Lammy's apartment, 5pm on a Saturday.

Katy shifted from left foot to right foot, tugging awkwardly at the guitar strap around her shoulder. Her fist still hovered over the door; she'd already knocked, but enough time had passed that she was afraid that Lammy hadn't heard her the first time. She waited a moment before knocking again- just to be safe.

On every other week, this would be the time MILKCAN would meet for band practice- tonight, however, it was just going to be her and Lammy. Ma-san had called an hour earlier, a rushed explanation that went somewhere along the lines of needing to help her dad at the pharmacy- at least, Katy was pretty sure that's what she'd said. Ma-san was impossible to understand over the phone.

It was Katy's idea to go to Lammy's apartment instead. They could work on new chords, spitball some lyrics... Lammy was surprisingly good at coming up with rhymes, even if she wouldn't admit it.

Katy had one song in particular she was hoping to go over with her fellow musician, one that she'd spend weeks working on the lyrics for. The paper was crumpled up from the many times she'd tossed it into the trashbin and then quickly fished it back out. It wasn't a bad song, of course- Katy's lyrics were always works of art- but she had her doubts about letting anyone else see it.

Katy wasn't nervous. How could she be nervous? She was supposed to be the confident one! After all, even if they were alone together, it wasn't like this was a date-

The sound of a loud thump and a yelp jerked Katy out of her headspace, and she blinked in surprise. Lammy had opened the door, clearly exhausted- had she been asleep? Katy waved politely, but Lammy didn't return the gesture.

"S-sorry," she panted, leaning against the doorway, "I didn't forget this time, promise!" Lammy's hair looked a mess, sticking every which way, and Katy was having a hard time believing she hadn't rolled out of bed ten minutes before. As if reading Katy's mind, she hastily added "I was, um, just getting ready... I don't, uh, usually have people over..."

Katy almost wanted to reach up and ruffle her hair, but instead she laughed, waving her away. "Hey, don't worry about it! We've got all night to practice anyway. Speaking of," she leaned forward, hand on the door frame and a smile on her lips, "Are ya gonna invite me inside?"

The sheep blinked, then sputtered, "O-oh- right, of course!" She hastily held the door open wide enough for Katy to fit herself and her guitar case through, then shut the door behind them, locking it for good measure.

It was at that point that Katy realized she'd never really been in Lammy's apartment before now. It was small, and a lot cleaner than she'd expected- though a quick glance at the trashcan in the corner told her that it hadn't been that way for long. There were posters for all sorts of old bands on the wall, and, Katy noted fondly, a flyer for their first concert over the bed. She set her guitar case next to the couch before plopping down herself, mindful not to sit on her tail. Lammy milled around the room nervously, eventually pulling her guitar from a stand by her bed.

"You're into 'the Bye-Byes'?" Katy asked curiously, eyeing one of the posters on the wall. Lammy seemed to take this the wrong way, and she nervously rubbed the back of her neck, blushing deeply.

"I, uh, know they're old, but..."

"I'm not making fun of you!" Katy assured, shaking her head with a grin, "'Your Secret's Safe' is, like, one of my favorite 80's songs!"

Lammy perked up, but she was still stark red up to her ears. She hesitantly settled down next to Katy, tucking her legs underneath herself. She chuckled, still a little nervous. "Heh, yeah, I have The Fabulous and the Funk on vinyl actually, it was a good album..."

"No way! I always wanted to get a record player-"

"PJ let me have an old one of his, the quality's still really good-"

"Aha! I was wondering what happened to that one, he'd been trying to get rid of that thing for a while-"

Lammy leaned over on the couch, both hands propping herself up. There was a sparkle in her eyes that Katy didn't see nearly as often as she should. "I-I have Brunette's album on vinyl too," she stammered, "You like Brunette?" Lammy was clearly excited; Katy had never heard her talk so openly before.

"Oh, totally! Angel's vocals are amazing-"

"What's your favorite song?" asked Lammy quickly, a question Katy immediately knew the answer to.

"'Send Love Through'!"

They had blurted it out at the same time, and the realization made them both blink in surprise before breaking out into laughter. Katy could practically feel the butterflies in her stomach. If she hadn't liked Lammy before, this would have been the moment she fell head over heels.

"That's crazy. I didn't peg you as being a fan of love songs," the vocalist finally managed, just a little breathless.

