Fingers clumsily pressing into the controller in her hands, Ryuko yawns, bored of this repetitive game already. It's the Saturday evening before Christmas, snow softly tapping against the living room window. Feeling her hands start to freeze at the tips, Ryuko silently curses herself for not turning on the heater earlier.

Hearing a scratch at the front door, Ryuko breathes a sigh of relief, Finally, Goddamn.

Seeing Satsuki come through the door with boxes and bags full of gifts for their friends— well, mostly Satsuki's friends, Ryuko doesn't move, letting her sister do what she needs to do in silence.

Continuing her game, Ryuko becomes so abruptly invested that she forgets about Satsuki until the moment her sister comes around to the couch with a glass of wine and takes the seat next to her.

"Why do you wear that hair clip again?"

Ryuko purses her lips, not sure how to respond. The clip in question, resting on the top of her head, has suddenly become a weight she doesn't want to bear. Deciding that no answer could really incriminate her, she responds as detached as she can, "Because you got it for me. Also, it keeps the hair out of my eyes when I game. It's a win-win."

Sneaking a glance to her left, Ryuko doesn't miss the pleased tilt of Satsuki's mouth as she takes a small sip of her wine. Satsuki leans back into the couch, sighing heavily.

Ryuko frowns, trying to focus on her sister and beating this boss is proving to be more difficult than she initially thought. Putting more effort into the current conversation than the entire day's activities combined, Ryuko asks, "What's up? Is shopping for your friends really that exhausting?"

Satsuki hums, aloof as ever, "No, shopping for them was actually fairly easy. Its just… holidays in general are tiresome."

Watching her character die for the seventh time that level, Ryuko grunts, internally giving up on the game for that night and tossing her controller onto the coffee table in front of her. If there's a competition between anything and her sister, her sister always wins. Always.

Satsuki takes another sip of her wine, watching Ryuko intently.

"I've never asked you… How do you feel about this time of year? I know it's a little strange, all of us being together this way, but I'd like to think it's alright with you."

Leaning back into the sofa, Ryuko shrugs, "I'm mostly indifferent about it, honestly. If you and your friends want to get together and celebrate I have no problem with it," turning to face Satsuki, she continues, "As long as I'm not alone, I don't really care what's going on."

She sees Satsuki's eyes take a turn then, her irises gaining a protective, compassionate quality deep inside. It doesn't take long for a small smile to form on Ryuko's face. Having someone care for her like this is always a little disorienting.

In order to ease the sudden tension in Satsuki's shoulders, Ryuko turns the cable on, drowning the heavy silence with outdated Christmas specials. Idly grasping at her pajama pants, Ryuko tries to think of something to say to smooth out Satsuki's ruffled feathers.

"It was never your fault."

Satsuki sips at her wine, refusing to look at Ryuko.

After a few local commercials, Satsuki tucks her legs under herself and speaks, "I like your hair, by the way, I wasn't trying to spite you earlier."

Feeling Satsuki tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, thumb rubbing down the shell, Ryuko's stomach tightens, heat blooming rapidly from every pour of her body. Satsuki kisses her temple quickly, silently apologizing, and Ryuko can't help the blush that creeps on her face at Satsuki's random displays of affection.

Afraid that her eyes will give her away, Ryuko avoids looking at Satsuki and instead, says, "So, what did you want to do tomorrow? I know you said you wanted to finish shopping, but I think you already did that today."

Satsuki moves her hand from Ryuko's ear to her back, nails scratching slowly from shoulder to shoulder, sipping at her almost empty glass of wine, idly.

"I'm not sure, actually. Do you want to just go to the mall or something? I know how you like to people-watch. That's always entertaining."

Grinning, Ryuko agrees to the proposal, finally turning to look at Satsuki. Her eyes are closed, head pressed into the back of the couch, wine glass empty. Ryuko has lived with her long enough to know she's not asleep, just resting her eyes, relaxing.

Ryuko's grin slowly turns into an affectionate smile, eyes crinkling at the corners.

Eventually, Satsuki's breathing slows, head falling a bit to the right, just next to Ryuko's shoulder. A part of Ryuko wants her head on her shoulder, the part that never stops thinking about Satsuki, the part Ryuko sometimes finds unsettling about herself.

Swallowing her emotions, Ryuko speaks softly; almost as if she's afraid Satsuki will wake up, "Bed time, Sats."

