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Haruka was always the first to rise.
Out of all of her girlfriends, she always rose just before the sun, her body too attuned to her normal routine to stop, even after retiring from being an idol once again. It had been an amazing couple of years, but all idols had to retire someday, and for her, Shizuku, and Airi, that time had come.
Minori, though…
She had remained as an idol, even past the years that many would say it was time for her to quit. Find new talent, younger, brighter idols. Yet Minori, with all the dedication that she had shown when they first formed More More Jump!, had secured a place in the hearts of the nation, becoming definitively even more famous than Haruka once was. Today was a rare day off for her, before she was back doing everything from concerts to appearances in the media and even modeling (Shizuku helped her secure that one).
She was proud of Minori. They all were. And her fans weren’t the only people that she had won the hearts of.
As Haruka sat up, the blankets ruffling around her, she was greeted with the sight of all three of the others, snuggled up together in their extra large bed in one big cuddle pile. A smile took over her face at the sight of them, all sleeping peacefully.
She took care to try and not wake Airi or Minori as she slipped out of bed. However, she did take the chance to kiss all of them on the forehead, gently, so as not to disturb them. Haruka got changed and walked into the kitchen to prepare tea for Shizuku, who she knew would be rising soon.
She poured tea leaves into the pot, then held it underneath the water heater and tapped the button. It wasn’t traditional, but modern conveniences could not be ignored.
A sleepy groan came from the bedroom door, and she turned once the water was done pouring, setting down the pot. Shizuku was leaning against the doorframe, blinking.
“Good morning, Shizuku.”
“Good morning, Haruka-chan,” Shizuku replied sleepily, eyes still drooping and voice rough. She walked forward, and as Haruka turned back to the pot of tea, Shizuku rested her head on her shoulder and wrapped her arms around her waist, clearly still tired.
When they had all first moved in together, one of the things that Haruka felt guilty about at first was that Shizuku always woke up when she did, despite still being tired. She was a light sleeper, so it was inevitable. Despite that, Shizuku still gently reassured her that it was fine, and she could always find her way back into bed after Haruka had left on her run.
Also…
“You’re pretty, Haruka-chan.” Shizuku mumbled into her ear, and she smiled.
“You tell me that every morning, Shizuku.”
“It’s true though. You are.”
The quiet mornings were just for them, her and Shizuku, alone in the quiet kitchen before sunrise.
The tiled floor was chill under her bare feet as Shizuku shifted her so that they were facing each other and pressed her against the counter, eyes still filled with sleepiness, but also a sort of quiet interest.
Their lips met. Shizuku brushed and shifted her lips against hers, and she mostly just tried to keep up with the kisses, in a mild state of panic the entire time. Shizuku’s lips began to wander around Haruka’s face, pressing kisses here or there.
“Mm, Haruka-chan…” Shizuku mumbled against her jaw, not really a coherent statement but more just an expression of affection.
They stayed in each other’s arms before Shizuku finally released her, stepping back.
Haruka coughed, hoping that her burning face wasn’t too obvious, and turned back to the pot, pouring it into Shizuku’s favorite mug and passing it to her.
“Here’s your tea, bye.”
She rushed out of the door and descended down the flights of stairs to exit their apartment, grateful for the chill air hitting her skin. Besides her regular route that day, she had one extra thing to pick up, a slight deviation but for this occasion, it would be worth it.
Shizuku was usually the second to rise.
It hadn’t always been like that, as when she had been living at home, she would wake up at a regular time, not too early but early enough to have a good breakfast and then get ready for school.
Now, with Haruka, as soon as Haruka stirred, she was pulled out of sleep, but still tired as she wandered into the kitchen, saying words that she was too disoriented to register but knowing they were true all the same.
As a mug was pushed into her hands and she watched a flustered Haruka race out the door, she knew that she had done something right. She giggled to herself, took a sip of the tea (her favorite!) and wandered back into the bedroom, sitting on the bed.
Minori was still safely tucked into Airi’s arms, snoring softly. Meanwhile, Airi was grumbling every so often in her sleep, and if Airi had been a cat, she could almost imagine tiny, pointy, twitching ears and a flicking tail.
They were adorable.
Shizuku took a long sip of her tea, then set it on the bedside table, curling up to her girlfriends again. Even unconscious, it seemed as if the natural state of her girlfriends was to create cuddle piles, as they pulled Shizuku toward them.
It was nice, seeing Minori so peaceful. Normally, she was always bursting with energy, too excited to stay asleep for long. Yesterday was an incredibly long day for her, because even though Airi had managed to negotiate enough to get Minori a day off, she had to do all her birthday appearances and shows the day before. Shizuku was sure that the exhaustion was the reason that she was still asleep. And yet, Minori was happy.
