Turning to look at the clock on her bedside table, Satsuki sighed. Getting out of bed, she padded silently across her apartment, hearing another knock at her door on the way. Opening the door she saw Ryuko, phone in hand, leaning her head on the doorframe mumbling incoherently, typing away.

"Ryuko?"

She got a grunt in response.

Chuckling to herself, Satsuki took Ryuko gently by the back of her neck and grabbed her free hand, leading her inside. Ryuko looked up at her with glazed eyes, words slurred together, "Hey, wha're you doin' at my place?" She closed her eyes, as if trying to remember something, "Didn' say you're comin' over… Wouldn've drank s'much…" groaning, she slumped against Satsuki.

"This is my apartment," Satsuki rubbed her thumb behind Ryuko's ear in some sort of affection, "You knocked."

Ryuko furrowed her brow and shrugged, "Eh, your place… my place… same shit." Satsuki let out a puff of laughter, "There's a twenty minute difference," setting her down on the bed, Satsuki let Ryuko shrug off her jacket, "in a different direction. I take it you went to that party?"

Ryuko groaned, taking off her shirt and attempting to take off her pants, "Yeah… was fuckin' killer. Should'a gone. They had Patron." Satsuki let her struggle with her pants for a few more moments, smiling when she gave up and flopped back on the mattress.

Sighing, Satsuki helped her out of her pants, getting grabbed in the process and being pulled up to Ryuko's face. "You smell like tequila." Ryuko grinned and brought their mouths together. Pulling away after a few moments, Satsuki mumbled against Ryuko's lips, "You taste like tequila, too."

Receiving no banter, Satsuki pulled back further, looking at Ryuko's face, making sure she was even awake. The day prior, Ryuko had talked about her week being one of the worst in a long time. There was a chance that the store might go under, and adding onto that, Ryuko had been needed nonstop at the office of her professor as they worked on the paper she would be presenting at the end of the semester.

Ryuko grunted in retaliation, pulling at her face weakly, "No… come back." Satsuki grinned and complied, pressing closer to her. Running her hands under Satsuki's sweatshirt, Ryuko rubbed her upper back, breaking the kiss to say, "Oh… you were sleepin'?"

"You don't know what time it is, do you?"

Ryuko didn't stop rubbing her back, "Nah… m'sure it's late, though."

Satsuki kissed her again, this time less forceful, "It's almost five in the morning."

Ryuko wrapped her arms around Satsuki's upper back, giving her a sorry excuse for a hug, "Oh, sorry I woke you up," she rubbed their noses together, eyes lidded, "Must've been a really good party, then."

The fact that Ryuko had thought of her apartment as her own and came there after getting piss drunk at some party made a fond smile tug at her lips. It was almost like she was Ryuko's only thought sometimes.

Ryuko moved up to rest her head on the pillows, taking her hands off Satsuki to take off her bra, sighing contently, and throwing it to the floor. She yawned, moving under the covers. Satsuki moved with her, resting her hand on Ryuko's stomach, scratching lightly.

"There were a lot of hot chicks there," Ryuko turned to face her, eyes still glazed, finding Satsuki's hand on her hip and linking their fingers.

Satsuki's stare didn't waver, "Oh?"

"Yeah," Ryuko frowned, "…kept tryin' to make out with me," she scooted closer to Satsuki, "told 'em to back the fuck up, almost hit this one chick, it was crazy."

"Such chivalry."

Ryuko had a habit of saying whatever came to her mind when she was drunk. Most of the time they came out in short unfinished thoughts, but it was easy enough to piece together what she was trying to get across.

Ryuko grinned, bumping their foreheads together, "The whole time… I was comparin' them to you… like, hotness factor… all that crap…" she mumbled between kisses, "You always won… you're so much better."

Satsuki wanted to take it with a grain of salt, but it was fruitless. Ryuko had unknowingly spoiled her, practically showering her with affection almost every day, physical and verbal.

Satsuki hummed, "That's good for me, then."

Ryuko went silent, turning to face the ceiling, now playing with Satsuki's hand with both of hers. "Startin' to think you'll always win." Satsuki swallowed roughly, staying mute.

They laid there for a while, both content with silence. Ryuko brought Satsuki's hand up to her face, biting the skin between her forefinger and thumb lightly. "What are you doing?"

Ryuko looked at her, lips moving to her palm. "Nothin'."

Satsuki rolled her eyes and moved her hand from Ryuko's mouth, "No, not nothing."

