I don't really have much time to type this, but I suddenly got the urge to write FanFiction...

Warning: Contains spoilers for the third OVA.

The Ichigo Mashimaro girls were staying together at a summer home, and they were all super excited. They bounced around like they had just ate a bunch of sugar (especially Miu) and it was a long time before Nobue managed to get them all to go to bed. But eventually, everyone got to bed... Chika and Miu in one room, Ana and Matsuri in a second, and Nobue in her own. Nobue fell asleep first, and the other girls stayed up in bed because they were all still recovering from their hyperness.

But Miu just couldn't sleep, so she left the room and ran down the hall to the refrigerator and grabbed a soda. She was walking back to her and Chika's room when she decided to stop off at Ana and Matsuri's door to find out if they were asleep yet.

Miu moved her eye to the peephole and looked in. Matsuri and Ana were talking to each other in whisper voices. Miu couldn't make out their words, but she stayed at the door, watching them. Then she saw Ana lean over and kiss Matsuri on the cheek. They both smiled at each other, and then Ana rolled over and turned off the lamp. The room went dark, and Miu left the peephole, then walked back to her room.

Miu softly and quietly slid the door open and approached Chika, who had fallen asleep, and shook her. "Chi-chan!" Miu said in a whisper-voice. Chika rolled over, still asleep. "Chi-chan, wake up!"

Chika made a mumbling sound while half asleep, then rolled over again and opened her eyes a little, finally sitting up. "What?"

"Can you answer a question?" said Miu.

Chika looked skeptical, but nodded. "Alright. What is it?"

Miu kneeled down on the futon and said, "Um... I was wondering... where are the boundaries between friends and lovers?"

Chika looked a little surprised. She had certainly not been expecting a question like that. "Why... would you want to know that... Micchan?" she asked carefully.

"I saw Ana kiss Matsuri," said Miu, this time speaking less hesitantly.

Chika raised an eyebrow. "Were you spying on them or something?"

Miu's face turned a bit red and she quickly shook her head. "No, no, of course not! I just got up because I was thirsty and I just so happened to see them..."

Chika narrowed her eyes. "Right."

"Well, c'mon, tell me!" said Miu.

"Okay, well..." Chika looked at the ceiling, then the floor, seemingly a bit nervous. "Um... I think it depends on the specific friends, but..."

Chika didn't continue, so Miu butted in. "What about us?" said Miu.

Chika looked confused, as if she didn't know who 'us' was, or didn't think she and Miu were friends, or didn't think she and Miu had any boundaries. "Well, we..." Chika realized then that she had no idea. "We haven't exactly established any."

"We should," said Miu.

"I guess," Chika said, even though she didn't think most friends even took the time to discuss boundaries, and she wasn't sure whether it was necessary.

"Well then, where do you think our boundaries should be?" Miu asked.

Chika wondered why Miu even cared what she thought about something like that. "Um..." Chika blushed, not very comfortable with the way this conversation was going. Then she quickly shook her head and put on an annoyed expression. "Oh, why do you want to know? I don't know, okay?"

"Well, would it be okay if I kissed you?" said Miu.

Chika flinched a little. She had to think seriously about this question. She was a bit embarrassed with the idea of Miu kissing her, even if it was only on the cheek, and she wasn't an overly affectionate person either. And she couldn't help but think back to when Miu had kissed her at the lodge last summer. That had been different though, because it was on the lips. And everyone had been watching too! She was so embarrassed and shocked that she'd sprung up and started hitting Miu with a pillow.

But frankly, Chika had only done that because she was panicked and embarrassed since everyone else was around. Maybe it would be okay if no one was watching. Maybe it would be better than okay.

"Chi-chan!" said Miu. "Answer already!"

Chika snapped back into focus. She was about to say that it was fine, but then said, "No."

"Aww," said Miu, frowning.

Chika was blushing pretty hard now. "What, you really wanted to kiss me?"

"Well, yeah," said Miu.

"Don't make that sound like it's supposed to be obvious!" said Chika, irritated.

"You really wouldn't be okay with it?" said Miu. "Even if it was just on the cheek and no one else was around?"

"Of course not!" said Chika. "Why would you ever think I would be okay with you kissing me?" Miu gave Chika a blank stare. "What?"

Miu smiled a Miu-type smile, and giggled. "Oh, nothing."

Chika wondered if she really seemed that embarrassed. She glared at Miu, who just smiled, clearly not caring.

"Can I even just kiss you just once?" said Miu, inching closer to Chika. Chika scooted away a bit.

