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Gura whimpered hearing the rain spatter against the window. The trees bending casted the faintest of shadows as the moon peaked out from behind wispy cloud.
The Atlantean herself wasn’t actually awake, instead her mind was plagued with images as clear as glass. Rock cracking underneath her feet as water gushed around her, too strong to fight against. Lava spilled around the buildings that she had once called home. The glass dome that had protected them from the harsh climates of the ocean had shattered, spraying the panicked Atlanteans in shards of glass. The images were so clear in her mind and had Gura been awake, she would’ve briefly wondered why she was even having another nightmare after years of dreamless sleeps.
But it didn’t matter, and Gura continued to whimper, toss and turn.
With a final toss, Gura awoke with a stifled gasp. As quick as the images came, they had left, and only remained faintly in the back of her mind.
She didn’t come to gasping with wide eyes like one might portray. Instead Gura just blinked them open slowly, limbs feeling heavy and warm under her weighed blanket. The rain tried to lull her back into a deep sleep, but those visions continued to dance around her head.
“Course it had to be the night everyone was away...” She mumbled under her breath, tail twitching closer to her. Ame was away doing some sort’ve time travelling detective work, and Ina and Kiara were over in the main office building helping with whatever. But Calli… well, the reaper had been holed up in her studio all afternoon and well into the night, and of course the chance that Calli had actually gone to sleep by now was about as possible as Amelia not rage quitting during a Mario stream.
Gura barely supressed a shiver as her feet touched the cold floor, and she felt around hopelessly for her shark slippers, only to see them piled up with her other shoes on the other side of the room. So instead she settled for pulling on one of Kiara’s sweaters, which always felt like they were straight from the dryer. Soft and warm, they smelled of orange and chicken gravy.
All of a sudden, the house felt weirdly large and empty, especially with how quiet it was. The only sound Gura could hear was the slapping of her feet against cold wood and that tapping of rain against glass.
“Like sumthing straight out’ve a horror movie” She bunched the orange sweater closer to her, relishing in the warmth and comfort it brought.
To Gura’s surprise, Calli was indeed asleep, which was a sight to behold in itself. The Atlantean felt a little bad for seeking out her for girlfriend’s comfort when she looked so peaceful. But perhaps some dormant part of the reaper’s brain realised Gura was there, as not a moment later she was rubbing her wine-red eyes groggily, noting the short silhouette in the doorway.
“Gura? My dude, whatcha doing here?” Her voice was husky, making Gura flush slightly and curl her tail closer to her leg. Clutching the sleeves of Kiara’s sweater tighter, Gura’s eyes remained frozen to the floor in embarrassment.
“I-... I had a nightmare” She whispered, feeling a flood of memories rushing back to her like a tidal wave. All those screams of terror as the dome came crashing down. The feeling of being shoved away from her family as Atlanteans tried to scramble to safety.
“Oh, hey, c’mere, don’t cry” The sound of a bed creaking followed by the rushed footsteps of Calli was all Gura heard before her face was shoved into something very soft. Gura felt her face redden, although the feeling of tears rolling down her cheeks caught Calli’s attention.
“Ah, shoot! What, uh- Do you wanna talk about it?” Calli kept an arm wrapped around Gura’s shoulder as she led her towards her bed. Gura just shook her head meekly, trying in vain to wipe away her onslaught of tears streaming down her face. Calli ‘guh’-ed awkwardly and hugged Gura a little closer.
“Uhm, mmm, would you like me to sing to you?” Gura paused, looking up at the reaper with big blue, teary eyes.
“Really?” Calli’s heart melted as Gura’s soft tone. Sometimes all the reaper wanted to do was bundle up the small shark in a hug and never let her go.
“Yeah, c’mon, lay down with me” Calli lifted her thick duvet covers, to which Gura gratefully curled up beside her, resting her head on Calli’s chest.
Right here in the reaper’s embrace, Gura felt completely safe, like she was wrapped up in the world’s strongest blanket, or some other cheesy analogy. The fact that all her worries were swept away with the warmth Calli brought let the shark fall into a drowsy stupor. Above her, Calli hummed soothingly, the vibrations from her chest helping Gura relax even further.
The rain continued to patter against the window, this time providing a calming melody that reminded the both of them of a certain priestess. The grandfather clock ticked away harmlessly in the corner of Calli’s room, reminding them of a certain detective. And the slew of soft plushies that lined Calli’s bed, courtesy of their favourite phoenix.
“Does Kusotori know you have her favourite sweater?” Gura smiled hearing the joking tone in Calli’s question. The phoenix did not in fact know that Gura had this specific sweater, but always made a big show of lending her clothing items to all of her girlfriends.
“Maybe she does, maybe she doesn’t~” Gura’s voice, however tired it sounded, still managed to be cheekily. Calli chuckled and started threading her slender fingers through Gura’s hair, prompting a few purrs out of the shark. Against her will, her tail started thumping against the mattress, wagging in happiness.
With her free arm, Calli hugged Gura closer to her. In response, Gura nuzzled closer to the shinigami, resting her head in the crook of her neck. Once her tail finally managed to stop wagging, Gura carefully twined it around one of Calli’s leg.
After a barrage of shuffling among the sheets, both fell quiet, letting the room be over come with a serene atmosphere.
“おやすみ” Gura just smiled dumbly at Calli’s words before slipping into the now welcoming embrace of sleep.