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Kaela wonders briefly how she ended up in this situation, and it was a truly precarious situation. A look at the computer screen told her it was a little after 2 AM, Friday morning technically, stuck in her chair. The screen displayed some part of a shared minecraft server she didn’t feel much attachment for. A weight in her lap told her who was actually playing it though, what was actually keeping her in the chair. Somehow, for reasons beyond her, Kaela had ended up with Koseki Bijou on her lap playing games on her computer. In her dorm. At two in the morning. Who again, was sitting on her lap.
She has to remind herself that the beginnings of this trepidatious scenario began with a study session gone long. They had already decided to meet late in the day, using Kaela’s own dorm since her roommates were out for the weekend. Then it got late, and later, and then even later. They started playing games and at some point, Kaela wasn’t paying attention to when exactly, Bijou asked if she could just stay the night. Without thinking Kaela had obviously agreed. And so they completely ditched studying for games all together.
“Pull up a chair and we can play a game on the computer.” Kaela had said, throwing herself into the chair at her desk and starting it up said computer. “I’m sure we can find something that uses one keyboard.”
Bijou made an indignant face at her, asking, “Why don’t you pull me up a chair?”
“Because I’m lazy.” She responds with her usual level of cheekiness.
“You’re the host!”
“Yeah, well…you can grab your own chair, you’re a big girl.” Kaela said, comfortable with this level of banter.
“Fine, I'll just use this chair.” Bijou had said before jumping in her lap. “Not a problem right? Hahaha, get trapped.”
In the moment she was too stunned to say anything other than, “Whatever, sure, yeah.” Which felt like a mistake at the time, but her impulsive desire to be cool with whatever was thrown at her had won out over any other rational response.
Eventually though, through a bit of trial and error with two player games on one keyboard, they settle into a groove with Bijou playing Minecraft while Kaela nitpicked her playstyle. It was pleasant and, aside from the closeness, not too far from their usual dynamic.
She's not sure when it becomes two in the morning, but at some point it just does. Bijou going on one of her long, meandering, tirades as she whittles away at personal projects using Kaela’s account. Her own arms firmly glued to the armrests of the chair. She had moved her chin to rest on Bijou’s head, only for that to be less comfortable than initially thought.
“-so, you could obviously make the one block jump for the chicken. Or the vertical for the beef. Now, you’d think the vertical isn’t that bad but! What most people forget is you’re also on low stamina so it’s um, actually kinda scary to do that. It’s not easy.”
“Yeah?” Kaela’s content to just listen. None of it makes much sense to her so late in the night, but it still sounded like music to her. The mildly manic humdrum of Bijou’s random rants.
“Yeah, but I could make it to pro though. You could too obviously.”
“I bet I could.” She hums, appreciating the compliment. The room goes quiet, that was the end of the rant apparently.
She watches as Bijou fights off a skeleton in the game, making her way to safety before speaking up again, “You can play with my hair while it’s my turn y’know.”
Kaela blinks, half awake, “Eh?”
“You can play with my hair! If you want. Only if you want. I wouldn’t hate that, just while it’s still my turn on Minecraft.”
“You’re sure? Okay…” Was that really fine? This felt a little like bullying in some way, but maybe that was just her. It was a nice offer but what if she played with Bijou’s hair the wrong way? It was nice hair, she didn’t want to mess it up. It looked soft, it felt soft, the girl was very adamant about it anyway, and Kaela would hate to accidentally pull on it or worse. She wasn’t sure what ‘worse’ was but the hesitation remained.
Eventually she decides to bite the proverbial bullet. The hair is very soft when she finally moves her hands to it. Bijou was right to be proud of it. Probably where she got some of that colossal ego from.
“Shouldn't you be asleep?” Kaela asks absentmindedly as she holds a lock of hair in her hand.
“Nah, I’m a night owl.” Bijou hums.
“Don't you have a morning class?”
“Er…yes. But! I can handle it.” Kaela watches as Bijou walks their character off a cliff. “Ah! dangit!”
It gets a laugh out of her. Well, as much of a laugh as she can offer.
“Stop laughing!”
“What? How can you even tell, Huh? You’re not even looking at me, you’re facing the screen.”
“I can feel it! You’re totally laughing at me! Aren’t you? Be honest!”
“Hmph,” Kaela snorts dismissively, “maybe. Yeah. You died, what am I supposed to do?”
“Don’t laugh,” Bijou whines cutely. She can feel the smaller girl’s legs kick against her own. Taking a deep breath as she sets off on the arduous journey of getting back Kaela’s stuff in the game. “Bleh, you should let me play with your hair next time…maybe not tonight cause it’s getting late but like, the next time we hang out.”
Kaela drags her fingers across another lock mindlessly, her eyes focusing on the screen without really processing most of it, “You can’t even reach my hair, silly.”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t try! You can just sit down.”
“Maybe.” Kaela hums thoughtfully, “That’s not gonna happen though.”
“Why not!?” Bijou cries out in mock despair.
The outrage amuses her, “I don’t want your…grubby, greasy hands in my hair.”
“Aw cmon! My hands aren’t grubby or greasy, I have clean hands, the cleanest. You’re the one with greasy hands.”
“Oi,”
“Pleeeeeeeease?”
Kaela admired Bijou’s perseverance in all other situations besides this. “Why do you wanna go through my hair so bad?”
