Prompt: "Please don't let me be alone"

Ship: OkiChi

AU: Modern - An Unearned Gift

Length: ~1400

Prompt supplied by hidetheremote on tumblr. I've kept the events preceding this somewhat vague, since as of now, they haven't happened yet in the story and won't for a while. *insert slightly evil laugh here*

"All right Souji, I'll let Toshi know. Tell Chizuru that we are thinking of her and to let us know if there is anything we can do."

Souji let out a short sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose as he said into the phone, "Thanks, Kondou. I will, but short of nailing that bastard, I'm not sure there's much anyone can do."

"What she needs most right now is you. Just be there for her. She'll tell you what she needs."

He knew Kondou was right, but that didn't make him any less nervous. "Right… I guess I'll talk to you you later."

"Okay Souji. You're a good man. Just trust in what the two of you have and I know everything will work out."

When he heard the soft click of Kondou hanging up, Souji pulled the phone away from his ear and looked again at the text he had received in the early hours of the morning.

Would you mind coming over and staying with Chizuru while I'm at work? I don't think we need to worry about her doing anything rash, but I'd feel better knowing she wasn't alone…
-Sen

Of course he had said he would without a second thought. He and Sen had only just managed what was, at best, a shaky truce, so for her to reach out like this meant it was important. What it didn't change was his worry that not only did he have no idea what he was doing, but that he would make the situation worse. Even Kondou's advice and reassurance wasn't enough to quell the worry eating at him.

Souji took one more deep breath before getting out of his car and putting away his phone. It was still a good five minutes before Sen had said she needed to leave and that should give him just enough time to get up to the apartment.

It didn't take long after a brief rap on the door for Sen to open it and gesture him inside. Even with makeup, he could tell she was tired and probably hadn't slept much.

"Thanks for doing this," Sen said as she closed the door and gestured him toward the kitchen.

He shrugged. "It's not a big deal." When a quick sweep of the room didn't reveal Chizuru, he asked, "Where is she?"

Sen swung her bag up onto her shoulder as she said, "She was still asleep when I checked on her earlier. Frankly I'm not sure when she fell asleep last night…" Sen bit her lip and he could see a trace of the well hidden hurt in her eyes. "I heard her crying, but when I went in to her room, she pretended to be asleep. I think she didn't want to keep me up. Maybe you'll have more luck."

Souji frowned at the news. Sen was probably right that Chizuru wouldn't have wanted to keep her friend up when she had to work the next day. Still, the thought that Chizuru had cried herself to sleep caused a weight to settle in his chest. It was something he hadn't wanted for her, even if it wasn't entirely unexpected.

"Anyway, you might as well make yourself at home." She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders, a spark of her usual firebrand personality showing through. "You're welcome to anything we have except my ice cream and my wine. Touch those and you'll only wish you were dead. I should be back around five-thirty or so."

He managed something approximating a grin as he raised his hands placatingly. "No problem here."

Sen took one more long look toward the hallway leading to Chizuru's and her rooms as she said quietly, "I know she's strong, but… be gentle."

Without giving him a chance to respond, Sen turned and quickly left. Almost as if she thought if she didn't leave right then, she wouldn't leave at all.

Once he heard the door shut, Souji stood indecisively in the middle of the room.

Sen had said Chizuru was asleep and if she really hadn't slept well, then he didn't want to wake her up… but he also had a strong desire to see for himself that, if nothing else, she was sleeping peacefully.

After a moment more of indecision, Souji knew what he wanted to do. Careful to keep his steps silent, he crossed the room and walked down the hallway to Chizuru's room. He wasn't entirely sure it was the right thing, but he wasn't going to settle until he at least saw her.

Her door was already partially open, so it didn't take more than a small nudge for it to swing wide enough for him to slip through. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they did, he could make out Chizuru, curled up in a tight ball under her blankets. From the way her forehead pinched and her fingers tightly gripped the blanket, he could tell she was awake and only pretending to sleep. As usually, she wasn't very good at faking.

"Chizuru?"

She didn't respond, keeping up her pretense of sleep.

Again he was left with a decision he didn't know how to make. He had seen for himself that at the very least she was pretending to sleep and he should probably leave her be like Sen had, but he also couldn't seem to make himself move. Her grief seemed to hang over her light a heavy weight. More than anything, he wanted to take that pain away, but he didn't know how, or what he could do. Unable to decide, Souji stood and watched as her fingers curled tighter around the comforter.

He would let her sleep. She would face the day when she was ready.

Just as he began to leave, he heard the smallest of muffled whimpers and when he turned back to Chizuru, he saw a tear escape from the corner of one eye.

He couldn't leave her like this. He just couldn't.

Playing along with her feigned sleep, he carefully sat on the edge of the bed. Chizuru tensed when he wiped the solitary tear away, but when he began to thread his fingers through her hair, she relaxed. In only a few strokes, her forehead unpinched and her fingers softened their grip. Still, she didn't acknowledge that they both knew she was awake. Maybe she did want to be left alone…

He gave it another minute or so and when she didn't "wake up", he began to stand. There was no doubt that her stubborn streak was just as wide as his. Today, though, he would give in.

No sooner had his weight left the bed, then he felt her hand on his wrist. Not tight enough to restrain, but enough to get his attention. He turned to find her eyes open and even if they were slightly bloodshot from crying and lack of sleep, their warm mix of browns were still beautiful.

He didn't say anything, instead waiting for her to speak. He needed to know what she wanted. This was too important for him to guess wrong.

Chizuru bit her lip before she said quietly, "Please… I don't want to be alone…"

Souji smiled softly as he sat back down, threading his fingers through hers. "You got it. Mind scooting over?"

She looked confused by his request, but did as he asked. While she moved, he pulled off his sweatshirt.

"Um… Souji?"

"Shhh," he hushed as he slid under the blankets next to her, biting back a grin at her wide eyes and flushed cheeks. "You didn't seem to mind yesterday, remember?"

When she didn't argue, he wrapped his arms around her small frame and pulled her close. He took a deep breath, feeling his own tension start to melt away as he said, "Why don't you try and get some sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up. I promise."

Chizuru nodded, her eyes already starting to drift shut as she curled closer to him.

Feeling his own eyes start to become heavy, he pressed a kiss to her temple, before letting himself slip toward sleep.

Chizuru was strong. She would recover from this and he'd be damned if he wasn't there with her every step of the way.