Who's under the mask?

[Eliza]

The leaves were a bright array of colors ranging from golden yellow, to deep burgundy as they littered the sidewalks and desperately clung to the trees, seemingly hanging on for dear life. Melody liked this time of year, it felt oddly hospitable with the crunching of leaves and the smell of cinnamon everywhere she went. For the first time since her breakup, she felt like smiling. Even as she slowly made her way home, she felt like smiling, despite the ache in her joints and the new cuts and bruises that she was sure would garner a few questions. They always did, so she was just lucky that she could play it off as being caught in the crossfire of getting her next big scoop on the latest crimes The Siren had gotten up to. She had been staying active in the same city that she had lived in before, but it sucked to commute so far. Then again, she would have to deal with a new Hero is she started working in this city, and someone might be able to make the connection between the two of them. That was foolish to think, though, and she scolded herself. All she had to do was move gradually, like she was just trying to scope out better areas to rob. With her powers, she hired herself out, stealing things for other villains to use as weapons, or sometimes just expensive gifts for loved ones, she didn't judge.

Melody let out a sigh as she looked up at the stairs that would take her up to her home, body already worn down as it was from fighting the little group of what she could only assume to be newbies. They were clumsy, unorganized, and they didn't work well together. She would have made it out without a scratch if their teacher hadn't stepped in, pelting her with a barrage of icy blades that they seemed to conjure out of nowhere. It had left her with more than a few scratches, and being thrown through a wall hadn't helped any. Neither had the three mile walk from the subway station, for that matter. After debating on if she should just go to sleep on the front steps or not, she finally began her climb, wincing and sucking in a few breathes through clenched teeth along the way. She didn't know if her roommate would be home or not, and she didn't know which she would prefer, either. On the one hand, having someone to reach the places she couldn't was really nice, on the other hand, she always felt a little guilty about lying. She knew it was for the best, she did, but every now and again, she thought about spilling the truth. She never would, it would be far to dangerous to all of the villains if she did, and they were her family now, so she couldn't put them in that kind of danger.

She wasn't even sure if she should feel guilty. Technically, it wasn't a total lie, since she always got pictures of the fights and wrote articles about them, she just left out her involvement as the villain. It probably just rubbed her the wrong way because of the kindness she had been shown. As she stood with her hand hovering over the door handle, she thought back to the day in the coffee shop where she had stopped after getting off of the phone with her ex. She was so far away because she was doing an interview for the paper she worked at, and her boyfriend at the time had decided to take that opportunity to throw all of her things out on the street, and call her to tell her that it was over between them. It had crushed her to know that she was so disposable after three years of being together, that he honestly didn't even care enough to say it in person. She had gone into the first place she saw and called her adoptive mother, bawling her eyes out and barely intelligible as she babbled into the phone about what had happened. In the midst of her sobbing, someone had approached her and shoved a warm paper cup into her hands, the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin flooding her senses for a few moments as the heat crept into her clammy hands. After several more minutes of talking to her mom, and finally saying her goodbyes, a girl slid into the seat across from her and placed her hands around Melody's own, still wrapped around the now half empty cup. She offered her a warm smile and a place to stay, if only for a few days until she could make other arrangements, having heard what had gone on fairly well.

The memory brought another smile to her face and she finally opened the door, trying to be as quiet as possible, just in case Alissa was asleep in the other room. Honestly, she wasn't even sure what time it was at this point, she just knew that it was ridiculously late, or maybe early, depending on how you wanted to look at it. She had only seen a handful of people on her way back home, and she knew that the last subway left the station at 11:00 PM, and it was about 3 hours to get back, and then however long it had taken her to walk from the station to her shared apartment, making her guess it was sometime after 3:00 AM.

[Shuboni]

Alyssa had had a long day. Between work at Digital Dungeon and fighting crime, she had accidentally arrested an onlooker with a bunch of criminals (the fanboy was impeding justice anyways,) damaged a statue in some crossfire (it was pretty ugly anyways,) messed up like six drinks (and threw one in someone's face for calling her a name,) and couldn't help but worry about her new roommate. Finally, getting home later than she thought, she trudged in and checked to see if Melody had made it in. Melody wasn't there, however. It made her worry even more, which caused a bit more stress. But, knowing that Melody needed kindness and not rebukes, she put on a brave smile and waited.

