#anyway AHHH ITS FINALLY PALASAKI WEEK IM SO EXCITED

[lesbicosmos]

day 1 of @palasakiweek !!!

day 1 prompt: hurt/comfort / sickfic

summary: crystal's on her period and suffering with it. niko helps with movies, noodles and cuddles.

notes: wrote this for my girlfriend :3 ( @giolovesyousm ilysm <33 )

also on ao3!!

found the place to rest my head (never let me go)

Niko awoke to the loud repetitive beeping of her alarm. She reached over to turn it off, but stayed lying down for a few minutes, just looking around her room. It was strange seeing all her things organised so differently – she may not have been living in Port Townsend for very long in the grand scheme of things, but she’d gotten used to where everything was there; everything had its place in the one huge room that was her apartment. Now, it was all different. The bedroom itself was smaller, so her bookshelves had all been pushed together and there was less wall space for her many posters. It was a welcome change, but a month after moving in, she was still getting used to it. Although, anything was worth it when there were other things mixed in with hers. She wasn’t alone anymore - she had Crystal. Crystal’s clothes were hung amongst hers in the surprisingly large wardrobe in their room, Crystal’s music posters joined her anime ones on the wall, Crystal’s long purple jacket hung right next to her thick green one on the back of the bedroom door. Having a roommate was brilliant, but even better that she was her girlfriend.

Niko rolled over, intending to gently wake the girl in question up – she always managed to sleep through the alarm somehow – only to find the other side of the bed completely bare, the space where Crystal should have been lying so cold, as though not having been slept on in hours.

Worried, she got out of bed, slid on her bright pink dressing gown and left the room. It really wasn’t like Crystal to go anywhere without telling Niko first, especially this early in the morning on a day they were supposed to be meeting Charles and Edwin at the office.

“Crystal?” she asked into the quiet of the apartment.

“’M’in the kitchen,” came a quiet response.

Niko entered the kitchen to find Crystal sitting at their small two-seater table with a cup of coffee in her hands. Her hair was strewn everywhere and she had bags under her eyes as she smiled weakly.

“You’re up early,” Niko said, walking over and dropping a kiss to the top of her girlfriend’s head on her way to the fridge.

“Does it count as being up early if you didn’t sleep in the first place?” Crystal replied as Niko poured herself a glass of orange juice.

“Oh. You okay?”

“Y’know how I started my period yesterday?”

Niko nodded.

“Yeah well, cramps decided to hit just as I was trying to get to sleep last night,” Crystal groaned, taking a sip of her coffee.

“Oh no. They’re bad?” Niko put her glass down on the table across from Crystal, instead running her hand through her girlfriend’s hair. Crystal relaxed slightly. “Day 2 always hits you hard, doesn’t it?”

“Yep. Took painkillers at like 6, they’re barely doing anything. What time is it now?”

“Just after 8."

Crystal’s eye’s widened in panic.

“Shit. We said we’d be at the office for 9.”

She made to move but Niko gently pushed her back into her chair, shaking her head.

“Nuh uh. You need to rest,” she insisted.

“But we’ve got new clients coming in, Charles and Edwin-”

“Charles and Edwin have been doing this a long time, I think they can manage this one without us.”

“Fine,” she grumbled, apparently unhappy with the idea; but Niko knew Crystal too well by now, could tell she was secretly relieved at not having to leave the flat. “Wait, without us? You don’t have to stay, you know. I’ll be fine.”

“But I want to.” Niko leaned down again, this time pressing a kiss to her forehead. Crystal’s eyes closed and she smiled. “I’ll go tell the boys.”

Niko headed into the living room and picked something up from the coffee table. At first glance, the object looked like a simple rock, like something a child would bring home from a day at the beach. However, it was actually one of two communication devices they had received as payment for a recent case. They were similar to the Spirit Finder stones the boys already had, only these ones were connected to each other, and worked like an audio texting device between any two locations. There was a phone in the office, but Edwin had insisted they use these stones – the phone was for clients only.

She tapped the rock three times, waiting for it to glow white to indicate the connection. She thought it was wild how easily her mind had adapted to the existence of such magical objects. But, she supposed, a lot of things become much more believable after you have two troublesome sprites try to rip you open from the inside, and then get killed by an evil witch’s spell but survive because of a magical bear stone and live in an alternate dimension for a few months until you find a way out. Yeah, that makes a lot of things easier to take in.

“Hey guys!” she spoke into the rock. She didn’t feel the need to check they were there; they always were, especially when the girls were due to go over. “Really sorry but me and Crystal aren’t gonna be there today! Crystal barely slept last night, she’s on her period and she’s not feeling too great so we’re gonna stay home and chill. Hope everything goes well with the new clients!”

