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Creak.
The sound of Ichika’s bedroom door slowly opening disturbed the silent atmosphere of her apartment, the creak morphing into a particularly annoying screech the further in she pushed the door. On any other day, Ichika would have complained about it.
Today was not any other day.
Fortunately – or unfortunately – for the girl, she was dead tired.
“That meeting…” Ichika whined to her empty room. “Why did it drag on for so long…?”
Apart from the built-up exhaustion of unwanted overtime, Ichika felt that today was not her day.
It started with an alarm that didn’t go off in the morning, which meant she slept in for way longer than normal. When she finally did wake up and realize what time it was, she was already late for work.
After a manic rush through the city streets, upon her arrival, she was almost immediately called to HR for a reprimand— most of which her coffee-deprived mind couldn’t be bothered to process.
And speaking of coffee, she never even got a chance to make even one cup of the instant stuff, with her coworkers suddenly deciding that it would be a great day to send in their completed reports for review.
All of which were at least 50 pages long.
At least she had lunch– if a small bag of chips she managed to swipe from the break room counted.
The icing on top of this disastrous cake was a last-second meeting called by their department head to discuss a critical error of one of the company’s services.
It was called 5 minutes before her shift would end.
And it would proceed to last for 3 hours.
By the time the meeting ended and she clocked out, Ichika wanted to scream.
She really would have, but the last thing she wanted was to be a public nuisance.
Now that she was in the comfort of her apartment, however, she couldn’t muster the energy— her body instead yearning to crash into the soft embrace of her bed.
She could scream some other time.
Grumble.
‘Right… I didn’t even have dinner…’ She lamented as the growl of her stomach reached her ears.
And now she was caught between two important decisions: Eat or sleep?
She didn’t take long to decide.
“I need…. To sleep…” Ichika lazily drawled as she tried to change into something comfortable. “Mmm… I’ll cook something… Tomorrow…”
Her decision made, and something more comfortable worn, Ichika unceremoniously flopped onto her bed.
And she groaned.
Then she reached out to the one source of happiness she had every night: The Miku plushie on her bed.
“Mikuuuuu”, she whined as she pulled the plushie closer, “This day was terribleeee…”
Sure, she could text or call one of her friends if she wanted to talk, but it was midnight.
Ichika knew not to disrupt people with healthier schedules.
So her Miku plushie was the next best option.
And the option she chose almost every time.
“First my alarm doesn’t work, then I’m late, then I can’t even recharge ‘cause of paperwork—”
Ichika somehow mustered enough energy to growl.
“—And was that three-hour meeting really necessary?!”
The girl then buried her face into her plushie, clinging on to it as tightly as possible, as if it were her only anchor to reality.
“At least I have you to comfort me…” Her muffled voice declared. “And Saki, Honami, and Shiho.”
Ichika sighed, her grip on the plushie loosening as she adjusted herself to a more comfortable position on her bed.
“At least tomorrow’s a weekend. I can just sleep in.”
As she rubbed her eyes and ignored her stomach’s cries for food, Ichika settled in for the night.
“Good night Miku.” She said to the plushie as she held it over her head, staring into its cute, sewn-on eyes. “You know, sometimes I wish you could talk to me too. It gets kind of lonely when it’s just me talking.”
Ichika let out a small laugh at the thought. “Though a talking plushie might be kind of scary…”
She didn’t know why she suddenly entertained the thought, but the thought of Miku being a real, physical person sounded kind of nice.
“Maybe it’d be nice if you were real.” Ichika chuckled to herself before drawing the plushie into her embrace, the familiar softness soothing her exhausted mind. “Then you’d be able to hug me back.”
They could even become friends, assuming Ichika could keep her composure long enough to speak to a hypothetical real-life Miku.
With a final yawn, Ichika shelved those silly little wishes for another time, closed her eyes, and gradually let her consciousness fade away.
“Good night… Miku…” She unconsciously whispered before sleep welcomed her into its gentle embrace.
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Ichika groaned. Why’d her alarm have to trigger now of all times?!
Wait, she forgot to turn it off last night, didn’t she?
“It’s a weekend…” She complained, “Just let me sleep in…”
With a lazy turn, she reached over to the nightstand where her phone alarm was blaring and shut off the offending device.
