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Juria sighed as she sank further into the couch, a random show playing on the TV in front of her. She felt Maya shift beside her. This wasn’t how she wanted to spend her free evening.
For the past week Juria had been planning what to do. The group finally had a couple of days worth of a break and she wanted to make the most of it. While she didn’t have enough time to go and visit her family, she still wanted to be productive. Get out of the house.
To her greatest disappointment, all of her plans were shattered by a sick Maya. One cough turned to a multiple days long ordeal of losing her voice, waking up with various high temperatures. All from taking care of Maya for one day. Maybe the cuddles were excessive, but that was all Juria wanted herself when she was sick, so of course Maya would want that too.
She wasn’t the only one to take care of Maya though, so it was a horrible case of bad luck for her to be the only one to end up sick after the fact. Especially when she had so much she wanted to do with her time. USJ had been calling her name for months, even if she would’ve just wandered around taking in the atmosphere. Instead, the only atmosphere she had to choose from was either the walls of her bedroom or of the living room.
“You look miserable,” Maya smirked, reaching her arm over Juria’s shoulders.
Juria glared back at her. “I wonder whose fault that is.”
The laugh that escaped Maya only fuelled Juria’s frustration, though she couldn’t be genuinely mad at the younger girl.
The house felt uncomfortably quiet as she wandered into the kitchen for a glass of water. Chisa had dragged Amy to the gym with her, Cocona and Jurin were at some restaurant together with plans to go to a bar afterwards, and Hinata was locked away watching anime. While she could go and bother Hinata, she knew that her idea of good free time was the opposite of Juria’s. Plus she would never forgive herself if she got her sick.
Sitting back down next to Maya, she dropped her head on her shoulder. “Can we go to the store or something? I hate being stuck in here.”
She exhaled as Maya ran her fingers through her hair. “No. I just watched you stumble around getting back from the kitchen. You need rest.”
It was true that she had a lingering feeling of lightheadedness from her short walk, but that didn’t matter against the restlessness in her head. It was hypocritical really. Her and Maya had talked about this only a week prior with the roles reversed. She should’ve been glad that Maya was sticking by her side just as she had done for her, despite her own extroverted want to leave the house.
The two fell into a comfortable silence as they focused back on the show playing in front of them. A romcom that Juria couldn’t care less about. Maybe she would’ve enjoyed it if she was watching it willingly, void of the fatigue coursing through her at the simple act of getting a glass of water.
Two episodes of the show passed before Hinata came out of her room, an empty bowl in her hands. She smiled sympathetically at Juria before continuing into the kitchen. A familiar warm feeling settled in Juria’s chest. The physical fatigue remained, but the mental aspect faded slightly.
She waited impatiently for Hinata to come back out of the kitchen before reaching her arms out towards her. With a knowing chuckle, Hinata placed the refilled bowl of snacks down on the coffee table and leant down to wrap her arms around Juria’s shoulders.
“Still not feeling well?” Hinata muttered, tightening her hold on Juria.
“Not at all.”
Hinata pouted as she began to rub circles on Juria’s back with her thumb. She hated seeing Juria when she was sick. All of her usual positivity and brightness disappeared.
Letting go of Juria, Hinata turned to face Maya who immediately looked away, pretending that she hadn’t been watching the hug with an eyebrow raised.
“Want me to take care of her for the rest of the evening? We don’t want you getting sick again.”
Maya hummed as she feigned contemplation. It was clear to both Hinata and Juria that she didn’t actually need to think it through by the smirk plastered over her face. Still, she placed her hand on her chin.
“Hmmm. If you really want to.”
Hinata’s smile grew as she reached her hand out towards Juria. She was unexpectedly met with a frown. Usually Juria was the first to jump up at the opportunity to spend time with Hinata, even if it was just to sit next to each other while they each did their own thing.
“I don’t want you to get sick next,” she whined, crossing her arms over her chest.
With a laugh, Hinata lightly grabbed Juria’s wrist and pulled her up off the couch. “We’ll deal with that when we get to it. For now, I’m sure Maya wants to make some food.”
Juria blushed as she realised how close to Hinata she now was. Her balance wasn’t at its best, meaning being pulled up practically crashed her into Hinata’s body, her hands now planted securely on Juria’s arms. Just her luck that her own arms ended up wrapped around Hinata’s waist.
“True. I’m gonna go to the store first if either of you want anything,” Maya spoke as she stood up.
“I’m all good thanks. Juria?”
All Juria could bring herself to do was shake her head. She was fully encapsulated by Hinata’s grasp, rendering her speech utterly useless.
Maya nodded in acknowledgement before grabbing her phone from where she was sat. “Don’t lock the door. I’ll be back soon.”
