Chapter Text
It was Momoe who woke up first. Her eyes shot open, chest rising up and down, breathing in an intense rhythm. In her shocked state, she hurried to recognize her surroundings, eyes pacing around the room, desperately trying to take in everything as fast as she possibly could.
A cold breeze passed through the open window, spreading into the room. The hour was unknown to her, but judging by the fact that her vision was still limited by the darkness surrounding her room, save for a few blue lights painting it in subtle blue hues, it was still night time. She came to the conclusion that she was at home, in her room, sleeping in her bed. Next to her, she found a poodle of blonde hair nested close into her chest, and now, she could feel the arms around her waist, wrapping her in a hug.
It was the touch.
What normally would feel like a comfortable warmth to her, now became a scorching burn. It felt like the arms started seeping into her skin, trapping Momoe in the position.
Naturally, she started tensing up. Her body was filled with unease and distress, feelings growing more intense the longer she felt the intoxicating touch of the arms which melted into her skin. Acting on instincts, she attempted to curl up into herself, only succeeding slightly, to which then a strike of helplessness hit.
She froze up. She couldn't get out.
Upon realization, quiet pleads and whimpers escaped out of her tight throat, she pressed her eyes shut, not wanting to face the situation she was trapped in.
She didn't realize how tears were starting to well up in her eyes, how tightly clenched her jaw was in hope of suppressing the jaggering shiver which passed her body.
She didn't realize how the rest of her body went numb, limbs feeling as heavy as boulders made of piercing cold steel.
She didn't realize how she could barely get any air in and out of her lungs, taking a sharp breath once and soon choking it out.
It was just that for a few moments. Momoe begging for the agony to end, anxiously enduring it, as the haunting of the touch in the past continued to plague her mind. Horrid thoughts that spread like deadly poison were rendering her paralyzed on the bed, all while sharing an embrace with her girlfriend.
She didn't know that soon, those hands who locked her into place, feeling incredibly heavy and impossible to move, would be lifted.
She didn't know that soon, the head resting near her chest would rise up to meet her’s.
She didn't know that soon, words which hoped to bring comfort and clarity would be spoken.
"Momoe, listen to me. Momoe, you're at home. You're in bed with me, Rika. Rika Kawai, the cutest girl you know. Please nod if you understand."
The sentences were repeated over and over again, spoken like a prayer. Rika’s voice remained steady, filled with clarity throughout the times she spoke it again and again, retaining a rhythm of speaking and waiting for a reaction from the frazzled girl. She was too stubborn to stop trying, too hung up on her pride as Momoe’s girlfriend to abandon the girl she loved in the state she found herself to be in as of now. Of course, the more failed attempts to get Momoe to snap out of her condition piled up, the more desperate Rika grew.
But still, she kept repeating the words nonetheless, not caring if she sounded like a broken record at this point. It was one of the few things she could actually do well. Not care and also, pretend not to care. Momoe made her try out one of the many things she couldn't do well. Show genuine care, without any dumb joke and backtracking attached, or any aggresive, desperate tone displayed.
With newly found motivation, she prepared to speak once again. Her voice was filled with hope and determination. She knew that she could get the girl out of her daze without causing any more discomfort. As she began to speak, Rika knew her words would reach Momoe,
“Momoe, listen to me, focus on my words. Momoe, you're at home. You're safe and sound, lying in bed with me, Rika. Rika Kawai, the cutest girlfriend you ever had. I'm here, I promise you I’ll stay here. Please nod if you understand.”
A sharp intake of breath from the taller girl, followed by a shiver that passed her body is what made Rika stop for a moment. Momoe’s eyes fluttered open, revealing green eyes which carried shock and surprise in them. She spent the next few seconds blinking the leftover tears out, reaching her hands up to rub them away as new ones spilled down her cheeks. After repeatedly wiping away at her puffy red eyes, noticing the silent stare from Rika, Momoe’s hands planted themselves before her face, covering it up, hiding from the concerned look her girlfriend was giving her.
Her face felt hot, and the contrast of her cold hands on burning cheeks certainly didn't go unnoticed. Like a coward, she chose to hide the rush of embarrassment that overtook her after realizing what she's been doing for the past time. She’s been crying like a tall child.
