Fall Into Me

.XXI.

Startled, Mona scrambled upright, heart pounding in her chest. A cold sweat had broken out across her skin, the fear from the dream slowly fading as the room came into better focus. Mona couldn't remember the dream, but it had been bad enough to wake her and frighten her. Turning her head, she saw Minerva beside her, lying on her front, arms tucked beneath the pillow and sound asleep. Gently, Mona brushed dark hair away from Minerva's face, soothing herself with the action.

Unwilling to wake Minerva, Mona slid out of the bed, slipping her feet into the slippers Minerva had bought her. Tiptoeing across the room, she unhooked her blue robe from the wall and pulled it on, eyeing Minerva to make sure she was still asleep. It had been a couple days since Maya, and Minerva tended to let out her emotions at night when they were alone. Mona had been making sure to not disturb her during the night, and that she slept in a little later to recover from it.

Cleo and Naru hadn't left Minerva's side, currently sleeping close together in front of the fire. Cricket had lifted his head at Mona's movements, slowly unfolding his gangly, misshaped legs to follow her. They went into the living room, Mona grabbed her laptop from the table and curled on the sofa to watch some videos. Slowly, the time ticked over from one to two, then Mona startled awake, blinking at the clock now showing three thirty. Stretching out, she saw Cricket had joined her on the sofa, lying alongside her. His tail thumped slowly when he saw her awake.

They'd learned that Cricket did much better with one person at a time, and was still getting used to both Minerva and Mona being around together. Mona was his favourite, and he sought her out more often than he did Minerva.

"Mornin', boy," Mona greeted, stroking his head. Both Naru and Cricket were growing well now they were eating steadily. Yawning, Mona glanced at the clock again, finally noticing the date beside it. "Hey, look at that," she ruffled Cricket's ears, "it's Christmas!"

A bitter sensation flooded Mona, her excitement muffled considerably. Christmas was not good for her, it never had been. As a young child she would receive presents, but then Iona would take them away, claiming that Mona didn't want them and was openly ungrateful. Mona had never done or said anything remotely similar to that, always thankful for the smallest gifts she'd been given. In her teenage years, her gifts thinned down to four, from Esmé, Eros, Gran and Pa. Then, they stopped altogether as an adult.

Then the Christmas she spent with Freya was all about Freya, and Mona hadn't been given anything. Instead she'd been locked in a room because she was too loud and excitable. It killed her enjoyment for the season. Mona settled deeper into the sofa, absently watching the game being played. This year would be different, she already knew that, but she didn't know how well she would handle it. Everything Minerva had done with her had been drastically different to what she was used to, and sometimes it made her panic.

Cricket got up and pawed at the blanket until Mona lifted it up, and he wiggled underneath, pressing his warm body into the curve of hers. His legs were so long that his paws dangled off the sofa. Mona wrapped an arm around his ribcage, cuddling into him as her eyes started to drop shut.

*

Waking up to an empty bed instantly made Minerva suspicious. Even more so when she felt how ice cold it was. Seeing only Naru and Cleo in the room made Minerva's chest ache, and she rubbed at it as she went to the bathroom. The hole Maya had left in her heart was weeping. Minerva was almost resentful to Naru, because she'd adopted many of Maya's habits and little quirks. None of it was new, Mona had been pointing them out since Naru had arrived, but without Maya there, everything was more noticeable.

Going back to the bedroom, Minerva grabbed her robe and headed out towards the living room. Cleo automatically followed her, Naru slinking after them both, not wanting to be on her own. Noise caught Minerva's attention and she followed the sound to the sofa, where she found Mona and Cricket bundled up under a warm blanket, Mona's laptop playing a video. Quietly, Minerva paused it and shut the laptop lid, moving silently to the coffee bar.