Ryuko looked at her, suddenly serious. Her eyes were scorching, almost blazing with uncontained affection. Satsuki could stare at her forever. Ryuko threaded her fingers in Satsuki's hair, pulling her closer, breaths becoming erratic.

Closing the distance between them, Satsuki cupped Ryuko's face, fingers rubbing gently behind her jaw. Slipping her tongue in Ryuko's mouth, she traced along her teeth the way she knew Ryuko liked, earning a low whine.

Pulling away, she placed small kisses along Ryuko's jawline leading up to her ear. Continuing her ministrations, she moved above Ryuko, fingers dancing on her smooth skin.

Sucking at a sensitive spot on Ryuko's neck, Satsuki waited for the inevitable groan she would receive. It was always so raw and husky, the sound going straight to her groin like a pulse.

The sound never came. Instead, Satsuki's ears were met with a loud, very unattractive snore. Looking up, she saw Ryuko asleep, one hand stretched out beside her, another still in her hair. Satsuki stared, dumbfounded. She put a hand to her face, laughing lightly at the turn of events.

Feeling exhaustion settling in her bones, her head hit the pillow next to Ryuko. She kissed her cheek and whispered goodnight in her ear, letting the fatigue take over and falling into a dreamless sleep.

.

It was always difficult to detangle from Ryuko in the mornings; she had a routine of almost crawling over Satsuki in her sleep, hugging onto her like a koala. The heat they shared wasn't a problem, it was warm and she enjoyed Ryuko's constant contact.

Nevertheless, she found it a challenge to try and get out of bed without making them both topple over to the floor. Forcing Ryuko off, Satsuki sat at the edge of the bed, wiping her hands on her thighs. She had class in almost an hour.

Sighing, she got up and busied herself with making her morning tea—some coffee for Ryuko, and getting dressed.

A while later, she walked back to the bed, letting Ryuko know where she was going and telling her to not vomit in her bed, please. Ryuko grunted and groaned like a child, pulling the covers above her head, telling her to stop screaming, god dammit.

Satsuki sighed, "Ryuko, come on."

Ryuko pulled the covers down and sat up, bringing a hand to her head, "Ugh, okay, okay," she looked around the bed, "Hey, where's that sweater you were wearing last night?"

Satsuki gave her a questioning look, but grabbed said sweater off the edge of the bed where she had left it and handed it to Ryuko. "It's fucking cold in here." The sleeves were obviously too long on her arms, covering her hands and then some. Satsuki felt a smile form.

Ryuko smacked her lips, frowning, "All I taste is tequila."

"That's what you get for drinking yourself stupid."

Ryuko glared at her, "Well, it's not my fault I wanna have fun sometimes."

Satsuki shrugged, "Whatever. I'm just glad you came here, otherwise you probably would've choked on your own vomit while sleeping at your place."

"Oh, bullshit. And that's heroine, by the way, that doesn't happen when you're drunk. You're so dramatic—" Grinning, Satsuki cut her off with a kiss, effectively silencing her.

Pulling away Satsuki rubbed their noses, "Look, I've got to go now. I'll be back in a few hours. We'll get something to eat when I return."

"You know, you should really try to talk to Nonon," Satsuki gave her a pointed look, "Yeah, yeah. I know, but I mean. It wouldn't hurt to try. She only wants to help you; you wouldn't be burdening her with your problems… The way I see it, she's more worried that you're not telling her anything."

Satsuki sighed, "I'll think about it."

Kissing her once more, Satsuki stood up to her full height and left, locking the door on the way out.

"Hello?"

Walking between classes, Satsuki had been surprised to receive a call from her mother of all people.

"Satsuki, darling, I've been hearing a lot of things about you lately."

Gripping the phone, Satsuki frowned, "I'm not sure what you mean, Mother."

"Oh, come now, Satsuki," her mother paused, apparently waiting for an answer. Satsuki stayed silent, her mother sighing on the other line, "I heard you have a significant other of sorts. This is exciting news, especially since you've ignored all of those emails I sent about nice young men from my offices."

Satsuki rolled her eyes so hard she could practically see the back of her eye sockets, "Mother, is this all you called for?" Her mother gasped, "Now, who taught you that disrespecting tone? Your little friend—?" Satsuki stopped listening, making a disgruntled noise and standing outside of her next class. She supposed Ryuko had rubbed off on her more than she thought.

