Sweeter than Cola [Dr. Stone]

|Two|

"Welcome back, Hanako."

The girl ended her song with a bright beam of a smile. "SENKUUUUU!!!" She leaped onto him and tackled him in a hug. "I missed you so much! You won't believe it! This is actually how long we've ben asleep!? I sung half the songs I know in my head alone!! It was driving me mad not being able to sing with my voice with my mouth and not hear it! And I...."

Senku zoned out and tuned out her voice. He missed it. Listening to her ramble about nonsense. But it was a reflex for him now to tune out her voice when all she started saying was illogical nonsense. As much as he missed her voice, he just missed her. His best friend and lab partner. But just then he zoned back in when he realized she fell silent.

"Hana?" he called. "Why the silence all of a sudden?"

"I'm sleepy," she mumbled and fell limp against him.

The scinetist was dumbfounded. "You just woke up from a 3700 year nap. How can you be...." then his mind drifted to a past memory.

~Pre-Stone World

"Kuu!" Hanako cried and let herself into Senku's bedroom/lab.

"I told you not to call me that," the blonde rolled his eyes. "Any way, since you're here, help me with this...." He trailed off when he saw her drop onto his bed, limp with exhaustion. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm so sleepy," she mumbled and buried herself under pillows and blankets. "I'm exhausted!"

"You overworked yourself again, Hana," Senku sighed.

"I did not!" the girl protested. "All I did was help the Botany Club, Chess Club and Science Club with their meetings. Then after that I had soft ball practice, then Volleyball. Then I went for my piano lessons, then flute, then guitar. And after that I went to help Yuzu-chan with her new craft. That's all!" she said, counting the number of tasks on her fingers. "It's not a lot."

"It's not healthy doing so many things in under twelve hours, Hana," Senku gave her the lecture for the third time that week.

Hanako had always been an overachiever. Life is too short. I wanna do everything! She claimed once when Byakuya asked she had joined so many clubs in High school. And because she wanted to do everything possible, she rarely had time to rest. She thought she didn't need it, that she'd be fine. But such a time was now when she was gravely proved wrong.

"You have to rest sometimes."

"No. I'll be fine," she protested yet again. "Just a quick cat nap and I'll be ready to help you, Senku."

"You really don't have to. I'll just..... Hana?" he looked again to see she had passed out in the warmth of the blankets. Senku cracked a small smile, "Don't drool."

~Present Day

The scientist sighed. "Seems it's finally all caught up to you, huh."

"Wot?" the girl yawned and looked at him, droopy-eyed.

He shook his head. "Nothing. Can you walk? Get up and we'll head to camp. You can sleep there," he suggested.

"M'kay." Hanako groggily got to her feet and stumbled behind her best friend as they walked back to the camp. There they found Taiju still working on his task. But when he saw them both he froze. Then teared up.

"HANA-CHAAAN!!!!!!!" He ran to the girl and trapped her in a bone crushing hug. Hanako tried her best to match his energy.

"Tai-kun! I missed you so much! Can you believe we've been asleep for so long!?"