Beeping. Sunlight. Soft. Morning.

Morning. Sakaki opened her eyes slowly, blinking from the sunlight streaming through the crack in her curtains. Something was different this morning. The slanting sunbeam that usually fell across her cheek was cast instead across her chest. Sakaki yawned as her sleepy brain tried to explain this change. She looked over and saw Kaori, smiling and sleeping peacefully through the alarm, and remembered the previous day. Slowly becoming more conscious, she realized that something else was new: a small, soft hand was intertwined with her own. Sakaki felt hot color shoot into her cheeks and she quickly silenced the alarm with her free hand. It would be okay, she decided, to sleep a little longer- after all, they had been up very late. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep, wondering if Kaori had forgotten the evening's embarrassing ending.

Sunlight. Firm. Morning.

Kaori's eyes fluttered open. She was smiling brightly, but for what reason she could not be sure. Shifting her position slightly, she looked at Sakaki.

"She looks so cool, like a sleeping tiger," Kaori thought. She slowly allowed her eyes to wander down Sakaki's sleeping form, first watching her chest rise and fall slowly, then traveling down to-

Kaori's eyes stopped their exploration, locked on her long fingers. They were, as she could now feel, wrapped around Kaori's hand. She let out a small squeak, but did not move. Had this been her doing? What would Sakaki think if she woke up? She had to let go, but at the same time she definitely didn't want to. what if Sakaki woke up when she did? That was as good a reason as she could think of and she clung to it. Shutting her eyes tightly, Kaori feigned sleep and tried unsuccessfully to return to her slumber.

Soft. Rough. Stiff.

Sakaki opened her eyes quickly. Much more conscious than before, she noticed many things at once- Kaori's soft hand in hers, the stiffness of her body after her long repose, the relative dimness of the room now that the sun was directly above the apartment, and a rough tongue on the sole of her foot. Stifling her giggles, she looked again at Kaori who, unbeknownst to Sakaki, continued to pretend to sleep. She shook her foot to discourage Maya, and it seemed to work. She sighed with relief, only to jump as a moment later Kaori shrieked wih laughter. Sakaki sat up to see Maya licking Kaori's foot. Kaori sat up and pulled her feet under herself.

"Erm, good morning," said Sakaki nervously. "I'm sorry, Maya pushes the door open sometimes."

Kaori replied, with difficulty, "It's okay. I think it's pretty late anyway." It was not lost on her that they were still holding hands. "I, um..."

Sakaki let go of Kaori's hand. "Kaorin, about last night..."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was just really tired, that's all."

"So... you weren't bothered by... what I asked you to do?"

"Oh, not at all!" Kaori smiled sincerely, relived at the resolution.

Suddenly, Sakaki remembered something. "Kaorin, you said you had remembered something last night. What was it?"

Kaori scrambled for an answer. "I just, um, remembered that my cousin mentioned... needing my futon when I moved out." Kaori's mouth snapped shut like a trap as she realized what she had just done. Filled with doubt, she watched Sakaki's face for a reaction.

Sakaki sat for a moment before saying, "We could keep sharing mine until you can buy a new one." She flexed her fingers slightly. "Speaking of money... are you late for work?"

"Oh! I- No, wait. I told them would need today off when I called yesterday. Do you have anything to do?"

"Nothing."

"Well, what shall we do today?"

"What do you want to do, Kaorin?"

Kaori paused. This was a wonderful opportunity, but she had little time to think. "Why don't we stay here in our pajamas all day? I'm really comfortable."

Blushing a little and petting Maya, Sakaki replied, "Sounds nice. Do you want breakfast?"

After a light breakfast, they sat beside each other on the small couch. Although tey had made animated small talk throughout the meal, they now sat in silence, each seemingly out of things to say. Desperate to end the silence, Kaori asked, "So... why did you suddenly want me to tickle you last night?"

Staring at her knees, Sakaki whispered, "I wanted to be cute like you."

"But Miss Sakaki," Kaori began, "why? You're so cool and pretty and..." Kaori trailed off. "Like me? Does she mean that?" she thought

"I- nevermind. I don't want to talk about it."

Kaori noticed that Sakaki's eyes were slightly watery. Setting her mouth in a determined expression, she said, "If it will make you happy, I can do it again."

"Kaorin, I-" Sakaki seemed unable to finish.

