Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

At the ripe age of 19, Saijou Claudine already had a busy daily schedule set up for herself.

Born to two well-known and talented actors, she had shown signs of prodigal theatrical tendencies in her early childhood, and had taken an interest in her parents' field when she was very young. Naturally, they had eagerly supported their only daughter in pursuing her dreams, and had even moved the family from France to Japan in order to enroll her in more renown academies.

After working hard all throughout her middle school and high school careers, Claudine had graduated slightly earlier than most others, and was already a junior in college at her current age. When her parents were doing all they could to support her, Claudine felt it necessary to work hard and take everything she did seriously, especially school.

The college where she is currently enrolled is the most famous for theatre and the arts in all of Japan, so of course the curriculum, classes, and workshops are intensive, suited only for the best of the best.

And unlike some people who had been born with the perfect genes for this field, Claudine had pushed herself to work harder than most would have bothered with, and she had stuck with it without quitting in spite of all the sleepless nights. Now that she's made it this far, the worst of the worst hardships had already been overcome.

By her third year, she'd gotten used to the intensive classes and heavy workload, and incorporated it into her schedule in a bearable and healthy manner. She'd even taken it upon herself to take on a part-time job on weeknights and weekends when she had extra time.

It was perhaps a bit of an unusual line of work, but the flexible hours allowed her to choose which customer appointments she could accept or deny at her own discretion, and the nature of the work in general allowed her to practice her acting skills - in a way.

When she had an evening free of assignments, or a Sunday off after a restful Saturday of catching up on sleep and self-care, Saijou Claudine worked part-time at one of Tokyo's local Cuddle Cafes. It was a field of work where employees would offer services of pampering and comfort to exhausted customers who had rolled in from tiring days of work, or were otherwise upset or in need of comfort due to their personal lives.

At the cafe where she was employed, the cuddlers offered all sorts of services. There were things as extreme as renting a private room for a certain amount of time, where the cuddler would do various things for the client, such as talk sweetly to them, lie down with them on a couch, provide them a lap-pillow as they stroked their hair, or gave light shoulder massages as the client fell asleep while watching a show of their choice or listening to relaxing music. Those were some of the most premium services offered.

But more often than not, the majority of clients simply came to eat at the public portion of the cafe, and sit and chat with the cuddlers as they got their hair played with, or received hugs and other forms of comfort and relaxation.

Claudine had first stumbled upon one of these cafes when she had just started college, and her initial reaction had been one of distrust. What she had seen back then had been mostly women workers providing caring - and sometimes suggestive - services for their male clients; sitting in laps, touching and being touched questionably, and things of that nature, all in a public cafe. She'd shuddered to think what might've been going on in some of those private rooms.

But around a year later when she'd set out in search of a job to bring in some pocket-change, she'd discovered her current cafe of employment.

It was run by a woman, and the workers consisted of men and women alike, as did the clients. The amount of same-sex cuddler-client pairs was consistent and comforting, and the establishment was extremely serious about the safety of their employees. No shady antics occurred here.

It was a place for innocent interactions between strangers, where a client didn't have to fear being judged for their requests, and the worker didn't have to be concerned about being cornered. More often than not, clients came here just to talk, to have human interactions and conversations with people who were good at listening, and many times the hugs provided were genuine and not part of the requested services.

It was a wholesome and safe environment, on top of being close to her college and having hours flexible enough that Claudine could work whenever she chose to.

She had started out working on-site at the cafe, accepting work from both male and female clients. She would listen to them as they vented about their exhausting days, play through their hair as they whimpered into their coffees, provide a gentle hand on their backs as they tried to gather themselves to go back home or back to work.

Being an actress, she had needed to engage in plenty of close physical contact with other actors for the sake of a staged scene, so hugging wasn't ever a discomfort for her either. She would hold her clients for as long as they desired, until they felt they were ready to leave the cafe and face the world again.

It was odd, but honest work that paid relatively well.

But after her first few weeks of working there, Claudine had discovered that the cafe's services extended beyond the property as well.

Evidently, clients also had the option to "rent" a cuddler and have them meet at other predetermined locations, such as a park, another store, or even the client's own home.

Of course, these cases required an extensive background check on each client. Customers who sought out these services needed to make an account with the Cafe's official servers, and submit personal information to be reviewed by the manager and staff.

Only clients who were deemed and confirmed "safe" would be accepted and allowed to participate in off-site service requests, and only cuddlers who were comfortable with such work would accept such jobs. The workers had the right to reject any request for any reason, or leave a session at any time for any reason. The Cafe had set up distress call signals and connections to law enforcement to come to a worker's aide if necessary.

Claudine appreciated the lengths the business went to in order to ensure the safety of their employees.

Due to this, and to an ever-changing college schedule that had quickly complicated her getting to the cafe on time for her shifts, Claudine had soon decided to extend her services to "off-site" locations for clients. Fully comfortable and accepting of the fact that they were unsupervised rendezvous, Claudine made it a point to only accept off-site jobs from women.

And it turned out that this method worked even better for her.

The off-site services paid more than the on-site ones, and she had the freedom of accepting which jobs she wanted when, and at which locations.

The most common clients she attended to were young college-age women like herself who were having troubles in their relationships, at work or school, or at home with their parents. Claudine would meet them at local parks or stores to sit with them, hold their hands as they vented and cried, pat their backs for them, and offer supportive hugs.

The clients always left Claudine with tearful, hopeful smiles on their faces, and offered her their genuine thanks, whereas Claudine offered heartfelt wishes for their success in return.

In this way, Claudine made her way through her junior year of theatre college with a job that allowed her to both make money, and feel good about herself for the comforts she gave to others.

And it was this way that she encountered her most intriguing client yet…

Tendo Maya.

Hers was a name known throughout Japan's theatre industry. From the newest generation of young aspiring actors and actresses, to the most seasoned retired professionals, everyone in the field knew of the breathtaking prodigy of the Tendo family.

She'd been born with a natural talent due to her lineage of perfect genes, and had flown through her 22 years of schooling and training without putting in half the effort of her competitors.

She'd graduated college early by the age of 20 due to her exceptional marks in her academic lectures, as well as her acting classes. Even when she'd been just a freshman, she'd already been being scouted by numerous troupes, both local and international.

But to start out her official acting career, Maya had decided to stay local, and upon graduation had accepted to work with a theatre troupe in Tokyo.

She'd never expected or wanted it to be easy. But she may have overestimated her limitations just a little.

20 years of intensive lessons and trainings at all of her previous schools hadn't allowed for an ounce of social time for her beyond chatting casually with classmates briefly about upcoming exams.

Maya had never had free time to do things other people her age could, like go on vacation, take day trips, or even visit the local mall or movies. And she certainly didn't get any opportunities for such things now that she was part of a famous troupe. All of her free time was spent practicing, studying, and fixating on the work she was going to do tomorrow.

Her pre-daybreak early mornings were spent stretching and dancing alone in her apartment, rehearsing roles and studying lines. When she arrived at the theater her troupe was working at for the day, it was hours and hours of intense physical activity. Her lunch breaks were spent practicing and rehearsing lines as well, and even by the time she got home after sunset, she was still going over her roles and dances to perfect them.

It wasn't that the troupe was particularly demanding of her. Maya was the best of the best in her age group, and even surpassed some of the more experienced people as well. She was an asset, and a great example and teacher to her underlings, and she made the work for herself willingly. When most people might worry she was pushing herself, Maya was only putting herself through an average amount of effort, by her own standards.

It was a high-stress, high-activity line of work, with all hours of the day filled and few hours of the night to rest.

But it's what she was born for, seasoned for, and made for.

At least… that was the thought process she'd been living by all her life until now.

It wasn't long after she'd graduated college and joined the troupe when Maya finally began to realize that perhaps her lifestyle wasn't the healthiest.

She was starting to sleep fewer and fewer hours of the nights, because most of them were spent with her replaying scenes and lines and entire plays in her mind. Gradually, she became unable to shut off her brain, and she would obsess over her thoughts of performing to the point where she would toss and turn in bed all night, and then not be well-rested for the day ahead.

It was quickly beginning to have a detrimental effect on her mental and physical health alike, and she wasn't tunnel-visioned enough to ignore those facts.

She'd sought help for herself in the form of prescription pills, but sometimes she failed to eat or drink enough with her medications or didn't take them on time, and it wouldn't be as effective. Despite her best efforts to rely on pharmaceuticals for her stress and insomnia, a few months in of these methods proved to be a drop in the bucket at best.

But she didn't yet think she was in bad enough shape to seek out professional therapeutic help. Besides, if such news ever got out that Maya needed such care, it might jeopardize her image.

And so, in her efforts to seek out help for herself, she had started browsing the internet for ideas.

Little did she know there was such an interesting and convenient service right in her own backyard.

Being that she'd never gotten out much to travel, explore, or shop Tokyo at her leisure, she'd never really heard about Cuddle Cafes and the business they offered. They were places where people could go to relieve stress in a family-friendly sort of public environment, with nothing sexual or questionable attached, so long as you put in the proper research to find a reputable cafe.

The idea of hiring a stranger to pamper or comfort you after a physically-exhausting or emotionally-draining day or event might've seemed asinine to most. But for a certain niche of people, it was the best possible option.

People who had no close relatives or loved ones to confide in could find comfort in the arms of a stranger who was willing to hold their hand and listen as they fed them a slice of pie.

People who were too stressed to go back home or to work to face those they knew and loved could find solace and a few moments of peace in a relaxing, casual environment surrounded by people in similar situations.

They could be hugged or cared for by complete strangers without a fear of judgment or ridicule that people they knew might've reacted with. It was a place to vent your emotions and be heard, a place where it was okay to break down and cry, a place where a kind person would hand you a tissue or offer you a hug…

It sounded quite nice, honestly.

And for different cases, it was a place where you could rent a room to play games, or watch movies with people who would help you have fun or relax to relieve stress. Best of all for Maya, it was an unofficial service that wouldn't tarnish her reputation as harshly as seeing a licensed therapist would.

And upon finding a reputable cafe and reading through their website carefully, she discovered that in the case of this particular business, clients were able to rent out a cuddler to an off-site location.

The whole industry enthralled her, and Maya spent several nights reading up on and looking into things before she ultimately decided to begin setting up a client profile.

It was no simple feat, as the site required a slew of personal information on her part, strictly for the protection of their employees. Maya didn't mind this intensive background check. Rather, she appreciated how seriously this cafe considered the wellbeing of their workers, which only made Maya all the more interested in trying it out.

It takes her about three collective nights to finish researching and making her account, which is then submitted to the cafe's website to be scrutinized for review. Anyone found to be falsifying any personal information would immediately have their account rejected and deleted, and they would be unable to request off-site services. Naturally, anyone with any sort of questionable or criminal background was given the same treatment.

But Maya has nothing to hide, and a few days later receives an alert on her phone that her account has been accepted.

The site then prompts her to set up her profile, where she inputs her information: age, gender, location, preference, and a blurb about herself. She specifies what she is struggling with and what she is looking for in order to help herself through it.

As the client, she is not required to submit any pictures of herself, and she is also allowed to create a fake name (since she already submitted her real name during the background check and was deemed legitimate, she was then able to create an alias to conceal her identity from the workers, if that's what she preferred).

She calls herself "Mary," and then begins to search the business' selection of worker profiles.

This one in particular offered services of over 80 people of various ages and genders, who rotated between shifts, days, and hours in order to allow such a high volume of people working at one establishment.

A client could request on-site services at a minimum of 30 minutes and pay by the half-hour, and rent out one or more workers' care services on-site for up to 6 hours - or the worker's entire shift.

But as appealing as the idea is, Maya is limited to the hours she would be able to utilize such services. She only has time available in the evenings and at night, when the on-site cafe is closed. For her sleepless struggles, she has to look into the employees who offer off-site services, which can extend up to 12 hours - an entire night.

Of course, this is no cheap endeavor. Renting out another person's services on-site for just a few hours was already quite pricey. But off-site services were nearly double the price, about $50 an hour, with one full 12-hour shift's payment amounting to about $600.

But luckily, even though her intensive job of being a famous actress drained Maya's mental strength, it filled her bank account quite nicely. Money was no obstacle for her in this endeavor.

From there, it was just a matter of finding the right person to spend her rented time with.

After an entire week's worth of nights lying in her bed going through the process of researching the cafe, making her account, then getting approved, and making her profile, Maya now lies in her darkened bedroom with her phone over her face.

The cafe normally offers the services of about 80 people "on-site," but when she toggles the filter to search for employees who will work "off-site," the numbers drop to fewer than half.

And when she filters it by women only from an age range of 18-25, Maya is left with only 14 profiles.

She swallows, feeling the ache in her wrists from holding her phone up for so long, then rolls over to place it on her pillow and looks down at the screen. Her mind is racing even faster than usual tonight, and her heart is fluttering quite a bit as well from the thrill of this new possibility.

Ever since she'd discovered the cuddle cafe culture about a week ago, Maya had been thinking about the possibilities of being comforted by a kind girl at night, rather than stressing about her career. It was still stressful, but in a different kind of way, and she was still losing sleep, but hopefully that would change very soon…

Drawing in a deep breath, Maya sets her filters accordingly and clicks "Search" to bring up the 14 available profiles.

The first girl is a peppy-looking tan-skinned bookworm who is quite adorable, but her interests only seem to consist of literature that Maya isn't familiar with. Knowing that she and her cuddler of choice will need to have some common interests and be able to hold a decent conversation, she shakes her head.

She moves along to the next profile, which is of an athletic girl who plays a multitude of sports. Maya thinks this girl might understand a bit of her struggles as someone with a very physically-demanding lifestyle.

But in the girl's profile is a note that she has a young baby, and the client would need to be all right with her bringing the infant along to her sessions. Maya isn't comfortable asking a young mother to sacrifice as much time as Maya wants to ask for if she would need to be worrying about an infant at the bedside all night, so she moves on.

