Yuno took my hand and led me to lie down gently on the bed.
I was against the wall; Yuno was on the living room side.
Being pushed against the wall meant there was absolutely nowhere left to run.
“…Well, goodnight,” I muttered brusquely, pulling the duvet over my head and facing the wall.
“Mm, goodnight, Big Sister.”
Yuno’s voice came from behind me. It sounded sleepy, with a slight, spoiled sweetness to it. I heard the rustle of the sheets and knew she had lied down too.
The queen-sized bed was spacious, and the fact that we could maintain some distance was a saving grace. If the bed had been narrow, we would have been forced into close contact whether I liked it or not.
Even so, having spent so long sleeping alone, the mere fact that someone was right next to me made me feel strangely uneasy.
Someone’s body heat, someone’s breathing, so close. Just that made my chest feel restless and unsettled.
I wonder how much time passed.
Rustle.
The faint sound of someone tossing and turning.
And then—
“Nn…”
Along with a small sound, a gradual warmth spread across my back.
At the same time, the sweet scent of shampoo drifted toward me.
I realized Yuno had pressed herself against my back.
“…Hey. Don’t come over here.”
“Oh, you were awake.”
“I can’t sleep, so move away.”
“You’re warm, Big Sister.”
As if my words of rejection had gone unheard, Yuno softly wrapped her slender arms around my waist.
A soft sensation. Her small, delicate body was pressed snugly against my back.
The tip of her cold nose brushed against the nape of my neck. Yuno’s breath fanned over the skin. Slow, steady breathing. For some reason, that alone made me painfully conscious of her.
My heart began to throb with a violence that felt loud.
“Hey… if we stay clung together like this—”
Yuno’s lips drew close to my ear.
“I don’t want to be alone anymore.”
She whispered it in a husky voice.
A voice that sounded pleading, yet sorrowful, echoing deep into my ear.
The moment her warm breath hit my ear, a jolt of electricity shot through my spine.
I couldn’t say a word. I simply remained facing the wall, my lips pressed firmly shut.
Eventually, Yuno’s hand gently rested on my head.
Slowly, slowly, she stroked my hair as if combing through it.
The warmth of her small palm seemed to seep through my head and permeate my entire body.
I wonder why. When Yuno strokes my head, I feel the tension inside me unraveling. I think she possesses a strange power.
My eyelids gradually grew heavy.
The heartbeat that had been so frantic just moments ago had calmed down before I knew it. I could feel my own breathing slowing. Behind me, Yuno’s soft, rhythmic breathing continued.
Just like that, I slowly drifted off to sleep.
I woke up suddenly.
The room was still shrouded in deep darkness.
I realized that the warmth I had felt on my back right before falling asleep was gone.
I figured Yuno had simply rolled over.
At that moment—
—Sniff.
Sniff… ugh…
The sound of someone sniffing. A faint voice, as if desperately trying to suppress something.
It repeated several times from behind me.
A sense of foreboding stirred in my chest, and I instinctively turned around.
“…Sniff… ugh… hhh…”
Yuno, her back to me, was trembling slightly.
…She’s crying.
While desperately stifling her voice, stifling her sobs.
Yuno was crying.
“…don’t… leave…”
“…don’t… leave me…”
A leaking voice, barely audible.
I couldn’t hear it clearly.
But.
Don’t throw me away.
—I realized those were the words.
I had realized it.
“Hey, wait…”
Before I knew it, I had spoken.
Yuno slowly turned toward me.
Her brows were downturned, and her eyes were swollen and red.
Droplets of tears clung to her long eyelashes, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Drop after drop, endlessly, soaking the pillow.
Trembling breaths escaped from her slightly parted lips. She looked profoundly distressed, yet I could tell she was fighting desperately not to let out a sound.
Yuno’s crying face.
I had never seen this expression on Yuno, who usually spoke of even the most painful things with a smile.
My chest tightened sharply. It was almost painful.
And at the same time—I thought, she’s human.
This girl, too.
In truth, she is this fragile, this wounded.
And she behaves so brightly, desperately trying to keep others from noticing.
It was so poignant that I couldn’t bear it.
Before I knew it, I had pulled Yuno into my arms.
Her sobbing body was shaking finely. Her delicate frame felt as if it might shatter if I held her too tightly.
I embraced her softly, gently, as if touching a piece of glassware.
The blonde hair touching my cheek was silky and soft. The faint lingering scent of shampoo. As I wrapped my arms around her trembling back, Yuno’s breath hitched, and she sniffed again.
Since Yuno started living here, I have been saved by her presence several times.
I had to admit that now.
And yet, I’ve probably given nothing back.
Perhaps even when she slept alone in the living room until now, she had cried like this. Desperately stifling her voice.
Even at a time like this, no words came to mind.
I was disgusted by my own coldness, my own clumsiness.
After all, we are strangers.
She is just a temporary housemate I happened to pick up.
Even so, I felt a pure, instinctive need to protect this girl who looked as if she might vanish at any moment.
“…I won’t throw you away.”
I found myself whispering the words.
“Eh…?”
“I won’t leave you alone.”
The words that spilled out one by one were, perhaps, my true feelings.
Yuno’s arms wrapped around my back, clutching the fabric of my pajamas tightly.
Her hands were shaking. But the strength in those small hands was firm.
We lay on the bed, facing each other while embracing. Yuno’s face was right there, in close proximity.
Our heartbeats began to mingle. I could feel Yuno’s pulse through my palm.
Eventually, the sobbing quieted, and Yuno’s breathing deepened.
Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.
The trembling breath gradually became calm.
Her eyelids slowly closed.
Just like that, Yuno fell fast asleep in my arms.
Eyelids red from crying. Long eyelashes damp with tears. A sleeping face as innocent as a child.
The rhythm of her peaceful breathing.
It felt so incredibly cute, so precious.
Without thinking, I leaned my face closer—
And gently brushed the bangs away from her forehead.
I pressed my lips there and gave her a light kiss.
After a moment, I slowly pulled my lips away.
And then.
Yuno’s large, moist eyes were staring straight back at me.