Black, Blue and Gold [ryeji]

[Part 6]

Ryujin was woken up by the sound of a chair being dragged on the floor. She frowned – trying to open her eyes.

Yeji saw Ryujin stirring. She let go of the chair she was dragging and approached the bed. "Sorry. It's just me. Go back to sleep," she whispered while gently patting Ryujin's hand.

Ryujin huffed. "What time is it?" Her voice cracked. She blinked a few times and saw Yeji smiling at her.

Yeji checked her watch. "Almost eleven."

Ryujin tried to sit up. "And you've just gotten back?"

"Yeah. Had a lot to do," Yeji said. "Don't move. Go back to sleep." She was about to move to the chair when she felt Ryujin grabbing her wrist. She looked at her with raised eyebrows. "What is it?"

"Your back will hurt if you sleep on the chair." Ryujin held onto Yeji's wrist.

"I'll be fine."

Ryujin started to shift, moving to one side of the bed to make space for Yeji.

Yeji's eyes widened. Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?

Ryujin was blushing. She looked away while tugging slightly at Yeji's wrist. She didn't want Yeji to have back pains in the morning from sleeping on the uncomfortable chair so the only prevention she could think of was to share her bed.

"If I wanted to sleep on a bed, I could just use the other bed, you know," Yeji said with an amused smile on her face. "It's still empty."

Ryujin froze. She hadn't thought of that. She instantly let go of Yeji's wrist.

Yeji laughed at the sight of the red face. "But I guess I can't since I'm not a patient here." She sat down on the bed, next to Ryujin. "Scoot." She nudged her.

Ryujin did as she was told – slowly moving further to the other side of the small bed. She then lifted her blanket to cover Yeji with it.

Yeji lay down. Her arm touched Ryujin's and she felt goosebumps but didn't react further.

"Warm?" Ryujin asked after she had let go of the blanket.

Yeji nodded. "Thanks."

"No problem."

They lay side-by-side awkwardly, staring at the ceiling and not moving a muscle.

Yeji was tired so she was planning to go to sleep as soon as she could. But lying next to Ryujin had chased away her sleepiness. She grew tense after the long silence.

"Too awkward?" Ryujin finally broke the silence.

Yeji exhaled. She was glad that Ryujin had decided to speak. "Just a little."

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

Another pause.

"Well, goodnight then." Ryujin closed her eyes.

"Goodnight." Yeji also closed her eyes. She would try to not think about this for now.

———

Something hard hit her chin.

Ryujin huffed. She tried to open her eyes – squinting at the dim light coming from behind the curtains. She then heard rustling of fabrics and felt something warm snuggling against her body. She tried to look down but found that she couldn't. Something was lodged under her chin. She frowned. Hair? She was still waiting for her brain to wake up. She was also starting to realize that she couldn't move her arm.