"It" Can't Be Helped (Revised) | ✔️ | Blue Exorcist

2

"Nii-san... Hey, wake up." I groaned, swatting away Yukio's hand and yanking the covers over my head. Nuzzling into my pillow, I let out a deep sigh, basking in the warmth of my bed. I felt the lull of sleep pull me in, and I greeted it happily. I heard a chuckle from above before I felt my blanket being pulled from my grasp. A ting of irritation sparked inside of me, but my groggy state muted my reaction. I felt Kuro move and I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally praying for a few more minutes of peace. The warmth of his body left my abdomen, and I soon felt his weight on top of me, followed soon after by his paw on my face.

"Rin!" He mewled and I groaned in response. "Rin, it's morning. Time to get up for breakfast!" The top of his head rammed into the underside of my chin, "C'mon!"

I relented, swatting him away and stretching. My furry familiar hopped down to the floor and wandered over to the closet, settling into our routine. I sat up in bed and stretched once more, preparing myself for the coming day. Rising to my feet, I trod over to the closet, stripping off my shirt and pajama bottoms, and tossing them into the nearby hamper. My gaze lingered on the blue flannel bottoms for a moment before grabbing my uniform off the hanger. The pajamas had been a gift from Yukio, and they were my favorite. They were warm, the fabric fuzzy and comforting. I'd occasionally ponder the thought of asking Yukio for another pair, but I didn't want to be any more of a financial burden than I already was.

I tossed my blazer over my shoulders and I heard Kuro speak up from beside me. "Rin, why do you always wake up in the middle of the night?" I hide my surprise, not sure how he'd noticed since he always seemed to be passed out when I awoke. "You toss and turn a lot, too. Do you have nightmares?" I chewed on the inside of my lip, fixing my tie before turning to the two-tailed feline. There was no point in lying to him, not when he had this many puzzle pieces. However, I could still placate him.

"I'm fine, Kuro. I'm sure it's just a phase. It's pass eventually." He didn't seem to buy my excuse, and he followed after me as I entered the bathroom. His ears tilted back as he hopped up onto the counter, a sad look crossing his expression as I pulled a comb through my messy hair.

"This phase has been going on for weeks now. I don't think it will be stopping any time soon." I watched in the mirror as he stood, taking a few steps forward and rubbing himself against my abdomen, his tails flickering behind him. "You should talk to Yukio about this, he might be able to help. You've been losing too much sleep, and that's not healthy."

I sighed and stepped away from the counter, returning to our bedroom and out the door into the adjacent hallway. "You sound just like Yukio, yourself," I mumbled under my breath. My familiar and I made our way down to the first floor and toward the cafeteria. Kuro changed direction, however, and started to munch on the food Yukio had placed next to the front door. I smiled as he ate his food and watched out the windows, his gaze fixated on the small creatures that lived in the nearby trees. Inside the cafeteria, I spotted Yukio eating his breakfast. I walked over to the fridge and assessed its contents. Finally settling on my choice of yogurt. Despite not eating much the night prior, I still didn't feel all that hungry.

Yukio gave me a thoughtful look as I sat down across from him. "When did you make our lunches? They weren't there when I grabbed dinner last night." My gaze fell down to my hands, and I fumbled around with the foil lid as I conjured up an excuse. It wouldn't be the greatest idea to tell him about my insomnia. It'd be an even worse idea to tell him I would spend the night hours cooking or cleaning to shake the dread that remained after my nightmares.

I glanced back up to teal eyes, a smile spreading across my face as I giggled. "You really need a new prescription. It has been a while since you had an eye exam." I shoved my spoon into my yogurt and gave him an incredulous look. "They were there last night, I made them while I was cooking dinner. You know, multitasking."