Work Text:
Japan was colder than she remembered. Coming back home, Hikari thought very little of the change in climate she would face upon returning. London was colder than where she was right now, but the combination of an especially cold winter and her current sleeping accommodations made it hard to say otherwise. Laying down in her futon on the cold laminate, Hikari was already shivering, known that outside, there was bound to be fresh snowfall. Jackets weren’t an option; she was already wearing one of her hoodies; too many layers would make her uncomfortable. Mr. White was currently spinning around in a washing machine (she would have to apologize to him in case he got sick in there.) She already had a thick blanket draped over her. The only other option was…
Body warmth…
Embarrassing as it might be, Hikari was running out of feasible options for places to sleep. And the last thing she wanted to do was to open the doors, lest she let more cold air in. It’s too cold… Mr. White isn’t here… Looking over to Karen, Hikari could see that she was sprawled out, drooling on her pillow without a care in the world. Sure, it would have been like the sleepovers they used to have when they were little, but getting drool on her clothes was not worth the warmth. That only left Mahiru; and judging by the large, soft duvet, she was making the right choice. Sorry for this Mahiru, but… it can't be helped. Making her way to Mahiru’s bedside, Hikari gently placed a hand on her shoulder, and attempted to jostle the sleeping girl awake. After a few unsuccessful shakes, Hikari was met with a befuddled look of a drowsy Mahiru. “Hikari? W-What’s wrong, did Karen do something again?”
“No, not in particular,” HIkari mused as she took her hand off of Mahiru’s shoulder, “I actually wanted to ask for a favour myself.”
By her tone of voice and body language, Mahiru could tell that whatever Hikari was in need of was probably serious. Maybe she’s afraid of the dark and needs a night light? We never asked her about, come to think of it. “S-Sure, what do you need?”
“Um…” Hikari shifted nervously. It was all starting to dawn on her; asking for something so brash to Mahiru of all people. “It’s cold on the floor, and I wanted to ask if i could share your bed with you tonight, just until I get Mr.White back.”
Was Hikari asking to sleep in her bed? Stoic, mysterious
and beautiful
Hikari?
Rubbing her eyes in slight disbelief, Mahiru finally willed her half asleep mind to speak.
“I guess that would be fine; wouldn’t want for you to get sick and miss classes and all.” Truth be told? Mahiru was freaking out. Pretty girls usually didn’t ask to sleep in your bed, even in a school like this. But looking over to Karen, who was wildly flashing about in her sleep, she understood why Hikari had gone to her in the first place. Sitting up as she pulled the blanket away, Mahiru shifted herself so that there was enough room for Hikari to lay down. Which she did nervously, inching her way forwards hesitantly, as if she still wasn’t sure if she could lie down.
The awkward tension was slightly lessened as the bed shifted, accommodating the girl lying down opposite to Mahiru. This isn’t so bad. This is just like a sleepover. We sleep in the same room anyways. Hikari inched a bit closer to make herself more comfortable, accidentally brushing her hand against Mahiru’s hand. This is not OK. Any entity out there, even that creepy giraffe in the basement. Please help.
I can’t believe she let me sleep here. Lying at a comfortably close and definitely non-romantic distance away from her roommate, Hikari was finally at a point to where a night’s rest was within her grasp. But while the bed was a definite step up from her previous situation, she was still quite a bit cold. But she wouldn’t dare ask Mahiru for anything else; letting her sleep in her bed was already asking for too much. Pulling the blanket up to her chin, Hikari clutched her arms in an empty, Mr.White-less hug, hoping that the duvet was enough to help her get to sleep.
It was quite a while before Mahiru’s heart rate was at a point to where she could fall back asleep. Having someone sleep with you out of nowhere tended to do that to a person. Closing her eyes, she welcomed her mind to the dreams it could offer her. Visions of her home, the clear blue skies, the vast fields of crops, the warmth of arms enveloping her in a tight embrace--
H-Huh?!?!
Mahiru’s eyes opened suddenly, looking to see that there was a (particularly strong) set of arms holding her in a tight hug. And sure enough, as she turned her head to look, Hikari was cuddled right up against her with a surprisingly serene look for someone in such a deep sleep. Twitching her arm as a subconscious reaction, Mahiru was met with an even tighter squeeze from Hikari. And as if to rub salt in the proverbial wound, Hikari’s right leg wrapped around both of Mahiru’s effectively leaving her in a full-Hikari body bind. Faced reddening by the minute, Mahiru desperately tried to get her mind off of her current situation, but there was just nothing that her gay brain could do to combat something this cute. She couldn’t sleep now. There was just no way.
“You’re so warm, Mr. White,” Hikari mumbled in her sleep, as she rubbed her cheek against Mahiru’s shoulder, “I love you.”
And just like that, Mahiru’s peaceful six hours of sleep were thrown out the window.
It wasn’t often that Mahiru had to be woken up. It was usually during winter breaks or on weekends, when her daily tasks were sparse. But this time, she wasn’t woken up by Karen or even Hikari. It was the sound of a camera flashing.
“Bananice.”
Opening her eyes in terror, Mahiru saw seven other girls crowded around her bed, all in varying states of emotion. Claudine and Futaba were attempting to calm Kaoruko down, who was seemingly doubled over in an eclectic laughing fit. Junna looked to be taking notes, while Maya had an unamused look in her eyes.
“I just woke up and they were like that!” Karen explained as she looked towards the duo in the bed, “Oh, Mahiru, you’re awake! How come Hikari is in your bed?” What could she tell Karen hat wouldn’t make the situation any worse than it was? Oh, Hikari was cold and asked if she could sleep here and coincidentally happened to cuddle me! No one would believe that!
“I-I… um…”
Mahiru struggled desperately to find the words to explain the situation, only to feel the body beside her shifting around.
“O-Oh, good morning Mahiru,” Hikari spoke with a gentle, tired cadence to her voice, “thanks for sleeping with me yesterday, I really needed your warmth.”
This was it. This was the end. Mahiru could feel seven sets of eyes trained on her, tears of misunderstanding and embarrassment forming as words formed, trapped in her throat. No matter how much she would explain herself, there was no going back. This was it.
Kaoruko was the first to pipe up, cackling in hyena-like glee as she fell to the floor.
“I expected for Maya or I to make the first move among the nine of us, but it seems that innocent Mahiru over here has got the transfer student wrapped around her finger already~”