[28]

A yawn slips past my lips when my eyes flutter open. I attempt to rub the sleep out of my eyes but the arm that lies heavily on my waist prevents me from doing so.

My eyes widen as I jolt upwards - or try to, being held down by the arm that snakes around my hip tighter. "Don't move," a husky voice grumbles into the crook of my neck, puffing out a breath of warm air that has the hair on the back of my neck standing up.

In confusion, I take in my surroundings, noticing the pair of legs that is entangled with mine and the arm that is draped around my body like I'm some body pillow. I divert my gaze to the face that is nuzzled into my shoulder and instantly recognize the mop of disshelved black hair on top of his head.

The memories wash over me, sending my mind into a frequency of shock, affection and shame. He has seen all of me. Every single scar, every single bruise. And I willingly showed him.

I let out a soft sigh, turning my head to get a better look at Riku's face. His eyes are shut, his lashes clashing together. The frown between his eyebrows is gone, his forehead looking relaxed in comparison to the glare that he always has plastered on his face in public that made it all wrinkly.

His lips are inches away from my skin, parted and puffing out soft breaths of air. His hair is all over the place, for the first time not gelled into messy perfection but just naturally sticking out however it wants to.

I let my eyes travel down to his topless chest, intrigued by the black ink that is carved into the right side of his chest which is unfortunately partially hidden by my shoulder. Nonetheless, the beauty of his tattoo takes away my breath just like the first time I had seen it.

But before I can dwell on it, Riku's hand shoots up to my cheek and cups it gently, forcing my face into his direction. Our eyes lock, my heart leaping inside of my own bare chest. There's a lazy expression on his face - one that feels foreign but at the same time heartwarming to witness on his features - as he speaks up. "Hey," he rasps out, his voice thick with sleep.

The corners of my lips tug upwards a tiny bit, my stiff posture easing as his scent floods my nostrils. "Hey," I reply, my own vocie sounding even more throaty and raspy than his'.

"What time is it?" I ask quietly after a couple of minutes of comfortable silence that we spent gazing into each other's eyes.

He raises his head off my shoulder, ripping away the warmth of his body and replacing it with a breeze of coldness that brushes past my sensitive skin. His eyes snap over to one particular part of the room and squint slightly when a stray of sunshine hits him in the face, trying to make out whatever he's looking at.

Then, he lies his head back down while replying, "It's 8:31AM."

My eyes grow wide in shock. It's Saturday already? My aunt must be going nuts with worry.

However, the guilt that I was expecting to crawl up my spine doesn't make an appearance. Instead, my mind locks all thoughts of my aunt away and redirects my attention to the guy that is pulling me closer into his body.

I let out a yelp when his fingertips brush a overly sensitive spot on my exposed hip, making him trace his fingers over the same spot again in a taunting manner. "Stop it," I hiss quietly, squirming around in his grip to no avail, his arms are locked around me like metal bars would be caged around a criminal.

"Why? You look cute when you do that," he mumbles, causing my cheeks to heat up in embarrassment, which only encourages him to continue his assault on my sensitive hip.

"Please," I drag out.

Luckily, he finally stops with a huff after I beg another few times. But that doesn't stop him from grabbing ahold my my waist and throwing one of his legs over my thighs, successfully immobilizing me.

Letting out a breath, I unconsciously snuggle deeper into his embrace, for once enjoying the tornado that rips through my stomach as I do so. I listen to the sounds of Riku's even breathing and the bit of rain that is still lightly pattering down on the window, bringing my hand up to run them through his mop of hair.

He lets out a grunt of approval as I bury my hand in it, the black strands drowning out the pale color of my skin, my fingers disappearing completely. He likes when I do that, doesn't he? Every time I do it, he gives sounds of approval and leans into my touch.

I giggle slightly when he, just as the thought crosses my mind, gives my hand a small shove with his head, urging my fingers to start massaging him. I comply to his 'orders' and move my fingers in small circles, digging my nails into his scalp the slightest bit, earning another sound of approval from the back of his throat.

"What's so funny?" he murmurs into my collarbone, pressing a quick kiss on my skin.

