Roommate Wanted. No Betrayers.

Chapter 8

The sun was shining, the birds were singing and Ouro Kronii's brain was trying to smash it's way out of her skull. "Shut uuup." She mumbled at the bright light of day, shining through her window. Apparently she'd fallen asleep drunk enough to forget to close her curtains, though that was kind of obvious given her killer hangover. She turned over, to try and avoid the light as much as she could.

Mumei.

Her brain registered the thing her eyes were seeing and categorised it accordingly. This was Mumei.

In her bed.

Her bone dry hungover brain groaned under the weight of expectation and began to connect the dots. It had been valentines. They had eaten fondue in their underwear. They had drunk wine in their underwear. They had drunk a LOT of wine.

"Mngh," Mumei stirred, her eyes opening and making immediate, sleepy contact with Kronii's. "Oh..., good morning Kronii."

"Good morning Mumei."

"You look, vexed."

"I am vexed."

"Don't remember last night?"

"No. Do you?"

"Mhm!" Mumei smiled. "It's unusual for you to forget things."

"Did we..." Kronii trailed off. "You know."

"We did eat fondue, yes." Mumei stuck her tongue out.

"That's not..."

"Say it." Mumei had a glint in her eye. "Ask me properly."

"Did we... You know." Kronii felt her face redden. "Do it?"

"Do what?" Mumei feigned innocence.

"You're gonna make me say it."

"Say what?"

"Did we..." Kronii's voice was a whisper. "have sex?"

"Nope." Mumei laughed. "I think you wanted to, but you were out like a light."

"Ah..." Kronii didn't know if that was good or bad news. "Did you?"

"Maybe." Mumei smiled. "But I just liked being next to you. It's quiet, but I'm not lonely."

Kronii smiled. "I like being next to you too."

"Then," Mumei said, inching closer to Kronii. "Can we stay like this? Just for a little longer."

"Of course."

Sleeping in the same bed quickly turned into a habit and within two weeks Kronii was frankly, entirely used to it. Several nights she'd go to her room after finishing her stream only to find Mumei asleep, her phone still open on Kronii's stream.

It'd become comfortable, really comfortable, too comfortable.

"Why don't you ever join me in my room?" Mumei had asked at breakfast one Saturday morning after they had slept in separate rooms the night prior.

The question was like a stab in the gut, and though Kronii knew, or at least believed Mumei didn't understand why, she couldn't help but wince a little. "Well I just... Assumed that you sleeping in that room is you saying you want space." Kronii lied, too embarrassed of the truth.

"Huh?" Mumei was confused or maybe she was angry, Kronii's panicked defensive brain couldn't pick out the tone. "Why would you assume that?"

"I..." Kronii trailed off. There was no reason. No good reason.

"Kronii." Mumei said. Her voice was different to usual. "What aren't you telling me?"

Kronii opened her mouth to speak but no words found their way out.

"Kronii."

She couldn't tell what that meant. Was it scolding, comforting, concerned? She felt her gut tie itself into a knot, her heart pounded in her chest, her throat seize up.

"KRONII!"

She felt like she heard the cry before realising she was even falling off of the stool, but it was still too late. She tumbled off ungracefully, hitting the tiled kitchen floor with force.

"Oh my god... Kronii." Mumei was bent over her, anger, no, concern I'm her wide eyes. She extended a hand. "Are you okay?"

Kronii reached out a shaky hand to take it and let Mumei pull her up to her feet and support her.

"Let's sit you down on the couch." Her voice was... concerned, no harshness to it anymore.

"Thank you, Mumei." Kronii said sitting down, her voice weak and shaky. "I'm sorry."

Mumei pulled her into a hug, pressing Kronii's face into her chest. "It's okay. I'm sorry too. I didn't know..."

"It's okay..." Kronii mumbled, hugging Mumei back tightly.

They sat there quietly for some time, until Kronii's heartbeat slowed, her gut settled and her breathing returned to normal. Kronii pulled away slowly, letting her hands be grasped by Mumei's as their grips on each other loosened.

"How are you feeling?" Mumei asked, her voice was soft, tinged with a concern Kronii had ever heard in it one time before.

"A bit better." Kronii said, her voice still a little shaky.

Mumei didn't say anything, just squeezed Kronii's palms. Kronii understood that just fine.

"Sana..." Kronii said weakly. "I don't think I ever told you her name. The person who used to live in your room. We met when we were kids, but her family moved constantly and we lost touch. Then in my last year of highschool, she came back. We went to college together, bought this house, lived together... I thought that I'd done it, and she wouldn't leave again..."

"You had feelings for her?" Mumei said, though it wasn't a question, not really.

"Yeah..." Kronii looked down. "Danced around them for years... I was happy, I didn't feel I needed to push it... We'd get there eventually, just a matter of time... Until one day, it was too late."

"I see... I won't pretend I fully understand what you're going through..." Mumei's voice was soft. "But I'm here for you, okay? We don't have to do anything faster than you're comfortable with."

"Mumei... I..." Kroii lifted her eyes, meeting Mumei's gaze. "Thank you."

"That being said... Can I show you something?" Mumei stood, not letting go of Kronii's left hand, urging her to stand too. She walked them forwards, up the stairs, and to the door of her room. "I won't force you... But I think you should look in here."

Kronii nodded. With a little trepidation, for the first time since Mumei had moved in she pressed down the door handle and entered the room. It was immediately different from the sorry memory it had been less than two months before, light and airy and so very Mumei. Shelves of books lined long empty walls, the mattress covered with piles of fluffy warm fleece blankets, the desk messy from activity not disuse. It wasn't a ghost's room. It was the room of a living person. It was Mumei's.

"You see?" Mumei asked.

"I do." Kronii nodded.