Work Text:
Yachi woke to the morning sun glaring against her eyelids. It was warm, too warm, despite the fact that she was only sleeping in underwear and her single sheet was half off her body. After a bleary few seconds she realized more heat was coming from the warm body nestled next to her than through the open blinds. At least it’s only one this time, she thought, glancing over to where Saeko drooled against her shoulder.
Saeko got lonely a lot, sleeping in her own bed, and usually she ended up sliding into someone else’s in the middle of the night, last night had, apparently, been Yachi’s turn. Each of the house’s four occupants had a room to themselves, but that didn’t mean there weren’t nights when they all curled up together in a heap. The house was large and very old, with creaking stairs and windows with gaps wide enough for any number of bugs to crawl in, not to mention the heat and cold. The story was that it had been gifted to Yui by her great aunt, a woman none of them, including Yui, had ever met.
Yachi shifted just enough to reach for her phone on the nightstand and check the time. Five-forty-five. The midsummer heat of an early sunrise had woken her and she knew now she wouldn’t be getting back to sleep.
Today was her internship interview. She was in her last year of University, the other three women worked: Saeko was a part time everything-under-the-sun, full time karaoke bar singer, Kiyoko was an office manager for some swanky looking law firm, her suits were flawless, and Yui worked teaching kids sports at a local recreation center. Yachi wanted to be a graphic designer, like her mother, and today’s interview was the chance of a lifetime.
She pulled her shoulder from under Saeko’s head and adjusted so they weren’t touching. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to snuggle against her, it was that the room was so overwhelmingly hot that she was sweating just thinking about being near someone else’s body heat right now. She curled on her side and watched her sleep. She had hardly stirred when Yachi moved and now she was drooling against the pillow instead.
She heard steps in the hallway outside her partially open door and a few seconds later Yui peeked her head in. Yachi waved but pointed at Saeko to indicate a need to be quiet. Yui was almost always the first person awake, she liked to go jogging in the mornings, a habit that none of the other women were inclined to follow. She opened the door as quietly as she could and dramatically sneaked over, tiptoeing like a cartoon villain. She sat on the edge of the bed near Yachi’s feet and the mattress let out a large creak.
Saeko only sighed and shifted her shoulder slightly, but didn’t wake. “Your interview is today, right?” Yui whispered and Yachi nodded. “Do you want to go jogging with me.” Yachi didn’t move her head, but her eyes looked away. Yui smiled. “I didn’t think so. See you later?” Yachi nodded and smiled back. Yui crept out of the room again.
Twenty minutes later Yachi heard the front door open and close again and she finally climbed out of bed. Saeko was still there, lightly snoring now. Yachi threw a t-shirt over her head, something she’d stolen from Hinata years ago, and jumped back on the bed. She poked Saeko in the cheek a few times before her eyes fluttered open.
“Morning.” Yachi said.
“What the...fuck, this isn’t morning, sweetie, this is purgatory.”
“My interview is today.” Yachi criss-crossed her legs and pulled part of the sheet into her lap. Saeko rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Nervous?”
Yachi nodded. “Terrified.”
Footsteps in the hallway again, but this time it was Kiyoko, her glasses skewed and her hair flying around her face, who looked inside.
“I thought I heard talking.” She said, and slipped inside. She was still in her pajamas and she climbed on the bed and laid down on her stomach between Saeko and where Yachi was sitting, she crossed her arms under her chin.
“Yachi is nervous.” Saeko offered, and yawned.
“Oh, the interview? You’ll be amazing, they’ll love you.” Kiyoko stifled her own yawn as she finished.
“I don’t know, I still don’t think my portfolio is as good as it could be.”
The door was pushed open again with a creak. “Is someone in here talking nonsense? Because that’s what I was hearing.” Yui came inside, she had a towel wrapped around her wet hair and she was wearing a t-shirt and sweats. “Scooch over.” She said, poking at Saeko’s leg and when she refused to move Yui settled for sitting on the edge next to Yachi.
“Yeah, Yachi’s worried for no reason.” Saeko said, her face was mostly muffled by a combination of the pillow and Kiyoko’s hair.
“It’s not no reason! This internship could make or break my career!”
Yui leaned over and hugged her shoulders.
“We love you no matter what happens.” Kiyoko said.
