The tweeting of the early morning birds is the first thing Sayori hears. The sound is distant as she wakes up, her mind still filled with the fuzzy warmth of dream worlds and gentle darkness. The second thing she hears, is the gentle spinning of a fan somewhere in the room, which also prompts her to notice that her face is a little too cool for comfort.
She smiles as the third thing she notices is the warm presence just behind her, breathing gently in and out in the peaceful embrace of sleep. The last dredges of darkness in her mind slowly retreat, sleep going along with them as Sayori slowly rolls over. It is hard at first, with her body still being sluggish after just waking up.
Sayori wraps her arms around the warm person next to her, and rubs her face gently on their shoulder.
"Mon, it's time to wake up."
Monika groans, still in the wonderful grasp of slumber. But with just a squeeze from Sayori the studious girl is along the path toward wakefulness. Another groan from her girlfriend signals Sayori that Monika would be up and running in a few minutes. She smiles, and places a kiss on Monika's shoulder.
With that, Sayori scoots to the edge of their bed, and pulls the blanket off of herself. She yawns widely as the cool morning air hits her skin, the feeling like being tossed in a bath. He lifts her hand to her head to feel her hair, in the process being pulled into an involuntary stretch by some part of her that's muscle memory at this point.
Speaking of baths, her hair was greasy.
"I'll be down in the kitchen, okay Moni?"
"Okay!"
Sayori's ever-present smile remains as she walks away from her and Monika's bathroom, new clothes hugging her form comfortably as she leaves the bedroom. The carpet is soft and fluffy underneath her feet as she closes the door to the bedroom and walks down the hall, where the morning sun greets her brightly.
Nobody was up just yet, and the living room was silent as a result. Burgundy carpet covers the floor, lit by the orange glow of the sun spilling in through the window. The kitchen sits to the left of the hallway, separated from the living room by a line of wall, opened up by two doorways on the far and near sides.
Sayori ignores the coldness of the linoleum under her feet as she walks into the kitchen, humming to herself to keep the meaner voices in her head quiet. She leans down and opens a cupboard, reaching in to retrieve a large pan as quietly as she can. Though it doesn't stop the metal cooking utensil from making hollow dings and dongs as she pulls it out.
Natsuki was more of a master chef than Sayori was, but she could make a mean set of bacon and eggs. Sayori hums quietly as she sets the pan gently on the stove and turns the knob. The clicking of the stove lasts for a second before it fires up.
Sayori cracks the eggs with ease, the yolks dropping smoothly into the pan. The sizzling is strangely soothing to her as she tosses the shells into the trash and moves to grab a couple paper plates for everyone in the house.
As she gently moves the pan, scraping and shoveling the eggs as necessary (Yuri liked her eggs scrambled, and Natsuki liked hers sunny side up) Sayori bounces on her feet. Today was one of the good days, where the constant bad feeling in her head was a little less aggressive. Everyone was home for the weekend, so that they could have some time to themselves.
Sayori jumps when a pair of arms snake around her waist and lips plant a kiss on her neck.
"Good morning, Say."
Sayori giggles as she leans back into Monika's familiar presence, letting her girlfriend place two more smooches on her temple and cheek.
"Moni! The eggs are gonna burn!"
She protests half-heartedly, still managing to move the eggs around the pan even with Monika holding tightly onto her. She can almost hear Monika's grin as she speaks.
"I'm fine with overdone eggs, Say."
Sayori giggles again as she pulls forward, taking Monika with her. She lifts the pan and hovers it over a plate, where the yellow and white food is plopped unceremoniously. She sets the pan down on the stove and turns off the heat, before leaning back into Monika and reaching up to touch her face.
"These are mine."
She says, kissing Monika gently. They stay that way for a moment, relishing in each other before pulling away. Monika's blush compliments her face wonderfully to Sayori, who finds the glow of the sunlight against her girlfriend like a Renaissance painting. Beautiful in every way.
"Are you talking about the eggs or my lips?"
Monika asks, not even bothering to hide a sultry tone. Sayori smiles. More genuinely than she usually does as the forever present numb feeling in her brain is replaced by a growing warmth in her cheeks and chest.
"Both."
For a few seconds, they are all that exists. The cooling eggs and the slowly rising temperature are a backdrop to their story. Their love. They know, deep their hearts and heads, looking into each other's eyes, that they love the one standing in front of them.
A knock at the kitchen doorway breaks both of them from their trance, and Monika quickly shifts her hold on Sayori so they both can look at the source of the noise.
Yuri stands quietly in the doorway, a blush covering her own face as she attempts to hide behind her long hair. After moment, she reaches up and hides away entirely.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to i-interrupt."
She says meekly, her hands only partly managing to cover up the furious blush on her cheeks. Sayori and Monika smile. They look back at each other, and silently agree to continue the moment later. Monika lets go of Sayori, and some part of her wishes Monika could just carry her around.
"It's okay, Yuri. We should've known you'd be up by now."
Monika says, taking a step toward the counter and picking up her plate of eggs. Sayori giggles as Yuri slowly uncovers her eyes, looking down as Monika hands her a plate as well. Yuri reaches down, heat still present in her face as she takes the plate on both hands. Yuri smiles as she looks down at the scrambled eggs.
"My f-favorite. Thank you."
She says, and Sayori feels a little prick of satisfaction at the genuine happiness on Yuri's face. Monika smiles as well before moving back to the stove. She bends down and opens the cupboard, searching for another pan for the bacon. Yuri takes a few steps toward the kitchen table, setting her plate in her usual spot before sitting down. Before she digs in, Yuri says;
"Natsuki was waking up as well. I think she will be out in a few minutes."
