The sound of soft pleading cries roused Maki from her sleep. She sat up, rubbed her eyes and squinted across the room, towards the futon laid out on the floor. She remembered that Umi had stayed the night, after the two of them worked late on their latest song.

Umi was tossing and turning, whimpering as she cried out in fear. She was obviously having a nightmare and it tore at Maki's heartstrings to see Umi in such a state of distress, even if it were merely a dream.

Throwing the blanket aside, Maki quickly slipped out of bed and slowly made her way towards the sleeping girl. She kneeled beside her, brushing Umi's hair aside before shaking her awake.

"Umi, hey, wake up". Whispered Maki, gently.

Umi awoke with a start, sitting up and looking around her surroundings frantically. Maki reached out to touch Umi's shoulder but the hysterically girl squeaked and jumped back.

"Umi, it's me. It's okay. I'm here." Soothed Maki.

Tears welled up in Umi's eyes as she threw herself at Maki and buried her face against the crook of her neck, a river of tears flowing uncontrollably. Maki wrapped her arms around Umi, holding her tightly and stroking her hair reassuringly.

"Shhh, everything is going to be okay. It was only a dream. You're safe now."

They stayed like that for a while, Maki whispering words of comfort and reassurance, until the trembling and tears ceased. Maki pulled back, wiping the tears away from Umi's face with her thumb.

"Do you want to stay in my bed tonight?" Maki continued to stroke Umi's hair, while she caressed her cheek gently.

Umi nodded, sniffing and rubbing her swollen eyes. Maki kissed her forehead before standing up and pulling Umi with her. She took hold of her hand and lead Umi to her bed.

She gestured Umi to get in first, who smiled weakly as she climbed in and shifted to make room for the other girl. Maki slipped in, pulling the covers over the both them and snuggling against Umi's back. Maki snaked her arms around Umi's waist and held her close. She felt Umi relax, and after a few minutes she heard her soft breathing, signalling that Umi had fallen back to sleep.

"Goodnight, Umi" Maki whispered before nuzzling her face against the sleeping girl's shoulder and drifting off to join her.

The next morning, Umi began to stir but it wasn't until she felt a presence shift behind her and tighten their grip around her waist that she shot up immediately. The sudden movement awoke Maki, who blinked in confusion before sitting up beside Umi.

"W-what happened? Why am I in your bed?" Asked Umi as panic washed over her face, but before she could make her escape, Maki pulled her back.

"Hey, it's okay. Nothing happened. You had a nightmare last night. You were pretty distressed and scared, so I let you sleep in my bed in case you had another bad dream." Maki reassured.

"Oh." Umi didn't know what else to say. Instead embarrassment set in and she quickly dove under the covers, pulling the blanket over her head.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed" Maki giggled, hugging the pile of blankets and pulling her close.

Muffled groans were her only reply.