The small 'tch' noise that comes from Satsuki's mouth is one of the cutest things Ryuko has heard to date. So rebellious in nature, but completely ineffective at the moment, Ryuko can't help but chuckle while taking the wine glass from Satsuki's limp hand and placing it on the coffee table.

"Upsy Daisy, now."

Picking up Satsuki bridal style, Ryuko moves from the living room into their shared bedroom down the hall. Placing her sister on the bed, Ryuko moves the hair from her peaceful face, fingers lingering a few seconds too long, and moves the covers so they won't freeze that night.

Sighing, Ryuko finally takes the clip from her hair, placing it on the bedside table, musses her hair a bit and climbs into bed next to Satsuki, curling into her side, basking in the warmth her sister provides.

Sipping at her coffee with chattering teeth, Ryuko glares at the back of Satsuki's head. Her sister woke her up at the ungodly hour of nine o'clock that morning and demanded Ryuko make breakfast for the both of them accordingly. Ryuko decides to start putting real milk in her sister's Lactaid container in the fridge starting next week.

"Ryuko? I want to look in this store for a minute, I think they have a sale going on."

Following Satsuki, Ryuko puts the hot coffee cup to her face, attempting to thaw it out from the freezing weather. Turning to make sure Ryuko actually did follow her into the store; Satsuki takes Ryuko's unoccupied hand to keep them from separating in the mass, glove over glove.

Ryuko jumps slightly when she feels her sister's fingers wrap around her own, moving the coffee cup to the other side of her face to clumsily hide the action. Watching her sister take a deep red colored beanie from the table in front of them, Ryuko sips at her coffee, waiting to hear the verdict.

"I think this would look nice on you."

At the sound of Satsuki's voice, Ryuko leans closer, inspecting the article in question. It was a nice beanie; knitted, baggy. Mentally checking her own closet, Ryuko thinks she already has one like this, just in a dark grey color. It's almost identical to the one she's wearing now.

"Yeah, it's cool. I have a few of them, though. So…"

Satsuki frowns, holding it up to the side of Ryuko's head.

"It brings out your hair. You don't like it?"

Now it's Ryuko's turn to frown.

"No, I'm just saying I have a bunch of them at home."

Satsuki sighs, glancing away. Ryuko frowns deeper, taking the beanie from her sister's hands and replacing it with her almost empty coffee cup. Grumbling, she switches the one on her head with the red one, sticking her tongue out at Satsuki.

Satsuki does that thing with her mouth that tells Ryuko she's disgustingly pleased at the sight before her and says, "Let's find a mirror, so you can see."

Ryuko shrugs, "Nah, I trust your judgment," she fixes her hair a little more, seeing Satsuki's eyes follow her every move, "Does it look good?"

Satsuki nods, "Looks great."

Ryuko gives a tired smile, "Fine, fine. Get it for me if you really wanna. Sap."

Taking it off, Ryuko gets her things back from Satsuki, who takes off to explore the jewelry section of the store, beanie in hand. Ryuko slowly makes her way to the 'winter accessories' section of the store, throwing away her now-empty coffee cup on the way.

A pale blue scarf is the first thing she sees as she enters the long line of clearance racks. Humming to herself, Ryuko thinks Satsuki would pull it off really well. In her mind's eye she pictures Satsuki with the scarf on Christmas day, nose pink from the cold, lips swollen from the constant wind, cheeks flushed from the weather.

Coughing to cover up her sudden mental outburst, Ryuko takes the scarf off the rack and tries to find her sister.

"Oh, Ryuko! What did you find?"

Ryuko doesn't speak, placing the scarf around her sister's neck instead.

"I thought this would look good on you."

Satsuki brings her hand up to pinch the material between her fingers, "It's very soft. Did your thoughts ring true?"

Ryuko's head is swimming, it looks great and she can't stop thinking about the image she created earlier. Taking a deep breath through her nose, Ryuko takes a step back and pretends to analyze her sister.

Nodding, she says, "Yeah, looks awesome."

Satsuki smiles, eyes closing in slight annoyance, "I'm glad I pass your test, Ryuko."

Ryuko's mouth curls upward, relishing in her sister's sarcastic praise, and leans forward to take the scarf back.

Walking out of the store a while later, Satsuki holds the bag with their scarf and beanie, reaching for Ryuko's hand with her free one. Ryuko doesn't comment, taking her sister's hand with a lump in her throat.

They walk past a few more stores in silence, Ryuko putting her other hand in her jacket pocket, willing herself not to rub Satsuki's thumb with her own. Satsuki suddenly turns to her, "Did you want to go? You seem… tired. Do you not feel well?"