Dinner time rolled around, Alyssa was anxious. There had only been one other night that Melody had made it home later than dinner, and she was a mess! Alyssa ordered some takeout, which would be easy to microwave when Melody was finally there. She enjoyed the food, but they forgot something. Like always. She wondered if it was a conditioning thing, because they would always give her a discount for the next time she ordered. It was a good marketing plan, but she still ended up paying less for this food than any other Chinese place.

It was midnight, and Melody had still not shown. Alyssa walked around the building, looking to see if maybe Melody had been hurt on the way home. She was such a fragile girl, always coming home with new bruises and cuts. She had jogged all the way to the station, which was a thirty minute jog from the apartment. Melody was nowhere to be seen, so she jogged back. She contemplated calling Melody, but didn't want sound overbearing. Instead, she just stayed up.

Finally, a bit after three, Alyssa heard the lock click as the door unlocked. "Finally! I thought you were-" One look at Melody and Alyssa gasped. "What the hell happened to you?!" She pulled Melody in, maybe a bit too roughly, and slammed the door shut. "Did you get mugged??" She forced Melody to sit down, taking a look at the cuts and bruises. "Hang on, don't you dare move!" Alyssa ran to the bathroom before coming back with a first-aid kit and a big bottle of antiseptic. Before Melody could make any protests, Alyssa held up a finger. "You're gonna get patched up, any showers or whatever can wait. First, we clean and disinfect. Then you can shower, then I'm gonna bandage you up." She glared like Melody was protesting before starting to clean and disinfect the cuts she could reach easily.

[Eliza]

Any hope she had that Alyssa wouldn't be home was quickly squashed when she realized all the lights were on, and heard the familiar drawl from her roommate. She put on a tired smile and offered a little wave. "Hey, sor-" She was cut off by Alyssa getting a good lock at her and she visibly shrunk away, though only slightly. For some reason, it was hard to handle the spunky redhead being upset with her, even if it was just concern. It was just so sincere and kind... She knew that she didn't deserve it. She was a villain, people like her didn't deserve such sympathy, and they certainly didn't deserve a cute girl fussing over them like they were some sort of wounded animal. Not that she could honestly say that she wasn't a wounded animal, in more ways than one. Ever since she had moved in with the other girl, so had been tended to and fussed over, it got a little annoying from time to time, but she couldn't deny that it was... nice... Back at the Villain League, she was always told to brush it off, to get back up and keep fighting, it was why she was such a mess now. It was also why so few villains reached anything past forty. The ones who did either had money to buy their way to the top where they rarely fought, or they had long range powers.

After being so ungraciously pulled in and sat down, Melody watched as Alyssa scurried away, offering only a nod to show that she would listen. As the other girl started cleaning a cut on her arm, she sighed and momentarily swatted Alyssa's hand away before standing and pulling off her t-shirt, having already removed her hoodie before she came in with the intent that she would hang it up and run to her room without the other girl noticing. After the shirt came her pants, leaving her in a camisole and her boyshorts, revealing the rest of the cuts and scrapes along her body. One of the most annoying things about keeping up a cover of being an "Innocent bystander" Was having to rip and dirty her day clothes. She went through so many outfits for it... Having stripped herself most of the way, she sat back down on the couch, her movements sluggish and pained. Nothing was broken, not this time at least, but she had gotten extremely cold from the earlier attack and her face was flushed with a slight fever as she shivered, wondering if stripping her clothes had been a good idea. Then again, she had been cold already, and she knew it was only a matter of time, anyway. "It's not as if you don't come home even worse off than I do, miss 'Social Justice Warrior' how do you even get so beaten up at a 'Save the Trees' rally??" She was referring to an incident from a few weeks back when Alyssa had come home dripping blood from a gash on her scalp, with three bruised ribs and a dislocated shoulder, along with quite an impressive array of bruises, almost like she had been pelted with small spheres.