"Here," Kaori said forcefully, grabbing Sakaki's ankles and swinging them onto the couch.

"Kaorin, wait! I-"

"What?"

"I want to tickle you." Once again, Sakaki's gaze was fixed on her knees.

At this, Kaori lost much of her prior resolve. "Wh-what? Why me?"

"This morning," Sakaki mumbled, "when Maya... adorable." She seemed to be too embarassed to speak coherently.

"M-me?" Sakaki nodded and Kaori's face flushed. "You think I'm- okay." Though much redder now, Kaori's expression was once again firm. She popped her feet out of her house slippers and placed her heels on Sakaki's lap. Kaori's feet were warm from the slippers and her racing heart and Sakaki uttered a soft "oh" upon feeling their touch.

Sakaki looked down at the small, soft feet on her thighs and grew even more scarlet. She looked up at Kaori's face. Perhaps it was the hand-holding, or her laughing fit in the morning, but it seemed Kaori looked somehow different. Her flushed cheeks were puffed slightly with concentration and Sakaki found the expression quite charming.

Kaori soon noticed that Sakaki was staring at her. "Miss Sakaki?" she said tentatively. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, erm-" Sakaki snapped to attention. Unable to speak coherently, she did the only thing that came to mind. Picking up Kaori's right foot, she began gently stroking the sole.

Surprised at the gentleness of Sakaki's touch, Kaori giggled softly. It hardly tickled, and Kaori found it quite pleasant. "That actually feels ni-ice," she said, her voice wavering with slight laughter. Sakaki smiled. Shifting her legs around, she set the foot down and picked up both at once, wrapping one arm around Kaori's ankles and tickling her with the other hand. Kaori's feet were very soft, and Sakaki enjoyed the smooth feeling of her skin. Now laughing a little harder, Kaori shook slightly in Sakaki's grip.

Still tickling, Sakaki turned to look over her shoulder to see Kaori, laughing and shaking, and made a decision. She stopped tickling and turned to place Kaori's feet on her lap once again. As Kaori's laughter began to fade, Sakaki said, "Thank you, Kaorin. You're really cute when you laugh."

Kaori was glad of the rest, but she almost wished Sakaki had not stopped. When she registered Sakaki's words, she gasped, "Miss Sakaki, I- thank you."

Saying nothing more, Sakaki picked up Kaori's foot again. Kaori shut her eyes in anticipation. However, Sakaki's touch was different this time. She opened one eye and saw that Sakaki was not tickling her and was instead massaging her foot gently. Kaori closed her eye again, a blissful expression on her face. Miss Sakaki, the girl she had spent so much time trying to get close to, was tenderly rubbing her feet. She sighed happily, which made Sakaki smile.

After a quarter of an hour, Kaori was soundly asleep. She let out a gentle snore and Sakaki stopped rubbing. Moving carefully off of the sofa, she placed Kaori's legs on the cushion. She stood still for a moment, looking at Kaori's sleeping face. After a few minutes, she decided to take a chance. "If she wakes up, she might be frightened of me..." Sakaki thought. "I want to try, though."

Sakaki slid one arm carefully behind Kaori's back, the other under her knees, and lifted her gingerly. Kaori's breathing remained slow and peaceful, and Sakaki took heart. She raised the sleeping girl higher and sat down on the couch herself. Shifting herself into a reclined position, she lay Kaori down, face up, on her own chest. Wrapping her arms around the still slumbering girl, she closed her eyes.

Maya padded sleepily into the room and lept deftly onto the sofa. He pushed himself close to Sakaki's side and sat down, soon to nap himself.

It seemed to Sakaki that she had never been so engulfed in cuteness. Pleased with her bravery, she quickly drifted off.

The three of them slept there peacefully, all warm and happy. Although nobody awake, together they dreamed of staying there forever.

+++ Hi there, Sugarshocker again. :3 I hope that this chapter felt natural- I'm not sure, so I'd love to hear what you think. Did I rush it? I'm also worried that things might have gotten a little too close to the line of my own personal preferences and desires- did you notice? I hope not. :/ Finally, this one is shorter than the first chapter- should I try to be more consistent? Despite all this, I'm fairly pleased with my work here. So until next time, leave a review, tell your friends, and mock my construction errors. Thanks for reading. Sweet electric dreams!+++