Now, she had a lazy morning and a whole lazy day for her and them to enjoy, and one surprise that she, Airi, and Haruka had been planning that they hoped Minori would like.
She wondered what she could do.
Haruka had her morning run, occasional trips to the grocery store to pick up ingredients, and Airi always cooked breakfast for all of them once she woke up. Minori was always busy, rushing out the door and sometimes not even being in the region or even the country, but she had a morning routine, too. Mostly, Shizuku just woke up, and observed her girlfriends.
Of course, it wasn’t bad to do nothing sometimes. Shizuku wished she could contribute to their morning routine, though.
She slipped out of bed, lifting the tea to her lips and taking another long sip, before wandering around the apartment. The dishes were clean, the rooms were clean, everything was in its place, it was perfect.
Eventually, she found herself going through stretches on the carpet of their living room, slipping back into that oh-so familiar routine that none of them could quite shake. She gazed out the window, watching the sun rise over the buildings, her steaming mug of tea in hand.
Lazy mornings were nice, but she couldn’t shake the sense that she was missing some sort of purpose.
Airi was usually the last to wake up, but not on that day.
When Airi woke up, blinking and rubbing her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of an absolutely adorable sleeping Minori, a rare sight for her. She envied Haruka, who woke up earliest and got to see all of them asleep, but she wasn’t willing to wake up at ungodly hours of the morning just to see sleepy girlfriends. Besides, late at night, she was always the last to climb into bed, most of them already fast asleep.
She didn’t wake up late by any means. It was just that compared to the rest of her girlfriends, she just woke up the latest in the day, though it would still be early compared to others as Airi had always insisted that she had to make the most of her day, even after retiring.
She let her eyes linger on Minori for a few more seconds, smoothing her hair back and then dropping a kiss onto her forehead. Her skin was warm underneath her lips, and as she pulled back, Minori didn’t stir.
Airi chuckled. She must be really exhausted, she thought, as she slipped out of bed and walked into the living room, where Shizuku was sitting on the couch, a mug of now-lukewarm tea in her hands.
“Good morning, Shizuku. Is there something on your mind?” Airi asked, upon entering and sitting beside her. She leaned in to kiss Shizuku on the cheek.
“Oh, Airi-chan.”
Shizuku set down the mug and nestled into her, and even though Airi was tiny, she still managed to fit right into and under Airi’s chin, squeezing herself to be able to curl up against her.
“Whoa, someone’s cuddly today.” Airi teased. Her fingers combed through Shizuku’s hair. “I mean, more so than usual.”
Shizuku said nothing, only leaning a little more heavily into Airi. The atmosphere shifted; just slightly, but Airi could tell that she needed to approach the situation delicately. Choose her next words carefully.
She waited for a few seconds to see if Shizuku wanted to talk, but she seemed content to simply lean on Airi, listening to her heart steadily beat. If Airi wanted to know what Shizuku was thinking, she’d have to ask.
Her hand stilled, and she felt Shizuku tense up.
“How are you feeling?” Airi whispered.
“Jumbled.” Shizuku whispered back. It was a tendency of all of them to talk quietly when they were talking about the more serious parts of themselves, another part of the way that they all grew up. It was hard to break past that, but at least they were talking about it.
“Jumbled as in the scattered wooden building blocks, the spilled paint, or the broken glass?”
“The paint.”
Airi nodded.
“Shizuku, you said you had plans for Minori’s birthday, right?”
With that, Shizuku lit up, and she began chattering animatedly about her ideas, and their plans for the day as a whole. In order to allow Minori to rest, they’d be staying at home, but all of it involved spoiling their girlfriend beyond measure.
Actually, it had been Shizuku, planning out everything for the day. Haruka and Airi had contributed some ideas, but Shizuku had outlined everything, somehow knowing exactly what to do. She was considerate, observant like that. It always felt like Shizuku knew exactly what any of them were feeling, how to make all of them smile.
Dammit. She didn’t quite know how to help, but one of the ways to alleviate Shizuku’s worries on days like this was to give her something to do.
“Come on, Shizuku. You can help me make breakfast.”
Airi stood up, holding her hand out, and Shizuku stood up with her. Before Airi could make her way into the kitchen, Shizuku surprised her with another kiss, tilting her head and pushing their lips together for a few seconds.
“But Airi-chan, what am I supposed to do?”
Airi shrugged.
“Whatever your heart tells you.”
