The day midterms finish, Fuyutsuki announces the date of the next lab exam- the following week, in fact. The entire class erupts into groans, save for Yui, Kyoko, and Mari- the first two are veterans of his poorly-scheduled tests, and Mari has them to rely on. It's automatic, the way Kyoko looks across the table, receiving nods from the others in return, the silent agreement that means 'sleepover at Kyoko's'.
They pile into her car as soon as the class ends, Yui claiming the passenger's seat, and Mari taking up the back. All three of their bags end up with her as well, and Mari unzips them all, pulling out sheaves of paper with practiced precision. Yui had showed her the places where all their notes were stored during one of their library study sessions, and from that day on, it was a rhythm as simple as breathing. Kyoko would drive, Yui would make conversation, and Mari would get everything ready.
When the only other option is to staring out the window- or at Yui- anything sounds like a good idea.
Kyoko's apartment is, officially, ten minutes away by car. She makes it there in six. Mari staggers out first, mumbling her usual commentary on Kyoko's reckless driving. Yui emerges next, laughing as she takes her bag from Mari. They wait for Kyoko to lock the door before Yui grabs her friends by the arms and marches up them up the stairs, spouting off about the necessity of exercise. "Not when I live on the seventh floor!" Kyoko moans, and Mari voices her agreement. Yui treks on, undeterred.
As soon as Kyoko unlocks the door, Mari flings herself through it, throwing her bag into the kitchen as she barrels past it and onto the couch. "Yuiiii. My legs," she says, drawing out each syllable.
"Hey, get off that," orders Kyoko. "I need to make the bed for you- oh, Yui. I kind of lent my spare bedroll out to someone in exchange for their- never mind. You okay sharing with Mari?"
"Sure, that's fine. Mari?" Said girl does not respond, too preoccupied by Kyoko's attempts to drag her off the couch. "I don't think it'll be a problem. Want a hand with that?"
"Please." Kyoko tugs fruitlessly at Mari's legs, her curls bouncing with each motion. "Mari, the sooner you get off, the sooner you'll have more space to lie on."
Yui bends over the opposite end of the couch, doing her best impression of a staring contest. It doesn't work when she smiles, though Mari doesn't have the heart to tell her that. She's gotten used to that same, patient smile- though she can't help but wonder if it would go away if she were to just- tilt her head up by a few inches and-
That thought catapults Mari up faster than Yui can react. Their heads meet with a clunk, and Yui staggers back, bringing her hands up to cradle a spot below her eye. Mari moves after her, nearly kicking Kyoko in the stomach, her cheeks heating up as she asks, "Yui! Did I hurt you? Should I get ice?"
"No, no- I'm fine. It just stings a little." The smile isn't gone, Mari notices, but it has grown sheepish, as if a full-blown grin would hurt too much to hold. Surprisingly, that bothers her more than if Yui had just stopped smiling.
Behind them both, Kyoko hauls the couch into its bed setting with a triumphant, "Finally! I guess that's one way to get Mari off." Ducking under the shoe thrown her way, Kyoko disappears into the next room, where the spare sheets and pillows are stored.
"Did that really warrant a shoe?" asks Yui.
"Y-yes!" Mari stammers, removing her other shoe and retrieving the first. "You both- you're too old to do those kinds of things!"
"You sound like Kyoko."
"I can hear you, you know!" Kyoko bellows. Yui snickers, earning a lingering glance from Mari. She notices only after several seconds, and cocks her head to one side.
"Your face. It's red," Mari says, extending a hand. To her surprise, Yui doesn't move away, doesn't even react as Mari runs her fingers over the red patch left by their collision.
Yui's skin is warm to the touch- not a sickly warmth, but different, and only with great effort does Mari lift her hand. Her fingers feel cold almost immediately. Thankfully, Yui questions none of this, instead looking past Mari to the cluster of bags piled haphazardly on the kitchen table. "I'll be fine. You got our notes out?"
"Yes. I organized them by topic since I had time, but- hey!" She sighs as Yui musses her hair affectionately, but of course she doesn't mean it, and from the way Yui carries on, she knows it too. "Hope you've got a comb."