“Hey, speak for yourself, I don’t like being the only one of us without a career.” Saeko laughed and Yui leaned over Kiyoko to punch wherever she could reach, she hit her somewhere in the ribs.
“Don’t be such a jerk.”
“That’s ninety percent of my charm and you know it.”
“What time is it?” Kiyoko interrupted.
Yachi checked her phone again, “6:15.”
“Oh, dang I need to get ready for work.” She wiggled until she could roll over and crawl out of bed, Yui flopped into her space as she walked out the door.
“Ah yes. Thanks for keeping my spot warm!” Yui called, as she struggled to cross her arms behind her head in the limited space.
“I should start getting ready too.” Yachi said.
The other two didn’t move or react at all.
“That means you’ll have to get out of my bed.”
“You know,” Saeko spoke up, “there’s nothing we haven’t seen before.”
“Just because you’ve seen me naked doesn’t mean I don’t need privacy to get dressed.”
“Okay, Yachi, we’re going.” Yui answered, and pulled Saeko with her as she sat up.
Yachi closed the door behind them and took a deep breath. She wasn’t feeling as worried anymore.
___________
Saeko laid on the linoleum floor of the kitchen, arms and legs spread as far as they could, attempting to absorb the cool temperature that only seemed to exist on the ground.
"It's hot." She said for the tenth time that afternoon.
Yui was sitting sideways on a stool with her legs crossed. She leaned on one elbow on the counter and held a spoonful of cereal with her other hand. "Saying it's hot doesn't make it any cooler, you know."
“At least I’m not eating cereal at two in the afternoon.” Saeko would have glared at her if she could see her from this angle, instead she glared at the off white cabinets and stayed silent. A few minutes later she heard a jingle of keys in the lock and the front door opened.
"Oh!" Yachi yelped in surprise as she turned the corner into the kitchen. Saeko was fairly short, but she was taking up most of the kitchen floor in her quest for cooling relief. "I'm sorry!”
“How’d it go?” Saeko asked from the floor.
"Well, er, I’m not sure.” Yachi replied, leaning her hip against the counter. Saeko spread her arms. The linoleum wasn't really cool anymore, and Saeko could feel the sweat between her bare arms and the floor. “I think I got it.” She added as an afterthought and Saeko and Yui both cheered.
"Oh I’m sure you got it, of course you did!” Saeko said. “Isn't Kiyoko supposed to be home by now?"
Before either of the girls could answer they heard keys in the lock again and the front door opening.
“Either that’s her or we’re being politely robbed by someone with a key.” Yui said, swallowing another bite of cereal, “Kiyoko! Is that you or are you robbing us?!”
They heard Kiyoko’s footsteps as she turned the corner. “It could be both, you know, I could still be robbing you.” She said as she set her purse on the counter.
“Yachi got her internship!” Yui blurted out and Yachi blushed, shaking her head frantically.
“I don’t know if I did I just thought it felt like maybe!” She corrected and Kiyoko laughed.
Kiyoko took a step forward and gave Yachi a peck on the cheek. Saeko couldn’t see much from her angle but it looked like Yachi was still nervous, whether the aftereffects of her interview or something else, Saeko couldn’t be sure.
“What are you doing down there?” Kiyoko asked, standing at the edge of the kitchen.
“This is the only cool place in the entire house, I’m trying not to melt. What are you doing up there?”
“Oh, just being a responsible adult, wearing real clothes, you know.” Saeko heard Yui snort and laugh, Yachi giggled into her hand.
"I wanna go to bed." Saeko said, clearly dismissing the joking argument she had no shot of winning.
"It's only four." Yui said, and Saeko could hear she was still munching at her cereal as she said it.
"What's wrong with that?"
"You slept in 'til ten and you've been on the floor since then, how are you tired?" Yui said, laughing.
"I didn't say I was tired."
"But you-" Yui started to reply before Kiyoko burst out laughing, and Yachi's face went red.
"I vote Kiyoko's bed." Yui said.
Yachi laughed then, "Anywhere but mine, I think we proved this morning that that isn't comfortable."
"Someone carry me." Saeko asked.
"No."
"No way."
"I don't think i could."
Saeko groaned, rising from the floor, and the other three laughed as they left the room.