Sayori nods and turns back around to the eggs. Her, Monika and Natsuki's plates remain, with eggs fully cooked upon them. There remained one empty plate, yet to be graced with the glorious thing that was breakfast food. Some of the warmth leaves Sayori as she thinks about the little, lonely plate.
"Say, did you want to cook the bacon or can I start it?"
Monika's voice pulls Sayori back to reality and she looks back at her girlfriend. She smiles as Monika holds the bacon gingerly in one hand, door to the refrigerator still open in the other.
"You can start, Moni."
Natsuki yawns as she takes her plate to the table. The sun was finally starting to change from a golden hue to a more natural yellow one. Yuri sits quietly at the table as well, her own empty plate placed beside her as she reads a book. Monika was busy taking care of the dishes from last night's dinner, humming as she works. Sayori is busy working on her third plate, big eater that she was.
The quiet peace that surrounds the four is almost sacred, with Monika's humming and the pages of Yuri's book flipping occasionally putting them all at a sense of ease. Natsuki and Sayori eat slowly. Well, more like Natsuki takes her meal slow and Sayori only stops to breathe every second or so.
Only ten minutes had passed since Yuri had gotten up and Monika had finished off breakfast with the sides of bacon Sayori had waited for her to cook. Natsuki, being the slow morning person she was, took a little time to get some extra sleep before coming out of her and Yuri's bedroom.
Natsuki glances at the one seat left unclaimed. She knew he had always been a heavy sleeper, and his job demanded a good amount of mental fortitude. It was surprising that-
The opening of a door immediately snuffs out that thought as the final occupant of the house walks wearily into the living room, one hand combing his hair. Sayori smiles and makes sure to swallow before raising her arms in greeting.
"MC! Good morning!"
Mizuki Caldwell, also known by his nickname MC, smiles tiredly back at his best friends. Yuri looks up from her book, giving a tiny wave as she does. Monika stops her work to look at him and smiles widely.
Natsuki just swallows her most recent bite.
"Finally. You slept like a log."
She says, dipping her fork down and putting another piece of bacon in her mouth. After a bit of chewing and another swallow, she points her fork toward the counter.
"We saved you the last of it."
She says as Monika swiftly lifts the plate and hands it to MC. His smile remains just as tired as he takes the plate, and moves slowly toward the table. His steps are short and uncertain, sleep still infecting a good portion of his mind. Mizuki had always been the type to sleep hard, and wake up even harder. He sits down as gently as he can in his chair, and begins to eat.
"So, everyone! Did we have any plans for today?"
Monika asks as she puts away the last of the plates and deposits the paper ones she and Yuri were done with in the trash. Yuri looks up at the ceiling in thought for a moment, while Mizuki shakes his head to respond.
"Nothing readily comes to mind..."
She says, one hand placing a bookmark on the page she was only halfway done reading. She puts her book down on the table and looks at the rest of the girls. Natsuki swallows the last bit of her bacon and sets her fork down. Sayori and Mizuki continue eating, with the former being a bit more invested than the latter, whom is still half asleep.
"I was going to head to the bookstore to find the new volume of Parfait Girls. Oh, and Bord Night."
She says. It had taken weeks, literally weeks for the bookstore to get the newest volume of Parfait Girls in. That stretch of time was torture in the purest sense of the word. The author had the gall, the nerve to leave it on a cliffhanger in the last volume!
"Can I borrow it after you're done reading it?"
Mizuki asks, startling Natsuki a little. Very rarely did he speak up during the morning breakfasts, let alone ask for something. She shrugs.
"Sure, as long as you don't wrinkle the pages."
He looks back down at his plate and nods.
"Sick. Thanks."
He says, once more sounding like his signature sleepy self. Natsuki doesn't mention that she's a little excited to hear his thoughts about it when they're both done reading it.
"Oh! We were going to watch the next movie in the Marvel series tonight!"
Sayori excitedly says, looking around at the other four with a gleam in her eye. They had all decided to watch the entirety of the Marvel cinematic universe together, with one or two movies each time they had a day together. It was almost tradition to sit down on the couch with popcorn and set the TV to the highest volume now.
"Right. Natsuki, could you buy some more popcorn on your trip out?"
Monika asks. Their popcorn reserves were low, and Sayori would be unhappy to find she had eaten through most of it when it was finally gone. Natsuki nods.
"No problem. I know a place on the way."
Sayori once more puts her hands in the air in an almost childish manner. Natsuki grins as her friend excitedly articulates into the empty air.
"Yay!"
Monika looks over at Mizuki, her green eyes watching carefully as he finishes up his breakfast. He was in no way as fast as Sayori, but when he sat down to eat, by jove he was going to get it done.
"Mizuki, did you have any plans?"
He shakes his head as he gets up from his seat, now fully awake.
"Nope."
He says, moving over to the counter to place his fork in the sink before tossing his plate in the trash. He pauses for a second.
"Actually, scratch that. Yuri wanted me to read some of Swords and Shields sometime today, but that's not going to interfere with anything. I think."
He says, looking over at Yuri for confirmation as he puts his hands on his pockets. She nods in response before saying something for herself.
"It shouldn't cut into any of our activities."
Monika smiles and claps her hands together, the sound either exciting or shrill to the other four.
"Alright then! Let's have a good day everyone."