"Steal Kyoko's."
"Steal my what now?" Kyoko wanders back in with two blankets, a sheet, and several pillows stacked high in her arms. Ignoring Mari's scandalized cry of "It's summer!", she pitches them to the side, dusting off her hands. "Let me get this set up. Soda and juice are over on the counter if you want some, and I should have some snacks to the left of the spoons- if you didn't eat them all, Yui."
"We love you too, Kyoko." Yui blows a kiss at her friend. Mari's response is to spin on her heel and slam herself down into the nearest chair. As she busies herself with retrieving her notes, Yui plops down beside her, books in hand. "Alright, let's get started. What first? Cell composition? Culture growth?"
"Anything guaranteed to get me to stop thinking," Mari growls, snatching her book away from Yui. And then- of course; she should've expected it- she feels Yui's hand on her shoulder.
"Mari, is everything alright?"
"Yeah. Fine. Sorry. Stress." It's not quite a lie, but not quite the truth either. Mari sees it in Yui's eyes, that she doesn't believe it for a second, but she knows Mari well enough to know when to give her space. The pressure on Mari's shoulder lifts. She wants to grab for it, to bring that hand back, to beg Yui to hold her and not let go- and so Mari shoves a page of notes in front of her eyes and forces herself to read the meaningless text. The writing doesn't even look like hers, she thinks. It looks like it should belong to a disorganized high school student. How useless.
A moment later, Kyoko saunters by, juggling an open beer and several bags of chips. "Dig in," she offers. "Mari, I'm not saying you should, but if you drink, I'm abandoning all responsibility for you."
"Like I would," Mari counters.
"You'd be surprised. So Yui, what've we got?"
Yui holds out her book, highlighted and complete with cramped writing in the margins. It takes Kyoko all of a second to read it, and when she's finished she nods and reaches for her own notes. It's a simple thing that makes Mari's stomach churn, the realization that Yui is so familiar to others, and so distant from her. That feeling lasts all of a moment, until Yui taps her arm, pointing to the page. Even if she can't understand, Yui is willing to help her, and that's what matters. One touch, and Mari feels better again.
Together they jump from subject to subject, huddling around Kyoko's binder to see her pasted-in photos of lab subjects. When Mari rises to use the restroom, Kyoko and Yui swap her tea for coffee, earning them each a pencil to the head. Mari seizes her chance for revenge an hour later, filling Kyoko's bag of sea-salt chips with vinegar flavored ones instead. Topping them both is Yui, who hides their notes in clean coffee thermoses, stalling their studies for a good half-hour.
It's ten o'clock when Kyoko excuses herself, pouring the last of the coffee into her mug. "I've got early classes tomorrow," she says. "I'll leave the keys on Yui's bag so you two can lock up once you leave. Want me to wake you up when I go?"
"Sounds good! Save some of the hot water for us, okay?"
"I make no promises." Kyoko walks away chuckling, leaving Yui staring after her with a worried expression.
"Yui? She won't really use it all up, will she?"
"She did one time in our freshman year," Yui quips. "She left our floor without hot water for an entire night."
"You're kidding."
"I wish I was. The dorm rep made her swear to take ten-minute showers after that, and only in the evenings. Good old Kyoko."
"That must've been a- a sight to see." Mari's joints crack as she yawns, stretching her arms toward the ceiling. "Wow, I'm tired. Yui, can you wake me up in fifteen minutes? I think I need a-"
"You need a yawn?"
"Yui!"
"Just joking! I'll wake you up. Go count the mutations of RNA or something like that."
"Funny." Yui's quiet laughter is audible even when Mari lays her head on one side, tucking her arms under it to provide some cushioning. It's no pillow, but it's comfortable enough to get a few minutes rest on. Content to listen to Yui moving around beside her, Mari nods off, her dreams filled with double helixes scrawled in red ink.
Her limbs ache when she opens her eyes- not just her arms, but her legs too. They pop when she stands, and almost give beneath her. The clock on the microwave reads 1:30 in the morning, and before Mari has time to wonder how it's gotten so late, a snore interrupts her. Sleeping with a pencil still in hand and her face in her book, Yui looks like the epitome of an overworked college student, even if she's anything but. A gentle poke fails to rouse her, so Mari lets her sleep, opting to wash her face.
