"I had a bad day..."
"You wanna come over? :00"
"Are you sure that would that be ok? I don't want to bother you more than I have to."
"Oh, don't worry about it. It's no problem~ ;D"
Yō put down her phone and checked the clock. It was two hours before midnight, and while they didn't have school the next morning because it would be Saturday, she was still rather tired from dance practice and would have enjoyed the rest. But, she admitted to herself that she would rather spend a few more hours with Riko than asleep. Plus, this was the third night in a row she came over, and it was starting to become a habit that she was slowly starting to get used to.
It had been a stressful period for Aqours. Mari helped them book the gymnasium right before winter break to celebrate the winter holidays. This soon proved to be a bit too much for the girls. Writing and choreographing a new song in such a small amount of time was already hard, and not to mention costumes, lighting, and promoting that had to go with it. Plus, tests and homework started piling up, but the girls still kept their strong spirits and pushed on.
The first night Riko came over, it was to study for a test. Chika was there, too, but she left earlier than Riko did to sleep. Sleep was becoming a valuable commodity. It was initially a bit awkward after Chika left, and Yō didn't know why. Riko and Yō were in the same grade, same class, and same idol group. But they each were slightly better friends with Chika than with each other.
At first, Yō was embarrassed, but willing to admit she was envious of the girl who was still studying with her. She was jealous of how quickly Chika and Riko got along. She thought it was because Riko was contesting her place as Chika's best friend, but that didn't feel right. Would she have cared if another girl from her class spent more time with Chika? Or any other girl from Aqours? Then she wondered if she was jealous of Chika, who talked so naturally with Riko, and who Riko felt comfortable around first.
The two sat in an uncomfortable silence after Chika said her goodbyes with a yawn. Riko skimmed the pages of her book, but Yō knew she was just doing it to keep busy. Riko made better grades than she did, and half of that was due to Otonokizaki High being slightly farther in the curriculum, and the other was in part that she studied harder. Yō was pretty sure Riko didn't even have to study for this test to ace it, but it was rather a formality to come and help her two classmates.
Yō spoke up first and attempted small talk. Riko replied and they talked longer than they should have for having a test the next day. But, Yō found something oddly comforting in the way Riko spoke. She was so formal and soft and acted like royalty. There was something to it that made Yō want to protect her, like a knight to a princess. When Riko talked to her, it made her feel important in a way she never felt before.
She adored Chika, but she viewed her as an equal. They were childhood friends, so it was hard for her to see her as anything else. It was the same with Kanan. While Mari and the Kurosawa sisters came from money, she didn't view her idol mates with that in mind. She felt equal to them, because she shared sweat and tears with them. She had the same feelings for Hanamaru and Yohane. But with Riko, it was different. She knew she should feel on equal grounds with her, but her soft-spoken voice and charming demeanor made Riko a precious jewel to Yō.
When Riko finally did leave, Yō laid in her bed. She thought that Riko was just being nice, as always. Surely there was no way that Riko enjoyed it more than her. Then, her phone buzzed on the nightstand.
"I'm sorry I stayed over so late. I hope I didn't bore you! Sleep well."
Yō's eyes grew wide and a small smile formed.
"No problem-o! See ya tomorrow!"
The night after that, they worked on costumes together. It should have been Ruby instead of Riko, but she told Dia she would help her and Mari work on study council arrangements. Yō didn't mind the absence of Ruby. Of course she liked working with the timid girl, but sewing was something she didn't dislike doing alone. But, when Riko offered assistance, Yō accepted at an embarrassing speed.
Riko was talented at the piano, but she could not handle a sewing needle. For the smaller details, they used the old fashioned needle rather than the machine. Yō silently kept track of all the times Riko accidentally pricked herself and felt bad for the girl. She could tell when it happened because Riko would jump, inhale quickly, and the first few times, yelped. However, she never once admitted to pricking herself.
Yō appreciated the company, despite feeling bad for the girl who sat with her. But, she wondered if she would have progressed more without Riko there. Not that she wanted her gone, she preferred her to stay. The small talk they made was distracting, but that's what Yō wanted. She was glad to finally talk to Riko, the more she talked to her the more equal she felt.
And Riko left that night, once again later than she probably should have. Yō finally crashed into the blankets on her bed and almost fell asleep without putting on pajamas. Her eyes were heavy and ready for sleep, but right before they found it her phone buzzed.
"Yō, is there anything I can do for finger pain? For some reason, the tips of my fingers hurt."
