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Niko Sasaki was halfway through painting her nails when her housemate finally exploded out of frustration. It had been building to that, sure, but they were having a perfectly wonderful sleepover and then Crystal Palace had to get all up in arms about people she had no ability to control.
“Y’know, I really think he just needs to get over himself! If Charles wants to ever, like, have a chance with anyone, he needs to deal with his communication issues. And I’m not paid enough to help with those.” She was understandably upset, at least, from what Niko had picked up on. Crystal had been up all night at the Devlin house dealing with freaky hauntings and emotionally constipated ghosts. Niko had been up all night too, but she’d had the role of holding down the fort. And bearing with the heckler dandelion sprites.
“Maybe you should get some rest. You look exhausted.” Niko chanced a look up through her eyelashes at Crystal, who had paused mid-rant. She was out of breath and it was strangely captivating. “Charles might not want a chance with anyone. I don’t think he’s that kind of person.” He seemed the type averse to any kind of vulnerability whatsoever, but Niko had the grace to not mention that.
“Then why does he even bother with his little flirtations then? The comments? It’s- whatever. And it’s midmorning, there’s no way we’re sleeping anytime before dark.” The shadows under Crystal’s eyes were heavy, and Niko worried they weren’t going to get any closer to agreement. She was half asleep herself; technicolor parasites took a lot out of anyone, even days after extermination. Finding out a whole supernatural world existed was about as new and taxing as the soft spot rapidly growing for the pretty girl sharing her space.
“Falling asleep for just a nap isn’t so bad. We’re already in pajamas and everything.” Niko’s laptop sat open nearby beginning to play a show’s credits. She hadn’t been very successful so far in getting them under the covers, which were bunched by the end of the bed. Niko refocused on the nail polish instead of the way their legs brushed.
Crystal let herself fall backwards, bouncing on the mattress. Niko startled and caught her polish from falling just in time, and then followed Crystal’s gaze to the ceiling instead of tracing her face without getting caught. The ceiling was possibly the only surface of her room not plastered with some kind of media. She should’ve fixed that- empty space meant room for sadness, but it was too far to reach.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing? With Edwin and astrology boy?” Crystal was like a very persistent dog chasing a bone. It would have been endearing in any other circumstance, but Niko was tired, her eyes kept catching on Crystal’s nose piercing and the shape of her mouth was taking on a new meaning. She cast for any slight change in topic.
“Ghosts probably like their patterns, yes? This is probably a big disruption for them and it makes sense to be out of sorts.” Niko must have hit on something with substance and Crystal hummed in thought. “And love is hard. We shouldn’t really presume…” Her father would know the perfect thing to say about it. She missed him like she missed not knowing the truth of death.
Niko hadn’t been raised believing in one thing over another, but her father had always said to be open to any possibility. Still, ghosts felt deeply out of place to her, like a record scratch on reality. Every time Edwin or Charles passed close to her the trail of frigid air left Niko shivering. She had to pull out a coat for the case hearings.
“Love isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, I’d say. You didn’t meet me when I was possessed, but David, he was a real piece of work.” Crystal’s face crumpled. “I don’t even know who I was before all this, who I even am. Does Crystal Palace even exist? Is she just a costume I put on every day to interact with others? Oh there she goes, Miss Crazy,” she sat up, hugging herself with eyes shut tight. Niko leaned into her and did her best to project comfort. They hadn’t known each other all that long yet, but she hoped it was appreciated.
“I get what you mean, kind of. I don’t really remember much from when the sprites had me,” she cast a look at the sweater-covered jar across the room. “But I’m not going to dwell on it.” She still dressed in mushroom themed clothes, even more than she used to. It was satisfying, in a way. Vindication for the horrors of a near death experience harrowing enough for her to see ghosts.
“Well that’s not a great way to go about it. What don’t you know about yourself now?”At least she didn’t look so mournful right then, but the line of questioning Crystal likely wanted to follow wasn’t much better. Niko wasn’t interested in being interrogated by someone else’s self doubt.
“I know everything I need to. I know where I am in the present, who I’m with, and that I spend quality time with good company.” Niko’s tiredness needed no emphasis, as she’d already needled Crystal about it to the brink of annoyance. But it was there, and easier to focus on than the way Crystal was looking at her.
“How can you be sure you’re a real person?” Crystal wouldn’t look away, and it was getting unnerving. Niko struggled for an answer.
“Even without your past, it’s who you are in the present that matters. It’s what you do with the here and now that decides who you are. Know what I mean?” She watched as Crystal laughed a bit to herself, finally looking away. If anything, it kept the flutters of nerves in Niko’s stomach at bay.
“I know what you mean.” Crystal scooted closer, pressing them together to lean in as if uttering a secret. “Unfortunately, my present is full of stupid supernatural boys I want to kiss. Some problems to have, yeah?” She smiled conspiratorially. Niko had frozen as soon as she pressed close, a line of warmth up her side.
“What would kissing a boy even feel like- I mean, a ghost? They’re very… cold.” Niko tried not to look up, knowing Crystal was genuinely considering the question. And thinking about Charles again.
