Girl's' Night In [Erika, Murasaki]

"Errr... Ugh, shut up! Saying stupid stuff like that is dumb. There's no point talking about what-ifs, Murasaki!"

She didn't like that train of thought at all, she hated dealing with what-ifs when she wanted to deal with the here and now. Who cares what the future looked like, she'd deal with that when she got there. Same as what could've been too! Who cares what could've been if it didn't and won't happen? There were better things to think about.

That'd be like her whining to herself about how much easier her life would've been as a boy but she wasn't then so there was no point thinking about what would've been if she was.

Her cowlick agreed with this train of thought, flicking back and forth, it was angry at such a thing being poised, didn't Murasaki know the hair was so close to the brain?

"Heheen~ But they're fun to think about, Erika-chaaaaaaaaaaan!"

Unlike her short and short-tempered friend, Murasaki enjoyed ruminating on the what-ifs and possibilities of how else her life might have gone in a different world. It didn't detract from the life she was currently living, of course, and she didn't let herself get caught up on the idea of if things had been better. It was just something fun to imagine.

"Buuuuut okay, okay, if you don't wanna imagine a cool, handsome zanpakuto man giving you a buncha flowers after a super cool sword fight, then we can talk about somethin' else!"

The rather wide teasing grin, however, made it clear she was putting that onus on Erika, since she was the one who wanted to change the subject so bad.

"I... uh."

She mumured, she felt flustered and didn't like it. Her mind was wandering too freely with that information and it went against what she liked. So with increasing distress of trying to think of a topic through the daze she found no success but couldn't concede to silence.

"That's extra dumb because you're the only Murasaki that matters!"

After a few seconds of silence, Murasaki's expression lightened even more, and a few tears came to the corners of her eyes. Hearing something like that from her best friend was touching, considering how close they were, and how rarely Erika tended to be expressive. Wrapping her arms tightly around Erika, Murasaki held her close, fully intent on a real affectionate embrace.

"Oh my goooood you're such a sweetheaaaaaart! You're the only Erika-chan that matters too!!"

She wasn't properly crying, but the alcohol had certainly left Murasaki far more open about her feelings than normal, and she was already a remarkably open person to begin with.

"Uwaaaaaaah!"

She was assaulted, grappled into a tight hold that was like a vice from the big woman which had her spine completely tense. Hugs were a foreign thing to her and the warm touch of another entity filled her with mixed-feelings which would be all negative if it came from someone else.

"I know... Murasaki."

She mumbled meekly while conceding to the attack and returning the embrace. It felt nice but it felt unnatural at the same time, atrophied and uncertain as opposed to the comfort she found in other things. Was she supposed to do something like rub her back now? It took her a moment but she wasn't going to run away and expose her vulnerabilities over a trivial hug like this.

It was nice to get a hug from Erika, though Murasaki knew well enough that it wasn't exactly natural to her. Rather than going for the usual sort of thing where she'd start playing with Erika's hair or rubbing her back, Murasaki instead released her, giving her another friendly pat on the head.

"I'm glad you're my best friend, heheen~"

Balancing out Erika's surliness wasn't the sort of thing just anyone could do, but Murasaki liked to think she was pretty good at it. And hey, it was plenty fun for her.