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Kiara rubbed her eyes, feeling sleep hanging over her like a blanket. The phoenix had been trying to fall asleep for the past few hours, trying everything she could think of. Warm milk, meditating, listening to Watame Senpai's lullaby, but nothing was working.
So instead she resorted to browsing through twitter, checking out all the new fanart that had been posted. Art with Calli playing into her usual tsundereaper act. Art depicting the two of them as Arstotzkan border security, etc etc.
Seeing all the different scenarios her fans would draw her and Calli in made her feel warm and happy. It also made her realise that she may or may not have been thinking of said reaper for the past few hours. But who could blame her? Just the way the light would reflect off her pale pink hair, the shine in her wine red eyes and the adorable way she pronounced 'skeleton' made Kiara's heart beat out of her chest.
Kiara was surprised to see a notification pop up at the top of her screen. Calli, her beloved future wife had posted something in the groups shared Discord. Kiara, being the caring phoenix she is, clicked on the notification which in turn opened the app.
calliopemori
I can't sleep
Helpp its been four days and i'm tiired
w4tson
haha same
NinoIna
Isn't it the middle of the day for you?
w4tson
yeah and?
NinoIna
...
Gooooruh
have you tried chugging 4 cans of monster energy and then letting the sugar rush do the rest?
w4tson
what about warm milk?
Kiara furrowed her brow. Hearing that Calli hadn't got any sleep in the past four days made her worry for the reaper. Mushy feelings aside, Kiara deeply cared for the rest of her genmates and it rubbed her the wrong way seeing them act so carelessly.
KFPManager
Have you tried meditation?
Gooooruh
Wait
Don't you and calli both live in japan
Isn't it like
Midnight there?
NinoIna
Are we just gonna brush off what Gura said?
w4tson
yes
KFPManager
I can't sleep either
Calli
Do you think I could come over?
moricalliope
no
hard no
KFPManager
It was worth a shot
NinoIna
Did you know that sometimes people are unable to sleep because someone is thinking about them?
moricalliope
Your point?
NinoIna
( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
KFPManager
(・_・;)
moricalliope
my brain is working and half its working power
i understand nothing
NinoIna
Don't worry Calli
Kiara rubbed her eyes blearily, smiling at the friendly conversation. She knew exactly what Ina meant, Calli on the other hand, in her tired state, didn't seem to get it.
After that last message the chat fell silent. A little pop-up at the bottom of the screen told them Calli had been typing for several moments before it disappeared. Kiara just shrugged and placed her phone on her night stand, making sure it was charging.
Kiara felt herself drift off several times throughout the next two hours, though she never slept for longer than 15 minutes. There was this little nagging sensation at the back of her head, one that she was slightly familiar with but not entirely so. And this little annoying part of her brain that kept chiming and repeating the words Ina had texted.
'Did you know that sometimes people are unable to sleep because someone is thinking about them?'.
Kiara paused. No, that couldn't be right, right? She's always acting so tsundere, but she just seemed so tired that maybe it slipped through her censors. And that brought her back to thinking about Calli again.
Kiara groaned in annoyance which caught the attention of Kotori. The phoenix spirit yawned before hopping over to her, nudging Kiara with his beak. The phoenix sighed, gently grabbing Kotori in a hug, relishing in the softness of her mascot's feathers. Kotori just squawked softly, fluffing his feathers before settling his head down and falling asleep.
Kiara adjusted her hold on her mascot before letting herself fully relax. Maybe she should just stop over-thinking everything and then she could get some sleep that way. Kiara would just talk to Calli after she woke up to see how she was doing.
Meanwhile, Calli was laying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was all too aware of the bags under her eyes and the tired dragging feeling that she felt deep in her bones, but her thoughts refused to let her sleep. But no matter what, all she could see was those perfect magenta eyes and shining orange and teal hair, her infectious laugh... Guh! Too far, thoughts! Too far.
Calli ran her fingers through her hair in annoyance, rolling over on to her side. It suddenly struck her that her bed was too big, too empty, with only her in it. The reaper smiled softly, looking back on the times that Kiara came over for sleepovers.
'I mean... Kiara lives nearby, and I'm sure she'd be more than happy but- Ah! Stupid f-wording sleep deprived thoughts' Calli grumbled internally and decided she'd rather just think about the stupid phoenix that had stole her heart and berate her brain later. Just this once she'd let herself indulge.
