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“...ey… Hey…” He hears, pulling him from dark haziness. “Wake up.”
“Mm.” He rolls onto his side, away from the noise.
“Come on,” she says, tugging on his shoulder. “Get up.”
He makes no move to do so. He’s perfectly comfortable right here, and he’d rather go to sleep.
“You lazy ass–” A foot collides with his lower back. There’s force behind it, but it feels like more of a tap. If anything, it’s probably more painful for her.
But he’ll bite, since she’s so demanding.
Toji blinks and glances over his shoulder to see her pouting and rubbing her ankle, even though it’s her own fault.
“What’s your problem?” He asks tiredly.
“Get out of bed,” she insists. “I have to change the sheets.”
“Huh?” He drops his head back onto the pillow. “Do it later…”
“Do you think I would wake up in the middle of the night to do this for no reason?” She mutters, then kicks him again. “Get up- OW–”
“I’m trying to sleep,” he mumbles. “Cut it out.”
“You can go back to sleep in a few minutes, just–” She sighs forcefully. “Get up. Don’t be difficult.”
He ignores her.
“Toji,” she hisses. “Please.”
Again, he doesn’t respond, already slipping from consciousness.
“Toji–” She rips the blanket off him, leaving him vulnerable to the cool breeze that passes over him. He runs warm, so it’s not unpleasant, but he’s not a fan of rapid change.
He rolls onto his back and glares up at her.
“I bled through,” she admits. “I need to clean up.”
“What?” He pushes himself upright, scrubbing his hand over his face. “Why are you bleeding?”
“Why do you think?” She stiffly replies. Her posture is uncomfortable, sitting on her knees with her shoulders curled inward.
“I don’t know,” he says, squinting at the covers. He can’t see color in the dark, but there’s a dark splotch all over her side and between her pajama shorts, staining the insides of her thighs.
“Are you hurt?” He tries, monotone with drowsiness.
“No, I’m–” She inhales sharply and clutches her lower abdomen. “Just get up.”
He finally complies, begrudgingly dragging himself off the mattress to stand beside it instead, arms loosely crossed.
She grits her teeth, then does the same, but she walks over the light switch and flicks it on, slightly hunched over, lacking the usual charismatic spark in her movement.
The mess all over the sheets is, indeed, very red. It’s something he’d see if he slashed the back of a target’s leg, where the venous system is most concentrated and the blood comes out darker, less oxygenated.
She has no obvious wounds, and she’s too steady to be suffering from shock.
“I’m a week early,” she explains, yanking the blankets off and throwing them on the floor. “Sorry.”
“You’re bleeding a week early?” He raises an eyebrow.
“Yeah?” She looks at him quizzically, pale and sweaty.
“I don’t usually plan my wounds ahead of time,” he says. “But okay.”
“What- You idiot–” She throws a pillow at him. “Do you seriously not know what a period is?”
“Huh? Oh, right,” he remembers. “That.”
“Yeah.” Her breathing goes shallow as she pulls the fitted sheet off at the top right corner. She turns around, doubling over at the waist and clutching the edge of the nightstand.
“Ohmygod…” She exhales thinly, then swallows a few times. He wraps her arm around her waist. “Fuck–”
“What?” Toji asks, narrowing his eyes at her.
“Cramps,” she rasps. “Have you never met a woman before–”
She drops to a crouch, while he uneasily watches, face contorting into something of a grimace. It’s not out of disgust, just discomfort. Although, he’s sure it would come off as the former if she were looking at him.
His family didn’t talk about this kind of thing. There were only allusions to the inadequacies of the gentle sex, but he was even lowlier than them, so it’s not like he was included in those conversations.
He wasn’t close with a woman before her, and she giggled about how he didn’t know what tampons were and that he never cared enough to think about it, after he was confused when she casually apologized for leaving one in the trash. If it’s not his business, he doesn’t bother acknowledging.
“Do you… need stuff?” He asks, unsurely. It sounds more dismissive than anything.
“Towel,” she whispers, swaying even though she’s low to the ground. “Feel like m’gonna pass out… I don’t wanna stain the carpet.”
It seems wrong to leave her here alone, so he picks up the pillow at his feet and rounds the bed. He bends down and places it behind her, then gently pushes her onto it, forcing her to actually sit down.
“It’s freaky when you move that fast…” She comments, dazedly registering the change in position. “Thanks…”
She leans forward until her head is nearly between her knees, then looks up again suddenly.
“Are you serious?” Her pupils are constricted to pinpoints. “I’m getting blood on this. I said ‘towel.’”
“You’re doing laundry anyway.” He shrugs.
“It’ll soak through…” She pinches the bridge of her nose. “Pillows are a pain to wash. I don’t wanna deal with that…”
“I know how to do laundry too,” he says.
“You don’t know how to get stains out…” She mumbles, burying her face in her hands.
“You can tell me how to do it,” he suggests.
“No– You’ll just… whatever…” She groans, folding over, wrapping both arms around her stomach.
“How about just going back to sleep?” He offers.
“Go sleep on the couch, if you’re tired…” She snaps.
“No, I’m awake now,” he clarifies. “But you’re kinda useless like this.”
“Sorry-” She sniffles, voice now wet.
“It’s fine.” A nerve impulse triggers in his hand, telling him to touch her, or something, but he suppresses it.
“I need to shower…” She wipes snot from beneath her nose on the side of her thumb, cautiously straightening up. Her cheeks have gone red and her eyes are too glossy now.
“Okay.” He nods.
“That means ‘help me up,’” she says pointedly.
He stands, considers for a moment, then scoops her up bridal-style. She drops her temple against his chest as she takes a shuddering inhale. The rise and fall of her ribs is still shallow and off-kilter.
There’s already blood on the toilet seat, so that’s where he sets her down. She wraps an arm around his neck before he can step back, using him as support while she rolls her shorts and underwear down. She sits, then kicks them off the rest of the way as she leans heavily against the side of the counter next to her.
“Is this normal?” He asks.
“No,” she answers breathily. “Just happens sometimes…”
He fills the cup he uses to brush his teeth at the sink. She doesn’t have her own, since she just sticks her head under the tap.
“Drink,” he instructs. “I won’t catch you if you faint.”
“Hydration isn’t really the issue…” She murmurs, but she takes it anyway.
“At least we know you haven’t knocked me up.” She snorts. “Yet.”
Toji turns the dial under the shower head, halfway between the midpoint and hottest setting. He finds that temperature muggy and uncomfortable with all the steam it generates, but she can’t handle being cold, so he puts up with it, when they share.
“I wasn’t trying to,” he says, holding his hand under the spray, waiting for it to warm up. “It’d be a pain to take care of if I did.”
“Take care of, or get taken care of?” She asks neutrally.
“What do you think?” He rolls his eyes.
“I- Fuck–” She doubles over, holding her abdomen again as she breathes like she’s just run a marathon. She drops the water.
Toji pulls a towel off the rack and lays it over the spill, then takes a washcloth and soaks it in the shower, since it’s still cold.
He places the rag on the nape of her neck.
“You should see a doctor,” he says. “If this doesn’t get better soon.”
“No, I’m–” She inhales between her teeth. “I’m okay…”
“I’ll help you,” he tells her, nodding to the shower-bath-combo. “You’re too pale.”
“You’re awfully nice tonight…” She laughs softly.
“I don’t want to deal with it if you crack your head open,” he mutters disinterestedly. “Don’t get full of yourself.”