Sleep Deprivation Together

Nitsuki sighed as she propped her head up with her hand. Her elbow rested against her desk as evening rain pelted against the window. A flash of lightning momentarily lit her bedroom in its pale, white glow, followed by the rumble of thunder.

She looked down at her finished master plan of potential futures, a notebook that would've likely read as an excuse to toss her into a padded cell had anyone else read it. Nearly all two hundred pages of it were filled out now, and her eyes lingered on the latest entry—her newest vision, a product of the future where they'd simply gone in blind without preparing for Inoue's move to sabotage the group.

"…"

She frowned at the memory of it. She knew that it had been just a potential future, yet she could still feel the phantom sensations of her entire world crumbling around her.

She hated that it was even a possibility to begin with. Who the hell did Inoue and the rest think they were?

Nitsuki's fist clenched in anger, and she slammed it down onto her desk. That damn hag probably got off to spreading misery. There was literally no other logical explanation for the absolute shit she was planning to do otherwise.

And she'd been the one to call them a bunch of perverts in the vision. Hah.

Nitsuki took a deep breath to calm herself. She needed to keep her wits about her.

Her hand unfurled, and she ran it over the paper beneath her. She'd spent nearly the entirety of the past week gathering information like this in her free time, and she was really beginning to fray at the seams.

Sleep was difficult to come by when one had just lived through twenty different potentially real nightmares, after all.

Her eyes drifted over to the clock on the wall, and she sighed. It was already 7 PM. Tomorrow would be their next meeting, so she had to get her act together.

"Nia? Dinner's ready. Are you coming out?" a familiar voice called from behind the door.

"Yeah, be right there," she replied, setting her pen down. She closed her notebook, and she stood up to leave. Her legs were a bit sore from sitting, and her back creaked as she stretched it, causing a wave of mild discomfort to travel up her spine.

Oh, wow. You're getting old, aren't you~?

"Not the time, brain."

The smell of dinner wafted in from the hallway, and she saw that the table was already set. Tachibana was in the kitchen, ferrying some freshly fried pork cutlets to a large plate.

"Hey." She gave a small nod. "Need help with anything?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I've got it. Thanks, though."

Nitsuki sat down at the dining room table, and she watched as Tachibana placed the plate in the middle before joining her.

"So, uh, before we dig in, I gotta ask you again. Are you okay?"

She nodded, her mouth watering slightly from the aroma of the food. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just been a long day." Her chopsticks began to tentatively reach out to the katsu. "Hehe~ Come to Mama~"

Tachibana frowned as he caught her wrist. "Seriously. We've talked about this. I'm really, really worried about how you've been acting lately."

"…" She stared at him, her eyes flickering back and forth between his serious expression and her delicious, crispy target. He didn't budge, even when she tried her absolute hardest to pull her wrist away with all the might her noodle arms could muster.

Bah. Stupid estrogen.

"…Okay," she relented, giving up. "Maybe I've been pushing myself a little too hard."

"A 'little' too hard?" He raised a brow. "Nia. Seriously. I've never seen you this exhausted. And, well, if I'm being frank, you've been kinda scary these last couple of days. I'm used to witnessing an evil laugh from you every once in a while. But when it's combined with the bloodshot eyes and the way you talk to yourself?"

"…I talk to myself?"

He nodded, his frown growing deeper. "Yeah, you've been doing it a lot recently. Like, whenever you close your eyes and start doing that weird mumbling, you look like you're trying to curse someone, or worse."

Oh, crap. That was awkward. She thought she'd just freeze up whenever she was using her future sight.

Her boyfriend sighed. "Look, I know you're doing a lot for the support group—especially after what Gramps showed you, but please, you're not going to be any good for anyone if you're dead on your feet. Sleep deprivation is very, VERY dangerous."

His grip on her arm loosened a little, and she could feel the warmth of his concern. "Can you promise that you'll take care?"

Nitsuki's eyes lingered over the tasty hostage. He did have a point, and she was already mostly done with her planning anyway. 

"…Fine." She groaned after some hesitation, and he finally let her go. She immediately grabbed the katsu with her newfound freedom, and he chuckled at her enthusiasm.

Aah! This was it~ She stuffed the crispy pork into her mouth, chewing on it slowly as she savored its flavor. The meat was juicy and tender, with just enough saltiness to bring out its taste without overpowering it.

Man, she was so lucky to have a boyfriend that could cook.

They ate in silence for a few moments before Tachibana spoke up again. "Erm, a thought just occurred to me… has our decision to start sleeping together full time been making it worse for you? I could go back to sleeping in your parent's old room if—"

"N-no," she interrupted after swallowing. "T-that's not the case at all. If anything, having you around helps."

He paused, his eyes widening as he looked down. "I-I mean, that's great to hear, but if it's a problem, I'd rather—"

She almost leapt across the table to grab him by the hands. "NO! Stop it! I NEED YOU TO SLEEP WITH ME!"

