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Ibuki leaned forwards at the bar, resting her head on her hand. They looked around, taking in her surroundings, not that there was much to look at. The place was fairly empty - it was pretty late after all - and the walls were painfully bare. Ibuki had long given up on trying to talk with Mahiru or Hiyoko, who were now in deep conversation with each other, though she didn't know what about, nor did she particularly care to find out. So, bored out of her mind, she went back to looking at her glass. Unlike the others she hadn't ordered any alcohol, she didn't like the bitter taste that overpowered any flavor that the beverage was meant to offer, and the effects that came with it certainly didn't help its case. Sighing, Ibuki mixed around her glass of water before setting it down, watching the small whirlpool she had created. She listened to the music that was playing, or rather blaring, throughout the venue. She didn't really like the song, finding it quite boring and overplayed, but being a musician, they could appreciate the effort that had been put into it.
Dramatically sighing, Ibuki looks over to their right, hoping to strike up a conversation with Mikan. However, the musician found her sitting perfectly still, leaning forwards with her arms on the bar and her pale, hazel-purple eyes staring blankly ahead at her half empty glass of whiskey. Mikan had clearly overestimated her alcohol tolerance, though Ibuki certainly wasn't going to tell her that, lord knows she has enough self esteem issues as is. Ibuki stared at her for a little while longer before deciding that there's no way that Mikan would be able to make it home by herself. They jumped off of their barstool and informed Mahiru of their departure. She asked if Ibuki needed any help while Hiyoko glared at the drunk nurse, though after some reassurance she said her farewells. With some effort they managed to get Mikan down as well, who mumbled something about not wanting to be an inconvenience while trying to steady herself. They awkwardly slinged Mikan's arm around themself and the two of them made their way out of the bar. Opening the car door, Ibuki helped Mikan get into the passenger's seat, who proceeded to lean back in the car seat. Ibuki plopped down in the driver's seat and started the car.
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Drumming her hands on the steering wheel, Ibuki looked around for somewhere to park. All the spots near Mikan's apartment building were taken, so the musician had to circle around the area. Somehow every inch of the sidewalk was taken up - how on earth did so many people live here - but she wasn't going to give up, so she continued circling around the block. Finally she spotted an open spot on the sidewalk, and quickly took it before someone else could mysteriously and suddenly appear.
Putting the gear shift into the parking position, they looked to their left, where they found that their passenger had fallen asleep. They gently nudged her, but unfortunately for them Mikan was a very heavy sleeper. Ibuki contemplated their choices, before deciding that since Mikan’s apartment wasn’t too far they could most definitely carry her over there. They unbuckled Mikan’s seatbelt, before hoisting the taller woman onto their back. They wrapped the nurse's arms around their neck before grabbing her legs to give her a piggyback ride. Mikan was heavier than the musician thought, but it was still manageable.
Slowly she made her way to the concrete apartment complex, which towered over the street. Heaving, Ibuki fumbled with the door code, before hearing the beep of the door unlocking. The sound made her slightly wince but luckily, and perhaps unsurprisingly, Mikan didn’t react. The musician dragged her feet through the building and into the elevator, breathing out heavily. The elevator chimed as it made it to the correct floor, and the pair made their way out. Ibuki fumbled with her copy of Mikan's key, which she had gotten due to her frequent visits, managing to unlock the front door after an awkwardly long amount of time. It lightly creaked as she pushed it forwards, making her way into the foyer.
The place was incredibly clean, far too tidy for Ibuki’s tastes, it made them feel like they were in a hospital. The off-white furniture blended into the sparsely decorated walls, only a few picture frames dotted the drywall. They kicked off their shoes before quietly passing through the living room, and turned to the first door on the left as they made it into the hall. Pushing the door open caused it to squeak, which sounded far louder to Ibuki than it probably was. Moonlight flooded the bedroom, basking the dusty pink covers laying neatly on the bed in a blue glow. A couple plushies were haphazardly strewn about the bed, which Ibuki had to throw off to make space. Despite their best effort, Mikan toppled onto the bed. Ibuki sighed and rubbed their shoulder, which had begun aching from the weight. They scratched the back of their head, unsure of what to do next. Finally they decided to take off Mikan’s apron, as sleeping on the knot she had tied would doubtlessly make her sore. Carefully shifting the sleeping girl onto her side, they slowly undid the knot and removed the garment, before draping it over the chair sitting in the corner of the room.
She pinched the space between her eyes, exasperated, as the contents of the front pocket spilled out all over the chair and floor, before quickly gathering them up and messily dropping them onto her friend's desk. A dark shape on the ground grabbed their attention - probably something she had missed - and she leaned down to grab it. The soft cardboard box slightly dented between her fingers and Ibuki frowned, staring at the half empty pack of Mevius brand cigarettes. She stared, disappointed, at the person sleeping on the bed, but decided to place the box back into the apron pocket, not wanting to confront her about it yet.
