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Chris shunned herself for almost having fallen into her usual patterns again. Hibiki and Miku had invited her to their apartment, been nothing but kind and considerate to her all evening. This was not the time to show them a cold shoulder, not when they'd gone as far as invite her to sleep in their bed with them. The lower bunk or the couch were the safe options, those without any risk of something happening. But... she looked at the two of them in their pajamas, Hibiki reaching out her hand to help her over the railing on the bed's edge; the same hand she'd reached out to her so many times. No, refusing this was not something Chris could do, nor wanted to do. Not after everything those two had done for her.
With a faint tint to her cheeks, she climbed into the bed and put her head down on the second pillow awkwardly shoved in next to the one of Hibiki and Miku; the bed was large, but not quite large enough for two pillows side by side.
Chris opted to lay at half an arm's distance, while Hibiki wrapped herself around Miku in her usual fashion.
Soothed by their breathing, Chris quickly fell into a calm slumber.
It would not stay calm.
Hibiki woke up with an odd uneasyness tugging at her chest. When she opened her eyes, it was still very much dark outside and it took her a brief moment to find the source of that unease: A pair of shaking hands, weakly clinging to the back of her shirt for dear life. As fast as she could without waking Miku, Hibiki turned around; a despaired whimper escaped Chris when her fingers were torn from the piece of fabric that they had dug themselves into.
Hibiki grabbed hold of Chris' hands, contemplating what to do next when her eyes flew open, ripe with tears.
"Chris-chan, do you want me to-" her whisper was interrupted by rapid, desperate nodding before she could finish her sentence.
Chris almost gasped when Hibiki let go of her hands for even just a moment. She'd talked about her nightmares before; whatever this was, it was worse than usual.
Arms around both sides of Chris and even using her legs to pull her lower body closer, Hibiki pulled Chris into the tightest embrace she could produce without fear of hurting her.
Minutes passed and slowly, the sobs and shaking subsided, until Chris had the strength to close her own arms around her saviour's back and return the hug she had so direly needed.
"Chris-chan, should I-" Hibiki whispered directly into her ear, still ever careful not to disturb Miku.
"Stay like this. Please." Chris' voice was much raspier, still pushing against the knot in her throat.
Hibiki did not say anything in response; instead, she moved one hand up to cradle the back of Chris' head.
More time passed; Chris did not know nor care how much. She only cared that she felt safe. In the embrace of this wonderful, hardheaded girl still keeping keen watch over her, she felt as if nothing could harm her. Because nothing could, and Hibiki would see to that with all of the incredible might she possessed in those gentle hands of hers.
"Hey... thank you." Even if she hadn't tried to stay quiet, that whisper was all she could have managed at that point.
They didn't speak; not only did they not want to wake Miku, there was simply no need to. Hibiki understood what it means to have nightmares of the past; they all did.
It was that reassurance of not being alone that put her at ease around them. The knowledge that all of her comrades understood her pain, had shed the same tears she had. The knowledge that they'd always be there for her to lean on, and that they'd lean on her when they need to.
It was here in Hibiki's arms that Chris finally fell asleep again. The toned muscle softly wrapping around her, the radiant warmth that followed Hibiki whereever she went and her strong, rhythmic heartbeat quelled Chris' fears and lulled her eyes shut.
As morning came and went, Chris was reluctant to open her eyes. Her neck was stiff and her right arm numb, but she felt wonderful. Before she remembered what actually happened at night, all she could think was how much she did not want to move from where she was.
When her eyes finally did open, she remembered; but that did little to change her conclusion. In Hibiki's embrace, her steady breathing right in front of- wait, there was something else. Hibiki's warmth was not the only warmth that enveloped her. There was a second kind, less overwhelming in its presence, but just as radiant and caring.
Chris turned her head and found another pair of arms around her midriff. At some point in the night, Hibiki had rolled around to place her in between herself and Miku, who had taken to follow Hibiki's example.
"Good morning, Chris." Her voice was soft and playful, full of affection.
"Ah... good morning." Chris' cheeks were decorated by a faint blush. "This loveable idiot here saved me when I was having a nightmare again. Thank you. Both of you. I... you've done so much for me."
Miku made an affirming, understanding noise and shuffled closer to her, chin now up over her shoulder. "Should we wake her up?"
"Hmmm.. no. She deserves the rest after how long she kept awake to watch over me." Chris' cheeks were noticeably tinted as she brought her hand up to brush a strand of hair out of Hibiki's face, careful not to disturb.
Miku laid back down and nestled her face against the back of Chris' neck, arms wiggling into position around both sides of her body, and pulling herself close once there.
Unlike the other two, Miku had gotten a full night's sleep; and yet, it didn't take long for her breathing to slow to a regular pattern.
Not even a year ago, Chris would have been entirely overwhelmed by this, and stormed off red as a tomato.
But right now, blushing as she may be, she would not want to be anywhere else.
Their arms around her. The steady rise and fall of their chests. The feeling of their hearts beating. The brilliant, radiant warmth enveloping her from either side and causing fluttery warmth of her own to bloom inside of her chest.
Right here in this moment, Chris felt safer and happier than she ever had before.