“Ah… Peace and quiet,” she muttered before returning to her previous position and nuzzling herself into her plushie.
Only, wait a second, something was off about the thing in her arms. When did it get so warm?
Tentatively, Ichika squeezed it lightly.
Huh. It didn’t feel soft either.
In fact, the texture was all wrong! It was a bit too smooth and warm for a plushie.
Ichika’s mind was now on high alert.
Whatever was in her embrace felt a bit too human as opposed to cotton and fabric.
‘Please… Don’t tell me someone b-broke in while I was s-sleeping…’ She panicked. ‘P-Please let this be a p-prank from S-Saki.’
She’d rather it be Saki who snuck into her apartment trying to embarrass her than the scarier alternative.
‘Please be Saki, please be Saki, please be Saki—‘ She chanted over and over as she hesitantly opened her eyes, anxious of what awaited her.
And she saw—
Blue hair.
And a blue tie.
Ichika stared at the sight, blinked a few times, and then closed her eyes.
“I must be hallucinating.”
Maybe her exhaustion from last night was still lingering in her mind. Yeah, that sounds about right.
She was woken up suddenly, so her brain must not be well-rested, meaning what she just saw was definitely a hallucination from her sleep-deprived mind.
She opened her eyes again, expecting to see nothing but a little plushie in her arms because there is no way Hatsune-fucking-Miku was in her bed right now.
Reality, however, did not lie as it seemed that the girl in front of her was, in fact, a real person and not something hiding in her wifi.
So, naturally, Ichika did the one thing any sane person would: she screamed.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
The once peaceful and quiet atmosphere of her bedroom was violently shattered by the intense screaming of Hoshino Ichika.
She didn’t even know her voice could go that high!
It was followed by the sound of a dull thud from Ichika falling onto the floor, face down.
“Ow…” She exclaimed as she rolled to her side and rubbed her face.
She then pulled herself up to take a peek at the lone occupant of her bed, fingers tightly gripping her bedsheet.
Her little commotion, however, seemed to have been enough to stir the girl from her sleep.
Ichika observed as the girl lazily opened her blue eyes and slowly focused on her panicked greys.
Then, in a blink, Ichika felt herself get pulled with immense force until she was face-to-face with the girl in her bed.
“Wha—” She stammered, “You…! You’re… M-Miku…?”
Miku smiled at Ichika and nodded.
Before Ichika could vocalize a response, Miku shushed her with a finger on her lips.
“Let’s just sleep, Ichika,” she whispered before she closed what little distance remained between the two and shut her eyes.
Before long, Ichika heard the sound of soft breathing from the girl in front of her.
‘You’re asleep… Just like that?!’
While she would like to ponder over how quickly Miku fell asleep, there was another more pressing matter that immediately occupied the forefront of her mind.
‘W-Wait…! You… You’re so close!’
The almost immediate lack of proximity from the girl was enough to put Ichika’s poor heart into overdrive.
‘I-I… W-What…?’ Ichika was stunned.
Then she felt Miku adjust herself to a more comfortable position, the girl gently nuzzling against the crook of her neck
Ichika felt her face heat up as a warm and fuzzy feeling bloomed within her chest.
Despite her embarrassment, she couldn’t deny how nice it felt to be held this close to someone she liked. Usually, she was the one doing the hugging, but never in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined having a chance to experience a situation like this.
Miku’s embrace was gentle and warm. Despite how firm her hug was, Miku seemed to have kept it just loose enough to allow Ichika to break it off if she felt uncomfortable.
Ichika felt a smile creep up her lips at the surprising thoughtfulness of her impromptu cuddle buddy.
Slowly, so as not to disturb the girl, Ichika drew herself closer and deepened the hug, the comforting warmth of their shared embrace practically causing her to melt.
As Ichika immersed herself in the reality of it all, she felt a few strands of the girl’s hair tickle the bottom of her jaw; the gentle exhales against her collarbone warming up her quickly reddening neck.
Ichika was sure that if anyone walked in, they’d see her in the most embarrassed state of her life, but that was a completely unnecessary concern compared to the fact that she was cuddling with Hatsune Miku in the flesh, on her bed.
She could barely believe that this was real, but she wasn’t sure how long it would last.