Ibuki hummed to themselves, as they approached the bed again. They looked down at Mikan’s face, the worry that’s usually etched into it now missing, replaced with a relaxed, almost peaceful, expression. They stayed, standing next to her for what feels like ages before remembering that they still had things to do. They rubbed their eyes while making their way to the kitchen, grabbing a glass from one of the cupboards and making their way to the sink. The cold water rushed into the container, quickly filling it up. They searched around the kitchen, trying to find where Mikan kept medicine, their eyes finally landing on an unlabeled white cardboard box on one of the shelves. Bingo! They thought to themselves, quickly pulling it out and setting it on the counter. The lid was quickly removed and the musician rummaged around the box before finally finding what they were looking for. They grabbed the box of Aspirin and a glass of water before swiftly putting everything else back where it had been and shuffling back into the room.
Upon entering the room, Ibuki’s ears caught a quiet sniffling coming from under the covers. She quickly set down the glass before quietly rushing over to the bed. Mikan had curled up into the fetal position, tears streaming down her face and her eyebrows furrowing. Ibuki firmly grabbed her shoulder trying to shake her awake. After what felt like ages, Mikan's eyes fluttered open and she quickly scrambled away from where the musician was standing, nearly falling off of the bed.
“H-hey, it's just me,” Ibuki whisper-shouted, to not scare her further, “It’s just Ibuki.”
The poor nurse was still trembling but seemed to calm down a little bit. After bringing her knees to her chest, she wiped her tears away with her palms before wrapping them around her legs and leaning back against the headrest. Ibuki slowly sat down on the side of the bed, looking at the curled up girl who had buried her head in her knees.
“You ok?”
Mikan gently lifted her head up and looked at them with teary eyes before slightly shaking her head. Ibuki gave her a concerned look and bit their lip, unsure what to do.
“Wanna talk about it?” they asked hesitantly. Unsurprisingly, the nurse vigorously shook her head again, squeezing her eyes shut. Ibuki moved closer to Mikan on the bed, carefully placing their hand on her knee.
“Does Mikan want Ibuki to stay with her?”
Mikan’s eyes widened as she looked over at the musician, making sure she understood her correctly. The two of them stared at each other for a while, before she shyly nodded, shifting her body closer to her friend. Ibuki threw her feet onto the bed, sitting cross-legged next to her. She felt the weight of Mikan's body as she leaned against them, laying her head on Ibuki's shoulder. She gingerly wrapped her right arm around the crying nurse, lightly rubbing her arm as she quietly sobbed. They spent several minutes just sitting there, Ibuki occasionally looking down at Mikan, who had started clinging to them, having buried her head in her chest. She held her close, rubbing circles into her back, until she had fallen back asleep.
Ibuki laid next to Mikan, staring up at the ceiling. They didn’t like the quiet, but they didn’t want to wake her up either, so to take their mind off of things that they would rather not think about, Ibuki decided to look over at Mikan. The nurse’s dark, purple, uneven fringe framed her pale face, now partially covered by a stray strand of hair. Her mouth hung slightly open, and her chest lifted and fell as she quietly snored. Ibuki smiled slightly, tucking the loose hair behind Mikan’s ear, and stayed looking at the sleeping woman. Her warmth and the sweet, yet subtle smell of her perfume made their eyelids feel heavy.
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Ibuki’s eyes fluttered open as she looked at the ceiling, now reflecting the morning sun’s light. She didn’t remember falling asleep. She blinked a couple times to remove the gunk from her eyes, clearing her vision. She laid there, staring up and slowly waking up. Suddenly she became aware of the hot breath on the side of her face and a weight on her body, causing her to struggle to breathe a bit. Furrowing her brow, she looked to her right to see that Mikan had latched onto her in her sleep. Her arms were wrapped around Ibuki’s chest while her right leg was strewn across her stomach, practically ensnaring her with her body. Ibuki weighed her options, on the one hand she didn’t want to wake up the sleeping nurse, but on the other she could barely... breathe... Before they were forced to make a decision, Mikan started to stir and gently open her eyes, looking right at Ibuki.
Mikan practically fell out of the bed before quickly scrambling to her feet. She started rambling, worrying about how blue Ibuki had become in between apologies. Meanwhile, Ibuki sat up in the bed, quizzically looking at the panicked nurse and blinking.
“I-im so s-sorry!! I... I m-made you t-touch m-me and s-stay o-over and... and-”
“Whoah, whoah, Ibuki doesn’t mind, really! Besides, they're the one that offered to stay.”
This seemed to calm Mikan down, who sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes. Ibuki slowly pushed the covers off and made to get off the bed. Their feet made contact with the cold, hardwood floor as they rose to their feet. The nurse, finally noticing that Ibuki hadn’t changed out of their clothes, started apologizing again, being noticeably less panicked.