[Shuboni]

Watching Melody undress was enchanting to Alyssa. She tried her very hardest to make it look like she was just checking out all the scrapes and cuts that were covering the girl's body, but couldn't help raking her eyes across Melody's figure. Maybe a wandering eye caught her chest, but that was it. Alyssa forced her expression into a bit of a glare. "Oh no, you're not avoiding the question that easily." She started back on disinfecting all the abrasions and lacerations she could see, coaxing Melody into moving around when she needed to reach cuts that were under her. "Those lumberjacks can be little demons, I tell you." She brushed off the the comment and rattled on about being irresponsible and saying things like, "My moped is big enough for two, you know, I can pick you up. One phone call, and I bet this could all have been avoided."

"And you have a fever!" Alyssa exclaimed. One hand was on Melody's thigh, the other on her forehead. Alyssa knew Melody was the type to hide things like that from her, so she used the fact that her hands were moving in such a flurry to check Melody's temperature. Now she wasn't too happy. She stood up straight and leaned forward, glaring at the girl. "I bet you have some kind of cold, huh? Well, this won't do. You gotta take some time off to recover, you hear?" She stomped a foot. "Did you even eat anything tonight?" All the ranting and prattling stopped at that subject. Alyssa felt she had Melody cornered pretty well. Blocking Melody's only escape route while asking her such a direct question. It was what her grandma would do to her when she snuck out all hours of the night. But Alyssa wouldn't get the wooden spoon or anything like her nana would do to her. She knew that guilt was a more powerful punishment against Melody. The girl might even acquiesce and let Alyssa take care of her some.

[Eliza]

The brunette didn't even notice the way Alyssa was watching her, fatigue weighing heavily on her as she winced and occasionally flinched away from the other girls dutiful hands, the antiseptic stinging her already tender skin. Despite the burning sensation, she tried her best to sit still when needed, trying not to let the guilt of always lying to her roommate get to her. In fairness, this was likely the worst state she had ever come home in, so she couldn't exactly disagree with Alyssa's concern, but it still sat a little uncomfortably on her heart. Brushing that thought as far back as she could, she focused on what Alyssa was saying. "You didn't have to fight them, you know. Getting a few scrapes is at least a part of my job. Or it at least is to be expected." She was grumbling in what she knew was a childish manner, going so far as to puff out her cheeks and look away. "I wasn't going to make you drive all the way to Manhattan, just to give me a ride. That's like, an hour away from here by scooter."

She was too late to avoid the sudden placement of a hand on her forehead, pleasantly cool and calming. Melody allowed her eyes to flutter closed for a few seconds, leaning into the touch until it was pulled away, and suddenly Alyssa was almost close enough for her to kiss the other girl. If she just leaned in a little more... She shook her head, shaking those thoughts away. After she had done it, she knew that Alyssa would take that to mean no, she hadn't eaten. It wasn't totally true, though, she had eaten something. "I had a cereal bar around five'o clock...." She suspected that that wasn't a good enough meal in Alyssa's opinion, but it was at least better than nothing. The piercing gaze still managed to wear down on her and she had to look away, instead picking at some of the dry blood that had crusted over a cut on her leg, just above one of her knees. "I'll eat again... if you want me too... and I can sleep on the couch, so you can check on me easier..." she fidgeted a little, "I'll even take a few days off and let you look after me..." Her face was flushed, but she was hoping she could just pass it off as fatigue and illness, rather than a blush from the thought of being taken care of by such a pretty girl.

[Shuboni]

Alyssa tapped her foot impatiently. The gall of this girl was incessant. It was a quick lie, the thing with the peace rally, Alyssa regretted saying it when Melody asked mainly because those types of situations normally get an excessive amount of media coverage when violence happens. Sometimes, they get covered up, which was what Alyssa had to convince Melody of, but it was hard considering that Melody was a journalist. The truth was she was after some petty villain who had just started making a name for himself. The only intel that she got was that he had weak powers but he was crafty. She took a stealth approach, but didn't count on a heinous trap that accounted for most of the bruises that Melody mentioned. His power was something about stopping an object in motion while keeping it's momentous energy so that it could be fired again. They needed a hero with psi powers to stop him, someone that could create energy that was non-corporeal. "I told you before you moved in that I'm kind of a worry-wart when it comes to people's health, I get that you told me this before, too, but that don't stop me from being a worry-wart, capisce?" Of course, Alyssa's accent made the foreign word sound all the worse. "I'd rather make the hour drive than to think about you limping home after whatever-the-hell happened at your job."

