Alice had a bad habit of never finishing the films she put on. She'd get about two thirds of the way through before nodding off. Ryou used to resent the way she forced him to sit beside her, despite both of them knowing full well she wasn't going to stay conscious. He wasn't sure when he started to pay more attention to Alice's sleeping face than the film itself. It also remained a mystery as to why being left with the task of turning off the TV and clearing up the mess of popcorn (which somehow managed to reach a meter radius) didn't outweigh the positives of her movie nights.

Sometimes Alice would flop sideways clutching a pillow to her chest as she dozed, and other times she'd slump onto his shoulder. For some reason she insisted on sitting on the carpet, using the couch as a back rest instead of utilising the furniture's intended purpose. He vaguely remembered her saying something about making the entire experience more exciting, it didn't really concern Ryou either way. He had no qualms about sitting on the floor, but he doubted Alice would be as used to hard surfaces as he. Her preferred seating arrangements didn't really follow any logical thought process, but then again neither did majority of her habits. Ryou used to scoff at her antics, convinced it was simply a side effect from growing up with the world at her disposal, again he wasn't quite sure when her habits leaned more towards endearing rather than simply strange.

Tonight was another of her movie nights. Ryou was quite certain that Alice had fallen asleep earlier than normal, not that he was complaining. There was no way in hell he'd let her catch him watching her while she was awake. As much as he found her ever changing moods and expressions amusing, her sleeping face was equally, if not more so, enjoyable. Alice was the kind of person who wore so many masks, you were never quite sure who she was underneath. There was something special about her unguarded and natural expressions as she slept. There was no one she needed to impress, no expectations she needed to maintain. The fact that hardly anyone had ever seen this side of Alice also made it extra special.

"Milady, it's time to go to bed." Said Ryou, gently moving the shoulder she currently leant on. Alice made a non-committal noise, responding by burrowing her face further into his neck. The credits had started rolling a few minutes ago, it'd taken a little self-convincing for Ryou to disturb her slumber.

Ryou sighed, reaching over for the remote with minimal movement as to not fully wake her. The disc could wait till tomorrow morning, as could the scatterings of popcorn strewed across the carpet.

"Come on, up we get." He said tiredly, not wanting her to get a cramped neck from sleeping awkwardly for too long.

"Nooo." She moaned groggily, "Don't wanna move." Ryou sighed at her petulant mannerism. That part of their movie nights hadn't changed over the years either. For someone so active in the morning, waking her up any other time of day was near impossible.

"You can't sleep here." He said, poking a soft cheek. Alice's nose twitched in response.

"Carry me then." She murmured.

"Your room in literally ten meters away." Sighed Ryou, letting a little exasperation enter his voice.

"It shouldn't be a problem for you then." She replied, showing no signs of moving by herself.

"Alright then. Get on." He said resignedly, turning away from her so should could latch on for a piggy-back. Alice hummed contentedly looping her arms around his neck.

A few years ago, Ryou would've shied away from close contact, especially with a girl, but now it felt natural. He wouldn't say Alice was light, but weighing any less would've caused concern, and he found the warmth and weight on his back oddly comforting. He'd complained about the ridiculousness of how close her room was to the TV, but secretly wished it were further away. Her silver hair tickled as it slid down his collar bone, making Ryou even more aware of the sweet scent her shampoo offered. Had he been a more self-conscious kind of person, Ryou was sure he would've been blushing furiously. He wasn't though, it simply felt natural now, however imagining piggy-backing anyone else but Alice was definitely out of his comfort zone.

They reached the door to her bedroom far sooner than Ryou would've liked. He wasn't the kind of person to walk extra slowly to extend the moment, this wasn't the last time he'd have the opportunity to hold her. He pushed the door open with one foot, padding over to her bed as quietly as possible, however the floorboards still squeaked in protest despite his greatest efforts.

Placing Alice onto the bed was anything but graceful, more like slowly dropping her onto the mattress than anything else. She mumbled something incomprehensible, half consciously pulling her doona closer. Ryou allowed a small smile to slip past, moments like this weren't rare, but that didn't make them any less special.

He quietly padded out of the room, this time successfully without squeaking floorboards, casting one more look at her sleeping figure before closing the door.

He was probably in love with her.

But he wasn't about to do anything drastic to change their current relationship.

It was comfortable as it was at the moment, and despite the views of others, he wasn't wasting his time on anything.

He was content, he was happy. Life isn't a race, and some things weren't worth rushing.

Thanks for reading

I'm pretty open for suggestions if anyone has some ideas. I feel like this ship will get more popular once the anime catches up to the manga :3

Haha, wow I feel completely technologically inept, only just now after the many chapters I have written... did I notice there was a horizontal line function on Doc Manager. I was using underscore for ages...