Chapter Text
Sayaka brought up a hand to bury her fingers in Kyoko's tousled hair, taking a big sigh of relief.
The previous night she had escaped death so many times that she couldn't believe she was not only still alive, but safe, uninjured, and cuddled up to the precious person she had almost lost. The girl in her arms was still covered in blood mixed with dirt and sweat, but she was there, breathing, living.
"You smell," she spoke gently after a while, wrinkling her nose.
Kyoko snorted lazily, without even looking back. "It's the smell of victory."
Sayaka giggled at the redhead's ability to boast even when she looked like such a wreck. She bent down to plant a quick kiss on the girl's temple. This time, Kyoko looked up, and they locked eyes. She began to slowly lean in when Sayaka abruptly withdrew.
"Hey! Don't flatter yourself."
Although taken aback, Kyoko quickly recovered, seeing the blunette's smirk, and she gave her a crooked smile.
"What? I save the girl, I get the girl."
Sayaka propped herself up on an elbow and looked at her, feigning astonishment. "Kyoko, that's so cliché, and I don't remember ever agreeing to anything like that. Besides, I saved you too."
Kyoko suppressed a derisive laugh. "Yeah sure, once maybe? Ya got a long way to go to catch up to how many times I've had to save your ass."
"Says the one who had to be bridal carried across half the city. I knew I should've left you there. Maybe all that time alone could've helped you learn to count..."
Kyoko pursed her lips in a straight line, blushing faintly. "So you're sayin' after all the times I've saved ya, you'd abandon me just like that? Hero my ass! You're a monster!"
Sayaka laughed heartily in Kyoko's exaggerated bewildered face. "What can I say?" She heaved a sigh to regain full composure and sneered mockingly. "I learned from the worst."
She shifted her gaze and laid back again, one arm laid nonchalantly behind her nape while the other one rested around the other girl's shoulders. "But I love you anyway."
Kyoko smiled softly, burying her face in the crook of the other's neck.
"Me too," she replied, her voice muffled.
Sayaka smiled and held her affectionately. "Yeah...you've made that pretty clear," she murmured thoughtfully, almost as if speaking to herself.
Kyoko covertly blushed again, but couldn't come up with anything else to say, so they stayed there, peacefully enjoying each other's company for a while longer, until she finally found the right words to break the silence.
"So...you were sayin' you ran around bridal carryin' me to bed?"
Sayaka couldn't help but bring a hand to her forehead, letting out an exasperated sigh as a smile crept up her lips. "Kyoko. You're, like, a living battlefield, and you're missing an eye. So, maybe... I really think you should get some rest." She tenderly stroked a strand of red hair. "I'll help you out as soon as we get some more grief cubes."
"Mhm, ok," the injured girl replied uncharacteristically quietly, lowering her head again.
"Also, you really smell."
"Oh, fuck off."