Even though that wouldn’t be helpful to too many people, as they entered the kitchen, she saw Shizuku pull out several ingredients. Yogurt, mango, banana, sugar. The perfect materials to create Minori’s favorite smoothie.
Minori was usually the third to wake up, never one to stay down for long, but the day before, she had been worked to the bone.
She could still feel it, too. A soreness settled deep into her bones, something that she had come to be familiar with, and was almost comforting. It still hurt to move, though. She stretched out anyways, spreading out on the bed and yawning, the stretch rippling through her tense muscles.
“Finally awake, Minori?”
Minori opened her eyes, and yelped when she saw Haruka, who was half-shirtless and hair damp, looking refreshed, standing in front of the dresser. She pulled up the blankets, hiding her eyes.
“How was your run, Haruka-chan?” Minori half mumbled, half squeaked. Haruka laughed softly.
“It was fine. Pretty much the same as usual.”
The bed sank down with Haruka’s weight, and then she felt herself being rolled to lie on her stomach. Haruka’s hands rested on her shoulders, and when she nodded, strong fingers worked into the muscles on her back, loosening some of the tightness. She sank into the soft sheets with each push of Haruka’s arms. Minori exhaled a sigh of contentment and pure happiness.
“Happy birthday, Minori.” Haruka whispered, dropping a kiss onto Minori’s back for interest. “Airi and Shizuku are making breakfast for you.”
“O-oh.” Minori said, too melted to think coherently.
Once Haruka had done her best to get Minori to relax, Minori flipped over, and pulled Haruka close.
“Haruka-chan, can I kiss you?” Minori whispered.
Haruka nodded, so Minori wrapped her arms around her, pressing up against her and then their lips brushed together. Soft, pillowy, heavenly. Haruka’s heartbeat fluttered in her chest, obvious with how close they were, and she couldn’t resist tangling her fingers into Haruka’s hair.
She let out small sighs and whimpers, losing herself in the fog of kissing her girlfriend. Tangled up in Haruka’s arms, or maybe Haruka was tangled into her arms, either way, it was a perfect way to wake up, the blankets messy and bunched up around them.
When they finally pulled apart and sat up together, Minori giggled.
“Haruka-chan, you got the pillow wet.”
Haruka blinked. Her hair hadn’t completely dried off from the shower, leaving a damp patch on the pillow.
“Oh, that’s not good.” Haruka mumbled, and Minori giggled, kissing her once more for good measure.
The door swung open, and Minori inhaled the scent of hot breakfast foods, along with a slightly sweeter scent that she assumed to be fruit.
“Happy birthday, Minori!” Airi cheered, walking over and setting a tray on the bedside table. “I made you breakfast. Come on, eat up!”
Minori was already drooling over the food. There was a waffle, two small cups of maple and some other pink syrup which none of them actually knew what it was made of, but Minori had sampled it at the store one time and fell in love with it, so they kept it in stock. There was also a small bowl of cut fruit. Incredible.
She picked up the cups, pouring the syrup over the waffle, and then reached for the fork. Airi gently pushed her hand away from the fork. Minori looked at her, confused, until Airi picked up the fork herself and speared a bite of waffle, a pocket of syrup trapped in the gaps of the waffle, the whole thing dripping with honeyed sweetness.
“Say ‘ahh.’” Airi said, her voice suffused with warmth. Minori opened her mouth, and Airi fed her the bite, just as warm, sweet, and sticky as it looked.
Meanwhile, Shizuku was carrying a tall glass cup, a bendy straw stuck into the liquid.
“Happy birthday, Minori-chan! Made you your favorite mango banana smoothie!”
Minori took the drink, gulping down some of the sweet beverage.
“Minori-chan, you have smoothie on your mouth.” Shizuku chided, picking up a napkin and wiping around her mouth for her. She squirmed, the sensation weird, but also, she felt just as sticky as the syrup as Shizuku tended to her.
Once that was done, Airi continued feeding her, spearing various bits of waffle and fruit on her fork, taking small sips of the smoothie until everything was gone and she felt stuffed. She leaned back, sighing in satisfaction. Minori even felt ready to roll over and go back to sleep.
Wait-
“Wait, I have to practice!” Minori yelped, sitting bolt upright. The other three of them laughed: Haruka’s rich chuckle, Airi’s amused huff, and Shizuku’s airy giggle.
“Minori, it’s your day off. I think you can be forgiven if you want to rest a little.” Haruka responded, brushing some of Minori’s hair out of her face.
“Come on, break time for Minori. I swear, you’re getting to be just like Haruka.” Airi teased.