She’s been crying like a sensitive, defenseless and easily hurt tall child, that she tried to bury deep into the ground, resting sound and safe, hidden away from the overworld and it’s piercing stare. But in the past moment, the child’s rotten hands clawed at the suffocating layers of dirt, digging their way up to be met with a light. A light, with such intense level of brightness that it blinded their hollow eyes. The warmth contained under the earth left them as they felt the sharp cold air hit their pale skin, sending shivers down their whole body. Blinded, trembling as their body froze, the child was rendered paralyzed, curled up on the surface.
“Momoe.”
Warmth. This time, a gentle, comforting warmth could be felt. The touch came from Rika’s fingertips, and for once, it didn't feel scorching hot, burning her skin. It was nice. It was familiar. It was welcomed.
“Come on, you don't need to be ashamed or something. While I do have a big mouth, I would never mock you for stuff like this.”
As Rika’s voice filled the room, her fingers traced the backside of Momoe’s hands. If she was completely honest, she wanted to tear those hands away from Momoe’s face in a desperate attempt to see the hidden expression. She’d take them into her own, holding them in a tight yet gentle grip, all while staring into her girlfriend’s face, relieved at last to see her snapped out of her dazed state.
But, she kept herself from acting on those impulses. Barely so.
Instead, she waited. Tenderly stroking Momoe’s hands, rubbing soft circles into them as her patience continued to stretch on. Slowly but surely, the air around them lost it's heavy weight. Rika could feel how cold hands started to slip away, dragging her own down along the way. Waiting eagerly to see the shade of green she deeply longed for, only to see them be as dull as sun burnt grass, any vibrancy and striking liveliness it held before lost in the overwhelming heat.
Rika’s hands were still planted firmly atop Momoe’s, like roots of a plant, they seemed to be hard to shake off of the dirt they grew in. Just as hard to shake off as the shame in the taller girls head. Her eyes looked away in guilt, squinting into the empty darkness, desperately trying to ignore Rika’s concerned stare. A heavy sigh left her lungs.
“Sorry for waking you up like that. Let’s just go back to sleep, okay? I’m sure you must be tir-”
Suddenly, she felt a sharp sting from her cheek. Her eyes squeezed shut at the sensation of pain spreading through her face.
“Oww Rikaaa cut it oouut!!”
The blonde ignored the childish cry and went on to put more pressure into pinching Momoe’s cheek, which only left the poor girl to whimper out harder than before.
“I’ll stop once you finally stop apologizing for stuff you don't even need to be sorry for. Silly stupid idiot.”
“Okay! Okay! I’m not sorry for waking you up like this!! Please Rika it’s starting to hurt really badly I don't wanna end up with a bruise or something please-”
As her last plea hurried from her mouth, Rika obliged and withdrew her hand from the reddened cheek. Momoe’s own hand went on to check up on it, rubbing it gently at first to soothe some of the stinging pain, but stopping once she found out it only grew. A pout started to form on her face, eyes looking up to the cause of her pounding cheek.
“You didn't have to be so forceful and mean…”
Momoe’s eyes reminded Rika of a little kitten, who’s been hurt by a rather harmless prank. She had to admit, it was a pretty adorable sight, even though it was also kinda awful to think this way, she couldn't help but find the childish expression displayed on the normally oh so polite, mature girl cute. Still, Rika remained composed and carried on with a serious face,
“Yes I did. You should know how I act like at this point, your own fault for continuing to stay by my side.”
She saw how Momoe’s pout changed into a small frown after hearing her last sentence, opening slightly to say something. Rika guessed those words would be said to pamper her, make her aware she’s not as bad as she makes herself to be, and so, she spoke first,
“You wanna talk about what happened, silly?”
Rika watched carefully as she saw Momoe squint in discomfort once again, fiddling with her hands in a nervous manner. Her tiny mouth opened, taking in a breath as if she were about to say something, when in the next moment, she would close it shut. The blonde slowly put her hand over anxious fidgeting ones, softly stroking them in a calming motion.
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Easy as that. Instead, I could always talk to you about the crazy dream I had earlier.”
A small giggle filled the silent room. Rika could feel a familiar flutter in her stomach, and in response to the pleasant noise, her lips formed a content smile. Which would only grow more in size as green eyes locked with her blue ones. The previous shame and guilt was lost, instead, she saw them filled up with comfort and appreciation. At this point, the familiar flutter grew into chaotic, furious swings. Strangely enough, in nice, chaotic, furious swings.
“Thank you, really. I think I’d rather not go into detail about it, it’s just… stuff with Haruka.”
