Kiriai’s eyes blinked open, staring up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes again, breathing out. It took her a moment to re-orient herself and figure out she was in Kiya’s room, alone. How’d she convince me to sleep in here, again? She wondered as she lazily sat up and looked out the window. It was unusually bright, so she wandered over to the glass and looked outside- Not only was it later than she normally woke up, but the ground was covered in a dusting of snow. Right, I needed the rest for exams… Exams…. Wait, it's exam day! What time is it? She bolted up to the door and threw it open, suddenly in a state of panic.
Kiya, sleeping on the couch, lazily perked up at the noise, looking at Kiriai. “H-Huh? Oh, good morning, Kiri…”
Kiriai looked over at the clock in the kitchen in a scramble. 7:25. I can still make it if I hurry. Kiriai ignored Kiya, grabbing an apple and quickly filling up a glass with milk, downing it in a single long gulp, and grabbing her bag before hurriedly putting on her shoes and rushing out the door.
Kiya blinks and reaches out a hand, even as Kiriai had already disappeared from view. Didn’t even have time to wish them luck… Kiya glances back at the clock, sighs heavily, and slumps back down onto the couch.
[...]
Kiriai took a deep breathe and leaned back, rubbing her face. There were still another ten minutes left in class, but she’d already finished all of the questions on her chemistry exam. Thankfully, it wasn't as hard as she had feared; Only one or two questions had her actually feel uncertain, and she was quite confident in her answers for the rest.
Well, a chance to relax before the last class of the day… That just left english. Given that people around her were still working, she wasn't allowed to actually get up and move around, so she just sat there staring up at the ceiling.
“...And put your pencils down.” She heard the professor say in his typically dull and monotonous voice, and she perked up, deliberately slamming the pencil down. She was feeling rather itchy and fidgety, and was anxious to get up and go to her last class already.
“Bring your tests up to the front and turn them in, please.” Kiriai bolted up in her chair, carried the exam over, and handed it to the professor, beaming at him uncharacteristically. Normally she was just exhausted after this class, but today she was full of energy; Probably because it meant she could move along and not have to come back again. Still going to need another chemistry class next quarter, though. She shook off that thought; Can’t get stressed out over that when I’m not even properly done with this quarter.
So it was that she practically pranced out of the room, ahead of other students talking to each other about the results of their exams. There were thirty minutes left before her next class; Normally she would be eating a lunch she had packed that morning now, but given how she had gotten up late, she had nothing of the sort, so she just went to the front plaza and sat outside.
She wasn't really dressed appropriately for the cold weather, seeing as how she hadnt had time to change out of her pajamas that morning, but the snow was certainly pretty, and she didn’t mind the cold anyways. Even if she was shivering, she was just glad it wasn't summer; The numbing sting of the cold just made her feel more awake. If mom could see me now, she’d be throwing a fit that I left the house dressed like this-
She closed her eyes and sat on the raised terrace. She would have laid back, but her clothes were not waterproof and there was snow on the ground behind her. In truth, although the cold and snow were nice and all, she wished her last class would hurry up and come; There wasn't much for her to do, and the feeling of having something she had to do in the near future was just stressful in the extreme, even more than actually doing that thing.
Soon enough, even for her the cold was too much, so she went back inside, walking to the location of her next class, slumping down against the wall and digging through her bag again to make sure she had her essay on hand. She’d printed it out earlier that day, before she went to chemistry. A couple other students were also there, but she didn’t even remember their names, so she didn’t feel a particular need to talk to them; If she hadn’t gotten to know any of them by now, she certainly wouldn't start now on the last day.
So it was that she felt a certain degree of relief when the teacher came through and unlocked the door, and she could finally enter the room to begin the final class of the semester.
[...]
Kiriai stepped off the city bus a couple blocks from the apartment with a mixture of relief and apprehension. She may be done with her classes, but she wouldn't really be relaxed until she’d gotten her grades; The semester didn't really feel over until then, honestly. She’d had plenty of time to warm up on the bus, so she kept her hood down and just appreciated the biting chill. It was windy, but there hadnt been any snow that morning; The snow on the grass from last night was only a light dusting. Still, it felt nice under her feet as she walked, giving a satisfying feeling of crunching as she treaded over both snow and ice.