She tapped the rock once again to end the message, and waited for a few seconds. Sure enough, the white glow returned and Charles’s voice sounded from the device. None of them had any idea how the sound came from the stone – there were no speakers – but who were they to question magic?

“Hey Niko! That’s fine, we’ll manage without you guys. Hope Crystal’s feeling better soon and we’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

Three taps.

“Yeah, hopefully!”

Niko went to return to the kitchen, but suddenly remembered something, and turned back into the living room, making a beeline for the bookshelf. She pulled a handmade square of quilted fabric off a large mason jar, and was met with groans of disapproval from its residents.

“Too fucking bright!”

“Seriously, are you trying to blind us?”

Kingham and Litty had also returned to the plane of the living when Niko did, and the others continued trying to convince her to get rid of them. Niko had refused. They had, after all, helped her come back, so it was the least she could do to not, you know, drown them or anything. She’d mentioned wanting to free them but changed her mind when she was met with looks of horror from Edwin and Charles.

“We really don’t need a dandelion epidemic in the middle of London, Niko.”

“Yeah I think keeping them in the jar is for the best.”

They’d complained, but didn’t seem too upset with the outcome when they’d been bought a bigger jar. And in the end, Crystal agreed to living in the same apartment as them, as long as they weren’t in their bedroom. So, the bookshelf it was.

“Look, I’m sorry for waking you but I need to talk to you.”

“What is it?”

“Seriously what’s so important you need to wake us up at the fucking ass-crack of dawn.”

“First, it’s like 8am! That’s a normal time to wake up. Second, you guys really need to be less you today.”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“Crystal’s on her period,” Niko explained. “She’s not feeling great and I really don’t want her having to deal with your…you-ness.”

“Oh boo-hoo!”

“Hey! She’s in pain! Wait- do sprites get periods?”

“Why do you care?” Litty asked, seemingly offended.

“She does,” Kingham nodded, and Litty groaned.

Niko really wanted to ask what exactly a sprite period consisted of given they were trapped in a jar, but she couldn’t get a word in because within thirty seconds, they were yelling at one another.

“Guys! This is exactly what we don’t want. Can you just like…be quiet for one day please?”

“Ugh, fine!”

“Can you at least put the cover back on? If we can’t talk I at least wanna get some fucking sleep.”

“Gladly,” Niko replied. “Now be good.”

With that, Niko placed the quilt back over the jar, blocking out most of the light. She took a deep breath before returning to the kitchen. She’d grown attached to the sprites, especially since they spent so long together in that weird inter-dimensional igloo, but god they could be assholes sometimes.

“Were you just talking to the sprites?” Crystal asked as she walked in.

Niko didn’t know if she’d heard them or if she could tell based on her tense expression. Probably both.

“Yep. They’ve promised they’ll be quiet today,” Niko picked up her glass of orange juice and took a sip, stepping over to stand right next to Crystal.

“Really? You sure they didn’t have their bitchy little fingers crossed behind their backs?” Crystal looked up at her, raising her eyebrows knowingly.

“Okay they probably did. But don’t worry, they won’t disturb us.”

“Thanks.” Crystal leaned into Niko. “What did the boys say by the way?”

“Charles says he hopes you’re feeling better soon.”

“That’s sweet. They’re sure they’ll be fine without us? I feel bad.”

“Crystal, they’ll be fine. They were fine for thirty years before us, right?”

“Debatable,” Crystal snorted.

She had a point.

“Still. You need to rest.”

“Fine.”

“Come on, wanna cuddle on the couch?” Niko stepped back, offering her hand to Crystal.

“God, yes,” Crystal replied, taking it.

“You go get comfy, I’ll be there in a minute.”

Niko pressed a quick kiss to Crystal’s lips before Crystal headed into the living room.

Nothing felt comfortable. Crystal tried to find a position on the sofa that didn’t feel like something was trying to claw its way out of her abdomen chestburster-style, but to no avail. She groaned, having given up trying after five minutes, when Niko walked in. She had two blankets over one arm and was holding a hot water bottle in the other.

“I didn’t know which blanket you’d want so I got the fluffy one and the thin one. I don’t want you getting too hot.”

“Thanks Niko,” Crystal smiled at how sweet her girlfriend was. “I think I’ll be alright with the thin one, especially with the hot water bottle as well.”

“Okay.”

Niko handed her the hot water bottle and the thinner blanket, folding the fluffy one up and placing it on the floor in front of the sofa just in case.

