Author's Note: Ah, here we go, more yuri fluff. So, hopefully now things will be a bit easier to write. We can hope, at least. Enjoy?

Chapter Two

Mia was burrowed happily under the covers of her bed, occasionally wiggling around and sinking further into the plush comforter and puffy pillows. Only a small circle of strawberry blonde was visible above the blankets, and as Anna watched her from her own bed she was reminded a bit of a hamster burrowing under a pile of wood shavings. A very pretty, leggy hamster with pigtails.

Anna shifted so that her feet didn't hang over the end of the bed and studied the girl sleeping across from her again. Her head hurt a little bit. What had possessed her earlier? Anna was used to going with the flow, to following her impulses and intuition, but this...that kiss was spontaneous even for her.

Not that Mia had seemed to mind. Then again, she hadn't acted as if it were anything more than a game, or that anything had happened at all.

When they had resurfaced at last, Mia had stared at Anna for a moment before sinking down into the water again until only her eyes and the top of her head were above water. Anna immediately felt a flash of panic and moved in closer, concerned. "Mia, a-"

The other girl had suddenly popped back up and playfully spat a stream of water right at Anna. She laughed as Anna fell back, startled, and swam away, calling back to Anna. "Come on! You wanted to swim, didn't you?"

Anna tired to glare at her, but grinned instead and went after her. For the rest of the evening they had gone on that way...as if nothing had happened at all.

If it weren't for the odd smiles that Mia wore the rest of the night, it might have all been a dream.

Anna turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She traced the shadows across the stucco and tried to understand what had happened. She'd known this girl for only a few hours. They might not even see each other after the auditions at the end of the week. It wasn't even like Anna was terribly attracted to her; she hadn't dated anyone before, she hadn't had any interest in it, but she'd had a few crushed before and she didn't even feel that much towards Mia. It was just curiosity about the cute, kind of quirky new girl from another country. Not that Mia wasn't attracting...Anna didn't look at people from that standpoint as a rule, and no other girls that she could remember, but she supposed Mia was attractive; pretty, healthy hair, sparkling blue eyes, legs that went on forever, a slim willowy figure, and a smile that lit up the room...

Anna felt a wave of warmth wash over her for a moment. There it was again. Something about that smile. Not the one she used when she was...fangirling was best word Anna could think of...but the one from the elevator, and when they were splashing around in the pool, and under the blue water.

Anna turned back onto her side and found herself staring into a pair of bright eyes peeking out from the covers. Mia gigged and buried herself into the blankets again, and Anna snorted before flipping onto her other side.

Well, nothing's happened either way. Let it go. Focus on the auditions. Must...pass...auditions...ignore the pretty leggy hamster with pigtails and sleep.


"Anna?" Mia carefully slipped up onto the bed and curled up on top of the still-made covers. "Anna, are you awake?"

There was no sound save the hum of the air conditioner and the tall girl's heavy, slumbered breathing. She didn't move. Mia stared at the back of Anna's head in silence for a moment before speaking again, a bit more quietly than before. "I can't sleep. I shouldn't have slept so near the end of the flight over here."

It would be about noon back in Holland, but here it was still hours before dawn. Mia rested her head in the crook of her arm. "I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow. What should I do?"

She waited for a breath. "I guess I'm kind of spacey. I'm not usually, really. I just didn't think about it this time. The sleeping thing I mean. I was too excited." She smiled and snuggled in a little closer to the sleeping mound of blankets. "I've dreamed about this for years, being a star on the Kaleido Stage. I've wanted to be a performer like this since I was a baby. It's so exciting to get a chance to actually do it. I bet you're excited, too. Right, Anna?"

There was no answer, naturally, but the silence made Mia aware of how the volume of her voice was escalating. She brought it back down. "I was too excited to think about jet lag. I'm sure it happens to a lot of people. Even if I don't get in, this might be the best week of my life." She shook her head carefully so as not to disturb the bed too much. "I'll get in, though. I have to. I promised everyone back home, and Grandma especially. I can't be afraid I won't get it. I have to know I will.

"I can take care of myself."

Anna let out a small sigh in her sleep and one of her feet twitched. Mia suppressed a giggle and waited for a moment before going on. "I know you don't know I'm talking to you, but it's like I've known you for years, and who else am I going to talk to this early in the morning? Maybe you'll hear me and remember, anyway. Wouldn't that be something?

"I think I read that somewhere...what you hear when you're sleeping you remember when you wake up. That's why people talk to relatives that are in comas or things like that. I did it once, when Grandma first landed in the hospital." Mia's voice grew scratchy as her whispers caught at the knot in her throat. "We were so afraid. It was so sudden, after all. I kept talking to her, hoping she would wake up and show us she was still all right. I wouldn't stop until the doctors made me leave. What if I didn't get to say all those things to her that I wanted her to hear? Like how much we all loved her and would miss her if she was gone...