Ryuko internally rolls her eyes, always the protective big sister, and swallows thickly, "No, no. I feel fine. I guess I'm a little tired, but if you wanna keep shopping we can. Is your knee hurting you at all?"

Satsuki stares at her for a few more moments, looking intently into her eyes. Ryuko would've shrunken away at this look a few years back, but knowing Satsuki as well as she does now, Ryuko remains stoic.

Glancing away, Satsuki clears her throat, "My knee is fine. It's just the cold stiffening my joints a bit."

Ryuko breathes a sigh of relief, "That's good to hear."

They take a few more steps, Ryuko spotting a crepe stand a few feet ahead. Grinning, she looks at Satsuki, "Hey, do you want anything? I'm gonna get a crepe."

Satsuki purses her lips, legitimately thinking about Ryuko's offer. Humming, she makes her decision, "What kind are you going to get? Banana and Nutella?"

"'Course, Sats, who do you take me for?"

Satsuki's mouth tilts upwards, "I take you for someone who finds something they like and sticks to it until they die."

Got that right.

Ryuko lets go of Satsuki's hand, moving towards the stand, "Whatever! I try new stuff all the time! Do you want something or not?"

Satsuki shakes her head, hair bouncing with the movement, "No, I'll just take a few bites of yours."

Ryuko looks away, suddenly flustered. Thinking about it, Ryuko tries to remember a time when she didn't enjoy sharing things with her sister.

Obviously, the first thought that comes to her mind is how they met. Duking it out for the promise of the name of her father's killer. Back then, she didn't know why she was so drawn to Satsuki, so unafraid of what damage she could've inflicted on her.

Nowadays, they hardly had an argument to pass the time:

'Change the channel; I hate this show.'

'Stop drinking so much, you're gonna get that liver disease.'

'Move your giant head, I'm trying to read.'

Ever since they moved in together, Ryuko had suddenly become someone she had never known she could be: a caring sister. The same transformation applied to Satsuki as well.

As they were beginning to know each other, Satsuki had always hesitated with her affection towards Ryuko: an awkward hug here, a random minute of close proximity there. Now, Satsuki does whatever she wants, whenever she wants.

Coming back with the crepe, Ryuko offers her sister the first bite in silent tradition.

Walking to the bus stop a while later, tired of the crowds and freezing temperature, Ryuko asks Satsuki for the new beanie, hoping that it'll be warmer than the one she has on.

Her theory proves correct as they arrive, the material of the hat instantly insulating heat better than her old one.

"Fuck, it's s-so c-cold!"

Satsuki sighs, taking the new scarf from the bag and wrapping it around Ryuko's neck. Ryuko wants to think it's not the gesture that's what's making her so warm. Satsuki unzips her jacket, putting her hands in her pockets and opens it in a 'come here' gesture.

Ryuko practically body slams Satsuki, forehead clanking against collarbone. Satsuki lets out a grunt at the initial hit, wrapping her arms around Ryuko's back, keeping in as much heat as she can, and resting her head atop of Ryuko's.

Ryuko lets herself be enveloped in her sister's warmth, wrapping her arms behind Satsuki's back, still shivering.

"So warm…"

She feels Satsuki let out a soft chuckle, "Glad I could be of some assistance."

Ryuko, feeling mischievous, grins wickedly and squeezes Satsuki, hard, lifting her above the ground yelling, "Squishy Satsuki!"

Satsuki wiggles uselessly above her, yelling at Ryuko to put her down this instant. Ryuko just laughs and obeys, absently nuzzling her in the process, "I'm just messin' around, Sats, chill."

Satsuki grumbles but keeps Ryuko in her arms, unwilling to give up her personal heater.

"You're so annoying."

Waking up a few days later, the first thing Ryuko sees is Satsuki facing her, smiling softly. Ryuko smiles in kind, still half-asleep.

Suddenly Satsuki is leaning over her, glancing at Ryuko's lips, silently asking permission. Ryuko muses that Satsuki's wanted to kiss her all morning. Threading a hand in Satsuki's hair, Ryuko brings their mouths together briefly, never lingering too long.

Satsuki's mouth is always firm and pressing, as if she solidified her decision to kiss Ryuko days in advance. There's almost never any hesitation when she initiates this kind of contact.

As much as Ryuko loves her sister, she knows how delicate she is as well.

"Mornin' sleepyhead."

Someone who's carried the weight of the world needs comfort, too.

A/N: Happy New Year! :3