With each new profile she views, Maya reads them thoroughly, but each and every one seems to have some restriction or turnoff that she can't overlook.

She swipes past another girl, then another…

With each profile she denies, Maya's hopes sink deeper and deeper. Maybe this was a foolish idea. A colossal waste of time…

She swipes away the 8th girl, then the 9th…

Little by little, she can feel it. That surge of dread that she'd managed to push back with the prospect of this cafe potentially providing a solution to her problem is now pushing forward once again. A dark, churning tide of the ocean that had been suffocating her all this time, re-surging to batter her all over again and push her down deeper, deeper, until she feels she's going to drown right there in her own room…

As she swipes past the 10th girl's profile, Maya blinks and finds her eyes wet with warm tears. She lets out a small, dismayed gasp as her lips begin to wobble. The droplets fall onto the phone screen and blur the profile picture of the next girl. As Maya wipes her eyes and tries to gather herself, she clears the wetness away and blinks a few times until she can refocus her eyes.

The 11th girl shines back up at her in the darkness of her bedroom with a bright, beautiful smile. Her rose-colored eyes are full of life and vitality, her curly blonde hair seems to move and bounce in the still image, and her radiance traverses through the brightness of the phone screen to reach out to Maya directly.

Saijou Claudine

Maya reads over the name and the "About Me" blurb, and as she does, she's gradually able to sniffle the tears to a halt.

Saijou Claudine.

This girl was an active and avid lover of theatre. She'd been studying and practicing it all her life, and was currently enrolled in university for it. She was a singer, a dancer, a performer. Just like Maya.

The way she wrote about herself displayed her personality as if Maya were having a conversation with her in real time. Her blurb began with a cheerful "Bonjour!" before introducing her name, hobbies, and aspirations.

And with each new word Maya reads over, her hopes lift higher and higher. Even before she finishes reading, she knows this girl is her only chance.

But just to ensure there aren't any last-minute restrictions this girl had set, Maya is certain to read over every last word of her profile and blurb. To her relief, there seems to be nothing at all that would make Maya feel guilty or uncomfortable about asking this girl to lend her services.

Maya swallows thickly, wiping her eyes once again. The surge of dark waters that had been threatening to rush toward her is kept at bay by a warm, gentle glow coming from her phone screen.

Maya takes a moment to compose herself, then shakily scrolls up to the top of Saijou Claudine's profile. She hovers her finger over the "Request an Appointment" button for a long moment, then presses down.

A new page pops up. It informs her that if she completes the application to ask this worker for an appointment, that her profile will be shared with the employee. Maya accepts this term and proceeds.

She is then prompted to select the amount of time she is requesting to ask of the worker, and acknowledge that she must pay and accept the adjacent rate and fee. Maya accepts these as well, having already linked her bank account to the site on a previous night.

She then must write a message to the worker to explain why she had chosen her and requested this appointment on the designated date for the designated amount of time. Maya had chosen a timeframe within the limits of what the girl had specified would be acceptable hours for her, but she hopes that the amount of hours she'd requested wouldn't deter her from agreeing.

Maya writes up a message for Saijou Claudine, telling her in-detail what sort of services she would be requesting of her if she were to accept. After re-reading it several times, Maya draws in another deep breath before clicking the Submit button.

A moment later, she receives a notification that her request has been sent to the worker, and that she should hear back within 24 hours if she'd been accepted or rejected.

The whole ordeal has put Maya through a whole mess of different emotions tonight. She doesn't even bother looking through any more profiles. She simply turns off her phone, puts it aside, and buries her face into her pillow.

A few more tears slip free and seep into her pillowcase, which has already accumulated enough droplets over the months of sleepless nights to fill her entire apartment.

Maya whimpers softly to herself as she feels her body crashing from the adrenaline rush.

Mentally, she's far too drained to even have the time to stress about work for once, and all but passes out in her bed at 2 in the morning.

A/N: Okay, first thing's first: do not take this too seriously! Obviously, seeking professional help and therapy is a good thing to do when you're really far down in a rut and very stressed out! I'm only writing it considering how someone like Maya might associate seeing a therapist as a negative stigma in Japanese society.

Secondly, yes I made Claudine the 11th profile because her seat number in the series is 11 haha. You'll see another little nod like that later on.

Well? What do you think? Interesting setup for a Cuddle Cafe! I tried to make it as believable as possible with how a client would need to set up/make and account and request a worker's services, while still putting the worker's safety first.

Do you think Claudine will accept...?

Please leave comments or kudos!

Chapter Text

Chapter 2. A Peculiar Appointment

It's Wednesday evening, and Claudine is just finishing up one of her on-site cuddle cafe shifts.

It isn't often she manages to make it on-site nowadays, probably only once or twice a week, but whenever she does she always ends up catching up with her close friend Mahiru.

Unlike Claudine, who did about 90% of her cuddler work on off-site appointments, Mahiru was a 100% on-site worker, and one of the cafe's most popular. She was a good listener with a sweet voice and a kind heart, and like Claudine she only accepted work from female clients.

Claudine is just cleaning up one of the tables for the night with Mahiru when her phone pings with the cafe's ringtone, signifying that she'd gotten an appointment request. Mahiru hears the tone as well and immediately perks up.

"Oh? Another one, Kuro-chan? You sure are popular!" Mahiru scurries over to hug her friend from behind and peer over Claudine's shoulder as she fishes out her phone.

"Look who's talking!" Claudine chuckles. "You're one of the most-requested cuddlers in the building, Mahiru. Those two girls that always come in together request you every day! There must be a reason why you always accept their requests in favor of the dozens of others you get, right~?"

Mahiru chuckles sheepishly.

"I mean… they're just so cute…" When she realizes she's started to blush, Mahiru quickly shakes her head. "B-But enough about that! What request did you get, Kuro-chan?"

"Let's see…" Claudine swipes open her phone to view the request. "It looks like another off-site appointment."

Mahiru gives a small huff. Claudine pauses in her reading to tilt her head back and address her friend.

"Come on, Mahiru. You know I can take care of myself."

"I know… I just can't help but worry about you, Kuro-chan. Women can be unsavory too, y'know!"

"I'm always grateful for your concern." Claudine pulls Mahiru into a soft hug. "But you know how strict this cafe is with background checks. Has anyone here ever had a bad experience with a client?"

"...No." Mahiru squeezes her friend back. "But there could be a first time for anything…"

"You're so sweet, Mahiru. Thank you for worrying about me." Claudine hugs her for a moment longer, gently patting through Mahiru's hair. Eventually, Mahiru lets out a sigh and eases back.

"You're really good at your comforting job, aren't you?"

"That wasn't work. It was all genuine, I assure you."

The two girls share a smile. Claudine then returns to her phone.

She'd been entirely ready to accept this new request even before fully reading it, due to needing as much money as possible to buy books for the upcoming semester. But now, as she glances over the requested timeframe from the client "Mary," she can't help but sputter.

"Q…Que se passe-t il-?"

Mahiru had started going back to cleaning up the silverware, but hearing her friend's outburst quickly turns back to her.

"Kuro-chan? What's the matter?"

Claudine reads over the request a second and a third time to confirm it's real.

"This girl… she's requesting me for an entire night."

Mahiru drops all the utensils she'd been holding.

"Ehhhhh?! B-But that's a 12-hour shift! That's the maximum we offer! No one's ever actually requested one of those before, right?!"

"Not since we've started working here… No one's ever been able to afford an appointment like that..."

Mahiru immediately grabs hold of Claudine's hands and gives her a look of heightened worry.

"Kuro-chan, you have to reject that! It sounds way too sketchy! You've never had an appointment longer than 4 hours at a client's house, and you've never gone past midnight! Staying the whole night is way too unsafe!" The poor girl is nearly on the verge of tears with how worried she is about her dear friend. Claudine's heart twinges from just how much Mahiru cares about her.

"You're probably right. Even if it is an insane amount of money…" Gently prying her hands and phone away from Mahiru's grasp, Claudine is about to reject the request.

Until she glimpses the essay's worth of text that the client had messaged her with:

"Greetings, Saijou Claudine-san.

I hope this request finds you well and in good health. I do hope my request for a full 12-hour appointment is not off-putting or worrying to you. I hope you can understand my honesty when I say I have no intentions of asking you to do anything outside of your comfort zone.

I am merely making this request due to suffering from a nearly-debilitating case of stress-induced insomnia. I would request that you do all of the things you would typically do in your profession in my company at my apartment at the aforementioned address. I would be extremely grateful simply to receive services of hair care from you, perhaps a story being read or a lullaby being sung.

I would request that you spend the night in my bed with me to help me fall asleep. But I assure you I have no nefarious intentions. I encourage you to wear whatever clothes you would be most comfortable in, and you have my word that I will be fully-dressed at all times as well. I have no intention to touch you in any sort of inappropriate manner, and if I do end up doing anything you find uncomfortable, please do not feel obligated to stay. You may leave at any time and keep the full payment of my funds.

I do not wish to cause you any distress should you choose to accept my request. I simply decided I might be able to sleep more efficiently if I had the assistance of a professional such as yourself.

Of course, should you choose to accept, you will be able to utilize my apartment and all of its accommodations - such as food and facilities - as needed. But please do not feel pressured into accepting. I have sent this request 2 days in advance of when I am scheduling the appointment for so you will have plenty of time to consider. I am grateful enough that you have even read my message thus far. If you would please be so kind as to consider my request, I wo"

In spite of the long-winded, shockingly-honest, and revealing message, Claudine can't help but laugh out loud at the end of it.

"This idiot… she surpassed the message word limit and it cut off."

By now, Mahiru has been able to read over a bit of the message as well, but she's still wary.

"Kuro-chan, I dunno about this…"

But all doubts Claudine herself might've had at the start have melted away by now.

"Mahiru… There's no way someone who had any sort of ulterior motive would've taken the time to write up something like this. It's beyond the point of being a fabricated act. She wrote it as though it were some kind of contract. This is so… ridiculous that it can't be anything other than awkwardly genuine, don't you think?"

Mahiru is silent for a moment as she reads through the rest of the message, but she cracks a tiny smile at the end.

"I guess so…"

"I'm going to accept it."

"E-Eh? A-Are you sure?! That's a whole night at a stranger's apartment, Kuro-chan!"

"It'll be good money, Mahiru. And besides…" Her voice softens and saddens just a little bit. "I feel like this girl is just… honesty at her wit's end."

Mahiru falls silent once again as she ponders everything. As badly as Claudine wants to accept this job, she wouldn't do it if Mahiru was seriously against it. But ultimately, Mahiru lets out a sigh.

"You have to bring your charger with you and keep your phone on all night, okay? Text me every couple of hours just so I know that you're okay. Use an emoji of an animal that starts with each consecutive letter of my name every two hours so I know it's you and you're following the code."

"But what if I fall asleep?"

"Mnn… then just text me for as long as you can until you fall asleep, and text me the rest as soon as you wake up!"

"Deal." Claudine opens her arms and pulls Mahiru into another big hug. Mahiru squeezes her extra tightly and holds on for longer than usual.

When she's finally calm enough to let go, Claudine clicks the "Accept Appointment" button on her phone.

All right "Mary"-san. Let me see if I can help you.

It had been as long and exhausting a day as any for Maya. And though she still came home at night feeling accomplished and like she had done her absolute best singing, dancing, acting, and performing, she is once again faced with the upcoming struggle of battling her insomnia.

After heating up leftovers for dinner, she tries to relax as much as possible when in the warm shower.

But just like always, it's never long before she inadvertently stops focusing on the healing effects of the water, and her mind begins wandering back to stressful topics.

When she exits the shower, she plays some music as she dries off and gets dressed for bed. But when she steps back out into the apartment, she's assaulted with a familiar prickle of foreboding.

She'd started dreaded going to bed, because she would only lie there overthinking everything, and when she failed to sleep properly it only made her all the more stressed that she would soon be jeopardizing her health, and thus, her career.

Wrought with feelings of guilt and a need to avoid her dilemma, she retreats to the living room area and turns on the television to seek out romantic comedies or shows about cute animals.

She puts off sleep for as long as possible…

But when it's inevitable that she must go lie down, Maya turns off the TV and retreats to her bedroom.

It's there she finds her phone where she'd left it charging, now lit up with a message notification. Presuming it to be one of her fellow colleagues in the troupe, she opens it expectantly.

Only to find a very unexpected message.

"Congratulations! Your Appointment at Tokyo's Cuddle Cafe has been Accepted!"

Maya nearly drops her phone in shock. A great deal of tension she'd never even realized had been building up in her chest suddenly comes undone and pours down through her stomach in a cool, refreshing wave. Maya plops down onto her bed and reads through the message details.

"Employee: Saijou Claudine

Time: Friday, 8:00PM to Saturday 8:00AM"

Followed by the location of her apartment's address, and the pay rate she would be adhering to.

It's almost unbelievable. She'd gone into the whole cuddle cafe business with a hopeful mindset, but had quickly found doubt in most things about it. She hadn't actually expected Saijou Claudine to accept her request…

Suddenly, Maya doesn't know what to do with herself. She rolls over in her bed and pulls up the blankets while still staring at her phone and the accepted request notification.

The employee could still cancel it at any time for any reason…

But if she didn't…

Maybe - just maybe - two nights from now Maya would be able to fall asleep peacefully for the first time in months…

She imagines it now. What it might be like to have someone brushing her hair for her, the delight of hearing a pleasant voice humming her to sleep, the warmth of feeling someone lying beside her…

Tonight, she thinks about that instead of work until she loses consciousness.

"Haaaah?! You got a 12-hour night shift request?!"

"Shhh! Not so loud!"

The following day, Claudine had been able to come on-site to the cafe once again for a few hours and accept a couple of shorter client requests. During her break time, a fellow coworker and friend, Kaoruko, is in disbelief when she hears Claudine's news.

"Kuro-han… surely you can't be thinking of accepting, right? That kind of thing is extremely-"

"I already accepted it."

"You what-?!"