"—Anyway, I called to tell you that I've had second thoughts about our original agreement." Satsuki's ear twitched at that, "Nui says you've gotten more and more distracted with your friend or whatever you'd like to call her. She also says that you're thinking about continuing your higher education, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's just I don't have time to wait for you to finish. Do you see where this is going, dear?"

Gritting her teeth, Satsuki tried to contain herself. This was exactly what she was afraid would happen. To hell with this, she thought.

"I understand, Mother. I'm sure Nui will make a great addition to the company," Before her mother could cut her off, she continued, "Furthermore, I think I will continue my higher education, so you don't need to worry about waiting for me anymore. I'll stay out of your hair. I'll see you on holiday. Goodbye."

Waiting for her reply, Satsuki gripped the strap of her bag, a scowl on her face.

"Yes, yes. Well, I suppose you're free to do what you please. Don't get too distracted, dear. Love can be dangerous once you've been blinded by it."

Sighing, Satsuki hung up. Collecting her thoughts, she put her phone in her pocket and entered her class. Seeing her professor write out a quiz on the board, she mused that she'd rather be blind than stupid.

Almost half way through the class, she got a text from Nonon: Hey, we haven't talked in a while. What are you doing for lunch? Narrowing her eyes, Satsuki typed back, I apologize. I've been very busy lately. Lunch? I promised Ryuko I would get something with her after class. You're welcome to come along.

After receiving conformation from Nonon, Satsuki sent Ryuko a text, Hey wake up. We're eating lunch with Nonon when I get back. Take a shower, please.

Now officially not paying attention, Satsuki mulled over how she was going to bring up her dreams to Nonon. Ryuko was probably right, a new pair of eyes to the situation couldn't hurt, but she was still apprehensive. Burdening her oldest friend with her strange problems would just make her worry more.

Sighing, Satsuki checked her phone. Ryuko had messaged her back, Oi I already did for ur information ms I wear pantsuits to class~ Good I'm in the mood for a burger.

With a small smile, Satsuki typed back, Pantsuits are professional, but what would you know about that Ms. 'I-wear-the-same-outfit-three-times-a-week'? Just be ready when I get there.

The rest of the lecture went on without a hitch, Ryuko sending her stupid pictures from the Internet periodically, most of which weren't as funny as Ryuko probably thought. After adding some new assignments to her calendar as the class ended, Satsuki made her way back to her apartment.

Walking into the diner with Ryuko, Satsuki scanned around the small establishment for Nonon. Finding her in the back corner, Satsuki grabbed Ryuko by the bottom of her jacket and walked them over to the booth.

Once situated, Satsuki leaned back in her seat, arms and legs crossed comfortably.

Nonon yawned from across the table, "Ugh, how often do you guys come to this shithole?"

"Um. Not a shithole," Ryuko leaned forward, lifting her hand and pointing at Nonon, "You just don't know good food."

Nonon shot a deadpan look at Satsuki, "This place sucks, why do you come here?"

Satsuki thought about it, "Probably because Ryuko likes it so much," she ignored the incredulous gasp beside her, "It's close to my apartment, too."

"What the hell! I thought you liked this place! That's why I suggest it all the time!"

Satsuki leaned away from Ryuko, bubble invaded by the intensity of her screaming, "Well, it's not terrible, but it could stand to be better." Sighing, she patted Ryuko's head to reassure her it wasn't all in vain.

"Just a get a burger, it's the only thing that's good for the price." Satsuki smiled when she heard Ryuko grumble something about being lead on and the word bullshit repeatedly.

After receiving their food and making idle small talk, Satsuki decided it was time. Ryuko apparently thought the same thing, her hand resting on Satsuki's knee in silent support when she was done with her burger and fries.

Satsuki could see Nonon physically stop herself from asking the entire time they were eating, making her that much more hesitant to bring it up.

"So, I have dreams about Nui murdering Ryuko." Nonon's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, "Damn, okay, let's just get to it, then." Satsuki shrugged, being nonchalant was easier than showing her apprehension.

"They're becoming a nuisance," Cutting off and looking up in thought, Satsuki sighed, "I did not think that sentence through."

She looked back at Nonon, continuing, "Ryuko believes it would be a good idea if I talked to you about them. More specifically, if you remember anything from when we were kids that would help me understand them."

Nonon pursed her lips, "Well, I'd been thinking about it since the last time we were here," she looked sheepish, "I put two and two together. Ryuko mentioned a white room," she cut off at Satsuki's glare at Ryuko. "What the hell! You told her anyway?"

Ryuko put her hands up in defense, "No! Just about the room! That's it! I thought she would know something right off the bat, but she didn't. I'm sorry."

