When Mina woke up in the early hours of the next morning, it was with Sana’s face tucked under her chin, her steady breath warm against Mina’s collarbone, and Momo’s front pressed close against her back. One of Momo’s arms was draped over Mina, and she could feel the two Hufflepuffs holding hands against her stomach.

Surprisingly, Mina felt no panic, no flight instinct— only warmth, emanating from her chest to the tips of her fingers and the tips of her toes, lulling her back to sleep.

———

At a more decent hour for a Saturday morning, Sana was the first to wake. As cozy as she felt at the moment, cuddled under the heavy quilts with her two favorite girls, the sunlight pouring through the windows motivated her to carefully maneuver her way out of bed.

She turned to gaze back at the still-slumbering bodies of Mina and Momo, a slow smile spreading across her lips. They looked so peaceful like that, entangled with each other in the early morning light. Sana had never had any doubts since she first laid eyes on Mina that the girl would fit together with them perfectly, but even if she had, those doubts would have been assuaged completely at the sight.

Judging by the clock on the wall, Momo was bound to not wake up by herself for another hour at least, and Mina seemed similarly fast asleep. Although Sana was tempted to crawl back into bed and curl up against Mina’s side again, she ultimately decided that she would make a trip to the Great Hall for coffee and breakfast. The least she could do for her girls was bring them breakfast in bed, right?

Sana took her time on her way to and back from the Great Hall, wanting to give them plenty of time to sleep in. On the way back to the Hufflepuff common room she ran into Tzuyu, the younger student’s eyebrows raising when she saw the three coffee cups and assorted breakfast items Sana was attempting to juggle in her arms.

“Has Momo’s appetite really grown that much?” Tzuyu mused, somewhat in awe. She took one of the coffee cups and a few of the snacks from Sana’s arms, receiving an appreciative smile in thanks.

“Mina slept over last night,” Sana explained as they reached the entrance to their dorm. Balancing her goods in one arm, she tapped the barrels with her other.

When she looked up, Tzuyu was gazing at her curiously. “I’ve never seen you two have someone sleep over before,” she commented.

They both traveled through the tunnel into the common room which was almost empty, most students still in bed. Sana shrugged, carefully taking back the third cup of coffee and goodies Tzuyu had been helping her with. “It’s Mina,” she replied simply, leaving it at that. Flashing another smile, Sana thanked her friend and made her way back into her and Momo’s room.

Trying her best to be quiet, Sana settled everything down on the table next to her side of the bed. After a few moments, however, she heard the sounds of movement and the rustling of sheets. When Sana looked over, Mina was blinking blearily up at her, rubbing her eyes.

“G’mor’ing,” Mina mumbled, her voice adorably thick with sleep.

Sana’s smile grew as she repeated back, “Good morning.” She gestured to the table, “I got coffee and some donuts and stuff for when you guys wake up a bit more.”

The Ravenclaw hummed her thanks and shifted slightly, twisting her head a bit to glance at Momo who was still deep in slumber at her back.

Sana had learned after only a few weeks into her first year that Momo was quite resistant to the usual methods of being woken up— to put it bluntly, the girl slept like a rock. In Sana’s six years of sharing a bed with Momo since, however, she’d had plenty of time to perfect her game plan for waking her best friend up every morning. Guessing that her method A (covering Momo’s face and neck with kisses until she woke up) would be a bit much for Mina at this point, Sana settled on method B.

Walking around to the other side of the bed, Sana unceremoniously flopped down right next to Momo and dug her fingers into the girl’s sides. After a few seconds, in a somewhat delayed reaction, Momo woke with a jolt. Shrill little whines escaped as she tried to push Sana away with her arms and legs.

“You’re so mean,” Momo cried once she had successfully fended the girl off, eyes drooping shut again as she reached out to feel for a now-giggling Mina. “Five more minutes…” She burrowed further into the blankets and Mina’s side, scooting away from Sana.

“Five more minutes means an hour for you,” Sana scoffed, tossing Mina an amused roll of her eyes. She moved to tickle Momo again, who finally turned over to fix Sana with a sleepy glare.

“This definitely isn’t my favorite way to be woken up,” she grumbled, pouting.

A still half-asleep Momo, with her mussed hair and pout, was too much for Sana’s heart to take, no matter how many times she’d witnessed the sight. The temptation proving too much to resist, Sana leaned forward to give Momo a lingering kiss— on her cheek, however, again not wanting to scandalize Mina too much. “I’ll make it up to you later, then,” Sana murmured into her ear, quiet enough so that only Momo would hear.

