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Chiaki wakes up to knocking on her door.
She blearily rubs at her eyes, reaching for her phone charging at her nightstand. 3AM. She muses, I'm pretty sure Otogari and Yuuki both told me they wouldn't sleep here tonight...
Another round of knocking comes, and she gets up from her bed, confused as to who would even be awake at this hour. As she opens the door, she's met with the sight of Kaoru, who's... not looking like her usual self. Kaoru's sniffling, wiping at her eyes. She has dried tear tracks and mascara stains on her cheeks. The eyeliner she usually sports is nowhere to be seen, clearly ruined by her crying.
"Hakaze?" Chiaki says, voice slightly raspy from sleep. "What are you doing here? Are... you okay?"
"Moricchi," Kaoru mumbles, "I-I don't know why I... Sorry, I should go, huh? Sorry for disturbing your sleep."
She's about to walk away but Chiaki grabs her wrist, "Wait! Um, are you—d-do you want to come in? I don't really want to leave you like this..." She clears her throat and half-heartedly jokes, "Besides, a hero is supposed to comfort people in need! And... you definitely look like... um..."
She trails off. Way to go, hero, a voice sounding suspiciously like her gray-haired friend currently in Florence sarcastically berates her in her head.
But it does make Kaoru giggle a little. She gives Chiaki a shy little smile even as she looks like she's about to start sobbing again. "I guess I'll take you up on that, hero," she teases softly.
Chiaki opens the door wider and steps aside to let her in. Kaoru beelines straight for Chiaki's bed and grabs her pillow, hugging it in her arms and pressing her face against it. She lets out a muffled sob.
Chiaki quickly pours some water in a glass and strides over to place it on her nightstand, then sits down on her bed next to Kaoru, keeping a respectful distance. She unsurely reaches out to pat her back but is interrupted by Kaoru leaning her head on her shoulder, face still buried in the pillow. Chiaki holds her head instead, softly stroking her hair. She waits for Kaoru to speak first.
Kaoru finally lifts her head off the pillow, which is stained with her makeup and tears. I think I was drooling on that pillow, Chiaki thinks, wincing. Oh well, as long as she doesn't mind, I guess.
"I..." Kaoru starts with a wobbly voice. "I–Anzu-chan—she–," she lets out another sob. Chiaki strokes her hair in what she hopes is a comforting manner. Kaoru buries her face slightly into the crook of Chiaki's neck. "A-Anzu-chan... I confessed to her."
"Oh," Chiaki mumbles.
"She... she rejected me."
Chiaki feels sorry for her friend, and simultaneously wants to punch herself for secretly feeling relieved.
"A-and I knew—," she lets out with a sob, "I knew she didn't like me like that. I knew that this dumb crush I've had on her for two years was hopeless. I don't—I don't know why I had to get all jealous of that Juis guy, when it's not like I ever had a chance a-anyway."
Chiaki feels her heart crack at her words, and mentally berates herself again for her earlier feelings of relief.
"But I was hoping, y'know? Even if the chances were so small they were basically nonexistent, I–I hoped she'd grown to like me a little bit," she sniffles and rubs her eyes, "Hah, it was really stupid of me to hope so."
Chiaki turns towards her and envelopes her into a hug, pushing Kaoru's head towards the crook of her neck. "Hey now," she soothes, rubbing Kaoru's back with one hand and stroking her scalp with the other. "I don't think that was stupid at all. It's alright to be upset about it, okay? anything could've happened."
"But I—but I knew she wouldn't accept it," Kaoru sniffles, winding her hands around Chiaki's waist to slump against her more. "Isn't it dumb of me to hope for things that are futile?"
"Futile? I don't think that was futile at all! And if it's worth anything, I think it was really brave of you to confess to her." Unlike me.
"Moricchi. Do you... do you think I'll ever find love? Honestly, it feels kinda hopeless at this point," Kaoru mumbles into the crook of her neck, "Spending so much time chasing over this stupid crush... maybe if I just sucked it up and took it the first time she rejected me, I would've found someone who loved me by now."
Like me? Chiaki thinks, exhaling as she stops her motions and pulls away, earning a confused noise from Kaoru. She cups Kaoru's cheeks and looks into her eyes, red from her crying. She wipes away the tear forming at her eye with her thumb, and affectionately strokes her cheek with her other thumb.
