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Ichika wakes up to the soft pitter-patter of rain.
Blearily, she opens her eyes. Despite the mild rain, through the window, there is a hint of sunlight breaking through the clouds. The air feels cool, signalling the departure of warm temperatures and the arrival of shorter days and falling red leaves. Cold wind brushes past her face, and she shivers; someone's forgotten to close the windows last night.
Behind her, she hears the rustling of blankets, and the arm formerly draped on her is removed.
Huh. I could’ve sworn I fell asleep in the middle of the bed last night.
Gently rolling over so that her back faces the window, she comes face-to-face with Honami’s sleeping face. Her girlfriend’s silky, usually combed out hair is messy, with strands sticking out here and there. Right next to her is Saki, who has somehow transitioned from sleeping at the edge of the bed last night, right next to Ichika, to being in the centre of their cuddle pile.
Sleeping behind Saki is Shiho, who has both arms and legs draped over the blonde, like how a koala clings to a tree trunk. Soft snores can be heard coming from the silver-haired woman, and Ichika can see a tiny bit of drool at the corner of her opened mouth.
Ichika feels the corners of her mouth turning upwards fondly as she stares at Shiho’s relaxed sleeping face. When she’s not acting cool and collected, she’s really, really cute. If Saki were awake, she’d definitely coo at that…and probably take a picture as blackmail. Honami would chastise Saki for doing that and tell her to let Shiho sleep peacefully, but she’d be giggling too.
The wind blows against Ichika’s back again, and she is reminded of the still-open window. Holding back a groan, she gets up from the warm bed, stretching her back as she does so. Slowly, she ambles over to the window, dragging her feet. Even with the rather cold weather and the rain, the morning drowsiness drapes over her comfortably like a blanket, and she remains in the haze of being half-asleep.
As Ichika gets closer to the window, she can hear the faint chirps of birdsong. Normally, she would pause to enjoy the melodies sung by the birds, but today, she’s too tired to appreciate it. Reaching out, she closes the windows gently, hoping to not wake her three girlfriends up.
“…Ichika-chan?”
Whoops. So much for not waking up anyone. Smiling sheepishly, Ichika turns around to meet Honami’s blue eyes. “Morning, Honami. Sorry, did I wake you up?”
“…No, it’s fine. What’re you doing?” Honami’s words are slurred, her voice tinged with a hint of raspiness. Her blue eyes are heavy with sleep, and Ichika can’t help but find her grogginess endearing. Usually, Honami is the first to wake up, and when Ichika finally gets up, Honami would have already gotten herself ready for the day.
To see her in such a drowsy state is a rare sight, and it’s also something Ichika will forever hold dear in her memories.
“I was just closing the windows. It’s getting colder, isn’t it?”
“Mmmm…it’s colder without you here.” Honami’s murmur is so soft and muffled and slurred together that Ichika can barely make out what she’s talking about, but her girlfriend’s pleading eyes are enough for Ichika to decipher her message.
“Okay, I’m coming.”
Keeping her actions light so as to not wake Shiho and Saki up, Ichika climbs back onto the bed and into Honami’s open arms, letting herself relax into the other’s warm embrace.
What she doesn’t expect, however, is for Honami to wrap her arms around her waist tighter, and roll them over so that Ichika is sandwiched between Honami and Saki. Ichika barely manages to contain a squawk of surprise, and she feels her face flush at Honami’s show of strength.
Granted, it’s not a secret that Honami is strong, especially with how Saki begs Honami to bridal-carry her whenever she gets the chance, or how Shiho simply hands over her water bottles with tight caps to Honami during practice breaks, who twists them open effortlessly as if it’s as simple as breathing.
Ichika still remembers the time when the four of them went grocery shopping together for the first time after moving — Shiho had gone to unlock the car, Saki was pushing the shopping cart which was filled to the brim, and both her and Honami were carrying two large, heavy bags of food, leaving the two packs of rice unattended.
That time, Honami had simply transferred the straps of the bags to her shoulder, and lifted up the sacks of rice like it was nothing. She’d waved away Ichika’s and Saki’s concerns with a small grin and a shake of her head, and even laughed at Shiho’s flabbergasted expression as the shorter woman stared at them across the carpark.
Ichika was never one for dramatics, but at that instance, Honami’s casual show of strength made her feel like swooning like a young maiden in her honeymoon phase of her first relationship.
(At that time, they’d been dating for just barely three years; now, they’ve all been together for ten years and counting.)
In front of her, Saki lets out a noise or discontentment at being jostled, but falls quiet again when Ichika reaches out to brush away a strand of hair that’s fallen in front of her face.
With a fond huff of breath, Ichika notices how Saki’s nearly hogged up the whole blanket and that Shiho’s barely covered by it now. Quietly, with a bit of struggling as Honami’s grip on Ichika is…well, unintentionally strong, Ichika pulls the blanket back on top of the four of them, and lets herself relax back onto the bed.
“G’night.” Honami plants a small kiss on the back of Ichika’s neck. It’s ticklish, but not unpleasant.
“…the sun’s already risen, but good night to you too.”
Between Shiho’s soft snores filling the room, Saki’s warm breaths on her face, and Honami’s gentle hug, sleep finds Ichika easily.