To her surprise, as she walked down the road, she saw the familiar face of Kiya round the corner on the other end, past the entrance to the apartment complex. Kiya perked up upon seeing her and increased her pace, bundled up in considerably warmer clothes than Kiriai’s PJ’s.
Kiriai paused at the entrance to the apartment and waited for Kiya to catch up to her. “What are you doing out here? I thought you weren’t a big fan of the cold.”
“Well, it's different when there’s snow. I had to go down to the union office for a meeting, but I didn't want to drive on the roads right now, so I just jogged down. C’mon, lets go get back inside.” Kiya announced, reflexively taking Kiriai’s arm in hers and tugging her along. Kiriai stumbled on the slippery ice momentarily, and Kiya’s expression immediately changed to panicked concern, leaning over and supporting her.
“Kiri! Are you alright?” Kiya asked, although Kiriai obviously hadnt actually fallen over and was quite apparently fine.
“Y-yeah, I’m good, I’m good, I just lost my footing for a minute. C’mon, let's get inside.” She pronounced.
[...]
Stolen story; please report.
Kiya ushered Kiriai in, giving a glance backwards as she shut the door firmly, before taking a towel and stuffing it on the lower side of the door to help insulate it from outside. With that done, she turned back to Kiriai. “So, how’d exams go? Did you sleep well? Were you too cold?” The barrage of unrelated questions caught Kiriai off-guard, as she sat down at the table, feeling strangely exhausted after the stress of the day. “Um, fine, fine, and fine.” She rolls her eyes up as she thinks and answers each question in succession.
Kiya rubs her arms to warm up and sits across the table from Kiriai, looking excited and hesitant. Kiriai narrows her eyes at Kiya suspiciously, leaning forward and placing her chin on her hand. “Alright, alright, speak up. I can see there’s something on your mind, what is it?” She asked, her tone somewhere between suspicious and curious.
“Well it's just, your last day is done, right? So you have time now?” Kiya prodded. Kiriai nods, hesitantly.
“Well, we should do something together, then! I don’t have much time left with you, after all.” Kiya pronounced, sounding both sad and excited.
Kiriai considered. She was, honestly, quite tired and would have preferred to just take a nap, but after putting Kiya off all week for studying, she couldn't turn her down now. So she nodded affirmation. Kiya must have noticed her hesitation, because she also looked concerned, cocking her head.
“Hm? …Are you sure?” Kiya asked, pausing in her speech.
Kiriai nodded again, trying to put more energy into it. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sure, just give me a little bit to refresh my energy. Maybe I’ll shut my eyes for an hour, then you can wake me up?” It was only 13:07 after all, there was plenty of time in the rest of the day.
Kiya looked a bit disappointed, but nodded in affirmation. “Alright. I’ll uhm, see you later then? I’ll try and keep it down.”
Kiriai let out a breathe, relieved, and flopped down onto the couch, pulling her light blanket up while Kiya turned up the heat, looking back at Kiriai again before walking back to her room.
[...]
Kiriai shuts her eyes, feeling the lethargy of removed stress settle down upon them. They didn’t fully settle into sleep, more of a half-conscious state where they couldn't tell how much time was or was not passing. They occasionally heard sounds from around them, but ignored them, taking the time to just refresh her mind. Thoughts of concern about her grades or the essay she had turned in she muted and repressed. Come on, it's the last day with Kiya before you head back home, you’d better at least try to relax… Kiriai thought to herself.
Her mind drifted from thought to thought without any real consistency, worrying about the next quarter at school, going home, what she would spend the day doing, etcetera… Until eventually, she hears a crash of metal banging together and Kiya yelping. Kiriai’s eyes bolt open and she throws aside the blanket, rushing over to the kitchen.
