Destined

Precautions

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Yuzu's POV

I try not to breathe too deeply, to avoid waking her.

She looks so beautiful.

I've never seen her wearing makeup, but with her features, she doesn't need any.

Koharu has very gentle features, her small nose sloping down her face.

She has a small beauty mark next to her eye, I notice.

This is the closest I've ever been to her.

She mumbles something in her sleep, and squeezes my hand tighter.

I'm sure I'm blushing by now, and my heartbeat is so prominent my chest might just bulge and explode.

Do I have a heart problem or a lung problem?

I exhale, but a shot of random pain shoots through my chest, and I wince a little, jerking.

Shit.

She stirs, but I place my other hand on her head, stroking her hair, and she falls back to sleep contentedly, like a baby.

She's so cute.

The sound of the door being unlocked startles me, so I pull my hand away from her hair, and lay it across my stomach limply, pretending to be asleep.

I hear the door closing, soft footsteps, and the sound of paper bags crinkling.

Koharu was already on the verge of waking up just now, and Brian's arrival spurred the beast awake.

Not the beast, but the beauty.

Damn, Coach, you just had to take that moment away, I think, cursing in my head.

"Hmmmm?" Koharu's sleepy voice mumbles, and I feel her shifting on my torso, and she suddenly lets go of my hand. I feel her trying to wipe my shirt.

My shirt feels...cool and damp, near where she lay on my stomach...

Did she drool in her sleep?

Oh my god she is so adorable, I mused.

"Morning sleepyhead. I brought breakfast, is he okay?"

Coach Brian.

"Mm, probably. He might be coming down with a cold though. He has a slight fever, but I'll monitor his peak flow just to make sure it's not a bad chest infection," Ko said, her voice still containing traces of I don't want to get up sleepiness.

"He's not up yet?" Brian asks, and I hear him coming closer.

I tense a little, but he just puts the back of his hand on my forehead.

Am I some cuddly bear?

A wave of fatigue hits me again and I slowly doze off, the comfortable darkness cradling me safely.

Koharu's POV

He's still sleeping, and I replace his washcloth again.