Claudine nods. "Mahiru was with me. Even she approved in the end. She's going to keep her phone at maximum volume all night in case I need help. But I think I'll be fine."

"You think, huh...?"

Kaoruko was one of the few fellow female off-site workers at the cafe, and she'd been here a full year - longer than Claudine and Mahiru combined - so Claudine felt it smart to tell her about the all-night appointment.

"It's with a woman, right?" Kaoruko clarifies.

"Oui. And judging by her message, quite a peculiar one at that."

Kaoruko puts on a pensive expression.

"Well… if Mahiru-han gave her vote of confidence, I suppose it should be fine… But I'll keep my phone at max volume tomorrow night, too."

"Oh?" Claudine teases. "Don't you have a 3-hour off-site session with that repeat client of yours tomorrow night until 10?"

"S-So what if I do?" Kaoruko huffs. "Futaba-han will understand if I explain the situation to her. She'd understand if I left because my friend was in peril."

Claudine laughs.

"I won't be in peril. Futaba can only request you once a week, right? Enjoy your cuddle session with her."

"Who said I'm enjoying them? That girl is a real handful."

"Somehow I feel like it's probably the other way around."

"Hey!"

Claudine enjoys the rest of her break with Kaoruko, then tends to another one of her own female customers at the cafe. When the store closes for the evening, Claudine says her goodnights to Mahiru and Kaoruko together.

"You're not coming to the cafe tomorrow?" Mahiru whimpers.

"No. Unfortunately I have classes all morning, and I want to have enough time to do my weekend assignments, take a nap, then shower and get ready before I head to the client's apartment."

"Huuee… okay… Just! Don't forget to text me like we promised!"

"Bien sûr." Knowing her friend is already dying for a hug, Claudine opens her arms, and Mahiru flies right into them.

"Call me if anything happens!"

"I will."

"Hey!" Kaoruko huffs. "Call me, too! I'm worried as well!" She nudges Mahiru over a bit and joins in on hugging Claudine. Claudine chuckles and puts an arm tightly around each of them.

"I'll call both of you if anything bad happens. And if things are going well, I'll text you in code, Mahiru."

"Text Kaoruko-chan, too!" Mahiru says. "That way we can both confirm with each other."

"What's the code?" Kaoruko asks.

"Every 2 hours she's going to send an emoji of an animal that starts with each consecutive letter of my name."

"Hah?! Why your name?"

"Because it's my code! And 12 hours divided into every 2 hours means 6 texts, and my name has 6 letters. Your name has 7 so it won't work."

"Huaaaah!"

"Mahiru, Kaoruko, please!" Claudine laughs merrily as she squeezes them both tightly. "Everything's going to be fine. I'll text you both for as long as I'm awake, then again the next morning with whatever is left of the code. Okay?"

"Okay…"

"Mm…"

Both of her friends pout with worry. Claudine eases back and kisses each of them on the cheek.

"Merci. I'm so happy to have friends like you two who will worry about me so much."

The three girls remain in a cozy group hug for a moment longer before Claudine is finally released.

"I'll make time to swing by again on Sunday after it's over and I'll tell you both all about it. How does that sound?"

Mahiru and Kaoruko agree. They see Claudine off that night with extra reminders to be careful tomorrow night, and Claudine promises to keep them updated when the time comes.

She's a little restless when lying down for bed that night thinking about it. But when she remembers her client's message and how she suffered from insomnia, Claudine knows she needs to be prepared to stay up most of tomorrow night in order to help her client rest. So she needs to sleep well tonight and nap tomorrow before departing.

Claudine is quickly able to reel herself in and calm down, breathing slowly and evenly and allowing her mind to wander to comforting places.

She sleeps deeply and well until her alarm at 7AM, then proceeds with her morning routine before heading to classes. She finishes with her lectures at noon, then heads back to her apartment to eat and nap.

From there she rests until about 5, then wakes refreshed and ready for tonight's appointment. She then showers and dresses into something comfortable, an orange sweater and long cream-colored skirt.

She packs an overnight bag with a few things she feels she might need, including toiletries and her phone charger. She almost packs her usual nightgown, but then decides against it just in case and chooses a comfy sweatshirt and sweatpants set instead.

She makes sure she has everything she'll need, secures her apartment, and then heads out a little after 7.

It's a warm early-fall evening, and the sky is still golden with remnants of the sunset. The client's apartment is about a 20 minute walk from her own, but she doesn't want to risk getting frazzled, so Claudine takes a bus.

She texts both Mahiru and Kaoruko in a group chat while she's en route, both of whom immediately respond wishing her luck and reminding her to be careful.

Claudine exits at her stop, then walks a few minutes toward the designated apartment complex. And judging by the size and location of the building, Claudine feels like she immediately understands how this "Mary" could afford paying to rent her out for an entire night.

And it becomes even clearer when Claudine follows the directions to the designated room number to discover it's a top-floor suite. She has to ride an elevator to get there.

"Mon Dieu… Well, if it ends up being a bust and I need to call those two to come get me, at least it'll be easy to find…"

But even though this is her first-ever all night appointment, and it's with a stranger she's never met before, Claudine finds herself oddly calm.

As she exits the elevator at the top floor, she begins to navigate the lavish carpeted hallways in the direction of her client's room number.

"1114… 1116… 1118. This is it."

Claudine comes to a stop outside of the suite's door. The amount of space between its neighboring doors spoke to just how massive the space inside was.

She can't deny that her heart is pounding, and some of it is due to nervousness.

But for whatever reason, she can't shake her initial judgment of this person based on the message they'd sent. Claudine had sensed a genuine cry for help in those words, and she still believes this will be a harmless interaction.

But just to be safe, she checks to ensure that her cell phone has full bars before she finally finds the courage to knock.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3. Tentative Treatment

Maya had hurried home that evening after finishing up her trainings with the troupe. She'd managed to eat despite her nerves, and had been sure to shower and get changed into something casual - just a blouse and pants - nothing too fancy that might've given off the wrong impression for a cuddle worker who was most likely going to be a bit nervous about all of this.

She'd cleaned up her apartment a bit, adjusting the couch cushions from where she'd skewed them sitting last night, putting away all of her laundry, and things of that nature.

She leaves the TV on to provide some background noise, and leaves the living room window curtains slightly ajar, not wanting her visitor to feel stifled. The view of the sparkling city at night below usually helped Maya pause and appreciate the beauty for a moment, but tonight she's just too jittery.

It's around 7PM when she starts to doubt that this girl will even show up at all.

Even if she accepted my request, she'll likely change her mind and cancel right before… It is quite a large assignment, after all. And in someone else's home… Perhaps she's used to this sort of thing…? But even if she is, she might find me so pathetic that she leaves after just a few moments…

Maya paces her apartment, fueled by all of the anxieties of her usual stressors, on top of the eustress about tonight's unique occasion.

It's at 7:45, just about when Maya wonders if she might start pacing a dented path of footprints through her slippers across the wooden floor, when a knock comes at her door. She almost stumbles over her own two feet, snapping her head up at the sound of a clear and pleasant female voice.

"Would this happen to be the residence of Mary-san…?"

Saijou Claudine. Was she really here? It couldn't be anyone else. No one else would've known to address her by that alias.

Maya scrambles to clear her throat and call out from the living room.

"Y-Yes. Might you be… Saijou Claudine-san…?"

A pause. And then.

"Oui."

That confirms it for Maya. The beautiful, theatre-loving girl who had started her profile blurb with a French greeting…

"J-Just a moment, please."

Maya shuffles to the door, not even bothering to check the peep-hole. She just takes a breath, then unlocks and opens the door before this can all vanish like a dream.

The girl standing before her can't be more than two or three years younger than Maya, as her profile had indicated. She is dressed in stylish boots, a long white skirt, and an autumn-colored sweater, with a hand bag on one shoulder, her long curly blonde hair falling halfway down her back. Her smile is a bit hesitant, but still genuine, and her eyes are a beautiful rose-colored pink…

"Bonjour," Claudine says, giving a small bow to her client. "My name is Saijou Claudine. Please pardon me for intruding, Ma-"

What was supposed to be her client's online name quickly dies on Claudine's lips as she lifts herself up from the bow. The second she sees this "Mary-san's" face, Claudine's jaw drops.

"Ma…! T-Tendo Maya-san?!"

This was something Maya had failed to consider. She had selected Saijou Claudine not only for her charming character and beautiful looks, but mostly for the shared interests she had with Maya. They were both actresses, performers, students from theatre colleges.

Of course she would know who Maya was.

As the shock settles in for the both of them, Maya quickly takes the girl by the wrist and pulls her inside, letting the door close behind her.

Claudine is flabbergasted to say the very least. The last thing she'd ever expected was to show up on the doorstep of one of the most famous actresses in all of Japan; an actress Claudine herself greatly admired and had seen perform live many times. She's just as dumbfounded about her client being the Tendo Maya as Maya is dumbfounded that Claudine actually showed up for this appointment.

After a brief moment of wide-eyed, open-mouthed stares at one another, Claudine realizes she'd blurted out this famous person's name in the hallway like that, and frantically starts to apologize.

"I-I'm sorry! I was just so shocked, I didn't… you're Tendo Maya!" she whispers.

"My apologies," Maya bows her head as well. "I didn't mean to grab you like that. Are you hurt?"

"Hurt? Not at all! I'm just… shocked."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think this through completely… And I truly do apologize for grabbing you so forcefully."

"It's fine. I blurted out your name without thinking. I think both of us were just so…"

"Surprised?"

"Oui…"

The two girls stare at each other for another moment.

Claudine is every bit as charming as her profile had implied, and then some. She is beautiful, radiant, and entirely genuine - this much, Maya can already tell.

As for Claudine's impression of Tendo Maya up close and personal, she was every bit as gorgeous as she ever was onstage…

But she was also quite… average. In a good way.

She wore fairly normal clothes in spite of her luxurious suite. Her voice was crisp and articulate, her skin and hair were beautiful…

But her eyes…

Her lavender eyes were quite, quite tired.

Claudine can tell right then and there that her initial assumptions had been correct.

This girl, famous actress or not, was a client truly in need of some basic human companionship and care. The fact that she was a famous performer who Claudine herself personally admired would have to be pushed to the back of her mind. Right now she was a customer, and a fellow human being in need.

"S…So… Mary-san-"

"Please… you can call me by name. Saijou-san…?"

Maya tilts her head, inquiring whether or not that is an acceptable way of addressing her. Claudine dips her head.

"Tendo Maya… So… you requested my services due to an inability to relax and sleep, right?" She does her best to keep her personal feelings of excitement and disbelief out of her tone.

Maya dips her head guiltily.

"Yes… For the past several months now it's been particularly difficult to fall asleep, and even if I do I rarely stay asleep or feel rested when I wake up… I fear it's going to start affecting my performances and my career soon enough."

Claudine is taken aback to see and hear the confident, brilliant Tendo Maya bow her head and sound so deflated, as if she had done something wrong and deserved blame for it.

"H-Hey! Lift your head, Tendo Maya! Everyone has trouble sleeping from time to time for one reason or another. Your reasons are just as justified as anyone else's, and arguably more so." She offers a bright smile, not just one that she uses for clients, but one that comes from the heart. "Don't worry. I'll do everything I can to help you relax tonight and ensure you can get a good night's sleep."

She doesn't know what possesses her to reach out her hand and offer her pinky finger in that instant. The shock of seeing the woman she admired so much, only to discover she was just a tired lonely girl in need of help, had awakened something tender deep within Claudine's heart. She wants to help her more than anything.

And before she can realize and redact her instinctual childish gesture, Maya tentatively reaches out her hand to link pinkies with hers. Her voice floods with relief, and her eyes nearly start to water.

"Thank you… Saijou-san…"

Claudine's chest tightens and her heart twinges in a way she's never felt before. She's hit with the nearly-irresistible urge to hug this girl, but feels that might be too much too quickly since they'd only met not 5 minutes ago. So after sealing their pinky promise, Claudine takes Maya by the hand and begins leading her into her own apartment.

"All right, then. Explain your evening routine to me. What do you usually do to unwind, relax, and fall asleep?"

Maya flashes her eyes about the room a bit nervously, as though she were being presented with a test she didn't study for.

"Well… when I get home, I typically start with dinner."

"That's good," Claudine reasons, prompting her to continue.

"Then I'll shower."

"Have you taken a bath at all recently?"

"A bath?" Maya blinks. "No."

Claudine pauses to paw through her bag, then pulls out a small bottle, which she hands to Maya.

"Next time try soaking in a bath instead. And use a bit of these oils. It should help you relax a bit."

Maya is stunned as Claudine presents her with the gift. She hadn't expected this girl to be giving her things.

"I beg your pardon. I can't accept this."

"Why ever not?"

"At least let me pay you for it then. How much?"

"You're already paying for the most expensive service we offer! Consider this a gift on the house." Claudine takes Maya's hand and places the little bottle into her palm. "Now then, you were saying?"

Maya slowly places the bottle onto the nearest table before continuing.

"Well… after drying my hair, I typically just… try to go to sleep…"

Claudine doesn't miss the word "try" in that sentence. Maya looks down at the floor.

"That's really all there is to it. It's just… when I'm lying in bed I can't stop thinking. And it's always about things I can't dismiss, and before I know it, it's 3AM and I've still not slept a wink…"

Claudine makes a pensive expression, then gives a nod.

"All right. Well since doing the same old routine hasn't helped things in your favor over the past few weeks, what do you say we change it up a bit?" Claudine puts her bag down on the couch with the intent to go through it again. "I take it you've already eaten and bathed tonight?"

"Yes."

"Then go get changed into something more comfortable. Something you can fall asleep in."

Puzzled, curious, and now more excited than nervous, Maya dips her head and takes her leave into her bedroom. She changes her blouse into a long sleep shirt, and her dress pants into a warm cotton pair.

This girl… I'm not entirely certain what I was expecting. Just the fact that she showed up is astounding enough to me. But she's incredibly thorough and serious enough to bring additional items...