“Well, kissing demons isn’t great. Being as it’s how I got possessed and all.” She was biting her lip, brow furrowed, and Niko forced herself to look away. “I do wish I got the chance for a better experience.” Crystal sighed, but didn’t seem to be dropping an actual hint. Niko didn’t know what to say about the demon but could remedy the other concern.
She twisted the cap of her nail polish back on, and tried to not lean back into the girl at her side. Niko’s first friend, the one living companion she had who saved her from becoming a technicolor reverse-piñata. She simultaneously couldn’t mess her and Crystal up yet refused to let the opportunity pass. As far as chances went, it was as good as she was going to get.
"I'm not supernatural, or a stupid boy- why not kiss me?" Niko blew on her drying nails instead of turning to face Crystal. There was a huff from beside her, and then a warm hand at Niko’s chin, gently pulling her to look at Crystal. She seemed somewhat baffled, but there was a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Niko leaned into the hand now cradling her face and finally let her eyes fall to Crystal’s lips.
“You don’t mind?” Crystal’s voice had gone quieter, and it was Niko’s turn to huff a laugh. Her eyes were wide, too, and Niko realized that no matter Crystal’s worldly experience- they were both learning new things.
“Wouldn’t have offered if I did.” She wondered if Crystal could see into her mind right then, through the contact and her psychometry. If she could sense the self-doubt but also the butterflies, the hope.
And then she stopped wondering, because Crystal kissed her.
It wasn’t a huge, magical, all-encompassing moment. Crystal’s lips were warm, and hesitant, and Niko sighed into the kiss, content. They both broke apart and the air between them felt heavy. Almost momentous.
Which was silly, because Niko knew that Crystal liked boys, liked Charles, and was aware intellectually that she didn’t stand much of a chance. But something in her didn’t seem to agree. Because then she leaned back in, and their lips pressed together again, and Crystal’s hands on her face were the best thing she’d ever felt.
“I gotta admit, this is much better than kissing a demon.” Crystal whispered it like a secret, but Niko snorted and knocked their noses together. Her hands went to Crystal’s leg and waist, pulling her closer, keeping the contact, and Crystal leaned so far in towards her that Niko started to fall back. Crystal cradled her face, kissed her again and again, and Niko let her hands fall to Crystal’s hips and gave back as good as she got.
They didn’t kiss for terribly long in the grand scheme of things. It was mostly the pressing of lips, a bit of tangled hair, some breathy laughter, and soon they simply held each other close. The credits were just finishing up by the time the two had settled under the covers. Niko watched her laptop screen fade to black on the nightstand over Crystal’s head.
“You probably know everything about me, don’t you?” Niko drew her palm up and down Crystal’s back from beneath her. Crystal huffed from where her face was tucked into Niko’s neck. She tried not to squirm at the tickle of breath, which was valuable information she was not keen on giving away. Not for free.
“No, that would’ve gone a bit differently. Your secrets are safe for now.” Crystal shifted and their legs fit together that much better. Niko didn’t yearn for more, not exactly, but she did wonder. Wonder if cold lips would be the ones touching Crystal’s next.
“I don’t mind if you like Charles, y’know. If this doesn’t mean as much to you as it does to me.” Niko wouldn’t have felt the slight tension in Crystal if she hadn’t been lying wholly atop her. She almost seemed to be holding her breath, and Niko hugged her tighter.
“You can’t breathe a word of this.” Crystal didn’t seem to want to pull herself up from the refuge of Niko’s embrace enough to speak eye to eye.
“Of course not.” Niko spoke the words looking out into her empty room, pressing a kiss to the top of Crystal’s head.
“I’m.. scared. Not of him, exactly, but of- something. Something you don’t have. You don’t scare me like other people do, sometimes.” Her voice was muffled but the message came through clear enough to understand. Niko wondered about the efficacy of setting dandelion sprites after a demon. “I would kiss him, given the chance. I hope that doesn’t,” she trailed off, face still hidden. “That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to keep kissing you, too?” It was phrased as a question, but all the tension drained out of her at once. It seemed less of relief and more like a guilty part letting a weight off their chest. Which was ironic, given she was actively a weight on Niko’s chest.
“You can kiss whoever you like. I’ll be here, across the hall, whenever or if ever you want to join me for as long as you like.” Niko watched as Crystal finally lolled sideways, looking up at her with a confused expression. She didn’t know how to justify her reasoning- Niko had always been an insular person, and solitude was an old friend she couldn’t completely forsake. She appreciated her alone time in a way that might be misconstrued if she was expected to commit to someone else.
“If you’re sure?” Crystal’s look turned considering. Niko could imagine the equations floating around her head, and nearly laughed. They didn’t need to be so serious.
“Wouldn’t have said so if I wasn’t.” She reached out for Crystal first, that time, and caught the back of her neck. Crystal’s lips were alluring and she was not supernatural, only human enough to give into temptation.
Niko pulled her close, giving enough time for Crystal to pull away if desired, but Crystal was the one to close the distance and kiss her again. And again, and with the blankets drawn up to their chins and as their eyes finally started to close. Niko gathered Crystal up in her arms and they both fell asleep with a slight smile. She would discover her nail polish smudged the following morning.