Chapter Text
It’s past 11pm when Ayaka hears it. A quick tap, tap, tap on her balcony door window as she’s curled up against a mountain of plush pillows with her favourite romance novel in her lap. Ayaka’s lips quirk upwards as she picks up the candle and key on her bedside table and pads over to the drawn curtains.
She wasn’t expecting Lumine to turn up tonight, but she had hoped. Oh, she always hopes. Ayaka sees so little of her best friend these days; Lumine kept busy with knight training that she’d begun as soon as she was old enough and Ayaka herself busy studying with various tutors and her growing duties as princess. It will be worth it though, in the end. Ever since they were children, Lumine had proclaimed that when she grew up, she would become Ayaka’s personal knight so she could be by her side protecting her forever. It seemed like a fantastical declaration at the time – one that made Ayaka blush and giggle and write a rather embarrassingly soppy diary entry that night – but several years on, Lumine is still intent on following it through.
Ayaka parts the curtains and comes face to face with a grinning Lumine, leaning against the railing of the balcony outside and bathed in moonlight. Her smile grows and blooms like the sakura trees blossoming in the gardens below as she unlocks the balcony door to let Lumine in – somehow a mere few days apart managed to feel like an eternity.
“Hi,” Lumine says, pink-cheeked and her breaths still a little heavy from exertion after scaling the castle’s wall. “I hope I didn’t wake you?”
“Not at all, you know I always tend to be awake reading at this hour.” The 'and waiting for you' is unspoken, but Ayaka hopes understood. “Although I do often wonder if there is a limit to how many times you can bribe Hirano to look the other way whilst you climb up here. Please make sure you don’t get into trouble on my account.”
Lumine waves her off. “Any trouble I get into on your account will always be worth it,” she teases. “Hirano is always kind to me, says I’ll make a good knight one day. Don’t worry too much, princess.”
Something about the way Lumine calls Ayaka “princess” always makes her melt. It’s her title – one that she hears in much stiffer, formal tones throughout each day – but the way Lumine says it, dripping with gentle amusement and fondness, makes it sound more like a pet name.
“In that case, it’s lovely to see you. Any day that ends with you is a good one. Come, let’s sit.” Ayaka beckons her over to the sofa across the room. Perhaps one day she will be bold enough to invite Lumine to rest beside her in bed. It feels awfully big for just one person, after all, and she imagines Lumine would also enjoy the silk sheets and feather pillows.
Presently, they sit together on the sofa, gravitating towards each other’s warmth whilst they catch up on their weeks since they last saw each other. As they speak, Ayaka slowly grows more sleepy, her eyelids drooping and body sinking closer to Lumine’s side.
“My apologies,” Ayaka says when she fails to suppress a yawn. “It seems I’m rather tired.”
Lumine chuckles. “It’s alright, I’m sorry for keeping you up. Should I go?” Ayaka shakes her head before she can overthink too much.
“Please, not yet. Could I– that is to say, would you mind if I rested my head on your shoulder? Just for a moment.”
An affectionate, pleased smile stretches across Lumine’s lips. She lifts up her arm. “Of course. For as long as you like.”
Ayaka settles against her, unable to prevent her contented sigh when Lumine lets her arm rest around her shoulders. She does, however, stifle the response on the tip of her tongue – the proclamation of wanting to stay like this forever. She’ll admit it one day, she’s certain. But until then, she’s at peace to bask in whatever love her best friend will gift her.