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As the school bell rang, Ken Takakura exhaled a sigh of relief. One full week had gone by without any encounters with yokai or ghosts. The only downside being that he hadn’t gotten to spend nearly as much time with Momo as he usually did. He missed her.
Just as he was thinking that, he heard footsteps running up beside him, “Hey Okarun! Got any plans for the weekend?”
“No, is there any trouble with the supernatural?” He asked worriedly. It’d be just his luck to spend his weekend fighting for his life or getting his genitals stolen. Again.
“Nah. I was just thinking like, with all the actual ghosts we’ve been fighting, I haven't been able to properly indoctrinate you into the occult! I’ve got some old horror movies on DvD if you wanna come over and watch ‘em tomorrow. With me.”
“Yeah! That sounds great! I’ll bring some of the best alien ones too!” He was ecstatic. This was the perfect opportunity to hang out with his best friend completely stress free.
Momo beamed at him in a way that made his heart stutter. “Awesome! We can make a whole movie night out of it!”
————
Okarun arrived at the Ayase household with only the best selection of movies handpicked for tonight. He’d never had a ‘movie night’ but Momo implied they’d be watching movies. Plural. So he came prepared with a reasonable 7 DvDs and some Kettle Corn he’d got on the way there.
Before he’d even stepped fully inside he heard Momo shout, “Okarun, you’re here! I got the couch set up in the living room and dude is that popcorn?”
“Hi, yeah.” he said, somewhat overwhelmed. “It’s the caramel-y kind. You like sweet stuff, right?”
“Yeah. You didn’t have to bring snacks y’know. We have regular popcorn.” she said, gaze averted.
“Yeah but I wanted to get something you’d like.”
“Oh, okay” Momo muttered, eyes wide. Okarun noticed then that her eyes weren’t all brown, but had a hint of red in them. Like half-dried maple leaves in autumn.
Seiko coughed while Turbo Granny side-eyed them beside her. Right. They had an audience. “Alright. We’re out. Enjoy your sleepover.” She grabbed a bag and car keys, heading for the door
“Okay, bye!” Momo said hurriedly, watching both women walk out.
Just before closing the door behind her Seiko addressed him “And kid!” in a somewhat disdainful tone, “For the love of god, be safe.” Momo choked.
“You have my word ma'am, if anything happens I’ll protect her.” Okarun responded, resolutely. Seiko snorted, smiling to herself before slamming the door.
There was an awkward pause before both teenagers turned towards each other. “So, how long are they out for?” Okarun asked, desperately searching for a conversation topic.
“Oh, I didn’t tell you? Grandma’s taking some kind of gig as spirit medium, and Turbo Granny decided to tag along for luck or something. I think she just wanted to leave the house since she can’t get far on her own with her legs that short.”
“Oh, okay.” Right. Fine. Everything was fine. It wasn’t like them being alone changed anything. Besides, the first night they met he’d stayed over without Seiko there to supervise, and it hadn’t been weird. (Though being abducted by aliens and getting his dick stolen by an old woman on the same night was hard to beat in terms of weirdness).
Okarun wasn’t stupid, alright? He knew his feelings towards his best friend weren’t entirely platonic. That was fine. He could live like this, always selfishly wanting more when he should really be grateful she was even his friend in the first place. Always stealing glances he shouldn’t, always shying away from her touch in fear of leaning in too much, giving himself away. It was fine, really. He was happy with what they had, and he’d never risk it for some stupid fantasy.
“I’ll get the popcorn bowl. You can pick the first movie”
Eager to have something to do, Okarun dropped his stuff by the couch, sorting through the DvDs he'd brought.
He settled on the original 1979 Alien. It was pretty inaccurate in retrospect, but it seemed like something Momo would like.
Momo walked in with popcorn in hand as Okarun started the movie, heading to his side of the couch. It was, as Momo put it, “set up” with several pillows and one blanket for them both. Okarun set a pillow behind his back as Momo curled up on her side, notably further from her armrest than he was. That still left a decent amount of space between them, but it was close enough for Okarun to have to bully his lungs into working properly again.