Gently leaning her head against Miku’s, Ichika made a choice.
‘Well… I guess it’s fine to indulge… Right…?’ Ichika thought. ‘It’s a weekend anyway…’
She can figure out more of this later because right now, cuddling with Miku was far more enticing.
‘So warm…’
And if she woke up to just a plushie, then she’d accept it, despite the sting of disappointment.
What mattered was that, at least for now, it was real.
As the comforting warmth of the hug slowly lulled her back to sleep, Ichika’s consciousness soon drifted off into the land of dreams.
Once Miku felt Ichika’s breathing slow down, the faint sound of snoring reaching her ears, she pulled back, slowly opened her eyes, and began to take in the view of the sleeping girl.
Slowly – carefully – she brought her hand up to the girl’s face and gently brushed her fingers along her cheek.
Ichika didn’t seem to stir from the motion.
Miku felt her lips curve up.
“I can’t believe…” She whispered, “… That I can do this now.”
She was a plushie just a few hours ago, but now here she was– existing as a living, breathing human.
For so long, she’d spent countless nights in the arms of this girl, listening to her worries, troubles, and hopes.
She didn’t know when she began to be capable of forming thoughts, but she could remember that from that point, all she could think of was Ichika.
She adored listening to the girl talk to her without a care in the world, as if they were long-time friends who could talk to each other about anything and everything.
Or – her face flushed lightly – a couple.
Beyond all that, there was this inexplicable thought of “warmth” that came to her whenever Ichika would pull her into an embrace and nuzzle against her while telling stories from her day.
She couldn’t get enough of it. She wanted – longed for – Ichika and her time.
It was then that she could begin to understand what it meant to be lonely, seeing Ichika leave for hours at a time.
Those lonely hours had felt so cold. So suffocating. Having to endure hours upon hours of monotony on a bed, a glimpse of that familiar black hair and tender blue-grey eyes the only thing capable of pulling her out of her depressive stupor.
There was no way for her to change that.
But now, she could.
She was here, right in front of her.
Real as can be.
She let out a quiet giggle.
“I’ve wanted this for so long…” She whispered.
Slowly, she positioned her head closer to Ichika’s, relishing in her proximity, her warmth.
She ran a finger along every contour of the girl’s face, burning the sensation and shape of Ichika’s face into her memory. She didn’t want to forget a single bit of her.
In the future, she’ll definitely make sure to commit all her preferences and little mannerisms to memory.
She sighed. “Oh… If only you knew how much you’ve taken over my mind.”
Slowly, Miku let her hand gently cup Ichika’s cheek. She happily watched as the girl unconsciously nuzzled into her touch.
‘Cute.’ She thought.
Seeing her chance, Miku slowly placed a kiss on Ichika’s forehead and allowed her lips to linger on the spot for as long as possible, intent on savoring this little moment.
Once she had parted, her eyes drifted down toward the sleeping girl’s lips, which her thumb gently brushed over.
She stared at them, that sense of longing returning with an even tighter grip on her heart.
“I…” She moved her head closer, until they were a breath’s width apart. “Ichika…”
She hesitated. Was this… Okay?
Forehead kisses and cuddling were fine, right?
Yet, why did the thought of kissing her there feel so heavy?
It was something she longed for, something that was so tantalizingly close to fruition, and yet her body couldn’t take the next step.
She was caught between a constant loop of staring, moving, and pulling back, completely unsure of what to do. It seemed like an eternity to her, being stuck in this loop of inaction, and at some point, she pulled back and stopped.
She was getting nowhere.
“Maybe not now.” She thought. “Not when you’re asleep.”
She lowered her head and pulled herself closer to the girl’s chest, where she finally took the time to hear the sound of the girl’s heartbeat.
It was gentle, much like Ichika.
Gentle, warm, and…
“Oh…” Miku realized. “A kiss like that… It should be gentle, and at her pace, not mine.”
She closed her eyes, finding solace within the sound of Ichika’s pulse.
“I love you,” She whispered, “But that doesn’t mean you’ll love me back.”
And so, on a lazy weekend morning, Miku made a vow.
“So, I’ll give you every reason to fall for me–”
She felt her consciousness begin to slowly slip away as Ichika’s heartbeat lulled her to sleep.
“–One day at a time.”