"Hakaze," Chiaki starts, then thinks better of it, "Kaoru. You're the most beautiful, talented, and kind person I know. You're hardworking, even if you pretend like you can't be bothered. You take care of your juniors and the people around you, and they all adore you. I know they do," she gives Kaoru a sincere little smile.
"Otogari often tells me about how you both go to cafes together often because you both enjoy sweets, and that you insist on paying 'for your precious junior' everytime. Yuuki told me about that time she fell asleep in the living room while playing games, and how you woke her up and escorted her to our room, insisting that she'd get cold there," she lets out a little laugh, "Even my juniors in Ryuseitai gush about you when they're out practicing and you happen to be there to give them pointers and offer them food. And Kanata always talks about how you spend time with her and indulge her when I'm out on a job."
She continues, "Sena always scolds you, but in the same breath always makes sure that you're doing well. She always texts me to make sure that you're fine. And Kanzaki yells at you but admits that you've been a nothing but a caring senpai to her recently, Sakuma always happens to sing your praises whenever I talk to her."
"And I—"
She's interrupted by Kaoru slamming her face into her shoulder.
"M-moricchi, you're embarrassing me..."
She looks down to her, and Kaoru peers back up at her, face still half buried into her shoulder. Her face is as red as a cherry, and she's glaring weakly at her. Chiaki giggles.
Kaoru clings to Chiaki's arm. leaning against her bicep. Her blushing has subsided, only a little, and she looks up at Chiaki and shyly whispers, "...Thanks, Moricchi."
Chiaki smiles, "It's no problem, Hakaze."
She feels a squeeze around her arm, "...You should call me Kaoru like you did earlier."
"Oh," she says dumbly, surprised at her straightforwardness. "W-well, okay, Kaoru... And um, I guess you can call me Chiaki too. If you want. Maybe."
Smooth.
Kaoru huffs out a laugh, "Fine, Chiaki-chan." She bumps her head against her shoulder, "I'm tired."
"Uh, well, I could walk you to your dorm?"
"..."
"...Or you could sleep here instead?"
"Mhm," Kaoru assents, "I wanna stay here for a bit more. Is that okay, Chiaki-chan?"
"Of course! Stay as long as you like!"
Kaoru slumps down on the bed, bringing Chiaki along with her as she pulls at her arm. She clings to Chiaki's side once again. "Night, Chiaki-chan."
"W-wait!" Chiaki interrupts her before she goes to sleep, earning a glare. "You should drink some water! And we should take the makeup off your face, isn't it uncomfortable?"
"I probably cried all the makeup off already," Kaoru scoffs, "...But I guess it's a little uncomfortable." She makes to get up but Chiaki stops her, placing her hands on her shoulders.
"Wait, I'll handle it. Just drink the water from the nightstand. I'll be right back."
Chiaki goes to the bathroom to look for her cleanser and cotton pads. After a moment of hesitation, she grabs the rest of her skincare products as well. She deserves to be pampered after that, she thinks.
"I'm back!" She approaches the bed and sees Kaoru on her phone. The glass on the nightstand is empty. Kaoru looks up from her scrolling and blinks at her, "Why did you bring so much stuff?"
"Well," Chiaki starts, laughing a bit nervously, "I know you hate it when you forget to do your nightly routine when you get back late from a job. So..." she shakes the moisturizer bottle, "I thought I'd help you out?"
"That's..." she sees Kaoru's face turn the slightest bit pink, "That's really sweet of you, Chiaki-chan." Kaoru won't meet her eyes.
Chiaki smiles, "You don't mind?"
"No..."
"Great! Then sit back and relax!"
"I–wait, you're gonna—?"
Chiaki sits down next to her, placing her haul nearby and grabbing a pillow, fluffing it, and grabbing Kaoru's shoulders to force her to lay down.
She hears Kaoru mumble something that sounds vaguely like "Wow, you're really strong." Chiaki must be starting to hear things from the lack of sleep. She makes a questioning noise, asking Kaoru to repeat herself.
Kaoru peers up at her with a red face, "I–um, you're really gonna...?"
"Yup! You need to be pampered after all that! Don't worry, I remember how you apply it!" Chiaki chirps, then says more softly, "Please, let me do this for you."
