Lots of reviews? 33% more chapter, free!! *snickers*

Oh, and the mood swings thing? It's on purpose. Stress, low blood sugar, just plain being tired…. I'm trying to be realistic, and real people get pissy when these sorts of things happen.

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Knives somehow managed to get hit in the face by Anne's elbow as she reached up behind her for the ringing alarm clock. He got his eyes open in time to watch it go flying with eerie accuracy through the open door; eerie considering that she managed to perform the task without opening her eyes. He stared out the door for a while, trying to comprehend just how she could do that without waking up. Giving up, he settled back on his pillow and tried to return to sleep, but the faint ringing of the alarm irritated him and he found that he was too awake to sleep.

Sighing a bit, he opened his eyes and looked at Anne, her face innocent in repose. And close, to boot. He looked behind him at the length of bed he had traversed to get to this point, then over her to see how much she had moved in her sleep. He normally didn't move that much in his sleep, preferring to stay in one spot the night through. Oddly, they had ended up together in the middle of the bed.

He propped his head up on one elbow. Maybe not too oddly, though. There was something calming about sleeping near another plant. He had noticed the phenomenon with Vash, and then later with Ace. Perhaps it was that the slumbering minds were synchronized, that they reached out to what was familiar and similar, but sleeping near another plant was always more restful than sleeping alone, or near a human.

He wondered that he hadn't noticed that calmness earlier with her, but then recalled that for the most part they had not slept too close together in the desert, both preferring to keep their distance from an enemy while unconscious and vulnerable. Any closer contact generally occurred when one or the other was exhausted. And then, while in the ship… they hadn't really been sleeping, much. And the calmness could be attributed to other things.

It was amazing to him, how easy it had been to not see that she was a plant. She hadn't needed to hide anything, hadn't tried to keep the truth from him, and still he hadn't known. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. For someone who prided himself on his ability to notice the small details that others overlooked, he had certainly missed this big one.

Asleep, she looked entirely too innocent, her face unlined by cares or worries. A lock of hair had fallen over one eye, and Knives reached out tentatively and brushed it off her face. Her breathing didn't change and she gave no sign of noticing his attention. Emboldened, he let his fingers linger on her forehead, enjoying the feel of soft skin under the pads of his fingertips. Tentatively, he stroked the line of her eyebrow, one finger tracing the edge of her temple before drifting over one cheekbone, slowly stroking the soft flesh under her eye before ending up on the upturned tip of her nose. Then it drifted down to her lips, tracing the curve of her mouth before being lifted from her face.

He smiled, then set his fingers to trace the line of her jaw, then down the curve of her neck. Oh, he had missed her immensely. She might be the most frustrating creature on the planet awake, but moments like these more than made up for the aggravation. So innocent, so trusting of his touch… his hand traced the exposed line of one collarbone and ended up cupping a shoulder left bare by the over-large neck of her sweatshirt. No one touched his heart like she did. No one. So strong, both physically and mentally. Strong, and tough, but still capable of caring for others, even those who hated her. Her empathy for others amazed him. That she could care so much after the life she had lived bespoke a nobility of spirit that even she seemed unaware of. Vash had noticed it, and Meryl, in the short time they had known her, and there had been entire conversations over the past few years devoted entirely to that fact.

Greatly daring, he shifted his weight and leaned over her face. Still cupping her shoulder in one hand, he brushed his lips against hers. The softness was so inviting that he stole another sweet kiss. He pulled back a bit, saw that she still slept, and smiled wryly. So much for awaking the sleeping beauty with a kiss.

She sighed and turned towards him a little. He froze, almost panicking, but she subsided before awakening. He almost disentangled himself from her, but the promise of those slightly parted lips was too much for him. He kissed her again, one little kiss before getting up and pretending that this stolen moment had never happened.

Except that this time, she kissed him back. He tried to pull back, shocked, but somehow she had managed to snake an arm around his waist without his notice, and he was trapped. He smiled against her lips as he realized this, then surrendered to the kiss. It was as good as he remembered, as good and better.

Then she pulled back, and he let her go.

"Morning, sleepyhead," he said.

She looked at him, amusement painted with a light touch on her features. "You're no Prince Charming, but damn, that was a fine way to wake up." She sat up in bed and yawned, then stretched her arms after he backed off a bit.

"Better than getting knocked in the head by a flying elbow," he noted.

She flushed. "Did I? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"I rather assumed that, as you weren't awake when you hit me."

She sighed dramatically. "Beating you up and I'm not even awake to enjoy it. How sad."

"Your pity for my plight moves me," he remarked dryly.

She yawned, still trying to wake up. "Sorry. Hey, about last night…"

"Never mind that," he interrupted.

"Stop that. What I want to say, is that I might have implied that you had no right to presume how I should or should not have used my big bed…"

"Implied? You said that straight out."

"Will you not interrupt? What I was going to say, is you have no right to assume… but I thought you might want to know that this is a completely virgin bed. You and Vash were the first guys to ever sleep on it. Other than that… it was me. All alone. On my big bed."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"The entire time?"

"I think I said that, yes."

"Virgin bed?" he said, humor lacing the words.

"The bed, yes."

"Poor bed. Should we fix that?"

She laughed. "Not if I'm going to get to work on time."

"Screw work."

"Nice try, plant boy, but there's only one thing here I want to screw, and it sure isn't work."

He sighed and put on a hurt expression. "And you had to say this in the morning, why?"

"Because it shouldn't matter to you how many men might have been in this bed when you weren't anywhere around. It's only when you're here that there should be any exclusive rights."

He was cheered to hear her say that, but put on a scowl. "Fine. But I'm here now."

"But I'm not supposed to be." She slipped out of bed and pulled some clothes out of the armoire. "I really need to get going. I think today is going to be an interesting day at work; I should probably try to be on time, for once."

"I'll make you breakfast," he offered.

"You don't have to."

"If they decide to beat you up again, you can use the energy."

"I suppose that's one way of looking at breakfast," she sighed. "Ah, to be normal, and only have to worry about not being hungry until lunchtime."

"Normal is overrated," he informed her as she closed the door to the bathroom.

"That it is," she said to herself, smiling. "But sometimes, so is exciting."