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It was early in their relationship that they'd discovered a mutual love of movies; Yue had, after all, told everyone her favorite movie genre when she observed class 1-A, and Toshinori didn't hide his own interests when she inquired. It was only natural from there that movie nights were born, hosted at Yue's apartment, usually involving a distraction or two from her cats. Toshinori didn't have pets of his own, but he loved them, and having Yue's impressively round tortoiseshell choose to sit in his lap over her owner's was somewhat flattering to him, even if the other cat was still skittish around him; he didn't take it personally, especially after Yue explained the cat's past trauma and her fear of tall people in general. She'd insisted it took over a year for the cat to like her, though with how lovey it was with her, he almost doubted this.
When the two had free time to organize a movie night, they alternated on who picked what. Yue usually picked an old slasher, Toshinori liked to pick American comedies; Yue didn't smile a lot, and he'd since accepted it as a quirk of hers, but he felt a little successful whenever she laughed at something in the movie he picked. It wasn't the only reason he picked comedies, of course, but it helped.
Yue, similarly, enjoyed having someone to watch horror movies with her and not interrupt every five minutes with a joke or question; she loved her friend dearly, but Ikatteiru was a terrible movie-talker, and always scared the cats off with how loud she could be. It was nice to have a friend who felt similar in temperament, though Toshinori could definitely be more energetic than her.
Without knowing the specifics of his injury, Yue had managed to pick up on some of his dietary habits; she always had certain teas on hand that she'd slowly learned he'd liked more than others, more often than not it was ginger and honey, and foods with protein- she'd seen him eat yogurt or tofu enough to figure he liked it, and she usually had eggs because she used them a lot, herself. She didn't want to pry, it wasn't her business, and he'd been pretty non-committal when she asked if he wanted her to pick anything up for him for the movie.
This movie night, it had been Yue's turn to choose, and she opted for what had seemed interesting just from reading the synopsis- 'Into The Mouth of Madness' was filmed in 1994 and a John Carpenter movie, that's really all she needed to know to pick it. Yue only realized later that she really should've read the reviews, as it felt like the movie dragged on and on, and it was only halfway through. It stopped being interesting to her a while ago, and she could only pretend for so long.
The coffee table was littered with an assortment of things; Toshinori's tea mug, a few empty yogurt cups, Yue's water bottle, a bowl of unsalted popcorn that had long been forgotten. A group of napkins was scattered everywhere due to one of the cats deciding they were more fun to play with than the plethora of toys they had.
Yue turned her attention to the blond man next to her, watching him as he watched the screen, the colors from the TV playing across his face in the darkness, the highlights and shadows exaggerating the gauntness of his face; he always sat properly, minus posture, like he was a stranger in her apartment and not invited because she actually wanted to spend time with him; Yue always put her bell and oral arms up in a makeshift bun whenever he came over, always conscious of his comfort. Toshinori had her tortoiseshell, Eliza, on his lap and was absentmindedly petting her as he yawned and rubbed at his eye with his free hand.
"Have you been getting any sleep lately?" Yue asked, interrupting his attention.
He glanced between her and the TV before settling his gaze on her, giving a tired smile that she imagined was supposed to be reassuring but only cemented her suspicions.
"I've been busy," He admitted, almost sheepishly. "Not a lot of time for sleep right now."
''Toshinori! Sleep's too important for you to be skipping out on it!" Yue paused the movie as she scolded him and moved from her comfy sidelean, throwing one leg out behind Toshinori and leaving one off the side of the couch, adjusting herself so she sat against the armrest a little more.
"Alright," She said, patting her thighs as if her intent was obvious.
"What... are you doing?" He asked,
"I am making you take a nap."
Surprise or shock often seemed to trigger a coughing fit from him, which she found odd, but she had come to expect it at this point; Yue just offered him a napkin off the coffee table that sat between the couch and the TV and waited until he was alright again.
He was pink with embarrassment, but he didn't protest her idea, very gently scooping Eliza off his lap and placing her on the ground, giving her a couple of cheek scratches as an apology. Laying down on Yue's couch was somewhat of an ordeal, as even when he moved closer to Yue and was practically in her lap, his back against her chest and head on her shoulder, he still had to hang his legs off the end of the couch.
"You spoil that cat every time you're here." She pointed out, running her hands through his hair to get him to relax a little.
"She deserves it." Toshinori claimed, almost cheekily, and it got Yue to laugh slightly.
Every time Yue'd touched him, he'd been cold- he even considered her to be warm, which was saying something. With him laying on her like this, she could feel him shiver, and she frowned, reaching for the blanket she had thrown over the side of the couch and draping it as best she could over him, though he was a lot taller than the blanket was long.
"You should've told me you were cold, I could've gotten more blankets," She chided, though it was more monotone than anything.
"I didn't think it was that important. This can't be comfortable for you, anyway-" He shifted, looking for a way to lie that wouldn't put either of them in an awkward or painful position, seemingly hyper-aware of his body and how bony it could be. It might've been odd to him to be held, being the taller of the two by almost a full foot, but Yue seemed content to be the holder instead of holdee, and thought it wasn't something he was used to, it was nice.
"It's important to me. And you'd be surprised; I like the pressure," Yue admitted, taking her hands from his hair to briefly give him a hug- or the closest thing to it, given the positioning. "I'd tell you if it wasn't comfortable, as long as you'd tell me the same. I like holding you, you deserve soft things."
She hummed a tune as she played with his hair, combing out the ends with her fingers and gently untangling any knots she found. She could feel Toshinori sigh deeply, and only hoped it was out of contentment.
"What are you humming?" He asked after a moment, when he realized it wasn't just a mindless little tune and actually followed a pattern.
"An old lullaby," Yue smiled, and though he couldn't see it, Toshinori could feel the movement. "My mom used to sing it to us when we were sick or couldn't sleep. I never really learned where it came from; let me see if I can remember the words..." She took a moment to think, before clearing her throat.
"You ran to me and said 'baby, I can't rest', I told you no one in this world has either, we're blessed; and though you struggle to see it sometimes, and you struggle to sleep at night, but just know I'm watching over you. You'll lay and stare at the wall, and life troubles to trouble us all, but just know, I'm feeling it too.
I was wondering if you'd like to come inside and sit with me, so I don't die. I love you so, and I'll never let you go; and may the Lord be with you, no matter where you go,"
She broke off into humming again, leaving Toshinori to ponder the significance of someone singing you to sleep; his heart beat so heavily in his chest that he was afraid Yue could feel it, but if she did, she didn't say anything, content with her work on his hair.
He started to relax, his tiredness and Yue's comfort working together to override his anxiety about being uncomfortable or overwhelming; his yawn got an airy breath of laughter from her, though he didn't understand why, and slowly he figured a nap wouldn't hurt anything. If she was going through the trouble, he might as well indulge her, the threading of her fingers through his hair lulling him further into sleep.