Melody's admission that she had so little to eat made Alyssa's worry lines grow deeper. Now she was definitely considering getting the spoon. "Cereal bars are just carbs, more carbs, and a bit of fiber, nothing good for you. I got some take-out from that little Chinese place you seemed to like if you want that. Other than that, I can make some soup." Now was the part where Alyssa's stoic shield began to falter, because Melody was beginning to accept the care. Making compromise, even. Alyssa leaned forward and hugged her. "You drive me crazy, you know that? I'll want you to take a couple of days off, I can swing it with my work too. I'll still be on call, though, if they absolutely need me." Alyssa stood straight after the hug. She told herself the extra warmth that she felt was because of Melody's obvious fever. She then crouched down and started working at the gash on Melody's knee, cleaning and bandaging it. "The couch is a terrible place to sleep if you have a cold. I can just check on you in your room. I can drag a sleeping bag in there, it'll be like a slumber party except you might be dying and I'll be the only one who's making sure you don't." Alyssa's brows were furrowed again, even though it was supposed to be a joke. "Now, what can I fix you for... what in the hell would you call a meal at this time, anyways? I mean, I'd call it too damned late, but you have to get something in your system. So, what do you want?" Alyssa was back on her feet, ready to please, but with the look of worry still on her face.

[Eliza]

Melody sighed and shook her head, a small smile making it's way onto her face. She knew that Alyssa would fuss over anyone and anything, if she thought she could get away with it. It was pretty funny to watch as long as you weren't the one that was being fussed over. Her overbearing nature was almost suffocating when it was turned on you. Still, it wasn't the worst thing that she could imagine, and in a way she enjoyed the feeling of being cared about, even if it was a little bit annoying from time to time. "I know, I know... And I told you when I moved in that I fall under fire in my job a lot, and that I would try not to be a bother or a burden. Though I'm not doing either of those things right, since here I am, bothering and burdening you, anyway." She let out a sigh and shook her head, leaning back on the couch to close her eyes again, just for a minute while she recentered herself.

She knew that what she had eaten wouldn't appease her, but she had tried, right? "You've mentioned it a time or two, I think." It would be a lie to say that she didn't enjoy seeing Alyssa riled up, though she wished she could do it in other ways. "You'll get cramps if you sleep on the floor, so why don't you just sleep in my bed?" It had already left her mouth when she realized what a stupid thing to suggest that was, since she knew that she had a habit of latching onto whatever was close. She had learned that from her ex when he had complained about how smothering she was to sleep with. It had made her feel guilty and miserable at the time, and she was afraid that Alyssa would be upset at her if she did something like that. "Actually, that was a silly thing to suggest, of course you wouldn't want to do something like that..."

Melody visibly paled at the mention of Alyssa cooking her anything, remembering the last time that had happened. She shuddered from the memory as more goosebumps appeared along her arms. It had been truly heinous, a crime against humanity, almost. It wasn't just that it looked like something a cat had eaten off of the side of the road, vomited, had the vomit eaten by a dog, that the dog then re-vomited, it had also smelled like mentholated garlic and dog food, and the taste was only worse. Somewhere along the lines of burnt tire and the way a gas station would smell if you blended up everything inside of it, including one of those pine tree air fresheners. She had spent the next three days after that not being able to leave the bathroom, and had eventually had to go to the hospital just to replace the fluids that she had lost. "I'll take the Chinese! Please don't go to any trouble to make me anything!"