Sana’s promise seemed sufficient enough to wake the older Hufflepuff up fully, as she pulled away from Mina and sat up in bed. Momo’s eyes brightened at the sight of coffee and food on the bedside table, and within a few moments she was jumping up to her feet.

While Momo began to dig into the mini feast that had been delivered to their room, Sana went to sit down next to Mina, who had pulled her legs around to hang off the edge of the bed.

“How’d you sleep?” Sana asked softly. The Ravenclaw’s gaze was firmly fixed down at her wiggling feet, a slight crease in her brow and her lower lip tucked in slightly— all of her “tells” which clearly indicated to Sana that she was beginning to overthink.

Eventually Mina glanced up and offered her a little smile. “Really well,” she answered, looking down again as she added shyly, “Better than I have in a while, actually.”

Sana couldn’t resist the urge to reach forward and tuck some of Mina’s hair behind one of her ears. “Well, I’m glad to hear it.” Her hand lingered near the top of Mina’s jaw distractedly as she added, “You can come spend the night with Momoring and I whenever you’d like.”

“Thanks,” Mina mumbled, cheeks coloring pink.

Sana finally withdrew her hand, becoming aware of her longer-than-necessary touch. Clearing and nodding toward where Momo was happily enjoying breakfast, she suggested, “We should probably grab something to eat now before Momo has a chance to devour it all.”

Looking up at the mention of her name, Momo called out, “Come on, girls, we don’t have all day! We have to make it out to the pitch early, we only have until 1 o’clock ‘til the Ravenclaws have a practice!” The older Hufflepuff rolled her eyes and mumbled mostly to herself, “Joohyun’ll kill me if she catches me trying to use the Quidditch pitch for my own practices again…”

With that, Sana and Mina joined her, dragging their own chairs over to sit around the table.

“Thank you for this, by the way,” Mina piped up, gesturing to their breakfast. “It’s very kind of you.”

Momo hummed in agreement, reaching over with her free hand to squeeze Sana’s without even looking up from what she was eating— her own way of thanking Sana without words.

A pleased smile spread on Sana’s lips. She intertwined her fingers with Momo’s, squeezing back, and addressed Mina, “You’re very welcome.”

There was something almost intimate about the way the three girls consumed their breakfast and coffee in companionable silence, their legs all tucked against each other under the table. For the longest time, it had just been Sana and Momo sharing these quiet, private moments together— and though Sana cherished those memories, there was something about having Mina here with them that made the whole experience feel more complete.

——

After their breakfast, the Hufflepuffs and Mina parted ways so they could all change out of their pajamas before their mini flying practice. Sana and Momo had offered to lend to Mina some of their extra robes so she didn’t have to go all the way back to her dorm, but the Ravenclaw had just blushed furiously, promising that she’d be quick.

About a half hour later they met outside the doors of the school, at the top of the path leading down to the broomshed and Quidditch pitch. When Mina approached dressed in her normal school robes, Sana hummed and commented thoughtfully, “I think I prefer the cute penguin pajamas.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t think those are great Quidditch clothes,” Mina replied, laughing.

The trio began to make their way carefully down the hill— that is, they were until Sana halted suddenly, grabbing onto Momo’s hand to force her to stop as well. The older Hufflepuff turned around slowly, and judging by her expression, she knew exactly what Sana wanted. Sana didn’t even have to break out the puppy dog face this time before Momo sighed heavily, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, get on,” she grumbled, facing front again and crouching slightly.

With a satisfied grin, Sana climbed onto her best friend’s back, wrapping her legs around Momo’s stomach and her arms around Momo’s neck (careful not to choke her, of course). “Thank youuuu,” she cooed into the girl’s ear, resting her chin on Momo’s right shoulder.

“I swear, she thinks she’s a princess or something,” Momo whined to Mina, sounding annoyed despite the fact that she’d given in without Sana even having to verbally ask for it. “We have to walk the slightest distance, and she expects to be carried.”

Deciding to be merciful and not point out Momo’s complete lack of refusal at her (unspoken) request, Sana instead flashed a beaming, innocent grin in Mina’s direction. As they got closer to the broomshed, an idea suddenly entered her mind. Sana tightened her arms around Momo, her voice dejected as she commented to Mina, “It’s too bad that Momoring can’t carry the both of us on her back… Now you have to walk all by yourself.”