Momoe’s face scrunched up as she finished her sentence, left with a bad lingering taste. Her eyes once again broke contact, it grew to be a habit of her’s, looking everywhere except a person's face when feelings washed over her in an overwhelming wave. Quickly, she composed herself, no longer allowing herself to once again stumble into the grave of emotions. Her head shifting against the pillow as it slightly tilted upwards, a thought came to her mind,
“Actually, while I’d love to hear about your dream, I do kind of wanna go back to sleep… or at least try to.”
“Eh, I’ll just tell you in the morning then!”
Lips turned into a small witted smirk, “If you remember it in the morning.”
Rika scoffed at Momoe’s remark on her rather poor memory. She returned the expression, taking her turn on playing smart.
“Well, we can only find out if we close our eyes and drift off into sleep slumber, right?”
“I guess you're right. Good night, and thanks for earlier.”
As Momoe spoke, her hand moved to intertwine with Rika’s, gently grasping it in a soft hold, her eyes gazing into the other pair with similar softness and gratefulness.
For a moment, the blonde’s mind went completely blank. Whenever her girlfriend looked her in the eyes, the gentle warmth would flood her head in waves of butterflies, effectively ridding her of the few working braincells she kept. The warmth spreading through her head went to her cheeks, growing more and more as she continued to stare back helplessly at inviting grass green eyes.
Soon enough, she snapped herself out of the love-ridden daze, tore her eyes away from the cause of her rotting brain and cleared her throat,
“You don’t have to thank me, silly. I’m here when you need me to be. Now, close those pretty globes of yours and get some beauty sleep, not that you’d need it.”
She should be used to Rika’s sudden compliments about her appearance but, she wasn't. Her heart would pick up a rhythm too fast for her body to handle, blood pumping through veins, arriving in her cheeks, a noticeable red blush spreading across them. Suddenly, her speech became childlike, stammering and stuttering out gibberish as her mind tried to make sense of how to appropriately react.
It was stupid, really. Comments detailing her attractiveness were not new to her, especially ones from girls. Yet, she felt her body melt like a burning candle whenever she heard Rika say it. Quickly, Momoe’s last bit of self-control blew out the growing flame before her mind turned into a puddle of liquid wax.
“Ah- Uh- yes. You should sleep too.”
Rika couldn't help but smile at how flustered the usually well composed girl got, it was one of her favorite things in the world. Content with the reaction she got out of Momoe, she nodded at her suggestion,
“Yeah yeah, good night. Sleep well this time, don't be afraid to tell me stuff if there's something bothering you. Sweet dreams, little clover.”
“Mhm, sweet dreams Rika.”
Quietly, the wind howled as fresh air swept into the room. Along a chill it brought peace, calming the girls’ nerves as they drifted off into slumber. Although she was finally at peace, Rika resisted the urge to follow Momoe and close her eyes.
Instead, she fixated a steady gaze at the girl lying across her, watching her like a statue. She admired the beautifully sculpted face, how the soft, auburn hair fell down on it, but more so, she cautiously searched for indicators of disturbance. Those, who disturbed Momoe’s sleep in the past, who teared cracks and scratches into the familiar face she held dear to her heart, once soft hair progressively becoming more disheveled as the terror rang louder and louder.
It made her sick. She gritted her teeth as her stare grew to be sharper, her desire to pierce through any discomfort Momoe experienced increased as frustration built up. As she laid there, brooding over possible scenarios of the person who she held incredibly close to her, Rika almost didn't notice how Momoe squirmed slightly, eyes opening to reveal a tired expression,
“Rika… are you staring at me? It's kinda intense… and hard to sleep… weren't you gonna sleep with me?”
Upon finally registering the words Momoe said in a tired, groggy voice, Rika’s eyes blinked in surprise. Shouldn't she have noticed Momoe waking up? Did she really let herself get lost in her frustration, ignoring her original purpose and goal of staying up longer? Normally, she would try and find an answer to those questions, even if they were pretty simple, she always found a way to get worked up over simple, obvious questions.
Instead, she took a quick breath and hurried to answer Momoe’s question,
“Yeah. I mean- , yeah of course I'm staring at you! You look even sillier when you're asleep. It's kinda hard to fall asleep when there's an adorably goofy looking girl right across you!”