[Shuboni]

Alyssa nodded knowingly, as if Melody was proving a point. "So you're just going to have to put up with the fact that I'm going to worry, pester, and otherwise nag. It's what I like to do, so don't stop bothering or burdening." Now Alyssa was inspecting a rather ugly gash on the side of Melody's calf. Did she crawl through barbed wire? The gash was deep enough that Alyssa was pondering if she would need to do more than just bandage it. She went through the process of cleaning and sterilizing only to find that it just looked deep because of the blood that had come out. The girl must have terrible circulation if so much blood was coming out of leg wounds. But, it wasn't something Alyssa felt that she had the place to nag about. Not yet, anyways. Maybe after they had been living together for a while, she could mention it. If Melody kept getting hurt like this, she could probably mention it sooner.

Alyssa stiffened when Melody suggested sleeping in the same bed. When Melody took it back, there was a pang of regret in the back of Alyssa's mind. What was that? Maybe Alyssa needed to see a shrink or something. Maybe it was that one syndrome, the one about the nurse falling in love with the patient. Someone Nightingale, she couldn't remember. She let out a laugh that was not at all convincing before she said, "Y-Yeah... My fat ass would probably push you right out of bed." Alyssa was still gauging how Melody took her self-defacing humor. No, she didn't have an image problem, she just recognized that she was a little larger than other girls in certain departments. "If you're that worried, I think I have a cot in my old... er... my dad's old army stuff. It's not as stiff as the ground."

Standing straight again, but not at all done with her examination, Alyssa nodded and gave a noise of approval. "Then let me fix you something up." She waggled a finger at Melody. "Don't think we're done, though. I'll need to get another good look before saying I got all the cuts and scrapes, then I have an ointment for those bruises that'll help them heal faster, then we'll want to take your temperature-" She was listing things off and counting them on her hand. "Then I'll want to get some medicine in you, then it's off to bed. I'll be back after the food starts heating up so I can finish inspecting. You'll want to either stand or lie on your stomach, so think about what'll be easier in your condition." She smiled that winning smile that her hero persona wore then flitted to the kitchen to start heating up Melody's food.

While in the kitchen getting the plate out of the fridge, Alyssa started asking herself questions. Why did she have this... connection to Melody? It wasn't that she felt sorry for Melody. No, Melody was strong and independent, she had just fallen on bad times. Was it the fact that they were both women trying to make it in this uncertain world where the the guy that just rounded the corner may have a superpower that could turn you into a mental vegetable just by looking him in the eyes? New York was scary enough without villains running amok. Maybe it was that Nightingale whosamawhatsit, maybe she was just a sucker for people putting themselves in precarious situations. Was that conditioning by the Hero League? Could be. But Alyssa wasn't attracted to females in that way. She stopped in her tracks when that thought rang through. ... Right? I'm not homosexual...? The plate of food was about to be popped into the microwave. She shook her head, pushed it in, punched some numbers that she knew wouldn't heat it up too long, and walked back into the other room where Melody was. "Okay, I know you reporter types are all about charging in, so I don't think I'll be finding anything else, but let's just make sure."

[Eliza]

Melody sighed and shook her head with a soft laugh that made her inwardly wince when it jostled her around too much. "You really are determined, aren't you?" She said it quietly, more to herself than to Alyssa, already knowing that nothing she could ever say would change her mind or make her less persistent and doting. She watched with an almost morbid fascination as the long cut along her calf was cleaned and carefully bandaged. She wondered how many bandages she had now, deciding that she would count them later.

She frowned at what Alyssa said and had to resist the urge to reach out and squeeze the breasts that were within her reach, and tell her that they were lovely. She herself wore a C cup, so it wasn't as if she was flat chested, but she was nothing like Alyssa, and in all honesty, sometimes she thought about just burying her face between those beautiful breasts and dying there. It wouldn't be a bad way to go. Yet, she managed to keep things civilized between them, not wanting to seem like some kind of weirdo and then getting herself kicked out. She nodded along with the mention of the cot and the list of things she would be doing, not paying any attention to the minor slip-up. It was easy to think of things as belonging to you when you had had them for a long time, so it didn't seem odd. "You aren't fat, you know. You have a remarkable hourglass figure that just about anyone would kill for." And God her abs, they were just remarkable. Her mind wandered to what it would be like to run her tongue along each dip and rise of them. It made her shudder a little to think about.