It really lifts Maya's hopes that she might actually be able to sleep soundly tonight.

Once she's finished changing clothes, she returns to the main room of the apartment. Claudine has pulled out her phone, a wire, and small portable speakers, which she'd plugged into an outlet. When Maya re-enters with a curious look in her eyes, she elaborates.

"What? You're Tendo Maya, aren't you? Surely you have music you enjoy. Come search for something you'd like to listen to."

Maya approaches, then cautiously begins scrolling through the music Claudine had brought up on her phone.

"You brought all of these additional items, Saijou-san… May I ask why you've gone through all the trouble?"

Claudine huffs.

"Well, like I said, you are paying the highest price possible for the longest hours we offer. Consider all of this as complimentary. Since this is such a long timeframe, I want to make sure we get some sort of favorable results for you, so I've brought everything I could think of that might help."

Maya finds a song she likes and selects it. It's a classical instrumental piece, one Claudine recognizes as well.

"Have you never considered doing things like this before? Listening to music you like or using calming oils and other self-care items?"

Maya shakes her head.

"Well... I've tried the music sometimes, but usually ones I've performed to."

Claudine puts on a pensive expression.

"Listening to songs you've only worked to might've subconsciously stressed you out. So maybe try to choose other ones. What about oils or incense?"

"No... It's honestly never crossed my mind."

"Well then it's a good thing you chose me," Claudine puffs out her chest. Maya cracks a small laugh. Claudine frowns. "Hey!"

"I beg your pardon. Please, let us proceed, then."

At the very least, whatever awkwardness that had been between them upon their initial meeting has mostly faded by now. Rather than a top star and her fan, they were now client and worker.

"Now then," Claudine says. "In your message, you'd mentioned that you'd like some hair care, is that right?"

Maya blushes the tiniest bit, but nods. "Yes... That's one of the only things I could really think of that a worker such as yourself might offer."

"Well you're right on that. It's one of the most popular requests, on-site and off. But there's plenty more I'll be able to do for you when we have so much time on our hands. We have options. And if we find something that works for you, that's a step in the right direction. Do you have a brush you prefer?"

Maya hurries off to fetch one and hands it to her.

"Alright. Lastly, I want you to choose a spot you'd be most comfortable in while receiving this treatment."

Maya swallows as she considers her options. The kitchen just wouldn't make sense, and the chairs were too hard for comfort. The bathroom stool might work, but she didn't want the risk of looking at her own reflection in the mirror. And the bedroom might've been far too suggestive so early on in the night.

Therefore, Maya decides on the living room couch, large enough for both of them to sit and a place where she could still hear the music Claudine had gone through the trouble of bringing.

"Here is fine." Maya sits down on the couch, and Claudine accompanies her without hesitation.

Part of her job here tonight is to ensure the client doesn't worry about Claudine. She needs to act as though she'd done these things a million times, and everything was completely casual and normal. If she was comfortable and confident, her client wouldn't need to be concerned over her.

Once they're seated, with the cozy music floating around them, Claudine gets into her role.

"Turn a bit."

"Right…"

When Maya gives her back, Claudine reaches out and gently makes the first contact.

Maya involuntarily shudders as someone who wasn't used to intimate physical contact would. She isn't sure of the last time anyone's ever touched her hair so gently. The makeup artists were always rather rough and only had efficiency in mind.

But not Claudine.

Her hands move slowly and gently as she runs her fingers lightly through Maya's locks. Her hair is still slightly damp from the earlier shower, and Claudine paws through it for a few moments first to allow her to get used to the feeling.

It feels heavenly. Like nothing Maya had ever known before.

She can feel Claudine's nails moving softly down her back, almost ticklish, but overall pleasant and satisfying. Whatever stiffness Maya had been failing to conceal thus far now vanishes in an instant. She melts with relief, and already tears start to form in her eyes.

Claudine plays through her hair with just her hands for a while, twirling a few locks here and there, combing it to one side or the other, petting down the length with her palm. Everything she does is so impossibly gentle and soft.

The music provides a much-welcome sound in what would've otherwise been a somewhat awkward silence. The fact that Claudine had thought this through so efficiently proves just how serious she is about her work.

And part of Maya believes that it isn't just about the work and the money for her tonight. She feels Claudine genuinely wants to help her as a person. Even when she speaks now, her voice is low and soothing.

"Does this feel okay? You can stop me at any time if there's something you don't like."

"No…" Maya sighs. "It feels wonderful, Saijou-san… You are incredibly good at this…"

"You flatter me." With her client's comfort level noted, Claudine picks up the brush. For cases like this, she knows it's essential to make some level of conversation. She keeps her tone low and puts a bit of a hum into it. "You have beautiful hair. As one would expect from the top star Tendo Maya, of course. But it really is well cared for. You must put a lot of effort into it."

Maya almost tenses again when she feels the brush bristles at the small of her back. Years of it being brushed harshly in her dressing rooms had made her cautious. But only seconds after feeling Claudine's touch, she relaxes and never worries about it again.

Claudine is so… so gentle. Even with the brush bristles that have to be some level of aggressive in order to untangle knots, Claudine wields it with care. She starts at the ends of Maya's hair, brushing along in short, small motions to ensure there are no tangles before moving up about an inch and repeating the process. Maya fights back tears, struggling to keep her voice steady.

"Finally…" she murmurs. "Someone who understands to start at the bottom and work their way up."

"You'd think that's common sense," Claudine says. "But I can't tell you how many people I see who begin right at the top and just start yanking down! You're just going to catch all the knots and end up ripping them out! If you start from the bottom you can smooth them out as they come, and when you move higher you know that you've already smoothed what's beneath."

"Precisely."

Even now, when Claudine encounters a snag here or there, she doesn't brute force her way through it. Instead, she lightens the pressure on the brush and works through the area with light, wavy motions, easing the tangled hairs apart and freeing them from the knot instead of ripping it all out.

Claudine goes slowly with the brushing, letting the activity last. With Maya clearly enjoying it, Claudine keeps going even after Maya's hair is completely smoothed. She brushes down the length from the top of Maya's head to the ends at the small of her back, over and over again.

"Does it still feel nice?"

"Incredibly."

"Would you like me to keep going?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Bien sûr."

So Caudine continues through several more songs, alternating between using the brush and her own fingers. She rubs and scratches Maya's back lightly, something she did often for clients off-site. Some of the most popular requests were hair-brushing and fully-clothed back massages, and it's Claudine's trademark to combine the two.

And it's always worked nicely for her other clients.

But in Tendo Maya's case, she nearly falls over.

When she sways suddenly, Claudine breaks her flow of slow, gentle movements to hurriedly reach out and catch her.

"H-Hey! Are you alright?"

Maya had never experienced anything like this before. She'd felt so at-ease, so relaxed… She'd almost dozed off right there. And that's something she never knew was possible with her current state of affairs.

"Yes…" She straightens up with Claudine's help and turns to face her. "My apologies for startling you."

"It's fine." Claudine gives a small smile. "That's proof right there that your insomnia is manageable, if not curable. Why don't you lie down? This time, if you fall asleep you can just stay there without worrying about falling over."

Claudine slides over a bit on the couch, then offers her lap.

Maya blushes. She's never done anything like this before - not even onstage. She'd kissed and hugged her fellow actors and actresses, but it was always during some intense action scene, or in a musical number.

There had never been anything like this; a private, intimate scene. And this wasn't an act, either.

She swallows again, but finds her throat a bit dry.

Claudine can tell right away that Maya is a bit hesitant with this one, so she casually changes the subject.

"Hold that thought. Why don't I prepare you some nice warm tea?"

"Pardon…?" Maya watches in confusion as Claudine gets up and heads toward the kitchen. "Saijou-san, I fear I should be the one extending such an offer to you."

"Nonsense. You're the customer here. Just direct me to where things are and I'll serve you."

"But it is my job as the host to accommodate-"

"It's your job as the client to relax tonight." Claudine turns back to her and grins. "Now then, where do you keep your cups?"

So Maya offers her directions from the couch as Claudine traverses the kitchen. She boils the water, adds the exact amount of cream and sugar Maya prefers, and then brings it all back to her within a few minutes.

"There. This is something else you can do for yourself in the future. Tea is very helpful for winding down."

Maya accepts her cup and takes a sip. The warm flavored water immediately makes her stomach feel wonderful, and she's still dreamily cozy from the hair-brushing treatment as well.

Claudine takes a sip from the cup she'd prepared for herself, then checks the time. It's already nearly 10, so she picks up her phone and texts both Mahiru and Kaoruko a mouse emoji.

As the music continues to play and the two girls enjoy their tea, casual conversation strikes up. Claudine knows better than to inquire about her clients' personal lives, but when Maya asks her about her work, she is happy to share. This is another key component into allowing her client to feel comfortable in their own home.

Claudine suggests turning on the television to a channel that plays recorded drone footage of beautiful sceneries. Combined with the music Maya enjoys, the warm tea, and Claudine's inviting presence, it isn't much longer before Maya finds herself lying down with her head in her lap.

Claudine pets through her hair soothingly, rubbing gently down her back and her side. She offers a few other pointers, such as lighting a candle or an incense to provide soothing scents.

She encourages Maya to try and fall asleep then and there, wondering if maybe a change of location would help her better. If the bedroom was a place Maya dreaded and always associated with her insomnia, perhaps moving to the couch would bear some better results.

Claudine keeps up her techniques, speaking softly and carding through Maya's hair.

At first, Maya hadn't known if she'd be able to let her guard down around a stranger like this. But after spending only a few hours with Claudine, she doesn't have a single doubt left in her mind. She doesn't even realize it when her eyes eventually close.

Claudine takes note of the change in her breathing, and how Maya's replies to her comments taper off. She smiles. She just wishes she'd thought far enough in advance to bring a blanket out here to drape over her. She doesn't want Maya waking up from being cold.

It's only a little past 11 o'clock by the time Maya is asleep in Claudine's lap.

Claudine hadn't gotten the opportunity to change into her sleep clothes, but she's fine to sleep like this sitting up on the couch if that's what it comes to.

But due to her earlier nap, she isn't very tired yet. So she plays around on her phone for a while, keeping the volume silent as she plays games and watches videos, all while constantly monitoring Maya's condition. She holds her phone in one hand and pets softly through Maya's hair with the other.

She's out… She must not have slept for real in weeks, the poor thing…

It's around midnight, right after Claudine has sent Mahiru and Kaoruko the alligator emoji, when things get complicated.

Claudine had suspected that it wouldn't be this easy on her first and only night here. Maya had been battling insomnia for months now. Claudine wasn't so arrogant as to believe she'd be able to fix her in one night just like that.

She's kept herself awake to keep an eye on her client, and after she goes back to her game, Claudine notices a change. Maya begins to twitch a little bit in her sleep, and she starts to make uncomfortable little moans. Claudine puts down her phone and gently lies both of her hands around Maya, ready to keep her steady in case she wakes up in a fluster.

But thankfully, it isn't a violent start where she pushes herself up. Rather, Maya's eyes open drearily, and a groan of disappointment tumbles out of her mouth.

This is how it typically went. Whenever she did finally manage to fall asleep, her stress dreams would force her awake again after only an hour or two, and the process would restart.

But even now, as Maya wakes on her couch instead of her bed, she feels more rested from that hour than she normally did. And when she remembers exactly where her head is lying and who is with her, she realizes why.

A soft, cautious voice calls out to her.

"Tendo Maya…?"

Maya registers the warm touch of hands on her shoulders. She takes a few breaths to get her bearings, then slowly rolls over to look up at Claudine. She lets out a heavy sigh.

"And after you did so much for me…"

Claudine raises an eyebrow.

"What? Did you seriously think you'd be cured just like that? Of course not. This is going to take some time. I'm just showing you a few things that might help, but in the future you can do whatever combination of them you'd like. Plus, we've still got plenty of time to work with tonight."

"But you yourself must be tired, Saijou-san." Maya pushes herself up slowly, head bowed in defeat. "You should get some rest."

"Excuse me?" Claudine huffs. "Do you take me for an amateur? I rested before I came here. I'm fully prepared to stay up the entire 12 hours if that's what it means to satisfy my client."

"But I could never ask you to-"

"You don't have to ask me to. I'm doing it anyway." Claudine crosses her arms matter-of-factly. "...I will go change and use the restroom, though."

In spite of it all, Maya lets out a faint chuckle.

"Of course. My apologies if I prevented you from moving."

"It's fine."

Claudine uses the bathroom, brushes her teeth, and gets changed into her more comfortable sleep clothes before returning to the living room. Maya is still sitting up, watching a scene of a sunset over the ocean on the TV. Claudine approaches her quietly.

"Do you think this helped?" she wonders. "Sleeping here for a change?"

Maya gives her honest, unfiltered answer.

"I don't think the location is relevant. It's the company."

"Oh…" Even though Claudine has been in this line of work for months, and had heard similar things many times before, this is the first time it's made her face feel quite so warm. "I see. Well then, you've got 8 more hours with me, so let me know if there's anything you think might be effective."

Maya ponders for a moment, but can't really think of much.

"What we just tried was… quite nice…"

Claudine smiles.

"I'm glad. Do you have a blanket we could use?"

"The closet to your right."

Claudine pulls out a blue wool blanket and brings it back to the couch. They re-situate themselves like they'd been before, with Maya resting her head on Claudine's lap. Claudine drapes the blanket over her and tucks Maya in as best she can, folding the excess blanket over her lap to cushion Maya's head.

As soon as she's settled, Claudine gets back to stroking through Maya's hair and rubbing down her back again. Maya lets out a long sigh.

"Saijou-san… I never thanked you for accepting my demanding request. I truly do appreciate your efforts and your sincerity."

"There's no need to thank me. You're paying, after all."

Maya chuckles.

"That is true. But you seem genuinely determined to help me. I can tell you aren't just doing it for the money. So thank you."

Claudine's heart does a fluttery little something.

"It's not a big deal... Just try to relax and close your eyes."

