with her wine-red bath towel.
Just as she wondered, 'Is Miyahito still asleep?', her eyes landed on the small coffee table in the room, where two simple Japanese-style breakfasts—each featuring bacon and eggs as the main dish—had suddenly appeared, making her stop in surprise.
"Done washing up?"
Just then, Miyahito, still in his pajamas with just a cute cat-patterned apron tied over them, entered the room from behind her, carrying a bowl of rice and miso soup.
"Utaha, you start eating first. I'll go brush my teeth."
Finishing, he set down the rice and soup, walked up to his slightly dazed girlfriend, and smiled as he gently tapped the tip of her nose with his finger.
"Don't space out. Remember to serve me a bowl of soup and rice later, okay?"