Mina immediately opened , probably to assure her that she didn’t mind walking at all, but Momo predictably took Sana’s bait. “What, you think I’m not strong enough to carry both of you?” she demanded, her pride hurt. She stopped walking to turn toward Mina, and though Sana couldn’t quite see her face, she could imagine Momo’s determined expression. “Here, Mitang, you get on too.”

Mina’s eyes widened and she shook her head, waving her hands. “I don’t know, that seems a little much, I don’t want you to hurt yourself—”

“I won’t, I promise,” Momo said confidently, gesturing for the Ravenclaw to come closer.

Mina still looked conflicted, but after a moment she obeyed, moving a bit further up the hill so she had more height. Momo again crouched, and Sana held on tight as Mina jumped onto her back, the girl’s limbs wrapping around Sana and Momo as best she could. Sana felt more than heard the little grunt Momo released as she accepted the extra weight onto her back, but that was the only real reaction the Quidditch player had to adding Mina on. Sana couldn’t help but grin at the feeling of Mina’s face tucked into her neck.

“See, no problem,” Momo bragged, her breath only slightly labored. Slowly and surely, her tongue poking out in concentration, Momo began to take steps forward. Lucky for her, the broomshed was only a couple of meters away, so she didn’t have to push herself too far.

Once they reached the door to the wooden building, Mina slid off of Momo’s (or technically Sana’s, really) back. She smoothed out her robes as she smiled shyly at Momo, the beginnings of a blush on her cheeks. “Well, I’m impressed,” she said, nodding.

Momo shrugged again, “You’re pretty light, Sana’s the heavy one.”

“Hey!” Sana complained as she was also lowered to the ground, tossing Momo a playful glare. Patting her best friend’s biceps over her robes, Sana turned to Mina and grinned, “Momoring’s really strong, isn’t she? She’s a great athlete!” Mina hummed her agreement, though she averted her eyes and looked a little flustered.

“Thanks,” Momo replied, shooting Sana a look. Sana simply raised her eyebrows with a smug smirk— You were the one who wanted her to think you were cool, weren’t you? And now she said she’s “impressed”. Understanding passing across her face, Momo huffed and rolled her eyes, pushing at Sana’s shoulder. “Dummy,” she teased Sana under her breath as she led the way into the broomshed.

While Momo retrieved her personal broom, Sana grabbed a school one since she didn’t own a broom herself. Momo had wondered aloud earlier whether Mina owned one, not wanting to jump to any conclusions— however, it seemed those assumptions were correct to make, as Mina returned from a corner of the room carrying a broomstick that looked quite different from the school brooms and Momo’s old, worn out model.

Judging by the way Momo involuntarily gaped at it, Sana assumed it was one of the best money could buy. Even she could tell how high end and expensive it must be— the broom was the perfect picture of elegance, with its polished dark wood and sleek appearance. It was almost as if it were fashioned for Mina individually, its image fit her that well. At the end of the broom, Sana spotted a gold “Myoui Brooms” logo painted onto the wood.

“That’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Momo declared, somewhat in awe.

Mina frowned down at it, looking significantly less impressed than Momo did. “I guess.” She shrugged her shoulders dismissively, explaining, “My father had it custom made for me for my latest birthday, but… I don’t really use it that much.”

Sensing the girl’s growing discomfort, Sana held up her broom proudly and declared, “That’s cool, buuuuuut, I think my broom’s the best.” All three girls looked at the school broom, made of cheap pine and the twigs in the tail sticking out haphazardly in every direction, and after a few moments they all burst into laughter.

The trio exited the broomshed and walked the rest of the way to the pitch, Momo automatically taking Sana’s broom to carry it for her— a little habit of hers that Sana never failed to find terribly endearing. (If Sana expected to be treated like a princess, it was entirely Momo’s own fault.)

The Quidditch pitch was deserted as Momo had predicted, at least for the time being. Sana had only ever really been there for Momo’s games, and there was something about the vastness and emptiness of it all, plus the knowledge of what she was about to do, that had nerves begin to churn in her stomach. She wasn’t afraid of heights, necessarily, but there was something distinctly terrifying about the thought of her feet not being firmly planted on the ground. Not to mention the fact that the last time she was on a broom she ended up injured, so that didn’t help in calming her down.

When Sana’s attention turned back to her friends, Momo was already hovering on her broom, having left Sana’s broom down on the ground. “You make it look so easy,” Sana called over to her, pouting.

“That’s because it is!” Momo insisted, flying closer. “All you have to do is mount it, push off, and boom, you’re flying!”

