A/N: This one's for @Hunter01a ! Please enjoy it~~

OMG I'm so sorry for taking so long to update!! I had midterms and between that and literally everything else I was kinda really freaked out and ended up not writing anything even when I had time! (Especially since when I did have time I ended up romancing girls in an otome game on my phone ><) ahem.

To make up for my absence I'll post at least one more today! ...or well, try to (^^;;
Oh and, sorry if you read this when I accidentally published it before it was complete!
Anyways, hope you guys like this one!

So there you were, waiting at the train station for Riko to show up. She promised she would show you around Akihabara over the break and, of course, you readily agreed while thanking her, even if it would take nearly 3 hours to get there from the train station.

You pulled your sleeves lower, trying to hide any other brusies and scars that have even a small possibility of being seen. Even if you were excited to go to anime capital of the world, with your crush no less, you had to make sure no one, especially your kind dark red haired companion, would notice the numerous marks across your body.

Which is why, even though it's way too hot to even consider wearing a jacket, here you are wearing one over a short sleeved shirt and long pants.

All that's missing is for your entire outfit to be in black and you wouldn't be surprised if the members of Aqours thought you were Yosh---Yohane, disguised in some fashion.

"Ah! (Y/n)-chan!"

You look up at the sound of your name. Riko power walks faster while she waves at you and you only smile back, a faint blush dusting your cheeks as you stare at her trying to find your voice.

"R-Riko-chan! Ready to go?"

She smiles wider, "Yup!" Her eyes sweep their way across your form, "Ah, aren't you hot?"

You feel your light flush turn into a bright red dye at her gaze, as a lighter shade appears on the amber eyed girl's face, noting the different interpretation behind her words.

"I-I mean, you know...temperature wise. We-well n-not th-that you're not h....never mind."

"I'm fine...." you manage to reply while pulling your sleeves lower, "it's not really that hot, really."

Her eyes take on a worried tint as she nods her head, "Well, let's go then? We still have a long train ride."

"Alright. Thanks again for coming with me!"

"It's no problem. I'm glad to show you around."

At your bright smile she manages to return a small smile of her own as the two of you walk inside the station.

xXx

Hours later has Riko asleep on your shoulder, with about another 5 minutes to your destination.

The minute you felt her head resting against you, you felt your whole body tense as a blush covered your face.

You could hear her soft deep breaths as she slept, and you wondered if she got enough sleep the night before.

Her face shifts closer to your body but your mind is suddenly drawn back to the events of the previous night between you and your single mother.

"Get the hell down here (Y/n)! What'd I tell you about makin' me repeat myself?! You best believe my patience is running thin, you ungrateful child!"

You feel tears begin to prick behind your eyes as you hear the train announcement calling out your stop.

You rapidly blink a few times and take a breath before hesitantly waking the peaceful girl laying against you, smiling as she groggily opens her eyes and blinks the sleep away.

"We're here, Riko-chan."

She looks up towards you, realizing that she's laying on you.

"A-ah! Sorry! Le-let's go!"

You feel a sense of hope begin to take form inside as you admire the way her face grows red in embarrassment.

You both step off into the platform and wade your way past the mass of people on the platform both going against you and going with you.

A wince makes its way across your features as the crowd moves pass you in various directions, some of them making contact with several fresh bruises that line your body.

Whether it's because she's noticed your pain or because she's afraid she'll lose you in the sheer amount of people, you feel Riko tightly grab hold of your hand, her smooth fingers contrasting against your slightly calloused ones as she pulls ahead, leading the way.

You suddenly find that you don't care about the people bumping into you as all your focus is drawn to the slender girl ahead of you with her warmth radiating into your hand. You wonder if her hands are so smooth because she plays the piano or if its the other way around.

When you both finally make it out of the train station, you can't help but gape at your surroundings.

"Th-this--!" Is all you manage to say before excitement takes hold of you, with no intentions of letting go. You stare at all the buildings and marvel at the technological feel of the area. Somehow it only then hits you that you're in a city, and definitely not in your small town countryside home anymore.

You continue to gape at your surroundings when you hear chuckling, so you turn and see dark red hair sway closer to you.

"You're like a little kid right now, it's cute."

Riko stands beside you, hands folded behind her back as she gives you a soft amused smile. You try to fight back the coming blush forcing its way onto your features.

"It's even cooler than I expected, although honestly I wasn't sure what to expect..." Your companion only continues to smile at you before taking a step forward.

"I'll take you wherever you want, so just let me know. And stick close, okay (Y/n)-chan? It's the weekend so there's even more people than usual. Not that it's never not crowded..."

You take a step forward only to fall forward when someone, who was probably rushing by behind you, accidentally knocks you off balance.

You gasp and brace yourself for the impact, feeling the pain mostly on whatever bruises you managed to land on. You only groan as Riko rushes to your side, instantly crouching next to you

"Are you alright (Y/n)-chan?!"

You manage to maneuver yourself into a kneeling position with your legs on either side of you, "I-I'm fine...mostly. I think?"

You look at her as worry plays across her features, amber eyes gently examining your body for injuries. You can't help the self conscious blush that makes its way across you cheeks.

"Ah--you're bleeding a little."

Your eyes follow her gaze to find that you had scraped your left knee since the pants you were wearing was thin enough to tear easily.

