insouciant || ON HIATUS

ℂℍ𝔸ℙ𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝟙𝟡

Mamoru was always hypersensitive to Maiko.  Some would even joke that it was twin intuition. A few years ago, Aomine affectionately called it "Twintuition".

He woke up before he realized why.  The dark room told him it was either very late or very early.

His room was directly next to Maiko's and they didn't have the thinnest walls.  He heard her crying, though it was very soft.

He sneaked over the creaky spots and crept into her room.  He opened the door and closed it, not wanting to wake up Alessandro in case he was a light sleeper.  Claire, on the other hand, was a very heavy sleeper, which worried him a little. If there was a fire or an earthquake, he felt he would have to literally drag her out of the room.

Mamoru approached Maiko's bed, seeing her quivering figure. It happened often still, the nightmares. Almost one or twice a week, she would wake up crying though she wasn't always fully awake.

He didn't touch her, but chose to kneel next to her head. "Maiko. Mai-chan," he whispered softly. "Wake up. It's Moru."

His hand carefully brushed against her cheek. "Maiko, wake up."

Her eyes fluttered open. He could only see her face because of the pretty pink nightlight Claire had given her.

His fingers were stained with blood.

Mamoru ignored it and waited for Maiko to stop crying. "Moru?"

"I'm here," he answered immediately, shifting so he hovered a little closer. "Nightmare?"

She nodded, sitting up sluggishly. Her chest hitched, still visibly distraught. "Did I cry?"

"Yes." Mamoru lowered his body until he could reach under her bed. He had stored a stash of wet wipes for this reason. He took one and sat on the bed next to her. Maiko shifted so she was facing him. He could hear her quiet sniffles and he cradled her face tenderly before wiping away the blood.

They sat on her bed in silence. Maiko's tears had stemmed to a stop now that Mamoru had pulled her away from the nightmare.

Maiko didn't like to cry. Not because it was a weakness like Mamoru felt like it was, but because of her condition.

Haemolacria was a condition where tears were partially tinged with blood, or in Maiko's case, made up of blood. Sometimes it happened, sometimes it didn't. It was just a symptom of hemophilia, which was a blood disorder. He was always watchful of Maiko, who was a little on the clumsy side. Bleeding wounds took a while to stop for her.

He lightly wrapped it in tissue paper and washed his hands free of the crimson smudges. "Do you want to talk about it?" Mamoru asked gently after throwing the wipe in the bathroom across her room.

Maiko shook her head. Instead, she patted the spot next to her, silently asking.

Mamoru sighed. "Eventually, I won't be able to do this anymore," he warned lightly. "We're growing a little too old for this.

But he laid down next to her and wrapped his arms around her small frame like a giant blanket. She'd always been unusually small for her size.

"Just for tonight," she murmured sleepily. A little muffled, she said, "Guardian Mamoru, watch over me."

Mamoru smiled wryly in the dark. It was a little bit of a redundant title, as his name meant "defend" or "protect".

But if Maiko liked it, he wouldn't say anything.

"Goodnight, Maiko," he sighed, patting her back softly. "No more nightmares."

She didn't want up even as Mamoru slipped away from her and made his way back to his room for the last two hours of darkness.