"Oh no! I'm sorry but I don't have much to offer besides bandages. Thanks for helping me today! ;)"
"Thank you for having me. :-)"
And now, tonight, Riko was coming over again. Yō quickly jumped in the shower when she got the text from Riko. A cold shower would have woken her up more, but the weather outside made it impossible to even rationalize it. After bathing, Yō put on her warm pajamas on before the other girl arrived. She wondered what was bothering her so much that made her want to come over in the first place. And although she felt bad that something was giving Riko stress, she found it sweet Riko was comfortable enough with her to open up.
She checked her phone on her bed. Her schedule was still busy for the next few days, but she was looking forward to the days of break she would have all to herself and the indoor pool down the road. There was a knock on the door and a familiar voice. Yō called for her to come in, Riko quietly entered, and Yō motioned with her hands to sit next to her on the bed.
"Sorry for bothering you again, Yō. I appreciate you letting me come over so late," Riko took off her wool jacket and scarf. She slipped off the winter hat she wore and kept her mittens near them. She then sat on the bed in the direction of the window.
"Don't worry about it! What's been on your mind?" Yō said and she reached for the brush on her night stand. She gently brushed the crimson silk that Riko called hair. Yō didn't think it was possible for someone to have hair so soft and flowy, or to have hair that smelled so clean and vaguely like apples. She liked her own hair short and cute, but years of salt, sand, and chlorine made it impossible for her to ever have hair as pretty as Riko's.
"Well, I feel a little bit stressed, I suppose," Riko stated. She placed her finger on her chin as if she was thinking hard, which was something Yō realized she did often. It was like she was analyzing her own words to ensure she was saying what she meant. Yō grabbed a hair tie from her nightstand and wore it on her wrist. She separated Riko's hair into three strands. Her own hair was too short for braids, and as a child, she did them on Chika. Chika liked how they looked, so she made it her daily routine. It's been a while since Yō made one.
"Yeah, you've been working really hard lately. We all appreciate it."
"Yes, but, I guess it's embarrassing to admit, but I think there are too many things going on at one time," Riko started. Yō listened carefully and started the braid. "I love Aqours, and I love making music for us, but sometimes I'm worried my music isn't as strong as it could be and you guys aren't telling me when my music is weak."
"Your songs are amazing! No one thinks they're anything less than perfect," Yō said. She momentarily paused the braid to focus on Riko. She looked at her in the dark window rather than at her personally. Riko did the same, so both pairs of eyes were pointed at each other in the glass. "We admire your music. Honest."
Riko smiled. "Thank you for that, Yō. That does kind of ease some stress off. But there's also school work to worry about. It's not particularly hard or anything of course, but I feel like I have no free time anymore," she sighed. Yō was towards the end of the braid. She unraveled it all and started fresh. This gave her more time to play with her hair.
"It's just that time of year. Winter break is soon and we can all have a little bit of fun. We could even go out, if you wanted," responded Yō. To this Riko blushed a bit, and Yō saw. "As a group, of course!"
"Would you not want to go out just one-on-one?"
"No, it's not anything like that! I just figured you'd like to be with everyone too."
It was now Riko's turn to be flustered. "I mean, of course I would like to be with everyone! But I've been enjoying the time we've been spending the last few days." Yō finished the braid once again. Riko felt the hair tie go in and felt her hair with her hands. She moved her head in the mirror a few times to look at it from different angles. She smiled and thanked Yō with a hug.
Yō blushed but happily returned it. Once parted, Yō laid on her bed with arms behind her head. Riko, without thinking, laid down next to her. Yō wondered if Riko was this close with Chika, too, or if this motion was special to only her.
They talked. Riko opened up. Yō listened. Yō made a joke. Riko laughed. The conversation turned into slow mumbles of sentences that didn't make much sense from the sleep settling in. Riko didn't prepare for this to be a sleepover, and Yō offered her pajamas. She hastily accepted, and the motion of getting up woke Yō up a bit. She handed off a pair of matching pajamas and Riko scurried off to the bathroom.
They were two sizes too big for Riko, but she didn't say anything about it. Yō found it cute. They returned the positions they were in before getting up. This time, with the lights off, and Yō wondered if Riko was more on her than before.
She was so close that she felt her warm breath on her neck. The chill outside made Riko's warmth even more of a necessity for Yō. She never felt cold in her room before, but she couldn't even imagine what it would feel like without Riko in her arms. She nudged her face on the top of Riko's head, and gave her the lightest kiss on her forehead. Riko, with eyes closed who was almost victim of sleep, returned the soft motion with a small peck on Yō's cheek. She then returned her head back to Yō's shoulder.
Yō slept in for the first time in a week.
You is tied for 1st best Aqua girl (with Maru;;; ) and while I do 100% also like sad fanfics where she's the third wheel of ChikaRiko, sometimes I also like their own shippy fics ahh;;;
Also I was meant to work on a Yohane/Ruby story, which I'll get on soon! Any more suggestions/ideas for couples would be rad!