Feet tapped back and forth over the wooden parquet of the girl's room, slightly creaking with every step. Though she tried to avoid as much noise as possible at this late hour – she didn't want to wake anyone up with her constant pacing the past hour.

She stopped and sighed, letting her shoulders drop with a deep exhale.

This is ridiculous.

The light of her alarm clock flickered in the dimmed shine from her lamp on her night table – 11pm showed the blinking red light and the girl only rubbed her eyes at the number, not really believing that it was that late already.

Deuce, you should go to bed and think about this later...

She felt tired, yes, but too many thoughts riddled her mind that it was impossible for her to find rest. Thoughts that she shouldn't have in this times of war, thoughts that maybe turn into a huge problem if she don't sort them out quickly. Either confront them or swallow them down, hoping they would go away if she didn't wrap her mind around them all day.

But the latter was harder than she thought. She could fight all day and put her body physically to its limit, carrying out missions where the only goal was success of the mission were no problem to her, but thinking about herself and her own interpersonal feelings … feelings toward someone else? She had never learned that, she never had the opportunity to face them on her own, let alone deal with them.

In the past weeks she tried the tactic to ignore those feelings – little butterflies in her stomach whenever she was around her, a heartwarming feeling insider whenever she only thought about her, hearing her laugh was music in her ears. Her clumsiness made her smile a lot and whenever she asked her to play on her flute because she said it made her happy, then Deuce had to cover her face in her cape she had wrapped around her neck as a scarf in order to hide her blush.

It was getting ridiculous over the past weeks the more she "accidentally" spent time around her … crush? Was that what the others call that? She had heard them term a few times around Akademeia and several times from Queen as she teased Sice and Seven about their constant chasing towards each other like "two love struck teenagers" - Queen's words, not hers.

Deuce let herself fall down on her bed, face first hitting the pillow. It was unfair, those two had already everything sort out for themselves and got themselves together while she … she still had the problem to even realize she was in love.

Do I … Do I really have a crush on her?

She rolled over to her back and stared at the ceiling before she had to cover her face with her hands, because staring at the blank white ceiling only brought her images in her mind – pictures of herself together with her, hands linked together as they smiled and laughed.

Her heart ached at the thought. This was too much to handle right now and honestly she was exhausted from all that thinking.

I just … should sleep.

Nodding to herself she stood up again and changed into her pajamas, ready to finally go to bed and hoping for some rest from her thoughts.

Right before she wanted to turn off her lights there was a knock on the door. Forcefully, but not that loud, and yet Deuce almost shrieked as the sudden noise she wasn't expecting at this late hour. She rubbed her eyes again as she sat up in her bed, pondering if she should go to the door and check to see who it is.

With a sigh she crawled out of the bed and slumbered to the door to open it.

...Who knocks on my door at 11pm.

But as soon as the person was standing right in front of her all her sleepiness rushed through her body and was suddenly gone as if it was never there.

"Cinque?"

"Deuski!" Cinque yawned and held a hand in front of her mouth which was covered by the long sleeve of her pajama. "Eeh..."

"Cinque, what are you doing here and why aren't you sleeping?" Deuce was standing with wide eyes just there, unable to move. Because out of all people who could have been, it had to be her. The person who blocked her mind all the time had to appear in the middle of the night in a pajama, yawning, with a Moogle plush in the hand!

Deuce could feel how her cheeks started to redden at the sight and she quickly shook her head in order to keep her thoughts down.

"Cinquey can't sleep and I don't wanna bother Mother … and you are very cuddly!" The girl suddenly stepped forward and pulled Deuce in a hug – but she still just stood there. "So I want to spend the night in your bed!"

She had to close her mouth to stop gaping at the whole situation, but at first she returned the hug – there was no way she would miss the opportunity, even though her heart might be burst into pieces at the feeling of her around her.

To even top this whole mess in side her mind now she asked her to spend the night. Why was this such a problem now? Many times they already slept right beside each other before they even came to Akademeia. This should be nothing new, and yet it was. This was entirely new now with all these thoughts she had, with all those feelings she had.

She grasped tight on Cinque's back, liking the feeling of the girl close to her. She had to admit Cinque was cuddly, and her smell she had known so long …

Why not …

"Uhh … okay. Yes you can stay here. I don't mind."

"Yas!" The quirky girl let loose of the hug and gave her a sunny smile, letting Deuce's chest swell even more. "This will be super-duper awesome!"

To say that this night was very awkward for Deuce was a huge understatement. Cinque might have said she couldn't sleep, but once they crawled together in the bed and shared a blanket, Cinque was out. She held tight to the Moogle plush she carried with her and curled up under the blanket close to Deuce, almost pulling her in a hug before she began to snore. As if everything was normal and nothing unusual.

And Deuce? She didn't know whether to feel like the happiest girl in Orience or to be a nervous wreck. The latter definitely stood out, she wasn't prepared for any of that, not after all the hours she spent thinking about her prior to this.

But as soon as Cinque fell asleep right next to her, her thumping heart wasn't aching because of her nervousness, no. Somehow she felt special to be the person Cinque thought about when she couldn't sleep, that she was the first person to go when she wasn't feeling good.

Yes, they might spent a lot of time together and be considered best friends, but still … there were days where they are inseparable and made everything together. And Cinque definitely enjoyed her company, otherwise she wouldn't be here right now.

Deuce sighed as she looked to her side to the sleeping Cinque. She had to hold her breath in order not to squeal at the sight. If that was a sight she could see everyday then maybe … maybe it was time to pursuit this feeling instead of swallowing it down and forget it. It made her happy to see her like this, comfortable and calm beside her, at peace.

So, this is a crush huh...

She leaned forward to her and stopped a second before she laid her lips on her forehead, closing her eyes to embrace this situation. Though she had to quickly pull back as Cinque suddenly twitched in her sleep, but it was just false alarm. Deuce exhaled with a sigh as Cinque continued to sleep, rubbing her red cheeks one last time before she turned off the light, glad that Cinque didn't comment on her cheeks like she usually did.

This was such an intense situation for her, her heart was still pumping hard as she closed her eyes and shifted a bit closer to her until she could feel her breath tickling her. It was a somewhat comforting feeling and Deuce quickly found rest at this rhythmic and steady sensation.

With a smile on her face she fell asleep.