“And…” Niko started, reaching into the pocket of her dressing gown and pulling out a chocolate bar.

“It’s like 8am,” Crystal laughed, taking it from her and putting it on the side table next to the sofa.

“So? You’re allowed chocolate at 8am when you’re on your period. It’s like…the law or something.”

“Thank you.”

“Sorry that it’s just what we had in the cupboard, I can get dressed and go out and get you your favourite if you want-”

“Niko,” Crystal stopped her. “It’s great. You’re already doing more than enough for me, now come and sit down I need you.”

“Oh? What do you need?”

Niko sat down beside her on the sofa. Crystal immediately snuggled up next to her, her head on Niko’s chest and the hand not holding the hot water bottle resting on Niko’s knee.

“Just this,” she sighed.

“Ah. I can do this,” Niko replied, wrapping one arm around her and placing the other hand on top of Crystal’s, intertwining their fingers. “You comfy?”

“Yeah.”

It was nice, just sitting there in silence wrapped up in one another. It was quite the change to their usual day-to-day activities of running around London chasing after spirits and demons. Niko loved moments like these with Crystal, where she was calm and relaxed rather than her usual fiery, snarky, occasionally short-tempered self. Of course, Niko loved that Crystal too. She loved all of her, even the parts she was still trying to accept. Because no matter how mean she’d been in the past, no matter how often she lost her temper or started an argument with Edwin, she was still the person who offered her life for Niko’s after barely knowing her for two days, the person who became her friend when it felt like she was entirely alone, the person who tried her best to help her deal with her grief from her dad and convince her to get back into contact with her mom, the person who held her and cried for her as she died and was the first to pull her into a hug when she returned. She was gorgeous and messy and imperfect, and Niko loved her. She held her closer on the sofa, her hand running through her dark curls.

“I’m kinda glad we’re not working,” Crystal said after a few minutes. “I don’t know if I could handle Edwin’s…Edwin-ness today.”

“He’s not that bad.”

“I know, I know. He’s my friend and I love him like a brother at this point but…God, he can be frustrating at times. I feel like I’d just end up yelling at him when I’m this tired and like…hormonal.”

“It’s not your fault,” Niko comforted.

“I know that too, it’s just, since I got my memories back…like, I was so mean before. I really don’t wanna be that person anymore.”

“Hey.” Niko squeezed the hand she was still holding and kissed Crystal’s head. “You’re not. Who you were in the past…I know she’s technically still part of you but you’re not that girl anymore. You’re kind, and compassionate, and beautiful and sure, sometimes you and Edwin end up at each other’s throats a little but that doesn’t make you a bad person. Like you said, you’re like siblings. Most people are like that with their siblings, I think.”

Crystal looked up at her. In their position, it was difficult but neither really wanted to move.

“Thanks Niko, that really…it means a lot.”

“Well, it’s true.”

Niko leaned down the few centimetres necessary to press a kiss to the tip of Crystal’s nose, making her giggle softly.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Niko asked.

“Sure."

“What do you wanna watch?”

“I dunno,” Crystal shrugged. “You pick.”

“You sure?”

Crystal nodded as Niko reached for the remote.

♡ ⚢ ♡

Four hours went by in a comfortable domestic quiet, the two of them cuddled up together on the sofa watching the movies Niko picked, until the credits began rolling at the end of Princess Mononoke and Niko heard Crystal’s stomach rumble.

“You hungry?” she asked.

“Yeah, I didn’t exactly eat breakfast this morning. The only thing I’ve eaten is that chocolate we shared halfway through the first movie.”

“I’ll go and make lunch, what do you want?”

“I dunno,” Crystal shrugged again.

“You’re really not up for making decisions today, huh?” Niko giggled.

“No,” she laughed.

“Wanna try some of my noodles? They’re always good when I’ve got cramps.”

“Sure, what kind are they?”

“Well, my favourite ones are the chilli ones but you might not want those. Spicy and cramps don’t tend to mix. I think we’ve got some chicken ones in the cabinet too, they’re the ones I usually find helps with the pain.”

“Sure.”

“I mean they’re nowhere near as good as the chicken udon my mom used to make, but they’re still good.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Crystal chuckled.

“I’ll go make them, you choose the next movie while I’m gone,” Niko said, untangling her limbs from where they had become indistinguishable from Crystal’s and standing up. “This is supposed to be your day and so far, we’ve watched two Studio Ghibli movies.”

“Hey, I like Ghibli too!” Crystal argued.

“I know but I was the one who chose them so it’s your turn.”