Maya does as she's told, and she does manage to rest again for another thirty minutes or so. But then she's woken once again by her stressful dreams. Claudine patiently helps her calm back down before they repeat the process.

It's a little before 2AM when Claudine needs to send her next emoji to her friends, when Maya wakes a fourth time. By now, it's clear to see why she's so exhausted, constantly being tricked into a false state of slumber only to be roused by her overworking mind. It's then when Claudine decides to try something else.

"Why don't we head into your bedroom? I've got an idea."

Maya tiredly agrees. They turn off the TV and all other electricals as Maya leads the way. For whatever reason, Claudine isn't concerned at all about getting into bed with her.

It's probably because I feel so bad for her that I can't be bothered with being nervous. She couldn't try anything even if she wanted to.

Claudine carries her speaker in and places it on the desk. Instead of music now, she lets an app play calming nature sounds like rainfall, rustling leaves, and birdsong.

Maya slumps into her mattress with a distressed groan, fearful that this might not work after all. Claudine pauses for a moment to send her 2AM horse emoji before sitting on the edge of the bed beside her. She reaches over to stroke through Maya's hair gently.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You can't expect this to work perfectly and get you eight hours on the first night. Even just three or four solid hours is a start, though obviously someone like you needs as much as she can get. But baby steps."

Claudine speaks calmly, but on the inside she's a bit worried. She'd honestly exhausted pretty much all of her best techniques already, save for one. But if it's come to this, then she'll do it for Maya's sake.

"May I join you?" she asks.

Maya rolls onto her side to face her with a desperate enervation in her eyes.

"Please."

So Claudine climbs into bed with her as if it were something she'd done a million times before. She and Maya situate themselves under the covers, where the warmth of their bodies radiates much more noticeably.

Maya finds herself in a confusing state, sleep-deprived yet oddly comfortable in spite of it. But she surely isn't thinking very clearly when she naturally tries to move in closer to Claudine's warmth. It's only when she's about halfway to reaching her arms out seeking an embrace when she catches herself.

"I…I'm-"

But Claudine doesn't even let her finish the apology. She opens her arms and pulls Maya right in.

"Hush," she murmurs. "It's alright. This is why I'm here, isn't it?"

Maya almost sobs, clinging more tightly to her. Claudine is so soft, so warm, and she smells so lovely…

Maya is almost dizzy from the swirling mix of different emotions warring inside of her. She's so tired, yet so grateful to Claudine, while also being worried that she's pushing her comfort levels for the job of helping Maya...

But as the moments she spends in Claudine's embrace pass by, Maya finds her worries being chipped away little by little.

"Just breathe," Claudine whispers. "Sometimes it's as simple as that." She rubs her hands gingerly up and down Maya's back, playing through her hair some more, offering light little scratches. "Let's breathe in for three seconds, and out for five. Nice and slow. Ready? One, two, three..." Claudine demonstrates, breathing in with Maya before letting it out. She repeats the counts several times, having Maya match her pace.

Maya closes her eyes and tries not to think beyond her breathing. She doesn't think about her own troubles, nor does she stress about Claudine's comfort. She just tries to turn off her brain for once…

She's so dreary she doesn't even feel herself being shifted slightly. She only notices when an unexpectedly wonderful sound starts fluttering beneath her ear.

Never in all her life had she experienced anything like this before. Claudine hugs her warmly, rubbing her back and cradling Maya's head against her chest.

"Just breathe," she whispers again.

Maya blinks blearily, and this time she can't prevent a few tears from slipping out. Claudine's heartbeat fills her head and sends gentle, soothing pulses through her entire body. It's warm, soft, and so, so comforting.

Maya sniffles, and Claudine coaxes her closer. This wasn't a treatment she provided often, and when she did it was usually only for a few minutes. But in this case, she's prepared to stay like this with Maya until 8AM if that's what it takes.

Maya cuddles closer, hugging Claudine and clinging to her warmth and softness. She sighs, listening as each consecutive beat of her heart flits and flutters in her ear.

"Saijou-san…"

"Shh… Get some sleep."

Maya makes a small sound, and then she's out.

Claudine is very careful not to move and shift around too much. She just strokes through Maya's hair in a continuous pattern. She keeps herself awake purposefully to ensure Maya is resting.

But when 4AM hits, Claudine is far too comfortable to keep herself conscious any longer. And Maya hadn't woken again once since they'd come into the bedroom, or if she had it had been brief and unnoticeable, and she'd fallen right back asleep.

Claudine sends her iguana emoji to her friends, then turns off her 8AM alarm. Originally, she'd set it so she could leave on time, but if it means Maya might be able to sleep longer on her day off tomorrow, Claudine decides it's worth it to silence the phone. She herself doesn't have any plans tomorrow, therefore she's fine staying a bit later if it means Maya can rest longer.

At last, Claudine puts down her phone and closes her eyes. She's never fallen asleep with a client like this before in their bed. She'd napped with them a few times here and there, on a couch at the cafe or sometimes at a client's house. But never in their bed before, and never for the whole night.

But with how warm Maya is, and how accomplished she feels for making such progress with her, Claudine is cozy enough to fall asleep within minutes.

Hopefully this will do her some good…

When Maya wakes, she's certain she hasn't felt this well-rested in years - even before her insomnia had raised its ugly head. The soft pulse filling her head, the sweet scent wreathing around her nose, and the warmth encompassing her body remind her right away what's going on.

Cautiously, she opens her eyes, as though she's expecting to be hit with the usual lack-of-sleep headache.

But miraculously, the pain never comes.

Her bedroom is currently coated in bright morning sunlight, and the sounds of rustling leaves and chirping birds coming from the speakers really help her feel calm. But she knows this wonderful feeling of serenity and energy is all thanks to the still-sleeping girl beneath her.

Claudine's clothes and hair are ruffled, making her look even more adorable. Maya isn't certain of the time, but she longs to stay just like this, cuddled up with Claudine for as long as possible…

No. That wouldn't be right of me. She's succeeded in her task of helping me sleep. I can't take advantage of her beyond that.

So after just a few more seconds and a few more heartbeats, Maya gently pushes herself up and off of her. As she moves, her body isn't assaulted by the usual little aches and pains that came with tossing and turning all night long. She feels entirely refreshed for the first time in months.

She's almost upset it isn't an official work day. Of course she'll still practice, train, and workout today, but she would really prefer to use a successful night's sleep on a day working with her troupe. For this reason, Maya bites her lip and reaches for her cell phone…

Claudine wakes to the small jingle of her cell phone ringing. It isn't an alarm, but a message notification. Slowly, she opens her eyes to find herself staring up at someone else's ceiling, and recalls the night's events.

Her body still feels pleasantly warm - the lingering warmth one would enjoy after having spent hours cuddled up next to someone else. As she turns her face, she finds Maya already sitting up in bed beside her.

And she looks… like a completely different person.

Unlike when they'd met yesterday evening, Maya's eyes are now bright and full of energy, and there is a smile on her lips. Claudine feels her heart flutter a bit as a different kind of warmth spreads through her chest. Maya looks up from her phone and manages to catch her eye. She smiles brilliantly.

"Saijou-san, good morning."

Slowly, Claudine pushes herself up.

"Bonjour. Did you… sleep well…?"

Maya grins back like a joyful child.

"Saijou-san, I had the best sleep I've had in months. I feel like a different person this morning. I truly can't thank you enough." She takes Claudine's hand and squeezes it in earnest. Claudine smiles back warmly.

"I'm glad. Really, I am. I hope you've learned a few techniques that might help you in the future."

"Oh, I think I have," Maya beams. "Allow me to prepare us breakfast."

"Eh? No, you don't have to do that. It's almost 9 and I've already overstayed my welcome."

"Please. I must insist. You've helped me immensely, Saijou-san. More than I can express. Unless you have previous engagements, please allow me to express my gratitude."

"Your account has automatically been charged for the night. That's plenty."

"Humor me."

Claudine rolls her eyes.

"Fine. Just a quick breakfast."

"Splendid." Maya gets out of bed and hurries off. As confused as Claudine is by her excitement, she really does feel proud that she'd been able to help her sleep at long last.

"Ah, I'd better finish texting those two."

She picks up her phone, seeing a notification from the cafe - likely Maya's payment for the night. Claudine first goes in to text her friends a rabbit and a unicorn, then opens up the cafe app.

It's there she sees that she doesn't just have one payment notification…

But also 60 more appointment requests.

Her jaw drops.

"Two months?!"

Yes. Tendo Maya had, in fact, requested her nightly services for the next two months. Sixty consecutive nights' worth of full 12-hour shifts.

Claudine isn't sure if she's more alarmed by the weight of the requests, or the fact that Maya has that much money to blow. She sways a little and has to catch herself.

"There's no way…"

She has to take a moment to catch her breath, during which time Maya reappears in the doorway.

"Saijou-san? Is everything alright?"

Claudine whips her head around in exasperation.

"You…! You can't be serious!"

"I am only making some toast."

"Not the breakfast! The requests!"

"Oh." Maya blushes faintly. "I apologize. I realize it must be very overwhelming for you to receive such a numerous amount of extensive appointments. Of course I understand if you're unable to accept them all, hence why I made so many. If there is even one night you'll be able to accept within those dates, I would greatly appreciate it."

"You… you really are serious, aren't you?"

"Indeed I am. Should you be willing to accept all sixty nights, I would have no issue paying for each of them." Her voice and her eyes are genuine. "You truly did help me, Saijou-san. If you're comfortable enough to see me again, I would be honored."

Claudine's jaw remains open for a long moment as she processes everything.

This girl… She's dead serious about this. She really wants some help… I mean, it's not like I had any other plans. As long as I can get to my classes on time, it should be fine. If I accept these jobs, it'll pretty much fund my next few semesters…

As she thinks, she looks Maya over again. She really does seem like a completely different person now that she'd slept properly, and Claudine had been the person to be able to provide that hope for her…

Claudine glances back down at her phone and all of the awaiting requests. She inhales deeply, then lets it out.

And then she clicks the "Accept All" button.

"Fine."

Maya breaks out into another bright smile as her phone begins ringing from the request acceptance notifications.

"S-Saijou-san, are you really certain? For both months…? You needn't feel obligated to-"

"I'll do it. For two entire months I'll spend every single night with you until you feel like you'll be okay on your own again. But of course if there's any sort of emergency, I might have to cancel here or there."

"Of course! Please cancel any time you feel you must! I don't want you to exhaust yourself between classes and your other obligations, as well as this."

"Honestly though, I don't see it being an issue for those dates." Claudine gets out of bed and smoothes out her clothes. "I've admired you for a long time. You've been a big inspiration to me, Tendo Maya. So I'll do whatever I can to give back."

Maya scurries over to take Claudine's hands and squeeze them.

"Thank you, Saijou-san. It means so much to me."

"Don't thank me yet. Not until you're able to sleep comfortably on your own."

The smell of burning toast alerts them both and has Maya hurrying back to the kitchen. Claudine gathers her speakers, charger, and her bag before getting dressed and joining Maya for a quick breakfast.

They discuss the future terms of the next two months a bit more. Maya offers to let Claudine leave her things there each day if that's easiest for her. She also offers her full use of her bathroom in case she would like to shower and leave for classes straight from there. Claudine assures her they'll figure things out as they go along.

Around 10AM, Claudine finally takes her leave. But not without one last appreciative hug from Maya.

"I am truly grateful for your assistance, Saijou-san. I'll be in your care."

"Right. I'll do whatever I can to help."

They part from the embrace, sharing an awkward yet genuine smile.

"Well then, I… guess I'll see you again tonight at 8," Claudine says.

"Indeed. But again, if anything changes, please don't hesitate to cancel. You must take care of yourself and your education first and foremost."

"Oui. I'll keep you updated if anything changes. But for now, I'll see you later."

"Yes. See you tonight, Saijou-san."

And with that, Maya closes the door.

She can't believe it. It had actually worked. She'd actually slept a proper amount thanks to Claudine's care and presence. The money was no obstacle for her, especially since it was still probably cheaper overall than having to find a therapist.

"It's working. It's really working…"

This must be her answer. She doesn't believe last night was a fluke; Maya is fully committed to the idea that she will sleep soundly for the next 2 months straight thanks to having Claudine by her side.

And as for Claudine, she's determined to make this work. Not so much for the funds, though of course that's going to be a huge benefit for her. But she really wants Maya to find out what works for her so that she'll be able to sleep well and be at her best.

"Like I said," she murmurs as she takes the elevator down. "She's been an inspiration to me for so long. I'm happy to give back however I can."

That, and she really feels for Maya as a fellow human being.

Claudine exits the building and steps out into the morning to catch a bus. She's still getting used to the idea that she'll be back here again later tonight.

Chapter Text

Chapter 4. The End Of An Appointment

"Two months?!"

Both Mahiru and Kaoruko shriek the words. Claudine had texted them to meet up at a local non-cuddle cafe so she could update them about last night's appointment. She told them how it went successfully enough for Maya to book her again for the next sixty days.

The shock of the reveal has Kaoruko choking on her tea, and Mahiru has to give her a few good slaps on the back.

"You can't- seriously be thinking of accepting-!" Kaoruko coughs.

"I already did."

"What-?! Ghak!"

"K-Kaoruko-chan, calm down!" Mahiru frets. "W-W-Wait! Kuro-chan, did you really-?"

"Oui. She really needs my help. And besides, it's the best money I'll ever make right now."

"Be that as it may…" Kaoruko gasps. "Even if she didn't do anything sketchy to you last night, two months is plenty of time for her to get nasty ideas into her head."

"You don't need to worry about that. She's not that kind of person."

"Haaah? How can you say that about a person you've only known for one night?"

Little did her concerned friends know, Claudine has known this client for much longer than that. She obviously can't reveal Maya's true identity to them just like that, but she knows for a fact that Maya has never had any kind of unsavory track record in all her life, so there was no need to be concerned about that.

"I can just tell," Claudine says a bit lamely.