They both watched as she left, Juria’s gaze lingering. She didn’t dare look at Hinata. Her heart was beating a lot faster than usual, but she made the excuse to herself that it was just the illness talking. That she was in some sort of flu induced trance.
“Let’s go to my room,” Hinata decided, turning Juria around and pushing her towards the door.
Juria immediately sat down on Hinata’s bed, settling under the covers after pulling them over herself. There was barely enough space next to her for Hinata to sit, but she didn’t pay it any notice. She wanted Hinata’s comforting presence as close to her as possible. As long as she didn’t look at her. That was proving to be a bad idea so far that day.
She took her time appreciating the art covering the walls. Hinata was humble about her artistic capabilities, but to Juria she was the best artist in the world. Not just because of the final products of her work, but because of the hard work and attention to detail that was put into them.
The more she looked, the more she found herself wondering what Hinata was thinking about when she created the pieces. What her inspiration was. She sighed as she tried to clear her mind of the deeper thoughts, closing her eyes out of exhaustion. Now her mind was fatigued too. Still, she was a lot more comfortable than on the couch.
A few moments later Hinata reappeared in the doorway with her bowl and Juria’s glass of water in her hands. She grinned as she took the time to look at Juria being comfortable in her bed. There was no better feeling to her than the time she got to spend with Juria.
“Do you want to choose what we watch?” she asked as she sat down.
Opening her eyes, Juria held onto Hinata’s arm. “You can choose.”
There really was barely any space for Hinata to sit. If Juria wasn’t pulling her arm so close to her, she probably would’ve fallen off the bed by now. Picking up her TV remote, she started playing the first episode of Fruits Basket. It was an anime she had seen countless times, but she figured it was better than sifting through her list of anime to watch. Plus it meant she wouldn’t break her promise to Cocona of not watching anything new without him.
“Is this the one you talk about a lot?” Juria questioned, her voice quiet.
Hinata’s smile grew. Juria remembered. “I do talk about this one, yeah.”
As Juria began to allow the fatigue in, sleep quietly taking over her, Hinata shifted so that her arm was behind Juria’s back. Her promise of her presence. She was glad she’d gotten snacks beforehand. Juria’s naps, especially when she was ill, were known to be longer than usual. She could be there for hours.
Hinata found herself watching Juria more than the TV screen. It became background noise as she took in the beautiful features of the girl in her arms. It wasn’t the first time she’d allowed Juria to sleep in her bed, nor was it the first time she’d taken care of a sick Juria in this exact same way, but something felt different.
She didn’t pay the growing discomfort in her chest any mind. It had become synonymous with Juria through the past months. She suddenly looked away as the feeling of guilt began to course through her. She shouldn’t be watching Juria so closely. Not when she had trusted her to take care of her.
Despite her better judgement, Hinata did continue to take glances at Juria as she slept. She looked so peaceful. Happy, even. Hinata mirrored it tenfold. She didn’t try and think about the reason why. She never did when it came to Juria.
Three episodes had passed before she heard a knock at the door. She turned to face the sound, met with Chisa peeking in through a crack in the door. The bright light of the hallway felt piercing through her dimly lit bedroom, prompting Hinata to gesture for Chisa to come in and close the door behind her.
“Everything okay in here?” Chisa asked as she closed the door.
Hinata nodded, using her free hand to now gesture towards Juria. “She’s taking a nap but she should wake up soon. I want her to eat something.”
A smile formed on Chisa’s face as she stepped further into the room, nearing Hinata. “You’re so cute Hina-chan. You care so much.”
She reached forward to tap Hinata on the shoulder a couple of times before looking at Juria. “Wake her up softly. I’ll start making soup for her. Do you want anything?”
Hinata’s stomach rumbled at the mention of food. Her snacks had been left discarded on the bedside table, a far back thought when Juria was so close to her.
“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”
Chisa nodded, stepping back towards the door. She paused as she was about to open it. “You should tell her,” she stated before opening the door and leaving the room.
Brows furrowed, Hinata turned back to look at Juria. Tell her? Tell her what? Maybe she just meant about the food. That would make sense. Though, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Chisa had picked up on something that she hadn’t. That there was something lingering in the air that she was oblivious to.
Pushing the thought aside, Hinata poked Juria’s cheek once, a grin spreading across her own face at the action. Juria looked way too cute,
“Chi-chan is making you some soup if you want to wake up for it,” she whispered, her arm curling under Juria to stroke her arm softly.
Juria sighed, turning to cuddle into Hinata’s side. “Five more minutes.”
The raspiness wasn’t missed by Hinata. She wondered if Juria had been sleeping enough. If she hadn’t, a couple more minutes wouldn’t hurt while Chisa actually made the food.
“Whatever you want, princess,” Hinata smiled, tightening her hold on the younger girl.
She cherished the half-asleep giggle from Juria at the nickname.
This was the best day off she’d had for a while.