The first thought her mind went to was something that had happened a little over a year ago, maybe a few months after their trip to Hokkaido. Calli's mind fuzzed over most of the details, but the ones that stuck out to her were the ones with Kiara. The reaper would've thought that having to share a bed with the phoenix would've been annoying at best, but it turned out to be one of the best sleeps she'd ever had and even now she wished for the phoenix to be with her now.
Calli's thoughts like this continued until the sun started peeking through her blinds, shining directly in her eyes. Out of pure annoyance, Calli pulled the blankets over her head, trying to block out the light. But under the blankets was hot. Incredibly hot. Unbearably so.
'Kiara's warmth is a lot nicer' Calli's sleep deprived brain mused. It took a few moments to realise what her brain just thought. Calli just sighed, too tired to do deal with emotions after another night of no sleep.
Thinking back on the conversation she'd had with her genmates last night made her wish she had let Kiara come over.
Peeking a look at the alarm clock on her night stand, Calli read the blinking numbers. 7:05am. Calli just gave it a blank stare. It was too early for this shit.
'I swear, I'm going to go f-wording crazy from lack of sleep...' Calli was once again staring at her ceiling. A sudden series of knocks confirmed her theory.
'Yup, I've gone insane. F-wording great' Calli groaned hearing the knocks ring out once more. Who even knocks on someone's door this early? Wait, knocking? Calli cursed under her breath, briefly wondering if she could get away with just ignoring whoever it was until they left.
"Calli? Are you finally sleeping?" Although the voice was muffled, Calli could recognise that voice anywhere.
After mulling over her thoughts as quickly as possible, she decided to just do it, rip it off like a band aid as the humans would say.
Calli felt her heart speed up as she opened her apartment door to reveal Kiara. Even early in the morning, the fast food manager still looked so bright and energetic. Oh how Calli envied the ability to wake up well rested, or get rest in general.
"Oh.. Did you not get any sleep last night?" Kiara frowned slightly seeing the dark bags under Calli's eyes, but she also inwardly gushed at the sight of Calli's admittedly adorable bed hair.
In response, the reaper just half-heartedly shrugged and shook her head tiredly. Kiara pursed her lips before moving past her, placing her purse down on the nearby coffee table. Calli didn't really react beyond coolly reprimanding Kiara over barging in.
"What... are you doing?" Calli asked slowly. Kiara turned to face her with an awkward smile, her face flushed.
"Ah... Well... I find when I have someone to hug I find it easier to rest" Kiara explained, picking off a downy teal feather from her pyjama shirt which was tucked under her sweater.
"So you're asking too... cuddle?" The gears in Calli's head moved slowly as she pieced together what Kiara was saying. The phoenix proceeded to blush even harder after hearing Calli say it out loud.
"Uhm.. Well... Yes?" Kiara tugged the neck of her sweater nervously. Meanwhile Calli just leaned against her door, thinking as hard as she could with her tired mind. Maybe she really was starting to lose it, but Kiara's warmth had suddenly become extremely tempting.
"Uh.. sure" Kiara perked up, like she wasn't expecting the reaper to actually agree. Calli saw the disbelief in her eyes, like she wasn't sure if this was a tired Calli prank (they were rare, but did still happen).
Before Kiara could react, Calli rolled her shoulders and walked into her room, letting Kiara follow behind. She sat on the couch for a little longer before following meekly behind the reaper. Sure they'd cuddled before, but they did it so rarely that Kiara still felt butterflies whenever they did.
It was cold in the reaper's room, something Kiara still couldn't get use to even after spending so much time in here.
"C'mon! M'tired!" Calli held open the blankets so Kiara could climb in next to her. The phoenix did so with little hesitation, huddling up as close as she could to her. Calli shuffled around a bit, not used to the close contact, but settled down and tentatively wrapped her arms around Kiara's shoulders, pulling the phoenix closer to her.
Immediately, a wave of drowsiness swept over the reaper as she nuzzled further into Kiara's soft hair, noting that it smelt faintly of gravy. Kind of weird, but it felt comforting coming from Kiara.
"Sleep tight, Calli~" Kiara murmured softly to her, pulling the blankets more tightly around the two while clinging on to her.
"Kusotori... stupid bird... too warm and comfortable" Kiara chuckled silently at Calli's tired mutterings. The phoenix leaned up slightly and placed a few small kisses to Calli's cheek, watching her eyelids flutter close into a peaceful slumber.
"Maybe I should think about you more often".