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A gentle knock sounds against the door to Ryumi's dorm room.
She hisses at the sound and buries herself deeper under her blankets. Perhaps enough cotton and fleece will dull the noises of the world enough to make the pounding in her head cease.
It started as it always does, with a slight ache in her forehead. As the hours continued though it slowly but inexorably slid down to find its home in her right eye socket, becoming a horrific stabbing like a railroad spike being driven rhythmically into her skull.
The knock comes again, along with a voice. "Ryumi? Are you there?"
She groans and reaches blindly for her phone, just an arm poking out from under the blankets.
When she retrieves the thing, the light from the screen - even dimmed to the minimum - sends a fresh knife of pain lancing through her head.
She whines, covering the screen and hastily shoving the phone back onto the nightstand by her bed.
The brief glimpse was enough to know why Shoto is at her door, though. She hasn't been answering his messages, having put the phone on silent when she first burrowed into her blanket nest.
"Ryumi? Are you alright?"
She hears the click of the lock, and tries to temper the bitterness of wishing he'd just let himself in sooner. She gave him a copy of the key for a reason.
"Ryumi?"
"Mrrrr." She growls from under her blankets.
A click, and a blinding flash. Even through the blankets it stabs into her head. She hisses and pulls them tighter. Her night vision might be a boon most days, but today she's cursing it for the extra sensitivity it brings.
"Oh, um..." He flicks the switch again, and the merciful darkness returns. He makes a slow effort, gingerly finding his way to the edge of her bed. She feels the mattress shift as he sits next to her. "Are you okay?"
She hisses again, but it quickly morphs into a whine. "...headache."
"Oh." He drops his voice to a faint whisper. "I'm sorry."
"...'s fine. Sorry for ignoring you." She mumbles into the fabric. "Light hurts. Sound hurts."
"...sorry. Can I... help?"
Ryumi shrugs, her wings shifting the blankets around her. "Took pain meds already. Just... waiting."
He's quiet, obviously thinking about what he can do. "Would ice help?"
"Too cold."
Shoto sighs, but it's clear he's frustrated with himself, not her.
"...can stay if you want. But no lights. No talking."
He takes a breath. "...okay."
Very carefully, he slides into bed next to her, and she allows him to pull her into an embrace. Her aching head rests against his shoulder - his right, for once - but she insists on keeping her eyes clamped shut and covered with a blanket.
It takes a bit of whining and complaining, but eventually he settles on a temperature just cool enough to help without being too cold and making it worse. She hums contentedly as she presses her forehead against his shoulder.
Shoto runs his fingers through her hair, a silent reassurance that he's here and he doesn't mind, and that he wishes he could do more to help her.
At least, that's what Ryumi imagines as she tries to relax enough to sleep with the dull pain still lancing through her right eye. Though it feels impossible, eventually she does slip away, held comfortingly close by her prince.