Lammy shrugged sheepishly, tucking a hair behind her ear. "W-well, you know..." she began, but trailed off, like she didn't know how to finish the sentence. Almost as if she finally noticed how close they were, the lamb cleared her throat and turned away, looking for her guitar. "S-sorry, I-I think I got a little carried away... We're supposed to be practicing, right?"

If she was being honest, Katy was a little disappointed. "You don't have to be sorry," she said, but the moment had already passed. Lammy didn't respond. She had clammed up again, busy tuning her instrument. Instead of pressing any further, Katy clicked open her bass case to do the same.

The crumpled up song lyrics peeked out at her as she gingerly removed her bass from its shell, and after a few seconds of intense inward debate, Katy grabbed them as well. It had to be tonight. She felt like if she waited any longer, she might explode.

Well. At least Lammy liked love songs.

"S-so, uh..." the guitarist spoke up again, plucking at her strings, ear twitching nervously, "I've been working on this new riff-"

Katy perked up immediately, hand pausing on her bass. "Well don't be shy, let me hear it!"

"... Right. Right! Hold on, lemme..." There was a pause. Lammy tapped her fingers on the wood of her guitar, deep in thought, like it was all up there in her mind and all she had to do was dig it out.

After a few seconds of tapping, her fingers began to work on the strings, a little slow at first but eventually picking up their speed. The tune was tinny of course- the guitar would have to be plugged in to get the real sound- but the idea was still there. Katy listened intently, focused on Lammy's hands as they flew across the neck of her instrument. Her foot thumped against the hardwood floor, trying to mimic the rhythm provided to her.

"Hey, that's not bad at all...!" She said, pulling her bass up into her lap, "What if I did a part that was like..." Her claws plucked at the strings, backing up the guitar's beat, and Lammy's face instantly lit up.

"Y-yeah! That's great!" She replied, her tail wagging like a happy puppy, "I mean, w-we'd have to talk to Ma-san about the drum beat... a-and you'd have to think of lyrics-"

"Actually," Katy hummed, before she could stop herself, "I have some lyrics I think could work. I might have to change some parts around, but..."

Lammy's eyes widened with curiosity, her fingers pausing on her strings. "Oh yeah? I-I'd love to hear them..." She scooted a little closer on the couch, and Katy instantly felt her face heat up. Her tail swished nervously as she uncrumpled the paper. The words were just as she remembered them; as embarrassing and obvious as possible.

"They're a little rough," Katy admitted, suddenly feeling weirdly self conscious. "It's taken me a while to write something I'm satisfied with, and it's not really a full song yet." She felt stupid for being so nervous. How could she call herself confident if she couldn't even tell a girl she liked her in musical form?

Lammy, the saint she was, shrugged her shoulders with a small smile. "W-well, if you don't like it, I can help... That's what I'm here for."

Katy let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah, yeah. I know." That settled her nerves for some reason. Lammy believed in her, even if she didn't know what was coming. Katy lifted her base, reviewed her lyrics one more time, and started up the melody her and Lammy had made together. "Okay. Okay, let me just... " She cleared her throat, and tried her best to sing along.

"There's just something about you,

That makes my heart beat out of place.

Is it the way you play your guitar?

Or maybe your smiling face?

You make me go crazy, in more ways than one.

I'm out of synch,

I just can't think,

You're blinding like the sun."

Lammy tapped her foot along with her, before letting herself play along. The tune wasn't exactly the same- it instead matched more with the lyrics Katy was singing. Katy never understood how she could do that, just adjust herself so quickly and go with the flow.

She continued, eyes carefully trained on Lammy, but the sheep didn't seem to be phased by the lyrics at all.

"It felt like I'd been waiting,

forever and a day,

for a girl shining as bright as you,

she finally came my way.

And it's like every dream I've had,

is finally coming true,

Like nothing is impossible,

as long as I'm with you."

She let the lyrics fade out and watched Lammy continue to strum her chords. It was as if she was oblivious to the song ending.

"Hey, Lammy?"

"Hmm?" Her ears flicked upwards, but the playing didn't stop.

"I feel like..." Katy tapped her fingers, trying to think of what to say. "I feel like you should have a solo. I don't know where, but I want you to be able to play your heart out."

That made Lammy stop. Her head jerked up, a blush streaking her cheeks. "H-huh? Why? A-are, are you sure I'm ready?"

Katy shrugged her shoulders, looking away. She knew she would either make or break this.

"I mean, the song is about you. It only makes sense."

