Tohru felt like she hadn't slept in days when she woke up on the cold Wednesday morning for school.
Her bones were achy, and her eyelids felt extremely heavy, she had difficulty keeping them open. She turned off the alarm clock, and lay back against the pillow.
"Get up, Tohru! You need to get up! You can't be late for school; you need to keep your promise to mom." She murmured, yawning helplessly.
The blankets were so warm and inviting…
"Maybe…Maybe a few more minutes," she murmured, snuggling down into the warmth of the enveloping quilts. It was such a nice contrast to the coldness of the air; A little cocoon that shielded her from all her problems, and the outside world.
"Just a few more minutes." She repeated her voice ever fainter.
Finally surrendering to the onslaughts of sleep, her eyelids closed, and she succumbed to the heavy sleep of exhaustion.
"Tohru-chan… Tohru-chan?" a worried voice called, someone gently shook her.
Slightly irritated, she waved them away.
"A few more minutes," she mumbled, burying her face in her pillow.
"You have had two hours worth of minutes!"
She shot out of bed, blankets and pillows flying right and left. Panicking, she looked at the clock and saw that she was late for the walk to school!
"What will I do?" Tohru cried, covering her face with her hands.
Kyo rolled his eyes, "Just get dressed, it's ok to be a little late."
Eyes watering, she looked at him. He was so calm, so laidback. Taking comfort in his assurance, she tried to take a deep breath. It was rather shaky, but good.
"What's with all the noise?" a sleepy voice asked from the doorway.
They turned to see a bedridden Yuki, slumped in the doorway, half asleep.
Kyo sneered, laughing mockingly. Yuki watched him leave, and turned towards the already falling asleep Tohru.
"What's he on about?" he asked.
Tohru blinked rapidly, and did a little procession of jumps, and little smacks on her face.
"Wake up! Wake up!" she cried, shaking her head.
Alarmed, Yuki went to her. "What are you doing, Tohru?" he asked, gently taking her hands.
"I'm late for school," she said miserably.
He blinked at her, his face blank. "'Late for school?" he repeated, letting go one of her hands to yawn into his free one.
She nodded, beginning to panic again. "Hurry, Yuki-kun, or you'll be late also! We can't be late! Are you sick? Oh, dear, are you sick? Then I'll take care of you, and then I'll go to school...but-" she rambled, her eyes growing wider and wider, her voice reaching almost a squeak.
He touched her lips with his free hand, and she silenced.
"Honda-san, you are tired," he said, gently. ", did you not get enough sleep?"
Guiltily she stared at her feet, and nodded.
"You were studying or cleaning, I think," he guessed, smiling.
Again, she nodded.
"You've been working yourself to the bone, how about taking the day off?" he suggested.
Her eyes went wide again. "I can't, Yuki-kun! If…If I do that, I'll hurt my chances of graduating! Yuki-kun…"
He sighed, and nodded, rubbing at his eyes again, sleepily.
"We can take a tardy, then." He decided.
Feebly, she shook her head. "Yuki-kun…"
"Just get a few more hours of sleep. It's alright, Honda-san." He assured her, guiding her back to her bed.
Protesting half-heartedly, she finally said, concerned, "What about you? You're tired and you're still going to school, Yuki-kun."
He smiled, and eased himself down beside her. "I think I'll take a wink of sleep, too."
"Maybe just a few minutes," Tohru murmured, closing her eyes.
Yuki glanced at her through, half closed lids, and fell asleep beside her.