As tranquil as the night, the two cats, burmese and somali, slept peacefully side by side with each other. There was nary a stir, save for their bodies subconsciously pulling each other closer when they shifted too far apart. Their batteries were utterly drained, and a fulfilling night's rest next to the person they cared most for did the trick. Pleasant dreams played in their minds, easing their sleep further. Though, reality for them was as sweet as any good dream. Why fantasize about something when everything they wanted they already had?

The sun found them as the moon had left them, still entangled in a close embrace. The sun crept in through Sue's blinds, illuminating the blissful smile they both shared. If ever there was a perfect night's sleep, this was it. And, if ever there was the perfect way to wake up, this was it too. Sue was the first to wake, being an early bird. She got up early for work all the time, and even on the weekends she couldn't help but wake up with the sunrise. Looking up at Paulo, the sun gave his face a soft glow that made him look quite angelic to her. He was fast asleep, and Sue was content to take this quiet moment to admire him again in the early morning sun.

Sue did not have much wiggle room, but she was okay with that. There wasn't a place she would rather be more than here in Paulo's arms. The memories from last night came back. They were so unreal, they felt like they could have been a dream. Their talk, his kind words, seeing their friends again, the passionate kiss under the moon, and then snuggling each other to sleep. It was so much, the emotion welled up inside her and escaped as a pur. She buried her face in his chest, and extended and retracted his claws on him in a kneading motion.

Sue was very good about her personal hygiene and kept her claws sharp. That's why, shortly after she started, Paulo jolted awake with a gasp. Sue became startled as well, digging her claws deep into his fur and skin, only making the somali yelp in pain louder.

"OW! OW!" He cried, trying to pry her off him. Her claws were needles in his chest, and he was wildly unaware as to why she had awoken him so harshly. Had he attempted something on her in his sleep? Did his morning situation make her uncomfortable? Whatever the case was, it was starting to draw blood. "Sue, let go! Let go! Ow!"

Sue came back to her senses and retracted her weapons. She gasped in horror when she saw the blood on her fingers, and felt even worse when she realized whose blood it was. Streaks of it were now staining Paulo's white chest fur, threatening to drip onto her sheets. Sue backed away, giving Paulo as much space as she could without falling off the bed. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry Paulo!"

Paulo's tears of pain made his vision blurry and he sat up in bed. He could see Sue was just as upset as he was, and softened up. Clearly, whatever it was, it was an accident. He wasn't about to let some silly accident ruin a perfect weekend. Paulo took stock of himself, and saw the same blood she did. "Damn." He whistled. "Got me good, huh?"

"I'm so sorry…" Sue whispered breathlessly. Already she could see him walking out on her. Like always, being overzealous would push people away. "I didn't mean to… I swear…"

"Hey, it's okay, babe." Paulo took her bloody hand in his. He wasn't the least bit bothered, but could see her spiraling again. "What happened?"

Sue looked away, face bright red. It was totally embarrassing, what she was doing. Kneading was something she hadn't done since she was a young kid. She was just so happy, she couldn't help it. And in another way, it was a form of marking her territory - territory she had no rights to. Paulo wasn't just a thing to claim as hers. She sighed, and told the truth. "I… I was kneading on you."

Paulo was taken aback, which was not something that happened often when it came to women. Usually he was the dominant one in things, always seeing what base he could get to next. Sex was one thing, but kneading… that was a very intimate thing that couples might do. Not only that, but it was exclusive to cats. Their friends like Rachel or David wouldn't do this sort of thing, even with someone they were very close with. Paulo was going from one delicate situation with Sue to the next.

And this too was okay. He had to wonder why it kept happening so much with her, or why he felt so emotionally driven with these things with her. Normally he wouldn't care at all, but when it came to Sue he really wanted to make the right decisions. She… intimidated him, truthfully. She was a different class of woman than he'd been with before. Successful. Smart. Nerdy. Independent. He needed to continue to show her, and himself, that last night had not been a fluke. He really was mature, and could handle things like this. "It's alright, Sue. How are your claws? They were in pretty deep."

Still, after all that, he was more concerned about her than himself. Paulo was continuing to smash her expectations, and she was beginning to wonder why she still had any left of him. Time and time again he had proven to be an upstanding gentleman, putting her before him. He wasn't even phased by her admitting something so personal and intimate… was he okay with that too? Did he like it? Sue extended her claws and looked down at them. They looked intact, albeit now red. "Yeah… they're fine."

"Good!" Paulo put his arms out, inviting Sue into a hug. He wanted to seal his forgiveness, and put the entire ordeal behind them. Sue leaned forward like she was going to reciprocate, but stopped short. Paulo was, after all, still dripping with blood.

"I think we should get cleaned up first." She said, pointing out his bloody chest. Paulo looked down, and got her point.

"You wanna shower first, or me?" He asked, as this was her house.

Sue bit her tongue. She was about to give him the greenlight to go ahead, but now with the awkward wakeup simmering down, she had a new idea. A very… Paulo-ish idea, if she had to describe it. Was it the right thing to say? Especially after what she just did. And even if she hadn't, well… it wasn't something they'd done before. It was more personal, another bullet point in the list of new personal things they were doing with each other now. But Paulo hadn't turned her down yet, and with him, she felt like even rejection would be filled with warmth and understanding. "I… I was thinking." She started with a mumble. "Maybe we could shower together. Y-y'know, to save water."

