Akito awoke before Shigure, and was pleased to find him in the same place he had been as she dozed off. She lay there awhile, just thinking of the previous evening. Who could have known kissing like that, could have gotten her as worked up as having sex? Akito waited impatiently for the dog to wake up, and when it didn't happen within the minute, she set about to waking him up.

She softly ran her long fingernails down his arm, and when he didn't immediately awaken, Akito pulled lightly on the sleeve of his robe. "Shigure, Shigure, wake up! Please, wake up!" She whispered in his ear. But he didn't move. He normally woke up before her and was a light sleeper, so this was strange. But desperate times did call for desperate measures, so Akito rolled on top of him and kissed his neck. She hoped she was doing it right, because she had not ever done it before. It was Shigure who did most of 'that other stuff'. But it did have the desired effect.

"Akito? Are you… kissing my neck?" A sleepy Shigure asked. Akito brought her face to his and nodded with serious concentration written over her face.

"Why? Did I do it wrong?" She frowned trying to think back to how Shigure did it.

Shigure ran his hands through her hair and chuckled, "No. It just surprised me. Usually I don't get a warm welcome in the mornings I choose to stay. So I leave early to avoid unpleasant mornings. Wow. I did sleep in today, though. Must have stayed up too late."

Akito snorted into his shoulder, "You always stay up late."

"Yes, well, it must have been the big meal I ate before coming to see you." He pulled her to his chest and cradled her, before asking, "Akito, when's the last time you've gone on a vacation?"

She frowned, "When I was nine, you, Hatori, and Ayame took me to one of the Sohma summer homes. It was awful. Ayame kept calling me his beloved rose bud, and forced me to play house. He was the Prince, you were the poet, Hatori was the royal advisor, and I was… the Princess, I think. I mostly remember wanting to pull my hair out at Ayame's stupidity." Akito turned to face him, "Why?"

"How would you like to visit the new Sohma summer home? It's fairly large, and no one else would be there. We could go for the week or maybe just the weekend. The hot springs are nice and there's a private beach on the property." Shigure stroked her hair.

"Fine, we can go. Tell Hatori and Kureno after you get breakfast." Shigure stopped touching her hair as soon as she mentioned the others.

"Why don't you let Hatori and Kureno have a break, too? It can't be healthy for them to always tend to your every need. I think I'll do fine without their help." He tried to talk soothingly in order to prevent a burst of rage.

"Why should they need a break?" Akito's voice was deadly calm. "If anyone needs a break, it's me. They're supposed to love me and never want to leave me! They're coming."

"This isn't a matter of them wanting to leave you, because they don't. I'm saying that I want time with just you, the two of us."

"You weren't worried that they needed a break, you just wanted me for your own selfish needs." Akito pulled out of his arms and went to the open window. "Fine. But since I'm doing you a favor, you will do me one."

Shigure gazed at her warily, "What is it?"

"Be mine."

He laughed lightly at her demand, "I am yours."

Akito frowned at how he laughed, "No. You're not. You're always sleeping with women, and if you're not, you're always thinking about sleeping with them. I want you to only think of me. I mean, I am God, so you should be already, but you don't."

Shigure narrowed his eyes, Oh! If only she knew! But he couldn't tell her, at least, not yet. He had to be certain she felt the same way. He responded coldly, "Well, it doesn't help when you always think of Kureno. It's almost as annoying than if you had slept with him."

Akito felt his anger almost immediately. She climbed onto the bed, where he still was, and rested her head in his lap, "What I do with my Zodiac is none of your business. They love me and I love them." She ran her long nails up and down his legs, "You really shouldn't let your jealousy get in the way of things. It sours everything." Akito turned over and faced him, kissing just beside his mouth.

What a little hypocrite! He thought. But her teasing kiss had brought his mind away from the conversation they had been having.