Silence. Katy's heartbeat pounded in her ears as she waited for Lammy to respond, but it didn't come. She swallowed, nervously, before cautiously glancing back.

Lammy's face was beet red, and she blinked at her in confusion. Like she hadn't believed what she'd heard. If Katy wasn't mentally tearing her hair out, she'd probably think it was cute. "M-me?" The sheep finally stuttered, touching a hand to her lips.

"Of course!" Katy exclaimed, "You couldn't tell? I mean, you're the only girl I know that plays guitar!" Their instruments had slipped gently to the floor, forgotten. Katy's tail fidgeted with flustered agitation as she sat up, letting Lammy process what she'd said.

"I-I didn't think- I mean, I'm so..." Lammy waved a hand by her head, indicating everything that was there. As if there was anything wrong with her at all.

"Lammy, you're amazing," Katy stated, matter-of-factly.

"B-but, I'm weird, and a huge wimp, a-and I'm always late a-and, and, messing up band practice-" Katy shook her head at every excuse Lammy managed to splutter out

"I don't care about that!" interrupted Katy, her hands reaching out to rest on Lammy's shoulders. She gave them a gentle squeeze, and Lammy looked up at her, through her thick eyelashes. She looked like she was starting to tear up. "Our band is- It's crazy, okay? It wouldn't be any less crazy if you were a different person. We're always goofing up. But you know what?"

Lammy sniffled, just a little. "W-what?"

"I love it. I love every day of it, and I wouldn't change anything. Especially not you."

Lammy was quiet, aside from another short sniff. She was clearly trying to keep herself from breaking down. That was okay. Katy could wait.

But then, Lammy did something Katy didn't ever expect her to do.

She leaned forward, quickly, and kissed her.

It had caught Katy by surprise, a short yelp stuck in her throat, but she soon got acclimated to the feeling. Their lips fit together like a puzzle piece. Or, perhaps, a better metaphor would be trying to smash together two puzzle pieces that didn't quite fit.

Still, it was nice.

Lammy's teeth clacked against Katy's the first time, her hands fidgeting, putting them anywhere but near the feline in front of her. Katy had to take the initiative there, the hands on Lammy's shoulders pulling her closer to her.

It was a short kiss, Lammy breaking away with a face like she couldn't believe she did that. Katy's head was swimming. She was having a hard time believing it, too.

"Lammy, y-you..." She breathed, as if kissing Lammy had made her inherit her sheepishness. It was weird, not having anything to say for once.

"Sorry," Lammy was quickly apologizing, pulling away, "D-did- did you not...? I shouldn't have-" she was tripping over her words, trying to make sense of them, embarrassed over her impulse.

Katy laughed, shaking her head. "N-no, no Lammy, don't be sorry!" She didn't let Lammy move, her arms wrapping around her neck. Her heart thudded in her chest. Their faces were close enough that she could count every individual eyelash on Lammy's eyes. "It's okay."

Lammy gave her a small smile, but looked like she was on the verge of tears. Katy wanted to kiss every trace of worry and self-doubt from her mind. Wanted to kiss her until she was breathless. She cupped her cheeks and leaned forward, kissing her forehead, and pressed two more to her cheeks. She felt a purr build in her chest, just loud enough to be heard. Lammy sniffed again and giggled, but didn't move away.

"I-I actually... H-had a crush on you for a while," She admitted, casting her eyes downwards. "You're so cool, and smart, and- I didn't know if I was in love with you, or... just wanted to be you. D-do I really make you that nervous?"

"I'll put it this way," Katy responded, pressing her forehead against Lammy's, "I've been fighting with myself for like, weeks to show you those lyrics."

Lammy snorted. "N-no way! You? I... I thought you'd be great at like, 'love stuff'." She threw up noticable airquotes around the word.

"I'm a mess, actually," confided Katy, amused at the thought, "Someone asked for my number once and I accidentally gave them my moms. She made jokes about that for weeks."

That idea seemed to amaze Lammy, like she'd never ever considered the thought of Katy losing her cool before. "Wow... Ehehe, so... I guess we're both kind of wimps, huh?"

Katy leaned back on the couch with a content smile, pulling Lammy with her. "I wouldn't have it any other way," She hummed, flicking her tail.

As far as their track record with band practice went, this one was the opposite of a dissaster. She might even go as far as to say that it was the best one yet. And with Lammy with her, she knew it could only get better.