"Is she dating anyone?" Mahiru asks. "If she is, maybe she won't come after you-"

"Or she'll try to make you join in!"

"K-Kaoruko-chan!"

Claudine can't help but laugh outright at the thought. She knows they're both genuinely worried for her safety though, so perhaps it would be best to just come clean.

"Can you keep a secret, Kaoruko?"

"Course I can. Hey, wait! How come you didn't ask Mahiru-han if she could keep one?"

"Because I know she can."

"Offended!"

Mahiru chuckles as she tries to soothe Kaoruko's ruffled feathers. Claudine leans forward over the table and whispers to them.

"My client… is Tendo Maya."

"Ten-! Mmph!" Kaoruko nearly blurts the name out in a shriek before Mahiru quickly covers her mouth.

"See?!" Claudine hisses. "This is why I doubted if you could keep it a secret!"

"N-N-No way!" Mahiru gasps. "It's really her?"

Claudine nods.

"Oui. Which makes sense as to how she can afford such a lengthy term."

Kaoruko finally breaks free.

"That's insane! Kuro-han, you're sleeping with a celebrity!"

"Don't say it like that!"

"Well, it's true, isn't it?"

"Yes, but not like that, you pervert!"

Once they've all calmed and quieted down a bit, they come to terms with Claudine's upcoming assignment.

"Two months, huh…?" Kaoruko mumbles. "Two months straight of full 12-hour off-site night shifts… I don't think any cafe has ever had that before."

"Your regulars are gonna be jealous," Mahiru teases.

"They'll have to understand I made a commitment," Claudine reasons. "I really want to help this girl."

Mahiru smiles.

"Kuro-chan, you have such a good heart. But don't push yourself, okay? Take a night or two off if you need to."

"Don't worry. The client and I have already discussed and made those things clear. I'm a student first and a cuddler second."

"Mmmn… I'm still not sure if I trust her," Kaoruko mumbles. "You'll still have to text us each time! At least when you get there and the next morning so we know you're okay."

"Deal."

The three girls finish up their lunch date, then prepare to go their separate ways.

"Just be careful," Mahiru says, pulling Claudine into a hug, which Kaoruko quickly joins.

"Yes, call us anytime if you need anything."

"I will." Claudine kisses them each on the cheek. "I'll text you both tonight and again tomorrow morning."

They part ways, at which point Claudine returns to campus to her dorm. Even though she won't be sleeping here anymore for the next two months, she still has to pay for it, so she might as well keep up with the chores and do her assignments here.

She does her laundry and her remaining schoolwork for the weekend, then naps again before dinner...

And then, just like that, she finds herself back outside room 1118.

She gives a knock, and then finds herself face-to-face with Tendo Maya once more.

The second their eyes meet again, Maya's face lights up.

"Saijou-san!"

Claudine gives her a puzzled look.

"Why do you sound so surprised to see me? Don't you remember you hired me to be here?"

"Well, yes," Maya says, stepping aside to let her in. "But somehow… a part of me didn't expect you to actually show up again."

"Even though I told you I accepted the job?" Claudine scoffs. "You're such a strange woman."

Claudine follows Maya inside, and once she's back in the apartment, it sort of feels like she never left. As Claudine puts down her bag, Maya shuffles back toward the kitchen area.

"Would you care for some tea?" Since Claudine had gone and made it last night, Maya must have prepared it in advance tonight in order to be a good host.

"Very well," Claudine answers.

So as Maya prepares the tea, Claudine lights the candles she'd brought and left yesterday, filling the apartment with subtle, calming aromas. She turns on the TV, plays some background music, and sets up the couch like she had before.

If I'm going to be doing this for two months straight, I should probably set up some sort of routine…

While Claudine gets right to work with unfolding Maya's thick, plush blanket and making a comfortable spot for her on the couch, Maya prepares the tea.

When it's ready, she brings it in and offers Claudine her cup. Claudine accepts and takes a sip, allowing the warm liquid to settle her stomach, which had been quite excited all day long. But she doesn't let herself get too comfortable, because she's still here to work.

"Merci," she says. "Have a seat here. We'll do what we did last night and have you start by just winding down."

Maya nods and sits down beside Claudine on the couch, taking a few sips of her tea before putting the cup down on the table. Claudine locates Maya's brush from yesterday and offers to tend to her hair again, to which Maya blushes slightly and accepts.

As Claudine gets to work carefully brushing Maya's hair in soothing strokes, she can already feel Maya slumping back toward her in relaxation. But to avoid a potentially-awkward silence, she decides to get her client talking.

"So? What does a typical weekend look like for the infamous Tendo Maya? What did you do today?"

Maya seems almost a bit surprised to be asked such a domestic question, but she responds nonetheless.

"Well… I did some stretching and practicing, of course. I even felt well enough to work out at the gym for a bit this morning after you left." It sounds so strange to hear to say that, but it really only had been about half a day since Claudine had last been here with her. "When I returned, I showered and took care of the chores. That was about all."

"I see. So would you say that a day like today was less stressful than your typical workdays with the troupe?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"That's good. Then hopefully you'll be able to calm down enough to sleep a bit more."

She says as much, but she knows the dread and stress a person feels in knowing their days off are ending and they must go back to work soon can often reduce their odds of sleeping efficiently that night. So in order to prevent Maya from experiencing such stress, Claudine keeps her tone and her motions slow and gentle as she continues brushing her hair.

"Let's try to have you get into bed a bit earlier tonight," she suggests. "Even if you do wake up multiple times, your body should still be able to get some rest if you're laying down for a longer period of time."

"Very well." Maya dips her head. "May I ask… what you did today, Saijou-san…?"

"Me?" Claudine huffs, brushing down the length of her hair again. "This isn't really about me, you know."

"Perhaps not. But having a two-way conversation would help things feel more natural, don't you think?"

Claudine almost blushes a little when Tendo Maya gives her a suggestion of how to do her job.

"Fine then. I met up with some friends from the cafe and told them about this ridiculous two-month request of yours. Then I went back to campus and handled my chores and schoolwork."

Maya's shoulders actually shake with a small chuckle.

"Oh my. I wonder what your friends must think of me as a client, asking something so outrageous of you."

"You're paying, aren't you?"

"Of course."

"Then nothing else matters."

Claudine says this with enough of a joking tone that Maya understands she isn't really just here for the paycheck, and she chuckles again.

Claudine continues brushing Maya's hair as they chat for a while, occasionally taking sips at their teacups. When that's finished, Claudine holds up the blanket to her client.

"Get comfortable," she says. "Lounge around and lay however you'd like."

Maya shyly nudges herself into the fabric as Claudine drapes it around her shoulders, bundling her up snugly. She ponders for a moment about how she'd like to position herself.

"As much as I enjoyed what we tried last night," she says. "May I try something else?"

"Go right ahead," Claudine says. "I'm working for you, so I'll do whatever you ask of me. Within reason."

"Of course, of course," she chuckles.

Claudine stays still as she waits for Maya to figure out how she wants to position herself. What Claudine hadn't been expecting, however, was for Maya to unfurl half the blanket from herself and drape it around Claudine's shoulders instead.

Claudine completely refuses to acknowledge how her heart sort of skips a beat at the unexpected gesture. But for the sake of her client's comfort and preference, she stays still.

Maya quickly presses herself against Claudine's side, clinging to her in a cozy hug. She leans her head on Claudine's shoulder and deflates, letting out a long sigh.

"I hope this sort of position is permissible…?"

Claudine quickly clears her throat and gathers her bearings, trying to still be professional.

"Of course. I do this sort of thing with clients all the time."

Just never before alone with them in their house for the entire night…

But either way, it wasn't something she couldn't handle.

Claudine gets right into playing her part, putting her arm around Maya's back to pull her in closer. Maya cuddles up, pulling her legs up onto the couch in a ball. For Maya's sake, Claudine allows herself to slouch back against the couch and get comfortable as well.

They watch TV for a time, talking or commenting every now and then. But even when they don't speak, the atmosphere is quite pleasant and casual.

It's about an hour later when Claudine realizes Maya has fallen asleep at her side.

So she doesn't have to be laying down, or be in her bed, she notes. That makes sense. She's got such a high-stress career that I'm sure she could fall asleep anywhere if she was comfortable enough.

Even if it means Claudine will have to sleep sitting up like this all night and be a bit sore going to classes tomorrow, she'll gladly accept it if it means her client could rest properly.

But again, Claudine doesn't anticipate things being that simple on just their second night.

Sure enough, Maya wakes from a start not too long after, but as soon as she realizes that Claudine is still there with her to hug her and keep her warm, she relaxes. Maya excuses herself to the restroom to wash off her face, and Claudine takes a turn afterward before they ultimately move to the bedroom.

It would make sense to do what had worked best last night. So even though it makes her blush feverishly, Claudine offers her chest to Maya.

Maya swallows, a bit more awake and self-conscious than she'd been the night before. But she's as determined to fight this insomnia as Claudine is determined to help her. So she inches closer and carefully lays her head down sideways on Claudine's collar. Maya almost whimpers from how warm and soft she is, and how soothing the sound of her heartbeat is. She closes her eyes and hugs Claudine, letting out a long, heavy sigh.

Claudine carefully folds the blankets over Maya's back and hugs her in return, stroking through her hair and rubbing her back and her sides for her.

It isn't long before Maya nods off once again. Claudine keeps her thoughts to herself.

This girl… All she really needs is someone to sleep next to. That's all.

And for the next two months, Claudine was going to be that person.

She could live with that.

Maya wakes up several more times throughout the night, and each time Claudine wakes with her and is able to calm her down and help her get comfortable again.

Then, the next thing she knows, the sound of her 8AM alarm is chiming from her phone on the bedside table. Claudine stirs, opening her eyes slowly to the dim sunlight filling the room with pale light.

Unlike yesterday morning, they can't sleep in, because Claudine has classes and Maya has work. But as she lays there, letting reality come back to her, Claudine recounts last night's events.

She woke up about the same amount of times as she did the first night, but she was able to fall back asleep much more effectively each time. I think we've already found out which position works best for her…

And now, as Maya groggily lifts up her head and blinks herself awake, Claudine feels a dull soreness across her chest from having the weight of Maya's head rest there all night, but it isn't terrible. Maya pushes herself up slowly, blinking down at her as Claudine smiles up.

"Bonjour. How did you sleep, Tendo Maya?"

The second Maya remembers who is with her, she smiles too.

"Quite well," she replies. "I must admit… this is the most refreshed I've felt on a Monday morning in a long time. I truly feel as though I can face my work today with much more energy and passion. It's wonderful."

"I'm glad to hear that," Claudine says. "But don't push yourself. It's only been two nights. Your body is going to need a lot more time to recover and be at its full potential after so many sleepless nights."

"You're right," Maya nods. "I shouldn't get ahead of myself too quickly. But I do believe this is working." Still smiling, she runs her gaze across Claudine beneath her. "Are you all right, Saijou-san? I apologize for laying on you all night. Does your chest hurt?" Maya reaches out to help Claudine sit up. Claudine takes in a good breath to let her lungs function fully again, but nods.

"Oui. All fine on my end."

"When is your first class? May I treat you to breakfast?"

"9:30. I should have time."

"Splendid."

Maya climbs out of bed, again with much more vigor than Claudine could imagine she must've moved with before they'd met and started these slumber parties.

Like yesterday, Maya makes breakfast, and the two girls sit and eat together before Claudine must take her leave. She still has to shower and change clothes before her classes start this morning, and Maya needs to head out soon as well to join the trope. As Maya sees her off at the door, she thanks her again.

"I truly do mean it, Saijou-san. You've already done so much to assist me. I know that, with your help, I'll be cured in no time at all."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," Claudine warns her. "But I'm glad. I hope I really can help you conquer this. Then myself and the next generations of performers will be able to see you shine even more brilliantly onstage."

"Surely you flatter me," Maya blushes, smiling. "Well then, I shall see you again tonight, Saijou-san."

"Right. See you tonight."

And not unlike a married couple seeing each other off for work, the two girls part ways once again for the morning, with the promise of being reunited again later that day.

And so, Claudine's and Maya's routine continues as such for several weeks.

After Claudine leaves Maya's apartment on weekdays, she goes to class in the mornings, then spends her afternoons either doing homework, going to the cafe for an on-site appointment, or handling chores around her dorm room. But no matter what she does throughout the day, she always manages to find time to meet up with Mahiru and Kaoruko to update them on things.

In the evenings, she would nap and eat dinner at her dorm before heading to Maya's, and going through the nightly routine.

Maya woke each morning feeling better and better as the weeks went on. She would have even more energy than usual to pour into her acting, singing, and dancing. Her colleagues notice the change in her, and are relieved to see the prodigal Tendo Maya back to her old self. She performs in several plays around the area without a hitch, and actually ends up sleeping better on those nights with Claudine at her side.

At times, Maya would request that Claudine be her dance partner to practice a scene or performance, and Claudine always readily agreed.

Together, the two of them figure out a routine that works best for Maya.

It begins with spending time together on the couch, watching TV, chatting, and telling each other about their days while Claudine pampers her. Then they'll eventually move into the bedroom to lie down, where Maya would cuddle up, relax, and recharge with some much-needed warm hugs.

On weekends, they would sleep in together, though Claudine always tried to leave as on-time as possible as to not overstay her welcome and go beyond her allotted hours. But Maya never minded having her stay late to join her for breakfast, and sometimes even lunch as well.

And as the weeks progressed, they began spending more and more time together past Claudine's 12-hour contracted shifts, until there were some days she stayed the whole 24 hours or longer.

One time, Claudine ended up so busy between her classes, assignments, and overnight shifts with Maya that she didn't have time to eat dinner at her dorm, therefore Maya readily treated her to a home-cooked meal.

Another time, she neglected to bring a change of clothes, therefore Maya lent her a set of sweatpants and a sweatshirt for her to spend the night in. Before long, Claudine began leaving her clothes at Maya's apartment, or wearing Maya's clothes to class instead of her own. She would sometimes shower there on top of eating one or two meals a day there, and Maya even bought Claudine her own toothbrush to keep at her place.