Kyoko's laid out a spare toothbrush out on the bathroom counter, much to Mari's appreciation. She scrubs her mouth clean and douses her face in water until she feels some vague semblance of waking- it's enough to get her thinking straight, at the very least.
Yui is still snoring away when Mari returns to the living room. Grabbing one of the blankets off the bed, she drapes it over Yui's shoulders- slowly, as not to wake her. Yui remains as oblivious as ever, not even stirring when Mari turns off the lights and subsequently trips twice trying to find her way back to the couch.
The remaining sheets are light, and Mari, with no change of clothes on hand, is grateful for them. She clambers onto the bed, tucking a pillow securely under one arm, letting the warmth of the blankets lull her back to sleep.
Sometime in the early morning, Mari wakes, if only briefly. It's not even a full wakening; her awareness is limited to a warm presence beside her, one that feels welcoming- and above all, familiar. She snuggles back into it, eyes still tightly shut. Her conscious mind fails to register the hot air brushing against the back of her neck. Comfortable with her new position, Mari relaxes, settling once more into unrecalled dreams.
It takes sunlight and the chirping of birds to rouse Mari fully, and even those take a while to affect her. What causes her eyes to fly open are a pair of arms loosely wrapped around her waist. A steady movement against her back prompts her to turn her head, and her eyes go wide as her mind struggles to make sense of her situation.
She wants to scream with joy. She wants to pinch herself to make sure this is real. Mari wiggles in Yui's arms, a slow rolling of her body, until finally they're face to face, and Mari cannot possibly deny that she isn't dreaming.
Noticing the loss of her makeshift pillow, Yui moves forward, nuzzling into Mari's shoulder. The feeling of plastic on her skin draws Mari's eyes down. There, still perched on Yui's face, are her red glasses. Below them, in the place where they knocked heads, there is only unblemished skin. Relief surges through Mari as she slowly tugs at Yui's glasses. "You know," she whispers, "it's a bad idea to sleep with your glasses on." Never mind that she had just slept with her contacts still in.
Balancing the frames on the arm of the couch is an easy task. Once that's done, Mari returns her attention to the arms around her, to Yui's cheek, warm against her neck. If Yui could hear her pulse, what would she think? More importantly, what if- no, Mari chides herself. There's no possible way Yui would return her feelings. Still, she can't help but wonder, a hand hovering nervously over Yui's face. Just a simple touch- that's all it would take to wake her- but Mari is frozen in time. She remains still, listening to Yui's quiet breathing, reveling in every heart-pounding second, until the squeak of rusted hinges echoes nearby. Kyoko.
Mari jerks back, waking Yui as Kyoko makes her way down the hall, coffee mug in hand and dressed for school. "You two are up early."
"Just woke up, actually," says Yui.
"Same," Mari adds, fiddling with her hair and making it cover her face.
"That's good. Well, the shower is yours. There should be food in the fridge. Remember to lock up. See you!"
Kyoko sweeps past without another word, pausing only to place her mug in the sink and grab her bag. "Well, I should go get ready. Do you want to shower first, Mari?"
"No, I'm fine. You go first. I could use five more minutes."
"I know that feeling. Pass me my glasses, Mari? Thanks."
Yui slides out from under the blankets, padding off to the washroom. Mari waits until she's gone, waits long after she hears the shutting of the door and the rush of running water. Only then does she turn and bury her face in one of the pillows. It smells nice. Pulling it closer, Mari burrows her face into it, scrunching her eyes shut. If she imagines hard enough, she can still feel the touch of arms around her waist, the gentle puffs of air against her skin.
Brushing aside all pretenses, Mari hugs the pillow tighter, curling up on the sheets and drawing them around her. She can't get enough; she can't breathe; she knows exactly what this feeling is, and she both wants and loathes it. The pounding of her blood echoes in her ears, a single word repeating endlessly, and Mari doesn't resist. She exhales, pulling the pillow even closer, drowning the sounds of the morning in favor of this one thing. "Yui."