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It’s late afternoon when Mafuyu arrives back at Kanade’s house. The sun has already started to paint everything in soft gold, filtering through leaves and cascading onto the ground as she twists the door open.
“I’m home.” Her ears flop down, a yawn escaping the rabbit as she scans the immediate area. The kitchen is empty of people, but there’s a near-finished plate of leftovers by the sink, and a fork resting on top of it. That’s good, that means Kanade bothered to have something other than ramen.
“Kanade?” She calls out to the wolfdog in question, peering onto the couch. The dining room is desolate, the living room equally so, but the house is unusually silent.
Her silent question is solved when she steps into the composer’s room and finds Kanade face down on their bed, snoring into their pillow with spindly limbs splayed out every which way.
Well, that answers that. Quietly, she navigates to the other, picking up the scattered sheets of music and stacking them on spare boxes. Their monitors are still on, one tabbed into Nightcord, the other looping an unfinished song, their latest work in progress.
One of many, anyways. Kanade had a habit of trying to create multiple different songs at once, bouncing around on a whim, leading to a few occasions where their programs would freeze, much to their despair. The wolfdog had once very grumpily burrowed under Mafuyu’s blankets after their computer had crashed, and had refused to come out until the rabbit joined them. It ended up being a very unproductive night, but Kanade had at least gotten a lot of much needed rest.
Turning to the sleeping composer in question, Mafuyu shrugs off her cardigan, climbing into bed beside them. She hooked her arms under Kanade’s, tugging them closer until her chest was flush against their back. It was a new habit of hers, joining them in their bed. She ran warm, the composer was often cold.
It was nice.
Her head drops onto the pillow beside them, watching their face scrunch and ears flop, nose twitching as if sniffing for something.
“What are you smelling?” Mafuyu whispers, brushing strands of pale blue from their face. Kanade, obviously, does not answer, they tend to nap very deeply, so deep that she thought they had collapsed again at one point. "I wonder what goes on in your head."
She hums to herself, watching their chest rise and fall, listening to the tiny snores let out.
Thump!
Something whacks against her leg, blunt and not very strong, but noticeable. Mafuyu blinks as it happens again, the sound muffled by the blanket.
Is that-
Her suspicion is confirmed as she lifts her head, peeling the blanket back. Sure enough, Kanade’s tail is wagging, smacking her shin.
“Kanade?” Her voice comes out soft, breathing out the composer’s name. They don’t stir, so they’re not awake, but it almost seems like their tail wags faster upon her calling out. Cautiously, she settles again, watching a leg kick out as if they’re trying to run.
She had seen them sprint before, a short burst of energy that had carried them too fast through a field of grass, sending the wolfdog stumbling into a fall that had stained their shirt green. It was the happiest they had been in a while, but Mafuyu had to carry them home afterwards.
It was honestly adorable. Their smile had lasted long enough for her to take a picture of, radiant and warm, like sunshine itself in an expression. Mafuyu would argue that a beaming Kanade would give even Otori a run for her money.
Much to Kanade’s embarrassment, the photo had been sent in Nightcord as well, Mizuki and Ena had spent far too long complimenting them, turning the wolfdog’s face a bright red as their tail wagged a mile a minute.
Currently, it still smacks against her, albeit much slower. A sleepy noise leaving chapped lips as the rabbit buries her nose in a mane of hair. She listens to the sound of their breathing, watches their head shift and twist into the sheets. The thump of a tail against her leg becomes a comfort more than an annoyance, although there will probably be a mark when she wakes up.
“I wonder,” Mafuyu murmurs, half closing her eyes, “What you’re dreaming about today.” Of course, she doesn’t expect a response, it would be foolish to, and yet she allows herself a small smile, warm and genuine in the early evening. Her eyelids slip shut, she has a few hours before they’re supposed to meet, a small nap won’t do any harm.
“I hope… it’s pleasant, Kanade.”