Momo did take the blanket as he’d expected (she gets cold easily, hence why he left it to her,) but unexpectedly left him half of it, even though it meant leaving her feet out of the blankets' warmth. “You can have the full blanket, I’ll be fine without it.” He offered.
“Don’t be stupid. I can’t leave my guest cold while hogging the blanket for myself, that'd be selfish!” Okarun meant to protest, but got the idea that she’d be stubborn about it, and the opening credits were nearly over.
So with an eloquent “Hm.” he took the single corner of the blanket available to him and put it on his lap. “Happy?” Momo scowled
“Very.” she said, deadpan. It wasn’t long before they were both immersed in the movie, and forgot their dispute for the following hour and twenty minutes.
“Dude. That was. The best. Especially that bit at the end, where Ripley killed the alien, and saved that other girl? When did this come out? Women hardly ever get to be the heroes in classics like this!” Okarun hadn’t considered that, but it made sense.
“I’m glad you liked it.” He murmured, a bit flushed. “Do you wanna get ready for bed soon? It’s getting pretty late.”
“What? No! That was one movie! We’re supposed to trade off between alien and occult ones, so now it’s my turn. Besides, it’s only nine-” She got cut off by the betrayal of her own body in the form of a yawn. Okarun gave her his ‘I win and you lose’ look. “Shaddup!”
Smugly he replied, “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to. Whatever, It’s my turn to pick” She got up, switched the DvDs, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and plopped down next to him, reclaiming the blanket.
The title card showed the words ‘Black Sabbath’ in large, pointed font “What’s it about?”
“This one’s actually three stories in one, but I’m not spoiling it. Just watch.”
Okarun realized now that Momo was much closer than before. There was less than a foot of space between them, and both were getting more of the blanket than before. It’d be weird to move now that they were settled, and the blanket distribution evened out.
Whatever. Just this once Okarun would let himself stay and share the warmth. It was actually more comfortable like this.
And so Okarun stayed warm and content and completely engrossed in the movie for a full 16 minutes until he felt a weight slump against him. A warm and cuddly weight leaning into him.
Well. Fuck.
Is this something friends do? Maybe she’s like this with everybody.
He’d always known Momo to be more free with her touch, never hesitating to put an arm around him or initiate a ‘thank god we’re alive’ hug. But never in private like this, never so casually. Maybe this could be something they did. He’d like that.
So he stayed put, making a point not to look away from the TV, struggling immensely to follow the plot. Could she feel his heart racing? Still he didn’t tense or move a muscle. If he showed even a hint of being uncomfortable he knew she’d move away.
This plan of action (or rather, inaction,) worked fine and dandy until she slumped further into him, wrapping her arms around his torso and nuzzling into his side. He gave in, and finally looked down.
“Miss Ayase?”
No response. She was asleep.
God he was stupid. No shit she was asleep, of course she wouldn’t cuddle him if she were awake. Of course she’d never want something more with him, Ken Takakura. God, he was so far off from her type she couldn’t even call him by his name.
And there he’d been, sitting there all content, taking advantage of her in such a vulnerable state!
He’d been trying to figure out how to move away without waking her when she squeezed her arms around him, mumbling something in such a distraught tone he paused his endeavor to listen.
“Okarunn.. don’ go…” What. Was she awake? Or dreaming?
“We didn even give the aliens all ‘eir dum hats back…” Definitely dreaming. She was still holding him tight, and sounded like she’d die if he left right now. He could feel his heart splintering.
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay.” He was so screwed.
He doubted she was awake enough to hear him, but she seemed to relax anyway.
In the silence, he looked up at the TV to find the movie had ended without him even noticing. God, what time was it? Now it was actually late, and he was actually tired.
So, for the first time in his life, Okarun didn’t move away to soften the inevitable blow of rejection. For now he was wanted. Maybe as just a warm pillow, or a friend, or an ally in combat, but for now he was wanted. So he stayed.
And for the first time in his life, he leaned into the embrace, letting himself fall into a deep, comfortable sleep.