With sleepy eyes the ‘goofy looking’ girl stared at Rika. Her lips looked like a straight line, curling a bit down at the ends, which resulted in a neutral frown. It was a familiar expression, one used whenever Rika made up a dumb answer to a question asked with genuine interest.
Momoe raised her hand from under the covers, reaching towards Rika.
The blonde cried out in pain as the hand pinched her cheek. Her head was shaking, trying to get rid of the cause, she grabbed Momoe’s arm with her own hand, desperately pulling at it.
"Go to sleep, please."
Rika gasped out loud in relive when the stinging sensation finally stopped, her hold on Momoe’s arm still persisted. She opened her eyes, previously shut tight from the sensation, and gave Momoe a playfully aggravated look. With a smirk she said,
"You're getting bold, aren't you?"
In a way to make up for the little assault on the blonde's cheek, she gently stroked the reddened spot. She scoffed at Rika’s question,
“Maybe. It's mostly payback for earlier.”
Rika couldn't help but laugh at the way Momoe justified her action. It reminded her of a child, clinging onto their rightfulness and innocence in a rather silly and meaningless situation. The image of Momoe as a small, pouting child amused Rika more than she expected. Through her now intensified laughter, she replied,
“Wow! Didn't know you hold grudges that easily!”
As If Rika’s laughing didn't already fluster her enough, her reply made sure it was now definitely more than enough. She let out a whine, still feeling tired and exhausted but now also, frustrated and confused.
“Huh-? What-? No, it’s- Rika, come on, stop laughing and let’s just sleep together now”
Seeing as words didn't quite reach the girl shaking in laughter, Momoe helplessly tugged on Rika’s shirt, repeating “please” a few times, waiting as frustration slowly started to grow the longer it took for Rika to finally calm down.
“Sorry, sorry.”
She chuckled out her last laugh and took a deep breath. Her hysterical laughter finally passed, all that was left of it was a happy smile stretching across Rika’s face,
“Okay, I’m normal now.”
Momoe was more than grateful that Rika’s fit finally passed, she was also more than content seeing that happy, satisfied smile on her girlfriend's face. But those feelings of content didn't stop her reaction of raising a brow, giving Rika a rather questioning look as those words reached her ears,
“Normal enough to sleep?”
Instead of taking any offense, Rika simply brushed the rude remark off with an amused scoff, finding humor in Momoe’s action of raising a brow, whilst asking her that question in a tone like that.
“Yes, silly. Normal enough to sleep together with you.”
“As that was the plan, originally.”
The blonde couldn't help but sigh a little at how Momoe seemed to hold onto small things, tiny agreements viewed as having no immense importance by the majority of people. But Momoe wasn't the majority of people, she was herself, her own person, Momoe Sawaki.
Rika gazed into sleepy green eyes. Feelings of familiarity and comfort seeped into her being, on top of that, she felt her eyelids growing heavier. Soon, she would have to cut off contact with her source of joy. But when that time would come, she wouldn't carry fear in her mind. Instead, she would carry the comfort emitted from gentle grass-green eyes with her.
“Yeah so, good night. Let’s see each other in our dreams, alright?”
She scooched over closer to Momoe, exchanging her last look with her, before placing a small good night kiss on her cheek. Rika didn't bother checking in on how Momoe would react to the peck, knowing fully well that along with the kiss, a blush would be left on her cheek. Instead, the blonde nuzzled her head into the space between Momoe’s neck and chest, settling into a comfortable position.
After surprise passed Momoe’s fuzzy mind, she followed Rika’s movements along, placing her head slightly over Rika’s, nestling it into the pillow, as her arms wrapped around the blonde, gently holding her close. At this point, her eyes were barely open anymore, and as she said her last good night, Momoe could feel them slowly close.
“Alright, that would be nice… good night, Rika. I’ll see you…?”
“See ya. Now, close those pretty eyes. Lights out.”
In a daze of sleep and comfort, Momoe moved her head closer to Rika’s, softly putting her lips on her girlfriend’s head and thereby returning the good night kiss from earlier. Before finally drifting off to sleep, Momoe just so managed to move her head away, back into its original position.
Warmth spread through her entire body. If Rika was being honest, she was amazed at how it was possible for the warmth in her heart and body to grow even more intense. Although, she felt it was important to notice that it wasn't the unpleasant, overwhelming kind of intense. It was a soft, and very much welcomed intense. She felt her last still awake senses settle into the pleasant heat, finally falling asleep.