Rubbing her temple, Satsuki breathed through her nose, all of her concentration on stopping herself from punching Ryuko in the face. She knew she meant well, but she could've asked first!

"Anyway, I thought about it the last few weeks and the only thing I remember you saying about a white room was when you would take your medicine at night. Your description back then was the same as what Ryuko told me. Really bright, white, no other doors or windows."

Medicine? Satsuki sat back, trying to remember, "What kind of medicine? The kind I take now?"

Nonon shook her head, "No, I think it was a shot or something. Like some steroid shit, you were really bad for a while back then. You were all smiles when I first met you, and one day, boom, your eyes looked like you had lived a hundred years."

Ryuko gasped, "She does get that look sometimes when we're messing around!"

Satsuki smacked Ryuko's shoulder, hard, "Don't go saying that to people!"

"What! She's your friend, and we're trying to help you! Every detail counts!"

Rolling her eyes, Satsuki said, "You're not a doctor."

"Neither are you."

The two glared at each other until Nonon awkwardly cleared her throat. Satsuki growled and crossed her arms again, "Well, whatever. I don't really remember getting shots when I was little, so we'll have to come back to that."

Nonon looked crestfallen, "Is there anything else? I'm sure if we sat here a while it would come back to you. You can't just give up."

"I'm not giving up, I just have to put it on the backburner for a while, so to speak." She looked at Ryuko, "Any ideas?"

Ryuko crossed her arms, humming, "I've got some theories but they might take a while." Satsuki nodded, "We've got time."

After almost an hour and a half of theory and speculation, they all decided that the best and most plausible concept was Nonon's: The shots were either a hallucinogen or sedative, depending on which, the situation was still awful, and the long term effects of them were starting to effect Satsuki.

"You need to go back to the doctor and ask about this stuff, okay?"

Satsuki nodded, mostly silent during their debate. She had known Nonon to be insightful and logical in many different situations, so her idea couldn't be too far off from the truth. Still, the idea that such a thing was occurring was still disturbing.

After paying and leaving a generous tip for the waitress (for putting up with them for so long) Nonon left them to their own devices, saying she had a private lesson to attend.

"Those fucking brats better've practiced their shit cause I am in no mood to hear their excuses today!"

Walking towards the street to Satsuki's apartment, Ryuko grabbed her hand, tangling their fingers, "I want you to know I am sorry for telling her without your permission," she sighed, frustrated, "I just. I was so desperate to try to help you. I thought. Agh, never mind."

Satsuki looked over to see Ryuko's eyes downcast. Bumping her shoulder with her own, Satsuki got her attention, "Hey. It's fine. I'm not angry anymore. I know you meant well."

Pursing her lips, she debated on whether or not to ask. After a few more blocks of silence, she decided that Ryuko wouldn't care either way.

"Hey, would you mind staying over? I want to take a quick nap before I start my paper." Ryuko nodded, understanding fully, "Yeah, sure. I'm probably gonna work on my own paper while you sleep, though," She looked up in thought, humming, "Maybe not, I kinda type loud."

Satsuki made a face, but didn't say anything else. She was glad that Ryuko had caught on to her pattern. As long as someone else was in the bed with her, Satsuki's nightmares were basically dormant.

Even so, when she was alone she still had them periodically. They were getting more and more grotesque, Ryuko dying slower and in more pain each time. She had almost become used to them, in a way. Waking up in a cold sweat every night was getting old.

Entering her apartment, Satsuki got in bed, not even bothering to change clothes. She had barely got any sleep the last week; her professors were practically doubling her course load with extra assignments and papers.

Ryuko got in bed next to her, booting up her laptop and plugging in the thumb drive on her key ring. Eyes closed, Satsuki suddenly understood what Ryuko meant by typing loud. It was almost as if she had been personally victimized by the creator of keyboards she was jamming the keys so hard.

Trying to relax, Satsuki turned on her side, away from Ryuko's button smashing. After a few minutes the noise stopped and she heard Ryuko close her laptop. Turning her head, Satsuki looked at Ryuko, "You're done already?"

Ryuko placed her laptop on the bedside table and took off her shoes, silent. She then turned and hugged Satsuki from behind, effectively spooning her. "Nah, I'm too loud. Plus I gonna organized my thoughts anyway. I'll wait until you're actually asleep."

Satsuki didn't say anything, used to Ryuko's odd habits. Sleep overtook her in a matter of minutes.

.