“I m-made you sleep i... in your c-clothes! T-that must h-have been so uncomfortable, I’m sooorry!”
“Mikan worries too much, Ibuki’s slept worse. Though her clothes probably don't smell too good.” Ibuki retorted, while stretching her back.
“W-well the least I c-can do is offer you some of m-mine.”
Mikan made her way to her closet before Ibuki could respond, and quickly handed them some clothes. Ibuki nodded in gratitude before making her way to the restroom. The clothes were a little big on her, the white shirt ended halfway down her thighs and the jeans pooled at her feet before Ibuki rolled them up. She tucked the shirt into her pants before checking herself out in the mirror, not half bad. Her hair though was a completely different story, she hadn’t undone it before going to sleep so now her hair-horns were in quite a tragic state. She pondered what to do with it before deciding to just let her hair down so as not to take too long, she didn’t want to bother Mikan for too long. She quickly brushed her hair, or at least as quickly as she could considering its length, before making her way back out into the hall.
Mikan had seemingly busied herself with making coffee, not noticing the colorful musician making their way into the kitchen. She had changed into a loose t-shirt and shorts, having also tied her hair back. Ibuki decided to let her work, slightly leaning on the counter and resting their cheek on their hand. They stared blankly at Mikan, who was still shuffling around the kitchen. She yawned, god she had a cute yawn, before finally noticing Ibuki standing there.
“Um, w-would you like some c-coffee?”
“Yeah, thanks” Ibuki answered, snapping back to reality. Mikan carefully placed the mug she was holding in front of the now aware woman before going to make one for herself. Ibuki listened to Mikan hum an indistinct melody while she worked on preparing her own brew. A comfortable quiet enveloped the room, interrupted only by the clinking of a teaspoon against a mug. Mikan eventually made her way to Ibuki, standing across from her. The two of them stood there in silence, sipping on the coffee. Ibuki’s mind wandered until she looked at Mikan, who clearly wanted to say something. Before she could think to ask her what was bothering her, she answered the unasked question.
“Y... you f-found them, didn’t you...”
“Found what?” They asked in earnest.
“M-my cigarettes...”
Mikan stared deep into her mug, clearly not proud of herself. A deafening silence replaced the previous one as Ibuki weighed their options. However, before they could respond, Mikan interrupted the silence a second time.
“I’m sorry...”
In contrast to her earlier apology this one was far less panicked. She guiltily looked at her friend, fidgeting with her hands. Ibuki hesitated, stringing her thoughts together in her head.
“Look, Mikan... Ibuki... Ibuki isn’t mad or anything, she’s just worried about you.”
“I know...” Mikan started fiddling with her bandage, avoiding Ibuki’s gaze. She bit her lip nervously. Ibuki walked around to the other side of the counter, making their way closer to Mikan.
“Does Mikan want a hug?”
The nurse jolted, looking towards the Ibuki before meekly nodding. They wrapped their arms around Mikan, who nuzzled her head into the space between Ibuki’s neck and shoulder. The two of them stood there for a while before Mikan finally broke the silence in a shaky voice.
“I j-just… I just c-cant stop thinking about H-Her...”
Ibuki held her close, holding her head with one hand and rubbing her back with the other. She let Mikan cry into her shoulder for a while, not being entirely sure what else she should do.
“You know, Mikan can talk to Ibuki about this whenever she likes, right?”
“R-really...?”
“Yes, Ibuki promises!”
Mikan hesitated.
“Thank you.”
The two of them continued to stand there for a while - Ibuki lost track of time pretty quickly - before eventually separating themselves. Ibuki looked at Mikan expectantly, which she seemingly noticed.
“N-not today,” she said, so quietly that even Ibuki almost missed it. “I d-do want to t-talk, just not t-today.”
Ibuki nodded in response, it hurt them a little that Mikan felt that she couldn’t confide in them yet, but they knew that it was better for her to take things at her own pace.
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Ibuki quickly slipped on her shoes and messily tied the laces. As much as she might have wanted to stay she had plans that day, so she had to leave. Mikan stood in the foyer, watching as Ibuki made to leave. With her hand on the doorknob Ibuki asked again.
“And Mikan’s sure she doesn’t need Ibuki to stay?”
“Y-yes, I’m sure.” she replied, unconvincingly.
“If Mikan says so...”
They pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway of the apartment complex. They turned to face Mikan before finally saying their goodbyes. Mikan waved, looking at them with sad eyes before shutting the door. Ibuki briefly considered going back in, but they wanted to respect Mikan’s wishes. They made their way out of the building still thinking about Mikan. They were ultimately glad that Mikan felt that she could confide in her, even if it took some time. Ibuki, at least, knew she would be there for her when she finally did.