Niko leaned down to press yet another kiss to the top of Crystal’s head before heading into the kitchen. Crystal smiled to herself – that was the fourth head kiss today and it was barely the afternoon. It had become their thing over the last couple months, and had begun when they’d only just got together, back when they were living out of the rarely used spare room of Charles and Edwin’s office. (After the girls finally got a place of their own, with funds from both Crystal’s parents and the Agency’s steady stream of clients helping to pay their rent, the boys redecorated the bedroom for themselves. Crystal didn’t ask why two people who physically couldn’t sleep needed a bedroom. She didn’t want to know.) Whenever Niko left a room, or entered it, or whenever she liked, really, she would kiss the top of Crystal’s head. At first, it was Niko playing on their height difference, the fact her lips were at Crystal’s head-height unless Crystal was wearing her platform boots, but it had become such a routine for them there were no signs of it stopping. Even Edwin found it sweet, though he seemed to feel that way about almost everything Niko did. That was one of the many things the two of them had in common: their overwhelming love for one Niko Sasaki.

♡ ⚢ ♡

Niko returned several minutes later, a pot of noodles in each hand. She handed one to Crystal.

“Hope you like them. Oh, and don’t forget to take some more meds, you could’ve had some like two hours ago.”

“Shit, yeah,” Crystal swore, moving to get up.

Before she could, Niko pulled the box of tablets out of her pocket.

“Thank you,” Crystal sighed.

Soon, the two of them were resettled on the sofa to start the next movie, both with a pot of noodles in their hands, still leaning as far into each other’s space as they could without causing a food-related accident.

“Jeez, I can smell the spice from here,” Crystal laughed.

“Yup,” Niko replied.

“Can I try some?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Niko twisted some of the noodles around the fork, as Crystal leaned forwards to eat them off it. She swallowed, then immediately started coughing.

“Holy shit!”

“You okay?” Niko asked, worried and reaching for the glasses of juice she’d poured them while the noodles were cooking.

“Yep. Just…wasn’t expecting them to be that spicy.”

“Too hot?”

“No, they were good. I like them, I just… yeah I don’t think they’d pair well with the current state of feeling as though my uterus is trying to claw its way out of my body.”

“Oh no…”

“The noodles are helping, though. Thank you.” Crystal smiled, returning her attention to her own non-spicy pot.

“You like them then?”

“Yeah, they’re so good.”

“Good. Did you pick a movie?”

“Yep.”

Crystal picked up the remote, and pressed play. Niko recognised the film immediately.

“Scooby Doo: The Movie? I said pick something you like.”

“Hey I do like this! I was obsessed with this movie when I was like 9. It kickstarted my obsession with Sarah Michelle Gellar. Then I made my dad buy all the Buffy DVDs when I was 12, then that was my favourite show for like two years,” Crystal said proudly.

“Woah."

“Yeah, imagine the shock on my face when I found out demons and supernatural beings and shit were real, and I was kind of one of them.”

“You’re my favourite supernatural being,” Niko said proudly and leaned across to kiss Crystal’s cheek.

“Shut up.”

“Nope,” Niko grinned.

♡ ⚢ ♡

“Hey,” Niko said quietly, around 20 minutes into the movie. “Do you wanna pause the movie a sec? I’ll go put the pots in the trash.”

“Sure.”

Niko stood up and went back into the kitchen, and when she returned less than a minute later, Crystal looked at her and laughed.

“What?” Niko asked.

“I just noticed, your lips are like, bright red.”

“That’ll be the noodles,” Niko giggled.

“You look somehow even more kissable than normal.” Crystal’s head was tilted to the side slightly in the way it always was when she flirted.

“Oh. Really?”

“Mhm.”

Niko barely had chance to sit back down on the sofa before Crystal pulled her in, quickly connecting their lips. Niko kissed back gently at first, not wanting to cause Crystal any more pain than she was already in, but Crystal’s eagerness spurred her on and soon she was pulling her as close as physically possible, both of them seemingly attempting to devour each other’s mouths. Niko tried her hardest to bite back the sounds threatening to escape her throat as Crystal took her bottom lip into her mouth and sucked.

Eventually, they broke apart, for no reason other than the need to breathe.

“Feeling better then?” Niko whispered.

“A little. Still feels like there’s some kind of rave happening in my uterus, but it’s not as bad as it was earlier.”

“Yay, the meds are helping.”

“I think it’s mostly you to be honest. And the noodles. But mostly you. Thank you for this.”

“Of course.”

As much as she wanted to pull Crystal’s lips back to hers, she knew they had all the time in the world for that. So, with one more kiss to the forehead, Niko gently pulled Crystal back into their cuddling on the sofa and pressed play on the movie once again.