"No!" said Chika. "Go away!" But Miu persisted, and Chika laid back down and pulled the blankets over her head. But then Miu was under the blankets too. There was no escaping her. But Chika honestly had to wonder why she didn't want Miu to kiss her. It was just a friend kiss. No big deal, right?

"If you're so stubborn," said Miu, moving a little closer to Chika. "I'll just kiss you on the lips instead."

Chika shook her head and moved the pillow so that it was blocking her face. "Don't you dare!" she said.

"Chi-chan, calm down!" said Miu, seeming truly upset by Chika's resistance. She pulled the pillow deftly away from her friend and then grabbed her by the arms so that she couldn't push her away.

Chika looked terrified, as if Miu was trying to stab her. Miu held her down on the futon, looking her straight in the eye. Chika was trying a bit less now to move away, but Miu knew she'd better hold her in place anyway.

Chika's heart was pounding, and she wondered if Miu was really going to kiss her on the lips like last summer, or just kiss her on the cheek.

One thing she was pretty sure about boundaries was that friends didn't kiss each other on the lips.

"Chi-chan, it's okay!" said Miu, seeming serious for once. "It's just a kiss! It's not the end of the world! There's no reason to be freaking out!"

Chika was really trying hard to calm down, but she was just too overwhelmed. She wasn't arguing, and she wasn't trying to push Miu away, and she wasn't yelling at Miu. Instead she just laid there, staring at Miu and waiting for her to do it.

Miu decided now was her only chance, and so, before she could think otherwise and before Chika could get away, she quickly leaned in and kissed Chika.

It wasn't that the kiss itself was quick, it was that it started so quickly. The actual kiss went on a fairly long time. When Miu first pressed her lips to Chika's, Chika had struggled and tried to push Miu off of her, but soon she weakened her pushes and Miu found that she didn't even have to hold Chika down as tightly. Chika was still pushing Miu, but Miu quickly noticed there was no actual strength in Chika's pushes, as if she didn't want Miu to stop kissing her but she wanted it to look like she did.

And eventually, Chika stopped pushing Miu altogether, and just let Miu kiss her.

When the kiss ended, Chika felt a little lightheaded. She felt like she was somewhere else besides on her futon in a vacation home. She didn't know where though. She just knew that Miu was there, and Miu had just kissed her, and Chika had liked it, as hard as it was to admit it to herself. And now Miu was smiling at Chika, and Chika was blushing and looking away somewhere else in the room.

"Now was that so bad?" said Miu, smiling at Chika.

"Uh..." said Chika. She was so deep in thought that she hadn't heard the question. "What?"

"I said, was that so bad?"

Chika was about to answer, but then didn't. Instead she was trying to process what had just happened. "Was what so bad?"

"The kiss!" said Miu, exasperated. "Obviously!"

Instead of answering directly, Chika said, "It reminds me of last summer."

"You remember that?" said Miu.

"How could I forget? That was my first kiss."

"True," said Miu. "But really, just last summer? It seems so much longer ago..."

"Well, maybe a lot has changed," said Chika.

"Like what?"

"Like... we're in junior high... you got your hair cut... Ana's doing much better with English... Matsuri's a little braver..." Chika said slowly.

"And what about you?" said Miu. "How have you changed?"

"Nothing," said Chika. "I'm still exactly the same."

"Really?" said Miu. "Because when I kissed you last year, you reacted differently."

Chika bit her lip nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I tried to push you off of me, just like last time."

"No," said Miu, shaking her head. "last year, you actually pushed me off of you, and this time, you just acted like you were going to."

"Well I'm just tired," said Chika, unable to think of a better excuse. "And I don't really mind it that much either, but I don't actually like it. I can just deal with it better."

"Right..." said Miu. "Or maybe it's because we have wider boundaries now?"

"Huh?"

"You know," said Miu. "The boundaries between friends and lovers. We have less of a boundary now."

"You've crossed the boundaries," said Chika. "Kissing your best friend on the lips is crazy."

"For who?" said Miu.

"For everyone, of course!"

"But you said it depends on the specific friends," said Miu. "We can place our boundaries wherever and still be friends."

"If that's the case, what's the need for boundaries?" Chika pointed out. "If you think you can kiss me whenever you want, maybe we really do need to set some boundaries."

"Well why don't you choose some already then?" said Miu.

"Okay..." said Chika. "Well first of all, you can't kiss me on the lips."

"But anywhere else is fine?" said Miu, with a sly grin.

Chika blushed. "Almost anywhere else is okay."

