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A cold draft swept through Nijika's bedroom, giving life to a fleeting instance of chill that would've otherwise never lived past a second. Ryo entwined herself around the other girl, keeping her buried under multiple layers of weighted blankets, skin, and warmth, killing what little wintriness tried to sneak in.
For the past hour that she's been awake, Nijika had been cradling her head against her neck, gently rubbing Ryo's temple here-and-there. Every minute or two, she would ask if she was ready to wake up, but Ryo always shifted her weight to keep her down for longer. It was her own way of giving a stern 'no.'
Nijika's fingers grazed against her paleness, eliciting a ruffled groan from the other girl.
Ryo's eyes lifted, finding Nijika's face with precision despite the grogginess. The older girl could've sworn those pupils in her cat-eyes—surrounded by a uniquely-Ryo hue of yellow she's accepted she could probably live in—widened just a little as she caught a glimpse of her face.
"We have to go to Starry soon," Nijika hummed, pinching the chubbiness she's found on between her fingers. "We don't want to keep Bocchi and Kita waiting, no?"
"I like it here." Ryo addled herself on the smell of her beloved, tracing circles and hearts on the skin that Nijika's pajamas allowed to expose. "It's too cold outside."
"And you don't like it in Starry?" Nijika asked.
Ryo shuffled upward, switching places with Nijika as soon as she made it to the headboard. She's always been taller than her, the times where she could be small, like earlier, were times she cherished deeply. "No, not like that. I like Starry, but It's different here with you."
Nijika's hands wander to Ryo's back, squeezing and massaging the muscles curled and wound around her scapulae; Ryo responded reasonably with a sound akin to a purr. "How so?" Nijika leaned her face against Ryo's chest.
"I would leave Starry before it hits six o'clock, but you're there, so I stay until midnight. I would leave the bed, but you're here, so I stay until you push me off." The younger girl found her eyes wandering up to the ceiling as she thought carefully about how she could word her thoughts.
She laughed to hide a blush, finding relief from pinching Ryo by the skin of her shoulder. "Oh, so you stay just because I'm here?"
"No, I stay because I get to see more of you. You're always sleepy before the clock hits ten, and I like seeing you sweep floors while you're dozing off. When you're waiting for your hot water, you drum on the counters, tap your right foot, and sing some pop song from a girl group. You could easily use the same liquid soap as your sister, but you don't like smelling like strawberries, so you opt for lemon."
"Just how much do you know about me?" Nijika pouted, cheeks puffed and brows down in mock-anger.
Ryo let a sound of pondering slip past her lips. "In the small amount of time we've known each other? A lot..."
Nijika paused, then gently pushed the other girl off. "Let's go to Starry."
"Can't I have five more minutes?" Ryo sat up, a pleading look plastered on her (according to Nijika) pathetic face.
"You wanna learn more about me, don't you?" Nijika grinned, then skipped out of the room.
"Yeah." Ryo stilled. Maybe she spilled one too many beans. But with that smile on Nijika's face, she could probably stand to spill a few more.