“Kiya! Are you ok?” Kiriai asked as she threw the door open. Kiya looked over at her, with an expression like a deer in headlights, kneeling in front of a cabinet with a pan in her hand. “H-huh? Kiri? I thought you were asleep-”
Kiriai frowns a little and walks over to Kiya’s side. “Well I was in bed, until I heard a certain someone making a commotion in the kitchen…”
Kiya blushed a little as she put a couple lids on the floor back into the cupboard. “Eheh, sorry, the pans were just stacked in the cupboard and fell out when I opened it up…” She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Darn, I wanted to surprise you when you woke up…”
Kiriai gave a small sigh of relief, leaning back against the counter. “Well, I’m glad you’re alright, anyways. What were you making, some pasta?” She looked out over the assembled ingredients and quickly determined it was something a tad more ambitious than that- There was a collection of new groceries she must have gone out to get while Kiriai was sleeping, ranging from sour cream to garlic powder and ground lamb.
Kiya clapped her hands together. “Well, uhm, actually, I wanted to try making something I know you like. So I got stuff for beef stroganoff!”
Kiriai arches a brow, looking at the ingredients, and the distinct lack of beef. She looked back at Kiya quizically, who put on a defensive posture.
“...It doesn’t necessarily have to be beef, you know!” Kiya stated defensively.
Kiriai giggled. “You’re so silly. Here, let me help.” Don’t want to risk you destroying the kitchen trying to cook, after all…
“Um, alright!” Kiya said, hesitant but enthused at the same time, disappointed she hadn’t gotten to surprise Kiriai, but also happy to spend time with her. “I’m already cooking the noodles, though, so leave that to me!” She said, perhaps a tad defensively, while Kiriai nodded in reply and got out one of their only two skillets to start cooking the ground lamb.
Kiriai knelt over the ground lamb, seasoning and stirring it until she thought it was done, then showing it to Kiya. “Here, you think it's done?” She took a tiny morsel of the meat and put it up to Kiya’s lips to taste.
Kiya paused from chopping up onion to chew the tiny scrap of ground lamb thoughtfully before nodding. “Mhm! I think the noodles are ready, too!”
Kiriai nodded. “Let's just finish cutting up the mushrooms and onion, make sure the onion is properly tender, then add it all together. The onion needs more cooking than the mushroom, so it’ll be better that way.”
Kiya smiles back and nods briefly in response, trusting Kiriai would know better than her. But they weren’t done chopping up the ingredients, so she handed Kiriai a knife and they worked side-by-side.
“Be careful not to cut yourself now, sis-” Kiriai cautioned, looking over at Kiya’s work in concern, knowing how relatively inexperienced she was.
Kiya gave her a defensive look. “...I can use a knife, I’m not that hopeless!”
Kiriai frowned at her, worriedly. “Are you sure? Last time yo- ow!” She yipped as she cut herself while watching Kiya’s knife work instead of her own.
Kiya put down her knife immediately and took Kiriai’s hand in her own. “Sis! And you were giving me a hard time! Wash that with some soap, I’ll go get a bandaid!” Kiya instructed Kiriai, already rushing off. Kiriai blushed, embarassed, but the wound was actually stinging as some of the onion residue was getting into it and stinging, so she did as Kiya had said and went to wash her hands.
Kiya returned a moment later and, as soon as Kiya had dried her hands, getting some blood on the washcloth, Kiya took her hand and delicately wrapped the band-aid around the shallow cut on her index finger. “There, now be careful. I’ll cut the rest of the onion.”
Kiriai made a sheepish “meep” sound and looked away.
As soon as she had made sure there was no contamination, and removed the onions that were anywhere near the wound, Kiya put the rest into the wok and let Kiriai watch over it, season it, and add oil while she cut the mushrooms. Before long, they were ready to add the ingredients all together, sour cream and cream cheese and lamb and onion and mushroom.
“Let me stir it, c’mon, I’ll get the cheese all mixed in-” Kiriai proclaimed, reaching for the bowl and large spoon.
“Alright, but only because I can't think of a way for you to hurt yourself here.” Kiya teased, flicking Kiriai’s nose, who blushed again.
“Siiiis, don’t be mean…” She protested, the tip of her tongue sticking out from her mouth as she mixed the ingredients in the skillet with some effort, until the chunk of cream cheese and sour cream at the top had differentiated through the whole mixture and she could add the slurry on top of the bowl of egg noodles, and clapped her hands together. "Alright, all done!"