Sleeping troubles
Natsuki knew that sharing a room with Yuuko in their first year of college would be difficult, but she couldn't even fathom how hard it could end up being sometimes.
She obviously knew that there would be more times in which they were bickering over petty things than in which they'd be getting along and living together in peace and harmony. But what she couldn't expect was that the worst part of it would be when night fell over and it was sleep time.
Some nights, Natsuki would be lucky to be able to sleep peacefully, each of them sleeping soundly and without any inconvenience in their own beds. Others, she'd find herself waking up late at night with the sound of whimpers or grumbles interrupting her sleep and the silence reigning in the room.
In those nights, she'd wake up groggily, almost confused thinking she had heard something as part of her own dreams while laying in her bed trying to go back to sleep until she heard another grumble filling the room.
She'd sit up slowly and let her tired eyes adjust to the darkness before scanning the room in search of the source of the grumbling until she'd get to hear them again.
After doing it, she'd turn her head towards Yuuko's bed, hearing the blonde grumbling some more while seeing her moving restlessly, sleeping completely uncovered in the middle of the cold night.
Natsuki's sigh would mix with a yawn as she slowly pulled her own sheets back to abandon the warmth of her bed to go to Yuuko's bed and tuck the other girl in so she was warm again. Then, she'd go back to her own bed to sleep again, choosing to not say anything about it to the blonde girl the following morning.
Other nights, she'd be rudely woken up by a flying pillow hitting her head, interrupting her sweet sleep time.
She'd jolt in her sleep, quickly sitting up startled and in alert by the hit, to then hear Yuuko grumbling and see her moving restlessly in her sleep once again, kicking the sheets out of her way until they hang half-out of her bed.
Natsuki would groan quietly and get out of bed just to cover her again, watching her sleeping for a brief moment to make sure she was okay, before leaving a caress on her cheek and go back to her own bed to sleep, choosing again not to mention anything to the blonde the next morning.
Tonight is no different from any of those past nights.
Natsuki is peacefully sleeping in her bed when suddenly something hits the side of her face hard. She jolts in her sleep just to find out that, once again, she's been rudely woken up by a flying pillow.
She hits the pillow in frustration as a groan escape her lips. Then, she squints her eyes to glare at a sleeping Yuuko in vain.
She stares at her for a several minutes, seeing the blonde moving restlessly in her sleep while grumbling, sometimes letting out quiet whimpers.
Natsuki can't help but worry about how common this seems to be, wondering if Yuuko has always had trouble sleeping and struggled with nightmares, or if it's something out of the ordinary. Either way, she doesn't like it.
So, she begrudgingly abandons the comfort and warmth of her bed to go to Yuuko's with the flying pillow in her hands. Once she's by her side, she sighs and places it beside the blonde's head.
She watches her tossing and turning around restlessly in her sleep as quiet incoherent noises escape her mouth.
Natsuki can't help but sigh again, biting her lip before she decides to get inside Yuuko's bed, covering them with the sheets and making sure they're well tucked in before she faces Yuuko, seeing the distressed expression on her face thanks to the dim light of the streetlights outside.
Carefully, her arms come up to circle her petite body to pull her into a hug, wrapping her tightly in it.
Soon enough, she notices Yuuko stopping moving and her grumbling dying down, before she feels the blonde tucking her head under her chin and unconsciously hug her back.
Natsuki smiles softly at this and closes her eyes to go back to sleep peacefully.
However, waking up the following morning is not as peaceful as she thought it'd be, being rudely pulled out of her sleep by a loud squeak hurting her eardrums before she finds herself being shoved out of the bed to end up sat on the floor.
- Ugh, what... – she groans, opening her eyes groggily as she rubs her sore butt.
- W-w-what do you think you were doing idiot!? – Yuuko stammers grumpily, earning herself a yawn back.
- Huh, sleep? – Natsuki simply answers, still sat on the floor rubbing her eyes now.
- But why in my bed!?
Natsuki yawns again before she blinks and stretches, staring at a bothered Yuuko before she smiles softly at her.
