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“Liko.. ‘re you awake?..”
Dot would normally scroll through their socials or through their video’s comments, reading the good and the bad instead of sleeping. However, the countless hours of missed rest had been catching up to them, plus the growing stress of not being able to find clues on the Black Rekkuza, or any of the Ancient Heroes for that matter, made it harder to get at least a bit of shut-eye. Mollie and the rest of the adults, but especially the nurse, insisted that a growing preteen should sleep at least 9 hours. Yes, they were trying to fix their vitamin gummy dependance, (to be completely honest, that curry absolutely changed their life) but changing their whole sleep schedule was a whole nother issue that they didn’t really have time for.
Rubbing her face, Liko sat up and looked at the crack of the door, letting in a strip of light to her room.
“No.. I’m awake. Come in.” She shot her a sleepy, yet genuine smile. That bright smile. Their cheeks took a rosy tone as they started fidgeting with their shiny glameow-inspired coat’s sleeve. She could swear it could’ve lit up her dark room, or any room in that matter. “What’s up?”
The purple haired member took a seat on Liko’s bed, which felt surprisingly warmer than their own.
“I know it’s silly but..” They looked away, their bangs mostly covering their embarrassed blush. “..I couldn’t sleep”
Dot would never let someone catch them admitting it, but they felt like being around Liko even more since that picnic with her and the rest of the crew.. Or was it when they confessed that they were Gurumin?.. Meh, to be honest, it was late and the only thing they wanted to focus on at the moment was Liko. Her hair was slightly messy, missing her usual green hairpin, but cute nonetheless.
She put her knees to her face, the moonlight hitting her clear blue eyes perfectly. “I dunno if this’ll help, but when I joined the Rising Volteccers, I didn't feel like sleeping either. I was so anxious, I didn’t know who– or why I was being chased, I really didn’t know what was happening most of the time– you can probably blame Friede a little.”
She said that last part quieter, giggling a little. Dot let out a small chuckle as well, looking at the girl sitting in front of them as if she was the only girl in the world.
“I sorta do feel like that again sometimes, but I guess just, thinking about how the danger is gone now, that I’m with my Pokémon, that I’m with you..” Realising she had said that out loud, she blushed and covered her face. “I-It sorta helps when you’re overthinking those kinda things.. I dunno. I’m probably just..” She yawned. “..Saying nonsense..” Her lips curved into somewhat of a bashful smile, petting the Grass Cat Pokémon at her side.
“No, It’s not nonsense. I’m probably thinking about stuff too hard again too.”
They sighed, pulling their bangs, as they did when they were stressed against themself. Liko had caught onto that habit of theirs from before. Gently, she took their hands into hers and looked into their eyes. Their bangs had brushed off their face a bit, their sleepless eyes and growing eyebags visible to the girl.
“Dot..” She frowned. “Have you been pulling all-nighters again? We worry about you, y’know..”
Extremely tired, they crumbled right into her arms.
“I haven’t. You’re imagining things.” They sleepily mumbled. “But.. I like being with you too..”
Their eyelids were getting heavier, their breathing slower as they slowly but surely fell asleep in Liko’s arms.
As the early sunlight shone into Liko’s room, her eyes fluttered open, only to go completely wide seeing Dot hugging her tight, similarly to a Komala and its log of wood. You could probably use the girl as a stop sign seeing how red she was. Nyahoja shot her a knowing stare before curling back to sleep. As much as she was panicking, she was glad Dot got at least a little rest..