Don't Go (Nao x Reika)

original

“I’m sorry,” she hoarsely whispered, hot tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Refusing to let them fall, she clenched her jaw tight and squeezed her eyes shut, tilted her head down and breathed in deeply, took in the comforting smell of her friend and shuddered at the familiarity with which she recognized it.

“Nao.”

She swallowed. Reika never used honorifics with her name, and for a brief, horrifying moment, she thought she would hear one added on. Pause. Silence. Nothing. Comforting nothingness, and yet disturbing as well. “Yes?”

“You should let go,” Reika softly suggested. Nao only squeezed her arms tighter around the blue-haired girl, fidgeting with the tension in the muscle as she brought herself close but never touching her friend’s back. Too intimate. Entirely too intimate that way.

“Why?” she asked instead of obeying. Reika shifted slightly in an attempt to dislodge herself from Nao’s grip, but Nao was the athletic powerhouse, and Nao was the one who won the fight for physical dominance. Her embrace was iron. Unyielding, trapping and weighing her down. Warm iron. Heat radiating off her form, flexible and lithe.

“You know why,” Reika quietly spoke. She gave up her futile attempts to leave. Escape. “This won’t end well for anyone, Nao. No one at all.”

“I don’t care.” Her voice came out childish and whiny and immature and foolish and she cursed herself for never growing up when she could have. Growing up in the ways that counted, beyond taking care of her siblings and learning household chores and dealing with monsters and villains. Growing up everywhere but where it counted. She had never outgrown her feelings. “I don’t care.”

“Don’t.” Reika sucked in a hard breath. “Nao, don’t.”

She didn’t listen. Nao leaned her head in closer and laid her forehead to rest on soft blue hair and familiarity and memories of the days where all that mattered was having fun and seeing blue eyes and wide smiles. When being with her was enough. When feelings were simple and innocent. Voice shaking, mouth trembling, she said the only thing she could. “Please,” she softly, ever so softly, whispered.

Reika said nothing. Only heard the sound of Nao’s heart breaking behind her in the walls of hot iron.

She concentrated on keeping her own tears as silent as the ones dropping onto her neck.