The birds chirp and tweet outside the window, the sunlight streaming in and a heavy purring coming from the bed as Sushi rolls around in the sunbeams. Yawning, I sit up and feel an arm around my chest.

“Where… where are you going, baby?” Nemuri mumbles, rising and wrapping her arms around me, burying me back into her warm body, “There we go…” she kisses the top of my head. She stayed in? 

“Nemuri, I thought you were on duty.” I sigh.

“I am, but not for another few minutes.” she huffs, “Seriously, you’d think the world is ending with the amount of hours they have me working.”

“Nemuri, promise me you’ll try to keep this hidden.” I smile up at her and she chuckles.

“Baby, Endeavor can’t do anything to you anymore. If anything, the media scandals should be cake!” she winks and kisses me on the lips, “Mm… don’t be such a worrywart, Koyurei.”

“That’s my thing though! I worry.” I snap gently, “Just… be careful, okay? I don’t want you getting hurt and getting stuck somewhere.” Nemuri gets out of bed and stretches, her eyes sparkling playful and bright.

Hopeful. She squeezes my shoulder and pushes me back under the quickly cooling covers, “I love you, baby.” she says. I almost don’t want her to leave at all, but here I am, laying in bed alone.

Sushi pads up to me, “Mao? Maaao…” he meows, pawing at me, “Mao! Maaaaaaaa.” he headbutts me in the face and that’s when I’m summoned to fulfill my oath of feeding my cat. He follows me with a little trot and his tail in the air in a tiny curl. I fill the bowl and make sure he’s got water. Then it’s back to bed, laying down and closing my eyes, trying to will myself back to sleep, at least that’d cause things to go back to normal-ish. Tossing and turning, thrashing the pillows and sheets, almost trying to fight it into me.

I turn on the TV, ignoring the news and heading right for the game shows. Just watching TV to keep my mind off the bad stuff in my head. Just trying to act some level of normal but it’s just a farce. I spend most of the day in bed, playing with Sushi and petting him. It’s normal enough until the show gives way to something I don’t like. Hero reports. I turn it off and grab a book off the side table. It’s a novel about a man investigating the house he moved into for a true crime novel he’s writing. It switches perspectives. It’s cool. I read about half of it. It’s a solid read. Nothing happens, it’s oddly normal?

Well, no. It’s horrible because I expect things to happen. Chaos. All of it. My life with my Dad and my family just… noise. Comforting noise, the kind of chaos that bashes down all the doors, wrecks every shop, and just leaves me with no peace at all. I’m not perfect. I’m barely even functioning. I lay in bed, reading, staring out the window, shuffling to the door for food or the bathroom, all I hear is the same voice telling me…

“Wow. We suck.”

“Is this it? We’re out. We’re done. But…”

“Is this really it?”

My face, haggard and worn. My burns still on my skin and I screw my eyes shut. Everything fell away for a moment, at that moment I was back at the hospital. Wrapped in bandages and vaguely staring through the painkiller haze. It doesn’t feel right. I’m growing a beard, smelling weird, it’s not right. It never is. Open my eyes and there I am. Worn down to a numbness. Still shambling around but I reach for the razor, hand gripping the handle.

Tense. Easy… get the cream… My hand smacks down the razor, gripping the shaving cream almost in a chokehold. I almost want to close my eyes and I have the bottle in my hand. Pwsssh! There it is. Puffed out on my hand, smearing it on the white n’ red beard. Rinsing my hand off, I grab my razor again. With practiced precision, maybe some scissors’ help, I cut it all down and shave it off. Clean shaven, as best I could get it with still some stubborn stubble clinging to my face. I grab the aftershave and splash it, the stinging makes me suck in a breath.

“Tsssssshhhhiiiittt!”

I always hate that part. There’s this need to go out, to walk around, to make myself busy. Checking the time it’s been a bit. Taking off my shirt and seeing more burns and turning on the water, standing under the spray. Just trying to take my mind off all the things going hog wild in my mind. Washing my face, standing under the warm water and everything. Washing my hair and body, all the weird grodiness leaving my body and taking a deep breath.

All I need to do is figure all of this out. Just to get it all started and begin the healing for real. Instead of just going at this all sick and broken. When I get out of the shower I notice that my phone’s got a few new messages. Picking it up, my friend Keigo messaged me like:

Dude! Dude, what the hell is going on?!

Dude, come on, answer!!! 

Sighing, I type up an answer.

I’m getting married, Kei.