♡ ⚢ ♡

“You up for another?” Niko asked after the end credits of Scooby Doo 2 finished rolling a few hours later. “We could watch the 2009 movie, too. You might have had a thing for Sarah Michelle Gellar but I was obsessed with Hayley Kiyoko. Her as Velma was an awakening.”

“Hmm…” Crystal hummed into Niko’s shoulder.

“Are you falling asleep?” Niko giggled.

“No.”

Liar.

“Yes, you are.”

“S’not my fault you’re comfy.”

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Niko shifted to move but Crystal held her still.

“It’s like 5pm. You’re not tired.”

“I don’t care. You need to sleep in a proper bed.”

Crystal gave in, allowing Niko to lead her into the bedroom and under the covers. Niko left the room, only to come back a few minutes later.

“I refilled your hot water bottle and brought you more meds,” she said, placing them down on the bed.

“Thanks babe,” Crystal muttered, yawning.

After Crystal had taken more painkillers, Niko climbed into bed next to her. Crystal immediately resumed their cuddling from the sofa. Niko never would have expected Crystal to be the clingy type, but she is not complaining.

“You know, I’m genuinely shocked the sprites were actually quiet.”

“Well…when I made them their little quilt I may have asked Edwin to put a silencing charm on it. They were probably yelling at one another all day.”

“Genius,” Crystal laughed, burying her head into Niko’s chest.

She seemed to have made a home on Niko’s chest over the last few months. Even before they got together, they would cuddle up together on the sofa in the office while the boys were out, or in the spare room while they were there, and Crystal would lay her head on her chest, listening intently to her heartbeat as though making sure she was still there. Every time Niko would hum softly, ensuring Crystal felt the vibrations of the sound. It was her wordless way of replying, of reassuring her she was really there, she was back, and she wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.

“Thank you for today,” she said, her voice more of a mumble against Niko’s pyjamas.

“You don’t need to thank me, it’s what I’m here for.”

“It’s not though, you’re my girlfriend.”

“Well as your girlfriend, it’s my job to be here for you when your period’s kicking your ass.”

“I really don’t deserve you.”

“Hey,” Niko gently took Crystal’s jaw and tipped her head up to look at her. “Yes you do. We both deserve this. Well, you don’t deserve to be in pain, but us lying here together, just…in each other’s space…we deserve this.”

Crystal still didn’t fully believe her. Niko absolutely deserved it, but she still had doubts about herself. She still carried so much guilt for the horrible person she was before she met David, the even worse person she was once he’d really gotten to her. But, she supposed, if someone as intrinsically good yet painfully damaged as Charles could want to be her best friend; if someone as hurt and austere as Edwin could value her friendship and want her around despite their bickering; if someone as sweet and kind and loving as Niko could want her like this, could feel comfortable and safe with her in her arms and want to do everything to help her when she was feeling down, well…maybe she could believe it a little. Maybe she could accept that after everything, despite what she had done in her past, she did deserve something as good as the life she had now, wrapped in the arms of the girl she loved, who loved her so much in return.

“I love you,” she said, squeezing her arms around Niko’s waist even tighter.

“I love you too.”

With one final kiss dropped into her curls, Crystal finally drifted into sleep.

-----

It was around 8pm when Charles picked up the communication stone that sat on one of the many shelves in the office and tapped it three times.

“Hey guys,” he said into the rock. “Just letting you know today went great! It was just a run-of-the-mill haunting in the end, so it’s all sorted now, hope you two are doing okay!”

A minute passes with no reply.

“Guys?” he says again.

Still no reply. Charles put the rock back in its place and walked over to the mirror.

“Charles, you know they said we could only use their bedroom mirror in absolute emergencies,” Edwin said from the desk.

“They’re not replying! This could be an emergency, mate, what if some poltergeist or something got into their flat?”

Without thinking for a second, Charles reached out and tapped the mirror. Ripples appeared centred on the point he touched, and the image changed from a reflection of the office to the view of Crystal and Niko’s bedroom from their dresser. Charles couldn’t help but smile at the sight before him.

“They’re probably just asleep, Niko did mention Crystal barely slept last night.”

Edwin was right. The girls were both lying there, only their heads and shoulders visible poking out of the duvet, Crystal’s head on Niko’s shoulder as they slept soundly.

“Yeah, they are. They’re fine.”

“Good. Now, are you going to help me finish up this case file?”

“’Course love.”

Charles took one last glance through the mirror at the two of them – curled up in each other’s space, holding one another close, the very image of domestic bliss – before tapping the mirror once again, leaving the two of them to their peace.