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Sunlight leaked through the gauzy curtains, making Himiko stir with a little whine of protest as she buried her face in the warmth of Kiyo's neck. The curtains were one of the rare splashes of pink in their room — frilly and speckled with a pale floral pattern that wouldn't look out of place in the room of someone much younger. They started off as a joke of sorts, a source of shared amusement between them. There weren't many options at the store when they went shopping their first year. Himiko was at one end of the aisle, looking at something she could no longer remember, when Korekiyo tapped her on the shoulder and showed her the curtains.
She really thought they were joking at first, her intimidating, goth roommate holding flowery pink curtains, but they weren't.
"Really, I'm serious," they said, seeming to frown behind their mask. "Maybe they're a little...out there, but I never would have been allowed to have anything like this in my room as a child. Isn't one of the good things about dorm life getting to be more independent and branch out a little?"
"Yeah, I guess so," she replied. "Sure, I don't mind them."
And so the curtains were theirs and remained so. Friends poked fun at them once in a while, but it was all good natured, and the two of them rarely had company in their dorm anyway. It felt nicer to keep that as a private place, somewhere safe to escape to. There was no shortage of others willing to offer their living spaces up for socializing. Neither of them always did much socializing either, for that matter. They had a small group of friends, but were just as happy to hang out with just each other.
An odd couple, their RA joked at first. It was just a turn of phrase back then, 'couple' in the sense of friends or roommates. Now though, they really were a couple, and it was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
"Good morning," Kiyo mumbled, managing to make grogginess sound elegant. Their eyes opened slowly, lashes fluttering and still smudged with last night's makeup. It was rare for them to be too tired or careless to skip taking it off before bed, and Himiko savored the imperfection of it. She smiled as she looked at their sleepy face, a stripe of sunlight cutting right across the bridge of their nose — the brightness was probably what woke them up. The sharp jut of their hipbone was digging into her own, but she didn't mind it. She was long since used to all their edges, the way every inch of them fit against her.
"Morning," she replied. "How'd you sleep? Good?"
"Excellent."
She grinned, close enough to ghost kisses over their cheek. "I'd hope so with how early you passed out last night. Finishing that paper must've been tiring."
"Yes," Kiyo agreed, slow and measured, like that wasn't quite right. Sure enough, they had more to say. "But that wasn't the only reason. I also wanted to be fresh for your party today. And more importantly, I wanted you to be fresh. I knew you wouldn't go to sleep early if I was still awake."
It was impossible to hide her smile, not that she'd want to anyway.
"You know me too well," she admitted. "It'd be kinda scary sometimes if I didn't love you so much." Someone down the hall must have burned popcorn; she could smell it even through the closed door. Not bad enough to set the fire alarm off though, or it would already be blaring. So it was okay. Just the smell wasn't anywhere near enough to ruin this perfect morning.
"I love you more." Serious as always, they raised an eyebrow, as if daring her to disagree. In retaliation for that daring claim, she gently nudged them over onto their back and moved to drape herself on top of them, close enough to feel the rise and fall of their chest with each breath.
"Do not. I love you most." It was a childish argument of the sort they never tired of. Maybe verging on saccharine to outsiders, but what did that matter in private? They'd both been through more than enough sadness in their lives. It hardly seemed unreasonable to want to make each other as happy as they possibly could.
"Impossible." The slight, still-sleepy rasp to Kiyo's voice made her shiver pleasantly, something they noticed if the hand trailing along her spine was any indication. "You're awfully stubborn, Himi-chan."
"Maybe. You like me that way though."
"I do. Very much. If you're lucky, maybe I'll show you later."
"Later if I'm lucky, huh? Well, what are we doing now then instead?" She stifled a yawn, something that threatened to mix with a giggle in her throat. "Better hurry up and decide before I fall asleep again."
"Brunch?" they offered, still rubbing her back. "You'll have to help me pick out an outfit first." Ever the fashionable one. Most college students would be fine in sweatpants and a t-shirt for shambling to the dining hall on a weekend morning, but not Korekiyo. Any public outing required looking impeccable, and despite how lacking her own skills were in comparison, they always welcomed her input when she was in the mood to give it. She'd been there with them for lots of milestones, fashion-related and otherwise. Their skirts and dresses had sat unworn in their closet until she mentioned how pretty they looked in them, back before they were even dating.
"Of course, as long as you help me with mine too. Otherwise I might be tempted to just go in pajamas and embarrass you."
"You could never embarrass me by being yourself, my dear. But yes, I'll help you." Korekiyo punctuated that with an amused kiss, their words sweet but not sweet enough to try denying that some level of laziness was simply who she was.
Even with their encouragement, it was something of a battle to drag herself out of bed, as usual. But with no strict timetable on how quick they needed to get ready aside from their own hunger, she could manage, gently pushed along by the occasional cajoling from Kiyo as they got ready.
The world outside the covers was cold, as one would expect from early December. That helped guide her choices once it was time to stand in front of their closet, looking through the clothes hanging there. They got cold even more easily than her, so winter usually meant lots of layers, thick sweaters and jackets, all of which they made look amazing. Himiko’s hand ran over a soft, dark green cable knit, thinking for a moment before grabbing its hanger and pulling it out of the closet.
“How about this one?” she offered, glancing over her shoulder at them. “You wanted to try out that green eyeliner you got the other day, right? It’d match.”
“Yes, you’re right. I think that would be nice,” they said as they came up behind her.
It met their approval easily then, not that she expected anything different. Of course, the arms around her waist and the kisses on the back of her neck weren’t necessary for them to take the sweater from her, but Himiko certainly wasn’t complaining. They did birthday pampering well, treating her extra sweetly even now that the day itself had come and gone. And of course, she was careful to do the same each summer for theirs, just as they deserved.
“You keep distracting me,” she whined, clearly not serious about her complaints. “You’re the one who wants to go to the dining hall.”
“It’s not my fault it’s so easy.”
After the arms retreated from around her, she heard the soft rustling noises of clothing hitting the floor. Not exactly anything unfamiliar given how long they’d been dating, and the even longer amount of time spent living in such close proximity to each other. She rolled her eyes in amusement, not turning around.
“I’m not that easily distracted, you know.”
“I have no idea what you might be implying, Yumeno-san,” Korekiyo said, laying on the feigned seriousness and formality thick. She could envision their expression without so much as a glance. “That is, as the youth say, ‘kinda gay.’”
She just snorted, throwing their clean clothes over her shoulder at them.
“Says the second gayest person I know. Get dressed, you big lesbian. I want pancakes.”
When they finally did get to the dining hall, brunch was well worth the effort of getting out of bed and going out into the cold, late-morning air. They were able to snag their favorite table, tucked away in a corner by the windows. The sun streamed in just right, making the place look a little cheerier as they ate. The comfortable banter between them came and went throughout the meal, neither of them overly concerned about it. Chatter and silence were both equally comfortable.
Later, they’d be getting together with their eclectic group of friends for a belated birthday party. That would be fun too, she knew. Opening gifts, playing games, eating Kirumi’s amazing cooking, even watching the chaos from some of the more unpredictable ones among them. She was lucky to have so many people who cared about her.
It was all wonderful, and she was always careful to express her gratitude. But honestly, lazy mornings like this with Korekiyo were the best of all. They fit together so comfortably she could no longer imagine being without them, and she hoped she’d never have to.
She hadn’t told them, not wanting to spoil what was surely intended to be a surprise, but she knew about the ring box stashed in the back of a drawer.
Heart light, she reached over to steal a strawberry from their plate, giggling at their faked attempt to stop her. Being with them was the best birthday present of all.