“Hey!” Haruka and Minori complained at the same time, and Airi laughed, tumbling over onto the soft surface of the bed and letting Minori tackle her, smacking her playfully. Her stomach groaned in protest.
“Oh, I should not have done that.” Minori wheezed, flopping over onto the bed. In an instant, all three of her girlfriends were surrounding her, the affection and love clear on all of her faces.
“There’s the Minori-chan we know.” Shizuku whispered, leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. She shut her eyes, unable to stop a blush from appearing on her face, coming so easily to her no matter how long she spent with them. She was weak.
She saw Haruka shoot a meaningful look at Airi and Shizuku. The other two caught her look, looked at each other, then looked back, nodding.
Huh-?
“Minori, we have one last surprise for you.”
Minori squinted at Haruka, who looked… nervous? That was nearly unheard of, but if she focused, yes, Haruka looked nervous. Wow, that made her nervous too.
“What’s the surprise?” Minori asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
Haruka closed her eyes and took a deep breath, looking like she was trying to keep calm, and then she leaned back, opening the bedside drawer and drawing out a plain-looking paper bag. From the bag, she pulled out something wrapped in white tissue paper, and then carefully placed the paper package in Minori’s lap.
“Open it.”
Doing what she was told, Minori unwrapped the package with great care, something telling her that whatever was hidden in there was extremely significant.
Her fingers brushed over something soft and smooth. She continued unwrapping the package, and as the item hidden in sight was revealed, her heart almost stopped.
It was a small, dark velvet box, the symbol of their clover emblazoned onto the material.
Tears welling up, her vision blurry, her fingers fumbled with the edge of the box and she opened it up, revealing four matching gold rings, tiny gemstones inlaid into the metal.
“Haruka-chan, Airi-chan, Shizuku-chan, this is…”
“A promise. We’re not asking you to marry us, yet, but this is a symbol of our dedication to you. If you’d accept it. If you’d have us.” Airi spoke softly, like she was afraid to break the emotion that was in the room.
Minori lifted out one of the rings. They were slightly different in size, she noted, as all of their fingers were just a bit different in shape. The one that she chose turned out to fit perfectly onto her.
“Shizuku-chan?” Minori asked weakly. Shizuku nodded.
“I sized all of the rings for us.”
Her heart felt like it was about to burst. She examined the tiny gems. Deep blue, like the ocean. Light blue, like the sky. Pink, like a peach. And the biggest gem, orange. Like her.
She clenched her fist.
“Y-you-!”
That was all Minori could get out before she began sobbing, tears streaming down her face, the others enveloping her in a hug that spoke volumes more than any words ever could. She was bundled into their arms, and maybe the rest of them were crying too: it was hard to tell with how fast everything felt, but also that she was moving in slow motion.
“I love you!” Minori wailed.
Maybe it was Airi who said “We love you too,” but she didn’t need to. Minori knew. The love that her girlfriends felt for her was expressed every single day, in Airi making breakfast each morning, in Shizuku constantly thinking of what she needed, of Haruka always coming back to spend time with her just as she woke up.
“Y-yeah. I wanna- I want to, I want to be with you guys for as long as forever, too.” Minori was stuttering her words, but she had never been so sure of something that she wanted in all her life. She lifted up the box, and her girlfriends slipped on the remaining three rings.
Minori couldn’t help it. She started crying again, and once the box was safely tucked away to the side, she was tackled under the weight of her girlfriends, all of them tumbling into one pile on the bed.
She felt her face being peppered in kisses, and tried her best to respond, but under the assault of everyone else, she could only submit, letting them kiss her as much as they wanted.
She couldn’t wait to be with them for the rest of her life. She was already experiencing it now, and it was perfect, even if it wasn’t, well, perfect. A little like them. All of them.
Later that day, when she had digested everything that she had eaten, and they were all snuggling in bed together, she felt herself being pushed back and underneath Airi, her girlfriend’s eyes showing her that same expression that Minori had used to look at her breakfast. On one side of her was Shizuku, beaming at her even as Airi’s lips ran over her jaw and neck, and Haruka, a tender expression on her face, hands reaching out to gently caress her cheek. The ring she was wearing was cool against Minori’s flushed skin.
“Minori-chan, you’re so cute.” Shizuku cooed, squishing her face. She grumbled in protest.
“I agree, Shizuku. Airi, let’s make the most of Minori’s day off. Shall we?” Haruka squeezed her hand, as if attempting to get her to relax.
Airi flashed Minori a grin, that tiny fang gleaming.
“Of course.”
The rest of the day passed in a blur, from the late morning to sunset.