“Yeah, okay,” Sana grumbled, unconvinced that it was actually that simple. Reluctantly, she did as Momo told her— with the broom under her, Sana summoned all of her concentration and pushed off from the ground. She succeeded in getting the broom in the air, but she released a nervous squeak at the unsteadiness of it all, wobbling back and forth. Her feet were barely off the ground, but Sana still couldn’t help but feel incredibly nervous.

Suddenly, Mina’s hands were resting on either side of her hips. When Sana’s gaze landed on her, the Ravenclaw smiled encouragingly as she said, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

Sana had always been an affectionate person, and more often than not, she showed said affection through touch— physical contact with other people never really fazed her. However, it seemed Mina’s touch was a rare exception. There was something about the girl’s hands resting delicately on her waist, keeping her steady, that made Sana’s entire face and neck burn.

“Okay,” Sana mumbled, trying not to show how flustered she felt in that moment.

Mina’s voice was soft and soothing as she instructed, “You just have to relax, okay? Just concentrate on my voice. The more nervous you are, the harder it will be to stay balanced, so take some deep breaths.”

Even though it was incredibly hard to focus on anything except Mina’s hands and the way she was standing so close, Sana did her best to concentrate on preventing the broom from being wobbly. Steadying her breathing, after a few seconds her broom stopped tilting, and she levitated safely in the air. Sana grinned proudly over at Mina, who smiled warmly back and gave her an encouraging thumbs up.

“Alright, now try to go a little higher,” Momo called out from above her.

Swallowing back her fear, Sana allowed the broom to raise her further into the air until she was at the same height as Momo.

“See, I told you it wasn’t that hard,” Momo scoffed. Despite her dismissive tone, Sana could clearly see the girl beaming with pride— Sana knew this was a big deal for Momo as well as herself. Quidditch and flying meant everything to Momo, so she was obviously pleased to finally share it with her best friend. And our new friend, too, Sana mentally amended, smiling down at Mina who was still on the ground.

With Momo’s coaching up high and Mina’s from down below, Sana was able to learn how to maneuver around well enough. She was still a little clumsy— she almost fell off a handful of times, almost giving her friends multiple heart attacks— but she had the basics of it down pat, at least. Sana had been doubtful that she’d even be able to accomplish that, so she was going to accept the bare minimum as a win.

After zooming around for a while, Sana realized that Mina was still on the ground, gazing up at her and Momo. Sana guided her broom down closer to the pitch, hovering near the Ravenclaw. “Aren’t you going to fly with us?” Sana prompted gently. She didn’t want Mina to be all alone while she and Momo had fun.

Mina cleared and nodded once. “Yeah, okay,” she mumbled. Sana could see the younger student take a deep breath, almost as if steeling herself. More fluidly than Sana could even dream of, Mina mounted onto her broom and kicked off, gliding into the air.

Although Sana was yet again far from any kind of expert on flying or brooms, it seemed like it would be obvious to anyone with two eyes that Mina hadn’t been exaggerating when she said she was skilled in flying. The Ravenclaw made it look incredibly natural— with her fast, expensive broom, she cut through the air like a knife. If a talented Quidditch player like Momo made flying look easy, Mina made it look completely effortless.

Sana raised higher to hover next to her best friend, commenting, “Wow, she’s really good, huh?” When she looked over to smile at Momo, the other Hufflepuff seemed to be in a state of shock.

“She’s better than good, Sana,” Momo eventually said, her voice dead serious as she tore her eyes away from Mina to meet Sana’s gaze. “Some of the best Quidditch players I’ve seen here can’t even fly like that.”

Mina made a few laps around the Quidditch pitch before rejoining the two Hufflepuffs, smiling over at them. “You wanted me to join you, so aren’t you going to fly with me?” she laughed, trying to sound casual though Sana could detect the slight uncertainty in her voice.

“Of course,” Momo agreed enthusiastically.

For another half hour or so, the three girls spend their time in the air, flying around. Despite Mina’s clear advantage due to her fancy broom, and the fact that Sana barely knew how to fly as is, Momo insisted on having a race. The winner of that race was entirely unsurprising, and trying to go fast made Sana almost fall off her broom again, but it was still incredibly fun.

Eventually, all three girls met down on the ground again, the exhilaration making them all giggly.

“You’re so good, Mitang,” Momo burst out suddenly, “I’m serious, how have you not played Quidditch before? You’re one of the best fliers I’ve ever seen!”

