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At first they would fall asleep unintentionally, exhausted by late study sessions and running around Beacon Hills to protect the town from the supernatural. The first time it happened they were at Scott’s, and Kira jerked awake at 3 am. She felt like she was overstepping her boundaries and tried to get up and go home, but a still-asleep Scott simply pulled her down next to him, his hand reaching for hers even in his dreams. There, in his arms, her head against his warm chest and the strong, steady beat of his heart lulling her to sleep, Kira felt safer than she ever did before. She felt at home.
Sleeping together quickly became a habit, and sometimes it was the only way either of them could catch some real sleep - the pale glow of Oni’s eyes and the deathly rattling of Berseker’s bones seeming to follow them even in their sleep. But laying next to each other in their beds, limbs intertwined and feeling the other so alive under their fingers, it made things a little better.
Gradually, they started leaving some of their stuff in the other’s bedroom ; it was easier this way to get ready for school in the morning. After finding Kira’s toothbrush in Scott’s bathroom and at least three of her shirts and two pairs of tights while doing the laundry, Melissa joked that she didn’t know Kira had already moved in. Ken, on the other hand, simply returned with a knowing smile Scott’s various jackets and sweaters that he found laying around the Yukimura house. One of them had a hole in it, and Scott noticed a few days later that Noshiko had sewed it back up.
Falling asleep together was one of their favorite things. They would not talk, faces so close that they would feel the other’s breath on their mouth, bodies pressed together, trying to remember every feature, every soft curve and worried crease. And they would fall asleep, taking this beautiful picture with them in their dreams, with the intense feeling of loving and being loved.
When Kira leaves for the first time, he doesn’t expect it. The world is crumbling around him and his last shreds of hope disappear with her in the rain. This night, Scott tries to fall asleep by picturing Kira’s sweet eyes and smile, clutching her lacrosse jersey against him. But all he can remember is a blurry face, tears and rain streaming down her cheeks. Her jersey doesn’t even smell like her anymore, and all he can feel is the empy cold space in his bed and in his heart.
In the backseat of the car, on her way to New Mexico, Kira doesn’t even try to sleep. She’s scared and heartbroken, and cried so much that she’s not sure she has any tears left. She tries to put on Scott’s white sweater she packed with her clothes, hoping to find the same warmth and comfort his arms around her usually provided, but it doesn’t work. When she closes her eyes all she can see is Scott’s hollow gaze, and the highway’s electrical lights explode one by one as the car goes past them.
When she comes back, they are still in hell but at least they have each other. They kiss and grip, desperate and passionate and relieved to finally be able to breathe after so many days spent underwater. She says I love you back because she had been too afraid of saying it before, but now she knows that she has 800 years ahead of her and he only has a hundred, two if he’s lucky - but it isn’t as terrifying as the fact that they might die in the next month. They keep touching and holding hands until they’re in bed, until Kira finally breaks out in tears, I’m sorry mixing with I love you and I’m scared, and Scott cries too, sobs ripping out of his chest, saying I love you too but also I’m terrified and I can’t protect anyone. And they needed to do it, to bare their insecurities and deepest fears to the other, and it hurts but also feels good because they know they won’t be judged but rather understood and loved. They fall asleep, exhausted, Scott’s face buried in Kira’s chest, her fingers softly tangled in his hair. They don’t dream of Skinwalkers crawling out of the earth or of chimera claws digging into chests. They only dream of soft kisses and smiles, crinkling eyes in the sunlight.
When Kira leaves for the second time, Scott isn’t surprised. They both know that’s how it has to be, but it doesn’t hurt any less. None of them knows when she will be coming back (they refuse to say if instead of when). Scott’s heart breaks as loudly as the first time, but he simply smiles and doesn’t say anything because this is harder for her, she needs to do this for herself but she is terrified and needs him to support her. But it’s okay because this time, he can hope. He can hope and wait for her, as long as it takes, because he loves her and she loves him and nothing in this world will ever be stronger than that. She gives him her tail, a piece of her soul to watch over, and he gives her a last bittersweet kiss and his unwavering faith in her. Maybe it will be enough.
It’s easier during the day. Scott has school and supernatural matters to focus on. Kira’s undivided attention is required for her training with the Skinwalkers and trying to not get consumed by her kitsune. But at night, whether they are lying in a soft bed or on cold animal skins, they can’t shake the crushing sadness and longing that creep up on them. Kira tries to remember Scott’s feather-like kisses on her cheeks, lips, jaw. Scott tries to feel the ghostly presence of Kira’s strong arms holding him tight, her nose pressed against his chin and her hand warm on his chest. Sometimes it doesn’t work and they stay wide awake, worrying about the other, trying to not let these precious memories fade away. But sometimes, they manage to fall asleep, hoping to meet the other in their dreams.