Rising Shards

”OK, how about this?” Iris said, holding up a piece of lettuce to her hair. ”Same color?”

”Not even close,” Maia said.

”This one?” Iris said, finding one on her tray that was a darker shade of green.

”Way too dark,” Maia said. ”I’m telling you, the closest is like a blade of grass, and spring’s still a bit out so you’re not gonna find a matching hair leaf or whatever you called it.”

”Damn,” Iris said. She let out a dramatic sigh. ”I’m so bored, Maia.”

”I know, there’s like nothing to do today,” Maia said.

Even the cafeteria was pretty desolate.

”I mean, we could...” Maia said. ”B...F...yeah.”

”We could, but we’re saving that for evenings for a bit, remember?” Iris said.

They were referring to their regular make out sessions, which they were a bit trepidatious to call the usual ”Best Friend Stuff” after Zeta and Oka had told the two to really think about their relationship. The progress made since then was some uncertainty over what to brand it as, in their minds just not having found the right label yet. As for why they were only saving it for evenings, a day a few weeks ago was the cause of that.

It was a random Friday, one where the two were exhausted, barely waking up to Maia’s alarms. Iris was up first, practically flopping out of bed because Maia’s phone was still going. She dragged herself over and shut the alarm off, gently shaking Maia.

”MaiMai,” Iris yawned. ”Get up.”

”Mrrgghh,” Maia growled as she pulled the blanket over her head. ”Too tired.”

”Come on, we gotta go,” Iris said. It was a gamble which one of the two had to wake the other up, but Iris felt like she was easier for Maia to wake up than Maia was for her. She went and brushed her teeth, returning to find Maia back asleep.

”Maia!” Iris said. ”Come on...” She yawned again as she yanked the blanket away from her roommate.

Maia sat upright, but her eyes were still shut, her hair all messy. Iris hadn’t done her own hair yet, the two would require some incredible effort to get themselves ready and not look like complete messes.

”Go brush your teeth,” Iris said. In her still half-asleep mind, that made sense. They could get away with looking like messes, but looking like messes with bad breath? That wouldn’t be great. She practically had to drag Maia to the bathroom to do so, but once their early morning routines were done...

What were we even doing again? Iris thought. She was exhausted, having a few too many nights staying up playing the new Chunkyobon game, reaping the benefits of having her bestie playing the same game that let them link up and trade their monster cards back and forth. And of course, time spent kissing and cuddling when they needed breaks from the game. Really, it was about an even split between kiss time and game time, and then throw in boring school stuff and Iris was surprised she woke up on time at all.

Maia stepped back out, still looking mostly asleep. She sat down by Iris, her tail wrapping around Iris’ waist.

Her hair’s still all messy, Iris thought to herself. The sight gave her butterflies a bit, so she decided to act on those, pulling Maia close to her for a kiss. Maia reacted with surprised jolt before giving into the kiss as well. It was so easy to do now, it was like second nature.

”Nice way to wake up,” Maia muttered, her crackly voice sounding like she still hadn’t woken up any further. Iris kissed her again. ”Whoa there...”

”We have time,” Iris said.

”Do we really?” Maia asked.

Any resistance Maia had to more kisses was superficial, and within moments whatever plans they had, whatever responsibilities, they were forgotten in a haze of sleepiness and love. They didn’t go any farther than they usually did, but neither stopped the other when their hands started exploring just a bit, operating almost on instinct, a need deep within both to hold the person they cared most about close.

It was one of the better sessions the two had that week, as this was the first time they weren’t stopping every few minutes for their game. It felt like they’d only been kissing for about five minutes, but the cruel speed of morning time struck them as Iris glanced at her phone.

”Oh crap...” Iris said.

”What?” Maia said, then noticed. ”Oh.”

They’d kissed through almost the entirety of morning classes. It was practically lunch time now.

”Heh, oops...” Iris said. ”Should we...what do we do here?”

”It’s probably too late to sneak in and act like nothing happened,” Maia said.

”Maybe we can...” Iris said, instinct taking over again as she started to trail kisses around Maia’s neck. ”Just take the whole day, you know? Tell them we were sick after...”

”Mmm,” Maia nodded.

And so, the two spent the entire day making out, staying in their PJs, only interrupting their loving day with naps, which were also pretty great too, the two cuddling close together. A dreamy day not just for one spent so sleepily, but for how wonderful the time together was. Class didn’t matter in that moment, if they had any assignments due they’d have to wait, and they could always take make up tests. These hours together felt more precious than any class.

Iris was feeling pretty great about it all by the time the afternoon rolled around, and the two had enough snacks stockpiled in their room that they didn’t have to leave for lunch or dinner and risk ruining whatever story they’d cook up about what they were ”sick” with. She was feeling good at least, until Maia’s phone rang. Even with Maia having fur, it looked like all the color was drained from her when she saw who was calling.

”It’s my mom,” Maia said.