The Ravenclaw’s grin faded as she looked down and shook her head, her curtain of hair hiding her face. “It’s just the broom, probably,” she mumbled, shrugging dismissively. “I’m not that good.”

Momo gave an incredulous laugh. “Are you kidding? You’re amazing, I’m telling you!” she insisted. Seemingly getting an idea, her voice brightened as she thought aloud, “Maybe we should stay ‘til the Ravenclaw team gets here. One look at your skills, and I’m positive Joohyun will be trying to recruit you!”

“I don’t think that’d be a good idea,” Mina began to protest, “I’d just let the team down, I know it.”

“You wouldn’t at all! Joohyun’ll train you in all the rules and techniques and, I know you’d be on another team but, I’ll help you out too! You’re so fast and agile, I bet you’d make an amazing Seeker, the Ravenclaws really need a better one anyw—”

It seemed like something about that particular comment set Mina off, as she interrupted sharply, “I’m clearly not interested, okay? Just leave it alone.”

There were a few moments of silence, both Sana and Momo shocked at the usually quiet girl’s outburst. The only time Sana had heard Mina speak in such a cold, abrupt manner was when she was defending them from that bully all those weeks ago. It made Sana’s heart ache that they had pushed her to this— exactly what she’d been trying so hard to avoid, setting the Ravenclaw off in some accidental way.

Also clearly stunned, Momo stammered out, “Mina, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to push you at all. It’s your choice, of course it is, just— ignore what I said, I’m really sorry.” Sana could tell from the thick sincerity in Momo’s voice that she felt terribly guilty, and almost subconsciously, Sana reached over to take her best friend’s hand.

Mina released a long sigh, lifting a hand from her broom to rub at her face. When she pulled her hand away and looked up, her expression was weary. “No, it’s okay,” she eventually said, moving closer to take Momo’s other hand. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you, I’m sorry, I know you were just trying to encourage me.” She smiled apologetically, though her eyes were sad as she began, “It’s just… I just don’t... “ Another sigh, and she shook her head in frustration.

“You don’t have to explain,” Sana assured her quietly, reaching out to intertwine the fingers of her other hand with Mina’s.

“Yeah,” Momo agreed, nodding, “If you don’t want to play Quidditch, no one’s forcing you.” She offered a little smile, and asked cutely, “You’ll still come to my games, though, right?”

This succeeded in making Mina chuckle, and the three girls all exchanged smiles. Sana didn’t even realize how long they’d been standing there like that until someone pointedly cleared their throat behind them. When they turned around, they were faced with a rather unimpressed-looking Bae Joohyun, whose arms were crossed tightly over her chest. It appeared the Ravenclaw team had arrived for their practice a little early.

Joohyun huffed out an exasperated sigh. “Come on, Hirai, how many times do I have to remind you that you have to schedule practice times in adv—” The Ravenclaw captain stopped abruptly, her critical gaze dropping downward. “Why are you guys all standing in a circle holding hands?”

All three girls simultaneously realized how weird their position must look, and releasing little laughs, they unlinked from each other.

“Sorry, Joohyun,” Momo apologized, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish grin. Glancing to look between Sana and Mina, she continued, “I think we were pretty much done here anyway, right guys?”

“Right,” both Sana and Mina echoed as they all grabbed their brooms, starting to leave before Joohyun could chew them out anymore.

As always, Momo automatically took Sana’s broom from her hands. Sana was pleasantly surprised, though, when the older Hufflepuff also reached out for Mina’s. “Let me carry that for you,” Momo murmured shyly, glancing away almost as if embarrassed.

Poor, oblivious Mina just laughed and handed over the broom, teasing, “If you wanted to get a closer look at it, all you had to do was ask.”

Momo’s cheeks turned bright red. opened and closed, obviously trying to decide whether or not to explain herself. Eventually, though, Momo just mumbled, “Okay, sorry.”

At that, Sana had to press a hand to in order to not burst out into giggles. She reached out and patted Momo’s shoulder, giving her a sympathetic (and somewhat teasing) smirk. The older Hufflepuff just responded with a glare— “I don’t wanna hear it, Minatozaki. Not a word,” Sana could imagine her saying.

As they traveled back up the hill, Momo about a meter ahead carrying the brooms, Mina grabbed onto Sana’s hand swinging near hers. Sana glanced over with a smile, and though Mina didn’t look over at her, she could see her smiling, too.

Her heart swelling with emotion, Sana hoped it could always be like this between the three of them, so effortlessly easy and comfortable.