01.04.202X - Come Lie

 

Come Lie

Is this really okay?

 

The bedroom was as cozy as she remembered, and the bed hadn't lost any of it's softness during the day – beds weren't supposed to, so that much was in order. There was a bookcase there as well, a dark wooden one, and while it was sparsely populated it did contribute to the ambiance quite nicely. And, of course, there was Katie, cross-legged on the striped gray duvet. It made sense – it was her bedroom, after all.

Actually, it felt like everything she could lay her eyes on belonged there, for want of a better word – whether a bookcase, a rug or a nightstand, all of it belonged here.

She was the only outsider. The only misplaced item. She didn't belong here. The bookcase was Katie's bookcase, the bed was Katie's bed, but she wasn't Katie's Sayori. Or Katie's girl, for that matter. Was adoption even a possibility? Maybe not now. She had more important things to worry about. Like figuring out how she was supposed to bring up something like this.

 

Hey, do you mind if we sleep together?

No, 'sleep together' brought to mind... connotations she would prefer to avoid.

Can I sleep with you?

Again, the connotations, the implications, the phrasing of it all. No. Was Katie even like that?

Sorry, but... do you think I could stay with you tonight?

It was... better. Still not good, though. Katie probably wasn't like that, anyway.

Do you think I could sleep here tonight?

That was... decent. State your business clearly – you are here to rest, and nothing else. And Katie wouldn't think she was weird.

 

“Uh, Katie...” Despite figuring out the best possible way of ever going about this, she couldn't help her mouth going dry, or her cheeks flushing just a little. “...mm, I was w-wondering...”

“Hmm? What's that?”

“Uhm, I... y-yeah.” She blinked once, then twice, and then shook her head. “W-was wondering... if, you know, m-maybe I c-could...”

“Could what?” While the voice was soft, almost gentle, it was still enough to kick her heart into overdrive.

“Ah, w-well, you know... I d-don't really like s-sleeping alone, a-and...” It didn't really feel like she could rest her gaze anywhere, her eyes kept flitting from place to place. “Y-yeah... w-was wondering. If I c-could stay here.”

With that, she deflated, and lamely finished her sentence. “It's okay i-if you don't w-want me to.”

She had just enough time to take a deep breath and reassure herself that it didn't really matter, she could sleep fine on her own, she wasn't a child or anything and Katie probably didn't want to be kept awake by her tossing and turning and...

 

“Mm, well... I don't see why not.” Katie stretched her legs a little, flashing a smile towards her friend. “I mean, the bed does fit two.”

“O-oh, really? I mean, you don't have to, a-and I can sleep well on my own, just... there's been a lot of stuff going on today, and...”

“Yeah, really. If I didn't want you here I'd boot you out myself, you hear?” The nurse lazily rolled off the bed, the neck hole of her t-shirt showcasing a bandaged shoulder, bare feet slapping against hardwood. “I mean, I kinda... expected you to ask that. You seemed really cozy last night.”

“I did? I m-mean, yeah, it was really nice. T-to sleep here.” Her eyes followed Katie as she bent over in front of a battered white cabinet, the doors swinging open with a barely-audible creak. “Um... are you l-looking for something?”

“Well, you need a nightshirt, right? I'll scrounge up one of mine for you.”

 

She didn't look up, which might have been for the better, because Sayori found herself casting perhaps one too many glances at her bare legs. They were muscular, surprisingly so – her own were in a rather sorry state in comparison, and while she was rather thin herself – or perhaps 'bony' would have been the correct word – she had none of the definition Katie did, let alone any mass.

What were those muscles called again? She'd read up on them, long ago, more out of curiosity than anything else. Vastus lateralis sprang to mind, and the sweep looked quite impressive. Or maybe it was something else, she wasn't quite sure.

Still, the shape was definitely something – almost enough to light a little jealous spark inside her. While it was quickly ignored, the rest of the posterior chain remained as forgotten as before. Apart from the gluteus maximus, of course, but... maybe it was better to not stare at that. Besides, the hem was in the way.

The cabinet doors creaked shut, and suddenly there was a small bundle flying across the room, which Sayori just about managed to catch.

Not that she was particularly bad at catching.

She'd just been lost in thought.

 

She unfolded the dark gray bundle, the print on the chest leading to a brief moment of confusion that the soft creak of the bed soon dispelled.

“I... hope you like it.” Her tone was jovial, cheerful, but not entirely without trepidation. “Used to wear that when I was your age.”

A chuckle. “Christ, I sound old.”