"I was so glad when she was awake the next day and could talk with us. And the funny thing was, she talked with me about things I'd said the day before, even though she hadn't been there to hear them. She's so strong. I know she'll be fine. I just never saw her that sick before. I'd never seen her catch a cold. She's having surgery this year, in three or four months I think, maybe more. They don't know yet. She says she'll make it through, but...she was so sick once before, what if she doesn't?"

Mia choked. "She's as fallible as the rest of us."

Anna turned onto her back, almost as if she were turning towards Mia. The other girl smiled weakly. "See? You do hear me, even if you don't know it."

She draped an arm across Anna's torso and closed her eyes. "I can take care of myself, you know, I really can. I can try my hardest and be strong, as strong as Grandma always was. The women in my family are all strong like that. But it was so cool how you came to my rescue like that. And you didn't think I was weak, either."

Mia moved a bit closer. "Even now, you're trying to help me, and you aren't even awake."

She sighed quietly, but it was a contended sound. "And you're so pretty. I never found any other girls back home, my family didn't mind but I wasn't sure I was strong enough to risk anyone else finding out. But you're so pretty and I bet you'd protect me if I wasn't strong enough.

"But I feel strong enough around you as it is, so maybe you don't have to. I think I'd just like it if you did."

Mia opened her eyes a crack and a small smile tugged at her lips. "You won't remember any of this in the morning I bet. It's too bad. If something happens and I don't see you after this week, this would be a nice memory to share with you."


When Anna woke up, she was surprised at first to be alone. She had been dreaming of being a little girl again, sleeping with her parents after a nightmare because they could do everything. They made her strong in the dream...waking up alone was a bit of a start.

When she sat up, the first thing she spotted was Mia stretched out across the floor between the beds, legs spread in the splits, hands held out at her sides, leaning forward so that her stomach, chest, and face all rested barely a hair above the floor.

"You're up early."

Mia looked up without changing position and raised her eyebrows. "Maybe you woke up late."

"No, it's..." Anna glanced at the clock and blinked. "Ten o'clock? I mean to set the alarm for eight thirty."

"Why? We don't have to leave for the stage until after lunch, right?"

"Yes, but I wanted to get in an early swim."

Mia giggled and sat up, stretching herself over her left leg. "Swimming must agree with you."

Anna stared at her in surprise, and a flash of shyness went through her. "It's a good way to start the day, that's all." To cover up, she climbed out of bed over the end of the mattress to avoid getting in Mia's way and held her hands up against her jaw line like fins. Her voice took on the tone of a bad Italian gangster. "Better'n sleepin' wit' da fishes, miss."

Mia's blue eyes were totally empty. "Nice try."

Anna threw her hands up in despair and slid to the floor, draping herself over the bed. "I'll never get it."

She didn't even notice Mia's delighted squeal. In fact, she didn't even remember the other girl was there until she heard the other girl bounce to her feet...literally, with three little hops...a few second later. "They're still serving the breakfast buffet. Let's hurry! I want to have an American breakfast!"

"They can't be that different from Holland, can they?" Anna asked with raise eyebrows. "And it won't be anything special, just dry croissants and old fruit with bacon and sausage."

"It sounds like an adventure."

"More like a suicide mission."

Mia started, then broke out laughing. Anna stared at her in perplexity for half a second, then leaned forward with shining eyes. "I made you laugh?"

Mia just giggled again and brushed her bangs out of her face. "That was cute. I liked that."

"Wait, wait!" Anna snagged a shirt off a chair and threw it on over the halter top she'd worn to bed. "Let me try two for two!"

"No, I want to eat. Hurry up, Anna, let's go!" Mia all but bounced at the door. "The buffet closes in half an hour."

"Ah, hang on!" Anna hastily slipped into her shoes and took off after her without a look back. "Hold the elevator!"

Mia held the door open with a teasing grin as the tall girl slipped inside. "Are you that slow performing?"

"Do you cheat that much?" Anna leaned back against a wall and blew out a breath in relief. "Where is the buffet located?"

"Um, in the...ah..." Mia's brow creased in thought. "In the Morning Room restaurant. I think it's the one down the hall with the gift shop, right?"

"I think so." Anna straightened up again, and suddenly frowned. "Do you have a key?"

The other girl stared at Anna for a moment. "...No..."

Anna fell back against the elevator wall again. "This had better be a good breakfast."

Mia giggled. "Think of it as an adventure. After all, the rest of the trip has been."