Kaoru studies her face, and eventually closes her eyes, "Fine, then."
Chiaki gives her a little smile that she does not see, and gets to work.
They sit in silence as Chiaki wipes the makeup (and tears) off her face, carefully pats on the products, and as she's putting the moisturizer on, Kaoru grasps one of her wrists.
"Kaoru?"
"...Thank you, Chiaki-chan. Really. I–I can't thank you enough."
"Kaoru," Chiaki softly squeezes her cheek, "It's no problem. We're friends, aren't we?"
"Mm," Kaoru leans into her hand, "Yeah, we are. But still, thank you."
"Mhm," Chiaki smiles, "I'm done. Hope you don't mind sleeping without a facial mask? I don't have any right now."
"It's fine," Kaoru mumbles, "C'mere."
Chaki places all the products on her nightstand, resolving to put them back in the morning... or whenever they wake up.
She lays next to Kaoru, unsure of how much distance she should leave, but Kaoru clings to her side again. She presses her head against Chiaki's shoulder and mumbles sleepily, "G'night, Chiaki-chan."
"Goodnight, Kaoru."
She hears Kaoru's breaths slow in just a few seconds, fast asleep.
She really wore herself out, Chiaki muses to herself, Oh well... I'll let her sleep as long as she wants. It's not like I have anything to do tomorrow. But as for her...
She reaches for her phone on the nightstand carefully, trying to keep her other arm in place so as to not jostle the sleeping girl clinging to her. She opens the messaging app to look for a certain black-haired vampire who's most likely awake at this hour.
'Sakuma!! does hakaze have any jobs for today?'
She receives a text back immediately, 'Oh? Why is our dear hero awake at this hour?'
She receives another, 'Does Chiaki-chan want to ask our dear Kaoru-chan out on a date? Kukuku, why don't you ask her yourself? Too excited to ask later?'
She debates in her head whether she wants to give away what had occurred a few minutes ago, knowing that she'd be subject to even more teasing from Rei than usual if she knew, considering that she was one of the first people who had noticed her feelings for the pretty blonde girl. It's for Kaoru, she reasoned to herself, What's a little embarrassment if I can help ease her worries? That's what a hero would do! But how to word it...
'Haha! well if you must know, she happened to fall asleep when sleeping over. i asked her to come because otogari and yuuki aren't here. she didn't tell me if she had anything scheduled for the day and i was worried that she wouldn't wake up in time, that's all!' She didn't want to give away Kaoru's situation to Rei without her permission.
'Chiaki-chan's always so nice to our dear Kaoru-chan, you could almost make an old lady like me cry with joy.' She sends a sticker of a teary-eyed bat. Chiaki didn't even know that sticker existed. 'She's sleeping over, you say? Why, I wonder what you could have been doing that would warrant you to stay up until 4 in the morning, kukuku.' It's 4AM? Chiaki checks her phone clock, Oh, I guess it is.
She rereads the message and reddens at the implication. "Sakuma..." she mutters grumpily.
'Haha, nothing uncouth! just two girls who are friends hanging out, nothing weird! anyway, i think i'm getting a little tired, so i'd like to sleep soon. so, about hakaze's schedule...?'
'Kukuku, I suppose I'll help our little hero out. If you must know, Kaoru-chan doesn't have anything scheduled today, so you can have her to yourself the whole day.' Rei sends another sticker, one of the same bat winking on loop. Chiaki still doesn't know where she got that from. She reacts with a thumbs up to Rei's message.
"Do take care of Kaoru-chan, I'm sure she needs it after what happened yesterday. Though, I'm sure I don't have to tell you to do so, since you always look out for her anyway.'
She receives another text, 'From Kaoru-chan's unit partner and friend, thank you very much, Chiaki-chan. I wish you two the best for your relationship.'
Of course she knew about it, Kaoru probably went to her first. She huffs at her own stupidity. Chiaki doesn't know how to reply to the message, but after a moment of deliberation (and purposefully ignoring the suggestion behind Rei's words) she reacts to Rei's message with a heart, and sends a simple 'Thank you, sakuma.' in reply.
She sighs to herself and smiles helplessly, staring at the blonde girl beside her. She presses a light kiss to her hair. If only, she thinks, resigned as she leans her head against the other girl's, If only it was me you liked instead.