“It's... It's really nice.” It was, it even smelled nice, and while it seemed quite large it still felt absolutely perfect for the situation. “Is it... some kind of band shirt? W-what does the name mean?”

“Yeah, it's a band shirt – I used to be super into those guys for the longest time.” Katie smiled – the trepidation was gone. The enthusiasm, while awkward, seemed to be quite appreciated. “The name is... uh... well, it means you stay determined, and refuse to violate your principles.”

“Oh, right, s-so I'm not supposed to stick my guns-”

“You're not supposed to stick them anywhere.” Katie cut her off with barely-restrained mirth in her voice, eyes glinting and mouth set in a grin. “Wanna put it on? I think it could look really good on you.”

“W-what? Here?”

On second thought, she didn't really have anything to feel shocked about – whatever she had, Katie had more of, and it was nothing the nurse hadn't seen before, whether at work or in the mirror. Besides, she was warm, she was safe, she had a friend in the room – it wasn't anything to worry about. Katie wouldn't make fun of her for being too thin, either, she would have done it already if she wanted to, but she wasn't like that.

She was nice.

And Sayori had gotten an eyeful earlier, as well, when Katie had left her clothes in a crumpled heap on the floor – no judgment here. No, there wasn't any reason to judge – although perhaps admiring wasn't the right thing to do either...

Still, it was alright. It was fine.

One button, two buttons... the jeans didn't take long to unbutton, but stripping them away was another thing entirely – skin tight was nice until you had to take them off or put them on.

“U-uh.” This was embarrassing. “C-could you... help? J-just a little?”

“I... yeah, for.. for sure.” Katie cleared her throat and looked away, before finally crawling towards her friend, the duvet wrinkling with every step. “C-could you... lift your hips a little?”

She did as much, and soon she had a pair of hands at her waist deftly shimmying her jeans downwards, the stretchy denim mixture coming loose and sliding off, soon just a dark blue, crumpled pile on the bed. Katie pulled back, chewing her lip, eyes fixed on the bookcase.

The 'I <3 KY' t-shirt was next to go, and while it didn't put up much of a fight, she still felt quite happy about taking it off – she'd been sweating enough today for the shirt to desperately need a wash. Another crumpled pile, this one white, and her bra soon joined the exhibition, the little blue-and-white thing laying forlorn on the duvet.

And then, just like that, the shirt was on – cool and crisp and practically exuding the scent of fresh linens. It didn't feel like much of a shirt, however – it was almost like an – admittedly short – dress on her bony frame, and might have worked as one come summer. Neck hole halfway down her meager triceps, hem halfway down her thighs, she could probably have pulled it off with a little more confidence.

Ah well, it wasn't like it mattered – it was just the two of them after all.

 

“That's... y-yeah. That looks really good on you.” Sayori stood up, an awkward smile on her face, and gave an experimental twirl. Katie seemed impressed, although her voice had been a bit off. Ah well. “Do you... think you'd ever wear that in public?”

“I, um, I dunno if I could ever r-really pull this off, but...” She scurried back onto the bed, crawling closer towards Katie and the headboard, electing to leave her clothes unfolded for the time being. “...yeah. Thanks for the shirt. A-and the compliments.”

“...Any time.” Katie smiled, definitely genuine, but also strangely nervous. She didn't quite know how to broach the topic, and it left her wondering just what had happened to the young woman. “S-so, uh... you got anything you still need to do, o-or...”

“Nope! I'm... I'm ready w-when you are.”

Or perhaps not. Her heart was still beating a little too rapidly, her hands felt a little too shaky – nervous and awkward, very much so.

 

Katie hummed something in response as Sayori carefully snaked her way further down underneath the duvet, and with a soft click everything went dark.

Then, she felt something warm next to her, heard Katie sigh, and blindly reached out, careful to not poke anyone's eye out. She found something warm and soft and human, and soon she had a hand clinging onto her own.

After that, everything seemed to slow down, or maybe it sped up – Sayori found herself crawling towards Katie, and then felt herself getting pulled into a comforting, warm embrace, and she closed her eyes again and exhaled softly. There was another hand, this one carefully playing with her hair, slight tingles going down her spine with every movement.

And so, after a moment her heartbeat slowed and her thoughts quieted, an overwhelming tiredness taking their place.

There was something soft and warm pressing against her back, she felt Katie breathing into her hair, spreading a little spot of warmth with every exhale, and she smiled a little.

“...Good night, Katie.”

“...'night.”