“……..”
“……..”
How did it end up like this?
I don’t even know how it happened.
I just had dinner with the Commander at a decent restaurant and was stretching…
“…Why don’t you wash up first? Aren’t you supposed to be faster than me?”
“…Alright then.”
I found myself doing something I absolutely didn’t want to do.
I really didn’t want to sleep in the same accommodation as the Commander.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was really a stretch, just thinking about it.
How did we end up in another motel… with the same person from last time?
“Sigh”
After the Commander went into the bathroom, I couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of reality hitting me as I grabbed my head.
How did it get to this point…?
“Why did I say my back hurts…?”
I was seriously doubting my intelligence.
I definitely intended not to sleep in the same accommodation as the Commander.
We watched a movie and had a great time in the car, so maybe that put me in a good mood for dinner.
Yeah, up to that point… there was no problem.
But the problem was after that…
“Why the heck did I suggest taking a break… Waaaahhhh…”
Rolling around on the double bed.
“You’re really a crazy woman…”
I was seriously losing my mind.
What was I thinking suggesting a break…
The Commander went into the bathroom.
In this situation, just being alone in the motel room was driving me insane.
I hadn’t even drunk any alcohol, so why was this happening?
I didn’t even know what I was thinking.
What kind of mindset leads to casually ending up here?
“Ughhhhh…”
*
“…Where’s the hair dryer?”
“Over there.”
“…Thanks.”
I finished showering.
I was vigorously drying my hair with a towel, but it was still damp.
The Commander was lounging on the bed while I grabbed the hair dryer without letting him see my front.
Well, it made sense…
“Sigh”
Fwoooosh!!
I was only wearing a robe.
There was nothing else I could wear.
The only clothes I could wear were the shower robe.
I had pajamas, but they were in my suitcase, which was in the car.
And the car was in the parking lot near the restaurant, not here.
I pondered while drying my hair.
How could I break out of this situation?
The Commander and I had entered a motel room together, and now we had to sleep; how could I protect myself?
“Lindera.”
“Y-Yes?”
While I was drying my hair haphazardly, he suddenly spoke up.
What was he about to say?
“Shall you lie on the bed? I’ll just lay out a blanket on the floor.”
“…Uh?”
“Isn’t it uncomfortable? We may only have one room, but wouldn’t this be better than sleeping together in the bed?”
“That’s…”
That was true.
After all, there was only one motel room left.
The owner had told me that when we checked in since it wasn’t a self-service motel…
“…….”
“It’s not like it’s super late, but… we should sleep quickly. We’ll have to spend more time in the car tomorrow.”
“…Got it.”
I watched the Commander get out of the bed and climbed on.
Indeed… sleeping in a car seat would have been far worse.
As the Commander said, if I had continued sleeping in the car, my back would have hurt.
The bed was definitely not as comfortable as sleeping in a proper room.
“…The pillow is here…”
“Ah.”
“…….”
The Commander tossed a blanket on the floor.
Then he tossed a pillow.
It looked like it would definitely be uncomfortable compared to the bed.
Of course, there seemed to be plenty of space…
“…Are you okay?”
“I think it’s fine. The floor isn’t cold.”
“Really…”
Looking down at the Commander, who had made a bed on the floor, I felt a little sorry for him.
I don’t know why, but it seemed a bit pitiful.
“Umm…”
It should have been the Commander lying on the bed, not me.
But still…
“…Just come up here.”
“…What?”
“…Just hurry up and get in bed. We’re talking about this now.”
Saying this to the Commander made me feel a bit ashamed… but I couldn’t just let him sleep on the floor.
He was still my superior, and a good person; it felt wrong to let him suffer on the floor just because of me.
I felt guilty too.
“You came here to sleep comfortably, right? What do you think you’re doing down there? Just come on up.”
“Is that alright?”
“Y-You’re not about to tackle me or anything, right…?”
“……..”
“…Right?”
“That’s true…”
“…So, you can come up.”
I trust him.
That time when we drank, I was genuinely out of my mind.
As long as I didn’t start spewing nonsense like I did back then, it should be fine.
The Commander probably managed to keep his cool, but I just kept rambling like a madwoman…
So he couldn’t take it anymore back then either.
