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Three years had passed since the Time Travelling incident; although to Okabe and his friends, every summer that passed felt reminiscent of that time. Over the three years, many of the Future Science Laboratory had felt murmurings and whispers crop up in their heads, the unnerving clasp on the heart knowing that something happened, but you’re not quite sure what. Like a daydream, the Future Science Laboratory members had slipped into euthanasia - a dream like state of sleep, some memories are present and the others are dormant. It led to a lot of confusion over the years, but Okabe was quick on the uptake of filling in the details - ones which were appropriate, of course - so for now, the group converse as normal. Unsurprisingly, everyone got on pretty well. It left a comfortable feeing in Okabe’s chest, and every day he felt thankful he didn’t have to look over his shoulder, or worry about someone pulling a gun on everyone with a minutes notice.
Past incidents aside, as Okabe is reminiscing of a summer that jumped back in time, his thoughts jump back to the present when he feels a twitch on his lap. He jumps a little at first, and looks down to figure out what the tickling sensation was.
He remembers - he’s in America with Kurisu doing experiment work for University. That easily explains why they’re both together, sitting on a couch next to a window blazing the scorching sun, scattered papers are littered around the room and there’s ramen cups sprawled across the low table. What he doesn’t remember is how she ended up curled up on his lap, luscious scarlet hair sweeping on his knees, the twitch of eyelashes batting gently on his exposed legs. He wants to jump up, to push her off and scream “What the hell!” but he doesn’t - instead he finds himself taking a deep breath and slowly moving his fingertips to the top of Kurisu’s head, stroking her silky hair and wrapping the ends around his fingers when he pulls away to start the process again. Admiringly, he feverishly runs his fingertips over one of her blushed cheeks and simply looks at her. She’s still wearing her lab coat, which is definitely creased by now, but Okabe spends these quiet moments simply looking at her.
A medically white lab coat sprawled over her shoulders, she’s wearing comfortable pants and slippers - looking at the top half of her, she looks professional and ready to throw down a science experiment any day of the week. She’s head-on, vibrant with her work and flourishes whenever she has important tasks to do. Kurisu’s genius brain outsmarts everything she comes in contact with, the way she thinks and learns things is truly astonishing to Okabe. Her willingness to work through difficult circumstances and fast capabilities to adapt are just some of the best qualities that Okabe truly admires her for. On the contrary, the lower half screams comfort and an unbothered mess unmatched with no other - the childish side to her that simply wants to be comfortable and have fun on dumb forums, the kind that likes to eat pudding and spend time with her friends. Okabe knows enough about her to easily expose what kind of nerd she is, but in truth, it just makes him adore her even more.
It’s not common for people to take in a persons breath as though it were their own; people by nature have a selfishness to them and prioritise their own feelings to benefit theirs, you see the wider picture and tend to not notice the details - each individual strand of hair, every curl and wave - however Okabe views Kurisu and loves her for every inch, every centimetre of being, her existence and version of her, in this timeline or not, any world that may pass between them is one where Okabe is proud to love Kurisu. He feels comfortable and happy to enrich himself with all of her state of being and simply let her entire existence take over his own, and his desire to make sure she feels loved every second that time passes will continue and extend beyond world lines, time zones, anything that may separate the two that exist in this current moment. Okabe loves many things in his life, but nothing felt more precious to him than Kurisu - the feelings that lie excitedly in his chest, the wonderful memories the two have shared over a vast time. No matter what dejavú Kurisu may feel from time to time, or the confusion she might face, Okabe is willing to rip away every anxiety from her and allow her to experience bliss and happiness, in a world where nothing will hurt her or tear her away from him.
It’s not very often Okabe feels sentimental, or more-so reflects heavily on his feelings; he much prefers living in the moment and taking things as they come, his plans have never worked out amazingly by himself with no help from others anyway, so finding himself feeling emotional and vulnerable in this moment feels slightly embarrassing to him. However, realising his privileges and the pure luck that allows him to continue enjoying every day that is given to him has made him a bit more emotional, so these moments he spends wrapped in his own thoughts, thanking whatever heaven exists for the time he can spend with his friends, is a treasured one.
“Okabe?”