"Nothing," I dismiss and return his kiss with a peck on his forehead. I continue massaging his scalp, my mind drifting off to dangerous places - that, surprisingly, don't seem as dangerous as normally while I'm scooped up in Riku's arms. Especially, when I notice that I can't even remember what nightmare it was that had plagued my dreams this night.

Oh my god, I really can't remember. What did I dream off?

My movements unconsciously freeze as my mind runs wild with a variety of assumptions. There hasn't been one time where I couldn't remember the nightmare I had dreamt off. So, how come I can't, now?

Did I actually dream of nothing this time? Really? At that thought, excitement blooms in my stomach, overpowering the fact that I didn't even notice how I didn't wake- or rather, how I wasn't forced out of my sleep by another haunting memory, but woke up peacefully.

My breathing quickens in ecstasy, and while my mind is scolding me for being so excited about something so petty, my heart does loops inside of my chest. This might seem small and absolutely ridiculous to other people, but to me it was my greatest dream to have at least one peaceful night. And now I was finally granted that wish.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Riku suddenly questions, sitting up and rubbing one of his eyes as he sends me a blank look that - though his features are as stoic as ever - displays concern.

In response, I send him the widest smile I've had the pleasure of feeling on my lips in years. It isn't nearly anywhere near being one of those wide grins that Kai or Gwen would always shoot me whenever I returned their smiles, but it's more than enough to startle not only Riku but myself as well. He furrows his eyebrows, his eyes trained on my lips.

"I didn't have a nightmare," I whisper. Shooting upwards, I repeat my words, this time louder, excitement lacing my voice, "I didn't have a nightmare."

Upon hearing my words, his features soften, the frown dissolving as he ruffles my hair. "You're so cute."

A blush creeps onto my cheeks, but the smile doesn't drop. It only drops when I suddenly feel an agonizing wave of pain shoot up my lower back. "Ow," I whimper, arching my back in an attempt to ease the pain, unsuccessfully.

Riku is instantly alert. "You okay?"

I nod in response, though the pain surges through my back once again in a nasty manner. "It just hurts," I force out, the excitement from having no nightmare subsiding.

"What hurts?" Riku inquires, gently laying his hand on my waist. Then, realization hits him and his eyes widen. "Oh."

Due to his reaction, I feel the same realization dawn on me as well which immediately causes my ears to grow bright red. It's an embarrassing situation, but weirdly, not as embarrassing as I had thought it'd be.

"You wanna take a shower? I can make some breakfast." Riku's voice sounds strangely soft, its tone foreign to my ears, but I like it. I like the faint hint of concern swimming around in his vocal chords; it's oddly heartwarming.

"Y-Yeah," I stammer as I untangle myself from his embrace and attempt to stand up. While doing so, the pain in my back intensifies and my knees buckle, a wave of dizziness adding to my struggles like a taunt.

I fall back down on the couch, hissing in discomfort as my butt stings. I click my tongue in annoyance, or rather in a pitiful attempt to ignore the painful truth that I'd most likely limp for the next few days, but before I can try to stand up again, Riku suddenly hoists me up with one of his arms wrapped around my back and the other one resting under my legs - bridal style.

A gasp escapes my lips and, on reflex, I swing my arms around his neck, my face burning. "W-What are you doing?" I squeal, unable to meet his gaze.

"You're hurting," comes the simply reply from the guy I have given my virginity to.

I stay quiet, my heart beating in rhythm to his footsteps, as he carries me down the hallway, setting me down on the table next to the sink in the bathroom. He leaves the room and comes back with a set of black clothes. I'm not even surprised, he just isn't into colorful clothes.

"Here," he says, handing me the stack of black fabric folded neatly atop of each other, and ruffles my hair before he turns to leave.

"Thanks," I mumble just loud enough for him to hear before he shuts the door behind him, leaving me behind to drown in my thoughts while letting the few reminders of my happiness in form of tears melt into the water that pours down on me as soon as I step into the shower.

Hey there,

this chap was more of a chill chapter, with a couple of cute interactions (that, be honest, we definitely needed, lmao. At least, I did).

probably won't be as chill, but we'll see.

Stay safe y'all! Love ya guys!

❤

- L I S A