Saito grunted and did his best to push forward. This was the one task he couldn't fail in, the one thing he was personally invested in. There was no wayto distance himself from this one, so he had to do his best to make sure it didn't fail.
Carrying his childhood friend to her room.
He'd found her collapsed on the stairway some time ago. At first he was worried about assassination or possibly a hit and run. When it was obvious she was alive, he turned to poison and subterfuge as possible causes of said collapsing. The truth was far more simple and mundane.
She hadn't slept much the past few days.
Tests were coming up and she needed time to study. Rather than take the obvious route of informin his parents on it so they could give her some time off, she chose to do it after everybody had started sleeping. Even he was facepalming at her idiotic choice of action.
He made it to her room in no time flat. It was no problem for him, though he had to admit he had a bit of trouble getting her up in the first place. He wasn't the strongest person in the household and he knew it, so it didn't really bother him. He had to resort to the princess cradle to carry her without waking her up. A piggyback would've been easier, but that might have woken her up. It was easier this way.
He just wished he could ignore the soft feeling of her chest on his. Not that he found it uncomfortable or anything, it just made his face burn for some reason. He wasn't blind to her....maturity, especially since she was a year older than him, but he'd never actually touched her close enough to pay attention to it.
He didn't bother turning on the lights. Vaguely, he could see the large, peach colored bed a few steps in front of him. As carefully as he could, he used one hand to pull back the blankets before tucking her in. He couldn't help but sigh nostalgically when he saw the bed's large size. When they were younger, it wasn't uncommon for her and/or Aria to sleep over rather than go back to their rooms. He had stopped doing it after a while, though Aria still did it at times. That explained why it was a double bed.
"Goodnight....." He smiled slightly and turned away till the sound of groaning reached his ears. Eyes widening slightly, he turned back and saw her staring at him with half lidded eyes.
"Saito...?" He couldn't help but laugh slightly on the inside at the absence of the sama-honorific. She must've been really sleepy.
"I had to carry you here since you collapsed," He did his best to keep his voice neutral and pushed her back down, "I'll tell mom and dad to give you a few days off for your test and to recover. Sorry for not noticing earlier."
Again he tried to make his way to the door before the feeling of his wrist being grabbed pulled him back. He turned around and gave her a questioning stare, but she ignored it and pulled him towards the bed.
"It's late now and going back to your room will take a while." She placed the blanket over them and turned to the other side, trying to hide her face, "Just stay here for tonight."
"It won't take me long to go back to the room." He tried to scoot slowly put of the bed, "Besides, a guy and a girl sleeping on the same bed after they're 12 doesn't look good no matter how you put it."
"Why? Are you going to do something to me?"
"No!" His answer was followed by the redness on his face returning. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore it, "I.....think it's inappropriate..."He managed to finish awkwardly.
It wasn't like he hadn't thought about it. He was an adolescent and having a childhood friend living in the same house with him growing up confused him at times. Still, he had trouble enough forming cohesive friendships, let alone romantic ones. Seeing things his family would rather ignore also made him slightly awkward at the concept.
She turned back to his side and hugged his arm, pulling it towards her, "Sleepover," He blinked at her choice of words. The way she said it indicated it was final, and he had to admit the suggestion appealed to him. Sighing he just closed his eyes and let his breathing calm.
"Just like when we were younger....." Yukari blushed and kept her face hidden after she said that. She had just blurted it without thinking.
"Yeah....." She couldn't see it, but his lips were curled upwards into a small smile.
Maybe they weren't kid's anymore, and maybe things had changed, but that didn't meanthat for one night, just one night, he couldn't forget it all and let go. His eyes grew heavy and soon he found himself in the sweet oblivion of sleep.
Yukari smiled when she heard his calm breathing. Keeping her nerves level, she scooted closer and hugged him. She was slightly taller than him, but his body warmth kept her comforted all the same.
"Good night, Saito."
She left the next part unsaid.