The hum from the AC filled the background with gentle white noise, the light streaming through the white curtain, brightening the room. Echo's shut eyes fluttered as she slowly opened them. Her hair shifted from the movement.
Her vision blurred for some time as she stared at the ceiling, feeling that something was wrong. 'Weird, I don't remember the dorm bed being this comfy...' she thought as she slowly sat up.
The blue futon, which was covering her, fell to her waist while she was looking around in confusion. The room she was in felt familiar, but she remembered nothing about this room. She felt something around her finger, so she lifted her hand.
There was a ring on her ring finger.
"Eh?" Echo mumbled in confusion, 'Did I get kidnapped or something? Maybe I lost my memory and am currently in the future while thinking it's currently 1984? Or maybe I got drunk somehow and shotgun married somebody? Who did I marry then?'
Countless thoughts flashed through her head as she tried to make sense of this. But no answer, so she looked around the room. Maybe some clues in the room could tell her the situation.
She glanced around and found plenty of photographs. 'Huh,' she thought as she zoomed in with her vision to see what was on them. It's her and... Symboli Rudolf?
"R-Rudolf?!" she yelped in surprise, her ears twitched back from the shock as she took in a deep breath, overlooking the second presence underneath the futon.
"Hrmm... Yes, Angel?" A hoarse and gentle voice came from beneath the futon as Rudolf rubbed her eyes. She then sat up before yawning. Her long brown hair sways as she turns her head toward Echo, giving a loving smile.
"U-U-Uh-" Echo's brain went into overdrive to find out what to respond, but this was too much for her. Her skin took on a slight red hue before turning her head away, not wanting to look at Rudolf any longer.
"Geesh... Still grumpy that I didn't give you a goodnight kiss yesterday?" Rudolf smoothed out her messy hair while shuffling closer to Echo, smiling at her wife's adorableness.
"W-W-W-Wait, don't come any closer!" Echo tried to get away, but was stopped by Rudolf's hand. Her right arm wrapped around Echo's waist and pulled her in, while her left hand gently planted on Echo's right cheek, turning her head back toward Rudolf's direction.
"We both know that you love pretending to not want kisses from me..." Rudolf misunderstood Echo's attempt to escape while leaning in with parted lips, "Good morning, my lovely Angel~."
She said while leaning in to kiss with a slight tongue sticking out. Echo started freaking out, but she can't move. Her body isn't listening to her; her body becomes flushed red as her mouth wavers around in a circle, making a stream of cute, alerted, distressed noises. Her ears folded back from the situation; she doesn't know what to do!!!
[A/N: Drawing of the scene here, enjoy.]
Just as Rudolf's lips were about to touch Echo's lips, she woke up. Sweating and panting from her dream, still flushed red, before looking around; the same dorm room, Rudolf was peacefully sleeping on the other side of the room.
"Phew..." she let out a sigh of relief before blushing all over again. How could she dream about Rudolf like that! Her heart still thumping crazily as she planted her pillow into her face, letting out a silent scream.
After a few minutes of rolling around, she managed to calm down before sitting up.
Her body was sweating from that dream, which made her remember the dream, damnit! 'I just managed to not think about it!' she thought as her mind flashed back to the moment before Rudolf was about to kiss her, the way Rudolf's arm wrapped around her waist, the warm touch of her palm on her cheek, the way Rudolf called her Angel; it is quite literally too much for her brain to handle.
Steam came out of her red-shaded face before she ran to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Waking Rudolf up in confusion, "Mhhh?"
Echo turned on the shower and swiftly jumped out of her sleepwear, blasting herself with extremely icy water. "Waaaaaaaaaah! Too cold! Too cold!" It's almost December; what if she gets sick from this! She immediately turned the knob all the way to the left. "Too hot! Too hot! Waaaaaaaah!"
Meanwhile, Rudolf was staring at the bathroom in confusion. She doesn't understand why Echo Eclipse is acting so silly now. She wondered what got Echo acting like this.
Back in the bathroom, Echo managed to find the perfect temperature for a shower. "Pheew..." she exhaled, relaxed under the water.
She had managed to not think about her dream!
Knock. Knock.
"Echo?" a sleepy, worried Rudolf called out behind the door. "Are you doing alright? Are you okay? Do you need me to get anything for you?"
Hearing her voice, Echo immediately was reminded of how sweet and hoarse Rudolf's voice was in her dream, making her blush even more. She just managed to not think about it, and this happened?!
"I-I-I'm fine!" Echo shouted out while cleaning herself rapidly.
"Are you sure? I can tell the teacher if you're not feeling well to come for the morning classes," Rudolf said, worried. Echo's health is way more important than classes!
"I'm fine! I had a weird dream!"
Rudolf paused at Echo's answer before chuckling. 'Maybe she was running away from monsters, or was sad that all tracks on Earth were destroyed, or something,' Rudolf smiled fondly before turning around. "Alright, I'll be going out. See you soon."
After a few minutes, the dorm door opened and closed. Immediately, Echo stopped showering and dried herself; she did not know what to do now. Any mention of Rudolf, or even her appearance and her voice, would immediately make her remember her dream.
"Alright, I got it. I'll avoid her!" she said, determined, her wet ears straightened up, resolved.
Little did she know, the next few days made her realise how dependent she was on Rudolf, making her plan to avoid her easily fall apart.
Her training partner is always Rudolf; if not, then it's Gold Way or Mr C.B. When she walks around the school, most of the time, Rudolf is with her. When studying, Rudolf would tutor her in science and math. When taking a break, Rudolf would bring over snacks and drinks. Even when she ran out of her favourite toothpaste brand, Rudolf would have a spare just for her!
Even when going out of school, Rudolf would give her an allowance and let her enjoy her time outside! Her life depended too much on Rudolf!
Since her plan to avoid her failed dramatically, she decided to build up tolerance against Symboli Rudolf's existence in the upcoming weeks.
Echo huffed as she readied herself. 'I can do this.' She took a deep breath before sitting beside Rudolf; a red tinge appeared on her cheeks and ears; even the sight of Rudolf made her remember that scene in her dream.
So what? She will train herself to not blush anymore at Rudolf's presence anymore! She is the great Echo Eclip- "Echo?" Rudolf whispered in her ear during class, causing Echo to blush profusely while turning away, preventing Rudolf from seeing it.
"Y-Yeah?" she whispered back. Rudolf reminded her that there's a test for History tomorrow, making her blank out before nodding. She actually doesn't remember the content of History classes the last few days.
Uh oh.