"…" Tachibana's face grew red at the outburst, and Nitsuki realized her mortifying, tiredness-addled mistake as her own face started to burn.

"Eh he, um, what I meant was… please continue sleeping with me in my bed. I-I wasn't referring to the other kind of…"

"…"

"…"

They stared at each other in embarrassed silence before Nitsuki let him go, both breaking into nervous laughter.

"Ahaha, y-yeah." He scratched the back of his neck before taking a bite out of his food, the redness of his cheeks not quite receding. "Though, we've been bathing together, cuddling, and 'mutually assisting' each other already. Is it really such a stretch to—"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Nitsuki begged, her own blush still lingering. "I-I think I'd die of embarrassment." She took a sip of her tea, hoping to quell her burning face.

Damn it, you prude! You ruined this for us! Now we can't have the smut scene we wanted!

She pounded her leg. "Sh-shut up you stupid monkey brain! Let this maiden be a maiden for a little while longer!"

Booooooo~

Tachibana chuckled, his own cheeks finally returning to normal. "Well, jokes aside, I'm happy that just being around me makes you comfortable; it makes me feel good as a boyfriend." He looked at her with a smile. "And, uh, if I'm being completely honest here, I really like sleeping with you too."

…You know, it's not too late to make the jump. You could totally pounce on him and—

"SHUT UP!" she hissed, causing her boyfriend to jolt slightly.

"A-ah! I-I'm sorry! Did I do something wrong?!"

Nitsuki immediately tensed and scrambled out of her seat to hug him, gently caressing his head in penance. "NO! Nonono. Tachibana, you did nothing wrong."

"I-I didn't?" He gulped, looking more vulnerable and hurt than she'd ever seen him. "Are you sure? I-I thought I'd just made you uncomfortable—"

"No," she firmly insisted, continuing to rub his head. "It was my stupid mistake. That response wasn't directed at you! It was for the horny devil on my shoulder screaming at me to—"

She slapped her hand over her mouth before she could make a bigger idiot out of herself. Was her tired self really this loose with her lips?!

"…" Tachibana blinked, panic and hurt giving way to awkward disbelief as Nitsuki recomposed herself.

The sound of the rain outside grew louder. "Eheheh, uh. All that to say… I'm fine." She slowly retracted herself and sat back down hoping that they could just skim over that unfortunate slip-up. 

"…"

"…"

"…So, uh, weather, am I right?" Tachibana weakly said, trying to change the topic. "It's been pretty crazy lately,"

"Y-yeah." She nodded, heat blossoming in her face. "Weather. Yup."

"…"

"…"

Tachibana sighed. "Damn it, sorry, but the thought's not going away. What was the horny devil telling you to do?"

She groaned and ran her hands down her face. "…Jump you," she honestly mumbled through the gaps in her fingers.

"Oh." His cheeks began to burn again, although he seemed to take her admission rather calmly. In fact, he seemed serious now.

"Nia, you should know, I'm not opposed to the idea of doing that with you," Tachibana said after a moment of thought. "And you shouldn't feel guilty. Those urges are perfectly acceptable."

"…" Nitsuki's face grew hotter upon hearing that. She was sure that she looked like a tomato by now.

Tachibana's hand reached over and held her own, his thumb tracing a circle over the top of her palm.

She shivered.

"We might still be new to this, but we've been dating long enough I think, and we've been close for even longer. So if you want to do it…" He paused and looked deep into her eyes. "I'd be more than happy to oblige."

"…"

Her heart was racing. Her breathing was shallow. And her mind was running a million kilometers per hour as she tried thinking of what to say or how to react.

She knew she didn't have to. It wasn't like one needed to divulge in the carnal to have a deep relationship—there were plenty of asexual couples who lived happily and fulfilled lives. Plus, she would be fine keeping things the way they already were.

But…

She scarfed down one final cutlet before fumblingly rising from her seat, nearly knocking over her floor chair in the process.

"I'm, um, going to take a shower."

Tachibana blinked, watching her in confusion. "Hm? Didn't we take one just a few hours ago when we got home? Why—"

She quickly leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on his forehead to silence him. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and her body felt like it was on fire.

"Could you clean up the food please? After that… wait for me on the bed, okay?" Her voice wavered slightly, but there was no hesitation in her words.

"O-oh. Ohhhhh." He finally got it, and he looked away in embarrassment. "Y-yeah, sure thing. I-I'll clean up and be ready."

"Thank you."

Nitsuki quickly exited, her feet tapping against the wooden floors as she made her way down the hall.

She didn't know whether to be happy or sad about the fact that the horny devil on her shoulder hadn't said a single thing since she had decided.

All she knew was that Tachibana had been right earlier.

She gulped as she reached her destination, quickly opening and shutting the bathroom door behind her.

Sleep deprivation really was dangerous.