Okabe doesn’t hear the voice, Kurisu assumes he’s still wrapped up in delusions in his head and probably working out a master plan for some sort of invention, or perhaps he’s thinking about the University work he has to do, and is coming up with a solution for their experiments. Kurisu doubts the latter, and goes with the first option. It’s tempting to keep calling out at him and startle him, but in her own disbelief she realises she’s staring up at him from his lap; Okabe’s head slumping on his shoulder, Kurisu can tell he’s half asleep from the way his eyelashes flutter delicately on his cheeks.
Unsure if she’s embarrassed from the position she’s in, or if Okabe’s sleeping face is cute, Kurisu giggles to herself, weary to not wake the sleeping Mad Scientist. She moves her head to the side slightly to get a better look at him, and turns her body to a more comfortable position. The room isn’t that quiet, the rustling of papers can be heard from the air conditioner, a few monitors and computers whirring in the background, and birds and people can be heard from the floors below on the concrete. The blazing sun beams through the blinds which completely ruins the point of pulling the blinds down in the first place, but Kurisu guesses it’s almost sunset due to the orange and red hues streaking across the walls. Half empty mugs and stained bowls are scattered across the apartment, Kurisu would normally be disgusted at the mess but right now, it feels homey. She has no idea what time she fell asleep, she figures just after noon, considering she can spot her half eaten lunch a few meters away. But for once, unimportant things are exactly that. Unimportant. What felt important, however, was how warm Okabe’s lap felt as she nestled her head on it. His stupid laboratory trousers were surprisingly comfortable, and his coat cupped her head comfortably as she lie still on top of his lap. The warm feeling in her chest was not purely because of the sticky heat, but the love she felt too. A wholehearted, unbeatable love that screamed “I’ll always be here”, a desire to watch over, protect, and support Okabe.
Compared to him, Kurisu is much more interested in her feelings, and finds herself being sentimental on most days. However, she is also dishonest with herself, and still gets embarrassed from even expressing herself, let alone such things like love or affection. Although, the two make it work - Kurisu and Okabe are very in-tune with each other’s emotions and feelings, as well as their needs in a relationship. Kurisu recalls many memories the two share, however this might be the first time she has slept on his lap. The two often pull all-nighters to finish assignments, and are also very unwilling to stop an experiment once they’ve started it, but Kurisu and Okabe typically find themselves wrapped up together on the couch, resting each others head on the others shoulder, rather than Kurisu taking Okabe’s kindness for granted and resting on him. The thought makes her smile. Kurisu has always been very vulnerable in front of Okabe, but not once has he judged her, or mistreated the trust they share.
She figures her wiggling and squirming awakes Okabe, as she notices his eyes slowly open and come to wake. It takes a moment for him to realise the position they’re in, when he rapidly rubs his eyes against his knuckles, Kurisu can see the crimson colour spreading across his cheeks.
“Wh- Huh?! Kuris- Eh, Christina?!”
Okabe’s loud reaction snaps Kurisu back to reality, her head hitting against his knees as she embraces her head to soothe the pain.
“Wh- what was that for! Hey, Okabe!”
Okabe kneels over and covers his hot face with his
hands. Kurisu lies hunched over, wincing in pain. The outside noises seem to fade away - the burning blaze of the carmine sun hits directly through the blinds and onto the coffee table.
“Ahh… I’m sorry, Christina… can I do anything to help? Would you like a cold compress?”
Okabe leans in closer to Kurisu and slowly moves the fingers hiding her face to check the red bump on her forehead.
“N-no… that’s not necessary… just shrink your forehead next time…”
“Ah…”
“Pft- hahahaha!”
The cicadas of summer ring from below, a reverberating sound that strikes directly into your ears.
Kurisu laughs gently, a sound so delicate to Okabe’s ears it immediately feels warm and makes him look at her properly. The sound is sweet and light, there’s no unnecessary noise, just the epitome of happiness and solace playing gently, like a humming bird.
In a few moments, Okabe places his frail fingers under Kurisu’s warm chin, and gently lifts her face closer to his own. Her cute giggling slows and the noises quieten, Kurisu opens her eyes widely to find Okabe’s golden eyes, but closes them shut and allows his dainty eyelashes to brush against her cheeks. Slowly, he places an affectionate kiss on her honeyed lips - a mellow, enamoured, endearing peck - and after a few moments, Okabe lets go and withdraws to gaze at Kurisu. Her violet eyes look back at his own, and he places his thumb on her mellow cheeks, stroking them gently.
“I love you, Kurisu.”