After Alyssa had disappeared, she sighed again and decided that she might as well get things over with and she pulled her camisole off as well, leaving her clad in only her boyshorts as she laid down on her stomach, moving with some difficulty as she hoped that nothing showed too horrifically on her back. She had been shoved through a brick wall, but it didn't feel like anything was too bad off, all things considered. She turned her head in the direction of Alyssa's voice as she spoke, nodding her head once before resting it on her arms and closing her eyes. "I'm pretty sure I'm fine, I fell on my back at one point, but it shouldn't be that bad." Hopefully, that would be enough cover to justify anything she did see. Not for the first time, she mentally cursed out the league for what she had to wear, thinking of all of the other designs they could use.

[Shuboni]

Alyssa had no idea what exactly she had expected by asking melody to assume a position like that. For some reason, she hadn't expected Melody to be missing so much clothing. Then again, on Melody's back was that horrible... "Is that road rash??" Alyssa wasn't entirely ready to deal with something like that. "How in the nine hells did you do that to yourself?" She ran back into the kitchen, grabbed an unused sponge from under the sink, ran the tap as hot as it would go, filled a bowl, then walked back out into the living room. Alyssa had sat down and wrang out the sponge when her thoughts went back to the bedding situation. She also just realized what Melody had said about her.

With cheeks as red as cherries, Alyssa went to work on cleaning Melody's wound. "I didn't say being fat was a bad thing... I just... I was just thinking it might be kinda awkward to share a bed. I mean, with how big your bed is, we'd basically have to sleep on top of each other." The thought of which did sound... maybe a little fun. No, it was functional. If they were in the same bed, then Alyssa could keep a better watch over Melody's fever. But, no... "I mean, how would you get comfortable? Plus, I have a bad habit of cuddling things in my bed when I sleep. That's why I sleep with a body pillow." Inwardly hoping Melody never found out that Alyssa's body pillow had a print of Rin Okumura on it, she kept at the washing. It was slow work, she had to get up a couple of times to get fresh water. Then, she found some burn tape in her first aid kit and bandaged it up as evenly as she could. Proud of her work, she took some time to inspect the rest of Melody's body. "Give me a minute, I'm sure you're just about ready to get up from lying like that, but I want to make sure I didn't miss anything."

Alyssa hadn't missed anything, but she couldn't help but marvel over how soft Melody's skin was. She touched a few spots along Melody's legs, under the pretense that she was checking if she had been bruised, then along her sides. Thinking she wouldn't get away with any more, she stood up and nodded. "Okay, I think you're pretty well patched up. I'll have to heat up your food the rest of the way, so give me a minute." She scurried into the kitchen and did her best to try to quell the heat that had risen into her cheeks. What was wrong with her? Sure, this wasn't the first time she had to patch up Melody. It also wasn't the first time that she had incidents where she couldn't stop looking at the other girl, but it was the first that thoughts of being really close to Melody had made her act this way. She splashed some cold water on her face, dried off with a paper towel, finished heating Melody's food, and walked back out. She didn't know if the blush had left her cheeks, but she was praying to whoever was up there that it had. "Here you go; lo mein with ham fried rice, cashew chicken and some eggrolls on the side." Along with the plate, she set out a couple of packets of soy sauce and a little dipping cup of sweet-and-sour. She also set out a pair of chopsticks, remembering how Melody preferred eating with sticks whenever there was oriental food.

Feeling like her work was done, for now, Alyssa sat down in one of the free chairs. She shifted a little uncomfortably and, while looking the furthest away from Melody that she possibly could, she said in a quiet tone, "It might be good if we shared a bed, though..."

[Eliza]

"Well... I mentioned that I fell on my back... I kind of slid a little bit. I honestly didn't think it was that bad." It might have been a little worse than that, being thrown into a partially collapsed wall and then sliding down it for about a story and a half. It didn't hurt, which made her wonder if she had done some nerve damage, but she sure as Hell wouldn't mention that to her roommate. Especially not now as she hissed through her teeth and gripped the couch so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She bit back what was almost a sharp cry, not wanting to startle Alyssa. Besides, what was a little pain? It wasn't as if she hadn't been through worse in her past. She finally relaxed as the sheet of plastic was affixed and whatever it was that Alyssa had applied to her back was soaking in, numbing it after the uncomfortable scrubbing.