Maya felt that showing Claudine as much hospitality as possible was the least she could do for the improvements she was seeing in herself, thanks to Claudine's help.

Progressively, Maya went from waking close to 20 times a night due to her insomnia, to waking only about 12 times, and she was able to fall back asleep much more quickly and comfortably. And by the time they were 6 out of their 8 weeks in, Maya had reduced the number of times she woke at night into the single digits.

And throughout this time together, each girl gradually came to certain realizations of her own.

Maya knew it wasn't because just anyone was there sleeping beside her at night. She was convinced it was because it was Saijou Claudine and no one else that she felt so comfortable and blissful.

Similarly, Claudine recognized that she wasn't just coming back here every night or staying all day simply for a paycheck. There was something else there. Something warm and sweet and gentle, just like the hugs they shared each night…

This morning, Maya wakes feeling pleasantly warm and well-rested. Claudine's sweet scent fills her lungs, and her steady heartbeat fills her head.

It's a Sunday, so she and Claudine will likely be sleeping in, eating late, and then spending the afternoon together either at the apartment or out grocery shopping in town before coming back here for the night. This had become an established sort of routine for them, one they didn't question anymore.

The only thing that was different about today was that…tonight marked the final night of their 2-month contract.

Maya had admittedly lost a bit of sleep last night over her worries thinking about that. But many things over the past eight weeks had proven that Claudine felt the same way about Maya as Maya did about her. Maya doesn't believe Claudine would simply have her quit cold-turkey like this after spending every single night with her.

Her plan is to simply book Claudine for another month or two.

Or maybe… perhaps Claudine would offer to stay and keep seeing her of her own accord…

An airy, sleepy sigh alerts Maya to her sleeping partner now as Claudine rouses herself. Pushing herself up off of her, Maya gently rubs Claudine's collar where her head had been lying all night; more intimate gestures such as this had become commonplace between them over the weeks.

"Good morning, Saijou-san," Maya purrs, gingerly massaging the slight soreness out of Claudine's collar. "Did you sleep well?"

Claudine lets out a cute yawn and blinks up at her, voice still croaky.

"Idiot… I should be the one asking you that." Though by this point, they both knew her concern was genuine, and not simply that of a worker asking their client if they'd done a good job.

"I slept wonderfully with you by my side, as always." Maya leans down to nuzzle Claudine's nose lightly with her own, then kindly helps her sit up. Claudine sneezes, sending her thick curly locks all over the place. Maya laughs, tucking as many strands as she can back into place. Claudine reciprocates by messing up Maya's hair more.

"Shall I make us breakfast?" Maya offers.

"Sure."

As Maya goes to the kitchen, Claudine makes the bed and does some laundry; more tasks that have become second-nature to her since she mostly lived here now.

After washing her face, she joins Maya in the kitchen to eat. They take their time, doing all that they normally do on a Sunday morning. Part of Maya even wonders if Claudine will remember that their 2-month contract ends tonight, and if she'll come back to Maya the following evening on instinct alone.

She really hopes Claudine will offer to see her again regardless of whether or not Maya books her company.

By the time they both finish eating, Maya has started to get a worried flutter in her chest. Claudine takes the dishes to the sink to start washing them, at which point Maya makes a casual offer.

"Would you care to accompany me to the store today? I've got a few things I need to buy."

"Bien sûr," Claudine agrees. "I have a few things I need to grab as well."

And so Maya tries to put her worries aside, enjoying the day with Claudine, who once again decides to wear some of Maya's clothes out into town. They shop for what they need, and Claudine puts all of her groceries in Maya's fridge to take back to school tomorrow.

Maya asks her to be her dance partner for a few numbers, and they practice together. They take their turns in the shower, and Claudine sings during hers while Maya prepares dinner.

After their evening teatime is spent snuggled up watching TV on the couch, they retreat to bed. Maya curls into her usual spot on Claudine's chest, and Claudine hugs her warmly.

But Maya can't settle down tonight. She can't bear it any longer and has to ask.

"Saijou-san…?" Her own voice sounds so small and quiet in the darkness of the room.

Claudine gives her a cozy squeeze.

"Hm? Does the spoiled Tendo Maya need a lullaby sung to her tonight as well?"

Maya blushes; that was another thing she would sometimes ask Claudine to do for her. But tonight, she shakes her head.

"Not necessarily… I was just thinking…"

Claudine must sense the tension in her tone. Maya had been doing so well lately in falling asleep and staying that way. She goes on alert now at the slightest sound of worry from her.

"What is it?" she inquires. "If something's troubling you, Tendo Maya, just speak your mind. I'm here to help you, remember?"

Maya bites her lip, keeping her face turned away from Claudine for the moment.

"It's just that… tonight marks the end of our 2-month contract, does it not…?"

For a brief second, the only sound in the room is the faint beat of Claudine's pulse.

"Yeah…"

There's another beat of silence. Maya shuffles her feet beneath the blankets, too nervous to turn her face to glimpse Claudine's expression.

"I… I have seen tremendous progress in my sleep schedule and my work performance since I have elected to request your assistance. I know it would be greatly beneficial for myself and my career if I were to… perhaps hire you for a bit longer…?" Maya holds onto a sliver of hope.

But she can already hear the disappointment in Claudine's breath even before she speaks.

"I'm sorry... I've got exams coming up soon, so I'll need to use my evenings and nights to study. I accepted the 2-month job because the times aligned perfectly. But I don't think I'll be able to accept any more overnight jobs for the time being."

In spite of the fact that Maya herself had told Claudine that she should put herself and her studies first, and had actively encouraged her multiple times to cancel or take some time off if she needed to, a pit of dread still opens up in her stomach now.

"Ah. I see… Of course. As a diligent student, your education must come first." Still, she refuses to turn and look her in the eyes. Claudine hugs her a little tighter.

"Don't sound so sad, Tendo Maya. You'll still have me for tonight. And my exams won't last forever. Only for this week." The implications are suggestive enough - that Maya can hire her again after that - but Maya is too distracted and deflated to make sense of that.

"Yes… you're absolutely right..."

Claudine can't help but feel a bit guilty, but she really does need to study and do well on her exams. She squeezes Maya tighter, and Maya squeezes back.

"Get some sleep," she murmurs. "Everything will be fine, Tendo Maya. Just wait and see."

Maya lets out a long sigh and closes her eyes. Claudine hums her a lullaby tonight, for the last time in a while.

Maya does her best to enjoy the lovely notes of her song and the calming beat of her heart. She sleeps, but restlessly, hating the thought of waking up alone, with her bed cold and lonely…

She wakes at some point in the morning and clings to Claudine's sleeping form, dreading the sound of the final alarm that will split them apart. Maya just keeps expecting the peaceful silence to be shattered every minute, for what must be hours. She presses closer against Claudine, committing the sound of her heartbeat to memory, hoping she'll be able to remember it and replay it in her mind for the nights to come when Maya will have to fall asleep without her…

The alarm sounds. Maya moans like a child, refusing to let Claudine go.

Claudine stirs and silences her phone. She hugs Maya for a long moment, without saying a word. Then, she sits up, having Maya get up with her. Claudine flashes her a sleepy smile.

"Come on. Let's get going."

As Maya dejectedly prepares breakfast, Claudine goes around the apartment, gathering her things. She takes her groceries, her spare clothes, her toothbrush…

But she leaves the candles and oils she'd often bring over, giving them to Maya as a gift to help her calm down in the evenings.

They eat together one last time, and then Maya has to see her off.

Both girls linger in the doorway, Claudine with all of her things, and Maya with nothing at all.

"Saijou-san… I truly can't thank you enough. You have helped me immensely with my insomnia. My productivity has gone up, as has my energy and positivity."

She has so much more she wants to say. So much more. But the words don't come due to a lump forming in her throat.

Claudine smiles at her.

"I'm very glad to hear that, Tendo Maya. I'm so happy I could help you." She pauses, flashing her gaze to the floor shyly, then meets Maya's eyes again. "It… wasn't just for the money, you know…"

The words don't really register to Maya right now. She simply hums, dejected, shoulder slumped. Then, she holds up a finger and hurries back into her bedroom. She pulls out a sweater she had lent to Claudine many times, then brings it back to her.

"Please take this with you."

Claudine raises an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? I'll have exams for at least a week and-"

"I insist."

Claudine smiles and accepts the sweater, folding it and putting it away into her clothing bag.

"And you keep those candles. Light a different one every evening when you have your tea."

Maya offers a wobbly smile.

"I shall."

There's a beat of silence. Claudine puts down her bags and opens her arms invitingly. Maya quickly hugs her, tightly and warmly.

"I wish you the best of luck on your exams, Saijou-san."

"Merci. Will you be alright without me, Tendo Maya?"

"Of course," Maya says, trying to sound confident. "I will manage somehow. I appreciate your concern."

"Alright." Claudine squeezes her one last time, then releases her. "Good luck, Tendo Maya."

Maya dips her head.

"To you as well, Saijou Claudine."

With this, Maya steps back and lets her go.

Claudine gathers up her things, Maya's sweater included, and takes her leave. The door closes behind her, and then she's gone.

Maya is left alone in her apartment, which she'd recently learned was far too big for one person. It was better suited for two. But she doesn't want to let all of Claudine's care and hard work over the past 2 months go to waste.

I must do my best. During practice, onstage, and in whatever else the stage and troupe demand of me.

She's determined not to regress. Allowing that to happen would feel like she'd be betraying Claudine somehow.

So Maya showers and gets ready for the day ahead, ready to charge forward. She ventures out of the building to meet and train with her colleagues, performing to the best of her abilities as always.

But she can't push away that nagging in the back of her mind, constantly reminding her that she'll be sleeping alone tonight…

She doesn't want that. She can't let herself relapse after Claudine helped her find so much success. There's only one thing Maya can think to do in order to save herself.

Therefore, during her lunch break, Maya picks up her phone. She draws in a deep breath, then opens up her account for the Cuddle Cafe.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5. A Job Well Done

After leaving Maya's apartment that Monday morning, Claudine goes directly to her dorm room to deposit all of her groceries, clothes, and everything else.

Today was her easiest exam, so she hadn't needed to study much, but for the rest of the week she'll need to stay as focused as possible.

Which means she can't go see Tendo Maya and stay overnight with her. Though honestly, with the amount of money she's made from the overnight gigs in the past 2 months, she could probably flunk all of her exams and still pay for a make-up semester with funds to spare.

It just feels so strange now to be back in her own room with the knowledge that she'll be coming back here again tonight instead of going to Maya's.

Focus! I can think about that woman once all my exams are over…

She unpacks her things, setting aside Maya's sweater on her bed. She decides she'll wear that on the last day for her most difficult exam for good luck.

But for today, Claudine gets dressed and ready, and studies a little bit more for today's exam before heading to class. It's easy enough, and she's permitted to leave as soon as she's finished.

As she leaves the campus, Claudine finds her legs taking her down the sidewalk toward Maya's apartment, and she has to redirect herself.

She spends the rest of the day doing laundry and chores, then studying for tomorrow's exam.

At 7PM, her alarm goes off - the alarm that had reminded her she'd need to depart for Maya's place, (if she hadn't already been there) lest she be late for her 8PM start time on the shift. But she doesn't need that alarm anymore, so she turns it off.

Claudine finds it rather boring without anything to do. She ends up texting Mahiru a bit about today's test, then goes to bed early.

She can hardly recall the last time she'd slept in her own bed, but it isn't as cozy as she'd remembered it being.

It sure is a lot colder, too.

She can almost feel the phantom weight of Maya's body pressed up against her, her warmth, her scent, her little tired sounds…

Claudine huffs, rolling onto her side and hugging herself tightly.

Tendo Maya… I may have helped your insomnia, but you're not allowed to give it to me!

Thankfully, she does fall asleep eventually.

But it was undoubtedly the most difficult time she'd had doing so in two months.

Three more days of exams pass by, and with each one Claudine finds herself more and more excited to eventually be able to return to Maya's apartment at the end of it all.

She'd had plenty of inklings that she might've liked Tendo Maya more than just a client, and the only reason she actually admitted it to herself was because she would've lost her mind otherwise.

Besides, some part of herself told Claudine that Maya felt the same about her.

It's almost a little pathetic how badly Claudine wants to see her again after being apart for only 4 nights.

She'd originally been planning to wait until next week to see her again and use the coming weekend to relax and recover from her exams.

But by Friday morning, she debates cutting that short and going to see Maya as soon as tonight, whether Maya requests her paid cuddle services or not.

Claudine focuses and powers through her exams today. She has 3 back-to-back in the morning, and the final one in the afternoon.

The morning tests take a lot of mental fortitude to get through in a row, but she manages. She studies for the last test during her break, and even though it's her most difficult and the one she'd been stressing about the most, she still finishes it with time to spare.

Claudine walks out of her final exam that evening feeling rather confident. She decides to head to the Cuddle Cafe to treat herself, read ahead, and start taking notes for next week's classes.

She'd caught Mahiru a few other days this week here and there, but today Mahiru wasn't working at the cafe and was busy with an exam of her own.

Had Mahiru been present today, she might've been able to thwart a rather mischievous plan that was underway…

As Claudine saunters into the cafe with her school bag in-tow, she greets her fellow cuddler colleagues who are working, as well as a few customers she recognizes. And though Mahiru isn't working today, Kaoruko is.

Kaoruko had been sitting on one of the couches in the main lounge area with a female customer leaning up against her in a cozy position. When she spots Claudine from across the cafe, Kaoruko smiles and waves.

"Ah, Kuro-han! Good day to you!"

"Bonjour, Kaoruko. You don't have any exams today?"

"Nope! Most of mine are next week."

"I see. Well then, if you ever need help studying, just say the word."

Claudine takes a seat at a table near the couch where her friend is working. She pulls out her textbook and orders a coffee and a small slice of pie to snack on while she reads over next week's material, but doesn't request any cuddle services.