- You didn't stop grumbling and moving in your sleep. It seemed as if you were having a nightmare so I thought that maybe if I, huh, slept with you, it'd help to shoo it away.
Natsuki ends up saying while scratching the back of her head awkwardly and Yuuko can only look away with a red blush tinting her cheeks, but not without throwing a pillow to Natsuki's face first.
- Ow, why was that for?
She hears Natsuki complaining as she tries really hard to look bothered while hiding her blush from her.
- Couldn't you just phrase it in another way!? – she says, hearing Natsuki laugh.
- Sorry, sorry – Natsuki says while laughing, not being a bit sorry about it and making Yuuko smile softly before her smiles slowly disappears, looking down at her hands thinking about what Natsuki has just said.
- D-did I really look like that though? – Yuuko asks in a bare whisper.
- Yeah.
Yuuko can't help but sigh, playing with the hem of her sheets.
- T-thank you then – she says quietly yet embarrassedly, hearing Natsuki humming before she looks at her out of the corner of her eye standing up from the floor to then feel the warm and soft touch of one of her hands over hers, surprising her.
- Whenever you have troubles to sleep, you can tell me about them. I'll listen to you and help you, okay? – Natsuki says with a fond smile on her face, squeezing Yuuko's hands before she lets them go.
Yuuko can only nod speechless, already missing the auburn's soothing touch.
- Let's get changed. I'm hungry – Natsuki says nonchalantly taking her casual clothes to head out of the room, giving the blonde some time.
Yuuko can't help but be grateful for it and the fact that Natsuki didn't ask her about her sleeping troubles and nightmares.
She sighs and quickly takes her clothes to follow the other girl in silence to shower and get changed for breakfast and classes.
Once night falls again and they're in their own beds ready to sleep, Yuuko can't help but look at Natsuki's form in the darkness, sighing before she turns to face the wall and closes her eyes to try and sleep.
But time passes and she can't seem to get to sleep so she lets out a dejected sigh and gets out of bed to go to Natsuki's, carefully getting under her sheets and pressing her head against her back, draping an arm over the auburn's waist embarrassedly.
Natsuki wakes up groggily by the sudden movement behind her.
- What...? – she asks out loud with sleep in her voice.
- Sorry, did I wake you up? – Yuuko whispers quietly, feeling bad for waking Natsuki.
- Yuuko? Huh, no, don't worry – Natsuki says still obviously sleepy, slowly turning around – Are you okay?
She asks as she surrounds Yuuko's body with her arms and pulls her into a tight hug, making the blonde blush yet be glad that Natsuki can't see it in the darkness.
- I can't sleep – Yuuko says quietly, her head coming to rest against Natsuki's chest while her arms circle the auburn's waist again.
- Wanna talk about it? – Natsuki asks hugging the blonde tighter, eliciting a smile from her.
- It's just... – Yuuko pauses, sighing out as she tries to gather her thoughts together – classes and exams are stressing me out, and whenever that happens, I... unconsciously end up having sleeping troubles or even nightmares about it.
She breathes out, snuggling up more into Natsuki's comfort and warmth.
- You worry too much about things, Yuuko. You're really smart, so I doubt you'll be having any problem to pass them flawlessly – Natsuki reassures her, nuzzling her hair.
- You're so optimistic about it and make it sound so easy – Yuuko mumbles against her chest, feeling it rumble as Natsuki laughs.
- That's because it is, now close your eyes and sleep. I'll shoo your nightmares away – Natsuki says, leaving a kiss on the crown of Yuuko's head while hugging her tightly.
Yuuko can only blush harder yet smile, resting comfortably in her embrace.
- Fine. Sleep well, Nat and... thank you – she says softly, closing her eyes to let Natsuki's heartbeat lull her to sleep.
- Sweet dreams, Yuuko – Natsuki whispers, leaving another kiss on Yuuko's head before she falls back asleep.
For the first time in a long time, Yuuko doesn't have any nightmare, finding the perfect solution to her sleeping troubles in Natsuki's arms.