"I know you didn't say it was a bad thing, but I still thought you should hear the truth. You really are beautiful." Her cheeks were dusted pink, but she kept them hidden against her arms as she continued to lay on the couch for a little bit longer, enjoying the way it took pressure off of her exhausted form. One would think that being born with superpowers would make you heartier, but that rarely seemed to be the case, and they had to rely on modern medicine to fix them up. She knew she was luckier than the heroes and villains of days past, having to go though without the fancy creams and finally honed surgical procedures that kept you down for a fraction of the time they once did. Then again, those things only helped if you had access to those things. She thought about Alyssa's scars, how they each told a story of adventures she had gone on as a child. She was almost jealous, knowing that she told no stories with her skin, and that somehow made them feel less real to her.

All she did was nod as the other girl disappeared again, thinking it was probably a good time to go put something else on. With great effort and a lot of grinding her teeth together, she managed to get up, only whimpering a few times along the way. 'I really need a better suit, this is getting ridiculous.' She made the short walk to her room and was just returning to the living room, clad in an old sleep shirt that she had cut the sleeves and collar off of, when her roommate came in with food. As a result of the modifications to her shirt, you could still see her breasts from the side, and the collar hung down rather low, dipping between, and just below her breasts. She only wore it to sleep in, so she didn't really care, nor did she care if Alyssa saw her this way, it wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other at least partially naked before. She would be lying if she said she wasn't hungry, and her face lit up as she accepted the plate and offered chop sticks, setting them on the table. "Itadakimasu!" She smiled at Alyssa again, her expression probably capable of melting the coldest of hearts.

She had been too busy eating to make small talk, and she paused with an eggroll in her mouth when Alyssa finally spoke again. Her heart and stomach did a little flip, and she quickly swallowed her mouthful of food. "I don't mind sharing. It's against the wall, so there isn't much chance of either of us falling off. Still, I'll take the spot away from the wall, so you can't fall." Her cheeks were flushed and she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt a little, looking away. "And... I don't mind if you cuddle with me... I'm the same way, always moving around and holding what I can reach."

[Shuboni]

Alyssa could tell just how much Melody was in pain. She vowed to help the girl out as much as she could, even going as far as carrying her if necessary. Alyssa knew that Melody would protest and say that she could do things on her own, but that wouldn't stop her from at least trying. "Fell my ass..." She mumbled under her breath. It looked more like Melody had been tied up behind a motorcycle and drug for at least a few yards. The only difference was the debris wasn't road debris, it looked more like something from a brick wall. But, Alyssa wasn't one to judge. If Melody wanted to tell her the full truth, she would. If she didn't, that was because it wasn't any of Alyssa's business. She accepted that.

Alyssa remembered that Melody owned that shirt, but was still surprised every time she wore it. While Melody ate, Alyssa couldn't stop her gaze from flitting over to the arm holes of the shirt where Melody's breast would sometimes become exposed. It was like perverted clockwork, Melody would lean forward to get a bite of food, Alyssa's eyes would flit down to Melody's chest, she would lean back, Alyssa would tear her eyes away. She tried to tell herself she was only looking because that shirt wouldn't help with Melody's cold or whatever ailment she had. It wouldn't keep her warm enough.