She reads in peace for about half an hour, able to drown out the chatter of the cafe around her, until Kaoruko's current customer takes her leave.

Kaoruko seems extra eager to take her break today. She quickly takes off her apron and drapes it over the back of the chair opposite Claudine, then sits down at her table with a long, dramatic sigh.

"Huaaaaaah, I'm exhausted! I simply don't know how you do it, Kuro-han!"

"What?" Claudine smirks bemusedly and looks up from her book. "Read?"

"Hey! You're sounding awfully rude like Futaba-han!"

Claudine lets out a hearty laugh.

"Sorry, sorry! I couldn't resist. How is that repeat client of yours, anyway?"

"Futaba-han? She's doing just fine. I saw her last weekend as per usual and she was all over me~"

"Mmhm. And I'm sure it wasn't the other way around, either."

"Heavens no." Kaoruko clears her throat, fending off a slight blush. But she quickly recovers and gets that devilish glint in her eyes once again. "Anyway, as I was saying. I don't know how you managed to do it, Kuro-han. And for two months, at that! You must have the patience of a saint to be able to put up with Tendo-han for so long! I've been missing out on my beauty sleep!"

Claudine freezes.

At first, she'd just assumed that Kaoruko had gotten a long-term overnight client for an extended period of time, just like Claudine herself had.

But the second Kaoruko says that name, Claudine feels her stomach drop and her heart twist.

"H-Hold on… did you just say-?"

"My goodness!" Kaoruko continues in her woe-is-me tone. "I swear, she kept me up all night! She's such a handful with all her clingy cuddling. And the pillow-talk! My, I never took the refined Tendo Maya-han to be such a sweet-talker in the sheets! I've hardly gotten a wink of sleep these past few nights!"

What had started out as confusion on Claudine's part had quickly transformed into a mix of despair and stinging jealousy.

But as Kaoruko continues speaking, it all ultimately becomes a boiling pit of rage. The pencil she'd been holding and jotting down study notes with ends up snapped into two pieces.

Claudine fumes, feeling an uncomfortable heat pulsing down the back of her neck and spreading down through her chest. In spite of the warring emotions inside of her, she tries to keep her voice quiet due to where they are.

"Wh… Kaoruko, what exactly…are you saying…? What's all this about Tendo Maya…?"

Kaoruko's smirk widens for half a second as she hooks her prey, then continues on her rant.

"Oh, that girl, I swear! Truly a handful. I know she was your client for two whole months, Kuro-han, but the moment you could no longer attend to her she requested my services instead. She must've hopped right back onto the Cafe's website and chosen a new girl not a few hours after you left her. And I must give you credit! As I said, she kept me up all night~! Wouldn't let go of me either, the poor thing. It was pitiful."

Normally, Claudine would scold her for speaking unprofessionally about a client in the Cafe. But at the moment, all of Claudine's level-headedness had been sapped away.

That woman…

Heat and betrayal and frustration continue swirling inside her chest in an ugly amalgamation.

But in spite of the chaos happening internally, Claudine maintains a terrifyingly calm exterior. She stands without a word, keeping her head down and her hair covering her face, and begins packing away her things.

Kaoruko grins from the other side of the table.

"Oh my, Kuro-han? Are you leaving so soon?"

Claudine zips up her bag in a movement so fast it nearly breaks the zipper.

"Sorry…" she mumbles. "I've got something tonight…"

With this, she heads for the exit and hurries out.

Kaoruko is left sitting there alone at the table, smirking like a cat. She reaches out to take a sip from Claudine's unfinished coffee.

"There," she mutters. "That should get the ball rolling."

Claudine has never seen red like this before. Her vision is blurry from it, and her eyes are hot. But as she marches down the busy sidewalk through town that evening, she can tell it isn't rage that consumes her the most. It's betrayal.

Normally, to get to Maya's apartment, she would take a bus. But today she is so beside herself that she isn't thinking clearly.

Claudine walks all the way there, her mind a constant beehive of stinging, confusing emotions. She doesn't even know what she wants to say to her. She doesn't know if she wants to say anything at all, or just slap her.

Either way, she's going to give Tendo Maya a piece of her mind. Once and for all.

So Claudine marches, undeterred, all the way across town, for close to an hour, until the massive apartment building is in sight.

She storms up to the familiar elevator and rides it to the top floor, then stomps all the way down to room 1118. She knocks twice. Hard.

Maya had only just gotten home a little while ago, and she'd been in the middle of preparing dinner when she hears an unexpected knock.

"I wonder who that could be at this time…?"

She'd been expecting a misguided delivery person or something along those lines. One thing's for sure, the last person she had been expecting to see on the other side of that door was-

"Saijou-san-?!"

"You idiot!"

Claudine barks the word directly into Maya's face with enough vehemence to send Maya's bangs flying back.

Maya is flabbergasted. She'd anticipated seeing Claudine again, but not so soon. And certainly not like this.

Maya stumbles a step back into her apartment while Claudine remains rooted to the spot in her doorway, face red and eyes watering. Maya's jaw hangs slack in a stupor.

"S-Saijou-san? I… I'm very happy to see you, but is everything al-"

"Don't play cute with me!" Claudine snaps. "I know everything! I'm gone for one week and you immediately replace me?!"

Maya staggers back another step.

"P-Please, hold on just a moment, Saijou-san." She holds up her hands in surrender. "I did say I would manage somehow-"

"And by that you meant sleeping with Kaoruko?!" Claudine's shriek echoes down the wide hallway as her burning eyes bore into Maya's.

Before Maya can think what to say or do to pacify the situation, a neighboring tenant down the hall opens their door and only adds fuel to the fire.

"Hey!" he calls. "Would you mind takin' your lovers' quarrel somewhere else?"

Both girls instantly turn red, especially Claudine.

"We are not-!"

But before she can finish, Maya is grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her inside, letting the door lock behind her.

Now, in the silence of the apartment Claudine had considered to be her second home, she lets out her feelings.

"So it's true then…" Her voice lowers a few pitches, but the disbelief and the anger are still there. "You 'managed somehow' without me by immediately hiring someone else. Is that it?"

Looking at her now, Maya knows she'd made a terrible mistake in how she'd handled things after Claudine had left. She can tell Claudine must have walked all the way here judging by how disheveled she is and how red and full of fury her eyes are. Maya lets go of her wrist and keeps a fair distance between them as she tries to remedy the situation.

"Saijou-san… I truly apologize."

Claudine snorts and grinds her teeth.

"Whatever…" She lets out a weighted breath, keeping her eyes on the floor. "I guess it's my own fault for thinking this was anything more than a work-based relationship. You'd hire anyone at all who would agree to sleep with you, and I was just here for the paycheck, isn't that right?"

"What?" Maya starts to feel as offended as Claudine herself seems to be.. "Saijou-san, you're gravely mistaken!"

"Mistaken how?" she snarls.

"I wouldn't hire just anyone off the street!"

"Really? Well you sure seemed to enjoy your nights with Kaoruko, what with 'keeping her up all night'? Talking away with her and clinging to her until morning?"

Maya flinches.

"That is rather unfair of you, Saijou-san. You hardly have any right to be jealous. You have slept with plenty more people as well, haven't you?"

"Mechante va! I'm not jealous! And that was all before I met you, you idiot! I haven't been with anyone else since! You're the one who started sleeping around and replaced me within 24 hours!"

"I beg your pardon. Hanayagi-san was hardly a replacement for you. And for one night."

"Unbelievable. You started cheating on me just like that. You couldn't even wait one week for me, could you?"

"It's not what you think," Maya states. "Indeed, Hanayagi-san and I did stay up all night, but-"

"What?!" Claudine snaps. "How dare you! I'm pouring my heart out to you and you're still talking about another woman!" She throws her bag down onto the floor and marches toward her. Maya retreats backward as Claudine steadily charges.

"Saijou-san, please-" Maya stumbles back against her bedroom door, fumbling to open it before staggering back with Claudine still advancing on her. "She wasn't anywhere near as skilled as you are in bed. All in all it was… rather disappointing, in fact. Right away, I regretted hiring anyone else to be my cuddler-"

"Oh?" Claudine stops now with Maya trapped against the side of the bed. "Well then, if you only want us to cuddle each other exclusively from now on, then why don't you just ask me to be your girlfriend, you coward?"

"Very well, then!" Maya shouts back. "Would a coward say this? Saijou Claudine, will you be my girlfriend?"

Claudine stomps her foot and shoves her face right up into Maya's.

"Yes! Fine! I'll be your girlfriend and I'll make you regret not having asked me sooner, Tendo Maya! What do you take me for - some cheap woman!?"

"Far from it!" Maya cries. "I paid $50 an hour for sleepover sessions with you, Saijou Claudine. I most certainly am aware that you are not cheap!"

"Mechante va!"

At last there's silence as both girls are left breathless and panting only inches apart.

And then it all finally begins to settle. The feelings they'd just revealed, the words they'd just said…

Gradually, the heat of frustration becomes a different sort of warmth.

"H… Hold on a second…" Claudine mumbles. "Did you say you only hired Kaoruko for one night…?"

Maya swallows, more excited than anything else now.

"Indeed. You see, I was simply desperate the day you told me you'd be unable to stay the night with me. I feared I would be completely unable to get an ounce of sleep without someone beside me, and so I went searching. Hanayagi-san seemed appropriate.

"And we truly did talk all night long. But that's only because... I couldn't fall asleep with her… And it wasn't simply because her techniques were lacking, but because… she wasn't you, Saijou-san." Maya gazes up into her eyes honestly. "I did not sleep a wink that night mainly because she and I were up talking. And more than anything, we were talking about you… Since it was an unsuccessful session, I refrained from hiring Hanayagi-san or anyone else since… I knew it had to be you, and you alone, Saijou Claudine."

Claudine takes a moment to absorb what she's hearing and let it all register.

Kaoruko, that scheming little… She made it sound like Maya had been hiring her every night this week, when in reality Maya had only desperately tried out her companionship for one night and then dropped her because it didn't work! And they weren't staying up all night doing intimate things like she made it sound! Maya was confiding in her about her feelings for me!

"Oh, that Kaoruko…" Claudine simmers. "Just wait until I-"

"Now, now, there's no need for that," Maya calms her, gently reaching out to take Claudine's wrists. "After all… it seems as though Hanayagi-san had all of this planned out in order to initiate something between us, yes?"

Just then, Claudine's cell phone vibrates from her pocket. Even though she still has Maya pinned back against the bed, she doesn't move back or anything as she fishes it out and opens the messages. There's a message from Kaoruko in the group chat:

Sorry, not sorry, Kuro-han~

Followed by a response from Mahiru:

Eh? What does that mean? What's going on, you two?

Claudine quickly swipes out a message too:

Don't worry, Mahiru. Everything's fine. Kaoruko can explain it all to you before I come hunt her down tomorrow.

And then there's one final Oh dear from Kaoruko before Claudine puts her phone away.

"Oh, I'm gonna-"

"Saijou-san…?" Maya chimes in a bit timidly. "Now that I've had a moment to reflect on things… did you say you'd only be unavailable to me for… one week…?"

Claudine tilts her head, utterly baffled.

"Yes? Didn't I mention that multiple times? That I'd only be unable to come see you for a week until my exams were over?"

"Ah… I must've been so upset by the idea of not having you with me at night that I'd… glossed over the brief amount of time it would be lasting…"

"What?!" Claudine scoffs. "So you thought that was it? That I was leaving you forever just like that?! Are you serious right now, Tendo Maya? I thought you were supposed to be a genius!"

"So it would've only been for a week, then…"

"Yes! I told you that! But clearly you just weren't listening, you moron! Ugh! So you're telling me all of this nonsense could've been avoided if you'd just paid attention instead of thinking I was done seeing you forever, overreacting, and then hiring Kaoruko to cause this huge misunderstanding?! Mechante va!"

"If it helps things at all…" Maya says sheepishly. "Hanayagi-san truly made me understand my feelings for you, Saijou-san. Nothing felt right when she was beside me. I couldn't rest or settle down because everything just felt so wrong... I needed you and no one else. That much was clear." She tries out a small, hopeful smile at her. "And… you were not simply coming to spend the nights with me for a paycheck, were you…?"

"Idiot! Of course I wasn't! I mean, maybe at first, before I really got to know you. But soon I realized… I wanted to help you… And I didn't mind spending time with you and sleeping in your bed…" She huffs. "It was actually… pretty difficult to sleep without you this week, too…"

"Oh my…" Maya's smile widens. "And wearing my clothes didn't suffice?" She pinches the sleeve of the sweater Claudine is wearing.

And Claudine had completely forgotten that she'd chosen to wear Maya's sweater today for good luck on the last day of her exams. The fact that she'd shown up here today accusing Maya of cheating on her, while wearing Maya's sweater, must have made for quite a scene.

"Quiet, you…" Claudine yanks her sleeve out of Maya's grasp, only to reposition her arms and slump them across Maya's shoulders. "Now… did I hear you correctly when you asked me to be your girlfriend…?"

Maya returns the embrace and rests her hands on Claudine's sides.

"Indeed you did. And did I hear you correctly when you accepted…?"

"Oh, now you're listening, huh?"

"I do apologize-"

"Shut up."

With this, Claudine pushes her down all the way onto the bed and kisses Maya full on the lips. Maya locks both arms around her neck and pulls Claudine down to deepen it.

The two of them proceed to engage in various activities that prove to be quite exhausting, and allow them both to sleep fully through the remainder of the night.

Judging by how pleasant a night she ended up having with Maya, Claudine decides to let Kaoruko off the hook.

With the misunderstandings out of the way, both girls are able to come clean about their feelings and spend their nights comfortably cuddled up together.

From then on, Maya no longer pays for Claudine's "services," as Claudine willingly comes to spend the nights with her as her girlfriend.

And eventually, the sleepless nights of insomnia come to an end, and are replaced by nights of kisses, cuddles, and warmth instead.