Chapter 23!
Guess I was in the more somber writing mood. Refresher, this Izumi's quirk makes so she doesn't have to sleep at all. No more or less and she's a civilian who works as a bartender. She's 24 while Nemuri is 30 and they're dating.
Disclaimer: I don't own BNHA
Enjoy, more notes at the end!
End of a Dream
*Nemuri POV*
Being bedridden was never a fun experience for Nemuri especially if it was because she was ill.
"Ugh," the purple haired heroine groaned. "I'm not getting any younger," she whined and a low chuckle reached her ears.
"A single extra day of rest isn't the end Nemuri," her lover pointed out while entering the room to check on her.
While it was true that she was sick, Nemuri did spend most of her waking day under the care of her girlfriend. Izumi had even taken the day off to be with her and Nemuri was nearly over her cold already for the most part. The greenette drew next to the bedside and the bed struck hero chuckled a little to herself.
"What's got you laughing?" Izumi coolly asked while stroking her head and Nemuri smiled up at her.
"I got to spend extra time with you," the purple haired woman admitted and the younger woman gave her a soft look. "Hey Izumi?" Nemuri suddenly called out.
"Hmm?" the greenette hummed, still patting her head, and the heroine's mouth began moving without her thoughts.
"Do you think I'm pretty?" she wondered aloud and her lover eyed her curiously.
"Of course I do," the green haired woman assured.
"Do I spend enough time with you?" Nemuri followed.
"I'd say so, yeah," the younger woman nodded.
"Do you like me?" she hastily added.
"Yeah, I like you a lot," Izumi answered and Nemuri was about to pose one more question but her thoughts caught up to her and she silenced the urge with a smile.
"Sorry, sorry," the heroine laughed somewhat stiffly, "guess I'm still feeling a little out of it," she confessed, hoping the greenette didn't notice, and her partner leaned down and pressed her lips to Nemuri's forehead.
"Get some sleep then," her lover whispered and soon enough the heroine drifted off.
-break-
Nemuri stirred quietly but everything was dark and her eyelids felt heavy.
The purple haired woman's head felt muddled and she tried forcing herself to move but her limbs felt as heavy as lead. Her mind was vaguely aware but her body wouldn't respond the way she wanted it to and she could just barely make out someone speaking to her. The voice was familiar and as Nemuri tried focusing in on it she realized it was Izumi but the heroine couldn't really tell if she was dreaming or not. The younger woman must have remained at her side since she felt a hand on her from above the covers but she was speaking in a low voice. Not able to do anything else, the older woman tried to make out what her lover was saying.
"You're too good to me Nemuri," she heard the greenette mutter kindly and the sleeping woman wondered what Izumi was talking about. "I know you really wanted to ask something that I wouldn't be able to answer and you're the one who got hurt just then," her partner admitted with a sigh and Nemuri felt something sink inside of her.
It was true, in her vulnerable state, the purple haired heroine had nearly asked something that that she knew Izumi wouldn't have an answer for. The question stemmed from her own fears in their relationship but at the same time she feared the answer, or lack thereof, and that only made things more complicated. Nemuri knew that this must have weighed on the younger woman as well in some capacity but she hadn't been sure of how much.
"You wanted to know I could see a future for us," Izumi's slightly husky voice whispered and the heroine could imagine a somewhat wistful look on her face, "and you knew that I wouldn't have an answer for you."
The stuck woman felt no better with Izumi's vocalization of the truth, even if she figured that the greenette had an idea, and she again tried to urge her body to obey her. At the same time however, the heroine wondered if her lover would remain this open should she wake up. Izumi truly did her best to make their relationship work from her side, same as Nemuri did from hers, but their were things that the younger woman was still trying to bring herself to do but couldn't at the current time.
"You're probably worried that I'll get tired of you and I can't even give you an answer to that either," Izumi confessed with a tinge of sadness in her tone. "But on the other hand, I'm also scared because of that," the greenette whispered, her voice wavering slightly, and Nemuri forced her body to ease so she could focus on listening. "I don't have an answer and it scares me while I also wonder the opposite," the younger woman said shakily but appearing to hold herself together.
Izumi always tried to keep a strong face or cool face, whether she was at work or home, but Nemuri knew that in silent moments the greenette's fragile mask would shatter from the new cracks that formed along it. The heroine supported her as best she could but she also never pressured her lover into speaking about the things that troubled her. Nemuri had placed trust in Izumi that she would seek her out when she was ready but there was a part of her that questioned if her approach was the right way.
"Will you get fed up with a useless woman who can't pull her life together?" Izumi questioned with a low voice, her hand very gently stroking Nemuri as she continued. "Who only smokes, drinks, and goes out all day?" the greenette asked to herself, "someone who gets bored so easily and has all sorts of talents but doesn't use any?"
Nemuri's green haired lover paused for a moment, likely to try and recompose herself, and Nemuri gave up on trying to move her body in favor of keeping her mind aware. Izumi released a halfhearted chuckle and her voice evened as she spilled more of her thoughts.
"Not sleeping gets you wrapped up in your own head," she informed in a semi-joking manner before her low voice quieted and became serious once more. "I feel inadequate next to you Nemuri," Izumi shared truthfully, the words hammering at the heroine's heart, "like I'd embarrass you by just standing beside you," the greenette added on with a pained touch. "A gloomy brat who lucked out with a woman out of her league," Izumi murmured before trailing off.
Before now, Nemuri never really had an idea of just how deeply affected Izumi was from this but she did realize that it didn't originate from their relationship so much as spread over to it. While you might not be able to tell from how she usually presented herself, Izumi had a very low self-esteem though the heroine was unsure of how long that had been true. It certainly happened well before the two began dating but what really mattered is that Izumi still felt this way.
"If you heard this you'd just take it on yourself but it's my fault," Izumi playfully added on as if it wouldn't just end up hurting herself. "You've never hurt me in any way but I can't help but get buried by my own fears," the greenette sadly confided in the seemingly sleeping hero, "and when I think I'm ready to tell you I just seize up and quit like always." The words ended bitterly but Nemuri heard Izumi cut herself off and take a breather. "I think I might want a future with you but it upsets me that I can't say that for certain."
Even if she couldn't see her, and Izumi thought she was sleeping, Nemuri knew that had been tough for the greenette to say aloud.
"I-I'm really sorry," the greenette began all of a sudden, "just give me some time and I'll-" Izumi tried but she was cut off as she seemingly broke down by herself.
Nemuri wanted to move, to comfort her, but sleep dragged her away with a clawed hold and separated the heroine from her lover once more.
-break-
Nemuri awoke the next morning and stretched as she sat up.
She didn't feel like she slept poorly but the heroine did feel a bit drained, or at least she wasn't exactly feeling ready for the day. The purple haired woman figured she must have had a strange or somber dream but she couldn't quite recall it so she didn't dwell on the thought. Slipping out of bed, Nemuri wandered out of the room but the second she spotted her lover she wordlessly drew up behind her and slipped her arms around the younger woman to hold her close. The greenette eased into her touch and Nemuri just embraced her and pressed her face into Izumi's neck. They didn't exchange words and the pair just remained in place.
Nemuri didn't know what urged her to do this but she just felt as if she needed to.
Notes and Stuff
I blame the playlist I was listening to while writing. I kind of got the idea though cause I pretty regularly experience sleep paralysis and sleep related things has been pretty prominent in this idea what with Izumi and Nemuri's respective quirks.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and look forward to more updates from me!
