Note: The following story’s time precedes all of the rest of the stories, and, as such, Yurikochan and Conia weren’t married yet.
Yuriko was having trouble sleeping. She had always been a brave girl, and she was not supposed to be afraid of nightmares. However, ever since Conia donned that Eisuke mask last Halloween and made it a point to frighten her by popping out of nowhere while she was alone in their room, she'd been having nightmare after nightmare. She made up her mind after the sixth time she woke up drenched in sweat that she was not going to tell him-- or anyone else. In the end, she stopped sleeping all together. Not a soul noticed this; she was good at concealing the bags under her eyes with makeup.
In fact, it was not until she was putting these concealers that her dilemma was discovered. She'd fallen asleep in her couch and woke up on the cold stone floor, Conia together with some of her close friends crowding around her. After continuous pestering and constant inquisition she finally revealed that she hadn't been sleeping; she was afraid of the nightmares. The response she got was not what she had predicted, indeed, it was far from it. First, Conia asked why she didn't tell him, then Callid asked when the nightmares started, Parkur got her something to drink, Phoenix hugged her to try and calm her down and Blue light-heartedly started counting the number of sleeping pills he could get her.
When she asked how she could clear her mind of them, however, Callid said in a very stern tone that someone would have to sleep together with her until the nightmares disappear entirely.
Yuriko laughed nervously; he was kidding, wasn't he? He answered her question by going to a lecture of how research was carried over; theories were proved, etc., etc. and the only method he could think of was to have someone literally sleep in the same bed and observe the subject's sleep. The point is, Callid explained, was that when the person is having nightmares, the other could bring them back to reality. After three hours of discussion, a heated argument, and Yuriko asking Blue six times to just give her the sleeping pills, they finally settled they would take in turns staying with her every night.
The initial night, Parkur volunteered. Yuriko learned real fast that he was a snuggler. He'd fallen asleep long before she did and he involuntarily rolled over, pulling her to him. She giggled to herself when he threw an arm over her and buried his face in her hair and for the next few weeks she would tease him about it. He woke her up thrice from her horrible nightmares, each time wiping her tears away, comforting and telling her everything was going to be okay and she was indeed out of her dream.
The following night, Blue took his turn. She was surprised at how unkempt he was outside the JDC-- he usually wore formal attires and the like. His sleepwear consisted of the shabbiest t-shirt she'd ever seen and blue plaid pajamas. She let out a loud giggle when he went out of the bathroom with his hair all tousled and messy. She, of course, apologized when he turned red; she'd never seen him look so flushed. His response was rolling his eyes and shrugging it off. Unlike Parkur, Blue was neither a cuddler nor a hugger. Nevertheless, during the numerous times he woke her up; he'd hold her tightly and run his hands through her hair to calm her down, rocking her tenderly in his arms.
Then came Callid's turn. He didn't sleep that night; he wouldn't even get in the bed with her. Instead, he sat in the nearby recliner with a notebook and small light, calculating possible chess strategies. She pestered him constantly that she wasn't going to eat him. He finally gave up but still didn't go to sleep. She only had one dream that night and much to her irritation, he took notes on what it was about, how long it lasted, and how long it took to wake her. He said it was research for the other people who suffer the same symptoms. She told him to throw it away and go rest.
The fourth night, Yuriko waited for Conia to appear and keep her company. However, after an hour from the designated time she concluded that he was probably busy with something (much to her disappointment) and could not come to aide her. She then proceeded to turn off all the lights in her room and slept without him.
It wasn't very long until her sleep was disturbed by light footsteps and the creak of her bedroom door. After a few minutes she felt someone lie beside her; she smiled without opening her eyes. Oh Conia, she thought, sneaky as always. She then fell into a deep slumber once more.
It felt hours when once again, she stirred. She felt a breath tickling her neck, and then she realized Conia was lightly kissing her. She could not see him due to the lack of light but felt his passion as he hugged her tightly and continued kissing her neck, up to her cheeks, then down again to her shoulders. It was exhilarating. She never felt anything like that before. Slowly his light pecks trailed through her face until it reached her half-opened lips… and there it stayed; until finally she couldn't take it anymore, for she was feeling hotter than usual. She kissed back.
When it ended they were both exhausted, as she can hear him gasping for air. She felt around for his body and hugged him-- he was surprisingly soft-- and went back to sleep. That night, she didn't have any nightmares. Instead, she dreamed of Paris and the tea shop and about Conia.
When she woke up the next morning she found herself once again surrounded by her five friends. While she convinced them she didn't have a nightmare, Conia was looking rather distraught. She turned to him and said she had a great time with him last night, and he was the one who helped her the most. He turned to her, puzzled: But I wasn't there-- then his phone rang abruptly; he quickly apologized and rushed out of the room.
Phoenix smiled to herself then put her fingers on top of her lips.