This time, there’s absolutely… definitely… no way that’ll happen, right?
“……..”
“……..”
And so, the Commander and I lay on the bed together.
Just the two of us.
“…Let’s hold hands.”
“…Okay.”
I turned my body to face outside.
There was no way I could sleep facing him.
Even in this position, it was hard enough for me, and sleeping while facing each other was definitely out of the question.
I was still very much aware of my back.
In this situation, facing the Commander and trying to sleep?
No way, that’s impossible.
“………”
The lights in the room were off.
There was no sound.
We were in the same blanket but just lying quietly.
“Are you comfortable…?”
“Definitely better than the floor.”
“…Then I’m glad.”
As awkward and embarrassed as I felt, as long as the Commander could sleep well, that was good enough for me.
At least I wouldn’t regret being in this situation.
If I had gone through all this and the bed ended up being uncomfortable, I would seriously… kick him off.
Like throwing a hatchling eagle off a cliff.
Of course, real eagles don’t do such things.
“……..”
What if the Commander suddenly went crazy from this situation?
What would happen if he just abruptly tackled me?
Right now, the only thing I wore was a bathrobe covering my bare skin.
Since my phone was charging elsewhere, it was honestly…
“Ugh…”
Even though I knew he wouldn’t do something like that… it felt a little… weird.
“Huuh…”
“……..”
Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist and…
“Uhh.. uhh…”
A tingling sensation spread through my belly…
My face felt a bit warm…
It seemed like it was going to take quite some time to fall asleep.
*
“…What is this.”
After waking up, the Commander found himself unexpectedly hugged by someone.
More specifically, it was Lindera.
“………”
“Zzz”
“Why are you doing this…?”
Without realizing it, Lindera was putting the Commander to the test from the morning.
They had both gone to sleep facing away from each other, yet the moment the Commander opened his eyes, he saw Lindera happily sleeping while hugging him.
Thus, the Commander had no choice but to be quite flustered.
At the same time, one thought popped into his mind.
‘I definitely said last time… that I can’t sleep unless I hug something like a pillow…’
Although it was drunken nonsense, he still remembered that statement.
It was something normal, born from the time they spent together.
“…So this is how it is when you sleep…”
He thought it was cute.
In fact, Lindera looked so innocent, sleeping with an expression far more naive than usual.
“…But still, it’s good that nothing happened yesterday.”
While nothing had happened, the Commander thought to himself that it felt necessary to ensure they should have separate sleeping arrangements.
Even though they had come to the motel room together, the fact that they were both in bed, having shared their bodies once before, was honestly nerve-wracking.
Especially because it was a motel.
“…Being like this is nice, but…”
Since Lindera was deeply asleep, the Commander muttered this to himself.
If she were awake, he definitely wouldn’t have said something like this.
“Hehe…”
“Your smile is adorable… why do you only laugh like this sometimes…”
“Ugh…?”
Gently pressing on the sleeping Lindera’s cheek produced a cute reaction.
Seeing that, the Commander thought about how these were the types of reactions he could never see from sober and awake Lindera.
He pressed her cheek a little more.
“Uhh…”
“Hmph…”
“Umm…”
Then, stopping to poke her cheek, she smiled in her sleep again while hugging the Commander a bit tighter.
“Seriously, you’re not a baby. What’s with all this hugging while you sleep…?”
“Umm…”
“If this keeps up… it’s going to get awkward.”
Though they shared the same blanket, Lindera would undoubtedly feel awkward if she knew about this situation.
That’s what the Commander thought, and it was quite accurate.
After all, Lindera was very shy.
“…It’s a pity, but I think I have to do it next time… for now…”
The Commander decided to pull the blanket away a little and slip out from under Lindera.
It was morning, and in many ways, he felt he shouldn’t get caught by Lindera.
Pulling the blanket back and getting off the bed, what he found was…
“………”
“Ugh…”
Lindera’s bathrobe was almost completely off.
Her shoulders and back were quite exposed, barely covering her chest.
She must have been wearing it correctly when she went to sleep, but she had rolled around and moved while sleeping, causing the ties around her waist to loosen.
The Commander hadn’t seen this because it was covered by the blanket.
“…Maybe I should have stayed a little longer.”
He felt quite regretful about that.
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