Alyssa was then taken aback by Melody's suggestions. The way she said things almost made it sound like she wanted Alyssa to sleep with h-no, no, in the same bed. They were just sleeping in the same bed as each other. Her cheeks were now flushed as well, but not because she was feeling sick. She nodded. "I... I think it would be a good idea... I can keep you warm and help you break that fever." That was her self-justification again. But there was one problem. "Do... you don't happen to have any spare pajama clothes, do you?" It was a habit that persisted from her times living in Louisiana. Alyssa was used to sleeping in the buff. She decided to just be forthright with it. "Because... Well, growing up in such a hot place, you don't really realize why you'd want pajamas, so... I don't really have anything to sleep in aside from a robe." Obviously, the robe was only used when she was leaving her room for something in the middle of the night. There was something she wanted to add, but also didn't want to say it because she felt like it would be extremely embarrassing. They were just two girls, right? Girls saw each other without clothes all the time, right? Gyms were a veritable buffet of naked girls. Same with women's saunas. Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Butifyou'reokaywithmesleepinginyourbedwithoutclothesthenIwon'tneedany." There, the words were out. She could just play it off, right? She smiled nervously, hoping Melody wouldn't take it the wrong way.

[Eliza]

Melody had only gotten through about half of the food that was piled on her plate before she couldn't force down anymore. As hungry as she had been when she saw it, the pain and the fatigue made it more difficult to eat. She yawned and rubbed at her eyes after setting her glasses down on the table, feeling the weight of her day pushing down on her. When Alyssa spoke again, she squinted at her, not that it helped. She could still only see a shapeless blob where the other girl sat. Melody could feel the nerves coming off of the other girl and she couldn't hold back her laughter, even as it hurt her back and her sides, she couldn't seem to stop herself.

"What on earth are you so worked up about? I don't sleep with any clothes, either. It's better for the lady bits if they get to breathe through the night. One yeast infection will make sure you never wear pajamas again." She shuddered at the memory, blaming it on falling asleep in her very non-breathable uniform, while damp and sweaty from a night of debauchery. It had taken a few days before she noticed, but when it set in, she thought she wanted to die. It was nothing but burning, itching, and feeling generally uncomfortable for several days before the medicine she took for it did it's thing and cleared it up. 'Besides, I would very much like to bury my face between those lovely breasts, and this would be a perfect opportunity.'

Despite her dirty thoughts, she smiled innocently as she put her glasses back on and stood from the couch, letting out a little whine of discomfort, intending to put her plate in the kitchen then go to bed. If she worked quickly enough, Alyssa might forget about the rest of her list that she had run through.

[Shuboni]

Alyssa shifted uncomfortably and mumbled under her breath. Why was she all worked up about this? Again, girls saw each other without clothes plenty. So, it shouldn't be that big of a deal, right? Even if Melody would be naked as well... and their skin would be touching... they would be close all night... Before she could have some kind of conniption, she pulled her focus on something. Anything else. Melody had stood up and she had also made a noise that said she was in pain. Alyssa was able to focus on that, definitely. She straightened her glasses and stood up. "Hang on, you're not doing that." She strode over and took Melody's plate. "Stay right here." She then proceeded into the kitchen and washed everything before putting it away.

Alyssa came back in and looked over Melody. She grabbed the bottle of ointment for bruises. "So... should we go to your room so that I can finish taking care of you, or do you want to stay in here?" It was late, and Alyssa was thinking it would be best if they went to Melody's room, but she didn't say anything. She was hinting that it might be best, because they could then go right to bed afterwards.

[Eliza]

Melody pursed her lips and gave a halfhearted glare at Alyssa's back as she carried her plate away. Still, she did as she was told and stayed put, even when she wanted to go in and help out at the sound of clanking dishes and running water. It was hard for her to just sit still and do nothing while others took care of her. She liked her independence and ability to do things on her own. While Alyssa was gone, Melody mulled a few things over in her head, like the fact that the two of them were going to be sharing her futon together. She had opted for a large, round futon in exchange for a bed because she felt more comfortable sleeping in a somewhat curled up position, and the bowl-like shape of the futon kept her head elevated when she was feeling stuffy. It did however mean that they would have to be very close together, because of the shape.

She looked up at Alyssa entered the living room again, bottle in hand and a look of determination that told Melody that she wasn't getting out of anything. "But you're just going to make me take more of that disgusting tasting cold medicine!" She knew that she was whining, and she knew that it was childish and unlike her, but she hated the artificially flavoured and sweetened syrup of suffering. She decided that she would at least be more comfortable in her own bed, so she begrudgingly began to trudge her way there, the whole time grumbling about being treated like a child.