The last bit was tacked on as a semi-move to save face, falling in line with her beliefs about recycling and a greener Earth. Fortunately for her, Paulo was receptive. He really enjoyed this side of Sue, the one that took risks, especially when it came to them. He could feel that there were more feelings under the surface, and whenever she made a first move in this way, they showed. With his signature confident grin, he replied. "Thought you'd never ask."

It was a relief to Sue, who smiled and got up to get new clothes out of her dresser. Paulo would just reuse the ones he came over in. But what Paulo said made her wonder, "How long have you been waiting on that?"

"Hmmm…" The somali thought out loud. This was a good question. Though every meetup was special, some details blurred together in a happy mess. "I dunno. Maybe since about the time I started staying the night."

"That's a long time." Sue pulled out a shirt. "How come you never tried to make that move yourself. Seems very un-you-like." She said, half teasing.

"Well, inviting me over for sex seemed very un-you-like." Paulo came back with, getting off the bed and admiring her backside as she bent over to look for pants.

Sue found what she was looking for. "Touche. Now let's stop talking about it and get clean. Blood stains, you know."

Paulo agreed. It would be an awkward conversation to have when explaining why he's covered in blood. Soon, the bathroom was all steamed up from the warm water hitting the cool morning air, and the two cats were letting the warm water wash over them. Sue smiled as she lathered up, humming her happy tune from the night before. "I had the strangest dream last night."

"What about?" The somali asked, running his hands over his body to direct the water.

Sue's tail swished around as she spoke and did the same. It was a hypnotic little dance that Paulo enjoyed immensely. "We were still in highschool, I think. And we went out camping with some friends. David, and Abbey, and… some girl we didn't know."

"Sounds like I'm your dream guy, then!" Paulo laughed, happy to hear that even in sleep, he was on her mind.

Sue went red and splashed some water on him. "Oh shush, I can't control what I dream." But one thing that wasn't a dream… Paulo had told her he loved her. In a sleepy sort of way. Was it just delirium from being tired, or was it for real? She looked at the handsome man next to her, who was currently lathering up too. "Paulo?"

"Sup babe?" He asked, suds dripping down his chin like a large beard.

"Last night, before you fell asleep… you said you loved me." Sue said, feeling her heart racing. It was so scary to bring it up, what if he didn't even remember? She fiddled with her wet hair. "Did you mean it?"

Paulo stood up straight. He DID remember it. He just didn't think he'd have to clarify. Yes, he had said it in a brain-fried state, but it was his true feelings. The somali looked right into her anxious eyes, with the full intent on calming them. "I don't say anything I don't mean. Did you mean it when you said it back?"

This was not the response Sue was expecting, especially not the second part. Her body stiffened, and tail frazzled on end. There was no way he heard her, he was asleep! Besides, this wasn't supposed to be about her, it was about him. "H-how did you know?!" She asked, almost as embarrassed as she was when she gave him his rude awakening.

Paulo gave a sly grin. She was like putty in his hands. "I didn't, but your cute little display told me everything I needed to know."

This brought about an awkward moment, where Sue didn't know where to go next. Usually, she was the headstrong one leading the charge, but when it came to matters of the heart, things were totally foreign. She was always looked over when it came to romance, so she never was really able to develop a way to articulate her feelings. She knew what she wanted, and that was a relationship with Paulo. She just felt silly saying it out loud. He usually had all the answers when it came to this, so she threw the ball in his court. "So now what?"

"I dunno." Paulo said, rinsing off. A warm shower in the morning always felt great, especially when he had the day off. "I was thinking breakfast. Do you have any pancake mix?"

Sue was reminded how thick Paulo could be sometimes, but his casual nature about the moment at least made her feel more at ease. "No… I mean about us. What now? Are…" Her heart thumped hard. "Are we a… couple?"

Paulo stood aside, allowing the burmese access to the running water from the shower head. Were they a couple? That's something they both had to agree on. HE was fine with that, and even wanted it, maybe for some time, but what about her? "Depends. Are you ready to take that step? Or do you need time to think about it?"

He was really good at this game. It wasn't an answer in either direction. Sue, once again, was up to bat. Paulo was good at making her step out of her comfort zone, but Sue had been picking up on some tricks of his and hit the question back at him. Of course she wanted it, she wouldn't have asked if she wasn't. It felt like the obvious next thing to do. "I want to know what you want."

Paulo put a gentle finger under Sue's chin and lifted it up so he could look her in the eyes. He was so good at this, knew all the right moves. Sue wondered if he was just going through the motions at this point, or if he was doing this specially for her. "Babe, all I know is that all I want is you. You're cute, and smart, and I love your enthusiasm. These last several weekends with you have been fantastic. And if you're ready, I'm ready."

Sue's heart did a little flip. Yes, she was ready. She couldn't wait to see where things would go. "You're a wonderful guy, Paulo. You've really matured. You've always had it in the looks department…" Sue blushed, thinking of how she would sometimes sneak glances at him in high school. She felt it was selfish of her, to have been so abrasive towards him, yet still found herself admiring his physique. "But I could never get past how immature you were. You're a completely different person now… one that I can't help but fall in love with. So yes, I am ready."

"I'm happy to hear that, babe." Paulo smiled. "Now let's get out and get some breakfast before I take you to pound town. I've been eyein' that cute butt of yours all morning."

Sue turned the shower head to spray in his face. "No! Stop being so horny!" She laughed and turned it back down again. Of course she wasn't really offended by it, it was all in good fun. They had missed out on it last night, after all.

"Sorry!" He laughed too, wiping the water out his face. He pulled her close. "You bring it out of me."