Around midnight Kyoya cajoled Kagome into putting down the pencils, wiping most of the graphite smudges from her skin. By one o' clock she was nursing a tamagozake*, calmly being talked around in circles by Kyoya. At half past, they were back in bed with Tamaki, where they belonged. How odd, to be so sure of the fact.
(Trauma bonding, said LeBlanc. Pack bonding, Kouga argued. Neither were wrong, but Kagome wasn't quite sure where that left them, so she ignored it.)
Around four o' clock in the morning Tamaki shot out of bed, a frightened yell abruptly dying out in the still night.
Kagome snapped awake, her wild eyes reflecting the moonlight. A snarl ripped from her, answering Tamaki's distress. Her nightgown had slipped off a shoulder with how hard she was panting.
Kyoya, trapped in a mess of duvet and sheets, managed to roll out of bed and hunker down halfway beneath it before his senses came back to him. He strained his ears but heard nothing in the blackness but their ragged breathing.
Still beside himself with whatever he had seen in his sleep, Tamaki cupped a hand over his eye and wiped away the tears from the other. With tousled blonde hair and the flannel sleepwear, he looked like an upset child.
Kagome had come back to herself and met Kyoya's eyes, the two of them instinctively turning to Tamaki and checking him over. The Frenchman was pale and his hair in a frenzied disarray; he wheezed, and the dry heaves wracked his slim shoulders, the visual effect doubled horribly with how much weight the three of them still needed to gain.
Kagome held Tamaki as Kyoya sat in front of him, talking him back to the present. It was a horrible, lonely sort of journey, waking up from a flashback. There wasn't really anything to say, besides the basic sensory recollection he was instructing him to do. Five things you can see, four that you can hear, three scents... Sometimes that wasn't enough, because the same one had been repeated too many times and a new exercise needed to be looked up. Creating new memories should make separating the past and present easier- at least, it had with her own mind.
The issue at hand was extremely difficult: reality was changed because the mind was changed. Imagine the mind as a room: the wooden floor is untampered mental stability. Too many floods, and the floorboards of the place began to warp.
Eventually, the original flashbacks may become their own flashback, another recollection of trauma, another scar upon scar tissue. If one was particularly inclined to jumpiness, any squeak of a floorboard could startle them.
Kagome was not a very fearful person anymore, but it was a learned trait. Deep down, she knew she was fortunate enough to have people who held her hand (on both sides of the portal), wish her well and help her. Tamaki and Kyoya were... alone, besides close friends. But now they had her, and the packs. They had a supportive and stable environment, and would for as long as she could hold some sway over the decision.
"Tamaki," Kyoya called once more, affectionately patting Tamaki's collarbone. He frowned when Tamaki didn't respond, and called for him more insistently. "Tamaki… Tamaki?"
Still he did not respond, shaking horribly. Then Tamaki put up a hand, the bid for time wobbling as he tried to collect himself.
"Uh," Kagome's brows furrowed, before she let him go, helping Kyoya prop Tamaki up for easier breath. "Mon nounours*," she blurted out, immediately feeling foolish. It worked, however; Tamaki looked at her with eyes that were somewhat more aware but more importantly uncovered.
Tamaki's lips twitched in a strange bid for cheer, and he moved his hand in an encouraging interaction. Kyoya covered his mouth, trying to hide his mirth. That was good. Kagome swallowed her embarrassment at their amusement and continued to make an ass of herself for a few laughs.
Wracking her head for the appropriate dialogue, Kagome played it up. Leaning towards Tamaki's chest, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a noisy kiss on his cheek.
"Come back to bed, aren't you tired?" When Tamaki finally laughed, Kagome grinned and batted her lashes. "After all… tu dois être f-fatiguée parce que tu as trotté dans ma tête toute la journée*."
"Running through your head, huh?" Tamaki laughed, finally sagged into Kyoya's offered grasp, wrapping his arms around Kagome. "Alright, alright. Crazy woman."
After collapsing back into bed, there was a short period of time where the trio waited to see if sleep would come back and fancy another round. A rare occurrence: Kagome fell back to sleep first, As the two men quietly murmured to each other, they kept a careful watch over her, but her form had little more disturbance throughout the night, hardly moving from Tamaki's arms.
"I was thinking about opening the club doors again," Kyoya said, gauging Tamaki's reaction. He wasn't disappointed; The blond shot him a surprised glance, but looked ready to hear him out. "But the moment isn't right yet."
Tamaki clearly had something to say, but took a few seconds to grapple with his words. "When is the moment ever right?" He managed. "Is that really the issue?"
Damn him for knowing Kyoya so well. "I've lost too much standing for our numbers to remain the same."
"The numbers will change regardless," Tamaki challenged. He had faith in the club, wholly convinced of the fact that he had made an environment where people would be fostered, not faulted. "You know the girls don't care about that, and it's not like your social standing dropped. Kagome is going to be asked to be a part of it, I'm sure?"
The conversation paused in order to check up on her again, but Kagome dozed on peacefully between them.
"I don't know if she'll want to be," Kyoya admitted.
"Silly," chided Tamaki. "That's why we ask."
He was comforted by the easy manner in which Tamaki spoke. There was always a back up plan, always a 'we', always a sentiment of warmth added to the future. In the cover of night, Kyoya blindly stuck his hand out and patted along the blanket until he found Tamaki's.
"How mad is your grandmother?" Kyoya whispered. Tamaki smiled sadly, and Kyoya let out a small, hurt sound. The Suoh matriarch had been rather fond of him, contrasting her opinion of her own grandson.
"Witch," Kyoya angrily muttered.
"Don't say that," Tamaki teased. "You'll summon her." He looked much more pleased when Kyoya let out a breathy little laugh, trying to keep quiet for Kagome. "Now, Kagome says she used to chat up the workers at brothels, right? And remember how the girls reacted in class? How is this for an idea for our first day back…"
tamagozake refers to a hot drink made with sake and egg and sugar. kind of like a 'cold remedy'.
mon nournours means 'teddy bear'
tu dois être fatiguée parce que tu as trotté dans ma tête toute la journée translates to "You must be tired, because you've been running through my head all day."
Shoutout to Kagome Yuki Niwa! You reviewed this story that I had completely forgotten about, haha. Warms my heart :)