“It’s fun! You’re having fun aren’t you? It’s a fun thing!”
“I know you think it’s fun, stinky.” She was having a lot of unspoken fun running her hands through Bijou’s hair. Which was weird to her, because it was just hair but for some reason Kalea kept playing with it mindlessly. To her credit, it was very nice hair.
“I’ll braid your hair sometime, it’ll be a blast.” A yawn interrupts Bijou’s claim, “You just gotta believe me, okay?”
She rolls her eyes, “Okay, whatever, you should go to sleep.”
“Don’t you wanna hang out with me!?”
“I don’t want to hang out with someone half asleep, go to bed.” Kaela halfheartedly bites back. “It’s…two thirty in the morning.”
“So rude!”
A scoff, “Dallah.”
“But we can do this again sometime, right?”
“Of course we can, yeah.” Kaela pauses, “Why?”
“I dunno,” Bijou rocks and fidgets in her lap, “I didn’t wanna assume. You actually like, like, hanging out and playing games with me right?”
The unexpected vulnerability catches Kaela off guard. Emotional sensitivity wasn’t exactly her wheelhouse, “Ah, okay. Well, I do.” Is what she ends up saying, stiff as stone. A small part of her hopes that's the normal answer. Hopes that it carries the meaning across.
“Really? You mean it?”
“Of course I do. You’re very…fun.” Kaela wants to kick herself for giving an answer that lame.
“And cute right?” Bijou asks. confidence returning to her voice, giving Kaela some as well.
“Yes yes, cute.” Kaela assures, “And noisy, and silly, and short.”
“Hey!”
“What? I’m just saying the truth. You’re short.” She giggles, it was too easy to fall back into their typical banter. She can’t help but notice Bijou has slowed to a stop in the game.
“Okay but you really think I am cute right?”
“Yes yes, what are you worrying about?”
“I dunno! I just wanna hear you say it in your own words Kaela, pretty please?”
“What a needy child,” Kaela huffs, “…Of course I think you’re cute.” She can practically feel Bijou beam, the game on the computer slowly being forgotten. For whatever reason, Kaela can’t help but keep going. “You’re cute. You’re Funny. Reliable. I think a lot of people forget that about you, you’re pretty tough actually.”
There’s a brief pause where Bijou doesn’t interrupt her, so Kaela absentmindedly continues.
“You’re always there when I need a hand, you always pick up my calls…you show up without asking sometimes even. What are you psychic?” She laughs, “You put so much work in too, I think that’s really cool…and yeah, sure, you look cute all the time while doing it.” Slowly her voice tapers off into a tired mumble, she wasn’t really thinking about the words leaving her mouth.
A note of silence follows and for an agonizing second Kaela wonders if she said the wrong thing somehow. Bijou’s voice is soft when she speaks up “Do you mean it?”
“Of course I mean it,” she grumbles, “why would I say something like that if I didn’t mean it?”
“I dunno! I just thought that was like. Super duper sweet, I didn’t expect that from you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Huh?”
“Nuthin!”
“Hmph. Okay.” Kaela relents, putting her chin back on Bijou’s head, it still felt awkward but even she was starting to feel tired.
“…”
“I mean it though, what I said.”
Bijou giggles, “Thanks, you’re cute too.”
“…I’m not cute.”
“You are too?”
“I’m cool.” Kaela huffs, “Not cute. I’m…cool. Just cool, yeah.”
“You can be both!”
“…No. No, I’m just cool.” She hums, poking the offender's cheek. Bijou doesn’t seem to want to relent despite this.
“Cmon dangit, you can be cute too!”
“Nooooo…”
“Take the compliment!”
“Well, I don’t think you can’t make me.”
“I can! Maybe…I don’t know. I can try! I can try at least.”
“Good luck with that.” She advises sarcastically. For all their bickering this was fun for her too. Kaela honestly can’t think of a better way to spend her night. She could be grinding out any game and that’d be fun, catching up or getting ahead in studies, but somehow she enjoyed these little back and forths with Bijou the most.
“How about…I'll go to sleep, if you admit you’re cute?” Bijou wagers.
An almost tempting offer, but her pride would never allow for such a trade. “Hmm…no.”
“What!?”
“You can stay awake forever for all I care.” Kaela laughs. “Stay awake and play Minecraft with me.” A yawn escapes her as well.
“Forever?”
Forever seemed like a long time. She wouldn’t want anyone to waste that much time with her, even if it was fun. Even if she did want to spend forever playing games like this. Even if this was the time she enjoyed the most. Kaela wouldn’t much mind Forever if it was with Bijou…but that would be overstepping boundaries wouldn’t it? Maybe. Maybe not.
“Forever.” Kaela says, hesitation more present than she’d like.
The girl in her lap (she’s still sitting in her lap that’s crazy) either doesn’t notice or doesn’t comment, giving a small laugh instead. The modest windshield wiper laugh brings some peace of mind.
“Hehe..” And ever so quietly Bijou mutters, “Love you.”
Her heart doesn’t stop, but it sure feels like it. Kaela plays it so cool by acting like her throat isn’t closing up, like the heat running across her face isn’t there. She is playing it so, so cool and is absolutely not frozen up in shock and affection. Her mind grinded to a stop and rapidly flipping to figure out an appropriate response that would not betray her cool and stoic persona but convey her feelings honestly.
“Love you too…” She whispers, just loud enough for the two of them.