A/N: I have heard your various requests to update my other stories, and I will be working on it. I tend to be rather random in my interest in working on my various projects, so the updates won't always come in a set order...right now the things most likely to get published first: Nozomi's Las Vegas Vacation (special one-shot), Love Horizon NicoMaki chapter, A Single Story update, Alpacas of the Moon update, and A Certain Miscommunication Part 4...subject to change. Thank you for your continued interest. ^^

Ayase Eri became aware of what was going on around her slowly. She was sort of aware that the boisterous first year student, Hoshizora Rin, was attempting to convince her more reserved friend, Nishikino Maki, to eat some food that looked like it might be a bit burnt. That the three second years in their club had all fallen asleep on the loveseat under the window. That her fellow third year student, Yazawa Nico, was glaring in her general direction and muttering things under her breath…

None of that mattered to Eri right at that moment, however. She was desperately trying to retain the thoughts and feelings that had swept over her mind in the moment before, when she had looked into the eyes of her best friend, Toujou Nozomi, and all sensation had melted away. It was curious, but she couldn't really pinpoint the moment in time when she had begun to notice the unusual sensation in the back of her mind.

It had started as a faint tingling she would feel every time she looked in Nozomi's beautiful green eyes. Over time, the tingling had spread in its effect and duration, so that it happened whenever she was aware that Nozomi was in the same room as her. Looking into her eyes caused an even more pronounced reaction, making her mind at first blank, and then filled with whispers of thoughts she couldn't quite understand.

All of that was accompanied by a warm sensation, causing her heart to beat rapidly and her cheeks to heat up. Even though it was embarrassing, and she was becoming more and more aware of the sensations of the world around her again, Eri was determined to hold onto the awareness in her mind a while longer. To understand it, because she didn't understand at all, the way being around Nozomi was making her feel.

Eri ignored the small scuffle that broke out when Rin tackled Maki to the floor, and the annoyed huff of Nico who was still glaring. She deliberately kept her eyes on Nozomi, who was watching her back with a keenly interested, almost hopeful, look. The smile on Nozomi's lips as she gazed back at her took Eri's breath away and she felt that if she concentrated, she could barely make out the whispered thoughts she heard in her mind.

'I love you'

'You're perfect'

'I could stay like this forever'

'I love you'

'You're wonderful'

'I hope you never leave my side'

'I love you'

Eri tilted her head in contemplation, but her eyes never left Nozomi's face. The words were easier to make out now. She sort of thought they sounded like Nozomi, but that was impossible, because Nozomi wasn't saying anything. She furrowed her brow in confusion, and opened her mouth to say something, anything, but her mind was still empty of her own thoughts.

Nozomi gave her an understanding smile and reached out to gently hold Eri's hand in her own. At the touch of skin on skin, the words in Eri's mind became clearer than they ever had before and she understood then. A look of amazed realization crossed Eri's face and Nozomi squeezed her hand, a grin of utter delight and happiness lighting up her features.

'I can hear you, Nozomi…' It was a wonderful feeling, to realize that they were connected in a way that no one would be able to take away from them. Eri had always believed herself to be one of the rare people, like Maki, who simply did not have a mental connection to someone, and now it turned out that she had just been unable to feel it before.

'Hmmm…I've been waiting for Erichi to be able to hear me calling since forever. I was beginning to think that Erichi was never going to notice.' The huge smile and playful tone that Nozomi had helped ease the guilt that Eri felt from hearing that. The two of them had been close friends for three years and normally, people developed the sensitivity to communicate thoughts and feelings with their mentally connected partner from early childhood, despite how far apart they were. That meant that since she wasn't aware of the connection at all, she had made Nozomi feel alone all this time. It wasn't acceptable.

'You can start making it up to me right now if you want~' Eri blushed deeply at both the playfulness in the words and because she could feel the underlying emotions through their connection. Nozomi was still holding her hand, and that seemed to boost her ability to sense Nozomi's feelings. She wondered if she would one day be able to feel them without having to be in close contact with Nozomi. They'd been taught that the bond would only grow deeper over time, if given the chance.

"Alright. I can't take this anymore. Go do your flirting somewhere else." Nico pointed an accusing finger at both of them as they finally looked away from each other to look at her. "You've been staring at each other for the past hour! If all you are going to do is make lewd faces at each other, you can go do it at home instead of corrupting the children…and don't give me that look, Eri. Even if you haven't been doing it, Nozomi had been undressing you with her eyes for the last ten minutes at least."