the clock reads 3:27 am.

it's been a while since you slept last. your eyes are bleary and heavy, bloodshot with a tinge of delirious. you despise coffee and yet, it was the only thing that has kept you company. the least you could do is honor its companionship with a few sips. a few shots? or has it already been a few cups? 

you've lost count and maybe that's okay.  

sooyoung stirs awake and tells you that it is definitely not okay. she wrestles the cup (cups, you had been through three cups, nursing your fourth when she came upon your sorry state) from you and tucks you in to bed. violent but effective- the same way she always has been with you. soon enough you find sleep beginning to gently push down on your eyelids, wrapping you in your favorite wool blanket (or was that sooyoung too?) but then you remember. every time you close your eyes you think of her smile and you jolt upright, wide awake even before succumbing to sleep. sooyoung sighs heavily (sooyoung. it was sooyoung.) and says, "good night, unnie. please get some rest." before climbing into her own bed adjacent yours, her back turned away. 

you know she can't see you get out of bed and reach for the forgotten cup near your desk but you know she can hear just fine. the coffee is now cold and bitter- you match. the thought comforts you a little but sooyoung's back turned away makes you ache so you leave the cup on your desk and lay back down on the bed. you will yourself to sleep, "good night, sooyoung." you hear rustling and feel arms around your waist. your eyes suddenly sting but sooyoung whispers, "rest, unnie." and you're just so tired and so lonely so you close your eyes and for the first time in a long while, it was a dreamless sleep.

for the first time in a long while, you were met not with well-meaning violence but comfort- mild, tender -yet powerful and effective all the same.

for the first time in a long while, warmth came despite the lack of blue.

so i'm coming out as a joyrene enthusiast uwu

a joyrene thing that sprung from a wenrene thing. less of a companion piece and more of a parallel line-ish, what-if scenario. for the fluff-inclined people of this nation, please do read the other one if you have the time, the time now is.

thanks a lot, and stay safe everyone!