Chapter 27

Monika was stressed beyond belief.

She had been busy for the past week looking for a job while still looking after Sayori.

The poor girl seemed to have no means of love or solidarity without Monika, so Monika felt it was her duty to support her lover.

"Monika~!" Sayori sang as she skipped into the room, wrapping her arms around Monika from behind.

Monika sighed, putting on a smile to let Sayori think she was fine.

"Hey, Sayo." she said enthusiastically.

Sayori chuckled, resting her head on Monika's shoulder.

"You looked kinda upset. I thought you could use a hug!" Sayori said.

"Is it obvious..?" Monika sighed, letting her smile fall.

"A bit... But I also know you." Sayori came around to sit beside her on the couch.

"And I know that you're stressed about finding a place to live." Sayori nudged her gently, giving Monika a sympethetic smile.

"Yeah... A bit..." Monika smiled genuinely this time.

"Well don't be! There's no rush for you to find a job or house. We're still young!" Sayori told her.

"I'm not young. I'm 17 and a junior in high school." Monika replied, jokingly rolling her eyes.

"That's still young! We're kids! I'm not making you get a house, your parents aren't making you, your friends or teachers aren't... It's all you, Moni. You're the only one stressing this." Sayori pulled Monika into her arms, hugging her close.

"Sayo..." Monika whispered as she hugged back tightly, screwing her eyes shut to keep herself from crying.

"You can stay here as long as you need, I've already told you this! I don't want to be some pathetic baby everyone needs to protect, Monika. I can take care of myself. I want you to depend on me a bit, too, ya know..." Sayori finished softly, stroking Monika's hair.

"Sayori.. I-I'm sorry... I promise.. I promise I'll try to lean on you more if I can't take it... I won't worry you again..." Monika said, muffled by Sayori's neck.

"Okay... Thank you..." Sayori smiled softly, rubbing Monika's back to ease her.

Monika sniffed, fighting to keep herself from crying as she gripped Sayori's shirt in her trembling fists.

"It's okay, Moni... I won't judge if you need to cry, okay?" Sayori assured her, feeling Monika nod against her in response.

Monika relaxed, feeling the tears that had welled start freefalling down her face as she let out a sob.

"Shhh, it's okay. I've got you." Sayori cooed, patting her back as Monika hiccuped through her sobs.

"I-I... W-Why can't I- D-Do anything b-by mys-self?" Monika sobbed, beginning to shake.

"Moni, Moni! That's not true, okay! You're doing just fine. And you're not alone, got it? Cuz I'm right here, and I'm not gonna abandon you to figure everything out alone like they did." Sayori said sternly so Monika would listen.

"B-But-" Sayori shifted a bit and pressed their lips together, silencing her.

"No buts. I love you, Monika. So I'm gonna help you do whatever you want to do. I'll always be by your side." Sayori gazed into Monika's red, puffy eyes smiling.

"Okay..." Monika nodded, swallowing down a lump in her throat.

Sayori pulled down her sleeves over her hands, gently dabbing at Monika's eyes to wipe away her tears.

"Feel a bit better?" Sayori asked softly.

Monika leaned into her touch, nodding.

Monika grabbed Sayori's arm, kissing her palm, knuckles, wrist, and leaving small kisses all the way up her arm to her shoulder.

She kissed Sayori's ear, then her collarbone, trailing her lips to her neck, jaw, cheek, nose, and forehead.

Sayori giggled as Monika backed away, pulling Monika back into her to kiss her lips passionately.

"I love it when you act all adorable like this." Sayori teased with a grin.

"Well if you weren't adorable 24/7 I'd have no reason to!" Monika countered, chuckling.

Sayori giggled, rolling her eyes playfully as she smirked at the older girl.

"Hey, Moni?" Sayori asked as she grabbed Monika's hands in her own.

"Yeah?" Monika asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Kiss me again." Sayori mused.

"No problem." Monika said, leaning in.

Their lips met halfway as Sayori wrapped her arms around Monika's neck to keep her close.

Monika slipped her tongue in slowly, feeling Sayori moan against her as her arms snaked around Sayori's waist.

Sayori pulled her even closer, shuffling a bit until she was in Monika's lap, wrapping her legs around Monika's hips.

Monika trailed a hand up, kneading her fingers into Sayori's soft, short hair.

Sayori's head began spinning as she ran out of air, yet she tried holding off as long as she could to continue kissing her lover.

Monika could feel Sayori tremble slightly, knowing she was already out of air.

Man, she really can't hold her breath long can she?

Monika pressed a hand against Sayori's chest, pushing the girl away a bit.

Sayori panted softly, her cheeks flushing as she gazed at the giggling girl before her.

"I really love you, you know that?" Sayori giggled, hugging Monika close again.

"I know. But I love you more." Monika replied with a chuckle.

Sayori laughed, shaking her head lightly.

She kissed Monika's cheek, nuzzling her face into the crook of her girlfriend's neck.

"Did you finish your homework?" Monika asked.

Sayori groaned, climbing out of Monika's lap to flop dramatically onto the floor.

"Sayo, we agreed that if I'm going to tutor you you're going to do your own work!" Monika scolded.

"I knooow, it's just soooo booriiiing." Sayori whined.

Monika laughed, rising to her feet with a stretch.

"C'mon. I'll help you." Monika held out a hand to Sayori.

Sayori sighed, taking the hand as Monika pulled her to her feet.

"Okay..." Sayori reluctantly agreed.

She sat down at the table, still void of any motivation.

"This is dumb! When am I ever going to need to know what a covalent bond is?!" Sayori complained.

"I don't know, but I do know one thing." Monika mused from behind.

"Oh yeah? What?" Sayori asked monotonously.

"That you're really sexy when you're confused." Monika whispered, slinging her arms around Sayori's neck.

Sayori tensed, blushing deeply as Monika giggled.

"I'll tell you what. If you get at least 3/4 of all your work done correctly, I'll make sure to give you a great reward later." Monika kissed her ear, making Sayori shiver at the contact.

"O-Okay..." Sayori squeaked out, hurriedly answering the questions on the page to her best ability.

~~~

About twenty minutes later Sayori slammed her pencil against the table, mentally exhausted.

"Monika! I'm done now!" she called.

"Okay! I'm done with dinner, so we can eat after I check it, alright?" Monika strode into the room.

She quickly scammed over the four pages, seeing very few mistakes.

"Wow! Great job, Sayo! There's only like, three mistakes!" Monika praised.

"Is that in all or on each page..?" Sayori pressed her fingertips together nervously.

"In all. Well done." Monika kissed her forehead before walking back into the kitchen.

She came back with two plates of food as Sayori instantly began digging into it.

~~~

"Thanks, Moni!" Sayori beamed after she was done.

"Sure thing, Sayo." Monika giggled.

She once again wiped the excess food from Sayori's face, a habit she was starting to notice was a daily occurance with the younger girl.

"Hey, um... Monika..?" Sayori grabbed her sleeve before she could walk away.

"Yes?" Monika turned back around to notice the pink tint on her face.

"Can I, uh... H-Have my reward now..?" Sayori blushed deeper, averting her eyes to the floor.

Monika blushed as well yet smiled, chuckling softly.

"Sure, why not?" Monika grabbed her hand as she dragged Sayori behind her to their room.

She gently pressed Sayori to the mattress as Sayori pulled her close for a kiss.

"I love you." Monika reminded her before they began.

"I love you, too." Sayori replied, gazing lovingly into her eyes.

What did I ever do to deserve someone like her?