"Really?" said Miu. "But earlier you said-"

"Whatever I said earlier doesn't matter now," said Chika, beginning to get embarrassed again.

"Okay, where can I not kiss you?" asked Miu.

Chika didn't want to discuss that, so she said, "Well, you can kiss me on the cheek... the forehead... um..."

Chika didn't say anything for a while then, so Miu said, "Okay, besides kissing, what other boundaries do we have? How far is too far?"

Chika was sweating. "Um... well uh... to uh..."

Miu giggled, guessing what Chika was trying to say. "All the way?"

Chika blushed, giving a tiny nod. "None of, um, that..."

"Okay," said Miu. "At least not until we're older." She smiled mischievously.

"No, not ever. Why would that ever change?" said Chika.

"Oh, I dunno..." said Miu. "But it could happen, right?"

"I don't think so," said Chika.

"You don't think so, but you're not sure of it?" said Miu.

"Oh, it's not that important!" said Chika, giving up on the topic. "We don't really need to set boundaries! Whatever happens, happens!"

"Okay," said Miu. "But when we're a married couple, you will have sex with me, right?"

Chika started choking on air, and Miu burst out laughing. "Okay, okay!" said Miu. "I get it! Whatever happens, happens! Forget boundaries!"

Chika nodded, her face red. "Goodnight now," she said.

"Aw, don't go to sleep!" said Miu. Chika pretended she was already sleeping. "Hey, wake up already! Wake up or I'll kiss you!" Chika had no reaction to this. "Okay then, I'll kiss you!" Chika still did nothing. "You don't care, do you?" said Miu, giving up on that threat.

Chika nodded. "Yup. Now go to sleep, Micchan."

"I can't! I'm too hyper!"

"If you'll go to sleep, I'll kiss you tomorrow morning."

Miu quickly laid back down and pulled the covers over her. Chika smiled and closed her eyes. Miu eventually managed to fall asleep.

The next morning, they all had to head back home.

"Aw!" said Miu. "It was so much fun here!"

"Well we can't stay here forever," said Nobue. "Today we have to go back home." Miu made a super cute face. "That's not going to convince me." Nobue looked away. Then Miu stomped back and forth.

"I'm also kinda sad we have to go back home," Ana admitted.

"Yeah," agreed Matsuri. "It's nice here."

"We'll come back next summer," said Nobue. Everyone perked up at that, and then they all got in the car and drove away from the vacation home.

In the car, Miu whispered to Ana, "Hey Ana-chan, where are your boundaries with Matsuri-chan?"

Ana looked confused and shocked by the question. "Huh? I don't know what you're asking!"

"Would you kiss her?"

Ana blushed. "Um... no! I wouldn't!" Matsuri gave Ana a confused look, and Ana looked over at Matsuri and gave a little shrug.

"Well then, would you kiss Ana-chan, Matsuri-chan?" Miu asked.

Matsuri nodded. "Yeah, it's not that weird for friends to kiss each other. I've kissed her before." Ana shushed Matsuri, and Matsuri looked even more confused.

"So do you two have boundaries on anything then?" asked Miu.

"Of course we do!" Ana snapped. "And kissing your best friend is no big deal, so don't even act like it is!"

"Geez, I didn't say it was!" said Miu, innocently raising her hands.

"Are you guys talking about kissing?" said Nobue.

"Yeah!" said Miu. "Hey Onee-chan, would you rather kiss Ana-chan or Matsuri-chan?"

"Well... Matsuri-chan," said Nobue. "No, Ana-chan... no, Matsuri-chan... no, I guess it would be Ana-chan..."

"Tough choice, huh?" said Miu.

Nobue shook her head. "It doesn't matter anyway," she said.

"Sure it does," said Miu. "For example, if the situation ever arose where you had to kiss one of them, and only one, you'd have to make a good choice because you might regret your decision later."

"Why would that ever happen?" asked Nobue.

"I don't know, but it could happen," said Miu.

Chika, who was beginning to find this conversation interesting, decided to say something. "I guess Onee-chan loves both Ana-chan and Matsuri-chan so much that it's impossible for her to decide between them. Am I right, Onee-chan?" Nobue elbowed her. "Hey!"

"So Ana," said Miu. "How do you say, 'Onee-chan wa Ana-chan to Matsuri-chan o koishiteru,' in English?"

"Onee-chan loves Ana-chan and Matsuri-chan," said Ana, proud to know how to say it.

"Oh!" said Miu. "Onee-chan loves Ana-chan and Matsuri-chan!"

Nobue had to grind her teeth together to keep from lashing out.

The rest of the ride home was very entertaining.