Clannad but Tomoya stayed close to Kotomi (Tomoya x Kotomi)

Kotomi-chan

The heat burns my clothes. Sweat drips from my forehead as I stare up at the adults, led by Gramps. My arms are stretched wide in defense of the helpless, sobbing child behind me.

It's this dream again. The dream where I stood between Kotomi and her own godfather. He was a stranger to me, and Kotomi always shrank away from him. So, I stood between them. Not to deepen a misunderstanding, but because I had misunderstood.

When I had continued coming to visit Kotomi, my goal wasn't just to keep her company. It was to protect her. Strange grown-ups were scaring her that day, so I stayed around as much as I could to make sure she was safe. I didn't realize how important my presence was to her at the time.

As the flames encircle me, I feel a weight on my chest. Hands press against my back, cool to the touch. Smooth, soft hair brushes against my face.

"Tomoya-kun," a faint voice calls to me, "Tomoya-kun, wake up..."

Warm tears are still pouring down my face. My vision is filled with purple hair, fixed by two round, childish ornaments. I gently wrap my arms around Kotomi's small frame, lowering my head to sob into her hair. The ground is cold beneath us.

"I'm here," we whisper in unison, our voices breaking as we clutch at each others backs. Yes, she needs me here. She needed love when her parents left, and now she's come to depend on me. How do I know?

"Kotomi...-chan," I add the honorific. I don't know why, it just feels right. Kotomi clings tighter in response. Her tears soak into my shirt.

"Kotomi-chan, I," my voice falters, "I... I'm sorry."

Kotomi slowly pulls her face up from my chest and looks up at me. Her eyes are red, and her shoulders are shaking.

"I'm sorry... someone as weak as me," I continue, unsure of how she'll respond but knowing this is the best time to get it off my chest, "was the one left for you to turn t-"

Before I can finish voicing my opinion, Kotomi practically headbutts my chest, clinging to me so tightly I can barely breathe.

"You aren't weak!" her voice comes out louder than I've ever heard it before immediately falling to an almost inaudible whisper, "You're the strongest person I know..."

I opt not to point out how little that really means based on her connections. Either way, her words do manage to snap me out of it. How can I be insecure with my best friend clinging to my chest telling me I'm strong?

But since she's crying, my tears refuse to stop as well. We remain here, crying on the floor up against the front door, for about an hour. When we both finally stop, I help Kotomi to her feet. 

We're both a little shaky, and we stumble a few times before we manage to fully collect ourselves. However, Kotomi is now wrapped around my left arm.

"Hey, Kotomi? I sort of need that."

No response.

"Kotomi-chan?" I try using an honorific. Kotomi looks up at me.

"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi is trying to hide a grin, to no avail.

"We still need to do our schoolwork for today," I remind her, looking at the clock, "It's already almost noon and I haven't started."

"Okay," Kotomi responds as she begins pulling me towards the stairs. We normally work in her father's old study, since it has a good (though slightly singed) work desk.

"I- I sort of need my arm..."

"But you're right-handed, right?"

"But the books are stored up high and..."

"I'm a big girl, I can reach them."

I chuckle a bit in spite of myself; it seems Kotomi's managed to cheer up. She tends to enjoy playing around like this when it's only me here, so I'm glad. She really does still need me.

"Guess I'm not getting my arm back, then."

We awkwardly make our way up the stairs, maneuvering to not trip over each other as she pulls on my arm. At some points, Kotomi gets too far ahead of me and I almost fall forward. But, she always stops to help me when my balance starts to fail.

Once we make it into the study, Kotomi immediately pulls me toward the bookshelf. The dark wood is somewhat singed, but it's still quite sturdy. Kotomi strains to reach the top shelf where our school supplies are kept.

We would keep these papers and textbooks on a lower shelf, but the Ichinoses' surviving books are kept there, along with Kotomi's books for individual study.

"Don't hurt yourself," I advise the struggling Kotomi, who seems to be attempting to use an arm-extension feature to reach the books.

"I... can... do it..."

"Just let me-"

"No, I can..."

Kotomi has now let go of my arm to reach up with both of hers. She's about 10 centimeters (4 inches) away from the shelf still. I feel a bit bad just watching her struggle, so I grab her waist and lift her up a bit.

"T-Tomoya-kun...?" Kotomi looks back at me, confused, "I said I could get them..."

"Well, grab 'em, then," I grunt as I continue holding her up, my arms shaking. She's really quite light, I just haven't exercised at all since I stopped playing Basketball.

Seemingly noticing my struggle, Kotomi grabs the materials we need for today's assignments and nods back at me. I set her down and shake off my arms.

"A-am I that heavy?"

"I've lifted whales lighter than you."

"Tomoya-kun, don't be a bully."

"It's just a joke, the whale I lifted was a dolphin so it wasn't that heavy."

"Tomoya-kun!"

She giggles a bit. Seeing her happy, I laugh with her. I'm glad I can make her smile like this, despite everything we've both been through.