Waking up to unintelligible screaming, Satsuki groaned, she had rolled onto her stomach in her sleep. Taking a deep breath through her nose, Satsuki turned and sat up, looking for Ryuko.

"Hey Sissy!"

Looking at Nui with a blank face, Satsuki said nothing, shocked to see her.

Nui cocked her head, sweet grin turning into malice. "No need to be rude."

"What are you doing here?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ryuko standing almost in between her and her sister.

Nui giggled and looked around the room, "Well, I was going to discipline you for being so rude to Mother on the phone, but seeing that you're still not over some of the old issues, I guess I'll leave."

Satsuki got up and crossed the room so fast even Nui's grin faltered. Grabbing her sister by the cloth of her shirt, Satsuki looked down at her, eyes cold, "What did you say?"

Seeing Nui realize that she had said too much made Satsuki tighten her grip, teeth grinding together. "Answer. Now."

Nui swallowed harshly, "Your problem with—"

Satsuki cut her off, "Why do you know about it."

"I was listening to you in the diner. You should really be careful about where you talk about things like that, Sissy."

Narrowing her eyes, Satsuki shoved Nui towards the door.

"Out."

Nui turned to leave and spoke without facing them, "It's interesting that you haven't connected the two, yet," she turned, giving them a sickly sweet smile, "I'll give you a hint. It has to do with endorphins."

Satsuki's eyes widened, "I said, leave. Now."

Without another word she turned and walked out the door, footsteps light.

Ryuko stared, "Satsuki—"

She had never been so violated, so angry in her life. Without taking a step, Satsuki lifted her arm and punched the wall next to her out of sheer frustration. She felt the skin on her knuckles split and start to bleed, mixing with the drywall.

She hadn't realized that her ears were ringing until she tried to hear what Ryuko was saying to her. She felt arms circle her waist, and Ryuko press against her back. Satsuki moved to grab the arms on her stomach, only to find her hand was stuck inside the wall.

Using probably more force than necessary, Satsuki ripped her fist from the wall, loose pieces falling to the floor.

"Let me see."

Turning around to face Ryuko, Satsuki showed her hand. It was shaking, mostly from adrenaline, and upon further inspection, was swelling and had spilt knuckles. Still angry, Satsuki opted to stay silent, a brooding scowl on her face.

Ryuko sighed, "We're gonna have to wash this." Gently taking Satsuki's messed up hand, she led her to the kitchen sink, turning on the tap. "It's gonna sting."

Leading Satsuki's hand under the faucet, Ryuko began to clean, rubbing gentle circles around open skin and pressing harder at the drywall remains. Satsuki didn't feel a thing. Until Ryuko went and got the rubbing alcohol, that is.

"Okay, this is gonna sting for sure."

Satsuki hissed at the contact, the wet cotton burning her wounds. Once Ryuko was done she grabbed some medical tape from Satsuki's bathroom and wrapped her hand, kissing her fingers when she was done.

"She just fucking walked in. It was so weird. She tried to, like, seduce me or something? I dunno, but I told her to get out, and she just stood there, staring like a freak. I ended up getting pissed off that she was ignoring me, so I just started to scream at her."

Ryuko sighed, "This is crazy. I didn't think she knew where you lived."

Satsuki looked up, "Are you afraid?"

Ryuko laughed, "Of that pint-sized bitch? Hell, no! It just means I'm staying over here more than I have been. I don't like the idea of you being alone and her just walking in like she pays rent, you know?"

In retrospect Satsuki mused that she should've seen this coming, Ryuko becoming super protective of her now that Nui had shown up at her apartment. It warmed her heart, but at the same time now Ryuko was in just as much danger. She couldn't have that.

"I can protect myself—"

"I know that! I'm just saying, we've got a better chance at taking her out with two people instead of one!"

Satsuki huffed, yielding, "Fine, fine. Do as you please."

"I do that anyway."

Standing in silence, Satsuki saw Ryuko look at the new hole in the wall and grin, "I hope you never get that mad at me! You'd shatter my skull!"

Satsuki didn't make a sound, still angry with Nui. A part of her just wanted to get out and go somewhere, to distract herself for the time being. Ryuko kissed her, getting her attention, "Hey, let's go to the park or something. Get your mind off this for a while."

She couldn't have said it better herself. They called Nonon at Ryuko's request, and she met them at the park a few hours later. It wasn't a solution, but it was a start.

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm sorry this took so long to get out but I've been busy D: Anyway thanks for reading and feel free to leave your thoughts!