You didn’t tell me!

Yeah, because it’s still new. I’m not coming out to mess around either.

Awwww! But me and Rumi might wanna see you!

Later.

Koyu!

Late. Er.

I could hear the little cawing groan he does and Rumi wanting to beat the shit out of me but it never stopped her before. Getting into the kitchen, I get a message from Nemuri.

Hey baby, I’m sorry but I won’t be home in time to eat dinner with you… go ahead and fix it and don’t wait up on me.

Okay honey… 

Aw, I know you’re sad. 

I smile and just start dinner anyway. I know Nemuri is trying her best, so having a meal ready for her when she gets home is important, fresh or packed. Doesn’t matter. Turning on the burners, getting the rice clean and going. Frying the meat, the pork with the perfect crunchy skin and I put it on the rice.

Before that I remembered to season it, of course. I’m not about to make anything bland. I have no idea what I just made but a moment of truth! I take a bite and it’s better than I thought it’d be. It almost always is better than I think it is. Eating alone was something I always come to know as something normal. Something that almost never was an uncertainty. Sushi trots out and jumps on the table. But I don’t shoo him away.

I need to heal.

I don’t even hear her come to bed, Nemuri’s arms gently wrap around me with a soft and almost sweet squeeze.

“Koyurei? Are you awake, baby?” I roll over and there she is, wrapped in her red bathrobe and smiling at me with her mask still on. Her hand immediately draws me close to her soft chest, the skin so warm and the fabric brushing against my face.

“Did you have a good day?” she asks, her voice warm and soft, not even tired. She must’ve worked because I can almost hear the tiredness just about to hit her. It doesn’t take words to tell her I didn’t.

There’s a soft rustling of fabric, the shifting of her weight and the clicking of a lamp. She looms above me, dark purple hair blooming out in almost every direction, a hair tie being set on the nightstand. Her lithe body shines in the lamplight, hands buried in her hair as she sits up straight, tongue licking her lips.

“I know what’ll make you feel better…” she croons, her hand sliding down to my pajama pants, pulling them down with my boxers and giving me an impressed little chuff.

Nemuri straddles me, gently guiding my hands, one on her cheek and one on her chest, softly breathing as she smiles and looks down at me with the most affectionate look. She kisses my palm.

"Let me take care of you this time, Koyurei." she says, "You had such a bad day, baby. So lie back and relax."

She gently surrenders to my touch, leaning back, her hair raining down, brushing against her lithe body. I close my eyes and lower my hands, her soft gentle hands and voice brush against my body and it just makes me want to start crying.

Because she's never left. Even after seeing where I came from, even after everything. Being one again feels better as she leans down and lies against my chest, pressing her lips to mine. Moving her hips and smiling down at me.

"Oh pretty boy..." she sighs, "Just let it out." I bury my hands into her hair, holding her down as she presses soft red traces of her lipstick on my body. She has so much love for me and every brush of her lips and hands makes me want to sink more and more into that pleasant half awake haze.

Her lips taste like coffee, her touch silk, the warmth between us like the sun. Her hair velvet and her eyes like the sky. The flash bulbs always burn between us and I hate it more than anything. 

They don't know her like I do. They keep trying to get between us. Pry into this time. It's almost surreal that we're going to be married soon. That I have a ring on my finger and she's got one too. That I get to wake up next to her every day.

But then I can’t bear the thought of being away from her. Her body, although muscular, is soft as the bed under us, her fingers lace with mine, holding my hands on either side of me and her lips and tongue trail across my scarred skin.

Her gentle hands keep me grounded, her smile showing me how much she loves this. Her cheeks flushed with the effort and the thin, sweet scent of her quirk hazing through the room. Her moans aren’t ecstatic but gentle.

“See? Just lean into it, baby…” she breathes, “I love you. I love you so much…” she closes her eyes and picks up the pace, “No matter what you… you tell yourself…” she closes her eyes and lets out a cry in pure pleasure.

“Just lemme go to sleep, okay?” I moan, and she smiles.

“You got it… One good nights… sl-sleep… coming up!” she uses her quirk and the gas plumes out from her skin.

It hits me hard enough to almost make me pass out, and Nemuri leans down, her lips meeting mine with me still inside her. She still pumps out more and more of my seed as my eyes grow heavy and close. She’s a seldom Somnophile.

But it makes her happy so…

I’m happy to fall asleep. Just to let the world pass me by. I’ll find my new purpose, I’ll find it all in time. I’m just… tired.