Words begin to form in your mouth before they disappear at the sight of a hand held out in front of you. You look up from the pale hand to see your kind crush with a worried frown.

"Let's go to a nearby convenience store so we can take care of your wound in the bathroom, okay?"

"Riko-ch---"

"We need to make sure it doesn't get infected (Y/n)-chan. Plus, um, I...I just wanna make sure the wound isn't as bad as it looks."

You flush at the concern laced between her words as you look away, timidly taking her hand as she helps you up.

xXx

You both managed to find a convenience store and were currently inside the women's bathroom.

You sat on the countertop with the sink as best as you could while Riko cleaned and patched up your wound.

The whole time you couldn't help but think about how pretty your dark red haired friend was. You wondered if she had a crush on anyone.

"H-huh? W-w-why are you asking so suddenly?"

Crap, were you thinking out loud? The blush that found its way to your face mirrored the one you saw on Riko.

"Uh, I...err...w--d-do you? Like anyone, I m-mean?"

Your eyes dart around for a few seconds before settling on the fidgeting figure before you, watching as she seems to internally debate what to say.

"I...i-it doesn't matter! Anyway, could you take off your jacket? We should check to make sure you weren't injured anywhere else."

You pale at her request as she looks at you expectantly.

"I, um, I don't think that's necessary..."

"Please? I just want to make sure you're not hurt, even if it was a minor fall..."

Your eyes widen at the small pout that made its way to Riko's face, accompanied by what you swear are puppy dog eyes.

You feel your mind short circuit at the adorable sight as you absentmindedly unzip the jacket you were wearing.

You have most of the jacket off before you pause, dread clawing its way into you as you realize exactly what you've done.

While only one arm was exposed after you removed your jacket, that one arm is more than enough to showcase what you've been going through.

Even thought you had a t-shirt on, the intense, worried, and alarmed look that your friend was giving you made it feel like you didn't even have anything on, like she could already see all the scars and bruises and other marks that were scattered along your entire body.

"(Y/n)-chan...those bruises and cuts..." the amber eyed beauty slowly moves closer, "...do they hurt?"

You curl within yourself a little as Riko gently places her hand on your shoulder.

"(Y/n)-chan...where did these come from? Are you being bullied?"

You feel tears pricking at the corner of your eyes as you wrap your arms around yourself defensively before slowly shaking your head.

The silence lingers on before you're gently pulled into a soft but firm hug. The smell of freshly cut flowers fills your senses as a few stray tears roll down your cheeks.

"R-riko-chan?" You try to look at her only for her hand to move behind you head and softly keep you in place in the crook of her neck.

"I can take a guess where all these marks came from. But it doesn't really matter right now. I just want you to know I'm here for you and that you can tell me anything, okay? I...I don't want to see you endure this alone, not when you don't have to."

You feel your whole body tense up as you feel an onset of tears slowly start to build behind your eyes. You feel Riko hug you tighter, causing whatever restraint you had left to break away, tears running freely down your face as both of your hands clutch the girl against you like a lifeline, whimpering sobs passing through your lips as she holds you.

A few minutes pass before you manage to calm down, eyes closed as you savor the warmth of the hug your receiving.

"T...thank you." You reluctantly pull away from the hug to find her amber eyes, "I, um, I really appreciate it."

You watch as her she smiles at you, her soft looking lips drawing you closer. Her lips move and form words but you're too distracted with wondering what they would feel like against your own lips to register what they're trying to tell you.

Unknowingly, your head leans closer, and closer to pink lips, your (e/c) eyes never leaving their form, before you've pressed against your own.

You melt into the kiss, savoring the soft sweet taste before a sound, somewhere between a muffle of confusion and a moan, escapes between Riko's lips.

You jolt back, coming back to your senses as you stare wide eyed at the breathless dark red head in front of you.

"S-s-sorry Riko-c-chan! I-I don't---this---I--!!"

As you try to figure out what to say, Riko moves closer and places a hand gently against your cheek. Your mouth stops moving and your brain pauses to stare at the loving smile on her face.

"It's okay. It's okay, (Y/n)-chan." She then captures your lips into another kiss, this time with a touch of urgency and more than a touch of passion.

You quickly respond in kind, your hands moving to wrap themselves around her neck as her own hands are content to rest against your cheeks.

Eventually needing to breathe, you both slowly pull away, a red flush adorning both of your faces.

"Riko-chan..."

"I'll find help for you."

You stare at her confused, "Huh?"

She kisses your cheek and rests her forehead against your own before she elaborates, "I won't idly accept that people are hurting you, (Y/n)-chan. Especially now that we're to-together. Um, w-we are together now...r-right? You're okay with someone as plain as me...?"

You smile at her words and at the adorably hesitant face she's making. You lean closer and place a quick kiss on her lips.

"You're not plain. You're amazing, and incredible. And now you're my g-girlfriend."

She smiles widely before placing yet another kiss on your lips and you can't help but want to believe things are going to look up from here.

"Thank you, Riko-chan."

"I'll be by your side, (Y/n)-chan, don't worry."

A/N: another reason this took a while was because I kept thinking about changing the plot of this story to a different one that involved Riko being the nurse's aid at school instead since that'd be easier to write, but somehow I was set on writing what you just read, so I hope it was okay enough. Anyways, sorry, and thanks for reading!